CHRIST’S STANDARD OF GIVING
‘For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.’
Luke 21:4
Observe—
I. How keenly our Lord observes the things that are done upon earth.—‘All things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do ( Hebrews 4:13). He measures littleness and greatness by a very different measure from the measure of man. Events in our own daily life, to which we attach no importance, are often very grave and serious matters in Christ’s sight.
II. Christ’s standard of liberality.—He would have us know that some persons appear to give much to religious purposes who in God’s sight give very little, and that some appear to give very little who in God’s sight give very much.
III. Our use of the money God has given us will have to be accounted for at the last day.—The ‘Judge of all will be He Who noticed the widow’s mite.’ Our incomes and expenditures will be brought to light before an assembled world.
Illustration
‘Let us beware of lightly using the expression, “giving our mite,” in reference to giving money to religious or charitable causes. The phrase is often employed without thought or consideration. If people would “give their mite” really and literally as the widow gave hers, many would have to give far more money than they ever give now. Her “mite” meant something that she gave with immense self-denial, and at great sacrifice. Most men’s “mite” nowadays means something that is not felt, not missed, and makes no difference to their comfort. If all people gave their “mite” as the widow gave hers, the world and the Church would soon be in a very different state.’

PATIENCE
‘In your patience possess ye your souls.’
Luke 21:19
I. Patience never seems to be an heroic remedy, least of all in the face of action so overwhelming and scenes so terrific as those which Christ predicted as He sat with that little knot of anxious men on the summit of Olivet on that momentous evening.
II. And yet there are times when patience is by no means a counsel of despair, but when rather the contest lies between the power of inflicting and the power of bearing, when in the working out of great issues all depends on the capacity of those involved to bide their time, to refuse to be crushed, to hold out until the right moment.
III. So here, in answer to their nervous question as to the ‘when’ and ‘how,’ our Lord is impressing on them that, as far as they are concerned, all will depend on their powers of bearing, that they are not to regard themselves as so many pawns on the board which will be sacrificed to the movements of the bigger pieces, that every individual counts with God, that the patience will have to last on through suffering, even possibly through physical death; that although they may be hated and persecuted by friends, and in some cases put to death, yet still in the highest sense not a hair of their heads should perish. And, therefore, He would say, ‘Make your souls your own.’ Keep your heads, keep your independence, be as those who can say that their souls are their own, and so (in accordance with another reading of these words) they shall win their souls, and save their lives, in all that makes life valuable, in all that counts as living.
Rev. Canon Newbolt.
Illustrations
(1) ‘The historian of the Crimean War has told us of the trial of courage which came upon our young soldiers at the battle of the Alma, when they were halted for a considerable time under fire, with no impetuosity of onslaught, nothing to take the chill from their blood or to inspire them with a feeling of action—simply to stand and be shot at, and to be told this was war.’
(2) ‘The doctors will tell us of one of the most common and dangerous diseases which attack our suffering humanity that nothing that medical skill can do will arrest it, only the smallest alleviations are possible, everything must be directed to brace up the patient to endure the blows of the storm while the tempest is at its height. It is a battle between onslaught and endurance until the crisis is past.’

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN
‘Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.’
Luke 21:27
The coming of Christ.
I. A real living Person. is coming. People think that religion is obeying certain rules and attending many services. But Christianity is faith in a living Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and believers commit themselves to Him.
II. He comes to us now.—In His Word, by His ministers and stewards. At the Second Advent He will
III. Come to judge.—Think, then, of our responsibility. At the Last Day Christ will judge us. Will our life, as we are now living it, bear the judgment of Christ?
IV. Can we face Christ?—Is there any part of our life that He would have to condemn? Remember that God hates sin. But He loves us. Therefore Christ’s Second Advent need not be a terror to any but those who persist in their wickedness. Submit to His judgment now, when He comes, not to condemn, but to save. Then, when the Great Day comes, you will be accepted for His sake.
—Rev. the Hon. James Adderley.
Illustration
‘Then, that is after the troubles of those days are over. Great trouble, and fear, and misery, our Lord tells us, will precede His coming. Great persecutions will be inflicted upon Christ’s people. The strong will persecute the weak—the world will persecute the Church. It will be a time of trial to the faith of all Christians—of fear and trouble and perplexity—“men’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming upon the earth.” All this shall draw to a close. Either the persecution and the suffering will reach its climax and then come to an end, or the Second Advent shall break in upon it and interrupt it in the midst of its horrors.’
(SECOND OUTLINE)
NEGLECT NOT PROPHECY
There are three things to notice:—
I. The signs of the coming of the Son of Man ( Luke 21:25-26). We know the value of signs in ordinary matters. By observation we can foretell what the weather will be ( Matthew 16:2-3). So of the coming seasons ( Luke 21:29-30). In the same manner God would have us watch for Christ’s coming ( Luke 21:31). The future belongs to God alone ( Acts 1:7; Deuteronomy 29:29; Isaiah 48:3-8); but He reveals coming events, and shows signs of them (see Luke 21:8-11 ; Luke 21:20-27). By these we should know the times ( 1 Chronicles 12:32; Romans 13:11).
II. The blessings of the coming of the Son of Man ( Luke 21:27-28). It is true that, as the Son of Man, He shall come for judgment ( John 5:27); but to His people He shall bring redemption ( Romans 8:23; Php_3:20-21 ). We read here that He shall come ‘ with power.’ This will be a blessing for His own ( Psalms 110:2-3; 2 Corinthians 13:4; Romans 1:4; Revelation 11:15). We read also that He shall appear with ‘ great glory.’ It is for this glory that we wait ( 2 Thessalonians 1:10; Romans 8:18).
III. The certainty of the coming of the Son of Man ( Luke 21:32-33). What a blessed thing to know that these matters are not doubtful ( Psalms 119:89; John 10:35). They have had a partial accomplishment with regard to Jerusalem ( Luke 21:20 ; Luke 21:24). This makes the Word sure to us ( 2 Peter 1:19). But notice the words of Jesus ( Luke 21:33. See Isaiah 54:10; Jeremiah 33:20-21).
You may say, ‘This is prophecy, and too hard for me’; but think what prophecy is ( Revelation 19:10). Think what God says of it ( 2 Peter 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:20). Think how the Jews suffered for neglecting it ( Nehemiah 9:30). Let us receive it in faith ( Luke 24:25); and so watch for our redemption drawing nigh.
Bishop Rowley Hill.
Illustration
‘What was it that largely kept up the courage of the garrison in Lucknow, and gave them strength to endure the horrors of that siege? It was the knowledge that Havelock and his men were hastening to bring them relief. We are not yet in the critical condition of a besieged city, but we are in the midst of enemies, powerful and numerous and very subtle. We are often tempted to surrender to the forces of darkness in times of weakness and discouragement. To know that reinforcements are on the way will put fresh courage into the stoutest-hearted soldiers. And this we do know, albeit the conflict thickens and faith is low, that “Christ is coming back again.” ’

