and grief. They all looked one upon another, to see whether any one would avow such an intention as that : and when no one seemed conscious of any such purpose, all began to suspect themselves, and to ask, " Lord, is it I? Is it I?"
We shall find it not unprofitable to consider, I. The self-diffidence of the Apostles —
If ever there was an occasion when self-confidence might justly be expressed, methinks it was at that hour, and in reference to that point —
[Methinks the Apostles might well have said, ' Lord, how ean it be that any one of us should so forget his obligations to thee, as to deliver thee up into the hands of thy blood-thirsty enemies, that they may put thee to death ? We trust that the principles which we have imbibed from thee are too deeply rooted in our hearts to admit of our ever perpetrating such an act of wickedness, unheard-of wickedness, as that. We ac- knowledge that we are both weak and sinful ; but no consider- ation under heaven could ever induce us to commit such an abomination as that ; and we do hope that, during the years thou hast known us, thou hast seen no reason to suspect us of it.']
But amongst them all there was no feeling but of self-diffidence and self-distrust —
[No one doubted the truth of our Lord's assertion, or questioned, for a moment, the certainty of the event. Nor did any one give way to unkind and uncharitable suspicions respect- ing his brethren. It might have been supposed that each, conscious of his own integrity, would begin to think which of the Apostles was the most likely to act so base a part ; and to fix the accusation upon one or upon another, as the prejudices of his own mind might lead him. But nothing of this kind appeared in any one of them. Each began to suspect himself, rather than any other : each said, as it were, within his own bosom, ' I know more evil of myself than I do of any one else; and therefore I have more reason to be jealous over myself, than over any other person : Lord, am I the unhappy person of whom thou speakest ? I am not, indeed, conscious of any such intention : but thou knowest what is in man : thou knowest what evils I may yet commit : tell me, Lord, is it I?' Thus, with the deepest grief, and the most painful anxiety, every one of them in succession asked, " Is it I? Is it I?"
At last the traitor Judas himself, fearing lest his very silence should mark him out as the one to whom the guilt