sought thy disciples to cast him out: and they could not. And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation! how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was coming, the demon threw him down, and tore him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and cured the child, and delivered him again to his father. And all were amazed at the mighty power of God.

But while all wondered at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples, mark attentively these words:* for the Son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men. But 'they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, so that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least‡ among you all, the same shall be great. And John answering said, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbad him, because he follow

* Mark attentively, &c. literally, lay these words to your

ears.

†The disciples as yet had but an imperfect apprehension of the office of the Messiah. They expected him to deliver the Jewish nation from bodily servitude to the Romans, and to re-establish the throne of Israel in the house of David. They could not, therefore, reconcile his death and sufferings with their pompous ideas of his character. Lord took frequent opportunities of undeceiving them, and of showing them that his glory was of a different kind from that of this world.

Our

Christ will have his disciples aim at the honour of humility and meekness, and not to be ambitious of worldly rank.

eth not with us. And Jesus said to him, Forbid* him not: for he that is not against us is for us. And it came to pass, that when the days of his removal were fulfilled, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face, and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make preparation for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was directed toward Jerusalem. And his disciples, James and John, seeing this, said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias‡ did? But he turned and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not of what kind of spirit ye are. For the Sons of man is not come to destroy, but to save the lives of men. And they went to another village.

And it came to pass, that, as they went, a certain man said unto him, on the way, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said to another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him,

*We are here taught not to condemn those who do that which is good in itself, but who, in their manner of doing it, follow not exactly the plan that we would approve of.

The Samaritans would not receive him, because they saw that he was going to worship at Jerusalem. They insisted that Mount Gerizim was the only true place of worship.See John, iv. 20.

The occurrence referred to here by the disciples is recorded in 2 Kings, 1st chap. when Elijah called for fire from heaven to destroy the captains and their fifties, whom the king of Israel had sent to take him. This happened near Samaria, perhaps, at the very place where Jesus and his disciples were.

$ Christ's religion is not to be supported by inflictions of temporal death. It inspires with a spirit of love and peace.

Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and proclaim the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go and take leave of them that are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No mant having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

[The Apostle Paul thus describes the state of those who are living in sin, as a state of death, and their deliverance from that state as a resurrection from the dead.—Ephes. ii. 1-10.]

And you [hath God made alive] when ye were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein, in time past, ye [Gentiles] walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air of the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. In which things§ we [Jews] also were conversant in time past-in the lusts of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, through his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath made us alive with Christ. (By grace ye are saved,) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places through Christ Jesus: that he might show in the ages to come the abundant riches of his grace, in his goodness towards us through Christ Jesus. For by grace

*Not that Christ disapproved of any filial duty, but we must not make it an excuse for the omission of our duty to God.

It was a proverbial expression, that if a man who is ploughing looks back, he will not make a straight furrow. No person who proposes to follow the Saviour, and who looks wishfully back on worldly things, as loth to part with them, will be received by him as a disciple.

Or unbelief.

§ Viz. trespasses and sins.

ye are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should glory, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath prepared before hand, that we should walk in them.

WORDS, &c. TO BE EXPLAINED IN LESSON XIII.

QUESTIONS ON LESSON XIII.

WHAT are the contents of this Lesson?
What power did Jesus give to his disciples?
For what purpose did he give it?
For what did he send them forth?
What directions did he give them?

What report had Herod heard that perplexed him?
How many men did Jesus feed with a few loaves?
How many baskets of fragments were taken up?
What question did he ask his disciples concerning public
opinion about him, and what was their answer?

What question did he ask them as to their own opinion? Which of them gave the answer, and what was it?

What did he tell his disciples respecting his treatment by the Jews?

What did he declare to be necessary for any man desiring to be his follower?

Which of the disciples were with him during the transfiguration ?

Describe the transfiguration?

Who are seen talking with him, and about what was their discourse?

What proposal did Peter make on this occasion?

What extraordinary appearance terrified the three disciples ?

Of what was the cloud a sign?

What voice was heard out of the cloud?

What miracle, did Jesus perform on the next day?

Did the disciples understand what was meant by their Lord's being delivered into the hands of men?

What hindered them from understanding it ?
What ambitious thought arose in their hearts ?
In what way did Jesus reprove their thought?

What instance of a narrow spirit did John and the other disciples shew?

What answer did Christ give them?

Why did not the Samaritans receive him?

What proposal did James and John make about those Samaritans, and to what event in Jewish history did they refer?

How did our Lord treat their proposal, and what did he say?

What did Jesus say to the man who said that he would follow him whithersoever he went?

What did he say to the man who wanted first to bury his father?

What objection did the third man make to an immediate following of Jesus?

What was our Lord's answer?

What is meant by a man's putting his hand to the plough and looking back?

LESSON XIV.

Christ sends forth 70 disciples-they return with joy—a lawyer proposes a question concerning the means of obtaining eternal life-Jesus, in reply, tells the story of the good Samaritan―he is entertained by Martha and Mary-different conduct of the two sisters-Christ teaches his disciples to pray-parable of the man who went to a neighbour's house at night to borrow three loaves.

FROM LUKE, X. AND XI.

After these things the Lord appointed other seventy* also, and sent them two and two before

* That is, beside the twelve. As the elders of Israel, who were partakers of the same spirit which was upon Moses, were seventy, it is probable that our Lord chose that number for that reason. See Numb. ii. 25. And also the twelve apostles were answerable to the twelve tribes.