My heart is bounding onward,
Home to the land I love;
Its distant vales and mountains
My wishful passions move:
Fain would my thirsting spirit
Its living freshness breathe,
And wearied steps find resting
Its hallowed shades beneath.

No soil of nature's evil,
No touch of man's rude hand,
Shall e'er disturb around us
That bright and peaceful land.
The charms that woo our senses
Shall be as pure as fair;
For all, while stealing o'er us,
Shall tell of Jesus there.

What light, when all its beaming
Shall own Him as its Sun !
What music, when its breathing
Shall bear His name along !
No pause, no change, those pleasures
Shall ever seek to know:
The drought that lulls our thirsting
But wakes that thirst anew.

F. G. Bellett.

" If ye had known what this meaneth, 'I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,'' ye would not have condemned the guiltless." (Matt. 12:7.)

The Lord does not here say, the guilty, yet He speaks of mercy.

The Pharisees were great sticklers for law, and thus professed to be the only ones who honored Moses, and God who gave it. They were orthodox enough, but there was one thing lacking-they had no hearts-no heart-movement toward God, and so no hearts for God's people; and this was an awful lack, was it not ?

Although we may not be Pharisees in the full sense, the same principles and the same condition of soul in a measure may possess us in our relations to one another. The cold letter of the Word kills now as then, and none more than those who themselves use it; so we too need to know what this means, " I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." The Lord beautifully meets this hardness of their hearts, and justifies the poor of His flock by pressing upon their consciences (and bringing themselves in as witnesses), that it is lawful to do good at any time. For this, is needed a heart right toward God, and bowels of mercies toward men-a tender and compassionate heart. This will not leave out judgment, but it will show mercy. " I will sing of mercy and of judgment," said one who had learned something of this.

Our compassions-how easily, alas!-circle around ourselves, and plead for ourselves instead of others. We speak often of principles, too, and set to work to carry them out with hard and fast lines of Scripture, all clear and straight enough, but in the application of them, showing judgment is not tempered by mercy. " This ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other undone." There is no value in our taking "high ground," and talking about God and His claims however rightly, if there be lacking in us real heart-care for the least of His people. We cannot separate love to Christ from love to His people, and yet how much it is done!

It is easy to talk of love for brethren far off, and all the time be unable to live with the brethren at our door; of what account, then, is our talk ? '' for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God [or his brother] whom he hath not seen?" (i Jno. 4:20.)

And so, whether it be a question of the guiltless or the guilty, while we are bound to maintain the truth, it must be kept in even balance-as it ever was perfectly by the blessed Lord Himself-with mercy in the heart. The truth has no power when used as a whip for the backs of others-merely to beat and smite them, and thus drive them away, but, in the true love of the true Shepherd of the sheep, to do good with, and this is always lawful.

What a reaping for us it will be, even in the life that is, when "he who showed no mercy will have judgment without mercy "! How happy, on the other hand, to be able to enter into the joy and blessedness of that word, "And mercy glories over judgment." (Jas. 2:13.) The Lord graciously teach us more of it; for if we do not learn it, we too may condemn the guiltless. W. B. _______ d

[We gladly insert the following from the New York Sun on the Parliament of Religions now In session at the World's Fair, Chicago;-a well deserved rebuke, even from the editor of a newspaper.]

If the so-called Parliament of Religions at Chicago is for any other purpose than to be a sensational side show to the big Fair, it is a purely agnostic purpose. It is to destroy the old conviction that there is a single absolute true and perfect religion revealed from God, and to substitute for it the agnostic theory that no religious belief is more than an expression of the universal and ceaseless effort of men to discover the undiscoverable. It is that men's Gods are of their own making, and that they are improved and finally discarded according as the manufacturers grow in enlightenment.

How, then, can Christians consistently join in any such polytheistic symposium as that now proceeding at Chicago ? If Christianity is not the sole true and perfect religion, and if all others are not consequently false and pernicious, it is based on delusion. If it is not merely the best, but also the only religion whereby men can be saved, it is an imposture. If it contains only a part of the truth, sharing that priceless possession with many other religions, its source is not as it proclaims itself to be. Christianity is either the sole and complete revelation of divine truth from God Himself, and hence the only and absolute truth, or it is a fabrication of men, the more worthless because it seeks to bolster itself up by false pretenses. If God did not come down from heaven and take on the form of a man in order to show man the only way to salvation, thereby making all other religions false and profane, Christian theology is a sham :it is built on fiction.

