. ' THE PULPIT. AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON EY THE REV. WILLIAM PORKESS Theme: Profit and Los. New Hnven, Conn. The following sermon was delivered by the regular preacher, the Rev. William Porkess, t the special Sunday evening service In St. Paul's Church, New Haven, for Yale students and business men, Octo ber 17, 1909. The congregation who listened to Mr. Porkess was an un usually large one: Text: St. Mark, 8:36: "For what shall It profit a man If he shall gain the whole world and lose bis own eoul?" Occasionally our Lord a-mumed the Tole of questioner, but when He did It was not for the sake of gaining knowledge, it. was rather to empha size the knowledge that He possessed. When Jesus turned on the crowd and asked, "Who touched Me?" many as there wete around Him, He knew who the individual was before He had spoken a word, but the Introduction of tho question was His method of railing tho people's attention to the strong faith of the dlsrasod and trembling woman who had forced herself near enough to the Saviour to touch the hem of His garment. So Is it exactly the same -with regard to the searching question of our text. Christ knew full well the answer be fore He addressed His audience, which consisted of the disciples and the people. He, however, became the questioner to lay stress upon a spe cific knowledge nf human nature. That knowledge consisted of tho In- j pxtlngulshable fire that Is aflame, the unending stream of ambition that flows from a man's heart. He, so to speak, by this question takes out of , man the strongest force that Is with- j in him ambition, and holds It before 1 him, clearly Implying that that force j will have one of two effects, it will ; either be constructive or destructive, ' It will either develop life or dwarf It, I It will either make man or kill him. i The Impllflcntlon, however. Is, thnt , Christ gives the warning, end the re. suit rests with man. It remains with ! him absolutely whether he will be his own constructor or destroyer. So ' then, underlying the words of our i text, there is the ruling power of : human nature ambition. I,, tho I words of the text there Is the goal of rmbition profit, "For what shall It . profit a man." Then there is the 1 highest degree of profit the gaining ! of the whole world, "For what shall It profit a man if he shall gain tho whole world," and still further we have tae awful contrast the loss ot the soul, "For what shall It profit a ; man If he shall gain the whole world 1 and iose his own soul?" ! Now what has been the effect of the j centuries that have elapBed since our ' Lord's day, on the question that He ! then asked, and we are now consld- ' ering? Has time made the question I any less a question? While the con- ' dltions of our Lord's time and those ' of our own day are very different, ' does that difference make It unneces- sary for Him to address us in the , words of the text? No, I think per- j haps the difference makes It all the : more necessary. The fire of ambition 1 Is more aglow to-day than ever. Tho ' element of profit is If anything a deeper part of our nature, and the world although older seems fresher In Its appeals, and consequently tho dangers to the soul are Increased. Therefore the words of the Saviour ' spoken to the disciples and people of : His time are a searching question for : men of to-day, and at some stage of ', a man's life he will be confronted by i this question, for it is inevitable. Suppose a man never to enter any church, never to come Into touch : with any religious organization, never to pay the slightest heed to the : claims ot Jesus Christ, yet he must soone' or later face the stern teaching j of the text. The reason for this is because of the common ruling power j human nature the factor of ambl- I tion. Now Christ emphasizes by this ! question His knowledge of the secret i government of a man's life, and He ; also strongly Indicates the course j that that Inner power may take. He recognizes that ambition may be everything or it may be nothing. It may be a man's salvation or it may be his damnation. Unlike the Sav iour, man is not able to see the trend of this inward factor, and because of this he Is very often led astray. What we are not able to Bee, before it Is too late, Christ Is, and therefore we should be willing to listen to and ready to act upon His teaching. So many of us misunderstand the Sav iour. We rather look upon Him as a despotic ruler, when really He is seek ing to be our leader, directing ua to the plane ot life In its grandest form. Ambition Is ours, and It is our most valuable possession, and not only val uable, but it is also an essential. You cannot point to a single pros perous man without this possession, and you cannot mention any stalwart type of character without this essen tial. ' God knew this better than we do when He endowed man with this power, that that endowment must take place before there can be any prosperity or character in Us fullest sense. Some of us are so over whelmed to-day by the powers of evil that we do not always credit to their right source the factors that sway human life. Satan has no claim on ambition, but God planted this seed In the human heart, and in all Hit gifts to man He Is more than willing to act as Guide la their cultivation, but It Is for man to decide whether he will accept the guidance.' We must