commanded the Wise-men to be brought before him, and made all manner of enquiries about the object of their journey, and the appearance of the star, and ended by telling them to go to Bethlehem, and search every where for the young child; and when they found him, he desired they would return, to acquaint him, as he also intended to go and worship him: but all this was mere pretence; for, in reality, Herod only wished to know where he was, in order that he might cause him to be murdered, and so prevent his being King of the Jews.

The Wise-men, deceived by Herod's pretended desire to do honour to the young Prince, if he should be discovered, proceeded on the road to Bethlehem. They had but just got out of Jerusalem, when, to their great

joy, they saw the very same star which they had seen in the east, again before them in the sky; for God, who was pleased with their pious intention, did not leave them to wander about without a guide in that strange country, but sent the star to cheer and guide them on their way.

And we, too, have a star to cheer and guide us on our journey through life; which ought also to be a journey in search of our Saviour, for that Saviour declares himself to be "The

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bright and Morning Star ;" and promises, if we will follow him, to lead us to that holy land where we shall not pay him a short visit only, but live with him for ever and ever.

So, the Wise-men followed the star till it stopped, and appeared to settle, over a particular house. They entered

the house, and found that the star had indeed led them into the presence of Him whom they sought; for they stood before their infant Redeemer!

With reverence they opened their treasures, and presented the gifts they had brought, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worshipped the Holy Child.

And now, having paid their homage, they prepared to return to tell Herod that they had found the young Prince: but God warned them in a dream not to go back to Jerusalem, as Herod only wanted to kill the young child: so they returned to their own country another way.

When Herod heard of their departure from Judea without having been to tell him of their success, he was filled with rage, and had the wickedness and cruelty to order every little

boy under two years old to be put to death, in hopes the young Prince might be among the number; but God watched over the safety of His Son, and warned. Joseph to escape with the child and his mother Mary into the land of Egypt; this journey, which is commonly called the Flight into Egypt, Jesus and His parents safely performed, and they remained there till the death of the tyrant Herod, which happened not long afterwards, and then they returned to Judea and lived at Nazareth.

Observe, my dear children, how these good men undertook a long and wearisome journey to worship an unknown Saviour: now you are not required to do so; you are not asked to leave your home, and your friends, to worship your Saviour. You may worship him without leaving your

country, or your family; and yet this easy service, how do you perform it?

When you kneel down morning and night, do you remember that God is present, and do you know and really wish for what you are asking? I am afraid you often say your prayers without doing this, because you are hurried and careless, and if so God will not listen to you. Always think before you begin what a solemn thing you are about to do, and then try to feel every word you say, or your prayers will do you no good.

When you go to church, do you make your offerings of praise and thanksgiving, with respect and reverence, as the Wise-men did? or do you only go there to look about you, to see people's dress, or to go to sleep?

Little children cannot perhaps be