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A CUP OF COLD WATER.

How much better thou'rt attended,
Than the son of God could be,
When from heaven He descended,
And became a child like thee.
Soft and easy is thy cradle:

Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay;
And His birth-place was a stable,
And His softest bed was hay.
Sleep, my dear, I did not chide thee,
Though my song might sound too hard;
'Tis thy sister sits beside thee,

And her arm shall be thy guard.'

And the little baby-brother was already fast asleep, with his rosy cheek close to Jessie's, and his downy hand hid in her hair. Jessie had already forgotten all about the rider and the watering-trough, in the sweet, glad absorption of her home happiness and love.

A few weeks later, Jessie's home was no more in the forest, but in a little dark old alley, hidden in the heart of the great city. The sorrowful loss which had made her leave the cottage and the meadows and the brook, with her mother and her little brothers, is not a part of this story. She was a poor little girl with very scanty food, and all the weary griefs and cares of poverty, already known too well. baby-brother pined among the tall brick houses; and Johnie, a little errand-boy, late and early at work, grew pale beneath his burdens, and Jessie's heart was pierced.

The

Jessie sold mushrooms, or the late autumn flowers, in the street. She was weary often; she did not mind for herself; it did not matter much. But for Johnie and the baby-brother, Jessie was woebegone. She was only a girl, and always meant to help and be of use. But they were the heroes of the future-the boys, who were sometime to be men, and do the world's work-who were needed in that great dim world, of which she had dreamed in the forest. They were the precious stones, the pure gold to Jessie, and she grudged their use for common things, their waste in the poor, small struggle. She felt in her fond, little heart, that all things were harder for them. Nothing would be hard for Jessie, if only they were happy and rich.

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And Johnie had met her that morning, with a worn anxious look on his face; and the baby had cried to go to her; and she had to turn away, and lift her basket, and rush out to meet the faces of strangers.

Jessie cried through St. Paul's churchyard her musical timid cry. She could not sell her mushrooms; her basket was still full. She looked at the shop-window vacantly, and saw all the beautiful things. They were not for her; she had no dream about them. But she looked across the paved street, and saw the pleasant trees, growing fresh and free, with all the noise of the people, and the shadow of the tall houses round them;-growing content as any trees in the midst of lowing kine, and bleating lambs, and daisied fields, and happy, singing brooks. And behind these, Jessie saw the great Cathedral, with its crusting of sculptured flowers, and its strange, delicate tints of shadowy greys, and fine white reliefs, all coloured by the rain and sunshine. It did not seem to Jessie that the storm and rain and sunshine of her own life had painted such tints in her soul. It had seemed so much easier to be good when she was happy.

But then it was fine to see the dome of the Cathedral lifted far up into the sky. When she looked up to the dome, she would look past it too, and a prayer would stir Jessie's heart, though it did not rise to her lips, a simple, nearly unconscious prayer. For the sky was heaven, and God was in heaven, and God is love.

And God is strong,' thought Jessie, 'and to love and to be strong, that is everything surely that is enough.'

For Jessie's weakness oppressed her. Her love made her know her weakness, and made her turn with utter longing to the Omnipotent Love.

And yet she was not comforted on this October day. She thought of her mother and her brothers; and nobody would buy her mushrooms. And it seemed that the great Cathedral looked colder than ever before. It did not comfort her to-night. She could not tell why. She could not look past the dome; she could not see the

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A DIFFERENCE AND NO DIFFERENCE.

sky. And the few brown leaves flickered about on her basket, and on her hand, and rustled along the pavement among the passers' feet.

There was no place to sit and rest, so Jessie went slowly on, and thought of the baby-brother, and Johnie, and the cottageelms. And she remembered the lullaby she had sung in the summer-time. One verse she had liked so well, seemed such a mockery now:

'Sleep, my dear, I did not chide thee, Though my song might sound too hard; 'Tis thy sister sits beside thee,

And her arm shall be thy guard.'

