hs of the Gospel, and in the
exercise of the sentiments and emotions which flow from these. Or, to
put it into other words, the 'gymnastic' is to be, mainly, the man's
clinging, with all his might of mind and heart, to Christ, and the
truths that are wrapped up in Him; and the cultivation of the habit of
continual faith and love turned to that Lord. If I see to number
one--the creed, and to number two--the emotions, they will see to number
three--the conduct. Keep the truths of the Gospel well in your minds,
and keep yourselves well in the attitude of contact with Jesus Christ,
and power for life will come into you. But if the fountain is choked,
the bed of the stream will be dry. They tell us that away up in
Abyssinia there form across the bed of one of the branches of the Nile
great fields of weed. And as long as they continue unbroken the lower
river is shrunken. But when the stream at the back of them bursts its
way through them, then come the inundations down in Egypt, and bring
fertility. And there are hundreds of professing Christians whose fields
lie barren and baked in the sunshine, because they have stopped with
weeds, far away up amongst the hills, the stream that would water them.
Clear out the weeds, and the water will do the rest.

And 'exercise thyself unto godliness' by keeping the crown and the prize
often and clear in view. 'Paul the aged' in this very letter says: 'I
have finished my course, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
glory.' He had said, in the midst of the strife: 'Not as though I had
already attained--I press toward the mark for the prize.' And the prize
which gleamed before him through all the dust of the arena now shone
still more brightly when his hand had all but clasped it. If we desire
to 'run with perseverance the race that is set before us' we must keep
our eyes fixed on Jesus, and see in Him, not only the Rewarder, but the
Reward, of the 'exercise unto godliness.'

ONE WITNESS, MANY CONFESSORS

'Thou . . . hast professed a good profession before
many witnesses. 13. I give thee charge in the
sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and
before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate
witnessed a good confession, 14. That thou keep
this commandment. . . .'--1 TIM. vi. 12-14.

You will observe that 'a good confession,' or rather 'the good
confession,' is said here to have been made both by Timothy and by