Tables are seen around, Spread with delicious meats; Gardens where fruits abound, And thousand tempting sweets: Silver and gold and precious stones, Chariots and palaces and thrones. Satan did once prevail On Eve to disobey: And now why should he fail To tempt the Lord astray? For Eve abundant food possess’d, While Christ with hunger is distress’d. In vain the tempter tries The Saviour to deceive, For Jesus left the skies Our misery to relieve: His Father dear he sought to please, Nor wish’d for earthly joy and ease. He had seen brighter things, And sweeter joys had known, Where angels touch the strings Around his Father’s throne. And shall he from that throne descend Before the evil one to bend? No! He will hunger bear, And suffer sharpest pain, Till God shall hear his prayer, And his weak life sustain. And lo! ashamed the tempter flies, And angels feed him from the skies. LESSON XVIII. THE TWELVE DISCIPLES. MARK, i. 16-20. WHEN Jesus was a man, he began to teach people about his Father. Jesus used to preach. Where did he preach? Sometimes he preached to people in a place like a church; sometimes he preached in the fields; sometimes he sat on the top of a hill and preached; and sometimes he sat in a ship, and the people stood by the edge of the water to hear him. Jesus did not always live in the same place: he used to walk about from one place to another. Did Jesus walk about alone? No; he had twelve friends always with him. He called them his twelve disciples. How many are twelve? Let us count the little children in this room. Here are twelve. Jesus had just so many disciples. One was called Peter, and another John, and another James, and another Thomas. I will not tell you the names of all, lest you should forget them. Peter was a fisherman. He had a little ship, and he used to catch fish in the day and in the night. James and John had another little ship, and they used to catch fish. One day Jesus passed by their ships, and Jesus saw Peter and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the sea to catch fish, and Jesus said to them, Come with me. And Peter and Andrew left their nets, and their ships, and went with Jesus. And Jesus went a little further, and he saw James and John sitting in their ship, mending the holes in their nets, and Jesus said to them, Come with me; and they left their nets and went with Jesus. Jesus called what people he pleased to come with him. Shall I tell you why Jesus chose to have twelve friends always with him? What do you think was the reason? Jesus wished to teach them about God his Father, that they might teach other people about him. They liked being with him, and listening to his words. Would you have liked to be always with Jesus?