"The

Our Lord, who knew what was in man, saw well the state of this scribe's mind, and how he needed to be dealt with, in order to bring him to sober consideration. Instead of praising his zeal, and urging him forward, he suggests to him matter of deep and serious reflection; instead of a flattering view of the advantages, he gives him a faithful representation of the difficulties, which lay before him; instead of keeping his eye fixed on the bright side of the cloud, he bids him look also at the dark. "He said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests:" even the wildest animals have their places of resort. There are holes for foxes and other burrowing animals, and there are nests for the fowls of heaven; and the God of nature and providence gives food to them all. "The conies," saith Solomon," are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks.". "The trees of the Lord are full of sap," says the Psalmist, "the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted; where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir-trees are her house. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies."-"These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season."-"Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young." But, as for Jesus Christ, "he had not where to lay his head:" he had no fixed place of abode, no house he could call his own, no certain spot on which, when worn out with the toils of the day, he could lay himself down to rest at night. You readily perceive how suitably this statement was placed before the mind of the scribe. It was directly calculated to dissipate his dream of earthly ease, prosperity, and grandeur; for, when such was the condition of Christ himself, the worldly exaltation of his followers was quite out of the question. And this statement was directly calculated to try the stability of the scribe's resolution, and to convince him that Christ's genuine disciples were then to be proved and known, not by bold asseverations and hasty promises, made during the sudden flush of feeling, but by continuing to follow him steadfastly, notwithstanding all the trials to which they might be exposed on this account. We are not told what was the result of this case, but it is the general opinion, and it is probable, that this saying proved enough to detect the self-confidence, and to cool the

false zeal, of the scribe, and to cause him to withdraw and to speak no more of following Jesus.

Now, what is the instruction we should derive from this first case? We learn from it, in common with the two following cases, that it is our bounden duty to follow Christ, and to follow him whithersoever he goeth. We have this description of the redeemed in the Revelation:* "These are they who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." Literally, to follow Jesus, as those who attended him while he was on the earth, is what we cannot do; but to follow him in the spiritual sense, as believing in his name, imitating his example, and obeying his commandments, is what we may do, and must do, if we are to be saved, and was what alone availed to the salvation of his immediate disciples. The resolution of this scribe was, as we have said, excellent in itself.

But, while we are reminded, in all the cases, of the necessity of thus following Christ, we are here instructively reminded that there are some who, like this scribe, are forward to make keen and unreserved, and, perhaps, for the time, sincere professions of their resolution to follow Jesus, and yet do not ultimately prove steady. They are ready to say, with the Israelites, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do," without ever suspecting their own weakness, and without being properly aware of the difficulties of a truly Christian faith and practice. Like the thorny-ground hearers, they hear the word, and anon with joy receive it; but having no root of grace in them, they are soon offended. Now, we should be aware of this, lest we ourselves fail, after the same fickle example. Jesus Christ does not wish to deceive us-he does not wish to entrap us, so to speak, into a religious profession, by lax views of doctrine, or practice, or by prospects of worldly aggrandizement; but he propounds doctrines that strike at the root of all spiritual pride and all worldliness, and he requires, at all hazards, an entire and perpetual surrender of the whole man to his service. When we are to take up the profession of Christianity, he would have us, according to his own very significant expression, "to count the cost." The meaning is, not that there is any thing so painful and formidable in a life of faith in the Son of God as should deter us from entering on it-on the contrary, to those who set themselves to the duty in a right way, his "yoke is easy and his burden is light;" but still,

* Rev. xiv. 4.

there is a burden, there is a yoke to be borne, there is a real labour, a struggle to be undergone; and if we profess ourselves resolved to be Christians, without being aware of this, we shall be totally unprepared for the contest, and shall fail in the time of trial. We should think well, then, of what a real Christian life is; and we should enter on it, though not with a spirit of bondage, yet with due consideration, with a proper sense of our own weakness, and with a firm dependence on divine grace to keep us steady.

And even though we have already begun to follow Christ in earnest, the spirit of this case and of other passages of Scripture, is not favourable to our making positive, spontaneous, and uncalled-for asseverations of what we shall be or do. As the scribe fell short, it is to be feared, of his profession, so have many others. So, for example, did Peter, who said to Jesus, "I am ready to go with thee to prison and to death ""Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake:" but we know what was the result, and how he denied Christ with oaths. If we shall at any time be clearly called on by Providenceif the glory of God and the good of men shall require it—if, like Paul, we shall be "compelled to glory"-let us speak out boldly, let us witness a good confession in words, and let us, in humble confidence in God's strength, tell to their face those who would terrify or entice us away from Christ, that we are resolved to hold fast his name, and to let no man take our crown; but in general, let us be contented with showing our faith by our works, and with seeking to convince men of our stability by actually persevering.

