The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 152

~trong organizations covering the land, whose function is to teach, to guido, to gunrd, to rescue, and redeem. l\fay we »,ot say, "He bath not dealt so with any nation ; 11s for his st.atutes and commandments, they have not known them" as we have known them? 2. God has gi ,en us a high and a great mission to perform. Responsibility goes witn pri,ilege; it is, indeed, the obverse ~ide of the same thing. We have not only to present to bis ,iew "a holy nation" within our own borders, to raise our own community to the height of Christian knowledge, of social purity, of national well-being in all its forms; but also to diffuse the light of Divine truth far and wide, and to make our influence tell for peace, righteousness, and truth in every quarter of the globe. 3. We have to consider whether we are declining that mission or are fulfilling it. 'l'hat is , question which cannot be determined by public professions; nor by the number ...r character of our sanctuaries; nor by the number or constitution of our Churcbc;s. !, can only be determined by the actual spiritual and moral condition of our people, of the multitudes and millions of our citizens; and by the earnestness and devotedness of Christian men and women in the field of sacred work. By these criteria we staud or fall.-C. Ver. 44.-The time of visitation. "This thy day;" "The time of thy visitation." What is it that makes man, everywhere and under all conditions, so deeply interesting?· He is found on savage shores in nakedness and barbarism, in idolatrous lands living in sadJest superstitinn, in the slums a.ud purlieus of great cities as debased and vicious as the brutes of the field, yet still ID(ISt interesting. It is because God made man for himself, and, far a.s he has wandered from his side, it is still open to him to return. It is because man -was created to move ii.long the loftiest levels, and, low as he has fallen, it is in him to rise. Ilring to bear the right in!luences upon him, and from the very lowest depths of debasement and dishonour he may attain to noble heights of excellency and power. Again an.::. again in the history of mankind and of individual men has this been proved t.,c ·oe trne. Illustrative and reassurini instances can be adduced in which whole tribes, or even nations, and in which particular men and women, have been visited with "the truth and grace of Jesus Christ," and have been lifted up to knowledge, to virtue, to piety, to spiritual beauty, to preparedness for the heavenly sphere. But the berions aspect of this truth is that which is here suggested, viz. that God's dealings with us may reach a climax which is ignorantly and fata.ZZy neglected. We know how true this was of the Hebrew people. God's dealings with them (see previous homily) were long-continued, varied, gracious; they culminated in the coming of the Kin,,'s 8on. Then Divine Wisdom uttered its voice in their hearing; then Divine Pow~r wrou~ht its marvels of mercy before their very eyes; then Divine Purity lived its life of loveliness; and Divine Love manifested itself in a hundred forms of kindness and of pity in the very midst of them. But "this their day," this "time of their visitation," they did not know. Israel missed its golden chance, and went down, as a nation, to rise no more. But looking at God'1:1 redemptive dealing with ourselves, as individual spirits, we see- I. How OFTEN Gon VISITS us iu bis redeemiug love. In childhood, by e. mother's tenderness ; in youth, by a father's wisdom ; in young manhood ( womanhood), by many voices of the home and of the Church, uniting to say," 'l'hy God hath commanded thy strength ; " in prime, by some chastening providence, laying his hand upon us aud constrainina O us to listen and to understand. IL How HIB DEALINGS WITH us CULMINATE in some day of grace. There comes a time in the history of souls-it may come iu any period of life-when "the powers of the world to come" are most strongly felt, when God's nearness it,-,nu:t vividly realized, when the claims of Christ most forcibly touch and move the sou1, wiril,i; \be kingdom of God is very near, and its gates are seen to stand wide open. It ill "this thy day," it is the" time of visitation" to such a humau heart. • Ill. How WISE, THEN, IS lll.MEDIATE ACTION I How wise and well for us to know the time of our vi8itation, to recognize our great and priceless opportunity, t-0 flee to the seeking 8aviour "swift as the morning light," lest the golden chance be gone, the gates of opportunity be closed !--C. Ver. 46.-T/,e ho'J,se of prayer. The strong indignation of our Lord shown on this on. x1x. 1-48.J 'fHE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 159