No one is compelled to say that he rather thinks religion is true; that possibly Christ is a living Saviour; that perhaps the Bible is the book of God; but, on the contrary, all can say, in the language of Job, Paul, David, Peter, and John: "WE KNOW," because all can know the truth of these things just as firmly and certainly as they know any other wellattested truth or fact, and by the same kind of evidence. Christianity is not a cunningly-devised fable; neither has it been kept hidden in a corner; neither

"Need we any wings

To soar aloft to realms of higher things,
But only feet which walk the paths of peace,
Guided by Him whose voice

Greets every ear, and makes all hearts rejoice."

REPENTANCE.

"Return, return thee to thine only rest,
Lone pilgrim of the world!

Far erring from the fold,

By the dark night and risen storms distressed,
List, weary one, the Shepherd's anxious voice.

"Return, return, thy fair white fleece is soiled,
And by sharp briers rent;

Thy little strength is spent,

Yet He will pity thee, thou torn and spoiled."

T is a coincidence not to be overlooked, that both John the Herald and Christ the King began their public ministry by preaching the same subject in the same words, those words

being "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The subject of repentance, then, must be the key-note of the new dispensation, and a door opening into the kingdom of heaven itself. And whether we view it historically or experimentally, repentance is the first step toward a new and divine life-a life that God will own and bless here, and abundantly reward hereafter.

Very much of the popular religion of our day addresses men as if by nature they were already fit for heaven, and already ripe for translation. But not

so said Christ; not so says experience, observation, internal consciousness, good judgment, history; not so says everything to which we can appeal for enlightenment, confirmation, or proof. One of two things, therefore, must be true: Either the Bible makes a great mistake, or such a representation as the above is radically and vitally wrong. Is it not a plain matter of common sense (to go no higher) that if men are already fit for heaven, naturally, there is no need of being born again, or created new within; no need of any Scriptures, or means of grace; more than this, no need of a Saviour at all? Christ's work and life and death were all superfluous, a mere waste of time and effort, an exhibition of useless selfimposed hardship and suffering. God made a very foolish move when he sent his Son into the world to die that man might live, if man could live just as well without him, and die just as well without him, and be saved just as well without him,—if by nature he is already fit and ready for each when it comes. Are we prepared to accept this last conclusion? Hardly; and yet we must accept it, or else believe that both John and Christ came preaching repentance as the first step toward a new and higher life, because repentance first of all was necessary; because without this there could be no such thing as religion at all; without this, no progress in holiness, or purity of heart and life; without this, no room or chance for a seat at God's right hand.

What do men do when they wish to irrigate and fertilize a barren piece of land? What do they do in Egypt, along the banks of the Nile, where the land is

naturally a desert? They cut out canals or channels leading from the river, and take away all natural obstacles, so that the water may flow over the soil, and deposit upon it its fertilizing sediment, thus creating a kind of new soil upon a naturally barren bottom. Now, spiritually, some hearts before God are like the barren desert; he sees no blessed fruitage there; they are destitute of holiness, destitute of moral purity in his sight. They need heavenly irrigation; they need the water of life, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the influx of Christ's power, to enable them to live a higher and better life. And before they can get all this, there must be cut out a channel in which the water can flow from the river of God on high into and over their souls, and deposit there its spiritual sediment, thus creating a kind of new soil on the basis of the old barren one. And the cutting out of this channel, and the clearing away of all the old sinful rubbish and natural obstacles, such as pride, obstinacy, love of sin, rocks of hardness and indifference, underbrush of sinful habits and practices, tangled thickets of deceit and dishonesty, and general wickedness; the clearing away of all this, and the digging out of a direct source of communication with the river of God above-this is the work of repentance.

THE HUMAN HEART.

Spiritually, all human hearts, whatever may be their natural differences or natural qualities-and there is a vast diversity in personal natures, some being much more amiable than others, but yet, empha

sizing the word-all human hearts, whatever their natural state or condition, need and must have more spirituality, more religion in them than they possess naturally, before they can live a true Christian life here, or be saved at last. The Bible rings out its messages of warning to all mankind alike, saying: "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." "Unless your righteousness exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees (which was merely formal), ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." The one thing insisted upon is the possession of a pure and holy character, the indwelling of a new and divine life, derived from Christ.

And now, the amount of repentance and faith necessary to secure this, depend upon the quality of one's natural character. As already remarked, there are great differences in people religiously, as well as in every other way. Some hearts are like the desert, naturally barren and sterile, and need a new soil entirely before any religious fruit can grow. Some are like natural trees that bear plenty of fruit of a poor quality; these need grafting with a new and higher life. Some are like marshes and fens, foul and rank with noxious weeds and plants that need killing out or pulling up by the roots, before anything better can have room to grow. Some are like rocks, utterly hard and insensible, and need to be blasted and broken up with great shocks of calamity, or accident, or suffering, before they begin to move or feel at all. Some are like wild vines that are frail, tender, clinging, and loving, and these need to be taught and cultivated and strengthened by the power of faith, and the help which Christ alone can give. Some are like the timid,