men?
A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him :
Neither will he go unto the wise.
A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance :
But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh
knowledge :
But the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.
All the days of the afflicted are evil :
But he that is of a merry heart hath a continual
feast.
Better is little with the fear of the Lord,
Than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Prov. 15 : 1-16.
78 Readings from the Bible.
LXIX.
Practical Instruction.
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is,
Than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
A wrathful man stirreth up strife :
But he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
The way of the slothful man is as a hedge of thorns :
But the way of the righteous is made plain.
A wise son maketh a glad father :
But a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom :
But a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
Without counsel purposes are disappointed :
But in the multitude of counselors they are estab-
lished.
A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth :
And a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
The way of life is above to the wise,
That he may depart from hell beneath.
The Lord will destroy the house of the proud :
But he will establish the border of the widow.
The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to
the Lord:
But the words of the pure are pleasant words.
He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house ;
But he that hateth gifts shall live.
The heart of the righteous studieth to answer :
But the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil
things.
Our Best Friend. 79
The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart :
And a good report maketh the bones fat.
The ear that heareth the reproof of life
Abideth among the wise.
He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul :
But he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom ;
And before honour is humility. Prov . I5 . ,7.28, 30, 33 .
LXX.
Our Best Friend.
I will extol thee, my God, O King ;
And I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
Every day will I bless thee ;
And I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised ;
And his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise thy works to another,
And shall declare thy mighty acts.
I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty,
And of thy wondrous works.
And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts:
And I will declare thy greatness.
They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy
great goodness,
And shall sing of thy righteousness.
The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion ;
Slow to anger, and of great mercy.
The Lord is good to all :
And his tender mercies are over all his works.
All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord ;
8o Readings front the Bible.
And thy saints shall bless thee.
They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom,
And talk of thy power ;
To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And thy dominion endureth throughout all genera-
tions.
The Lord upholdeth all that fall,
And raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
The eyes of all wait upon thee ;
And thou givest them their meat in due season.
Thou openest thine hand,
And satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways,
And holy in all his works.
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him,
To all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him :
He also will hear their cry, and will save them.
The Lord preserveth all them that love him :
But all the wicked will he destroy.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord :
And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and
ever. p sa i m 145.
LXXI.
Faithfulness.
THE STORY OF RUTH 1.
Now it came to pass in the days when the
judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land.
The Story of Ruth. 81
And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to
sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife,
and his two sons. And the name of the man was
Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the
name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephra-
thites of Beth-lehem-judah. Ana they came into
the country of Moab, and continued there.
And Elimelech Naomi's husband died ; and she
was left, and her two sons. And they took them
wives of the women of Moab ; the name of the one
was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth : and
they dwelt there about ten years. And Mahlon
and Chilion died also both of them ; and the woman
was left of her two sons and her husband.
Then she arose with her daughters in law, that
she might return from the country of Moab: for
she had heard in the country of Moab how that the
Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.
Wherefore she went forth out of the place where
she was, and her two daughters in law with her ; and
they went on the way to return unto the land of
Judah.
And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law,
Go, return each to her mother's house: the Lord
deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the
dead, and with me. The Lord grant you that ye
may find rest, each of you in the house of her hus-
band. Then she kissed them ; and they lifted up
their voice and wept. And they said unto her,
Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters :
why will ye go with me ? And Orpah kissed her
mother in law ; but Ruth clave unto her. And she
82 Readings from the Bible.
said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her
people, and unto her gods : return thou after thy
sister in law. And Ruth said, Entreat me not to
leave thee, or to return from following after thee:
for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou
lodgest, I will lodge : thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God : Where thou diest, will I die,
and there will I be buried : the Lord do so to me,
and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.
When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to
go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
Ruth i: i -ix, 14-18.
LXXII.
Faithfulness.
THE STORY OF RUTH. II.
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her
daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the
country of Moab : and they came to Beth-lehem in
the beginning of barley harvest.
And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a
mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech ;
and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess
said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and
glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall
find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daugh-
ter. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the
field after the reapers : and her hap was to light on
a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of
the kindred of Elimelech.
And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and
Faithfulness. 83
said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And
they answered him, The Lord bless thee. Then said
Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers,
Whose damsel is this ? And the servant that was
set over the reapers answered and said, It is the
Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out
of the country of Moab : and she said, I pray you,
let me glean and gather after the reapers among the
sheaves : so she came, and hath continued even from
the morning until now, that she tarried a little in
the house. Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou
not, my daughter ? Go not to glean in another field,
neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my
maidens.
Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to
the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found
grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowl-
edge of me, seeing I am a stranger ? And Boaz
answered and said unto her, It hath fully been
shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother
in law since the death of thine husband ; and how
thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the
land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people
which thou knewest not heretofore. The Lord
recompense thy work, and a full reward be given
thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings
thou art come to trust. Ruth I:22) 2: ,. 8f I0 . J2 .
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my
fortress, my God ; in Him will I trust.
Psalm QI :2.
84 Readings from the Bible.
LXXIII.
The Omnipotence and Omnipresence of God.
O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising ;
Thou understandest my thought afar off.
Thou compassest my path and my lying down,
And art acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word in my tongue,
But, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
Thou hast beset me behind and before,
And laid thine hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me ;
It is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ?
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence ?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ;
Even there shall thy hand lead me,
And thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me ;
Even the night shall be light about me.
Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee ;
But the night shineth as the day :
The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
Psalm 139: 1-12.
Secret Prayer. 85
LXXIV.
The Two Houses.
Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock : and the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat
upon that house ; and it fell not : for it was founded
upon a rock.
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 :
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.
Matt. 7: 24-27.
LXXV.
Secret Prayer.
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the
hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in
the synagogues and in the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto
you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou
prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast
shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ;
and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward
thee openly.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as
the heathen do: for they think that they shall be
heard for their much speaking. Be not ye there-
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fore like unto them : for your Father knoweth what
things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Matt 6: S-8.
LXXVI.
The Providence of God.
The counsel of the Lord standeth forever,
The thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord ;
And the people whom he hath chosen for his own
inheritance.
The Lord looketh from heaven;
He beholdeth all the sons of men.
From the place of his habitation
He looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
He fashioneth their hearts alike ;
He considereth all their works.
There is no king saved by the multitude of a host :
A mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
A horse is a vain thing for safety:
Neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear
him,
Upon them that hope in his mercy;
To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waiteth for the Lord :
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in him,
Because we have trusted in his holy name.
Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
According as we hope in thee. Psahn 33.
The Mines. 87
LXXVII.
Eager Longings.
As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
So panteth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God :
When shall I come and appear before God ?
Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in
the daytime,
And in the night his song shall be with me,
And my prayer unto the God of my life.
I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou for-
gotten me ?
Why go I mourning because of the oppression of
the enemy ?
As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach
me;
While they say daily unto me, Where is thy God ?
Why art thou cast down, O my soul ?
And why art thou disquieted within me ?
Hope thou in God : for I shall yet praise him,
Who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
Psalm 42: x-2, 8-u.
LXXVIII.
The Mines.
Surely there is a vein for the silver,
And a place for gold where they fine it.
Iron is taken out of the earth,
And brass is molten out 0/the stone.
He setteth an end to darkness,
88 Readings from the Bible.
And searcheth out all perfection :
The stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant ;
Even the waters forgotten of the foot :
They are dried up, they are gone away from men.
As for the earth, out of it cometh bread:
And under it is turned up as it were fire.
The stones of it are the place of sapphires :
And it hath dust of gold.
There is a path which no fowl knoweth,
And which the vulture's eye hath not seen :
The lion's whelps have not trodden it,
Nor the fierce lion passed by it.
He putteth forth his hand upon the rock ;
He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
He cutteth out rivers among the rocks ;
And his eye seeth every precious thing.
He bindeth the floods from overflowing ;
And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
Job 28:1-11.
LXXIX.
The Value of Wisdom.
But where shall wisdom be found ?
And where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof;
Neither is it found in the land of the living.
The depth saith, It is not in me :
And the sea saith, // is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for gold,
Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,
With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
A Call to All in Need. 89
The gold and the crystal cannot equal it.
And the exchange of it shall nofbe for jewels of fine
gold.
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls :
For the price of wisdom is above rubies.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it;
Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
Whence then cometh wisdom?
And where is the place of understanding ?
Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,
And kept close from the fowls of the air.
Destruction and death say,
We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
God understandeth the way thereof,
And he knoweth the place thereof.
For he looketh to the ends of the earth,
And seeth under the whole heaven ;
To make the weight for the winds ;
And he weigheth the waters by measure.
When he made a decree for the rain,
And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
Then did he see it, and declare it ;
He prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
And unto man he said,
Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ;
And to depart from evil is understanding. j ob 28:12-28.
