into error. We have lately read all that He taught the Jews in the temple, upon this very subject. He said unto them, "I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” * But He also said, that he who tried to climb up "some other way, was a thief and a robber." We see, therefore, his meaning, that it is not enough to seek to enter in-it must be by the right way, or there is no admittance. All that we have read of the self-willed zeal of the Pharisees, and of the glad submission of the humble-minded, who sought the Saviour as much as the others opposed him, may teach us who they are who will be saved, and who they are who vainly strive to enter into God's kingdom, by ways of their own devising. Pride that makes us hold fast to our own opinion, and rather to bend Scripture to uphold it, than to yield to the plain teaching of Christ the Lord, is the great cause why many, who in a manner seek to enter in, shall not be able; and there is another hindrance by which many miss the heavenly inheritance. It is this. They are convinced that some day they must yield themselves to Christ's teaching, but they delay from day to day, they are surrounded by the means of grace, they join in the public worship of God, but they put off the time when its private influence is to be the rule of their lives,—when their wishes and affections are to be raised higher than the trifles of this world. Let them listen to our Lord's warning voice. Verses 25-29. "When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord! Lord! open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not, whence you are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, * John x. 1 and 9. I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out." We are not to imagine that the kingdom of God is to be entered only by such as these holy men of old, who, we may think, had privileges we may never dare to hope for. Listen to the further words of Christ : Verses 29, 30. "And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and first which shall be last." For it is not outward advantage, it is the inward willingness and humbleness of heart that will follow where Christ leads, and believe that He, and He only, knows that which we must desire to learn, and that by him only can we be saved. Now, what is it we have to learn from all that the Lord Jesus has been now saying to those around him. Surely, the very same lesson He would teach them. We have nothing to do with the question, whether many or few will, in the end, be saved; but we have much to do with the question, whether we ourselves shall be saved, and the need is great, that we take heed not to be deceived as the Pharisees were, by wilfulness, taking the name of religion-by carelessness, putting off the time till it is too late, and the door is shut. The word which is given in English as "strive," is full of meaning. It expresses the utmost earnestness-an earnestness which will bring to bear upon the matter all the force of the will, all the feelings of the heart, all the power of the under * Matt. vii. 21-23. See Vol. I. standing. It is thus we must strive to enter in at the straight gate, the only one way to Eternal Life, even through Christ the Lord. And it is thus we shall strive, if we believe that solemn truth, that, "there is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved." If we realize what it is to be saved, and what it would be to be lost, we shall not cease thus to strive while life lasts; even till that straight door has been entered, and we have sat down in the kingdom of God. Prayer. O God, my Saviour, thou art the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father but by thee. Grant to me, thy sinful creature, earnestness to seek to enter in, and power to throw from me all that would hinder me. Save me from that careless folly that tempts men to lose the time given to find the way; save me from the pride and self-will, that leads men to mistake the way. Thou hast indeed taught in our streets; not one of us can deny that we have heard thy gospel. Yea, in thy holy sacraments, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence. O let not these blessings be to us as added sins, but grant, that by the power of thy grace, they may be made the means of life to our souls, and that in the great and solemn day of the Lord, not one of us may be found wanting in that bright assembly, which "shall sit down in the kingdom of God." For each believer's family, O hear the earnest prayer that they all may be welcomed by the Redeemer to the home of the blessed. "A joyful, and a perfect band, To part no more, at God's right hand." XLIV. LUKE XIII. 31-35. The Lord Jesus must have been at this time in the borders of Herod's dominions; for the Pharisees, afraid of his influence with the people, and therefore anxious to be rid of him, on that same day in which He had warned them that many would enter the kingdom of God while they themselves should be shut out, Get thee And he LUKE xiii. 31-35. "Came unto him, saying, out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast our devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless, I must walk to-day, and to-morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." The Pharisees found their scheme of no use. They could not alarm him before whose eyes, the past, the present, and the future, lay as one perfect plan. The malice of Herod was but as the cruel craft of the fox. It might be hurtful to that which was weaker than himself, but could do nothing against the determined plans of God. The enemies of Jesus might rage as they would, they could not hasten his death one single moment. They could not alter either the time or the place. Calmly and certainly would He work out that which He had come to do. The PRESENT time was for the duties of life; there was a future at hand when the now ripening fruit would be perfected in death. "Behold I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected." What an example to each one of ourselves who humbly would follow the footsteps of our Lord! All we have to do is, to assure ourselves that we are carrying on the work God has appointed us. We have not miracles to work, but each one of us has a line of duty; our own sin, and the sin of those around us, will be constantly hindering us; but if we calmly look on, as Jesus did, to the appointed end, we shall fear no evil. To-day, and perhaps to-morrow, (that is, now and for some time to come,) we shall carry on our heavenly Father's work, and the third day, (that is, when God's appointed time is come,) we shall, by him, "be perfected." It was in Jerusalem, which, as the chiefest city of the Jews, represented their whole nation, that Jesus was to die a sacrifice for sin; therefore, till there; neither Herod nor the Pharisees could touch his life. When He told them this, the thought of Jerusalem, of all her sins, and of her punishment, brought words of tenderness from the Saviour's lips, that are like the lamentation of a mother over a guilty and suffering child. Love is always love, and where it cannot save because its warnings are unheeded, it grieves over the ruin it would have prevented. How many a parent knows and feels this truth! Jesus was one with God, "the Father everlasting," and beholding in one thought, all that had been done for Jerusalem, her constant rebellion, and her coming ruin; He lamented over her," O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, |