That being so, Christianity cannot argue with other religions and compromise with them, accepting something and giving something. It can only say, This is the truth of God, uttered by God Himself, and there is no other religious truth possible. Accept it or reject it at the peril of your soul. God does not argue with men. He commands and they must obey :and Christianity is that divine command, or it is no more than a delusion and a superstition. If it is not divine and absolute, but uncertain human groping for truth like other religions, the story of the incarnation and the resurrection is a fable and the doctrine of the atonement is a myth.

How, then, can Christians come together with Buddhists, Brahmans, Mohammedans, Jews, and Zoroastrians to discuss their religion with them on equal terms? How can they treat them otherwise than as infidels who are the surer of damnation because they have seen the light of heaven and turned away from it?

In Chicago hospitality to all religions indicates agnostic indifference to them all.-(New York Sun.)

The action of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, held at Washington during the latter part of May, is of such importance that it well merits a notice in these pages. For the question raised was not one which affected the denomination as such, but the whole professing church. It was a question touching the very foundations of Christianity, and therefore the importance of the answer to that question reached out beyond the bounds of the denomination.

It should be a matter of unfeigned and hearty thanksgiving that so clear, unequivocal and decisive a result should have been reached. It was a contest where were ranged on the one side learning, influence, wealth and the prestige of a victory in the Presbytery of New York; on the other side was the conviction that the Word of God was more precious than the best man had to offer, and its integrity, all-sufficiency, and infallibility must be maintained at all costs.

The question came before the General Assembly in the form of an appeal from the minority of the Presbytery where Dr. Briggs had been tried and acquitted, largely with the help of those who, though differing from him, would for the sake of peace, retain him in the church. A very significant feature was the effort of Dr. Briggs to get the assembly to refuse to entertain this appeal. And this point was argued with all the subtlety of a lawyer. The reasons urged were purely technical, and even the adherents of the professor would be forced to admit that he did it merely to gain time. If the appeal were thrown out and the case sent back to the Synod, another year would be gained in which to sow diligently the seeds of infidelity broadcast in the church. But what can be said for the uprightness of one who would thus seek as a man of the world, while admitting the facts of the case-that he held and taught the doctrines as charged-to deliberately prevent, on technical ground, a decision being reached on them? But there was a determination on the part of many that this state of things should continue no longer; and while desiring to be perfectly fair to Professor Briggs they would yield no longer to delay. So the case was brought up for trial

Professor Briggs was charged with holding and teaching doctrines contrary to the standards of the Presbyterian Church and (what is far more important) to the word of God. These doctrines may be grouped under three general heads.

I. As to the Scriptures:he denied the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch ; that David wrote many of the psalms ascribed to him, or Isaiah the latter part of the prophecy called by his name. In short, he tore apart, mutilated and remodeled according to his own theory the greater part of the Old Testament. History, ordinances and commandments were in this way altered to suit his theory and the dates of the Mosaic writings, which according to him Moses never saw, changed to the time of Ezra.

Growing out of this mutilation of the form of Scripture was a denial of its verbal inspiration. Indeed this was a necessary conclusion from such premises. For his theory of authorship was formed on supposed conflicting statements in the books-one or both of which must have been incorrect. The Bible according to him was not infallible in all things -only, as the Romanists claim for the Pope, in matters of faith and practice. The jots and tittles were full of blemishes and errors, according to him; and Christ's words, that the Scriptures cannot be broken, were virtually contradicted.
It is needless to dwell on the effect of all this. It is infidelity pure and simple, no matter how concealed for the time by a seeming piety and desire for the truth. It begins with taking away the foundations of the faith, by denying that" all Scripture is given by inspiration of God." The evil done by the holders of such views cannot be estimated. Christ said of Moses, "He wrote of Me," these men say he did not-some one else wrote. Christ said, "but if ye believe not his writings how shall ye believe my words? "-a question which might well be pressed home upon those who in the pride of higher criticism are fast becoming deniers of Christ; for it will come to that.

