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manna and forth the gushing waters of heavenly consolation; and there God speaks to the heart of a promised land beyond, where all flesh shall see the salvation of God! O salutary desert, where, for the first time, the unbelieving, sinful soul hears that cry of John: " Prepare ye the way of the Lord; " whence it is led by John into the baptismal waters of the Jordan, to soon emerge again; and on the bank behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world! Artists love to paint that scene at Jesus' baptism — the two young men knee deep in the water, Jesus smilingly expectant, John hesitating but obedient, while over all the Spirit hovers like a dove, and the Father proclaims: "This is My beloved Son." Simple, lowly John, quick to reverence virtue, but quicker still to upbraid pharisaical vice; all-humble in the presence of his heavenly Master, but intrepid and defiant before the vicious Herod! And yet, that Herod loved him still, is, after Christ's eulogy, John's highest encomium. True, he was cast into prison, but Herod reverenced, praised, loved him still. The angel messenger of freedom, in chains; the preacher of reform, the model of every virtue, in a felon's cell! What a parody on human justice! But God's providence destined his captivity to have a deeper significance. John in his prison represents the abrogation of the Old Law, even as Christ does the introduction of the New. The Virgin of virgins gave to the world the Author of the New; the incestuous Herodias spitefully accomplished the destruction of the last remnant of