Under the Emperor Diocletian (A.D. 304) a great number of children suffered martyrdom. They were brought up and condemned to die, not for any sin they had committed, but because their parents had taught them to worship God.

A child called Hilarion was one of those who suffered. He was brought up before the Roman Consul, (a person with somewhat similar power to our magistrates,) and the Consul threatened to have him flogged; but the child only laughed at him. "I will cut off your nose and your ears," said the governor; but Hilarion answered, "I am a Christian still." And so he was led away to prison and to death.

Reader, do not the accounts of these brave and noble lives and glorious deaths make our own lives seem poor and selfish and wretched? Do they not make us feel how very much grander and nobler these kind of lives were than anything we can shew nowadays? I remember seeing a book once, called, "Is life worth living?" I never looked further than the title-page, but the title struck me. Look round at your neighbours, look at our country villages, look at the overflowing public-house, and at the empty church, and then ask yourself, "Is life worth living?" And the answer must be, No! But look once more at your own life, look at those good people who are labouring among Christ's poor in our crowded cities, look at the holy lives of many of our clergy, and then ask again, "Is life worth living?" and the answer must be, Yes!

You may not be able to live among the poor in our large towns, it may not be your calling to be a minister of Christ, but still it is quite possible to be a martyr, to bear witness for Christ in the station in which He has placed you. The clerk at his desk, the mechanic in his workshop, the labourer in the field, the sailor in his ship, the servant in his situation, all can shew that they are martyrs. The greatest battles are not those fought on the battle-fields of earth, but in the secret chambers of the human heart. There is many a brave man who will face a horde of savage foes on the field of battle and die bravely like a soldier, but who dare not and will not face his own evil heart; and there is many a poor creature, with a suffering body and a feeble mind, who cannot bear a harsh voice or an unkind word, and yet who has gained the greatest possible victory, the victory over self.

REPENTANCE.

"There was a soul one eve autumnal sailing

Beyond the earth's dark bars,

Towards the land of sunsets never paling,

Towards Heaven's sea of stars.

And as that soul went onward, sweetly speeding

Unto its home and Light,

Repentance made it sorrowful exceeding,

Faith made it wondrous bright."

Mrs. Alexander.

What is repentance? The word which in our New Testaments is so often translated "Repentance," means "a change of heart." Yes, that is what repentance really is, and not merely a desire to serve God; not an anxious longing to lead a new life, but actually leading that new life, and treading new ways by the help of God's Holy Spirit. Many people believe and teach the doctrine of instantaneous conversion, as it is called. And by this is meant that the heart of man is changed in a moment from a state of sin to a state of holiness; that all the old desires pass suddenly away, and new affections take their place. Thus some men will tell you that they can name the day and hour of their conversion, and that whatever they may do in the future, they will eventually be found in Christ. We do not by any means deny that there are such things as instantaneous conversions; but we say that they are few, and that what seem to be such are often neither lasting nor real. True repentance is no easy road to tread. Very often it takes a man his whole lifetime, and even then his repentance may not be complete.

I have spoken of what repentance is not, now let me say a few words as to what true repentance is. First, then, you will feel, if you have truly repented of your sins, a true desire to give up the whole of your heart to Christ. I cannot dwell too strongly on the necessity of giving up the whole heart. Christ will not take less. He never will reign there, while Satan holds a part of it; He will have all, or none. In your own strength you cannot do this; the world, the flesh, and the devil will try hard to prevent you. Of himself the Ethiopian cannot change his skin, nor the leopard his spots, "neither can ye do good which are accustomed to do evil." But if your repentance is real, the desire to give the whole heart to Christ will be so strong as to shut out all other claims. Another sign of true repentance will be a distrust of self. There will be an increasing desire for guidance other than your own, the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Need I add that this guidance, without which it is impossible to go right, is never kept back from those who ask it of God in prayer, for His dear Son's sake.

One more sign of a real repentance is perseverance in the face of failure and backsliding. If your repentance is real, the new life will seem so far better to you than the old, that you will persevere in it, in spite of failure. "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God[#]." And no sinner, who has once repented of his sin, and then is frightened at his failures, or discouraged by his difficulties, can call his repentance real.

[#] S. Luke ix. 62.