' W. L. Watkinson, The Gates of Dawn, 288. * A. J. Gordon: A Biography, 258.
Prayer and Choice.
i«3
Literature.
Campbell (W. M.), Footijrints of Christ, 155.
Little (W. J. K.), The Light of Life, 178.
Manning (H. E.), Sermons, ii. 342.
Murray (J. 0.), in Princeton Sermons, 192.
Mursell (W. A.), Sermons on Special Occasions, 61.
Nash (L. L.), Early Morning Scenes, 156.
New (C), Sermons preached in Hastings, 158.
Kobarts (F. H.), Sunday Morning Talks, 199.
Salmon (G.), Sermons preachedin the Chapel of Trinity College, Dublin, 171.
Spurgeon (C. H.), Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, xiv. (1868), No. 798 ;
Ivi. (1910), No. 3178. Stalker (J.), Imago Christi, 127.
Vaughan (J.), Sermons (Brighton Pulpit), vi. (1869), No. 628. Watkinson (W. L.), The Education of the Heart, 186. Winks (W. E.), The Gospel of Prayer, 39. British Congregationalist, August 20, 1908 (J. H. Jowett). Christian World Pulpit, xxxvii. 133 (J. H. Atkinson) ; Ixiv. 390 (C. S.
Macfarland). Churdiman's Pulpit : Ember Days, xv. 442 (W. T. Henham).
Prayer and Choice.
And it came to pass in these days, that he went out into the mountain to pray ; and he continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called I his disciples : and he chose from them twelve, whom also he named apostles. — Luke vi. 12, 13.
1. The praying Christ is a prominent figure in each of the four Gospels, and in none more so than in the Gospel according to Luke. Indeed, it seems to have been the special care of this Evangelist to call attention to the prayerfulness of Christ. He refers to no fewer than six of the Lord's prayers which are un- noticed by the other Evangelists — the prayer at His baptism, after cleansing the leper, before calling the Apostles, at His transfiguration, on the cross for His murderers, and with His dying breath. It is like Luke, with his clear insight into the needs of our nature, to give us such a glimpse of the Lord's spirit and character. And it assuredly accords with the general tone of the " Gospel of Human-heartedness," as this Third Gospel has been called. At least it gives an ideal completeness to his portraiture of Christ's humanity ; for this Gospel is pre-eminently the Gospel of the perfect Son of Man. Christ prayed, and prayed much. The seasons of communion with God the Father were of very frequent occurrence, and formed the habit rather than the exception of His life on earth. He prayed. It was not only a habit but a necessity of His life ; He could not have accomplished His work on earth. He could not have fulfilled His Father's will, without constant prayer.
2. The scene of this lonely vigil is the same, in all probability,
as that of the Sermon on the Mount. As described by recent
observers, " it is a hill with a summit which closely resembles an
Oriental saddle with its two high peaks. On the west it rises
very little above the level of a broad and undulating plain ; on
the east it sinks precipitately towards a plateau, on which lies,
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i66 PRAYER AND CHOICE
immediately beneath the cliffs, the village of Hattin ; and from this plateau the traveller descends through a wild and tropic gorge to the shining levels of the Lake of Galilee. It is the only conspicuous hill on the western side of the lake, and it is singu- larly adapted by its conformation to form both a place for short retirement and a rendezvous for gathering multitudes." Hither at nightfall, alone, weary, burdened with a world's redemption, came Christ to pray. The stars came out one by one above Him, the silence deepened around Him as the night wore on, and when, after midnight had passed and the morning star stood in the heavens, the first ray of dawn tipped the trans-Jordanic hills, Christ was still in this communion with His Father.
^ I wonder if we have sufficiently observed our Lord's love of the heights, and of the ministry of the heights upon His spirit. Have we all experienced the subtle ministry of hill and mountain ? There is something even in physical altitude which helps the elevation of the soul. There is something in wide spaces which aids the expansiveness of prayer, and redeems it from narrowness and meanness. And then a mountain by night ! There we have height and depth, with the allied ministry of mysterious silence. There is an absence of glare and glamour, and in the deep hush the primary voice becomes audible. And then, again, " all night in prayer to God " ! Think of it — the night, the ceaseless com- munion ! Let us not suppose that the Master spent the night in speech. There would be seasons of quiet listening, perhaps seasons when familiar psalms were sung, and seasons when He just comfortably realized the enwrapping presence of the Father in heaven. Now and again there would be the cry of a sheep or a lamb, and the lone plaint would make His own purpose emerge, as the Shepherd whose mission it was to seek and to succour wandering sheep. And I wonder what the dawn would have to say to Him, and whether in its growing radiance He would foresee the gradual illumination of the whole world with the evangel of His love and grace. Be that as it may, the night was thus spent as a preparative to the choice of the morrow. He sought to be perfectly attuned to His Father's will, in order that all His decisions might be one with the mind of the Father in heaven. "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do." ^