foroee of ovi!-numerous, strong, tenacious. The power of sin ha~ laid hold of every form of human notivlty, and has entered into all the public and private ramific!l.tion~ ol !He. Our preachers at home and missionaries abroad have to face evils hoary with age, and yot strong with the vigour of youth. Nothing is more conspicuou8 to Christian workers than the terrible grip with which sin holds the human soul to prevent the enthronement there of the King of righteousness. !I, '!'HERE AilE MANY IMPERFEC'fIONS INHERITED WITH THE WORK WE HA VE TO DO, David's people had not been as true to God as was required of Israel by the gre!l.t Law laid down for their guidance; and much of this imperfection of character was an inheritance from the generations which had also failed to fulfil the moral conditions'of conquest as laid down by the great lawgiver (Deut. xxviii. 1, 7-10, 15, 25). Because Israel of the past had not been fully faithful, Israel of David's age found many conquests unachieved. Failure in moral character ensured to posterity an inheritance of difficulty and sorrow. The work which a thoroughly righteous people could have accomplished remains unfinished, with the additional difficulties created by unfaithfulness. Unfortu- nately, the Christian Church has too closely followed the example of ancient Israel. There has been, in ages past, sometimes a deviation from the principles laid down by Christ for the casting out of sin and the subjugation of the world to himself, and sometimes a very inefficient application of his instructions. Instead of pure truth, love, faith, holiness of life, prayer, and unity of spirit, there has been a blending of the truth with human errors, and a manifestation of a worldly, time-serving spirit. This age inherits not only the honour of subduing the world to Christ, but the results of the imperfect work done in days gone by. Our own spirit is not so pure and :fit as it othenvise would have been ; unfinished undertakings are on hand, and the prejudice created by the sins and errors of the Church bas to be overcome in addition to the ordinary power of sin. JI!. TRUBE ARE OCCASIONALLY PRESENT GIANT FORMS OF EVIL WIIICH, BESIDES BEING ACTIVE'. CAUSES, TEND ALSO INDIRECTLY TO EMDARBASS THOSE WHO OPPOSE THEM. Philistine giants not only had stout arms wherewith to slay, but their proportions, striking on the senses of men, had the effect of rendering the existing means of resistance and attack less easily available. Giant forms excite fear and awaken self-distrust. The indirect influence on good men of great evils is helpful to the perpetuation of those evils. The monstrous forms of idolatry in vast populations, the magnitude of the influence of Mohammed, the terrible hold of intemperance on multitudes, and the greatness of evil as a whole in the world, when looked at with ordinary eyes, at once bring on a temporary paralysis of energy. Many a brave heart faints in contemplation of the dreadful forms of evil that afflict the world. The Apostle Paul felt this when be reminded his friends to "put on the whole armour of God" (Epb. vi. 11-13), seeing that they had to wrestle with "principalities and powers." IV. THE VARIABLE CHARACTER OF PROFESSING CHRISTIANS INJURIOUSLY AFFECTS THX PROGRESS OF THEIR ENTERPRISE. There was a day when David, fresh, young;, pure, full of faith and courage, without after-thoughts concerning himself, could calmly face and slay a giant (1 Sam. xvii. 39-47). But David, passing the meridian of life, sensilile of failing powers, and moreover not free from the remembrance of sad departures from his God, could not perform exploits as of old, and was even in need of succour from another in the field. A true picture is this of many in the Christian warfare. They do not retain all the old vigour. The freshness and power of godliness fail. Were every Chris- tian to grow in spiritual strength from first to last, were the spiritual forces in our religious life to gain momentum the longer we !ivC', and none to become weak, what a mighty army would the Church become I The difficulty of subduing the world to Christ lies very much in the variability of spritual strength in those who form the Church. Many are feeble who ought to be strong. V. TnE NEGATIVE INFLUENCE OF LEADERS IS WIDESPREAD. The friends of David were wise in wishing hiru not to go out to battle. 'l'be negative effect of bis weakness would be so much positive advantage to the Philistines. Jf be could no longer positively inspire by his courage and exploits, that very circumstance would tell against the cause ho e.nd thoy bad e.t heart. Leaders have gre11t power by virtue of their position; nnd whon, by any failure of character, or wisdom, or knowledge, any inuptitude for the ep~cial circumstances of the time, they dishearten those who expect e::rnmple and guitlllnco, they really, by such negation of good, add to the difficulties of the situation, 520 THE SEOOND BOOK OF SAMUEL, [en. xu. 1-22.
and unwittingly etrengtben the position of evil in the world. It would form an instruc• tive study to trace in history the connection of the slow progress of Christianity with the negative influence of its leaders.