27. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore ? Webster on great, and the pressure immense, so that danger of the Bunker Hiil. falling of the platform was imminent. One person shouted, "Keep back, or we will be all killed here!" "We can't," returned the crowd. Another implored them to stand back, or the lives of hundreds would run the risk of sacrifice; and the reply was again, We can't." At last the giant Webster came forward, and, waving his hand, said, “My friends, keep back; otherwise the consequence may be fatal to many." "It is impossible, Mr. Webster," was the answer. "Impossible!" he replied. "IMPOSSIBLE! Nothing is impossible on Bunker Hill!" and the crowd fell back immediately. Mahmoud, the IdolBreaker. 27-29. BEHOLD WE HAVE FORSAKEN ALL.—“Mahmoud, the great Mohammedan conqueror of India, when he had reached Somnât, an idol fifteen feet high facing the entrance of the temple, instantly ordered the image to be destroyed; but the Brahmins threw themselves before him and offered an enormous ransom if he would spare their deity. Mahmoud, after a moment's pause, declared that he would rather be known as the breaker than the seller of idols, and struck the image with his mace. His example was instantaneously followed, and the image, which was hollow, burst with the blows and poured forth a quantity of diamonds and other jewels which amply repaid Mahmoud for the sacrifice of the ransom."-Elphinstone. “Thou, too, heaven's commissioned warrior to cast down each idol throne In thy heart's profanèd temple, make this faithful deed thine own, Let descend the faithful blow; From their wreck and from their ruin first will thy true riches flow. Thou shalt lose thy life, and find it; thou shalt boldly cast it forth; And then, back again receiving, know it in its endless worth." -Trench. 28. YE SHALL SIT UPON TWELVE THRONES.-The reward as coming from right doing, and not from seeking the reward, is well illustrated by Rudyard Kipling's description of how soldiers gained the Victoria Cross: "And when all is said and done, courage of mind is the finest 28. And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. 30. But many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first. A.D. 28. LAST THREE REWARD thing anyone can hope to attain to. A weak or undisciplined soul is apt to become reckless under strain (and this is being afraid the wrong way about), or to act for its own immediate advantage. For this reason the Victoria Cross is jealously guarded, and if there is any suspicion that a man is playing to the gallery or out pot-hunting for medals, as they call it, he must head his charges and rescue his wounded all over again as a guarantee of good faith. The Victoria "Men are taught to volunteer for anything and everything; going out quietly after, not before, the authorities have filled their place. They are also instructed that it is cowardly, it is childish, and it is cheating to neglect or scamp the plain work immediately in front of them, the duties they are trusted and paid to do, for the sake of stepping aside to snatch at what to an outsider may resemble fame or distinction. "The order itself is a personal decoration, and the honor and glory of it belongs to the wearer; but he can only win it by forgetting himself, his own honor and glory, and by working for something beyond and outside and apart. And that is the only way you ever get anything in this world worth the keeping." -Rudyard Kipling, in Youth's Companion. 30. THE FIRST Shall be Last.-Some of the stars in the milky way, and in the nebulæ, are doubtless infinitely larger and brighter than our sun which hides all the stars. From another point of view they will so appear. Dante relates how he has seen- "The thorn frown rudely all the winter long And after bear the rose upon its top; And bark, that all the way across the sea -Paradiso. FAR FROM THIS MAN IN PARADISE.—“ A youth, whose heart was black with sin, appeared before the cell of a dervish (a monk celebrated for his sanctity). He began to lament the depth of his sin, and implore pardon. The proud monk indignantly demanded how he presumed to appear in the presence of God's holy prophet; assuring him that it was in vain to seek forgiveness, adding: 'May God grant that I may stand far from this youth on the judgment day.' On this, Jesus spoke: It shall be so. The prayer of both is granted; this sinner, a penitent, shall then enter Paradise. But the monk's prayer is also granted; he shall be far from the youth in that day, even in torment." -A Persian Parable, from Saadi, in Trench. CHAPTER XX. 1. For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. A.D. 30. LAST THREE THE PEREAN OF THE 4. And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7. They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 8. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12. Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14. Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16. So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. 17. ¶ And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18. Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death. 19. And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him and the third day he shall rise again. 17. GOING UP TO JERUSALEM, not merely because Jerusalem was situated on a hill so that all who went there had to go up, but also and chiefly because it was higher politically and religiously. So in 20. ¶ Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. 21. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. 22. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. 23. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. England they always speak of going up to London, no matter how much higher the land from which they go. "Xenophon's most famous book is called the Anabasis,' or the 'Going-up'; and some commentators think that it was so called chiefly because the expedition it describes was directed against the capital of Artaxerxes." 22. YE KNOW NOT WHAT YE Ask. "O wistful, blissful ignorance! It is blissful not to know It keeps me still in the arms of God, And hushes my soul to rest, In the bosom that loves me so. So I go onward not knowing— I would not if I might— I would rather walk in the dark with God I would rather walk with him by faith LIBRARY.-On trying to manage Providence for ourselves, see E. E. Hale's story of "Hands Off" in his "Christmas in a Palace." 23. IS NOT MINE TO GIVE, BUT FOR WHOM IT IS PREPARED OF MY FATHER.-The greatest and best things done for God's kingdom have not been done by those whom men would have selected |