that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

It is much better to be poor and pious in this life, than to be rich and selfish; for, after suffering a few slight troubles here, the pious man will be taken to Paradise, where he will enjoy the greatest happiness for ever; whilst the selfish, after a few vain pleasures, which cannot make him happy, will be sent to a place of misery and punishment. If

God gives us riches, we must use them in doing good-in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and in building churches and schools; we shall then have God's blessing. But if, instead of doing these things, we spend all our money in fine clothes, in houses, and in pleasure, we shall be punished in the next world as this rich man

32. VARIOUS INSTRUCTIVE EVENTS. WHEN Our Lord Jesus Christ was at Capernaum with His disciples, the men who collected the tribute-money came to St. Peter, and said, "Doth not your Master pay tribute?" Peter replied, "Yes," and went into the house to tell his Master. The Lord Jesus said to him, 'Lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and take up the fish that

spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." They then went on to another village.

If our zeal makes us cruel and unkind, it displeases our Saviour; for He has told us that we must love and pray for those who are unkind to us. If we do not, we cannot be His disciples.

After this our Lord Jesus and His disciples went on to the village of Bethany, in which lived two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha received the Saviour into her house. Her sister Mary sat down at the feet of Jesus to listen to His words; but Martha was so anxious to make the house comfortable, that she was vexed Mary did not help her. And she went to the Saviour, and said, "Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her, therefore, that she

help me." Jesus answered, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Although it would be wicked to neglect the duties of this life, we must never so attend to them as to leave no time to listen to the Word of God, and to observe His commandments. This is the "one thing needful," because upon it our salvation depends. If this is neglected, nothing else can do us any good; for we shall be lost and unhappy for ever and ever.

33. LAZARUS RAISED FROM THE DEAD. LAZARUS, the brother of Mary and Martha, was very ill. His sisters knew that the Lord Jesus could cure him; and they sent to tell Him that Lazarus was