'And this is the commission which lam come to execute —
['"The poor" are the special objects of my attention; they being particularly " chosen of my Father to be rich in faith, and heirs of my kingdom." Yet, if any be " poor in spirit," and sensible of their low and lost estate, to them am I sent ; and to declare to them the glad tidings of salvation, is the delightful work which I have undertaken.
1 More particularly , if any be " broken-hearted" with a sense of guilt and misery, I am come " to heal" them by an applica- tion of my blood and Spirit to their souls : their guilt will I remove by my all-atoning blood ; and their misery, by sending
them my Holy Spirit to be their comforter and guide
It is not as a temporal prince or conqueror that I am come : my conquests are altogether of a spiritual nature ; but they are irresistible, and shall be complete. Are any persons so blinded by Satan, and enslaved by sin, that they appear like captives, immured in a dungeon, and bereft of sight, and galled with massive chains a? I am come to set them free, not only breaking off their fetters, and restoring them to the light, but renewing even their organs of vision, and bringing them into the
glorious liberty of the sons of God And this I shall
do, not by war and bloodshed, but by an exhibition of truth to their souls. The word is my sword, and the ministry of it is that chariot in which I will ride on, conquering and to conquer, till every enemy be put under my feetb
' In a word, you all know what is done in the year of jubilee, how debts are cancelled, slaves are liberated, and inheritances are restored : such are the benefits which I impart : I proclaim the arrival of that happy period, at least as far as respects the souls of men. Whatever debt of sin any man may owe, it shall be forgiven him : his bondage, however severe, shall be brought to an end : and his inheritance, however justly forfeited, shall be restored to him, even all the inheritance of heaven
' Thus circumstantially has the prophet described my office, which already I have begun to execute : " This very day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears :" and all of you who will believe in me, shall enjoy the benefits I am come to bestow.']
Such we may suppose to have been our Saviour's comment on the Scripture which he had read. Let us next view,
II. The effect produced by it —
a This was a common mode of treating captives. Sampson was so treated by the Philistines (Judg. xvi. 21.), and Zedekiah by Ne- buchadnezzar. (2 Kings xxv. 7.)
b Thrice it is said, " He hath sent me to preach."