June 4.

JEREMIAH'S GRATEFUL SONG. Lamentations iii. 22--41.

GOLDEN TEXT.

Lamentations iii. 22. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

SOME think that Jeremiah was in Egypt, as a captive, when he wrote his Lamentations, which were composed on the occasion of the ruin of his country by the Chaldeans. Others have suggested that they were written on the occasion of the death of Josiah. It is said to be certain that he wrote some elegiac piece or pieces then; but the character of this book seems best to suit the melancholy extinction of the national glory and even existence. They are said to be the longest specimens remaining of that kind of Hebrew poetry, and are pre-eminent for beauty and pathos. They justify the judgment of those who have pronounced the characteristic style of Jeremiah to have been tenderness. No man could so have written who did not deeply feel; and no man could have so felt, who was not involved in the calamities which he describes. Notice,

I. God is a Refuge to His people in the day of trouble. When there is no mercy to be found, then a man's trouble sinks into despair; but the prophet had hope in Divine mercy. Those mercies are daily renewed. 23. They are new every morning. The keenest sorrow can be relieved by a simple trust in the goodness of God. The promises of God are sure. It is our duty to have patience in trial, and manifest confidence in God, for-25. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. Patience is a Christian grace which can only be perfected by trial, for tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed. 27. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. The mind can more easily be trained in youth, and the soul requires discipline to prepare it for heaven. Afflictions test the strength of our faith, and when they are rightly endured they impart a tenderness to the soul. Sin is the cause of suffering, therefore a man must expect trials. 28. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence.

II. God is an unchanging refuge for His people. When the Jews became careless and neglected God He permitted their enemies to trouble Judæa. Their sins caused them to endure bondage more than once. National judgments affect both the good and the bad. The sins of nations are severely punished in this world, and the innocent suffer with the guilty. It was so with Jeremiah. 32. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. His chastisements are for our good. Our circumstances are ever changing, but our God remains the same. And though He afflicts us yet His Love is toward us. 33. For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.

III. God is a Refuge near at hand. His people can gain access to the mercy seat in all countries, and under all kinds of government. In Babylon or Egypt, the praying soul can cry to God. Daniel prayed in Babylon. Some of the grandest touches of inspiration were given to the prophets in times of deepest trouble. Fetters, nor chains, nor prisons, can separate the believing

soul from God. He was near to Peter in the prison. Jonah cried and found God near at hand, while in the depths of the sea. God controls the calamities of the world for good. 38. Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? Sin has brought suffering upon us and we must endure it. When the Jews departed from God He allowed them to be carried away into a strange land to suffer there many things. Are you living in sin? If so, you must suffer. Sin cannot go unpunished. We have no room to complain for we only suffer from the effects of sin. 39. Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

June 11.

DANIEL'S PRAYER. Daniel ix. 8-19.

GOLDEN TEXT.

Daniel ix. 9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him.

DANIEL having considered the writings of Jeremiah which referred to the seventy years captivity of the Jews in Babylon, and being satisfied that the period had nearly expired, he humbled himself in prayer for the sins of his people, and earnestly desired that God would restore and favour Jerusalem. The angel, Gabriel, informed him, in answer to his prayer, that the city should be rebuilt, and that it should continue for seventy weeks of years, or 490 years, and then for putting Messiah to death should be destroyed. Daniel's prayer is marked by

I. Deep Humility. He acknowledged that as a people they had sinned. All classes, kings, princes, fathers, and sons had sinned against God. 8. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face. Sin produces confusion and disorder among men. His hope was in Divine mercy. 9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness. Daniel knew where to look for help. God is ready to pardon, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. 11. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law. The prophet complained of their perverseness. 'Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more.' See Isaiah i. 5, 6. 11. Therefore the curse is poured upon us. This refers to the curse recorded in Deuteronomy xxvii. 15–21.

II. His prayer is marked by profound Devotion. It was a custom in prayer to remind the Lord of the great works which he had done for His people. Moses did this in his prayer. Exodus xxxii. 11-13. Nehemiah prayed in the same form. ix. 10. Jeremiah also reminded the Lord of the great works He had done in Egypt. So Daniel prayed, 15, And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand.

