defective knowledge
errors must sometimes be committed, better far that now and then a
shilling should be lost, by falling into unworthy hands, than that our
hearts should be drained of their compassion and dried hard by the habit
of seeing human suffering and leaving it unrelieved. "A man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth;" it
is better that his abundance should be diminished, by an occasional
excess of disbursement, than that love, in which his life really lies,
should wither in his breast for want of exercise. "The milk of human
kindness" this compassion has been called; but let us remember that if
no needy child is permitted to draw it, this milk will soon cease to
flow.

XVIII.

THE FRIEND AT MIDNIGHT.

"And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go
unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three
loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I
have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and
say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with
me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he
will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of
his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And
I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that
asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened."--LUKE xi. 5-10.

In prayer, as in every other department of his ministry, the Lord Jesus
gave his disciples both example and precept: he prayed in their
presence, and taught them to pray. The order of events at the beginning
of this chapter is worthy of notice: it was the Lord's praying that led
to the Lord's Prayer. The disciples heard their Master praying, and
requested him to teach them also to pray: in reply he imparted to them
the brief germinal directory which the Church has been living on ever
since, and which the Church will live on till her Redeemer come again.

"As he was praying in a certain place;"--the scene here presented is
sublime and mysterious. The Son of man--the Son of God in our nature, is
praying to the Father, and his followers are standing near. Silently,
reverently they look and listen. They bate their breath till the prayer
is done, and then eag