poverty, and crime. The simple truth is that "Local Veto" shuts out all evils if it only be made local enough. Prohibition is needed, not for a nation, state, or parish, but for the individual; and if Parliament delays to pass the measure, let each person pass it for himself, and forthwith consider it binding. The effect will be magical when we make the bill personal, comprehensive, and absolute. Benjamin Franklin wrote: "The taxes are, indeed, very heavy; and if those laid on by the Government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them: but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, and three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly." Let " Local Veto" on these lines become the law of our individual life, and we shall be delivered from the evils which impoverish and destroy, and soon retrieve whatever ground has been lost.

"

The word in the text translated, "recover means in the original to "become sober," to " become sober again," to come out of the stupefaction of sin. The error into which these primitive Christians had fallen is compared with the intoxication that beclouds men's wits; and so we are ever liable to become intoxicated by vanity, lust, pride, anger, or covetousness. Perhaps it has been thus with some of us; yet God has

given us repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, we have become sober again. He has opened our eyes. We see that we are not in a palace, but in a prison; that the gilded bait at which we snatched is not the golden prize of life; that we are feeding on ashes, not on bread. We are like intoxicated men coming to their senses, -a painful process indeed, but it is a blessed thing to escape destroying illusions. Let us feel now that the future is with ourselves. That parliaments, churches, and friends can wonderfully encourage struggling men is a truth to be laid to heart in the proper quarters; the special truth for the struggler, however, is that his salvation is a question chiefly between himself and God. It is wonderful what a handful of patriots can do who arise to assert their liberty; they develop surprising strength, discover unexpected succors, and win unlooked-for victories. tary bondsmen themselves striking a blow for freedom stagger and defeat mighty empires. And when we first awake to our fallen condition our case may seem desperate; yet, calling upon God and pulling ourselves together, the most unlikely victories are achieved over error, worldliness, and sinful habit. Let not those who have lost innocence, faith, purity, and hope say that they are in the iron grasp of a dark fate, that the golden past has gone forever, that nothing remains but remorse and despair; God is able to restore the

Heredi

years which the caterpillar has wasted, and He will restore them if we invoke His strength. Spiritual men can help us only as we help ourselves. God Himself can help us only as we call upon His name, and stir up ourselves to take hold of Him.

"Oh that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shined upon my head, and by His light I walked through darkness." But it is little use to bemoan ourselves unless we are prepared to make every necessary sacrifice to regain our liberty and peace. An animal caught in a trap will gnaw off a limb to get free: are we ready for cruel renunciations that the days of glory and joy may return? Whatever entangles let it go, even though it may be red with blood. Count no struggle too great, no sacrifice too costly. Swallow your pride, trample on indulgence, renounce the world, and all shall yet be right. The devil's will is against you; but you, too, have a will: the devil's will is against you; but this is the will of God, even your salvation.

XXXVIII

CHRIST AND PRAYER

And it came to pass in these days, that He went out into the mountain to pray and He continued all night in prayer to God.-Luke 6: 12.

Leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps.1 Peter 2: 21.

I

T is surprising how little we know of the

personal history of some of the greatest men.

Homer, Plato, Dante, Shakespeare, these extraordinary writers left their poetry and philosophy for the delight and instruction of posterity; yet our knowledge of their personal history is scanty in the extreme: contemporary authors do not describe them; their own pages are destitute of personal references; they vanished, leaving no proper autobiography or memoir. But the personal history of our Lord is given with singular fullness. Several competent hands have lovingly painted His glorious image, and faithfully supplied the details of His wonderful life. It is truly remarkable how much we know of His personal history. What is the significance of this fact? One distinct advantage is that various pressing problems may be studied in the light of His character and conduct. How did He act in relation

to this question or that? When the query is resolved in the light of the gospels, obscure problems become refreshingly luminous.

The habit of our Lord in relation to prayer is specially instructive. The passage given at the head of this chapter is only one of many which reveal the Saviour's belief in the obligation and efficacy of prayer, and we see again and again that His constancy in devotion was in strict agreement with His teaching. Now, in the light of this fact two objections to prayer are finally disposed of; one being intellectual, and the other moral. A strong objection to the theory of prayer is the necessity and invariability of natural law. Spiritual exercises cannot, it is argued, alter the laws of nature, and by prayer it is impossible to influence Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Yet who knew the secrets of nature more perfectly than our Lord? His miracles were not violations of natural law, but the effects of His more perfect understanding of that law. Kennan, in his Tent Life in Siberia, supplies several anecdotes of the extreme perplexity that our instruments of science cause to the savage mind. "Our native guide asked me to see the compass. I unscrewed the cover, and showed him the blue quivering needle still pointing to the north. He examined it curiously. I tried to explain to him its nature and use, but I could not make him understand, and