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taken to suffer for man's sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. He had engaged to bear our sins, as our Substitute and Surety, and He bore them willingly in His own person on the tree. He saw Calvary and the cross before Him all the days of His ministry. He went up to them willingly, knowingly, and with full consent, that He might pay our debts in His own blood. His death was not the death of a mere weak son of man, who could not escape; but the death of One who was very God of very God, and had undertaken to be punished in our stead.

For another thing, our Lord's prediction shows us the blinding effect of prejudice on men's minds. Clear and plain as His words now seem to us, His disciples did not understand them. They heard as though they heard not. They could not understand that Messiah was to be "cut off." They could not receive the doctrine that their own Master must needs die. And hence, when His death really took place, they were amazed and confounded. Often as He had told them of it, they had never realized it as a fact..

Let us watch and pray against prejudice. Many a zealous man has been grievously misled by it, and has pierced himself through with many sorrows. Let us

beware of allowing traditions, old preconceived notions, unsound interpretations, baseless theories in religion, to find root in our hearts. There is but one test of truth"What saith the Scripture? Before this let every prejudice go down.

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NOTES. LUKE IX. 18-22.

18.-[He was alone praying.] Let us not forget to notice how

frequently our Lord's habit of private prayer is mentioned in the Gospels. He sets an example to all who work for God. Much private prayer is one secret of success.

19.-[John the Baptist...Elias...one of the old prophets.] Let it be remembered, that talk and speculation about Christ and His Gospel, are one of Satan's great traps for ruining souls. Many a man cloaks his indolence and laziness about religion, under a pretence of the variety of opinions, and the difficulty of knowing who is right.

20.-[The Christ of God.] This expression, it should be noted, is tantamount to saying the Messiah of God, the predicted Saviour of whom Daniel spoke. (Dan. ix. 21.)

21.-[Tell no man.] There is a time to be silent as well as to speak. Our Lord knew that the public proclamation of His being Messiah, would cause Him to be cut off before His time. 22.-[Must suffer.] The Greek word translated "must" in this place, does not quite bear the sense of force and necessity, which our English word "must" conveys. It rather means, “it is becoming, it is suitable, it is necessary for certain great ends and purposes." In Luke xxiv. 26., the same expression is rendered, “ought not Christ to have suffered."

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They apply to all ranks
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THESE words of our Lord Jesus Christ contain three great lessons for all Christians. and classes without exception. every age and time, and for every branch of the visible church.

We learn, for one thing, the absolute necessity of daily self-denial. We ought every day to crucify the flesh, to overcome the world, and to resist the devil. We ought

to keep under our bodies, and bring them into subjection. We ought to be on our guard, like soldiers in an enemy's country. We ought to fight a daily battle, and war a daily warfare. The command of our Master is clear and plain: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."

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Now what do we know of all this? Surely this is a question which ought to be asked. A little formal church-going, and a decent attendance at a place of worship, can never be the Christianity of which Christ speaks in this place. Where is our self-denial? Where is our daily carrying of the cross? Where is our following of Christ ?-Without a religion of this kind we shall never be saved. A crucified Saviour will never be content to have a self-pleasing, self-indulging, worldlyminded people. No self-denial-no real grace! No cross

-no crown! "They that are Christ's," says St. Paul, "have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts."

(Gal. v. 24.) "Whosoever will save his life," says the Lord Jesus, "shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall save it."

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We learn, for another thing, from our Lord's words in this passage, the unspeakable value of the soul. tion is asked, which admits of only one answeris a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose himself, or be cast away."

The possession of the whole world, and all that it contains, would never make a man happy. Its pleasures are false and deceptive. Its riches, rank, and honours, have no power to satisfy the heart. So long as we have not got them they glitter, and sparkle, and seem desir

able. The moment we have them we find that they are empty bubbles, and cannot make us feel content. And, worst of all, when we possess this world's good things, to the utmost bound of our desire, we cannot keep them. Death comes in and separates us from all our property for ever. Naked we came upon earth, and naked we go forth, and of all our possessions we can carry nothing with us. Such is the world, which occupies the whole attention of thousands! Such is the world, for the sake of which millions are every year destroying their souls!

The loss of the soul is the heaviest loss that can befal a man. The worst and most painful of diseases—the most distressing bankruptcy of fortune-the most disastrous shipwrecks-are a mere scratch of a pin compared to the loss of a soul. All other losses are bearable, or but for a short time, but the loss of the soul is for evermore. It is to lose God, and Christ, and heaven, and glory, and happiness, to all eternity. It is to be cast away for ever, helpless and hopeless in hell!

What are we doing ourselves? Are we losing our souls? Are we, by wilful neglect or by open sin-by sheer carelessness and idleness, or deliberate breach of God's law-compassing our own destruction? These questions demand an answer. The plain account of many professing Christians is this, that they are daily sinning against the sixth commandment. They are

murdering their own souls!

We learn, in the last place, from our Lord's words, the guilt and danger of being ashamed of Christ and His words. We read that He says-"Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of Him shall the Son

of Man be ashamed when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.”

There are many ways of being ashamed of Christ. We are guilty of it whenever we are afraid of letting men know that we love His doctrines, His precepts, His people, and His ordinances. We are guilty of it whenever we allow the fear of man to prevail over us, and to keep us back from letting others see that we are decided Christians. Whenever we act in this way, we are denying our Master, and committing a great sin.

The wickedness of being ashamed of Christ is very great. It is a proof of unbelief. It shows that we care more for the praise of man whom we can see, than that of God whom we cannot see. It is

a proof of ingratitude. It shows that we fear confessing Him before man who was not ashamed to die for us upon the cross. Wretched indeed are they who give way to this sin. Here, in this world, they are always miserable. A bad conscience robs them of peace. In the world to come they can look for no comfort. In the day of judgment they must expect to be disowned by Christ to all eternity, if they will not confess Christ for a few years upon earth.

Let us resolve never to be ashamed of Christ. Of sin and worldliness we may well be ashamed. Of Christ and His cause we have no right to be ashamed at all. Boldness in Christ's service always brings its own reward. The boldest Christian is always the happiest man.

NOTES. LUKE IX. 23-27.

23.-[Will come.] The word "will" here, and in the expression in the following verse, "will save," must be interpreted as, "wills

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