Last evening Rev. George A. Gordon occupied the pulpit in Appleton Chapel. His text was the ninth verse of the sixteenth chapter of Judges: "And she said unto him. The Philistines be upon thee Samson. And he brake the withes as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known."

The question is often asked why our lives are so fettered by conditions hostile to the advancement of spiritual goodness; the answer is that without opposition there would be no stimulus for us to exercise our full strength in the attainment of perfect lives. Only by opposition was Samson stimulated to break the strong cords which bound him. God is ever filling our lives with temptations and doubts in order that we, by overcoming these forces, may make our souls heroic, and get an unshaken trust in the Almighty who rules over us. As long as we become stronger fighters for God we can rejoice in the temptations which beset us.

The choir sang anthems by Gounod, Stanier and Gaul.