By the Lake of Galilee there is rising ground, situated near several villages on the borders of the lake, where it is believed the Lord Jesus spoke those wonderful words which are called "The Sermon on the Mount."

Travellers who have been to this spot tell us that the rising, rocky ground, which is called "The Horns of Hattin," would be a most convenient place for any one who was speaking to large numbers of people. And it is here, it is thought, our Lord, "seeing the multitudes" who had followed Him from the villages beneath the mountain, spoke to them of the blessings which they might possess if they kept His words; and explained to them the duties which were laid upon those who loved Him, and the blessings in store for them.

In an earthly school, the children are told of the prizes which will be given for earnest endeavour; and each one on entering the school is able to read the list of these rewards, and the conditions which are attached to them.

We all understand more or less of this earthly competition—this great endeavour to do our best, to see some result of our hard work, to have the joy of receiving a prize or of earning the approbation of the master who helps us to the attainment of our ideal.

This is in an earthly school—now we are going to turn to the heavenly side of life.

So when our Lord Jesus Christ, from that rocky eminence raised above the multitude, spoke to them and said—

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven—"

It seems to me that there is hidden in His words a Promise; and also a Way made plain, to obtain the Prize.

So the first "Blessed" is:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit"; and the promise is: "For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

"The poor in spirit" does not mean a weak man, but one who knows how likely he is to fail, and therefore does not trust in himself or his pride, but looks up into God's face, instead of into his own faulty doings.

In a little country town in the West of England, about a hundred years ago, there lived a man who was spoken of as "half-witted." He was a general favourite; but if, at any time, he was twitted by the boys, or good-humouredly questioned by older people, his invariable answer was—

"I'm a poor Sinner, and nothing at all;
But Jesus Christ is my All-in-All."

Whatever else he had missed, he had learned the blessedness of being "poor in spirit," and his reward has been, for many a long day, an entrance into "the Kingdom of Heaven."

"Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, Whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

And now comes the Second "Blessed."

"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."

Ah! It is a sad thing to mourn! We know something about that in these sorrowful days. To lose the one whom we have loved so tenderly! To lose that which we have prized above any other earthly joy, and to know that it can never come back to us here!

And yet our Lord says: "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."

So the weary, sorrowful heart must turn to Jesus! "He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds." "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you." In Jesus is infinite comfort, if we will go to Him.

The Third "Blessed."

"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."

"Now the man Moses was very meek." He was so ready to be taught, and to do God's Will, that "the Lord spoke to him face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend."

"The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His Way," we read in the twenty-fifth Psalm, and this was true of Moses; and in after years, he was allowed to come down from the glory of Heaven to talk with the Lord Jesus before His Crucifixion.

As to this "meekness," we often find in life that it is not to the ones who strive and struggle to get their own way that the blessing comes, but to those who in meekness wait patiently for the Lord; for He, Himself, was meek and lowly in heart, and He will give rest to our souls if we learn of Him.

The Fourth "Blessed."

"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

If we turn to Jesus as the Bread of Life, and ask Him to fill us with the Water of Life, we shall find that "He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."

The Fifth "Blessed."

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."

Oh, let us pray for a merciful heart! To be generous to those in fault; to be kind to those who wrong us; to cultivate a fellow-feeling for all the suffering there is in the world, and to endeavour to do our little part in trying to alleviate it.

"The Lord God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in mercy."

[II. The Sermon on the Mount]

HOW TO LIVE II

The Sixth "Blessed."

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."

"What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? . . ."

"These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the Throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His Temple: and He that sitteth on the Throne shall dwell among them . . . and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

The Seventh "Blessed."

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."

St. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children."

It is only as we strive day by day to remember to be loving and peaceful, that we shall attain to the honour of being called a "Peacemaker."

The Eighth "Blessed."

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

Let us think of the long Roll of Martyrs who have given their lives for Christ's sake! This blessedness can only be known, and the Prize obtained, by firm faith in God!

Those who have esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of the world have already entered into the recompense of the reward.

CHRIST ADDRESSING THE MULTITUDES.

