have stamped upon them the image and superscription of the King shall wear a crown. How are we to stand in such a time? We have had honored ancestors, but honored ancestors cannot support us in such a strife. The victory we seek is won by personal courage and grace alone. Daniel had no helper. To meet the sneer of plumed and belted courtier, who with haughty mien despised the lineage of a Hebrew slave, he had but the answer of a blameless life. Thus to stem the sweeping torrent of national dishonor, to rise above what seemed to be an irresistible destiny, and to trample upon the base assumptions of a privileged audacity, he had no weapon save the indestructible armor of a resolute and holy purpose. It was enough. God and the right shall stand when the pillars of Hercules have fallen. I would commend to you Daniel as at once your patron and pattern saint.

There has been given to us in this land a heritage of freedom. The arm of the oppressor is broken. There can be no enemy against us except that which is within, and no bondage save the corruption of our nature. The enemy may be powerful and the yoke galling, but the God of Daniel is able to deliver us. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things." It has been written and read and sung and said that "happiness is our being's end and aim." The assumption is false, nevertheless. Human experience, the universal conscience, God's word and spirit all declare that "not happiness, but perfection is our being's end and aim." An ancient prince inquired of his ambitious son as to what was the end and purpose of his life. "To conquer the world," was his prompt reply. "And when you have conquered the world, what then?" "Then I will sit down and take my rest." "Why

not first sit down and take your rest?" The father did not know the passion that burned within him. He did not comprehend the fact that so long as there was one flag which had not been lowered, one sceptre which had not been broken, one kingdom which had not owned allegiance to his sway, that so long he could not rest, and therefore would not rest. Such is the attitude of the Christian life. He knows that he "has not yet attained." There are almost whole continents in the spiritual realm which his footstep has not reached, whose flora has never yet greeted his eye, whose bird song has never delighted his ear. Why should he thus rest satisfied to whom the Master has said, Be ye perfect even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect!" So long as there is one passion which has not been subdued, one evil habit which has not been overcome, one unholy desire which has not been dispelled, so long he can not, will not rest.

O living will that shalt endure

When all that seems shall suffer shock!

Rise in the spiritual rock,

Flow thro' our deeds and make them pure;

That we may lift from out of dust

A voice as unto him that hears,

A cry above the conquered years,
To one that with us works and trusts,

With faith that comes of self control,
The truths that never can be proved;
Until we close with all we loved,
And all we flow from, soul to soul.

66

PAUL'S SONG IN THE NIGHT.

BY REV. D. B. SPENCER,

*

Pastor First Presbyterian Church, Marquette.

Text: "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praise unto God." Acts 16:25.

There is one word which is continually coming to my mind as I read these narratives concerning Paul, and that word is, irrepressible. They have a rule in the prize ring that when a man is knocked out, if he does not come up again within a certain number of seconds, time is called and he is declared beaten. Thus far we have seen Paul down in many combats; but he always comes up again. Thus at Antioch where Paul was stoned, he was down for a moment, but he came up again. At Iconium he was again knocked out, but straightway he was on his feet. At Lystra he was stoned and this time left for dead, but while they stood about him he rose up and went into the city to renew the contest. And here in Philippi is this finely victorious spirit singing from the depths of a loathsome dungeon. Paul has been downed again. The enemy

* David Brainerd Spencer was born Dec. 11, 1854, on the Red River of the North, where his father was a missionary among the Chippewa Indians, and his mother fell a martyr. Graduated at Oberlin College, 1878, and Andover Seminary, 1882. After engaging in mission work in Cincinnati, O., he had pastorates at Sandwich, Plymouth and Peoria, Illinois, and since 1894 at Marquette, Mich.