TYRANNY AND OPPRESSION.

Ir may not be an unprofitable question to ask ourselves if we are not too apt, when we think of tyranny and oppression, to apply these terms to cases wherein the great and the mighty of the earth alone are concerned. Pharaoh, for instance, oppressed the children of Israel, requiring them to make brick without straw; and since then, many other tyrants have ruled the nations under their control with a rod of iron. But instances of tyranny and oppression are continually taking place in the common walks of life. We shall do well not to forget that example in Holy Writ, wherein he who had been forgiven a debt went and took his fellow-servant by the throat, saying, “Pay me that thou owest," Matt. xviii. 23-35.

One of the most striking illustrations of oppression that I ever met with, was in a retired lane in a country village. Passing along a high bank in a field, my attention was drawn to the lane below, by a scuffling noise and a loud barking. Looking down from the bank, I saw a young pointer dog standing before a lamb, and every now and then jumping up at the unprotected animal and laying hold of his nose, or his ear. The dog must have been thus occupied for some time, for the poor lamb

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TYRANNY AND OPPRESSION.

was almost exhausted. You may be sure that I was not long in making the best of my way down from the high bank into the lane, and instructing the tyrant of a pointer dog, in the most summary manner, that though he was stronger than the helpless creature he had so long tormented, he was not beyond the reach of punishment.

There is something so paltry, so pitifully mean in oppressing another, merely because you have the power, that such hateful conduct deserves the severest reprobation. When a master tyrannizes over his servant, when a creditor oppresses his debtor, when a rich man grinds the face of the poor, and one who is strong takes advantage of another who is weak, it is a hateful sight, and highly discreditable to humanity. Never do I witness an instance of this kind without thinking of the poor lamb and the pointer dog.

JEWISH CUSTOM.

A CHRISTIAN man will gladly learn from a Jew aught that will render him more humble in his own estimation. That was a striking custom which the Jews used to observe at their wedding feasts, of the

bride and bridegroom drinking together from the same glass, and then breaking the glass in pieces. This was intended to teach them that all earthly enjoyments are as brittle as glass. Their bosoms might beat, and their eyes sparkle with joy, but the hope of its continuing long was weak as a spider's thread. There is no security but in the favour of God.

Pharaoh was king of Egypt, and reigned proudly, thinking, no doubt, that the crown was firm on his head, and the sceptre safe in his hand; but

The sceptres and the crowns of kings
Are frail and insubstantial things.

In the pride of his power, when the strength of his kingdom was brought forth, his captains, his chariots, and his horsemen, he was overtaken by the closing waters of the Red Sea, and overwhelmed with sudden destruction.

Belshazzar was king of Babylon: great was his power, his pomp, and his ambition;

But royal pomp and kingly power

Are but the baubles of an hour.

So confident was he of the durability of his greatness, that he made a feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank with his princes, his wives, and his concubines, out of the golden cup of the house of God, and praised the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron,

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wood, and stone.

JEWISH CUSTOM.

But the handwriting on the wall struck him with dismay, and in "that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain," Dan. v. 30.

Herod was the proud and confident king of Judea; but in the midst of his pride and power he was suddenly brought low.

Alas, how frail, how soon are flown,

The passing pageants of a throne!

On a set day, when arrayed in his royal apparel, he sat upon his throne, and made an oration to the people." And the people gave a shout saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost," Acts xii. 22, 23.

With such instances as these before us of the instability of earthly possessions and enjoyments, and the suddenness with which the most highminded and confident have been struck down from the seat of self-exaltation, let us walk humbly with God, and depend entirely on his grace. The broken glass in the nuptial ceremony of the Jew, is a fit subject for the consideration of a Christian.

For all should know, amid their greatest gains,
How frail a thread their earthly hope sustains.

FOOD.

THE thought may never have struck you, that it is very possible to be starved to death in the midst of food, and to die of thirst in the middle of the sea; for many kinds of food are no more adapted to the appetite and nourishment of a human being, than the salt water. Give a dog hay, a horse flesh, a cow fish, and a man grass, and they will all soon be in a miserable case.

Now if this be true of the body, it is equally true of the soul. A thriving soul must live on thriving food, and that prayer of Agur the son of Jakeh, "Feed me with food convenient for me," is an excellent one, whether it refer to quality or quantity, Prov. xxx. 8.

If you have ever eaten that which has disagreed with you, I need take no pains to describe the weight, the pain, and sickness of body you have endured. And if you have ever devoured with a greedy mind the doctrines of legality, pharisaism, infidelity, and atheism, you must know pretty well, or if you do not now, you will know some time, the distressing doubt, darkness, disappointment, fear and remorse which such poisonous food occasions to the mind.

We are not sufficiently thankful for the supply