Man’s wisdom can not know the end,
  Nor future courses see: 
Whoever sails in human strength
  Sails mid uncertainty.

Man has a strong inveterate foe,
  So subtle in his art;
He tries the strength of human craft
  And finds the weakest part.

By human strength man can not sail
  O’er ocean’s troubled breast: 
God’s hand alone can e’er prevail
  And bring him into rest.

MORTALITY.

In plant, animal, and spiritual life mortality is greatest in infancy.  The plant in the first few days of its existence is very tender and delicate.  It will succumb to the winds if they be slightly too cool, or to the sun’s rays if they be too warm.  The smallest insect feeding upon one of its tiny roots will cause it to die.  After it has formed more roots and they have gone deeper into the earth and the plant becomes stronger and coarser it is far less liable to destruction.  The chilly winds may blow or the sun’s rays may pour upon it; it now has the power of resistance, and so lives on.

The same is true of animal life.  Mortality is far greatest among children in the first few hours of life, and lessens as they grow older.  Only a slight current of cold air upon the newly born infant is likely to cause its death.  The new life is not yet able to resist opposing elements, so it must be carefully guarded.  As it grows stronger and becomes capable of adapting itself to the elements of the outside world it can with comparative safety be brought into contact with them.

What is true in the plant and the animal world is also true in the spiritual world.  You who have but recently been born of the Spirit are not as able to resist the cold winds of persecution or the heat of fiery trials as those who have been deepening and widening in the grace of God.  Guard carefully the new-born life of Christ in your soul.  Seek an establishing grace in sanctification, and you will be strong in the Lord and fully able to cope with the dark powers of sin, Satan, and the world, and triumph over all in Jesus’ name.  In the days of your infancy we offer you our help in this little volume, and assure you a frequent remembrance in fervent prayer.

FEEDING THE LAMBS.

Some years ago when attending to the work to which the Lord had called me in one of the sunny Southern States it was my happy privilege to enjoy for a few days the kind hospitality of a generous Christian farmer.  One balmy afternoon while walking over the pleasant fields of his large farm, with my heart in sweet communion with God, I came upon the most beautiful flock of sheep it had ever been my privilege to behold.  They were quietly grazing in a rich green pasture, near by which silently flowed a deep, broad river.  To me it was a fair reminder of the “still waters” the Good Shepherd gave promise to lead his sheep beside, and the “green pastures” he promised to make them to “lie down in.”