ON HIS BAPTISM.

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SECTION V.

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS.

VERY important proof of the divine glory of Jesus is furnished us in the declining of John to baptize him, because he considered him as a perfectly righteous and holy man; also in John's confession, that Jesus was far more exalted than he was himself, notwithstanding he had been endowed with so much dignity and power by God. Strong proof of the divine glory of Jesus is also furnished us in the confession of John, in which, filled with the deepest reverence towards Jesus, he bore testimony of him in public as "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world."

This was as if John had said: "As the sprinkling of the blood of a lamb, on the two side-posts and on the upper door-post of the houses of the Israelites, saved them from the plague on the dark and gloomy night in which the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne to the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of cattle; so the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus shall save from the plague of sin all who trust in him, in that dreary night when the Lord goes forth to smite the sinful world. He is to procure the forgiveness of mankind, and their gracious acceptance with God. He has been sent by God for the express purpose of enlightening the human race, sanctifying them, and rendering them happy, by suffering for them the greatest sorrows and the most painful death."

If all the doubts you have respecting the divine glory of Jesus are not now removed, they must be, as it seems

to me, when you remember what took place just after he was baptized; for as he was coming up out of the water, the Spirit of God descended upon him in the form of a dove, and alighted upon him, and God himself testified by a voice from heaven that Jesus was his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased. Can you hesitate then, dear youth, to receive Jesus Christ as your divine Saviour, and always to serve him as such? Methinks I hear you say :

"Blessed Jesus, thou art the beloved Son of God; from my heart will I love and honour thee. For thy sake I hope to obtain the forgiveness of all my sins from God; and by thy assistance to please my Father in heaven in all my youthful actions. I am indeed a highly favoured child. I have enjoyed the great privilege, like the son of God, of being baptized. From his baptism I learn that the baptism which I have received is something holy. I will often, with reverence, gratitude, and love, call to mind my baptismal covenant. I will say to myself: By means of baptism, I have been consecrated to be a child of God, and an heir of eternal life. O blessed Father in heaven, suffer me not to trifle away this, the greatest of blessings I can have upon earth, by my sins. Thou hast engaged to be my faithful Father and guide from my youth up. wards. O help me always to remain thy pious, thy good and obedient child.'

ON HIS TEMPTATION.

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SECTION VI.

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS.

THERE are spirits which do not dwell in such bodies as we have, called angels, or devils. They are called angels if they are good, and devils if they are wicked.

Now one of these wicked spirits came to Jesus while he was in the wilderness, to which he had been led by the Spirit of God, and tried to seduce him into various sins. To disturb his confidence in God, he tried to make him perform an unnecessary and untimely miracle, by changing stones into bread. To make him guilty of rashness, he challenged him to throw himself down from off the the pinnacle of the Temple. To bring him to deny God, he was so shameless as to request the Saviour to fall down and worship him. The devil, however, was defeated in all these his wicked attempts. The Saviour refused to

listen to any of his proposals, until at last he went away, no doubt, in great sadness. Things turned out here with Jesus just as the Bible says they always will with good people who resist the devil; for the Bible says, that if we resist him, he will flee from us; and so the Saviour found it.

My young friends, wherever you go, you will, as long as you live, meet with many enticements to sin. Your own hearts are wicked, and will be constantly leading you astray. You live too in a world which is full of iniquity and sin. Besides, you will also be tempted to sin by some of the wicked spirits of which the Bible speaks. It is probable, indeed, that much of the evil in the world which is ascribed to these spirits or to Satan, their chief, does not originate with him or his followers. It is quite

certain that Satan's power is often represented as far greater than it really is. From the Bible, however, we know well enough that he tempts men to sin, and does them all the mischief he can. Why God permits this is a question we cannot fully answer. You will probably know more about it when you become older and acquire more maturity of thought. Nor is it necessary that you should fully understand this subject. It is no great matter from what quarter the temptation comes. It is your business to resist all temptations to sin, whether they have their immediate origin in your own hearts, in your companions, or in evil spirits. As you would be happy, therefore, in this world and the next, you must learn to resist temptation as Christ did,—you must learn, at all times, and under all circumstances, to resist every temptation to do anything which you know or even fear to be wrong. Let me give you some directions upon this subject, which will be of great benefit to you if you follow them.

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1. Pray to God every day not to lead you, or suffer you to be led, into temptation. Entreat him always to preserve you from all that is evil, whether it come from your own heart, from the world around you, or from the wicked one, who, as the Bible says, goes about seeking whom he may devour." So you are told to pray in the Lord's prayer by Christ himself. Entreat him to enlighten your mind and make you wise, in order that you may know at once what good and evil is; and to give you strength to overcome every besetment to sin.

2. Never presume to tempt God to leave you to do what is wicked by putting yourself in the way of danger, or keeping yourselves ignorant of it. The child who puts himself on purpose in the way of danger when there is

HOW TO MEET TEMPTATION.

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no need of it, who, for example, runs upon ice which he knows is not strong enough to bear him, or climbs a tree from which he can easily fall, or engages in any play which may injure his health or his limbs,--such a child tempts God to leave him to the effects of his own misconduct. The child who refuses to learn what good and evil is when it is in his power to do so, who is inattentive to his teachers and the minister, and makes no efforts, or but feeble ones, to ascertain what is right, tempts God to give him up to the effects of his own ignorance. Had Christ thrown himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple, as the devil wanted him to do, he would have tempted his Father in heaven. If a child associates without any necessity with bad playmates, he tempts God to leave him to be as bad as they are. Now the Bible declares, and Christ has confirmed the declaration, that "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." To tempt God, therefore, is very wicked; and he who tempts God, has no reason to think that God will hear him, or answer his prayers. On the other hand, there is great reason to fear that such persons will be left to fall into temptation and sin.

3. Boldly resist every temptation to sin which you meet with. Be afraid to do what is wicked, never be afraid to do what is good. If you have wicked thoughts, put them out of your minds, and go to thinking what is right, repeating religious poetry, or portions of Scripture, or your prayers. Above all things, "if sinners entice you, do not consent." If wicked youths try to make you do what is bad, never mind what they say; disregard their ridicule, and get away from them as soon as you can. Many a youth has been lost because he had not courage enough to resist the ridicule of his wicked companions.