Blessed are they who give the flower of their days, and their strength of soul and body to Him; blessed are they who in their youth turn to Him who gave His life for them, and would fain save it to them and implant it in them, that they may live for ever. Blessed are they who resolve--come good, come evil, come sunshine, come tempest, come honour, come dishonour--that He shall be their Lord and Master, their King and God! They will come to a perfect end, and to peace at the last. They will, with Jacob, confess Him, ere they die, as "the God that fed them all their life long unto that day, the Angel which redeemed them from all evil[35];" with Moses, that "as is their day, so shall their strength be," and with David, that in "the valley of the shadow of death, they fear no evil, for He is with them, and that His rod and His staff comfort them," for "when they pass through the waters He will be with them, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow them; when they walk through the fire, they shall not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon them, for He is the Lord their God, the Holy One of Israel, their Saviour." [1] Ezek. xxxvii. 24. Zech. xiii. 7. 1 Pet. ii. 25. [2] Matt. ix. 36. [3] 1 Kings xxii. 17. [4] Ezek. xxxiv. 2, 5. [5] Zech. xi. 17. [6] Jer. xxxi. 10. [7] John xx. 16. [8] John xxi. 16. [9] Rev. xiv. 4. [10] Cant. i. 8. [11] Isa. xl. 10, 11. [12] Ezek. xxxiv. 11, 12. [13] Ps. xxiii. 1, 2. [14] Ps. lxxx. 1. [15] Luke xv. 4, 6. [16] Deut. xxxiii. 12. [17] Deut. xxxii. 11. Isa. xlvi. 1-4. [18] 1 Pet. ii. 24. [19] Gal. iii. 13. [20] 1 Pet. iii. 18. Heb. ix. 14. [21] Gen. iv. 2, 4. [22] Luke ii. 8. [23] Gen. xlvii. 3. [24] Gen. xlvi. 34. [25] Gen. xxx. 43. [26] Gen. xxxi. 38-41. [27] 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. [28] Ps. lxxviii. 71-73. [29] 1 Sam. xvi. 11, 12. [30] 1 Sam. xvii. 15, 28, 35-37. [31] Luke x. 35. [32] Luke xiii. 8, 9. [33] Isa. lxiii. 1-3. [34] John xiv. 6. [35] Gen. xlviii. 15, 16. SERMON XVII. Religious Joy.[1] "_And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord._"--Luke ii. 10, 11.