he meant by drinking of his cup, and being baptized with his baptism; but, nevertheless, undertook boldly for themselves: how ignorantly and presumptuously, let their behaviour witness, when they forsook him.

23. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

Christ says, "It is not mine to give," as a matter of mere favour; or in my state of humiliation.

"But for whom it is prepared of my Father." They being prepared and qualified for it according to his will. And for such, Christ has all power put into his hands, and says, "I give," Rev. iii. 21; John x. 28. " And I give

unto them eternal life."

24. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.

All having the same views of advancement under Christ, and thinking themselves as well entitled to it. We judge very wrong, if we think of the apostles as eminent saints. before the descent of the Holy Ghost. We see in them, and it is of great use to observe it, what all men are by nature, and what they may be by, and under grace. It is also observable, that St. Matthew, the relater, was one of the ten; and yet he publishes the mistakes and defects of himself, and the other disciples, great as they were, in this instance especially, without reserve. This is not the nature of man; and furnishes us with a convincing proof of his regard to truth, and of the truth of the gospel.

25. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

26. But it shall not be so among you:

Christ was no leveller of offices and civil dignities; of the heart, he was.

26. But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

27. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your

servant:

These are hard sayings; but sufficiently prove to us what true greatness is, in the esteem of Christ. I verily believe that no man can possibly be happy in himself, till he arrives at this degree of humiliation.

28. Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

O thou

For all who believe and trust in that ransom. disciple of an incarnate God, what art thou doing, when thy heart beats for pre-eminence, and disdains to stoop? And what can lay the axe to the root of our pride, if this does not? Nay, still we can resist both the precept, and example of our great Master; and shall be for ever unchanged, without a new nature, by a new birth of the Spirit.

29. And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.

How few of them knew for what they followed him? If we think we do, the remainder of the chapter will try us.

SECTION LI.

Chap. xx. ver. 30—34.

CHRIST HEALS TWO BLIND MEN.

30. And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way-side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.

Mark the end of your reading, and hearing of him, in

this, and all his miracles; it is that you may know your blindness, and who is to be the restorer of your sight. Why did they cry? They knew they were blind. Why do not you, in sincerity, and with great earnestness! O! it is a vain thing to take his name into your mouths, and think you believe in him, without any true knowledge of your case, or lively sense of your want of him:

31. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.

They would not hold their peace for any man's bidding. They were not to be rebuked out of their cure. Probably, they had heard of the fame of Jesus, longed for his coming where they were, and would not lose this precious opportunity. How many have we lost?

Let who will endeavour to stop your mouths, in the day of your distress for sin, regard them not. Do as the blind men did; cry the more after Jesus; cry in spite of all the world, "Have mercy on me!"

32. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?

They stopped him by their crying. He knows our case, and does not want compassion for it; but he waits for our cry; he must hear it from our own mouths. Jesus is always the same; and these gracious words are now spoken to every one of us, at this very time and place, "What will ye that I shall do unto you?" O if we have a wish for Christ's aid, let us speak!

33. They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.

Lord! this day; the eyes of our understandings to receive the light of thy truth, and our hearts to receive thee; for they are both shut till thou openest them.

34. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.

As we shall, for his teaching, when we truly believe in

him for our cure; and if we have not this proof to give of our faith in him, no other will be sufficient.

SECTION LII.

Chap. xxi. ver. 1—11.

THE FIRST DAY OF THE HOLY WEEK, OR SUNDAY.

Mark xi. 1-11; Luke xix. 29-44; John xii. 12—19.

1. And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

We are now to read of Jesus going to Jerusalem to put himself into the hands of the Jews, to die for our sins. Let us stop a moment. What is sin, when it could not be purged without his death? This then is the turning point; and here you will either begin to repent and believe the gospel, or continue sealed up in darkness. You may fancy you trust in him as your Saviour, as thousands do, because they have been taught to call him so; but all he did and suffered will be lost upon you, and you are blind, careless, and unbelieving, if the consideration of his death does not lead you to a right judgment of the heinous nature of sin, convince you of the necessity of faith in him for salvation from it, and turn your wills against it.

2. Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her loose them, and bring them unto me.

3. And if any man say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

Probably the man to whom they belonged knew Jesus, had a respect for him, and would have parted with a greater thing at his desire.

4. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5. Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

"Thy king cometh unto thee," for thy great benefit. Is it thy own desire? Does thy heart burn for his coming to thee with his salvation? To what purpose dost thou read of him, and what can it signify to thee that he came then, or comes to all the world, if he does not come to thee? "Meek, and sitting upon an ass." Not in a stately manWhat will bring down the pride of our hearts? I suppose that riding upon an ass was no mark of grandeur amongst the Jews at that time, though it is still less so now with us.

ner.

6. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7. And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

8. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

On this occasion they did as they used to do at the creation, or solemn entry of their kings; thus owning Christ for their king.

9. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

What does the heart

Hosanna; that is, Lord, save us. say? Is this the cry of it? O! it will be a joyful time, and the true rest of your souls, when you can bless God for the salvation of Christ. And if you think of it, desire it, and pray for it, he will thus come to you. For this end he

came into the world; and for this end we are now reading of him, that we may long and pray for the great blessing of his coming to us.

10. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

Can you give the right answer? He is my God, my Jesus, my Saviour, my Beloved. He gave himself for me,