I know not what it bringeth,

This new, untried young year;
I should stand upon its threshold,
With a sickening sense of fear,
But for the gracious tokens

That Thou, my Lord, art near.

It may be that it bringeth

Bringeth a cross for me-
A cross which I must shoulder,
Or carry silently.

Oh help me, Lord, to lift it,
And bear it after Thee.

It may be that it bringeth
Some joy so strangely bright
That I forget the Giver,

Clasping the gift too tight.
Then hold me closer, Jesus,
To Thee, my true delight.

It may be that, or ever

This glad New Year shall wane, The Bridegroom's glorious presence Shall lighten up the plain, Fulfilling the sweet promise, "I quickly come again."

It may be Thou wilt tarry:

And yet this year will bear From earth some tender lilies To grace heaven's garden fair. Lord, who will be the lilies

To be transplanted there?

It may be but I know not;
Nor do I ask to know;
'Tis sweet to walk with Jesus
Not knowing where I go.
But happy and contented,

Because He loves me so.

And wilt Thou give, dear Saviour,
This New Year's gift to me?

A heart all self-forgetting
And taken up with Thee-
A meetness, O Redeemer,
Thy chosen Bride to be.

- Anon.

I think ignorance of God is at the bottom of our unbelief and unrest. We apprehend but a small part of what it is possible for us to know about Him, and we judge Him by that small part. If God were simply what He seems to some, the supreme King, working all things: after the counsel of His own will, "glorious in holiness, fearful in praise, doing wonders, "-if that were God, and not what it really is, only a part of God, and a part which, taken by itself, misrepresents God, I, for one, could not "Rest in the Lord." I might bow with reverent homage at His feet, I might accept His will, but Rest in Him I could not. "My father's at the helm," said the captain's child in the storm, the explanation to her wondering

fellow passengers of her being the only fearless heart on board the ship. Ah, it makes all the difference whether I can say simply, the Captain is at the helm, or add that the Captain is my Father. In the one case there will be a natural fear, in the other a calm trust. *** He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and they who have seen Christ have seen Him. Well, when I know that, to rest in Him becomes possible. I cannot explain the mysteries that used to haunt me; but they do not trouble me now; I can leave them with Him. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Shall He who died for man's redemption accomplish in anything man's ill? I can not see the way out of my difficulties, or the solution of my cares; but what matters it, my Father (who feeds the birds and clothes the lilies) knoweth what things I have need of. In the midst of perplexities the voice from heaven says, "Be still, and know that I am God." Yes, if my soul is to be silenced, if I am to "rest in the Lord," I must know God. Friends, do you know the blessedness of that -when your ship is driven with the storm and tossed, to make for God as a harbor, and find your refuge in what He is?-Charles New.

"God's plans, like lilies, pure and white unfold, We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart, Time will reveal the calyxes of gold."

"The clouds may rest on the present, And sorrow on days that are gone, But no night is so utterly cheerless That we may not look for the dawn; And there is no human being

With so wholly dark a lot,

But the heart by turning the picture May find some sunny spot."

"Sometime, when all life's lessons have been

learned,

And sun and stars for evermore have set, The things which our weak judgments here have spurned,

The things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet,

Will flash before us out of life's dark night,

As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue; And we shall see how all God's plans are right, And how what seemed reproof was love most true." -May R. Smith.

The Lord needs His witnesses everywhere, by the wayside inn as well as before the multitude.-Anna Shipton.

It has been a common complaint in certain quarters that there are more ministers being supplied by our seminaries than there are vacant pulpits for them to fill. This complaint is worthy of serious consideration, in view of the fact that so large a percentage of our population never enter a church door. Has the Gospel lost its power? Has the influence of sin ceased to be felt? Are there no broken hearts to be healed, or wearied souls seeking peace? Has humanity undergone a change? Has the word of God passed away? Or, have we failed to deliver its message? One thing is evident: either the supply exceeds the demand, or fails to appreciate the demand.