No song seemed too hard to the poor little sorrowful girl. And how could her arm be a guard to her baby-brother now? Her thoughts were so sad, that unawares the tears rolled over her cheeks.

They were not noticed by any one, till, in the falling dusk, a gentleman suddenly stopped, and put his hand on her shoulder.

Little girl, I owe you something; when did you come here?"

Jessie looked up in wonder, and then she smiled through her tears, glad and bright, as if she recognised a friend. She had seen that face only once, for one minute before; but that was at the drinking-trough, when she was a happy child. And he seemed to grow a friend among all the crowd of strange people; and Jessie told him her story-it did not take long to tell. She told him where she lived, and about her mother, and her brother, and even about the baby who pined for the meadows and the sun.

'Perhaps you have forgotten that I owe you something. You would not take the money at the roadside, but we must clear accounts now.'

And the gentleman put into Jessie's hand a gold, not a silver piece, and then he was gone in the darkness before she had time to thank him.

Jessie stood bewildered. She looked at the bright gold, and cried for very joy. Then her eyes rose instinctively to the dome of the great Cathedral-dark now against the dark sky. It seemed to give

the solemn thanks to God, which she had no words to give. It was no longer cold, but full of solemn, sympathetic praise. Jessie could not understand. She only felt it was so. And she went home that night faster than ever before, and laid the gold speechlessly in her tired mother's lap.

'And, mother, he will come,' said Jessie, when she had found words to explain, 'I know he will come, and we will be happy again.'

And Jessie was right in her faith.

'WHO

H. W. H. W.

HOME LESSONS ON THE OLD PATHS. A DIFFERENCE AND NO DIFFERENCE. HO can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins.'

Mamma, what are presumptuous sins?' asked Charley.

'Presumptuous sins are acts of open, wilful rebellion against God, quite different from those secret faults which are unknown to our fellowmen, and may even be unknown to ourselves. The Jewish ceremonial law provided no sacrifice for presumptuous sins. Those guilty of such transgressions were to be cut off. Read Num. xv. 30, 31.' Charley read

"But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken His commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off: his iniquity shall be upon him."

In the next chapter we find the narrative of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and that story shews us what a fearful thing it is to sin presumptuously.'

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The earth opened up and swallowed them alive,' said little Alice.

เ But, mamma, what made it so very wicked of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram to offer incense?' Nelly asked.

A DIFFERENCE AND NO DIFFERENCE.

'God had commanded that only Aaron and his sons should offer incense; and these men, and the two hundred and fifty who were with them, did so in direct rebellion against God. Their sin was very great, and there awful punishment is recorded for our warning. I think you will now be able to answer this question,Are all transgressions of the law equally henious? that is, alike offensive to God.'

'No, mamma, some sins are far greater than others.'

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Repeat the answer given in the catechism, Nelly.'

"Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more henious in the sight of God than others."

'That some sins are greater than others is clearly taught in many passages of Scripture. In John xix. 11, you find words spoken by Jesus which illustrate this truth. Read the verse, Nelly.'

"Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered Me unto thee hath the greater sin."

'Pilate's sin in delivering up Jesus to be crucified was very great, and yet these words of Jesus tell us of one whose sin was greater than Pilate's.'

That was Judas, mamma; he was far worse than Pilate, because he was one of Jesus' disciples.'

'That Judas was one of those who had followed Jesus, had listened to His teachings, and had seen His mighty works, were circumstances which made his sin far greater than Pilate's. These were great aggravations of his guilt. You know what aggravations mean?"

'Aggravations are the things that made what he did worse than it would have been otherwise.'

'Jesus tells us, "That servant which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is

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given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."

'That is the rule by which our conduct must be tried; and when we remember the many privileges we have enjoyed, we must not forget that, if we do not improve these, our sin will be far greater than that of those who have not had our opportunities. You remember what Jesus said of the cities where he had done most of His mighty works. Mat. xi. 20-24.'

