V. They who rightly use what they know are in the way for being taught more. V. 36, 37. (Matt. xxv. 28, 29.)

VI. To have had many opportunities for learning, must greatly increase the guilt of those who remain ignorant of the truth. V. 41. (John xv. 22.)

WHIT-SUNDAY.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

JOHN X. 1-21.

1. Entereth not by the door. This is a continuation of our Lord's address to the Pharisees at the close of the preceding chapter: in the former part he compares himself to the "door of the sheep-fold." By those who do not enter in at the door, he means those teachers who do not really believe on him themselves, and commend him to the people.

3. The porter openeth. He is known and recognized as a real shepherd.

4. Follow him.-In Eastern countries shepherds are more constantly with their sheep, which get familiar with them-will come to them when called-and will follow them instead of being driven before them, as they generally are (though not always,) in our country.

8. Came before me.-Professing to be the Messiah; as Theudas, and Judas of Galilee. (See Acts v. 36, 37.)

11. The good shepherd.-In the first nine verses our Lord has been speaking of himself under the figure of the door of admission into the church, and especially into the office of the ministry. In V. 10. he contrasts the object and design of false teachers with his own; and this leads him to speak of himself under another figureas the good Shepherd-which is carried out through the rest of the discourse, that of the door being dropped. (Compare Is. xl. 11.)

Giveth his life.-When wolves and other wild beasts attacked the flock, the faithful shepherd would have to defend it at the risk of his own life; David did so. (1 Sam. xvii. 34, 35.)

16. Other sheep-i.e.-the Gentiles who should believe on him; they did not belong to the Jewish church, the only fold which he had as yet tended; but in due time they should all be gathered into one. (See John xvii. 20. Eph. ii. 14-22.)

17. Therefore doth my Father love me.- -As God, he was one with the Father; but as man, the Father loved and rewarded him on account of his willingly undertaking, and faithfully carrying on, the work of redemption. (Compare Is. liii. 12. Phil ii. 9. Heb. xii. 2.)

18. No man taketh it from me.—It was entirely his own act to yield himself up to death. He had not forfeited his life by sin, as we have; nor had his enemies any power to deprive him of life, if he had chosen to resist their attempts. Such incidents as those recorded in (Luke iv. 29, 30. John viii. 59. and xviii. 6.) clearly prove this.

SUMMARY.

Jesus compares himself to the door of the sheepfold, and shows the difference between true and false shepherds; and then to the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep, and is so interested in them as to be willing even to sacrifice his own life for their sakes.

LESSONS.

I. Those who teach others should examine themselves, and see whether they have entered in by the door; whether they know Christ themselves, and he has called them to feed his sheep. V. 1-3. (Rom. ii. 17-21.)

II. A good shepherd will rather lead his sheep, and draw them on to follow him, than drive them before him. Love should be the chief influence used in the Sunday-school. V. 4. (1 Thess. ii. 7, 8. 2 Tim. ii. 24-26.)

III. As none but those who are called of Christ are fitted to teach others, so it is only through Christ that we can be saved, and blessed ourselves. V. 9. (John xiv. 6.)

IV. How great was the Saviour's love that he should be ready even to die for his people! V. 11-13. (Rom. v. 6-8.)

V. All who are Christ's sheep love and follow him, and he loves and watches over them. V. 14-16. (John xvii. 25, 26.)

VI. All true Christians belong to one fold. V. 16. (Ephes. iv. 4-6. Col. iii. 11.)

TRINITY SUNDAY.

JESUS THE SON OF GOD.

JOHN X. 22-42.

22. The feast of the dedication.-This was not a feast enjoined in the Mosaic law; but it was annually observed in remembrance of the purification of the Temple after the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes. Though only of human appointment, yet, as it was ordained in the Jewish Church, our Lord observed and sanctioned it. (See Art. xxxiv.)

24. Tell us plainly.-It was not that they really doubted themselves; but they wanted to have some explicit declaration, which they might bring forward as an accusation against him.

26. Ye are not of my sheep.-They did not belong to his people, nor had they the simple and teachable spirit by which these are marked, and this was the true reason why they persisted in rejecting him.

30. Are one. Our Lord was pleased here expressly to declare that he was one with the Father, notwithstanding he knew their wicked purpose, that he might leave them without excuse.

33. For blasphemy.-Stoning was the punishment for blasphemy. (Lev. xxiv. 16.)

34. In your law.-The word "law" is often used for the Old Testament Scriptures; this passage occurs in Ps. lxxxii. 6. where it is clearly applied to human magistrates.

36. Say ye of him.-Seeing they were not in a fit state for it, our Lord seems to have avoided bringing the subject of his divinity into further debate. He contents himself with showing that his assuming the title of the Son of God did not imply that his human nature was divine; while he goes on in V. 37, 38. to refer to the miracles he wrought, which clearly proved that he had a power greater than that possessed by man.

40. Where John at first baptized.-This was Bethabara. (Ch. i. 28.)

SUMMARY.

Our Lord attends the Feast of the Dedication; "there the Jews seek to draw from him expressions which they might use to his injury. He solemnly warns them of the cause of their unbelief, declares himself to be one with the Father, and then escapes from their hands, as they prepare to stone him. Afterwards, at Bethabara, he is visited by many who are convinced of his Messiahship.

LESSONS.

