so apprehensive of the welfare of his own soul as to avoid these occasions where he may be of help to others. The purpose of the Christian religion is to train up good Christians who will do their duty in every condition of life.

Thus the Christian citizen will consider himself called as a Christian to take an active interest in politics. He will remember that Christ came not to save the church only, but the world; and he will be religiously concerned in all that in any way influences the world. The wise minister will set a good example to his people by "putting the polls upon his visiting-list." He will belong to the noble army of independent voters. What we need to-day in politics is men of character.

We must have the personal interest of more good people. We may discuss reforms forever. Nothing will come of it. When good men are in a majority, the reform has come already. Every man who does his civic duty helps toward that end, counts one toward that majority. The Christians in the days of Cæsar raised no standard of rebellion, made no disturbance in the state, simply paid their tribute, in money, in loyalty to all that was deserving of loyalty, in good citizenship, and tried to be good Chris

tians in the difficult political conditions of their time; and the day came when Cæsar himself was constrained to be a Christian.

They did their duty to Cæsar, and it was found to be synonymous with duty to God.

WAR AND POLITICS.

"And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless, he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord."-2 SAM. xxiii. 16.

It is a paragraph from the annals of the wars of Israel. David was fighting the Philistines. David and his men held the rocky hills, and the Philistines were in the green valley. And one day, when the harvest sun was hot and shade was scanty and the battle long and wearisome, David grew very thirsty. And he thought, as thirsty people will, of the sweet taste of cool water. He remembered a well at Bethlehem beside the city gate. He had played about it as a boy. He had drunk deep draughts out of the dark depths of it in the hot afternoons. The trees grew green about it; the fresh winds blew over it; deep was the clear water in the cool recesses of the rock.

David looked out over the tents of the enemy, afar into the green valley, and fancied that he

could almost see the little village, with the well beside the gate. And he said, half to himself, "Oh, that I had a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem!" And standing by and listening were those three stout men. And straight they started for that well. The host of the Philistines lay encamped between. But the men brake through. Down they went, defiant as Goliath, and fought their way by might of arm to the well of Bethlehem and back. David had his cup of water.

And

The earth has always been a battlefield. Every day men are drawn up somewhere into armed array, and other men, for good cause or for bad, are making their murderous way into their ranks. Men began to fight beside the gate of Eden, and have been fighting ever since. History is divided into chapters by the campaigns of the wars of nations.

The first hero was the man who had a stouter fist than anybody else in the neighborhood. The first king was the iron-armed warrior who was able by his strength and courage to command the respect of a considerable number of heroes. The first statesman was he who planned the first successful attack upon a dangerous enemy. The first discoverer ventured into new

countries that he might kill their inhabitants. The first poet sang his song over heaps of hostile slain. For ages men were accounted of importance in proportion to their ability to harm their fellow-men.

"Saul hath slain his thousands," shouted the people - therefore Saul is a great deal of a man; "but David his tens of thousands,' rang the answer therefore David is ten times as

much of a man as Saul.

The whole world was

frontier mining towns

in the condition of our before the arrival of the railroad, — every man carried his materials for murder everywhere he went. The priest was set beside the soldier in the estimation of the people only because he was thought to wield invisible weapons, sharper than swords and longer than lances. Women were not considered of much consequence because they could not fight.

At first men fought like animals for the sheer love of fighting. After that they fought for reputation. They desired the good opinion of their neighbors. And as ideals had not risen then much above mere physical achievement, and there was small appreciation yet of wisdom or of sanctity, the man who would win admiration must be strong, fearless of danger,