June 10

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mete that is in thy brother's eye, but considered not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shall thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. 6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. 7 ¶ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh broeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his soe ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? 12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets. 13 ¶ Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Of course it is impossible not to form some opinion of those about us. The duty of brotherly admonition cannot be discharged if we refuse to

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form moral judgments. But we are not to entertain, as a settled, deliberate conviction, an unfavorable opinion of another. We are to give him the benefit of the doubt, if there be any. What you feel would be right for you in his place, that concede ye to him in his own place. Make his case your own, and think what you could then fairly demand. A little boy once went home to his mother and said, "Mother, sister and I went out into the garden, and we were calling about, and there was some boy mocking us." "How do you mean, Johnny?" said the mother. "Why," said the child, "I was calling out, 'Ho!' and this boy said 'Ho!' So I said to him, 'Who are you?' and he answered, 'Who are you?' I said, 'What is your name?' he said, 'What is your name?' And I said to him, 'Why don't you show yourself?' he said, 'Show yourself?' And I jumped over the ditch, and I went into the woods, and I could not find him, and I came back and said, 'If you don't come out I will punch your head!' and he said, 'I will punch your head!' So his mother said, "Ah, Johnny! if you had said, 'I love you,' he would have said, 'I love you.' If you had said, 'Your voice is sweet,' he would have said, 'Your voice is sweet.' Whatever you said to him, he would have said back to you." And the mother also said, "Now, Johnny, when you grow and get to be a man, whatever you say to others they will, by and by, say back to you." And his mother took him to that old text in the Scripture, "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

Closet Promise.—Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. —John xvi. 24.

Oh, for a stronger faith in God's promises to hear and to answer prayer! Whatsoever we shall ask, be it little things or great, we shall receive them. Not always, perhaps, just in the way we have asked for them, but if we watch as well as pray, we shall find the answer. And not only at morning and at night, but all through the day let my heart be asking blessings at God's Hand. "We are coming to a King." "Large petitions let us bring."