How much, Lord, it behoves me,

My life to consecrate

To Thee, who to redeem me,

My guilty place didst take.

Thou art my rest, Lord Jesus;
Repose hath now my soul,
As all my sins in all their guilt,
On Thee, my Lord, I roll.

In the version now in use, the last two verses have been substituted by the three which follow.

Thy work, divinely perfect,
Divine in value too,
Was by our God accepted
As expiation due.

Redemption's solid basis,
Stable, and just, and sound;

Of reconciliation too,

The happy, holy ground.

Thou art my rest, Lord Jesus;

With calm repose I see,

That all my sins in all their guilt,

Were laid by God on Thee.

78

"NOTHING BUT LEAVES;"

OR,

THE FIG-TREE ACCURSED.

MARK XI. 12-21.

AND on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: and seeing a [or, one] fig-tree afar off, having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered, and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it".... "And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, calling to remembrance, saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig-tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus, answering, saith unto them, Have faith in God."

There is one striking peculiarity attached to this miracle of the Lord Jesus. It is the only one of judgment, or the curse. Every other miracle was of the character of blessing. What, then, can be the spiritual significance of this single exception? Let us look at it, both in itself, and in its connection with its context.

Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem, and He sees one fig-tree afar off. He desires fruit. See Him walking to this one tree, so fair, so full of leaf. But when He came to it, "he found nothing but

leaves." For the time of figs, of fruit, was not yet. Surely He who saw Nathanael under another fig-tree knew that there was nothing but leaves on this. Yet He came to it, desiring fruit. He shewed that desire, being hungry. And now He pronounced those remarkable words-"No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever." And He spake those words to be heard by His disciples. "And his disciples heard it." That was the last day of that fig-tree; judgment was passed upon it. The very next morning, "as they passed by, they saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots." How swift and complete the judgment! There can be no more fruit for ever from that tree-it is withered from the very roots. Well might Peter exclaim, "Master, behold, the fig-tree which thou cursedst is withered away." What can this remarkable action of the Lord mean? What is its teaching to us?

Let us now notice the context of this miracle. What a yesterday it had! Certainly, to all outward appearance, one of the brightest days of Israel. The entrance of Jesus into Jerusalemgarments spread, and branches of trees cut down, and strewed in the way. "And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna ; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the LORD: blessed be the kingdom of our father, David, that cometh in the name of the Lord : Hosanna in the highest." Never had the leaves

of profession shone with a fresher green. And then we find Jesus entered Jerusalem, and into the temple; and when He had looked round. about on all things, He went out, and retired from it all to Bethany, the place of the family

remnant.

Now, do you not begin to see the meaning of those remarkable words, "Nothing but leaves"?

Then what took place on the day that judgment was passed on the one fig-tree? See Him enter the temple again; see Him casting out the buyers and sellers, and overthrowing the tables of the money-changers, and suffering no man to carry a burden through the temple. Hear His words: "Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves." Is not this again, "Nothing but leaves"?

There is also another striking connection of scripture with this miracle, here in Mark xi., xii., and also in Matthew xxi. In both cases the parable of the vineyard follows, as it were as an explanation of the miracle of the one figtree. The two, taken together, become most deeply interesting. There can be no mistake as to the meaning of the parable. The Pharisees and scribes understood it to mean themselves. God had planted His one vineyard-He had separated one nation from all nations of the earth. It was the trial of what is called in

scripture the flesh-the trial of man in his fallen nature. Men, they had placed themselves on this ground of probation, and engaged to keep the law. God had come, seeking fruit, but had found none. As the owner of the vineyard, He had a just right to look for fruit. The parable explains how Israel had treated the prophets and servants of Jehovah, and, as the last test of man, God had sent His own Son. Did He find fruit? Never were there more leaves, as we have seen, but "nothing but leaves." They said, "This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him." The more we study this parable, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, the more we see how it explains the meaning of the miracle" Nothing but leaves."

The connection of scripture is still more striking in Matthew, as shewing the connection between this miracle and the Jews, or Judaism.

First, there is the judgment on the one fig-tree that yields no fruit.

Secondly, the parable of the vineyard, which goes beyond all endurance, in the rejection and murder of the Son.

And, in the third place, the wedding feast. (Matt. xxii.) When they had done their utmost, in rejecting and murdering the Son of God, then it was proved there was no fruit to God in