Nor let me e'er implore thy grace,
Not feeling what I say,

QUESTIONS.-1. What is it to pray always? 2. Tell the way the old woman prayed without ceasing. 3. Can all of us do the same? 4. Who has set us the greatest example of prayer? 5. What about Elias praying? 6. What about Abraham praying? 7. What about the poor woman? 8. Can God hear and answer prayer at once? 9. Do men always pray when they kneel before God? 10. Can a man live a holy life without prayer? 11. In whose name must you pray?

SERMON III.

SERVANTS SHOULD OBEY THEIR MASTERS.

BY THE REV. T. T. CASTLEMAN.

Servants obey, in all things, your masters.-Col. iii. 22.

MANY, many years ago, there lived in a far distant country, a good old man whose name was Jacob. He had twelve sons. The youngest was named Joseph. He was a lad of tender years and greatly loved by his father. The others were shepherds, and spent much of their time in the fields, attending their father's flocks. While Joseph was asleep, one night, he dreamed that his father and mother and brethren were at work with him in the harvest field, and all their sheaves rose up on end and bowed to him. When Joseph waked up, he told this dream to his father and his brothers. His father treasured it up in his heart but his brothers hated him for it; for, they thought it was as much as to say that they would, one day, have to bow themselves to the earth before him. From that time they could not look upon Joseph with pleasure. One day, his father sent him in search of his brethren who had gone off after their flocks. He wandered on from field to field, but could not find them. At last he met a stranger in the way who told him that he had heard them say that

they were going to Dothan. See now this lad, with not a care in his heart, pushing forward his steps to find his brothers whom he loved. . He comes to Dothan, and how does his heart leap with joy when he finds them there! But, as he draws near to them, they say to each other, "behold, this dreamer cometh. Let us slay him and cast him into some pit; and we will say some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams." But his brother Reuben said, "let us not kill him but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness." So they cast him into the pit, and they sat down to eat. And as they looked up, they saw a company of merchants coming on their way down to Egypt to sell their spices. And one of them said, "what profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood, let us sell him to these merchants." So they pulled little Joseph up out of the pit, and sold him as a slave to these merchants for twenty pieces of silver. They carried him off, far from his home and friends, into the land of Egypt. There, they sold him to an officer of the king. And now this boy, who but a short time before was free and happy in his father's house, is a friendless slave, in the palace of a heathen king. But he was a good and pious youth. He remembered the instructions of his father and worshipped God with all his heart. He determined, therefore, to be faithful to his duty; to give the king no cause to complain of him, but to be honest. and true, and kind and obedient in all things. Years passed on, and Joseph kept his resolution. Nothing could move him from it. He carefully watched against sin. He had many trials and troubles. He was slandered, imprisoned, and hated. Yet he continued faithful to God and to his master. The more the king saw of him, the more he was

compelled to confess that he was an honest and good man, and that God was with him. And how richly did God bless Joseph for this honest, and faithful, and pious course. He gave him favour in the king's mind. He raised him to the highest honours that could be given him. He made him as great a man as the king himself was. At last, the land was visited with a great famine. Then the brethren of Joseph, who had sold him, came down to Egypt to buy corn and carry it back to their father in the land of Canaan. At first they did not know him. They took him to be the king of the country. So they bowed themselves to the earth before him, as Joseph had dreamed their sheaves had done. But after awhile, Joseph made himself known to them. Then were they greatly troubled and seemed afraid to come into his presence. But Joseph said to them "be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me hither, for God did send me hither to preserve life." Then Joseph sent up waggons, and mules, and chariots, and servants, to bring down his aged and care-worn father. So they all came down to the land of Egypt and lived there. And Joseph was very happy, and his father, and all his brethren. Thus they lived for many years. At last Joseph died and all the Egyptians mourned for him many days. Joseph was a servant, who in all things obeyed his masters, "not with eye-service but with singleness of heart, fearing God." Here then is the pattern of a holy life of one who was once a servant as you now are. Copy this pattern, and who shall say that God will not bless you too?

There was another good old man of those times whose name was Elisha. He had a servant whose name was Gehazi. One day, a great and proud nobleman, came from a

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distant country, and stood before the door of the prophet Elisha and asked him to cure him of his leprosy,-a dreadful disease which the physicians could not cure. Elisha told him to go and dip himself seven times in the river Jordan. He went and dipped and came forth cured of his leprosy. Then the nobleman offered to pay Elisha in gold and silver. But the man of God would not take it. So he set off again for his own country. And, as he was driving away in his Chariot, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, ran after him and stopped him in the way and said to him; my master hath sent me, saying, there are two young men of the prophets come, give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver and two changes of garments." And the nobleman gave them to him, aud he took them and hid them in his house. In all this Gehazi committed great sin. He was guilty both of lying and of stealing. But he could not hide it from his master Elisha. The moment he came into his presence Elisha said, where have you been Gehazi? And he answered "thy servant went no where?" But God had revealed it to Elisha, and he turned to Gehazi and said "the leprosy of Naaman (the nobleman) shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed (or children) for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper white as snow." Here now is the example of an unfaithful and dishonest servant which you should carefully avoid. If you shall do as Gehazi did, who can say but that God may visit you with some heavy punishment in this world, and with everlasting misery in the world to come?

But of all the examples set before you to copy, the best and holiest is that you have in the life of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He too was a servant-yes, the servant of servants. He was born like a servant.