The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 263

n future of pain, or of 1eparah'cm a:,d attendant loneliness and elngle-h11ndedneBB of struggle, or of strong and sustained kmptatwn, in whet spirit shall we face that? In the temper of callll and devout resoluteness; with II full and fixed determination to go bravely and unfalteringly through, shrinking from 110 suffering, enduring the wor~ that man can inflict, yielding nothing to the enemy of our aoul. An unflinching reeo- lutenes& will do great things for us. 1. It will save u, from much tl'U,ffering; for cowardice and apprehension do not simply add, to human wretchednesa; they mulliply it. 2. It will save u., /r"om t/w, chief peril and go far to 1tCUr11 u, the Tliaory. The greatest of all perils before 118 is that of recreancy, unfaithfulness to onr own convic- tion&. An unstable mind ie only too likely to be guilty of it. A resolute spirit is almost certain to escape it. 3. It will plaa u, by the ,i<k of our DiviM ua,,;kr and of the noblut of his follower,. We shall be treading in the footsteps of him who" stead- fastly set hi,i face," etc., and who went up to that city of martyrs and gloriously triumphed there. II. OUB DUTY IN THE PRESENCE OJ' A PBOl"EBBED PROPHET. .. They did not receive him;" "They went to another village." How much is contained, in these simple words, of human folly and privation 1 These villagers were profoundly prejudiced against Christ, and declin~d absolutely to see what he could do, to hear what he would say. 'l'hey would not "judge for themselves" on the evidence ready to be furnished. And consequently they suft'ered a great privation. The great Healer and Teacher of man- kind went another way; their sick went unhealed, their souls went unenlightened, w bile Divine tenderness and truth found other hearts and homes. O~en since then has Christ gone, in the person of some one of hie prophets or spokesmen, to the city, to the village, to the home, to the in<iividua.l heart, and offered his truth, his grace, bis salvatiou. But deep-seated prejudice, or strong material interest~, or keen love of pleasure, baa barred the way. He has not been received. And as he does not force an entrance anywhere, he has gone elsewhere; he has passed by, and nil the treasure of bis iruth has been unpossessed, all the blessedness of his salvation unknown. Of what unimaginable good, of what highest heritage, does human folly deprive itself I Ill. OUB DANOEB OP MISTAKINO TBB LOWEK l'OB THE HIGBEB FEELING. The apostles, James and John, gave vent to a burst of strong resentment, and proposed to have a severe punishment inflicted. They supposed themselves to be actuated by an honour- able and acceptable indignation. But Jesus "turned, and rebuked them;" they were entirely mistaken; their feeling was not that of pure indignation, it was tainted by an unholy irritation against men who would not receive them and their Master; moreover, the desire for immediate punishment was to give place, under Christian teaching, to a determination to win to a better way. Not extinction but reformation, not the infliction of tbe death which is due but the conferring of the life which is undesernd, not rigorous exaction but patient pity, not the folded fist of law but the open and extended hand of helpfulness, is the Christian thing. When we find ourselves giving way to wrath and proposing punishment, we do well to ask ourselves whether we are sure we know the " spirit we are of," and whether there is not a "more excellent way " for Christian feet to tread.-C. • Ver. 61.-Decision and indecision. "Lord, I will follow thee; but," etc. Two trains may leave the same platform and travel for a while along the same lines, and they may look as if they would reach the same terminWl; but one of them diverges slightly to the right and the other to the left, and then the further they go the greater is tho distance that separates them. Two chih.lr,'n born under the same roof, brought up under the same religious conditions, are baptized into the same faith, receive t\,e same doctrines, are affected by the same influences ;-they should reach the same home. But they do not. One makes a resolution to serve God outright, unconditional, without reserve; he says simply, deliberately, "I will f,.llow thee;" but the ?ther makes a resolution under reserve, with conditions attached-he says, "Lord, I will follow thee; but," etc. The oue of these two goes on, goes up, in the direction of piety, zeal, devotedness, sacred joy, holy usefulness; the other goes down in that. of hesi~tion, oHcillation between wisdom an-i folly, and finally of impenitence and spuitual failure. We will l,10k at- I. '1'111,; IIIAN OP INDECISION A.LONO TUE UNF. COMMOIIT TO HlllSE.LF A~D TUE MAN OJ'  THE GOSrEL ACCORDING TO BT. LUKE. [en. IX. 1-62.