know all that is told us about him is
contained in a few verses. "If you never studied it before, you had
better do it now. It will do you good. Noah was a wonderful
character."

When the young man went out I got my Bible and some other books, and
read all I could find about Noah, I had not been reading long before
the thought came stealing over me: Here was a man who toiled on for a
hundred and twenty years and never had a single convert outside of his
own family. Yet he did not get discouraged. I closed up my Bible; the
cloud had gone; I started out and went to the noon prayer-meeting. I
had not been there long when a man got up and said he had come from a
little town in Illinois. On the day before he had admitted a hundred
young converts to Church membership. As he was speaking I said to
myself: "I wonder what Noah would have given if he could have heard
that. He never had any such result as that to his labors."

Then in a little while a man who sat right behind me stood up. His
hand was on the seat, and I felt it shake; I could realise that the
man was trembling. He said: "I wish you would pray for me; I would
like to become a Christian." Thought I to myself: "wonder what Noah
would have given if he had heard that. He never heard a single soul
asking God for mercy, yet he did not get discouraged." I have never
hung my harp on the willows since that day. Let us ask God to take
away the clouds of fear and unbelief; let us get out of Doubting
Castle; let us move forward courageously in the name of our God and
expect to see results.

If you cannot engage in any active work yourselves you can do a good
deal by cheering on others. Some people not only do nothing, but they
are all the time throwing discouragement on others, in every forward
step they take. If you meet with them they seem to chill you through
and through. I think I would as soon face the east wind in Edinburgh
in the month of March, as come in contact with some of these so-called
Christians. Perhaps they are speaking about some effort that has been
made, and they say: "Well, yes, a good deal of work was done, but then
many were not reached at all." Such and such a thing ought to have
been done in a different way, and I know not what. They are all the
time looking at the dark side.

Let us not give heed to these gloomy and discouraging remarks. In the
name of our great Commander let us march on to battle and to victory.
There are some generals whose nam