THE BEATITUDES.

AND

ND seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and
when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of

heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matt. v.

THE BEATITUDES.

ROM the way Luke introduces his fragments of the Ser

FROM

mon on the Mount we infer that Jesus spent the whole previous night in prayer to God. This helps us to understand the spiritual exaltation of his opening words. He had been alone with God.

"Blessed be ye poor: for your's is the kingdom of God." "Blessed are ye that hunger now for ye shall be filled.”

High words, because spoken from the watch-tower of loftiest contemplation; but they become simple to souls that rise unto the spiritual region where they were uttered. How deep and high the thoughts! They carry us down to foundation principles, and up to eternal verities. The Sermon on the Mount is illuminated with the Fatherhood of God, as the stars illumine the great dome above us. It is the Father who paints the lily; feeds the ravens; cares for the sparrow; answers prayer. This Gospel arches a new heaven above us, and puts a new earth beneath our feet. With what power his words fell upon those who waited for them, as benighted travellers wait for the Morning!

THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD.

LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully

use you, and persecute you;

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him.

For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father which is in heaven.

Matt. v. vi. vii. x. xxiii.

THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD.

THE Fatherhood of God is the

Christianity. The soul's cry is for a Father, and it will find no peace till it rests in a Father's arms. The Great Spirit is in living communion with our souls. Do we know Him? Do we listen for His voice and expect to hear? The presence of God is too near to be seen; too interior for the senses to lay hold on; but it must be felt in the soul as the centre of its life. Our Father! He is the sun round which all our christian doctrines revolve.

Its golden beams

stream all through Christ's teachings. Do we value as we should the early thought of God as it first breaks in on a pure child's mind, and consider how that thought is often the pole-star that shapes his course round the world? Love God as your Father. He loves you. Let His love waken yours. The essence of the Infinite One the finite mind cannot fathom. But when we say, Our Father, He comes forth out of the mystery of mysteries and speaks to our hearts and bids us aim at the highest conceivable ideal; an ideal that will always be above, rising in endless spirals higher, higher, higher!

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

BUT thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

After this manner therefore pray ye: in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Our Father which art

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and cares of this life; .

Watch ye therefore, and pray always.

Matt. vi. Luke xxi.