them. There are single lines in the poetry of Tennyson that took him days of earnest thought to write. No true work that is worth the doing is done easily. Like the work of Jesus for the saving of men, and like the work of these Jewish builders of the wall, it is wrought out in the teeth of difficulty.

NEXT, all true work is accompanied with prayer. The

book of Nehemiah is a book of deeds, but it is also pre-eminently a book of prayer. As we watch the builders busy at their task, we know it is the atmosphere of prayer that they are breathing. It was Luther who said that to labour is to pray, and in many spiritual senses that is true. But the highest service never hinders prayer, nor does time spent in prayer ever hinder service. Prayer is the atmosphere the worker breathes ; prayer is the beating heart behind the hand. I heard the other evening of a little girl who was very sorely vexed by her wild brother. He used to set traps for birds out in the court, and his sister would pray that no birds might be caught. But birds were caught, in spite of all her prayers, and her girlish faith was sorely tried over it. One night, however, there was a new look on her face. down beside her cot to pray as usual. She prayed, ' Dear Lord, don't let any birds be caught in Willie's trap'—and then glancing up at her nurse, she added, 'I know they won't, for I broke the trap before coming in.' You see she was learning in her own childish way that work and prayer must always go together. She would never have thought of breaking up the trap, and probably would never have had the courage to do it, unless she had begun to pray about it first. It was that lesson that the builders learned. And as life advances, and we find how full the world is of traps that are far more dangerous than Willie's, we learn that without prayer we cannot work, and without work we cannot pray.

She knelt

LASTLY, all true work is done in the soldier's spirit.

These men were the bearers of the sword and trowel. They toiled, but they were always ready for battle. They laboured, but at the sound of the trumpet they would muster. Their work then was not a work of peace, their work was a warfare in disguise. All work is that, but especially is it true of the great work of being a good Christian. We are all builders, and the wall is rising, and underneath it is the sure foundation. But we too, even as we build, must take to ourselves the whole armour of God. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, must be ours in every day of toil.

TE

FORTIETH SUNDAY

Evening

THE ASCENSION

Passage to be read: Luke xxiv. 36-53.

EN appearances of the risen Lord are recorded in the New Testament, and of these no fewer than five occurred on the day of resurrection. Of the ten appearances Luke narrates three-(1) that to the disciples on the road to Emmaus (xxiv. 13-35); (2) that to the ten apostles and others (xxiv. 36-49); (3) that on the occasion of the Ascension (xxiv. 50-51), separated by an interval of days from the preceding one, though we might not gather that from a hasty reading of the chapter. Let us remember, too, that from resurrection to ascension there elapsed a period of forty days, and let us recall how often a like period had figured in the story of the Bible. For forty days Moses was on the Mount, preparing for his deliverance of the law. For forty days

Elijah was in the wilderness before he came forth for his great work in Israel. For forty days Jesus Himself was in the desert, at the beginning of His public ministry. May it not be that these forty resurrection-days were a preface to that glorious ministry in heaven, which Jesus is to carry on for evermore?

THE

HE disciples then were gathered together, probably in that very upper chamber which was now hallowed with all manner of blessed memory, when Jesus (though the doors were shut for fear of the Jews) appeared in their midst and said, 'Peace be unto you.' One marks the suddenness of Christ's procedure now. He had suddenly left the two disciples at Emmaus. He suddenly stands amid the ten disciples here. In the action and movement of the risen Jesus there is an unexpected and arresting swiftness that we do not find in the days before the cross. The disciples were scared (for the Greek word means that). It was Jesus, but so altered that He seemed a spirit. And once again we can do nothing but marvel at the timely and wise compassion of the Lord. He did not rebuke them-He knew that they were dust. He bade them touch Him and look at His hands and feet, and handle Him. It was only to a worshipping and adoring Mary that He could say, 'Touch me not (thy faith hath made thee whole), for I ascend unto the Father.' They touched Him, and never forgot that touch. One touch of a hand will alter a life sometimes. I think that John was living this hour again when long years afterwards he began his priceless letter by speaking of what our hands have handled of the Word of Life (1 John i. 1). Then a great joy, like a tide, swept over them. And they could not believe, they were so glad. Not long ago Christ found them sleeping for sorrow (Luke xxii. 45), and now He found them disbelieving for joy. Do not forget, then, that joy can hinder faith. It may be as great a foe to faith as sorrow sometimes is.

There was no door to shut or open here, as there was with little Rhoda in the Acts; yet when Rhoda opened not the gate for gladness (Acts xii. 14), she was like the ten, who believed not for joy.

BUT Jesus is very tender with such unbelief, for it is

as if the sunshine (and not sin) were blinding men. He called for food, and they gave Him a piece of fish. Jerusalem was always well supplied with that. And I dare say the two, who had walked with Him to Emmaus, thought He would break it, and suddenly disappear. But 'God fulfils Himself in many ways,' and Christ had other purposes to serve. He took it, and did eat before them. Who of them now could say this was a spirit? Once many had believed (on the hillside) when Christ made others eat. Now they believed because He Himself ate. Then Jesus led them into the heart of Scripture. He went back to the law and the prophets and the psalms. He read that old story in the light of all that happened till their hearts burned and glowed at the interpretation. Can you wonder that in the Book of Acts the disciples should be so mighty in the Word? A single hour will sometimes teach us more than the dull strivings of half a score of years. And in that one hour, in the upper chamber with Christ, Scripture became a new book to the disciples. Never forget how earnestly and constantly our Lord appealed to the testimony of the Word. Jesus dwelt deep in history and psalm and prophecy. There never was such a student of the Scripture. He used it as His weapon in the desert. He confuted His enemies with their own sacred books. He found His solace in it. He read His mission there. He went back to its deep words when hanging on Calvary. He taught it more urgently than ever when He rose. The Bible was full of authority and power for a Saviour who had risen from the dead.

THEN

'HEN when the forty days were over, and the closing counsels and commissions had been given, Christ led His disciples through the streets of Jerusalem, and over Kedron, and past the shadows of Gethsemane. I think the little company were all silent; their hearts were too full of memories for speech. Then they passed out to the upland ground near Bethany, and Jesus lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And while He blessed them, a cloud gathered, and parted them, and Jesus was carried up into heaven. How simple and how reserved is the whole scene! There is no chariot of fire; no sound of music. It was a fitting departure of One who would not strive nor cry, and who had come down on the mown grass gently as the rain. And did the disciples sorrow or lament? They returned to Jerusalem with great joy (v. 52). Christ had not left them; He would be with them still. Their Lord and they would never be parted more. A little before, they could not believe for joy. Now they were joyful just because they believed.