sengers to His people and appointed them as their protectors. Jesus, as His disciples well knew, was often in angelic company. It was therefore natural that while speaking of the sin of scandal He should take the Guardian Angels into account, whom He describes as pleading before God the cause of children injured by bad example: "See that you despise not one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels. in heaven always see the face of My Father who is in heaven." This is plain teaching. Carried out in the training of children, it gives men from the earliest period of life a sense of dignity, a sense of self-value, and a sweet consciousness of pure companionship, all elements of very great worth in the formation of the Christian character. Upon which Jesus, as He continues, places Himself at the head of these shepherds of the gentle flock of God. He is our chief Angel Guardian. And He repeats-nor is it for the last time-the consoling doctrine that His main purpose is not to retain possession of those who are already saved, but to save those who are lost. "For the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost. What think you? If a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and goeth to seek that which is gone astray? And if it so be that he find it, Amen, I say to you he rejoiceth more for that than for the ninety-nine that went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish." How suggestive of love is this beautiful picture of the whole flock left to care for itself that one single sheep may not perish. But suppose a case in which it is the ninety-nine who are lost and only one is safe at home? Let us ask what is the will of Jesus Christ in our own day, when in these northern nations there are many communities in which not one in five hundred is in the true fold. Study this teaching of our Good Shepherd and you will appreciate the missionary vocation of the Church at the present time. CHAPTER L. FRATERNAL CORRECTION.-"IF HE WILL NOT HEAR THE CHURCH."-THE WICKED SERVANT. Matt. xviii. 15-35; Luke xvii. 3, 4. ORRECTION among brethren is always an affectionate admonition as a first resort, and that privately; then comes the aid of others, men who are good, peaceable, and wise. Finally, and only as a last resort, the infliction of penalties. Love is indeed first and last; but in the end it can use authority and inflict penalties with profit. Our Saviour had suffered from various dissensions among His followers, and He took occasion of His discourse on saving the lost sheep to lay down the rules of brotherly admonition. "But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them, tell the Church. And if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican." We shall not mistake our Lord's words when we say that His meaning is this having loved our obstinate brother as one of the household, we must love him no less when his disobedience has made him an excommunicate. We know how deeply Jesus loved the poor heathen and publican; it is to them He compares an incorrigible brother Christian. is The first duty The Church is here mentioned by Christ for the second time, and in a way to bestow the highest right of discipline. He draws a plain line between a voluntary authority, that of brother over brother, and the organic right of correction in the whole brotherhood, the Church. He follows this up with a grant of plenary power, the terms being identical with a part of Peter's charter: "Amen, I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven.” The Church the brotherhood of the Sons of God. and first right of brothers is brotherly love. When this fails there is resort to the authority of God in His Church to restore it. Power, majesty, dignity, unity, every quality that inspires respect and claims obedience is best exercised when associated with the ever-deepening influences of love-loving exhortation, loving exchange of favors, loving patience, loving community of goods spiritual and temporal; and sometimes loving correction-this comes last of all indeed, but is occasionally necessary for the restoration of love thus we have the summary of our Saviour's grant of heavenly authority to His earthly household. First, then, the private offer of reconciliation, carefully guarding against publicity, nor waiting for the culprit to take the first step. Then, in case of failure, the kindly aid of others is called in. Last of all the HOW THOU SHALT GAIN THY BROTHER. If thy brother shall offend against thee, go and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. And if he will not hear hee, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them, tell the Church. And if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. Amen, I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth concerning anything, whatsoever they shall ask it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. THE KING AND THE WICKED SERVANT. strong arm of Church law:-but even after that the Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellowservants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. And his fellow-servant, falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not : but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt. Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: Shouldst not thou The reader knows how stern a law of penance for sin was enforced among the early Christians. Every heinous offence had its public penalty, its long, and sometimes years long, punishment, suffered openly among the faithful. This discipline was a vital necessity in those days, when the Church was surrounded then have had compassion also on thy by filthy paganism. Yet let us mark fellow-servant, even as I had compassion on thee? And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. this that the outside world did not then say of the Church, How sternly these Christians enforce discipline; but rather, How these Christians love one another. Not Church discipline but brotherly love was the characteristic trait of Christianity even in its era of strictest discipline. Peter would have our Saviour explain more fully the duty of brotherly forgiveness: "Lord, how often. shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" Now the Jewish casuists had twisted some Scripture texts so as to limit forgiveness to three times; therefore Peter fancied he was extremely generous in extending it to seven. But the Master threw down all limits to brotherly love: "Jesus saith to him, I say not to thee, till seven times, but till seventy times seven times." And upon this He gave them the very instructive parable of the King and his Wicked Servant. The Apostles could easily see the gradation of guilt according to Jesus: if the king punished the common sins of human malice with slavery, he punished unforgiveness of injuries with slavery and torture. CHAPTER LI. FAREWELL TO GALILEE.-" woE TO THEE, CORO ZAIN!" The Matt. xi. 20-24; Luke x. 13-15; John vii. 1-10. A CRISIS had been reached in Galilee. Saviour had battled bravely with His enemies, and He had always conquered. But what He gained by the majesty of His manner, the sweetness of His religious teaching, the irresistible power of His miracles, He to a great extent lost by the intrigues of His enemies. They were expecting, and determined to expect, no other Kingdom of God but the restoration of the temporal independence of their race. Race pride is a stubborn foe, and in this case it was allied to the pride of self-righteousness. Though the Galileans as a body were true to Him, most of the leaders of the people were not. They were set with fanatical frenzy upon their outward observances—a |