her guests. And our Lord heard the wail of poor Bartimaeus! That lone,
sorrowful cry pierced the clamour, "and Jesus stood still." My soul, cry
to Him! "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by."

And Bartimaeus knew what he wanted. He merged all his petitions in one.
"Lord, that I might receive my sight!" And let me, too, come to my Saviour
with some great, dominant, all-commanding request. I trifle with my
Master. I ask Him for toys, for petty things, while all the time He is
waiting to give me "unsearchable wealth," "sight, riches, healing of the
mind." "The Lord is great"; and shall I add, "and greatly to be _prayed_!"

And how delicately gracious it is that our Lord should attribute the
miracle to Bartimaeus himself. "_Thy faith hath made thee whole!_" As
though the Lord had had no share in the ministry! He makes so much of our
faith, and our endeavour, and our obedience. "If ye had faith as a grain
of mustard-seed!" That's all He wants, and miracles are accomplished.

MAY The Twenty-first

_HUMAN FRAILTIES_

ISAIAH xlii. 1-7.

What a winsome revelation of the delicate gentleness of the Lord! "The
bruised reed"--is it the impaired musical reed, that cannot now emit a
musical sound, and can only be thrown away? He will not snap it and cast
it to the void. The discordant life can be made tuneful again: He will put
"a new song in my mouth."

"And the smoking flax"--the life that has lost its fire, and therefore its
light, its enthusiasm, and therefore its ideals; the life that is
smouldering into the cold ashes of moral and spiritual death! He will not
stamp it out with His foot. The smouldering fire can be rekindled, a spent
enthusiasm can be revived. "He shall baptize you ... with fire!"

And so He comes to minister to the infirm. He comes to restore injured
faculty; "_to open blind eyes_." He comes to give vision to restored
sight: "_to be a light of the Gentiles_." And He comes to endow the
restored life with a rich and gracious freedom: "_to bring out the
prisoners from the prison_." Sight, and light, and freedom! And my Lord is
at the gate, and these gifts are in His hand.

MAY The Twenty-second

_THE LIGHT AS DARKNESS_

MATTHEW xiii. 10-17.

The condition of the heart determines the quality of my discernment. If
"the heart is waxed gross," the ears will be "dull of hearing," and the
eyes will be "closed." My spiritual senses gain their acuteness or
obtuseness from my affections. If my love is