righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rere-ward. CHAP. XXXI. FIDELITY. A faithful man shall abound with blessings. The Lord preserveth the faithful. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land. It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. A faithful man who can find? There is no faithfulness in their mouth. Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother? Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. CHAP. XXXII. FLOOD. God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The earth also was corrupt before God; and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence: and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark. And behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven: and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant: and thou shalt come into the ark; thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shall thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him. It came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the sixth hundreth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. All flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man. And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged ; the fountains also of the deep, and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; and the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass, in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. Noah builded an alter unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth: neither will I again smite any more every living thing which I have done. While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. CHAP. XXXIII. FORGIVENESS. FORGIVE, and ye shall be forgiven. If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. He that covereth a transgression seeketh love. The discretion of a man deferreth his anger: and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. His lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee? and his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. They stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. When they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him and the malefactors. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. CHAP. XXXIV. FORTITUDE. SAY to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Jesus Christ. Let us hold fast our profession. Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong, Therefore and shew thyself a man. Stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ. Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and |