Judas. Though He could trace the sentiment to its source; He did not even condemn him; but with that gentleness which irritated none, and which conveyed truth that must have been edifying to all that heard it, He said, "Let her alone; the motive is so good, the design that she has in view is so exalted, that even if there were what seems to you a little waste, she has done it with a prophetic anticipation of an act-my death, my burial-an act which will tell more upon the ages to come than all that has transpired in the rest of the world before. She has done it to my burial." Whatever, therefore, honours Jesus is beautiful.

Jesus added also, "The poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always." Now this is one of those maxims that mean more than the expression teaches; it denotes that distinctions of class and of rank will always exist. It is predicted in the Book of Deuteronomy, "The poor shall never cease out of the land;" and here it is said, "The poor ye have always." Men never can make it otherwise. There have been all sorts of plans, and schemes, and movements, and arrangements in order to put an end to it, but none ever have succeeded. There will be men that meet with misfortunes which they cannot master; there will be persons idle while others will be busy, feeble while others are strong, stupid while others are wise; and these elements will make a difference in society it is utterly impossible to level. And, generally speaking, those that try to make all society one vast macadamised road, do not mean so much to lift to their own level those that are below, as to drag down to their own level those that are above. It is a great truth, that the poor will be always. Let us minister to them, let us help them; not refusing help to a poor man because his own misdoing has made him poor. His crimes belong to God's province; his poverty is a call for man's pity, compassion, and relief. What seems assistance We need to possess and

to the poor is not sometimes really so.

exercise good sense in our charities as in our business.

What seems waste, or extravagance, or enthusiasm, may be real and living religion.

If, according to an ordinance that cannot be overturned, we shall have the poor always, let us who have something over the necessities of life never forget the claims of the poor and needy.

May the Great Teacher give us wisdom and charity and a right judgment in all things.

Many of the Jews, we are told, when they heard Jesus was at Bethany, came thither not only for the sake of seeing Jesus, but Lazarus the subject of Jesus' wondrous miracle.

The chief priests were so exasperated at this that they "consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death." What an awful thing, that those that saw the miracle, that saw Lazarus raised from the dead, should even try to put him to death! How absurd!

Augustine makes the truly admirable remark, "If they had thought, they would have seen that He who could raise him from the dead when he died by disease, could raise him again from the dead if they killed him by violence."

Christ and the Parable of the Pounds.

Luke xix. 11-27.

ERTAIN persons, as Jesus came near to Jerusalem, thought that the kingdom of God would immediately appear; that is, they expected that the kingdom of God, in its future glory, should then and at that time appear upon the earth. The expectation of the Jew that the kingdom of God should be revealed in glory was a right one; but he overlooked the prior state of that kingdomthat it should come first in sorrow, with a cross; then in glory with a crown. The Jew at this day looks for Christ's glorious kingdom, but he cannot accept Christ in his humility. The true Christian accepts Christ on the cross, the ground of his faith; and prays for Christ with the crown, the object of his hope. Now, these Pharisees and Jews very justly expected that the kingdom should appear, but they expected, from chronological error, that it would appear at that time. Jesus, therefore, shows them that there was to be a long intervening period, during which duties were to be done, responsibility to be felt; and then at the coming of the Son of Man in glory all should be finished and complete. He therefore says, "A certain nobleman went into a far country"-that is, heaven-" to receive for himself a kingdom"-that is, the inheritance of this world"and to return." Christ is to come again in his kingdom and glory. The nobleman, before his departure, called his ten servants

-ten, a mere arbitrary number-and delivered to them ten sums of money, called in our version pounds, or twelve and a half ounces of silver-equal to somewhere about three or four pounds. "And he said unto them, Occupy"-make the best use of this-"till I come." There is no individual that has not a talent of some sort committed to him; that talent not to be used for his own aggrandisement only, but for the glory of the Giver, and the moral and spiritual wellbeing of all with whom he is connected. It is said to every one, "Occupy till I come." God will not give great gifts to those that make not good use of the small gifts which they have. We are accountable to Him, not for what we have not, but for that which we have. "But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us,”—we will not obey his laws; we prefer our own prejudices, passions, appetites, indulgences, and desires, and we will not obey him.

"It came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds,”—that is, I have made use of it, I have turned it to account. Not, I have gained ten pounds-for the answer involves all renunciation of merit; but, "Thy pound hath gained ten pounds." If it has increased, it has not been owing to my industry, though it may be real, but owing to thy gracious blessing. "And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds, and he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities." The first had opportunities that the second had not; but the second used the opportunities he had, just as diligently as the first used the opportunities that he had. We are not accountable for discharging duties that belong to a loftier sphere,

but we are responsible for discharging the duties that belong to the sphere in which we live.

阐

"And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin; for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow ;" and, therefore, I present it. to thee just as it was, neither increased nor diminished. And his master said to him, "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant." If you knew that I was so strict, why did you not turn that which I entrusted to you to the best account? If you knew that I was such an exactor, why did you not put it into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury-that I might thus get the proper interest for it, and have it restored to me double, or treble, or perhaps tenfold? He made no answer; and therefore "the Lord said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound,"-take away the small gift that I gave him, and leave him naked, desolate, without one atom of excellence. The whole guilt of this man was, not that he spent the pound in riotous living-that would have been bad; it was not that he had used this pound for wicked and profane purposes; but it was that he did not use it, and presented it as it was. What does that teach us? That a man who is a blank in the world is guilty-not so much, it is truc, but still guilty-as he that is a bane in the world.

Let us ask, then, "What are we doing with the gifts of God's providence, with the grace of his Spirit? Are we really doing anything to promote his cause, to unfold his glory, to help to the knowledge of salvation those that are perishing for want of it? Are we building up ourselves in his name, increasing our instruction, progress, and conformity to his image? Are we laying out a tithe upon spiritual things of what we lay out upon the lust of the eye, the pride of life, and the love of this present world?" Recollect,