instead of mourning such loss, we were to sing of that gracious Providence by which so many mercies are for us still kept in store. We know that God's goodness is never small; it is our faith that is lacking. The loss of present consolations may well move the men of this world, because they have no hopes beyond the grave; but the Christian, seeing that it is impossible for him to forecast the events of to-morrow, so as to provide for the evil thereof, wisely leaves all these things in the hands of his Heavenly Father, who sees the end from the beginning. "Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Yes, be But present rest is needed. liever; and in Christ such rest is found. In the sick-chamber-on the field of our conflict in the way of our pilgrimage, weariness is more or less felt. Then it is we need the presence of Jesus. This alone can soothe a dying pillow. Dr. Leifchild was paying a visit to the death-bed of a minister in London, and affectionately urging him to describe his state of mind. This appeal so aroused God's servant, and so freshened up his dying lamp, that, raising himself up in his bed, he looked his friend in the face, and with great deliberation, energy, and dignity, uttered the following words:" Christ in His person-Christ in the love of His heart, and Christ in the power of His arm, is the Rock on which I rest! And now" (reclining his head gently on the pillow) 66 Death, strike!" The arm of Jesus and the presence of Jesus alone can give us rest. THOUGH roam I may from joy to joy, And feast upon the best, These sweets I find but only cloy, They never can give rest. IX. Future Rest. "FOR ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you."-DEUTERONOMY Xii. 9. "BLESSED are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."-REVELATION xiv. 13. THOU fainting soul, arise and sing; Till death the weary spirit free; NINTH DAY. DAVID, King of Israel, once said, "There is but a step between me and death." The Christian can also say, There is only a veil betwixt me and heaven ! It is that thin partition that separates the Present which is known, from the Future, which is unknown. So thin is this veil, that if no injury be done to it, if no accident befal it, it will soon become crushed like the moth, and crumble into decay. So frail and so feeble is our mortality, that with the least movement of the breath of the Infinite One, we shall dissolve like the indistinct pictures of a troubled dream! Then will that mysterious future stand fully and perfectly revealed to our wondering gaze. Then will the manifestations which are "laid up" for the sons of God be unfolded in all their glory and perfection. "We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." tal must put on immortality. This mor- until then shall we experience rest from toil, rest from pain, and rest from the clog that binds us to our fallen humanity. We are not as yet come to that rest. But it is important to remember that that rest is obtained for us by conquest. It is not our own right arm that had gotten for us the victory. It is all obtained through great conflict by HIM who first loved us. How many of God's children have testified to the power of Immanuel, as a Conqueror over death and the grave. The Rev. Dr. Simpson was for many years tutor in the college at Hoxton, and ranked high in the esteem of all. After a long life spent in the service of Christ, he approached the grave with holy joy. Among other things which indicated his love to the Redeemer and his interest in the favour of God, he spoke with disapprobation of a phrase used by some pious people, "Venturing |