Christ might have been said to come to punish those who rejected him; and this is clearly the event he here refers to the same event is called "the coming of the Son of man in Matt. xxiv. 27.

27. In darkness.-In private.

:

Upon the housetops. In the most public manner. The houses had flat tops, which were much used.

29. Without your Father.-Without his knowledge and permission.

32. Shall confess me.-Shall not be ashamed or afraid to own that he is my disciple.

34. To send peace.-Christ came indeed, as the Prince of Peace, to reconcile men to God, and to teach them to love one another; but through man's wickedness, the very Gospel of peace becomes the cause of derision and discord.

38. Taketh not his cross.-Is not willing to meet with any difficulties or opposition, rather than forsake me.

39. Findeth his life. He that gains life by denying me, shall lose eternal life.

41. In the name of a prophet.-Because he is a prophet; and from love and respect to him on that account.

42. These little ones.-]
-Even the least of my disciples.

SUMMARY.

Our Lord forewarns his apostles that they would meet with trials and persecutions; but promises them his presence and help, declaring the blessedness of those who should show themselves to be on his side.

LESSONS.

I. We must expect difficulties and trials in this world if we follow Christ. V. 16-22. (2 Tim. iii. 11, 12.)

II. It will be a great consolation to the suffering Christian to feel that he is only bearing what his Master bore before him. V. 24, 25. (1 Peter iv. 12-14.)

III. Another comfort will be to look forward to another world, where all things will be set right. V. 26-28. (2 Cor. iv. 17, 18.)

IV. In this world the disciple of Christ will be cheered by the thought that his Father knows and directs every thing that concerns him. V. 29-31. (Matt. vi. 32.).

V. Those who would follow Christ, must follow him at all hazards. V. 37-39. (Acts xx. 24. 2 Cor. vi. 8.) ༄། "

2

VI. It is a happy thing to be found loving those whom God loves. V. 40-42. (1 John iv. 6.)nd) sola senso

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.

DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.

MARK VI. 14-29.

(See also Matt. xiv. 1-12. and Luke ix. 7-9.)

14. King Herod.-Herod the Tetrarch; he had not properly the title of king, though it might sometimes be given him by his courtiers. He, with Archelaus and Philip, were the three surviving sons of King Herod, (commonly called the great,) and had his dominions divided between them: Herod's portion was Galilee. The force of conscience was very remarkable in his case, as there is reason to believe that he was a Sadducee, and therefore professed to believe that there was no resurrection of the dead.

15. It is Elias-Elijah. (Mal. iv. 5.)

17. Herodias' sake.-Herod was before married to the daughter of Aretas; and both his former wife and his brother were still living, so that his crime was one of no ordinary magnitude, for this John had boldly and faithfully rebuked him.

22. Whatsoever thou wilt.-(Compare Esther vi. 3—6.) It was a most rash promise to make, especially on so foolish an occasion, though he little thought to what a wicked purpose it would be used; it may have been given under the influence of wine.

25. A charger.-Or large dish.

26. Exceeding sorry.-There had been many struggles going on in his own mind before, and he had refused all the solicitations of Herodias to put John to death: and now both his own conscience and fear of the people, made him unwilling to do it; but, led chiefly by pride, and not being able to bear the thought that his lords should see him break the promise he had just given, he committed the far greater crime of murdering the servant of the Lord.

27. Sent an executioner.-There was no law there, as in our own happy country, making it necessary for the person accused to be tried and found guilty, before any one could punish him.

28. To her mother.-Who is said to have treated it with indignity. Thus did revenge so overpower all the gentler feelings of a woman's nature, as to make her more savage than a beast.

SUMMARY.

Herod, being rebuked by John the Baptist for marrying Herodias, his brother's wife, shut him up in prison, though he had before listened attentively to his preaching. Being pleased with the daughter of Herodias when she danced before him, he promised to give her whatever she asked; and, at her mother's suggestion, she asked for the head of John the Baptist, who was put to death immediately.

LESSONS.

I. A guilty conscience will make a man uneasy. V. 14. (Gen. xlii. 21, 22.)

II. Reproof tries a man's character; the wise will be thankful for it, but the wicked often made angry. V. 17. (Psalm cxli. 5. Prov. ix. 8.)

III. The wicked hate the righteous, especially when they interfere with the course of their sins. V. 19. (Ps. xxxvii. 12.)

