Nor can it be wondered at, that the Invitation was readily and at once accepted; and that the perishable good things of this Life were abandoned for the Exhaustless and Inestimable Treasures, That are Laid up in Heaven for Believers; when we consider that It was The SON of GOD Himself, though Veiled in our Nature, Who Uttered It, and, with the Wisdom and Foreknowledge That Belonged to Him, Selected the Objects for Its reception. And, Oh that the Same Invitation, Which was Given to these illiterate but simple and humble-minded Fishermen, and Which is Offered Freely unto All, whether Low or High, Rich or Poor, Learned or Unlearned, in equally effective and intelligent Terms, were as heartily and gratefully accepted! that through faith in CHRIST, and by the Help of The HOLY SPIRIT, we might not only work out our own Salvation, but might be Permitted to labour as GOD'S Ministers to bring Others within that Net, which, in a result the reverse of the Fishes' fate, Gives Life and Liberty to All, who are Taken in It.

By St. Luke a more minute description of the Means Resorted to by our SAVIOUR to Influence these Fishermen to leave their all of earthly habit and connection, and follow Him in the confidence that He would Give them Imperishable Riches, by Saving their Souls, and Making them accessory to the Salvation of Others, is thus given: And it came to pass, that, as the People pressed upon Him (JESUS) to hear the Word of GOD, He Stood by the Lake of Genesaret, and Saw two ships standing by the Lake; but the Fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets; and He Entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and Prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He Sat down and Taught the People out of the ship. Now when He had Left Speaking, He Said unto Simon, "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught!" And Simon answering, said unto Him, "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless, at Thy Word I will let down the net." And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net brake: and they beckoned unto their Partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them: and they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink: when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at JESUS' Knees, saying, "Depart from me! for I am a sinful Man, O LORD!" For he was astonished, and All, that were with him, at the draught of the fishes, which they had taken; and so was also James and John, the Sons of Zebedee, which were Partners with Simon. And JESUS Said unto Simon, Fear not! from henceforth thou shalt catch Men." And when they had brought their ships to land, thy forsook all, and followed Him.-Chap. v, 1 to 11. Thus it appears a Miracle was Wrought by our SAVIOUR, Which Manifested the Greatness of His Power, and confirmed, in the minds of the Witnesses of It, the belief in His DIVINITY, or DIVINELY Commissioned Nature.

St. John, after the description of our SAVIOUR'S Baptism, and the Heavenly Annunciation of His MESSIAHSHIP in the presence of John the Baptist, goes on thus: The next day after, John stood, and Two of his Disciples, and looking upon JESUS, as He Walked, he saith, "Behold The LAMB of GOD!" And the two Disciples heard him speak, and they followed JESUS. Then JESUS Turned, and Saw them following, and Saith unto them, "What seek ye?" They said unto Him, "Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where Dwellest Thou?" HE Saith unto them, "Come and See!" They came, and saw where He Dwelt; and abode with Him that day; for it was about the tenth hour. One of the Two which heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's Brother he first findeth his own Brother Simon, and saith unto him, "We have found The MESSIAS," (Which is, being interpreted, The CHRIST;) and he brought him to JESUS. And when JESUS Beheld him, He Said, "Thou art Simon, the Son of

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Jona! thou shalt be called Cephas," (which is, by interpretation, a stone.)— Chap. i, 35 to 42. St. John then notices the special Call of Philip and Nathanael in these words: The day following, JESUS would Go forth into Galilee, and Findeth Philip, and Saith unto him, Follow Me!" Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the City of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, "We have found Him, of Whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets did write, JESUS of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph !" And Nathanael said unto him, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip saith unto him, Come and see!" JESUS Saw Nathanael coming to Him, and Saith of him, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile !" Nathanael saith unto Him, "Whence Knowest Thou me?" JESUS Answered, and Said unto him, “Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I Saw thee." Nathanael answered and saith unto Him, RABBI, Thou art The SON of GOD: Thou art The KING of Israel." JESUS Answered, and Said unto him, "Because I Said unto thee, I Saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater Things than these!" And He Saith unto him, "Verily, Verily I Say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see Heaven Open, and the Angels of GOD ascending and descending upon The SON of Man."-Chap. i, 43 to 51.

