Our concluding portion for the present year is the reading of the latter part of the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament, and the Gospel of Luke and the second Epistle to the Corinthians in the New.

This second portion of the great prophet gives us the last of the three divisions of that wonderful book.

In Chaps. 40:-48:, the main theme is God's controversy with His people foreseen as captive in Babylon, regarding the idolatry which had really been the cause of that captivity. But while He brings to mind in absolute faithfulness their sin, there is mingled with it, throughout the entire portion, a lovely unfolding of the eternal purpose of God which will not be thwarted; for He will yet restore, according to that changeless purpose, those upon whom He has set His heart.

Thus, in the fortieth chapter we have God's comfort for His afflicted people, their restoration, and His all-sufficiency as contrasted with the worthlessness of idols and every human work.

In Chap. xli, Israel is declared to be God's servant, the seed of Abraham, His friend whom He has chosen. Therefore, in spite of every form of opposition, He shall restore them.

In Chap. xlii, we have not Israel, the failing servant, but that blessed One who humbled Himself and took the form of a servant, the only One who ever truly could or did serve without failing. He shall never be discouraged until He shall have fully accomplished God's will.

In Chap. 43:, the restoration of Israel, on the basis of the service of this blessed One, is predicted.

Chap. 44:enlarges upon this comforting theme. Most beautifully through these chapters we find again and again that word of divine comfort, " Fear not."

Chap. 45:definitely gives the promise of their restoration through Cyrus, which, partial as it was, was doubtless a type of that more abiding recovery which yet awaits a Greater than Cyrus.

In Chaps. 46:and 47:, we have the destruction of Babylon and her false gods, while the closing part of this division, Chap. 48:, reiterates the promise of God's deliverance out of Babylon.

The next or sixth division, Chaps. 49:-59:, is occupied pre-eminently with Christ in His sufferings and rejection and the blessed results flowing from it.

We see Him in chap. 49:as the perfect Servant who is not discouraged in face of apparently fruitless ministry, and who waits until God shall manifest all the blessed results, not merely in the redemption of Israel, but blessing to the world at large.

In chap. 1., we see Him humbling Himself under the hands of His persecutors, giving His back to the smiters and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair,-God raising Him up and justifying Him ; a passage, which according to the beautiful manner of God's grace, is applied to the believer in Rom. 8:
Chap. 51:is God's call to His people to harken, to remember they are His chosen ones, to realize that He is bringing near His righteousness, to encourage them not to fear in face of those who reproach them. There is also a responsive call by the people to the Arm of the Lord to awake to deliver them, even as He did Israel out of Egypt, with God's response, calling upon the beloved city Jerusalem to awake, and taking out of her hand that cup of trembling which she rightly has deserved to drink.

Chap. 52:continues this call to awake, and Zion is seen shaking herself from the dust and arising from all that degraded her, while the close of the chapter is an outburst of melody resulting from all this blessing. But before it can be fully entered into, the sorrows and rejections of Messiah have to be described, and this we have in the close of the fifty-second and the entire fifty-third chapters. It is needless to touch upon this most familiar, most precious portion.

Chap. 54:gives the joy of her espousals anew for Israel who has now seen Him whom she pierced, while chap. Iv. holds out the invitation to every one that thirsts, so that the nations themselves come under the blessing of the Lord.

Chap. 56:dwells upon this return of the strangers, of Gentiles, to Him.

Chaps. 57:-59:seem to be a dealing with the moral state of the people, seeking to work in them that repentance which must ever precede a genuine turning to God.

The last division of the book, chaps. 60:-66:, gives the culmination of all. Jerusalem is seen a light for the whole earth in chap. 60:

Chap. 61:, quoted in the Gospel of Luke, shows us the blessed Lord through whom it is to be accomplished.

Chap. 62:gives the exercise of faith until these promises are fulfilled.

Chap. 63:shows us Christ trampling the nations under His feet, a Conqueror over His enemies, yet mighty to save all who will bow to Him.

In chap. 64:we have the longing of the remnant, still pleading that God would come down, yea, rend the heavens and manifest Himself for His people.

Chap. 65:, as the apostle in Romans quotes, foretells the turning of the Gentiles to Christ, that which is being in good measure fulfilled during the period of Israel's unbelief, while in the latter part of the chapter we see Jerusalem established a joy through the millennial earth, with strong intimation that even as the new heavens and new earth abide, so Israel shall continue as a nation before God forever.

