Then trust Him to uphold thee
'Mid the shadows and the gloom;
Be still, and He shall mould thee
For His presence and for Home.

For resurrection-stillness

There is resurrection-power,

And the prayer and praise of trusting
May glorify each hour;

And common days are holy,

And years an Easter-tide,

For those who with the Risen One

In risen life abide !

Then let His true love fold thee,

Keep silence at His word:

Be still, and He shall mould thee,

Oh, rest thee in the Lord.

-Chimes for Daily Service.

THE LORD'S MESSAGE TO HIS CHURCH.

CANT. ii. 13.

THE endearing terms applied by the Lord to His people here is instructive-Rise up, my love, my fair one. He says "love" first. He could not have said "my fair one" unless He had first said "my love." "He loved us and gave Himself for us' first. Then, having washed all our sins away, we became "fair"-we were "accepted in the beloved." We became then as Christ Himself before God. God looks at us in Jesus. And looked at only in Jesus, what other language could He use, sinners though we are, than this, "thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." Precious Jesus! Precious Jesus! What guilty creatures we are! What wondrous love is Thine! Reader, dost thou shrink back and exclaim, “This is too great!" Too great for Him? Away with such narrow-souled, contracted views of thy Saviour and His love! He is a great Saviour, and a great gift becomes Him. Thou wouldst lessen its greatness by thy narrow thoughts of it. Give thy Saviour credit for generosity. Give Him credit for a generous gift, a great gift, worthy of Himself, even salvation

to thee, just as thou art, in all thy sin. This is worthy of Him. If thy thoughts, or thy faith, or thy prayers, or thy deeds could do anything to merit that gift, would not the greatness of it be lessened, and also the generosity of the Giver? What would awaken in the breast of a criminal feelings of devotion and gratitude to his king? A free, undeserved pardon. This would be a generous gift. What if the criminal should say, "It will place me under too great a debt to the king's goodness. I will do something to earn it, so that I shall not feel under so great an obligation?" Would not this be pride? Would not this make the king less a giver, and the criminal more an earner? Would not this lessen the greatness of the king's gift, reduce the idea of his generosity, and make any feelings of gratitude or devotion in the criminal's bosom less intense? Ah, sinner, see in this picture thyself! What a generous gift Christ offers thee-salvation now, just as thou art! What a noble gift! How worthy of Him! How will this waken feelings of devotion and love to Him for such a gift to thee! But what art thou saying? "It is too great, too good, I cannot believe it." Oh, take this generous gift from a generous Giver, and let thy thoughts of Him be great-thoughts of such love, such mercy, such grace, such goodness! Dismiss for ever the dishonouring idea of making yourself more worthy, and thus making it less a gift on God's part to you, and making you more proud in the thought that

you have earned it. Salvation is a great gift worthy of a great Saviour. Take this gift; take it now; take it as a guilty sinner; take it and glorify Him for such wondrous love to thee! Take it, sinner, a great and generous gift from a great and gracious Saviour. Then wilt thou hear His voice to thee, though a sinner, "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." His will be throughout eternity the praise, and thine the rejoicing.

But mark the Lord's exhortation, "Rise up, my "Rise up" love, my fair one, and come away." out of sloth and slumber. "It is high time we should awake out of sleep." "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” "Arise ye, and depart, for this is not your rest; it is polluted." "Rise up" out of sloth and slumber and sleep, and be wakeful, watchful, vigilant. "Rise up" to Him in everything you have to do. Rise daily from self and sin, nearer and nearer to Him. "Onward and upward, heavenward and homeward," be this your motto and your aim through life.

"Jesus I wait." Last words breathed soft and low,
From dying lips grown tremulous and faint..

O great Life-giver, Thou didst surely know

The yearnings of Thy saint.

Waiting a moment only-just a pause,
A hush before the music had begun,
A silence ere the cloudy veil withdraws
And the bright home is won.

"Jesus I wait." Was He not waiting too

With hands outstretched in welcome, and with eyes
Brimful of love to guide His servant through
The gates of Paradise?

O calm safe rest; all sorrows passed away,
Like twilight mists before a risen moon.
O blessed close to life's most weary day.
O peace attained so soon.

Teach us to live, and living wait for Thee,
Redeemer-making life and labour sweet,
Watching and working till our eyes shall see
The face they long to greet.

Our highest earthly bliss to do Thy will,
Our hope, the promise of Thy great reward,
Our effort, all Thy purpose to fulfil

And magnify the Lord.

Teach us to wait-as waits the ripened corn
In golden fulness for the reaper's hand,
Meet for Thy garner when the harvest morn
Dawns o'er the weary land.

And Thou wilt come with radiant angel train,
Lord of the harvest, claiming all Thine own;
Then shall we greet our dearest ones again,
And know as we are known.

Then shall the endless festival begin,
And the long waiting as a dream go past;
For love triumphant over death and sin
Shall reign supreme at last.