he shall reward every man according to his 28 works. Verily I say unto you, There are some standing here, who shall not taste of death till these the Son of man coming in his kingdom

CHAP. XVII.

1 AND after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up 2 into an high mountain apart. And was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And behold there appeared unto them Moses 4 and Elijah talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles: one for thee, and one for 5 Moses, and one for Elijah. While he yet spake, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them and behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom 6 I am well pleased: hear ye him." And when he disciples heard it, they fell on their face, 7 and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not

This coming of Christ must refer to his judgments in the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in about forty years after.

8 afraid.* And when they had lifted up their 9 eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from 10 the dead. And his disciples asked him, say

ing, Why then do the scribes say that Elijah 11 must first come? And Jesus answered and

said unto them, Elijah truly shall first come, 12 and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elijaht is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they chose so also shall the Son of man suf13 fer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a man, kneeling down to 15 him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son; for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for

14

This must have made a great impression on the minds of these three favored disciples. Peter refers to this event in his second epistle, i. 17.

+ Elijah: John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah. Curing this disorder is called casting out a devil or demon. It would be rash in any one to undertake to deeide, in these cases; but it may be proper to quote the following remarks of a learned and pious divine, viz.

"It is not the design of revelation to teach us philosophy, but moral and religious truths-and we find that the same writers usually speak of things according to the popular and commonly received opinions of those times."

The miraculous power of Christ is not affected by either interpretation. It requires supernatural ability to cure inveterate diseases by a word; as well as to dispossess a person of an evil spirit.

oft-times he falleth into the fire, and oft into 16 the water. And I brought him to thy disci17 ples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you ? bring him hith18 er to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil,* and he departed out of him and the child 19 was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus apart, and said, Why 20 could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible 21 unto you. Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

22

And while they abode in Galilec, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed 23 into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again and they were exceedingly sorry. 24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute-money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your Master pay tri25 bute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus

The demon, the evil spirit.

1

saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

CHAP. XVIII.

AT the same time, the disciples came unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the 2 kingdom of heaven ?* And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst 3 of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom 4 of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is great5 est in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my 6 name, receiveth me. But whoso shall offend

1

one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

7

Wo unto the world because of offences :

They did not mean in leavea, but in the Messiah's king lom, which they supposed he would establish.

+ See John iii. 3. 5.

He is among the most excellent in the Christian church who is docile, humble, teachable, and candid.

Or cause to offend.

for it must needs be that offences come; but wo to that man by whom the offence cometh.* 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, 9 to be cast into everlasting fire.† And if thine

eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to 10 be cast into hell-fire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones: for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in 11 heaven. For the Son of man is come to 12 save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and 13 seeketh that which is gone astray ? And if

It is certain, indeed, that offences will come-there is a sort of necessity that there should be offences, seeing what is the nature and condition of men. But this is no excuse for sin. Wo to those who do evil.

↑ The duty of self-denial is here taught, and we are required to give up any worldly or personal pleasure rather than neglect our duty.

Angels mean the spirits of children, who invariably stand in the divine presence; or, are happy after death. This is truly a consoling doctrine. The passage does not at all support the idea of guardian angels.

This is the character of Christ : how acceptable then should he be to sinful men !

This is a beautiful parable, and forcibly represents compassion and parental affection of the Deity.