Think not of far-off duties,

But of duties which are near;
And having once begun to work,
Resolve to persevere."

What is our sermon about to-day?

The camel.

How many lessons do we learn from the camel? Two. What is the first? An interesting truth about the goodness of God. What is the second? An important lesson about patient industry.

There are two things this sermon should lead us to do. The first is to thank God for the illustrations of his goodness here furnished. The other is to pray for

grace that we may be able to learn and practise the important lesson of patient industry here taught us.

IV.

THE HORSE.

"Hast thou given the horse strength?"-JOB Xxxix. 19.

THE

we wish to consider.

HE Horse is the next of the Bible animals that What a noble-looking creature the horse is! With its strong and wellproportioned limbs, its arched neck, its intelligent head, its fine long tail, it presents a very pleasing and graceful appearance. And the horse is a very sensible Here is an incident which illustrates very well this point of the horse's character. call it

creature.

THE GOOD SENSE OF A HORSE.

We may

A gentleman named Mr. Andrews, residing in California, had a span of bright little horses, to which he was very much attached. He never separated them. In the stable, the field, and the harness they were always together. This caused a strong attachment to grow between the horses. On one occasion he took some friends in his carriage drawn by these horses to a lake, not very far from his dwelling, on a fishing excursion. Taking the horses out of the carriage, he

led them to the border of the lake, and tied them to two trees a few rods apart, that they might feed on the grass that grew around them. Then he went into a shanty near by, and sat down to wait for the return of his friends, who were fishing.

He had not been waiting long before he heard the sound of a horse's feet approaching the shanty. The next moment he saw one of his horses standing at the door. The animal put his head in and gave a loud neigh, and then turned round and galloped back towards the spot where his master had left him and his companion fastened safely to the trees.

Surprised at finding his horse loose, and at his singular conduct, Mr. Andrews immediately went after him. On reaching the spot where he had left the horses, he was surprised to see the other horse in the water, entangled in the rope which had fastened him to the tree, and trying hard to keep his head above the water. Mr. Andrews at once took hold of the rope, released the horse from it, and led him out of the water. While he was doing this the other horse stood by, watching what was going on with the greatest interest. And when he saw that his companion was safe on dry land he seemed greatly pleased. He went jumping round his master, shaking his head and wagging his tail, as if he was trying to say, “I am very much obliged to you, sir, for saving my companion from drowning."

Now there are several things worth noticing in the

conduct of this horse. Think of his readiness to notice the trouble his companion was in, the effort he must have made to break the strong rope that bound him to the tree, the good sense he showed in going at once for his master to come and save the life of his companion, and then the way in which he tried to show his gratitude to his master for the ready kindness he had shown. All this is very interesting in that horse. And an animal that can act in this way deserves our careful study and our kindest treatment.

Horses are wild in some countries, but they are all tame with us. In the times when the Bible was written horses were not used for riding on, and for bearing burdens, as we use them now. They were then employed chiefly for warlike purposes. And it is of a war-horse that God is speaking in the Book of Job when he gives this remarkable description of it:

"Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? canst thou make him afraid of a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith among the trumpets, Ha,