ness, which will not suffer Him to deceive; His Grace or Goodness, which will not suffer Him to forget; His Truth, which will not suffer Him to change; and His Power, which makes Him able to accomplish."

7. Sympathy.

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Job xix. 21. Have pity on me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. Job vi. 14. "To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend."

Prov. xvii. 17.

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'A friend loveth at all times, and a

brother is born for adversity."

Rom xii. 15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”

Heb. iv. 15. "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.'

John xi. 33-35. "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping that came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept."

"O most blessed mourner, with whose tears thy Saviour mingles His own! O sympathy most unparalleled! To each of the two stricken and afflicted ones the Lord addressed the very consolation that was most congenial. To Martha He gave exceeding great and precious assurances, in words such as never man spoke. To Mary He communicated the groanings of His spirit in language more expressive to the heart than any spoken words could be. With Martha Jesus discoursed and reasoned. With Mary Jesus wept. He is a patient hearer if you have anything to say to Him; and He will speak to you as you are able to bear it. For the sorrow that seeks vent in words, and desires also to be soothed by

words, there is the Saviour's open ear-there are the Saviour's lips into which grace was poured. For the grief that is dumb and silent, there are the Saviour's tears."Candlish.

"I do not find, in all God's Bible, anything requiring us to acquiesce in the final destruction of any for whom we have prayed, pleaded, and committed to Him; least of all, our offspring whom he has commanded us to train up for Him. Children are God's heritage.' I do not say He has given us any promise for the obstinately wicked; but when cut off, He only requires us to be still, to hold our peace. I do not think He takes hope from us."-From a consoling letter" of Isabella Graham.

8. Sorrow, when Excessive.

1. When we forget remaining mercies like Jacob. Gen. xxxvii. 35.

2. When we are so absorbed in our own sorrow as to forget that of others.

Phil. ii. 21.

3. When it sours the spirit and excites mourning. Is. xxix. 24.

2 Cor. ii. 7.

4. When it preys upon the health. 5. When it unfits us for our duties. Mark xiv. 38. 6. When we voluntarily excite and stimulate our grief. 2 Sam. xxi. 10.

7. When we become impatient like a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Jer. xxxi. 18.

8. When, like Jonah at the withering of his gourd, we become angry, and with whom? Jonah iv. 9.

9. When with the man of Mt. Ephraim we exclaim in the bitterness of our disappointment, "Ye have taken away my gods, and what have I more?" Judges xviii. 24. 10. When ours is "the sorrow of the world, that worketh death." 2 Cor. vii. 10; Prov. xvii. 22.

"Sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. Every other wound we seek to heal; every other affliction to forget: but this wound we consider it a duty to keep open; this affliction we cherish and brood over in solitude."—Irving.

"There is a kind of delight in sorrow," says Seneca. Yes, there is, but it is a subtile form of selfishness, and eats into the heart as doth a canker. Beware of it as you would beware of poison.

XXVIII. ADVICE TO THE BEREAVED.

Is. xl. 1. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.'

1. The Author of your bereavement is God. Why dost thou strive against him?" Job xxxiii. 13.

2. Your dearest relatives are not your chief good. The Creator is better than the creature, and God is still Ps. lxxiii. 25.

left to you.

3. However unexpected the death of your relative or friend, you enjoyed their society during every moment allotted by heaven. Job xiv. 5.

4. Whatever be your grief for the death of your children, it might have been still greater from their life.

xvi. II.

2 Sam.

5- God may have taken him from the evil to come. Is. lvii. 1, 2.

6. To be human is to be mortal; at some time you must part, and this time is the best. Ps. xxxi. 15.

7. Perhaps you said of your child as Lamech said of his : "This same shall comfort us." If so, you were building on the sand. Matt. vii. 26.

8. The hope of resurrection still remains. (a) The same body shall be restored. Job xix. 27. (6) You will

recognize it again. 1 Thess. ii. 19. (c) You will meet, never more to part. Rev. xxi. 1; iii. 12.

9. It is as easy for God to revive, as to extinguish, our comforts. Ps. xviii. 28.

10. God can give you something better than you have lost. Is. lvi. 5.

11. By indulging excessive grief you give advantage to the adversary and dishonour God. Ps. lxxiii. 13–15;Ps. xlii. 3.

12. You have not seen the end of your affliction as yet, so as to understand all its merciful designs. Ps. cxix. 67, 71.

Such are some of the "considerations" of the excellent Flavel, which have been tested too long and too often to leave any doubt as to their value.

The simple difference between the believer and the unbeliever, in times of trial, is just this: The unbeliever, judging of the character of God by the trying dispensation, does not look beyond the circle of his own selfishness. He judges of the surgeon by the knife and saw and cautery, and the present suffering that they occasion, rather than by the real design and future gain of such a torture. The believer, on the other hand, judges of his trials by the character of God-of the nature of the operation by the character of the surgeon. This calamity, he says, is no accident-no chance-no fate-it is the Finger of God. When asked whether he sees the reason of his heavy trial, he says with Dr. Payson "No! but, assured that it is God's will, I am just as well satisfied as if I had ten thousand reasons."

Premature interment is feared by many, and it is important to know the positive signs of death. The principal points are:

I. The " Hippocratic visage."-In this "the nose is pointed; eyes are sunk; temples hollow; ears cold and shrivelled, and with lobes turned up; skin of forehead hard, tense and dry; color of face pale, black, livid, or of a leaden hue."

2. The " 'rigor mortis," or stiffening of the limbs and body. Carpenter (“Human Physiology," p. 864) requires this rigidity to be well marked.

3. Putrefaction generally begins by a discoloration of the abdomen. Its odor places the fact beyond doubt.

4. Other signs are: loss of elasticity in the eyelids, which remain as they are placed; absence of breath or pulse, though these are not positive indications of death; and the coldness and insensibility of the body. [See further on these points Am. Med. Recorder, V., p. 39; "Medical Aspects of Death," by Harrison, London, 1852; "On Trance and Catalepsy," Quart. Journal Psychological Medicine, III., 647; Wharton & Stillé, or Beck's, "Medical Jurisprudence," or any reliable work on Human Physiology.]

If

5. If doubt exists as to death, refuse the ice-box. color, heat, flexibility of limbs, etc., remain, do not permit burial. Josat gives 162 instances of recovery from a trance or cataleptic condition. Apparent death was long. est in hysteria, and shortest in concussion of the brain. It lasted in 7 cases from 36 to 42 hours; 20 cases from 20 to 36 hours; 47 cases from 15 to 20 hours; 58 cases from 8 to 15 hours; 30 cases from 2 to 8 hours.

Cataleptics feel pain, hear, and think as usual, but are motionless and helpless. Use no barbarous methods to resuscitate them. Proper care will prevent all mistakes. Bodies turn in their coffins from other reasons than a struggle for life, e.g. development of gases.

After death the hair and beard and nails frequently grow; food sometimes digests; the kidneys and liver occasionally secrete as before; and it is reported that the teeth increase, now and then. in size.