The "light of the world" being now risen, the "day star," which proclaimed his ap proach, must necessarily decrease and sink away beneath his overpowering splendor. John was content with having faithfully discharged his mission; and it gave him uneasiness when some of his disciples expressed a degree of concern and envy at the increasing fame of JESUS. They were jealous for the honor of their master, and thus expressed their complaint: "Rabbi, he who was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come unto him." They thought it presumptuous in one who had received baptism from John, to minister the same ordinance, and to gather disciples, so little had they profited by their master's repeated declarations, that he was only come as a messenger to prepare the way of the LORD. A very different spirit animated this exalted character; instead of being concerned at the intelligence which his disciples communicated, he rejoiced, and endeavored to correct their wrong notions by describing plainly the superior authority of JESUS. "Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the CHRIST, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy, therefore, is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth; he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony." John iii. 28-32. Such was the full and decisive testimony which John bore to the divine nature and the mediatorial office of the MESSIAH. The church, consisting of the redeemed out of all lands, belongs to JESUS CHRIST as the bridegroom, and therefore to him does every faithful minister, like the Baptist, refer men, as their LORD and GOD "who is above all." It was a source of abundant delight to John that the MESSIAH'S kingdom was begun; and though sensible of his own speedy dissolution, he declares that his "joy was fulfilled because he had heard the bridegroom's voice." This alone can give true content and pleasure to the mind of man when all things are warning him that he is "of the earth, earthly," and must shortly sink into the dark and silent grave. There can be no satisfaction in such a state of decay but what ariseth from friendship with CHRIST, the bridegroom of his church, from a constant reliance upon his merits as the complete atonement for our sins, and from an humble obedience of the divine precepts contained in his blessed gospel. The life of the Baptist was a continued course of abstinence, mortification, poverty, and labor; and the close of it was such as became the messenger of a lowly and suffering Redeemer. His extraordinary sanctity attracted the notice of Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, who had the curiosity to hear him; and so powerful were the discourses of the Baptist, that Herod took a pleasure in attending to them, and was moved thereby to do many commendable things. But his was a superficial reformation, for at this very time he kept Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. John, like a faithful minister of GOD, neither passed over this circumstance in silence, nor did he touch upon it in gentle terms, but plainly reproved Herod for his criminal conduct: "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife." Mark xvi. 8. As long as the preacher omitted to notice this tender point, Herod respected him, and paid a ready attention to his discourses; but when he denounced the terrors of the law against this adulterous connexion, then the mask of hypocrisy fell off, and the faithful monitor was cast into prison. Sinners are willing enough to hear general declamations against vice, or even declamations against particular offences, provided their own propensities and habits are left unnoticed. The covetous and unfeeling wretch will commend a discourse levelled against intemperance and debauchery, and the libertine will bestow warm encomiums on the sermon which delineates with accuracy the sordid miser, and which powerfully exposes the sinfulness of an inordinate love of riches. Every man will patiently bear what does not render his own conscience uneasy; but the instant the attack is made upon his bosom iniquity, and the application is so close and direct that he cannot avoid it, then the heart swells against the faithful monitor, and respect is changed into hatred. John, in prison, meditates not upon his affliction, but upon the interests of his heavenly LORD. The wonderful works of Jesus being reported to him, he sent two of his disciples to inquire, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" Matt. xi. 3. Was the faith of this excellent man then so weak that he should be now in doubt upon a subject on which he had repeatedly delivered his testimony? Can we suppose that he wanted this information for his own satisfaction; he who had witnessed the baptism of CHRIST in the river Jordan; and who had, moreover, declared that this "was the LAMB OF GOD, which taketh away the sin of the world?" This certainly could not have been the case. John was fully convinced that "JESUS was the CHRIST," but his disciples were not so well persuaded. They still, with a very laudable zeal, continued attached to their master, though in a dungeon. For their sakes then did John propound this question to JESUS; and our LORD in his answer carried on the same charitable plan, by instructing the disciples while he seemed to be instructing their master. He appealed to his miracles, which he wrought in their presence, as decisive evidences of his being the promised MESSIAH, since these very things were predicted of him centuries before by the prophets. "Then said he unto them, Go your way and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. These were tidings which rendered the dismal abode of John more cheerful than the palace of his persecutors. John was calm, tranquil, and happy in his dungeon, while the wretched Herod and his abandoned partner were a prey to the worst of passions. Though Herod had no regard for religion, or the common principles of justice, he had some fear of the Jews, who held John in high estimation as a prophet. He had besides a fear of the Baptist in his heart, for such is the commanding influence of eminent sanctity and zeal, as to inspire even the wicked with some degree of esteem and respect. Herod's intention, perhaps, was to keep John in close confinement; but Herodias entertained a deadly hatred against the holy man, and “having a quarrel against him, EVELXEV avrov, she fastened upon him as a ferocious beast does upon its prey." Mark vi. 19. Vengeful minds are indefatigable in their pursuit, and having once formed their de termination, they are seldom long in putting it into execution. An opportunity soon presented itself to the merciless Herodias, and she was not wanting in seizing it for her sanguinary purpose. Herod kept his birth-day in much state, and "made a great supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee." On that occasion Salome, the daughter of Herodias, by her lawful husband Philip, was sent by her mother to dance before the company. Herod was so delighted with the performance of Salome, that he immediately bound himself by a rash oath to give her "whatever she should ask, even to the half of his kingdom." He little thought what a dreadful price he was to pay for the entertainment which he had received. The whole of his kingdom was of infinitely less value than his immortal soul; and yet this was the recompense demanded. Salome hastens to inform her mother of the extravagant promise which had been made by Herod; and having received her instructions, she, without any hesitation, enters again the royal presence, and requires "the head of John the Baptist in a charger." Herod was astonished and troubled at the shocking request. He "was very sorry," yet, "for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her." Thus, rather than break a rasn oath, made in a fit of intemperance, Herod yielded to the commission of a crime at which nature revolts. But he was entangled in the snares of guilt, and had, like Ahab, "sold himself to another Jezebel, to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD." The deed was done in the darkness of the night, and, perhaps, the Baptist was awakened from the sweet sleep of innocence to submit his neck to the executioner. The head was conveyed to the palace,* and in the pres THE PALACE OF HEROD stands on a table of land, on the very summit of the hill, overlooking every part of the surrounding country; and such were the exceeding softness and beauty of the scene, even under the wildness and waste of Arab cultivation, that the city seemed smiling in the midst of her desolation. All around was a beautiful valley, watered by running streams, and covered by a rich carpet of grass, sprinkled with wild flowers of every hue; and beyond, stretched like an open book before me, a boundary of fruitful mountains, the vine and the olive rising in terraces to their very summits. There, day after day, the haughty Herod had sat in his royal palace, and, looking out upon all these beauties, his heart had become hardened with prosperity; here, among these still towering columns, the proud monarch had made a supper "to his lords, and high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;" here the daughter of Herodias, Herod's brother's wife," danced before him, and the proud king promised with an oath to give her whatever she |