he thus describes his journey: "So I came to Jerusalem and was there
three days. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon
me; as also the king's words that He had spoken unto me. And they said,
Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this
good work," Nehemiah ii. 11 and 18.

This picture of despair as seen in the olden days in Jerusalem is almost
if not altogether being repeated to-day. The case is really desperate.
The need of Divine help in the re-construction of human lives has never
been greater. Hosts of men find the following testimony a description
of their own experience. It is a young university man who is speaking,
and before a great crowd of people he says:--

"Probably nine out of every ten of you men standing in front of me know
who I am and know my family well. You will no doubt be surprised to
hear of the awful experiences through which I have gone during the past
six months. Just six months ago, as most of you know, I was an active
Christian worker, and there are many of you in front of me who as
recently as last July sat and heard me preach. During the last six
months trouble came upon me, and in a weak moment, losing faith in God,
I took to drink, and sank as low as it is possible for any man to sink.
Not even the prodigal in the parable could have fallen lower than I
did. Disowned by my mother; cast aside by my brother and sisters;
despised by the members and officers of the church to which I belonged
and in which I preached, I was in every respect an outcast. Just before
Christmas, whilst tramping on the road, I actually took the shirt off
my back to sell it for drink, so miserable was I. My nights I spent in
the open fields, waking in the morning covered with frost. Something
seemed to compel me to attend the meetings in this city. I attended
night after night, and although the singing and the address had a