THE LAST TEMPTATION.

"And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."LUKE iv. 5-8.

N the first temptation there is exhibited

IN

absolute faith in circumstances the most trying to which, physically, man can be exposed, when Jesus refuses by any use of His power to cut short the period of trial to which He was exposed by His Father; and in the second, a rebuke is given to presumptuousness in counting upon the aid of God in circumstances

against which the right use of our own faculties is sufficient to guard us-the two temptations being, so to speak, the complements one of the other; the Lord, in His refusal to yield unto the second, guarding against the error which an abuse of faith constantly produces. Thus, while teaching a lesson of absolute submission to God and trust in Him, amidst all the affairs of life, He impresses us also with the truth that we are not to confide in God to help us in circumstances in which our own faculties are sufficient to guide us, or to expect that if we neglect the means placed within our power, God is through the power of His grace to support or supplement our folly. He may do so in His longsuffering kindness, but we are not entitled to count upon it; and if we do count upon it, and with our eyes open rush into danger through carelessness or desire of evil, we shall certainly be disappointed. No temptation of the enemy is more common than this. In spiritual things especially we are constantly prone to abuse the richness of God's goodness and grace, by neglecting those means and precautions which ought to be

E

adopted, by diligently, with fear and trembling, working out our salvation, keeping our eyes open to our dangers, and vigilantly struggling against them.

The tempter now seeks to lead Jesus astray from His allegiance to God by the offer of the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. In treating of this temptation we would consider, first, the method of it: he took Him unto a high mountain, and showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. Secondly, the offer made, "All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them." Thirdly, the condition, “If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine." And the reply, and what is implied in it: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."

I. Taking Him up into a high mountain, he showed unto Him all the kingdoms of his world in a moment of time. Milton, in the

"Paradise Regained," has portrayed this temptation with much skill, giving a sublime picture of the vast treasures of earth here presented to the imagination. He says,―

"With that (such power was given him then), he took The Son of God up to a mountain high.

It was a mountain at whose verdant feet
A spacious plain, outstretch'd in circuit wide,
Lay pleasant; from his side two rivers flow'd,
The one winding, the other straight, and left between
Fair champaign, with less rivers intervein'd,
Then, meeting, join'd their tribute to the sea;
Fertile of corn the glebe, of oil, and wine;

With herds the pasture throng'd, with flocks the hills;
Huge cities and high tower'd, that well might seem
The seats of mightiest monarchs; and so large
The prospect was, that here and there was room
For barren desert, fountainless and dry."

There is nothing that gives such an idea of the riches and glory of this world as the view from some mountain-top of the plains beneath, of rivers calmly meandering through the peaceful and gladsome valleys, of hills covered with verdure, of mountains presenting their rugged fronts to view, towering aloft into the region of the eternal snows of lakes reflecting in their glassy waters the surrounding scene, or swept over by the stormy winds, their waves sparkling in the rays of the summer sun. From such a position the vastness of God's works is seen, and the greatness of His power in the earth is

felt; and all the little narrow circuits of our circumscribed thoughts disappear in the presence of such majestic views of Nature in her wide domain. Therefore have those who inhabit such mountain regions been often celebrated in history for their bravery of spirit and manly independence. Such a scene is vividly impressed upon my own mind, when, after toiling up the side of one of the stony and dreary Apennines, on attaining the summit, there suddenly appeared upon the opposite side, in the distance, the domes, and towers, and spires of the most fairy and beautiful city of Florence, now the capital of Italy, sparkling like a thousand mirrors in the rays of the brilliant sun, while the river was seen flowing through the rich vine-clad valleys, its banks lined with most ancient and picturesque villages, until it reached the city, and passing through wound its way along the plain beyond, disappearing at length in the boundary of the distant horizon; while in the immediate foreground, on the mountain side, were to be seen the ancient convent and majestic pines of Vallambrosa, celebrated in

.