compassion, and his sin, which they must always abhor; and to make no other return than love for any injury they may meet with, and at all times to overcome evil with good.

Jesus condescended to add these words, "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?" Luke xxii. 48. It would seem that such words as these must have pierced the depths of the heart of Judas, and have subdued it. But nothing could overcome its hardness. His own evil passions, and not the gentle voice of the Saviour, prevailed in the heart of this wretched man! Alas! do not many nominal Christians in the present day resemble him? They bear the name and the outward profession, but do not many of them bring, even to the Lord's table, a heart full of love to the world, and of aversion to the gospel? and are ready to betray their Master for the most paltry considerations, and do not blush to repeat from time to time that offence which the traitor Judas committed but once.

V.

JESUS FORSAKEN BY HIS DISCIPLES.

AS

Was it to be believed that the disciples who had followed their Divine Master for three years, and had been the constant witnesses of his virtues, as well as the objects of his favour, could have been capable of forsaking him, when the time had come to prove their devotedness to him? After this, who may trust to any heart of man? In God alone is our assured hope; in him alone is to be found that true comfort which we need in all the trials which we meet with in this life. Woe to us if we put any confidence in ourselves, or any other earthly support; this would be but trusting to an arm of flesh, which could never sustain us. We must hope in the Lord alone, if we desire not to be confounded.

We are ready enough to condemn the apostles for forsaking their Master, when he became the victim of his enemies; and we forget to condemn ourselves, who have been far more faithless. On how many occasions have we neglected the interests of our blessed Master, not from the fear of death, like the apostles, but for some trifling consideration! How often has the fear of man kept us silent, when it was our duty to speak out; and by our silence we have seemed to approve what we ought to have condemned! O Lord, pardon all our unfaithfulness to thee: it is with deep sorrow that we look back upon it, and with an earnest desire to be preserved from it for the future. But thou knowest our weakness: forsake us not, we beseech thee, but uphold us by thy mighty power; so that from henceforth nothing in this world, neither praise nor contempt, kindness nor injuries, promises nor threats, neither life nor death, nor any other thing, may separate us from thee, in whom alone true joy is to be found.

VI.

JESUS PASSING THROUGH THE STREETS OF
JERUSALEM.

In the garden, Jesus had atoned for the mad joys of sinners by anguish surpassing all anguish. He was now about to atone for our pride by the deepest humiliation. He enters Jerusalem no longer in triumph, as he had done but six day before, but bound as a malefactor, accompanied by a band of soldiers who treated him with the greatest ignominy. What a retinue for the King of Glory! How does he thus put to shame our vain-glory, our desire of shining in the world, our anxiety to obtain praise from men! This deplorable vanity, which exercises such power over us, must be deeply sinful, and must deserve • severe punishment, since to atone for it, Jesus suffers such shameful indignities. How we ought to dread lest it should exist in our hearts!

VII.

JESUS BEFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE JEWS.

THEY took Jesus first before Annas, and from thence "to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled," Matt. xxvi. 57. "Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people," John xviii. 14. It was after the resurrection of Lazarus, John xi. 50, that he had declared this, and all the assembly had consented to it.

The death of Christ therefore had been agreed upon beforehand, because his miracles were so evident, that they found it impossible to deny or to conceal them; and thus they determined to put a stop to them, that the people might not believe in him; for, as the enemies of our Lord