or should be, familiar to all.
But my text may comprise some instructive and comforting truth to us,
which we, like those who attended the steps and heard the words of the
Lord in the flesh, may not so readily apprehend.

The disciples were deeply impressed with the sinless purity of their
great Teacher. But they did not as yet understand the character of his
mission. They could not rid their minds of the thought that his coming
was for the purpose of establishing, in some way, they knew not how,
an earthly reign of power and glory which would eclipse all that earth
had ever beheld. Hence we read that at one time they wanted to take
him by force, and make him a king. At another time the mother of two
of his disciples interceded in behalf of her two sons that the one
might sit on his right and the other on his left in his kingdom. What
sublime visions of worldly glory she had; and how deeply were her vain
imaginations rebuked! "Ye know not what ye ask."

These considerations aid us in our efforts to apprehend the character
of the impediments and obstacles in the way of our Savior's glorious
work of love. And here springs up a thought which I will dwell upon
for a little. I can not avoid the belief, forced upon me as it is by
what I see daily and have seen, that men do not widely differ now from
what men were in our Lord's time in the flesh. They do not love his
unqualified declaration--"My kingdom is not of this world"--any better
now than men did then. National greatness, in which the rich and
powerful may bear oppressive rule over the poor and weak, is the
height of their ambition. Such are not willing to eat and drink with
publicans and sinners. Things unseen and eternal are out of sight to
mortal eyes. Men doubt the declaration of the Bible that:

"Beyond this vale of tears,
There is a life above
Unmeasured by the flight of years:
And all that life is love."

It is this unbelief that fosters their love for the world and for
themselves. And the pride of heart that naturally goes with the love
of self is not willing to stoop to what is not highly esteemed among
men. It is not hard to see from the words of my text that there was a
very large measure of self-pride still clinging to the hearts of those
who composed the crowd now in attendance upon our Lord on this his
last journey from Jericho to Jerusalem. They thought it a stoop in
him, and out of place that he should condescend to go to be guest with