September 25

Mark xii. — 28. And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

29. And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord;

30. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31. And the second is like; namely, this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: there is none other commandment greater than these.

32. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God, and there is none other but he;

33. And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.

34. And, when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from

the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

35. And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David?

36. For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy foot-stool.

37. David, therefore, himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he, then, his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

41. And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much.

42. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

43. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily, I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury.

44. For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

The Ten Commandments were the briefest code ever given to a nation; yet they comprehended all duties, personal, social, and relative. But our Lord compressed these still farther, while he broadened their spirit. The scribes, or lawyers, were jurists, whose vocation it was to expound and apply the law of Moses. As is common with the legal profession, their minds run much to questions of phraseology and interpretation, and to the classification of the code. Some made the ceremonial laws first in authority, others the moral precepts; some the law of sacrifices, others that of the sabbath. This scribe was not a party to the cavils of the Pharisees and the Herodians, but asked in good faith the opinion of this great Teacher touching the relative importance of the commandments. Jesus summed up the whole Decalogue in two

comprehensive precepts, both embodying the same spirit of love. "The first is the Son of the spiritual life; the second is the lesser light, which reflects the shining of that other. It is like to it, inasmuch as both are laws of love; both deduced from the great and highest love; both dependent on 'I am the Lord thy God.'" This scribe needed only the inner spirit of consecration to this law, through repentance and faith, to introduce him within that kingdom of God to whose door he had come by his intellectual confession. Jesus now showed that his divine supremacy was predicted by David, at the same time declaring the inspiration of the Psalms by the Holy Ghost. At that moment the spirit of consecration was illustrated by the real with which a poor widow contributed to the service of God all her known means of support.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 90, 97, 104.

Create in us a clean heart, O God! and renew a right spirit within us. So purify us by thy grace that we shall shine as lights in the world, holding forth the Word of life. We bless thee for thy loving care, for rest and safety in the night, for the comfort and promise of the morning. O heavenly Father! we beseech thee to look with favor upon this family. May each of us in our respective stations truly serve thee! May we do unto others as we would that they should do unto us! May we be true and just in all our dealings! May we bear no hatred nor malice in our hearts! May we be honest and upright in our daily conduct! May we keep our tongues from evil, and our lips from speaking guile!

May thy Word be precious to our souls! May it be sweet to our taste; yea, sweeter than honey to our mouth! May we love its precepts, under-

stand its doctrines, and rest upon its promises! Give us grace, that we may be established in the truth, and be doers of thy Word, and not hearers only, deceiving our own selves. Whenever we read the Holy Scriptures, be thou thyself our teacher. Sow the seed of eternal life in our hearts, and enable us to bring forth fruit, to the glory of thy name, and the comfort of our souls.

[O Lord! grant unto the children of this household the teaching of thy Spirit, the guidance of thy providence, that they may walk in the way of wisdom and of life.]

Defend us with thy heavenly grace, that we may continue thine forever, and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit more and more, until we come unto thine everlasting kingdom, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.