39 And he gpake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind ? ■hall they not both fall into the ditch ?
40 The disciple is not above his mas- ter : but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but per- ceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye ?
42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye ? Thou hypocrite, oast out first tne beam out oi thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull
out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit ; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
46 A good man out of the good trea- sure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good ; and an evil man out of the eril treasure of his heart bring- eth forth that which is evil : for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
We learn, in the first place, from these verses, the great danger of Hatening to fahe teachers in religion. Our Lord compares such teachers and their hearers to the blind leading the blind, and asks the reasonable question, " Shall they not both fall into the ditch P " He goes on to confirm the importance of His warning by declaring, that ''the disciple is not above his master," and the scholar cannot be expected to know more than his teacher. If a man will hear unsound instruction, we cannot expect him to become otherwise than unsound in the faith himself.
The subject which our Lord brings before us here de- serves far more attention than it generally receives. The amount of evil which unsound religious teaching has