Chap. 66:closes the book with the solemn picture of the judgment upon those who still reject and despise the goodness of God.
The Gospel of Luke is most attractive as presenting to us Christ in His humanity. We have seen Him as King of the Jews in the Gospel of Matthew, as Son of God in John, and as the lowly Servant for man's need in the Gospel of Mark; but there is a distinctively human element in Luke which has a charm of its own, presenting our blessed Saviour, we might say, as a Kinsman Redeemer. As is well known, His death in this Gospel, in keeping with the entire narrative, suggests the peace-offering, where both God and the offerer and the priest feast together on their appointed portions.

The preparatory period (Chaps. 1:-4:13) presents our Lord to us alone, as we might say. Here we have much that is not given to us in any other Gospel,-the prediction and birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner, connected with which is a most beautiful picture of the piety of the remnant in Israel at that day,-those who were waiting for the consolation of Israel. How fitting it is that in connection with the birth of the perfect One, praise and joy should flow forth! Thus we have the song of Mary and of Elizabeth, of Zachariah, of Simeon, of Anna, blending with the praise of the angels above and the worship of shepherds around Bethlehem. We also get a glimpse of the boyhood of this peerless One.

Chap. 3:gives us John's ministry preparing the way for Christ, and the opening part of chap. 4:the temptation and proving of our blessed Lord after His baptism.

In the main part of the book, (Chaps. 4:14-18:34,) we have in varied ways the ministry of our blessed Lord in salvation. It is the ministry of grace all through. We can bless God for many touching narratives found alone in this Gospel:His testimony at Nazareth, (chap., 4:); works of power for the helpless (Chap. 5:); a Saviour and not a Pharisee (Chap. 6:); grace for the most unworthy (Chap. 7:); the ministry of the Word and the healing power of grace, yea, resurrection (Chap. viii); the transfiguration, and victory over Satan's power with prophecy of the Cross (Chap. 9:); association with Christ in service, the true gospel, sitting at the feet of Jesus (Chap. 10:); true prayer, and testimony against wilful rejection of Himself (Chap. 11:); provision for every trial, and dependence upon the living God (Chap. 12:); solemn witness to enemies (Chap. xiii); the great supper (Chap. 14:); the Trinity in salvation (Chap. 15:); the future unveiled for saint and sinner (Chap. 16:); the coming of the Son of Man (Chap. 17:); true lowliness, the only way of blessing (Chap. 18:)

The closing division of the book (Chaps. 18:35-24:) shows us our Lord on His way to Jerusalem where He accomplished full restoration of man to God. Here again we see salvation all along the way.

In chap. 19:it is salvation and responsibility; Chap. 20:is the Lord's faithful witness to the leaders of the people for the last time; chap. 21:predicts the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus, with a wider outlook, reaching on to the last days and the coming of the Son of Man.

Chap. xxii brings us into the upper room where He breaks bread with His disciples, establishing that memorial supper which we love to eat, and leading us on to Gethsemane, where we see the perfect Man in perfect sorrow.

Chap. 23:shows Him spotless before Pilate and Herod, agreed in this, whatever else they may disagree about, that Christ is to be rejected. We see Him nailed to the cross, while chap. 24:gives us the resurrection, the wondrous journey to Emmaus, the manifestation of Himself in the midst of His gathered disciples, and His rapture to heaven. What a wondrous Gospel is this!

Space will not allow more than a few words as to second Corinthians. It is pre-eminently an epistle of personal experience, and yet, it need not be said, not a selfish one. We see in it the exercises and experiences of the apostle Paul in connection with Christian ministry.

In Chaps. 1:and 2:we see the stability of the ministry expressed in the faithful loyalty of him who was its instrument.

Chap. 3:contrasts the new ministry of the Spirit with the old covenant. Here we see the unveiled glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

In Chaps. 4:and 5:this glory is seen in the earthen vessel broken and helpless, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

Chaps. 6:and 7:speak of the various trials and tests of the servant of Christ. Chaps. 8:and 9:dwell upon responsibility as to the ministry of temporal things to those who have need.

Chaps. 10:and 11:narrate the apostle's exercises and experiences as an overcomer in the midst of manifold circumstances, while Chaps. 12:and 13:give a view of a perfect man in Christ and the ministry that partakes of that character as associated with Him.