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I February 10, 1909. THE PRESBYTEt Contributed AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE. O often I wait At the beautiful gate Of Thinp pnrthlv tpmnln T a*?/1 And I ask an alms Of the sweet-sung psalms, The prayers and the preached word; For ever I yearn And hearken to learn Some news of my absent Lord, And I wait, I wait At th' beautiful gate In hope of a secret word: For a priceless grace In that sacred place Is ever Thy message, Lord, And the soul leaps up In gladness and hope Whep it hears the precious word; And it comes to me In an ecstasy Sometimes as I listen. Lord, Or in holy calm From the chanted psalm, The prayer or the spoken word. M. McK. C. "HE SAVED OTHERS, HIMSELF HE CANNOT SAVE." Rv W H PAi-lrinc ?J ? When Jesus was dying on the cross the chief priests and scribes looking on said in bitter mockery, "He saved others; himself he cannot save." Never was a truer word spoken. To save others, sacrifices must be made. We sometimes wonder why it is that our counItry churches have so little lea\ening influence upon the country around. The best of our country churches do not grow, and yet, go out in any direction you will, on converging roads, and within a few miles you will find families witlinut I fl,~ c~ ? ....vuv vjv/uj iviuiuui miuvnn-ug*. u? a savior, caring for none of these things. Whatever may be said about the stupid indifference of the unsaved, the failure to reach them is largely owing to want of an evangelical spirit in these country churches. Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth." How can salt preserve anything unless it is brought in contact with the thing to be saved? How can Christians spread the leaven of the Gospel without going out and speaking to the unsaved? Only see how we move on! On the one side a large class of irreligious non-churchgoers, made up of all shades and grades of refined forms of sin down to the brutal, but all perishing for salt. Then s#>p a rhiirrh Ihere and there, little piles of salt, whose members theoretically say poor sinners can have, if they will come and get it. Some say: "I have my business to attend to, and it requires all my time." Well, when Jesus was sending out His disciples, lie said, "As ye go, preach." Let your life be a sermon a letter?Christ's epistle to an ungodly w6rld. Others say, "I do not care to be mixed up with such common people." "Self preservation is heaven's first law. That is an untrue, selfish, unchristian sentiment. He MAN OF THE SOUTH. 7 that saveth his life shall lose it," and "he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." What kind of an army would we have, if every man were to set the preservation of his life as his first duty? What we all need is to go now and then to Calvary, and gaze upon the face of that great sacrifice and to think upon those- true words, "He saved others, him 1 r 1 - ?? - ?? w - - sen nc can not save.' me attitude ot your mind towards the outside, unsaved masses, determines whether you are for Christ or against Him. As you go, preach, and such as you have give unto others. Freely ye have received, freely give." THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST. By Rev. R. L. Benn. The human soul is not self-sustaining. It is ever reaching forth to some trustworthy object or presence Again and again there comes the feeling of Moses that all will come to desolation without such support when he exclaimed, "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." The human soul wants some object that is higher and grander and mightier than itself 1|nnn UfVli^U I f I f - 1 S- If mj/uii nutv.11 11 vail v.vjiiiiucilliy rcpusu Ulltl ieei usen secure. That want is met in Christ. He satisfies and sustains the soul, and directs its healthy growth, and joyful development, and noble achievement. His satisfying and assuring promise is, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." This promise does not mean an impersonal influence, Vague as the pervading atmosphere, or "a stream of tendency flowing through the ages" with no ear for prayer, no heart for sympathy, no arm to deliver. It means a real living presence. In his estate of exalta1 inil fllrict 1C Am n i nrpcon f T-IIe rvrnrn?i/>n ?1fs* * V.W.., .WW vrniKipi vuvti t. xiio piv,avu\.g una miiuciisity. His flaming eye observes all that transpires in one's private and public life, in the shadow of darkness as well as in the glare of light. But he is present with his people as Savior, Shepherd and Friend, giving his gracious, loving, interested presence exclusively to them. And there are times in the true Christian's life when the conviction of his presence dawns so vividly that one.feels his hand lifting his burdens, and hears his voice whispering comfort to his soul. His presence is a benign reality. More present to faith's vision keen, Than any visions seen. More near, more ultimately nigh Than any earthly tie. His presence is not something now and then. "I am with you alway," he says. It is an abiding presence. Earthly resources are perpetually changing. It is impossible to calculate what changes a single day may effect. Uncertainty and instability and transiency characterize all things here below. Wealth vanishes, competency ceases, position fails, health breaks, friends even change, and if they do not change, they certainly die, so that, "There is none abiding/' How impressive does this truth of mutation become at times. One day a visitor returns from some other place where you once resided, and you ply him with questions about different friends you once had there. "Did you see Mr. A?" "Yes; but you would scarcely recognize him now; he has changed so much." "Did