believe that Christ took away his power, and that in his triumphant resurrection we have the pledge of everlasting life. And the one great lesson taucrht by the Church's history is that God has chosen the weak things of the world to coifound the strong. III. ANOTHER 0AUBE OF GRIEF WAB THE FLEETING CHARACTER OF LIFE. "Vain life which man spencleth as a shadow." But this does not afflict us, who know that the grave is not the end of all things, but the door of a better life. The present exis!ence acquires new value and solemnity when we consider it as the prelude to eternity, the time and place given 11s in which to prepare ourselves for the world to come. We havo his words, "I am the Resurrection and the Life: . . . whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." The sorrows aud trials of the present dwindle into insignificanc, as compared with tho reward we anticipate as in store for us if we are faithful to God. "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. iv. 17, 18). IV. A FINAL 0AUSE OF GRIEF WAB THAT THE FUTURE WAS DARK AND UNKNOWN. "Who can tell a man what Hhall be after him under the sun?" This is still true in many departments of life. The mightiest potentate cannot tell how long the dynasty he has founded, or of which he may be the brightest ornament, will last. The conqueror may be distressed by the thought that the power, to obtain which he has squandered myriads of lives and countless treasures, may soon fade away, and in a short time after his death vanish "like the baseless fabric of a vision." The poet does not know that even the most brilliant of his works will be kept alive in the memories of men, and treasured among the things they will not willingly let die, within a generation or two after he has passed away. The successful merchant, who has built up a colossal fortlllle by the labours of a lifetime, cannot guard against its being dissipated in a very short time by those to whom he leaves it. But the Christian is in no such uncertainty. The cause of his Master he knows will prosper and grow to far vaster proportions in the time to come. The good work he has done will aid in the advancement of the kingdom of God, and no blight of failure will fall upon his efforts; the plans of God in which during his earthly life he co-operated will not be frustrated, and his own personal happiness is for ever secured. All the various causes of despondency by which the Preacher'ij mind was harassed and perplexed vanish before the brighter revelation of God's will given us in the mission and work of Christ. And it is only because we keep in mind that the truth vouchsafed to us was withheld from him, that we can read his words without being depressed by the burden by which his spirit was borne down and saddened. It would only be by our delibarnlely sir,uing against the light we enjoy that we could ever adopt his words as expressing our views of life.-J. W.
EXPOSITION. preoioua ointment. The po.ronomaeia. here OHAPTER vn. is to be remarked, tob shl!m mi11iemen tob. Ver. 1-oh. xii. 8.-Division II. DEnuo- There is a similar assonance in Cant. i. 3, which the German translator reproduces by TIONs FROM THE ABOVE-MENTIONED EXPERI· the sentence," Besser gut Geriicht als Wohl- EN0EB IN THI!: WAY 011' WARNlNGS AND RULES gerueh," or,'' gute Geriiche," nnd which may OF LIFE, perhnps be rendered iu Euglish, "Better is Vere. 1-7.-Section I. Though no man good farnur thnn good flavour." It is a knows for certain what is best, yet there are proverbial saying, running litemlly, Beller is a name than good ail. Shem, "name," is some f)Tactical rules for the conduct of life sometimes used unqunlified to signify a cele- 111l1ich wisdom give8. Some of these Koheleth brated name, good name, reputntion (comp. sets forward in the proverbial form, recom- Gen. xi. 4; Prov. xxii. I). Septuagint, mending II serious, earnest life in preference 'A')'a:9l>v 1'1110µ.<1. l!1r~p ¥11.a:wv il.'Ya:Bov. Vulgato, to one of gaiety and frivolity. Melius est nomcn bonum quam ungue11ta pi·e• tiosa. Odorous unguents were very precious Ver, l,-A good name is better than in tho miud of au Oricnt11l, and formed ono 156 ECCLESIASTES ; OR, THE PREACHER. [oil. vu. 1-29,