ber that, highly-favored as they were, they were mere men; nor, from our love and reverence for them, let us attribute to them what belongs to God alone. St. Paul expressly admonishes the Corinthians on this fubject, in his first epistle to them, (chap. i. ver. 12. 13.) "Now this I fay, "that every one of you faith, I am of 66 Paul; and I, of Apollos; and I, of Cephas; and I, of Christ. Is Chrift "divided? was Paul crucified for you? 66 or were ye baptized in the name of "Paul?" St. Paul was too jealous of his Master's honor to permit fo glaring an impropriety to pass unreproved, and thanks God that he had baptized fo few amongst them, left, from the perverseness of the human mind and its proneness to error, that worship and adoration which is due to God alone might have been transferred to himself. The difciples, most probably, at the time our Lord told them they would foon defert and leave him in distress, thought themselves incapable of such baseness and ingratitude. ingratitude. It might be permitted, to check the arrogance of human nature, and to fhew how totally infufficient we are, of ourselves, to persevere in our firmeft and best refolutions. Their desertion of their Master, being the effect of momentary weakness and fear, was not imputed to them for guilt: they foon recovered themselves, and returned to their duty; and, with the affiftance of the holy Spirit, ever afterwards, manifefted towards their beloved Master fo ftrong and zealous an attachment, that neither the cruelleft torments, nor even death in its most frightful form, could make them relinquish their interest in him or the publication of his gospel. May the Almighty grant us all grace cheerfully to submit to whatever he sees fit and proper for us; that neither profperity nor adverfity may ever tempt us to forsake or neglect our religious duties; for the fake of Jesus Christ, our most bleffed Lord and Saviour! 4C Amen. CHAP CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIRST. A ST. JOHN, CHAP. XVII. S the chapter we are now entering upon consists of one continued prayer, addreffed by our bleffed Lord to his heavenly Father, for his apoftles and for all his true and faithful difciples, I have thought it better to introduce the whole together; left, by dividing it into parts, the connection fhould be loft; reserving such remarks as I may think it neceffary to make upon it, and on the fubject of prayer in general, to be inferted afterwards. "1. These words fpake Jefus, and "lifted up his eyes to Heaven, and faid, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy 66 "Son, 18 "Son, that thy Son alfo may glorify "thee. 66 "2. As thou haft given him power over all flesh, that he fhould give eter"nal life to as many as thou haft given him. 66 66 3. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, " and Jesus Christ whom thou haft fent. 66 4. I have glorified thee on the earth: "I have finished the work which thou gaveft me to do. 66 5. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine ownfelf, with the glory " which I had with thee before the world 6. I have manifefted thy name unto "the men which thou gavest me out of "the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 66 66 66 7. Now they have known that all things, whatsoever thou haft given me, "are of thee. 66 "8. For I have given unto them the word, which thou gavest me; and they 4 C2 "have "have received them, and have known furely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 66 9. I pray for them: I pray not for "the world, but for them which thou haft given me for they are thine. 66 66 10. And all mine are thine, and thine "are mine; and I am glorified in them. "11. And now I am no more in the "world, but these are in the world, and "I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom "thou has given me, that they may be 66 66 one, as we are. "12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those "that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is loft, but the son of perdition; "that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13. And now come I to thee; and "these things I fpeak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in "themselves. 66 66 66 14. I have given them thy word; "and the world hath hated them, be "cause |