July 28

1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.

2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shall thou do six days.

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpetts of rams' horns, and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blest with the rams' horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

6 ¶ And Joshua the son of Nan called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD.

7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.

8 ¶ And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.

9 ¶ And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rearward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout, then shall ye shout

11 So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once, and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.

13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets; and the armed men went before them; but the rearward came after the ark of the LORD, the

priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did six days.

15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times; only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.

This chapter gives us the taking of Jericho, one of those very cities, "great and walled up to heaven," which had discouraged the heart of the people forty years before. The Lord Himself arranged the plan of the capture, and in it, I believe, gave us a sample of the "fight of faith." The people of Israel had no weapons of warfare with which to meet their enemies, nor any battering rams for those mighty walls. They had nothing but their God and their faith. Their part was simply to march and to shout. The Lord's part was to make the walls fall down, and to conquer their enemies. Now, it is clear that we have our Jerichos to take as truly as Joshua and the children of Israel had theirs. There is the conquest of ourselves; the conquest of the world for Christ; the overthrow of all the powers of infidelity and wickedness, wherever they manifest themselves. "Our sufficiency is of God;" therefore we are confident. Real faith never relies upon the arm of flesh, no matter how strong, but upon the "arm of the Lord." The Israelites received a command to go and take Jericho, and they went. They went round once, but not a brick fell. They went round a second time, and a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth time, and still all the bricks were there, firmly cemented, and the walls stood. Nevertheless, the Israelites held in their hands the promise, and they felt it in their hearts, and they went round the last time and the walls fell. The walls of our Jerichos will not fall, until by faith we are ready to shout at the word of the Lord. God gives the victory to a victorious, shouting faith.

Closet Promise.—We may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.—Heb. xiii. 6.

O for the spirit which is content with nothing less nor lower than the highest help. To turn in temptation directly to the power of God; to cry out in sorrow for God's company; to be satisfied in doubt with nothing short of the assurance that God gives; to know that there is no real escape from sin except in being made holy by God's holiness—these are what make

22 a man's complete salvation. It is your privilege and mine, as children of God, to be satisfied with no help but the help of the Highest.—Phillips Brooks.

THE CHILDREN'S CORNER.

Breakfast Motto.—He careth for you.—1 Pet. v. 7.

Weckly Proverb.—Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.—English.

DAILY BIBLE READING.—SCENES IN THE LIFE OF JOSEPH.

Sunday.—His Coat of Many Colors.—Gen. xxxvii. 1-11.

Monday.—Sold into Egypt.—Gen. xxxvii. 12-36.

Tuesday.—The Secret of His Success.—Gen. xxxix. 1-6.

Wednesday.—He is Cast into Prison. Gen. xxxix. 21-23; xl. 1-23.

Thursday.—Pharaoh's Two Dreams.—Gen. xli. 1-36.

Friday.—Joseph Exalted.—Gen. xli. 37-57.

Saturday.—The Unknown Brother.—Gen. xlii. 1-38.

WHAT TO COVET.

I must not turn with envious eyes, On aught that others may possess; Or wish, whatever God denies, To make their sins of blessings less.

Is there, then, nought beneath, above, That I may covet to possess?

Yes, there's the Saviour's boundless love, With which He waits my soul to bless!

To me, this treasure, Lord, impart; Thy pardoning grace, oh! let me prove; Write Thou Thy Laws upon my heart, And make me covet all Thy Love! —Selected.

Your brother.—Gen. xlv. 4

Dear children, how nice it is for brothers and sisters to be loving toward each other! A little boy seeing two nestling birds pecking at each other, inquired of his elder brother what they were doing. "They are quarrelling," was the answer. "No," replied the child, "that cannot be: they are brothers." Do you, my little friends, quarrel, when you are playing? I will give you a good rule to stop quarrels: "Always let the angry person have the quarrel to himself." That will soon stop it. Let me tell you about two loving children. A brother and sister loved one another very much. He was the older, and was taken ill, and died. They laid him out on his own little bed; and the mother took his little sister to look at him. As she stood looking at his sweet face, as white and cold as marble, she wept very much. At last she said, "Mother, may I take hold of his hand?" Mother did not like to let her, it was so cold; but, after a little time, she placed it in hers; when the dear child, lifting it up, and stroking it gently, said, "This little hand never struck me!" Wasn't that beautiful, children? May you so act toward each other, that you can each say the same.

RELIGIOUS LIFE.

Home should be made intensely religious. We may display the best traits of character in the family; we may be content with the refined and innocent enjoyments of the household; yet without religion the family will be as a splendidly furnished parlor on a midwinter's day without fire to cheer and comfort. There is nothing which adds more to the brightness and educating power of a home than a family altar. There ought to be at least a fragment of holy time in every twenty-four hours; a few moments of meditation on divine things; a suggestion of the holy and the infinite; and an established family altar helps to suggest these divine things.

J. G. Holland thus writes of the religious hour in the home of his boyhood days: "The hour of evening has come, the lamps are lighted, and a good man in middle life—though very old he seems to me—takes down the well-worn Bible, and reads a chapter from its hallowed pages. A sweet woman sits at his side, with my sleepy head upon her knee, and brothers and sisters are grouped reverently around. I do not understand the words, but I have been told that they are the words of God, and I believe it. The long chapter ends, and then we all kneel down, and the good man prays. I fall asleep with my head in the chair, and the next morning remember nothing of the way in which I went to bed. After breakfast the Bible is taken down, and the good man prays again; and again and again is the worship repeated through all the days of the many golden years. The pleasant converse of the fireside, the simple songs of home, the words of encouragement as I bend over my school-tasks, the kiss as I lie down to rest, the patient bearing with the freaks of my restless nature, the gentle counsel mingled with reproofs and approvals, the sympathy that meets and assuages every sorrow and sweetens every little success—all these return to me amid the responsibilities which press upon me now, and I feel as if I had once lived in heaven, and, straying, had lost my way."

George Herbert, among his "Charms and Knots," has these quaint lines:

Who goes to bed and doth not pray, Makeb two nights to every day.

Not only should there be family prayer, but individual private prayer. Here is a beautiful form, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, entitled, "The Child's Evening Prayer:"

Ere on my bed my limbs I lay, God grant me grace my prayers to say! O God, preserve my mother dear In health and strength for many a year, And oh, preserve my father too, And may I pay him sev rence due; And may I my best thoughts employ To be my parents' hope and joy!

My sisters and my brothers both From evil guard, and save from sloth, And may we always love each other, Our friends, our father, and our mother! And still, O Lord, to me impart A contrite, pure, and grateful heart, That after my last sleep I may Awake to Thy eternal day. Amen.

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THIRTY-FIRST WEEK.

PEARL TEXT.—And a man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest.—Isa. xxxii. 2.

I know His sheltering wings of love Are always o'er me spread, And though the storms may fiercely rage,

All calm and free from dread, My peaceful spirit ever sings, "I'll trust the covert of Thy wings." —Mrs. T. Small.

It is the peculiar business of Faith's eye to see in the dark.—Toplady.

Lest the gloom should appall us, God braids the cloud with sunshine.—Bonar.

Unclasp the ivy from the elm, and it is prostrate at once. Thank God, if He keeps us realizing, amidst the busiest work, and the pleasantest success, that we have no power at all of ourselves to help ourselves! Then there will be nothing to hinder His "continual help." As long as we say quite unreservedly, "My help cometh from the Lord," the help will come.—F. R. Havergal.

HELPS FOR THE DEVOTIONAL HOUR.