126 87. Faith and Faithfulness. FAITH AND FAITHFULNESS. A ND the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye would say unto this sycamine tree, Luke 17: 5-10. Be thou rooted up, and be thou planted in the sea; and it would [have] obey[ed] you. But who is there of you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say unto him, when he is come in from the field, Come straightway and sit down to meat; 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? Doth he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded? Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do. 88. Ten Lepers Luke 17: 11-19. A ND it came to pass, as they were on the way to Jerusalem, that he was passing through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off : and they lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go and shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, with a loud voice glorifying God; and he fell upon his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were not the ten cleansed? but where are the nine? Were there none found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger? And he said unto him, Arise, and go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. 89. THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN. The Coming of the Son of Man. Luke 17: 2018: 8. A 127 ND being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for, lo, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, Lo, there! Lo, here! go not away, nor follow after them: for as the lightning, when it lighteneth out of the one part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: after the same manner shall it be that the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he who shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and let him that is in the field likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to gain his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I say unto you, In that night there shall be two men on one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. There shall be two women grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. And they answering say unto 128 ACCEPTABLE PRAYER. him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Where the body is, thither will the eagles also be gathered together. And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for awhile: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her continual coming. And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith. And shall not God avenge his elect, who cry to him day and night, and yet he is longsuffering over them? I say unto you, that he will avenge them speedily. Howbeit when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? 90. Acceptable Prayer. Luke 18: 9-14. A ND he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner. I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 91. The Sacredness of Marriage. Matt. 19: 3-12; Mark 10: 2-12; Luke 16: 18. THE SACREDNESS OF MARRIAGE. A 129 ND there came unto him Pharisees, trying him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? Have ye not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the twain shall become one flesh? So that they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorcement, and to put her away? He said unto them, For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment and suffered you to put away your wives but from the beginning of the creation it hath not been so. And in the house the disciples asked him again of this matter. And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication and shall marry another, committeth adultery against her: and if she herself shall put away her husband, and marry another, she committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her when she is put away committeth adultery. The disciples say unto him, If the case of the man is so with his wife, it is not expedient to marry. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, but they to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs, that were so born from their mother's womb: and there are eunuchs that were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. 130 92. He Blesses Matt. 19 13-15; HE BLESSES LITTLE CHILDREN. HEN they brought unto him little chil THE dren, their babes,- that he should Little Children. lay his hands on them and pray: but when the disciples saw it they rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was moved with indignation and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein. And he called them unto him, took them in his arms, and laid his hands upon them and blessed them; and departed thence. 93. The Young Ruler's Lesson. Matt. 19: 16 20: 16. Mark 10: 17-31. A ND as he was going forth into the way, behold a certain ruler came running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good master, what good thing shall I do, that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? one good; none is good save one, even God. But if thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou knowest thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father and thy mother; and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. there is who is The young man saith unto him, Master, all these things have I observed from my youth up: what lack I yet? And when Jesus heard it, looking upon him he loved him, and said, One thing thou lackest yet. If thou wouldst be perfect, go, sell all that thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. But when the young man heard these things, his countenance fell, and he went away exceeding sorrowful; for he was one that had great possessions. And Jesus seeing him, |