life! The casual glimpses which certain events have given us of the inner life of monks-nuns-hermits -have sometimes revealed such depths of unutterable darkness, as have made even the most worldlyminded turn away with horror. Dream not, weak mortal, that you can outwit the devil by putting impassable walls between yourself and your fellows; the probability is that you will only put yourself more completely in his power!

II. THE MANNER OF CHRIST'S TEMPTATION.

1. It was an attack upon the main stay of His character-His confidence in God. Undermine the foundation, and you demolish the building; take the citadel, and you occupy the city; penetrate the heart, and you kill the body; in a word, destroy the seat of power-the stronghold-and the rest will give you no difficulty. This was precisely the principle on which the tempter acted on this occasion. He knew well enough where the secret of Christ's moral power lay; he resolved therefore to assail Him there; for victory there would have been decisive. The first proposal may be construed thus "God seems to have forgotten thee, to have left thee here to perish; use therefore thy miraculous power, and turn these stones into bread." The second may be construed thus-" God has pledged Himself to protect thee, to preserve thy life from

danger; try Him therefore by casting thyself down from the pinnacle of the temple." The third may be construed thus-" God has promised to give thee the earth for thine inheritance; but thou must surely know that the earth is now mine, so that it cannot become thine, except with my consent." Thus you perceive that these successive attempts had a unity of design-namely, to shake His confidence in God's faithfulness. But that confidence was immovable-immovable as the eternal hills—so that the gates of hell could not prevail against it.

2. It was an attack upon all sides of His human nature-body, soul, and spirit. The first suggestion approaches Him through His body; for He is persuaded to attend to the clamours of appetite, to allay the tortures of hunger, to procure bread by questionable means. The second suggestion approaches Him through His soul; for He is advised to give in to the importunate cravings of ambition, to commit an act of brilliant daring that would have immediately secured the admiration of the multitude. The third suggestion approaches Him through His spirit; for He is asked to worship Satan instead of God, to transfer His spiritual homage from the King of kings to the vile and shameless usurper. Thus the whole man was put to the test—not a single part of His nature was left untried; but at each point alike He proved unconquerable.

3. It was an attack in which the tempter exhausted all his resources. Satan displayed throughout the most consummate skill; for long experience had made him a complete master of his art, and the magnitude of the undertaking made him doubly anxious to succeed. His first attempt seemed comparatively mild, harmless, and insignificant; he simply volunteered to give our Lord a wholesome piece of advice; under the guise of a friend, he bade Him satisfy the pressing demands of nature. But when this failed, he employed a stronger temptation. Many a man who would have scorned to gratify bodily appetite, has done wrong for the sake of acquiring fame: so he prompted Him to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, hoping now, no doubt, to gain his point. But when this again failed, he employed a stronger temptation still. Many a man who would have spurned the specious tinsel of popular applause, has been easily captivated by the splendid allurements of worldly power: so, as the price of universal dominion, he asked Him to worship himself, feeling assured that this time, at any rate, he would secure his object. Thus step by step Satan fought every inch of the ground; at each step he introduced additional force, until at last he reached the bounds of his cunning, the top of his power, the end of his contrivances. But from beginning

to end he was worsted. And when he could do no more, when he had exhausted his resources, he departed from Him, smarting under the shame of his defeat.

Satan on this occasion displayed his strength; but he also betrayed his weakness. We know that he has great abilities; but we also find that they are limited. We have discovered the extent of his craftiness, we are aware of the worst he can do; so that we never need be taken by surprise. is no reason why "Satan should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices."

There

III. THE RELATION OF CHRIST'S TEMPTATION TO TEMPTATION IN GENERAL.

I believe there is a common principle lying at the root of every temptation-a principle whereof its essence consists, wherein its strength lies, whereto its triumph is due. What is it that the tempter always persuades us to do? Simply this-to do what seems expedient rather than what is right. This is manifest in the three attacks he made upon our Lord, and you will find, on reflection, the same to be the most prominent characteristic of diabolic influences everywhere.

Let us now look at the case before us from this point of view.

It was our Lord's design to establish a kingdom

in this world.

For this He was born; this was His

chief work; in proportion as He would accomplish this, would His life be a success. At this period He was fully conscious of His mission, and was maturing His plans for future action. Satan recog

nized this fact, but did not endeavour to dissuade Him from His purpose; he appeared rather to encourage Him, and to be anxious to help Him in the undertaking, which made his proposals all the more subtle and difficult to withstand.

1. In the first place, Satan reminds Him that He is hungry. If He were to fast much longer He might die of starvation. And what would become of the kingdom, if the Founder perished without doing anything towards its establishment? Was it not very like madness to run the risk of such a catastrophe ? The tempter accordingly advised Him to use His miraculous power to convert the stones which lay around Him into bread, "But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." It might have seemed expedient, under the circumstances, to comply with the tempter's request; but it would not have been right. And, besides, it would have been a practical renunciation of the fundamental principle of His kingdom, a violation of the great law of self-denial, an act involving the most ruinous consequences; for