They had seen the promises of God afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

And this country is a heavenly one, and God is not ashamed to be called their God, and He has prepared for them a city. Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven!

The Ninth "Blessed."

"Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake."

"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

These troubles of His followers, which Jesus our Lord mentions, are all summed up in the words "for My sake."

And here, it seems to me, is a key which will open the prison doors of many a trial.

Our Lord tells us that whosoever will come after Him must take up his cross and follow Him.

"For My sake!" He says to us so tenderly.

"Take My yoke upon you," He says again.

And what was His yoke? It was doing the Heavenly Father's Will. Bearing that heavy, bitter Cross to redeem the world which God loved so much that He gave His Son. Leaving His glory in Heaven for thirty-three years, that He might show us how much the Father loved us, and to encourage us to work and bear for His sake.

"God, for Christ's sake," has forgiven us: and if in this world there comes to us reproach of suffering, "for His sake," shall we not meet it joyfully and patiently, remembering the words of this last Beatitude, "Great is your reward in Heaven"?

If there was one man more than another who was persecuted for Christ's sake, it was the Apostle Paul. Have you ever read the list of his sufferings?

"In labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in death oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

"Besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the Churches."

And then, in another letter, he says "I can do all things through Christ, Which strengtheneth me."

All things! Then there is not a temptation, or a sorrow, or a disappointment, or a task, that is not included in that "all things" which the strength of Christ will enable us to do, and bear.

The Last Beatitude.

The last Beatitude—which means blessed—ends up with the word Rejoice!

Those who follow and serve Jesus Christ here, have the present possession of exceeding joy; and as they follow Him, He leads them into the Exceeding Joy of the Great Reward in Heaven!

[III. The Sermon on the Mount]

HOW TO PRAY, AND TO LOOK UP

Our Blessed Lord had many things to teach those who listened to Him so eagerly.

You will find numbers of beautiful and suggestive lessons in the fifth to the seventh chapters of Matthew.

But I have not space to tell you a quarter of them; yet one thing seems to stand out before me as so wonderful, and so important, that I must on no account leave it out.

It is called:

The Lord's Prayer.

Our Lord Jesus explains to us that it is "after this manner" that we should pray; and I have known people who have found great blessing and great help in using this beautiful prayer, slowly and thoughtfully, each morning.

It is of no use just to say the words quickly, and think nothing about them! That is what our Lord calls "using vain repetitions, as the heathen do."

But to pray each separate petition slowly and reverently will surely bring you great blessing.

"Our Father, which art in Heaven." Pause to think of His love and His majesty.
"Hallowed be Thy Name." Ask to be enabled to honour Him all the day.
"Thy Kingdom come." Ask to be helped to press forward that Kingdom, and to be ready for the Lord Jesus to come back.
"Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven." Ask that we may do that Will with all our hearts!
"Give us this day our daily bread." Ask Him to send us our food, and to feed us also with heavenly Food: His love, His help, His grace.
"And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." Ask for pardon for ourselves, and a loving forgiving spirit towards other people.
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Ask that Jesus may be close to us in every trial, and conquer Satan for us, when he tries to make us fall.
"For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, for ever. Amen." God is our King, we are His subjects; He has all power, so that we can rely on His help; He has all glory, and will share it with us by and by, if we will yield ourselves to Him and obey Him. And this will be for ever and ever!

When the Lord Jesus had finished telling the disciples about praying, He went on to explain to them some of the beautiful things which they would find around them which would help them to trust in the Heavenly Father's love.

He said to them in words like these:

"Do not be anxious about what you will have to eat another day—look at the birds which fly round you! Are they anxious? They do not sow any seed; they do not reap the fields, and gather the grain into storehouses—yet your Father feeds them. Are not you of more value than they are?

"Do you make yourself grow? Can you make yourself taller? Is it not God Who does that for you?

"Think of—consider—the lilies of the field," He says, "how they grow! They do not work, they do not spin, and yet King Solomon, in all his glory, was not dressed like one of these lilies. So, if God clothes them like that, how much more will He give you clothes to wear!"

