62 BXFOSnX)&Y THOT70HT8.
ordered by Him. A daily practical faith of this kindi is one grand secret of happiness^ and a mighty antidote against murmuring and discontent. We should try to feel in the day of trial and disappointment^ that all is right and all is well done. We should try to feel on the bed of sickness^ that there must be a ''needs be." We should say to ourselves, ''God could koQp away from me these things if He thought fit. But He does not do so, and th^efore they must be for my advantage. I wiU lie still, and bear ihem patiently. I have ' an everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure.' (2 Sam. zxiii. 5.) What pleases God shall please me."
KoTBS. LuKB Xn. 1—7.
1. — [An innumerable mvltitude.] The Greek word so translated means literally, " The myriads," or tens of thousands of the people. Lightioot thinks that these words are an evidence of the success of the seventy disciples.
[He began to say!\ Let it be observed, that the discourse which follows these words is remarkable for the great num- ber of sayings which it contains which were also said by our Lord upon other occasions. It is clear that our Lord repeated the same words in dijQTerent places, and taught the same lessons on different occasions. All teachers and instructors repeat their lessons over and over again, in order to impress them on the minds of those they teach. It is absurd and unreasonable to suppose that our Lord Jesus Christ did not do so. To maintain, as some do, that St. Luke, in this chapter, is only stringing to- gether, for convenience sake, sayings which our Lord used on many different occasions, appears to me a very irreverent mode of dealing with an inspired writing, and a very needless expla- nation of the repetitions which the chapter contains. The things repeated are things which it is especially important for Christians to know, and therefore our Lord repeats them, and Luke wfius inspired to write them.
Burgon remarks, " Of the fifty-nine verses which compose the
S resent chapter, no less than thirty-five prove to have been elivered on quite distinct occasions ; not in single verses only, but by seven, eight, and even ten verses at a time."
An excessive desire to harmonize the varicMas Gospel histmrieB