perhaps he was glad to be where they could not observe him. He was rich. Did he feel that his gold was his happiness? or had he begun to feel that it was not worth the sacrifice he had made to obtain it? We know not. All we know is--that he was intent to obtain a view of Jesus. Wise Zaccheus, this desire of thine is worth all the treasure thou hast amassed as chief of the Publicans! It is known to thy Saviour. Thou hast not yet even seen him; but He knows thy name, He has read thy heart.

Verse 5. "And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house.” What must have been the feelings of this man! He had hoped but "to see Jesus who He was ; "what manner of man He was. And behold no sooner has He come beneath the tree into which he had climbed, than looking up He calls him by his name, speaks to him as to a well-known friend, and tells him that He has chosen his house to abide in for that day!

When Zaccheus climbed into the tree in haste, his thoughts had indeed been full of Jesus, but they were thoughts as of one he might see at a distance, with whom he had nothing to do. The Saviour's look and voice sent the warmth of life into his soul.

Verses 6, 7. " And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.”

But Zaccheus had received the Lord Jesus, not into his house only, but into his heart; and immediately was seen that truth which St. John afterwards expressed, in the beginning of his Gospel,-"As many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God." *

* John i. 12.

More than once Jesus had been a guest at a rich man's table; but the Pharisees who had invited him to their houses, shut their hearts against him, and therefore received no blessing from his presence.

*

It was not so with Zaccheus : the presence of the Holy Saviour, as it were, lighted up his past life, and showed him what it had been. His money now was only of value, inasmuch as it enabled him to show how true was his repentance. Before they parted,

Verses 8-11. "Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord, the half of my goods I give (I am ready, or about to give) to the poor and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him four-fold. (And this is the utmost the Jewish law requires.) And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. (A real son of Abraham by birth, and now also to be received into the new covenant with Christ.) For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

It has been seen that "they all murmured, saying, That He was gone to be a guest with a man that was a sinner; " and among those murmurers there were many who prided themselves upon being the sons of Abraham. Jesus, in the verse we have just read, shows them the folly of their objections. It is true, Zaccheus was a sinner; but Jesus brought him salvation from his sin, for he also was a son of Abraham; and He the Messiah, was especially sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, his mission was "to seek and to save that which was lost." + There is much in this history which may benefit all who need it. Many among us, like Zaccheus, though belonging to the

Luke xiv. 1.

There is a tradition, that Zaccheus became the first Christian Bishop of Cæsarea. See Biblical Cyclopædia.

Church of God, have lived on, caring only for the things of the world: : we may seem to prosper, but there is an uneasy feeling within, which makes us listen with interest to those who speak of Jesus the deliverer; we would see him for ourselves, but we have little power to do so. The bustle and crowd that we live in hides him from us. What must we do? Hasten like Zaccheus to make time and space for ourselves. He ran on before, and climbed into a tree. This is a figure of what we ought to do. If our pursuits are lawful, we may not give them up, neither may we grow slack in our home-duties, for they are God's appointed work; but we may get before the bustle and crowd, by taking, in the early morning, the time we need, and when we have thus found the time and the space, let us raise our minds above the world. If we look for the Saviour, we need not doubt but that He will come to us-will call us by our name,-and will abide with us in our homes. Then shall it be seen, that we shall be glad to part from all that has caused us to sin, and to use all that we have for the glory of God in the good of man, and so we shall have Christ's own assurance, that salvation is come to our house.

Prayer.

O my God, lift me, while I seek for thee, above the disturbing cares of life. I would, for a time, leave behind the busy crowd, and seek thee, O Jesus, my Saviour. Seek thou me, speak to my heart, call me by my name, give me the assurance that I need not remain apart, for that thou wilt be with me in my daily life, abroad and at home. So shall I joyfully return to my duties in the world, having received thee into my heart, and so wilt thou abide with me. Give me strength and grace to shew by my Christian life, that salvation is indeed come to me and to my house, for the sake of thy dear Son. Grant me this, my God. Amen.

LVIII.

LUKE XIX. 11.

Our Lord left Jericho, followed by a multitude of people.* He was on the road to Jerusalem; and the expectation was strong in the minds of all men that, now at last He would declare himself the Messiah King of Israel, and set up his kingdom in outward pomp and majesty.

Jesus knew what was before him, how much He had to endure, and how long his faithful people must wait, before, in the face of men and angels, He would claim them as his own, and set up a kingdom, in the glory of which all earthly greatness would fade away. He had to suffer, they had to persevere. Meanwhile, disappointment would severely try the faith of his servants; and discouragement, that blight which so often falls upon the Christian's first fervent hope, would hinder the usefulness of many. Therefore, He spake to them a Parable full of solemn warning, yet also full of encouragement, to all who were willing to work for a Master they should soon no longer see, and for whose return they must wait in patient faith. To us it speaks, as well as to those who first heard it, and we shall do well to ponder its meaning. It is written,

Verses 11, 12. "And as they heard these things, (that is, his conversation with Zaccheus,) he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return."

It will be best for us to consider this Parable in its first simple

* Matt. xx. 29.

meaning, as a story easily to be understood by the people to whom it was spoken, before we try by God's help, to seek out that meaning which makes it of lasting value to the whole race of men.

First then, the case of this "certain nobleman" was exactly the same as was at that time often taking place in Judea itself, and all the countries round. You remember that Rome had conquered every nation then known in the world. The Emperor of Rome was the real Ruler of every kingdom, and no man could reign under him without his consent and appointment. It was usual, therefore, as each prince died, for his son, or whoever hoped to take his place, to set out immediately for the city of Rome, there to make good his case before the emperor; and if the people over whom he wished to reign, had any objection to make against him, they had to send messengers there also, to prevent, if possible, the crown being given to him. This fact, which we know from history,* explains what you are about to read in the story of the Parable. Keep it in mind as you go along from verse to verse.

Verses 13, 14. "And He, (the nobleman) called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.'

Thus, in this kingdom there were two classes of persons quite distinct from each other. The citizens, or the people that filled the country over which the nobleman wished to reign,

* Archelaus, after the death of his father Herod, (called the Great) was obliged to go to Rome to receive from the Emperor Augustus, permission to take to himself the crown of Judæa; which had been left to him by the will of his father; and exactly as in the Parable, a portion of the Jews were against him, and sent messengers to accuse him to the Emperor, and if possible prevent him from reigning over them.