he is yet to do. "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands." Ps. cxliii. 5. How is it that ye do not understand? -Surely this word of expostulation may well be addressed to us also, so far as we are deficient in spiritual knowledge and wisdom. Such want arises, not from any defect in divine teaching, but from our own carelessness and dulness. How great are the patience and goodness of God, who gives us line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little, in order to instruct us in the things that belong unto our peace! Let us thankfully and wisely make use of this instruction while we have it. He bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.False doctrine, and error in opinion or judgment in matters of religion, is not a matter of indifference. Our belief has great influence on our practice; and we are responsible for what we believe as well as for what we do. When God gives us means of ascertaining truth and avoiding error, it is as much our duty to do so as it is to perform what is good and depart from evil.— Doctrine is like leaven; it spreads through the soul, and imparts to it a certain quality. The doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.-Spiritual pride, hypocrisy, superstition and pretences of devotion, together with a desire of tyrannising over men's consciences, were the distinguish ing marks of the Pharisee ;-intellectual pride and worldly-mindedness, with scepticism veiled under an appearance of candour, were the peculiar sins of the Sadducee. "In our age, we may reckon atheism and deism to be the leaven of the Sadducees, and Popery to be the leaven of the Pharisees, against both which it concerns all Christians to stand upon their guard." And we should fortify ourselves against these evils, not only in their extremes, and their gross developements, but even in their more plausible and moderate forms. Pseudo-rationalism, or false philosophy, on the one hand, and ultra high-churchmanship, or blind deference to supposed authority and fabulous tradition, on the other, are the Scylla and Charybdis of our times. HYMN. God is a spirit, just and wise, He sees our inmost mind; In vain to heaven we raise our cries, And leave our souls behind. Nothing but truth before his throne With honour can appear; The painted hypocrites are known Through the disguise they wear. Their lifted eyes salute the skies, Their bended knees the ground; But God abhors the sacrifice Where not the heart is found. Lord, search my thoughts, and try my ways, WATTS. the wilderness. And so we may para- | And this event was witnessed by phrase the words of our Saviour's reply (with Baxter) in the following manner, I say to thee, as I said to the Devil when he tempted me, get thee behind me; for thou doest the work of Satan the adversary, in tempting me, for self-preservation, to violate my Father's command and my undertaking, and to forsake the work of man's redemption and salvation.' Again, How are we to understand the last verse, in which our Saviour says, 'There be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom?'-Some suppose that our Saviour here refers to the publication of the Gospel after his ascension and the day of Pentecost, when his spiritual kingdom began to be set up in the world, by the accession of believers to the church. But we may observe that the promise is, not so much concerning the coming of the kingdom of Christ, as concerning the coming of Christ himself in his kingdom; and not only so, but, if this had been the sense of our Saviour's declaration, it would have been applicable to all the Apostles (except Judas), and probably to almost all the bystanders, not merely to some of them.-Others understand by 'the Son of man coming in his kingdom' the overthrow of Jerusalem, which was a remarkable display of Christ's power and the truth of his predictions, the removal of an obstacle to the progress of the Gospel, and a remarkable type of the awful day of judgment. only a few of those who were present when our Lord delivered the address here recorded.-But there is a fact which points to another, and perhaps a better, interpretation of this passage. In all the gospels in which this prediction is recorded, it is immediately followed by the narrative of our Lord's transfiguration in presence of three of his apostles; and hence it has been concluded, with strong reason, that this is the event to which the promise refers. The transfiguration was an actual and visible display of our Lord's kingly majesty and power,—and it is probable that he appeared, on that occasion, to some of his disciples, in the same glorious form which he will hereafter wear when he will come with clouds, "and every eye shall see him." In the twenty-seventh verse our Saviour makes a solemn declaration of his future coming to judgment; and then, in the next verse, that he would ever give a view of himself, as he will appear under these circumstances of awful glory, to some persons present, during their life-time. READER. From that time Jesus began to show unto his disciples.Observe the union of tenderness and wisdom which was displayed in the teaching of our blessed Lord. When his disciples had become fully convinced of his being the Messiah, and were prepared to unite in that confession of which we have just read, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,'-then did their gracious master impart to them some intimations of his future sufferings, and of the difficulties which they must themselves be prepared to encounter. But even then they were not able to endure a full view of all these sufferings and difficulties; and it is said that Jesus only began to shew them: he gave them light and knowledge as they were able to bear it. Let us rest satisfied that the truths revealed in Scripture are set forth to us in due manner and proportion, such as is best adapted to our state and circumstances. Doubtless, the more we study the sacred record with humble and pious minds, the greater will be the amount of truth imparted to us; but if there be limits to the knowledge which even the most devout and learned can derive from this sacred source, let it be remembered that the author of the inspired volume has consulted our best interests as well in the measure, as in the kind and substance, of the truths which he has been pleased to place within our reach. He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things.-How can we rightly understand the force of that word must! It was a necessity laid upon him by his own holy will, his love for fallen man, his faithfulness to his gracious undertaking on our behalf. "Thus it behoved Christ to suffer." "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?"And suffer many things. The sufferings of our blessed Lord were not confined to the awful scenes of Gethsemane and Calvary. Far from it. He "endured the contradiction of sinners against himself" throughout the whole period of his ministry, not to mention other sources of pain and sorrow to which he graciously submitted. How large is the amount of "the unknown sufferings " of Christ none can tell. It pleased the Father to bruise him and to put him to grief; and in "bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." May the good pleasure of the Lord-with respect to ourselves prosper in his hands.