of the men of whom thou art afraid: for I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee : because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord."

Now this promise, Edward, was fulfilled in a remarkable manner. For this kind Ethiopian not only escaped unhurt when thousands were falling about him, but he found so much favour in the sight of the king of Babylon, that he appointed him governor of the land of Judah, to take care of the country and of the few poor people who were left in it.

E. Ah, mother, I am very glad that the prophet Jeremiah, and this good Ethiopian, were taken so much care of by God.

M. There is something very encouraging and . delightful, my dear child, in observing the goodness of God to those who serve him sincerely. It teaches us to believe very firmly in the promises which we find in the Word of God, and which we are often allowed to see so exactly fulfilled. There are some verses in one of king David's beautiful Psalms, which I have been thinking of while telling you about Jeremiah and the kind Ethiopian. They are these,"Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come near thy dwelling. Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day, nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, ner for the destruction that wasteth at VOL. III.-L

noon-day; a thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee; only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the ungodly."

We must now turn our thoughts, once more, for a few moments, to the unhappy Jews, whom we have seen, at last, cut off from the favour of the Almighty, torn from their own country, and scattered among strange nations. Let us think, then, again, that we may learn a lesson of true wisdom from their melancholy history; for these sad things happened to the Jews for an example to us, and they are written in the Word of God for a warning to all people. Sin is hateful to God, whosoever it be that practises it, whether Jew or gentile. If he punished the iniquities of his own people, whom he had chosen from among all nations, will he not also punish the rest of mankind, when they walk contrary to him, and hearken not to his holy Word. It is a fearful thing, my child, to fall into the hands of the living God when he is angry. For though so kind, and gracious, and pitiful, to those who love him, and try to please him, yet we are told, in his own Word, that he is a consuming fire to his enemies; and that it is impossible to stand before him when he rises up to judgment. The Jews, you know, found it so when they went on obstinately in their own way; and so shall all who refuse to submit to his holy laws, and to his blessed will.

SIXTIETH SUNDAY EVENING.

THE JEWS IN CAPTIVITY.

E. WHAT part of the Bible are you going to talk to me about to-night, mother?

Have you finished the history of the children of Israel?

M. No, my son; we have by no means done yet with the history of the Israelites, at least with that part of them, those two tribes, I mean, which were called the kingdom of Judah, and are generally known by the name of Jews. Indeed you will find that the history of God's chosen people runs more or less through the whole of the Word of God, through the New Testament as well as the Old, and we, Edward, must not leave it until it has at least led us to Christ; until it has brought us to the time when the blessed Redeemer was come, who was promised, you know, to Abraham, and of whom Jacob spoke on his death-bed, when he said, that Shiloh should come from the tribe of Judah.

But we will go on regularly with the delightful employment in which we have already spent so many happy evenings: let us follow the Jews at once into the strange land where God had allowed them to be carried for a time, as a punishment for their many sins.

E. Oh! mother, I am very glad you are able to

tell me more about the Jews, for I am not tired of hearing of them; I was only afraid that there was nothing more about them in the Bible.

M. You will be pleased, then, when you find that some of the most interesting part of their history is still to be told.

You have heard how Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the princes of Judah and mighty men of valour, to that great kingdom over which he reigned, which was called Babylon: that very Babylon, you know, in the land of Assyria, which was begun by Nimrod in the plains of Shinar, and which was now become one of the greatest kingdoms and cities in all the world. Among these great and honourable captives were found four men, whose names are handed down to us in the Bible, as distinguished even there for their piety and virtue. The prophet Daniel was one of those, and the three others were called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar had desired the chief officers of his household to choose out several of the young Jewish nobles and princes to attend in the king's palace; such among them who were most beautiful in countenance, and skilful in wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding in science, he wished to be chosen, that they might be ornaments to his palace, and that they might be taught the learning and language of the Chaldeans. For Chaldea, which is one of the names very frequently given to the region about Babylon, was a country famous for its learning and wisdom, especially in astronomy,

by which I mean the knowledge of the heavenly bodies.

The officer of the king's household did as he was commanded, and chose from among the children of Judah the young men whom I have mentioned, Daniel and his three companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: and the king appointed them a daily provision. And God gave them great knowledge and wisdom, and brought them into great favour and "tender love" with the chief officer of the king's palace, who had the command over all the other servants of the king, and was himself about the king's person, having the care of the royal chambers. For God followed his people with his mercies, even into captivity, and "made them to be pitied of those who carried them away." The king was greatly pleased with these young Jews who had been chosen for his palace, for when they stood 'before him, and he conversed with them, he found that in all matters of wisdom and understanding, and even in all the learning that was cultivated among the Chaldeans, they were ten times better than all the astrologers and wise men that were in all his realm. Such were the king's feelings towards Daniel and his companions when first they were brought to his palace, but a circumstance soon occurred, which raised them all higher still in the king's favour, especially Daniel./

E. What was that, mother?

M. This part of Daniel's history, my son, will remind you very much of Joseph, with whose story you were so greatly delighted.