ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into everlasting life." The elegant writer above mentioned asks, From the works of what sage of antiquity can be produced so pathetic a recommendation of benevolence to the distressed, and enforced by such assurances of a reward, as in these words of Christ? From the many exquisite beauties in our Lord's parables, I shall select some that appear the most remarkable. In the parable of the barren fig tree we have an instance of easy and natural narration, in which the fact is not coldly related, but enlivened by the introduction of a dialogue. "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he to the dresser of his vineyard Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground? and he answered and said unto him, Master, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it. And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down." Jenyns's Internal View, &c. p. 31. S thing can be more Attic than this figure. So Thucyd. iii. 3. Kai ór The opposition between the religious pride of the Pharisee, and the humility of the Publican, is strongly marked. "The Pharisee stood by himself, and prayed thus: God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the Publican stood afar off, and would not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven; but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." In the parable of the ten talents, related by St. Luke, there is a fine allusion to historical facts; which, I believe, Le Clerc first observed. "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us." Thus Herod the Great solicited the kingdom of Judea "at Rome, and was appointed king by the interest of Anthony with the senate and afterwards he sailed to Rhodes, divested himself of his diadem, and received μὲν συμβῆ ἡ πειρα· ει δὲ μὴ, Μιτυληναίοις επειν, ναῦς το παραδέναι, καί τείχη 9. And if the attempt succeeded, well: but if not, that they should require of the Mityleneans both to surrender their ships and to demolish their walls. See Dan. iii. 15: and I think that 1 Sam. xii. 14. should be thus rendered: If ye will fear Jehovah, and serve him, and hearken unto his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of Jeho vah; and both you, and also the king who reigneth over you will follow after Jehovah your Lord, well : but if ye will not, &c. Exod. xxxii. 32. should certainly be rendered, Yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin, well, &c. * Luke xviii. 11, 12, 13. • Luke xix. 12. Jos. A.J. 2 it again from Augustus. In like manner, his sons Archelaus and Antipas repaired to the imperial city, that they might obtain the kingdom on their Father's death and we read that the Jews sent an embassy thither with accusations against Archelaus. In the following parable there is an ornamental addition, like what sometimes occurs in the best poetical descriptions. "The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree: so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." It has been observed with respect to the parable of the good Samaritan, that there is great propriety in laying the scene of the transaction; as the mountainous desert between Jerusalem and Jericho was likely to be infested by robbers. The parable was also delivered soon after the feast of tabernacles; and therefore at a time when many were actually going down from Jerusalem to different parts of the country; and when the train of ideas in the minds of our Lord's hearers would lead them to aggravate the inhumanity of the Priest and Levite, by the reflection that they had been celebrating a religious festival, partaking of the oblations which the law assigned y Matt. xiii. 31, 32. See Georg. ii. 207—11. Aut unde iratus sylvam devexit arator, Et nemora evertit multos ignava per annos, Antiquasque domos avium cum stirpibus imis See Maundrell and Wetstein and Macknight in loc. a Deut. xvi. 14. them, and reminded of their duty to relieve a distressed brother. The traveller is represented as the object of pity in plain and affecting terms: "He ⚫ had fallen among thieves, who had stripped him of his raiment, had wounded him, and had departed, leaving him half dead." There cannot be a stronger opposition of character than between a Priest and a Levite, teachers and ministers of a law abounding in precepts of mercy to their brethren; and one who bore a religious enmity to the Jewish nation, heightened by reciprocal acts of hatred and contempt. And yet even a Samaritan, whose name was a proverb of reproach, when he saw the wounded Jew C passed not by on the other side," like the countrymen of the Jew who were equally deye witnesses of his distress; but "had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the * John viii. 48. b Luke x. 30. ὁ Ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδών, Luke x. 32. is not stronger than iday v. 31: aby being often redundant. Our translators have injudiciously rendered dav differently. "When he saw him :" v. 31. "Came and looked on him "v. 32. We have two instances of the same inhumanity in persons who ministered about sacred things. The Levite is placed last on account of his inferior rank: as John i. 19. Wetstein in loc. shews that Galen, Pliny, Theophrastus, and Columella, mention oil and wine as good for wounds. Succida plurima præstant remedia ex oleo vinoque et aceto, prout quæque mulceri morderive opus sit. Plin. Nat. Hist. xxix. 9. In Athenæus, it is said of wine, e Καὶ τῖισιν ἑλκαθεισιν ὠφέλημ ̓ ἔχει. And to the wounded wine will useful prove. See Pol. Syn. in loc. morrow when he departed, he took out two pieces of money, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee." No moral teacher has exhibited a more illustrious triumph of compassion over principles by which it was most forcibly counteracted. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus begins with descriptions of the principal persons, which reflect additional beauty on each other by the contrast. "There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate full of sores, and [in vain] desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table." The picture is heightened by the following circumstance of horror: "moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores." But the narrative seems to imply much more than what is expressed: it seems to intimate that the sufferings of Lazarus were insupportable to human nature for it is added, "And it came to pass that the beggar died." "The rich man also died; and was buried" with funeral pomp. After their death a second contrast begins. The beggar is carried by angels into Abraham's bosom :" he reclines at a heavenly banquet in a most distinguished place, the h bosom of the great progenitor of the Jewish nation, the father of the faithful, and the * friend of God. But the rich man is in torments, f Luke xvi. 19, 20, 21. xiii. 23, 25. Plin, epist, iv. 22. 8 v. 22. See Matt. viii. 11. John i Rom. iv. 11. k Isai. xli. 8. |