But, my friend, beware of this! This was the religion of the Pharisees and the infidel Sadducees, and of Saul of Tarsus, previous to his conversion. What a miserable system of religion must that be which excludes Christ as a divine Savior! Without warmth, without light, without life!
THE BEST FRIEND
Prov. 18: 24.-"A man that hath friends must show himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."
Friendship is a blessing which we can not too highly appreciate. God has made us social beings, capable both of participating of the kindness of others and of communicating, by acts of kindness and affection, toward the happiness of others. And we are in a world of woes, where we need and where there is common and constant need of the exercise of this spirit. He that hath friends, then, let him "show himself friendly." That is, let him be and act in such a way as not to be unworthy of the affection and confidence of his friends. Let him maintain a spirit of ingenuousness and integrity which is so worthy of the man and of the Christian; let him cherish a spirit of tender regard for the comfort of others; and let him extend the kind hand of relief to those who are in want, whether in a temporal or spiritual sense-let him "show himself friendly." Friendship should be mutual, and thus shall it be continued and extended in its sweet and blessed effects.
"There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." This may be considered (literally) as a reason, to show how greatly we should appreciate the blessings
