with what
you profess. What we need is to pray to God to lift us up out of this
low, cold, formal state that we live in, that we may dwell in the
atmosphere of God continually, and that the Lord may lift upon us the
light of His countenance, and that we may shine in this world,
reflecting His grace and glory.

The One-Eyed Doe

There is an old fable that a doe that had but one eye used to graze
near the sea; and in order to be safe, she kept her blind eye toward
the water, from which side she expected no danger, while with the good
eye she watched the country. Some men, noticing this, took a boat and
came upon her from the sea and shot her. With her dying breath, she
said:

"Oh! hard fate! that I should receive my death wound from that side
whence I expected no harm, and be safe in the part where I looked for
most danger."

Lost Opportunities

If a farmer neglects to plant in the springtime, he can never recover
the lost opportunity; no more can you, if you neglect yours. Youth is
a seed-time, and if it is allowed to pass without good seed being
sown, weeds will spring up and choke the soil. It will take bitter
toil to uproot them.

An old divine said that when a good farmer sees a weed in his field he
has it pulled up. If it is taken early enough, the blank is soon
filled in, and the crop waves over the whole field. But if allowed to
run too late, the bald patch remains. It would have been better if the
weed had never been allowed to get root.

Steer Clear

A steamboat was stranded in the Mississippi River, and the captain
could not get her off. Eventually a hard-looking fellow came on board,
and said:

"Captain, I understand you want a pilot to take you out of this
difficulty?"

The captain said, "Are you a pilot?"

"Well, they call me one."

"Do you know where the snags and sand-bars are?"

"No, sir."

"Well, how do you expect to take me out of here if you don't know
where the snags and sand-bars are?"

"I know where they ain't!" was the reply.

Beware of temptations. "Lead us not into temptation," our Lord taught
us to pray; and again He said, "Watch and pray, lest ye enter into
temptation." We are weak and sinful by nature, and it is a good deal
better for us to pray for deliverance rather than to run into
temptation and then pray for strength to resist.

Looking for Revivals

Men are anxious for a revival in business. There is a great revival in
politics just now. In all depart