That is how the Lord spoke to those men and women and children who listened to Him on the mountain.

I was given a bunch of flowers the other day. I sat down at the table, and just thought of all this.

Could I make one of those? Think of the root, and the earth to grow it in! Think of the stalk, with its tiny little pipes and channels! Think of leaves all alike, and all on that plant getting nourished from the root. Consider the flowers—so white, so exquisitely made; each little flower a perfect bell. And then the scent—consider the scent of those lilies, which was exactly the same scent fifty years ago, and no other flower has exactly the same smell.

I "considered" it all, as our Lord had said, and I bowed my head and worshipped Him, Who liveth for ever and ever!

So if at any time a doubt or a faithless fear should enter your heart, just get a daisy, or a buttercup, or a blade of grass, and sit down and think Who made it; and trust Him better.

David says, in the eighth Psalm, "When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?"

Then our Lord goes on to say, in words like these: "Do not be anxious about what you will have to eat or drink, or what you are going to wear, for your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things."

I have seen so many instances of God's love and care, both in my own life, and in that of other people!

There was a bed-ridden woman who was very poor. The district nurse said to her one morning, "My dear, we want a new bed-jacket, I think."

And the dear old invalid looked up brightly in answer: "My Heavenly Father will send me one, just when He thinks it is the right time," she said confidently.

And He did send her, two days after, a beautiful warm jacket!

She had sought the Kingdom of God first, and He had added to her "all her need."

[IV. The Sermon on the Mount]

HOW TO PRAY, AND ENTER IN

Here is a wonderful encouragement and a wonderful promise.

As our Lord proceeded with the Sermon on that Mount, and as He looked into the anxious, eager faces of the multitude around Him, He revealed to them some of the deepest needs of our hearts.

His words are very simple, and the youngest child can understand a little about them.

"Ask," He says.

If a father or a mother says, "Ask me when you next see me," the child is quite sure he will get his request!

Years ago, when I was quite a little girl, a favourite aunt tried to teach us all this lesson. When the grandchildren went to stay at that dear country house, they were told that on a Saturday they could ask their aunt for a "Saturday penny." She wanted to impress upon our minds that God loved us to ask for what He had promised! So as surely as we asked, however many there were of us, she gave what she had promised.

And, though that is seventy years ago, you see I have not forgotten it!

Well! Our Lord says "Ask." That shows that He knows we have some want in our hearts that we hardly are conscious of.

What is the need that hides down below everything else? It is forgiveness—to be assured that our sins are washed away.

People, however, try a number of remedies first.

They think "they will turn over a new leaf."

They think they will strive more earnestly to improve.

They make endless resolutions.

But all these remedies fall short of the need. They do not go down to the root of the disease.

Suddenly we find the remembrance of some sin flashes into our thoughts and makes us miserable; or there is a defilement in our lives which we cannot get rid of by any of the means within our reach!

What then?

The words of Jesus Christ on the Mount, given so long ago, but of living power to-day, are—

"Ask! Ask of God." He seems to say, "Ask, and you shall receive!" Go to God for forgiveness. Ask Him to wash you clean and white in "the Blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanseth from all sin," and then you will be at peace, and life will be a different thing to you.

Then our Lord goes on to say, "Seek, and ye shall find."

A woman who loses a piece of silver sweeps diligently till she finds it! A merchant seeking goodly pearls sells all he possesses to obtain Pearl of Great Price!

And then comes the third thought and the third promise.

"Knock!" Do not just go to the door of God's storehouse of blessings and give a careless knock, and then turn away without even expecting an answer!

You see a boy delivering circulars down your road. He knocks and then runs on, and does not trouble himself further.

But there comes a needy man to one door. He has been told to come at any hour on any day, and he knocks.

There is no immediate answer. Shall he turn away? His need is so great that he knocks again. And still the answer is delayed.

"He told me to come," murmured the man. "He told me to knock at his door!"

So he goes on knocking; and by and by the master, who is alone in the house, comes to the door, and with words of welcome, he bids the needy man enter.

And inside the master's house there is a storehouse of blessings! More than the needy man can ask or think.

