opinions of men, (and reading merely to gain knowledge, which may procure advantage and credit amongst men), they would give up their hearts simply to the teaching of God's Spirit, for the purpose of becoming such as pleases Him.

QUESTIONS.'

How often do I read the Bible; and for what purpose do I read it at all?

Is it that I may be strengthened in believing on Christ, and in living as he would have me to live? Or,

Is it merely from habit, as a Sunday duty? for the purpose of shewing that I know it better than others?

VII. HEADS FOR PRAYER.

1. Pray to have a simple faith in the great mysteries of religion, particularly in the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ,

2. Pray to be kept from proud or unbelieving thoughts concerning those things which you cannot understand?

3. Ask to be kept in continual remembrance of the solemn judgment to come, and of the blessing of having the Son of Man for your Judge.

4. Ask for grace to feel always interested in studying the Bible, and pray that the Holy Spirit may make you profit by your reading, without being puffed up by your knowledge.

VIII. THE PRAYER.

[1] O Almighty God, who alone canst teach men those things which belong to thy Divine Nature, give me grace to receive the truth of those wonderful things, which Thou has told us concerning thyself, with the same simplicity with which a little child receives the instruction of its parent. Especially enable me to receive thee, O Lord Jesus, as my Lord, and my God, [2] Keep me I pray thee, from the foolishness of leaning to my own understanding in those things which are above me, and preserve me from all unbelieving thoughts-Lord, I believe;

help thou mine unbelief! [3] O let me never forget that the hour is coming, when all that are in the graves shall hear thy voice; and keep me under so serious an impression of the judgment of that Great Day, that I may live as one who hopes to be called to the resurrection of eternal life.

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[4] Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for my learning; grant that I may so love to hear, to read, to mark, and inwardly apply what I learn, that by the blessing of the Holy Spirit I may profit by thy word to the saving of my soul. But keep me from that knowledge which puffeth up, and give me that grace which shall bring me to the everlasting salvation of Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour. AMEN.

Our Father, &c.

FORTY-NINTH PORTION.

I. BEGINNING PRAYER.

MAY GOD, for the sake of JESUS CHRIST, give me the HOLY SPIRIT, that I may understand this portion of his Holy Word, and that I may profit by it. Amen.

II. THE SCRIPTURES.

Read St. Matthew's Gospel, chap. xii. ver. 1 to 14; St. Mark's Gospel, chap. ii. ver. 23 to chap. iii. v. 6; and St. Luke's Gospel, chap. vi. ver. 1 to 11.

III. THE MEANINGS :

or sense in which some words are used in this portion.

Matthew xii. verse 5. profane means here 7. will have. 10. withered

accuse him

work on

wish for

dried up

bring him before the magistrate

consulted

great rage
talked

IV. THE EXPLANATION.

It happened that our Lord and his disciples were walking through the corn-fields on the SabbathDay. This sabbath-day was the first after the second day of the Feast of the Passover, as St.

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Luke inforins us. God had commanded that, on the second day of the Feast of the Passover, the first sheaf of ripe corn that was gathered in of the harvest should be brought into the temple, and given to the priest as an offering to the Lord; in token that the whole of the harvest belonged to Him, and that the people received it from His free bounty. This was called the wave-offering, because the priest, when he received it, waved, or moved it backwards and forwards in the air, before the Lord. Until this had been done, the law forbad any person from using even a single ear of the new corn. After this the work of reaping began; and this second day of the Passover was the day from which was counted the seven weeks for that other great feast, called the feast of weeks. (Lev. xxiii. 9-16; Deut. xvi. 9.) The Greek word, which in Luke vi. 1. is called the "second sabbath after the first," means rather "the first after the second.") It was the first sabbath after this day on which the wave-offering had been offered, that our Lord and his disciples were walking through the corn-fields, just after harvest had begun, and before much of the corn could have been reaped.

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The Jews' sabbath began at six o'clock on Friday evening and probably the disciples had been attending all day to their Master's teaching, without having eaten any thing; and being now very hungry they gathered a few of the ears of ripe corn, and rubbing off the chaff between their hands, they eat the grain. A number of people followed our Lord in his walk; and amongst them there were some of the Pharisees, who were anxiously upon the look out to catch him doing or saying something wrong. When they saw his disciples take

these ears of corn, they chose to consider it an act of labour; as if they had reaped some corn: and they asked our Lord why His disciples broke the sabbath, by doing work on that day. Jesus immediately referred them to the Scriptures; and asked them whether they had never read that part of the history of David, in the twenty-first chapter of the first book of Samuel. When David was escaping from the anger of Saul, he and the young men that were with him being very hungry and having nothing to eat, he went into the place appointed for the worship and service of God, at the time when Abiathar was the High Priest, and received those loaves called the shew-bread, which were placed regularly from week to week upon the table of the Lord, and were commanded to be considered most holy, and not to be eaten by any but the Priests alone. (Lev. xxiv. 5-9; Exod. xxv. 30.) David however eat them, and gave them to the people who were with him; and their necessity warranted the Priest in giving them the bread.

But perhaps the Pharisees might say that, though the holiness of the shew-bread was an appointment of God, it was not like the sabbath. To meet such

an objection as this, our Lord again referred them to the Scriptures; and asked them whether they did not know that, by Law, the Priests were required to offer sacrifices in the temple, and to do other works, upon the sabbath-days; and that they were not to be blamed for so doing. (Num. xxviii. 9, 10; John vii. 22.) Still the Pharisees might have thought, that works done in the temple were different from works done out of it. Our Lord however declared His divine authority in this matter, saying, that in that very place, (in the corn-fields