We won't give up the Bible,
For it alone can tell

The way to save our ruin'd souls
From being sent to hell;
And it alone can tell us how

We can have hopes of heaven,

That, through the Saviour's precious blood,

Our sins may be forgiven.

We won't give up the Bible,

Nor heed the crafty tongue

That would this treasure take away:

Ye wicked ones, begone!

For ye would fain condemn our minds

To gloom of moral night,

But we defy your hateful power-
And God defend the right!

We won't give up the Bible,

But could ye force away

That which to loving souls is dear

Yet hear us firmly say,

The words that we have learnt while young,

Shall follow all our days;

And those engraven on our minds

Ye never can erase.

We won't give up the Bible,
We'll shout it far and wide,
Until the echo shall be heard
Beyond the rolling tide :

Till all shall know that we, though young,
Withstand your treach'rous art,

And that from God's own sacred word
We'll never, never part.

LIVES TO TELL THE STORY.

NO. X.

"Have ye never heard and read,
What the good king David said;
Babes and sucklings' artless lays,

Shall proclaim the Saviour's praise."

YES, it is written, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained strength;" and this was fulfilled when the dear Redeemer, riding upon an ass, triumphantly entered Jerusalem. Did our little gleaners ever notice what honour the Saviour on more than one occasion during His sojourn among men put upon little children ? Sometimes He took them in His arms and blessed them. Again, He takes one and sets it in the midst of His followers, and tells them, "Except they be converted and become as little children, they can in nowise enter into the kingdom of heaven." And again He tells them, that out of the mouth of babes and sucklings praise is to be perfected. And all for what? For of such is the kingdom of heaven." Oh, how wonderful! How confounding to proud carnal reason! But so it is, and so it seemeth good in the sight of the Most High, that no flesh should glory in His presence.'

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Yes, the old as well as the young must be as little children, if they would enter the kingdom of heaven. As weak as little children, as helpless

as little children, as dependent as little children, as defenceless as little children, confiding as little children; in every way as dependent on their heavenly Father's care and attention as little children are upon their earthly parents or guardians. And this must be, more or less, habitually known and felt. Do our little gleaners know anything about these things? Do our youths in their teens, who naturally begin to feel themselves young men and young women, do they know anything about these things? Will you allow me to come into your Bible class, and, bringing one of the least of the little ones out of the infant class, will you allow me to set him in the midst, and give a lesson from the Saviour's own words, "Except ye be converted and become as this little child, ye can in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven ?" No, I will rather leave each Bible Class teacher to do his or her own work, and proceed to tell my story. But before I come to my tale, one word more upon the Saviour's words relating to little children. declares that we must become as little children to He not only enter the kingdom; but that out of the mouth of babes and sucklings strength is ordained and praise perfected. So we see God makes use of the weakest and sometimes the meanest of instrumentality to accomplish the greatest of works "Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a honourable, because by him the Lord had given great man with his master, and deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper" (2 Kings v. 1). "But

he was a leper." How tempted I feel to enlarge here; but I must not. Yet you may think, dear reader, there are many lepers in the world now; We are all lepers by nature! Is your leprosy

cleansed ? If not, God lead you to Him who alone can cleanse it.

But to proceed with the history. "And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for He would recover him of his leprosy."

What a beautiful picture is this! A little captive maid before her lordly master, proclaiming the wonderful works of the great prophet of Israel. Again we feel tempted to enlarge, but must not. But observe, we have here not only a little maid, but a captive maid; as such not only the least, but the meanest, of instruments made use of for the accomplishment of a great work, and that for one of the greatest of the men of the day.

But some will say, "Yes; but that took place a long while ago, and a great way off; such things do not take place in our days and in these parts." I think they do; and I think I can prove it. Some years ago, when labouring as a missionary in this great city of London, I came across a case which I think will prove my assertion. There sat at the table father, mother, and a little boy partaking of an humble meal; and, before many words had been uttered, the father, pointing to the little boy, said, "There sits the instrument God was pleased to make use of to convince me of my sin, and bring me to Himself. I was a drunkard, a blasphemer, and a Sabbathbreaker, caring for nothing but my own sinful lusts, when it pleased God to lay His hand on that child, my only child, and to bring him down to death's door. There appeared no hope of his recovery; the doctor gave no hope, and this greatly distressed me. Still I went on drinking and blas

pheming as usual; or, if any difference, was worse than usual, thinking to drown my trouble in drunkenness and revelling. One day the child said to his mother, 'Mother, I shall die if father does not pray to God to make me better. Nobody but God can make me well. Ask father to pray to God to make me well.'

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"The mother told me the child's words, to which I said, 'Then he must die, for I can't pray. I never prayed in my life, and I can't pray now!' Then every time I went to the bedside of the child, he would say to me, 'Father, I shall die if you don't pray to God to make me better.' But I felt I can't pray, I never prayed in my life; still the words would ring my ears, Father, pray to God to make me better, I shall die if you don't pray to God to make me better.' In vain did I try to smother these things with drink; the more I drank the more the words seemed to sound in my ears, 'Father, I shall die you don't pray to God to make me better.' Then I thought what a wretch I had been to be living all my life a prayerless blasphemer. Then all the sins of my life seemed to rise against me, and I felt my child must die, and I must perish a prayerless blasphemer. I could go to the alehouse no more, but that would neither save my child nor myself. I could not pray and, such being the case, my child must die and I must perish. Oh, what a wretch I felt myself to be! It was of no use, I could not, I dare not, try to for me to pray would be blasphemy and only adding sin to sin. Thus I went on for days, feeling my child and myself must both perish because I could not pray. Still the words would ring in my ears, Father, pray for me; I shall die if you don't pray for me!" Under such feelings I was one day leading my horse down Fleet Street' (he

pray;