And the master showers warmth, and love, and food, and riches upon him, so that he goes on his way with every want supplied, and with promises of an endless supply.

How to enter in.

The answer comes back to us, like sweet chimes from afar, in our Lord's own words—

"I am the Door: by Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved."

And Jesus shows us what to do and what to avoid, if we want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

He says: "Enter ye in at the Strait Gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth unto destruction, and many there be which go in thereat because strait is the Gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find it."

The Broad Way, looking so easy and attractive at first, is the way of sin, and leads downwards to destruction. The gate is wide open, and so tempting.

The Narrow Way leads upwards, to Everlasting Life.

The entrance to it is narrow and strait, and the path needs courage and perseverance to walk in it bravely; but at the end there are "pleasures for evermore," and no more pain or sorrow or death, but Eternal Life! St. Paul says "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day."

Shall we not accept Him Who is Himself the Way? He is the Way, all along the path, let it be smooth or rough. He is the Truth, and will never deceive us. He is the Life, and in Jesus Christ it is reserved in Heaven for us.

[V. The Last Supper]

The Jewish Feast of the Passover drew near, and our dear Lord sent two of His disciples to prepare for it. He told them they were to go to a certain house in Jerusalem and they would find an upper room furnished; and there they were to make ready to eat the Passover, as all other Jewish men did at this season.

It will help us very much to understand this last supper of our Lord and Saviour if we go back and recall the circumstances of the first Passover supper fourteen hundred years before.

We read in the 12th of Exodus: "It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord, for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the Children of Israel in their generations."

You may remember that the children of Jacob had gone from Canaan into Egypt to buy food in a time of famine.

There they found their brother Joseph, whom they had sold as a slave, who now was the greatest lord in Pharaoh's kingdom.

Joseph was very kind to his brothers, and Pharaoh welcomed them and their father Jacob to stay in the land, and be nourished there.

But by and by there arose a king who did not remember Joseph, and he began to put burdens on these Children of Israel the Pharaohs, one after another, making them into slaves, till at last their bondage was so cruel that they turned to the Lord their God, and cried to Him to deliver them.

He raised up Moses; and at length there came a night—that wonderful night—when the whole multitude of the Children of Israel were delivered right out of Egypt!

God told Moses that on this night He was going to send a destroying angel through the land of Egypt, and that the firstborn of all the Egyptians and of every living thing was to be destroyed, as a great judgment.

But God had provided "a way of escape" for the Children of Israel.

He told them to take a lamb for each of their households, and to kill it and roast it and eat it that night in all their houses.

God told them that when they killed that lamb they were to save its blood in a basin, and take a bunch of hyssop and sprinkle that blood upon the lintel and on the side-posts of their doors; and He promised that if they did this, He would not allow the destroying angel to come near that house, and they would be perfectly safe. God said, "When I see the blood I will pass over you."

And this was why it was called "The Pass-over."

THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.

So during that night there was a dreadful cry in the land of Egypt, for in every house, where the blood had not been sprinkled, there was one lying dead!

The Egyptians were so terrified that they thrust out the Children of Israel—they and all their little ones escaped right out of the land of Egypt for ever! And this is why, the night before our Lord was crucified for us—the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the world—He gathered His twelve disciples together, and sat down to eat that Feast with them in the upper room.

Jesus told them that, with great desire, He had desired to eat this Passover with them. He knew that to-morrow He would die.

And as they were eating, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and told them that one of them would betray Him.

Close to His side, leaning on His bosom, was the disciple whom Jesus loved; and Peter beckoned to him to ask the Lord who it would be who should betray Him?

So John, lying on Jesus' breast, whispered, "Who is it, Lord?" And Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I give a sop when I have dipped it." And he gave the sop to Judas Iscariot.

And as they were eating, Jesus "took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them saying, 'This is My Body, which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me.' Likewise also the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new testament in My Blood, which is shed for you.'"

St. Paul says, "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the Feast."

And from that Last Supper before His death, till now, nearly for two thousand years, in one unbroken chain, week by week, those who love Christ have partaken of this Holy Feast, in remembrance of Him, till He shall come back again.

