strength, that he may honestly earn the hire for which he has undertaken to bear the burden and heat of the day. Now and then he looks wistfully at the lengthening shadows, and notices how far the sun has gone down in the heavens. Most welcome to him will be the hour of rest, and payment; but he does not suffer himself to suspend his work, until the time agreed upon is come.

Thus is man set upon the earth to work the work of God for an appointed season; and thus faithfully should he spend himself, and be spent, in the service of his gracious Maker. He owes to his Maker every faculty of soul and body; and that gracious Being has promised to all who serve Him truly a rich reward when the day of life is over. The reward, indeed, will be of grace and not of debt; for at best we are unprofitable servants, who have done only what it was their duty to do.' And who of us has done even so much?

Let us not waste in folly or in sin the time that is due to God. There is no reason, indeed, why we should not wish for the season of rest, so long as this desire does not make us less diligent in duty. The time for rest will come, when the time for work is over. If we faithfully give ourselves up to our duty where God has placed us, we may with comfort watch the lengthening shadows, and humbly hope, through the merits of our blessed Saviour, that He will own us as His true servants, when the day is come to its close.

Luke xvii. 10.

"And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."-Matt. xviii. 2, 3.-Ps. cxxxi. 2; 1 Cor. xiv. 20; Eph. v. 1; 1 Pet. i. 14.

THOSE who are intrusted with the nurture of a little child, may learn from him lessons as precious as any which it will be their duty and happiness to teach him. The seeds, indeed, of an evil nature are in his heart, even though he has been regenerated in Baptism by God's Holy Spirit; but still he is untainted by the world, and fresh from his Maker's hands; and our blessed Saviour has made him the type of a child of God.

His artless ways, and his ignorance of worldly craft, are a lesson of that simplicity and freedom from guile which should mark a Christian. He

does not desire the first place; but knows himself to be unworthy of notice, except through the condescension and kindness of his elders. He does not thirst for gold or greatness; but loves those who show him kindness, whether they be rich or poor. With real humility he feels his own helplessness and dependence upon others; and never fancies that he can do without their aid. If we see a child venturing, as it were, to stand alone, and trust in his own power; or if we see him already spoilt by affectation, and the love of finery and the world, we say, How little is it childlike! How soon has a withering blast spoilt the freshness of an opening flower!

A little child is trustful and confiding: open, unsuspicious, and forgiving: teachable, and ready to believe. He does not cavil and question. He knows his powers of mind and body to be only in their dawn; and that his place is to be a learner, and to obey. Pure as yet from all grosser pollutions; with a conscience so tender as to be uneasy at sins which too soon are little thought of; with a heart confiding affectionately in those who take care of him, and are kind to him, he is indeed unconsciously a monitor to all who have eyes to see, and hearts to understand. Humility, modesty, and reverence, are ever brought before the minds of those who have to do with little children.

Thus we should know our humble place and feeble faculties; and with modest reverence guide ourselves by every token of the will of our heavenly Father. We should be pure and truthful; open and unsuspicious; ignorant of malice and evil. Knowing how soon the conscience becomes less tender, and how the possession of earthly wisdom is apt to make men cavillers and questioners instead

of meek disciples in the school of Christ, we should watch against any sign of a gradual hardening of the conscience; and while we should indeed be "men in understanding," pray that we may be kept from pride of reason. Should we not also pray for that ready faith in unseen things, and that trustful and affectionate temper, which are so blessed? And, looking with deeper dread on the evils we have sustained from the world, the flesh, and the devil, we should more and more value the gracious promise: "His flesh shall be fresher than a child's he shall return to the days of his youth."

"We all do fade as a leaf."-Isa. lxiv. 6.-See also Ps. xc. 5, 6; Isa. i. 30, xl. 7; James i. 11.

ALREADY the tints of autumn are stealing upon the forest. Here and there we see a falling leaf;

1 Job xxxiii. 25.

and in many which are yet on their branches, the full green of summer is passing into a paler hue.

How gradually does the change come on! We scarcely perceive a difference from day to day: but after the interval of a week it is distinctly seen; and then the breeze of autumn snaps the link by which the shred was joined to its branch, and wafts it to its resting-place under the parent

tree.

And such is the strength of man.

"We all do

fade as a leaf." The freshness of youth soon passes into the maturity of manhood; and thus by gradual but rapid steps, the feebleness of age comes on. Thus is " our strength but labour and sorrow, so soon passeth it away, and we are gone.'

Let it not steal on us unawares; nor let it be said of us, "Gray hairs are on him here and there, yet he knoweth it not." In youth and health let us think on our common frailty, and put away from us "the pride of life;"3 remembering that we must soon return to the dust from whence we came.4

The leaves with which the earth is strewn will know no second spring. Our great Redeemer has won for us a resurrection from the grave. So live, that your hope at last may be full of immortality."

i Ps. xc. 10.

4 Gen. iii. 19.

31 John ii. 16.

2 Hosea vii. 9.

5 Wisdom iii. 4.