the s011ship do~s not cover; there must be more in the 1fossiahship th1tn we suspect; ,ve must reconsider our attitude towards Jesus, and do him justice." llut instead of this, the~ deliberately ignored the ditlfoulty, aud went on with their persecution of the Divine Messiah. Now, this is surely to show us that we need a Divine Saviour, for the salvation must be from the power and guilt of sin. \Ve need a Saviour who will be our Lord; to whom we not only owe allegiance, but give it cheerfully. It is a Divine Lord of the ages, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the infinite Majesty, whom we need to give us the emancipation which can alone profit our souls. II. CONSIDER CHRIST'S ooNDElllNATION OF THE somnEs. (Vers. 45-47.) Seeing how they reject the scriptural evidence of his claims, Jesus proceeds to warn his disciples against them. He knows them thoroughly. And: 1. He charges them with skilfully manufacturing a rdigious reputation. They wore peculiar garments; the man-milliners of the day had been brought into requisition. They welcomed recognition from the people in the markets ; they took, as their right, the highest seats in the synagogue and the chief rooms at social feasts. They manufactured such a rep"utation as secured them abundant honour. 2. They traded upon their reputation. Widows got their advice and intercession, and paid them well for giving it. In fact, our Lord charges them with devouring widows' houses in their greed. Instead of the widows insphing pity, they seemed eligible because defenceless victims. 3. Their condemnation shall be proportionally great. Professions which are traded upon will ultimately procure a. deeper condemnation. How needful that the genuineness of our profession should be tested ! If it is for God's dear s&ke, and not for the sake of worldly ad vantage, it will stand the test at last. III. CoNSIDEB CnnIST's ENCOlllIUM UPON THE Poon WIDOW. (Ch. xxi. 1-4.) Sitting over against the treasury, our Lord saw both rich and poor depositing their gifts. Some of the rich gave largely out of their abundance, and Jesus noted doubtless the proportion. But one poor widow came 1tlong, and she deposited in the temple-chest a single farthing. It was little, but it was her all. Behind her sackcloth Jesus discerned the biggest heart in all the company. Now, we &re taught by this circumstance: 1. That all our gifts are deposited in sight of (Jh,rist. As Divine Saviour he sits, so to speak, over a"ainst every treasury, and notes what the people deposit there. There is no such thing ~ secret giving so far as Jesus is concerned. We may give so that the right hand knows not what the left is giving, but Jesus knows all the same. 2. It is the heart which determines the character of our liberality. It is not the quantity of money, but the quality of the act, whlch is important. A farthing from a widow is more in the sight of God th&n thousands from a millionaire. Hence we ought to examine ourselves, and see clearly what our motives may be. 3. Bence it is possible even for the poorest to be Uberal. It is this which we require to have driven home. When poor as well as rich give with large-heartedness, the Church's "golden age" shall come. It is to this that our Lord would lead us.-R. M. E.
EXPOSITION. swelling out beneath, and tapering npw&rd CHAPTER XXL into a nan·ow mouth, or opening, into which Vers. I-4.-The widow'B mite. We find the alms were dropped. Some of these this little sketch only here and in St. Mark "trumpets" were marked with special in- (xii 41-44). The Master was sitting- scriptions, denoting the destination of the resting, probably, after the effort of the offerfogs. great denc.nciation of the scribes and Ver. 1.-And he looked up, e.nd se.w the I>l.1nrisees-in the col"ered colonnade of that rich men ea.sting their gifts into the trea- put of tile temple which was open to the sury. It is not improbable that a special Jewish women. Here was the treasury, with stream of almsgivers were just then passing through the temple court, many being its thirteen boxes in the wall, for the re- specially impressed by the solemn words ception of th~ alm.~ of the people. These they bad just been listening to. boxes were c&lled slwpherotl,, or trumpets, Ver. 2.-And he saw also a certain poor because thc,y were sh,,pcd like trumpets, wido·w caating in thither two mites, 'l'he en. xxr. 1-38.J THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 183