:

33 Our Lord has added much both

of beauty and of interest to the parable, by representing a Samaritan as the neighbour-good returned for evil*.

hold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about

42 but one many things: thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part,

42 It is needful that every duty, which our station in life lays upon us, be fulfilled. But there is one thing needful above all the rest;

* The Jews held the Samaritans in abhorrence.

which shall not be taken namely, a sincere and zealous spiritual service to God, with an unaway from her. ceasing care for our soul. They who choose that, choose the good part; which shall never be taken from them, either in this world, or in that which is to come.

CHAPTER XI.

FEB. 28, JUNE 28, Oct. 25.1

2 Do I reverence God with filial

AND it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples *. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will

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love? Do I honour his holy name and his word? Do I obey his laws? Do I acquiesce in his will on earth,

as angels in heaven?

be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight †, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give

3 Do I daily seek from his providence bread for my body; and from his grace bread for my soul?

4 Do I forgive man as I hope God will forgive me? Do I myself avoid those temptations from which I pray to be preserved ?

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thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it

8 We cannot have a more forcible

illustration of the influence of perseverance in prayer.

shall be opened unto you.

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For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that

10 We are not to wait till some sud

den irresistible impulse of the spirit drives us to prayer. There is no intimation of that .

* Struck with his fervour in prayer, and his holy calm on ceasing to pray, his disciples longed to share the heavenly frame of mind which his devotion induced. He mercifully answered their wishes by giving them this set form of words.

In a hot climate, journeys are frequently undertaken at night. The promise of blessing is to those who exert themselves—who ask, who seek, who watch.

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11 If earthly parents in their love deny their children nothing which is really for their good, it were strange to fear any want of love or care in our heavenly Father.

knocketh it shall be opened. "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. "But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

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17 This reasoning is unanswerable. The devil could not lend his aid to work miracles for the good of men! That were to overthrow his own kingdom of evil.

22 Jesus Christ," strong and mighty in battle," overcometh the devil; taketh from him the power of sin and death-his armour wherein he trusted-and divideth the spoils— swallowing up death in victory.

but when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth 26 When a man falls away from a he, and taketh to him seven course of holiness, he finds it diffiother spirits more wicked cult to recover lost ground. His difthan himself; and they enter ficulties increase every way, and his in, and dwell there and the enemies, so to speak, gather strength. last state of that man is worse than the first. And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the

womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.

But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

28 You are now hearing the word of God-let your heart breathe a fervent prayer, that you may keep it.

33 If you profess to have received the light of the Gospel, let its light be made clear in a holy life.

33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. "Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him : and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. 12 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for

35 Guard watchfully against making a pretence of your religious profession.

42 Purity of heart, and a diligent observance of outward ordinances, are each enjoined.

ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. 45 Then answered one of the

45 One of the expounders of the law of Moses.

46 They mingled their own traditions with the word of God.

and ye yourselves touch not the 47 That is "ye, by your disregard of the word and doctrines of the prophets, share in the guilt of those who of old persecuted them."

lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. 46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye enter not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: 54 laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

54 So now the faithful servants of Christ, both ministers and people. must expect that wicked men will watch; and turn what they can to evil.

CHAPTER XII.

MARCH 1, JUNE 30, Oct. 26.

In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets

3

3 Let me then worship in spirit and in truth; lest, when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, I be numbered with these hypocrites.