always remember, however, that It it the design of the Evil One to usurp the place of the Giver. As man deter mines whom to call In as h.s guide, so will his life be. la this very decision he fixes the result. God-guided am bition always means the bringing out of the Inherent beauty of character. Ambition under the spell of Satanic influence means the exposure of llfe'i failure, and very often the degrada tion to which lit can sink. The effect ot God's gift then rests with man, b has the last -word to say, sod on tats decision depends the court that am bition - will take. Mau, therefore, through this gift nay be rich or he may be poor. We need to give em phasis to both results, and the more we do this will tbs one result b ag Incentive while ili other will act as a check. The fire ot ambition Is stirred by the (act of profit. We might almost rail profit, the magnet of ambition. Profit Is Lot only a fact but it Is a necessity, tor it Is an element of hu manity's struggle. The God-glren gift of ambition Is not for us simply to treasure, but rather to put Into operation, and as we do this, allow ing the donor ot tbe gift to control, w shall gain tbe true result- Now, tbe business man may bring In here his question. "Am I to cease making money T No, your efforts to make your fortune, or to gradually increase your savings, are perfectly legitimate The spendthrift is no credit to God, and equally no credit to man. Your ambition to make your way In the world Is worthy and there need not be one lota of the sacrifice cf manliness In allowing that Inward flame to burst forth. We all know where the ambltlonless man will land. He will surely go to the wall, and he deserves to. Whatever our life undertaking may be, whether a business or pro fessional career, It is unreasonable to expect profit, success, unless we put our whole personality Into that under taking. There are a host of people hanging on the first rung of the lad der, and they will stay there, because they have not cultivated God's gift to them. But there are comparatively only a few on the topmost runa. anil they are there because they have kept stirring the flame of ambition that was within thera. You cannot keep back an ambitious man any more than you can impoverish the ooean. But when any man approaches a task half equipped or takes In hand an undertaking as If he were afraid ot It, ho must Inevitably meet with de feat. I know that life has its strug gles, for I have tasted of' them, and thank Ood that I have, that 1 may more deeply sympathize with those In the pew. But I also know that If we keep aglow on the altar of our hearts the flame of ambition, struggle will enlarge and brighten the fire rather than have a tendency to extinguish It. Let me emphasize the fact that there Is no substitute for ambition. Sometimes people will thrust one in Its place, but It always proves a failure. Religion will never accom plish what ambition should, and am bition will never bring about what re HkIoii should. They each perform a particular and different function in life. When a man thinks that in em bracing religion he receives the title to success In his commercial or pro fessional undertaking he Is deceiving himself. One may bo truly religious and yet ambillonlesx, and on tha other hand one may be Intensely am bitious, and yet void of religion. Of course an Ideal life should have the two, but we must not placo them in their wrong sphere, as seams the tendency at times. If then it is Im possible to substitute ambition, and we fall to cultivate this God-given gift. It is almost hopeless In this world of enterprise to expect any re sult, to secure any profit. Provided, however, that a man keeps aglow this inward flame he will bring the suc cess of his undertaking nearer and nearer within reuch, until at last It is in his possession. Profit is what ho looks for and what he secures through the channel of ambition. There is not the slightest element of depravity here. Then pray, why did our Lord ask of His disciples and the people this seaching and important question, "What shall it profit a man if he shull gain the whold world and lose his own soul?" Peter had given the reason for the question almost a moment before, for Christ had uttered the stinging rebuke to him, "Get thee behind Me, Satan; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men." Peter allowed his ambition to rush him headlong into placing earthly dis. tinction before devotion to his Mas ter. And this has been the tendency ot human nature ever since. When a man puts his money making in the place of loyalty to JesuB Christ, when the summit ot achievement eclipses the position of the Saviour in the In dividual life, or when a man wins fame of any kind at the expense of personal religion, ambition God's great gift, has been distorted, and been a destroyer Instead of a con structor. Should a man make money, should he achieve, should ho gain fame? Yes, these are the goal uf am bition. The more one makes, the more one achieves, the wider the fame, the more is the ambition stirred, and because of this restless ness of the ruling power within, doeB our Lord bring His searching ques tion to us, emphasizing the danger that we are In. In substance the Sav iour says. Whatever world your am bition has for Its goal, if it should reach the impossible position the gaining ot tbe whole of that world, at the