do that for us unless we misuse the day which God has given us.  If we spend the day in worrying about our everyday affairs, if we spend it in chasing around after senseless amusements which weary the body without enlightening the heart and the mind, if we allow ourselves to follow paths which lead away from truth and right, then we will show up Monday morning irritated, weary and reluctant and our Sunday observance temperature is low indeed. [With red chalk, fill the bulb and a portion of the thermometer tube, completing Fig. 66.]

“But Bishop Vincent also says, ’Sunday is well spent if it sends us back refreshed in body, mind and spirit to take up our duties with new inspiration of hope, patience and courage.’  And we can all do this; and, as we do it, we shall find a growing delight in it.  If we have been wasting our Sundays—­spending them in such a way that when Monday morning comes we look back upon the Sabbath with regret—­let us begin right now to form habits which shall make Sunday a delight—­the brightest, the most restful, the most interesting, the most refreshing of all times.  And let us be thankful that a day of this kind can come to us so often.  It is then that our Sunday observance temperature will rise to its highest point. [With red chalk add lines to complete Fig. 67.]

[Illustration:  Fig. 67]

“Dr. Lyman Abbott, like many others points out the folly of attending church services in the morning and then passing the remainder of the day in noisy or wearisome celebration.  He calls it a ’weekly composite of Thanksgiving and Fourth of July,’—­Thanksgiving in the quiet of the morning, and Fourth of July in the noisy afternoon.

“Such an observance of the day is displeasing to God who gave us the day for our greatest good and not to be wasted in idleness and folly.

“Keeping the Lord’s day holy doesn’t deprive us of activity, but it changes the course of our action from paths of wastefulness to fields of the greatest good.  There are many things to do on Sunday, and in the doing of some of them right at your hands, you will have discovered the best way for you to get the most out of one of God’s greatest gifts to his children.”

THE DESERT and the MOUNTAIN
    —­Decision Day
    —­Conversion

A Decision Day Illustration From the Far West—­“Living Water.”

THE LESSON—­That as the desert cannot become productive until it receives the waters of irrigation, so the arid soul, if it is to become fruitful, must receive the water of life.

While this illustration is especially applicable to the service of Decision Day, it is recommended for any occasion where there is opportunity to speak of conversion or a returning to Christ.

The Talk.

“A gentleman, a little past middle life, was traveling from the east in a luxurious passenger train crossing one of the far western states.  As he gazed from the car window, his face wore an expression of interest, which developed into one of wonder and excitement.