Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1889-10-26
Sunday Rfaaf#B,
EDITED BY REV. F. l.. LEEPER.

reth, his early home. On the Sab
bath as was his want, he enters the
Synagogue and begins to teach. Luke
tells us that his text in Nazareth
was those glowing words of the first
part of Isaiah /. 1.-THE Spirit of the
Lord God is upon me; because the
Lord hath anointed me to preach
good tidings unto the meek; he hath
sent me to bind up the. broken heart
ed, to proclaim liberty to the cap
tives, and the opening of the prison
to them that are bound; To proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord, and
duty of vengence of our God; to the
comfort all that mourn; To appoint
unto them that mourn in Zion, to
give unto them beauty for ashes, the
oil of JOY for mourning, the garment
ofpraise for the Spirit of beaviness;
that they might be called Trees of
righteousness, the planting of the
Lord, that he might be glorified.
The burden of the sermon was,
This day is this Scripture fulfilled
in your ears" At last, the very days,
for which faithful Abraham had so
yearned ,straining the vision of faith
that he might see them and be glad,
had come. He of whom holy poets
had sung, and prophets had proph-
esied, stood among men. The anoint-
ed one of God whose very Office work
it was to preach the gospel to the poor;
to heal the broken hearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives; and re-
covering of sight to the blind, to set
at libertythem that are bruised, to
proclaim the acceptable year of the
Lord, stood that day among men,
doing in his own fife of sorrow and
suffering that which was to furnish
the grounds for just such changes in
the heart experiences Of men unto the
end of time. .a
Why should not that blest congre-
cation in Nazareth, as they listened
to his burning words of wisdom, and
remembered all his mighty works of
love that he had already done, have
burst forth spontaneously into sing
ing.
JOY to the world, theLord has come;
Let earth receive her King:
Let every heart prepare him room
And heaven and nature sing"
1t was surely a time for joyful
singing; time for men to stand in
glad"astonishment; time, when the
very heavens might well be astonish.
ed and earth filled with wonder.
For that day, God, who for foul
thousand years, at sundry times and
in divers manners had been speak
ing through the prophets, of his love
and wonderful purposes of mercy
was speaking through his son
whom he had appointed heir of all
things, and by whom also he had
made the world. And yet instead O
the joy that filed hearts to overflow
with gladness, and tongues with
singing, under the thrill of the Lords
own voice, and his words of grace
and truth the hearts of men were fas
filling with evil passions, envy, pref
udice, and hatred, which were soor
to burst forth into those bloody deeds
which said, as no mere words coulC
say, "This is the heir. Come let IL
kill him, and the inheritance shal
be ours"
Both the words and works 0
Christ carried with them tremendou
claims for his person.
Taking that description of tn
Messiah as text, and then to say
This day is the scripture fulfilled il
your ears" was no less than for him
self to be that MesSiah-the anOint
ed one of God. But in their iudg
ment this could not be. This Jesu
the Messiah? impossible. The,
had known him from boyhood. H
himself was but the village carpenter
whom they had often employed t
do their work. His mother was bu
Mary, the poor widow, whom the,
had often perhaps helped with thei
charities. His brethren were Jane
and Joses and Juda and Simon. Iii
sisters they all knew. Why, it wa
but n whole family Of very plain
poor and honest, but common pee
pie. How then should this Jesus b
some great one? The thing was at
,urd-yea blasphemous.
They were but making the sam
mistake the world has been maxim
ever since. They were judging tn
Lord by feeble sense. Human rea
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