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earnest anxiety that his sons should grow up to be kind, brave, honest, wise men.

When they had gone up to their bedroom, Horace said, 'Let us say our prayers together, Harry, and ask God to make us good boys in Edinburgh.'

Kneeling down together, they said a simple prayer which their mother had taught them; and when they got into bed, had a long, brotherly talk together, so long, that it was not till past twelve o'clock when they fell asleep with their arms round each other's necks.

Alas, that we should so often forget that we must not only pray but watch!

WORKING FOR GOD.

AN ADDRESS.

BY REV. FREDERICK WHITFIELD, A.B., LATE INCUMBENT OF KIRKBY RAVENSWORTH.

AUTHOR OF 'VOICES FROM THE VALLEY,' ETC. ETC.

'Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.'-Eccl. xi. 1.

DEAR CHILDREN,-There is none of you too young to do something for the Saviour. The Lord has given you all a talent to be used for his glory. That talent is possessed by the least child; and if the Saviour's love has been shed abroad in your heart, you will need no other motive to use it for Him. 'He loved us, and gave himself for us.' He left His bright home in the skies, and came down into this sinful world, and submitted to ignominy and suffering and death, and all this because He loved us.' shall we not do something for Him who showed such wondrous love for our guilty souls? If, dear children, the love of Jesus fails to warm our hearts and make us work for Him, then all else will be powerless. Nothing

Oh,

can, nothing ever will move our hearts, if the love of Jesus do not.

And see how solemn our responsibility is! The servant hid his talent in the earth. This was his sin. He did not misuse it; he did not waste it; he did not spend it in doing harm to his master's cause; he did not lay it out for wicked purposes. No. He only did nothing with it! He made no use of what God had given him; and it was because he did not make use of it he was condemned. How very solemn! God has put means in our way. Every day He places opportunities before us. Our sin consists, not in abusing God's gifts, but in not making use of these opportunities. These are His talents, and we neglect to turn them to account. How often we have an opportunity of speaking a word for Christ; how often for correcting some one who is saying something wrong, or doing something wrong; how often for helping some poor distressed servant of the Lord, perhaps hungry and cold and friendless; how often for helping the poor missionary who is labouring among savages in foreign lands to make known to them the love of Christ! Ah! how many of these opportunities God puts in our way every day, and we neglect to use them! Children, be warned! Use your golden opportunities. Use the talents God has given you. Work for Jesus with a heart warmed by His love. Do something every day for Him who has done so much for you. Ask Him for strength and help in your work, and to keep you going on in it. He will help you, make your way plain, and bless you in it.

Then think how the Saviour loves the young ones, and how much He loves their work. Think how very sweet it is to Him to see the young ones loving Him, following Him, and working for Him! Let me show you this from God's holy word. The Lord's great charge against His people of old was, 'Thou hast not brought me the small cattle (or lambs) of thy burnt offerings.' Isa. xliii. 23. And again, The Lord said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin-offering; and unto the children of Israel

thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin-offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year! Lev. ix. 2, 3. And again, 'Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place with a young bullock for a sin-offering.' Lev. xvi. 3. All these young animals were chosen by the Lord, because He delights in the young. He so delights in the young that He selected these as types of His dear Son. Oh, what honour He thus puts upon the young! How greatly His love is slighted when the young are kept back from Him! Thou hast not brought me the small cattle.' 'Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.' 'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.' Children, it is when you are young, when life and health and strength are yours, when your feelings and affections are tender,-it is then the Lord loves to see you loving Him, following Him, serving Him. It is then that you, and all belonging to you, are so sweet and fragrant to Him. It is then your religion sheds around a bright halo, that all see and are influenced by. The influence you exert in after years is not half so great, not half so telling, not half so precious. May the Lord lay these thoughts on your young and tender hearts, and enable you to give yourselves to Him, as 'living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God, through Christ Jesus.'