II The second doctrine was that which co-ordinated the Bible, reason and the Church as fountains of divine authority. Some men found God through the Bible and the doctrines of grace; others, differently constituted found him through the church, its authority and ordinances; (Cardinal Newman was given as an illustration of this class;) and others found God neither through the Bible nor through the church but through reason. Christ is left out. His words '' No man can come unto the Father but by Me," are not true. "Canst thou by searching find out God? " is answered in the affirmative, and indeed every landmark of Christianity is removed.

If Cardinal Newman found true peace in his soul it was through the Word of God, even if dimly seen, and not through the authority of the church of Rome. And so with every other man. We can readily understand how one who begins by invalidating Scripture can go on to associate with it, as of equal authority, the professing church and man's finite reason.

III. The third doctrine was that of progressive sanctification after death. Professor Briggs held that at death the work of sanctification, begun by regeneration, went on until it was completed at the resurrection. The close resemblance to the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory strikes one. Coupled with it he has, by misinterpreting the passage which speaks of Christ preaching to the spirits in prison, given some general idea that such men as Paul are now employed in the work of enlightening those who die not fully sanctified, and this work goes on to the resurrection ! We must ask, Does this man call such teaching Christianity? Where is the all-sufficient completely finished work of Christ? Where the blessed truth of regeneration, with its impartation of a pure -a divine life? Where the death of the old man by the cross? Ah where are any of the soul-emancipating truths if such teaching-a mere refined and cultured heathenism with some Christian names-is to be substituted for the Word of God? We readily admit that knowledge will increase and that there will be growth and progress to all eternity, but that is not what is meant by this teaching.

It was then for the assembly to decide whether one who held and taught such doctrines could be considered a Christian minister, a safe guide from those who contemplated entering the ministry. By an overwhelming vote they decided that he could not; and he was declared suspended. Let all who love God's truth rejoice that in days of looseness and worldliness there remains firmness enough to stand thus; that neither fears of disruption, nor the impressiveness of learning and wealth could make men forget their loyalty to Christ and His Word.

But, the question forces itself upon us,-if we have the inspired Word of God what are we going to do with it? Shall not the answer be, We will not merely stand for it, but we will search it as never before. We will test it and draw from its inexhaustible resources things new and old ? We will let its light shine and let it speak for itself before the world. Above all we will let it rule us. The Lord grant that those who have been faithful to stand for it, and all His dear people, may be able to give some such answer.

THE SPRING OF 1533.

(History of the Reformation. – Time of Calvin. Vol. in., p. 360.)

"When the day arrived, many persons went out of the city and quietly directed their steps toward D'Adda's garden, situated in a place called Pre L' Eveque, because the bishop had a house there. A table had been prepared in a room or in the open air. The believers, as they arrived, took their seats in silence on the rude benches, not without fear that the priests would get information of the furtive meeting. Guerin sat down in front of the table. Just at the moment (we are told)when the ceremony was to begin, the sun rose and illuminated with his first rays a scene more imposing in its simplicity than the mountains capped with everlasting snow, above which the star of day was beginning his course. The pious Guerin stood up, and after a prayer distributed the bread and wine, and all together praised the Lord. The communicants quitted D'Adda's garden full of gratitude toward God."

Geneva was soon to be a center of light; but first a storm of persecution, to close the long night of the tyranny of Rome, was to baptize the little flock.

("D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation."- Times of Calvin. Vol. 3:, p. 234.)

We are in the thick of the fight; the conflict is terrible; we are fighting man to man but the Lord giveth the victory. Take up the sword, set the helmet on your head, buckle on the breastplate, hang the shield to your loins, and being thus armed with the panoply of God, rush into the midst of the battle; hurl the darts, throw down the enemy on every side, and put all the army to flight. But, alas! instead of joining the soldiers of Christ, instead of rushing into the Lord's battles, you fear the cross, and the dangers that lie in wait for you. Preferring your own ease, you refuse to come to the assistance of your brethren. Is that the behavior of a Christian …. The holy Scriptures declare that the Lord will exact a severe reckoning for such cowardice . . . Beware lest you bury the talent you have received. Call to mind that you must give an account of all those souls whom tyranny holds captive in its gloomy dungeons. You can set the light before their eyes; you can deliver them from their chains. You must conjure them to throw themselves into the arms of Jesus Christ . . . Do not hesitate . . . Christ must be preferred to every thing. Do not trouble yourself about what your wife wishes or requires, but about what God asks and commands." April, 1531. " Loose him, and let him go." (Jno. 11:)

April, 1531.

