stood into the court below, accompanied all the way as he descended by an illustrious host of angels, anxiously guarding his person from all danger, and plainly manifesting by their solicitude to protect and to preserve him, that they had a most invaluable treasure committed to their care, and that he was in truth the beloved Son of God, the peculiar favourite of Heaven.

To a vain-glorious mind nothing could have been more gratifying, more flattering, than such a proposal as this; more especially as so magnificent a spectacle in the sight of all the Jews would probably have induced them to receive him as their Messiah, whom it is well known they expected to descend visibly from heaven in some such triumphant manner as this.

But on the humble mind of Jesus all this had no effect. To him who never affected parade or show, who never courted admiration or applause, who kept himself as quiet and as retired as the nature of his mission would allow, and frequently withdrew,

withdrew, from the multitudes that flocked around him, to deserts and to mountains; to him this temptation carried no force; his answer was, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God;" thou shalt not rush into unnecessary danger in order to tempt God, in order to try whether he will interpose to save thee in a miraculous manner; much less ought this to be done, as now proposed, for the purposes of vanity and ostentation.

The next temptation is thus described by St. Matthew :

Again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me*."

It has been thought an insuperable difficulty to conceive how Satan could, from any mountain, however elevated, show to our Saviour all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them. And even they

who

* Matt. iv. 8, 9.

who defend the literal sense of the trans

action in general, yet have recourse to a visionary representation in this particular instance. But there seems to me no necessity for calling in the help of a vision even here. The evangelist describes the mountain on which Christ was placed as an exceeding high one; and the traveller* to whom I before referred, describes it in the same terms. From thence of course there must have been a very extensive view; and accordingly another writer, the Abbé Mariti, in his travels through Cyprus, &c. speaking of this mountain, says, "Here we enjoyed the most beautiful prospect imaginable. This part of the mountain overlooks the mountains of Arabia, the country of Gilead, the country of the Ammonites, the plains of Moab, the plain of Jericho, the river Jordan, and the whole extent of the Dead Sea." These various domains the tempter might show to our Lord distinctly, and might also at the same time point out (for so the original word

* Maundrell.

word devu sometimes signifies) and direct our Lord's eye towards several other regions that lay beyond them, which might comprehend all the principal kingdoms of the eastern world. And he might then properly enough say, "All these kingdoms which you now see, or towards which I now point, will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." This explanation appears to me an easy and a natural one. But if others think differently, it is sufficient to say, that this particular incident is not more extraordinary than almost every other part of this very singular transaction; throughout the whole of which, the devil appears to have been permitted to exercise a power far beyond what naturally belonged to him.

But whatever we may decide on this point, the nature and magnitude of the temptation are evident. It is no less than an offer of kingdoms, with all their glory; all the honours, power, rank, wealth, grandeur, and magnificence, that this world has to give. But all these put together VOL. I. could

I

could not for one moment shake the firm mind of our divine Master, or seduce him from the duty he owed to God. He rejected with abhorrence the impious proposition made to him, and answered with a proper indignation, in the words of Scripture, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve * Upon this we are told that the devil left him, and that angels came and ministered unto him.

وو

Thus ended this memorable scene of Christ's temptation in the wilderness. The reasons of it respecting our Lord have been already explained; the instructions it furnishes to ourselves are principally these:

1. It teaches us, that even the best of men may sometimes be permitted to fall into great temptations, for we see that our blessed Lord himself was exposed to the severest. They are not therefore to be considered as marks of God's displea

*Matt. iv. 10, 11.

sure