IV. A man may seem to go very far in listening to God's word, and even obeying it, and yet prove a reprobate at last. V. 20. (Acts xxiv. 25.)

V. Worldly rejoicing and feasting often end in trouble. V. 21. (Dan. v. 1-6.)

VI. We should be very careful in making a promise. V. 22, 23. (Eccles. v. 4, 5.)

VII. Evil passions debase and degrade the nature of man. V. 24-28. (Jude 10. James i. 14, 15.)

VIII. How thankful may we be for the equal laws and good government of our own favoured country! V. 27.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE.

THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT.

ONE of the most picturesque, and at the same time deeply interesting scenes, is the valley of Jehoshaphat, viewed from the brow of the hill descending from the high places of Tophet. There is a magnificence in its outlining which lives in the memory. It cannot be forgotten. The bed of the brook Kedron lies along the lowest part of it; and on either side-fig, olive, and pomegranates cast a lovely shade, while gardens of melons and cucumbers give an idea of fresh luxuriance. On either side of the valley, the heights are terraced, and in some places slightly cultivated; and the breadth of the valley is very bold and striking. Independent of all the heart-stirring associations which Scripture narrative gives rise to, the valley of Jehoshaphat, viewed from south to north, on the east. side of the city, is a scene in which a gifted painter would luxuriate. On the right slope hangs the almost ruined village of Siloam. On the left, Ophel, Zion, and Mount Moriah, shewing the noble site of the temple-full in the foreground of the picture-magnificently. Passing off again to the right, the eye rests upon the Mount of Olives, with its twofold ridge; and then, glancing downwards and

along the shady bed of the valley, the view is terminated by the ridges of hills northward of the city. The sun was getting low when I first saw the valley of Jehoshaphat from the point of view to which I have referred; and the deepened and lengthened shadows, with the rich tintings of the sun, gave an indescribable lustre to it. It was a truly noble landscape.

The Mahommedans have a belief, that the Prophet will sit in judgment at the last day, and that the valley of Jehoshaphat will be the scene of that transaction. Projecting from the wall, above the golden gate, towards the valley, is a large stone, which, according to general Musselman tradition, will be the seat of judgment. This notion may somehow have arisen out of a perverted view of those remarkable passages in the prophet Joel. "For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land........ Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." (Joel iii. 1, 2, 12—16.) With a recollection of such passages as these in his mind-as yet unfulfilled by any events now on record, there is a deep and solemn interest attaching itself to every part of this noble valley. Whatever may be the full scope of the prophecy -it is evidently to be the scene of one of Jehovah's most signal interventions on behalf of his people. It was, indeed, with an awed mind that I walked in the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I felt God had indeed been—in fulfilment of prophecy-and there I was assured he will again manifest himself in the triumphs of his grace. And in this consideration lies much of the interest which one feels while sojourning in Jerusalem. One line of prophecy has terminated there; and others, yet in the womb of time, are rapidly tending to the same point. What a concentration of vast interest, then, is at this moment overhanging every hair-breadth of that wondrous and mysterious spot of the earth.-Fisk's Memorial of the Holy Land.

PRESENT STATE OF SAMARIA.

THE prophecy concerning Samaria is most distinct, and its fulfilment has been exact. I wish an infidel could have stood with me and compared the present state of Samaria-even in minute particulars, with the prophecy of Micah which I read on the spot.* "The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is; and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem? Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof." Though Israel's monarchs there swayed the sceptre-though there Herod reigned and revelled-though pomp and splendour and the glory of this world there shone and dazzled the thousands of Israel-yet, Samaria is a desolation. The sceptres are brokenthe revel is hushed-the splendour has faded-Samaria is as an heap of the field, and as the plantings of vineyard; her stones have been literally poured down into the valley-her foundations have been indeed discovered-and there they now lie; while from every heap and from every fragment there goes forth as it were a testimony, which cannot be silenced, to the righteous severity of an angry God.-Ibid.

CHURCH SERVICE.

PARAPHRASE OF THE MAGNIFICAT.

1. O PRAISE the Lord with me, all ye that behold his inexpressible goodness, which hath exalted my affections, and filled MY SOUL with such glorious apprehensions, that with all its powers it DOTH MAGNIFY and set forth the admirable greatness of THE LORD; my mind also AND MY SPIRIT ravished with the contemplation of *Micah i. 1-6.