of the Kingdom of Heaven. If I should succeed in persuading a few readers to study that Gospel as it is written in the manly and wholesome words of one of those by whom it was originally declared to mankind, and to forget any words of mine and of other interpreters which have concealed the import and weakened the power of his, the purpose of these Lectures will be accomplished.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PREFACE.

CONCERNING certain prevalent opinions which hinder those who
receive the Gospels from taking them in their simple sense,
and which induce many to reject them

LECTURE I.

THE PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE.

Subject. ST. LUKE I. 1–5.

St. Luke an Evangelist in both senses of the name-For whom

he writes-His predecessors-Not an eyewitness-Expres-

sion Eyewitness of the Word,' what it means-St. Luke's

investigations-His method-His likeness to the other Evan.

gelists-His difference from them

LECTURE II.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SON OF DAVID.

Subject. ST. LUKE 1. 6–80.

Zacharias and Elisabeth-The Vision in the Temple—Charao-

teristics of angelic visitations in the Old Testament history—

Presence of those characteristics in this story-The Annun-

ciation-It is the Annunciation of a Kingdom-The Songs-

Their resemblances and contrasts-Are they inventions of

the historian?-What tests they have endured-The lessong

of the Magnificat.

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LECTURE III.

BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD OF THE KING.

Subject. ST. LUKE II.

Bethlehem and Nazareth-The reason for the journey from
Galilee-Why it is discredited by modern critics-The
manger-The shepherd-Pastoral stories-The Circumcision
-The Nunc Dimittis-The Boy in the Temple

LECTURE IV.

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND.

Subject. ST. LUKE III. 1-23.

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Pictures of the infant John and the infant Jesus-The contrast

between John and Jesus in the Gospels-The quotation from

Isaiah-How fulfilled in the preaching of the Baptist-Sen-

tence in it which only St. Luke has introduced-The Baptist's

message of deliverance-His message of terror-The Baptism

with water-The Baptism with the Spirit and fire-The

Baptism of Jesus.

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LECTURE V.

THE TEMPTATION OF THE KING.

Subject. ST. LUKE IV. 1-33.

Reference to the Genealogies of St. Matthew and St. Luke—
Is the Temptation a part of the human history ?-The Spirit
who leads Jesus-The wilderness-The Tempter-The hunger
-In what the Temptation consisted-How it was resisted—
Are the kingdoms of the world the devil's ?—The pinnacle
of the Temple-To whom the story of the Temptation
addresses itself—Jesus going in the power of the Spirit into
Galilee-The Gospel at Nazareth-How it was received

LECTURE VI.

THE KING CASTING OUT EVIL SPIRITS.

Subject. ST. LUKE IV. 33-44.

The demons of the Gospels not found in deserts, but in public

haunts-Jesus a Redeemer of what, and from what ?--Cha-

49

racteristics of the man with the unclean spirit-Is the lan-

guage of the Evangelist unreal or exceptional language ?—

Is it favourable or unfavourable to superstition ?-Deliver-

ances of the body as well as the spirit-Privacy of some of

Christ's acts of healing-Modern exorcisms

LECTURE VII.

POWERS AND SIGNS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

Subject. ST. Luke v.

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The draught of fishes-Its effect upon Peter-A sign to fisher-

men and to men-The cure of the leper-Was it a breach of

the Law or a fulfilment of it ?-The cure of the man with

the palsy-The forgiveness of sins-What the Scribes meant

by it-What it was to the sick man-The calling of Matthew

-Feast to the Publicans-The Bridegroom of Humanity. 72

LECTURE VIII.

THE LORD OF THE SABBATH.

Subject. ST. LUKE VI. 1–12.

Importance given to the question of the Sabbath day by all the

Evangelists-The whole controversy between the Pharisees

and the Son of Man involved in it-How the Pharisees ex-

plained the fourth Commandment—Did they adhere to the

letter of that Commandment as it stands in Exodus or in

Deuteronomy?—The complaint against the Disciples in the

corn-fields—What is implied in our Lord's justification of

them ?—The man with the withered hand-Doing good and

doing evil-Modern questions about the Sabbath-Is it

national or universal ?-Can the fourth Commandment have

the same authority with the fifth or sixth ?-Can it apply to

those who keep Sunday?

LECTURE IX.

THE KING CHOOSING HIS MINISTERS.

Subject. Sr. LUKE VI. 13-17.

St. John's Day-The Prayer of Christ the preparation for His
choice of the Apostles-The difference between the Apostles

83

and the other Disciples-How St. John explains it-The

number of the Apostles-How St. Paul seems to treat the

number twelve with indifference-How the Apocalypse

seems to reaffirm its importance-The notion that we have

lost an Order out of the Church-What we have lost and

may hope to see restored

LECTURE X.

THE SUBJECTS AND LAWS OF THE KINGDOM.

Subject. ST. LUKE VI. 17-49.

Supposed character of this discourse-To whom addressed—

The poor and the poor in spirit-Was the blessing only to

the last ?-What the words " Kingdom of Heaven" denoted

-Are the rich cursed ?-Weeping and laughing-What is

the joy of the persecuted, the calamity of the persecutors—

Is the morality of the Sermon exclusive or levelling ?-Does

it condemn the world or the Church most ?-What its actual

influence on society has been-Has it been opposed to civil

or national order ?- Give and it shall be given you; Give and

hope for nothing;' are these precepts inconsistent ?—The

real hindrance to Gospel morality.

LECTURE XI.

THE KING CALLING FORTH THE FAITH OF HIS SUBJECTS.

Subject. ST. LUKE VII.

This chapter records a series of Epiphanies or manifestations

of Christ-To what in men He was in each case manifested

-The manifestation to the Roman Centurion in the cure of

his servant-Why his faith was such as had not been found

in Israel-The raising of the widow's son-What the words,

'Young man, I say unto thee, arise,' imported-What was the

evidence to John's disciples and to John himself—The dis-

course respecting John-How Wisdom was justified of her

children-The manifestation to Simon and to the sinful

woman- Thy faith hath saved thee'-Faith in a Person the

only faith

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