expense of the soul, or as St. Luke puts it, the loss of tbe self, what are you profited? Here, then, is the su preme thought of the text. You can gain and lose at tbe same time, para doxical as it may seem. You can so allow your ambition to lead you In the quest for fortune, or achievement, or fame, that you pay dearly for thee things, for you have sacrificed your own soul your self. We might de scribe this as a process of building up with one hand and pulling down with tho other. What then is the remedy you ask me? Am I to give up the en. tcrprlses that are interesting me to day? Am I to extinguish the tire of my ambition? If I gain must I lose? Not necessarily so. The whole trou ble is, that you have not given Jesus Christ the questioner, the right po sition in your life. You have left Him out of your ambitious schemes. You are reluctant to allow Him to be a silent listener In your office. You have given Him no place in your thought. You have treated Him as a servant, rather than as your Lord and Master. When such is the case your gaining is losing. While your ambition Is all alive and you are reaching the goal of earthly distinc tion or earthly possessions, your own manhood your soul your self is being sapped to satisfy your restless thirst. The things of the world and the soul of man are here In conflict, and from whatever standpoint you look at it, it resolves itself into a los ing game. Unfortunately, however, we play tbe game, we live lite, before we realize the severity of the loss. The association of our Lord with His disciples was rapidly drawing to a 'close. He had already begun to speak of His crucifixion, but before the end H puts to th;m the ij.iei.Um ot cur text. And In spirit has not tbe same question again and again been put to us when men are about to pass from life's scene, men whom tbe world has called great, men who have built up colossal fortunes or have won great fame? Yes, they will invariably hold before us as the most priceless treas ure, not the following of their ex ample, but rather the safeguarding and cultivating of the soul the de veloping of tbe self. There ran be no coc flirt between the goal of a man's scibltlon and his soul when the cultivation of the soul U put on the highest plane of life. This Is its rightful position, and once dethrone It, and you give creation to antag onism. Ambition must still play Its part In the life, but it will be a sec ondary part, and then the gain will be pure gain, for there can be no loss ot self, but rather fuller development. Here Is where we have the combina tion of a religious and ambitious man. Religion first, ambition second. The former controlling the latter. Gain ing profit in the world of things, de veloping the soul In the world of re ligion. Prosperity is a desirable and a legitimate thins. Nay. the fire ot ambition demands it. and ye'. thW very prosperity is dangerous, breams it is likely to usurp lu.lf. It needs to be bandied flrrulv and Intelligently if our life Is to escape the danger. Our Lord knew this well when He said, "How hardly shall they that have riches enter Into the Kingdom of Heaven." Sometimes 1 think we pray too much for the poor man and too little for the rich. We lavish our sympathies upon the pauper and we fling scathing denunciations at the plutocrat. Each type of man has his peculiar-temptations, and everything depends upon the way in which he deals with that temptation. 8o many men show weakness here, and it is all the more pitiable because they have shown such strength In other things. The temptations to flagrant forms ot evil they will meet with the con queror's spirit and then will yield to the Insidious and subtle temptation ot placing their fortune building, or their fame acquiring, in the supreme position of their life. Oh, how often we see this, and how Bad it Is, when we know what the result always is. It never deviates, for it Is an Inexora ble law of life, that the man who spends his days in Bimply getting and gaining, robbing himself or all the beauty that Is within him, reltgatlng God to an Inferior position, trampling upon the high Ideals that dominate a noble mind, the end of such a man is worse than the beginning It Is failure It is loss. But what a bene diction to the world is the prosperous man, who has recognized Jesus Christ through all the days of his prosperity, who has given to Him the first place and put his prosperity In the second. Whatever our undertaking may bo In : life, whether a business or a profeB ; Blonal career, let us bring to It the , Inward force of ambition, always con i teraplating success, but let us also i keep In mind the danger that we are ! in of having our religious fervor I stifled. The Sunday-school INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM MENTS FOB JANUARY 2. 