and their case seems hopeless. But a citizen hitherto unknown, with no apparent resources, arises to lead the dispirited and helpless defenders. Whether by some marvellous device, or by the magnetic power of his presence and spirit, he accomplishes a task which seemed impossible-vanquishes the besiegers and raises the siege. Such things have been, and they are a rebuke to our worldly calculations, and an inspiration to courage and to faith. Ill. WISDOM MAY NEVERTHELESS IN PmlLIC BE OVERLOOKED AND DESPISED. " N 0 man remembered that same poor man." How orten does it happen that the real originator, the prime mover, gains no credit for the enterprise which he conceived, and for whose success he prepared the way; whilst praise is given to some person of social or political eminence who joined the movement when its success was assured! It is "the way of the world." IV. YET WISDOM, UNHONOURED IN PUBLIC, MAY BE ACKNOWLEDGED L'! SECRET AND rn QUIETNESS. Those who look below the surface and are not dazzled by external splendour, those who listen, not merely to the earthquake, the thunder, and the tempest, but to the" still, small voice," discover the truly wise, and, in their heart of hearts, render to them sincere honour. Much more he who seeth in secret recognizes the services of his lowly, unnoticed servants who use their gifts for his glory, and work in obscurity to promote his kingdom, by whose toil and prayer cities are sanctified and saved. V. THUS WISDOM IS SEEN TO BE THE BEST OF ALL POSSESSIONS AND QUALITIES. There is greatness which consists in outward Hplendour, and this may awe the vulgar, may dazzle the imagination of the unthinking. But in the sight of God and of just men, true greatness is that of the spirit; and the truly wise shine with a lustre which poverty and obscurity cannot hide, and which the lapse of ages cannot dim.-'r.
Ver. 4.-Life is everything. Jn a world like ours, where appearance goes so far and counts for so mnch, there is much in form. There is much in machinery, in organization; when this is perfected, power is powerrul indeed. There is much in original capacity-in that invisible, immeasurable germ out of which may grow great things in the future. But it is hardly too much to say that everything is in life. Where that is absent, nothing of any kind will avail; where that is present, all things are possible. It is better to have life even in the humblest form than to have the most perfect apparatus or the most exquisite form without it. A living dog, with its power of motion and enjoyment, is better than a dead lion, for which there is nothing but unconsciousness and corruption. Of the many illustrationij of this principle, we may take the following:- I. AN EARNEST STUDENT IS BETTER THAN A DEAD WEIGHT OF LEARNING. A man whose mind is nothing more than a storehouse of learning, who does not CL>mmunicate onything to his fellows, who does not act upon them, who is no source of wiadom or of worth, is of very little account indeed; he has not what he has (see Matt. :uv. 29). But the earnest student, though ho be but a youth or even a child, who is bent on acquiring in order that he may impart, in whom are tho living springs of an honourable aspiration, is a great treasure, from whom society may look for many things. II. AN AWAKENED 0ONS0IENCE IS BETTER THAN UNCONSECRATED GENIUS. Uncon- secrated power may be enlisted on the side of peace and virtue. But it is a mere accident if it be so. It is quite as likely that it will be devoted to strife, and will espouse the cause of moral wrong; the history of our race has bad too many painful proofs of this likelihood. But where there isan awakened conscience, and, consequently, n devotion to duty, there is ensured the faithful service of God, and an endeavour, more or less successful, to do good to the world. III. ONE LIVING SOUL IS BETTER THAN A STAGNANT CHURCH. A Christian Church may be formed after the apostolic model, and its constitution may be irreproachably scriptural, hut it may fall into spiritual apathy, and care for nothing but its own edification. A single human soul, with an ear sensitive to "the still sad music of humanity," with a heart to feel the weight of" the burden of the Lord," with coura"e to attempt great things for Christ and for men, with the faith that" removes mountains~" mny be of far more value to the world than such an apathetic anil inacti vo Church. Similarly, we may say tha~ IJ:CCJ,E~JA!!TES, I 242 ECCLESIASTES; OR, THE PREACHER. ten. 1x. 1-18.
IV. OKE LI\'ING CHURCH IS DKTT!>R TllAN A LARGE COMMUNI'l'Y 'l'HA'l' HAS LOST 1TB SPIRITUAL ENERGY,-0,
Ver. ~0.-The day_ of opportunity. There is great force in the Preacher's words, rlemandmg present d1hgence and energy iu view of future silence and inaction, H may be well to consider- I. T8:E TRUTH LEFT UNSTATED. There is no work in the grave; but what is there 1-eyond it? We who have sat at the feet of ·Jesus Christ know well that the hour is coming in w~ich all ~ho are in their graves shall ~ear his voice, etc. (John v. 28, 29). The rest wlnch remameth for the people of God 1s not the rest of unconsciousness or repose, but of untiring activity; of knowledge that will be far removed from the dim visions of the present (see 1 Cor. xiii. 12); of wisdom far surpassing the sagacity to which we now attain. In that heavenly country we hope to address ourselves to nobler tasks, to work with enlarged and liberated faculties, to accomplish far greater things, to be "ministers of his that do his pleasure" in ways and spheres that are far beyond us now. But what we have first to face, and have all to face, is- II. AN ON-COMING EXPERIENCE. "The grave, whither thou goest." Our life is, as we say, a journey from the cradle to the grave. Death is a goal. which: 1. Is absolutt,ly inevitable. \Ve may elude many evils, but that we must all enc1;mnter, 2. We may reach soon and suddenly. It may be the very next turn of the road which will bring us to it. No man can tell what mortal blow may not be struck on the morrow, what fatal disease may not discover itself before the year is out. 3. Will certainly appear before we are expecting it. So swiftly does our life pass-so far as our consciousness is concerned-with all it.5 pressure of business and all its growing and gathering excite- ments, and so pertinacious is our belief that, .however it .may be with others, wo ourselves h.a~e some life left in us still, and some work to do yet, that when death comes to us it will surprise us. What, then, is- . - - III. T -m CONCLUSION OF THE WISE? It is this:· To do heartily and well all that lies 0