November 28

8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.

9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.

12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee;

they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt foreth the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.

16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is no one, and their tongue fableth for thirst, I the LORD will bear them, I the God of Israel will not I make them.

18 I will open rivers in high places, and tree; I will set in the desert, be it tree, and the fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will pine, and the box tree together: make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. 19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shutah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil 20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it

It is as true now as it was in Isaiah's time, that those whom God has chosen have nothing to fear. "For I am with thee." That is the reason why they should not be afraid. God is their protector, and of whom shall they be afraid? "If God be for us, who can be against us?" What higher consolation can man desire than the assurance that He is with him to protect him?

"Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (verse 14). Before we can do any great things for Christ there must be a sense of weakness: "worm Jacob." And yet, it is a certain fact, that though men be worms, they do what worms never could do; how shall we account for this? The mystery is unraveled here; "I will help thee, saith the Lord."

"There is no saying what a man can do when God is with him. Give God to a man, and he can do all things. Put God into a man's arm, and he may have only the jawbone of an ass to fight with, but he will lay the Philistines in heaps; put God into a man's hand, and he may have a giant to deal with, and nothing but a sling and a stone, but he will lodge the stone in the giant's brow before long; put God into a man's eye, and he will flash defiance on kings and princes; put God into a man's lips, and he will speak right honestly, though his death should be the wages of his speech. There is no fear of a man who has got God with him; he is all-sufficient; there is nothing beyond his power."—C. H. Spurgeon.

Closet Promise.—I the Lord will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.—Isa. xli. 13.

Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He has kept you hitherto,—do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward to what may happen to-morrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you to-day, will take care of you to-morrow, and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.—Francis de Sales.

THE CHILDREN'S CORNER.

Breakfast Motto.—He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.—Psalm cvii. 9.

Weekly Proverb.—There is no worse robber than a bad book.—Italian.

DAILY BIBLE READING.—CHAPTERS OF PURE GOLD

(Selected by C. H. Varnum.)

Sunday.—Prayer Chapter.—John xvii. 1-26.

Monday.—Poor Man's Chapter.—Luke xiv. 1-35.

Tuesday.—Rest Chapter.—Heb. iv. 1-16.

Wednesday.—Rich Man's Chapter.—Luke xvi. 1-31.

Thursday.—Safety Chapter.—Ps. xci. 1-16.

Friday.—Shepherd's Chapter.—John x. 1-42.

Saturday.—Sad Chapter.—Luke xxii. 1-71.

ORACLE'S DISCOVERY.

A little girl who always cried

When mamma combed her hair,

And washed her dimpled face and hands

To make her sweet and fair,

Was whining dreadfully one day;

But mamma worked away,

And told a l'arts of carious things

To keep the frown at bay

She said the tangled, snarly curls,

Were wilted little vines;

And comb and water freshened them,

And made them grow and shine;

The rosy cheeks, and violet eyes,

And lily brow, were soiled

With roadside dust, and needed showers,

To keep from being spotted.

A few days after clouds came up,

And rain came pattering down,

And scattered blessings everywhere,

In forest, field, and town,

The drooping flowers showed brighter tints,

The grass a dreeter green,

And everything so keen fresh and glad,

Where er the rain had been.

The rain drops trembled on the trees,

And sparked in the sun;

The bird, long loud and joyously,

Because the rain was done;

And then to mamma, to surprise,

Came wondering, little Grace,

"O mamma, mamma, come and see"

The world has washed its face!

—Mrs. E. M. Duman.

Perseverance.—Eph. vi 18.

One day a party of boys and girls were going into the country to pick huckleberries. One little fellow could hardly contain himself for joy. He had a big basket on his arm, and was just going out the gate, when his father called him back. He took hold of his arm and said in a very gentle voice "Joseph, what are you going for—to pick berries or to play?" "To pick berries," he replied. "Then, Joseph, I want to tell you one thing. It is this: when you find a pretty good bush, do not leave it to find a better one. The other boys and girls will run about, picking here and there a little, wasting a good deal of time and not getting many berries. If you want berries, stick to your bush." The boy went, but it was just as his father said. No sooner had one found a good bush than he called all the rest, and they left their places, and ran off to the new-found treasure. But Joseph "stuck to his bush." When he had done with one, he found another, and finished that, then he took another. When night came he had a large basketful of berries, more than all the others put together. He went home happy; his father looked at the berries, and said, "Well done, Joseph. Always stick to your bush." Dear children, the lesson I want you to learn is perseverance. This is a good motto: "Stick to your bush." One of the first elements of success is sticktoitiveness.

THE REPROOF.

This little child has been disobedient. We cannot tell what he has done that is wrong, but something. And now the mother is reproving him for it. Dear children, nothing pains your parents more than to have to punish you. Parents, if good, do not love to punish. They dread it; but sometimes they must do it from necessity.

"What would I not give," said Charles Lamb, "to call my dear mother back to earth for a single day, to ask her pardon, upon my knees, for all those acts by which I grieved her gentle spirit." But after father and mother are dead, it is too late. The time for children to show affection and gratitude is along the years, while father and mother are living and treading earth's paths. If they then strew thorns for their feet, what does it avail that they bring flowers for their burial? Be careful not to grieve your parents either in words or acts. If we love them as we ought, we shall not only do all that they tell us, but shall try to do everything that we know will please them, whether they tell us to do so or not.

Here are two wholesome maxims:

If you, your lips, would keep from slips, Five things observe with care, Of whom you speak, to whom you speak, And how and when and where; If you, your ears, would save from jeers, These things keep meekly hid, Myself and I, and mine and who; And how I do, or do I.

FORTY-SEVENTH WEEK.

PEARL TEXT.—The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself.—Psalm iv 3.

Set apart for Jesus!

Is not this enough,

Though the desert prospect

Open wild and rough?

Set apart for His delight,

Chosen for His holy pleasure,

Sealed to be His special treasure!

Could we choose a nobler joy?—and would we, if we might?

—F R Havergal.

There is no portion of our time that is our time, and the rest God's; there is no portion of money that is our money and the rest God's money. It is all His; He made it all, gives it all, and He has simply trusted it to us for His service. A servant has two purses, the master's and his own; but we have only one.—Monod.

HELPS FOR THE DEVOTIONAL HOUR.