the sermon of our blessed Lord is in our hands; that we may hear him preach it over to us, as it were, again and again ; yea, that we may even ask him to explain to us every point in it. What an advantage is this ! What a value should we set upon it, if now, for the first time, his sermon \vere put into our hands ! But, alas ! because it is accessible at all times, we are apt to make light of it : and not a few are blind enough to dis- regard it, because it refers rather to the precepts than the doc- trines of the Gospel. Let us not however so slight our privi- leges : let us study this portion of Holy Writ with peculiar attention : and let us endeavour to get every precept wrought into our hearts, and exhibited in our lives. Then shall we be indeed improved by it, and shew forth the excellence of Christianity in all its perfection.]
Matt. viii. 19 — 22. A certain Scribe came and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of Man hath not tohere to lay his head. And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me : and let the dead bury their dead.
ONE would have supposed, that, in such a liistory as that of our Lord, none hut great things would he recorded ; and that smaller incidents would be passed over as unworthy of notice : but the inspired writers, notwithstanding an inexhaustible fund of matter pre- sented itself to their view, and they had previously determined to be as concise as possible, were directed by God to relate many circumstances, which to us would have appeared too insignificant to be men- tioned in such a work. And for this we have abun- dant reason to be thankful : for, had any other plan been followed, the Scriptures would have been less calculated for general use. Great events occur but rarely, and to few; whereas small circumstances arise daily and hourly; nor is there any one to whom they may not profitably be applied. The short conversa- tions recorded in the text appear of little moment ;