THE olive is a beautiful and durable tree, and its fruits rich and valuable, hence the frequent figurative allusions to it in the Scriptures. The fatness of the olive was proverbial as we see from Judges 9:8-9. Being an evergreen tree it is used as a beautiful symbol of fresh and continued piety, the result of divine blessing. "I am like a green olive tree." says the psalmist (52:8). If we would be like the green olive tree, we must live the life of faith and confidence in Gad, and in His grace: and remember that the thankful in heart add much to the beauty of their faith. The young sprouts of the olive grow up in graceful circuit from the roots of the older trees, and so the psalmist sings "Thy children like olive plants round about thy table." This green and spreading tree was an object of great beauty, and the prophets refer to it thus. Speaking again of Israel and Judah, Jeremiah says, 'The Lord called thy name a green olive tree, fair and of goodly fruit" (ch. 11 :16). But when the yine or the olive planted in the pleasant vineyard becomes, and remains unfruitful, though luxuriant in foliage and promising in appearance. they must be cut down and cast into the fire of judgment. Hosea gives us a lovely description of these chosen people in their future blessedness, saying: "His branches shall spread and his beauty shall be as the olive tree. They shall grow as the vine." This is the fruit of God's favour which shall be produced in them, so that at last His grace will not have been bestowed in vain. Holiness is the beauty of the Christian character, so let us see that we adorn our profession with this heavenly grace. -A. Hopkins

We should by all means labour to acquire a deep sense of appreciation for spiritual blessings and be careful to transmit the knowledge of them to others, for this is the surest wav of perpetuating them, so that many mad choose Gad and His inexhaustible fullness of blessings as their portion and their All.

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