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COMMENTS.-Chief of the Pharisees. A Pharisee, who by his station in life, learning or influence, had obtained a moral superiority over his co-religionists, as for instance, Nicodemus. The Jews were accustomed to visit and give feasts or dinners on the Sabbath-day, which could also the more easily be done without desecration of the holy day by unnecessary work, because the food was prepared the day before, they not being allowed even to kindle a fire on this day. Ex. xxxv. 3. They watched Him to see whether He would do anything which would be contrary to the Jewish law and traditions as they understood them, so that if He did anything against them, they might charge it against Him and injure Him.

2. Dropsy. Unnatural collection of water in any part of the body. It is probable that this sick man was not an invited guest, but was brought there by the Pharisees for the express purpose of testing the Lord, to see what He would do on the Sabbath day. The whole procedure was a trap set if possible to catch the Lord, which was a very unkind and mean thing under the circum

stances.

3. Jesus answering, etc. They had not asked him any question, but He knew what wicked thoughts and questions were in their hearts, and He answered them and thus gave them to understand, before He wrought the miracle, that He saw through their wicked plot. 4. They held their peace. They were silent, and pehaps for two reasons: if they had answered, Yes, they would have encouraged Him to perform the miracle, and thus would have defeated themselves; if they had said, No, they would have betrayed their own heartlessness and hypocrisy towards the sick

man.

As they did not wish to do either of these things, they kept silent.

5. Inasmuch as a man is more and better than an ox or an ass, it is surely more lawful to do an act of mercy for Him on the Sabbath-day than to do the like for either of them.

6. They could not answer Him. "No man among them was shameless or irrational enough to say, I would not do even that, but rather let my ox or ass remain in the pit and suffer, or that to do that was less an act of labor than the healing of a man."

7. Chief rooms. This means chief places or seats at the table, the best and most honorable places, which were on the right or left hand of the host and near to him; and not rooms in our ordinary acceptation of the word. Choosing these places for themselves showed a proud and ambitious spirit.

10. Worship. Honor and respect. 11. Exalt. To lift up, to push forward. Abase. To make low, to humiliate.

Motherly.

Mo

What a dear old Saxon epithet is the word "motherly!" Motherly kindness, attention, nurture! The word is never unwelcome when fairly applied. therly influence: who has not felt it? Motherly love: who has not enjoyed it? Motherly self-denial: often the secret heading of the longest chapters of her life, the memory of which long survives them all. Mother self-sacrifice; true to the last, often appearing in some posthumous expression, like the voice from the tomb. My friend, the Rev. John Burbridge, of St. Stephen's, Sheffield, put it to the mothers and sons of his church: "Does not history tell us how St. Augustine, Theodoret, Basil, and Chrysostom owed everything to a mother's prayers? Have we not read how Bishop Hall was dedicated to the service of Christ by his mother on her death-bed; how Payson traced all his hopes and usefulness to this Christian nurture of his home; how Brainerd ascribed his deep religious feeling to the education of his early years; how Philip Henry and his five sisters avowed that what piety they possessed they owed, under God, to their parents; how James Montgomery traced his love for spiritual things to the instruction received in childhood; how the mother of the Wesleys left impressions on the characters of her illustrious sons which were never effaced; how Romaine, Doddridge, Felix Neff, Legh Richmond, Richard Knill, and Robert Moffat, all tell of the melting and moulding influuence of the Christian homes amid which they were reared?"-Quiver.

To form great and good characters, the mind must be trained to delight in TRUTH.

SEPTEMBER 26.

LESSON XXXIX.

1875.

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. Matt. xxii. 34-46.

34. But when the Pharisees had heard that he 41. While the Pharisees were gathered tohad put the Sadducees to silence, they were gath-gether, Jesus asked them, ered together.

35. Then one of them which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him and saying, 36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38. This is the first and great commandment. 39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

42. Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David.

43. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,

44. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?

45. If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?

46. And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man, from that day forth, ask him any more questions.

QUESTIONS.

34. Who, according to this verse, gathered together around Jesus? Why did they do so at this time? Who were the Sadducees? When and how had Jesus put them to silence? v. 23-30.

35. What did one of them do? What is he called? What is the meaning of lawyer here? What is meant by tempting Him?

36. What question did the lawyer ask? What is the meaning of great here?

37. What answer did Jesus make? Whence did He derive this answer? Deut. vi. 4, 5. Does this commandment take in all the powers and faculties of man?

38. What does Jesus call this commandment? Why does He call it the first as well as the great commandment?

39. What does He say the second commandment is? Why is it like unto the first? What is meant by neighbor? What by as thyself! 40. What did Jesus further say about these

two commandments? What is meant by hang? In what sense do all the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments?

