Christians. It teaches the deep and tender love with which Jesus regards all sinners of mankind, who believe in Him. Weak, and unworthy, and short-coming as they are in themselves, He feels towards them a tender affection, even as a husband does towards his wife.-It teaches the close and intimate union, which exists between Jesus and believers. It is something far nearer than the union of king and subject, master and servant, teacher and scholar, shepherd and sheep. It is the closest of all unions, the union of husband and wife,-the union of which it is written, "what God hath joined together, let no man put asunder."-Above all, the name teaches that entire participation of all that Jesus is and has, which is the privilege of every believer. Just as the husband gives to his wife his name, makes her partaker of his property, home, and dignity, and undertakes all her debts and liabilities, so does Christ deal with all true Christians. He takes on Himself all their sins. He declares that they are a part of Himself, and that he who hurts them hurts Him. He gives them, even in this world, such good things as pass man's understanding. And He promises that in the next world they shall sit with Him on His throne, and go out from His presence

no more.

If we know anything of true and saving religion, let us often rest our souls on this name and office of Christ. Let us remember daily, that the weakest of Christ's people are cared for with a tender care that passeth knowledge, and that whosoever hurts them is hurting the apple of Christ's eye. In this world we may be poor and contemptible, and laughed at because of our reli

gion. But if we have faith, we are precious in the sight of Christ. The Bridegroom of our soul will one day

plead our cause before the whole world.

We should observe, lastly, in these verses, how gently and tenderly Christ would have His people deal with young and inexperienced Christians. He teaches us this lesson by two parables, drawn from the affairs of daily life. He shows the folly of sewing "new cloth on an old garment," or of putting "new wine into old bottles." In like manner, He would have us know, there is a want of harmony between a new dispensation and an old one. It is vain to expect those who have been trained and taught under one system, to become immediately used to another system. On the contrary, they must be led on by degrees, and taught as they are able to bear.

The lesson is one which all true Christians would do well to lay to heart, and none perhaps so much as Christian ministers and Christian parents. Forgetfulness of it often does much harm to the cause of truth. The hard judgments and unreasonable expectations of old disciples have often driven back and discouraged young beginners in the school of Christ.

Let us settle it in our minds, that grace must have a beginning in every believer's heart, and that we have no right to say a man has no grace, because it does not come to full ripeness at once. We do not expect a child to do the work of a full-grown

man, though he may one

day, if he lives long enough. We must not expect a learner of Christianity to show the faith, and love, and knowledge of an old soldier of the cross. He may

become by and bye a mighty champion of the truth.

But at first we must give him time. There is great need of wisdom in dealing with young people about religion, and, generally speaking, with all young disciples. Kindness, and patience, and gentleness, are of the first importance. We must not try to pour in the new wine too quickly, or it will run over. We must take them by the hand, and lead them on gently. We must beware of frightening, or hurrying them, or pressing them on too fast. If they have only got hold of the main principles of the Gospel, let us not set them down as godless, because of a few lesser matters. We must bear with much weakness and infirmity, and not expect to find old heads on young shoulders, or ripe experience in those who are only babes. There was deep wisdom in Jacob's saying, “If men should over-drive them one day, all the flock will die." (Gen. xxxiii. 13.)

NOTES. LUKE V. 33-39.

33.-[Thine eat and drink.] We must not suppose from this expression, that the disciples of our Lord were charged with neglecting to pray. A careless reader might fancy it was so. It is evident from the whole tone of our Lord's answer, that this was not the charge brought against them. The real charge was, that our Lord's disciples "did not fast."

31.-Bridechamber...bridegroom.] There is a peculiar beauty in our Lord's use of these figures about Himself and His people, when we remember that John the Baptist himself had used them when speaking of Him to his own disciples. (John iii. 29.) If any of John's disciples were among those who questioned Him on this question, His expression would doubtless remind them of their master's teaching.

35—[Then shall they fast.] This expression has led many to suppose that from the time when our Lord Jesus Christ left the world, literal fasting from meats and drinks at certain seasons, was to be the duty of all Christians.

There seems no ground for this sweeping conclusion. That fasting and abstinence were occasionally practised by believers after our Lord's ascension is clear and plain. That all who

may find the practice useful and helpful to their souls at the present day are right in fasting, if they do it without ostentation, is also plain. But the utter absence of any direct injunction, or command to keep fasts in the Church of Christ, either in the Acts or Epistles, and specially in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, makes it clear that the matter is one which should be handled with caution, and on which every one must be " "persuaded in his own mind."

The words before us appear to have a deeper meaning than any mere abstinence from food. They seem to foretell that the period of time between our Lord's first and second advent must be a time of mourning and humiliation to all true believers. They describe the state of mind in which all true Christians should live until their Lord returns. It is a time for daily and hourly self-denial, and mortification. The time of fulness and satisfaction cannot be till we see the Bridegroom amongst us again.

36-[He spake also a parable.] The parables of the new piece on the old garment, and the new wine into old bottles, are not without difficulty. It is curious to observe how variously they are interpreted and applied to the subject matter in dispute between our Lord and the Pharisees, by commentators on this passage.

It appears to me that, as in many of our Lord's parables, so in the two before us, we must be careful not to press particular expressions too far, or to seek a spiritual meaning for each individual portion of the whole.

The general truth our Lord desires to enforce on His hearers is the acknowledged incongruity between things old and new, and the unreasonableness of expecting persons accustomed to one system immediately to adopt another as soon as it appears. If we insist on going beyond this point, and must assign a meaning to "the patch," "the rent" and the like, I think we shall only darken counsel, and take nothing by our toil. At any rate all who have attempted it, appear to me to have failed. 39.-[The old is better.] It seems very likely that in this concluding verse our Lord specially refers to the disciples of John the Baptist. They had drunk of the "old wine" of John's teaching, and could hardly be expected to become straightway attached to the "new wine" of our Lord's kingdom.

Wordsworth remarks, that the beginning of this sentence is a pure Iambic verse, and may perhaps be a poetical proverb adopted by our Lord, of which St. Luke here gives the Greek form. He reminds us that even when our Lord appeared to Saul, on the way to Damascus, He condescended to use a Gentile proverb. (Acts ix. 5.)

LUKE VI. 1—5.

1 And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? 3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was

an hungred, and they which were with him;

4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the Priests alone?

5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

WE should notice in this passage, what excessive importance hypocrites attach to trifles. We are told that on a certain Sabbath day our Lord was passing "through the cornfields." His disciples, as they followed Him, "plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands." At once the hypocritical Pharisees found fault, and charged them with committing a sin. They said, "Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days?" The mere act of plucking the ears of corn of course they did not find fault with. It was an action sanctioned by the Mosaic law. (Deut. xxiii. 25.) The supposed fault with which they charged the disciples, was the breach of the fourth commandment. They had done work on the Sabbath, by taking and eating a handful of food.

This exaggerated zeal of the Pharisees about the Sabbath, we must remember, did not extend to other plain commandments of God. It is evident from many expressions in the Gospels, that these very men, who pretended such strictness on one little point, were more than lax and indifferent about other points of infinitely greater importance. While they stretched the commandment about the Sabbath beyond its true meaning, they openly trampled on