genuine, the free unrestrained utterance of the passing mood. It is not the highest thing. That is the worship of the finally redeemed, who have won innocence through experience of sin; but it is the earth-suggestion of it. Children's praise is still tho joy of Christian hearts. II. THE OIIILDBEN COMFORTED JESUS BY WHAT THEY RUBEBENTED. For to him the children were types. "Babes and sucklings" are types of simple, loving, trustful souls, and to such God's revelations corn&. Now, there are two kinds of trustful, humble, gentle souls. 1. Those who are trustful without ever having struggled. Some are naturally trustful, believing, receptive, and in all spheres of life they are loved and loving souls. 2. Those who are trustful as the victory out of struggle. These a.re the noblest ones, the true child-souls, the true virgin-souls; these walk the earth in white, and it is white that will never take a soil. In their praise Christ finds his supreme joy.-R. T. Ver.19.-The eree-type of the hypocrite. "Found nothing thereon, but leaves only." The attempted explanations of the condition of this fig tree bewilder us. Some say our Lord expected to find some stray figs on the tree left from the last harvest. Others say that, as he saw leaves, he naturally expected fruit, because the figs appear on the trees before the fruit. We must suppose that it was the custom to eat green figs, for it is certain that at this season of the year the fresh figs could not be ripened. What is clear is- I. Otra Lonn TAUGHT BY BYHBOLI0 AOTIONB. There are spoken parables and acted pa.rabies; both were used in all teachings, especially in Eastern teachings; both were used by our Lord. All suggestion that our Lord was personally vexed at the failure of the tree must be carefully eliminated. With the genius of the teacher, our Lord at once saw, and seized, the opportunity for giving an impressive object-lesson, which he completed by consummating at once the destruction of the tree. Explain that the tree must have been diseased, or it would have borne fruit. Its destruction was certain. The tree did not sin in being diseased or having no fruit; but the teacher may take it to represent one who sins in making outward show that bas no answering goodness within it, Our Lord only took beasts or trees to illustrate Divine judgments. II. WHAT OUR LOBD TAUGHT HEBB WAS THE CERTAIN DOOM OF THE HYPOCRITE. Obrist never spoke so severely of any one as of the hypocrites. Insincerity was the fault most personally offensive to him. The tree seemed to represent a hypocrite. It bad leaves. There was fair outward show. It seemed to say, "Come to me if you are hungry; I can refresh you." And when Christ came he found the leaves were all it had to give. His thoughts were much occupied at this time with the Pharisees, who were making outside show of superior piety, but bad no soul-piety opening their hearts to give him welcome. Perhaps our Lord meant to picture Judas Iscariot. Fair- showing as any disciple, but rotten-hearted. Let Pharisees learn, let Judas learn, let disciples learn, from that fig tree. It is dying; Christ hastens the corrupting process, and it dies in a day. The hypocrite is corrupting. He is under the curse of God. There is no hope in this life or the next for the man who is consciously insincere. -R.T.
Ver. 22.-Bilieving, the CO'll,dition of acceptable prayer. The immediate lesson which Christ drew from the incident was not taken from the tree-that lesson be left the disciples to think out for themselves-but from their surprise at the result which followed his words. Our Lord seems always to have spoken of prayer in a large, general, and comprehensive way; and yet we may always discern some intimation of the qualifications and limitations which must always condition answer to human prayer, It is true that "whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer ye shall receive;" but it is also true that we must meet the appointed condition, and be "believers "-those who cherish the spirit of openness and trust. 11 It was rather the power and wonder of their Lord's act, than the deeper significance o! it, that moved the disciples. Yet Jesus follows the turn their thoughts take, and teaches that prayer and faith will remove mountains of difficulty." I. BELIEVING AS Gon's CONDITION. God's conditions are never to be thought of as arbitrary; they are always necessities, always sweetly reasonable. The term MATTHEW-II. 2A 85i THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. '.MATTHEW. [ea. XXI, 1-46,