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THE RAIN AND THE DEW.

bit of a hillside rejoicing in the first morning beams of the summer sun. Leaves and flowers are alike lifting themselves gladly to the light, and reflecting its rays from countless dew-drops with which the cool night has adorned them. On a branch close by, a little bird, shaking the moisture from its wings, is singing its morning hymn of praise. Think, for a moment, how that hillside looked under the scorching rays of the sun on the previous day. How the plants drooped, the flowers hung their heads, and the birds seemed to have forgotten their songs! The cool, silent dew has done its work since then; so you will understand why the words inscribed above this picture are the following:-'My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.'

I daresay you have often been playing in the garden on the evening of a very hot day, when the grass and flowers were nearly burnt up with heat. Before the sun went down, there did not seem to be a drop of moisture anywhere; but not many minutes after he has set, you find the grass is wet, and even your clothes are quite damp to the touch. No rain has fallen, and you have seen nothing happen. God has sent His servant the dew to refresh His weary earth. So it is with His word. It sometimes comes like thunder, with the awful power of the raging fire and the iron hammer; but it is sometimes sent with the silence and secrecy of the unseen dew to refresh weary hearts. There was once a poor half-witted man in London, who went by the name of 'Poor Joseph,' and who earned his living by carrying parcels and going on errands. One day, as he went along the street, he came to the open door of a church, where he heard singing. He turned in, to see what was going on, and heard the minister give out as his text, 1 Tim. i. 15: This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.' Joseph listened with wonder to the sermon which followed; and

though most of those in the church would have thought him too silly to understand it, God's message took hold secretly of his heart, and he went home muttering to himself: Joseph never heard this before; Christ Jesus, the God who made all things, came into the world to save sinners like Joseph; and this is true, and it is a faithful saying.' He did not live long after this; and, on his death-bed, his constant language was, Joseph is the chief of sinners, but Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and Joseph loves Him for this.' God's word found secret entrance in some mysterious way into his dark heart, just as the silent dew penetrates everywhere, unseen and unheard.

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Let me tell you another story to shew how God's simple word can refresh a heart that has been left dry and parched by every other means it has tried. A lady, who was listening to a sermon preached in German somewhere on the Continent, noticed a very old woman on her knees, counting her beads instead of paying attention. The lady spoke to her when the service was over, and finding she only spoke French, began to converse with her in that language. 'You seem very tired,' she said kindly.'Oh, yes, I am. I have walked six miles to-day, and I have twelve more to accomplish the penance of this day: it is hard at my age. How old are you?'-'I am ninety-two. This is the fiftieth time I have undertaken a pilgrimage to Notre Dame, where I am going. Oh, I am a great sinner! I have a great many sins to reproach myself with; and the more I advance in years, the more I discover some which I have not seen before. I was told that to deserve forgiveness, I was to do penance, and undertake pilgrimages. I think this is the last time I shall be enabled to perform this journey. I hope I shall obtain forgiveness. But alas! if I don't, I am a lost woman!' The lady made her read from the New Testament the words, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!' and, It is finished,' and explained them to her simply. Such news was to her like

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PRIZE SCRIPTURE QUESTIONS.

cold water to a thirsty soul.' She accepted the message with exceeding joy, cast her beads into the fire, and declared that she would go home, and tell all her neighbours that Jesus only, and Jesus alone, had saved her an old sinner.

Just as in the heat of summer the plants need the nightly dew to keep them from being scorched up, so our hearts need to be constantly refreshed by God's word amid the temptations and trials of this world. I have heard of a little child who used to wonder how her mother kept always cheerful among the worries of a large family, till one day, opening the door of a little room at the top of the house, she saw her mother alone on her knees, with the Bible by her side. The little child closed the door and crept quietly away, having learned a lesson which she never forgot.

But God Himself teaches us something more by the comparison of His word to the rain in Isa. lv. 10, 11. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void; but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent The dew and the rain are gentle irresistible, messengers, but they are because God has sent them on His errands. Though all the learned men and all the strong men in Britain went to work together, they could not stop one shower of summer rain from falling. And this is the hope of all who carry the message of God's word that He has sent it forth, and it'shall accomplish that which He pleases.'

it.'

J. B. M.

The Dayspring Bible Class.

QUESTIONS ON MATTHEW'S GOSPEL. Chapter VIII. 18-34.

What did Jesus bid His disciples do when multitudes crowded round him? What saying of a certain scribe is here recorded?

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What answer given by Jesus warned this scribe to count the cost?

What answer given by Jesus to another disciple teaches that our first duty is to follow Jesus?

In what terms is the storm on the lake of Galilee here described?

Where was Jesus, and what was He doing, when the storm arose?

What was the prayer of the disciples in the storm?

What did Jesus ask them?

What effect had Jesus' rebuke on the wind and the sea?

