19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : 21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23. 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! 24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. of the food for the future; to live entirely on what we can find in the fields and gardens on each day of the year means starvation in most lands and climes. But we can trust God for the future, since he will provide for us daily. Without him we could not sow or reap, or preserve the harvest from the ravages of the destroyer. And our spiritual needs, we cannot store for the future; they must come fresh every morning. "Lord, for to-morrow and its needs, Í do not pray; But keep me, guide me, love me, Lord, Bread, not luxuries, only necessities. But a sufficiency. Forgive us our debts. One of the first and deepest needs of the human soul is forgiveness from our heavenly Father, to be received back into his fellowship, his family, his home. But one necessary condition of receiving forgiveness is that we forgive our debtors. An unforgiving spirit not only does not deserve forgiveness, but cannot receive it even if offered. Lead us not into temptation, because we feel our weakness, and because he that wants to be tempted is already half fallen. But if God in his wisdom brings us into trials and tests, in order that we may gain the victory, and may grow strong and brave, then we may count it all joy" (Jas. I: 2). But deliver us from the evil, of all kinds. Remove the evil from us, if it be thy will; but if not help us to conquer it, and so to be delivered from it. Praise to God, the Doxology. For thine is the kingdom, the rule and the right over all nature and man. And the power, natural and spiritual. And the glory, majesty, for ever, without end, Amen. III. TRUST IN OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, Matt. 6: 16-34. The value of fasting is, like prayer, in its being from the heart. If it is done for show, for the praise of men, it is meaningless. If it is done in secret it is the humbling of one's self before the Father, in penitence for all that has seemed to separate us from God; and the loving trust in him, that he will give us all that is needful, if we only do his will. Lay not up treasures on earth. This subject belongs to our everyday life; no one can escape it; it touches us on every side. It must be treasure on earth, or treasure in heaven; we have our choice. The command does not mean that we are not to accumulate treasure for our needs. It does forbid hoarding them merely for the sake of holding possession; selfishly, without thought of the good that might be done with them. "The desire to acquire wealth is keen and with many men controlling. Success in life is popularly measured by one's success as a money-getter. Jesus in the text disapproves this. "Jesus does not disapprove laying up treasure, but distinctly approves it; he disapproves the customary place of deposit, and this on account of insecurity. The earth, he says, is an unsafe place of deposit. Jesus affirms that heaven affords absolute security, as over against the in security of earth, as a place of deposit of one's treasure. "Treasure capable of being laid up in heaven included such things as, when acquired, form a part of one's self. They are not external to one's self. They are not 25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? on. 26. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek :) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. -- material, but spiritual. Not houses and lands and negotiable securities, but right aims, pure purposes, holy desires, high ambitions, unselfish endeavors, all having their roots in the principle which Jesus made fundamental in character." - Rev. C. W. Huntington, D.D. "I stored my gold for future trust; "I craved a quick success of clamorous praise, "But one small thing I wrought of kindly deed Our Heavenly Father's Care. Take no thought, that is, no anxious thought, as in the revisions. "Thought" had that meaning when our Bible was translated. This command does not tend to idleness, or want of thrift, or to poverty; but on the contrary to the best prosperity, and to the best enjoyment of whatever God gives us ; while overanxiety tends to dishonesty, to crime, to selfishness, to disappointment, to bitterness of spirit. "A man's business is just to do his duty. God takes upon himself the feeding and the clothing. Will the work of the world be neglected if a man thinks of his work, his duty, God's will to be done, instead of what he is to eat, what he will drink, and wherewithal he is to be clothed? I think that the work of the world will be only so much the better done." Macdonald. Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need, and he will not deprive you of any need. Only he wants you first of all to be good, to be heavenly, to have those qualities which make blessedness immortal. If we seek God's righteousness God will see that our necessary wants are supplied. Most of the losses and disasters in business come directly or indirectly from seeking mammon first, and not the kingdom of God. Trust in God does not mean that we are to sit still and expect the food to be brought to us without any exertion on our part. There are two ways of trusting. "In the paper published by the Salvation Army this suggestive story is told. A mother discovered her little daughter lying in the middle of a muddy garden path. She urged her to get up, but the child refused. I'm waiting,' she placidly remarked. "What for?' asked her mother. "For God to pick me up,' the young person answered. 