to "stan<l sliil <11nd see the salvation of God" (Exod. xiv. 13), or ndmonishe<l that II in quict,oess and confidence should be their strength" (eh. xxx. 16) i thay con not bring themselves to net on the advice tendered. Great minds indeed are comp1mlti\rcly quiet nnd tranquil; b,1t even they are liable upon occasion to bo swept O:wayl hy the ptc- ,·Biling wtwe of excited feeling, and dragged, as it were, from their moorings into o turhid. oc-e.an. And the ntMs of mankind is wholly without calm or stability. It t.rembles, flutters, rushes hither and thither, mistakes activity· for energy, and" fussi- ness" for the power of achicT"ement. 'l'his condition of things results from three we'ak- 1.:essrs in man: 1. His want of patience. 2. His want of confidllnce in himself. 3. His want of confidence in God. , I. MAN's WAlIT OF PATIENCE. Man desires to obtain whatever end he sets himsel£ at once. The boy is impatient to be grown up, the subaltern would at once .be~ general, the clerk a partner, the student a professor of his science. Men "make haste to be rich" (Prov. xxviii. 20), and overshoot the mark, and fall back into poverty. 'l'hey strive to become world-famous when they are mere tyro~, and put forth umbitious writings which only show their ignorance. They fail to recognize .the force· of the proverb, that "everything comes to those who wait." To toil lon~,·to 'pcrsev~re,.to make a small advance day after day-this seems to them~ poor thing, a(!_ ~rsati~factory mode of procedure. They would reach the end per saltum, " by a bound.i', Heii_ce 'tb.eir haste. Too often" most haste is worst speed." "Vaulting ambition doth o'erleap itse~f;, and falls on the other side." · ., . II. M.uts WANT OF CONFIDENCE IN HIMSELF, He who is ~ure of himself cal)-1.dford to wait. He knows that he will succeed in the end; what matters whether a liUle sooner 1>r a little later? But the bulk of meo are not sure of themsel res ; they misdoubt their powers, capacities, perseverance, steadiness, reserve fund of energy. Hence their spass modic efforts, hurried movC>ments, violent agitat-ions, frantic rushilig'B hither and -thither. If they do not gain their end at once, they despair of ever attaining 'it, ·They are con'-' eci:>us of infinite weakness in themselves, and feel that they cannot tell what/a day llla:jr bring forth in the way of defeat and disappointment. They say that it is n~cessa:ry"to, strike while the iron is hot; but their real reason for baste is that they1 question \\'hcthcr their ability to strike will not Lave passed away.if they.delay evfr so litt\e'.: . : . • :,:', III. MAN'B WANT OF OONFIDENCE IN GoD. He wh9, fc'.cls that G:o<L,IB on, his side bas no need to disquiet himseli He will nodear the powers of darkness ; he '!Yill not: be afraid of what flesh can do unto him. But .comparativety few men ,bave,th-ia feeling. Either they put the thoughts of God altogether away from them, or they view hiiil;aS' an enemy, or they misdoubt, at any rate, his sympathy ll'ith themselves. Mo11tly tliey feel that they do not deserve his sympathy. They cannot "·rest in the Lord," and they_ cannot find rest outside of him. Hence they remain in perpetual disturbance and: unrest. Strangely in contrast with man's unquiet is God's, immo~a:ble qalm_ i\nlt unruffled tranquillity .. " Th3 Lord :mid, I will take Ill)'. rest ".(ver. _4). N~ne can really, resist his \\'ill, and hence he has n:o need to trouble h1mself1f res1,stance 1s attempted. "The fierceness of man" wHI always" tum to his praise.n Time is no.object with him who is above time," whose goings hare been from the days of ~te~\ty,'./ (Micah:\', 2}. In silence and calm he accomplishes his everlasting purposes. Himself at rest in the still depths of his unchange~ble nature! it is he alone who can give h!s cre3:tures r_est. As they grow more like to him, they will grow more and more tranqml, until the time comes when they will enter finally into that rest which " remaineth for his people " (Heh. iv. 9).
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ve!'L 1-7.-Homage of Ethiopia to Jdiovah. ,I. Ao1T.A-r10~; IN ETHIOPU. ,:,The oracle opens with a scene full of life. lic,~ls of Egyptian a.u<l ;Ethiopian ,warri~ril:a!e seen like b1nziDa swarms of flies moving to and fro. Messengers.. are speeding 1nJ 11a1 ,yrus boats w :onounce the approac,h of the Assyrians.. .'.the Ethiopians are· ~escribed; as a nation "fall ancl polished," terrible, strong, a,ud all-subduing, whose lan,d:nveracut U,rough. A &ell80,of mystery ann grsat11ess hung. abo,ut this le.od .from the ea,liest times-the land pf ihe source of the Nile, opened up by our.;couDtrywan Speice a11d on. XVIIJ, 1-7.]. 'l1HE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 307