all, short in duration and small in importance; that which has to do
with God, His revelations, and His worship and service, lasts. What
is left in ancient historic lands, like Egypt or Greece, is the
temples of the gods, while the huts of the people have perished long
centuries ago. What we build for God lasts; what we pitch for
ourselves is transient as we are.




GOING FORTH


'They went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into
the land of Canaan they came.'--GENESIS xii. 5.


I


The reference of these words is to Abram's act of faith in leaving
Haran and setting out on his pilgrimage. It is a strange narrative
of a journey, which omits the journey altogether, with its weary
marches, privations, and perils, and notes but its beginning and its
end. Are not these the main points in every life, its direction and
its attainment? There are--

'Two points in the adventure of the diver,
One--when, a beggar, he prepares to plunge,
One--when, a prince, he rises with his pearl.'