them.

Many instances which we have seen in Scripture, and which each day's observation multiplies, shew us that he is a gracious being, and that he will crown the efforts of parents made in faith with a signal blessing.

ARE YOU READY?

A WORD FOR THE YOUNG.

If the question were to be

put to you, Are you ready? most likely the answer would be, Ready for what?

And

a very natural answer too; but as such a question and such an answer would not be likely to do good to either of us, we must see if we cannot mend them both.

In passing through life there are some things that may happen, and some things which must happen; and if it be right to prepare for the first, it must be still more necessary to prepare for the last. Among the things which you must know something of, even if you live only a few years in the world, are sorrow, sickness, and death. Are you ready, then, to endure them? But, perhaps, it will be better to ask you one question at a time.

Are you ready for sorrow? You are at present but a young pilgrim, and no doubt look forward rather to joy than to sorrow; but then the decree is gone forth, "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward." (Job v. 7.) Trouble and sorrow are a part of human life; of childhood as well as of manhood; of youth as well as of age. This being the case, childhood and youth, as well as manhood and age, ought to prepare for them.

Sorrow, sickness, and death, were all brought into the world by sin, and yet God can make blessings of them all; without sorrow and sickness we should never be thankful for joy and health; and death, to God's people, is but the door to everlasting life.

We should ever remember that sorrow is not a thing

that moves about in the world where it pleases: it is in God's hand. We should not look at it, then, as what it is in itself, but as what God pleases to make it Losses, and crosses, and disappointments, and vexations, you must expect, for come they will; but go with a humble spirit to the Father of mercies, and he will give you strength to bear them. Be afraid of sin, but be not afraid of sorrow. Of this we may be sure, that if we love God, God loves us; and so long as he loves us, all the sorrow in the world cannot really hurt us. Sorrow came from sin, and he who can forgive our sins, can turn our sorrow into joy.

Are you ready for sickness? Avoid it you cannot. The tooth-ache, the head-ache, and the heart-ache, are known to almost every one. You have heard of sickness. You have no doubt seen sickness, and most likely you have felt sickness; if not, you may expect it. There is no door so strong as to resist its entrance. It makes the sinewy frame feeble, and pulls down the giant on his back: be not so foolish as to expect to escape it.

The following lines are said to have been written by a young princess, who knew not only what sorrow and sickness were, but also the cure for them both. She knew how to contrast the griefs of earth with the glories of heaven:

"Unthinking, idle, wild, and young,

I laughed, and talked, and danced, and sung,
And proud of health, of freedom vain,
Dreamed not of sorrow, care, or pain;
Concluding, in those hours of glee,
That all the world was made for me:

But when the days of trial came;
When sickness shook this trembling frame;
When folly's gay pursuits were o'er,
And I could dance and sing no more;
It then occurred, how sad 't would be,
Were this world only made for me."

When you can learn a good lesson from either a pauper or a princess, never lose the opportunity. You see by the lines above, that the princess who wrote them, thought this world not worth having of itself-the world that is to come is the only inheritance for a spirit that is to live for ever. "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Matt. xvi. 26.)

Though you are young, you have a soul

The world can never buy;

And, while eternal ages roll,
It will not, cannot die.

But though sickness cannot be avoided, we should not look forward to it with fear. If God has appointed it, he has appointed it for good; for "all things," sickness as well as health, "work together for good to them that love God." (Rom. viii. 28.) And many have found sickness to be a greater blessing to them than health. David says, "Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word." (Psa. cxix. 67.)

As clouds the opening dawn obscure,

As frost attacks the spring;

So youthful health is not secure,

But oft a fading thing.

When we think only of the aches and pains, the sorrow and sighing, the tears and groans of sickness, it seems to be a terrible thing, full of blackness and despair; but this is not the proper way to regard it. We should remember that where we have one hour of sickness, we have at least ten of health; and then it often pleases our heavenly Father to humble us by sickness, and to make us the more sensible of the blessings of health. Sickness shews us that we are in God's hands; and is often blessed by the Holy Spirit as a means of leading us to repent of our sins more deeply, to pray to God more fervently, and to trust in our Saviour Jesus Christ more simply, lovingly, and confidently. Many

now in glory, who have reason enough to thank God for their earthly health, have tenfold reason to praise him for their earthly afflictions.

Have you ever thought of these things, and are you ready for sickness? If so, your prayer will be, that sickness, when it comes, may be made a blessing to you. God can make an hour's sickness a greater good to you than fourscore years of uninterrupted health; and better would it be to languish on a sick bed, having God's presence and blessing, than to wander through the world in health, a stranger to his goodness and his grace. Of this we may be sure, that if we love God, God loves us; and so long as he loves us, all the sickness in the world cannot really hurt us.

Are you ready for death? Let not your youth deceive you, for ten times as many die at four years old as at fourscore; and you began to die as soon as you began to live. As you can escape neither sorrow nor sickness, neither can you hope to escape death, which is the common lot of all. It will be wise, then, to prepare for it.

Your life's a narrow span,

A short uncertain day;

And if you reach the age of man,

It soon will pass away.

"But how," say you, "is a young person to prepare for death?" Surely you have heard before now, that a life of faith in the Son of God, and of holy obedience, is the best preparation for a peaceful and happy death? And you must have read over twenty times the texts of Holy Scripture, "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace." (Psa. xxxvii. 37.) "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." (Rom. xiv. 8.)

One thing is certain, there is no peace to the wicked; and you, with as much reason, may hope to gather grapes

of thorns, and figs of thistles, as hope to see a peaceful and happy death after living a thoughtless and ungodly life. The thing is altogether out of the question; let not others deceive you; and take care that you deceive not yourself in this matter. The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.” (Prov. xiv. 32.) "Oh that they were wise, that they would consider this, that they would consider their latter end." (Deut. xxxii. 29.)

It is not the act of dying that makes death so fearful as it is, but the consequences that follow death. With the fear of everlasting woe, death must indeed be terrible. But look at the other side of the question:

"There's nothing terrible in death
To those who go to heaven."

There is but one way to heaven and to everlasting life, and that way is by faith in Jesus Christ, "who died for our sins, and rose again for our justification." Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts xvi. 31.) Love him, fear him, obey him, and glorify him, and that will be the best preparation for death; for then so certain as you die, so certain will heaven and everlasting life be yours.

We may be sure that if we love God, God loves us; and so long as he loves us, death itself can never hurt us. Let us love God with all our hearts, for then "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. viii. 38, 39.)

Whether, then, it pleases God to send death, sickness, or sorrow, if we feel that he is our Friend, and that he gave his Son to die for us, we shall not be afraid, but rather be ready, happen what will.