ecute judgment also. "Marvel not at this," said our blessed Lord; "for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." Such were the clear and decided and awful words, in which our Lord declared to the Jews His divine nature and character; leaving them, you see, without excuse, if they should still shut their eyes to the truth. How could they refuse now to believe in Him? But they did: giving Him abundant reason to add, " ye will not come to me, that ye might have life!" yes, they obstinately refused all his gracious invitations, and despised His awful threatenings. They would not be persuaded either by John the Baptist, or by our Lord's own miracles; nor would they believe the voice of God speaking from heaven, and declaring Jesus to be His own beloved Son. They closed their eyes also to those Scriptures which they acknowledged to be divine, and which testified plainly of Jesus. Even Moses, the great law-giver of Israel, he too wrote concerning our Lord. Had they really believed his writings, they would have believed our Saviour's words. But prejudice blinded their hearts; nay more it filled them with rage; and would have led them on to murder their long promised Messiah, had not the providence of God for the present prevented such wickedness. How important then is it, my dear Edward, to have our minds always open to the truth, and never to suffer our passions, and least of all our uncharitable passions, to lead us astray from its holy and peaceful paths! and above all, how careful should we ever be to follow with humility and thankfulness the teaching and example of Jesus Christ, who was so abundantly proved to be the Son of God! how simply, humbly, and entirely should we trust in that loving kindness and compassion, which He displayed when here on earth; and which He still feels for us in heaven! See John v. 1-47; Matt. xii. 1-8; TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY EVENING. THE TWELVE APOSTLES. M. From Jerusalem our Lord returned into Galilee to the town of Capernaum. There He again griev ously offended the Pharisees, by healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day, and that in the synagogue, before the congregation assembled for public worship. So greatly did this enrage these blind and prejudiced teachers of the people, that they consulted with some bitter enemies of their own, called the Herodians, about the best manner of putting Jesus to death. E. Who were the Herodians, Mamma, and why were they and the Pharisees enemies to one another? M. You have heard of several kings of the Jews called Herod, and you remember, I dare say, that these were kings appointed by the Roman emperor. Now, as they owed their thrones to Cæsar, the emperor of Rome, they were very anxious to get the Jewish people to pay tribute to Cæsar. This you know the people in general disliked excessively, and were constantly endeavouring to avoid. Those of them who supported the claim of Herod, in this matter, were hated by the rest of the Jews, and were called Herodians; for such persons were naturally much about the court of Herod, and were thought to be favourites with him. The enmity between the two parties was very great; and there cannot be a stronger proof of the bitter hatred which the Pharisees had in their hearts against Christ, than that it should lead them thus to join with the Herodians, and consult with them about putting Him to death. But thus the wicked will often join hand in hand against the righteous; forgetting their own private quarrels, and allowing their hatred to one another to be swallowed up in their far greater hatred to the faithful servants of God! In vain was it, however, that the enemies of Christ sought to take away His life, one moment sooner than He chose to part with it. That precious life was to be a willing sacrifice: He would lay it down of Himself, when the appointed time was come, but not one hair of His head could be touched until He gave permission. He withdrew Himself now from the malice of these violent men ; and leaving the town, He went to the more retired parts of the country, about the sea side. There is comfort in this little circumstance for all, who are at any time exposed to danger and suffering for the sake of their blessed Master, and whilst employed in His work. Not a hand, nor even a tongue can be raised against them, without the permission of their Saviour. Their lives and characters are precious in His sight, the very hairs of their head are numbered by Him; and the worst of their dangers or the fiercest of their enemies, can have no power at all against them, unless it is given them by God. I said that our Lord withdrew Himself on this occasion from the anger of the Pharisees, and their wicked plots against Him; He still, however, continued to employ Himself in instructing men and doing them good; thus leaving us an example of quiet activity in our different duties, and of meekness and prudence in avoiding as much as possible all contention, as well as all unnecessary danger. Such quiet activity in the path of duty is indeed the humbler and safer plan, and in general much more successful than a noisy and bustling course. It was thus that the Gospel made its way in the world. It was thus that our Lord advanced the cause of righteousness and truth, and enabled them to conquer the sins and follies of mankind. Though our Saviour had left the city, the people continued to follow Him in great multitudes from all parts; that is to say, not only from Galilee, but from Tyre and Sidon on the north; from the country beyond Jordan on the east, from Jerusalem to the south, and even from Idumea. E. How far was that, I wonder? M. You may remember my mentioning Idumea, when we were reading the Old Testament, as one of the southern boundaries of the Holy Land. Now if we look on the map, and take the scale of miles which is given with it, we shall find that the nearest of the towns mentioned, which was Tyre, lay a considerable distance from Capernaum; not less than fifty miles in a straight line; the windings of the road, particularly among the mountains, would make it much more for the people to travel. E. And Sidon, Mamma, was farther, and Jerusalem farther still; and Idumea more than twice as far; you see, I know this by measuring it with the compass. M. Then how far do you make Idumea to have been from the neighbourhood of Capernaum, where our Lord was now teaching? E. If Tyre was about fifty miles, I find that, by taking that distance with the compass towards Idumea, one step will bring me near to Mount Gerizim, and another as far as Hebron; so that Hebron was 100 miles from Capernaum, and Idumea was about 20 miles further. Why! what a distance the people travelled to come to Christ! M. We may judge then how great must have been the fame of our Lord's wisdom and power, notwithstanding that He took so much care to teach and perform His miracles with all quietness, and to prevent the persons whom He healed from making Him known. It was at this time that we find our Lord choosing from among His disciples twelve who should be called Apostles that they might be with Him continually, as witnesses of what He did and taught; and that He might occasionally send them forth, both to preach, and also, by His power and with His authority, to heal sicknesses and cast out devils. Perhaps also the Saviour did this, partly because of the vast numbers who flocked to hear Him, that the Apostles might share the labour with Him; or perhaps to train them by His side for that great work which He intended them to perform hereafter, in preaching the Gospel of His kingdom to a world now lying in darkness. So |