Has the Word of God passed away? "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." This was Christ's own word, and never have His words had greater power than at the present time. The great demand, not only of the world but of the church, is for the Word of God. "What saith the Scriptures?'' is the burning question of the age. Whatever minister answers that question faithfully and intelligently is always in demand. By intelligently I do not mean necessarily intellectually, although a consecrated intellect can find no richer field for research than in the treasury of God's Word. A man may be ever so intellectual and learned, with all the advantages of a familiarity with the original languages of Scripture and a thorough knowledge of the heathen philosophies and customs of Bible times, and still be unintelligent in his knowledge of the Scriptures. Even as a man with a complete set of carpenter's tools is not a carpenter, unless he has learned the secrets of his trade, no more is he an intelligent Bible student who is not taught of the Holy Spirit. Bible truths are spiritually discerned, and no mere intellectual investigation will ever reveal their fascinating beauty or wondrous power.

And it is just for Bible teachers that the church is now calling. The demand is growing for young men who are intelligent Bible students and are willing to devote their lives to this one Book. Hebrew, Greek, Church History and Philosophy may be useful, and I am

in no position to express an opinion; but I do know that they are mere trifles compared with a thorough familiarity with the English Bible as regards usefulness in Christian work. I am constantly being asked to recommend some young man to fill an important position, and the only requisite is a thorough knowledge of the English Bible, and there are comparatively few names that I can refer to. The errors and mistakes of translators have been pretty well attended to for the past two hundred years; the history of creeds and denominations are interesting, but not over-nourishing; and I have noted that philosophy is considered rather uninteresting by a congregation which has enjoyed a pastor whose Bible never failed to furnish, not only the text, but also the sermon.

My advice to any young man, who has been discouraged in his preparation for the Christian ministry, is to devote himself to the Bible If the regular ministry is full, there is a no less useful career that is insufficiently supplied in teaching the Bible. In the schools at Northfield and Mt. Hermon there is no difficulty in securing able and efficient teachers in classics, mathematics or sciences; but when we need a teacher in Bible it is with difficulty and only after tedious searching that we are able to secure the right person.

I have spoken of the influence of a Bible teacher. There are two young men I know of in this country who resolved in their college days that they would devote their lives to the study and teaching of the Bible. They have now been out of college less than ten years, and have taken no other training than their own personal Bible study, and yet there are few men in this country who exert a stronger influence upon the Christian church than these two young men. What God has used these two young men to do He is anxious to do for many another. The call is great, the work is great, and the need is pressing.

It may be asked whether the demand for more Bible teaching has not been appreciated by the ministry. My reply would be that I have never seen an empty or dead church where the minister really fed his people on the

Word. It is one thing to select a text from the Bible to fit our own ideas, and quite another thing to preach the Bible itself. Perhaps the church has enough ministers of the first kind,

but I believe that the latter are always in demand, and that God will never call more into His service than He has work for. Pittsburgh, Pa.

That there is a great awakening in Bible study in our day is patent to all. The Editor asks me to say something about that particular phase of it known as the synthetic method, which finds expression in the popular evening classes in Chicago, Boston and elsewhere, where, in some instances, the classes representing all denominations, number from 500 to 1,000 members each. As in the providence of God I have had a certain relationship to these classes, he wishes me to tell how "other communities may be stirred up to do the same thing, to point out the feasibility of the work, and how to go ahead with it." I believe in the Holy Ghost. He only can stir up a community to do this kind of work; but as He may, and usually does use human instruments in the furtherance of His plans, I venture in reliance upon Him to make the following suggestions: In the first place, everything depends upon a right method of teaching the Bible, and in the case of beginners, the right method is to teach it synthetically first, and analytically afterwards. Indeed, if you take care of the synthesis, the analysis will, so to speak, take care of itself. How would you study a picture? Would you first consider it in detail, and afterwards in outline? Or would you drink it in at a single glance as the saying is, and go into the questions of shading, and perspective and proportion afterwards? How would you study a flower? What interest could you awaken in botany if the flower were not seen until it were first examined in seed, and bark, and leaf, and petal? I read of a celebrated English mountain-climber recently who, before exploring a new region, was in the habit of ascending the highest summit first. Why did he do this? Was it not to obtain a bird's-eye view of the whole as needful to an interested and intelligent examination of a part? Too many of us teachers hitherto have made the mistake of teaching the Bible in pieces before our people have ever beheld it as a whole. It is the reversal of this method that

has stirred up the enthusiasm in Chicago, and in only a lesser degree in other places of which the writer has been cognizant for a number of years past. Substitute the telescope for the microscope at the beginning, and when the people discover what is really to be seen, they are not likely to be satisfied until they see as much of it as possible.

