December 26

Psalm xciv. — 12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord! and teachest him out of thy law,

13. That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.

14. For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.

15. But judgment shall return unto righteousness, and all the upright in heart shall follow it.

16. Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

17. Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.

18. When I said, My foot slippeth, thy mercy, O Lord! held me up.

19. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.

Hebrews xii. — 1. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied, and faint in your minds.

4. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

5. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him;

6. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

8. But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

9. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

10. For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

11. Now, no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

12. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

13. And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Departed saints do live; they are conscious of what befalls us here; they are near us, to watch with sympathetic regard our endurance of trials and conflicts through which they have successfully passed. Like a vast amphitheatre of spectators intent upon the issue of a race, these foregoing heroes and martyrs of the faith surround us with their sympathy, and encourage us by their success. As the athlete in the games reduced his body to light weight, and stripped himself for the race, so must we throw off every encumbrance of habit, every entanglement of sin, and hold on the course which we have begun. Above all should we keep before us Him without whom neither faith nor example would avail us; who, though

in his last conflict he did sweat great drops of blood, and sink under the weight of the cross, was never weary nor faint of heart under the burden of our sins and sorrows, — Jesus, the Leader and Perficer of our faith. "His going before us in faith has made faith possible for us; his perfecting faith in his own person and example has made faith effectual for us." Nor is it selfish in us to be animated as he was by the joy and the crown that wait upon the endurance of the cross. All trial is made light when it brings us into closer sympathy with Christ; all discipline is easy when we recognize in it the loving hand of God, perfecting us for his own presence and glory.

APPROPRIATE HYMN.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 181, 189, 200.

Thou only, Lord, makest us to dwell in safety: therefore will we lie down in peace, and sleep. Grant us the sleep which thou givest to thy beloved; or, if wakeful hours shall be allotted us, may we remember thee upon our bed, and meditate upon thee in the night-watches!

O Lord Jesus, who hast invited the weary and heavy-laden to come unto thee that thou mayest give them rest! grant us, we pray thee, rest from all care and trouble, from all sin and sorrow; and prepare us by thy grace for that holy and blessed rest which remaineth for the people of God.

We bless thee for our fellowship with thy saints; and we pray for the whole Church of God, that it

may be one in spirit and life, in faith and hope. We thank thee for this holy day, — its sacred memories, its blessed communion of prayer and praise, its comforting sacraments, its teachings and promises, and its immortal hopes. May thy Word abide with us to teach and sanctify us!

And bless thy Word, also, to all who have heard it: to the young, for their guidance; to the aged, for their comfort; to all, for their instruction in righteousness. And, O Lord! send, we pray thee, thy Word to those who have it not. Let thy salvation be known in all the earth; and hasten the coming of thy kingdom. And to thy name be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.