The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 291

0 F&ther." Joy and th,mkfulness are here united, aa indeed they are evorywhore. It is grat.itude that holds the key to h&ppiness of hoart and life. Who &re the miserablo? Not the poor; they are often the most contented. Not the nffii ;ted; they aro often very cheerful under great privation. Not the lonely; they are found happy in their BO!itude, conversing ";i.h the departed gre1tt or communing with the Highest. It Is the ung:l'Rteful who are the unhappy; it is they who take every kindness shown them by their fellow-men in a spirit of surliness, as if they deserved more than they have received; it is they who accept innumerable mercies and the "unspeakable Gift" at the hand of God without response, unmindful of the one, unappreciative of and ungrateful for the other. Who are the happy? Not the rich because they are rich; not the strong because they are strong; not those who have many friends because they have them. These may be burdened, wearied, wretched, and their life be darkly shadowed. It is the grateful who are the happy souls; it is they who receive with appreciation and thankfulness whatever man may give them, whether c;>f love, of con- fidence, of sympathy, of practical help; it is they who have a deep sense of the kind- ness of the heavenly Father, and of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The heart that is full of gratitude is the heart that is full of joy; and euch joy is both pure and lastin2. II. -THE HERITAGE OF THE HUMBLE-HEARTED. "Thou hast hid these things from the wise, . . . and revealed them unto babes." 1. In our Lord's time the scribes and lawyers "rejected the counsel of God;" they refused the wisdom of the Wisest; and the supercilious Sadducees stood aloof from the kingdom of Divine truth, from the kingJ.om of God. The" wise and prudent" were too bo.ughty of heart to part with their beloved prejudices and to welcome the new truth which the great Teacher brought them. But the "common people heard him gladly; " all " the people " were "very attentive to hear him." The :fishermen of Galilee left their nets e.nd their ships t.o follow him. 2. In the time of the apostles the same results were found (see 1 Cor. i. 26-28). 3. In our own time we find that they who have gathered together a little human learning are apt to think that they are competent to solve, unaided, all the great problems of their being and their destiny, and they close the gates of their mind against the great verities of the Christian faith. But they who know how little they have grasped of all that is to be acquired, and who sto.nd as "babes," as very little children, before the Divine Father, are ready to welcome to their souls all that he is ready to reveal to them, e.nd theirs is the blessed heritage of spiritue.l truth, of heavenly wisdom, of eternal life. III. '!'HE REFUGE OF THE PERPLEXED. " Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight." We have our perplexities now, and they may weigh upon our spirit with crushing power. We cannot understand God's doings or his inaction in the wide human world, or in the Church of Christ, or in the more limited sphere where our own interests and efforts lie. The more we think the more we are assured that we are baffled and beaten. The various solutions proposed do not reach the heart of the difficulty. What, then, can we. do? J 1;1-5t retreat to that safe _refuge-the ~trong, immovable assurance that all things are in the hands, and are eubJect to the guidance, of a holy, wise, loving Father.-C. Vere. 23, 24.-Apostolic advantage and disadvantag_e. Our Lor~ compares the position of his apostles with that of the great all:d enviable of. past_ times, We_ may follow his thought and may also pursue the same line of companson 1n our own times, We look at their position- I. As BELATED TO DISTINGUISHED KEN BEFORE THE ADVENT. 1. It was one of eome disadvantaye • they were men in a very much humbler position than many of the great in past days. Great kings had lived in a social state and with pleasant surroundings to which they could lay no claim; in society they were nowhere; of this world's luxuries and trappings they bad nothing. Moreover, they were in a much luB pqwerful position than some o~ the great men that had gone. Proph_ets had m~de or unmade kings; or they had delivered laws or changed customs, materially affectmg the civil, sc,cial. moral, and religious life of the nation; witness ~oses, Sarr.~' I, Elija~, Eli~he., Nehemiah, John. The apostles of our Lord ~ere not dorng _anythrng of this kiud when he spoke to them• they had done very httle of a public character thus  1'IlE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 293