'I falled down and I pwayed God pick me up, and he doesn't do it vewy quick.' "Her mother explained to her that she might lie there all day before God worked a miracle for her lazy little self, that he had given her sturdy arms and legs, an intelligent brain, the power of picking herself up, and he expected her to answer her own prayer. "There is another story, well-known, of a small girl who prayed God to keep her brother from catching birds, and then told her mother that she was sure God would do what she asked, for she had been out and smashed the traps. Which child's theology' was right?". · Tarbell. Peter learned this lesson, for he says (1 Peter 4 : 7), " Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." "I never thought of telling him The cares that blurred my bit of sky; To heed such simple folks as I. "Till once I wandered in the woods, When winter ruled our northern land, "God's love lay heavy on the woods; It blessed the squirrel and his store, It touched the warm wool of the sheep. "A tiny bird with merry chirp Settled upon the sedges dry, And munched the seeds placed there for him "And there within the winter woods, I groped and touched my Father's hand." - Mary Davis. "The ghost of to-morrow haunts many persons. They fear the future. They sorrow about what the days may bring forth. And by this worrying and fretting care they incapacitate themselves for bravely meeting to-morrow when it does come. The Master wants us to trust him for the to-morrows. They are His, stored up by His hand, and therefore laden with nothing but good for His disciples. So let trust take the place of trembling, and faith the place of fear." Ellis. IV. SOME GOLDEN RULES FOR LIVING, Matt. 7: 1-12. JUDGE NOT. The word for "judge” in this chapter does not mean "form an opinion," for every one must do this of many persons and things. Indeed we are told to do so (Luke 12: 57; John 7: 24; 1 John 4: 1). It means censorious judgment, condemning others, imputing wrong motives. It forbids us to sit in judgment upon our neighbors, condemning them for what we see, when we cannot know all the facts. We tend also to judge others by one fault, and forget their many virtues. The chronic faultfinder is no true judge. And we shall all be judged in the same way. This is the simple fact. Men will naturally return the same kind of judgment which you give to them. Harsh judgment and severe criticism awaken the same in others. It is a moral echo. I read once years ago that a person most readily noticed in others those faults and habits which he himself had. Since then I have been noticing. It is not as invariably true as the writer seemed to think, according to my experience; but it is more often true than we are prone to think. Especially is it true in the moral sphere. The selfish man considers the whole world selfish, and construes any opposition he encounters as due to the selfish desire of others to take what belongs to him. The ruler who so desires power over others that he is willing to take up arms and brave the whole world on the battlefield, and to do a great work of destruction on the plea of military necessity, thinks that the enemy opposing him has the same ideals and aims. There are plenty of reasons why we should not judge others. I. One is that it is not our duty. We are not appointed judge of our neighbor. 2. Another is the patience of God. If he can bear with a man's shortcomings, surely we should do so. 3. Still another is that we cannot do it fairly; we see but the surface; we cannot, as God, look upon the heart. Jesus illustrates this Golden Rule of judging by the mote and the beam. He draws a picture and shows how morally grotesque the conduct of the faultfinder is. "Beam" literally means a log, joist, or rafter; a graphic and almost droll representation of a comparatively great fault. "The word 'mote' suggests dust; whereas the figure is that of a minute chip or splinter of the same material with the beam.". Prof. M. R. Vincent. Here is a man with a huge log across his eyes; and behold him trying to extract from the eye of his neighbor a tiny splinter that has flown therein! perhaps from the log before his own eyes! But there is one danger. While you must not condemn others you must not go around with closed eyes, supposing every one equally good, and safe as a companion for yourself and your children. There are those who will only make a misuse of the highest and holiest things in religion. Cast not your pearls before swine. You must change the nature of the swine before your pearls will do them any good. Men often love to argue on religion, and even read the Bible, not that they may get any good, but find some new perversion or false argument against the truth. In many cases it is wise not to argue with settled errorists. To argue often only fixes the error in the mind. It does not, however, follow that we can do nothing for them. There are things they can understand sympathy, lovingkindness, aid in temporal things, the love of Jesus Christ as exemplified in human hearts. By these we are to seek to change them into sincere men and Christians, and then they will understand the holy things and appreciate the pearls. BE HONEST AND EARNEST IN PRAYER. To live according to the principles of the Sermon on the Mount will be impossible to us without that help from above which our Father is always ready to give us. But help cannot come to us until we are ready to receive it; we could not use it until the heart has been prepared. Those who have had to do with the students in our schools can understand this. To aid a student in the solution of a problem before he has either mastered the rules which must be applied to it, or studied the conditions given in it gives no true aid; he will be just as unable to solve the next problem of the same sort. Carry a child over all the hard places on the road and he will never make a climber. 