From all thy saints in warfare, for all thy saints

at rest,

To thee, O blessed Jesus, all praises be addressed. Thou, Lord, didst win the battle that they might conquerors be;

Their crowns of living glory are lit with rays from thee.-ANON.

Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee and saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High. Amen.

CHAPTER XV.

"THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS."

Ye are come unto Mount Sion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant. Heb. 12:22, 23.

Wherefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto him. 2 Cor. 5:9 (Rev. Ver.).

If we be truly surrounded by a world of unseen beings, if we have actually "come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant," then surely it cannot be immaterial whether we rightly apprehend those mighty realities which press upon

us so nearly, and whether our acts and language are fitted for that hallowed intercourse to which we have been admitted. Otherwise we are intruding, like unconscious dreamers, into the sacred presence of the great King.-R. I. WILBERFORCE, "DOCTRINE OF INCARNATION."

The communion of saints in the Church of Christ with those which are departed is demonstrated by their communion with the saints alive. For if I have communion with a saint of God, as such, while he liveth here, I must still have communion with him when he is departed hence; because the foundation of that communion cannot be removed by death. The mystical union between Christ and his church, the spiritual conjunction of the members to the Head, is the true foundation of that communion which one member had with another, all the members living and increasing by the same influence which they receive from him. But death, which is nothing else but the separation of the soul from the body, maketh no separation in the mys

tical union, no breach of the spiritual conjunction; and consequently there must continue the same communion, because there remaineth the same foundation.-BISHOP PEARSON.

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Then looking fixedly on us with grief amazed, 'Here," saith she, "shall you bury your mother." I held my peace and refrained weeping; but my brother spake something, wishing for her, as the happier lot, that she might die, not in a strange place, but in her own land. Whereat she, with anxious look, checking him with her eyes, for that he still savored such things, and then looking upon me, "Behold," saith she, "what he saith;" and soon after to us both, "Lay," she saith, "this body anywhere; let not the care for that any way disquiet you; this only I request, that you would remember me at the Lord's altar wherever you be." -ST. AUGUSTINE'S CONFES

SIONS.

The saints are in the hand of God; so too are we. When we draw near to our dear Lord in holy communion we do also draw near to

those holy and rejoicing ones who are now with Christ.... "The holy communion is the point of contact between the seen and the unseen." Heaven and earth meet on this mysterious border-land. Here the church militant and the church expectant touch. Here, veiled from sight, angels and archangels and all the company of heaven join in singing, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts." While we are interceding on earth, they are grouped round the great high altar in the world unseen, where Jesus our High Priest ever liveth to make intercession for us. And if we would take our part in that glorious and holy worship, we must prepare for it now by preparing earnestly and coming diligently unto the altar of God, "with true hearts, in full assurance of faith," washing our hands in innocency and so drawing nigh unto the holy communion. If we would not be shut out hereafter from the holy and rejoicing fellowship of God's saints, we must imitate their faith, their patience, their innocence, their zeal, their charity, their steadfastness.