of heart about him. She never ceased to pmy, and yet she never saw any result. She went to the meeting-house quite alone, with this exceµtion, that a dog always went with her, and tlii11 fa.ithfnl animal would curl himself up under the seat, and lie quiet during the service. When she was dead, her husband was still unsaved, bnt doggie went to the meeting-house. His master wondered whatever the faithful animal did at the service. Curiosity made him follow the good creature. The dog led him down the aisle to his dear old mistress's seat. The man sat on the seat, and the dog curled himself up as usual. God guided the minister that day; the Word came with power, and that man wept till he found the Saviour" (Spurgeon). That instance is but one out of many more, all of which go to confirm the blessed lesson of this "Fear not." Let miuisters and teachers, parents, and all who have those dear to them as yet .unsaved, be encouraged to persevere in fervent prayer and believing endeavour on their behalf. "Fear not: believe only, and" thy beloved one '' shall be made whole." And we may each one substitute our own selves for the daughter of Jairus, and read, "thy own soul" shall be made whole. For not 11eldom we are prone to despair about ourselves and to give up the contest. Old sins break out again, old habits reassert themselves, and we seem delivered over to them, and all our prayer and effort. to be of no avaiL "Fear not," says the Lord to all such. Another of these " Fear nots"- IV. DEFIES PERSECUTION. Matt. x. 28,- "Fear not them which kill the body." That entire chapter i<> an armoury of weapons wherewith the war with the world may be successfully waii;ed. Not much of open and violent persecution exists in our day. 'l'he serpent bas Lad it11 fangs drawn, and the mouths of the lions have been shut; but still the enemies_ of Christ know well enough how to inflict much of pain on those who will not take their side, but are faithful to the Lord. Many a working man and working woman who have to mingle in their daily employ with large numbers of others in warehouses, workshops, factories, and the like, can bear witness to the truth of this; and many a boy at school likewise. 'fo all such this " Fear not" of Christ's specially comes. 'l'o be despised by men may be hard, but will i.t not be worse to be rejected of the Lord if you give in to the fear of man? And is not the glad welcome and" Well done" of Christ worth winning, even at the cm,t of a sharp, though short-lived pel800U• tion now? Surely it is. And think how little they can do. 'l'hey cannot touch you. They may mangle and murder your poor body, though they are not likely to go eo far as that; but tbat is not you. And when they have done that, they have no more that they can do. .And how utter has been their failure in the past 1 One would have thought that the Church of Christ must have been extermijlllted long ago, considering what a ceaseless storm of hell's artillery has been beating upon her devoted head. But lo I here the Church of Christ is, invincible in him who himself is invincible. Sa~ the prompter of all persecution, soon tires when he finds that failure follows all he does. " Fear not," therefore; be bold for Christ. Confess him, and he will confess you. This word- V. DxsPBLS ANXIETY ABOUT THE SUPPLY OF EARTHLY WANTS. In Luke :xii. 3Z Christ says, "Fear not, little flock ; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." He had been warning them against troubled, distracting thoughts about temporal provision, bidding them seek first the kingdom of God, and all needful things should be added. And, to uplift them far above such anxiety, he bids them fear not, for the kingdom is to be theirs. And in confirmation of this word, does not observation attest that, as a rule--there are, no doubt, exceptions-the wants of the 68rvants of Christ are, somehow or other, supplied? A good man has written against that verse in tbe psalms which says, "I have been young, and now am old; yet ••• ,wr hi, Mild begging bread "-against this he has written," Then, David, I have." Well, once and again he may have; but the rule is, " all these things" are added unto them. How it is done, whence it comes, or how much, is often a great puzzle. The cupboard may be very bare sometimes, and the cruse very dry ; but supply comes as myswriously but aa surely as the ravens brought to the prophet his daily food. Yes; Obrist makes good his word, and he will, brother, to thee. "Fea.r not," therefore. And let this blessed word serve us as it served St. Paul; for it- VI. SUSTAINS UNDER APPARENT FAILURE, "Fear not," said the Lord to St. Paul; "lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee" (Acts xxvii. 24). It. was the 40 THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. [CB. 1. 1-20.
, time of Paul's shipwreck. There seemed but a step betwixt him and death The ship was going to pieces; there seemed no hope nor help. And this wa-i to be the end, apparently, of his apostolic career-Rome not seen, his work incomplete. But then, by bis angel, the Lord sent to him this " Fear not." Let us be assured all things-all events, circumstances-must work; they do; they can never be quiet. And they must work toii;ether. They seem at times to pull different ways and to lead far apart from one another. But no; they are interlinked and connected one with the other by all manner of associations, so that they must work together, whether they will or no, And they must work together for good, and not evil, to them that love God, Wh,;n the warp and the woof of the fabric are complete, good shall be seen to be the outcome of it all. So was it with all Paul's life and, not least, with this very ship- wreck. And this " Fear not " was sent to tell him that it would be so. Oh, how constantly God is better to us than all our fears! Our worst troubles are those that never come at all, but which we are afraid will come. We often think we are brought to a d(cad halt, but, lo ! as in many a hke and fiord you come up to a promontory or what seems like a wall of rock, at1d lo! there is an opening through which you glide, and there you are with more room than ever. Then "Fear not ; " but cast thy care on God, and he will sustain thee. Apparent failure is not real, and out c,f the darke!li perph,xity he can bring forth light.-S. C.