listen to the pleasing accents of his instructive tongue! How did the lame leap around him for joy! and the maimed extend their recovered hands in grateful acknowledgements of his new creating power! While the voice of the dumb sang forth his praises in sounds before unknown; and the eye of the blind checked the curiosity, which would have prompted it to range over the various and beautiful objects of unveiled nature, to fix its rapturous regards on the gracious countenance of him that had given it the day!

Let us further reflect with what correspondent pleasure must our Lord survey these grateful and astonished creatures, while his benevolent heart took its share in all the delight which he gave! These trophies of his greatness, how unlike to those of the field, the monuments of desolation and slaughter !-trophies, for which the hero must have struggled with the man, and might sit down and weep over his own success!

Whose heart is so insensible as not to feel a humane as well as devout pleasure in the history of these and the like miracles, though the subjects on which they are wrought, are long since mouldering in the dust! But let us further recollect, that our Divine Leader has other yet more noble and more permanent trophies; those immortal spirits which he has redeemed, and sanctified, and saved. So may our transported souls, O blessed Jesus, in the consciousness of health, vigour, and salvation. behold thee as our Deliverer! So mayest thou view us with satisfaction, as the travail of thy soul, in that mountain of God, where we hope to offer thee nobler praises, and for ever to consecrate to thy service those powers, which thou hast recovered from weakness, dishonour, and ruin.

SECTION V.

MATT. XVI. 1-12. MARK VIII. 11-21.

THE Pharisees also with the Sadducees came forth, and began to question with him, tempting, and desired that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red; and in the morning, it will be foul weather to-day, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this wicked

and adulterous generation seek after a sign? Verily, I say unto you, There shall no sign be given to this generation, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.

And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.Then Jesus charged them, saying, Take heed, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the Sadducees, and of the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Perceive ye not yet, neither understand? Have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye not? And do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

So evident is it, that the circumstances of a scripture story may be remembered, where the design of it is overlooked or forgotten! It is much to be wished, that those which we have been surveying, may not increase the number of such instances.

In all those cases, wherein the arm of the Lord has been made bare in our favour, let us seriously reflect on the Divine power and goodness, and learn from past experience to trust it for the time to come. Never let us fall into the perverse suspicions of the Israelites; can God furnish a table in the

wilderness? (Psalm 1xxviii. 19.) But let us be strong in faith, giving glory to God, and cheerfully repose ourselves on his care, who can never want wisdom to judge aright of the necessities of his people, or power to relieve them, even in the greatest extremities.

We see a new instance of the perverseness of these Scribes and Pharisees. They tempted Christ by unreasonable demands; and he justly suffered them to go away without the additional demonstration they sought. It is not for us to prescribe to God what degrees of evidence he shall give us. Let us impartially pursue and improve what we have; and be very careful that our sagacity, and openness to conviction, in other matters of much less importance, may not condemn our stupidity or obstinacy, where the truths of God and the salvation of our souls are concerned.

It is our concern to beware of erroneous principles in religion, and of every corrupt leaven which might be ready to insinuate itself into our minds; especially of that, which, like the leaven of the Pharisees, would exalt our confidence in ourselves; or, like that of the Sadducees, would impair our persuasion of a future judgment, and our solicitous concern to live as in the views of it. May the oracles of Divine truth ever appear to our minds as the rule, by which all doctrines are to be tried! and let us, in the spirit of love, contend earnestly for that faith, which we believe to have been once delivered to the saints; that both our sentiments and actions may finally be found blameless, unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ! Amen.

SECTION VI.

MATT. XVI. 13-20. MARK VIII. 22-26. LUKE IX.

18-21.

AND he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the coasts and towns of Cesarea Philippi; and by the way it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom do men say, that I, the Son of man, am? And they answered, and said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, Jeremias: and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said unto him, 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 I will 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 he straitly charged and commanded his disciples, that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

We here behold the great Foundation of our faith and hope, even Jesus, the Rock of ages, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, (Heb. xiii. 8,) who is Christ the Son of the living God. Other foundation can no man lay. (1 Cor. iii. 11.) On him may our souls rest, and the fiercest tempests shall rage in vain !

Our Lord foretold that the gates of hell should not be able to prevail against his church as thus founded; and behold, even to this day, the accomplishment of the prediction. As Christians of one age have sunk into their graves, a new harvest has sprung up in the next; and,' in spite of all the artifices of Satan to pervert young minds, and all the advantages with which he attacks them, instead of the Fathers have been the children, to be accounted to the Lord for a generation. (Psalm xlv. 16, and xxii. 30.)

Let us thankfully adore the Divine goodness herein; and be very sensible how much we are indebted to that goodness in those powers communicated to the apostles, on whom, as

subordinate foundations we are built. (Eph. ii. 20.) As they received so ample a commission, and obtained grace from the Lord to be faithful to it, let us pay the humblest regard to their teachings; as well knowing, that what they have bound on earth is bound in heaven, and what they have inculcated, was solemnly confirmed by a Divine authority.

If we have listened with attention to those immortal writings of theirs, by which, being dead, they yet speak; and have found them the effectual means of revealing Christ in our hearts, in all his Divine glories and saving powers; let us remember that we owe it not to flesh and blood, or the most excellent human instruments alone, but to the influences of our Father in heaven.

That efficacious grace is freely exercised, and operates in various methods, on some, in a more instantaneous way; on others, like the power of Christ on the blind man of whom we have been reading, by more gradual advances. Let us be thankful for whatever light we receive, and press on to brighter discoveries; and join with them proportionable degrees of gratitude to Christ, and veneration for his gospel.

MATT. XVI. 21-28.

SECTION VII.

MARK VIII. 31, IX. 1. LUKE IX.

22-27.

AND from that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, and to teach them, how that the Son of man must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief Priests, and Scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. And he spake that saying openly. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee. But when he had turned about, and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, 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. And when he had called the people unto him, with his disciples also, he said unto them all, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall