he went
on preaching the Gospel of the Son of God. He was regarded as a poor
tent-maker by the great and mighty ones of his day; but no one can now
tell the name of any of his persecutors, or of those who lived at that
time, unless their names happen to be associated with his, and they
were brought into contact with him.

Now the fact is, all men like to shine. We may as well acknowledge it
at once. You go into business circles and see how men struggle to get
into the front rank. Every one wants to outshine his neighbor and to
stand at the head of his profession. Go into the political world and
see how there is a struggle going on as to who shall be the greatest.
If you go into a school you find that there is a rivalry among the
boys and girls. They all want to stand at the top of the class. When a
boy does reach this position and outranks all the rest the mother is
very proud of it. She will manage to tell all the neighbors how
Johnnie has got on, and what a number of prizes he has gained.

You go into the army and you find the same thing--one trying to
outstrip the other; every one is very anxious to shine and rise above
his comrades. Go among the young men in their games and see how
anxious the one is to outdo the other. So we have all that desire in
us; we like to shine above our fellows.

And yet there are very few who can really shine in the world. Once in
a while one man will outstrip all his competitors. Every four years
what a struggle goes on throughout our country as to who shall be the
President of the United States, the battle raging for six months or a
year. Yet only one man can get the prize. There a good many struggling
to get the place, but many are disappointed, because only one can
attain the coveted prize. But in the kingdom of God the very least and
the very weakest may shine if they will. Not only can _one_ obtain the
prize, but _all_ may have it if they will.

It does not say in this passage that the Statesmen are going to shine
as the brightness of the firmament. The Statesmen of Babylon are gone;
their very names are forgotten.

It does not say that the nobility are going to shine. Earth's nobility
are soon forgotten. John Bunyan, the Bedford tinker, has outlived the
whole crowd of those who were the nobility in his day. They lived for
self, and their memory is blotted out. He lived for God and for souls,
and his name is as fragrant as ever it was.

We are not told that the merchants are