And, how affecting and instructive is the description which the Redeemer here gives of his lowly, poor, and persecuted state! So poor was he that some of his followers "ministered unto him of their substance" while he lived; and when he died, he was buried at the expense of a pious and charitable stranger. He was, throughout, destitute, not only of the conveniences and comforts, but of what are considered the necessaries of life. He was born in a stable, and laid in a manger-despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief-without a home of his own, and driven by relentless persecutors from place to place, and thus prevented from enjoying the pillow of rest which his few attached disciples might have furnished: while the foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nests, he had not where to lay his head. And who is this?

and why is it thus with him? This is the Son of Marythe Messiah-the only-begotten and well-beloved Son of God-the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his person, who was infinitely exalted and happy before the world was; but who, though he was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, thus humbled himself, and took on him the form of a servant. Never was such a contrast heard of; nor could it have been conceived of, had it not been exhibited. And why was it thus with him? Why but for us, my friends, for us poor, sinful, and perishing creatures, and for our salvation? "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be made rich." How ought we to admire and adore him for this condescending love! Should not this also operate powerfully in inducing us all to open our hearts to receive him as our Saviour? When we think of him as not having where to lay his head, may he not be considered as saying to each of us, Open unto me, for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night?"

66

There is here a striking demonstration, too, of the vanity of the world. Doubtless, men should be thankful for whatever worldly prosperity God sends; but, if wealth and a fine house be the all of life, or the most desirable of portions, why was it that the Son of man had not where to lay his head? This touching description should also support the minds of all Christ's followers, and prevent them both from distrusting Providence, and from murmuring under poverty, or any trouble, if it shall come upon them. Looking at what is said of these wild animals-if the Lord care for the foxes and the birds, will he not care for his own people, and find them (however mean) a dwelling--place and food? Are they not of more value than many sparrows? hold the fowls of the air," said Jesus, "for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" And, looking at what is here said of Jesus-if even very griping poverty should be their lot, should they not be comforted under it? should they not be reconciled to it? nay, should it not be sanctified, and sweetened, and blessed to them, by the remembrance of their beloved Master's destitution? "Even unto this present hour," said Paul, and he said it with composure and joy, we both hunger, and

"Be

thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place." "The disciple is not above his master," said Jesus, 66 nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord." We shall only further remark, on this case, that though it is to be feared the scribe withdrew, there is nothing in this declaration of our Lord's which ought to discourage us from following him, but there is much which should have the opposite effect. There is, indeed, nothing to attract, but much to repel the earthly mind, in our Lord's humiliation; but it may be questioned whether to the eye of the renewed and believing soul he ever appears so lovely, glorious, and winning, as when viewed in that light. Shall we not love him who so loved us? Surely we ought. Shall we forsake him because of what he submitted to on our account? Such folly and base ingratitude be far from us! Let the thought of what he has done and suffered for us, sweetly constrain us to do and suffer everything for him; and surely, if we feel at all aright, we shall feel that that everything, as we call it, is nothing in comparison of the debt of gratitude we owe him. Nor is it possible, however great the deprivations to which any may be subjected by following him, that they shall be losers at last. Should they be thrust out from every resting-place, and from the earth itself, by slow persecution, or a violent death, they shall have a mansion in heaven. Let us, then, believingly and practically follow the Saviour whithersoever he goeth, and whithersoever he would lead us.

Verse 59: "And he said unto another, Follow me." Our Lord enjoined this man, who had hitherto been only an occasional attendant on him, now to accompany him statedly, in order that he might be fully instructed in the gospel, and trained up for its ministry. You will observe that this case differs from the preceding in that this man did not, like the first, spontaneously declare that he would follow Christ, but waited till he was called to follow him. The other man was too hasty; this man was too slow to obey where the call was clear. He ought to have obeyed the call implicitly and immediately: but what was his reply? "He said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father." He does not absolutely refuse compliance; nay, he says as much as if he were resolved to comply at last but he requests to be allowed to remain at home till he had buried his father. Some think that his father was not actually