Christians. Co-workers with God, co-sufferers with Christ, and co-witnesses with the Holy Spirit. It is service with power (vv. 32 and 12), service with suffering (v. 18), and service with joy (v. 41).

88. Christ-the Great One.

Luke i. 31, 32, and 33.

A FEW important particulars of the Lord Jesus Christ, given by the Angel of God before He was born, are interesting, and they are in perfect harmony with numerous prophecies uttered centuries before His coming into the world. They set forth the graciousness, greatness, and glory of the Son of God, as the Child born, the Son given, the world's Redeemer, and the coming King. The word shall stamp this precious promise with Divine certainty. “And shall call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His Father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His Kingdom there shall be no end."

1. The Graciousness of Jesus. This was manifest both in His Nature and Name. He was the Child born and the Son given, a real Man and as truly God. "And shall call His Name Jesus" (Luke i. 31).

Because He is the Saviour (Matt. i. 21).

Because there is Salvation in no other (Acts iv. 12). Because He is appointed to give blessing (Acts v. 31). Because He will bear the honour and glory for ever (Phil. ii. 9, 10, 11).

"He shall be great."

2. The Greatness of Jesus. His greatness was acknowledged by Angels, by Men, and by the Devil himself (Mark v. 7). This is a wonderful title. Conquerors are great, Deliverers are great, and Saviours are great, but He is the greatest of them all.

He is a great Light to scatter our darkness (Is. ix. 2). He is a great Saviour to deliver the needy (Is. xix. 20). He is the great Shepherd in Resurrection power (Heb. xiii. 20).

He is the great High Priest interceding for His people (Heb. iv. 14).

He is the great God who is coming again (Titus ii. 13). He is the great King who is coming to reign (Ps. xviii. 2). 3. The Glory of Jesus. "He shall reign for ever.' The Glory of Jesus is hidden now, but it is going to be manifest soon. He is coming in His glory, and all the holy Angels with Him (Matt. xxv. 31).

Christ is coming to put the World right, and show the glory of His Power.

Christ is coming to gather His people, and show the glory of His Presence.

Christ is coming to establish His throne, and manifest the glory of His Peace.

If we refer to the Prophecies of the Old Testament, we shall see how the advent of the Lord Jesus was the fulfilment of those promises. He came as the Gatherer of God's people (Gen. xlix. 10); the Builder of God's House (2 Sam. vii. 12); the Gift of God's Love (Is. ix. 6, 7); the Branch in God's Vineyard (John xv. 1-6); and the King over God's Earth (Dan. ii. 44; Zech. xiv. 9); and He shall Reign for ever (Luke i. 33). The title of great is one that is recognised and often used by the world. We have Alexander the Great, Charles the Great, Frederick the Great, Peter the Great, etc. Their greatness has passed away, but the greatness of Christ abides for ever.

CHAPTER IV.

SAFE NAILS FOR TIRED TEACHERS.

Baskets, Bottles, Tokens, Keys, Wings, etc.

89. A Bunch of Golden keys.

THE Bible supplies us with a number of wonderful Keys. Let us see what they are. There is the key of Knowledge. "And ye know all things" (1 John ii. 20); the Key of Blessing, "All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer (Matt. xxi. 22); the Key of Life, "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection (Phil. iii. 10); the Key of Service, "For the Love of Christ constraineth us" (2 Cor. v. 14); and the Key of Patience, "Christ, in You the hope of glory" (Col. i. 27). Now, if we place these different keys on the ring of Obedience, and use them well every day, we shall possess the secret of a happy, useful life.

Keys are the emblems of authority, privilege, and power, and with these Bible keys we can remove every barrier of Difficulty, open every door of Blessing, every way of Life, and every avenue of Service. But to understand these keys clearly, we will place them together, in the following order :

1. The Key of Knowledge. Light (1 John ii. 20).

2. The Key of Blessing.

3. The Key of Life.

Prayer (Matt. xxi. 22).
Power (Phil. iii. 10).

Love (2 Cor. v. 14).

Hope (Col. i. 27).

4. The Key of Service. 5. The Key of Patience. The key of knowledge is the light of the Holy Spirit in the heart, and by this light we may know Our own evil Hearts, Jesus as our Saviour, God as our Father, and Heaven as our home. This verse (1 John ii. 20) is the key to all the great secrets of a present salvation. In the third chapter of John's epistle, we see how much we have in Christ Jesus. "We know that He was manifested to take

away our sins" (v. 5). "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren” (v. 4). "We know that He abideth in us, by the spirit which He hath given us (v. 24). "And we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him" (v. 2). The Key of Prayer can open any lock, and deliver any Peter from prison, and bring any needed blessing (Matt. vii. 8). The Key of Power is needed every day, and to get into touch with Christ is the only way to be happy (Phil. iii. 10). The Key of Service is Love, and this makes all the other keys work easily and well. It is most useful for Fellowship, for Testimony, and for Service, and the Key of Patience will help us through our trials and difficulties. Let us get them all, and use them well every day, then the Master will be glorified in our lives.

90. Baskets of Blessing.

SOME of the most serviceable things in life are Baskets. And what a variety there is. Large and small, round and square, rough and smooth, strong and frail, useful and ornamental, but they all play an important part in our domestic and business life. There is the Bread-basket, the Clothes-basket, the Work-basket, the Market-basket, the Flower-basket, the Fruit-basket, the Tool-basket, and the

Fancy-basket, all so helpful to make life easy. Baskets mentioned in the Bible are interesting pictures of blessing, both in nature and grace, tokens of promise and providence, life and service, and are full of helpful thought for a brief meditation. We select five only, each illustrating some point in the Christian life. We will put them together to be more easily remembered :

1. The Bread-basket (John vi. 13, 48), illustrating Spiritual Life.

2. The Treasure-basket (Deut. xxviii. 5), illustrating Spiritual Blessing.

3. The Flower-basket (Is. xxxv. 1, 2), illustrating Spiritual Praise.

4. The Fruit-basket (Amos viii. 1 2, 3), illustrating Spiritual Testimony.

5. The Seed-basket (Ps. cxxvi. 6) (margin), illustrating Spiritual Service.

Without the Bread-basket we should all perish for want of food. We all need bread to sustain life, health, strength, and hope. Jesus is the "Bread of Life," and we all need Him, or we shall perish for ever; He brings us Life for the soul, Health for the mind, Strength for the life, and Blessings for ever let us receive Him. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life, he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst." "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life" (John vi. 35, 47).

The Treasure-basket is full of God's providential mercies, and they are too many for us to count. We will name a few that are clustered together in this chapter (Deut. xxviii). Protection from our foes (v. 7), Provision for our needs (v. 8), Purity for our lives (v. 9), Power for our service (v. 10), and Prosperity as a reward for our labour (v. 11). Then the Lord puts us a nice promise upon the lid of this basket, just to encourage us to trust. "The Lord