a

What

But now, how shall one go about it? is the synthetic method? It is simply the study of the Bible as a whole, and each book as whole, and as seen in its relation to the other books. There are certain rules to be observed in the process. For example, begin where God began, at Genesis. Read the book, not study or memorize it, but merely read it. Do not start with the thought that a tremendous and dreary task lies before you, but a very ordinary and pleasant one. Reading is not difficult to most people, and that is the first thing desired. But secondly, read the book continuously. Do not observe the divisions into chapters, or verses or anything of that sort, but when you have begun the reading endeavor to finish the book at a single sitting. This is necessary to catch its central thought, around which the secondary thoughts or facts naturally group themselves. Thus, read it repeatedly. You may discover nothing in particular on the first reading, but something will come into view on the second, more on the third, still more on the fourth, and so on, until at last the whole of the outline of its leading facts will have become your possession. Some people ask, How many times shall I read a given book? The answer each person can generally determine for himself. Some houses need more coats of paint to cover them than others, but a painter generally knows when they have had enough. Some persons may need to read a book six times for what others can obtain in half that number, but they are usually able to say, if of average intelligence, where they require the six or the three. Fourth, read it independently. Do

not fly off to the Commentary, and the Bible Handbook and other helps of that sort, until you have read the book sufficiently to have an outline of your own. After that the helps may

be very useful, but before they are only crutches, keeping your feet from the ground and hindering you in learning how to walk alone. Finally, read it prayerfully. The Bible cannot be studied just like any other book. It is unlike any other. "No written prophecy ever came in old time by the will of man, but holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

"It is the Spirt's Bible! Copyright every word, He is the only Author,only His thoughts are heard."

And only He can illuminate its pages, or enlighten our understandings, or sanctify our bearts in the reading of it. Punctuate every book, chapter and verse with prayer for His guidance and aid, and what progress will be made in reaching down into its depths and scaling its heights!

The following description of the work of a class which has prepared itself in this way, is taken from a reported "interview" with the writer, which will explain, and be an apology for the frequent use of the pronouns in the first person singular:

"When the class meets, the members are generally full to overflowing with the contents of the given book, and I begin to question them about its facts, not its doctrines. The design is merely to ascertain and locate the facts as a basis of any further study the individuals may choose to make. I question the class collectively. For instance, in the first lesson, which is the book of Genesis, the facts elicited are comprised in eight words: Creation, Fall, Deluge, Nations, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. These being fastened on the mind, each fact is analyzed by the class as a whole without looking on their Bibles. The work of the six days is given, the distinction between the two accounts of the creation, the details as to the creation of man, etc. In the case of the 'Nations' the class is led to point out that chapter X. tells how, and chapter XI. why, they were divided. When the word 'Abraham' is reached the class is required to give the leading facts in his life, about ten in all. They are then asked what each fact illustrates as to his

character, and further what these several characteristics indicate as to the weak and strong points in his life, etc. This is done to show the class how to utilize the material they are gathering in the way of Bible readings on their own account. I use a blackboard in preparing the outlines, and before the hour closes each one is requested to transfer its contents to their note-books, but this is not done until I have so drilled the class in the memorizing of them that the notes will have a practical value, more than is ordinarily the case. In fact each book is mastered in such a way that hereafter everything that is desired to be found in a given book must be looked for in the original word outline. Is it the prophecies or types of Christ, for example? The class is made to go over the word-outline every time, recalling all the subsidiary facts it suggests; in order to determine the question. Thus, in a comparatively short time, the general contents become a part of one's possession, which is the ultimate object of the whole plan."