Oh, the Believing mind,
That sets the Lord above
The failure of my heart and hand
In constancy of love:
Impart it, Lord, to me;
Each moment may it reign,
In all its calm and brightness there,
My spirit's realm within!

Should busy memory wake
The slumbers of the past,
And o'er a present cloudless sky
Some gloomy shadow cast,
Then let believing thought
Arrest for Thee the place;
Fill the whole region of my soul
With glories of thy grace!

Should fear, with fruitful skill,
Image my days to come,
And bear my trembling footsteps on
Through dangers, snares, and gloom,
My faith, then eye the bow
Which spans the distant cloud,
And pledges safety to the end,
Though tempests surge around!

Let faith, with clear, calm light,
Thus measure all my days;
Keep my whole soul in constant peace,
And give it thoughts of praise:
In converse, Lord, with Thee,
My Savior, Guardian, Friend,
While onward still to glory's home
My guided footsteps tend! –

J. G. Bellett.

'' With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."(Is. 12:3.)

The verse preceding reads, "Behold, God is my salvation:I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is become my strength and song; He also is become my salvation;" then it is added, " therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."

This is a good word for faith to start out upon. The "wells of salvation" are the Scriptures, clearly, since in the Scripture water is often used as a symbol of the Word of God.

This is a millennial song, this twelfth chapter of Isaiah. "All things of God " in heaven and on earth. The glory of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. As in the days of Israel's journey from Egypt to Canaan the cloud covered them, and the mount of transfiguration the cloud covered them, so in millennial days will the cloud of glory cover the earth. See Is. 4:5-"And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a naming fire by night; for upon all the glory shall be a defense"-["for from above, the glory shall be for a defense." marg.]

'' And this shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day-time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." The marginal reading makes it clearer, and is the correct reading, no doubt.

And this is still more clearly seen when traced as looked at in connection with the deliverance out of Egypt. See Ex. 8:22, 23-"And Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven; and there was a darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:they saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings."

Now to the Egyptians, this was a darkness which they could not light up. Ordinarily they could light up their darkness. For seventy-two hours, day or night, they were bound by this spell of darkness-no man moved out of his place; but the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. What, then, do you suppose was the character of this light in the houses of the Hebrews ? Was it any thing which they had produced by their own means ? I think not; but a miraculous light,-a light which God gave, in contrast with the darkness given to the Egyptians. (Comp. Ex. 14:19, 20.) The Egyptians had a darkness which they could not light up, and the Hebrews had a light which they could not put out. Thank God! and at the appointed hour, and at the given word; this light led each family out of their dwellings into their proper places in the ranks of that wonderful procession of many miles in length.

Nor was it a mob, without order and arrangement, that came up "five in a rank," in battle-array, out of the land of Egypt. Six hundred thousand soldiers and their accompanying families, with flocks and herds-a mighty host-humanly speaking, an unmanageable multitude-were led without disorder through the Red Sea, and safely brought to the other shore to sing their song of deliverance.

And this is not a parable, but a matter of history; -typical as to practical lessons for us, no doubt, but real, actual facts of history, the "higher critics" to the contrary notwithstanding. Israel in their Egyptian bondage was a reality. Moses, under God, was their deliverer-a real and a true man, and a man of God in all that this word comprehends.

If any part of this can be gainsaid, then all of it can be gainsaid, and the whole book may be cast away as a deception and a fraud; for Christ and His apostles give their most absolute sanction to Moses and the prophets; and if Christ and His apostles are rejected, we have no revelation of God, and are thrown back into absolute atheism-no God. And can we consent to this ? By no means, thank God! For all that the higher critics can say is, that they don't know! while we can say that was not like the man in the ninth of John, when his eyes were opened, he could say, "One thing I know"! And the testimony of one man who does know is to be received, while the know-nothings are not received.

