sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel. And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (Chap. xvii. 17-26.)

We leave the narrative here, to make a few observations.

How wonderful are God's ways, in often choos

ing the lowest and the weakest to fill the highest place. David the shepherd was the one whom He chose to fill the throne of Israel. He raised him from the sheepfold, to set him among princes.

This is an encouragement to us. It may not be the Lord's will to set us upon thrones. But He may make us great in usefulness, and raise us up to do great things for His name's sake. This is better and higher, than being among the great ones of the earth.

But we are taught here, how different are God's ways to man's ways.

Samuel would have chosen Eliab or Shammah. They were fine and noble-looking men. But God had chosen David, though but a youth. He looks not at the out ward appearance. He looks at the heart.

Here we are taught to keep the heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. God searcheth the heart. Let the heart be right with Him, and all will be well.

We are taught by David's example to be willing to be what the Lord would have us to be, and to go whither the Lord would have us to go. It was no trouble to him to rise; but it was also no hardship to him to descend. He entered the court of Saul with confidence; and he returned to his shepherd's tent without a murmur.

Let us only seek to know what the Lord would

have us to do; let us pursue the path with zeal, faith, and humility; and then we shall be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN THE EAST. DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,

I purpose commencing the new year with talking to you about other things connected with Bible history-Bible lands-and Bible characters. We have been examining the country of Palestine, and visited the cities. We have looked into the present state of those places, which were once great and mighty. We must now consider more of what relates to the people -their manners and customs. We must seek to compare what we find among them now, with what is said concerning them in the Word of God.

There is one thing which always strikes a person going from Europe to the East, and that is the difference between our dress, and that of the people of those lands. We know how strange it appears to see a Turk, or a Persian, or a native Indian walking in our own streets; and I need hardly say, that it is strange to them to see us, dressed as we are, walking or journeying in their countries.

We may believe that there has been far greater change in Europe in the matter of dress. than we should find in the East. Although even there, there is a curious variety; yet when we see the pictures of our ancestors, and see how they dressed in different times and ages, we soon learn how fickle are the people of Europe in the matter of dress.

There ought to be always some feelings of sorrow when we think of these things. Dress was first used to hide the shame of our sin. (Gen. iii.) It is therefore shocking to think of the way in which so many people use it in vain and foolish show, and of the money which they spend on it, which might so far better be given for the Lord's work.

It is in Genesis that we have the account of the first use of dress. Adam and Eve were unclothed. But when they disobeyed God and sinned, they felt their shame, and made aprons of the fig-leaves which they gathered from the garden of Eden.

When the Lord God discovered their sin, and their vain attempt to hide it from His all-seeing eye, He made for them coats of skins, with which they were clothed. There was something very remarkable in this. The animals must have been slain, in order to obtain these skins. We may

suppose that in doing this, a sacrifice had been offered on account of the sin of which Adam and Eve had been guilty. And the blood of the innocent lamb thus shed, would have pointed to that blood which "cleanseth us from all sin." And not only so; when God told them to cast away their aprons of fig-leaves, He shewed how we are to put aside the filthy garments of our own so-called righteousness. And He taught also in the clothing of the skins, how there was a garment prepared and complete for us, worked out by the righteousness of the Son of God.

The list of garments given to us in the Word of God, is not very great. After these coats of skins, we have mention made of cloaks, mantles,

shirts, breeches, girdles, bonnets, and sandals. The women seemed to have a greater number; and we have an account of this given in the third chapter of the book of Isaiah. Among the things spoken of there, are many which we should find it difficult to explain: such as the cauls-the round tires like the moon—the sweet balls—the mufflers, or spangled ornaments—and the tablets, or houses of the soul. I shall, however, have reason to point out, as we go on with the subject, that there are some things which are still worn by the women in the East, which may be like those of which mention is here made.

There seems no doubt that the first kind of garment used, was merely one which was wrapped around the loins. If we go to savage nations in our own day, we shall find many of them so dressed. But as men began to think more about these things, this garment became larger and longer. This may have increased until it reached from the neck even to the ankles.

This is the most common dress which is now used among the Jews of the Holy Land. It is a long garment, which reaches from the neck to below the knees. It is open at the bosom, and around the waist is a coarse sash for binding it together. This is the dress worn by the common labourers, by the shepherds, and by others in the same rank of life. And it would appear, that had we lived in the time of Abraham, we should have found that the greater part of the people were dressed in this way.

This loose dress not only serves for clothing, but the people make use of it for carrying things of small size. A man will put thus into his