fessing the many sins of which he had been guilty; beseeching God to forgive him and to enable him to do better in future.

But Cain did not feel so. What he did was only outward. It looked, indeed, as if he had right feelings in his heart, and meant to show them by the offering which he made. But it was not so. He pretended to have right feelings towards God, while he had none at all. It was only seeming to be good. It was hypocrisy.

Abel also brought an offering unto the Lord. It was different from that of Cain ; it was what God commanded. He took some of the very best of his flocks of sheep and lambs, for he was a shepherd; and, after killing them laid them on an altar, and burned them, while the thick, dark clouds of smoke rose up towards the sky.

He did this with right feelings. He bad faith in God; believing that all that God had taught him was true, and trusting in God, as an obedient and dutiful son does in his father. He had submission to God; feeling that God had a right to do as he thought best, with him and with all that he possessed. He had sincere gratitude and

He

love to God for his many blessings. wished to shew forth these feelings of his heart and his need of forgiveness from God by the offering which he made,

What a contrast between the two brothers! How unlike each other! God perceived it clearly. His eye penetrates the most secret thoughts and feelings. No one can deceive him. While he beheld and loved the sincerity of Abel, he saw through the hypocrisy of Cain, and abhorred it.

He treated the two brothers very differently. In some way which the Bible does not explain to us,--it might have been by a voice from heaven, or by fire kindling the sacrifice, as was done afterwards in many instances, or by some other appearance which was well understood at the time,-in some way God showed Abel that he was pleased with him and his offering, and that he accepted it as an expression of his faith, submission and gratitude. But with Cain and his offering God was greatly displeased. He took some way of showing this displeasure to Cain, and of letting him know that his hypocrisy was detected, and had met with the abhorrence which it deserved.

We do not now, since the offering up of Christ, bring lambs and sheep, and place them on altars, and burn them as an offering unto the Lord. But we should be willing and ready, at all times, to give both ourselves and all that we have to the service of God, in whatever way we can do it so as to honor him, and do good to our fellow-men, and lead them to be the friends of Jesus Christ. Are you thus willing and ready?

We are not now required to take some of our best and most valuable things, and consume them with fire, as in the presence of God, to show that we acknowledge our forfeiture of life by sin, and his right to them, and to ourselves, and to all that we possess. But we ought always to feel that he has such a right; and, when he sees fit to deprive us of any thing which we value very much, or of any friend whom we love greatly, we should submit cheerfully to his will without the least murmuring or complaint. you think and feel thus?

Do

When we pray to God, we bring before him the offerings of our hearts. We beseech him, in the name of Christ, to accept, -not a lamb or sheep, a vegetable, or fruit,

-but what he values much more highly, a spirit truly sorry for sin; full of faith in Him and his Son; submissive, grateful, obedient.

When you pray to God, do you bring such an offering before him? Do you have such feelings in your hearts? Try to have them. Beseech God, for Christ's sake, to give you his Holy Spirit, that you may have them. Bring your offering as Abel did, that it may beaccepted of God. Fear lest you bring it as Cain did, in sin and hypocrisy, to excite the displeasure of God, and to be rejected with abhorrence by him.

STORY VI.

THE FIRST MURDER.

God in some way, as we have seen, showed Cain that his hypocrisy was detected, and his offering regarded as wholly unworthy of acceptance. This made him exceedingly angry; and his anger appeared strongly

in his countenance. The blood rushed violently from his heart, reddening all his face, and swelling his features with madness. It rushed back again, and left his countenance pale and fallen.

There he stood a miserable, unhappy man! He looked as if he would do something to avenge the injury which he thought he had received in the rejection of his offering. A feeble, sinful worm of the dust, lifting up itself, in rage, against the Almighty. And this, for no other reason, but because he had been treated just as he deserved to be.

He hears a voice. It is the voice of his offended Maker, wishing to show him how sinful his feelings are, and how wrong it is for him to indulge them.

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Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule Over him."

Why hast thou, Cain, such angry and wicked feelings? There is no good reason for them. The fault is all thy own,-in thy sinful heart. Feel right, and do right.