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parents of six of the apostles, united with Mary Magdalen in the purchase of spices for embalming the body of Jesus; and, though their purchase was altogether unnecessary, on the morning of the resurrection they were amply repaid. Salome has indeed been already noticed, but she may again be referred to, in company with her friend and inseparable companion. These were the two women to whom the angel first announced the resurrection, and to whom he said, "Be not affrighted; for I know that ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.-He is not here, but is risen: come, see the place where the Lord lay.". To them also did he give the charge of informing the apostles; nay, to these two parents did our Lord himself make his second appearance, saying, "All hail!" and repeating the commission which the angel had given, but in still more endearing terms, he styles their children and the other apostles, his brethren. Thus, did they not only see him, but believed in the event before the apostles themselves!

Nor must Cleopas or Alpheus, the husband of Mary, and the Father of these Apostles, be forgotten. You may conjecture what his character must have been, and how very high he stood in the Saviour's estimation, when, though not an apostle, he appeared to him before them, Peter only having seen him in the former part of the day. Cleopas was one of the two highly-favoured men to whom our Lord appeared on the road to Emmaus." Did not our hearts burn within us," said they, "while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures ?"-No wonder ; he walked with them leisurely several miles, for it was more than seven miles distant from Jerusalem, and

vouchsafed to him and his companion more of his conversation on the day of his resurrection than he did to any of his children; for he actually expounded to them, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself. The deep interest which Cleopas and his companion took in all this is finely drawn, in their entreaties which prevailed with the Messiah to sit down at the table with them. This was the man with whom, after his resurrection, our Lord first engaged in devotional exercises. Over the food of which he was about to partake the Saviour condescended to implore the Divine blessing; nay, he himself broke the bread, and gave to them, before he ceased to be visible. Judge then of the intense interest of Cleopas, and with what feelings he must have returned, as he immediately did, though, as one of his arguments with Jesus, he had said, "the day is far spent, for it is towards evening." Judge what must have been his feelings, when he returned to inform his sons and the other apostles of this appearance, and of this long conversation, over and above" all that had happened."What a change to him, upon entering Jerusalem, from the feelings with which he had so pensively left it!

Now, assuredly, the man, to whom our Lord condescended on such a day to pay such regard, must have enjoyed a high place in his esteem,-the man who could appreciate such an extensive expository range over the Old Testament must have been well acquainted with this, his Bible,-the man whose heart so burned within him must have been a saint of the highest order. But then, this man was the father, and his wife the mother of a third of the

apostleship. Is it not remarkable-is it not confirmatory of the subject before us, that the husband and wife, who appear so conspicuously in connexion with the great God, our Saviour, and with the greatest of all earthly events, should turn out to be the parents of not less than four of the apostles? Is it not also especially worthy of notice, how the Saviour, on the day he rose from the dead, employs first maternal and then paternal influence to induce in the minds of these their children, as well as the other apostles, the faith of his own resurrection? Surely the influence of this eminent pair, and their weight of character, must have been great; and where had these fallen with so much weight as on such sons? Yes, unquestionably, their influence and their example must have had corresponding power over these their children.

In adverting to the Sun of Righteousness, I could not persuade myself to be less particular, since, if guided by his light, parental duty and influence will be regarded as belonging to the very root of society, and as laying a deep foundation for spiritual prosperity in the church. For what is all this, if it is not a family-group, or a little group of families? What is it but "the hearts of the fathers turned to their children, and the hearts of the children turned to their fathers ?" Is it not now manifest-is it not felt how remarkably, and to what extent our blessed Lord availed himself of the influence of the parental character, and the power of natural family attachments, where the fear of God had been made the bond of union?

Second, THE POWER WHICH THE PARENT ENJOYS

OF FORMING THE CHILD TO GREATNESS OF CHARACTER, is another striking proof of the energy inherent in the Family Constitution.

To this source the eminence of most of the great men in Scripture may be traced. Whether the children at last rose to be prophets, or legislators, or kings, though much more is recorded of them than of their parents, their hand and their influence is, in many instances, abundantly manifest; nay, even when nothing else is recorded of the son, except the name, his lineage is thought deserving of notice. Of the sixteen prophets, whose writings we consult and so admire, we know perhaps less than of any other men so eminent. The only mark of inspired distinction, however, is the record of their descent. Eight out of the sixteen are named in connexion with the father who gave them birth: Zechariah's grandfather is also mentioned, and Zephaniah's ancestors are traced back to the extent of the fourth generation. This patronimick style, I am aware, is generally passed over, as recording nothing more than the surname of the individual; yet I query, whether in the Sacred Writings it is not often intended to involve something more. However, putting these extraordinary men altogether out of view, I may notice two or three others from Scripture, before proceeding to various proofs taken from authentic general history, corroborative of the remark at the head of this division.

DAVID. The king of Israel, taken all in all, was one of the most extraordinary men of whom we read, since he was, in fact, the highest personal type of the Messiah. On him, it is true, at a very early period,

the eye of the Almighty had been fixed; but with the training up of Jesse, or of his worthy partner, the mother, he will not interfere; nor is David taken out of their hands till an impression is made which never left him. The first notice of him in Scripture is after Samuel had mourned for years together over the misconduct and the rejection of Saul. He is then informed that God had found a youth among the sons of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, suitable for the throne. His youth indeed seems to have staggered all parties. His brethren are displeased, while Samuel and Saul are alike astonished at his premature character; and well they might. When he was anointed to be king another day, the ruddy boy, "withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to," could not be more than fifteen years of age! Shortly after this, he was familiar with remarkable interpositions in his favour, which he rightly interpreted as divine. At such an early age he had encountered and destroyed a lion and a bear, and he was but about twenty when he slew Goliah. Very soon after this, his character for bravery, and his skill in music, are alike established, and he is also represented as "prudent in matters." Now, this development of character, at such an early period, is a circumstance decidedly in favour of the influence of his parents. The truth is, that David was the son of their old age, for Jesse "went among men for an old man in the days of Saul," and on him they were encouraged to bestow peculiar pains.

The name of this good old Parent, however, is more than once introduced in Scripture in connexion with a greater than David; and this it is which seems to

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