down first to us. But when? "After Thou hadst Are you desiring? Are you

made it to desire rain."

hungry?

Then you may expect a visit; for He comes to visit, when and wherever there is desire.

:

"Thou greatly enrichest it!"-greatly what a splendid word; so full, so rich, so liberal-" with the river of God." "Oh if thou hadst hearkened unto Me, then had thy peace been as a river!" and whereever the river of God comes there is deep peace, and there is quiet too. There is no noise in Venice, for all the highways are rivers, and there is no tread or turmoil.

Then if the river of God comes in, we shall be flexible; easily and quickly responsive to every motion or wave of the great river on which we rest; we shall be flexible, because God under us is flexible. He "greatly enrichest it." He is so rich, He wants to overflow the breaking, broken soul. Oh friends, LET IN GOD, and let Him carry you out to sea, far out, until you see nothing around you but God! You have known it sometimes, and He is able to carry you out again, if you only yield to Him.

"Thou preparest them corn." You may be sure it is the best kind. He only gives the best. Some farmers are very particular, and will only sow what is called pedigree wheat; that is, seed which can be traced up through many harvests, the best of the best retained each time. He gives the finest of the wheat! Do you know that whatever you get from His hand Is the best? Workers for God, see what you sow, and see that God prepares it!

Though the ridginess has

When it is cast in, there is, perhaps, something wrong, and it does not spring: there is a ridginess and roughness about the ground. Then comes this"Thou waterest." You know in a frost, how the ruts in the ground get settled and hard, you cannot break them down; but God just breathes, and the ground begins to relax, the iron begins to yield, till it becomes so soft and tender that a little child's foot makes an impress upon it. But still all is not right. gone, there is, perhaps, an ill-balanced condition. One sees only one point of truth, and thinks his brother wholly wrong because he cannot see the same. One is a strong Arminian, and another a high Calvinist. What is wanted? "Thou settlest the furrows!" The Harrow must go in; the deep, heavy harrow-tribulum must come and "settle," make even and smooth. When you feel ruffled, or see another ruffled over some disputed point, will you not look up to Him and say, "Settle this furrow, Lord!" Two are having some unpleasantness; neither can arbitrate, and another offers, and it is put in his hands. Will you not let Him "settle?" He is the Prince of Peace; don't take the matter out of His hands it is His work.

"Thou makest it soft with showers." God will send rain; don't be afraid of rain, even though it come in tears. He can use the rain of tears to show forth anew the rainbow of His covenant.

If

Then, "Thou blessest the springing thereof!" He is going to use us as here, and we use this continual "Thou," it will be a wondrous year! And it cannot

but be a glad one, if He does it all. Interleave everything with "Thou." Let Him be so much a part of your life, that at each thing you can look up, and say "Thou!" "Thou!" In all your sowings, all your reapings, all your harvestings this year, let it be "Thou !" And then it must be a prosperous year. No one cares so much for His property as He does; He will take care the springing shall be blest, and you shall say, "Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness!”

We look up and see Thee on Thy Throne. Not one child of thine would then deprive Thee of Thy rainbow! Each can look up, and seeing Thee encircled thus, can say, "My sorrows crowned Him thus!" For it is the light of Thy mercy shining on our tears which has surrounded Thee thus for ever!

eeping Rank."

By E. J. Whately.

THE First Book of Chronicles is often regarded as consisting chiefly in mere catalogues of names and genealogies. But even in these apparently dry and uninviting portions, a diligent Bible student may find golden grains of precious instruction.

This book has been denominated "the Book of Servants and Service;" it is a special record of the persons employed in the service of God, and of the king who was His delegate, in the temple, in ordinary work, in sacred. song, and in war. In all these, service for God and the king was held to be honourable; even the potters, and. those whose labour was among plants and hedges, "dwelt with the King for His work" (1 Chron. iv. 23).

The Service of Song was carried on principally by the descendants of the faithful children of the rebellious Korah—those sons who, we are expressly told, “died not" with him in the wilderness, having, probably, refused to share in his insurrection, and whose family were afterwards honoured by having first, the prophet Samuel as a descendant, and then, Heman and the other sweet singers, who composed, or habitually performed, the beautiful Psalms which come between the xli. and xlix.

But our object just now is to call attention to those who belonged to David's army, who are enumerated particularly in ch. xii. of 1 Chronicles. In the 33rd and 38th verses we find a remarkable expression occurring twice-those "who could keep rank;" that is, march in order, or as we should say in modern parlance, "were thoroughly drilled." In our day this orderliness in soldiers depends entirely on the discipline and training bestowed on each regiment or body of men ; but in those early times what we call "drill," depended mainly on the qualities and character of each individual soldier. Now in the passage before us, the "keeping rank" is in both verses distinctly referred to such a cause; they were able to do so because they were not of "double heart." And again, in the 38th verse, "all these men of war that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron."

For both these passages, then, we have the power of keeping rank or marching in order connected with being of a "perfect heart," or "not of double heart." The expression, a "perfect heart," occurs in many passages in the historical books of the Bible, and the context shows that it did not mean moral perfection, but singleness of aim, thoroughness and straightforward devotedness to God's cause, or that of their king as God's delegate.

Again, a "double heart" (margin, "a heart and a

heart,") evidently means, as St. James says of the "doubleminded man," not a deceitful or treacherous heart, but one "unstable in all his ways," uncertain, wavering, or what we should now call half-hearted.

Now in those days of independent warfare, we can easily see that such a wavering and doubtful mind would be likely to produce the effect of not keeping the order of battle. A man whose mind was not fully made up to do and hazard all for his king, would march less steadily and keep his place less resolutely, and be more easily driven back, than one who came resolved to "dare and do all," in the words of the old Scottish chief.

Is not this something like what often happens with us Christians who desire to work for our God and King? We often hear complaints made of the want of order, purpose, and steadiness, in Christian work. Some new charitable or missionary agency is set on foot; recruits press forward, eager to help by money or by labour; promises are made with enthusiasm, and, for a time, all goes on actively; but in a little while one friend after another drops off; the interest flags; some lose heart, because the success is not as rapid and as complete as they expected; others grow weary of continuous work, and at last the whole burden is left on one or two over-taxed workers, who must carry it on as best they can, with scanty support, and more scanty sympathy.

Again, how often a really good work is seriously injured by the slovenly and inaccurate way in which it is carried on by those who really imagine they are doing a great deal. The district meeting or committee irregularly attended; members staying away for the most trifling causes; the accounts either not kept at all, or kept in a loose, careless, incorrect way; reports of work given inaccurately, and punctuality and order in details neglected.