servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, pay me that thou owest.

29 And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord, after that he

had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave all that debt, because thou desir edst me:

33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee ?

34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses:

It is evident that to forgive one another's offences is a difficult lesson to learn, and perhaps no duty is more frequently urged and enforced by our Lord than this. He sets no limit to its exercise, and the illustration in these verses is too pointed to be mistaken. The sin of an unforgiving disposition stands out in its true light, and we cannot but see how utterly ignorant is the unrenewed mind, of the nature of that religion our Saviour came to teach, the apostles themselves, at that time, not excepted. Love is not only the great commandment, but the fulfilling of the law, and we can never, in this world, know the full extent to which it must be practiced. An eternity will alone disclose to us how much we have been forgiven, and then only shall we be amazed that we could deny forgiveness to our brother, even to seventy times seven.

CHAPTER 19. VERSES 1-12.

AND it came to pass, that when

Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judæa beyond Jordan;

2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause ?

4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife and they twain shall be one flesh ?

6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What there

fore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery and whoso marrieth her

:

which is put away doth commit adultery.

10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

12 For there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men, and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Again we read of multitudes being healed; and of the fearful contrast in the character of the Pharisees, who never derived any benefit from the presence of the Saviour, their sole object being to tempt him: their eyes were blinded, they saw not that in him was no sin.

VERSES 13-15.

13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray and the disciples rebuked them.

14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

How great the consolation contained in these verses. They assure us that infants are heirs of the kingdom of heaven, and are gathered therefore from among all the nations of the earth, be their parents who they may. How should christian parents seek Christ's blessing on their children, for they too truly inherit, and will grow up in their corrupt nature.

VERSES 16-30.

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness.

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come and follow me.

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore ?

28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelvethrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

If, as our Saviour says in answer to the question proposed, "there is none good but God," our keeping all the commandments could not make us good. They serve to shew us our sinfulness, and the law was given to bring us to Christ, in whom alone we are perfect, and till we can give up all, and follow him, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. By our Lord's answer, the state of the young man's heart was disclosed, and those, whether rich or poor, who are cleaving to what they possess, be it much or little, and are not ready to give up parents, wife, or children for Christ's sake, cannot inherit everlasting life. The disciples were amazed at this, and did not then know the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ to be beyond the worth of all they had parted with; and like them, we have all to learn that this must be the work of God upon our hearts, and that we cannot do it for ourselves.

CHAPTER 20. VERSES 1-16.

FOR the kingdom of heaven is like

unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place,

4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.

5 And again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.

6 Bud about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle ?

7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and

give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

14 Take that thine is, and go thy way I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

16 So the last shall be first, and the first last for many be called, but few chosen.

This passage appears to be an illustration of the last verse in the preceding chapter, and probably indeed connected with the subject beginning at the 16th verse. Many by their outward calling, whether at different periods of the world or in each man's individual history, may have become apparantly God's servants; but whether called at an earlier or later time, the reward is to be of free grace; not for the number or length of their services. As they did not call themselves, so, neither was the payment of their own stipulation. It seems likely that those called at the 11th hour, represented the gentiles, for we know that all previous covenants were then ended, and the kingdom of God opened to all believers; and thus the first became last, and the last first.

VERSES 17-19.

Many would do now what the chief priests did then,— crucify Christ; and be guilty of a greater sin, as knowing who he is, and hating to be saved by him. The true christian should never forget the cause of their Redeemer's sufferings, and how well it becomes them to be humble.

VERSES 20-28.

This last lesson seems to be enforced by the conduct, both of the mother of Zebedee's children, and of the ten apostles. To be great in the kingdom of heaven, we must drink deeply of the Saviour's cup, minister as he ministered, counting not our lives dear unto us, and at all costs seeking the salvation of our own souls, and the souls of others.