REDEMPTION
‘And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.’
Luke 21:28
Redemption dawns, as order out of chaos, and rides triumphant on the storm of a shattered world. Is not this the way of God? ‘He knoweth whereof we are made; He remembereth that we are but dust.’ The infinite pathos of life appeals irresistibly to His infinite pity. And they run ever side by side—wrath and redemption, punishment and pity, doom and restitution.
I. Redemption!— Note the expression. It is a word with which we are familiar in the writings of St. Paul—as the paying of purchase-money to secure the captive’s liberty; and it emphasises the fact, which we are so apt to miss, that a purpose of God runs through all which seems to be most turbulent and irresponsible in the dealings of men. And, further, it declares to us that the help we look for is from above, that the life and death of Jesus Christ are not so many lessons on which the reformer may base his precepts, but the working out of a Divine purpose and the extension of Divine help to meet the sore needs of human trouble.
II. It may be true that anxious times are before us in Church and State, but if so there is redemption behind them.—There are anxious questions whichever way we turn, portents and signs of wickedness, of immorality, clever enough to steer clear of criminality, and more deadly because more clever; of heartless luxury, of indifference, of the shaking of great principles and the abandonment of fundamental beliefs. And yet here, too, there are signs of coming redemption, the timid leaves of better things are starting forth. It is an immense thing, for instance, to be able to feel that there is a real growth in sincerity. If there is far less official religion than there used to be, or a respectful conformity with despised traditions, there is an immense growth in earnestness. The man who belongs to no party may enjoy the cynical contempt of the gods of Olympus looking down on a struggle which they despise and avoid, but he will carry no weight nor get a hearing for his message. There is a bright side even to the restlessness which is such a characteristic of our times. Those of us who know least of the writings of St. Augustine know the famous passage in his Confessions where he says, ‘We were made, O Lord, for Thee, and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee.’
—Rev. Canon Newbolt.

EXAMPLES OF EARLY SERVICES
‘And all the people came early in the morning to Him in the temple, for to hear Him.’
Luke 21:38
The circumstance mentioned here, and in the verse just before it, was connected with our Lord’s last days on earth. It was one of the things that happened in the last week of His earthly life. The Holy Spirit inspired the Evangelist to write down the record of this circumstance for our instruction and profit, that, as it is brought before us, we might gain from it what it is meant to teach us.
Let us pass on to the teaching of the New Testament on this subject. This teaching is what we may call indirect teaching, but there is a great deal of this indirect teaching in the Bible, and by this indirect teaching it speaks to us as well as by its direct teaching.
I. Look at our Lord’s own example of early devotion.—It is mentioned in Mark 1:35. What an example our Lord here sets us in this matter! Whilst men and women were wrapped in slumber, when all around was calm and still, before the time for men to go out to work, He, our Lord and Master, arose, and went out to pray, not only with the first break of dawn, but even before the dawn, ‘a great while before day,’ as Mark says.
II. In the text we are told of the people coming to our Lord in the Temple early in the morning.—Our Lord gave them the authority of His own consent for it. He gave them the opportunity of thus coming to Him in the Temple at this particular time, viz. early in the morning. If He had not given them the opportunity they could not have come, but He gave them the opportunity, and they availed themselves of it, and came.
III. There is another instance which seems to point to the value of early services.—In Luke 24:1, it is mentioned that it was ‘ very early in the morning’ of the first Easter Day that the holy women came to the sepulchre in which our Lord’s body had been buried. They came ‘very early in the morning,’ and oh, what they gained by coming thus early!
—Rev. T. H. Simpkin.
Illustration
‘Apply this teaching to the Early Celebration of the Holy Communion. Is it not an opportunity given to people to come in the early morning into our Blessed Lord’s spiritual, though real Presence, vouchsafed to us here in His Temple through His especial Presence in the Blessed Sacrament of His love, just as of old He gave to those people of whom we read in the text an opportunity of coming into His visible Presence in the Temple? And were it not well if we could carry the parallel on still further? Were it not well if men in these days were more ready to come early in the morning to God’s House to meet the Saviour when He comes by means of His Sacramental Presence and brings His Sacramental blessing with Him?’