It reminds one of the man who was brought before a justice for stealing, and one witness was brought who testified that he saw the theft. "But," said the defendant, '' I can bring a dozen men who will say they did not see me." So it is with these wise men, these learned professors of agnosticism – know-nothingism; their wisdom proves their folly, and this, again, substantiates the Word of God. For God has said, "I will confound the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

Taking them on their own ground, they have no revelation of God,-hence, no knowledge of God, and no God. While the simplest and weakest believer in all the world can understand how it is and why it is that these wise (?) don't know. They have thrown away the key of knowledge-Christ, inasmuch as they reject God's testimony about His Son through Moses and the prophets, since Moses and the prophets testify of Him. They stand or fall together. But, thank God! they stand, while the wise men go down, like the fire and brimstone upon Sodom, to be engulfed in the flame which their own wisdom has kindled. They do not like to think of hell now. Will they like it any better when they get there ? They prefer great happiness in judging God's Word now ? Will they be as happy when God's Word judges them for this contempt of Moses and the prophets ?

But what a contrast to all this human emptiness is the fullness of God's precious Word, those wells that never run dry. "With joy,"-when the poor wise man and his day have passed,-with joy shall we drink of those wells. Let it be so even now. Those wells are open, and while Philistines may try to choke them, let it be our joy to open them, and to drink deeply ourselves and give also to the thirsting multitudes about us. C. E. H.

It was as much a miracle to call Matthew from the receipt of custom as to cure the paralytic. If the latter needed power to deliver him from the grasp of disease, no less did the former need it to set him free from the clutch of covetousness which held him fast at the money-table. But divine power is sufficient for all things, and He who set free the paralytic awakens a new life in Matthew.

And are not these two occurrences put together (Matt. 9:) to teach us the fullness of divine blessing? Our need is completely met; this we see in the paralytic. We are given power to walk in the path of obedience; and this is made plain in Matthew's case. Our Lord does not stop at half-way measures, nor should we. If our need is met, it should be our care to see that His will for us is accomplished. But, as we said, this last is as much a miracle as the first. The drawing of His love is as much divine as the putting forth of manifest power. Let it be ours to prove the reality of this, and thus provide a feast for Him who has called us to Himself.

"Lord, Thou hast drawn me after Thee;
Now let me run, and never tire."

Apparently, Caleb lost the best part of his life in the wilderness. Those forty years of aimless wandering were, to outward appearance, thrown away. Nor was he to blame. His faith was ready to take him into the land at Kadesh Barnea. He knew God was able to give the people their promised inheritance, and he was ready in the vigor of that assurance to act at once:'' Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." But he, with Joshua, stood alone, and in vain attempted to stem the torrent of fear, unbelief, and rebellion which swept the whole congregation past this point of opportunity-opportunity never to come again to any of that unbelieving host. '' So then we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." And so he must be chained to a rebellious and unbelieving people, compelled to go up and down in a waste land, and all that time the home of his choice, fair Hebron, lay away off in that "pleasant land," which the people had despised. What did it cost him to walk those forty years in peace and patience ? He was suffering under the government of God, not for his own sin, but because he was identified with Israel and had to go through all the circumstances of trial, sorrow, and temporary cutting off which, in righteous chastening, God was bringing upon the people. Personally he was guiltless, but this enabled him the more clearly and fully to enter into the reality of it. In all this, he presents a vivid illustration of our blessed Lord as Messiah, Israel's King. In the gospel of Matthew, He had attracted the people and awakened their desire for the "kingdom of heaven;" He had shown them, as it were "spied out" for them, the holy principles of that kingdom, in the sermon on the mount; He had exhibited the "power of the coming age," Eshchol's fruit, in healing every kind of sickness and infirmity; only to find the same unbelief that existed in Caleb's day, culminating in the same rebellion and apostasy, even ascribing to Satan the works of the Holy Ghost ! How like Kadesh Barnea! and how similar in result! The people as a nation refuse to enter with Him into the blessings of the kingdom, and so from the thirteenth chapter of Matthew we see Him, Caleb-like, turn from the prospect of an immediate earthly kingdom to tread in patience the thorny path of rejection, ending in His being "cut off" as Messiah. "For the transgression of My people was He smitten." We well know, thanks be to God, that this rejection, this cutting off, only opened up the '' new and living way through His death;" but none the less real was the pressure upon His soul, the disappointment we may say, as He realized that the people Israel "could not enter in because of unbelief." But, blessed Master, if He could not enter in because of Israel's unbelief, He showed the meekness and patience of complete submission to God's chastening hand – chastening undeserved by Him, more lovely even than any earthly glory could have been. In all this He has "left us an example that we should follow His steps." In one sense, He, like Caleb, could say, "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nought and in vain; " but how surely could He, and can all upon whom apparently adverse circumstances press, add, "Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God." After the deliberate and formal refusal of the people to recognize Him, He was just as patient, just as loving. He had sorrow and tears for their unbelief, but never a thought of deserting them.