He said, "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you."'

These words are a very solemn warning to us.'

'But, mamma, another passage says, "there is no difference." I don't understand how that can be, when so many passages tell us that some sinners are worse than others.'

"The next question will explain this to you. "What doth every sin deserve? " ' and Nelly read

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"Every sin deserveth God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to

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CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.

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God's wrath and curse is something which we cannot describe, or even imagine, it is so dreadful. It was the wrath and curse of God which He bare for us that made Jesus sweat as it were great drops of blood in the garden, and cry on the cross, "My God! My God! why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Jesus endured all this to redeem us from the curse of the law, and now there is no condemnation to those who are in Him. Good men fear the wrath of God more than any thing else. Job says, "Destruction from the Almighty was a terror to me;" and another holy man of old says, "My flesh trembleth for fear of Thee; and I am afraid of Thy judgments."

Why were these men afraid, mamma, when they loved God, and knew that He would save them?'

These good men had such a view of the holiness of God, and of their own sinfulness in His sight, that they trembled at the thought of their own unworthiness.

'The devoted missionary, Henry Martin, in a passage in his journal, writes—

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"In prayer in the evening, I had such near and terrible views of God's judgments upon sinners in hell, that my flesh trembled for fear of them. The passages of God's word, that proved the certainty of hell torments, were brought to me in such a way as I never before felt, I flew trembling to Jesus Christ, as if the flame were taking hold of me. Oh! Christ will indeed save me, or else I perish."

"Oh, sing of His mighty love,
Sing of His mighty love,
Mighty to save.

SABBATH EVENING FIRESIDE BIBLE CLASS
CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
The Angel of the Lord.
February 6.

Who was it that appeared to Hagar in the wilderness? Gen. xvi. 7.

Show how Hagar regarded this Angel as the Manifested Presence of God? ver. 13.

How many angels appeared to Abraham in
Mamre? Gen. xviii. 2.

By what is one of the three distinguished from
the other two? vers. 13, 17, 20, 22.
What other name shows that this Angel of the
Lord is one with God? ver. 25.
How else is He distinguished? ver. 27.
February 13.

Who appeared to Jacob at Bethel?
xxviii. 10-13.

Gen.

Is this appearance of the Lord afterwards connected with the Angel of God? Gen. xxxi. 11, 13.

Who wrestled with Jacob at the brook Jabbok? Gen. xxxii. 24.

Did this Angel reveal himself to Jacob as above all created angels? vers. 28, 29.

Had Jacob any doubt that this was The Angel of God that is one with God? ver. 30. Where does the Patriarch identify the Angel of the Lord with God? Gen. xlviii. 15, 16.

February 20.

Who appeared to Moses at the bush? Ex. iii. 2. What shows that this Angel is the Manifested Presence of God? vers. 4-6.

Whom did God send to lead the children of

Israel through the wilderness? Ex. xxiii. 20. What proof is there that this was God's Angel

in the special sense? ver. 21, last clause. Will God give His glory to another? Isa. xlii. 8. Who alone bears His Name, and is one with Him? John x. 30.

When did God threaten to withdraw the Angel of the Lord, and send an inferior angel in his place? Ex. xxxiii. 1, 2. Was the threatening withdrawn? vers. 14, 15. Is this Angel of God's Presence identified with the Angel Leader of Israel? Isa. lxiii. 8, 9.

February 27.

Who appeared to Joshua at Jericho? Josh. v. 13.
What name did this Angel assume?
ver. 14.
How did Joshua show that he recognised in

Him the Manifested Presence of God? 14. In what way did the Captain of the Lord's host identify himself with the Angel that appeared unto Moses? Josh. v. 15. Ex. iii. 5. Is the Captain of the Lord's host called the Lord in what follows? Josh. vi. 1, 2. Where in the N. T. does Christ appear as the Captain? Matt. xxvi. 53. Heb. ii. 10.

A. G. F.

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