parts, or periods. This was for the benefit of mankind, to give us, from the beginning, a division of time into weeks, which should last to the end of the world; and also to show us, by his great example, that we should work six days and rest one.

SONG

THE SIX DAYS' WORK; OR, SONG OF THE CREATION.

When the void sea and earth

Lay formless in their birth,
To darkness God gave light,
And made the day and night.
So passed eve and morn,

And the second day was born.

He spread the starry sky,

A firmament on high;

Clouds above, and mists below,

At his word began to flow.

So passed eve and morn,

And the third day was born.

The waters and the land

Came forth at his command:

Trees, waving golden fruit;
Earth, rich with seed and root.
So passed eve and morn,
And the fourth day was born.

Bib Prim

He set the rolling spheres,
To number days and years;
The sun's transcendent ray,
For the blessing of the day;
And the moon's familiar light,
For the blessing of the night.
So passed eve and morn,
And the fifth day was born.

Now life on earth began:
Great whales of mighty span,
With the swarming finny race,
In the waters took their place;
And the countless feathered throng
Filled the atmosphere with song.
God blessed them from on high,
Saying, Live, and multiply.

So passed eve and morn,

And the sixth day was born.

Then the quadrupeds came forth,
And the creeping things of earth;
Till in final beauty stood
Man, erect before his God:
A shape of godlike form,
With living spirit warm;
And dominion to him given,
Of all things under heaven.

So passed eve and morn,
And the seventh day was born.

2.

His hand the Maker stayed,

For heaven and earth were made,
Creation's work was o'er;

Holy rest for evermore

Like a breath from God came down,

The last great day to crown.

God resting on that day,

The Sabbath passed away.

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good." GEN. 1:31. "So God created man in his own image: in, the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." GEN, 1:27.

Now man is born, and angels sing

A welcome from on high;
Rejoicing o'er this new-born king,
Heir of the earth and sky.

Creator, Holy Spirit, Lord,

To thee the song they raise :

Hark how they strike the sounding chord,
How earnest is their praise

A nobler work than this of old,

We in redemption trace:

Wake loftier strains, ye harps of gold,

For man renewed by grace.

What is implied in the rest of the Sabbath?

"And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from. all his work which God created and made." GEN. 2:3.

"Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy." EXOD. 20:8.

"The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt not do any work." EXOD. 20: 10.

Here are two points to be observed: rest from common labor, and the sanctification of the day, which must be by holy employments.

What are holy employments?

Doing good works, and performing religious duties. We must save life, take care of the sick, and do what is necessary for the health of the body, as well as of the soul. But the special holy employments that should distinguish the Sabbath, are prayer, praise, and religious meditation; the public and private worship of God; reading the Bible, and those works of good men which nourish piety in the soul, and encourage a religious life.

THE SABBATH.

How soft the footsteps of the day!

Sweet symbol of that rest,

When saints shall shine in white array,
By their Redeemer blest.

Then let us cease from toil and care,

And grateful anthems raise;

Our hearts be love, our voices

Our joyful work be praise.

prayer,

See how the conquering Saviour rose,
While death his captive lay;
So may he crush our inward foes,

And lift our hearts to-day.