r ease, without a
thought of the proximity of the foe; and, therefore, in these we are
more likely to fall. The Christian soldier is never off duty, never
out of the enemy's reach, never at liberty to relax his watch. The
sentries must always be posted, and the pickets kept well out on the
veldt.

It was the most perilous thing that Herod could do, to have that
banquet. Lying back on his divan, lolling on his cushions, eating his
rich food, quaffing the sparkling wine, exchanging repartee with his
obsequious followers, it was as though the petals and calyx of his soul
were all open to receive the first insidious spore of evil that might
float past on the sultry air. That is why some of us dare not enter
the theatre, or encourage others to enter. This is not the place to
enter into a full discussion of the subject; but, even when a play may
be deemed inoffensive and harmless, the sensuous attractions of the
place, the glitter, the music, the slightly-dressed figures of the
actors and actresses, the entire atmosphere and environment, which
appeal so strongly to the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and
the pride of life, break down some of the fortifications, which would
otherwise resist the first incidence and assault of evil. The air of
the theatre, the ball-room, the race-course, seem so impregnated with
the nocuous germs and microbes of evil, that it is perilous for the
soul to expose itself to them, conscious as it is of predisposing bias
and weakness. It is this consciousness, also, which prompts the daily
prayer, "Lead us not into temptation."

II. TEMPTATION. In the genesis of a sin we must give due weight to
the power of the Tempter, whether by his direct suggestion to the soul
or by the instrumentality of men and women whom he uses for his fell
purpose. In this case Satan's accomplice was the beautiful
Herodias--beautiful as a snake, but as deadly. She knew the influence
that John the Baptist wielded over her weak paramour, that he was
accustomed to attach unmeasured importance to his words, and do "many
things." She realized that his conscience was uneasy, and therefore
the more liable to be affected by his words when he reasoned of
righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. She feared for the
consequences if the Baptist and Herod's conscience should make common
cause against her. What if her power over the capricious tyrant were
to begin to wane, and the Baptist gain more and more