prince feared his prisoner, for he knew he was a just man and holy. He knew, that God was on his side, and he dared not take his life.

In the Gospel of St. Matthew it is written, that he would have put him to death, but that he feared the multitude, because they, that is the people in general, counted John as a prophet, but Herod to all his other sins added yet this above all, "that he shut up John in prison, because he reproved him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the other evils he had done." He could not shut out from his conscience the certainty that John's warning-voice was true. He kept him in prison, but it seems that either he often went to him there, or sent for him to speak with him, for it is written, that "when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.” ‡ He did many things, but the one thing he would not do. He would not put away Herodias. He would not give up his favourite sin, and we shall see in a very short time to what dreadful things this favourite sin led him. We shall see that very soon he dared to do the murder which at first he feared to do. Let us stop here, and each one of us put to ourselves the question, Is there any one sin I wish to keep? Any one thing I know to be wrong and yet persist in doing? is worse than useless to hear gladly the best preachers who ever preached. It is useless to do many things we believe to be right, if against our consciences we persist in doing any one thing we know to be wrong. We cannot make a bargain with God. We must either love him so that we hate and fear all sin that we know to be sin; or we love him not at all, and our religion is but a pretence, or at the most, a desire to escape from hell at the least possible cost. But this is not Christianity. Christ gave all for us, and we must be ready to give all for him.

If there is, it

Mark vi. 20.

Prayer.

O holy God, give us holy hearts, that we may hate and fear all sin. Let me not wish to keep back any thing from thee, but as soon as I know a thought to be sinful, give me grace and strength to put it from me. Let me love thee so, that it be not enough for me to escape from hell. Lift my desires to thee in heaven so, that to dwell with thee for evermore may be the purifying wish of my heart.

"Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee." O grant me thy Holy Spirit to dwell in me, till these words be the true language of my soul, for Christ's sake. Amen.

XXXII.

We read before that when the passover was ended, the Lord Jesus left Judea, and went into Galilee. And his way there led through the country called Samaria.

Verses 4, 5. "He must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph."

That you may understand what you are going to read, about the people of Samaria, I must tell you who they were. If you look back into the Old Testament, you will find that the children of Israel,—that is, the whole nation of the people of God, after the death of king Solomon, was divided into two kingdoms, each under a separate king.* These two kingdoms were called Judea and Israel. In Judea dwelt the two tribes of

* 1 Kings xii. 2 Chron. xi.

Judah and Benjamin, and in Israel dwelt the remaining ten tribes of Israel.

The people of these two kingdoms were all the children of the twelve sons of Jacob, called the twelve Patriarchs, or Fathers of the twelve tribes, but those who lived in Judea were called the Jews, and those who lived in Israel, the Israelites; though, from being all alike the children of Israel or Jacob, they were all, rightly speaking, Israelites. The capital, or chief town of Judea, was Jerusalem. The capital, or chief town of Israel was Samaria. Both of these cities had been taken and destroyed. First, Samaria by a king of Assyria,* and then some time afterwards, Jerusalem, by the king of Babylon. And both of these kings had carried away the people out of the land; but there was this great difference; after a time the people of Judea were allowed to return to Jerusalem, which they built up again, and were again the nation of the Jews. But the people of Israel were never allowed to return to their own land. Instead of them the king of Assyria put a strange people there; and this strange people worshipped idols, false gods, therefore the Lord God sent lions among them, who destroyed them, and when the king of Assyria heard this, he sent them one of the priests of Israel whom he had carried away, to teach them how to worship the God of Israel. from this priest they heard of all the wonders that God had done for his people Israel. And they worshipped the God of Israel, but they also served their own false gods.§ And as time went on, these strange people, who were called the Samaritans, began to look upon themselves as the real inhabitants of the land, and to think that they were the children of Israel. Most likely a few of the Israelites had been left in the country round about Samaria, and had mixed themselves with the strangers who had been sent there; for very soon the Samari

And

tans called Jacob their father, and believed that they were his children.

When the Jews returned to Judea, and built up again Jerusalem and the temple, the Samaritans built a temple to the Lord of their own, and set up a High Priest of their own. "Wherefore the Jews hated the Samaritans, and would have no dealings with them," for they looked upon them as impostors; that is, as people who pretended to be what they were not.

And the Samaritans hated the Jews. And they did evil to each other continually.* But the Samaritans knew some of the books of the Old Testament, and they looked for the coming of the Messiah, as well as the Jews.

The nearest road from Jerusalem to Galilee led straight through Samaria, and our Saviour calmly went on his way. The Samaritans were the enemies of the Jews; but they had souls to be saved, and the blessed Jesus had a work to do; He was come to seek and to save that which was lost. The journey was long, and the heat of the day was great. So He rested by an ancient well that was there, and sent his disciples to the city of Sychar to buy food. It is written

Verse 6. "Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well : and it was about the sixth hour."

That is, it was the hottest time of the day, about noon, as we reckon the hours.† Jesus was weary. He travelled on foot, and He was weary, as we should have been, and thirsty too. And while He sat on the well,

7-10. "There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, who am a woman of * Josephus. + Milman.

Samaria ?-for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water."

Jesus knew that the Samaritans hated the Jews, but He knew also that they believed in the coming of the Messiah, and looked for his appearing.

Instead of giving him a little water to quench his thirst, this woman had reminded him of the quarrel between their countries, asking him how a Jew could expect any thing from a Samaritan: but Jesus kindly and gently told her, that if she but knew who it was that spoke with her, and what he could give her, she would not refuse his request because he was a Jew, but would make haste to ask for herself all that He could give her. All hearts are open to Christ, and He saw that it was ignorance, and not ill will, that held her back. If she but knew the gift of God that was offered to all who seek it, even the gift of a Saviour!-If she but knew that He who asked her for a little water to quench his thirst was that Saviour, she would eagerly ask him for the living waters that were to wash away her sins and give life to her soul. We know by our Lord's own words afterwards, (John vii. 37-39) that by this "living water," He meant "the Holy Spirit which they that believe on him shall receive." But she did not understand him; and, thinking that He spoke of the waters of the well by which they stood, or perhaps of some hidden spring she knew not of, she said unto him,

Verses 11, 12. "Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our Father Jacob, who gave us this well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?"