Holy art Thou, glorious God,

Holy is Thy bright abode,

Holy are the saints, who round Thee Hymn the grace by which they found

Thee;

Holy Father, stoop to make

Sinners such for Jesus' sake!

Rev. John Monsell.

"AND there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring. Men's hearts

failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh. When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole

earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”—St. Luke xxi. 25-36. .

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Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh."-St. Matt. xxv. 13.

For

But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. when they shall say peace and safety: then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. . . . . Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober."-1 Thess. v. 1-6.

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The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things

shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless."-2 St. Peter iii. 10-14.

"Thy Kingdom Come."

There are several ways in which we might consider these words. We might apply them to our own hearts, as our Lord did when He said, "Lo! the Kingdom of God is within you," showing us that He Himself would come and dwell within us, if we prepared a fit dwelling place in our hearts to receive Him.

Or we might think of Christ's command to spread His Kingdom upon earth, by sending the good tidings to the heathen, whether at home or abroad, who are still living in ignorance of His Love. "Go ye and preach the Kingdom of God."

But now we will turn our thoughts to that great Day when the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the Holy Angels with Him, that Day which Christ tells us will be preceded by many signs and wonders, after which the Kingdom of God will be nigh at hand.

Now the reason why I wish to speak to you on this subject is, that in this busy, toiling, hard-working life of ours, it is so difficult to lift up our thoughts to things that are

above.

There is so much to weigh us down.

There is the daily work. "Man goeth

forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening," and during each long day's toil his mind is so much occupied with all he has to do that he can seldom fix his thoughts on higher things.

He may be working in the fields, ploughing or sowing; he may be in a shop, or warehouse; he may be a soldier or a sailor, it matters little, his duty is to follow God's command, to attend to his work, and to do it as well as possible.

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do