said, If thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple; and saith unto him, If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee; and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him, REFLECTIONS. "All these things will I give thee." Such is ever the call of temptation. "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship thy passions, if thou wilt sacrifice what is noble in thee to what is base, philanthrophy and religion to selfish enjoyment, the future to the present, heaven to earth." Let us flee from idolatry. The moment when inclination becomes sufficiently strong within us to banish from our minds the thought of God, and make duty seem unattractive, that moment we are in danger. That moment we may be sure that an idol has erected an altar in our hearts. Let us at that moment resolve never more to worship before it. All those things for which we ask, it may give us or it may withhold; but it will rob us of our peace of mind, our social and religious feelings, the rational esteem of the wise and virtuous, the approbation of our conscience and of our God. HYMN. "THOU SHALT WORSHIP THE Lord thy God, and him ONLY SHALT THOU SERVE. When a thousand voices raise Sweeter strains of soft desire Mammon bids thee view the store Heavenly treasures are thine own : Onward, in thy Saviour's path, SECTION IX. CALL OF NATHANAEL, AND OTHERS. JOHN 1. 35. AGAIN, the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) Where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias; (which is, being interpreted, the Christ.) And he brought him to Jesus. When Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone. The day following, he would go forth into Galilee; and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Behold an Israelite Nathanael saith unto Jesus answered and Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, indeed, in whom is no guile! him, Whence knowest thou me ? said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said. unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. REFLECTIONS. "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Mistaken man! Why should you thus brand a whole city with unworthiness? Why be slow to place confidence in the merit of any portion of your race? Yet how often do we fall into the same error ! If we have found anything blameable in the character of a few individuals, we ascribe the same defect to their whole class, or sect, or nation: and should any of those we have thus condemned, afford proof of excellence, how ready are we to exclaim, in incredulous surprise, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Rather should we rejoice to see what is good everywhere, and con sider ourselves happy when we are able to think better than before, of a man or a class of men. But the error of Nathanael was not that of a perverted heart. Open and sincere, and exhibiting this sincerity in the very avowal of his prejudice, he was an Israelite indeed," a worthy descendent of Abraham, "the father of the faithful." The Saviour not only forgives his hasty judgment, but greets him with marked benignity. Thus will the true disciple of Jesus forgive the prejudice with which others, through ignorance, may regard him; and honor and love them for those excellences which he observes in their character, though they fail to appreciate the merits of his own. HYMN. PREJUDICE. Oh, darkly on the path of life The pilgrim holds his course of strife; The distant prospect to attain ; And Prejudice will rise between And doubt's dark clouds enfold the scene. Father of lights! to Thee we pray That long has shadowed o'er the heart, Thus when thy Sun in glory springs, |