41. While the Pharisees were still together, what did Jesus do?

42. What did He ask them? What does the name Christ mean? What did the Pharisees answer? Was Christ the son of David? Matt. i. 1; Luke ii. 4.

43. What did Jesus say to them? What is the meaning of in spirit? Where is this saying of David's recorded? Ps. cx. 1. Whom did David call the Lord? Whom did he call my Lord?

44. What question did Jesus now ask them? What does this question imply?

45. Were they able to answer this question? How does St. Paul answer it? Rom. i. 3, 4. Did they ask Jesus any more questions?

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COMMENTS. 34. Sadducees. This name | us; but in a general sense, as here, it was given, in the time of our Saviour, means every fellow-being," especially to a sect of the Jews, who were usually every one in need, as our Saviour teaches at variance with the Pharisees. Some in the parable of the good Samaritan, say the name is derived from a Hebrew Luke x. 30-37. As thyself. As much word signifying the just; others, that it and as truly as thyself, so that everyis derived from one Sadve, a disciple of thing which we desire from God and one of the most celebrated teachers of our fellow-men for ourselves, we desire the age. They rejected all the tradi- also for our neighbour. The commandtions and unwritten laws which the ment strikes at the root of all selfishPharisees prized so highly, and pro- ness, which we, as well as the Pharisees fessed to consider the Scriptures as the and Sadducees, are very prone to indulge only source and rule of the Jewish re- and practice. ligion. They denied the doctrine of the resurrection and of the existence of angels and spirits; considered the soul as dying with the body, and of course admitted no future state of rewards and punishments. They were of the richest and most fashionable class of the people, and may be called the free thinkers and infidels of their age.

35. Lawyer. One learned in the moral and ceremonial law of the Jews. Tempting Him. The word is here used in the sense of trying to entrap or entangle.

36. Great. Chief and most important. The Talmud reckons the laws of Moses to be 613 in number, 365 prohibitions, and 248 commands. To keep so many laws, said the Jews, is an angel's work, man cannot do it. Hence they had much dispute among themselves which was the great commandment of all, so that they might keep that in lieu of the whole.

37. Thou shalt love, etc. Supreme love to God is here made the basis of all the commandments, and the source of all true and comprehensive obedience. If we truly, heartily love God, we will also obey Him, and we will do so with all our powers of body, soul and spirit in every act, word, thought and feeling.

38. The first, etc. This commandment is contained in the first commandment given to Moses on Mount Sinai, as he explains it, Deut. vi. 4, . It is, therefore, the first in the order of time. It is also the first in the sense of being the most excellent commandment.

39. Like unto. The second is like unto the first, because it also requires love as the principle or motive of action and negatively forbids all hatred, envy, ill-will. Compare 1 John iv. 20, 21. Neighbor. "A neighbor is one near

40. Hang. Depend, as a door on its hinges, or a cord on a nail. All the law and the prophets. The teachings of the Mosaic law and of the prophetical books, hang or depend upon our duty to God and our duty to our fellow-men. And the spiritual principle which binds all these teachings together, is love. It is the golden cord or silver hinge on which they hang.

42. Christ. This name, like the Hebrew Messiah, means the anointed one. 43. In Spirit, that is, David spoke as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit.

44. The Lord refers to God. My Lord to Christ. The question which Jesus asks implies that Christ was not only the Son of David, as to His human descent, but that He was also the Son of God, and therefore also David's Lord.

Reading.

Let us take time for reading. It will never come if we wait to have every speck of dirt removed from every article we see. We can always find something else to do, and conscientious housekeepers with little taste for mental pursuits, are apt to make great blunders. "The life is more than meat, and the body more than raiment," which means that you yourself, with all your immortal faculties, are of vastly more importance than your household affairs. No kind of labor is degrading if done from a worthy motive, and no motive can be nobler than the womanly desire to make a pleasant home. But our home cannot be properly attractive and profitable to our families, if we ourselves are dull and harassed. It is necessary that good housekeepers should also read and reflect and listen and converse.-Exchange.

Cheer Him.

How nobly did brave men rush through crackling flames and crumbling walls, to save the sick and helpless children at the awful fire in Chicago! During those fearful days and nights of horror, a great many people, choked with the smoke, and frantic from excitement, would have been roasted alive, had not the Lord put it into the hearts of some brave men to risk their own lives to save them from such frightful deaths.

There was once a large building on fire, and the engines and fire companies hurried to the spot. The flames soon got the mastery, and all that could be done was to keep the water playing so the fire should not spread. But now it was seen that one child still remained in the building. It was very dangerous to attempt a rescue. A fireman sprang to a ladder, but was seen to falter. The risk seemed too great for a sane man to make.

Suddenly a voice in the crowd cried out: "Cheer him." Then peal after peal of hearty "hurrahs" went up, and the man no longer faltered. The enthusiasm was contagious. He dashed through the smoke, though the walls tottered, and the flames hissed, and both were rescued. Then you may be sure the cheers were redoubled, and the man became a hero.

