bright and light. But how can this be true, when we do not see both the sun and the moon at the same time? I know you cannot see the sun at night; but if you were to be on the moon, then you could see the sun at night. But you could not see the sun every night on the moon. The moon turns round once in every month, and sometimes the side which is next to us is turned to the sun, then we see it; sometimes it is turned away from the sun, and then we cannot see it all, for it is quite dark; and sometimes part of the moon's face is turned to the sun, and then we only see that part which is bright. By the moon's face, I mean that side which is turned to us. The moon and the earth are both great balls; but the moon is a great deal less than the earth, and it moves round the earth in one month. The moon always turns the same side to the earth, but it turns both sides to the sun as it goes round. Does the moon ever shine in the day? Perhaps you will say, No; but yet it does very often. Have you never seen a little white thing like a cloud, just the shape of the moon? That is the moon, and it looks so little bright because the sun is shining upon us too at the same time. The sun makes every thing so bright, that the moon can scarcely be seen.

I once told you that our Lord Jesus Christ is like the sun. He is called the Sun of righteousness. Now, who do you think are like the moon? The people of Jesus Christ. The moon gets all her light from the sun. So Christians get their light from Jesus Christ. No one can be holy but by knowing Jesus Christ, and by

being made like him, through the power of the Holy Ghost. The light of the moon is really the light of the sun, which she reflects. So the holiness of God's people comes from our Lord Jesus Christ; and, therefore, we ought not to praise them, but to glorify Christ, who makes his graces to shine in them.

Is the moon bright in itself?
What is it like ?

What shape is it?

Why does it seem small?
How far off is the moon?
Why does it look bright?
What shines upon it?

When can we not see the sun?

Where can the sun be seen at night?

Can the sun be seen on the moon every night?
Does the moon turn round?

How often does she turn round?

Why do we see the moon sometimes, and sometimes not?

How long is the moon in moving round the earth? Does the moon ever shine in the day?

What does it look like then?

Why does the moon look like a cloud by day?
Who is like the sun?

What is Christ called?

Who are like the moon?

What are Christ's people called ?

From whom does their glory come ?

Whom should we praise for every thing that is good? and why?

THE STARS.

You have often seen the bright, glittering stars, like pins of gold on the dark blue sky.

There are so many that you cannot count them, and they seem to twinkle every moment. Would you like to know anything about these beautiful stars?

They are not such small things as they appear to us; but, instead of that, they are very great, and some of them are suns, a long way off. They are as large and as bright as our sun which shines by day; and they look small only because they are so very far off. Do you think

this is very strange? Then try to remember some other things which look small because they are a long way off. If you fly a kite, and it rises very high, it looks smaller and smaller as it goes up, till at last it seems only a little dark spot. If you watch a ship leaving the harbour, it seems to become less and less as it sails away, till, after a time, you can scarcely see it at all. Now, it is for the same reason that the stars look so small, though they are really so large. They are a very long way off. So very far, that if it were possible to fly to one of them, and you were to go twenty miles every minute, it would take more than one thousand eight hundred years before you arrived at the end of your journey. How wonderful it is to think of this! and how very great must God be who made all the stars of heaven, and keeps them in their places! Nothing is so great, or so far off, but he takes care of it, and orders it as he

pleases. We ought to be afraid of offending the God who is so glorious and so powerful.

Are the stars of any use to us? Oh, yes; they are very useful indeed. The moon does not shine every night, and when we have not her light, that of the stars makes it not nearly so dark as it would be without them. We can see our way pretty well on a bright starlight night, even when the moon does not shine. But there is another use which the stars are of to us. When sailors go away over the sea in ships, and get so far off that they cannot see the land, and there is nothing but water all round them, how are they to find out which way to go? Well, if they look at the stars they can find out; for there is one star, which is called the pole star, that is always in the north part of the sky if the ship sails towards that star, it will go to the north; if it sails away from that star, it will go to the south. The sailors can also find out the east and the west. If they turn their faces to the pole star, the east will be on their right hand, and the west on their left hand. Now you see what great use we have of the stars. They point the way over the wide sea, where there are no roads or paths.

And now I will tell you about another star, of which I think you have read in the Bible. When Jesus Christ was born, do you remember that the wise men of the east came to see him, and God showed them the way by sending a star to guide them. Do you think the stars can lead us to Jesus? Yes, they may help to do so, if we think how great Jesus is; for St. Paul says, "By him, God made the worlds." How

glorious he must be who made all those glorious stars! Yet he came down from heaven, and died to save sinners. Ought you not to love him?

WHAT are stars, and where are they placed?
Why do they seem to us so small?

Name some other things that seem small to us, because a long way off.

If you wished to fly to the clouds, and went twenty miles in a minute, how long would it take you to reach them?

What does this show us?

Whose power keeps the stars in their proper places ?

Is any thing too great, too far off, or too small for God's notice ? "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father," Matt. x. 29.

How should we feel towards this great and powerful Being?

Explain to me the use of the stars to us.

Are they of use to sailors?

Name the star that guides them.

In what part of the heaven is the pole star fixed? When ships sail from the pole star, in what direction do they go?

How can sailors find out the east and west by the pole star?

What went before the wise men when they were seeking Jesus?

Was there any difference between this star and those we usually see?-Yes, it moved and went before them.

How may the stars lead us to Jesus?

Is Jesus ever called a star in God's word?—He calls himself so in Rev. xxii. 16, "I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star."