Ch1ist. A8 Jews, Rml II.I! his own townepeople, they fancied they hal A claim whioh could not_ be got over. This self-righteous spirit must \,e put down. Hcuce our Lord dC'clares, !n _the ~rst place, that "no p~p_he~ is accepted in his own country." To thia law of limited mfluence through forn1l11mty Jesus himself hM to bow. It '8 the rrinciple tnhich semres a missionary enterprise. Men are more influential away from home tLan t?ey can ever be at home. Bet~er _leave the plain of Shinnr than wait only to have ones t,mgue confounded and ones mfiuence gone. But, besides our Lord from history recalls two illustrations of God in hie sovereignty passing all the Jews by and selecting Gentiles and outsiders for blessing. The first case was in Elijah's time wht•n mRny an faraelitish widow was famishing for want of bread• but none of theU: was visited by_ the prophet, or got he~ barrel of meal miraculously replenished, as did th~ beathrn WJdow at Sarepta. Agarn, there were many lepers in Israel in the time of El1seus the prophet_, but th~y were all passed over, and Naaman, the Syrian general, was cured. It was ID both mstances to show that Jews, as such, ha<l no claim upon God's bounty, who could, 1f he pleased, pass them all hy. 'l'his humiliation is one of the great lessons we must all learn if we are to profit by Christ's salvation. Divine sovereignty is to humiliate in order to exalt; but if sovereignty is denied to God, the curse comes instead. Y. CoNSIDER THE SAD ISSUE OF THE VISIT. (Vcrs. 28-30.) The Nazarenes are filled with wrath. They will not accept the invitation, but will contend for theirricrhts 0 so called. So indignant are they as to meditate his destruction. Hence they take hi~ towards the brow of the hill, with the intention of casting him headlong over it. It wiis a diabolical attempt. It was frustrated, however, by the majestic bearing of the Redeemer. He went throu;h them by simple majesty of bearing, and they dare not touch him. Over the hills he passed in judicial separation from the misguided city, And now we are surely tauiht by this history not to be surprised if we are appa• rcntly unsnccessful in our work. It was the same with the Master. All, in such circumstances, we can do is to lay the truth of God before men's minds, and show them at ouce their unworthiness to receive it, and their responsibility in rejecting it. Moreover, if old acquaintances do not receive our testimony with that eagerness and respect we imagine it deserves, let us remember that our Master was subject himself to the same law, a:id accepted the situation. Patience Wlder disappointment is the great lesson of comfort from such a passnge.-R. M. E.
Vers. 31-44.-0ur Lord's labours at Oapernaum. As Nazareth knew not the day of her visitation, and had done ber best to make away with Jesus, he had no alterna- tive but to make another place bis centre. Capernaum, a city situated on the lake of Galilee, and through which the Eastern caravans were accustomed to pass, is ~elected bv him as the most suitable bead-quarters for his Galilrean ministry. Accordingly, be cime down from the uplands, where Nazareth lay, to this seaport, and there began his missionary enterprise. And here we have- r. '1'11E CHARACTER OF HlB PREACHING. (Vera. 31, 32.) Entering on the sabbath days into the synagogue, he t&ught with authority and with success. His teaching was a great contrast to that of the scribes. They seem to have contented themselves with quoting authorities. Unless they could ha.ck up their views by some great name, they were not sure about their doctrines. It was a prodigious use_ of commentators which they indulged in. But Jesus came and preached what he himself knew as a matter of certaiuty. There was a directness and" dead certainty" about his utterances which struck all the bearers as something new. And surely it is on this line that preachers still will find the_ ~ath o~ s&fety. W~at we p~each ought. to_ be exp~rience, the verities of our own spmtual life. And this preachmg of certamtles had its due effect in spiritual power. The word went home to the hearers' _hearts-they bad n~ver i,card truth so clearly presented before; and so they were lust ID wonder and astonish- ment. 'l'li.e secret of success Uea here. It is not by radiatiug a series of uncertaintioa upon me,,, it is not by bulsteriog me~ up_ in "honest doubt". and leaving them in the Laze, that men will be won to what lll high and holy. It 1B by tell111g them what wt Lave learned ourselves-the glorious certainties of spiritual experience. Like the psalmist, we wust gather ruen aroWld us to tell them what God has done for our souls. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth epeakuth," a.nd speaketh well I OR. IV. 1-44.] Till~ ooqPEL ACCOil.DINO TO ST. LUKE. 111