these two faithful eouls obeyed enjoined the one aa well as the other. And no hum1\Il life ia co1?ple~ which doee ~ot inc~ude both. thes_e eleme?ta of piety. 1. The. worship of God, rn pnvate prayer, lil family devotion, lil public exercises la a eenous and im1;10rtant part of a good man's experi~nce. 2. And certainly not iees eo ia the regu- lat•~ of~"? by ~ reveakd wi~ of (!od; the wal~ing, day by day, in uprightness and mtegnty, in eobnety and punty, 11 truth and m love. Beautifully complete, fashioned in spiritual symmetry, attractive and influential, is that human lire which is spent in the home of hallowed love, which is bright with the favour of God and man, and which is crowned with the eovereign excellences of piety and virtue.-0. Vel'II. 13-17.-Partmtal am'bitima.. .. What would we give to our beloved? n asks one of our poet& What would we ask for our children if we might have our hearts' desire? When the young father or mother looks down on the little child, and then looke on to the future, what is the parental hope concerning him? What is that which, if it could only be assured, would give "joy and gladness"? The history of our race, the chronicles of our own time, even the observation of our own eyes, give abundant proof that the child may rise to the highest distinction, may wield great power, may secure large wealth, may enjoy many and varied pleasures, and yet be a source of sorrow and disappointment. On the other hand, these same authorities abundantly prove that, if the parent is only true to his convictions and avails himself of the resources that are open to him, there is every reason to expect that hie child will be such an one as to yield to him a pride that is not unholy, a joy that nothing can surpass. Not on the same scale, but after the same manner, every man's child may become what Gabriel told Zacharias his son should be- I. ONE TAKING HIGH RANK WITH Gon. "Great in the sight of the Lord." By faith in Jesus Christ our child may become a" son of God" in a sense not only true but high (see John i. 12). "And if children, then heirs, heirs of God" (Rom. viii. 17). Obedience will ensure the friendship of God (see John xiv. 23; xv. 14). Earnestness will make him & feUow-labourer with God (1 Cor. ii 9 ; 2 Cor. vi. 1). The acceptancB of all Christian privilege will make him a "king and priest unto God" (Rev. L 6). Who can compote how much better it is to be thus "great in the sight of the Lord" than to be honoured and even idolized by men? IL ONE IN WHOM Gon HillSELF DWELLS. "He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost. ff God desires to dwell with and in every one of his human children; and if there be purity of heart and prayerfulness of spirit, he will dwell in them continually ( eh. xi 13 ; John xiv. 17; 1 Cor. iii. 16; vi. 19 ; Rev. iii. 20). IIL ONE THAT IB Ill.A.STER OF HUlBELF. "He shall drink neither wine," etc. By right example and wise discipline any man's child may be trained to control his own appetite&, to regulate hie tastes, to form temperate and pure habits, to wield the worthiest of a.II sceptres-mastery of himselt IV. ONE IN WHOM THE BEST .A.ND NOBLEST LIVES AGAIN. "He shall go in the spirit and power of Elijah." In John the Baptist there lived again the great Prophet Elijah- & man of self-denying habit; of dauntless courage, that feared the face of no man, and that rebuked kings without flinching ; of strong and scathing utterance ; of devoted and heroic life. In any one of our children there may live again that One who "in all things in which John was great and noble, was greater and nobler than he." In the little child who is trained in the truth and led into the love of Christ there may dwell the mind and spirit of the Son of God himself (Rom. viii. 9 ; PhiL ii. 6). V. ONl! THAT LIVES A LIFE OF HOLY usEFULNEBB. What nobler ambition can we ~herish for our children than that, in their sphere, they should do as John did in his -spend tht:ir life in the service of their kind? Like him, they may : 1. Make many a h<,me holier and happier than it would have been. 2. Prepare the way for others to follow with their higher wisdom and larger influence. 3. Be instrumental in turning disobedient hearts from the way of folly to the path of wisdom. 4. Earn the beno• diction of" many ff whom they have blessed (ver. 14). To ensure all this, there muet be: 1. Parental example in righteousness and wisdom. 2. Parental training as well as teaching. 3. Parental intercession.-C,
Vera. at, ,33.-The greatness o/ Juua Chriat. To Mary, ae to Elisabeth, It was fore- C'R, l, 1-80,] TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKK 21