ing over us men, or going to and fro to do His bidding; and so, also, those who leave this earth, and are permitted to enter that glorious place of peace and joy-they too do His will, it is there their only duty, as it is their greatest pleasure, to be allowed to serve Him; and if we hope one day to be received into everlasting rest and happiness in some of the many mansions of that bright place, surely we must fit ourselves for such an abode, by doing the will of God here even as it is done in Heaven. For how can we hope to find happiness in doing God's will in Heaven, if it be only a burden to us here? how can we hope that God will ever suffer us to reach the reward of righteousness, if we will not labour for that reward? And why, indeed, should we be weary of well-doing? God's service is not a slavery: He asks of us nothing more than we can give; the youngest of us are only called upon to keep the promises made for them in their baptism, and to love and serve Him all their lives; and the oldest ought to rejoice that they can make some return for the many blessings they enjoy, and show their thankfulness for the number of years they have been permitted to live, and the long time which has been given them in which to repent of the sins of lives past and to prepare for eternity. All of us, whatever be our ages or ranks in life, have countless mercies to be thankful for: He has made us, He has kept us safely

to this day, He has given us friends; and above all He has sent His Only-begotten Son to die on the Cross for our sins; and we all owe Him a debt of thankfulness which the love and devotion of our whole lives could never repay, so that there is not one of us who has a right to say he has done enough for God; but least of all have those a right to be weary or slack in His service who have been spared until they have reached old age. They must feel that earth and earthly things are slowly but surely slipping out of their hands; they have many warnings that the time of their departure is drawing near; they know that now is the time for making their peace with God, if ever they would do so.

If you are conscious that your life has not been spent in God's service; if you feel (as who does not?) that you have often been ungrateful to your Heavenly Father, and that you have by no means served Him as you ought; now, while He still spares you, or never, is the time for you to ask His pardon for your sins, and to give yourself up wholly to love Him, to pray to Him, and to praise Him, as long as He lets you remain on earth.

If, however, you have tried all your life through to do His will, now is no time for you to stop, now you should rather pray more earnestly, and praise Him more heartily than you have ever done, and beseech Him of His great goodness,

when He takes you away, to take you into His

rest.

Do you, then, try to make what remains of your life useful in this manner: let nothing take off your attention from the care of your soul-it ought to be the chief care of us all, but you who are not far off the end ought to make it your only care, let others say or do as they will; it should be your motto, as it was the motto of Joshua of old, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

T

ENFORCED IDLENESS.

`HIS world is, for most people, a stirring, bustling place. There is a continual struggle going on in it for honour, and money, and land, and even for the bare means of life: there is no rest from work, and travelling, and buying and selling; people may be living in misery, or dying in pain and want in all directions, but the busy world must go on: such events are little able to stop its course even for a moment, or to take away the attention of more than a few at once from the pursuit of their business or their pleasures. It is like the flood of some great river, which whirls along and dashes together everything it reaches, and will not be stopped by anything which can

be thrown in its way. We see all around us that the strong, those whom God has blessed with health, or riches, or power, get the better, while the weak are compelled to give way and fall behind; and those who are not strong enough to fight and struggle, but yet are able to keep their places, keep them only by continual care and anxiety, and have little ease or peace from year's end to year's end. Now, though we enter this scene of stir and bustle by the will of God, and not of our own accord, yet there is a danger that we may become too much interested in it— that we may learn to live in the midst of it, as if it were all we have to live for, and so forget the care of our souls. Our Heavenly Father knows that we are in this danger, and it is in mercy that he sends us sickness at times, to take us, as it were, out of the world-to remind us that this world is not our home, and, as it often is, to give us a quiet time for thought, for repentance, and for prayer. Now a time of sickness must generally be a time of weariness: it must seem tiresome to anyone to be obliged to remain still while work is going on around, and not be able to take any part in it; but if God has ordered it, it must be good, and if it be properly used, it is far more truly profitable than any earthly labour. The duty, then, of all who, by age, or sickness, or any other infirmity, are kept away from the busier paths of life, is not to mourn over their

lot, or complain of their troubles, but to make use of the quiet time God is giving them for the good of their souls. Many, indeed, there are who might be thankful for such a quiet time, who are held fast in the hurry and anxiety of the world, and long for a short space for rest and thought; but it is not granted to all, and they who have it should use it with all thankfulness, searching into all the thoughts, words, and deeds of their whole lives, and asking pardon for their many sins past, and the grace of God to enable them to do better for the future. If the sick make this use of their sickness it is indeed a blessing to them; it leads away their love from the world and worldly things, and makes them see that the love of God and the happiness of Heaven are all that is really worth their care. You should try to look on it in this light; the worst affliction you can endure here is but light, if it be compared with the priceless glory which is to be made known to the blessed ones in Heaven; the severest pains are nothing to be compared with the anguish both of body and soul which our Lord Jesus Christ suffered in order to save us from Hell. Think of the agonies He bore for you, and think of the terrors of "the worm which dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched," from which His love has saved you if you will accept salvation; and while you think of these things, thank God that you are permitted to suffer, if your suffering may be a means of