'And thou, Bethlehem in Judah's land, Art in no way least among the chief cities of Judah; For out of thee will come a Chieftain- - One who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

"If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for Scripture says- -'He will give his angels commands about thee, And on their hands they will upbear thee, Lest ever thou shouldst strike thy foot against a stone.'"

This is the man of whom Scripture says--'Behold, I am myself sending my Messenger before thy face, And he shall prepare thy way before thee.'

At that same time Jesus uttered the words: "I thank thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that, though thou has hidden these things from the wise and learned, thou hast revealed them to the child-like!

Yes, Father, I thank thee that this has seemed good to thee.

'Say to the daughter of Zion--"Behold, thy King is coming to thee, Gentle, and riding on an ass, And on the foal of a beast of burden."'

And from the heavens came a voice--"Thou art my Son, the Beloved; in thee I delight."

"Abba, Father," he said, "all things are possible to thee; take away this cup from me; yet, not what I will, but what thou willest."

And the Holy Spirit descended, in a visible form, like a dove, upon him, and from the heavens came a voice--"Thou art my Son, the Beloved; in thee I delight."

For Scripture says--'He will give his angels commands about thee, to guard thee safely,'

And 'On their hands they will upbear thee, Lest ever thou shouldst strike thy foot against a stone.'"

This is the very man of whom Scripture says--'Behold, I am sending my Messenger before thy face, And he shall prepare thy way before thee.'

At that same time, moved to exultation by the Holy Spirit, Jesus said: "I thank thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that, though thou hast hidden these things from the wise and learned, thou hast revealed them to the childlike! Yes, Father, I thank thee that this has seemed good to thee.

The Pharisee stood forward and began praying to himself in this way--'O God, I thank thee that I am not like other men-- thieves, rogues, adulterers--or even like this tax-gatherer.

So they moved the stone away; and Jesus, with uplifted eyes, said: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard my prayer;

'Fear not, Daughter of Zion; Behold, thy King is coming to thee, Sitting on the foal of an ass.'

After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes heaven-wards, and said: "Father, the hour has come; honor thy Son, that thy Son may honor thee;

And the Immortal Life is this--to know thee the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent as thy Messenger.

I have honored thee on earth by completing the work which thou has given me to do;

I have revealed thee to those whom thou gavest me from the world; they were thy own, and thou gavest them to me; and they have laid thy Message to heart.

They recognize now that everything that thou gavest me was from thee;

For I have given them the teaching which thou gavest me, and they received it, and clearly understood that I came from thee, and they believed that thou has sent me as thy Messenger.

Now I am to be in this world no longer, but they are still to be in the world, and I am to come to thee. Holy Father, keep them by that revelation of thy Name which thou has given me, that they may be one, as we are.

But now I am to come to thee; and I am speaking thus, while still in the world, that they may have my own joy, in all its fullness, in their hearts.

I do not ask thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from Evil.

O righteous Father, though the world did not know thee, I knew thee; and these men knew that thou has sent me as thy Messenger.

I have made thee known to them, and will do so still; that the love that thou has had for me may be in their hearts, and that I may be in them also."

For this is the Lord's command to us--'I have destined thee for a Light to the Gentiles, a means of Salvation to the ends of the earth'."

God must prove true, though every man prove a liar! As Scripture says of God-'That thou mayest be pronounced righteous in what thou sayest, and gain thy cause when men would judge thee.'

As Scripture says-'I have made thee the Father of many nations.') And this they do in the sight of that God in whom Abraham had faith, and who gives life to the dead, and speaks of what does not yet exist as if it did.

In Scripture, again, it is said to Pharaoh-'It was for this very purpose that I raised thee to the throne, to show my power by my dealings with thee, and to make my name known throughout the world.'

Even the Christ did not please himself! On the contrary, as Scripture says of him--'The reproaches of those who were reproaching thee fell upon me.'

And that the Gentiles also may praise God for his mercy. As Scripture says--'Therefore will I make acknowledgment to thee among the Gentiles and sing in honor of thy Name.'

For he says--'At the time for acceptance I listened to thee, And on the day of deliverance I helped thee.' Now is the time for acceptance! Now is the day of deliverance!

What agreement can thee be between a temple of God and idols? And we are a temple of the Living God. That is what God meant when he said--'I will dwell among them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

And Scripture, foreseeing that God would pronounce the Gentiles righteous as the result of faith, foretold the Good News to Abraham in the words--'Through thee all the Gentiles shall be blessed.'

For everything that has its true character made manifest is clear as light. And that is why it is said--'Sleeper, awake! Arise from the dead, and the Christ shall give thee light!'

Thou lovest righteousness and hatest iniquity; Therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the festal oil more abundantly than thy peers.'

His words were-- 'I will assuredly bless thee and increase thy numbers.'

(These priests, it is true, are engaged in a service which is only a copy and shadow of the heavenly realities, as is shown by the directions given to Moses when he was about to construct the Tabernacle. 'Look to it,' are the words, 'that thou make every part in accordance with the pattern shown thee on the mountain.')

saying-- 'We thank thee, O Lord, our God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, that thou hast assumed thy great power and reigned.

The nations were enraged, and thy Wrath fell upon them; the time came for the dead to be judged, and for thee to give the reward to thy servants the Prophets, and to the People of Christ, and to those who reverence thy Name--the high and the low alike--and to destroy those who are destroying the earth.'

Who will not reverence and praise thy Name, O Lord? Thou alone art holy! All nations will come and worship before thee, for thy judgments have become manifest.'