lic>arls than ewr comes from the lips of bodily convalescence, "I will extol thee, 'J Lord; for thou l1a,t lifte<l me up, aud hast nut made my foes to rejoice over rue,"-0. "Vcrs. 12-li.-The Divi'.11e prov,'.sionfor the world's need, Thie miracle of our Lord nwc>ting as_ it did the present bodily nec~ssities of the mnltitude about him, stands fo; <'""r _Rs a picture and parnble of the _far more wonderful and the gloriously bountiful prnns10n which the Sanour of mank11,d lrns ma,\e for the deeper necessities of our rnce. l. Oun HOLY SOL!Cl1'0DE FOR THE SPIRLTUALLY DESTITUTE. There is a note of true sympathy in th~ langua.ge of the disciples (ver. 12; see Mark vi. 36, 36). 'l'hey were concerned to thmk of that great number of people, among whom wero "women and children" (Matt. xiv. 21), having gone so long without food, and beina "in a de~ert place" where none could be obtained. How strong and keen should be ~ur sympathy with those who a.re spiritually destitute; who have received from God a nat·ire with immeasurable capacities, with profound cravings for that which is eternally true and divinely go,m, and who "have nothing to eat" I No solicitude for hungering human hearts can be extravagant; it is only too common to be guiltily and pitifull.v uncon- cerned. And if the stage of spiritual hunger and thirst should have passed into that of spiritual unconsciousness, that is one degree (and a. large degree too) more deplorable, for it is one stage nearer to spiritual death. ,ve do well to pity the multitudes at home and abroad who might be and who should be living on Divine and everlastina truth, but who are pining and perishing on miserable husks,-on errors, on supersti'.: tions, on morbid fancies, on low ambitions, on unsatisfying and perhaps demoralizing pleasures. II. THE APPAREl<"T INADEQUACY OF THE Divnm PROVISION. Well may the disciples, not yet enlightened as to their Master's purpose, regard" five loaves and two fishes" as hopelessly inadequate to the occasion. So to human judgment they seemed. Not less strikingly disproportioned must the Divine provision for man's higher necessities have seemed to those who first regarded it. What was it? It was, in the language of our Lord recorded a few verses on in this chapter (ver. 22), "the Son of man suffering many things, being rejected ... and slain, and being raised the third day." A crucified and restored Messiah was to be offerea as the Bread of life to a hungering world I Would this satisfy the needs of all mankind-of Jew and Gentile, of barbarian and cultured, of bond and free, of man and woman? Could One that seemed to fail, whose cause was all but extinguished in obloquy and desertion, be the Redeemer of mankind? It was unlikely in the last degree; speaking after the manner of men, it was impos- sible! A.nd the machinery, too, the instrumentality by which this strange provision was to be conveyed to all human souls everywhere and through all generations, was that not equally inadequate? A few" unlearned and ignorant men," a few earnest and true but obscure and uninfluential women,-could they establish and perpetuate this new system? could they pass on these scanty provisions to the waiting and perishing multitude? How hopeless! how impossible! Yet see- llL ITs PROVED SUFFICIENCY. As those five loaves and two fishes, under the multi- plying hand of Christ, proved to be far more tba.n e,iough for the thousands who partook of them, so is the provision in the gospel of Christ f?r the needs of m~n found to be all-sufficient. Iu a once-crucified and now exalted Sav10ur we have One m whom is founcl : 1. Pardon for every sin and for every repentant sinner. 2. Admission, instant and full, to the presence and favour of God. 3. A source of purity of he:i.rt, and excellency, and even nobility, of life. 4. Comfort in all t~e sor~ows and _privations of our earthly course. 5. Peace and hope in death. ~- A glor1~us 1mmortahty.. Well does this great Benefactor say, "I am come that ye might hav~ life, and .. , . have it more abundantly." The provision is more than equal to the necessity; there 1s a marvellous overflow of truth and grace.-C.
Vers. 23, 24.-Li/e gained by losing it. These strong and sententious words inay t.each us three truths which are of vital importance to uR; L TH.AT THE VOLUNTARY SURRENDER OF OUB LIFE TO GOD 18 OUB ENTBAN0E UPON LIFE INDEED. What is it/or a man to live1 We speak truly_ but superficially when we say that any one is a living man from whom the breath of hfe has not yet departed. llut there ill deep truth ill the objection of our English poet, "As though to breaths t11. 1:1.. 1-62.J THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BT. LUKE. 257