66 But we must first be honest in our prayer. "One reason we do not pray better, I suppose, is, that we are afraid of being answered. It is a very serious thing to pray, because we may be taken at our word.". Alexander McKenzie. "No prayer takes hold of God until it first takes hold of the man." - Horace Bushnell. Prayer is a God-given instinct never to be repressed without sin. Prayer is expression. Prayer is fellowship. Prayer is friendship. Prayer is the intimacy of a boundless confidence, withholding nothing from the Beloved Friend." Charles Cuthbert Hall, D.D. After honesty comes earnestness. If we are honest we will be earnest. If we honestly desire a thing we shall be earnest in our endeavor to obtain it. The earnestness of our effort to obtain anything is the measure of our honest desire for that thing. "Half-heartedness" is the word often used for an effort which does not call forth all our powers. The Threefold Way of Obtaining. Jesus gives us three methods of prayer, with perhaps three degrees of intensity. Ask, . . . seek, . . . knock. Ask, express your desire, go to God with it, raise your heart in definite petition for the supply of the need. For every one that asketh receiveth. There is no exception. And the answer will be given according to the kind of asking. Why must we ask for things when our Father which is in heaven is so ready to give good things to them that ask him? God gives us many things whether we ask for them or not (Matt. 5 : 45), because he loves to pour out his love, and would prove to us that he is ready and willing to give. But the best things, and the best blessings of those given to good and bad alike, can be received only by those who care for them enough to ask for them. Books, libraries, schools, churches, the Holy Spirit, communion with God, a higher life, a nobler character, cannot be given to people who care for none of these things until they are desired and sought for. Illustration. In many libraries there are some rare and valuable books, pamphlets or manuscripts which are kept in a locked safe unless called for; they are not put on the shelves of the reading room for any one to obtain by simply reaching out the hand and taking them. But there is no hesitation in letting those have them who care enough to ask for them at the proper place. They are there for the purpose of being read; yet the reader must especially ask for them. And Seek by all active efforts, which are active prayers; use all possible means. he that seeketh findeth. Most of the best things must be sought for, as the graces, education, character. "There is no good in praying for anything unless you will also try for it. All the sighs and supplications in the world will not bring wisdom to the heart that fills itself with folly every day, or mercy to the soul that sinks itself in sin, or usefulness and honor to the life that wastes itself in vanity and inanity.". Dr. Henry van Dyke. Knock at the door of God's treasure house of blessings, for those blessings which no seeking can obtain, but which must be given by God. We are to knock until the door is opened, for in time to him that knocketh the door shall be opened. Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance; it is laying hold of His highest willingness." Trench. "God's best gifts, like valuable jewels, are kept under lock and key and those who want them must, with fervent faith, importunately ask for them, for God is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him." - Moody. Illustration. Jesus illustrates his point by comparisons with a human father. Will any good father refuse to his child the good things for which he asks? or give him bad things in their places? Assuredly not! If ye then, being evil, imperfect, with more or less selfishness mingled with all you do, give good gifts unto your children, how much more, the difference is infinite, shall your Father which is in heaven give good things. He is too wise and good to give harmful things, even when asked for. We do not know enough to always ask for the best things; but God will give us the best we really want; withholding the evil that we unknowing ask. "Man must ask, and God will answer, yet we may not understand, "I know not by what methods rare, But this I know: God answers prayer. "I know not when He sends the word Lucy Larcom "I know it cometh soon or late; "I leave my prayers with Him alone How to Receive. We have been studying all this time how to ask for God's blessings. Is there not some condition in the receiving also? Are we to take the good things which God gives us so freely, and let the matter stop there? Again notice the illustration of the human father. He wishes a return for his goodness to his children; and so does our heavenly Father from us. First, we should thank him, in words. How often do we do this? How many prayers are largely, or wholly, made up of petition? Some one has said that we pray when we want something, temporal or spiritual; but we do not pray when we have received the blessing for which we prayed. Second, we should love him for his goodness to us. "I praise Thee for the gift received Before I ask, And with the word, 'I have believed,' "I will forget the past abhorred, To faith be true, And only ask, 'What wilt Thou, Lord, Amos R. Wells. Fourth, we should be ready to serve him. "Have you heard of the Arab beggar who sat at the gate of the rich man's house, on whose bounty he depended, and from whose hands he received daily gifts? One day the rich man wanted to send a letter in a hurry, and seeing the beggar, asked him to deliver it. But the beggar proudly lifted himself up and said, 'I solicit alms; I do not run errands.' "Some Christians are like this Arab. They ask God for His richest blessings to rest upon them, and when He asks a simple service of them they practically say, 'I don't run errands.' Surely we cannot wonder that such Christians are not promoted." I. Q. Moulton. THE GOLDEN RULE, par excellence. 12. Therefore. Because what follows is the summing up of all the previous precepts in this discourse, as love is the sum of the Ten Commandments. Because, also, you are children of God, and therefore should act like your Father. All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. This is no new rule. It is found even in heathen writers, especially in the negative form, as Confucius, Aristotle, Socrates, Seneca. It existed in the Old Testament long before Christ. See Lev. 19: 18. What Jesus did was to bring it out in a clearer light, in a positive form, with new authority, with a universal application, and with the power that enables men to live according to it. "The rule does not require us to do the things which they ask, but to act toward |