ADAM AND EVE. Oh what an evil thing sin is! Is this Adam and Eve, once so happy, and so glad to walk with God in the garden, and to enjoy his love and favour? What a change! Now they flee from his prea sence! Now they are afraid to hear his voice! Now when he calls, they will not come! They know that they have broken his law, and made him angry ; and they dread to meet him. So they go and hide themselves in the thick bushes of the garden. No smiles from heaven to cheer and comfort them. All is gloom, and darkness, and danger. Now they are filled with a fearful looking-for of

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judgment and fiery indignation. All around them seems their enemy. The sky, on which they had loved to gaze, now seems charged with fury. Gladly would they sleep a long, long sleep under the leaves of the thicket, away from God, and away from all his creatures. . .

And is not sin always the same? Yes. Always when you sin, children, you offend God as much as Adam and Eve did. And sin will be found by and bye to have done you as much hurt, as it did them. It drives you from God, and makes you fear to think of him. Stand in awe then of sin. Before you tell a lie, or swear, or do any thing bad, stop for a moment, and think to what it will lead you. Pray to God to give you strength against it. His Holy Spirit is able, and it will be given to those who ask for it.

And, Oh! my dear children, love that Saviour, through whom you may be freed from the curse of Adam and Eve's sin. God indeed said, the soul that sin. neth it shall die ; and he has kept his word: for he has made his dear Son to become man like us, and to bear our sins, and to die on the cross for them. And now, all who feel the burden of their sins, and trust in Jesus for their pardon, are forgiven for his sake.

Oh! what love this is! When you think then of Adam and Eve hiding themselves, stand in awe of sin; and learn to love your dear Redeemer, who saves you from its curse.

SHORT SERMON. 6 And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter:

and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice: and Peter went out and wept bitterly."...Luke xxii. 61, 62.

It is no wonder, my dear young friends, that Peter should weep bitterly; for alas! there was a sad cause for his tears. And yet they were tears that the angels would rejoice at; for, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” And though tears in general move us to pity, yet these gracious tears—this weeping of Peter is the only thing in his av ful fall, that can dry up ours for him, when we read this sad part of his story.

He went out and sought where he might weep; and these tears were the signs of his repentance; that repentance, which was the gift of God, and without which, his fall would have been as fa. tal as that of Judas. • There is something very striking in the whole history and character of Pe

ter. When convinced of the divine power of Jesus by the draught of fishes, he fell down at his feet; and, filled with a view of his own sinfulness and Christ's Inajesty, he felt unworthy to exist in the divine presence, and cried out “depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” But Jesus saw differently, and now Christ tells him, “ from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” Peter instantly on bringing his ship to land, forsook All and followed Christ: this you may read in the 5th chap. of St. Luke. His sincerity is proved in that he forsook all, without thinking whether he would be å gainer or a loser in the things of this world. Such was the divine glory shining forth in the words and actions of Christ; that Peter's heart was constrained to love him, and to forsake all to follow him.

His zeal and love for his master, and his boldness in his cause, were afterwards often seen. He came forward and confessed, Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God," when the world was in doubt, and the wise and learned mocked. We will now consider the progress of Peter's temptation and fall; and may we be enabled practically to improve it in our own walk and conduct. We shall see that Peter did not fall suddenly; but by overlooking small things; by neglecting to watch against the bea ginning of temptation, he descended, step by step, into that sin of denying his Lord, which caused him so much agony, and which, doubtless to the end of life, would distress his conscience. The first thing that laid him open to temptation, was his presumption and self-security. He said, “though all men deny thee, yet will not I :" he said this, even when warned by Christ of his approaching temptation. He trusted in himself, and his Lord's warning profited him not. He was not led to watch and pray. We are all too apt to feel secure in our own strength to do good. Our deceitful hearts can be lifted up with pride, on account, even of those gifts and graces, which come from God only. David says, “In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.” Oh let him that “thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” This pride and ignorance of his own heart in Peter, led him to neglect the warning of his Lord.

The next step in his sin, was to sleep in the garden during the agony of his Lord. Three times he slept ; though three times awoke, and warned, in kind and tender terms for his own good, to * watch and pray. With those gentle words yet sounding in his ears, he passes quickly into the third step in his sin.