sets before ue one of the eabbath dnye of thie early Ga.Iilruan period, and bide ue note tho use mnde of the eabbath by the Son of man, who was also its Lord. He takea us to the eyn11gogue, no doubt crowded by an expectant throng of fishermen, farmers, masters rmd workmen of busy Gennesareth. Jesus is the Teacher; and, as the di..- course proceeds, we bear the sentence passing from one to another, "What a word ! " or," What is thiR word I "-so different from the speech to which they are accustomed, so strangely fascmating. Bas not the exclamation of these simple folk been repeated, in circles ever widening? Is it not, more than ever, the voice of the day in which we live? Let us look to the incidents of the Capemaum sabbath for three illuatrations of the abiding power of the Word of the Lord. I. THERE 1s THE POWER TO INSPIRE. ""vVe see this generally and specially. Generally, in the effect produced on the great body of the people. They had not yet been inflamed against Jesus by the emissaries of the Pharisees; and his preaching arrested the attention. It was not wild and startling, like that of John; it was calm, but intense. The pedantries of the scribes had no place in it; it spoke to the heart; it was thti word of One in the light and love of God-the Son of God and the Son of man. " For a season" at least they rejoiced in it. There were responses in the con- science, deep answering" amens" in the soul. The word was with authority. Specially in the attitude of those by whom Jesus wa~ accompanied. We are told by Mark that be is accompanied by Simon and Andrew, James and John. They are the elder sons of his special family. They have heard the word, "Follow me,'' and, obeying it, have left all to be his disciples. Oh, blessed power-the power of that Spirit who, in the beginning, moved on the face of the waters and said," Let there be light! n the power to awake the slumbering desire, to interpret the needs and thoughts of the heart, to stir up the longing to be better and nobler, to be the citizens of the kingdom of heaven and the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty I Who of us has felt the life-giving force of this heavenly spring? Such a one will join in the cry, " Wnat a word I" II. THERE IS THE POWER TO EXORCISE. One of the audience on the first of the Capemaum sabbaths is a miserable demoniac, "a man with the spirit of an unclean demon." Whether, by such an expression, we are to understand only a violent type of mania, there is no need to discuss. The language of the thirty-third and thirty-fourth verses seems to imply more than this. "It is utterly impossible," says Dean Alford, " to understand such a testimony as that of the sick person, still less of the fever or disease." Be this as it may, the multitude, spell-hound, is receiving the word which is with power, when suddenly a great scream is heard. "'Ea, la I Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God." Calmly, firmly, the Preacher rebukes the spirit; there is a paroxysm, a convulsion, and the man rises up, the wildness all gone, a right spirit renewed in him. " What a word I Ile comman,leth the unclean spirits, and they obey him!" Let us believe that this word of command and rebuke is still with us. Unclean spirits, demons in men, alas I are legion, and sore havoc they make in human lives and homes. No demon is ever alone; it is always accompanied by evil powers, by mani- fold miseries. The only force adequate to the cleansing of the soul thus possessed ia that of the Holy One of God. Welcoming o.11 remedial legislation, all forms of philan- thropic effort, with a view to raise the fallen, to cast out the devils which afflict society, let us remember that the innermost seat of the evil can be reached only by the gospel of the Holy One. With this gospel, let us never despair. "God is the God of hope; the devil is the spirit of despair." Ill. 'fHERE IB THE POWER TO BEAL. The mission of Jesus in Galilee was a great medical mission. The Preacher and the physician represent the two aspects of hi& ministry. Here is a thought"which consecrates the art of the physician; he ia a reve- lation of one side of the abiding power of Christ; it is for him to recognize the Master and acknowledge the supreme authority of the Word of the Lord. And turning to the physician and availing themselves of his skill, the sick and diseased may recall that it is Jesus Christ who maketh whole. This is the true faith-healing. See how the heal- ing power of the words is illustrated. Read vers. 40, 41. What a hospital is before the eye of the Bealer when the sun is setting I And not one of the impotent and afflicted is without the touch ; Lot one baffles the skill. For a more particular illus- \ration, read vers. 38, 39. It is "a great fever," and they beseech him for that LOIIE, B TITE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. [en. n. 1-44.
prc>cious life. He et.a.ads O't'cr her nnd "rebukes the fever." Another account la still more touching: "He comes 1md takes her by the hand, and lifts her up." Is not this 11 pas~age which mnkcs all the Christina world kin? How many understand whnt is meant by the beseechin15 for one laid low with "the great fover" I Ah I but some will so.y "1l ~ not with my belovod a s with her in the ,i:ospel story. I wept :i.od fasted; j cned, Oh, spare my dea.r one I 1 but. there wss no rebuke of the disease. The one for whom l entreRtod was ta.ken, and I _was left, sitting n.J.one and keeping silence." Peace, thou bleodmg heflrt I He allowed his beloved Lazarus to die· but in his own time and wny he stood beside the grave an<'! bade Lazarus come forth. ' He told the sisters that l heir faith was feeble; that the higher faith would not have been clamoroUB-it would ~1av: felt, "His hand is h?lding that life; it is lifting it up; whosoever lives and believes m him has been already_ lifted np, and never dies." So bethink thyself; not according to thy way, but accord1og to his own, he di,l come; he did ta.ke by the hand· he did whisper, "Rise, my love, my fair one, and come; where I am thou sho.lt be al~o." In the case of Simon's mother-in-lnw the answer is visible. Observe, not only is the fever removed, but strength is infused-" immediately she rose up and ministered unto them." A beautiful suggestion, that ministry to Christ 11lw11ys follows the sense of healing by Cluist. "What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits toward me? "