Walks and words of Jesus: a paragraph harmony of the four Evangelists, by M.N. Olmsted

of our Redeemer, without any of those feeble efforts at narration which too often characterize works professedly written to unfold His nature and His doctrine. There are no extraneous sources from which to gather reliable information respecting the ways of Christ on earth, and our author has therefore adhered almost to a letter in placing such before us in all the grandeur and simplicity of the Evangelistic narratives.

The purposes carried out in the plan of this book have been:

FIRST. That the Saviour's life should be presented in as complete a form as possible from the Evangelistic narratives alone, and that by carefully selecting in chronological order the record of each separate action, the whole of the four Gospels should be completely harmonized, and the student thus be enabled to follow continuously through the whole range and teaching of His mission.

SECOND. That the words of the Divine Teacher should be presented in a bolder character, and thus, while reading in connection with the circumstances which called them forth, might be perused

in the order of their utterance, apart from the

incidental text.

THIRD. While the author has felt it necessary to trace Christ as He appeared in Creation and Providence, by a judicious selection of passages from the Old and New Testaments, the main idea of harmonizing the Gospels, and especially of giving. the greatest prominence to the Divine Speaker himself, has been preserved intact. The second of the two preliminary chapters sketches the childhood of the Saviour with appropriate reflections; and the last and concluding chapter of the volume quite as appropriately records the words uttered by Him after His ascension.

The life of Christ was essentially a pattern life. Not only was His mission to save "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," but to shew by example the purity which might be attained by living as He taught. The self-righteous Pharisee, whose sentimentalism revolted at His freedom of conversation with sinners, received as severe a rebuke from Him as did the most openly iniquitous among men. He came to teach them that not even the most

rigid adherence to the Law, or to the tradition of the elders, was sufficient for the high purposes of the human soul. Life must have for its aim and end the adoration of the "Only-begotten," and the glory of the great "I AM." He came to teach that in a world of temptation and of evil it was not only possible, but necessary, to have divine life in man; and by the principle and the power of faith to have inscribed on that life "Holiness unto

the Lord."

"Among the many books which are appearing, concerning the Christ, this, after all, is the truest and best. It may be WELL to read them-it is INDISPENSABLE to read this. Whatever gives interest to the sacred page, and especially, whatsoever shall give prominence to the simple word and truth of Jesus, cannot fail to be fraught with blessings to the world."

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER.

I. Jesus in Creation and Prophecy .

II. The Childhood of Jesus

III. The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus.

IV. Testimony of John-Call of the First

Disciples