peace for which the Apostle prays is, first, not the peace of indifference. Let this never be forgotten. Second: It is not the peace of prosperous surroundings. Some people frequently fail at this point but it is the very peace of God himself. The peace here prayed for looks in three directions.

First: Godward. "Being justified by faith we have peace with God." His pardoning voice we hear and he is reconciled.

Second: Inward. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, let not your heart be troubled."

Third: Outward. With such a possession we may meet trial and bear burdens and never be moved. How may

we secure such a possession?

First: By having confidence in Christ's work, for when he met his disciples and showed them his hands and his side, he said, "Peace be unto you.'

Second: By submission to Christ's rule. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect.

peace, or as the literal translation is, "Thou wilt keep him in peace, peace, who trusteth in thee because his mind

is set on thee." This is our possession, and for that Paul prays.

A STARTLING STATEMENT

TEXT: "The wicked shall not be unpunished." Prov. 11: 21.

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There are very many passages Scripture which ought to be read in connection with this text; as for example, "Fools make a mock at sin" (Proverbs 14:9), for only a fool would. Better trifle with the pestilence and expose oneself to the plague than to discount the blighting effects of sin. And again, "The soul that sinneth it shall die," Ezekiel 18: 4. From this clear statement of the word

of God, there is no escape. Or again, "Our secret sins in the light of his countenance." Psalm 90: 8. There is really nothing hidden from his sight. We may conceal our sinful thoughts from men and sometimes even our evil practices; but not from God. Or again, "Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death." James 1:14-15. Here is unexampled progress

indicated from which there never has been the slightest deviation. But one of the sharpest texts in all the Word of God, and one which men somehow in these days seem to ignore, is Paul's expression, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked, whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7)," and if we compare this reference in the New Testament to the text in the Old Testament the harvest indeed seems to be sure "for the wicked shall not be unpunished.'

There is a note of truth in all of these statements for both saint and sinner. Jeremiah the thirtieth chapter and the eleventh verse, "For I am with thee, saith the Lord to save thee; though I make a full end of thee yet I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished." The old Prophet is speaking to the people of of Israel and while he tells them that they are God's people nevertheless they shall not altogether go unpunished, for if they sow to the flesh they must of the

flesh reap corruption. In Deuteronomy the fifth chapter and the ninth verse, we read, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." It is a solemn fact that the sins of the fathers descend upon the children until the third and fourth generation. It is more solemn that so blighting is the effect of sin that the fourth generation is the last. There is no fifth. Even though we be pardoned from sin forever we shall not altogether go unpunished.

Certainly it is true that if one rejects Jesus Christ, punishment for him is absolutely certain. The other day in the city of Chicago the following appeared in the Inter-Ocean as an editorial under the title of "Preaching for Men."

"To those who look upon men as they are it is simply astounding that so many preachers should act as if the hope of