XIII.

The Ideal Always With Us.

Seest thou a man skilled in his work-he shall stand before kings.—Proverbs xxii. 29.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.— Psalm lxxxiv. 10.

HE situation that has not its duty, its ideal, was never yet occupied by man. Yes, here, in this poor, miserable, hampered, despicable Actual, wherein thou even now standest, here or nowhere is thy Ideal; work it out therefrom; and working, believe, live, be free. Fool! the Ideal is in thyself, the impediment, too, is in thyself: thy condition is but the stuff thou art to shape that same Ideal out of: what matters whether such stuff be of this sort or that, so the form thou givest it be heroic, be poetic. O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create, know this of a truth: the thing thou seekest is already with thee, "here or nowhere," couldst thou only see!

THOMAS CARLYLE,

Why did the Lord chose the Bramble for a place of Revelation to Moses? To teach us that the humblest creature may become a seat of the Sh'chinah (Divine Manifestation).-The Pharisees.

XIV.

J

Religion and Home.

And the Lord said: Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, that they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment-Genesis xviii. 17-19.

USE this text to-day to make one point of it: the virtues which are taught in the revealed religion are the virtues of home. The Deity is represented under the form of a man, debating, as it were, whether He shall tell Abraham what He means to do. The point on which He seems to turn and come to a decision is the fact that He knows him, "that he will command his children and his household after him that they shall keep the way of the Lord." The authority of the parent is thus made the corner-stone of the primary religion. The virtues of all revealed religion were to be taught at home. They are still. In our zeal for the complicated machinery of religion, for

which I thank God as useful in its place, we are always inclined to forget this law. Religion seems to rise up in our minds as if it were altogether ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-some few words of devotion, some schemes of missions, some set modes of alms-giving, and assembling in public to read the Bible and listen to preaching. The virtues of good neighborhood, "the justice and judgment," of which the text speaks, seem to belong to the inferior agencies of school and home. Is this true? Is it so in the great scheme of revealed religion? I think not.

'O make a happy fireside clime

For weans and wife,

That is the true pathos and sublime
Of human life.

CHARLES H. HALL.

XV.

What is Charity?

Deal thy bread to the hungry, bring the

poor that are cast out to thy house; when thou seest the naked cover him, and never hide thyself from thine own flesh.—Isaiah lviii. 7.

VERY good act is Charity. Giving water to the thirsty is charity. Removing stones and thorns from the road is charity. Exhorting your fellow-men to virtuous deeds is charity. Smiling in your brother's face is charity. Putting a wanderer in the right path is charity. A man's true wealth is the good he does in

this world. When he dies, mortals will ask what property has he left behind him; but angels will inquire, "What good deeds hast thou sent before thee?"

HAT is no true alms which the hand can hold;

He gives nothing but worthless gold

Who gives from a sense of duty.

But he who gives but a slender mite
And gives to that which is out of sight,

That thread of the all-sustaining Beauty
Which runs through all and doth all unite—
The hand cannot clasp the whole of his alms,
The heart outstretches its meager palms,
For Heaven goes with it and makes it store
To the soul that was starving in darkness before.

MAHOMET,

XVI.

Repent for Jll By Doing Good.

Offer the sacrifice of mercy and put your trust in the Lord.-Psalm iv. 5.

For I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.-Hosea vi. 6.

ET every man lovingly cast all his thoughts and cares, and his sins, too, as it were, on the Will of God. Moreover, if a man, while busy in this lofty inward work, were called by some duty in the Providence of God to cease therefrom, and cook a broth for some sick person, or any other such service, he should do so willingly and with great joy. If I had to forsake

such work, and go out to preach or aught else, I should go cheerfully, believing not only that God would be with me, but that He would vouchsafe me it may be even greater grace and blessing in that external work undertaken out of true love in the service of my neighbor, than I should perhaps receive in my season of loftiest contemplation.

JOHN TAULER.

XVII.

Hatred and pride.

Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart thou shalt not avenge thyself nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people.—Leviticus xix. 17, 18.

Thy terribleness hath deceived thee and the pride of thy heart . . . though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.—Jeremiah xlix. 16.

WISE man said: "He that sows hatred shall reap remorse." Wouldst thou be revenged upon thine