He dwelleth in the heavens above, yet He looketh down with an eye of mercy on all the things which he hath made. There is nothing which is hid from his sight, and there is no creature, to which he doeth not good continually.

And shall we not fear and love so great and so good a Being? Shall we not honour and obey Him, and strive to live according to his commands? Yes, we will praise Him in our hearts, and our lips shall not be silent. We will pray to Him with reverence, and listen attentively to the reading of his word. We will strive to be holy, just, and good, as he requires us to be. We will love Him with all our hearts, for He only is God, and Him only should

we serve.

THE WICKEDNESS OF AHAB AND JEZEBEL.

(1 Kings xix. 1-8, xxi., xxii. 37, 38; 2 Kings ii. 1-16, ix. 30-37.)

WHEN Jezebel heard that Elijah had killed the priests of her idol` Baal, she was very angry, and threatened to put him to death; but he fled for his life, and hid himself in the wilderness; and there God gave him food to eat and water to drink, so that he did not die.

Thus did Elijah escape out of the hands of Jezebel; but Naboth the Jezreelite was not so fortunate. He had a vineyard, which lay near the palace of Ahab. On this vineyard the king set his heart, for he wanted to make of it a garden of herbs. He therefore asked Naboth to let him have it, either in exchange for another, or for its value in money; and when Naboth told him that he did not like to part with it, because it had belonged to his fathers before him,

he went into his house heavy at heart and displeased, and he laid himself down on his bed, and turned away his face, and refused to eat-which shewed that he had a bad disposition, and that he was not duly thankful to Almighty God for all the good things which he possessed.

When Jezebel saw that her husband Ahab was grieved because he could not have the vineyard, she told him she would obtain it for him; and accordingly she wrote letters in his name, and sealed them with his seal, to the chief men of the city of Jezreel, desiring them to prefer a false accusation against Naboth, and to have him put to death. These wicked men did as she had desired them: Naboth was falsely accused, and stoned to death.

Upon hearing this, Ahab took possession of the vineyard; but God, who sees all that is done by men, was highly displeased with his unjust and barbarous

conduct and that of his wife, and he sent Elijah to reprove them. The prophet told them that they would both perish, and that the dogs would lick their blood-all which came to pass, for Ahab was slain in battle, and the dogs licked the blood off his chariotwheels; and Jezebel was thrown out of a window into the street, where the dogs devoured her body.

Such was the miserable end of these two wicked persons. But it was not so with the prophet; for as he and his friend Elisha were walking together, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder; and Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Thus it is with the wicked. For a while they may be flourishing, and then they are presumptuous, and care not what sins they commit; yet sooner or later God punishes them for their crimes,

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and brings them to bitter sorrow and repentance. But on good men He bestows his especial favour. They may have to endure much evil and sorrow, as Elijah did; but the God whom they serve regards them still, and though He may not make them completely happy in this world, He will bring them to heaven at last, and there they will dwell for ever in joy and peace, and nothing shall hurt or grieve them any more.

THE YOUNG PERSONS WHO MOCKED ELISHA.

(2 Kings ii. 12-25.)

THE prophet who was walking with Elijah when he was carried up into heaven, was Elisha. He took up his friend's mantle when it fell from him, and smote with it the waters of the river Jordan, saying, "Where is the Lord God