January 22

1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!

2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

7 But which of you, having a servant ploughing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

8 And will not rather say unto him, Make

ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?

9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yours lies out the priests. And it came to pass, that, as my went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

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16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

1. Forbearance (vers. 1-4). "He that cannot forgive others breaks down the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every one has need to be forgiven." 2. Faith (vers. 5, 6). The heart's desire of the apostles was not, "Lord, keep our faith alive: Lord, sustain it as it is at present," but "Increase our faith." For they knew that it is only by increase that the Christian keeps alive at all. Napoleon once said, "I must fight battles, and I must win them; conquest has made me what I am, and conquest must maintain me. And it is so with the Christian. It is not yesterday's battle that will save me to-day; I must be going onwards."—C. H. Spurgeon. 3. Humility (vers. 7-10). The Christian's day is not merely one of twelve hours. All his time is his Lord's; he can never have a "day off." And then he is not to stroke himself down complacently after he has met the demand upon him, as if he had done something extraordinary. Pride after toil is just as much out of place as murmuring under toil. 4. Gratitude (vers. 11-19). Ingratitude!—there is a fault we all of us easily recognize and heartily condemn. And even in a matter where it would seem almost incredible, even in a matter such as that brought before us by the miracle of the ten lepers; even in the matter of recovered health, there is strange room for ingratitude. Who can believe it, even of himself?

"Health more than sickness a reason for gratitude. Ungrateful to God? I fear so; and more ungrateful, I fear, than those ten lepers. For which of the two is better off, the man who loses a good thing, and then gets it back again, or the man who never loses it at all, but enjoys it all his life? Surely the man who never loses it at all."—C. Kingsley.

Closet Promise.—Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.—Psalm xv. 1-3.

If we knew the cares and crosses Crowding round our neighbor's way, If we knew the little losses, Sorely grievous, day by day, Would we then so often chide him For his lack of truth and gain, Leaving on his heart a shadow, Leaving on our life a stain?

If we knew the clouds above us Held but gentle blessings there, Would we turn away all trembling In our blind and weak despair? Would we shrink from little shadows Lying on the dewy grass, While it's only birds of Eden Just in mercy flying past?

If we knew the silent story.

Quivering through the heart of pain,

Would our manhood dare to do so then

Back to hearts of guilt again?

Life had made a tangle of gossing,

Joy hath many a break of woe,

And the cheeks, tear stained and whitest,

This the blessed angels know.

Let us reach into our bosoms

For the key to other lives,

And with love toward erring nature,

Cherish good that still survives.

So that, when our disrobed spirits

Soar to realms of light again,

We may say, "Dear Father, judge us

As we judge our fellow-men."

—Our Own Firewife.