effort of reconstruction, every part of the revival, every step of
hopeful progress must be founded on the firm foundation of a
true faith, on the ethic of life as taught and shown by the human
life of the Incarnate Son of God. And first we are to consider
the fountain and source of all national life.

The Home.—It is perhaps largely to the loss of the old
home life that preceded these days of easy locomotion of
illuminated streets and overgrown populations, to which we may
attribute many of the cankers of civilization that have become
palpable to the shallowest observer of our national life.
I cannot believe that a great revival of faith and character
is possible to our huge population without a large return to home
life, without the laying down of truer spiritual foundations for the
homes of England from which step forth the populations of our
vast Empire. Marriage must be restored to its position of
honour and dignity that the sources of the nation’s life may be
kept clear and clean and under the Divine blessing. Christian
homes are primarily the necessity of a Christian nation—not that
no life failures have come from such homes, but even then the
power of the early Christian surroundings has often recalled the
wanderer; and many a mother and father’s heart has been
warmed and encouraged by the Master's picture of the prodigal
son. O fathers and mothers, know your power, with love,
discipline, and devotion to weld together a happy family and
ouild the members of it as sure bricks in the fabric of the Empire.
Schools, too, must be guarded, as they are necessary for
the education of the citizen though only sharing in small
part the great responsibility of the home. They must all
(not some) have for the foundation of their teaching the
full Christian faith. But it is on the home that we must
depend for the learning of that reverence for the body—
those habits of self-control, those high ideals of Christian responsibility,
 which go to the building up of a Christian Empire. To
attain this result there must be a spiritual foundation; for the
realization of sin springs from the knowledge of holiness, and
the beauty of self-sacrifice from the truth of the Cross. I hope
the subject of the home may be treated in a future paper. With
these few words I leave it, with regret, for England’s future
depends on English homes.
The Church.—It appears to be an unnecessary thing to speak
of a spiritual basis to the Church; and yet, in looking forward
to the times and opportunity of peace, it does seem necessary
that we should regard carefully our position in this matter.
There is so much in fashion, habit, tradition, esthetic or morbid
constitution, the garnish of respectability, or even the pride of
a pew that the true spiritual basis of all real Christian worship
is in danger of being forgotten. and the Church is humbled