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commit it. "He that hateth his brother is a murderer."

21. What are we taught by this? That the characters of men are, as their hearts are.

22. What miracle is recorded in the 9th verse? The moving of the star which the wise men saw, till it stood over the place where the young child was.

23. What feelings did this create in the wise men; and why did it create them? Feelings of great joy; because it showed them where the child was.

24. What did the wise men do when they saw him? They worshipped him, and presented unto him gold and precious gums.

25. What miracle, and what fact are recorded in the 12th verse? The warning of the wise men, by God, that they should not return to Herod; their departure to their own country another way.

men

26. What may we conclude concerning these wise ? That they were instructed by God, concerning Jesus Christ; and taught something of his character and kingdom.

27. What miracle is recorded in the 13th verse! The appearance of the angel of the Lord to Joseph in a dream.

28. What directions did he give him? To take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt.

29. What reason did he give for this? That Herod would seek the young child, to destroy him.

30. Why was this done? That the sayings of God by the prophet Hosea might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."

31. What affecting scene is recorded in the 16th verse? The slaying, by Herod, of all the children of Bethlehem under two years old.

32. Why did he slay only those who were under two years of age? Because from the account which the wise men gave him of the appearance of the star, he supposed that Christ was under that age.

33. What declaration was then fulfilled, or illustrated? That which was spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet. Jer. xxxi. 15.

34. What miracle is recorded in the 19th verse? The appearance of the angel to Joseph in a dream.

35. What direction did the angel give him? To return into the land of Israel.

36. What reason did he give for this? That they were dead who sought the young child's life.

37. What fact is recorded in the 21st verse? The departure of Joseph from Egypt for the land of Canaan. 38. Into what part of the land did he go, and into what town? Into Galilee, and to the town of Nazareth.

39. Why did he not go to Bethlehem? Because Archelaus, the son of Herod, reigned over that part of the land, and he was afraid of him, lest he should seek the young child to destroy him.

40. What prophecies were fulfilled by his going to Nazareth? Those which foretold that Christ should be called a Nazarene.

41. What is the meaning of Nazarene? A person despised and rejected.

42. What prophecy in particular was then fulfilled? That in Isa. liii. 3. " He is despised and rejected of men.”

43. Why did Nazarene signify a despised person? Because Nazareth was a place which the Jews greatly despised, and out of which they thought could come no good thing John i. 46.

From the facts recorded in this chapter, what do we learn? 1. That earthly grandeur, and external distinctions, are of no value in the sight of God. (Illustrated by the fact, that the Son of God appeared in poverty, and dwelt at Nazareth.)

2. We learn that a person may possess the highest excellence of character, and yet be despised among men.

3. That excellence in the sight of God consists in humility, benevolence, and active devotion to the will of God.

4. That men prize many things highly, which in the sight of God are of no value.

5. To be excellent in the sight of God, we must esteem those things as valuable, which he does; and make it our great object to possess them.

6. If we do not possess these, we have no moral excellence.

Inquiry.

Have you these, humility, benevolence, and active. devotion to the will of God?

Note. Here the instructer may proceed to point out the distinguishing evidences of these traits of character. And upon all the answers he can enlarge;-the truths contained in them he can illustrate, and apply to the hearts of his pupils. And if the Holy Spirit bless his labours, they will not be in vain in the Lord.

BIBLE CLASSES.

We are happy to learn that new associations for improvement in scripture knowledge are forming both in the country and in the city. One has recently been formed in Hopkinton, N. H. under the care of the Rev. Mr. Hatch, which uses the Reference Testament. Another has been formed in New Braintree under the care of the Rev. Mr. Fiske, which uses the Text Book. Still more recently, one has been organized in this city, called the United Bible Class of the Old South Congregation, which will recite and receive lectures from the Bible Class Text Book. This class is in addition to those classes which previously existed in that congregation, and evinces the Pastor's desire that no means of benefiting his youth should be left unemployed. In all these cases, a very gratifying success has attended the pastor's efforts to engage the attention of their young people.

