The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-04

fiuenee of a firm purpose to neglect no duty of life. This makes him gentle, it makes him courteous, if makes him con- siderate of the feelings of those around him. In a word, it reflres him. In every department of life we go up and on in duty. God never says go backward, but always forward. In the moral march of manhood there is no such thing as re- treat there Is no retogression. As we begin to serve God we begin an eternal march towards amending good and glory
 Second. The path eff duty is a step forward in the face of difficulties.
 The sea still rolled before the Israeli ties when God gave the command to go forward. He did not frs part the sea and then tell them to move but told them to move and then parted the sea. So there are obstacles. apparently insuperable, in our path sometimes and it seems strange to us that we should pe expected to go forward There is a diff lculty in our own depravity. I do not be .ieve in total de- pravity. That is, I do not believe that man is as bad as he might be- He Is bad enough, and this natural depravity is the foe to the proper performance or duty. There are some things in him which are averse to the performance of duty The very name is dists,steful to him. He likes for you to talk to him Of grace but he does not like law. What he wants is really not grace but indulgence, and that is just what he can never have.
 There are also difficulties in our sur roundings. One of the hardest things in life is to be independ snt of ones sur roundings. I mean to bs what we fell we ought to be. when daily surrounded ny influences that are anta sonistic to the tuli performance of our duty. l do not De- lieVe in the men who seek to array them selves against public opinion just to show that they do not care what others think. We ought to care what others think. We owe duties to the public that we can not pay well in any other way. But we are also to remember that we are part of the public, and have our snare in framing this very public sentiment and although it may be difficult for us to carry out our ideas of what is best for those about us, yet it Is our duty to make the attempt. Luther believed that the Catholic church was wrong and ne set to work with all his energy to right it. His especial difficulty lay in his sur roundings They were such as to be inim- teal to his ideas, and much or ms great struggle had to be alone
 Spiritual Enemies.
 There are also great spiritual enemies. The world of flesh and the devil form a trinity of evil that attempts to stop the progress of every man who seeks to perform his duty. These are the three great forces the Christian man has to contend against It is a very dangerous thing for general to underestimate the force of the enemy. Sons or the modern theology would have us leave the deVii out in our reckoning up of our spirituai foes. but if we do so we shall ind that we have made terrible mistake. We VIII find that there is an enemy constantly harrassing us that we cannot locate' ana that we are at his mercy for this very reason. He is very subtle, snd If he could only succeed in getting men to think that there was no devil, he would soon nave the entire human race fn his power
 That man Is better prepared to carry tb, q,,. n A. successful issue who over estimates his foes, than he who under estimates them: but there Is more ex- ceIlent way, and that is to estimate them rightly, and the Bible Is given to us for this purpose. In doing our duty we are called upon to fight. Every inch Of the ground Is going to be contested. and we must advance sword in hand. There is something stimulating to me in this thought of ceaseless fighting. If there were no chance of victory despair would seize us, but when we remember that there are more for us than there are against us; when we remember that the Captain of our Salvation has fought this battle, and now stands at the head of the column to assist us In the struggle against foes whose power he has tested, we become inspired with courage, and shout: .'We can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth us"
 Third. This duty then Is a step forward not in our own strength.
 To the ready will God adds the moral strength. As soon as the Israelites started forward the power of God opened the way for them. They could never have escaped from the disciplined army of the King of Egypt without the help of God. They had neither arms nor armour to amount to anything, and besides, they were undisciplined, and cumbered with the women and children. We are to go hot plies We are accustomed to see great powers developed by great occasions. Ability Is conditioned, 1t Is dependant, and never comes out until -ome demand Is made upon it. We say tho man never knows what he can do until he tries. And this Is profoundly true. So in the doing of our duty, God is the great source of strength, and we never know what duties we can perform until We have undertaken them and drawn on God.
 At Gods Command.
 Fourth. Duty is step forward at God S command It is the answer man gives to God it is obedience to a Divine order, it is the imperative of perfection. Here then, lies the great obligation to duty. Duty is the command of God, and we can only honor him by the performance of the duty. He says to us: "Go for ward" and woe be to the man who neg lects to obey the Divine order. He does not propose that we shall go unaided. He proposes to go with us. He proposes to give us all of the necessary strength. He proposes to level every hill of difficulty,