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Our Blessed SAVIOUR'S Insight into character, as an Attribute of His DIVINITY, was thus Exemplified in His Estimate as well as of Peter's, as Nathanael's; and by their ready adoption of Him as their LORD and MASTER, the long looked-for and ardently desired REDEEMER of Mankind. Peter was an emblem of That Rock, on Which CHRIST Built His Church; manifesting, amidst Human infirmity, a deep repentance, and an ultimate faith not to be shaken. Nathanael was also as an Emblem of the becoming innocence of the true Convert to CHRIST, guileless as a little Child. The incident of what passed under the fig-tree, the bare mention of which wrought so instantaneous a conviction in Nathanael's mind, is not so disclosed in all its circumstances as to admit of comment without conjecture; and in imaginations it is better not to indulge too confidently, but One should be led to suppose, from the concluding Prophecy Uttered by our SAVIOUR, Which Alluded, probably, either to His Own Ascension, or to His Final Coming to Judge the Earth, with all the Host of Heaven in His Train, that some Especial Revelation was then Vouchsafed to Nathanael, that bespoke the Near Presence of The MESSIAH. Such obedience in the Spirit of Faith to The SAVIOUR'S Call as manifested itself in His First Disciples, and wrought in them, through Him, Redemption and Advancement to Glory Everlasting, will equally work in us, through the Same Gracious Mediation, the same Blissful Fruits, if, like them, we follow JESUS with faithful and true hearts, leaving all that in this Life would estrange us from Him and His Ways; for He, Whose Word is Truth, hath Himself Declared that There is no Man, that hath left house or Brethren, or Sisters, or Father, or Mother, or Wife, or Children, or Lands, for His Sake and the Gospel's, but he shall receive an hundred-fold; and in the World to Come Eternal Life.-Mark x, 29 to 30.

And JESUS Went about all Galilee, Teaching in their Synagogues, and Preaching the Gospel of The KINGDOM; and Healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the People. And His Fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought unto Him all sick People, that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with Devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and He Healed them. And there followed Him great Multitudes of People from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.-23 to 25.

With what Zeal did The Blessed JESUS Prosecute His Gracious Ministry on Earth, not only Inculcating the Pure Precepts of His Religion in the Syna

gogues throughout Galilee, Delivering Glad Tidings of His Salvation by the Coming of His KINGDOM, but Manifesting the Benevolently Active Principles of Vital Charity as the inseparable companion of true Faith, by Going about Doing Good, Healing the Sick and Restoring the Diseased, Thereby Setting us a Glorious Example, Which, to the utmost of our power, and as we severally have opportunity, we should follow; and though the same instantaneous effect may not be produced by our exertions, the same power neither belonging, nor being Communicated to us, yet much may be done to alleviate the infirmities of the body, to sooth the sufferings or sorrows of the mind, and still more towards healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease amongst the Souls of Others; an office which is infinitely more truly charitable than attention confined to physical ills, though in doing the one, as the weightier matter, we should not leave the other undone.

O that All, who are sick unto Spiritual death, would suffer themselves to be brought to The Great PHYSICIAN of Souls; and would submit to His Mild and Gracious Prescriptions! for the adoption of Them would insure the Cure of the diseases affecting the Soul, whether from original or actual sin, and would Heal the wounds and Allay the anguish of an agonized and chiding conscience: They would dispossess the heart of those evil propensities, which, instigated by the subtlety and malice of the Devil, influence it to its deepest misery, and the Soul's final destruction: They would dispel the melancholy and despair, which bear so heavily upon the mind, when the Peace of GOD is Withdrawn from it: They would calm and tranquilize the agitations of a Spirit trembling on the brink of a hopeless Eternity.

In effect JESUS still Continueth to Preach in this our Galilee, the Scene of the Visitation of His Blessed Gospel. And why are there not great Numbers of People following Him in faith and obedience; hanging on all the Utterances of His Lips, and receiving at His Hands The KINGDOM Prepared for them; and thinking, in the meekness and gratitude of their hearts, all things but loss for the gain of That KINGDOM, and for the Excellency of the knowledge of CHRIST JESUS, their LORD? For assuredly Human Souls are not of less Estimation in the Mind of our CREATOR in this our day; neither are the Terms of Salvation, That are Offered to us, of less Encouragement; and, therefore, the Everlasting Interests of our Immortal Souls should not be in any degree less pursued, than were those of the first Followers of The Same SAVIOUR and LORD, when Himself Present amongst The Inhabitants upon Earth, Visibly in our Nature.