8ubjerti John, the Forerunner of j jesus, roan, a: MX com mit erscs 2, 3. The Source of Power. The power which Inspiration has over the body is one of the miracles of life. The career of every man who Influences his generation dis plays It, but each new instance gives new energy and strength to those willing to profit by example. Colonel Hammond, an old friend of Dwlght L. Moody, has this story to tell of the spjrlt of the evangelist: Mr. Moody, says the colonel, fame to see me one Sunday after his morn ing service, seeming to be quite tried out. He threw himself Into a chair arid burst out with the following ex clamations: "I am used up! Can't think or speak or do anything else! There Is my meeting at the church to-night. You must take it! I have absolutely nothing left In me!" Knowing that Mr. Moody never asked for help unless he needed It, I promised to take the service off his hands. When the time came, I went to the Illinois Street Church and found the house quite full. I was about to commence the service, when In walked, or rather rushed, Mr. Moody, followed by a long lino of youug men, whom he had picked up In saloons or on street corners, and brought with Mm on an errand which was evidently to them a new on?. Mounting the platform with a bound, he seized the hymn-book and began: and from the beginning to the end of that service 1 had nothing to do but to keep out of the way. It appeared that he had taken an hour or two of rest, and then, having no care about the evening servloe on his mind, took up his old familiar work of bringing in recruits, at which he hnppened this time to be still more successful than usual. As he led the way to the church some happy thought Btruck him. and between the street corner and the pul pit ho arranged a sermon which was one of the most effective I ever heard him preach. "Come." A certain king was uccustomed on set occasions to entertain all the beg gars of tho city. Around him sat his courtiers, all clothed In rich apparel; the beggars sat at the same table in their rags of poverty, so Chas. H. Spurgeon used to tell the story. Now It came to pass that on a certain day one of the courtiers had spoiled his silken apparel, so that he dare not put It on, and he felt, "I cannot go to the king's feast to-day, for my robe is foul." He sat weeping, till the thought struck him, "To-morrow, when the king holds his feast, some will come as courtiers, happily decked In the beautiful array; but others will be dressed In rags. Well, well," says he, "so long as I may see the king's face, and alt at the king's table, I will enter among the beggars." So, without mourning because he bad lost his silken habit, he put on the rags of a beggar, and he saw the king's face as well as if he had worn hU scarlet and fine linen. My soul has done this full many a time, and I bid you do the same; it you cannot come as a taint, come as a sinner, only do come, and you shall receive joy and peace. Set yourself earnestly to see what you were made to do, and then set Vourself earnestly to do it; and tho loftier your purpose is, the more sure you will be to make the world richer with every enrichment of yourself. f hlllips Brooks. , About Advertising. In these days of progress the man who would succeed must advertise. This is an established fact, and it is tlso a well-known fact that the most luccessful business men not only in this town but throughout the country ire large advertisers. Now occasion illy we find a merchant who does not ielleve in advertising at all. He tried i small ad for a month perhaps and :hen stopped It. Thought it did not ay. Did he take down that big sign ver his store front at the same time? )h, no. Now, then, what is the dif ference? Both your sign and your idvertisement are used to draw trade, 3oth are necessary to your success. Df tbe two your advertisement Is the nost important because its Influence s greater. It reaches the people lot when they eve hurrying past your itore on tho opposite side of th itreet, but In their leisure moments, vhen they are given- to good sober '.bought, and It Is your own fault if rou cannot at such a time present four business In such a manner as to make a lasting impression on them. Yet, very few men are convinced by the first appeal. It Is like the gospel of grace. It must be "precept upon precipt, line upon line, here a little nd there a little." It la In this way buyers are won. . The electrical show In Boston was the first ot Its kind In New England. It was tha result of co-operative ac tion on the part of a number ot large manufacturers. Unlike other exhibi tions, there were no articles for sale., The decorations were unusually ar tistic, and tho exhibition was an un qualified success. . GOLDEN TEXT. "The voice ot one crying in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make His paths straight." Matt. 3:3. TIME. A. D., 27. PLACE. The Wilderness of Judea. EXPOSITION I. "Repent Ye, For the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand," 1-6. John's message Is very like that of the last prophet of the olden days (comp. Mai. 3:1-6; 4:1-3). He had received his training for the work In none of the rabbinical schools of the day, but largely in solitude and com munion with God In the wilderness (Luke 1:80). As he had received his message directly from God (Jno. 1: 33; Luke 3:2) he waited for no call or ordination by man before deliver ing it. He sought not the synagogue, but the opep air, for the delivery of his message. His was a startling cry, "Repent ye; for the kingdom of heav en Is at hand." The average Jew looked at himself as the unfortunate victim of other men's hostility to God. John said to them. You are yourself a sinner against God. Your great need is not deliverance from Roman domination, but repentance from your own sins. The one cry of the pro phots of God unto man Is, "repent." John'B reason for Immediate repent ance was new. Newer still was his announcement that the King was right at