always follows sin; God has joined them together, and no man can separate them.

The servant of God suffers, as all must suffer, the evils that belong to our fallen nature. He cannot escape from sickness, and death, nor from the sorrows that must come upon him from the sufferings and the sins of others, especially of those who are dear to him. But it is the servant of God who thrives in the long run, and that 'honesty is the best policy' has passed into a proverb among all the children of men, proving this great truth, that God is the Ruler of his own world.

How then shall we meet each temptation to sin? Just as our Lord met the barefaced proposal of the evil One. "Get thee behind me, Satan! it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

The Lord Jesus came into the world to do his Father's will. He knew it was his will, not that He should be an earthly Prince, not that the glory of the kingdoms of the world should then be given to him; but that He should preach the Gospel, the glad tidings of Salvation, showing man how he might be saved: That He should patiently suffer every wrong, every shame, the malice of the devil or of man could heap upon him: That He should die in agony upon the cross;-and from this path nothing could turn him. It was his Father's will, it was his own will, for without it man could not be saved. If Satan had really the power he pretended, Jesus would still have answered each proposal to tempt Him from the path of suffering, with "Get thee behind me, Satan."

If we think well over the three temptations of Christ in the wilderness, we shall see that in them lies most of the temptations we meet with in life.

First, The wish to get rid of whatever is painful or disagreeable in some unlawful way. Impatiently to help ourselves, instead of waiting for the help of God.

Secondly, To run ourselves into places or situations of needless danger, that we may be admired of men.

Thirdly, To do evil, that good may come; to believe that we can have the good things of this world by serving Satan instead of serving God; that is, by doing what is wrong instead of what is right. If we meet these temptations, as Christ met them, we shall find ourselves strengthened and comforted, as he was. We shall be more able for the work that is before us, and though we must be sure that, as long as we live, we shall be tempted again and again, we shall feel that each time we shall be stronger in the strength that God gives to those who ask him for it, and who seek for directions in his holy word. It is written that

LUKE IV. 13. "When the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Jesus for a season, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

The Lord Jesus had been given up to the power and malice of Satan for a time; but only for a time, and when the temptation was ended, the angels who had come down from the heavens to rejoice at his birth, now again came to comfort and to support him. He was the Son of God, He was not left to perish in the desert; and the promise to each child of God is sure-"Fear not, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."

Prayer.

O my Saviour, be with me in the hour of temptation. Hold me by thy right hand, let me hear thy voice whispering to me, "Be not afraid, I am with thee, I will uphold thee by my power." Thou knowest my weakness, O give me thy strength, that to every temptation I may say "Get thee behind me, Satan." Let thy written word be ever present to my mind, that I may not be deceived by those lying promises and hopes, that would tempt me to better my condition by doing any thing, whether

great or small, that is contrary to thy commandments. Let me be content to suffer what thou pleasest, but let me never consent to sin. O let me remember that if I could gain the whole world, and yet lose my soul, I should only gain my ruin. Leave me, O leave me not alone, my Saviour and my God. Amen.

XXII.

It will be well in this place, before we go on with the history of our Lord Jesus Christ, to read the 1st chap. of St. John's Gospel, from the 1st to the 18th verse. We must do this with

great attention, and we shall see that the Apostle John, who is the writer of the Gospel, before he begins the history of our Lord's life on earth, thinks it of great importance to let us understand that our Lord had dwelt with the Father in heaven long before He was born on earth.

JOHN i. 1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

By "the Word" is here meant the Lord Jesus Christ: verse 14 plainly shews this, telling us that the Divine person here called "the Word," was the same who, when the fulness of time was come, became flesh and dwelt among us.

Verse 14. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.")

In verse 15, the Apostle John adds, that it was of this same Word that the Baptist bare witness at the fords of Jordan, when he acknowledged Jesus to be the Christ.

Verse 15. "John bare witness of him, and cried, say

ing, This was him of whom I spoke, He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me.”

There is more than one reason why our Lord Jesus Christ has received the name which we English call "The Word; " but it is enough now to remark, that the name, Word of God, belongs to Him, because it is by Jesus Christ that God the Father speaks to his creatures, and tells them his will, just as men tell one another what they wish by their words. Now this Word of God was with God the Father from the beginning

-that is, long before the world was created, even from eternity. Moreover we read, this Word not only was with God, but was himself God—" the Word was God.”

The third verse tells us also, that He was employed by the Father to create the world. He was also, we find in verse 4, "The Life of man; from him-from Jesus Christ-all souls have their life. They cannot live as God's people, except through him.

Verse 4. "In him was life; and the life was the life of men."

He is also the Light of men. As the sun in the heavens gives light to our bodily eyes, so Christ, the Eternal Word of God, enlightens the eyes of our souls, and makes us see God's truth. Without him we should be blind.

Verse 9.

"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”

St. John wrote his Gospel long after the life of Christ on earth was ended, and he declares

Verses 10, 11. "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. unto his own, and his own received him not."

He came

How sad is the gentle complaint of these few words, "He

H

came unto his own, and his own received him not." But full of gladness are the words of the next verse

Verses 12, 13.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

XXIII.

While Jesus was in the desert tempted of the devil, John, who was called the Baptist, bore witness of him that He was the Messiah. Crowds of people flocked to see him at the fords of the river Jordan, and to them He declared that Jesus was He of whom He had spoken when he had said,

Verse 15. "He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me."

The three verses, 16, 17, 18, of the first of St. John, are not the words of the Baptist, but of the Apostle John, who is the writer of the Gospel. In them he carries on the subject on which he had been writing, and which he had interrupted in verse 15, to tell of the witness borne by the Baptist to Christ. This subject was no other than this, that the Man Christ Jesus was indeed and in truth God the Creator, (verses 3, 10,) the life, the light of men, (verse 4,) made flesh and dwelling for a time among men, (verse 14.)

Now men began to talk and wonder exceedingly at the things that were said by John the son of Zacharias.

The rulers of the Jews hearing of him, and of his baptism, sent Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him