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the spirit of wisdom and understanding; the spirit of counsel and ghostly strength; the spirit of knowledge and true godliness. May he fill us with the spirit of His Holy fear, both now and forever. Amen.

SERMON V.

THE BLESSEDNESS OF NOT BEING OFFENDED IN CHRIST.

MATTHEW Xi. 6.

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.

THE Circumstances under which these words were spoken were as follows. St. John the Baptist, having heard in his prison the works of Christ, sent two of his disciples (through whom, as it seems, the report of the Saviour's miracles had reached him*) with this message to our blessed Lord, "Art Thou He that should come?"-the Shiloh, that is, of the 'Fathers, -the Messiah of the Prophets,-" or do we look for another?"

It has not been revealed to us why the Baptist deputed his followers to make such an inquiry, and

*Luke vii. 18.

hence there has arisen considerable discussion on the subject, in which some have gone so far as to suppose that St. John's own faith had, in some measure, failed him, either because his expectations of the temporal glory of the Messiah's kingdom had not been realized, or because he found himself left without succour under circumstances in which he had expected a miraculous deliverance.

The probability, however, seems to be, that the message was not sent by the blessed Baptist for the satisfaction of any doubts of his own, but for the conviction of his disciples. That St. John himself could have doubted that Christ was the Messiah, seems incredible, when we remember the several occasions on which he had acknowledged Him to be such in the fullest and clearest manner.* But with respect to his followers, the case was different; and as they had already given proof that they were not altogether without some jealousy of our Lord and His disciples,t and would, therefore, be less willing to receive the truth when their master should be removed from them, he sent them, while he was yet alive, to that Messiah in Whom he desired them to believe, even as he did himself.

Accordingly they came, with the inquiry on their

*

Compare John i. 6, 7, 8, 33, 34, 36; iii. 26, 29-36; v. 33. † Matt. ix. 14.

lips, "Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another?"-" And in the same hour," writes St. Luke in his account of this event, Jesus "cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind He gave sight." Now, you will remember, brethren, that it had long since been pointed out by Isaiah, as a distinguishing note or mark of the Messiah's kingdom, that "then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." "Jesus," therefore, "answered, and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see; the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached unto them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me."

He does not tell them in so many words that He is the Christ, for (as one of the Fathers of the Church observest with reference to this incident,) "the testimony of deeds is stronger than the testimony of words," but He gives them such an evidence as might satisfy their doubts, adding, at the

* Isaiah xxxv. 5, 6.

St. Chrysostom (quoted in the Catena Aurea.)

same time, by way of silent reproof and appeal to their consciences, the words I have chosen for my text; "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me."-My low estate, that is, or My disclaiming all intention of having My kingdom in this world,. or My failing to exert miraculous power in behalf of your imprisoned master, have been obstacles in the way of your belief: I do not say that these things are no trial, but I pronounce a blessing on him whose faith surmounts it. Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be ashamed of My doctrine, nor discouraged by any temporal evils from obeying it.

The religion of the Gospel was never brought before our race as a thing which would have attractions to the natural man. On the contrary, it proclaimed, at the outset, to all who adopted it, that it required them to undertake a war of extermination with their natural appetites, or in other words, with their indwelling corruption. And, such being the case, it was manifest that even where the preaching of the doctrine of the cross was not met with determined hostility and opposition, it would be received with coldness, mistrust, prejudice and dislike. The evil-disposed and worldly-minded would hate it with a perfect hatred, and so far as they could, become persecutors of those who favoured it. Those who trusted in their own righteousness, and were satisfied

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