faith of the Holy Trinity throughout the four quarters of the world. The number is prefigured in the. Old Testament by many examples,-by the twelve sons of Jacob,-the twelve princes of the children of Israel,-the twelve fountains in Elim, -the twelve stones in Aaron's breast-plate,—the twelve loaves of shew-bread, the twelve spies sent forth by Moses,-the twelve stones of which the altar was made,-the twelve stones taken out of Jordan,—and the twelve oxen which supported the brazen laver. In the New Testament, the number is shewn in the twelve stars on the crown of the woman in Revelation,—and the twelve foundations, and twelve gates of the heavenly Jerusalem, seen by John."

It is interesting to remark, that out of the twelve apostles, we have no less than three pairs of brothers, Peter and Andrew, James and John, and Jude and James the son of Alphæus. 14.—[Bartholomew.] It is thought by many that Bartholomew is Nathanael, whom we read of in the first chapter of John. Jansenius, Montanus, and Ferus maintain this. But there seems no warrant for the conjecture, except it be the fact that we find Bartholomew always mentioned in close connection with Philip, who called Nathanael to Christ.

15.—[James the son of Alphæus.] This appears to be that James whom St. Paul calls the "Lord's brother." (Gal. i. 19.) The fact that he is here called the "son of Alphæus," goes far to prove that the word "brother" in the New Testament must not be taken too literally, and admits of being understood as "cousin." The Alphæus here mentioned must either be a different person from the father of Matthew, or else Matthew must have been brother of James and Jude. St. Mark says, that Matthew or Levi was the son of Alphæus.

It was this James who took the lead in the council, (Acts xv. 19.) and seems to have been regarded as the moderator or chief of the apostles in Jerusalem. He was also the writer of the Epistle which bears his name. It is remarkable that like Matthew and Simon the Canaanite, we never read of his saying anything, or coming forward in any way, while our Lord lived. Yet, after our Lord's ascension, none seems to have had so prominent a position in the Church.

16.-[Judas the brother of James.] This apostle is remarkable for having had three names, Jude, Lebbæus, and Thaddeus. He it was who wrote the epistle which bears his name.

Some

[Iscariot.] Many conjectures have been made as to the meaning of this name. None of them are satisfactory. think that it means that he was a man of the tribe of Issachar, -some that he was a man of Kirioth, a small town in Judah, or Carioth, a town of Ephraim. Nothing certain is known about the subject.

Let it be noted, among other reasons for our Lord's choice of a traitor to be an apostle, that the choice finally supplied a powerful indirect evidence of the purity, blamelessness, and faultlessness of our Lord's conduct and ministry. When our Lord was accused before the High Priest and Pontius Pilate, if anything could have been proved against Him, the traitor Judas Iscariot was exactly the witness who would have proved it. The mere fact that Judas never came forward to give evidence against our Lord, is a convincing evidence that nothing could be proved against Him. No man is so well qualified to expose another's faults and inconsistencies, if they really_exist, as one who has been on intimate terms with him. Judas never appeared against our Lord, because he could not allege anything to his disadvantage. Ford quotes a passage from Anselm, on this point: "Judas is chosen that the Lord might have an enemy among his domestic attendants, for that man is perfect, who has no cause to shrink from the observation of a wicked man, conversant with all his ways."

17.-[Stood in the plain.] This expression should be noted. It shows that the discourse which follows is different from that called "the sermon on the mount."

19.-[Virtue.]

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The word so translated is generally rendered "power," or "strength," and must not be taken as a moral quality here.

THE discourse of our Lord, which we have now begun, resembles, in many respects, His well-known Sermon on the Mount. The resemblance, in fact, is so striking, that many have concluded that St. Luke and St. Matthew

are reporting one and the same discourse, and that St. Luke is giving us, in an abridged form, what St. Matthew reports at length. There seems no sufficient ground for this conclusion. The occasions on which the two discourses were delivered, were entirely different. Our Lord's repetition of the same great lesson, in almost the same words, on two different occasions, is nothing extraordinary. It is unreasonable to suppose that none of His mighty teachings were ever delivered more than once. In the present case, the repetition is very significant. It shows us the great and deep importance of the lessons which the two discourses contain.

Let us first notice in these verses, who are those whom the Lord Jesus pronounces blessed. The list is a remarkable and startling one. It singles out those who are "poor," and those who "hunger,"-those who "weep," and those who are "hated" by man. These are the persons to whom the great Head of the Church says, "Blessed are ye!"

We must take good heed that we do not misunderstand our Lord's meaning, when we read these expressions. We must not for a moment suppose that the mere fact of being poor, and hungry, and sorrowful, and hated by man, will entitle any one to lay claim to an interest in Christ's blessing. The poverty here spoken of, is a poverty accompanied by grace. The want is a want entailed by faithful adherence to Jesus. The afflictions are the afflictions of the Gospel. The persecution is persecution for the Son of Man's sake. Such want, and poverty, and affliction, and persecution, were the inevitable consequences of faith in Christ, at the beginning of Christianity. Thousands had to give up everything in

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this world, because of their religion. It was their case which Jesus had specially in view in this passage. He desired to supply them, and all who suffer like them for the Gospel's sake, with special comfort and consolation.

Let us notice, secondly, in these verses, who are those to whom our Lord addresses the solemn words, "Woe unto you." Once more we read expressions which at first sight seem most extraordinary. "Woe unto you that are rich!—Woe unto you that are full !-Woe unto you that laugh!-Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you!"-Stronger and more cutting sayings than these can not be found in the New Testament.

Here, however, no less than in the preceding verses, we must take care that we do not misapprehend our Lord's meaning. We are not to suppose that the possession of riches, and a rejoicing spirit, and the good word of man, are necessarily proofs that people are not Christ's disciples. Abraham and Job were rich. David and St. Paul had their seasons of rejoicing. Timothy was one who "had a good report from those that were without." All these, we know, were true servants of God. All these were blessed in this life, and shall receive the blessing of the Lord in the day of His appearing.

Who are the persons to whom our Lord says, "Woe unto you?" They are the men who refuse to seek treasure in heaven, because they love the good things of this world better, and will not give up their money, if need requires, for Christ's sake.-They are the men who prefer the joys and so-called happiness of this world, to joy and peace in believing, and will not risk the loss of the one in order to gain the other.-They are those

who love the praise of man more than the praise of God, and will turn their backs on Christ, rather than not keep in with the world.-These are the kind of men whom our Lord had in view when He pronounced the solemn words, "Woe, woe unto you." He knew well that there were thousands of such persons among the Jews,— thousands who, notwithstanding His miracles and sermons, would love the world better than Him. He knew well that there would always be thousands of such in His professing Church,-thousands who, though convinced of the truth of the Gospel, would never give up anything for its sake.-To all such He delivers an awful warning.-"Woe, woe unto you!"

One mighty lesson stands out plainly on the face of these verses. May we all lay it to heart, and learn wisdom! That lesson is the utter contrariety between the mind of Christ, and the common opinions of mankind, the entire variance between the thoughts of Jesus, and the prevailing thoughts of the world. The conditions of life which the world reckons desirable, are the very conditions upon which the Lord pronounces "woes." Poverty, and hunger, and sorrow, and persecution, are the very things which man labours to avoid. Riches, and fulness, and merriment, and popularity, are precisely the things which men are always struggling to attain. When we have said all, in the way of qualifying, explaining, and limiting our Lord's words, there still remain two sweeping assertions, which flatly contradict the current doctrine of mankind. The state of life which cordially dislikes.

our Lord blesses, the world

The

people to whom our Lord says, "woe unto you," are the