December First.
THE SACRED BANNER.
"Thou hast given a banner to them that feared thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth."—Psalm lx. 4.
WE every day experience the truth of the apostolic words, that "the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, so that we cannot do the things that we would." The writer can say that he has experienced this again and again, and he believes it to be the case, more or less, with every one. If we examine ourselves and speak candidly, we must say we have, indeed, "nothing of our own wherein to trust," our only hope is in the unwearied compassion with which we are regarded by the Lord.
To whom, then, are we to look for help? Who is to conduct us during this fearful fight, so that the battle, which must be fought, may be followed by such a victory as shall put us in possession of the lasting blessings of peace? There is only one Being who can bring us safely through, and that is the Lord. He has forewarned us, "In the world ye shall have tribulation." Not the physical world only—though in it there is certainly much tribulation to encounter—but in the world of our own minds also; in our own impure desires, our unholy affections, our perverted thoughts,
