ducted by a few men of earnest, overpowering faith—men without reputation, without wealth, without social position; in a word, men of very little personal influence; and yet with Christ in them the hope of glory, with a clear perception of His Gospel, and with a deep sense of responsibility to declare that Gospel in its simplicity and purity, they went forth, without fee or reward, everywhere preaching the Word. They did not wait for churches to be built and salaries to be provided, but they went out and built their own churches and provided their own salaries. In other words, they trusted in Him who has promised never to leave nor forsake His own, and this trust made them invincible against all opposing forces. Indeed, so wonderful has been the success of their movement that at present the number of their communicants in the United States alone amounts to about one million, two hundred and fifty thousand, while during the last decade the increase over the preceding decade was at the rate of eightythree per cent.

Now, with all these facts before us, it must be evident that in order to obtain the highest success for the cause of Christianity it is necessary to have men of faith to do the work. Men of expediency, timorous, doubtful men; men who enter upon the work in a purely professional way; men who are simply seeking places in order to secure a temporal living; men who are really Psychical Men or sensuous men, and nothing else, are not the men who are needed in the present struggle between light and darkness, liberty and slavery, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdoms of this world. The issues at stake are too important to be trusted in the hands of any who are not willing to sacrifice everything, if needs be, for the great cause to which they have committed every earthly interest. Men who will not simply die for their faith, but who will live for it.

"So he died for his faith. That is fine-
More than most of us do.

But stay, can you add to that line
That he lived for it, too?

"It is easy to die. Men have died
For a wish or a whim-

From bravado or passion or pride,
Was it hard for him?

"But to live; every day to live out
All the truth that he dreamt,

While his friends met his conduct with doubt,
And the world with contempt-

"Was it thus that he plodded ahead,

Never turning aside?

Then we'll talk of the life that he led

Never mind how he died."

It is scarcely necessary to guard against a possible misapprehension on the part of the reader. There is no objection whatever to the laborer receiving just compensation for his services. Both the Word of God and the history of the churches justify a liberal treatment of those who give themselves wholly to the proclamation of the Gospel. This is not the point under consideration in the preceding contention. It is freely granted that there is less reason now than at any time since Christianity was established for a stingy policy toward those who devote themselves to the proclamation of the Gospel. For this very reason there is no excuse whatever for maintaining either a church or a ministry which has little or no kinship with that feeling of the Apostle Paul, expressed to the Philippians, when he says "howbeit, what things were gains to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. Yea, verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having as

my righteousness that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God upon faith; that I may know him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed unto His death; if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead."

This is the spirit which must characterize Christians of the present day if they expect to be able to take this world for Christ. This is the heroic attitude which must be assumed by every Spiritual Man in his conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil, before it is possible to hope for any signal triumphs for the long-suffering cause of Christ; and, this being true, the question of our present needs can never be practically solved until men of faith are everywhere substituted for the easy-going, halfhearted, nominal church members which to-day make up the larger number, it is feared, of those who profess and call themselves Christians.

"What is our need? The answer's clear

Strong men of faith, brave men and true;

With these to lead, we shall not fear,

No matter what our foes may do.

"What is our need? Not simply mind,
Though this o'er matter surely reigns;
Who looks for truth will always find

True men have hearts as well as brains.

"What is our need? Not honor great,

Nor brightest culture, wealth or fame,
But consecrated men who hate

All shams, called by whatever name.

"What is our need? Not e'en the pen,
So mighty in its power to bless;
Our need not things, but valiant men,

Men who will stand for righteousness.

"What is our need? Cathedrals dim,

Where ritual takes the place of prayer?

If in such place we seek for Him

Who saves-we shall not find Him there.

"What is our need? Once more I say,

It is not forms or human creeds, But what the world most needs to-day

Is men, though not of words but deeds.

"When God shall give us men like these,

Truth's banner soon will be unfurled, And proudly wave o'er land and seas,

The emblem of a conquered world."