hand,' and the character of the King's work. The kingdom of heaven was near them, because the King was about to appear. He was about to set up His kingdom In the hearts of those who would receive Him. Furthermore, He would have set up His kingdom on earth if He hRd been accepted by His people. More than seven centuries had passed since Isaiah ( Isa. 40:3-5) had uttered his prophery of a coming of the Lord and of the forerunner who should precede Him. He had come at last. God's word had been fulfilled to the letter, as It always will be sooner or later, though the fulfillment may wait for centuries as In this case. John came In the spirit and the appearance of Elijah of old (comp. 2 K. 1:8; Matt. 17:12, 13). His whole manner of life was a protest against the pre vailing worldllness and self-indulgence. Jesus did not follow In the footsteps of John In the outward man ner of His protest. But men who would represent God and have power with men Bhould live lives of great simplicity. John's earnestness, rug gedness, fearlessness, renunciation of self and stern declaration in the pow er of the Spirit of the message God gave him awakened great Interest. Men were convinced that he was "a man sent from God." II. Hrin Forth Fmlt Meet For flepentance, 7-10. John was no trim mer. He was not an adept at honied words (cf. Matt. 12:34; 23:33; Jno. 8:44). John believed In a coming wrath of God against sin. It was not any more a popular doctrine in that day than it Is now, but it was true, and men needed to hear about It, and so this faithful man of God told them. Tho way to "flee from the wrath to come" and to "prepare the way of the Lord" and to ie ready for "the king dom" was to repent with that genuine repentance that would show itself in a transformed life, bringing forth fruit worthy of repentance. No one was ever saved by a pious ancestry. A son of Abraham may be a child of the devil (Jno. 8:37, 38, 41, 44). HI. The flaptiKni With the Holy Wind and Fire, 11. 12. John has emphasized the need of good fruit; he now discloses the secret ot bearing it. A mightier than he was coming who would baptize with something more efficacious than water "In the Holy Spirit and In fire." Some have interpreted these words to mean that there are two baptisms between which one may have bis choice "the bap tism in the Spirit" (now) or "the bap. tlsm In the fire of Judgment," as in the next verse (hereafter). The orig inal does not admit of this interpre tation. John doubtless had In mind Isaiah's expression, "the Spirit ot burning" (Isa. 4:4) when he uttered these, words. In verse 11 we have three baptismal elements, "water," with which John should baptize them unto repentance; "the Holy Wind" and "fire," with which Jesus would baptize them. In Acts 2:2, 3, we have the fulfillment ot the promise In the case of the apostles when they found themselves engulfed In a "mighty wind" "from heaven," tongues of fire resting upon their heads, and they themselves "filled with the Holy Wind." Tbe promise Is a promise not of two baptisms, one of blessing and the other of cursing, but of one two-fold baptism of bless ing, "Holy Ghost and fire." But what does It mean to be baptized In fire? The answer Is found In considering the work that "fire" does. (1) "Fire" reveals (1 Cor. 3:13). (!) "Fire" refines (Isa. 4:4; Zech. li:;, Mai. 3:1-3). (3) "Fire" consumes, fllthlness and scum (Ezk. 24:9-11). (4) "Fire" illuminates. (6) "Fire") makes to glow and melt (Jer. 23:29)i (6) "Fire" generates energy. A bapJ tlsm In "Are" then reveals us to our-l selves; consumes the fllthlness and, scum tbe selfishness, ambition,' worldllness and vlleness that we have vainly contended against for years out ot us; makes us to burn and glow, with love to God and man and truth; love for sonls; fills us with heavenly energy. THE GREAT DESTROYER SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE. j Hated to Take tbe Money, ' " i Frank I. Cobb, the chief editorial writer of the New York World, was on a vacation In the Maine woods once when Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the World, wanted to communicate with him. Mr. Pulitzer sent Cobb a cipher message. ! Presently a country operator drove Into the Cobb camp and handed Cobb he message, which read something rlke this: ' "Simplicity aggrandizement (griffon gerald - roderlck hop Scotch hamfat publicity." , "There's a dollar to collect for de livering that message," said the oper- Etor, "but I hat to take It Some ody along the line got It all hailed tip, and they ain't no sense to it," ANOTHER VIEW. - i "The preacher that married yon ays yon only gave htm a dollar." "He ought to be glad t didn't sue him tor damages." Answers. The Rum Traffic. First and foremost, as always, Is the fact that the sale of liquor results detrimentally to the community, Indi vidually and collectively. A few men are prospered financial ly by tbe licensed sale of liquor, but the vast majority are made poorer by It, and thousands are subjected by It to extreme hardship and misery. There is not a single sound argu ment, moral or material, that can be advanced in favor of tbe sale of liquor. Many good citizens vote "Yes" year after year on the assumption that the sale of liquor cannot be stopped by a "No" vote, and that it la better to have the business regulated under license. Many others vote "Yes" because of the money the sale of licenses