-But who were they from whom the Lord of life and glory received, for the most part, this unworthy treatment? They were The elders and chief priests and scribes, the very men who ought to have been foremost in receiving him with honour,-and who would have given him this welcome if they had been faithful to their religious light and privileges. But, as Quesnel truly observes in his note on this passage, Christ is usually persecuted by three classes of men, whose types or patterns may be found in the elders, the chiefpriests, and the scribes,-namely, by "rich men, who have their portion in this life; ambitious and covetous ecclesiastics, who seek their portion in this life; and conceited scholars, who set up their wisdom against the wisdom of God, being more intent on criticising words than in providing for the salvation of their souls."— Holy Scripture is a faithful record of the wickedness of man and the evil of sin, as well as of the goodness and and it is more than possible that an evil agent was working upon this ignorance, or self-love, or both, and was beginning to employ Peter in presenting some powerful temptation to the blessed Jesus, with a view to divert him, if possible from his great and glorious work. mercy of God. How many times while reading it do we feel ourselves constrained to pray, "From all blindness of heart; from pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness, Good Lord deliver us!" It is better to be quickened to such prayers for ourselves, than to indulge in a self--Some there are who say to Christ, complacent or censorious spirit, when we read of the doings of the elders, and chief-priests, and scribes. Then Peter took him,-caught up his words and took him to task,-and began to rebuke him. Evil counsel is sometimes conveyed to us by the agency of our best friends. We should consider not only who gives us advice, but what is the advice given, -how far it is consistent with the known will of God concerning us. The weakness and disgrace of Peter on this occasion, recorded immediately after our Saviour's declaration in his favour, appears as if designed by the Holy Spirit to serve as a corrective and refutation of the extravagant honour assigned to him by unscriptural ages and sections of the church. Let us beware of giving to men any share of that honour, or ascribing to them any measure of that authority, which belongs only to Christ himself. The words of St. Peter were plausible; we find him in his Gospel, the same thing, in effect, as that which St. Peter said to him in person. They will not believe that Christ saves men by his death and sufferings; that the innocent Jesus became a substitute for the guilty;-that his death was, in the true sense of the expression, a sacrifice and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. They say, That be far from thee, Lord! But let us rather say "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world!" "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!"— Observe the manner in which Jesus received the Apostle's observation; He turned and said unto Peter, get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offence unto me. We may learn, from our Saviour's example on this occasion, that no regard for men's persons should induce us to deceive or flattter them by giving a false and smooth name to their sins, or by withholding faithful rebuke when their conduct deserves it.-But what was the advice which our Lord thus indignantly rejected? It was counsel to spare himself. He would not for a moment listen to such pro Saying, Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee.-Perhaps this was the dictate of ignorance, combined with a sincere affection for his master; perhaps it was, more or less, the expression of his own self-posal, or entertain such a thought. love, and a desire to share with Christ He was too earnestly intent upon the in temporal prosperity and glory; great work of man's redemption,— too zealously desirous of fulfilling the task which had been assigned to him,-too hearty in his concurrence with the will of the Father, to be induced even to listen to a word of contrary tendency. How great and persevering was the Redeemer's love! How clear his perception of the value of men's souls, and of the blessings of redemption ! ment to contemplate the blessed Redeemer going before us in the way of duty and of suffering. Let us cheerfully resolve, in dependance upon divine grace, to "take his easy yoke and light burden upon us, to follow him in lowliness, patience, and charity, and be ordered by the governance of his Holy Spirit ; seek ing always his glory, and serving him daily in our vocation with Then said Jesus unto his disciples, with a view to correct their | thanksgiving." self-will, and desire of self-indul- For whosoever will save his life, gence and self-exaltation,-If any whosoever is so bent upon the man will i. e. be willing to come after possession and enjoyment of things me,-to be, and to be regarded as present and temporal, upon the my true disciple and follower,-let safety and gratification of self, as him deny himself.-We must not set to be ready to to be ready to sacrifice every up or obey our own will and plea- other consideration to this objectsure in opposition to God's will, or shall lose it, he will fail to ateven without reference to it, but, tain the very end which he has on the contrary, obey his will in so anxiously in view, namely, his preference to our own, consult his own happiness and welfare. Our demands, rather than our own plea- happiness is really to be found sure, and submit to the teaching in God alone, through Christ; to of his wisdom rather than lean to him we must go, for he only has the our own understanding.-And take words of eternal life. And whosoup his cross. We must patiently sub- ever will lose his life for my sake,— mit to those sufferings which God whoever regards the will of his in his providence may lay upon us, God and Saviour as supreme, and and endure in the spirit of meek- is ready to treat every thing as ness whatever may be contrary to subordinate to the obtaining of our own inclinations or desires - his favour, renouncing, if need be, not, indeed, make the cross for even his apparent interest and preourselves, but take it up-bear it sent gratification, rather than viowith humility and patience, when | late a command, or neglect plain and it is prepared for us, and this not positive duty, shall find it, this only in case of the more great and man shall indeed obtain a "blessing grievous calamities to which we from the Lord, and righteousness may be exposed, but with regard to from the God of his salvation.”. the daily vexations, burdens, and How powerful an argument to conprovocations of common life.-And strain us to the holy love of God, follow me. It is a great encourage- and devoted obedience to his blessed |