of the God of tl,cir fatbeTR? (2) Politfral tl1l'('nd f\8 they nlt Rre, but it WM especially ,,1.,,1/inn. lli,I none or them notice the epoken to that generation in view of the 1.,•rribl, strain<>d relntione between the nwful ruin which he knew WBB BO eoon to Homa1i or Hcr0dian, end tl,e great national fall on every Jewish homo. The general pnrly? Were they blind to 1ho bitter, irre- mooning of the parable illustration wn■ ronoilable hatr!'d to rnig-hty Rome which obdone; no hooror could fail to undenite.nd WEI.I! eoo!hing scarcely beuest.h the su1-faoo the Lord's meaning. It is be/ore arriving of Jewish society? Were they doaf to the at the judgmont-seat that you must be rumbling noiEOCs which too surely heralded a reconciled with the one who accuses you, fierce end bloody we.r between little Pales- otherwise it will be too Jato, and nothing tine. split up into partie11 and sects, and the would remain for the guilty accused but mighty v,orld of Rome ~·hich he.d seized the eternal prison-honso. At that moment, them in its own grip? What oould ho the when the llle.ster was speaking, indivicluo.l reenlt of euch a war? W,,re they devoid or nation might have turned to the Loni of relU!On as well as blind and doof? aud lived. There wo.s no time, however. (3) Heavenly v,a,·ning,. What had they for hesitation. The tll\nds in the hour-glass, done with John the Ds.ptist? Me.ny in which marked the durution of God's long- Israel knew that man was indeed e. great sutfering with Jsrnel, were just running out. prophet of the Lord. His burning words Theologians in different ages and of varied had penetrated far and wide ; vast crowds schools have made much of the concluding had heard the awful sounds with breatblesa sentence (ver. 59). Roman Catholic divines awe; but no one heeded, and the people see in it 11, strong argument in favour of the watched him die. Aud now-they he.d doctrine of purgatory, arguing that after listened to him who we.s speaking to them. death condemnation would be followed by He had told them all; no sign of power liberation, when a certain payment had been was wanting to bis ministry, and it was made by the guilty soul; strange ways of just over, and the people had not npentw'. paying this debt by means of others we Vera. 58, 59.-When tbo• goest with know have been devised by the school of thine adveraary to the magistrate, as thou dil'ines who teach this doctrine of purgatory. fl1't in the way, give diligence •.hat thou But the Lord's words here are terribly plain, mayest be dolivered from him ; lest he hale and utterly exclude any payment of the thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee debt of the soul by others. '!'he Master to the offioer, and the offioer oast thee into emphatically says, "till Uwu bast paid the prison. I tell thee, thou Bhelt not depart very last mite." The advocate who plee.ds thence, till thou hast pa.id the very J..ut mite. for universal redemption, and shrinks from And then the Master paseed into one of a punishment to the duration of which he those parable ill118trations with which his can see no term, thinks that in the words, heareni were now fe.milie.r, and which in a "till thou hast paid,'' he can discern the l1omely way taught the crowd the same germ e.t lee.et of eternal hope. But the im- grave truth which he bad been dwellin11 penetroble veil which hangs between us and upon -the impending terrible judgment the endless hereafter prevents us, surely, which was coming on the people. The from even suggesting that any suffering lesson, " be reoonciled to God while it is yet which the soul may endure in the unseen time,'' ill, of course, applicable to ell li vee, world will ever pay " the "tr1f last fAil4... prec&rioDll and h&ngwg aeemingly on a and eo lee.d to pardon and peaoe.
HOMILETICS. Ver1. l-12.-.An evil to be ihunrzt,d,, and a virtue to be cultivated. Jesus had been partaking of the light forenoon meal with a Pharisee. In this Pbarisee's house he pro- claimed war to the death with the bigots who had been dogging his steps. A small fire may kindle much wood. For some reason unknown to us, he had omitted the wa.•hiug of hands before sitting down to meat. lnstan~ly the whole co~pany turn~d on him with scowl and sneer and shrug, And the action of the Truth rncarnate, in reply to this was the utterance of the six "woes "-scathing thunderbolts-which St. Luke has 'recorded between vers. 42 ar,d 52 of the previous chapter. His utterance was the signal for something like a riot (vers. 63, 64). Ah I thou Son of Mary, thou Meekest and Lowliest, the column bas turned. Hitherto thy progreBB has been, not without contradiction of sinners, but for the most part one of sweet poetrie&-unbounded the wonder and generous the admiration of the people. Thine enemies have been kept back; they hne been held in restraint by the lightning which has flashed from thee, cu. x11. 1-60.] TTIE OOAPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE.