Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength this is the first commandment. And the second

is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto Him, Well, Master, Thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He: and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.'-MARK xii.

No

lawyer, who had answered discreetly, He soon took occasion to warn His hearers of their general character, which was proud, ostentatious, and overbearing, being at the same time oppressive, sanctimonious, and apparently devout; but hypocritical, and therefore under sentence of condemnation. With regard to ostentation, He rebuked it on many occasions; and when the rich cast in of their abundance, took care to notice, with distinguished praise, a giver, who else would assuredly have gone away unnoticed. 'And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto

them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.' -MARK Xii.

HIS was done on two separate occasions, and both

times by women, from whom our Lord received

many acts of tender kindness and devotion. They ministered to Him of their substance, and attended Him to the last, and sought Him earliest at the tomb, exhibiting thus greater sympathy and kindness than even the apostles themselves. 'And one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with him. And He went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus

THE ANOINTING of christ.

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sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment.' Another instance is recorded in the twelfth chapter of St. John: 'Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.' This drew forth especial censure from the hypocritical and avaricious Judas, who pretended to wish that the value had been given to the poor. But he had the bag, and bare what was put therein.'-JOHN xii.

R

ND again He [Jesus] entered into Capernaum after

some days; and it was noised that He was in the house. And they came unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?' The Lord, as we have seen before, wrought the cure before their eyes, after having put it to them, whether it was more difficult to forgive sins than to restore to sound health the wasted cripple at their feet.-MARK ii.