;--
'Twill cheer thee in the noon of life,
And bless thee in the night of death."

THE VOICES OF THE DEAD

"And by it he being dead yet speaketh." Hebrews xi. 4.

Much of the communion of this earth is not by speech or actual contact,
and the holiest influences fall upon us in silence. A monument or symbol
shall convey a meaning which cannot be expressed; and a token of some
departed one is more eloquent than words. The mere presence of a good
and holy personage will move us to reverence and admiration, though he
may say and do but little. So is there an impersonal presence of such an
one; and, though far away, he converses with us, teaches and incites us.
The organs of speech are only one method of the soul's expression; and
the best information which it receives comes without voice or sound. We
hear no vocal utterance from God, yet he speaks to us through all the
forms of nature. In the blue, ever-arching heaven he tells us of his
comprehensive care and tender pity, and "the unwearied sun" proclaims
his constant and universal benevolence. The air that wraps us close
breathes of his intimate and all-pervading spirit; and the illimitable
space, and the stars that sparkle abroad without number, show forth his
majesty and suggest infinitude. The gush of silent prayer--the sublimest
mood of the spirit--is when we are so near to him that words cannot come
between; and the power of his presence is felt the most, felt in the
profoundest deep of our nature, when the curtains of his pavilion
hang motionless around us. And it is so, I repeat, with all our best
communions. The holiest lessons are not in the word, but the life. The
virtues that attract us most are silent. The most beautiful charities
go noiseless on their mission. The two mites reveal the spiritual
wealth beneath the poor widow's weeds; the alabaster box of ointment is
fragrant with Mary's gratitude; the look of Christ rebukes Peter into
penitence; and by his faith Abel, being dead, yet speaketh.

Yes, even the dead, long gone from us, returning no more, their places
left vacant, their lineaments dimly remembered, their bodies mouldering
back to dust, even these have communion with us; and to speak of "the
voices of the dead" is no mere fancy. And it is to that subject that I
would call your attention, in the remainder of a brief discourse.

"He being dead yet speaketh." The departed have voices for us. In order
to illustrate thi