any connection with the ancient washings and purifications of the Levitical ceremony, and which was to be deemed the more dignified and exalted of the two persons now administering the ordinance? The disci

ples of John appealed to their teacher in a way which, had he been a different man, might have excited in his breast emotions of jealousy and of envy. They tell him that the remarkable person, whom he recently immersed in the Jordan, was now baptizing, and that all men came to him;" or, in other words, that he was attended by vast multitudes. We can neither approve of the motives nor the manner of their communication; and still more must we regret that we should even now have occasion to lament the manifestation of the same disposition in our own day.

But who does not admire the conduct of John in the new and very trying circumstances in which he was placed? He at once declares that all moral greatness,—all true excellence cometh from God, and that wherever these gifts are found we should admire them, and pay respect to their possessors. He does far more than this; for

he teaches the vast superiority of Jesus to himself, and is content to be regarded simply as the friend of the bridegroom who is come from heaven to unite the church to himself as his bride. John exults in the incarnate Messiah, and shows the greatness of his own mind, and his entire devotedness to the cause he has espoused, by declaring his joy that Jesus was increasing in his acceptance with the people; and his entire readiness to retire from all his popularity now that he has introduced one infinitely superior to himself, and one whose empire must increase to the end of time. The feeling of John was, let all and every thing perish, let my acceptance with the people be destroyed, let my honor be turned into. disgrace, if his cause-the cause of holiness and salvation-may but progress! The Baptist knew the dignity of Jesus; he knew that Jehovah loved him, and had given all things into his hand, and what could he, the servant of God, do better than cordially to acquiesce in the arrangement of heaven, and to desire the glory of Messiah rather than his own! Every true minister of Christ is entirely content to be

nothing in public estimation, if the glory of his great Master may thus be manifested and advanced. O for more of the true nobility of John! O for the spirit of this eminent servant of Jesus, who, notwithstanding that his popularity was daily lessening, went on to preach the glories of his Lord, and to connect his hearers with his cause till he was dragged forth to prison and to death! His one object was to fulfil his course of preparing his countrymen to receive the Messiah, and having introduced "the Lamb of God" to them, he pressed onward to the end of his career; content at once to pass where he could mingle his great soul with spirits of a kindred order in eternally praising Messiah for his infinite love.

Turning from John, to take a parting look at Jesus, we are struck with the fact that when a spirit of dissension and of disputation had taken possession of the minds of those by whom he was surrounded, «he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee." Christ is never to be found where any subject is more prominent than his own character and doctrines, or where any spirit is

cherished inconsistent with his own "meekness and gentleness." It would be well for this fact to be often practically considered, and we should then not be at a loss to account for the withdrawment of his gracious presence from us.

In concluding our remarks on the scene which has passed under our present review, we must observe that our Lord, some time after this occurrence, inquired of his hearers as to the origin of John's baptism; teaching us that divine ordinances are to be seriously considered, in their origin and character, and then cordially obeyed; and moreover, we see from this whole narrative that true moral greatness is shown in the love and obedience of Christ, and in the pursuit of his glory. So felt John-and so felt these believers in the Messiahship of Jesus.

With cheerful feet may we advance,

And run the Christian race;
And midst the troubles of the way,

Find all-sufficient grace.

THE PENTECOSTAL CONVERTS.

ACTS II.

To them shall leave in charge

To teach all nations what of him they learned,
And his salvation; them who shall believe
Baptizing in the profluent stream, the sign
Of washing them from guilt of sin to life
Pure; and in mind prepared, if so befal,
For death, like that which the Redeemer died.
MILTON.

PERHAPS it would be impossible to consider an event more profoundly interesting in itself, or more important in its consequences than the interview between our Lord and his disciples, immediately before his ascension to heaven. He had lived on earth to publish the grand scheme of reconciliation with God, and died to make atonement for sin. He had risen again from the dead, giving full evidence of the perfection of his sacrifice, and its acceptance with God. Since his resurrection, he had associated during the period of forty days with