LXXX.
A Call to All in Need.
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy,
90 Readings from the Bible.
and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without* price.
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is
not bread ? and your labour for that which satisfieth
not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that
which is good, and let your soul delight itself in
fatness.
Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and
your soul shall live ; and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Behold, I have given him for a witness to the
people, a leader and commander to the people.
Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou know-
est not, and nations that knew not thee shall run
unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the
Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye
upon him while he is near : let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts : and
let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy
upon him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than
your thoughts.
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from
heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that
it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the
eater : So shall my word be that goeth forth out
of my mouth : it shall not return unto me void, but
Alms Giving. 91
it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth
with peace : the mountains and the hills shall break
forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the
field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn
shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier
shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the
Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall
not be cut off. Isaiah 55 .
LXXXI.
A Glad Mission.
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me ; because
the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings
unto the meek ; he hath sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound ;
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and
the day of vengeance of our God ; to comfort all
that mourn. Isaiah 61:1-2.
LXXXII.
Alms Giving.
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men,
to be seen of them : otherwise ye have no reward of
your Father which is in heaven.
Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not
sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in
the synagogues and in the streets, that they may
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have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They
have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let
not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth :
that thine alms may be in secret : and thy Father
which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee
openly. Matt. 6:1-4.
LXXXIII.
The Good Samaritan.
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and
tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to
inherit eternal life ?
He said unto him, What is written in the law?
how readest thou ?
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind;
and thy neighbour as thyself.
And he said unto him, thou hast answered right :
this do, and thou shalt live.
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus,
And who is my neighbour ?
And Jesus answering said, A certain man went
down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among
thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and
wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
And by chance there came down a certain priest
that way ; and when he saw him, he passed by on
the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was
at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by
on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he
journeyed, came where he was ; and when he saw
Our Father's Mercy. 93
him, he had compassion on him, and went to him,
and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine,
and set him on his own beast, and brought him to
an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow
when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave
them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of
him : and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I
come again, I will repay thee.
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was
neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves ?
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him.
Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Luke 10 : 25-37.
LXXXIV.
Our Father s Mercy.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide :
Neither will he keep his anger for ever.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins ;
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth,
So great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children,
So the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame ;
He remembereth that we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass :
94 Readings from the Bible.
As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone ;
And the place thereof shall know it no more.
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to
everlasting upon them that fear him,
And his righteousness unto children's children ;
To such as keep his covenant,
And to those that remember his commandments to
do them.
The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens;
And his kingdom ruleth over all.
Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength,
That do his commandments, hearkening unto the
voice of his word.
Bless ye the Lord, a\\ ye his hosts;
Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his
dominion:
Bless the Lord, O my soul. Psalm I03:8 . 22 .
LXXXV.
Samuel's Integrity
And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have
hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto
me, and have made a king over you. And now,
behold, the king walketh before you : and I am old
and grayheaded ; and, behold, my sons are with you :
and I have walked before you from my childhood
unto this day. Behold, here I am: witness against
me before the LORD, and before his anointed : whose
ox have I taken ? or whose ass have I taken ? or
whom have I defrauded ? whom have I oppressed ?
Personal Responsibility. 95
or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind
mine eyes therewith ? and I will restore it you.
And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor
oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any
man's hand. And he said unto them, The LORD is
witness against you, and his anointed is witness this
day, that ye have not found aught in my hand.
And they answered, He is witness.
Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin
against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you : but I
will teach you the good and the right way : Only
fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your
heart : for consider how great things he hath done
for you. , Sam> I2: ,. 5> 23f 24 .
LXXXVI.
Personal Responsibility.
When the son hath done that which is lawful and
right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done
them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it
shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the
father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of
the son : the righteousness of the righteous shall be
upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall
be upon him.
But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that
he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do
that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live,
he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath
committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him:
in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
96 Readings from the Bible.
Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should
die ? saith the Lord God : and not that he should
return from his ways, and live ?
But when the righteous turneth away from his
righteousness and committeth iniquity, and doeth
according to all the abominations that the wicked
man doeth, shall he live ? All his righteousness
that he hath done shall not be mentioned : in his
trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that
he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal.
Hear now, O house of Israel ; is not my way equal ?
are not your ways unequal ?
When a righteous man turneth away from his
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth
in them ; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he
die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away
from his wickedness that he hath committed, and
doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save
his soul alive. Because he considereth, and turneth
away from all his transgressions that he hath com-