December 17

"And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." Matthew 8:19, 20.

THE god of this world deludes his followers. He conceals from them every difficulty and danger to which they are exposed in his service, and raises in them expectations which he knows will never be fulfilled. Like Jael, he welcomes in and spreads the couch, and brings forth butter in a lordly dish, but keeps out of sight the hammer and the nails. Take a man whose object is to gain a name, to become a leader, and to draw away disciples after him: he courts popularity; he flatters; he employs any means, and he accommodates himself to every disposition, as far as he can without risking discovery. But it was far otherwise with the founder of Christianity. His character was as original as it was excellent. His kingdom was not of this world. His professed object was, to instruct and save and bless; and no selfish aim was hidden under it. He showed, in his own person, how little his followers were to mind earthly things; and in dealing with those who came to him, we see that it was not his concern to draw unprincipled crowds into his train. He would form a peculiar people, who should be actuated by the noblest convictions and purposes. He therefore, in order to discriminate, applied a test. He warned them to sit down first and count the cost; and assured them at once, that if any man would be his disciple, he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and forsake all that he had.

Our Lord now "saw great multitudes about him," so that "he gave commandment to depart unto the other side." But as, in the midst of all these, he was stepping towards the ship, "a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." A noble resolution, if it had been from a good motive. But he apprehended our Saviour to be a temporal Messiah, who, as he appeared able, from his miracles, to carry every thing before him, would soon have promotions at his disposal; and he hoped to gain some of the loaves and fishes. Our Lord well knew his thoughts, and said unto him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." What say you now? It is easy to determine what would have been his reply if he had been sincere and earnest in his application. "O Lord, I come, not to prescribe, but to resign myself entirely to thee. Every thing appears to me less than nothing and vanity, compared with the salvation of my soul; and if by any means I can attain it, I shall be satisfied. Whatever, dear and useful as I have deemed it, I cannot retain in following thee, I cheerfully give up. All I fear is, separation from thyself. Entreat me not to leave thee, nor to return from following after thee. Lord, I will follow thee to prison and to death." But alas, his mean and mercenary temper was now detected. We hear no more of him; he left him, having loved this present world.

But the narrative is recorded for our admonition; and the fact, which by way of trial our Saviour addressed to this pretender, is worthy of our attention. It is very affecting and instructive; it is the indifference of Jesus appearing in the homelessness of his condition. This, as a part, is put for the whole of his abasement; and it is held forth enhanced by contrast. The inferior creatures have dwellings convenient for them, in which they secure themselves, and enjoy repose, and breed up their young. Some of these man takes as inmates under his own roof; such are the faithful dog, and the feathered songster in the cage. He furnishes also shelter as well as provender for his cattle. But animals that live at large have also accommodations suited to their kinds. "Foxes have holes." "The young lions gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens." "The high hills are a refuge for the goats, and the rocks for the conics." "The spider taketh hold with her hand, and is in king's palaces." "The birds of the air have nests." The eagle mounts up, and in rocks inaccessible "maketh her nest on high." "As for the stork, the fir-trees are her house." Some build on the ground; some in dense thickets; some in boughs depending over the flood; some in isles secured by water. Some repair to the habitations of men: there the sparrow finds a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young. And who, in all this, can help admiring the wisdom and kindness of Providence? "His tender mercies are over all his works." As he made all, so he careth for them. He giveth them their meat in due season. He furnishes them with their powers of defence or flight; and actuates the skill they display in all their surprising economics. And will he disregard his rational offspring? He teacheth them more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh them wiser than the fowls of the air. There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding. How superior is reason to instinct. How boundless in improvement is human ingenuity. What abodes has it provided for us; and with what conveniences, comforts, pleasures has it replenished them. From hence springs the idea of home. We cleave to a place where we received our birth, passed the days of infancy, indulged in the sports of youth—where sleep has refreshed our wearied bodies, and where we have smiled at the descending storm and the piercing cold.

". . . . . . Home is

The loved retreat of peace and plenty; where,

Supporting and supported, polished friends

And dear relations meet, and mingle into bliss."

Well may the same poet represent the man returning at eve, buried in the drifted snow, as "stung with the thoughts of home."

A homeless condition, therefore, is the most pitiable. And was this the condition of the Lord Jesus? Not absolutely. During his private life he lived with Joseph and Mary, at Nazareth. And after he entered on his public ministry, he had friends who, like Martha, gladly afforded him the accommodations of their own dwellings. But these advantages were occasional, and were of the nature of hospitality. He never possessed a habitation or an apartment he could call his own. He was born in another man's house, and this was a stable; and he was laid in a manger. How often, when my children were about me, have I said, while viewing my sleeping babe,

"How much better thou art attended Than the Son of God could be. When from heaven he descended, And became a child like thee.

Soft and easy is thy cradle— Coarse and hard the Saviour lay, When his birthplace was a stable, And his softest bed was hay."

How soon was he driven an infant exile into Egypt. Widows ministered unto him of their substance. Wearied with his journey, he sat on the well, and said to the woman, Give me drink. A fish furnished him with money to pay the temple tribute. One night he slept in a fishing-boat; another he continued all night in prayer in a mountain. We read only once of his riding, though he went about doing good; and this was upon a borrowed ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. He partook of the last passover in a borrowed chamber: he was wrapped in linen not his own, when taken down from the cross; and was buried in another man's garden, and another man's tomb. What does all this teach us?