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Aloe trees grow; Sweet as the smiles that now play round thy mouth, There, there's the bright spot where young vi-o-lets blow. Oh, come then with

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Come to the South, love, oh! come and be free,
Come to the land where the nightingale sings; •
The North is too bleak for a flow'ret like thee,
Then come where the birds fly on rose-tinted wings.
Oh! come then with me, o'er the far distant sea,
Oh! come then with me, o'er the far distant sea,
Then come to the South, love, the beautiful South,
Oh! come to the South, love, oh! come and be free.
I'll watch thee, &c.

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I.

THE OFFERING OF THE MAGI.

EVERYTHING about Jesus Christ is a paradox. In the line of royalty, and yet born poor; cradled in a manger, yet there admired, reverenced, and worshipped by the rich, the wise, and those who trod the courts of kings. Too poor to feed his disciples, to own a home, to ride in triumph for once, to eat with his friends, or even to own a grave,-these were borrowed for him.

Not able to pay a small tax until the very fish brought money at his bidding; put to death with the outcasts of society, a rich man's new tomb was his burial-place.

How far-reaching is Divine Wisdom! Hundreds of years before Christ, a wicked man uttered the prediction that "A star should arise out of Jacob!" And now, far away on the banks of the Euphrates, where they watched the stars, and measured the heavens, the star arises! Divinely instructed, they hasten towards the tents of Jacob. They cross the long, sandy desert, and come to Jerusalem. At the court of Herod it is announced that strangers, looking like ambassadors, have arrived.

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We have come And Herod They

tell us the Prince has come.
to worship him. Where is he?"
is troubled. All the city is moved!
talk of nothing but the new star.

The strangers move on towards Bethlehem. At dusk the new star, increased in brightness, appears, coming down almost to the earth! The strangers shout in their own tongue, but stop not till the star hangs over an humble dwelling. A prince? A king? Where is the palace? Where the officers of state? Where the rejoicing nation? But their faith staggers not! They find a Babe, but they believe the vision, and opening their treasures, gold and frankincense, acknowledge him a prince and divine.

O ye, who, not understanding God's ways, think that his plans fill a circle no larger than

ours

Learn that our Father in Heaven is confined to no particular way or method of leading men to his Son. The star, the voice of Balaam, and the troubled tyrant, all lend their aid.

Learn again that God has friends in places where we should not look for them. Though scattered widely, he sends them his promises, and on his seal is written, "The Lord knoweth who are his."

Learn that men are honoured as they honour the Saviour. These men we never hear of but once, we know only of one deed which they performed; but that deed will be admired, and will redound to their honour, as long as the world shall endure.

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