So Peter, without hesitating, placed his foot on the waters, confidently believing that he should be able to walk on them. And he was not mistaken: he found them as safe as you find the ground on which you tread. But, as I told you, the waves were roaring, and the wind blowing fearfully; and Peter had not proceeded far, before he began to feel alarmed.

He looked up to the dark clouds above, and on the deep waters below, and each wave as it approached seemed as if it would break over his head and drown him. He no longer trusted to the power of his Master, and, then, for the first time, he felt himself sinking.

While he had fixed his eye in humble trust on the Lord, he had walked in safety on those very waves which now he so much dreaded; but having withdrawn his steady gaze from his Master, whose power alone was able to save him, he was permitted to begin to sink, as a reproof for his want of trust.

Peter was now indeed terrified; and he cried out in agony, ‘Lord, save me!' That cry of distress was enough. Peter had been allowed to sink, only to teach him to depend on his Savior: now he did so, and that Savior's arm was instantly outstretched to save. He caught him, saying, 'Oh thou of little faith! wherefore didst thou doubt?'

Peter's Master, my dear children, is your Master also: and if you love him with any degree of Peter's affection, you too will be anxious to go to Him. Not indeed in the way Peter did, by walking on the waters, but by walking through the troubles, storms, and dangers of this life with faith and hope, and by approaching God through Him with humble prayer..

He bids you come unto Him, as He did Peter. You will not let your Redeemer call on you to come in vain! You will, I hope, listen to Him, and trust in His word, and then, even if danger surrounds you on every side, you need not fear. If you feel yourself, sinking, that is, going to be sinful, say to your heavenly Father, "Lord, save me," and He will hear and help you.

Our Savior having saved his sinking disciple, entered the boat with him, and immediately the wind ceased, the waves sank down, and there was a perfect calm, and they found themselves at the end of their voyage without any further trouble.

And thus it is that, after the greatest worldly pain and danger, the grace of God will restore peace and quiet to your hearts, and will prosper and perfect all your undertak-ings.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN.

ONE day when our Savior was teaching his disciples, a great crowd gathered round Him, in order that they might also hear his instructions. Among the rest, a certain lawyer came to Jesus, who was anxious to know whether He was really as wise and great as the people supposed, and for this purpose he wished to question Him.

Accordingly he approached our Savior, and asked Him first, as the question of the greatest importance, ‘Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Our Savior, in reply, asked him to repeat what was written in the law on that subject. The lawyer said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thyself.'

So our Savior told him he had answered right, and that if he would do this, he should have eternal life. However, the lawyer, pretending he did not quite understand the last command, begged our Savior to tell him who was his neighbor whom he was to love as well as himself; so, in com

pliance with this request, our Savior told him this parable or story:

There was a certain man who was journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho, which was another city of Judea. The road he was obliged to travel lay through a kind of desert or wilderness, and was exceedingly dangerous. It was so infested by thieves, that it was known by the name of the 'bloody way,' on account of the many dreadful murders and robberies which had been committed there.

The traveller had not proceeded far on his journey, when a band of these robbers rushed out, and seized him. He could not defend himself, so they treated him most cruelly, stripped him, wounded him, and at last left him lying half dead by the side of the road.

Now, while he was lying in this miserable condition, a priest who was travelling the same road arrived at the spot; but though he was particularly bound by his sacred profession to acts of mercy and kindness, yet he did not wish to trouble himself so far as to assist the poor man : he therefore crossed the road, and continued his journey on the other side.

Soon after, a Levite, another of his countrymen, approached the place, and on observing some one lying by the side of the road, he stopped for a moment and looked on the