III. His prayer was full of his intense love for Jerusalem. The Jews could not forget their own land. Daniel prayed, 17. Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. That is for the sake of the Messiah, for the term Messiah was known by the title of Lord among the Jews. Also called Messiah the Prince. Daniel ix. 25. All God's promises are fulfilled in and for the sake of Christ. 19. Defer not,

for thine own sake, O my God. The seventy years of their captivity had nearly expired. He was anxious that the Lord should favour His people speedily, and open their way to return to Jerusalem.

IV. His prayer referred to the spiritual prosperity of Jerusalem. And the answer which Gabriel brought to Daniel's prayer unfolded the future events that should take place at Jerusalem. As the seventy years terminated their captivity, so would 490 years include the overthrow of Jerusalem. If you fix the commencement of the seventy weeks of years at Ezra I. I., in the first year of Cyrus; or at Ezra VI. 1, in the second year of Darius; or at Ezra VII. 7, in the seventh of Artaxerxes; or at Nehemiah I. 2, in the twentieth of Artaxerxes; either of those four periods will bring the termination of four hundred and ninety years within the limits of the first century after the birth of Christ, and cutting off, and the destruction of Jerusalem took place in harmony with the statements of Daniel.

V. Prayer is as needful now as it was in the days of Daniel. He prayed in the spirit and the Lord heard and answered him. We have greater advantages than Daniel had. He honoured God in trial and difficulty. He was opposed and persecuted, but God made him strong, and enabled him to stand before kings. Are you in bondage? Pray. Are you perplexed with temptations, and temporal difficulties? Or are you deeply anxious for the prosperity of the church, as Daniel was? Then pray as he prayed, and God will hear and answer you.

INTERNATIONAL LESSONS.

May 21.

SEEING AND CONFESSING THE CHRIST. Mark viii. 22-33.

GOLDEN TEXT.

Matt. xvi. 16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

PREFATORY REMARKS.-With reference to the man whose cure is described in this lesson, it has been supposed that he must have been able to see at a former period of his life, inasmuch as he had some idea of the figures of men and trees, which he hardly could have had had he been blind from his birth. Dr. Trench mentions the case of a child born blind, and afterwards made to see, of whom it is said, 'When he first saw, he knew not the shape of anything, nor any one thing from another, however different in shape or magnitude, but being told what things were, whose forms he before knew from feeling, he would carefully observe that he might know them again.' EXPOSITORY NOTES.-The lesson is in two parts.

I. Seeing Christ. 22. And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, &c. The place where this miracle was wrought is supposed to have been Bethsaida Julias, situate on the north eastern shore of the sea of Galilee. The man was no doubt brought to Jesus by some of his friends, who probably had heard something about the Lord's cures performed by laying His hands on persons who were afflicted; they besought Jesus to heal their friend's eyes by a like process. Christ did what they desired, and even more, in the way of employing external means, deeming it proper to do so, for reasons not named. 23. And he took

the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town, &c. Two reasons might cause Jesus to prefer privacy in this instance; namely, a wish to avoid the crowd of the city, and a desire to secure the quiet that would help Him to instruct as well as heal the sufferer. The man's faith was probably weak; and it was as necessary for that to be strengthened, in order to his receiving the full benefit of his intercourse with the Saviour, as it was that he should be cured of his physical blindness. Anointing his eyes with spittle, and touching him with the hands, would be likely to help his faith, and were probably intended to have that effect. These acts could not be necessary on the Lord's part, for He could do mightier deeds than this by a single word. 24, 25. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, &c. The power of vision was partially restored. The man beheld objects, but only in dim outline. The persons he saw in this haze of twilight were most likely the friends who had come with him; he saw them in motion, but so imperfectly that they were as much like trees as human beings. It is a peculiarity of this miracle, that there is manifestly a halting in the course of the cure-a pause about mid-way between the beginning and the end. Why was this? The cause could not be in the Healer's lack of power. Very likely it was in the man's weakness of faith. To perfect that, the Lord put His hands upon the sufferer's eyes a second time, and thus completed the cure. 26. And he sent him away to his house, &c. It had now become somewhat common for Christ to charge those who witnessed His miracles, not to noise them abroad among the people. From this time forward His work would be chiefly with His disciples, whom He wanted to make ready, by all suitable instructions, for their missionary toils. The gathering together of multitudes would have interfered with this purpose, and have been likely to hasten unduly the crisis in His affairs, thus occasioning Him some embarrassment in relation to the fulfilling of His task.

