ST. LUKE.

ST. JOHN.

There are many other things that
Jesus did, the which if they
should be written every one, I
suppose the world itself could not
contain the books that should be
written. Amen.

HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS.

"In our readings of the Bible," says Dr. Chalmers, "we often acquit ourselves of the task very currently, and are apt to speed our way over whole phrases, without being at all arrested by any thought or feeling of their significance, and that too, with a book where there is nothing insignificant." Such is the case in our use of the word Gospel; from our familiarity with the word, we use it without feeling the depth of meaning and of interest there is to us in the expression. In the Book called the Gospel according to St. Matthew, we find the words "The gospel of the kingdom;" in the Gospel according to St. Mark, the words, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." "Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God;" and in the Gospel according to St. Luke, "the gospel;" the word is not used in the Gospel according to St. John, but in the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of St. Paul, and St. Peter, and the book of Revelation, we find the word frequently used. The word "Gospel" is the Anglo-Saxon translation of the Greek word, of which the full meaning and intention is given us in the address of the Angel to the Shepherds at Bethlehem, "Fear not for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." If we seek for a brief delineation of what the Gospel really is, we shall find it in the third chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, as expounded by our Saviour himself to Nicodemus.

This word, the glad tidings, or good message from God to man, ("Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men,") is transferred from the message itself, to denominate the writings of those who have handed down to us, a history of its first proclamation by St. John, and its full developement in our blessed Lord and Saviour. From the Greek word Euaggelion, comes the' Latin Evangelium, and hence our word Evangelists, the writers of the four Books which bear their names. These have been received in the Church in all ages, as the only gospels which are genuine and authentic, and have been believed in by all faithful Christians, whose best testimony is their own conscience, the internal testimony of the Holy

Spirit, bearing witness to their spirits, to whom it has been given to receive in simple and unhesitating faith these Divine oracles.

"Yon cottager, who weaves at her own door,
Pillow and bobbins, all her little store;
Content though mean, and cheerful if not gay,
Shuffling her threads about the livelong day,
Just earns a scanty pittance; and at night,
Lies down secure, her heart and pocket light.
She, for her humble sphere by nature fit,
Has little understanding and no wit,
Receives no praise, but though her lot be such,
Toilsome and indigent, she renders much;
Just knows, and knows no more, her Bible true,
A truth the brilliant Frenchman never knew ;
And in that charter reads with sparkling eyes,
Her title to a treasure in the skies."

Let us then without doubt and hesitation put our trust and confidence as we have done, from our earliest youth, in these blessed writings.

In reference to this subject, I cannot do better then quote the following note in the " Lives of Robert and James Haldane by Alexander Haldane, Esq.

There is an interesting anecdote; which was related by the late Rev. D. Walter Buchanan, with reference to one of the means which seems to have been provided in order to secure the New Testament either from interpolation or corruption :

'I was dining' said Dr. Buchanan 'some time ago with a literary party at old Mr. Abercromby's of Tullibody, (the father of Ralph Abercromby, who was slain in Egypt) and we spent the evening together. A gentleman present put a question which puzzled the whole party. It was this-Supposing all the New Testaments in the world had been destroyed at the end of the third century could their contents have been recovered from the writings of the first three centuries ! ' The question was novel to all and no one even hazarded a guess in answer to the inquiry. About two months after this meeting I received an invitation to breakfast with the Lord Hailes (Sir David Dalrymple) next morning. He had been of the party. During breakfast he asked me if I recollected the curious question about the possibility of recovering the contents of the New Testament from the writings of the first three Centuries. I remember it well, and have thought of it often, without being able to form any opinion or conjecture on the subject.' 'Well,' said Lord Hailes, 'that question quite accorded with the turn or taste of my antiquarian mind. On returning home, as I knew I had all the writings of these centuries, I began immediately to collect them, that I might set to work on the arduous task as soon as possible.' Pointing to a table covered with papers he said, 'There have I been busy for those two months searching for chapters, half chapters, and sentences of the New Testa