brings Into the city treasury. Neither of these reasons Justifies the infliction upon the community of the evils of the rum traffic. There has never been any honest attempt to regulate the liquor traffic under license. A computation of the extra burden of expense entailed upon the city by the rum traffic through the police and pauper departments would show that the city pays out more than it receives on account or it. Add to what the city pays In extra police and pauper appropriations the amounts expended by the .churches and charitable institutions and by in dividuals In caring for the victims of the pauper-breeding traffic and the amount received from liquor licenses appears only a drop in the bucket in comparison. Then tho loss of Income to many families entailed by drunkenness which results in the loss of time or the loss of Jobs must be taken Into consideration. National Advocate. Nation Sells Indulgcncics. To-day the Government Is a part ner in the liquor traffic. This is its shame. Tt is a great stain upon our nation's life. Somehow or other Un cle Sam has been Induced to buy out a large share of Old Nick's Interest in the business, and he finds it an ex ceedingly profitable investment. If it does Impoverish his people. His cof fers are full. His vaults are almost bursting with accumulated millions of gold and silver. Every now and then he must make new vaults to hold the surplus. And he says to the liquor men, "Go on debauching manhood, ruining health, dethroning reason, peopling prisons, supplying gallows, filling hell, but be careful to give me every cent of my share of the pro fits!" Thus the nation soils indigencies to sin. Thus It builds Itself up with the price of blood. Thus It estnb liBhes Itself with the price of ini quity. Thus it places Itself under the woes of Almighty God. Thus It be comes partlceps crlmlnls In all the abominations growing out of the liquor business. Russia and tho Drink Evil. M. Fuster, In L'AIcool, has this to say of the drink evil in Russia: "I have visited all the countries ot Europe, and I can say that In no part have 1 seen so many drunkards as in Russia.' On Sundays and on fete days (of which there are more than 100 officially recognized, besides Sun days) they are to be found every where In towns and villages. On the edges of the footpaths, in corners of the streets, one stumbles against men dead drunk, sleeping a leaden sleep. The police occasionally pick them up, but more usually leave them to sleep in peace. At Moscow I . have often seen peasants and workmen lying in the dust, a bottle of vodka in their shrivelled hands. In every street there Is an official place of sale, and the people form up in a queue as at the door of a theatre and pass in with their empty bottle, and exchange them for bottles tull of liquor with forty per cent, of alcohol." "After Your Boy." One of the delegates to a State con vention of Christian Endeavorers, a young business man, dressed in a nat ty rough-and-ready suit, every move ment alert and eager, and telling ot bottled energy within, came suddenly upon a red-faced citizen who evident ly bad been patronizing the hotel bar. Buttonholing the delegate a trifle un ceremoniously, the latter said: "What are you fellows trying to do down at the meetings? You are temperance, I see by the papers. Do you think yon could make a temper ance man of me?" "No," replied the delegate, looking him over from head to foot with a keen glance, "we evidently couldn't do much for you, but we are after your boy." At this unexpected retort the man dropped his Jocular tone and said se riously: "Well, you have got the right of It there. If somebody had been af ter me when I was a boy I should be a better man to-day." Firewater Statistics, William E. Johnson, chief special officer ot the United States Indian service, in Salt Lake City, has issued a table showing the convictions se cured during the month of March of this year, In the matter of the sup pression of the liquor traffic among Indians. It is '.here shown that the total number of convictions secured during the month was fifty-six. Of thee. thirty were In California, two In New York, six In Oklahoma, thir teen in Nevada, one In Montana, two in Arizona and two In New Mexico. Temperance Notes. Tbe Russians are tbe hardest drink ing of all the European peoples. It , Is worthy of notice that last Christmas Prince Henry presented all the navy with the temperance pam phlet, "The Poison Tree ot the Ger man People.", "Wyoming will be entirely under prohibition outside of Incorporated towns after January 1, 1910, under a new law whereby saloons are per mitted only to that extent, each li cense costing f 1000." State prohibition Is predicted at the next session of tbe State Legislature of South Carolina. , The Cathollo clergy of Germany to the number of sis hundred have or ganized a sacerdotal total abstinence union. The president ot the union la Prlncs Max, of Saxony, who is a priest. Sir William Hartley, a prominent temperance leader of England, has Just made a gift ot 24,600 copies of "Alcohol and tha Body," the well kuown recent book W Sir Victor Morality and Dr. Mary Sturge, to tbe Baud ot Hop movement in Great iiruata. ( THE THOUGHTS FA. rourv THE GIFTS OF GOD. Be with me, Lord! My honae is growing still An one by one the guests go out the door; And some, who helped me once to do Thy will, Behold and praise Thee on the Heavenly Shore.