II. Confessing Christ. Parallels: Matt. xvi. 13-23, and Luke ix, 18–22. 27. And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Cæsarea Philippi, &c. Cæsarea Philippi was a city near the sources of the Jordan, and not far from Mount Lebanon. It was formerly called Banias, but Philip the tetrarch, having enlarged and beautified it, gave it the name mentioned in the text. Jesus went thither with His followers, to seek retirement. On the way, He sought to elicit the views held concerning Himself by the disciples and others, with the intention, probably, of teaching His companions the true doctrine about His person and kingdom, and so fitting them for the vocation upon which they would shortly enter, as preachers of the great salvation. 28. And they answered, John the Baptist: but others say, Elias, &c. Some thought John had returned to life after having been murdered by Herod. Others believed that Elijah had reappeared after having been hid for hundreds of years; while others again held that one of the prophets had re-visited the scene of his former services among the chosen people. Many seemed much more disposed to indulge in speculations and theories, than to receive those teachings that could save their souls. 29. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? &c. A personal confession was required, either individual or conjoint, that would show whether these disciples held right views or wrong

ones concerning the Lord, and how far they were prepared by faith in Him to be the heralds of His kingdom. Their answer would indicate the extent to which they had benefited by His instructions. Peter's answer was all that could be desired. Perhaps he intended it to represent only his own belief; yet it was so much to the point, and so fully in harmony with the opinion and feeling of the whole brotherhood, that each could cordially accept it. There seemed to be no doubt in any mind as to the Messiahship of Him who talked with them. This confession deserves to be regarded as a corner-stone in the temple of Christian truth. 30. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. We need not suppose that this injunction went beyond the next few weeks. The time was not far distant when their great business would be to preach Him to all as the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world. But for the present, they were to keep their thoughts to themselves, and allow things to take their natural course, that the coming crisis might not be precipitated. 31. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, &c. Having obtained from the disciples an acknowledgement of His Messiahship, Jesus proceeded to declare to them some of the most important things involved in His office, how that He must be rejected by the rulers, and afterwards put to death, and that He would rise from the dead the third day. These statements would be painful and perplexing to His followers. Those followers had seen so much of the hatred of the rulers for His teachings and works, that persecution by the bigots in question would have caused no surprise; but that He should talk about being killed, and rising again, was a matter they could not comprehend. Their whole soul would rebel against the notion of one so worthy being treated in such a shameful and cruel manner. Their feeling soon found expression. The same lips that had just spoken these men's belief in the Divine nature and mission of Christ uttered their solemn protest against the doom that He had foreshadowed. 32. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. This part of Peter's conduct was quite in keeping with his hot, impulsive temperament. His ardent, impetuous soul could not bear the thought that one so noble as Jesus was should submit to the terrible fate in question; and having more zeal than knowledge, he spoke unadvisedly with his lips. 33. And when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, &c. The rebuke administered to Peter is one of the severest on record. Jesus likened him to Satan, the great adversary, because in trying to turn the Redeemer from His purpose he was doing the work of the Evil One-ignorantly, no doubt, but still none the less really. Christ bade him begone, called him an offence, or stumbling stone, and told him that he was minding human things rather than Divine ones. These matters all go to prove that Peter was weak and fallible like other

men.

HOMILETICAL HINTS.-1. By nature we are all blind with respect to heavenly things. We are ignorant of our own state, and of the nature of Christ's work as the Redeemer of men. 2. Jesus is the source of spiritual illumination. He is the Light of the world. His work in us is gradual, progressive, certain, complete. At first, we see dimly; but He repeats His helping touches, and we come to see clearly in the end. In heaven we shall