The Holy Supper was over. Judas had left them to go and betray his Master, and was gone out into the darkness. In that wonderful conversation, as Jesus talked with them for the last time, He told them many things, which they understood more clearly afterwards. He told them that He would not leave them comfortless, but would come to them; He told them that He was going to prepare a place for all who loved Him, in the many mansions of His Father's house.

All His words were full of glory and comfort.

And then they sang a hymn together—Jesus and His disciples—and after that they went into the Mount of Olives, where the Easter Passover moon was shining among the sombre trees; and there it was that Judas found Him, and betrayed Him to the multitude.

[VI. Peter Denies His Lord; and the Risen Saviour Forgives]

The time had come at length for our Lord Jesus Christ to go to the death which He had come to bear for us.

He had told His disciples that He would be betrayed, and given into the hands of the Jews; and that now all the prophecies in the Old Testament about Himself were going to be fulfilled.

The disciples had listened, but they could not believe that such dreadful things would really happen to Him.

On the very night that He was betrayed by Judas, the Lord told them that all of them would be offended because of Him that night; and would forsake Him, but that after He was risen from the grave, He would go before them into Galilee, where they should see Him again.

Then Peter answered: "Though all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended!"

Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice."

Still, Peter, confident in himself, and confident in his love for his Master, said that he would rather die with Him than deny Him! And so they all said.

But Peter had to find out, by bitter experience, that he was weak in himself; for when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss in Gethsemane, and when the soldiers from the High Priest seized Him and too Him bound to Jerusalem, all the disciples forsook Him and fled!

PETER DENIES HIS LORD.

Peter, however, followed Him afar off, right into the High Priest's palace; but the servants round the fire in the hall charged him with being one of the disciples, and their raillery, and the accusations of a maid, were Satan's wiles to cause Peter, to stumble and fall: and so he denied all knowledge of Jesus, with oaths and curses.

And at that moment the cock crew; and Peter remembered what Jesus had said: and horrified at what he had done, he hurried to the door; and as he went, the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. And he went out and wept bitterly.

Poor sorrowful Peter! Ah, no one can fathom what he went through that night, and the next awful day of the Crucifixion: and the two following days, when the Lord's Body lay in the grave, and Peter recalled with agony that he had forsaken Him when He needed his love most! We can only picture it to ourselves; but it must have been truly dreadful.

At length came the third day, when Jesus had told the disciples He would rise from the dead.

Their hearts were so heavy with grief, and so slow to take in what our Lord had so constantly told them, that they did not expect, when they visited the grave on that third day, to find it empty!

The women with their loving hearts were the first to reach the spot, carrying sweet spices to anoint their Lord!

They had expected to find His dearly loved Body lying in the grave—dead. Instead, they found the grave empty and a Vision of Angels!

They were so frightened that they were hurrying away, but the Angel who was sitting within the empty tomb told them not to be frightened, for though they sought Jesus of Nazareth Who was crucified, yet He was not there, for He was risen!

And then the Angel gave them this message from God: "Go tell His disciples, and Peter, that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you."

Why was that separate message sent to Peter?

Oh, the graciousness of the forgiveness of Jesus! Peter had said "he was not one of them," meaning not one of His disciples. And it may be, that if the Angel's message had only been "Go, tell His disciples," that Peter would have been utterly hopeless.

But the sorrowing man had a message all to himself!

Ah, what that must have meant to Peter!

And we have another sweet assurance of the forgiving love of our God and Saviour.

We read, in the last chapter of Luke, that those two whom Jesus had met going to Emmaus after His Resurrection, had hurried back to Jerusalem to tell the eleven that they had seen the Lord; and were greeted with the joyful news which the other disciples had also heard—that "the Lord was risen indeed, and had appeared to Simon Peter!"

We have no account of what Jesus said to Peter, nor what Peter said to Jesus.

But the fact is full of deepest comfort to all of us who so often grieve Him, that, in spite of Peter's sad denial, his risen Lord appeared to him, forgave him his sin, and restored him to his place among the others.

