others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. What did the multitudes that went before and that followed say? "Hosanna to the Son of David: blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." What is the meaning of the word Hosanna? 66 Save, we beseech thee." When Christ was come to the descent to Jerusalem from the mount of Olives, what did the multitude of the disciples do? They rejoiced and praised God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen. What did some of the Pharisees say ? What answer did Jesus make? "I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately It was on the morning following our Saviour's visit to Bethany, that he entered Jerusalem, riding on an ass. Jesus knew that in a few days he must die, and he went to Jerusalem, the place where he was to undergo his dreadful sufferings for our sake. He did not try to escape from death, for he came on earth to save us by dying for our sins. He now openly declared himself to be the Son of God. By entering Jerusalem in the manner you have read of in this chapter, our Saviour showed that he was the Messiah, whose coming was foretold some hundred years before by the prophet Zechariah. The multitude regarded him as such, though he did not appear as a king; but though they praised him as God, and cried "Hosanna," they soon joined with the chief priests in demanding of Pilate that he might be crucified. We, perhaps, wonder how it was possible for those who had praised Christ as their Saviour, so soon to ask for his death. Let this sad instance of the wickedness and inconstancy of the human heart, lead us to watch ourselves, and pray to God for grace to enable us steadily to persevere in the right path, and resist the world, the flesh, and the devil, remembering that when we sin we are guilty of crucifying our Saviour afresh. Hosanna to the living Lord! 66 Hosanna, Lord," thine angels cry, We would that all should swell the sound. And chiefest in our cleansed breast, Eternal, bid thy Spirit rest; LESSON TWENTY-FIRST. LUKE XIX. 41-44. MATT. XXI. 10-17. AND when he was come near, he be-held the ci-ty, and wept o-ver it, say-ing, "If thou hadst known, e-ven thou at least in this thy day, the things which be-long un-to thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come up-on thee, that thine en-e-mies shall cast a trench a-bout thee, and com-pass thee round, and keep thee in on ev-er-y side. And shall lay thee e-ven with the ground, and thy chil-dren with-in thee: and they shall not leave in thee one stone up-on an-oth-er: be-cause thou knew-est not the time of thy vis-it-a-tion." And when he was come in-to Je-ru-sa-lem, all the ci-ty was mov-ed, say-ing, "Who is this?" And the mul ti-tude said, "This is Je-sus, the proph-et of Naz-a-reth of Gal-i-lee." And Je-sus went in-to the tem-ple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and o-ver-threw the ta-bles of the mon-ey-chan-gers, and the seats of them that sold doves. And he said un-to them, "It is writ-ten, 'My house shall be call-ed the house of pray-er;' but ye have made it a den of thieves." And the blind and the lame came to him in the tem-ple: and he heal-ed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the won-der-ful things that he did, and the chil-dren cry-ing in the tem-ple, and say-ing, "Ho-san-na to the Son of Da-vid," they were sore dis-pleas-ed, and said un-to him, "Hear-est thou what these say?" And Je-sus saith un-to them, "Yea: have ye nev-er read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and suck-lings thou hast per-fect-ed praise ?"" And he left them, and went out of the ci-ty in-to Beth-a-ny, and he lodg-ed there. |