February 5

Genesis iii. — 17. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.

19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20. And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

21. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever;

23. Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims, and a

Man, placed under conditions the most favorable, and motives the most persuasive to obedience, sinned under the first temptation. Some test was important for his moral discipline, for every moral nature is the stronger for being suspected to trial, if it meets the trial without faltering; and, in this case, the test was as simple and light as could have been proposed. Nothing necessary to the support and comfort of Adam, nothing indispensable to his happiness, was denied to him. He had the use of the whole garden, with the exception of one single tree. That tree, with its forbidden fruit, was the symbol of the authority of God, who made him, and who had laden him with the gifts of his love. In seizing its fruit, he disowned that authority, slighted that love, and set up his own desire and will against the known will of his Father. For such wind, inexcusable disobedience, the punish-

flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Revelation xxii. — 1. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him;

4. And they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads.

5. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

13. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

14. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

ment was none too severe. Death had been in the world before, in the animal creation; but man was now to know his first experience of it, and this not as the mere cessation of life, but an event full of pain, sorrow, and fear.

In the paradise of Middle Asia, man was under conditions of nature most favorable to an easy and happy life. Through his own fault, he was driven out from this to struggle with hardship and toil. But the second Adam, in bringing us redemption from sin, has brought us again relief from care and sorrow and death; and the Book of God, which opens with the story of the lost paradise, closes with the picture of paradise restored. There we shall be debarred nothing through fear of sin or death; for the Redeemer has promised, "To him that overcoweth will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God."

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 79, 97, 99, 116.

O God! we are sinners, and of a sinful race. We deserve thy righteous displeasure; yet do we draw nigh unto thee in the assurance of thy grace to help in every time of need. Thou dost supply all our need; yea, the greater our sense of need and helplessness, the more plenteous is thy grace, the more ready is thy help. For Christ's sake, hear and save us.

Thou modest us to lie down and rest in safety; thou callest us to rise up and rejoice as in newness of life. Oh! bless and furnish us abundantly, we beseech thee, for all that is before us this day, — our minds with strength, our hands with diligence, our hearts with love and devotion. May we be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect in doing good unto all!

We beseech thee to have compassion on our infirmities, and to give us the constant assistance of thy Holy Spirit, that we may be effectually restrained from sin, and incited to our duty. Imprint upon our hearts such a dread of thy judgments, and such a grateful sense of thy goodness to us, as may make us both afraid and ashamed to offend thee. Above all, inspire us with the joy of being with Christ in his glory; and, having this hope in him, may we purify ourselves as he is pure!

Oh! keep this household in thy love; bless abundantly our friends, near or far away; minister of thy comforts to the sick and needy, succor the perishing, and save the lost. Guide us ever with thy counsel, and finally bring us unto thy rest, for the Redeemer's sake. Amen.