And Caleb, too, in his measure, no doubt exhibited this same patience in accompanying the people in their wanderings-to be sure it was the only thing for him to do, but he evidently did not succumb to the surrounding circumstances, for we hear him say, when at last the people under Joshua had entered the land, a new race, "And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as He said, these forty and five years . . . while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness:and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me; … for war, both to go out and to come in." (Josh. 14:10,11.) No man but one who had kept himself '' unspotted from the world " could have said that. Only of the "righteous" can it be said, "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and nourishing." (Ps. 92:14.) There is no need to mention the various instances where special patience, kindness, diligence was shown. His wilderness history is an unwritten one, to be filled out by each one who will walk in his steps.

And are not our circumstances very similar to Caleb's in many ways ? To be sure there is the added factor of personal failure and the need of realizing the chastening for this, but there are certain general characteristics which can be applied to us all.

To begin with the most general:we have an inheritance which is ours, purchased and assured, but we cannot yet enter upon it. This is not because of personal or general failure, but from the necessity of the case. The demoniac of Gadara longed to accompany the Lord, who had healed him, but was bidden wait awhile and testify what had been done for him. The new-born soul longs to be with Jesus, to see and worship Him, but must wait in the wilderness till the Lord's own time. Here is need for patience, and in a twofold way is the warning needed not to be "weary in well doing." One may be homesick for heaven and let that homesickness unfit him for service here. This is so rare that one almost is tempted to wish there were more such who were crying,

"Take me to love's own country."

But there is for those who so long and become faint the need to remember that service here is that to which the master calls, and it is only a "little while." More needed however is Caleb's example for those who, shut out for the time from their home, become absorbed with their surroundings and forget "the things that are before." Did not the memory of Hebron remain in Caleb's heart as fresh during all those years as at the first ? How is it with us, dear brethren? Is it a longing to be there? a desire to depart, if need be, and be with Christ ? Are our treasures realized to be there and not here? Let Caleb teach us, who, though his feet were in the desert, had his heart in the land. " Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." (Col. 3:2.)

But we can get help and encouragement from Caleb's example for individual cases. He was yoked with a carnal set, and had to outwardly follow where they were led. We, too, are in Christendom and
must accept, in a broad sense, the position brought upon it by unbelief. We have often heard it said that it is impossible to restore a ruin, and this is true, and we go wrong if we ignore it or attempt to extricate ourselves from the consequences of this ruin. Caleb could not leave the rest of the people, neither can we separate ourselves from the professing church; we must sorrowfully bear witness to the fact that we are in confusion (and who can, with Caleb, claim personal blamelessness in contributing to this confusion?) But, though outwardly with the people, who dreams of Caleb's taking part in, or by his presence countenancing the shameful scenes of Bethpeor ? So we have not the slightest excuse for mixing ourselves with practices which, if not so gross, are as much forbidden as the sin of Peor. Specification is not needed, '' Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." We are to hold ourselves ready to help in every way and minister to God's people wherever they are, but we are most assuredly not to partake in their unscriptural practices.

But we have lessons still more individual. One of the constant complaints of God's people, if not upon their lips, in their hearts at least, is that their circumstances are so unfavorable to a full enjoyment of divine things. One is hampered by absorbing business ; another is thrown with ungodly persons in the performance of his duty, a third has, it may be, a worldly family. If matters were different how much more would they enjoy the things of God,-congenial surroundings, pleasant associates, and so forth. Caleb teaches us to have the heart wholly set upon God's things, and then walk the path of duty. It is not said that we cannot alter some of our circumstances. We surely ought where they involve us in dishonor to God. But the vast mass will remain unchanged, and it will spoil us for service if we are going to be dragged down by it. Here is our lesson -to live with God and for Him where He puts us. Nay, we may have through unfaithfulness put ourselves in positions where we must quietly learn from God and glorify Him in the position.

What is the root of it all ? To be whole-hearted for God. If the Lord has not our whole heart, the world will, wedge like, enter and spoil all. Oh, for that confidence in His love, that conviction of His all-sufficiency which will abide with us in all our path, and give us such rest of soul that we may remain, like Caleb, fresh and full of vigor !