tent force. Of course he was wrong, of
course there is no logical connection between what the master allowed
in the Syrian general and the great lie Gehazi told. And yet there was
a sort of ghastly logic in this poor wretch's procedure. There are
many commandments. But duty is one thing, and if you weaken a man's
sense of duty by breaking one commandment yourself, you must not be
surprised if you find him breaking another commandment later on.
Gehazi was cured of the leprosy of Naaman. The prophet's angry word
was not countersigned on high, and one hopes that he also shook off by
God's assisting grace the ill-effects of Elisha's complacency. For the
greater danger lay in _that_. And does it not still lie there?

Our young people, our children, our servants that minister to our
comfort, our assistants and clerks that multiply our personal
activities and help to build up our fortunes, is there no danger to
their spiritual life in being exposed as they are to the spiritual
influences which we give off every hour? They see the cavalcades of
wealth, they gaze at the ingots of gold and the great white silver
bars; they look with longing eyes at the silks with colours that come
and go like the iris on the dove's neck. The luxuries of meat and
drink appeal to them. The temptation to live for these things assaults
them.

And what help does Gehazi get from Elisha to-day? What help do young
men in offices and shops get from masters and heads of departments?
What help do servants in London homes get from the daily examples of
mistresses? What are the inferences drawn in the kitchen from things
heard and seen in the dining or drawing-room? and what in the nursery?
Does a young man who sees to the very core of your business say to
himself, "The master's profession of religion is hypocrisy--_all_
religion is hypocrisy?" Then may God help him, for he is smitten with
the leprosy of Elisha; and may God help you, for it is a sorry business
to evangelise Asiatics and send your own servants forth from your
presence lepers white as snow.

Let every master and mistress pray, "_Search me, O God, and know my
heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there is any way of
wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting_."

HAZAEL

BY REV. J. G. GREENHOUGH, M.A.

"But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great
thing?"--2 KINGS viii. 13.

Hazael was the chief minister and prime favourite of Be