By what exclamation did the disciples express their astonishment?

Who met Jesus when He landed in the country of the Gergesenes?

What question did the devils ask Jesus?
What request did they make?

What befell those who, in disobedience to
God's command, kept the swine?

What was the result of this miracle to the poor men? See Luke viii. 35.

What awful prayer did the Gergesenes offer?

Prize Scripture Acrostics and Questions.

Competitors will please observe to address their answers to Rev. JOHN KAY, 11 Teviot Row, Edinburgh.

ACROSTIC 4.

AN earnest worker, busily perplexed;

One, by a strange mistake, most sorely vexed;
One who another tempted to deceive;
A word that made a dying mother grieve;
An ancient city early famed in art;
A saint who wisely choose the better part.

These varied names and characters combined,
By careful study, ye shall surely find
A name recorded on the Sacred Page
Whose martial music swells from age to age.
A careful watcher by a helpless child,
Till heavenly pity on the infant smiled;
A patient listener to its pleading cry;
An eager messenger when hope drew nigh;
A loving nurse through bright but fleeting years;
A woman, shedding patriotic tears,
Triumphant leader of a glorious band,

She swept the chords with more than master hand,

Whose echoes, floating o'er a troubled sea,
To distant ages struck the sounding key-
For God and kindred, life and liberty.

Yet, though thus soaring through the heights of song,

Most prone to stumble into moral wrong,
She sinned, and suffered, till, her crime forgiven,
By kindred first, was cancelled, too, in heaven.

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110

ROBIN, OR THE LITTLE PREACHER.

ROBIN, OR THE LITTLE PREACHER.

Do you know the Robin, my young friends? Ah, yes,' some of you say; 'we have "The Babes in the Wood also, "Cock Robin's Death and Burial." Certainly we know Robin Red-breast.'

I am very glad to hear that you have these books, as they form a pleasing link of connection between the children of a past generation, and those of the present; but for all that, I am not so sure that you really know the little bird I speak of. It is one thing to know about him, quite another to know himself; and I assure you, he is worth getting acquainted with, this brave little friend of mine, for he has a character of his own.

One thing that I admire so much in Robin is this, that he seems to rise superior to circumstances. I say seems, because we cannot suppose that he does so purposely, as you or I might; because we understand that such is the right way to do, but that this disposition belongs to the nature God has given to the Robin. For the little bird does certainly give us the impression, that he is willing to make the best of things, and take a cheerful view of life.

Long after the Cuckoo and Swallow have found a more genial climate than ours, and when the notes even of the Blackbird and the Thrush are no longer heard in the woods, then is the time of Robin's reign. On any bright autumn or winter day he may be seen hopping blithely across the woodland path, startling the passer by with his unexpected appearance, as he rustles the withered leaves. At such times he takes great pleasure in flying on before one; alighting every now and again on some overhanging spray, and there trilling forth his peculiarly sweet and characteristic little song; darting off when he has finished, but still keeping up; re-appearing when we thought he was lost, and looking back to his human friend with a roguish nod to see if he is being appreciated. And even when winter is at its darkest, and food for Robin at its scarcest, he will shake the snow from his sturdy brown wings, and, making a virtue

of necessity, fly boldly into some dwelling of man, there to eat the crumbs that fall from the children's table. And we don't envy the man or woman who could have the heart to drive him out.

Now, this quiet determination not to be overcome by adversity, but the rather to carry ourselves with cheerfulness, even in untoward circumstances, is surely a disposition of mind that we would do well to aim after, you boys and girls, and we grown up folks too.

There, for example, is a little boy with a face of indolent despair. And why?

Because his sum in arithmetic will not come right; and he has come rather hastily to the conclusion, that there is no use to try any longer, for that multiplication and division must have been invented for the special purpose of tormenting small boys. Remember the Robin, my young friend, and don't give in till you have conquered the difficulty. No brave boy will let the difficulty conquer him.

Just one word of caution here. Robins sometimes fight with one another till both fall down dead; neither will yield. But we should expect that boys and girls know better how to direct their energy. Suppose now, Dick and Harry have been forbidden to venture on the ice, both are alike disappointed; but while Harry cheerfully sets himself to some other work or play, Dick continues to indulge his feeling of disappointment, and grumbles at everything. This mood of mind lays him open to temptation; and we find that when his companions pass by on their way to the loch, he is easily persuaded to join them in direct disobedience to the injunction of his kind guardians; while Harry is able, with perfect good humour, to reply to the taunts of cowardice, and so on. Which is the really brave boy: he who is determined to do the right, or the one that only perseveres in pleasing himself?

I leave you, my young friends, to answer these questions for yourselves, and hasten on to tell you of a lesson we may learn from the Robin, that of faith and trust in a Superior Being. The Robin, more

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