Knowing our Limitations. It is a wise man who knows his limitations, and docs not attempt to go unduly beyond them. The measure of our responsibility is our capacity. The number five suggests this, and this number is prominent in our bodies. The five fingers of our hand suggests its capacity for work beyond which our responsibility does not extend. "It is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not" (2 Cor. 8:12). God does not require of us the exercise of the power of the angels, "who excel in strength," nor to attempt things which might be undertaken with ease by another man. We may look at this in a number of ways, beginning at the lowest forms.

Limitation of Means. How many a happy home has been shadowed by gloom because of the simple failure to live within their means. The husband is young, his salary is limited, but he knows of a nice house which can be bought on instalments. To be sure it will be a tax, but perhaps his salary will be raised or he may find a better situation, and so the contract is made. Then a "bargain house" offers such beautiful furniture at a moderate weekly rate, and this is almost necessary for the new house. Clothing, food, recreations-all a little beyond the ability to pay for. Bills accumulate, the carefully prepared "budget" has to be ignored. Silence, planning, preoccupation take the place of the once happy talk at the table, and in the evening. Happy is it if mutual blame and recrimination do not come in. Alas, how many a happy home has thus been blighted by not knowing the financial limitations.

Limitation of Strength. A frail person cannot attempt to do what would be easily accomplished by an athlete. Long walks, physical after office hours, disregard of one's liability to take cold or to be overdone in various ways, may lead to a sickness which will lay one aside for months. Those who are advanced in age need particularly to remember this. They may see younger persons with a surplus of strength go far beyond them in exertion, or at the table, but it is happier far not to attempt to imitate them and to pay the penalty. Let the limitations be accepted cheerfully, and there will be found abundant scope for useful service. If the capital is reduced, the expenditures must likewise be reduced.

Mental Limitations. Perhaps nothing is more humbling than to be unable to "match minds" with some brilliant scholar. His attainments are far beyond ours, and his vigor of mental activity leaves us out-distanced. He is well versed in various departments of science, can talk intelligently of Astronomy, Geology, Chemistry and the laws of Physics. History seems to lie like an open book in his mind, and he is equally at home in the field of Philosophy. Let us not attempt to go beyond our measure in pretending to be his equal. Part of his equipment has come from long years of patient study-he has used his time well; part is due to a mental vigor due to inheritance or other causes. If we cannot soar with him, let us happily go on with what lies at our hand and is within our powers. Thank God, His word is not merely for the learned, but for the simple, and "Much increase is in the tillage of the poor."

Spiritual Limitations. Blessed be God, these are not permanent, but they are well-defined. Here is one child of God who has walked with Him for years, communed with Him through His Word and prayer; served Him in lowly-hearted devotion; and here is another who is a new born babe, or one who has neglected his soul's welfare and been absorbed in "earthly things." Such cannot expect to enjoy in as full a measure, or to do what is to the other the simplest expression of his nature. Prolonged seasons of prayer, happy conversations with those like-minded, joyful self-denial, bold testimony before the world-alas, to some these things are far beyond them. They must not attempt to imitate the spirituality of others, without the faith and exercise which have marked them. Our tendency is to be imitators, and without being hypocritical we may assume a spirituality which is not "the hidden man of the heart." We may launch out in service for which we have not faith, give utterance to affections and desires which we have heard from others, rather than the outflow of the Spirit from within.

No Limit to Progress. We must not be discouraged by our limitations. Discouragement may result from undue self-occupation, and none of our limits are meant to be barriers. The finances can be handled more intelligently, the energy stirred to more cheerful steady effort. The bodily health may be improved by intelligent care and regimen. The exercise be judiciously increased until one's capacity is much extended. And the mind, thank God, can be developed. Useless trashy reading, mental sloth, lack of system, may be cast aside, and one may find himself enjoying a far higher plane of mental activity than he dreamed possible. In the spiritual realm all this is most attractive. Let us lay aside every weight; let us be real in the acknowledgment of past failure and present condition. Let our prayer be simple, earnest, sincere. Let us cry after increased love for the Word, and our own souls will soon know the thrill of growth.

Wheelbarrow Religion. Someone has thus quaintly described what is all too common among God's dear people. They go when they are pushed. If they are surrounded by diligent Bible readers, they will begin to read, for a while. When some one ministers the Word in energy and power, they feel the impulse and begin to move. Exhortations stir them, only soon to be forgotten. Under some impelling enthusiasm, they undertake study, service, work; they begin to give out tracts, to read the Bible daily, to study, only to lapse into uselessness when the impulse is removed. Individuals and gatherings may be in this condition. Happy is it to have the cheer and encouragement of such impulses, but may we know more of "patient continuance in well-doing," and not be exposed to the apostle's rebuke, "Ye did run well, who did hinder you?" Let us not be mere wheelbarrows.

God's snuff-dishes and bottle. In the directions for the making of the golden candlestick, mention is made of snuff-dishes and tongs, which were used for trimming the lamps (Exod. 25:38; 30:7). The "tongs" were for removing the burned wick, in order that the flame might burn more brightly. The snuff-dishes may have been the receptacle for these burned wicks. Both were of gold. A burned wick! Yesterday it was gleaming brightly and bringing out the luster of the candlestick; to-day it is black, unsightly and useless, indeed a hindrance. The meaning is obvious. Yesterday's communion and service is to-day a remembrance only. If we dwell unduly upon it, we will find it hinders our shining to-day. We must turn from it, "forgetting those things which are behind." But God does not forget it. He stores it carefully in the golden snuff-dishes, and like the "hidden manna," laid up in the golden pot, it will be displayed in glory. Nor will it be an unsightly "wick" then, but the carbon is crystallized into the brilliant diamond. Let God be the keeper of our experiences and service. "The day" will show them in their true beauty.

Similarly God has a "bottle" in which to keep the tears of His sorrowing saints (Ps. 56:8). They are not forgotten, not "tears, idle tears," but known and felt by Him who-wept at the grave of Lazarus. One day the "bottle" will be opened, and the tears will have become pearls. Are we sad and heart-broken over some great sorrow, some failure? If we go through these experiences in company with the Man of Sorrows, we shall one day smile through them, or rather see them "lusted with His love." S. R.