THE WATCHER.

BY REV. T. STREET..

SLEEP on, my babe, sleep on;

Their way to harm thee no rude ones are wending; But, dear, thy mother o'er thy form is bending, And fondly with thine own her smile is blending; Then sleep, my babe, sleep on.

Sleep on, my babe, sleep on;

Thy mother's watching, and her soul's affection, Shall be to thee, my child, thy best protection; For this one love shall give her prayer direction;

Then sleep, my babe, sleep on.

Sleep on, my babe, sleep on;

The bright green vine around thy couch is creeping; The streamlet o'er its pebbled bed is leaping,

And birds are singing while my baby's sleeping; Then sleep, my babe, sleep on.

7*

Sleep on, my babe, sleep on ;

A-smiling through the leaves the sun is stealing,
And its soft pressure now thy cheek is feeling,
Thy deepened blush is its embrace revealing;
Sleep on, sleep on, my babe.

Sleep on, my babe, sleep on; ·

Oh, would my heart could read thy infant dreaming,—
Could fully penetrate that smile's rich meaning;
Is thy pure soul with love to me now teeming?
Yet sleep, my babe, sleep on.

Sleep on, my babe, sleep on;

No grief to thee no bitter tears are given;

No woe

no anguish thy young heart has riven : Thy life is one unbroken dream of heaven;

Sleep on, my babe, sleep on.

Sleep on, sleep on, my babe ;

Thy dimpled hand a mother's now is pressing,
While in thy slumbers silently caressing,

Unseen ones give to thee their angel blessing;

Then sleep, my babe, sleep on.

BAPTISM OF JESUS.

BY REV. J. P. DURBIN, D. D.

THE Divine Providence, when it shall be fully comprehended, will appear to be a natural chain of causes and effects, so devised by heavenly wisdom and forged out by celestial power, as to fulfil the divine purposes in the redemption of the world. When the whole shall be manifested, there shall not be, according to common acceptation, any mystery or miracle in it. As it is declared, it appears to be natural, and commends itself to our reason, and commands our assent and obedience. The personal history of our Saviour offers many beautiful illustrations of this; but in no portion of his life do we see it more than in the history and incidents of his baptism. This history connects itself with the greatest and most remarkable man that had appeared before the incarnation of Christ. The histories of these two wonderful beings take their rise amid the courtesies and endearments of family relations; thus sanctifying the natural ties which are the living filaments of society, by the first spiritual manifestations of the kingdom of Christ, which is to reduce all men that dwell on all the