- Uphold my strength! My task is not ytt done. Nor let me t the labor cease to sing, But from the rising to the setting sun f.ach faithful hour do service to my King. Show me Thy light! Let not my wearied eyes . Miss the fresh glory of life's passing day, But keep the light of morn, the sweet sur priae Of each new blessing that attends my way.' And for the crowning grace, O Lord, renew Ihe best of gifta Thy best of aaint have had; With the great joy of Christ my heart endue To share the whole world's tears and still b glnd. Theodore I.'. Williams, In Christian Reg- The Joy of Christ. There Is a prevalent misconception uuutcruiiig me aany me and experi ence of the Lord Jesus when He was with us. We think of Him as the "man of sorrows," and rightly. "He carried our sorrows;" the burden of our guilt was upon Him. He was so in sympathy with men that their bur dens and sorrows became Ills. The incompleteness of character, the hy pocrisy and deceit which met Him everywhere, the thousand forms of in iquity which filled the world, our guilt laid upon His soul, did indeed fill Him with sorrow; there was no sorrow like His. It was a deep undercurrent that became greater as He approached tho end. Even when all would seem to be far removed from this, when the multitudes were about Him seeking His blessing, we hear Him say: "My soul Is exceeding sorrowful, even un to death." But with all this His heart was full of Joy. There was sorrow, but there was no sadness; there was a burden, but there was no disappoint ment; there was the keen cense of the guilt of sin and of tho agony of the atonement, but there was no hesi tation. We see the tumult, but He speaks of "My peace," His own pecul iar peace; we see the suffering, but His highest wish for His disciples was that "My Joy might remain in you and that your Joy might be fully." Suffering and happiness are not in compatible; sorrow and Joy are not so antagonistic that they may not dwell in the same heart. There Is a grace which rises above the Buffering, and makes it minister to Joy. It is one of the wonderful things of grace that it so lifts us up out of our sur roundings, and out of ourselves, that there Is perfect peace even when tho suffering la greatest. We have seen the victim of . disease racked with pain whose face beamed with joy and whose words were songs of praise. The martyrs sang as they burned. So with Jesus; at the very time when His cup was filled to the overflowing. He talked with His disciples out of a heart perfectly at rest. There was to JeBus the Joy of His sinless nature. We cannot measure that, but we may sometimes have a foretaste of it; there may be such a sense of pardon and of Divine love that we are as In the presence of Ood, but our highest short experience is far below the blessedness which was perpetual In the bouI of Jesus. To Him there wa3 the Joy of infinite love. He gave Himself for others, and in their salvation His Joy wns above all suffering. The prayer of the penitent thief was to Him the Joy of love prevailing, even over the thorns and tbe nails. . There was the consciousness of Ills Father's love and support. He dwelt on that love. Even with the cross be fore Him, In the communion of the holy fellowship Hi8 very garments shone with the glory ot God. He was mocked and scorned, but all the time He saw His work prevailing. The lame man walking, the one dumb man singing the praises of God, tho dead coming back to life, were typical of a greater work of love in tbe sal vation of men. He thought of the man whose sins were forgiven as one saved, and not simply healed. How great the Joy of that hour as He prayed. "Holy Father, keep thoso whom Thou hast given Me!" We can know but little of that higher world in which Jesus lived, for it is the world of perfect holiness and infinite love, but we see some thing ot it; we have something in common with Him, so. that we can enter into His Joy sufficiently to know that It crowned all labor and sweetened all sorrow. The "man of Borrows" let Him ever be to us, but also we should open our hearts to re ceive the inflowing of His ever-present, unbounded Joy. United Presbyterian. Tli Perfect One. Our Lord, when in the flesh, paaaed through the different stages of hu man life that He might sanctify them all and show mankind that it Is possi ble In every estate and condition of existence to keep the law of God In view and to deal Justly and humane ly with one's fellow men. Christ was the perfect man, though He was more thau man and not less than God. By His sinless life He has dignified and ennobled every earthly relation, and leaving behind Him a shining and beautiful examplt, calls now to all believing souls to reproduce in their own experience and conduct the grace and holiness that shone resplendent In His unique career. Christianity's Failure. It Christianity, falls as a world power-It will fall because the Individual falls as a Christian to incarnate In bis life the spirit and life ot his Lord which means that he falls to be a Christ man. Present Day Fathers. , Present day fathers are too often merely their children's pocketbooks jand bogy meu, instead ot being theln law book, monitor, teacher, guide an4 closest friend. T" Caught. "Pshaw!" exclaimed Miss Yerner, Impatiently. "I'm sure we'll miss tbe first act. We've waited a good many minutes for that mother