I. All that is enjoined by lawful authority should be carefully observed, except where it is contrary to the law of God. V. 22, 23. (1 Cor. xiv. 32, 33, 40.)

II. Unbelief is more frequently owing to a wrong state of mind, than to a want of knowledge or evidence. V. 26. (John xii. 39, 40.) III. How safe and how happy are they whom Christ has engaged to keep! V. 27-29. (Ps. xxiii. 1 Peter i. 4, 5.)

IV. If we want to know whether we belong to their number, we must ask ourselves-Are we believing in Christ? Are we listening to his voice, and following him? V. 26, 27. (2 Cor. xiii. 5.)

V. Christ is truly God; equal to the Father, and one with him. V. 30. (Is. ix. 6. Matt. i. 23. Rom. ix. 5. Phil. ii. 6. Col. i. 16, 17. 1 John v. 17.)

ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE.

TYRE.

TYRE is but a wreck of a town. You cannot traverse its streets without meeting at every turn fragments of other days. Thus, at the gate there are two fallen pillars; in the bazaar, another prostrate pillar helps to complete the pavement; and on the shore of the peninsula (once THE ISLAND), broken columns lie on all sides, over which the sea dashes its waves. We stood awhile amidst the ruins of the old Christian church, at the south-east corner of the town, where Eusebius is said to have preached; and looking over, observed the waves break on two large columns with their capitals that lay close under the wall.

From this point, and from the summit of a tower to which the Jews led us to the south-west corner of the town, we surveyed the whole extent of what was Insular Tyre, once densely covered with the palaces of Tyrian merchants. The island appears to have been of the shape of a prolonged diamond, stretching nearly a mile from north to south. The breadth it is not easy to estimate, as we cannot tell where Alexander's causeway commenced. We observed a chain of low rocks in the offing, all a little under water, which may very possibly have been built upon in former days. The modern town or village is thinly scattered over the eastern part of what was formerly the island; the part next the sea is cultivated, and bears good tobacco. The little harbour of Tyre lies on the north side of the peninsula, and is nearly enclosed by a wall, the ruins of which are standing here and there. It would not now vie with the harbours of any of our fishing-villages; we counted some ten opendecked fishing-boats riding in it; but larger vessels cannot enter. The island was originally nearly half a mile distant from the shore; but across the intervening gulf Alexander with amazing labour formed his famous causeway, using for that purpose the stones and the very dust of ancient Tyre, scraped from off her. During the lapse of ages, the sea has washed up the sand on each side of this causeway, so that it is now a broad neck of land, with fine sandy

* A_recent_traveller, Mr. W. R. Wylde, found in some of the rocks holes exactly fit for pots, in some of which were pieces of shells, with the debris of other shells lying round. These shells all belonged to the species Murex trunculus, from which the purple dye used to be extracted. Hence he concludes, that these holes were anciently the vats used for preparing the Tyrian dye. We found specimens of the shells he speaks of on the shore under Mount Carmel.

bays on each side. Ruins of ancient walls and foundations are still to be found in different parts of it. The houses, or rather cottages of Tyre, are built of good stone, with many palm-trees, vines, figs, and pomegranates interspersed, giving the place a cool and pleasing aspect. The modern name is Sour, and there are about 1500 inhabitants. There is some probability that the sea has advanced upon this coast, and materially affected the size of the ancient island; and if this be the case, we can have no difficulty in understanding how the almost impregnable fortifications, of which history speaks, and the palaces of the Tyrian merchants, were once crowded together upon this interesting spot.*

In order to understand fully the accomplishment of the divine predictions against Tyre, it must be borne in mind, that though the island may have been very soon occupied as a stronghold, yet the most ancient city, called by historians Palæ Tyrus, or Old Tyre, was situated on the mainland, at a distance of nearly four miles south from the island. This was "the strong city Tyre," men. tioned in the days of Joshua, (Joshua xix. 29.) and the "stronghold of Tyre" in the time of David. (2 Sam. xxiv. 7.) As many travellers have done before us, we stood upon the ruins of insular Tyre, and stretching our eye round the bay to the south, conjectured where old Tyre may have been situated; and afterwards, on our return from Acre, we traversed the coast, and sought with the utmost care for any remains of the strong city-but in vain. The word of the Lord has come to pass, "Though thou be sought for, yet thou shalt never be found again, saith the Lord God." (Ezekiel xxvi. 21.)

About eight miles south from the island, a high rocky promontory appears, forming a precipice over the sea, called Cape Blanco, from the whiteness of the rock. The road passes over it, and there are singular steps cut in the rock, supposed to be the Scale Tyriorum, or Tyrian Ladder, of the ancients. Now, between Cape Blanco and the island, there is a spacious bay, with one or two lesser curves. It occurred to us that, in the days of Tyre's glory, when they took "cedars from Lebanon to make masts for her, and oaks from Bashan to make oars, and fine linen from Egypt to be spread

* Mr. Wylde gives many interesting proofs of the advance of the sea all along the coast. For example, the old castle at Beyrout, which is now surrounded with water, was once joined to the land. The shallowness of the harbours at Jaffa and Acre seem to shew the same thing. He also saw ruins under the water at Tyre. If we are to trust Benjamin of Tudela, he says that, in his day, if one went out in a ship a little way, he might see ruins of streets and towers at the bottom of the sea.