in the synagogue of Nazareth, on the Sabbath on which our Lord preached there, were highly favoured; and we may be ready to think, how happy should we have been to have been present on that occasion; how intently should our eyes have been fixed on him, and how fondly should we have drunk in, and how carefully should we have retained, the gracious words which then proceeded out of his mouth!-But though he lives not on earth in our day, though our bodily eyes shall never see him, and our bodily ears never hear him below; yet the blessed truths of his word, the grace of his heart, and his power and willingness to help, are still the same. We may still turn to the 61st chapter of Isaiah, and read the very same passage which Jesus read in the synagogue: nay, we may turn, as we have now done, to the 4th of Luke, and find, as we have now found, Christ's brief but instructive application of that passage to himself. We can meditate on its infinitely important and most consolatory contents: nor is there any assignable reason why it may not have as good an effect at this moment as it had about eighteen hundred years ago. The mere words, and the mere external circumstances in which the words were then read, or have been now read, could neither secure, nor prevent, the efficacy of the sentiments. In any case, nothing but the quickening power of divine grace is competent, but, in every case that power is amply sufficient to send them home to the heart. Let us hope, then, that as we have been now reading them, many a one has been feeling their sacred energy, and inwardly as it were saying to himself: "And is this the character, and this the work of the Lord Jesus Christ? then he is altogether such a Saviour as I want; nay, he is, and may he every day more and more sensibly become, all my salvation and all my desire."

Unquestionably, in by far the most important sense of the words, it may still be said: "This day is this scripture fulfilling in your ears." Let all, however, who now listen, be reminded, that it is not enough that it be fulfilling in their ears, if it be not also fulfilling in their hearts, in their own personal experience. Let me then beseech you all, in turning to this passage, to seek its fulfilment in yourselves.

The Spirit of the Lord, with which Christ was anointed, is still upon him, and upon him that it may be communicated to you. Pray, then, that he may send the Comforter into your hearts, to abide with you for ever, and that out of his fulness you may receive grace upon grace.

Jesus, from his Word and by his ministers, is still preaching the gospel to the poor. Let, therefore, the poor in this world's goods be thankful that his unsearchable riches are held out to them; and let every soul cherish that poverty of spirit to which alone the free grace of the gospel will sound as good news, and on which alone the blessing of the Eternal will ever descend.

Jesus is still present to heal the broken-hearted; therefore, let none of you say: "My case is beyond his power; I am irrecoverably sunk in melancholy; I am cut off from all joy for my part;-the heart that is like to break may be strengthened, but the heart that is actually broken cannot be made whole." Say no such thing, for so saying you would offend against the generation of God's children, against the interest of others, against the welfare of yourselves, and against the plenitude of the love and of the power of Him who declares that he is sent to heal even the broken-hearted. Only put yourselves under his management, and your restoration will be certain. Make all your pains and burdens and griefs known to him, and he will find a remedy for every one of them. Begin, however, with the burden of your sins. Go to him with confession, and earnest supplication. Tell him that you are laden with iniquity, helpless and undone. Tell him that though you have many burdens, this lies the heaviest on your heart of all; that there are other evils which you can bear, but that this evil is utterly insupportable; and beseech him, by the blood which he shed for you, to take away your guilt, and to grant you peace of conscience. Apply in this way, and success will be certain. And then after this, there is not a trouble which can touch your hearts, but will soon be removed or alleviated, or you will be strengthened to bear it, and to improve it. Do you labour under severe personal distress? has disappointment blasted your fair prospects of worldly prosperity? does the recent death of some one who was dear to you as your own soul cause your heart to bleed, and to feel as if it would sink away? or does there press on you any other of the many sad evils incident to fallen humanity ?-remember that the Son of God is sent to heal the broken-hearted, and apply to him to heal you, and shall be healed; he will give you "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."

you

Christ is still preaching" deliverance to the captives," therefore let none ask in a spirit of unbelief, "Shall the prey

be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? Thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered." Let those who are yet in thraldom to Satan, hear the Saviour now saying: "Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope, for to-day do I declare that I will render double unto you." And let believers stand fast in the liberty with which they have been made free, and not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage.

Jesus is still ready to recover the blind. Outward miracles, indeed, have ceased, but the light of saving knowledge he is ready to impart to all who apply. Let, then, those who are totally blind come to him, and anoint their eyes with eyesalve, that they may see: and let those who are partly enlightened, seek to see still more clearly, and be careful to walk in the light.

Jesus Christ is still ready to liberate and restore those who are bruised. In consequence of what he has done and suffered, the high and lofty One who inhabiteth the praises of eternity, whose name is holy, thus speaks: "To this man will I look, even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." Let every bruised and wounded soul, then, apply to him, and say: "Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice."

And, my brethren, as the gospel is still preached, and the trumpet of the spiritual jubilee still sounding, "the acceptable year of the Lord" still continues. He still waits to be gracious. Your time, however, is hastening to a close: delay not, therefore, to attend to the things which belong to your peace, lest they be for ever hid from your eyes. We, then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain; for he saith: "I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

LECTURE XVII.

LUKE IV. 22-32.

"And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

23. And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. 24. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 25. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 26. But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. 28. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29. And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 30. But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way, 31. And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath-days. 32. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power."

OUR Lord had just been reading the Scriptures, and preaching, in the synagogue at Nazareth. The passage to which he turned was part of the 61st chapter of Isaiah, containing an account of his own appointment and qualification by the Holy Spirit, and describing, in the most beautiful and engaging manner, the blessed effects which were to follow the discharge of his mediatorial office. Such a passage, expounded by such a preacher, could hardly fail, in one way or another, to make a strong impression on the audience. They could not but confess that he had spoken admirably; "they all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." In this connection, the evangelist thus proceeds with the narrative:

"And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?" The fact of his being Joseph's supposed and legal son was indisputable, and well known. The spirit in which the question was put, as it admits of various interpretations, may in fact have been different in the different classes of those who were present. There is a sense in which the question would imply holy ad

miration and faith. That one born in so humble a family, trained up in such circumstances, and possessed of so few advantages for education, should discourse in such a manner, and discover a wisdom which entirely eclipsed that of the most learned doctors, might well excite astonishment, and suggest and confirm the idea that his knowledge was more than human: and it is probable that there were a few present who felt in this way. But the question may have owed its origin to sentiments of a very opposite nature, and of various gradations of evil, from the surmises of doubt, to the conclusions of rejection and contempt: and it is too obvious that it was intended by the majority to convey some such unfavourable impression. It is as if they had said: "We have, it is true, been surprised into admiration, and strangely carried away by what we have heard; but let us bethink ourselves, and let us rally our hostile resolution. Whatever we may have felt, there can be nothing great about this man, for his origin is low; there can be nothing wise about him, for he has never been taught in our schools. In a word, is not this the son of Joseph the carpenter?" Indulging some such spirit as this, and objecting to his parentage and connections, they rejected his claim to a divine mission; they despised his offered blessings, they were offended at him, and they hardened themselves in their wicked determination to oppose him. This spirit is more fully expressed in the parallel passage of Matt. xiii. 54: "And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him."

Verse 23: "And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country." Our Lord knew what was passing in the minds of many of his hearers, and what objections they were disposed to make: and he here anticipates and answers them. There is, no doubt, a justness in this proverb, when it is properly restrained and applied; for whoever, says he, can cure infallibly any complaint, must surely be expected not to neglect that complaint in himself; nay, to begin with himself.

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