of mine." "Hours, I should say," Mr. Sloman retorted rather crossly, t o . "Ours? Oh, George," she cried, and laid her blushing cheek upon his shirt front. Catholic Standard. ,i ,) . . - A- . ; . I ' Some men keep all their enthuslJ Vam bottled up ia their hip pockets. CHRISTIANENDaVDRNofES ' JANUARY SECOND Toplo-ThroU8n This Year With God. Num. S: 15,23; 10: 10. In His work. John 9: 1-7 In my labor. Eph. 6: la my home. Josh. 24: u.i In my church. Heb. 10- ir" With my Bible. Ps 1 '25' With His spirit. Gal. 6: 16-26 Would you like to see an toner. of this year? Get your nu read God's commandments vm M ask for a better? u14 You may hare a whole year of . rylng. or only two days what rfiJST does it make, if only the ctfng is with Him? T tar' Solemn days and glad dav. ... Mk. God's days, asd alike g secrated to Him.. eo Suggestions. Make this God s year. So will k b most truly your year In planning tho year most peoni. ar likely to plan for recelvlniTJ tt forcing. Thus will they're, Let us enter the year with confl. J!no, sur that God has better tSZ in store for us than we dare to ruu If we will only tak them. Into the blessings of the year. Tht very first day with God will be a cfc will' Him. ,0 U 0UW Illustration. Don't prescribe what the year stall b. That is Ilk ordering a gift from a friend. The year looks like a path through a maze; but we are to go through II with th Designer of it all. A certain builder had been untor tunate, hut one day a friend gave alia a contract to build a large house. The builder, to recoup his fortune, put poor material Into It throughout When It was finished, his friend to!4 him that the house was his own! Now the year beftre us is our house that we are building for God. How short Is a Journey when w have good company! And we may , have the best of company through th journey of this year. EPWOHTH LEAGUE LESSONS SUNDAY, JANUARY 2. How to Concentrate Making Religion a Business (Phil. 3, 13, 14; Eccl. 9, 10.) (The Morning Watch.) Phil. 3. 13. Nobody ever arrives anywhere In business who thluks that he has come to the top of all achieve ments Ther9 must always be some unattulned remainder, some unsealed steep, some unexplored territory. Otherwise advance becomes retreat The only use for yesterday's success es Is to make of them a starting point for today. For every other use, for get them, as Paul did. They have given you a point of vantage, but It means nothing unless you face the front. Yesterday's triumphs were good, but we are past them now; they are behind. And the word of reli gion, as well as of business, is "Fur ward!" Verse 14. There is a difference between dnsh and definiteness. Some people run, but without thought of any goal; they have plenty of dash, but no particular destination. You meet them in many companies of Christian people. They wear badges which exhort everybody to "get busy," to "win one," to "help It along." But whim they are asked "To what pur pose?" their answer Is either vague or altogether too small to be making such a fuss about. Paul had a mark "the heavenly life ot the redeem ed" or, as the prayer book has It, "our perfect consummation and bllas both lu body and soul." For illustration of Paul's figure, borrowed from the athletic games and contests of the Greeks, see any Bible dictionary on "games." ' Eccl. 9. 10. There's no time like the present. Everybody knows ho easy faithfulness will be, and devo tion, and self-denial, and salntliness, will be tomorrow. But life Is a ac cession of todays, and every daf everyone's hand finds something to do. Do It. and do It nowl The Christian statement of this Old Testament ex hortation Is found at the cIobs or Paul's great discussion of the resur rection: "Be ye steadfast, unmovabie, always abounding In the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." I MOTHER NATURE PREPARES. ! The cosmos and hardy chrysanthe mum blooming In the garden tell that summer Is over and that Mother Na ture Is preparing for the cold season which will soon be here. The wood land trees ar dropping their leaves to protect the roots of the delicate flowers and to enrich the ground tor the next year's growth ot plant H". Th green worms which have feasteo on th pareleyj beds and tomato vines have eaten their fill for wlntor am have spun their little homes about them. The great alanthus worms and hickory worms ar also preparing hide themselves In silky cocoons. In the woods th open cheatnai burrs show that the nuts Inside are ripe. The busy squirrels are alreaw at work filling their storehouses ttiu nuts and aoorns to last until sew year. Into the ground the sna and turtles are going for tnelr.w" Inter naps. Flying birds tell ot W Journey of our feathery trlonda w the South. The lambs, horses, and all fur-bearing animals ar Ing heavy coats for protection again the cold weather. Many of the n In the streams and rivers are leavini our waters for those which wtu 7 warmer during the winter. Tb mere are busy gathering their ! and vegetables so that the frost do no damage to them. In ths w ,th people take Mother Ntur' jwarnlng that tbe eold season Is Jug to prepare their bouses and lng for the early visits of Jack r"u l Washington Star. The British Governamnt bM ganlced a special department a. tfwtlonal physical laboratory ' ' realisations In aerial ewoatruci sad savigatiea.,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers