by myself, yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God.

T. Of whom were the Apostles to be accounted the ministers or servants?

S. Of Christ.

T. How had Christ appointed them stewards over His household, the Church?

S. After His resurrection, "Jesus said to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." John, xx. 21-23.

T. How did they approve themselves ministers of God? 2 Cor. vi. 4, 10.

S. "In much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses; In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned; By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left; By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."

T. What had Christ warned them concerning this "fellowship of suffering?"

S." Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." John, xv. 20. stewards and mi

T. Did St. Paul appoint others as nisters of Christ?

S. Yes; he appointed Timothy and Titus to be the first Bishops of Ephesus and Crete.

T. What was his charge to Timothy, 2d Epistle, ii. 2? S." And the things thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." Therefore, no one may take this office upon themselves; but every minister in our Church is ordained to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments by Bishops, who have their authority from the successors of the Apostles.

T. To whom does St. Paul commit himself for judg

ment?

S. To God.

T. What does he say concerning his own knowledge? S." I know nothing of myself."

T. Dare we, therefore, judge one another?

S. Christ has said, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Matt. vii. 1.

T. What may we learn from 1 Peter, iii. 15?

S. "To sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and be always ready to give an answer to every man that asketh us a reason of the hope that is in us with meekness and fear."

T. What will the Lord do at His second coming?

S." Bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart."

T. How does Christ, therefore, warn those to whom the Gospel is preached? Luke, viii. 17, 18.

S. "For nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest; neither anything hid that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed, therefore, how ye hear; for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have."

T. What will be the praise of the faithful steward when our Lord cometh?

S." And the Lord said, Who then is a faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, he will make him ruler over all that he hath." 42-44.

The Gospel. St. Matt. xi. 2.

Luke, xii.

Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto Him, Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them: And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the

wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see a man clothed in soft raiment ? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? a prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.

T. Why was John the Baptist put in prison?

S." For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her." Matt. xiv. 3, 4.

T. Had he not already testified that Jesus was the Lamb of God?

S. Yes; he saw and bare record that He was the Son of God. John, i. 34.

T. [He might now ask, to confirm the faith of his disciples, or to strengthen his own under his present trials] Did our Lord give him a direct answer?

S. No; He said, "Go and show John again those things which ye do see and hear: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them; and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me."

T. How would these words satisfy John?

S. It was the prophecy of Isaiah, xxix. 18. "In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel." Also in xxxv. 4-6.

D

T. How does this teach us in like manner to seek an answer to our doubts?

S. By searching the Scriptures, for they testify of Christ. John, v. 16.

T. Were not even some of Christ's disciples offended at His word?

66

S. Yes; when He spoke of Himself, the bread of life to believers. John, vi. 60, 66. Many, therefore, of His disciples, when they heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" "From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him." T. To whom will Christ be a "stone of stumbling and rock of offence?" ] Pet. ii. 8.

S." Even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient."

T. [We next read our Lord's testimony to John the Baptist]: What is a reed shaken of the wind a type of? (Ephes. iv. 14.)

S. "Children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."

T. Was John the Baptist one clothed in soft raiment, dwelling in kings' houses?

S. No; "he was in the desert till the day of his showing unto Israel." Luke, i. 80. "And the same John had his raiment of camels' hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey." Matt. iii. 4.

T. Show that he was considered a prophet by the Jews. S. When Herod "would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet." The priests and elders feared to call the baptism of John, of men, "for all held John as a prophet." Matt. xxi. 26.