consecration; it will then prove to be a time for ( 4) true and lasting joy (Ps. cviii. 1).-0. Vera. 61, 52.-Growth, owr Lord'a and owr own. The growth of Jesll8 Christ an<l hie subjection to his parents teach ua Bl)me things respecting him, and they sug<rest 0 some things for our own guidance. I. THE 0H0WTB OF Jgsue CHRIST. 1. The fulnese of his condescension. We find this in his stooping so far as (1) to make it becoming that he should" be subject to" his parents, and (2) to make it possible that he should grow. How the Infinite One could so bereave himself of his infinitude as to be able to increase in wisdom, we cannot understand. But we cannot understand infinitude at all, and we act wisely when we do not draw hard-and-fo.st deductions from it. We stand on far firmer ground when we take the statement of the historian in its natural sense, and open our mind to the fact that Jesus Christ, "our Lord and our God," did stoop so far that it was possible for him to increase in knowledge and in favour with God and with man. We Clo not question the reality of his growth in body; why should we doubt, or receive with any reserve, the affirmation that he grew also in mind? 2. The harmoniousness of his growth. He grew (1) in bodily stature, and, of course, in all bodily strength and skill; (2) in mental equipment-in technical knowledge, or in the" education" of hi11 time, in appreciation of nature, in knowledge of mankind, in apprehension of Divine truth, in general intellectual enlargement; (3) in spiritual beauty and nobility-" in favour with God and man." Not that he was at any time faulty or lacking in any excellency which it behoved him at that time to show, but that, as his faculties expanded and his opportunities of manifesting character were multiplied, he developed all that was admirable in the sight of man and of God. There is a far greater possibility of spiritllll beauty and nobility in a young man with matured faculty and widening relationships than in the very little child, restricted, as he must be, in powers and in &urroundings. So, as Jesus increased in years and grew in wisdom, there waa in him an unfolding of moral and spiritual worth which attracted the eyes of men and which satisfied the Spirit of the Holy One himself. 11. OuB BUMAN GROWTH. 1. Unlike our Lord, there is no element of con<lescension implied in our growth. We did not stoop to infancy; our course had then its com- mencement; and in the youngest child, with all its helplessness, but with all its latent capacities, there is e. great gift from the hand of God. Whatever it means, in its humiliations e.nd in its practical illimitableness, it is so much more than we could claim. 2. As with our Lord, our growth should be harmonious. All the three elements in our compound nature should undergo simultaneous and proportionate development. This is at first e. parental question, bnt subsequently it is one that e.ffects every one capable of growth. (1) Training of the body ; its nurture and culture, so that it she.ll be continually advancing in strength and skill and symmetry. (2) Dis- cipline of the mind ; its instruction e.nJ exercise, so that it will be ever increasing in knowledge and enlarging in faculty. (3) Culture of the character; its guidance and formation, so that there shall be (a) e.ttractiveness in the sight of me.n, and (b) worthi- ness in the judgment of God. It is, indeed, true that we may not give pleasure to men in proportion as we grow in moral and spiritual worth, for, as with our Master, our purity and devotion may be an offence unto them. It is also to be remembered that we may gain God's distinct approval long before we have reached the point of irreproache.bleness; for that which he delights to see in his children is e.n earnest efforl after, and a conste.nt growth towards, the.t which is true and pure e.nd generous.-U.
Vers. 1-20.-The Saviour's birth and the angel's sermon. We now pnss from the person of the forerunner to that of his greater Successor. The priest's son was great, but the Virgin's Son_we.s greater. John was e. great gift to the world, as every true reformer must be; but a Saviour is God's supreme Gift to the children of men. Now, in this narrative before us we learn- I. How THE WILL OF EVEN HEATHEN M0NARCIIS 18 MADE TO FULFIL THE WILL OF Goo. The Divine will, expressed seven centuries before this time by Micah the prophet (v. 2), was the.t Jesw1 should be born in Bethlehem. But until a short Ume before his birth appearanc~s scen1Bd to show the.t he must be born iu Nazareth, 58 THE GOSrEL AOOORDJNO TO ST. LUKE. [on. II. 1-511.