Thenceforward Peter became one of the most faithful of Christ's disciples; and when he preached that wonderful sermon at Pentecost, a few weeks afterwards, God gave him the honour of bringing three thousand souls to love and believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, Who was dead, but is alive again!

Many years afterwards, St. Paul mentions the name of Peter among the list of those who saw the Lord after His Resurrection. He calls him "Cephas;" but if you turn to the first chapter of St. John's Gospel, you will see that our Lord, when He makes Simon the son of Jonas one of His disciples, calls him Cephas, which means "a stone," or Peter; and I have read that Cephas means "a piece of Rock," and The Rock Itself—is Christ!

[VII. "Father's Plan"]

Now I want you to picture to yourselves an earthly father gathering his children around him before he took a journey.

He told them he would only be away a month, and at the end of that time it would be holiday time, and they could all prepare for a visit to the seaside.

He bade them get everything packed up; and he said he had engaged a house at a certain place, and had arranged with an experienced boatman to be at their service all day long.

He had hired a pony carriage for their mother, and everything was all ready when he should come home.

You can imagine how delighted the children were, and how they talked of nothing else but "Father's plan" for the whole month.

But did all this ever happen?

No; not one of these "plans" came to pass.

The cloud of war came that summer, and darkened all the bright prospect.

That visit to the seaside never came off. Instead, their father was detained in a foreign country for months and months; the lodgings were shut up, for the coast was in danger; the boatmen had to join the Navy; the holidays came, indeed, but an epidemic at the school spoilt all plans for many months, and the children had to learn, and so had the dear mother and father, what bitter disappointment means. And yet nothing seemed more certain than "Father's plan."

But there is One Whose Throne is above the highest Heavens; and when He plans, there is no mistake; no war can hinder it; no illness nor misfortune can prevent the carrying out of what He purposes.

In chapter xlvi, of Isaiah we read what God says about this, and it is a very solemn verse—

"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure . . . I have purposed it, I will also do it."

When we look into our Bibles, and begin to think about the things which God has told people beforehand, and which have come to pass, we are amazed to find how many there are, and how wonderful are the fulfilments.

THE PROPHECY IN EDEN.
Gen. iii. 15.—Gal. iv. 4.

The first Prophecy, and with it a great Promise, was given by God in the Garden of Eden.

When Adam and Eve were disobedient, and were tempted by Satan to eat the forbidden fruit, God could not let them stay in that beautiful garden any longer, but He told Adam he must go and dig the ground. And God told Satan that he would be like a Serpent always, and eat dust; and then God gave this promise to Eve, that her Seed—that meant one of her children's children, long after, should bruise the head of the Serpent who had deceived her.

And this came true four thousand years after!

God sent His Son; and it was through the death of Jesus on the Cross that He destroyed the power of Satan; for those who turn to Jesus Christ for Salvation have Everlasting Life given them.

PROPHECY OF THE FLOOD.
Gen. vi. 17.—1 Peter iii. 20.

In the two thousand years after that promise in the Garden of Eden, there came to be a great many people on the earth, but most of them were very wicked, and at last God said that He would destroy the wicked people by a great Flood, in one hundred and twenty years.

But there was one man who loved God, and his name was Noah.

So God told Noah He was going to send a Flood, and He instructed him to prepare an Ark, so that he and his family should be saved from the Flood.

But though it was such a long time that the Ark was being built, and God was very long-suffering, at last the day came when He told Noah to come into the Ark with his wife and children, and to take two, and in some cases seven pairs, of every living creature into the Ark with him.

Then "the Lord shut them in" safely, and the rain began, and never ceased till even the highest mountains were covered right up.

Thus the Word of the Lord, spoken one hundred and twenty years before, was fulfilled.

At length the rain stopped and the waters began to go down, and at last the Lord told Noah to come out of the Ark. So he and his family and all the living creatures came out; and Noah built an Altar, and the Lord accepted his sacrifice.

Then God gave a beautiful Promise and a beautiful Prophecy, and of both we see the constant fulfilment now.

