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By universal consent religion is man's greatest blessing; and water is the greatest boon of the thirsty all the world over. Yet what a confirmation both religion and water afford of the fact that the greatest good may occasion the greatest evil! Take, first of all, the illustration supplied by the water, and in the words of Oliver Goldsmith. In those burning countries where the sun dries up every brook for hundreds of miles round, when what had the appearance of a great river in the rainy season becomes, in the summer, one dreary bed of sand, a lake that is never dry, or a brook that is perennial, is considered by every animal as the greatest convenience of Nature. As to food, the luxuriant landscape supplies that in sufficient abundance; it is the want of water that all animals endeavour to remove, and inwardly parched by the heat of the climate, traverse whole deserts to find out a spring. When they have discovered this, no dangers can deter them from attempting to slake their thirst. Thus the neighbourhood of a rivulet in the heart of the tropical continents is generally the place where all the hostile tribes of Nature draw up for the engagement. On the banks of this little envied spot thousands of animals of various kinds are seen venturing to quench their thirst, or preparing to seize their prey. The elephants are perceived in a long line, marching from the darker parts of the forest; the buffaloes are there, depending on numbers for security; the gazelles, relying solely upon their swiftness; the lion and tiger, waiting a proper opportunity to seize; but chiefly the larger serpents are upon guard there, and defend the accesses of the lake. Not an hour passes without some dreadful combat; but the serpent, defended by its scales, and naturally capable of sustaining a multitude of wounds, is of all others the most formidable. Ever on the watch until their rapacity is satisfied, few other animals will venture to approach their station. Now take the illustration which religion supplies of the fact that the greatest good may occasion the greatest evil. The splendid anthem of Spohr only tells us, in beautiful music, the fact which history in unmusical language proclaims — that as the hart pants after the water, so all souls seek after God. Here, then, is admitted to be the great source of all good. How have men approached that source? Do you find peace, love, charity, and all happiness characterising their proceedings? Look at the religions of the world, with their cruelties and barbarisms; listen to the brayings of cant and the howlings and ravings of sectaries and bigots; and notice the insidious craft and poisonous malice with which some of the smooth zealots do their work! Behold how fiercely they fight among one another; how eagerly they pounce upon any who are not of their number, but whom they descry afar off, eagerly seeking after the source of All-purity; and how desperately they struggle, each with each, for the mastery and capture of the anxious, humble seekers of living water! What brings all these rampant men together, and occasions this hoarse clamour of coarse voices where we anticipated gentle forms and loving sounds? The banks of the river of life have brought them there, and by their presence they occasion the greatest evil where we have a right to expect the greatest good.

(Scientific Illustrations.)

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KJV: And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,

WEB: When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him,