go and preach the Gospel without a salary, without a church to stand by him, in the face of persecution and death. It did Paul. And he did not look forward to an easier time while he lived. As soon as he raised up a society that loved him, he left them, to carry the Gospel to another place. Where can you find an expression of greater devotion than in his parting words to the church at Ephesus: "And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."— Acts 20:22-24.

There are those to-day who have the same spirit of devotion. If called to the ministry, they cannot by any church or state authority be awed into preaching the Gospel of expediency, nor can they be starved into silence. The dictates of worldly prudence are overpowered by an all-conquering love for Christ.

These are the faithful followers of Christ. They "count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus their Lord."-Phil. 3:8. They are often objects of

scorn and reproach,-often of persecution and injustice. To them it can be said, "Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance."-Heb. 10:34. To such as these, no other appeal for money or service is needed but that the cause of Christianity requires it. Whatever requirement the Master makes, they are ready to meet it.

In A. D., 1660, John Bunyan was sent to Bedford jail for preaching the Gospel. He was poor. He had a wife and a family of four small children to whom he was tenderly attached. He lay there in a loathsome jail twelve years, for the sake of Christ. To the offer of freedom on condition that he would not preach, he made this noble reply:

"I am resolved to lie here till the moss doth grow upon my eye-brows, before I will consent not to preach the glorious Gospel of my blessed Saviour."

This is the affection that should animate everyone who labors for souls. Then he will not be daunted by any difficulties or dangers. He who can die for Christ, can work for Him in any sphere, however humble; on any pittance, however small. Said one who from a noble family went to preach the Gospel to the heathen, who depended for his living solely upon what the people among whom he labored chose to

give him, "I have nothing to add but that they who came forth to labor for the salvation of idolators, receive from on high such consolations, that if there be on earth such a thing as happiness, it is theirs."

CHAPTER XII.

FAITH.

"And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes."-Luke 5: 6.

The battle of Winchester, in our civil war, was stoutly contested. The Union forces were composed of tried veterans, led by brave officers, but after hours of hard fighting they gave way. Their general, not expecting a battle so soon, was twenty miles distant. The roar of cannon told him of the conflict. He put spurs to his noble horse, and in little over an hour, covered with dust, his black charger white with foam, he met his retreating troops. Waving his sword, and shouting the battle cry, he renewed the conflict; and the vanquished gained a decisive victory. He brought no reinforcements but himself; he did not, like Hector or Achilles of old, leave piles of his enemies slain wherever he went; the same men did the fighting that fought before, but their confidence in their general turned defeat to victory.

In every department of life he who works with resolution works in hope. This is especially true in the cause of Christ. The enemies are visible.

They are near at hand. They loom up in the distance. They are entrenched in fortifications constructed with the most consummate skill, and strengthened by unceasing labor. They lie in wait in ambuscades, under coverts that seemed to promise shelter from the heat, and safety from the conflict.

He who goes to warfare against sin must not reckon upon having a holiday parade. Inch by inch the ground will be contested; victories won will have to be defended with a vigilance that never wearies-the battle which you have gained by such hard fighting will be renewed against you when you are least expecting it; every artifice known to honorable or dishonorable warfare will be employed to secure your final defeat; and unless you are certain of the righteousness of your cause and have unbounded confidence in the captain of your salvation you will ingloriously surrender.

True faith never knows defeat. It triumphs in every seeming overthrow; overpowered, it conquers; killed, it comes to life; buried, it rises again. Its ideas of triumph are very different from those of the world. It sees occasion to exult in what a worldly religion would call a failure. What would be thought of a man at the present day who, running such a career as did St. Paul, yet claimed in every battle to be victorious? He might consider himself fortunate