The Promise was, that He would never send a Flood again: and the Prophecy was—"While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."

And then God gave them the Token of His Promise, in putting His rainbow in the cloud whenever there is rain and the sun shines at the same time.

God said He would look upon the rainbow and remember His covenant not to send another Flood; and when we turn our eyes to that beautiful coloured arch above us, we can say reverently: "God is looking on that bow too."

The rain reminds us of the Flood; but the sunshine reminds us of God's love: and the rainbow itself reminds us that in that great love He gave His beloved Son. He is our rainbow of Promise.

[VIII. Prophecy of the Jews: A Separate People]

Numb. xxiii. 9.—Rom. ix. 4, 5.

I have heard children say carelessly:

"Oh, that is only an old Jew!"

And when my children were little, I used to tell them that we should love the Jews, and be kind to them, and pray for them. For they are God's own dear people, and our Lord Jesus Christ was a Jew, when He came to earth and took our human nature.

It is true that the Jews are scattered all over the world now for their unbelief and disobedience; but by and by, God tells us, they will be gathered in their sows land, and Jesus will reign over them as King of kings, and Lord of lords.

In Numbers xxiii. 9 we find a prophecy about the Jews. Balaam prophesied: "The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations."

God separated them in various ways to be His own people. He promised to go with them; and He also gave them certain laws which they were to keep. They were not permitted to marry outside their own nation; they were only allowed to use certain animals for food, and the animals must be killed in a certain way, so that the blood was poured out. They were forbidden to worship idols, or to follow the practices of the nations round them.

They were to keep one a day week holy, and they were to go up to Jerusalem once a year to keep the Passover.

These rules kept them separate from all other peoples, and as long as they obeyed God they were abundantly prosperous.

Thus the prophecy spoken by Balaam so long ago, about the Jews being a people apart by themselves, is fulfilled to the very letter to-day.

PROPHECY OF DELIVERANCE FROM EGYPT.
Gen. l. 24.—Josh. xxiv. 32.

Once when God was talking to Abraham, and promising to give the Land of Canaan to his children, He told him that they should be strangers in a land which was not theirs for four hundred years, and should be afflicted by those among whom they dwelt; but "also the nation whom they shall serve will I judge," said God, "and afterwards shall they come out with great substance."

The Children of Israel, who are now called the Jews, travelled from Canaan into Egypt to their brother Joseph, because, of the great famine, and lived in Egypt for four hundred and twenty years.

But when Joseph came to die, he called his brothers to his side and uttered this prophecy: "I die; and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." And Joseph took an oath of his brothers, saying: "God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence."

So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten years, and they embalmed and put him in a coffin in Egypt.

But when the time came for the children of Israel to be delivered from Egypt, as they escaped from their cruel task-masters, in all their hurry and confusion, Moses remembered to take the bones of Joseph with him; and as the Children of Israel wandered in the Wilderness, they bore that coffin with them, till at last they reached the land of Canaan which God had promised to give them. Here Joshua, who led the people after Moses' death, buried the bones of Joseph in Shechem, in a piece of ground which Jacob had bought before he was carried down into Egypt at the time of the famine.

Thus the prophecy uttered hundreds of years before was fulfilled to the very letter.

PROPHECY OF THE CAPTIVITY.
Jer. xxv. 12.—Dan. i. 1-3.—Ezra i. 1-6.

Many years had passed away, during which the Children of Israel had been governed by judges, and by the kings of Judah and Israel; but gradually the people got slack; they forgot the Lord that brought them out of the land of Egypt, and forsook His commandments and fell into idolatry and dreadful sin.

At length God told the Prophet Jeremiah that the sins of the people were so great that He must send Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, to carry them away captives, and that they would serve him for seventy years, while the land of Canaan should be a desolation, and enjoy her Sabbaths.

We read in the first chapters of Daniel about this captivity.

Meanwhile God was very pitiful to His people whom He had had to punish, and He sent them this message through Jeremiah:—

"For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you, and perform My good work toward you, in causing you to return to this place."

Be not afraid

BE NOT AFRAID