We do not in the Church of England now pray for the dead. We are not absolutely forbidden by Scripture to do so. But we believe they are where they ought to be--that they are gone to a perfectly just world, in which is none of the confusion, mistakes, wrong, and oppression of this world; in which they will therefore receive the due reward of their deeds done in the body; and that they are in the hands of a perfectly just God, who rewardeth every man according to his work. It seems therefore unnecessary, and, so to speak, an impertinence towards God, to pray for them who are in the unseen world of spirits exactly in the state which they have deserved. _MS. Sermon_. Diversities of Gifts. April 10. Why expect Wisdom with love in all? Each has his gift-- Our souls are organ pipes of diverse stop And various pitch: each with its proper notes Thrilling beneath the self-same breath of God. Though poor alone, yet joined, they're harmony. _Saints' Tragedy_, Act ii. Scene v. 1847. The Atonement. April 11. _How_ Christ's death takes away thy sins thou wilt never know on earth--perhaps not in heaven. It is a mystery which thou must believe and adore. But _why_ He died thou canst see at the first glance, if thou hast a human heart and will look at what God means thee to look at--Christ upon His Cross. He died because He was _Love_--love itself, love boundless, unconquerable, unchangeable--love which inhabits eternity, and therefore could not be hardened or foiled by any sin or rebellion of man, but must love men still--must go out to seek and save them, must dare, suffer any misery, shame, death itself, for their sake--just because it is absolute and perfect Love which inhabits eternity. _Good News of God Sermons_. A Day's Work. April 12. Make a rule, and pray to God to help you to keep it, never, if possible, to lie down at night without being able to say, I have made one human being at least a little wiser, a little happier, or a little better this day. You will find it easier than you think, and pleasanter. _Sermons for the Times_. 1855. Self-control. April 13. A well-educated moral sense, a well-educated character, saves from idleness and ennui, alternating with sentimentality and excitement, those tenderer emotions, those deeper passions, those nobler aspirations of humanity, which are the heritage of the woman far more than of the man, and which are potent in her, for evil or for good, in proportion as they are left to run wild and undisciplined, or are trained and developed into graceful, harmonious, self-restraining strength, beautiful in themselves, and a blessing to all who come under their influence. _Lecture on Thrift_. 1869. Women and Novels. April 14.