Page:Philochristus, Abbott, 1878.djvu/324

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PHILOCHRISTUS.

fire from Heaven, nor no mighty work of any visible sort; but only strength through weakness, and wisdom through simplicity, and the Kingdom of God through little children, according to the eternal ordinance.

This behavior of Jesus, though we understood it not then, yet was it partly interpreted to us, even at that time, by the answer which he made unto the Pharisees, saying unto them, "Verily I say unto you, if these should hold their peace, the very stones should cry out." Moreover, afterwards, when they would have had him rebuke them in the Temple, and when they said unto him, "Hearest thou what these say?" then Jesus spake unto them yet more clearly, and said, "Yea, have ye never read, 'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise'?"

When we came to the foot of Mount Moriah, we arrayed ourselves to enter into the temple, and we went in by the gate called Shushan. But lo, the courts of the temple and all the ways which lead into the courts were crowded with oxen and doves, and drovers and money-changers; and it was more like unto a market-place or shambles than to a temple of the Lord: even as I had beheld it two years before, when I came to offer sacrifice during my mother's sickness, yea, and worse also. For during the week before the Passover, almost the whole of the Jewish nation was wont to assemble in Jerusalem for to offer sacrifice, even as many (so it hath been reported to me, but it is well-nigh past belief) as three hundred myriads; wherefore, though there should be but one lamb slain for a score of pilgrims, yet the number of beasts to be sacrificed at one time must needs be many thousands, not less than one hundred and fifty thousand. When Jesus looked around on all this stir and traffic, he was sore displeased, and his anger was very hot, yea, such as I had seldom noted the like in him