So in life, you often meet the people who need, most of all, cheering. "What made William T- - turn out so badly?" was asked about a son in a very fine, talented family.

"Want of sunshine," was the answer of one who knew him well. "There was no one to cheer him. His lady sisters, the stars of the family, absorbed all the interest of the household. The wayward, awkward boy was set aside, and coldly turned off, so he went the natural way of talented boys so treated."

An Oriental Dinner.

I took a meal with the Governor of Banias, or Cesarea Philippi, in the far north beyond the Sea of Galilee. There had been a trial of a man for murder that day. The murder took place that morning, the trial was closed in the af

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ternoon. That is much more rapidly than is the custom in this country in reference to murder trials, or in fact to any kind of legal proceedings. After so great a transaction the Governor felt disposed to do special honor to us strangers. As a preliminary to the dinner was, first, smoking; secondly, drinking coffee; thirdly, washing hands. On this last point the Orientals are particularly scrupulous before eating. When I saw how the hands were used at dinner, I was glad they were washed. We sat down on the floor to dinner. They gave me a stool three inches high, but I found the floor more comfortable. Each of us had six cakes, something like buckwheat cakes, only crisp and more digestible. These were placed on the bare floor. Then we had soup in plates. Then came the great dish. a rich silver platter, ornamented with gold, was a pyramid of something that looked like rice-smooth, monotonous rice. The Governor gave a thrust with his fist and pulled out the head of a kid. So there was really meat in it. The man at the right hand of the Governor next thrust in his hand. He pulled out some meat and at once began eating. Then I did the same. You can see how badly our hands needed the wash-basin after this curious meal was over. In addition to the kid the dish contained fowl, and several kinds of fruit and preserves, up to the very top; but all concealed by the immense lot of rice. All courses were thus in one. The cup-bearer stood at the right of the Governor. He had a silver cup for the purpose of supplying the Governor with water. There was no wine. The Koran says, "Let no man see thee drink wine." So the followers of Mohammed drink wine only in private. The other cup-bearer was at the left of the Governor, with one cup which was for all of us. I did not want any water. The customs of eating have evidently not materially changed since the time of Abraham.-Dr. J. F. Hurst, in The Christian World.

"For right is right, since God is God:
And right the day must win;
To doubt would be disloyalty,
To falter would be sin."

The Guardian.

VOL. XXVII.

OCTOBER, 1875.

A Home Missionary Boy.

BY THE EDITOR.

Charlie Jones is a pious boy of nine years of age. He has kind parents, but neither of them were members of the Church they were not even baptized. Charlie is their only living child. He belongs to our Sunday-school. He is never absent unless when he is sick. His teacher likes him very much, and well he may, for he is a noble little fellow. One Sunday the pastor spoke to the Sunday-school, and reminded the children of their baptismal blessings. How their parents had brought them on their arms to the pastor, when they were little babes, and had them baptized. How in their names the parents promised to renounce the world with its vain pomp and glory, the flesh with its sinful desires," and that they would strive to lead a Christian life. How they promised to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And now the pastor and teachers were trying to help their parents to train them up piously, and that they must help too. He told them how, by virtue of their baptism, they were now our Saviour's children, and that He always watched them, and loved them with heavenly tenderness.

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Now it happened that Charlie had never been baptized, and he was very much troubled about it. For he in sisted on knowing for certain whether he had been given to our Saviour. For several weeks not a day passed but what he argued with his mother about the subject. During school hours the matter weighed on his mind, so that he

NO. 10.

could scarcely wait till he reached home to unburden his troubled heart to his mother. Scarcely had he said his prayers at night, before he would plead again with her. Meanwhile, he found out that she was not baptized either. And that worried him still more. He plead as only a child can plead.

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Mother, will you please ask our pastor to baptize me? I feel so unhappy because I do not belong to the Saviour's children. Why, mother, I might die to-night. And how can I die without being baptized? Yes, and you, too, must be baptized, mother. I want you to go with me to our Saviour. He will care for us, and help us to love and obey Him. Mother, please, come along with me on the way to heaven. Why, you would not wish me to go alone, and you stay back. Mother, I want you to be with me there."

One morning the pastor received a note from the family, requesting him to call at their house. Charlie and his mother received him with their usual kindness, but with an unusual air of seriousness. She soon opened the subject as follows: "Mr., I have sent for you about an important matter. For some weeks past this dear child has been to me a wise teacher. His mind has been greatly troubled because he has not been baptized. He says he can not rest until he has been given to the Saviour in baptism. And he has preached to me until I can withstand his entreaties no longer. We can not sleep at night, so much are we troubled for not having given ourselves and our child to Christ. I can hold back no longer. Will you please baptize us both?"

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