Luke v. 36 — 38. And he spake also a parable unto them ; No man putteth a piece of new garment upon an old ; if other- wise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles ; and both are preserved.
THE cavils of objectors have been frequently over- ruled for the benefit of the church. They have given rise to many of our Lord's most instructive discourses,
and thereby furnished us with a much clearer and more extensive knowledge of our duty. Thrice in this chapter do we see our Lord called upon to answer the objections that were either secretly entertained, or openly expressed, against him. His forgiving of sins, and associating with sinners, had given offence ; but he vindicated his conduct with respect to both, and has afforded us herein a rich discovery of his power and grace. In the context he was condemned for leaving his Disciples so much at liberty respecting the duty of fasting. In reply to the queries put to him on this subject, he delivered the parables which we have now read : and in which are contained,
I. A virtual acknowledgment of the duty of fasting —
[This duty, together with the attendant offices of humi- liation and prayer, our Lord had forborne to insist upon so much as John had done : and for that he was blamed by the self-righteous Pharisees. But in his answer to the question put to him, he does not say, that the children of the bride- chamber were never to fast, but only not during the present season, " whilst the Bridegroom was yet with them." Nor in the parables before us does he say, that the old garment should not be mended, nor the wine put into vessels at all, but only that discretion was to be exercised with respect to the manner of doing these things. These intimations alone were sufficient to establish the propriety of practising the duty there spoken of: but they are enforced by many other passages of Holy Writ ; and especially by the admonitions given by our Lord himself respecting our conduct when we fasta. Indeed, in our text itself he says, that after his removal from them " they should fast"."]
There being no doubt amongst us on this point, I proceed more particularly to notice that which is in fact the substance of both the parables, namely,
II. A special direction for the performance of this
duty—
In inculcating or practising this solemn duty, we are here taught to pay the strictest attention to the principal circumstances relating to it, such as the time, the manner, the end.
1. The time —
d Matt. vi. 16 — 18. b ver. 35.