Just turn to the 21st chapter of Numbers, and read the account of the healing of those who had been bitten by the fiery serpents. Had you been there, you might have seen parents carrying their little children who had been bitten, and who were just ready to die. The poison of the serpents is circulating through them, and they are almost gone. The mother brings up her child to the brazen serpent. Oh, how anxious is she, lest it has not got strength sufficient to look up! How tenderly does she gaze upon its face, as she holds it up to the brazen serpent, waiting for it to open its eyes! and what joy when it does look up and live! So there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

I have now told you the two reasons why the holy angels rejoice when a sinner repents. I next wish to give you three remarks. Will you remember them-all three ?

1. Most men are not like the holy angels.

By being like the angels, I do not mean that most men do not look like them; for nobody looks like them. But I mean that they do not feel like them. You hear men talk every day. What do they talk about? Why, about the weather, their health, their cattle, their crops, their farms, and their neighbours; but very few say anything about the repentance of sinners.

Suppose one of you should repent to-day; I

should be glad, and so would some others; but the greater part of the people in this town would know nothing about it; or, if they did, they would care nothing about it. Not so with the angels. They would all rejoice over it-would all know it.

Suppose one of you should find a piece of gold, as you go home, as big as your fist. What a wonder! All the town would know of it, and talk about it, and call you a lucky child; but the angels would care nothing about it—no, not if you should find gold enough to fill this house. You see why. Because they feel for your soul. But most men think only of this world; and this is because men are sinners, and most of them love anything better than repentance. If any one of you should repent to-day, I suppose many would laugh and sneer at it. But not an angel in heaven would laugh or sneer. You see, then, how it is that the first remark is true, that most men are not like the holy angels.

2. My second remark is, that we cannot go to heaven without repenting of sin.

If a man could go to heaven without repenting of sin, then nobody would need to repent; and if any one did repent, he would be doing what was not needful. And if so, then the angels would be rejoicing to see men do what they need not d!

Suppose I should say to you to-day, that, in

order to meet God on the Sabbath, and receive God's blessing, you must sleep out on the ground .all Saturday night, wet or cold, sick or well;— suppose you do it, and I rejoice to see you do it! Now, if this be not necessary in order to receive God's blessing, then it would be cruel in me to wish to see you doing it.

You know, when you are sick, your parents rejoice to see you swallow, cheerfully, the bitter medicine, because you cannot get well without taking it; but if you could get well just as well without, your parents would never rejoice to see you take it. Now, repentance is disliked as much as medicine is; and if we could go to heaven without it, the holy angels would not rejoice to see us repenting.

Suppose, in going home to-day, one of you should break his arm so dreadfully that it must be cut off, or else you die; and I should call and see you to-morrow, and should find the doctor there, with his sharp tools all out, ready to cut the arm off; I should rejoice to have it cut off! And why? Not, my dear children, because I should love to see you suffer, or lose your arm; but because your life could not be saved without. And thus you see why the angels rejoice so much over one who repents. It is because none can go to heaven without repentance.

3. My third and last remark is, that you will all be very wicked if you do not repent immediately.

And why? Because you are all sinners; and because I have read to you in Christ's own words that the angels would rejoice at it, and have told you why they would rejoice. No one is too young to sin, and so it is plain that no one is too young to repent. Because, too, if you do not repent, you cannot go to heaven. You may play, you may grow up, you may learn your books, you may become rich, if God spares your lives; and may do all this without repentance. But you cannot go to heaven without it.

And now, when you are riding or walking home, not knowing that you will live to see another Sabbath; when you see the sun go down to-day, not knowing that you will live to see him rise; as you lie down to sleep to-night, not knowing that you will ever open your eyes again in this world, will you not remember what I have now told you, and go before God and repent? Oh, if you will, there will be joy in heaven over you. Amen.

"Without faith it is impossible to please Him."

HEBREWS xi. 6.

I AM going to make this Lecture very plain, and, I hope, very interesting to these children. You may, at first, suppose it will be about what you cannot understand, and that it cannot be interesting to you. But let us see. I do not believe there will be five of these children who will not be able to remember most of what I shall now say.

men.

There are many kinds of faith or belief among But only one kind is the true faith, without which it is impossible to please God, because only one kind of faith makes us obey God. I will explain it to you.