St. Mark's description of the early advance of our SAVIOUR'S Ministry has been before stated and observed upon. In addition, it may be remarked, that in His Preaching, the Object of the MESSIAH was the Salvation of the Souls of His Hearers by the conversion of their hearts to GOD. The Scribes did not so labour: the pride and the haughtiness of their hearts and heads, (speaking generally,) would not let them so preach The Coming KINGDOM of GOD.

St. Luke's more detailed narrative of our SAVIOUR'S Opening Address has also been before stated. On which it may be here further remarked, that in His Earliest Ministry did our Blessed LORD Set forth the Peculiar Merits and Mercies, the Perfection of Love and Charity, Which were the Principles That Actuated His SPIRIT towards Mankind: but His Gospel could not Profit them who rejected It: and sad is the picture there given of weak and vain and proud and ungrateful hearts. Some indeed wondered at the Gracious Words That Proceeded out of our SAVIOUR'S Mouth, and were, doubtless, Comforted beyond expression at the Prospect of Salvation unto Life Eternal thus Opening upon them. These were the Meek and Lowly of heart, the Humble and Con

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trite Spirits. Such as had before been led captive by Satan, and were groaning under such bondage, and seeking, by prayer and supplication, for Deliverance from Above: Such as Sin had blinded for a time from the view of Heavenly hopes and Spiritual joys, and had left them in all the darkness of despair. But how few, alas, must have been the true Believers and faithful Supporters of JESUS, though All, who had heard Him, might have gained wisdom to walk in a perfect Way, when That PREACHER of Mercy and TEACHER of Righteousness was not only Rejected by the majority of weight and influence in the Community, but grossly and Personally insulted, and more than threatened with imminent danger and even cruel death; from which He indeed Escaped only by a seeming Miracle. In the Temple, when of the age but of Boyhood, He had been listened to with wonder and delight. The Same Gracious SPIRIT Actuated Him on His Further Progress; and Deeper and more Impressive Truths did He then Disclose. O that His Hearers had been wise, that with the heart they had understood the Things, Which Belonged to their Everlasting Peace! But because He Justly Laid Claim to DIVINITY, they, as too Many, alas, still do, would have none of His Doctrine, nor suffer Him, though Peacefully and Graciously, to Reign over them. Such is the woeful effect of Spiritual pride. May we lay our understandings as well as our hearts at the Feet of

JESUS!

CHAP. V.-And Seeing the Multitudes, He (JESUS) Went up into a Mountain: and when He was Set, His Disciples came unto Him; and He Opened His Mouth and Taught them, Saying, "Blessed are the Poor in Spirit! for theirs is The KINGDOM of HEAVEN."-1 to 3.

What Multitudes with us are every where and every day seen needing, if not asking for or seeking, the Communication of That Word, on Which Everlasting Life and Peace and Joy depend! And why are there wanting Those, who should ascend up into the Mountain of Holiness, the Seat of Purity and Piety, both by precept and example, to make manifest the Vital Character and Principles of Christianity; and, opening their mouth as The SPIRIT, Yielding to their pious supplication for Its Guiding Grace, would Give them Utterance, teach the Great Truths, that belong to the Eternal Interests of Mankind, unto All within their influence?

