Imagini ale paginilor
PDF
ePub

covetousness; for a man's life [or true happiness] consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." Nor was he content with delivering a general precept; but went on to enforce what he advanced by a beautiful parable, the moral of which he distinctly pointed out: "so is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God." And afterwards he still further pursued the topic in & words confined to the disciples only.

When some told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, he did not indulge the malevolence of the Scribes and Pharisees by enlarging on the crimes of the unhappy sufferers, whose nation was held in contempt among the rest of the Jews; he was silent on Pilate's cruelty and impiety, and on the special reasons why God permitted such judgments to overtake men; choosing to warn his hearers of the national judgments impending over them, which nothing could avert but repentance. "Unless ye i repent, ye shall all perish in like manner: [by a like fearful destruction, in the calamitous war with the Romans.] And, the importance of the subject deeply engaging him, he illustrated by a 'parable the danger of unfruitfulness in good works; and the long suffering and goodness

utriusque desiderium plura habendi. Servius ad Georg. ii. 496. "et infidos agitans discordia fratres" infidos autem ait, quod avaritiæ causa dissentiunt. * Luke xii. 16-20.

fq. 21.

See the eighth of Dr. Clarke's Seventeen of the instances given in this section occur. author's illustrations. i Luke xiii. 3, 5.

* v. 22, &c. Sermons; where most Those marked are the

[ocr errors]

κι ώσαύτως, ὁμοίως.

lib. 6-9.

of God, shewn by a gracious and earnest invitation of them to amendment at that very period of time.

m

[ocr errors]

When "one said to him, Lord, are there few that be saved?" are there few of this generation that will enter into thy kingdom? he indirectly answered the inquiry which he had solved in another place, and at the same time conveyed much useful instruction: "Strive to enter in at the straight gate :" it is an object worthy of your most earnest contention : use the present season, lest hereafter ye feel inexpressible regret and anguish : lest I say unto you at the last day, Depart from me all the workers of iniquity lest ye be excluded from the company of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in my glorious kingdom, and the despised Gentiles be admitted.

When Martha received Jesus into her house at Bethany, and complained to him that her sister Mary left her alone to serve, while she sat at Jesus's feet and heard his word; what was our Lord's answer?

Nil parvum sapit, et semper sublimia curat : Hor. "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things; but one thing is needful and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her." The one thing needful is the good part chosen by Mary; attention to religious and cternal concerns.

When Jesus's disciples inquired "who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven," "he set a little

in The answer refers to those in whose presence Christ had eaten and drunk, and in whose streets he had taught, v. 26. a Matt. vii. 14. • Luke xiii. 23-30. P ib. x. 41.

child in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, unless ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

S

* When Peter came to Jesus and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him; till seven times?" Our Lord answered him, "I say not unto thee, Until seven times, but until seventy times seven." But he did not stop here: he proceeded to speak the striking parable of the merciless servant, the application of which he himself made: "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

[ocr errors]

When thus questioned concerning a man blind from his birth, "Master, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Our Lord dismissed the deep part of the question in a word, "Neither did this man sin, nor his parents :" not entering into any discussion about the impossibility of a pre-existing state, nor defining in what cases children might reasonably bear the iniquity of their parents. He kept in view the end of his mission; observed that a fit occasion of working a miracle had arisen, especially as the time of his departure was

W

9 Matt. xviii. 2, 3, 4.

X

Matt. xviii. 21-35.

definite number is put for an indefinite.

• Here a

t * John ix. 1-5.

i. e. so as to cause the infliction of a judicial punishment. is the learned Mr. Farmer's remark: on demoniacs, p. 360. now about six months before his death.

w This

= It was

approaching; and led his followers to consider him as the light of the world in a moral sense, as well as in the natural one of restoring sight to the blind.

When one thus respectfully addressed him, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" he did not answer the important question till he had advanced a fundamental religious truth suggested by a casual expression: "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God."

[ocr errors]

* When questioned about the lawfulness of paying tribute, he was not content with indirectly asserting a civil duty in the words, "Render unto Cesar the things which are Cesar's;" but he added a religious lesson, "and unto God the things which are God's."

[ocr errors]

When four of his apostles, Peter, James, John and Andrew, asked him on the mount of Olives at what time the temple was to be destroyed, and what was the sign of his coming to punish the Jews, and of the end of the Mosaic dispensation; he delivered at large a most remarkable prophecy, but at the close of it he was still more copious in enforcing the duties of watchfulness, prayer, and good works.

And, lastly, when our Lord after his resurrection had foretold the manner of Peter's death in his old age," Peter, seeing John, saith, Lord, and what shall this man do?" to which question our Lord gave an obscure answer, gently censured Peter's inquisitiveness, and reminded him that the point of

y Mark x. 17.

z Matt. xxii. 21.

a Matt. xxiv. 4-41. b Matt. xxiv. 42. and the p. p. 43-51. xxv. 1-46. Luke xxi. 34, 35. * John xxi. 21, 22.

high importance was to follow him, to imitate his life and his constancy unto death.

We see by this induction that as our Lord wrought no unnecessary miracle, so neither did he display unnecessary knowledge; and that he thought religious knowledge and practical truths by far the most important: we perceive the bent of his mind by the tendency of his discourse: we should ourselves prefer what most engaged his attention; and should particularly bear in mind his weighty and affectionate admonition to his apostles, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

[ocr errors]

SECTION X.

OF PARABLES, AND THE REASONS WHY OUR LORD USED THEM.

THERE are different significations of the word parable in the writings of the New Testament, and in the Greek versions of the Old.

a

It is sometimes used for elevated and instructive poetry. Balaam is said to take up his parable, when he uttered his sublime poems and predictions

е

d See Jortin's excellent sermons, vol. iii. p. 42. Engl. ed. • Jolin xiii. 17. a Heb. up the root of which has two senses: 1. dominatus est. And poems and proverbs may be hence named, on account of their superior excellence. See Taylor's Concordance. 2. assimilavit : a sense which the Arabic no likewise has. And from this root p may easily signify a figurative and parabolical way of writing, and then, a proverbial and poetical one in general. See an excellent note on Heb. prælect. iv. b Numb. xxiii. 7, 18. xxiv. 3, 15, 20, 21, 23.

« ÎnapoiContinuă »