may be nt any moment, it will be, as was prefigured in the days of Noah and Lot, wbrn me~ are least expecting it," the balancing thought is added, that a testimony must he given to all the nations. And the right kind of waiting is that which seeks to fill up what remains of his sufferings, so that, when he shall appear, his people may be _fo:md ''. not sleep\ng in sin, but diligen~ in his service, and rejoicing in his praises." It 1s m this connect10n that the reference 1s made (ver. 29) to the tradition concerning the wife of righteous Lot. " She looked back, and became a pillar of salt." 'l'he world- clinging heart was stiffened into a very column of worldliness. Remember, there are to be no regrets, no glances behind. A heart single, and free for the Lord, is the con- dition of the disciple who shall escape all these things that shall come to pass, and stand before the Son of man. "\Vhosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it" (ver. 33). III. A DAY OF JUDGMENT. The revelation of Christ is a judgment-in the fuller meaning of the word, a making manifest, a bringing to light of the hidden hents of mind and separation of the true from the false. Whenever Christ is presented, the judpnent is set and the books are opened. The end is simply the full apocalypse of the judgment which is now proceeding. The lightning (ver. 24) "that lighteneth out of the one part of heaven, shining to the other," is the manifestation of the electricity with which the atmosphere is charged, What of this day of judgment? It is (vers. 27, 28) the condemnation of the world as to its worldliness in both its more sensual and its more cultured aspects-the sensuality typified in the days of Noah; the culture, with coarseness, typified in the wealthy citizen of Sodom. It is (vers. 34, 35) the disjunction of the closest of life's fellowships-the two in the bed, the two at the mill, the two in the field. The issues that, unobserved by many, are being adjusted and completed will be set forth in their reality. What men would not believe men will be brought to know. "The Lord cometh; he cometh to judge the earth." "Where? " ask these simple men, affrighted-" where, Lord?" and the enigmatica.l response (ver. 37) is given. Wherever there is corruption, wrong, death, there is the scene of the jndgment of God. Jerusalem was the carcase more immediately in view, and the eagle, sign of the Roman empire, that was raised over its battlements was the sign of other eagles that were already gathering. But may we not ask whether the Jerusalem that is in bondage, the Christendom that is, is not ripening for judgment? "Receiving the kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God a.ccepta.bly, with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire."
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. l, 2.-Spiritual resistance. Our Lord here delivers very weighty truth of a practical kind to the whole body of his adherents-to "the disciples." It is truth which remains as appropriate and as necessary as it was when it was uttered. L Otra :t-"EED OF TRE POWER OF SPIRITUAL RESISTANCE. "It is impossible but that offences will come." Knowing the human world as Christ knew it, he perceived that his disciples would, through many generations, be subjected to continual and severe trial of their faith. With such error, such selfishness, such despotism, such heartless- ness, such iniquity in the world, it was inevitable that temptations should a_bound. The path of Christian life must lie through a country beset with moral evil ; the journey home must be attended by the most serious perils. 1. The aim of the enemy. This would be, as it is still, to lead the disciples of Christ into (1) doubt, disbelief, denial, apost~y; (2) ~decisi?n _a~d irreligio~ ; (3) half-hea;tedness in worshi.I?,. in sacred service m domestic and md1vidual devotion; (4) worldliness of tone and spmt; (5) unworthy and (ultimately) injuriou~ and even fatal methods of presenting_ the truth and advocating the cause of Chnst; (6) laxity of speech and of behaviour, leading down to positive and destructive sin. 2. The wea,p()'ll,B of his attack. These are (1) evil suggestion; (2) bad exampie; (3). specioueargumentation; _(4) comm~nd- ment and constraint. 3. Our resources of resistance. These are (1) a simple sagacity; such a knowledge of the evil that is in men as w!ll ensure vigilance, a wis~ ca:efuluess, a hesitation to commit ourselves to every plausible spokesman, to every mv1tmg and well-sounding doctriue (1 John iv. 1). (2) A spirit of fidelity; a stcacl,fiu;tness of llH, xvn. 1-37.) 'l'HE GOSPEL .ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 97