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that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children, and let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it!"

And the other, Elias, wrought for the deliverance of Israel in a time of great spiritual need. As a reformer he tore down the high places and destroyed the images of Baal. He brought the nation to the very verge of pure religion, and then God sent the chariot of fire. As he went upward, a voice of lamentation was heard from the valley below: "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!"

Thus the work of the two mighties was apparently broken in the midst and reached a futile end.

But when a thousand years had passed, lo, here are Moses and Elias on the Mount of Transfiguration, speaking with Jesus concerning the decease which he is presently to accomplish at Jerusalem. This means that the continuity of their lives was not broken at all. In the interim they had kept abreast of human events and they were in full sympathy with their glorious consummation at Calvary. Thus was the work of their hands established upon them.

No; life is not a fragment. The letter which we write is brief, but its postscript is eternal. He is a foolish man, therefore, who leaves eternity out of the reckoning. It is this that makes life worth

living. The fabric is otherwise a thing of mere threads and thrums. It needs the infinite outlook to complete it.

The world has known no greater artist than Raphael. What faces of Christ he painted! What angels and Madonnas! And he died at thirtyseven. Has he ceased to paint, think you?

When earth's last picture is painted,
And the tubes are twisted and dried;
When the oldest colors are faded,

And the youngest critics have died;
We shall rest-and oh, we shall need it—
Lie down for a moment or two,*
Till the Master of all good workmen
Shall set us to work anew.

And those that were good shall be happy;
They shall sit in a golden chair;
They shall splash at a ten-league canvas
With brushes of comet's hair.

They shall have real saints to draw from,
Magdalene, Peter, and Paul,

They shall work for an age at a sitting,
And never be tired at all.

And only the Master shall praise us,
And only the Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money,
And no one shall work for fame;
But each for the joy of working,
And each in his separate star,
Shall draw the thing as he sees it

For the God of things as they are.

*A liberty is here taken with Mr. Kipling's theology. He writes "for an æon or two"; but we shall not lie down for an aon or anything like it. The question of soul-sleeping was settled definitely and finally when Jesus said: "To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise."

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The meeting in the upper room was broken up. At the Master's word, "Arise, let us go hence,' one opened the door and they passed down the outer stairway. Whither? To Gethsemane, to the Judgment Hall, to Calvary, to Olivet, where he lifted his hands in benediction and the heavens opened to receive him. And still whither? The Master went to the glory which he had with the Father before the world was. Presently one of those disciples passed on by the red path of martyrdom to rejoin him; then another and another until at last the aged John, sole survivor of that apostolic company, climbed the steep ascent to heaven. Then the circle was complete. What a reunion! Not in Mary's house in Jerusalem, but in the Father's house of many mansions. And there what joyous memories, what planning of campaigns! The mists that hung about their earthly life have long since cleared away. They see the just proportion of things. It is apparent to them now that their earthly life was but the preface of an endless serial; time but the threshold of eternity, and service here an apprenticeship for unending usefulness in the Kingdom of God.

8. PRAYER

O God, as I have no abiding city on earth keep me moving on toward the City that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Loosen my grip on things temporal and give me an ever deepening interest in the things

which endure forever. I know that I, being risen with Christ into the immortal life, should seek the things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Help me to realize the high calling wherewith I have been called. My citizenship is in heaven. Let me live, therefore, as a pilgrim and a stranger, looking forward to a better country, even an heavenly, and setting my affection on things unseen and eternal. Help me to live for eternity; and to that end help me to live today, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

9. HYMN: “I would not live alway."

10. BENEDICTION

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you. Amen.

EIGHTEENTH SERVICE

The Ministry of Angels

1. INVOCATION

GIVE ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation and hearken unto my cry. Let the worship of this hour be acceptable unto thee as the morning sacrifice. Teach me to pray and praise in the beauty of holiness, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

2. HYMN: “Come, thou Almighty King." 3. SCRIPTURE LESSON

Genesis 28:10-22.
Luke 9:18-36.

4. PRAYER

O God, I thank thee for thy nearness. My prayer is not to one that standeth afar off or sitteth on a throne enveloped in forbidding splendors; for thou hast said, "Lo, I am with you alway." Thine Thine eyes behold my downsitting and mine uprising; and I am not afraid, because thou hast taught me to say "Abba, Father." For thy great love made manifest in providence and grace I thank thee. I have heard the story of the Cross. O

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