a man; he felt the weight of his own sorrows, and dropt the tear of sympathy for those of others. To those, therefore, who are opt pressed and bowed down (as the best of men sometimes are) with a load of grief, who find, as the Psalmist expresses it," their flesh and their heart failing," and their spirits sinking within them, it must be a most reviving con sideration to reflect, that in this state even of extreme depression, there is no guilt; that it is no mark of God's displeasure; that even his beloved Son was no stranger to it; that he was a man of sorrows, and well acquainted with grief; that therefore he is not a hard, unfeeling, obdurate master, who cannot be touched with our infirmities, but one who was in all things tried and afflicted as we are, yet without sin." He knows what sorrow is; he knows how hard it sometimes presses even on the firmest, minds; and he will not fail to ex tend that relief to others, for which even he himself applied with so much fervency to the Father of all.

From his example too, on this occasion, we learn what conduct we ought to observe when distress and misery overtake us. We are not

only

only allowed but encouraged by what he did, to put up our petitions to the Throne of grace, for help in time of need. We are permitted to pray for the removal of our calamities with earnestness and with fervour; we may implore the Almighty that the bitter cup of affliction may pass away from us; but the conclusion must always be (what his was) "not my will, O my Father, but thine be done." And one thing we may be assured of, that if the evils which overwhelm us are not removed, yet our supplications shall not be in vain; we shall at the least be enabled to bear them. And though we must not expect to have an angel sent from heaven to support us, as was done to Jesus; yet we may expect, and expect with confidence, that a more than angelic comforter, even the Spirit of God, will shed his healing influence over our souls, and preserve us from sinking even under the severest trials.

And there is still one further lesson of no small importance, which this part of our Saviour's history may teach us,

Extreme affliction, as we all but too well know, has a natural tendency, not only to depress our spirits, but to sour our tempers,

and

and to render us fretful and irritable, and severe towards. the failings of others. But how did it operate on our blessed Lord? Instead of injuring, it seemed rather to improve the heavenly mildness of his disposition, and to make him more indulgent to the failings of his followers. For when in the very midst of all his anguish they could so far forget his sorrows, and their own professions of attachment to him, as to sink into sleep, how gentle was his reproof to them for this want of sensibility and attention to him?" Could you not watch with me one hour?" And even this affectionate rebuke he immediately tempers with a kind excuse for them; "the spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak."

I now proceed in the melancholy narrative. "And while he yet spake, lo! Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail Master; and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend,

where

wherefore art thou come? Then came they and laid hands on Jesus, and took him."

"And behold one of them which were with Jesus (St. Peter) stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest (whose name was Malchus), and smote off his ear." Here again' we see the warmth and vehemence of Peter's temper, which prompted him to a well-meant, though injudicious display of his zeal in his Master's cause. "Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into its place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scripture be fulfilled, that thus it must be ?"

From this reproof to Peter, we are not to infer that the use of the sword in self-defence is unlawful; but that the use of it against the magistrates and the ministers of justice (which was the case in the present instance) is unlawful. It was meant also to check that propen'sity, which is but too strong and too apparent in a large part of mankind, to have recourse to

the

the sword on all occasions; and more particularly to restrain private persons from avenging private injuries, which they should rather leave to the magistrate or to God; "for vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord" In all such cases, they who take the sword unjustly and rashly will probably, as our Saviour here forewarns them, perish with the sword; with the sword of their adversary, or of the magistrate. That denunciation might also allude to the Jews, who now seized on Jesus; and might be meant to intimate to his disciples, that it was perfectly needless for them to draw their swords on these miscreants, since they would all perish at the siege or capture of Jerusalem by the sword of the Romans. nostat

If it had been the intention of Providence to protect Jesus and his religion by force, there is no doubt but a host of angels would have been sent to defend him, as one was actually sent to comfort him. But this would have defeated the very purpose for which he came into the world, which was, that he should "make his soul an offering for sin The

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Rom. xii. 19.

+ Isaiah, liii. 10.0gad, prophets