grave they know, but beyond that all is uncertainty. Out of this many have been led by prayer, where mere worldly wisdom shut them in. Doubtful about the doctrine of immortality, they have been flooded with its light by doing Christ's will in the act of supplication, and doctrine has become realisation. No longer the wanderers of a day, they have found themselves the heirs of eternity, and out of the darkness of desertion and isolation have awoke to the consciousness of having a loving Father in heaven.

The bringing of the world that now is into connection with that which is to come, so that the influences and powers of that higher sphere shall be a matter of conscious enjoyment, is not the delusion of fanaticism. Experience will amply corroborate the representations of Scripture that such acquisitions come through prayer. No one can doubt the existence of a world the inhabitants of which he sees. When Daniel prayed, the angel Gabriel was sent from the palace of the great King at once to the kneeling prophet. When the aged Zacharias stood in supplication before the altar, he was astonished to see the same glorious being standing with his answer, saying, Thy prayer is heard." The evening devotions of the Roman Cornelius opened the way for the heavenly messenger to announce his acceptance with God; and the noonday prayer of Peter prevailed to the unfolding of the doors, letting down the tokens of Gentile salvation.

66

Heaven is the seat of power. The apostles were directed to wait in prayer within Jerusalem in order to be endowed with it. Their united supplications brought it down upon them from heaven like a mighty rushing wind. If Franklin knew that he drew the electricity of the clouds through his kite-string, so the apostles were persuaded that the fire of God fell on them in answer to prayer. Many praying assemblies in our own day have received a similar visitation of spiritual energy. The effectual, fervent prayer

of the righteous operates silently and unseen, but irresistibly and universally. If put forth to the utmost, the powers of heaven would be found to work wonders on earth on a scale before unknown.

It is only in this way that men can be brought to see Jesus in His full glory as Head of the Church and Governor of the universe. When the martyr Stephen prayed, he said, “ Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God." The full glory of Christ is revealed to the soul only in consequence of a similar "steadfast looking towards heaven." When the Redeemer prayed upon the mount, the fashion of His countenance was altered; and he who prays in like manner will see the glory of God in that Divine face, and the countenance of the suppliant himself will reflect the brightness which he has seen. Requests sent up to the throne of God will soon be met by answers coming down. The New Jerusalem will appear, coming down from God, adorned as a bride for her husband. The Golden City will be no more as a poet's dream, but through its unfolded gates there will be let down sight for the blind, light for the ignorant, love for the cold-hearted, zeal for the lukewarm, and enjoyment for the miserable. Men are unbelievers because they see so little of heaven opening upon the earth, and thus scattering its sins and crimes. But every one who repeats from the heart, "Thy kingdom come," is a power with God in supplanting the empire of darkness with the reign of light and love. Let all Christians remember the ordinance of the kingdom, "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you," and the work and process of the upper world will everywhere meet the eye; and by every dying man will be seen attending angels, a coming Saviour with the rewards of righteousness, and an opening heaven never closed against those brought by the Master's hand within its gates.

J. W.

It is indisputable that the mind must conceive an ideal before it can realise it. Raphael's pictures were distinctly seen by him before they were transferred to the canvas or the cathedral wall. Mozart's music was heard in the chambers of his soul before it charmed the ears of the world. Noble ideals are essential to noble realisations. The artist who has only an inferior conception cannot produce a superior results. This principle reveals the primary cause of so much imperfect teaching in our Sunday-schools. It also suggests a remedy. The conception of what teaching should be is not suf. ficiently noble. Let our teachers have a loftier view of it; let their ideal become grander, and the quality of their teaching will rise in proportion. To assist some in forming a more correct conception, we venture to offer a few suggestions.

It should be remembered that hearing portions of Scripture repeated is not teaching. Asking questions is examination, but not teaching. Examination is of undoubted utility in connection with instruction, but should never usurp its place. It is useful in finding out what the pupil knows, and in showing him what he does not know. Yet we may teach without examination. The lecturer and preacher teach. It is not enough for the Sunday-school teacher to assign a lesson to be studied, and then merely question his class upon it. He must impart information to his schclars, and then, by judicious questioning, draw forth from his pupils that which they have received.

Teaching is feeding the mind. Bible teaching is feeding both mind and heart. "Feed My lambs," is the injunction. The teacher must do this in a way not to disgust, but to create desire, that the mind may long for and relish. Many wonder why their pupils do not love the school and the class, but they might as well expect a

hungry child to be satisfied with a table covered with empty dishes, or filled with unpalatable viands: they give them nothing to please or satisfy their hunger.

66

Teaching is guiding the mind. Bible teaching guides heart as well as mind. The teacher is a good shepherd who does not permit his flock to wander, or to starve in the desert of ignorance, but leads them into green pastures of knowledge. The Anglo-Saxon tacan, from which we have our word teach," means to show, to direct. The Alpine guide does not expect the tourist to attempt the difficult ascent while he merely looks on, but he points out the right path, leads, shows the dangers, cautions, and assists. So the true teacher does not simply point to the summit of knowledge, and leave the student to discover the way him. self. He goes before, guides, shows where error lurks, and aids in avoiding it. He shows what to shun, what to acquire, and how to learn. There is ever before the Bible teacher the example of the Master, showing what to teach and how to teach. He who studies Christ's methods, and stores his mind with Christ's thoughts, will perceive, and may practically apply, the highest style of religious teaching. Christ shows how to guide the mind, to influence the heart, to gain the attention, to make the inattentive eager, to illustrate truth, and to lead the mind from the seen to the unseen, from what is worthless to what is priceless, from the earthly to the heavenly.

