ere to become servants in the palace there. The king bows before the authority of the prophet, recognizing his word as the word of Jehovah, and as good. And further he is ~ha~kful for the respite ~nted-for the promife that IX'.nce aud steadf.,st.ness shall ;omain ID his days. The chronicler says that he humbled himself for the pnde of his heart both ~e and the inbabitan~ of Jerusale1;11, sot.hat the w_rath_ of Jehovah came not upo~ them 1_n the ~ays of Hezekiah. _Th_e picture of Hezekiah 1s that of a king who pros- pered ID all bis ~or~s. But_ the incident clearly teaches the dnngcr prosperity brings to character and principle. It 1s bt1t a "bad nurse to virtue; a nurse who is like to starve it in its infancy, and to spoil it in its growth." "The corrupt affection which has Jain dead and ~rozen in t~e midst of_distracting business or under adversity, when the sun of prospenty has sbmed upon 1t, then, like a snake, it presently recovers its former 8lrengtb and venom. When the channels of plenty run high, and every appetite is pl~e<l with abundanc~ and variety,_ so that satisfaction is a mean word to express its enJoyment, then the rnbred corrupt10n of the heart shows itself pampered and insolent, too unruly for discipline and too big for correction. Prosperity, by fomentinu a man's pride, lays a certain train for his ruin; Scripture and experience teach wh~t a spite Providence constantly owes to the proud person. He is the very eyesore of Heaven • :rnd God even lo_oks upon his own supremacy as concerned to abase him. Prosperity attracts the _malice a~1 envy of the world; and it is impossible for a man in a wealthy ~nd flo1:nshrng cond1t1on not to feel the stroke of men's tongues, and of their hands too, 1f occasion serves. Stone.~ are only thrown at the fruit-laden tree. What made the King of Dabylon invade Judrea but the royal stores and treasures displayed and boasted of by Hezekiah before the ambassadors, to the supplanting of his crown and the miserable captivity of his prosperity?" (South). In the day of prosperity consider! Let • Consideration like an angel come, And whip th' offending Adam out of us." J. Ver. 6.-Perishing things. "Nothing shall be left." How true is this of all things of earth, as contrasted with essential being-with the life of our own souls I We cnn look at nothing material without being able to say, as we look to the inner world of persona.I consciousness, "They shall perish, but thou remainest." I. CoMPREaENSIVE LOSS. " N ot.hing shall be left." "A.II that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon." Exactly. There is always a Babylon which itself becomes a ruin. Grecian art is taken to Rome, there to be demolished in the sacking of t.he city. Treasures a.re taken in after years to Paris, there to be lost in flames. How few relics of any time or Dation remain ! and in due course these are lost to the possessors. If this is true on the great scale uf nations, how manifestly true it is of ourselves I Let us look around oo all the present possessions of earth, and remember that, so far as we are concerned, "nothing shall be left." "Thou fool, tbie night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be?" II. bUlORTAL GAIN. The prophet is true in this revelation of loss. So is the apostle true when he says, "All things are yours." All that a man ia remains, and all that a man does in loyal service remains. So there is permanence amid impermanence. 'l'he tabernacle totters, but the tenant lives. "The outward man perieheth, but the inward man is renewed day by day,'.' All that is in thine house is lost, but all that is in thine heart is immortal. It behoves us, therefore, to remember that the true jewels are Roul-jewels; the true ornament is in the bidden man of the heart; the imperishable wealth is in the ~a.nctities of Heaven and the smile of God. "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."-\V. M. S.
Ver. 8.-The best Uessings. "There shall be peace and truth in my days." These are God's twin blessings. 'l'here can be no peace without truth. There is veracity in God's universe everywhere. It is only a seeming blessedness which exists apart from these things, for the flowers have no root. 'J'he da11ciug smile is only like phospho- rescence on the face of the dead, if we are not at peace with God. I. CuaISl"a LEG.A.OY Wil PEACE. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto OH, XXXIX. 1-8.J THE IlOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 61