There was mercy then--this unknown Splendour whose terrors had been shadowed forth with such grandeur had pity as well as vengeance; a dull feeling of exhaustion stole over him as the psalm ended with the promise of mercy, and his dry lips moved mutely as though to join in the final "Glory be to the Father." He did not rise from his knees, but still in a posture of abject supplication heard, as in a dream, the reading of the lessons and the sweet kindly music of the hymns. It was only when the vicar, tall and stately in his white surplice, mounted the pulpit and gave out the text, that he stirred. With a weary sigh he arose and sat down in the pew, utterly exhausted by the conflicting emotions roused within him by the music, but the words of the text given out by the resonant voice of Dr. Larcher seemed to convey some comfort to his despairing soul. "_Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble and he saveth them out of their distresses_." He listened to the sermon idly at first, but soon found, to his surprise, that he was following the words of the preacher with close attention. Dr. Larcher was no golden-mouthed Chrysostom by any manner of means, but he preached a plain, homely sermon, eminently adapted to the simple congregation of which he was pastor. Never for a moment did he lose himself amid abstruse theological arguments which they would not have understood, but told them practical truths in vigorous Saxon, the meaning of which no one could fail to grasp. "_For, my brethren, when a man is at the lowest depths of despair it is then that he first calls upon the name of the Lord. In time of peace and plenty, when our friends are around us and our coffers are full, we are alas too apt to forget that all these benefits come from the Almighty, and thus at times neglect to thank him for His many mercies. But when the clouds of adversity gather around us, when the loved ones sink into the grave, when our worldly wealth disappears like snow, when our name becomes a by word of scorn and reproach, it is then that we turn to God for that help which is denied to us by man. And does he ever refuse to aid us?--No!--In the words of the Psalmist, 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee'--to the heart that is truly contrite He gives peace and help in time of need; none so low but what He will not hear and grant their prayers if made from the heart. It is not to the terrible Jehovah of the Jewish nation, with pomp and pride of sacrifices and blowing of silver trumpets, that we of later generation appeal. No, since the coming of our dear Lord, who forms the link between most high heaven and lowly earth we offer up humble prayers to Him in solitude and He, the mild and merciful Father of us all dries the tears from our eyes and takes the sorrows from our hearts. If a man is weak and would commit sin let him call upon the Lord and he will be strengthened--if the temptations to which he has been exposed have been too heavy for