a tear silently steals down his cheek, and he murmurs to himself, "O God, forgive my sin!" Let us then learn these four lessons.

First. Nothing can excuse a lie, even to gain what is right. God always hates, and will always punish, falsehood.

Secondly. God is true to his promises. Even when we have sinned against him, we may believe his word and seek his love.

Thirdly. If we have sinned and been forgiven, we should love and serve him more than ever.

Lastly. God is always near. Never let us make Jacob's mistake, "Surely God was in this place, and I knew it not." The name of every place in this world may be BETHEL. When tempted to sin-" God is here, and will know our wickedness." When sorrowing and alone-" God is here, and why should we be lonely? Let us only trust in him, and he will be our Guide and Friend."

The Reconciliation.

GENESIS XXXii., xxxiii.

Picture of a besieged city-Sebastopol—An offended brother harder to be won-The strife between Jacob and EsauTwenty years-Jacob's riches-Promise of safety-The two hosts of angels-Jacob sorry for his fault-Two things that prove this-The kind message he sent to Esau-Return of the messengers-"Thy brother comes with four hundred men!" -Jacob's earnest prayer to God—A prayer of trust, gratitude, humility, and earnestness-Right and wrong kinds of prayer -His wise plan to soothe his brother-Appearance of Esau and his band-The brothers in each other's arms.

WE have sometimes seen a picture of a city in the olden time, with its high walls, great ironbound gates, and strong towers. Bands of soldiers appeared marching up to the place, some driving heavy battering-rams against the walls, others working engines that threw vast stones upon the towers to shake or crush them to the ground. The tops of those city walls were crowded with soldiers too; some with slings and stones, the rest with bows and arrows, and other weapons to keep back the enemy. It must, indeed, have been terrible work to conquer a place like this; to batter down the walls, and then, with fierce fighting at every step, to make way over the

ruins into the town. read in old books of a city which required ten years to take; while other towns have been so strong that no army could conquer them at all.

Some of you will one day

Some years ago we used to hear a great deal about Sebastopol. Had any of my young readers a father or a brother there? Have mothers or sisters talked of the letters that used to come, telling of the toil and hardship, the battle after battle, the strong forts-Malakoff, Redan-the mighty roar of the cannon every day, and the fall of the place at last, after many, many weary months? Yes, it was a long, a sad, and a tremendous struggle !

But why are we reminded by this chapter of that old city and of Sebastopol? The passage speaks of a work done which Solomon says is harder still than the task I have described. What can

it be? Listen to the eighteenth of Proverbs and the nineteenth verse: "A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle." We have read of the contentions between Esau and Jacob. Esau said, "I will kill my brother, for he has cheated me." Jacob had to flee away into a strange land. The brothers were parted, more than if the "bars" of a strong "castle" were between them, and who should make them friends again? We may think we hear Esau say, "Never, never!" We should all have said too, "It cannot be done." There they had

better stay; Jacob among his flocks on the broad pasture lands among the mountains of Mesopotamia, Esau among the wilder rocks and hills of the Land of Seir, which he has chosen for his home. Yes, let them stay! If they meet it will only make matters worse. Esau has been offended, and it would be easier work to win "a strong city" than to change his anger into love.

Twenty years have rolled by: we see Jacob again. Once, with his staff in his hand, he travelled wearily and alone; but now he has "oxen, and asses, flocks, and men-servants and womenservants." It is a large and goodly company. They are winding down yonder mountain-path briskly and cheerfully, for they are coming near a resting-place. The camels lift up their heads, which had been hanging down with weariness; the patient oxen step out more strongly; the asses break into a gallop, for they smell water in the valley. And Jacob, too, grown almost an old man, see how bright his eye, how firm his step! But it is not the prospect of a night's rest or of the refreshing stream that makes him so cheerful. No, for as he went on his way that day, suddenly two hosts of angels had appeared to him! Angels behind, angels before, as much as to say, "Fear nothing! Laban shall not hurt. you from the country you have left; Esau shall not hurt you in the country you are going to." How this must have comforted him! For surely

it was his great trouble that every step of his way now took him nearer to his angry brother. Even twenty years, he thought, had not made Esau forgiving. How could that long, fierce anger be turned away? In part, those hosts of angels had answered the question, showing that Jacob should be kept from harm. But now it was his business to do what he could to change Esau's feelings. Let us see what he did. Boys and girls, we know, are often angry with their companions, or their companions with them. The example of Jacob may show how quarrels may be made up, enemies turned to friends, and a work done, even by little children, which Solomon has told us is harder than to win a strong city.

Now, we must note these four things.

The first

First. Jacob was sorry for his fault. We may be quite sure of this for two reasons. is, that God would not have treated him so kindly, and taken such care of him, without first bringing him to repentance. And the second is, that unless Jacob had truly repented he would never have been able to look Esau in the face. So far, a good beginning was made. If we have wronged any one, and made him angry, the first thing we have to do is to know our fault; to be sorry for it, and to forsake it.

Secondly. Facob sent Esau a kind message. Let us fancy Esau when the messenger came ; think what he would say on hearing it. "Thy