of Israel did value;

10 And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.

a Ps. ii. 2. Mark xv. 1. Luke xxii. 66 ; & xxiii. 1. John xviii. 28.-6 ch xx. 19. Acts iii. 13.-e ch xxvi 14, 15.-d 2 Sam. xvii. 23 Acts i. 18.-e Acts i 19-f Zech. xi. 12, 13. Or, whom they bought of the children of Israel.

ed, "whom they of the children | the Hebrew Scriptures from which the Evangelist quoted, and giving its denomination to the whole of that collection of prophetical writings. It was an ancient custom among the Jews to divide the Old Testament into three parts, the first of which, beginning with the Law, was called the Law,-the second, beginning with the Psalms, was called the Psalms, and the third, beginning with Jeremiah, was entitled Jeremiah. tled Jeremiah. So that from the writings of Zechariah, and other prophets which were included in the third division, quotations would be made as from "Jeremiah."

Reader. The Roman governors of Judea usually resided at Cæsarea; but they repaired to the capital on the great festivals. Pontius Pilate was at Jerusalem, at the time of our Lord's crucifixion, in accordance with this custom.

The words "Judas-repented himself" mean that this treacherous disciple "was struck with remorse." Repentance unto life is very different from that remorse, the sting of a guilty conscience, which drives a man to despair.

The confession of the traitor, "I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood" forms one remarkable attestation to the perfect purity and unblameable conduct of our blessed Lord. Even one who was most familiar with his life and actions could not find any fault with which he could honestly charge him, when he was abundantly willing and desirous to accuse him!

The words in ver. 9, 10, from "Jeremy the prophet" are found in Zechariah xi. 13. The manner of making the quotation, although it may appear strange to us, is nevertheless, says Dr. Lightfoot, perfectly correct; the word Jeremiah standing at the head of that division of

READER.-All the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.-It appears strange to us, at first sight, that the Jews, who had in their hands the many prophecies of the Messiah, who expected and prayed for his coming, should yet so violently oppose him when he appeared among them. And yet this is very easily accounted for. Their hearts and affections were much set upon this world; they expected, and they hoped for, such a Redeemer as would fight their battles, overcome their enemies who kept them under, and set them above all the nations of the earth. Now, it was plainly impossible that people under such prejudices and expectations as these should generally receive our Saviour in the mean and humble circumstances in which he appeared. He

owned and declared that his kingdom was not of this world; that his followers must expect no earthly power, or preferment, from him. And his appearance was accordingly. He affected no grandeur; he refused the very honours that were offered him; and all his discourses to those poor people with whom he, for the most part, conversed, were concerning a world to come, and how they might fit themselves for future happiness.

answered was, See thou to that!

You wonder that a man should be so foolish as for such a wretched sum to commit so great a crime. This shews us plainly how sin blinds the eyes of our minds. It is not Judas only that makes these mad bargains; every man that sells his soul for gain or pleasure is as mad and blind as he was; and when they come to die will be convinced of it, as effectually as Judas was before he died, who then found his master's words true to his cost, What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

It is true there were people who received this doctrine, and him that brought it. But who were they?-WILSON. Such only whose affections were not too much set upon the things of this life; such as were convinced that this is not the world they were made for; such as were sensible of, and mourned for, their sins and infirmities; the humble and meek in spirit; the pure in heart; all such as desired to know and to do the will of God. To all these the appearance and the doctrines of Jesus Christ were very reasonable and acceptable; to all others he was a stumbling-block and an offence.-WILSON.

What is that to us? See thou to that!-Here one cannot omit to observe, how little those that tempt others to wickedness are concerned for what follows! Judas, his eyes being opened, was overwhelmed with horror at what he had done; and flung back the money they had given him, declaring that he had betrayed the innocent blood. This mournful confession, and sad affliction, never moved them. All they

And he cast down the pieces of silver in the Temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.-It was not one sin that ruined Judas; men do not fill up the measure of their iniquities all at once. It was observed of him, before the account of his treachery, that he was covetous; and that, being trusted with the money which Christ and his Apostles had to live on, he converted part of this unfaithfully to his own private use. St. John therefore says he was a thief. Now from this we may learn how dangerous it is to continue in any known sin; we cannot foresee what it will end in. If the love of money made Judas first a thief, and then a traitor, why should any man else think himself safe, when he has once provoked God to leave him to himself?

And here it will be proper to observe to you, that men are not so much their own masters as they are apt to think. Governed we must be, either by the Spirit of God, or by

an evil spirit. Whenever men provoke God to withdraw his protection, that moment the devil takes them under his power, and, as the Scripture says, "leads them captive at his will." It was thus with Judas; for after the eating of the sop, we are told, the devil entered into him, and forced him immediately to go about his desperate undertaking.ing in any vicious course against the This shews the danger of resisting light and conviction of our conscithe Spirit of God, of despising the ence, we highly provoke Almighty day of grace; and the folly of resolv- God to withdraw his grace from us, ing to repent some day or other, as and to give us up to our own heart's if we were our own masters, and lust.-J. SCOTT. could always do what is fit to be done, as if we could resist temptation when we pleased, as if we could forsee our ruin and were of ourselves able to prevent it. Was it so with Judas? You see it was not. You see him when once God had forsaken him, hurried by his new master to his ruin!-WILSON.

| receives from him, but also be exposed to the cheats and fallacies of evil spirits. For so the Apostle tells us of Antichrist, the great deceiver, that he should come "with all deceivableness of unrighteousness to them that perish, because they received not the love of truth, that they might be saved."-By persist

HYMN.

Great King of glory and of grace!

We own with humble shame,
How vile is our degenerate race
And our first father's name.
We live estrang'd afar from God,
And love the distance well;
In haste we run the dang'rous road,
That leads to death and hell.

And can such rebels be restor❜d?
Such natures made divine?
Let einners see thy glory, Lord,

And feel this power of thine!

We raise our Father's name on high,
Who his own Spirit sends
To bring rebellious strangers nigh,
And turn his foes to friends.

WATTS.

Whilst we persist in any wilful course of sin, we do not only violate our own conscience, but also repel those good motions of the Spirit of God whereby he strives to reduce and reclaim us; in doing which we continually grieve him, and if we do not forbear, shall at length provoke him wholly to forsake and abandon us, to give us up to our own hearts' lusts as desperate wretches with whom he hath hitherto struggled in vain, and of whose future recovery there remains no further hope nor prospect. And when he hath forsaken us, our mind will not only be left naked and destitute of all those helps and advantages for the understanding of Divine truths, which it the governor: "and the gover

§ LXXXIX.

CHAP. XXVII. 11-23.

Christ stands before the governor. Pilate, admonished of his wife, washeth his hands, and looseth Barabbas.

11 And Jesus stood before

nor asked him, saying, Art thou | Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.