anty on it, he
does not fix up the old shanty, but he gets a second-hand man, if he will
have it, to tear it down, and he puts a mansion in its place. It is not
fixing up the house that you need, but to give Christ the vacant lot, and
He will excavate below our old life and build a house where He will live
forever.

Now that is what we mean when we say that Christ will be the preparation
for the blessing, and make way for His own approach. It is as when a great
Assyrian king used to set out on a march. He did not command the people to
make a road, but he sent on his own men, and they cut down the trees and
filled the broken places, and levelled the mountains. So He will, if we
will let Him, be the Coming King, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

NOVEMBER 2.

"Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II.
Cor. x. 5).

If we would abide in Christ we must have no confidence in self.
Self-repression must be ever the prime necessity of divine fulness and
efficiency. Now you know how quickly you spring to the front when any
emergency arises. When something in which you are interested comes up, you
say what you think under some sudden impulse, and then perhaps you have
weeks of taking back your thought and taking the Lord's instead. It is
only when we get out of the way of the Lord that He can use us. So, be out
of self, always suspending your will about everything until you have
looked at it and said: "Lord, what is your will? What is your thought
about it?"

Those who thus abide in Christ have the habit of reserve and quiet; they
are not rattling and reckless talkers, they will not always have an
opinion about everything, and they will not always know what they are
going to do. There will be a deferential holding back of judgment, and
walking softly with God. It is our headlong, impulsive spirit that keeps
us so constantly from hearing and following the Lord.

NOVEMBER 3.

"This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend" (Song of Solomon v. 16).

He is our Friend. "Which of you shall have a friend at night?" This has
deep significance through the experience of each one of us. Who has not
had a friend, and more of a friend in some respects than even a father?

There are some intimacies not born of human blood that are the most
intense and lasting bonds of earthly love. One by one let us count them
over and recall each act and bond of love, and think of all that we may
trus