Responsive Reading: Psalm 51 : 6, 7, 10, 15-17   •   Psalm 19 : 14

6.     Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

7.     Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

10.     Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

15.     O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

16.     For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17.     The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

14.     Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

1. Deuteronomy 10 : 12, 13

12     And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

13     To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

2. Psalm 86 : 11, 12

11     Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

12     I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

3. Deuteronomy 30 : 6

6     And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

4. Jeremiah 29 : 11-14 (to :)

11     For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

12     Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

13     And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

14     And I will be found of you, saith the Lord:

5. Matthew 4 : 17

17     From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

6. Matthew 5 : 1, 2, 8, 16-20

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

2     And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

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

16     Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

17     Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18     For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19     Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20     For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

7. Matthew 19 : 16-30

16     And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

17     And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

18     He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

19     Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20     The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

21     Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

22     But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

23     Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24     And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

25     When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

26     But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

27     Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

28     And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29     And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

30     But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

8. Matthew 26 : 17-20, 26, 27, 29

17     Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?

18     And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

19     And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.

20     Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.

26     And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

27     And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

29     But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

9. Romans 16 : 24

24     The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

1. 18 : 3-12

Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage. His mission was both individual and collective. He did life's work aright not only in justice to himself, but in mercy to mortals, — to show them how to do theirs, but not to do it for them nor to relieve them of a single responsibility. Jesus acted boldly, against the accredited evidence of the senses, against Pharisaical creeds and practices, and he refuted all opponents with his healing power.

2. 32 : 28-10

The Passover, which Jesus ate with his disciples in the month Nisan on the night before his crucifixion, was a mournful occasion, a sad supper taken at the close of day, in the twilight of a glorious career with shadows fast falling around; and this supper closed forever Jesus' ritualism or concessions to matter.

His followers, sorrowful and silent, anticipating the hour of their Master's betrayal, partook of the heavenly manna, which of old had fed in the wilderness the persecuted followers of Truth. Their bread indeed came down from heaven. It was the great truth of spiritual being, healing the sick and casting out error. Their Master had explained it all before, and now this bread was feeding and sustaining them.

3. 33 : 13-17

For this truth of spiritual being, their Master was about to suffer violence and drain to the dregs his cup of sorrow. He must leave them. With the great glory of an everlasting victory overshadowing him, he gave thanks and said, "Drink ye all of it."

4. 25 : 13-16, 22-32

Jesus taught the way of Life by demonstration, that we may understand how this divine Principle heals the sick, casts out error, and triumphs over death.

Though demonstrating his control over sin and disease, the great Teacher by no means relieved others from giving the requisite proofs of their own piety. He worked for their guidance, that they might demonstrate this power as he did and understand its divine Principle. Implicit faith in the Teacher and all the emotional love we can bestow on him, will never alone make us imitators of him. We must go and do likewise, else we are not improving the great blessings which our Master worked and suffered to bestow upon us. The divinity of the Christ was made manifest in the humanity of Jesus.

5. 4 : 27-2

Audible prayer can never do the works of spiritual understanding, which regenerates; but silent prayer, watchfulness, and devout obedience enable us to follow Jesus' example. Long prayers, superstition, and creeds clip the strong pinions of love, and clothe religion in human forms. Whatever materializes worship hinders man's spiritual growth and keeps him from demonstrating his power over error.

6. 3 : 32-11

While the heart is far from divine Truth and Love, we cannot conceal the ingratitude of barren lives.

What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds. To keep the commandments of our Master and follow his example, is our proper debt to him and the only worthy evidence of our gratitude for all that he has done. Outward worship is not of itself sufficient to express loyal and heartfelt gratitude, since he has said: "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

7. 8 : 1-9, 28-30

A wordy prayer may afford a quiet sense of self-justification, though it makes the sinner a hypocrite. We never need to despair of an honest heart; but there is little hope for those who come only spasmodically face to face with their wickedness and then seek to hide it. Their prayers are indexes which do not correspond with their character. They hold secret fellowship with sin, and such externals are spoken of by Jesus as "like unto whited sepulchres ... full ... of all uncleanness."

We should examine ourselves and learn what is the affection and purpose of the heart, for in this way only can we learn what we honestly are.

8. 13 : 5-12, 15 (God)-16

In public prayer we often go beyond our convictions, beyond the honest standpoint of fervent desire. If we are not secretly yearning and openly striving for the accomplishment of all we ask, our prayers are "vain repetitions," such as the heathen use. If our petitions are sincere, we labor for what we ask; and our Father, who seeth in secret, will reward us openly. … God knows our need before we tell Him or our fellow-beings about it.

9. 11 : 29 (prayer)-32 (to 2nd .)

…prayer, coupled with a fervent habitual desire to know and do the will of God, will bring us into all Truth. Such a desire has little need of audible expression. It is best expressed in thought and in life.

10. 15 : 7-9, 21-24

The Father in secret is unseen to the physical senses, but He knows all things and rewards according to motives, not according to speech.

Such prayer is answered, in so far as we put our desires into practice. The Master's injunction is, that we pray in secret and let our lives attest our sincerity.

11. 37 : 20-31

May the Christians of to-day take up the more practical import of that career! It is possible, — yea, it is the duty and privilege of every child, man, and woman, — to follow in some degree the example of the Master by the demonstration of Truth and Life, of health and holiness. Christians claim to be his followers, but do they follow him in the way that he commanded? Hear these imperative commands: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect!" "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature!" "Heal the sick!"

12. 34 : 10-17

If all who ever partook of the sacrament had really commemorated the sufferings of Jesus and drunk of his cup, they would have revolutionized the world. If all who seek his commemoration through material symbols will take up the cross, heal the sick, cast out evils, and preach Christ, or Truth, to the poor, — the receptive thought, — they will bring in the millennium.