which he woulcl di~own; e.g. carrying on & cruel, th,mgh it may bo a relined, porsocu- tion of thuse. who "follow not _with _us" in. the mode of our worship, or the method of our Chrie~111n work, 2. Asking his blessmg on that which he disapproves; e.g. on the war which ie an unrighteous one, on the cause which is au unsound one on the business which is not conducted on principles he ca.n acknowlcd"e as his own. 's. Mis- representing him by the spirit which we manifest; instead of breatl1ing the spirit of graoiousn_es_s and self-sacrifice toward those who are weaker or younger or less cultured or less prtVIleged than ourselves, adopting a tone of haughty superiority, or doing that which "causes them to offend." 4. Failing to approach him in prayer to seek his aid and his influence, to a.pply for his redeeming touch. Obrist may be m;ch troubled by our di~t.'\nce and neglect; he is not likely to be burdened by our earnest approaches and appeals. II. NEEDLESS ANXIETIES OONCERNING HIM. 1. Inviting him to stay too long with m. The centurion, modestly and properly enough, felt that he was not worthy that Christ should come under liis roof. We may feel that also, and especially that we are not worthy that be should make our hearts his home, as he has promised us. But we must not refrain from inviting him to come and to stay with us. We must ask him earnestly to "ahide with us from morn till eve," not "to sojourn, but abide with us." He will not count that a trouble; he will honour our faith and appreciate our welcome. "A hide in me, and I [will abide] in you." 2. Going to him too often, He places no limit on our spiritual approach to him. He says ever to us, "Come unto me;"" Draw nigh unto me;" "Se~k ye my face." We shall not burden him hy our fellowship; we may grieve him by our absence and by our preference of the society of those who are his enemies. 3 . .Asking too much of him--either for ourselves or for others. There is no rua.,on.itude or multitude of sins we may not ask him to forgive; no depth of evil we may not ask him to eradicate; no severity of disease we may not ask him to undertake. '1'1ie maiden may be dead ('text), the cause may be very low, the heart may be very cold, the character may be very corrupt, the life may be very base, the case may seem very hopeless; but do not shrink from "troubling the Master;" his touch "has still its ancient power;" to the li!eless form he can say, "Arise I" and into the cause that seems wholly gone, and the soul that seems utterly lost, he can infuse newness of lile. 4. Doi11g too much in his cause for him to watch and bless. The more often we a_sk him to crown our holy labours with his energizing touch, the better we shall please hie yearning and loving spirit.-C.
Veni. 1-21.-Incidents in evangelistic work. We have now to contemplate Jesus u fairly loosed from Capernaum as the centre of his mission work, and as making systematically the tour of the province of Galilee. The "beloved physician" gives to us here just such aD. insight into the material conditions of Christ's evangelistic work as we naturally desire. Let us, then, notice- I. THE SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL SIDES OF OUB LonD'B EVANOELISTIO WORK. (Vere. 1-3.) Twelve men and a number of holy women form Christ's band-a choir, so to speak, of joyful evangelists. The substance of the message was" the glad tidings of the kingdom of God." Christ himself was Preacher. None of the others could enter into the nature of this coming kingdom. But it was to be a kingrlom of peace and of joy to all who became members of it. Hence the preaching was "glad tidings." 'l'he epiritual side of the work was, therefore, joy-inspiring. The temporal conditions of the work are here revealed. Our Lord lived on charity, or, as we ~hould put it, on Zor:e, Hos]Jitality, especially to every one who professed to be a rabbi, woul~ supply Christ with much; but it could not cover the whole case; consequently, certain women, who haJ been delivered from demoniacal possessions, and who were correspondingly grateful to their Deliverer, were proud to follow him and minister to him of their Hnbstance. Joanna, wLuse husband ,;eem8 to Lavo looked aft,,r Herod's housekeeping, transfers her attentions to a grt:ater King, and becomes chief minister, we may beliuve, to her .M1111ter's wants. 'J'he twelve disciples were candidates for the ministry under trainiug; tl,e holy wc,men were tlie caterers for the college; and RO our Lord, as Pre8ident, received the helµ of men and women in tl,eir respective spheres. IL 'l'HE ELEMENT OF JUDOMENT IN PABABOLlO TEACIUNG, n~fore noticing briefly il,e pe.rablt of t.he aowcr, we must ask atte11tio1i to the change in our Lord'11 method CH, vm. 1-66.] TilE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 229