■trong In aplrlt. We have here another of birth are rele.ted so oiroometantia.lly in this BI. Luko'e eolemn. pe.ueee in hie ne.rmtive opening che.pter of St. Lake's Goepel. Mary, -one of thoee little pe.eeagee in which, in whose" memories," we believe, are recounted e. fow worcle, he ects before ue e. picture almoet in her own words, was herself a olee.r nncl vivid of the evente of long years. witness of some of the circumstances narrate,!; "The deecripUon," writee Dr. Farre.r, "re- from her friend and cousin Elisabeth eh,, sembles the.t of the chilclhoocl of Be.mucl cloubtless received the tmo history of tho (1 Be.m. ii. 2G) e.ncl of our Lord (ch.ii.40-52). re&t. But Zacharias and Elieabcth, we know, Nothing, however, is se.id of 'fe.vonr with were aged peraons when John was born. moo.' In the caeo of the Baptist, e.e of others, They probably lived only a short time after • the boy w11e father to the me.n ; ' e.nd he bis birth. Hence his solitary desert life. Of probably showed from the firat that rugged it we know nothing. In those wile! regions slernneee which is wholly unlike the winning at the.t time dwelt many grave ascetics and gruce of the child Christ. ' The Baptist was hermit teachers, like the Pharisee Ban us, the no lamb of God. He was a wrestler with life, me.,ter of Josephus. From some of these one to whom peace does not come easily, but the orphan boy probably received hie train- only after a long ~truggle. His restlessness ing. It is clear, from such passages as had driven him into the desert, where he had John i. 31-33 and eh. iii. 2, tliat some direct oontendecl for years with thoughts he could not comrnunic"tion from the Highest put an end master, and from whence he uttered his start- to the ascetic desert life and study. Some ling alarms to the nation. He was among the tbeophany, perhaps, like the appearance of dogs rather than among the lamb• of the the burning bush which called Moses to his Shepherd' (' Ecce Homo')." And was in great post, summoned the pioneer of Chriat the deserts till the day of his showing unto to his dangerous anrl difficult work. But I,rael. "The deserts" here alluded to were we poseese no account of what took place on that desolate waste country south of Jericho this occasion when God spoke to his servant and along tile shores of the Dead See.. We John, the evangelist simply recording the know nothing of the details of the- life of the fact, "The word of God came unto the son boy, the wonderful circumstances of whose of Zacharias in the wilclerness" (eh. iii. 2).
HOl\HLETICS. Vere. 1-4.-Preface to the Gospel. Observe- !. TIIE AUTHOR'S APOLOGY. How conspicuous in it are the elements of candour, simplicity, and earnestness I The first authorities as to the things related were "the eye-witnesses and ministers of the Word." He is careful to intimate that he is not one of them; not an apostle; not even one of the seventy, as some have supposed he was. The position which he assumes is simply this: Many had taken in hand to draw up " a narrative concerning those matters which had been fulfilled among them; " and he too felt constrained to place on record all the information which he possessed. And hie claim to be heard is the painstaking which he has brought to the task, the desire to trace the co1use of the wonderful history with perfect accuracy. Can we fail to note the absence of all self-assertion? Pretentiousness of all kinds is abhorrent to the mind which is "of the truth.'' Especially when it contemplates the "holy glory" of Jesus, it is like the friend of the bridegroom, who rejoices greatly to hear, not his own, but the bridegroom's voice. 11. THE AUTHOR'S AIM, It is to give the sequence of events "accurately from the first.'' He had enjoyed exceptional advantages, on account of which he was able to relate the things connected with "the beginning" of the life of Christ. .And his purpose is to unfold that life in the completeness and beauty of its development. Now, is not this the work of the Christian teacher still? Christianity is Christ. It is not a mere system of doctrines to be believed and of duties to be done; the root an,l strength of all doctrines and of all duties is the Person of Jesus. And the no1,leat function of the " minister of the Word " is to show the eternal life which was with the 1''ather, and is manifested in the Son, who for us was ince.rnate. III. TIIE DESIGNATION OF THE ONE WIIOM TIIE AUTHOR ADDRESSES. .. Most excellent Theophilus." Probably he hod in view a man bearing this name-a man of high station or rank. The superlative employed is the same as that applied in the Book of the Acts to the Roman procurator, and once by Paul himself, when he replied, "I am not mad, moat noble Felix," '!'his Theophilus, therefore, may have been distinguished 14 THE GOSrEL ACCORDING TO ST, LUKE. [cu. 1, 1-80,
\,y pasit.ion. "Not many mig11ty, not many noble, are called," but some mighty and nohlr are; Rnd he may h11ve been drawn tlirough the teaching of St, Paul, and ruay hn,·e wished R full RC'Cotmt of those things in which hE: bad brcn catechized. But be this 11~ it may, note the meaning of the namC'. "To thee, 0 lover of God, O ~oul, t<'acl•ahle, hurul.,le, desirous to find in Josns the Way to the Father; to thee, O hnncrercr and thirster after righteousness, seeking with purc heart God's gift of the living w:ter; t-0 thee, 0 man, 0 woman, who knowest thyself to be the sinner who needs salvation :rno wonldst ~ee the Sadonr who receives sinners and eats with them· to thee' 0 Isra<·lite inclerd, in whom is no guile, this declaration of the gospel of the grace of Go, 1 is senL ! May he who opened the heart of Lydia open thine heart• and through the demonstration of the Spirit, making effectual the exp"sition of the m~ssitcre, mal'e~t thou have that "itness in thyself which is• the certainty of those things wherein thuu hast been instn~cted 'I"