have mercy; you would tell him of your grief, and make particular mention of it, and say to him, thus and thus it is with me, and be earnest with him for help, as the man was for his child. Have you no knowledge of such a work as this? Are all your prayers cold and formal, not breathed from the heart, not forced from your own inward sense, not prayed, but only repeated? What, then, has Christ done for you, when, in reality, you never desired any thing of him? And what can it signify to you, to hear of this, or any other cure which he wrought, if you never come to him with your own wants? say therefore, again and again, that we never read the Scripture to the end for which it was written, and are in no way of getting life from it, till we are convinced by what it testifies of Jesus, that he has all power given to him in heaven and in earth, and is able to save, to the uttermost, all that come unto God by him; and in this belief come to him for ourselves, knowing that we want deliverance from the plague of sin, and that, as he only can, so he will save us.

I

You may think it a great matter to read one or more chapters of the Bible now and then, perhaps every day; and it is well done, if you sincerely desire to profit by what you read. But, as the great design of it is to reveal Christ to us as the Saviour of sinners, and bring us to him for the life which he only can give; so the chief point, I told you, is to go directly to him, and put ourselves into his hands for the blessings he has to bestow upon us, by appointment from God, as we would go to a physician for the cure of a bodily distemper. This is faith, and faith saves us; because it is putting the work upon Christ, which he can do, and we cannot; with great rejoicing in the conscience, and many thanksgivings to God for providing such a remedy for us, and sending his only begotten Son into the world, that we

might live through him. Let it, therefore, be our constant, daily prayer, that we may so believe in him, as to commit our souls to him, trusting in him for pardon and acceptance with God, and faithfully following his instructions.

PRAYER.

Almighty God, who didst send thy blessed Son to take away our sins, and heal all the diseases of our souls; and hast exalted him to thy right-hand, a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of sins; we beseech thee, bring us to him in faith, with earnest desire of all his benefits. As none come to the knowledge of thee here, or to thy glory hereafter, but by him; so all that come unto thee by him, he is able to save to the uttermost. Grant that we may commit our souls to him in the belief and love of his salvation, and be kept by the remembrance of what he hath done and suffered for us both from presumption and despair; that we may neither speak peace to ourselves without an interest in his precious blood-shedding, nor doubt of its efficacy to cleanse us from the guilt of all our sins, and wash out the foulest stains of the greatest sinners. Lord, reveal him to our hearts, as the way, the truth, and the life, make us thankful for the great mercy of our deliverance by him, keep us faithful to him in all well-doing, and accept us for his sake, our only Saviour and Redeemer. Amen.

SECTION XXXVIII.

ST. MATTHEW, xviii. 1.

Ar the same time, Just after he had told them of his sufferings and death. And I suppose this is mentioned to show how little effect it had upon them.

Came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? — In his kingdom of worldly power, which they imagined he was come to set up, according to the common expectation of the Jews. And when they asked, "Who is the greatest, &c."? they expected he would tell them, and did not doubt but it would be themselves. The disciples were yet carnal and earthly-minded; betray it upon all occasions; and prove to us, that whilst we are so, we must think and act accordingly, mistake Scripture, and be slow of belief. In his answer, he corrects their mistake about the nature of his kingdom, not directly, but by instructing them, and in them all others, how they must be qualified to enter into his kingdom of heaven. Therefore, ask not who is the greatest in it, but learn from this whole passage how you must belong to it, and what you will be when you are in it; always remembering, that your admission into it is of mere grace and favour, and the lowest place in it far beyond your deserts.

Ver. 2. And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them. - Observe his manner of teaching, and how sweetly and forcibly he gives a check to their vain thoughts. Fancy yourselves present at the very action, and never forget the little child.

Ver. 3. And said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.-Thou art a wise man, knowest many things, and art full in the pride of reason and selfability. Beware that this does not keep thee from Christ, and shut thee out of the kingdom of heaven. The declaration is peremptory. Hear how it runs: Be converted; turn back to thy childhood, and be the same with Christ now, that thou wast then, in thyself, and with those who had the care of thee, or else there is no hope of thy salvation.

Ver. 4. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child,― To be as free from aspiring thoughts, as helpless in himself, and as ready to receive the doctrines of the kingdom, as a little child.

-The same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. — Because he has renounced himself and his own miserable pretensions, no longer stands before God in the confidence of a lie, and gives himself up into the hands of him who alone can make him great, and who makes all great in proportion to the sense they have of their own. littleness.

Ver. 5. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name, One so qualified, so self-emptied, so humble, so child-like, to help and encourage him in the ways of Christ; in love to him, and for Christ's sake.

--Receiveth me. Christ, in affection; Christ, in them; Christ, with all his benefits.

Ver. 6. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me,- Turn him from Christ, or hinder him in his progress, by example, persuasion, or ill usage. Great It were better for him that a mill-stone, &c. is the sin, and sad will be the doom, of all those who oppose Christ, or his work, in any of his servants.

Ver. 7. Wo unto the world because of offences - That is, as you have already heard, hinderances, or stumblingblocks, thrown in the way of others to turn them from the truth. And he says, wo unto the world upon this account, as if it was the general, and most common sin of the world at all times.

For it must needs be that offences come. -Considering the nature of men, prone to evil, and whatever pretences they make to goodness, real haters of godliness, so it will be. But the necessity is of their own making, and what all such must severely answer for.

But wo to that man by whom the offence cometh.

Observe carefully how the wo is repeated, and what sharpness of expression he useth in the matter; that none of you may ever share in the guilt of hindering, or keeping back, husband or wife, child, servant, or neighbour, when they are in earnest in turning to Christ. But if they are turned aside, by force, or threats, displeasure of friends, loss of means, or suffering of any kind, will this excuse them? No; it is at their peril; duty must not be given up, conscience must not be stifled, Christ must not be deserted, for any worldly consideration. And, therefore, the advice in the two next verses is for them; to bethink themselves what they will gain by keeping all, and losing their souls.

Ver. 8, 9. Wherefore, if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off: If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, &c. -It may be a hard trial thou art put to, like the cutting off a limb, or plucking out an eye; but put hell in the balance against it.

Ver. 10. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones. Christ, you see, pleads hard for them, and dwells upon the subject; knowing that men are too apt to despise them for the very thing which recommends them to the notice of God, their teachableness, simplicity, and littleness in their own eyes. He says, despise; and his words are always well chosen. Others, however, sunk in vice and folly, are pitied, or lightly censured; but God Almighty's little ones are heartily and emphatically despised.

-For I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven — Stand before him, to receive his commands concerning them, and represent any injuries done to them. What an honour for these little ones, and how great amends for man's contempt of them! How great a proof of God's