Life insurance is a modern invention, though its principle is as old as Adam's transgression in the beginning, the primary motive of which was that he would be"wise," knowing good and evil, and, as a result, able to care for himself, and so take himself out of God's hands who had made him a dependent creature and who had pledged Himself, in all His wisdom and power, for him in that condition.

So man has been ever since striving to make himself independent of God, and happy without God. Cain's posterity is witness to this. They were the men of skill and invention, the inventors of all kinds of musical instruments and instructors of every artificer in brass and iron. Men who could build cities, fill them with art and music, name them after, themselves-and leave God out.

To the Christian all is changed. God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,, hath shined into his heart, to give forth the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So he longs to be, if true to Christ, a dependent soul. His ambition is to know Christ and to be found in Him, not having his own righteousness which is of the law (the principle of works), but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. His joy is in the Lord,-in submission to His will and not his own. His hope is translation at the coming of Christ, which may occur at any time. He does not, therefore, expect death to come to him, and is privileged to make no provision for it. His life is bound up with the risen Lord and he lives in constant expectation of His return. For him, then, to insure his life would be to deny the truth of the Lord's coming. It would be for him to make provision for death which may never come.

To the man of the world death must surely come, and insurance for him is consistent. He expects to die and takes out a life insurance policy to provide by it for his family or relatives who may be dependent upon him. His life is lived in. independence of God, and it is only natural that he should die in the same manner. But dependence upon God characterizes the Christian's life; to him death is an uncertainty, and life insurance is wholly inconsistent. His hope is the Lord's coming and if he be true to that precious truth he cannot insure his life.

For the Christian, then, so long as he is here waiting for the Lord, his prayer can be like that of Agur in the Proverbs, "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me; lest I be full and deny Thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." Or better yet, satisfied with the preciousness of Christ, and a Father's loving care, he can say with Paul "I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content." He should want neither independence on the one hand, which might cause him to deny God's goodness and care, nor poverty on the other, which might subject him to impious failure in his own life. His prayer should ever be for contentment and dependence, even as the Lord taught His disciples to pray "Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." The mercy he needs is asked for on account of his showing it to others. Truth and love are the girdle of his loins. Righteousness and peace the comfort of his heart. He has turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven. So he lives to declare God's grace and to bear Christ's cross, and regularly lays aside for the Lord's service a part of that in which he has been prospered, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Magnificent accomplishment of the cross of Christ! He who once lived to do his own lawless will lives now by grace to do the holy will of God. All praise to His name for such a transformation. R. H. C.