exercise of Omnipotent love but unbelief. And hear the father's delighted cry. How natural it all is! He has been told that it depends on something in himself, and in the passion of his joy, without staying to reflect, he cries, Lord, "I do believe ;" and then, as the recollection of all his doubts crosses his mind, he adds the prayer, "Help Thou mine unbelief;" and his end was gained his boy was cured. But turn to the disciples. What shame they must have felt! What it was that had shaken their faith, we can only conjecture. Perhaps they had suffered from their Master's absence, or opposition was too strong for them without the impetuous Peter and the "Sons of Thunder ;" or it may be the depressing effect of Christ's prediction of His death s. Mark had been too great a strain on their confidence. But whatever the reason, they had experienced a defeat; the cause of Christ had been imperilled, and but for His timely intervention, the triumph of Satan and his allies would have been complete. And then He told them, in answer to their inquiry as to the reason of their failure-and they were remembered words for years,-"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." There is nothing too hard for the man who asks in faith; even the very mountains, as the viii. 31. S. Matt xvii. 20. Bava Bathra, 3 b. Rabbis say, may be uprooted, and cast into the midst of the sea, if the word be spoken by him who never doubts the Omnipotence of God. But let our closing thoughts revert to the contrast which we dwelt upon at the beginning; and let us learn from the Christian painter the simplest but the most instructive lesson that this page of sacred history or any other can ever teach. In Raphael's great picture of the Transfiguration we may see at a glance all that we wish to impress upon the mind. The upper part-the mountain top-is a scene of transcendent peace; in the lower, divided from it by a simple belt of clouds, the demoniac boy is the representative of the sin and confusion that is turning the world upside down. And what is it that makes the contrast? Surely it is nothing else than that which makes it in our own heart and life, whether it be sunshine or gloom-unfailing happiness or constant discontent-it is the presence, or the absence, of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. NOTES. 1 The power of Satan as the author of physical as well as moral evil is indicated frequently in Holy Scripture: e.g. Job ii. 7Satan smote Job with boils; S. Luke xiii. 16-Satan bound the daughter of Abraham with a spirit of infirmity; 1 Cor. v. 5- The incestuous sinner is delivered over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. 2 Cf. vol. i. 171 n. 3 If πιTEûσαι be omitted, as in the Sinaitic and Vatican Mss., then, though the sense remains the same, it must be differently interpreted, viz., Jesus said to him, "Do you use the expression 'If Thou canst '?-why, all things are possible to the man who believes." 4 kai vηoteíą are omitted in Sin. and Vat. MSS. XLIII. The Jealousy of the Apostles. S. MARK IX. 30-41. 30. And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and He would not that any man should know it. 31. For He taught His disciples, and said unto them, The Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; and after that He is killed, He shall rise the third day. 32. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask Him. 33. And He came to Capernaum: and being in the house He asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34. But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35. And He sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36. And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them and when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, 37. Whosoever shall receive one of such children in My Name, receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me. 38. And John answered Him, say. ing, Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy Name, and he followeth not us and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. 39. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in My Name, that can lightly speak evil of Me. 40. For he that is not against us is on our part. 41. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in My Name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. AFTER leaving the scene of the Transfiguration, our Lord turned southwards, and went to and fro1 through the northern parts of Galilee. He desired to avoid publicity, so would probably leave the main roads, and turn aside to by-paths through woods and fields. "He would not that any should know it, for He taught His disciples;" rather it should be, "He was teaching" them. He had a lesson to impress upon their minds which required both time and freedom from distraction; He had to prepare them for His Death, and the failure of their earthly hopes and aspirations. From time to time He had given hints of what was coming. On the eve of the Transfiguration He had spoken with such clearness that the chief of their number had been offended at His words, and now He emphasises it by repetition. But their minds were so set upon earthly things, and their hopes so circumscribed, that the announcement of coming shame was entirely eclipsed by the predictions of glory, and they could think only of the latter, and that, according to their own carnal conceptions. So it was that, forgetting what He had said about suffering and death, or allowing it only as a passing cloud to overshadow their spirits for a moment, they thought that the kingdom was near at hand. It was associated in their minds with places of honour and distinction, and they began to speculate on their respective claims. The promise to S. Peter had no doubt excited the jealousy of some of them; and it may be |