Gethsemane; and, bidding the rest of His disciples to remain at the entrance, He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and went into the garden.

Now it was that all the horrors of the agonizing death He was about to suffer pressed heavily on His soul; and He entreated His three disciples to watch with Him, and pray to be kept from temptation, while He sought strength and comfort in prayer. Then, withdrawing a few steps from them, He kneeled down, and prayed that if it were possible, He might escape the suffering. Nevertheless,' He added, 'not my will, but Thine be done.'

In this hour of sorrow, our blessed Lord had not even the consolation of human friendship and sympathy; for, when He returned to the place where He had left His three disciples, He found, that instead of watching with Him, as He had entreated them, they were fallen asleep, wearied out with fatigue and trouble.

So He turned to Peter, who had lately been so forward in his protestations of zeal for Him, and said,—' What, Peter! could not you watch with me one hour?' and He renewed His exhortation to them to watch and pray against the coming temptation.

Let this exhortation sink into your hearts, as well as sound in your ears, my dear children, for you all need it,

V

as well as Peter. It is the Christian's watchword, which should be always before us, ready for any temptation.

"

'Watch and pray,' said our Lord to His sleeping disciples: 'Watch and pray,' He still repeats to us in the Bible and never forget, that on your obedience to this command depends your power to resist your enemy.

Had Peter, instead of sleeping, obeyed it, he might have escaped from the sin into which he afterwards fell and if you sincerely obey it, many trials will lose their bitterness; -many temptations will be spared you; and often will your enemy flee from you, unable to attack the disciple of the Lord Jesus, who is watchful to pray.

Three several times our Savior retired to pray; each time saying the same words; and each time, on His return He found the disciples still asleep: at last, when He came to them the third time, He roused them, and said, ' Behold, he that betrayeth me is at hand;' and He had hardly said the words, when Judas entered the garden at the head of a great multitude armed with swords and staves, who had been directed by him to seize and bind the person whom he should kiss.

So Judas approached the Lord, saying, Hail, Master!' and kissed him : upon which the soldiers drew near to take Him prisoner; but Peter, whose indignation was now roused

to the utmost, drew his sword, and struck one of the men a blow on the head, which cut off his ear.

The Lord, however, mildly rebuked him, and reminded him that He could at that moment command whole legions of angels to descend to His rescue, if He thought fit; but that He chose voluntarily to undergo the sufferings His Father had appointed for Him; and so saying, He touched the man's ear and healed it.

The disciples, then, fearful that they too might be taken if they remained longer there, fulfilled their Master's prediction, and all forsook Him and fled.

I hope, my dear children, the remembrance of His sufferings may induce you to forsake what you know to be displeasing to God; and that the rest of your life may be passed in endeavoring to love and obey that Lord who deserves all your love, and all your obedience; for he refused not the bitterest cup of sorrow that could be tasted on earth, when the salvation of your souls depended on his receiving it.

THE DENIAL.

WHEN the soldiers had bound our Savior, they led him away to the palace of the high priest to be tried. Peter and John, though they had forsaken him, like the rest of his disciples in the garden, yet kept near enough to see what became of Him; and when they found that He was taken into the palace, they followed Him in, and mingled themselves amongst the servants in the hall, in hopes that they should be overlooked and unnoticed in the crowd.

The night was very cold, so the servants of the high priest made a large fire in the hall, and Peter sat down with the rest to warm himself.

He had not been seated long, however, before a maidservant came up, and looking earnestly at him exclaimed, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.' Surprised and frightened at this startling address, Peter attempted a kind of equivocating answer, and hastily said, 'I do not know—I do not understand what you mean.

Shortly after this, another maid-servant observed him, and