SELECT ANECDOTES.

THE PLAGIARIST CONFOUNDED.

A reverend doctor in the metropolis was, what is usually denominated, a popular preacher. His reputation, however, had not been acquired by his drawing largely on his own stores of knowledge and eloquence, but by the skill with which he appropriated the thoughts and language of the great divines who had gone before him. Those who compose a fashionable audience are not deeply read in pulpit lore; and, accordingly, with

such hearers, he passed for a wonder of erudition and pathos. It did nevertheless happen, that the doctor was once detected in his larcenies. One Sunday, as he was beginning to delight the belles of his quarter of the metropolis, a grave old gentleman seated himself close to the pulpit, and listened with profound attention. The doctor had scarcely finished his third sentence, before the old gentleman muttered loud enough to be heard by those near, "That's Sherlock!" The doctor frowned, but went on. He had not proceeded much farther, when his tormenting interrupter broke out with, "That's Tillotson!" The doctor bit his lips and paused, but again thought it better to pursue the thread of his discourse. A third exclamation of "That's Blair!" was, however, too much, and completely deprived him of his patience. Leaning over the pulpit, "Fellow," he cried, "if you do not hold your tongue, you shall be turned out." Without altering a muscle of his countenance, the grave old gentleman lifted up his head, and looking the doctor in the face, retorted, "That's his

own."

"LOVE ONE ANOTHER. 99

A Welsh parson, preaching from this text, "Love one another," told his congregation, that in kind and respectful treatment to our fellow creatures, we were inferior to the brute creation. As an illustration of the truth of this remark, he quoted an instance of two goats in his own parish, that once met upon a bridge so very narrow, that they could not pass by without one thrusting the other off into the river. "And," continued he, "how do you think they acted? Why, I will tell you. One goat laid himself down, and let the other leap over him. Ah! beloved, let us live like goats."

POWER OF IMAGINATION.

Some hypochondriacs have fancied themselves miserably afflicted in one way, and some in another; some have insisted that they were teapots, and some that they were town-clocks; and one that he was extremely ill, and

another that he was actually dying.

But perhaps none

of this class ever matched in extravagance a patient of the late Dr. Stevenson of Baltimore.

This hypochondriac, after ringing the change of every mad conceit that ever tormented a crazy brain, would have it at last that he was dead, actually dead. Dr. Stevenson having been sent for one morning in great haste, by the wife of his patient, hastened to his bed side, where he found him stretched out at full length, his hands across his breast, his toes in contact, his eyes and mouth closely shut. and his looks cadaverous.

แ "Well, sir, how do you do? how do you do, this morning?" asked Dr. Stevenson, in a jocular way, approaching his bed. "How do I do ?" replied the hypochondriac faintly; 66 a pretty question to ask a dead man." "Dead!" replied the doctor. "Yes, sir, dead, quite dead. I died last night about twelve o'clock."

Dr. Stevenson putting his hand gently on the forehead of the hypochondriac, as if to ascertain whether it was cold, and also feeling his pulse, exclaimed in a doleful note, "Yes, the poor man is dead enough; 'tis all over with him, and now the sooner he can be buried the better." Then stepping up to his wife, and whispering to her not to be frightened at the measures he was about to take, he called to the servant; "My boy, your poor master is dead; and the sooner he can be put in the ground the better. Run to C-m, for I know he always keeps New England coffins by him ready made; and do you hear, bring a coffin of the largest size, for your master makes a stout corpse, and having died last night, and the weather being warm, he will not keep long."

Away went the servant, and soon returned with a proper coffin. The wife and family having got their lesson from the doctor, gathered around him, and howled not a little while they were putting the body in the coffin. Presently the pall-bearers, who were quickly provided and let into the secret, started with the hypochondriac for the church-yard. They had not gone far, before they were met by one of the town's people, who, having been properly drilled by Stevenson, cried out, "Ah, doctor, what poor soul have you got there?"

"Poor Mr. B-," sighed the doctor, "left us last night."

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