After mastering Genesis in this way, we take up Exodus, and then Leviticus, and so on, following the chronological order rather than that of the arrangement of the books. For example, when we reach the second book of Kings, we begin the study of the prophets of that period, not recurring again to the historical books until Daniel, the captivity prophet, is complete. Each book is finished in one, two, or, at most, three lessons of an hour each.

A still further item of possible interest relates to the manner in which the Chicago classes were "worked up." A series of seven mass meetings was arranged for on successive evenings, in as many of the largest churches, in different sections of the city. These were thoroughly advertised in the daily newspapers, by posters, and by leaflets or booklets sent through the mail. As a result, large audiences of the most earnest Christians gathered together, in some cases taxing the seating capacity of the church to the utmost. The usual program was for Mr. Torrey, superintendent of the Bible Institute, to give an address on the importance of Bible study, for the writer to follow with a talk on the method, and Mr. William R. Newell, also of the Institute, to relate his experience in teaching a class on the method referred to during the previous year. At the close of the meetings the people were always

eager for the formation of a class, and it was arranged to begin one on the following week A plan somewhat similar to this should, by the blessing of God, result in the same way in many another city or town. But if it is not desirable or convenient to carry out the idea of a large, union and undenominational class, why may not many pastors institute such classes in their own churches to be taught by themselves?

This is being done in some instances with the largest success.

But, some one may say, Will the interest or enthusiasm continue? Personally, after observing the working of the plan for seven or eight years in different places and under different circumstances, I have never known it to flag. But try it yourself and see. Boston, Mass.

When we begin to search for materials for a story of the writer of the first Gospel, we find most meager resources. We do not know where he was born, only inferring from the place we first see him that his early home was in or near Capernaum. He breaks into the story of the gospel suddenly, without any previous intimation of his existence. At our first sight of him he is sitting in a little toll-booth, by the Sea of Galilee, one memorable day, busy collecting customs or taxes from those who passed by with fish or articles of merchandise.

Thus the story begins most inauspiciously. The publican's business was despised and the men who followed it made themselves odious to their fellow-countrymen. The customs were gathered for the support of the Roman government, and a Jew who consented to perform such service was regarded by his own people as disloyal and unpatriotic. Besides, the system of taxation then in vogue gave the opportunity to the collector to extort more than was just and right. The publicans as a class were grasping and dishonest. It was to their interest to squeeze as much as possible from those under them. So it came that the Jews classed publicans with harlots and the worst outcast sinners.

He

There is no reason to suppose that Matthew was any better than publicans in general. had probably been a shrewd and prosperous collector and had gathered a good living in his little booth beside the sea.

One day Jesus, walking that way, looked in at the door of the publican's office. The record says significantly that "He saw a man." Others who passed saw a publican, a despised collector of taxes or customs, an odious social outcast. Jesus saw a man. His eye looked through the outside garb, the hated profession,

and he saw, shining within, the gleaming possibilities of fine manhood and of useful apostleship.

But let light enter into

Dean Farrar somewhere uses this striking illustration: "Each human soul is like a cavern full of gems. The casual observer glances into it through some cranny, and all looks dark and sullen. it; lift a torch up to the walls, let God's sunlight fall into it and flood its open recesses, and lo! it will flash with crystals and with amethysts, and each separate crystal will quiver under the touch of brightness with a transporting discovery of its own nature." Jesus knows what is in men, the evil and the good, and He saw that Matthew had a nature rich in qualities of beauty and strength, which would be brought out under divine culture.

The name of this collector was Levi, when Jesus found him. He received a new, name just as Simon did, when Jesus first saw him and read the inner secrets of his nature. The new name was a prophecy of the new man that should emerge through the new-creating power of divine grace. Matthew means the "gift of God"; his new life was indeed God's gift. But for the blessing that came through his friendship with Jesus, Levi would have lived on as a sordid publican; but that friendship drew out the slumbering possibilities of his being and Levi became Matthew, and a man of grace and of power.

Only three incidents in all Matthew's life are recorded-his call to follow Christ, the feast he gave in his new Master's honor, and Christ's choice of him as an apostle. When Jesus saw him sitting in his office, receiving customs, he perceived at a glance what was in him and called him to be one of His disciples. Matthew rose up the call had reached his heart-and