the Holy Ghost'' to take npon him the office of a minister. The man who cannot say this, when he comes forward to be ordained, is committing a great sin, and running without being sent.
Let it be a part of our daily prayers, that our churches may have no mimsters excepting those who are really called of God. An imconyerted minister is an injury and burden to a church. How can a man speak of truths which he has never tasted P How can he testify of a Saviour whom he has never seen by faith, and never laid hold on for his own soul P The pastor after God's own heart, is a man to whom the word of God has come. He runs confidently, because he has tidings. He speaks boldly, because he has been sent.
Let us notice, lastly, in this passage, the close eonnec- Uon betuwen true repentance and forgiveness. We are told that John the Baptist came '' preaching the baptism of re- pentance for the remission of sins." The plain meaning of this expression is, that John preached the necessity of being baptized, in token of repentance, and that he told his hearers that except they repented of sin, their sins would not be forgiven.
We must carefully bear in mind, that no repentance can make atonement for sin. Theblood of Christ, and nothing else, can wash away sin from man's soul. So quantity of repentance can ever justify us in the sight of God. ''We are accounted righteous before God, only for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings." It is of the utmost im- portance to understand this clearly. The trouble that men bring. upon their souls, by misunderstanding this subject, is more than can be expressed.
LUKE, CHAP. ni. VKE. 1 — 6. 87
But while we say all this, we most carefiilly remem- ber that without repentance no soul was ever yet saved. We must know our sins, mourn oyer them, forsake them, abhor them, or else we shall never enter the kingdom of heaven. There is nothing meritorious in this. It forms no part whatever of the price of our redemption. Our salvation is all of grace, from first to last. But the great fact still remains, that saved souls are always penitent souls, and that saving faith in Christ, and true repent- ance toward God, are never found asunder. This is a mighty truth, and one that ought never to be forgotten.
Do we ourselves repent P This, after all, is the ques- tion which most nearly concerns us. Have we been convinced of sin by the Holy Ghost P Have we fled to Jesus for deliverance from the wrath to come P Do we know anything of a broken and contrite heart, and a thorough hatred of sinP Can we say, '^ I repent," as well as ^'I believe P" If not, let us not delude our minds wii^ the idea that our sins are yet forgiven. It is written, '^ Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (Luke xiii, 3.)
K0TB8. Luke IH. 1 — 6.
1. — flturaat Trachonitit, AbUene.] These were districts lying to the north and north-east of Palestine.
2. — [Annas and Caiaphas being high prissU.'] We know, fix)m the Bible, that there could not, properly speaking, be two high priests at the same time. The office, in toe best days of Israel, was held by one man, and held for life. But in the time of our Lord's earthly ministry there seems to have been much irregu- larity connected with the high priest's office, and the Romans probably deposed some from it £or political reasons. The result was that there were frequently others beside the actual high priest still living, who haa filled the office before. Annas was father-in-law to Caiaphas. (John xviiL Id.)
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