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March 17, 1909. THE PRESBYTER] of the world's stage. But while our Lord is by all means infinitely the most conspicuous example of the sublime consequences of living to do the will of God he is not the only one. There is a vast multitude of men and women living today who have set the Lord upon their heart's throne and live to honor him. It is not in the limit of human imaginative powers to conceive what the result would be to the world and themselves if any considerable body of men should in real earnestness set themselves only to do God's will. The will of God contemplates all that is pure and uplifting: for man. It contemplates the destruction of all destructive forces; the removal from his path of every impediment to the noblest achievements. Short-sightedness may for a seeming advantage espouse an unrighteous cause for a worldly interest, but let it never be overlooked, the unrighteousness which defends measures destroys men. In God's eyes men are greater than things. There can be no real building up where men are pulled down. And every measure that contemplates however remotely the undermining of the moral structure of man is a grievous sin against God for which no earthly advantage can atone. There can be no guide to personal conduct in any circumstances like an honest and heroic facing of the question, "What would Christ have me do?" If to know God is life eternal, if heaven lies in intelligent, voluntary obedience to Jesus Christ, then to my mind a real burning hell lies in the conscience of any man who deliberately, intelligently, and for worldly gain does that which pulls down what Christ desires to build up, a tiue and God-like manhood. Matt. 20: 28. "The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Humanity wants to be served. The earthly great are known by the number who serve them, the heavenly great by the number they serve. True greatness lies in serving because in serving we crucity all the natural propensities of the human heart. There is a tyrant in the breast of every man, a tyrant whom only a hero can subdue. Christ gave his life in ministering, so must you. All true service calls for death, but out of death comes a larger, richer life. Only the broken vessels can be made whole. So long as I think I am whole I can never be filled with the grace of Christ; let me only know I am broken and confess it to him, and he will fill the broken vessel. TV T t ... ... .. / . . avxure people enter into temptation tnan are rorceu in. I am my brother's, keeper in proportion as I keep myself. We, my brother and I, must stand or fall together. Some men are like sign boards, they point out the way though they never take a step themselves. Others are guides and lead you by the hand. Our burdens make us strong. Happiness does not lie in getting rid of our burdens but in having Christ help us bear them. The companionship is the gain. ' * f :an of the south. 5 ARE MARRIAGES MADE IN HEAVEN? Yes; for the children of God, for those who ask his direction, they are. Have we evidence of this? In the case of our dying friends, we have the promise of Christ that he will receive us to himself, and we have the testimony of a few of those who have died that they saw the glory of the new world and heavenly messengers waiting to bear them hence. If, in the case of marriages, we can produce the same evidence, we have an answer to our question. , We have it. In the first place we have the assurance of God thac "the steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord." And there is no exception in the step of marriage. And we well know that "a prudent wife is of the Lord." But have we earthly testimony? Naturally every man hesitates to talk of his own family affairs; and if he should we might discount his testimony as the outcome of enthusiasm. But in the new book* just issued from the press, entitled "Fifty Years in China" (Nashville, Bayless-Pullen Co.) we have such a vivid and forceful answer to our question that we cannot forbear to reproduce it. The book is an outline of the life of Rev. Tarleton Ferry Crawford who labored for titty years in China as a missionary of Christ. We knew and loved him, as we saw his work in that land forty years ago, and tve write him down as not an enthusiast, but a man of good sense. In the book we find an account of the manner in which the Lord found for him a wife. When Mr. Crawford was about twenty-nine years old, he gave his life to the work of the Lord in China. He was then a resident of Tennessee. About the same time in middle Alabama lived a young lady by the name of Martha Foster. They had never so much as heard of each other. When she reached the years of womanhood, she felt the need of a place to work for the Master, and she advertised for a position as teacher. To this advertisement, she received no answer. On November 14, 1849, betore retiring to rest, sne praycu, "Oh, Lord, thou hast apparently closed the door of usefulness in tlris teaching, the only department of labor for thee that I can ?see. Thou hast other work for me. I beseech thee to show me, and whatever it may be I gladly will do." The words were barely spoken when "a powerful conviction like a flash of lightning darted across her mind, that God's will for her was to take the gospel to the heathen. She saw no light, heard no audible voice, but the impression was as deep and vivid as if there had been both." In vain she tried to reason herself into the belief that it was a passing fancy. She did not want to go. Her faith almost fainted. "For some days my soul was filled with gloom and almost despair. I could not say, Thy will be done." In about a week her sorrow was turned into joy. "Everything was full of God and therefore full of happiness." The missionary work was especially attractive as if opening a field of sacrifice as well as of labor for Jesus. A year later her pastor wrote to the Baptist Mission Board at Richmond, Ya., asking whether'they would appoint an unmarried woman to work in China, but