hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to comfort all that mourn."* And "Thus saith the high and lofty One which inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."+ Again, when, in his adorable condescension, this high and lofty One had taken our nature upon him, these are the very words with which he enters upon his office as a public teacher: "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted." And the same thing is exemplified in his practice from first to last. Two instances shall suffice. Look at the history, in the seventh chapter of St. Luke, of the poor woman who ministered unto him in the house of Simon the Pharisee. She stood at his feet behind him, weeping in deep humiliation. He did not break her, as Simon would have had him do. He did not thrust her away in scornful indignation, nor manifest even his just displeasure against her sins. He suffered her to anoint him. He accepted her poor services, for he had blotted out her transgressions for his

* Isa. Ixi. 1, 2.

+ Isa. lvii. 15. Matt. v. 3, 4.

:

own mercy's sake, and would see nothing in her but her contrition and her faith and in spite of the cavils and misconstruction of his self-righteous host, he sent her away at last justified :

66

Thy sins are forgiven-thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace." Look again at his behaviour to the apostle Peter, as it is recorded in the last chapter of St. John. Peter had denied his Master. But he had wept bitterly. His soul was as a bruised reed: "Simon, son of Jonas, saith Jesus to him, lovest thou me?" and again the second and the third time, "Lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whithersoever thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said unto him, Follow me." Doubtless there is a rebuke of his sin implied in the three-fold interrogation, "lovest thou me?" But how tender and affectionate is the manner in which it is conveyed, and then with how consummate a kindness does he bind him up by a

threefold assurance of acceptance. Thou shalt feed my sheep. I will yet make thee an

honoured instrument for the salvation of souls. Thou shalt glorify God by being enabled to die a martyr in my cause, and now "follow me." What words of reconciliation and grace are these! How they revived the heart of the contrite one, and strengthened his feeble knees, his after history declares abundantly.

Some of you, my brethren, may be as bruised reeds bruised by afflictions which have come upon you in the course of God's providencebruised by a deep sense of your unworthiness -bruised by consciousnesss of guilt-bruised by ill-usage of men-bruised through the hidings of God's face; saying with Job, "I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; on the left hand where he doth work, but I cannot behold him; he hideth himself on the right hand that I cannot see him."* Be it as it may, however, Christ is not he that desires to break you utterly. If the grief should be of his own sending," he doth not afflict willingly," or for purposes of vengeance. If the affliction be ever so much your own fault, the wound to be unto death.

he would not have

No, he stands him

self between you and death, and all things are ordained by him for your life and healing. Ye + Lam. iii. 33.

*Job xxiii. 8, 9.

are chastened of the Lord that," ye not be condemned with the world."*

"should

As to sin

and the sense of it, when the sinner heartily blames himself, the Lord holdeth his peace. He will indeed let you so eat of the fruit of your own way that you shall feel your sin "bruise your heel," and learn that at the last it biteth like a serpent, and "stingeth like an adder;"† but his reproofs are "an excellent oil, which shall not break your head." And his doctrine shall drop as the rain for your restoration, and his speech distil as the dew to comfort you. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."+ "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and ye shall be saved: turn to me, and I will turn to you;" and so the publican goes down to his house justified, and the prodigal has the best robe brought forth for him; and there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance."

And then the bruised reed is lifted up; still indeed it is weak in itself, and needs his constant care. But it points with its top towards heaven,

* 1 Cor. xi. 32.

Isa. i. 18.

VOL. III.

+ Prov. xxiii. 32.

§ Luke xv. 7.

N

and he that revived it is able to make it stand; and "I will never leave thee," he says, "nor forsake thee."*

This is the first doctrine of the text: it follows,

2. "The smoking flax shall he not quench.' The flax is the wick of the lamp. When it is but newly lighted, or when the oil that supported it is almost burnt out, it smoulders in the socket and emits an unpleasant exhalation, instead of sending forth a cheerful light. Christ will have patience with it. He will in no wise quench it. Though it kindles slowly, and to be hasty with it would extinguish it at once, it may be cherished into a flame with care; or a fresh supply of oil may renovate its expiring sparks. And this is the way in which he will deal with it, not regarding its offensive odour.

Now the flax also represents a sinner in need of the Saviour. But the case is not quite the same as the former. There we had more of just humiliation and godly sorrow mingled with much infirmity. The image before us now rather indicates the case of one in whom some sparks of sound conviction and right desire are either struggling feebly with a first unwillingness, or else beginning to yield unfaithfully to temptations and a backsliding spirit. The lamp of christian profession is either scarcely lit, or else

* Heb. xiii. 5.