must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; David also, Samuel, and the prophets: through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again." Hebrews xi: 1-9, 32-35"The church chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people." Acts vi: 5, 8. "Barnabas was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord." Acts xi: 24. Paul said, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." II. Timothy iv: 6-8. "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." Hebrews xi: 24-26. "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil." II. Thessalonians iii: 1-3. We repeat, "Without faith it is impossible to please God."

VIII. Meekness. Christ was a pattern of meekness, which is clearly stated in the following passages: "Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King (Jesus) cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. Matthew xxi: 5. Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew xi: 28-30. "Now I, Paul, myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ." II. Corinthians x: 1. Moses was very meek,

and he was honored by God above all other men, as seen in the following passage: "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. (God said,) Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" Numbers xii: 3, 6-8. Special favors God bestows upon the meek. "The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way." Psalm xxv: 9. "But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Psalm xxxvii: 11. "God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth." Psalm lxxvi: 9. "For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation." Psalm cxlix: 4. "The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah xxix: 19. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon. me (Christ); because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called Trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Isaiah lxi: 1-3. "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew v: 5.

Directions given to the meek. "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. " Zephaniah ii: 3.

Directions for woman's attire. "Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." I. Peter iii: 3-4. "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Galatians vi: 1. "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians iv: 2-3. "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." Colossians iii: 12. 'Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and

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receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." James i: 21. "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom." James iii: 13. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear." I. Peter iii: 15.

Directions to pastors. "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." I. Timothy vi: 10-II. "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient; in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." II. Timothy ii: 24-26. "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men."' Titus iii: 1-2.

This is a very broad subject,
We will only introduce

IX. Temperance or self-control. for men are intemperate in many things. a few of the more common ways in which men lack self-control. "And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ." Acts xxiv: 24. "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I (Paul) therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." I. Corinthians ix: 25-27. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue. knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things. be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." II. Peter : 5-9. "For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate." Titus i: 7-8. "That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience." Titus ii: 2. "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is rag

ing: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Proverbs XX: I. "He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich." Proverbs xxi: 17. "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Proverbs xxiii: 1-3, 20-21, 29-32. "And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. And all the men of the city shall stone him with stones, that he die; so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear and fear." Deuteronomy xxi: 20-21. "Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands." Isaiah v: 11-12. "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness. Habakkuk ii: 15. This woe is applied to every person, and government and official who takes any part in perpetuating the making or selling of alcoholic beverages. We introduce one more crime which is often stimulated by drunkenness. "For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them." Proverbs v: 3-6. "For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men." Proverbs xxiii: 27-28. "To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life." Proverbs ii: 16-19.

The Seven Churches of Asia.

Jesus gave these messages about sixty-three years after the baptism with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. There had been sad departures from the grace received on that memorable day in the most of those churches. Evidently the church at Ephesus was in a prosperous condition when Paul wrote his epistle to them. This was about thirty-two years before Jesus gave them the message recorded in Revelation ii: 1-7. Paul said to them the last time that he met with them: "I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." Acts xx: 29. A wolf in sheep's clothing is very dangerous. Jesus commends the church in Ephesus for their patience, and that they could not bear them which are evil, and that they had labored and not fainted; but they had left their first love. Hence He says, "Thou art fallen." He informs them that, unless they repent and do the first work, He will remove their church. There is no standing still in Christian experience; to retain what we have obtained, we must progress. "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." To retain our first love we must obtain perfect love. They did not do this; hence their candlestick, or church, has long since been removed, and the fate of the once magnificent city has followed the fate of the church. The site of Ephesus now contains a few miserable huts.

The church in Smyrna were worldly poor, but spiritually rich. They had their trials, some of them even to imprisonment. Jesus brought no charge against them. He informed them that the devil would cast some of them into prison, and they should have tribulation ten days. He encouraged them to be faithful unto death, and He would give them a crown of life. The church at Smyrna has never become extinct. The city now has a mixed population of about 80,000 Turks; 40,000 Greeks; 15,000 Jews; 10,000 Armenians; and 5,000 Franks. Other cities have been blotted out; but in Smyrna there was a righteous church which saved the city.

The church in Pergamos had not denied the faith; but they had among them some who held the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balac to have the idolatrous Moabites to form social relations with the Israelites which corrupted them. They also had them that held the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes which were corrupt in relation to the sexes, which Christ hated. This church tolerating these corruptions has long since been blotted out. And the city with all of its wealth and magnificence is only known by the splendid specimens of art found in its ruins, and a few inhabited huts.