February 18

15 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do not gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them

21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never

knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24 ¶ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell in it: for it was founded upon a rock:

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

The Scriptures treat largely of the false—false gods, false doctrines, false Christs, and false hopes. In the reading for to-day, we have mentioned.

1. A False Profession. It is evident that a person may have much which bears the semblance of piety, while he is far from feeling its genuine influence. But the religion of Christ is to be practised. It is a kingdom of fruit, not of thorns, not of leaves. The proof of sincerity is doing.

"It is all very fine to plead, as some have done, that they are doing inside work; if their fruit is all within, they will have to be cut down that it may be got at. A true epistle of Christ is not written in invisible ink, and then sealed up, but it is known and read of all men. A tree of the Lord's right-hand planting bears fruit to His glory, visible to all about him."—C. H. Spurgeon.

2 A True and a False Foundation. One built on solid deeds—the other on shifting and insecure feelings. The one made sure that he was right—the other "hoped" that he was. The one built with reference to the rising of the stream—the other on a "might not." How many foolish builders there are who "guess" it will be all right with them in the other world! And they so easily might know that it shall be.

Closet Promise.—The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.—Prov. xix. 23.

The human heart asks love; but now I know That my heart hath from Thee All real, and full, and marvelous affection, So near, to human! Yet Divine perfection Thull's gloriously the mighty glow! Thy love is enough for me!

There were strange soul-deaths, restless, vast and broad, Unlethened as the sea; An infinite craving for some infinite stifling; But now Thy perfect love is perfect filling! Lord Jesus Christ, my Lord, my God, Thou, Thou art enough for me. —Frances Ridley Havergai.

THE CHILDREN'S CORNER.

Breakfast Motto.—God is my portion forever.—Psa lxxiii. 26.

Weekly Proverb.—Great talkers, little doers.—Poor Richard.

DAILY BIBLE READING.—GOD'S "FEAR NOTS."

Sunday.—To Abraham.—Gen. xv. 1-21.

Monday.—To Hagar.—Gen. xxi. 12-21.

Tuesday.—To Isaac.—Gen. xxvi. 17-25.

Wednesday.—To Jacob.—Gen. xlvi. 1-7.

Thursday.—To Children of Israel.—Ex. xiv. 1-14.

Friday.—To Moses.—Num. xxi. 31-35.

Saturday.—To Gideon.—Judg. vi. 11-24.

A PROBLEM IN THREES.

If three little houses stood in a row

With never a fence to divide,

And if each little house had three little maids

At play in the garden wide,

And if each little maid had three little cats

(Three times three times three),

And if each little cat had three little kits,

How many kits would there be?

And if each little maid had three little friends With whom she loved to play,

And if each little friend had three little dolls In dresses and ribbons gay,

And if friends and dolls and cats and kits Were all invited to tea,

And if none of them all should send regrets, How many guests would there be?

—Eudora S. Bumstead in "St. Nicholas."

Be ye kind one to another.—Eph. iv. 32.

I am going to let a little boy do the talking to-day. "Eddie," said Harry, "I'll be a minister, and preach you a sermon."—"Well," said Eddie; "and I'll be the peoples." Harry began. "My text is a short and easy one: 'Be kind.' These are the heads of my sermon. First, Be kind to papa, and don't make a noise when he has a headache. I don't believe you know what a headache is; but I do. I had one once, and didn't want to hear any one speak a word. Second, Be kind to mamma, and don't make her tell you to do a thing more than once. It is very tiresome to say, 'It is time for you to go to bed,' half a dozen times over. Third, Be kind to baby."—"You have leaved out be kind to Harry," interrupted Eddie. "Yes," said Harry: "I didn't mean to mention my own name in my sermon. I was saying, Be kind to little Minnie, and let her have your red soldier to play with when she wants it. Fourth, Be kind to Jane, and don't scream and kick when she washes and dresses you." Here Eddie looked a little ashamed, and said, "But she pulled my hair with the comb."—"People mustn't talk in meeting," said Harry. "Isn't the sermon most done?" asked Eddie; and without waiting for Harry to finish, he began to sing; and so Harry had to stop.

IN THE PASTURE.

Be careful how you treat dumb creatures. I have seen boys catch flies and stick pins in them and impale them to a board or desk, or pull off their wings and legs. I have known boys to tease and worry cats, and finally stone them to death. I once heard of a boy who took a cat to the garret window of a house and threw it out to see if it would fall on its feet. Some boys carry "sling-shots" to shoot pebbles at the birds in the trees. Sometimes a man overworks a horse in a cart; the wheels get into a rut; the horse is unable to pull such a load out; but he cannot say so, and the man sets to beating him, not with a whip, but with a heavy stick. The horse cannot defend himself; he cannot even complain of his cruel treatment.

Now let me give you a good rule: Never hurt dumb animals. Remember they are dumb; they cannot speak; they cannot complain of your conduct. Their very helplessness appeals to your humanity. Do not abuse them; do not hurt them; and do not let others illtreat them. They are God's creatures. He made them all; He cares for them all. Do like the lady and little boy in the picture—treat them kindly, and they will not fear you. Remember the words of the poet Coleridge:

"He prayeth well who loveth well Both man, and bird, and beast. He prayeth best who loveth best All things, both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all."

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IN THE PASTURE.

103

EIGHTH WEEK.

PEARL TEXT—Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.—Matt. v. 16.

Dear Father, help Thy child To work with Thee, In all Thy plans and purposes, And thus to be

No hindrance, but a help; That no "would not" May cross Thy great "I will," and thus Thy life-work blot—Sel.

I would give nothing for that man's religion whose very dog and cat are not better for it.—Rowland Hill.

The godly man is both a diamond and loadstone—a diamond of sparkling grace, a loadstone for his attractive virtue.—Sel.

Inconsistency is not like the error of a pocket watch, which misleads one person only; but like the error of a town clock, which misleads a multitude.—Sel.

HELPS FOR THE DEVOTIONAL HOUR.