How delightful are these
times in our spiritual life, and how naturally we long for these seasons!
How often they are pictured up till one would suppose that they are the
principal things in the Christian life! Some people have fancied that when
they became Christians the mountain-top experience would be their constant
portion. They may have been led to expect this from hearing preaching that
exalted the emotional side of religion. It may be that when they were
converted their new-born joys seemed to be unending. They thought that
this exaltation of spirit was the normal state of a Christian. They
gloried in it as the days passed by. The time came, however, when this
emotional glow subsided. As the barometer of their feelings fell, they
began to question themselves thus: "What is the matter with me? Have I
done something wrong? Am I mistaken in thinking that I was saved?" Thus,
their faith fell with their emotions. After a while their emotions rose
again, and their faith rose with their emotions. Now they knew that they
were all right.

There are times when we seem to draw near to God in prayer, when the sight
and sound of the world is shut out. An inexpressible sweetness and joy and
satisfaction come into the heart. How near God seems! How calm and
precious is the hour! How our spirits drink in of the water of life! How
we seem to talk face to face with our Lord, and how the curtain seems
drawn back till our eyes behold the secrets of the Eternal! We give
ourselves over to the supreme enjoyment of the hour. But alas! in a short
time we find ourselves no longer on the mountain, but out in the broad
plain of life, and how tame and monotonous is that plain when we think of
the mountain!

In this the natural and the spiritual are alike. What would you think of
the man who would build a store upon the mountain-top, apart from the
throng of purchasers whose business he desired? Would you think that
wisdom was displayed? Do business men do this way? No, they seek the busy
street that is trodden by a multitude, where flows the constant stream of
traffic; and there, amid the noise and dust and hurry, they ply their
trade with little thought of the mountain-top.

The mountain-top is a very good place to which to make an excursion now
and then. It is the place to spend our holidays, but it is not the place
for the real accomplishments of life. When we wish to make a living, we
must leave the mountain-top with its far-flung pan