HYMN. Lord, in whose might the Saviour trod The dark and stormy wave; When darkly round our footsteps rise Strong in our trust, on thee reposed, The ocean path we'll dare; Though waves around us rage and foam SECTION XXXIV. JESUS AND THE WOMAN OF CANAAN. MATT. XV. 21. THEN Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coast, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, Oh Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me! But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's us. bread, and cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, Oh woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee, even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maim-. ed, and many others; and cast them down at Jesus' feet, and he healed them; insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see; and they glorified the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because it is now three days that they continue with me, and they have nothing to eat; and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled; and they took up of the broken meat that was left, seven baskets full. And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala. REFLECTIONS. The answer of Jesus to the woman of Canaan was probably designed to exhibit more fully the humility and faith of his petitioner; and great indeed must these have been, to frame so modest yet so touching an answer to his words. The dealings of Providence may seem harsh to us, as the reply of the Lord might have appeared to his humble applicant; but it is not for us to murmur. Our duty will be best fulfilled by submitting meekly to the decrees of our heavenly Father, while we continue, undiscouraged by past denials, to direct our prayers to him for what we need. Let all our petitions be presented with that humble, and untiring faith, which marked the answer of the Syrophenician woman, and those petitions will be answered. True, the blessings we ask may be withheld; but we shall find, in the peace of our own hearts, in our increased submissiveness to the will of God, the answer of his spirit within us. HYMN. J. SCOTT. Happy the meek, whose gentle breast, His heart no broken friendships sting, Spirit of grace, all meek and mild! WHEN Jesus came into the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man, that he was the Christ. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offence unto me; for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then shall he reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. REFLECTIONS. "Whom say ye that I am?" inquired the Saviour. The ardent Peter unhesitatingly replied by acknowledging the Messiahship of his master. But his ideas of the Messiah's character and kingdom were far from being correct. He expected, under that title, an earthly king; and when he heard Jesus speak of his approaching death, he listened with incredulous surprise. He checks what he imagines to be the gloomy forebodings of his master; and would lead him to other, and more flattering prospects, of earthly power and magnificence. But the holy Son of God repels the temptations, in the same language which repressed the same suggestion in the wilderness; "Get the hence, Tempter! thou wouldst lead me into sin." In such words may the full meaning of his reply be conveyed. He saw the dangers, the certain death, which awaited him; he saw the visions of ease, and ambition glittering before him; but his pure mind was unmoved by fear, unseduced by hope. With the glory of God and the happiness of mankind in view, he |