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concerned. When Peter denied him, he upbraided him for his apostacy only by a look. The Lord turned and looked upon him. When Judas betrayed him, his only reproach was conveyed by the use of a term which must have reminded the conscience of the traitor of the familiar relation in which he stood to his lord. Friend, wherefore art thou come? Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?' When Tho

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mas doubted, instead of giving him up to unbelief, he granted the additional testimony which the Apostle required, and gently cautioned him to be not faithless, but believing.

The same thing may be observed in our Lord's reply to James and John, when they made their ill-timed request for temporal honours in the supposed kingdom of their Master. The presumption and ignorance which they evinced in making such a demand, and the self-confidence with which they expressed their ability to undertake the responsible situations at which they aimed, might have justly deserved a severe rebuke. But instead of chiding them for what

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was amiss, Christ kindly notices the spirit of attachment which dictated their answer to his question, and without dwelling on their mistaken notions, seems willing to point out the way by which they might attain to higher honours than those which their ambition had desired 2,'

A similar spirit is displayed in the reply to Pilate on the judgement-seat, he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin-intimating, that a distinction would be taken in his favour between the guilt of the judge in yielding to the importunity of the multitude, and the guilt of the multitude in clamouring for the execution of an innocent person. If taken singly, these instances of kind forbearance on the part of our Lord would be sufficient to justify the assertion of the Apostle, that we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;' but viewed together they establish a character of consistent and considerate meek

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2 Mark, x, 35—40.

ness, which is altogether without parallel in the history of mankind.

It will also appear that the tenderness of Christ was not so much manifested on the occasions which call forth sympathy in general, as on those by which the sensibility of the greater part of mankind is rarely excited.

Who are the characters that the world generally loves and admires, and for whom it reserves the greatest share of its friendship or approbation? Those whose qualifications coincide with some standard established by the authority of current opinion-who are distinguished by situation, or personal advantages, or wealth, or some other adventitious recommendation-who are lively in their feelings, jealous of their reputation, prompt in avenging supposed affronts on their honour, eager in the pursuit of pleasure, insensible of personal danger.

But these are not the qualifications of the friends of our Saviour, whose praise is in all the

churches. It is the poor in spirit and they that mourn, the weak and they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, whom Christ commends, and on whom he pronounces his blessing. He warned his disciples that they should not despise one of the little ones; for every one of them, however low and neglected among men in general, enjoyed special tokens of the divine favour. He did not call around him the rich and mighty and noble, though he was far from discouraging or repulsing their advances, but he invited by a particular address those who laboured and were heavy laden, to come to him for rest to their souls. Nor was it to the world at large that he promised the manifestation of himself, and the love of his Father, but to those of whatever class or whatever degree who kept his commandments 3.

Those, therefore, who are not commonly looked upon as objects of pity, seem to have attracted, perhaps for the sake of affording a

3 John, xiv. 21.

lesson to men, a more than ordinary portion of our Lord's attention. It was the leper, who was avoided as the outcast of his nation, and whose very presence was shunned, as a source of defilement and reproach, whom he selected on account of his hopeless condition as a fit subject for the exercise of his almighty power. It was with the publicans and sinners, with whom others thought it disgraceful to hold any intercourse, that he freely associated, because they were the persons who most required to be benefited by communion with him. To the good, even among men, it is no ordinary trial to be called upon in the course of their duty to associate with individuals of profligate character, and to hear during their necessary connexion with the world opinions professed, which are entirely at variance with their own religious belief. But how much more acutely must our Saviour have felt on such occasions, whose nature must have instinctively revolted from impurity of every kind, and whose own character was exposed to suspicion, because he did not

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