ungeon of the body, I acknowledge that I
need two things, food and light. Therefore Thou hast given me, a sick
man, Thy Body for the refreshment of my soul and body, and hast made
Thy Word a lantern unto my feet. Without these two I cannot live well;
for the Word of God is the light of my soul, and Thy Sacrament is the
Bread of Life."

My brothers, whilst we thank God for giving us this harvest of corn,
let us still more thank Him for the harvest of spiritual blessing, for
the precious grace and mercy which make glad the hearts of hardened
sinners, for the anointing of the Holy Spirit which makes our faces
shine with joy and gladness, for the Bread which came down from Heaven,
and which strengthens our hearts to be Christ's faithful soldiers and
servants.

One last word. The return of seed time and harvest teaches us that we
are all sowers, and that the harvest is the end of the world. We
seldom reap here the full results of our acts whether they be good or
evil. "The evil that men do lives after them," yes, and the good too.
It may seem to some of us who are trying to do our duty, trying to live
as God's servants, that there is no harvest for us. We seem destined
to labour in the weary field of the world, and to see no fruit of our
labours. Ah! brothers, the harvest is not yet, but it will come, the
harvest of the good and of the evil, since--

"We are sowers, and full seldom reapers,
For life's harvest ripens when we die,
'Tis in death alone God gives His sleepers
All for which they sigh.

Cast thy bread upon the waters: after
Many mornings, when thy head is low,
Men shall gather it with songs and laughter,
Though thou mayest not know."

[1] Hugh Macmillan's _Bible Teachings in Nature_, to which work I am
indebted for the structure of this Sermon.

SERMON LXIII.

GOD'S JEWELS.

(Schools.)

MALACHI III. 17.

"They shall be Mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make
up My jewels."

There is a legend of old time which tells us how a certain Jewish Rabbi
returned to his home after a long absence. His first question
was--"Where are my boys?" for his wife had greeted him alone. Then,
instead of answering her husband's question, the wife asked his advice.
She told him that some years before someone had lent her something very
precious, and she would know whether after fourteen years the loan
became hers. The Rabbi gently reproved his wife, and assured her t