All opposition will fall before the fire. Neither Sacerdotalism nor Atheism can hold its ground before the celestial burnings. What the enemies of Jesus have to fear is for the Church to fall upon its knees. Those who bow before the Lord can stand upright in the presence of His enemies. The man who, later on in this chapter, we are told cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees when he prayed, was wont to say, "As the Lord God liveth before whom I stand." Let us only be mighty in prayer, and we shall be mighty enough to make wicked men tremble. HE WHO CAN WIN FAVOUR IN PRAYER CAN WIN VICTORY IN BATTLE. THE DEVIL IS A GOOD ANGLER, HIS MOST CRUEL HOOKS ARE IN HIS NICEST BAIT. LVII. A PICTURE OF CONVERSION. 2 KINGS ii. 19-22. Are not the stories of the Old Testament the parables of the Holy Ghost? Jesus taught by parables; and the Holy Ghost, the Divine Teacher, who yet leads into all truth, has stored doctrine in these tales. There is a kernel inside the shell, if only we have the teeth to crack it. I.--WE HAVE A PICTURE OF AN UNREGENERATE HEART. "_The water is naught_," said the men of the city. Does not that describe many a life? Naughty actions influence for evil; for wherever these waters flowed they carried desolation. The fields through which the river ran were useless to the farmer. Are there not some whom we know who might be thus described--perhaps someone who reads these lines among the number? First the schoolboy, then the youth, and now the man, profitless and sour, so that all cultivation has been wasted. Is it so? And, what makes the disappointment the greater, "the situation is pleasant." It is just the place where men like to build. Everything looks so promising. How true this of many in our midst! Have we not heard some father say, when his boy's beauty has been praised, "_If he were only as good as he looks_!" Is this so with those who are my audience? Is there this combination of beauty and bitterness--men who are courageous but proud, women that are beautiful but vain, workmen that are industrious but covetous, others who are amiable but intemperate--servant girls who are wonderfully clean and active but have a dreadful temper?