ready or unready, and we must all rise again. God is now giving you warning that you cannot hope to live when all else must die; pray to Him to soften your heart, and bring you daily nearer to Him, so that you may have a happy resurrection and a glorious reward in the kingdom of Heaven.

SICKNESS A TIME FOR THOUGHT AND PRAYER.

I

T is a great trouble to anyone to be sick, but it is often none the less a blessing; for sickness is one of the ways God takes of showing us that we are His, and that we are unable to resist His power at any time, and of teaching us such patience and obedience to His will as we might never learn if we were always left in the midst of a world of labour and trouble. And it is in this light that you should try to look upon your present feeble condition, for it is a sign of God's love and mercy to you; it is a sign that He has not left you to yourself, but wishes to bring you nearer to Him. Illness is a messenger from God, to remind us that we are not meant to remain in this world, but that there is something beyond better and more worthy of our attention. God is the best friend we-any of us-have, and it is for the good of our souls that He separates

us from the world, and shuts us up by ourselves, and brings pain upon us-that He may convince us of our sins, and show us that the pleasures of this world are not all we have to live for. God is now giving you time to think, and if you once begin to think seriously of your life, you will soon be convinced that you have done many things to offend Him, for which, if you had been cut off in the midst of your days by some sudden accident, you would have been called to account at His judgment-seat. But He has not cut you off suddenly, and He would have you repent of all that you have done wrong before you go hence. Think of all our Blessed Saviour endured-His cross and shame-and all to save such sinners as you, for if you do think of these things you will learn to feel it a great favour from God that you are permitted to suffer too, because in suffering you are made like Him. Take your sickness as God's medicine for your soul: you do not reject any kind of medicine which will do your body good, and why should you care less for your soul? All the medicine in the world will not preserve your body here for long; but your soul must live for ever, and therefore it is well worth your while to do all you can to heal that. Examine, then, into your state before God, and repent earnestly of your sins, and above all pray. The Lord Jesus bids us pray without ceasing, for we cannot hope for God's

blessing unless we ask for it. He says, "Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

Pray, then, continually; tell your Heavenly Father all your sins, and all that you want, for He is merciful unto all that call upon Him; His ears are ever open to our prayers, and if we serve Him truly as long as we live, He will, after this life, take us to the mansions in Heaven which He has prepared for us, where there will be no more sickness or poverty or trouble, but joy and peace and glory for all eternity.

SICKNESS A FOREWARNING OF

DEATH.

EATH is the certain end of all mankind;

Dit a

it may be a longer or a shorter time in coming, but it never passes over anyone; everyone in turn has to meet it, and after death comes judgment. In death itself there is nothing terrible pain may go before it, but from all earthly pains and sorrows it brings relief and rest; the true cause of terror is the prospect which is opened after death. Most men find it disagreeable to think of that prospect, and especially as it concerns themselves; they feel uneasy at the thought that sentence must be passed on them,

as well as on all the rest of mankind; and some are so foolish as to try to forget it, in the hope that, when it comes, they will escape the reward of their evil deeds, and be admitted to the joys of Heaven without having made any real attempt to deserve them. And if uneasy thoughts arise, as they will sometimes arise, however much we may try to put them from us, too often men try to drown them in the cares of the world, instead of boldly facing the truth as they ought, and plainly asking themselves the question, " If death calls me to-day, am I ready for the Judgment?" Everyone knows that death is coming; everyone knows that he will be called to account; and God might fairly leave us to our fate, and we could not call Him a hard Master if, after He has told us the truth so plainly as we find it written in Holy Scripture, He gave us no further warnings. But "He willeth not the death" eternal of any single sinner: He desires that all should be sorry for their sins, and ask His pardon and live for ever; and it is in mercy that He sends us sickness, in order to warn us that these bodies, which He can so easily lay useless on a bed of pain, He can as easily lay useless, for ever in this world, in the grave.

It is no pleasure for our Heavenly Father to see us in pain or distress; He is very far from delighting in the sufferings of His creatures; but He deals with us in all things as may be best for

us without asking whether we like it or not. And we should remember-He wishes us to remember that the length of this life is nothing. at all as compared with the length of Eternity; the life beyond the grave will never end, and if we had to give up our whole happiness here in order to secure happiness THERE, we ought to think that we had got such priceless blessings for very little. But, indeed, it is seldom that the lives, even of those who suffer most severely are all miserable, seldom that there are not some pleasant events, or some happy moments, for them; and those few pleasures and moments of happiness are meant, no doubt, to remind them how great will be the happiness of that life where there is no crying, or tears, or sorrow, or pain. And then if all else seem dark and gloomy, if no hand of help be stretched forth to aid the sufferer, if no friend be near to smooth his pillow; at least there is always hope-hope of rest and glory for all who cry to the Lord out of the midst of their trouble; and however long He may permit us to suffer, God never forgets us: the hour of release will come, and then they who have borne their troubles patiently, as the Saviour bore His trials, will receive their reward. We should then be thankful when God sends us warnings of the approach of death-we should be grateful that He does not allow us to spend our lives, without warning, in enjoyments and disregard of the