True teaching, again, awakens an enthusiastic love of study in the pupil. That which wearies and disgusts is not worthy the name of instruction. Failure to develop a taste for know. ledge is failure in a fundamental ob. ject of mental training. Love of study is ever an essential to a scholar's success. He who does not love knowledge for its own sake, but for the honour or

sufficient probability, to be that which supplied the water that was turned into wine; for which reason pilgrims usually stop and drink from it. This spring is about a quarter of a mile from the village. At Cana there is a neat Greek church, and the ruins of another which was built by the Empress Helena on the spot where the marriage feast was supposed to have been held. In walking among the ruins of this church, Dr. Clarke says: "We saw large massive stone pots, answering the description given of the ancient vessels of the country, not preserved or exhibited as relics, but İying about disregarded by the present inhabitants, as antiquities with the original use of which they were not acquainted. From their appearance, and the number of them, it was quite evident that a practice of keeping water in large stone pots, each holding from eighteen to twenty-seven gallons, was once common in the country." It would seem, however, that these pots have not been wholly neglected, as Dr. Clarke supposed; for Dr. Richardson, on visiting the modern Greek church, says: "Here we were

shown an old stone pot, of the compact limestone of the country, which, the hierophant informed us, is one of the original pots which contained the water that underwent this miraculous change." Dr. Smith gives the site of Cana as Kefr Kenna, a small village, according to his calculation, about four and a half miles north-west of Nazareth. He remarks: "The tradition identifying Kefr Kenna with Cana is certainly of considerable age. It existed in the time of Willibald-the latter half of the eighth century-who visited it in passing from Nazareth to Tabor, and again in that of Phocas— twelfth century. But the claims of another site have been lately brought forward by Dr. Robinson, with much force. The rival site is a village situated farther north, about five miles north of Seffarieh (Sepphoris), nine of Nazareth, near the present Jefat, the Jotapata of the Jewish wars. This village still bears the name of Kanael-jelil." He very pertinently concludes with the observation that the Gospel history will not be affected, which. ever site may be discovered to be the real one.

SOME persons have imagined an inconsistency between Christ's direction to His followers in the fifth chapter of Matthew, to let their light shine before men, and His rebuke in the sixth chapter, addressed to those that do their good works to be seen of men. These last trumpeted their alms, prayed in public, and for public ap. plause, and disfigured their faces when they fasted; and this exhibitory piety Christ rebukes in very strong language. But there is in truth a great difference, though one often not recognised, between letting one's "light shine" and displaying it; and, if we would but weigh well Christ's words in the simple command, "Let your light shine," it would appear to be what it

really is, an implied prohibition of that ostentation in religion which is a coun. terfeit of obedience to Christ's pre. cepts. The more subtle the display, the more delicate the self-praise, the worse is the disobedience; just as the "better the counterfeit," the worse is the base coin--that which deceives all ordinary detectives being worst of all. In this very simple precept, "Let your light shine," Christ gives the secret of all true Christian example, and of all that more potent influence which is the unconscious effect of cha. racter. We generally begin at the wrong end, or are prone to do so, and urge upon others and upon ourselves the great importance of setting a good example and exerting a good

influence; whereas, in truth, he who is perpetually studying his example will make but a sorry one after all, just as he who has studied oratory, and makes every gesture with a careful precision, to conform it to the rules he has learned, lacks that highest ease and grace which come of unconscious

ness.

The Gospel method of setting a good example is by the attainment of a good character. It is Christ that we are to show forth out of a good conversation; but we cannot show what we do not possess; and in moral life the converse is also true, we never possess what we do not in some measure show. If we do not let our light shine, the presumption is that the light is wanting, and the first duty is to get that light in larger measure. If our religious life is joyous, bright, sunny; if it is to us our wealth, our inspiration, our joy; if we are here the children of God, marching through our Father's grounds, and with anticipation of "fairer worlds on high;" if the beatitudes are written, not merely in our memory, but in our experiences, and we live, already crowned

and in the kingdom of God, divinely consoled in every experience of sorrow, satisfied because our God has seen our hunger and thirst for righteousness, and has done more for us than we can ask or even think; pure in heart, and so walking like Enoch with God whom we see and know, and who dwells with us, and is in us-if these be our ex. periences, the light will show itself in our eyes, our voice, our manner, our daily estimate of life's prosperities and adversities, our humble taking of the one, our patient bearing with joy. fulness of the other. We shall need only to see to it that we make no con. cealment of our treasures; that we hide them not for selfish and solitary enjoyment; and the light will shine out best and brightest when we are least conscious that any light at all is shining on others, only sure that it is with us.

The moon is dark only when the earth intervenes to prevent the sun from shining on it; and we are dark only when we suffer the world to stand between our souls and Christ, from whom cometh all our light. L. A.