The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 29

cl,-nr thnt Jcsns Christ rogarcled himRelf ns One that was here on the highest mi~sion, ns One that wns very fnr removed above ordinary manhood. He felt that he stoon in o rolntion to the humnn rnce that was not only unusual, but unique. Otherwise he could not hnve spoken of "giving his flesh for the life of the world," of being "the Light of the world," of" drawing all men unto him;" he could not have invited all hcavy- lnden souls to como to him that they might find rest in him. It is abundantly clear thnt Jesus Christ offered himself, and still offers himself: I. As the Divine Te11cher, at whose feet we may all sit and learn the living truth of God. 2, As the Divine Saviour, in whom we may nil trust for the forgiveness of our sins and our reconciliation to God. 8. As the Divine Friend, to whom we may trust our heart, and in whom we may find a Refuge. 4:. As the Divine Lord, who claims the obedience and service of our lives. III. THl!l BUFFI0mN0Y OF CHBIBT FOR ALL THAT HE UNDERTAKES. Can he, of whom his critics spoke so slightingly as" the carpenter's Son," do a.II this? Is he equal to such offices as these? There is the experience of eighteen centuries to which this appeal may be made. And from the first to the last; from the experience of the little child and of the man in middle life and of extreme old age; from that of health and of sickness; from that of adversity and of prosperity; from that of ignorance and of culture; from that of human souls of every conceivable variety of constitution and of human lives of every imaginable variety of condition ;-the answer is one strong, unhesi• tating, enthusiastic "Ye~! " Many things are disputable, but this is certain; many things are to be discredited, but these are to be" most surely believed;" and on them we do well to build our present heritage and our eternal hope.-C. Vers. 6, 6.-Life in its completeness. A very beautiful picture, though on a very small canvas, is here painted; it is a picture of domestic piety. As we think of Zacha- rias and Elisabeth spending their long life together in the service of Jehovah, attached to one another and held in honour by all their kindred and friends, we feel that we have before our eyes a view of human life which has in it all the elements of an excellent completeness. I. THE DOMESTIC BOND. Here we have conjugal relationship in its true form; estab- lished in mutual respect; justified and beautified by mutual affection; made perma- nently happy by common affinities and common aims; elevated and consecrated by thti presence of another and still nobler bond-that of a strong and immovable attachment to God. A human life is quite incomplete without such tender ties of God's own bind- ing, and these ties are immeasurably short of what they were meant to be if they are not enlarged and ennobled by the sanctities of religion. II. HUMAN AND DIVINE ESTIMATION. These two godly souls enjoyed the favour of their Divine Father and of their human friends and neighbours : "They were both righteous before God," and they were "blameless" in the sight of men. God accepted them, and man approved them. He to whom they were responsible for all they were and did saw in them, as he sees in all his children, the imperfections which belong to our erring and struggling humanity; but he accepted their reverence and their endeavour to please and to obey him, forgiving their shortcomings. And their kindred and their friends recognized in them those who were regulating their life by God's holy will, and they yie.lded to them their fullest measure of esteem. No human life is complete without the possession of these two things: (1) the favour of the living God; and (2) the esteem of those amongst whom we live. To walk in the shadow of conscious estrangement from God, to miss the sweet sunshine of his heavenly favour,- this is to darken our life with a continual curse, this is to bereave ourselves of our purest joy and most desirable h(•ritage. And while some of the very noblest of our race, following thus in the footsteps of the Master himself, have borne, in calm and heroic patience, the obloquy of the ignorant and the malice of the evil-minded, yet it is our duty, and it should be our desire and aspiration, so to walk in rectitutle and in kindness that men will bless us in their hearts, will esteem us for our integrity, will hold us in their affection. The man who "weani the white flower of a blameless lifo" i11 the man who will be a power for good in the oircles in which he moves. III. SAcnED SERVICE. It may be questionable whether any distinction is intended hetween "ordinances" and "commandments;" but there can be no question at all that both together cover religious observances and moral obligations. The Law which 20 TRE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKJ,J. [m. ,. 1-R0.