r is pure; the poison mists are down lower; the hunters do not
come there; their arrows or their rifles will not carry so far. It is
only when the herd ventures a little down the hill that it is in danger
from shots.

But the elevation will not be such as to make us despise the low paths
on which duty--the sufficient and loftiest thing of all--lies for us.
Our souls may be like stars, and dwell apart, and yet may lay the
humblest duties upon themselves, and whilst we live in the high places,
we 'may travel on life's common way in cheerful godliness.' Communion
with Him will make us light-footed, and lift us high, and yet it will
keep us at desk, and mill, and study, and kitchen, and nursery, and
shop, and we shall find that the high places are reachable in every
life, and in every task. So we may go on until at last we shall hear the
Voice that says, 'Come up higher,' and shall he lifted to the mountain
of God, where the living waters are, and shall fear no snares or hunters
any more for ever.

* * * * *

ZEPHANIAH

ZION'S JOY AND GOD'S

'Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice
with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.... 17. He will rejoice
over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee
with singing.'--ZEPHANIAH iii. 14, 17.

What a wonderful rush of exuberant gladness there is in these words! The
swift, short clauses, the triple invocation in the former verse, the
triple promise in the latter, the heaped together synonyms, all help the
impression. The very words seem to dance with joy. But more remarkable
than this is the parallelism between the two verses. Zion is called to
rejoice in God because God rejoices in her. She is to shout for joy and
sing because God's joy too has a voice, and breaks out into singing. For
every throb of joy in man's heart, there is a wave of gladness in God's.
The notes of our praise are at once the echoes and the occasions of His.
We are to be glad because He is glad: He is glad because we are so. We
sing for joy, and He joys over us with singing because we do.

I. God's joy over Zion.

It is to be noticed that the former verse of our text is followed by the
assurance: 'The Lord is in the midst of thee'; and that the latter verse
is preceded by the same assurance. So, then, intimate fellowship and
communion between God and Israel lies at the root both of God's joy in
man an