tation, but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever, and for ever. Amen.

XLVII.

In the two last numbers we have thought over the solemn and simple prayer the Lord Jesus taught to his people. Nearly two thousand years have passed away since it was first spoken by him, on the hill-side, among the mountains of Galilee; and ever since that time it has been rising up from earth to heaven; and like the dew, returning back again, bringing a blessing with it. We are so used to repeat over the Lord's prayer, that we must confess, alas! that, as a mere form of words, it has too often parted from our lips, taking with it not one single thought or feeling from our hearts. Pardon, blessed Lord, the sin of thy people.

It is the power of the warm sunshine that draws up from the earth the dews that have fallen upon it. And it is the power of the Holy Spirit alone that can draw up true prayer from the heart of man. Let us evermore seek the Holy Spirit's help, which God always gives to those who ask it, and with earnest faith, after the manner of our Lord, pray to our Father in heaven. When the heart is full, the words are few; and if the spirit of prayer is within us, and the loving trust of children, we shall come to our Father in our need, as children come to their earthly parents, not with set speeches, but with few and earnest words, knowing we shall be heard with kindness.

The Lord Jesus having ended the prayer which He gave as a pattern for our prayers, went on to teach the people further, and to bring out the spirit and the meaning of it. He had taught them to say, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." And He now adds :

Verses 14, 15.

"For if ye forgive men their trespasses,

your heavenly Father will also forgive your trespasses: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

By which He shews us, that unless we have the same mind that was in Christ, we shall not be counted among his people, nor shall our sins be blotted out. If we would be Christ's, we must, like him, do good even to our enemies, and forgive heartily and entirely as we hope to be forgiven.

You remember that the Lord Jesus had warned those who came to him to hear his word, that they must not pray and give alms to be seen of men, for the sake of the praise of men; and now He said to them :

Verses 16-18. "Moreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

You have heard, that among the Jews there were two great parties, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. That the Pharisees made a great outside show of religion, and the Sadducees, who "believed in neither angel nor spirit," made a mock of serious religion altogether. Of course they did not fast at all; but the Pharisees, who sought the praise of man, made a great show of fasting. They took care to look so pale, and so melancholy, disfiguring themselves by neglecting their dress, and putting on altogether a face and appearance which made them so different from other times, that men were, as it were, obliged to know that they were fasting. These might have credit with men, but that was all the reward they were to expect. God, who sees in secret, knows

when the motive is to serve Him, and when it is to get honour among men. Oh, let his servants look well to their hearts, and take heed that the thought of what may be said of them by their religious friends, does not, like a weed, grow stronger in them than they themselves suspect, and so check and hinder the sweet flowers of Christian humility, and the rich fruits of true holiness. This is a great danger among those who make what is called a religious profession, and what our Lord said of fasting is also true of all outside religion that is likely to attract the attention of men. And there is a great error into which many fall. It is this-by degrees, without even knowing it, little by little, we are apt to take the opinions and words of good and holy men for our rule, instead of the opinions and words of our great Lord and Master Jesus Christ, though He has left them plainly written, that we may make no mistake. And these good and holy men, being themselves but men, in studying the word, sometimes dwelling only on a part instead of the whole, add to it their own opinions as they think they find them there; and so we leave the pure gospel of Christ to follow the word of man. This is so natural to the human heart, that the only guard there is against it, the only cure for it, is with much prayer, to compare the words of the Lord Jesus himself with our thoughts and motives, and to take care that it is to please Him, and not to have praise of men, that we do this or that.

Before we pass on, let us take a little time to think over the subject of fasting. It is plain, from our Lord's words, that He expected that his people were sometimes to fast. Then, when thou fastest, anoint thine head," &c. He did not, in this place, speak of the need of fasting, but of the manner in which it was to be done. Only let us remember, that the use of fasting is to humble and bring down our bodies that we may be the better able to serve God; and if in secret we deny ourselves those things, whatever they may be, that make us forget Him, He

will reward us openly, for He will help us openly to serve him, and strengthen us against our temptations. Much pride and violent temper may be brought down by fasting. Not such fasting as will hurt the body, but as will bring it into subjection. And many who in secret have contented themselves with water for their drink, and little more than the necessaries of life for their food, because they could not otherwise have kept down their tempers of mind and body, have found God's blessing to be with them; and it has been openly seen how they were able to have the mastery over their passions. Let the poor and needy take comfort from this. They have so little at any time that they go on fasting all their days, and if they remember that God is the Lord of all, and could easily give them plenty, if He saw it good for them, they will believe that He keeps their bodies low, that He may the better nourish their souls that He sees the secret struggle, and will one day before men and angels bless the humble faith, the submitting love, that has in weakness and distress looked up with the spirit of a child to a Father in heaven. Blessed are all means that lift our hearts from earth to heaven. These are our Saviour's words,

:

Verses 18-21. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Whatever we are most anxious to have, it is plain we shall think of most.

22, 23. "The light of the body is the eye: If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light : but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness !

There is much solemn meaning in these two verses.

Our

blessed Lord compares, in them, a man's sense and judgment to his eyes. If his eyes are clear and in a healthy state, he sees things as they really are. He can move about safely, for he sees where his way lies; he can judge between good and bad, between what is real and what only seems to be, for he can see clearly what he looks upon. But if a man's eyes "be evil," that is, by some disease or accident his sight is so much injured that he can see nothing clearly, and as it really is, he is worse off than if he were blind; for if he were blind he could be led about, but now he stumbles wherever he goes, mistakes his way, guesses at the value of things, choosing the bad for the good. How sad is his case! But sadder far is the case of those people whose sense and judgment leads them wrong. God has given to every one of us a power of judgment and of choosing, which is, as it were, eyes to the mind. Religion sheds a clear light upon the value of all things. If we believe the word of God, we must believe that we are only safe when we follow on as He guides us. We need make no mistake about the path that leads to heaven, because in the word of God we find it plainly pointed out. And in his word we see what things are of real value, and what are of no real value at all. Therefore if the eyes of the mind be enlightened * we see the real nature and value of every thing around us, we judge rightly and take a straight-forward path, but if, on the contrary, our minds be dark, instead of seeing things in the light of religion we shall, like the half blind, lose our way. We shall mistake good for evil, and evil for good, and that which we suppose our chief wisdom, being only folly, we shall find the truth of the next words of our Lord :

Verse 24. "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold

* Eph. i. 18; iii. 18, 19. Scott.