The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 133

let them rejoice." The days did come. The Bridegroom was taken from them. And they mourned. And still, a.s then, there a.re, as one has ea.lied them," fnst-daya which G,,d appoints souls." Christ's disciples should ha.ve their retreats, when the round of l'leasure or of care is given up, and the blessing of entire solitude with God is realit:ed. Only, let these be, not because of a. law made for them, but because of the law which the L~rd, by the dealing of his Holy Spirit, writes within their own hearts. And, supposmg the space for such rctreau cannot be secured, remember there is a fastin<>' which e.11 ce.n practise. All can abstain from self-pleasing and indulgence. All me.y consider whether it be not a. duty to abstain from things lawful when the use of such things is an occasion of stumbling to their brethren. And all should recollect the grand old words, "ls not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wicked- ness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, aod that ye break every yoke? is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?" Il. THE WORD AS TO FASTING BRINGS INTO BIGHT THE WHOLE QUESTION AB TO !'HB REQUIREMENTS AND THE NATURE OF THE TRUTH AS IT 18 IN JESUS. Glance at the out- standing features of the ever-memorable pa.ra.ble between the thirty-sixth and the thirty-n'.nth verses. 1. The bearing of the sentence as to patching. The disciples of John and the Pharisees virtually a.sk that Jesus sew the new cloth, which is woven out of hie Person and se.crifice, into an old rotten garment. The answer ill "No; wha.t ha.a dece.yed and is waxing old is ready to vanish; let it go. When it comes to this, patching and mending is worthless policy. It does not benefit the old, whilst it spoils the new. The new will not hold to the seam of the old, and, when it gives way, not only is the rent made worse, but in the end the new must be rejected also." Wha.t is pa.rticula.rly meant by the similitude of the garment is the manner of life, that which forms the envelopment of the soul As to this, Christ will have no patching. Christianity is not Judais!11 with something sewn on to it. It is not a conglomerate of religions. It comprehends all that is good anywhere. It destroys nothing. But it is a new robe. All tha.t is old is made new. And so must it be with the character. It is not a mere amending at this point or at that that will suffice. Merely to sew a piece of the new cloth, to have a fragment of Christ's religion patched to the old self, will tha.t suffice? Verily no. Put off the old man. Put on the new. "If any ma.n be in Christ, he is a new creature." 2. The bearing ef the sentence as to wine. By this, as it would seem, the Lord means the inward spiritual principle, the 11:race-" that best wine which goeth down smoothly, gliding through the lips of those tha.t are a.sleep." This is not some compound of dregs of old wines; it has all the strength and flavour of the old, but it is new. It is the fruit of a grape which none but the Son of God could bruise; it is the product of a wine-press which none but he could tread; it has the power of a. sustenance which none but he could infuse. And this new life must be put into new bottles. It demands forms of worship and action peculiar to itself-forms of worship adapted at once to the richness of the sentiments and the simplicity of its utterance, the natural and becoming vehicles of its own voice of prayer and praise; forms of action in harmony at once with its spirituality and its humanity. It is too living and strong for any receptacle of its influence except that which has been created fo~ and by itself.. New wine and new bottles. Let the hearer of the Word ponder this. Note the pomt of junction between liberty and discipline in the Christian life. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." But to realize this liberty, the will presented to the Lord must be so opened and ordered tha.t the movements of his love shall flow in, and the power of his grace sha.11 be fulfilled. It is a.11 of grace, but the new bottle is needed for the new wine. The Lora is very decided as to this. The principle of an entire sub- jection to God must be asserted over every impeding tendency. In our present state pains must go with prayers, tha.t the heart be kept "believing, true, and clean," a wine- skin fit for the new wine. Hereafter, in the eternal year of the Bridegroom-joy, it shall be otherwise. Then, they who wait upon the Lord shall" run, and not be weary; and w&lk, and not faint." OR, V, 1-39,J 'fllE GOSPEL LlCCORDINO TO BT. LUKE. 125