"He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit."2 CORINTHIANS v. 5.

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N earnest is a small part received before the whole of anything is possessed. It is a handsel,—something given in hand while waiting for the rest. It serves as a pattern of what the remainder is like, and serves as a pledge that the remainder will surely be given in due time.

When the Israelites were coming near to Canaan, they sent twelve men to search the land, and to see what it was like. When these spies returned, they brought with them pomegranates and figs, and such a cluster of grapes that they had to bear it between two men on a staff. These were a fore-taste-a taste beforehand. God gave His people this foretaste as an earnest of the land. It was a specimen of what Canaan could yield; and it was a token that Canaan was to be given to the children of Israel for a possession. They saw that it was a goodly land; and they ought to have felt sure that this goodly land would really be given according to God's promise.

The children of God are not yet in the heavenly Canaan. But He gives them a foretaste and an earnest of it. The Spirit works holiness and joy within them. This holiness and joy are samples of the purity and happiness of heaven;-very small samples, indeed, but sufficient to quicken our longings after our glorious home above. And the Spirit in the heart is also an earnest of heaven. It is a sign or pledge that God will one day crown grace with glory, and take His people to dwell with Him in the better land.

"And God saw everything that He had made; and, behold, it was very good."-GENESIS i. 31.

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HE Almighty Maker of heaven and earth had prepared a dwelling-place for man. He had commanded the light to shine out of darkness. He had stretched out the firmament of heaven like a curtain. He had set a bound which the waters might not pass over; and had covered the dry land with herbs, and plants, and flowers, and trees. He had appointed the sun and moon to mark the seasons, and had garnished the whole face of heaven with stars. He had peopled the air with sweet-voiced and gaily-feathered birds, as well as filled the great and wide sea with all that therein is. He had made all the beasts of the forest, and cattle such as are now seen upon a thousand hills; while, last of all, man was created in His own image to be the monarch over all the

rest.

"And God saw everything that He had made." The vast labour had been as nothing to Him, The heavens were the work-not of His outstretched arm, but-of His "fingers." He had only to "utter His voice," and the light broke forth. His "rebuke" was enough to make the waters hasten away, and leave the ground uncovered. "He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." Easily as these mighty works were made, they were all well-made. "God saw everything that He had made; and, behold, it was very good." This may teach us that whatever is worth doing, is worth doing well; and if we wish what we do to be well done, we should seek help from Him whose every work is perfect.

"See that ye hasten the matter.'

Howbeit the Levites hastened it not."-2 CHRON. xxiv. 5.

F a work is a good work, we can never begin

gently. When Lot had to flee from Sodom, the angel said, "Haste thee, and escape.'

When Zaccheus was to receive Christ at his house, Jesus said to him, "Make haste, and come down." When Abigail knew that her home was in danger, she went quickly to meet David; and when he had granted her request, he told her that if she had not set off when she did, she would have been too late. It was good advice that king Joash gave the Levites, when he wished to have the temple repaired, and said to them, "See that ye hasten the matter."

But good advice is not always taken. It was not taken in this instance. "The Levites hastened it not." They were cold-hearted about it. They did not take up the work with earnestness. They did not care whether it was done or not. Time rolled on, and the king saw that the repairs had never been taken in hand. He had to call the priests to account; he had to stir them up to the neglected duty; he had to see for himself to the gathering of the money, and to the hiring of the work-people. The thing was done at last because the king hastened it.

When you know what you ought to do, put your hand to it quickly. Lose no time before you begin to do it; and lose no time in the doing of it. Do not delay in setting to work, and do not idle when you have set to work; but in all things give diligence.

"This work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands."-Ezra v. 8.

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T is not always that a work prospers when it goes on fast. If we wish that what we do should be well done, we must be careful not to do it too fast. Little children often do things badly, just because they hurry over them. They are so fond of getting to the end of a task, or to the bottom of a page, or to the last stitch in a seam, that they go on carelessly; and then the proverb comes true, "Most haste, worst speed," for they find that their lesson is only half-learned, that the copy has to be written again, and that the sewing has to be unpicked. "I am a quick hand at painting," said some one boastfully to the great artist Apelles. "It is easy enough to see that!" was the reply and the rebuke.

We should try to work fast, but we must never work so fast as to work badly. The following rule was once given, and you will find it a good one:- "First learn to do a thing as well as you can; and when you have learned to do it well, then learn to do it as quickly as you can." The Jews, when they were building up the ruined temple in Ezra's days, did their work fast; but yet they did it prosperously. They did not so hurry it as to do it in a slovenly way. They were adding stone to stone, and timber to timber, very diligently; but they were also doing it very carefully. It was thorough work, as well as quick work. Try for the future, whenever it is said of you that your work "goeth fast on," to let it also be added, and added with truth, that it prospers in your hands.