-t.o the wants and desires of e.n immortal nature?" 2. The finger of commendation i8 pointed lo Mary, (Ver. 42.) "She hath cho~en thflt good part, which shall not be te.kcm away from her." The good part is e. place, a. nourishmene, and a ch01:ce. The place~Jesus' feet. Oh the blessedness of sitting there I When the Gadarcnes went out to see what he.d been done in their country, they saw the man who had devil~ long time-the devils now departed-" sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed, and in his right mind." To find that place is the sign that the strong one who binds with chains ancl fetters he.a been bound by the Stronger One, who has come into the heart. The nourishmen~" She heard his word." 'l'hat is the meat which endures to life ever- lasting. What cares she for the feast about which Martha is so bw;y, whoee care is- "Oh, te.ke e.we.y whe.te'er be.a stood Between me and the highest goo<l I I e.ek no better boon the.n this- To find in thee my only bliss"? The choice-" She has chosen." Behold the way of deliverance from the Martha care- fulness and trouble. Choose your portion. Have within you, as the centre of your life, a fixed, supreme determination. In this there is force. It keeps a united heart among the competitions of the "many things." 'l'he part is good, because it interprets the voice of reason; it expresses the wedding of the actual life to the truth and call- ing of God, It is good, because it confers a real spiritual independence, so that a man is not. mastered by things, but can be the master of things. It is good, because it never can be taken away. Your banquets last for only a short time. The most satis- fying food, ape.rt from God, must one day fail and forsake yotL Whatever is yours will be taken away, 'l'his part -alone is you. It is you hidden with Christ in God- hidden where death can obtain no entrance. "He asked life of thee, and thou go.vest it him, even length of days for ever and ever ... 'l'hou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceedingly glad with thy countenance." It is good, to sum up all, because it is not, as was the part of Marth>\, a moving about and around Christ, but "a seeking, laying hold of, and enjoying Christ himself." Thus one of the poets of the German Fatherland has sung- " As Me.ry once devoutly sought 1'he eternal truth, the better part, And sat, enwrapt in holy thought, At Jesus' feet with burning bee.rt, For naught else craving, yearning for the word 'l'hat should be spoken by her Friend, her Lord, Losing hel' e.11 in him, his word believing, And through the One all thillgs agaiu receiving; . " Even so is all my heart's desire Fix'd, dee.rest Lord, on thee alone. Oh, me.ke me true and draw me higher, And make thyself, 0 Christ, my own I Though many turn aside to join the crowd, To follow thee in love n,y heart is vowecl. '1.'hy Wol'd is life and spirit. Whither go? What joy is the1·e in thee we cannot know 1n
HOMILIES llY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 2.-Spiritual husbandry. I. THE LARGENESS OF THE FIELD. "The h:ll'vcst truly is great." It is not e. few human families, or a few small populations; it is not one large nation; it is not even one great continent; it is the entire hwnan race, which Jesus Christ proposed e.nd which he still purposes to redeem-this grGat human race, with all its natiun:1lities, with ull its creeds and all its doubts and der..als, with all its pride and all its degradation, with all its profound estrangement from Divine truth and the living God. The harvest is great indeed; the task is tremendous; the victory, if it be gained, will make all other victories sink into utter insignificance; 288 THE GOSPEL ACCOilDING TO ST. LUKE. [en. ~- 1-12,