THE

NEW TESTAMENT HISTORIES.

THE usual party assembled at Mr. C -'s; for the interest he excited was unwearying, and the mighty truths he taught found a response in the hearts of his hearers, who felt the privilege of attending his instructions, so truly in unison with God's holy word, and consequently demanding sincere attention. Many at first were prejudiced in favour of their own opinions, with which, through the natural pride and self-sufficiency so deeply rooted in the human heart, they were unwilling to part; but as they listened more and more to the instructions of their pastor, they found that, as poor fallen creatures, they had no right to bend the Scriptures to their own apprehensions and wishes, but on the contrary, they must, as little children, receive the "sincere milk of the word, that they might grow thereby;" in other words, they longed to improve in the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, and were ready to bring every thought into obedience to his Word, assured from experience that they were ignorant, and that, if they fancied "they knew anything, they knew nothing yet as they ought to know." (1 Cor. viii. 2.)

This true spirit of humility Mr. C encouraged : though thirty years had barely passed over him, he was a deeply experienced Christian; instructed by the Lord the Spirit, he had seen and felt the hateful character of sin, and his constant intercourse with others, united with great observation of character, had taught him as experimentally the depth of sin that lurks within us, as if he had lived twice the period. It is not age that makes us practically wise: this is an aphorism which experience confirms; for while many act like fools at fifty, others are wise and prudent advisers at twenty. No, let us not look to secondary

causes, and imagine that all the difference is owing to education, habits, and so forth; it is not so: it is the grace of God which causes persons to differ, which imparts a steadiness of conduct and fixedness of principle that astonishes the worldling, but which can be traced to those gracious influences from above, which impart wisdom and knowledge to their happy recipients. Oh that people would give honour where honour is due! Man, with all his boasted talents, is nothing in and from himself; he has nothing but what he has received, then " why should he glory as though he had not received it?" Yet so it is; and thus God, the great beneficent Giver, is defrauded of the praise due to himself alone, and his infatuated creature is induced to say, By my power and my might I have accomplished this and that; forgetful that the next hour might reduce him, like Nebuchadnezzar, to a level with the brutes, or make him, like Herod the Great, a prey to a loathsome disease.

But we are forgetting: the dining-room at MCourt is full almost to overflowing; the old butler has found seats for the last party with difficulty; and now his beloved master has entered and placed his little book upon the table, a signal that the interesting lecture is going to begin. Opening the volume slowly, Mr. C— remarked,

"The history of the Church of Christ is intensely interesting; we have seen how the pure doctrines taught by himself and his apostles were despised; they were too pure for the heathen world, and as they laid deep stress upon the profession and character being in unison, they roused all the vile passions of man, and determined the rulers, both Jews and Romans, to put down the new religion by every means in their power. Stephen was the first to submit to the hand of the murderer, and our chapter of to-day contains an account of the cruelties practised against two of the apostles, James and Peter; the first part runs thus: Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)' (Acts xii. 1-3.) The Herod here mentioned was Herod Agrippa the First, who was grandson to the Herod who murdered the infants of Bethlehem, and who was so disturbed at the visit of the wise men of the East in search of the promised Messiah."

"And was that the Herod who mocked him, sir?" demanded Mr. Hill.

"No," replied Mr. C. "Herod, surnamed the Great, who massacred the children, died in agonies soon after that event, leaving three sons, namely, Archelaus, Herod Antipas, (who was the person you inquire about, Mr. Hill,) and Philip. It is the grandson of this Herod we have now to do with; and verily it may be said of him as of the kings of Judah of old, that he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.' The Roman emperor made him king of Judea, which was at this time a province belonging to that vast empire; and in order to gain the favour of the Jews and heads of the people, 'he stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.'

"What do you mean by vexing the church, Mr. C- -?" inquired Mrs. Basil.

"Imprisoning them, fining them, annoying them in various ways," replied Mr. C ; "in short, taking the advantage his rank and influence afforded to harass them by every means in his power; an example which, alas! many an unworthy and ungodly governor has since imitated. Finding that all these miserable efforts to crush the pure religion of Jesus failed, he proceeded to acts of violence, and seizing upon James, the son of Zebedee, and brother of John, he ordered him to be beheaded, and thus he became the first of the apostles who died for his loved Master's sake. Do you recollect," added Mr. Cturning to the farmers, who always sat together, our Lord foretelling this?"

"Not exactly, sir," said Hyford.

"If you turn to Matthew xx. 20—23,” replied Mr. C- --,"you will find the ambitious suit preferred by those disciples through their mother, who said to him, 'Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom;' imagining that he, as the Messiah, was come to restore the kingdom of Israel, and bring back the days of David and Solomon. Alas! they knew not what they asked; instead of receiving titles and governments they were to partake of the sorrows and insults their Lord would endure, and finally be baptized with blood, that is, be called upon to seal the truth with their blood, and at length receive the martyr's crown. The death of James prepared the way for further cruelty, and Peter was next selected as

But his hour was not yet

the victim of ungodly hatred. come; his Master had much work for him to do, and not all the rage of the Jews or the malice of Herod could injure him. Let us examine the causes that appeared to produce this effect. I say appeared, because, while certain events occurred which ended in his deliverance, the whole was under the immediate guidance of an overruling Providence.

"First observe, that it is said, 'Then were the days of unleavened bread.' (Verse 3.) Herod was a downright hypocrite in order to ingratiate himself with the Jews, he pretended great reverence for the law of Moses, and consequently would not pollute the holy feast of the Passover with the blood of a man. But while he thus pretended reverence to the divine ordinance, he rejoiced in the opportunity the delay afforded him of annoying Peter by a longer and more vexatious imprisonment. How little he knew the effects produced by the Spirit on the heart of man! Peter was perfectly free from anxiety: hé could sleep soundly although guarded by four quaternions, or sixteen soldiers, who were appointed, four at a time, to watch him night and day. He knew that when the feast was over, he was to be brought forth to the people, but this did not move him, for life was only of value in his eyes as long as it was employed in his loved Master's cause. When that was over, he was ready to put off his tabernacle,' and hail the path, though it might be marked with suffering, that would convey him into the unclouded presence of the Saviour he adored."

"Why is the word Easter used in the 4th verse, Mr. C?" inquired Mr. Basil; "it had not at this time been adopted by the Christian Church."

"No," replied Mr. C, "it is to be regretted that our translators used the word, instead of saying the Passover, which would have been far more preferable. Excepting in this place, we do not find the word in the Bible, and which, in the days of our Saxon ancestors, referred to the worship of one of their idols."

"Perhaps you will tell us all about it, sir," said Hyford. "Idols! did our forefathers worship idols?"

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Yes," replied Mr. C

"like the rest of the nations of the earth, this now highly-favoured country was defiled by idolatry; and every day in the week was dedicated to some miserable idol. But in the month of April, the same wherein the Jewish Passover was held, our ances