How Comforting a Doctrine This to the Meek and Lowly of heart, to them, who, in a consciousness of their entire unworthiness of an Inheritance in the KINGDOM of HEAVEN, do eagerly close with the Offer of It, by dedicating themselves in all fervency and faithfulness to the service of Him, through Whose Merits and Intercession the Inestimable Blessing is Presented to and Pressed upon them! But, alas! how averse to its reception is the self-blinding principle of Self-righteousness, fostered, as it is, by Pride and Presumption, which by condemning and contemning the Poor in Spirit and the Meek of the Earth, loses for its Votaries the KINGDOM of HEAVEN! And who, indeed, that hath a right understanding and is sober-minded can be otherwise than poor in Spirit, humble, lowly, and deeply impressed with the hopelessness of the condition of his Soul, if dependant alone on his own merits for Salvation, and if The Gracious INTERCESSOR for Mankind had not Interposed between Man's offences and the punishment justly due to them? The contemplation of Which Act of Mercy, when traced from Its Cause to Its Effects, is enough to bring down the loftiest mind and proudest heart in Self-condemnation and abasement; and ought to influence to a paramount devotion of the Soul to the fulfilment of the Will and Commandments of so Great A BENEFACTOR. And be it remembered that to be Poor in Spirit is to be rich in the Favour of GOD, Which

Insures the Blessing of inward peace here, and Everlasting Happiness in the Riches of the Mercies of JEHOVAH Hereafter.

In St. Luke's narrative the Benediction of our SAVIOUR is thus given : Blessed be ye Poor, for your's is The KINGDOM of GOD!-Luke vi, 20: meaning those, who were zealously pressing upon Him in a consciousness of their own Spiritual poverty, to draw that Virtue, which went out from Him,— the enriching them with the Supply of Knowledge and Wisdom for their Spiritual necessities. And if we come unto Him with faith, not trusting in our own righteousness, but in His Manifold and Great Mercies, GOD will Give us all Things richly to enjoy. Yea, The LORD aforetime Said by His Prophet Isaiah, [lxvi, 2,] "To this Man will I Look, even to him, that is poor and of a contrite Spirit, and trembleth at My Word." Which heart-cheering Truth to the truly humble-minded is thus Fully Confirmed by The SON of GOD Himself, Who Himself Came for the Especial and Gracious Purpose of Binding up the Broken-hearted by Imparting This Blessing.

St. Mark thus mentions our SAVIOUR'S Going up into the Mountain, and the Multitude following Him, and His Teaching them; but he does not detail the Sermon. He enters however into the narrative of the Calling and Appointment of the Apostles thus: And JESUS Goeth up into a Mountain, and Calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him: and He Ordained Twelve, that they should be with Him; and that He might Send them forth to Preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. And Simon He Surnamed Peter; and James the Son of Zebedee, and John the Brother of James; and He Surnamed them Boanerges, which is, the Sons of Thunder; and Andrew and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the Son of Alphæus, and Thaddeus, and Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot which also betrayed Him; and they went into an house.-Chap. iii, 13 to 19.

St. Luke, who has before been briefly referred to in connection with the Text, also mentions the Calling of the Apostles, previous to the Sermon being Delivered from the Mount, thus: And it came to pass, in those days, that JESUS Went out into a Mountain to Pray, and Continued all night in Prayer to GOD: and when it was day He Called unto Him His Disciples; and of them He Chose Twelve; whom also He Named Apostles; Simon, (whom He also Named Peter,) and Andrew his Brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the Son of Alphæus, and Simon, called Zelotes, and Judas the Brother of James, and Judas Iscariot which also was the Traitor. And He Came down with them and Stood in the Plain, and the Company of His Disciples, and a great Multitude of People out of all Judæa and Jerusalem, and from the Sea Coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear Him, and to be Healed of their diseases; and they, that were vexed with unclean Spirits: and they were Healed. And the whole Multitude sought to touch Him; for there Went Virtue out of Him, and Healed them All. And He Lifted up His Eyes on His Disciples, and Said, "Blessed be ye Poor! for your's is The KINGDOM of GOD!"-Chap. vi, 12 to 20.

The Earnestness with which our SAVIOUR devoted Himself to Prayer, before Entering on the Great Office of Promulgating the Sublime and Essential Exhortations and Encouragements of His Gospel, is well deserving of both attention and imitation: and though St. Luke confines the Expression of the Beatitude thus to the Disciples of our Saviour then around Him, doubtless It was received with gladness, and was intended so to be by All, who in likemindedness listen to the Recorded Utterance; and so it will be to the end of Time by All, who have, by true faith and fervent supplication, sought to cherish the Soul-sustaining Promise, and apply It to their own hopes and personal expectations. And, in analogy, doubtless, all diseases of the Soul are at this