"The Lord is my ShepAnd it is said, "They

Jesus. And we shall soon find that in their varied experiences which will help to fill up the picture and to complete the analogy. herd; I shall not want." that trust in the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good." Various earthly sources of gratification they may think they would like, but if the Lord should refuse them, all will be for their good. "All things work together for good to them that love God." And St. Paul again shows us that faithful Christian souls ought never to repine, or complain of their poverty, in the words "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." So then, all that the soul of the believer actually requires shall be supplied out of riches that can never be exhausted through all eternity-the riches of the love of God in Christ. If God does not supply your many cravings for health, try to feel resigned, and believe it is because your soul does not need it. Nay, your sickness may be given to draw you nearer to God. I wish you could feel with regard to it,

"Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee:

E'en though it be a cross

That raiseth me,

Still all my song shall be

'Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee"!"

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Even while you lie upon your bed, while the multitude of your bones may be racked with strong pain, do not forget, whenever you can, to walk a little "through the pleasant fields of the Holy Scriptures." Feed upon the many golden promises you shall meet therein, and rest upon them as upon green pastures." And as you think much of some of them, breathe that beautiful old collect of our Church, "Oh God, who hast prepared for them that love Thee, such good things as pass man's understanding; pour into my heart such love toward Thee, that I, loving Thee above all things, may obtain Thy promises, which exceed all that I can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." Let the promises which in Christ are "yea and amen" to all who seek Him, give your soul both food and repose. Thirst after God, and He shall give you Himself, "the Fountain of Living Waters." Thirst after God, and "the parched ground" of your sickness "shall become a pool." "Waters shall break out for you in the wilderness and streams in the desert." Try to bear patiently in God's strength the ailments of the poor, decaying body. They shall not harass you long. Even though you may be permitted to regain health this time, they will sooner or later return, though perhaps in another form, and not leave you till death comes. And now that I have mentioned the name of death,

let me quote for you one or two precious verses in the Book of the Revelation by St. John, which I will leave with you to think about, that the thoughts of that event may, if God will, have the less power to trouble you. St. John says in 13th and following verses of the seventh chapter of that book, "What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, 'Sir, thou knowest.' 999 And he said unto me, "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in

:

the midst of the throne lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." And if you are fretting now about your sickness and weariness, and fearful of meeting the death that sooner or later will come to us all, unless the Saviour comes for His Church in our own days, and we are privileged to be translated to Him without death, let me shew you some of God's appointed means of restoring your soul. Say, "When I am in heaviness I will think upon God: when my spirit is vexed within

shall feed them, and shall

me I will complain." Think of what is prepared for the redeemed on the other side of the Jordan. Try by prayer to take hold of God's hand, and you shall fear no evil. The rod of chastisement and the Shepherd's staff in His hands shall both give you comfort. If you can believe to the last, your "cup will indeed run over" with blessings. "Goodness and mercy are following you up now: " and you "shall dwell in the house of the Lord above for ever." Oh try and make your own now the utterance of the Evangelical Prophet, even though your sickness

tries you.

you. However the body may be afflicted, let the soul be at rest. "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." And do not forget, that if you can make this your daily, hourly song, you are travelling homeward to your Father's house, where "the sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an Everlasting Light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be "thine Everlasting Light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.”

Prayer.

ОH Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Good Shepherd, who didst give Thy life for Thy sheep, lead home, we pray Thee, safely to Thy heavenly fold, this Thy stricken sheep. Be Thou ever near at hand to guard him from that evil one, who goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Let him not look now for satisfaction from earthly things, or rest upon any earthly hopes. But do Thou call him by name, and commune with him, and grant him grace to hear Thy voice, and to follow Thee. Thou knowest, blessed Lord, all his wanderings, but we beseech Thee, who didst die for the sins of the whole world while yet it lay in wickedness, to pardon these, and henceforth to hold up his goings in Thy paths, that his footsteps slip not. If Thou, Lord, shouldest be extreme to mark what is done amiss, oh Lord, who may abide it? But we praise Thee that there is mercy with Thee, that Thou mayest-be feared. Thou knowest our frame, and rememberest that we are but dust: Thou knowest that we have all gone astray as a sheep that is lost, but we would now return to Thee, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. We are Thine: We are called by Thy Name: Oh Lord, save us.

May it please Thee, oh Lord God, if it be Thy