“Come, ye children, and hearken unto me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord.  What man is he that loves life, and would fain see good days?  Let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no deceit.  Let him eschew evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers. . .  For the Lord ordereth a good man’s going, and maketh his way acceptable to Himself.  Though he fall he shall not be cast away, for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand . . .  I have been young, and now am old, and yet never saw I the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread.  Flee from evil, and do the thing that is good, and dwell for evermore.  For the Lord loveth the thing that is righteous.  He forsaketh not His that be godly, but they are preserved for ever.”

Choose that; the better part which shall not be taken from you; for it is according to the true laws of political and social economy, which are the laws of the Maker of the Universe, and of the Redeemer of Mankind.  And then, whether or not you leave your children wealth, you will, at all events, leave them an example by which they, and their children’s children, must prosper to the world’s end.  And your prayer will be, more and more, as you grow old and weary with the hard work of life—­

“I will go forth in the strength of the Lord God, and make mention of His righteousness only.  Thou, O God, hast taught me from my youth up until now.  Therefore will I tell of Thy wondrous works.  Forsake me not, O Lord, in my old age, when I am grey-headed, till I have shewn Thy strength unto this generation; and Thy power unto those that are yet to come.”

To which end may Christ bring us all, of His infinite mercy.  Amen.

SERMON XXVII.  THE BEATIFIC VISION.

PSALM LVII.

   A Psalm of David when he fled from Saul in the cave.

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in Thee, and under the shadow of Thy wings shall be my refuge, until this tyranny be over-past.  I will call unto the most high God, even unto the God that shall perform the cause which I have in hand.  He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproof of him that would eat me up.  God shall send forth His mercy and truth:  my soul is among lions.  And I lie even among the children of men, that are set on fire, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.  Set up Thyself, O God, above the heavens, and Thy glory above all the earth.  They have laid a net for my feet, and pressed down my soul:  they have digged a pit before me, and are fallen into the midst of it themselves.  My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed:  I will sing, and give praise.  Awake up, my glory; awake, lute and harp:  I myself will awake right early.  I will give