Now let me make a few remarks as to how you should work for Jesus, from the passage of Scripture at the head of this chapter: 'Cast thy bread on the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.'

This passage is taken from an Eastern figure. In Egypt, as you know, the river Nile overflows the banks for miles round. This is graciously ordered by the Lord, for it is thus that land is always fertile and fruitful, even when there may be famine in all the countries around. You remember this was the case in the days of Abraham, and of Joseph's brethren. When there was a famine desolating the land, they went down into Egypt.' There, in consequence of the fruitfulness of the country from

the overflowing of the Nile, there was always plenty of food. When the river thus overflows the banks, the Egyptians scatter the corn on the surface of the water. When the overflowing tide subsides, the corn sinks into the earth, and produces a fruitful harvest. It is very

uncertain, however. Part of the seed is carried down the stream, or whirled into some rut in the land, or scattered by the spray on to some ledge of the rock. Still, amidst all these casualties, there is certain to be a harvest, and a good one, from that which sinks into the land. It is this that Solomon alludes to in this verse. The overflowing waters on Egypt's banks are like the waves of opportunity that are constantly rising before us as we pass through this world. There are certain seasons when the waves of the Nile rise. It is then the Egyptian must work, or the golden opportunity will soon slip out of his power. So it is with you. There are certain seasons in your history when opportunities come before you. It is then you must scatter the living seed; it is then you must work for Jesus; it is then you must be up and doing, for unless you do, the opportunity will pass away, and, like the slothful Egyptian, the season of harvest will come round, bringing with it no harvest for you. Oh yes, children, the great harvest-time is drawing near! We shall soon be called to stand before God. Shall we reap our harvest

then? Are we sowing the fields now? Are we scattering some seeds on these waves of opportunity for Jesus? or, sad thought, shall we stand there alone, without one sheaf from the harvest-field,-without one ear of corn that has sprung up from the seed we have sown on earth? Oh! let us see to it, children, lest the hour come when we may have to look back with vain regret, and say in tears and sorrow, 'The harvest is past, the summer is ended,' and I am not saved myself, nor have done anything to save others.

But the Lord says to you in this verse, children: 'Cast thy bread upon the waters.' It is bread you must throw on the waters. In other words, that which feeds your

self, you must give to feed others. To speak more plainly still, that which keeps your own soul in life and health, you must give to the souls of others; that which keeps your own body in life and health, you must give to keep alive the bodies of others. To speak then of the first of these, what bread is it that can keep the soul alive? Jesus said, 'I am the living bread which came down from heaven. He that eateth of this bread shall never die.' Jesus then, and Jesus only, is the bread that gives life to the soul, and keeps that life in the soul.

Is

Oh, children! have you yet eaten of this bread? Has the love of Jesus entered your hearts, and made you love Him again? Do you love Jesus? Do you love to speak with Him? to open your young hearts to Him? Christ precious to you? Have you been led by the Spirit of God to feel that, though young, you are sinners? and have you looked to Jesus, and felt that His precious blood has put all your sins away? If not, children, you cannot give that bread to others, for you have not got it yourself. Mark the words, 'Cast THY bread.' You cannot give what you have not got. Oh! get this living bread into your souls, then will you be able to give it to others. Ask the good Spirit to make you love Jesus ; then will you be able to speak of His love to others. Then wilt thou be able to 'cast THY bread upon the waters.'

And also as to the body. How many things feed the body! Bread, money, air, clothing, friends-all these things keep the body in life and strength. So, dear children, 'cast thy bread upon the waters.' Feed the hungry; clothe the naked; help those that are helpless; speak comfort to the afflicted; send money to those who are labouring for Jesus, wherever they may be,-the Missionary Society, the Bible Society, the Orphan House,wherever thy bread' is needed, there go and 'cast' it. How many a poor suffering one, lying almost naked in a garret or cellar, with nothing but a bed of straw beneath them! How many a poor child, whose father and mother have been taken away from them, and they left, uncared

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