THE
. / T
PARABOLIC TEACHING OF CHRIST;
OR, THE
0f ; % JJefo Cement
BY THE
REV. D. T. K. DRUMMOND, B.A., OXON.,
OF BT. THOMAS' ENGLISH EPISCOPAL CHAPEL, EDINBURGH.
*> NEW YORK:
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS,
No. 285 BROADWAY.
1856.
TCBBOTYPBD T
THOMAS B. SMITH,
8J X 81 Beckman Street
B. O.JENKINS,
PRINTER,
22 & 24 Frankfort St
*
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION, V
PART I.
MAN IN SATAN'S KINGDOM HIS CONDITION, HIS ACTINGS,
AND HIS PROSPECTS.
CHAPTEE I. THAT WHICH DEFILETH A MAX THE LIGHT OP THE BODY
THE SICK, -.*,. . 15
II. THE STRONG MAN ARMED THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT GOING our
OF A MAN, 24
ILL THE RICH FOOL 35
IV. CHILDREN IN THE MARKET-PLACE THE MOTE AND THE BEAM
THE STRAINING OFF A GNAT CLEANSING THE OUTSIDE
OF THE CUP WHITED SEPULCHERS GRAVES WHICH
APPEAR NOT THE PHARISEE AND SADDUCEE, . . .45
V. THE Ax LAID TO THE ROOT OF THE TREES THE FLOOR
THOROUGHLY PURGED, 60
VL THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS, 66
BART II.
THE PRINCE OF THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT.
CHAPTER I. THE DOOR THE GOOD SHEPHERD, 80
II. THE TRUE VINE, 93
III THE ROCK THE STRONGER THAN HE THE PHYSICIAN, . 109
IV. THE BRIDEGROOM THE OLD AND NEW GARMENT THE OLD
AND NEW WINE, . . . ";, 124
V. THE SHEPHERD LAYING DOWN His LIFE THE CORN OF
WHEAT DYING THE BRAZEN SERPENT 137
VI. LIVING WATER LIVING BREAD, 149
PART III.
CHRIST'S WORK OF GRACE IN ITS PERSONAL AND EXPERI-
MENTAL CHARACTER.
CHAPTER I. THE LOST SHEEP TOT LOST PIECE OF SILVBB THE LOST
SON, ^ .166
CONTENTS.
PAG*
CHAPTER IL THB WIND BLOWING WHERE IT LISTETH THK Two SONS
THE BARREN FIG-TREE, ....' 239
m. THE BROAD AND NARROW WAY THE MAN BUILDING A
TOWER THE Two KINGS AT WAR, . . . -265
IV. THE LOWEST ROOM THE Two BUILDERS THE Two DEBT-
ORS THE GOOD SAMARITAN, . . . . 271
V. THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT THE LABORERS IN THE VINE-
YARD, 300
VL THE UNJUST STEWARD THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS, . 317
VII. THE PHARISEE AND PUBLICAN THE SON ASKING BREAD
THE FRIEND AT MIDNIGHT THE UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGE, . 333
VIIL THE SALT OP THE EARTH THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
THE OFFENDING EYE, FOOT OR HAND BROTHER, SISTER,
AND MOTHER, 351
PART IV.
CHRIST'S WORK OF GRACE, IN ITS HISTORICAL AND PROPHET-
ICAL CHARACTER.
SECT. I. GENERAL RECEPTION AND PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL.
)y CHAPTER I. THE SOWER TUB GROWTH OF THE SEED THE WHEAT AND
THE TARES, 359
II. THE MUSTARD-SEED THE TREASURE IN THE FIELD THE
PEARL OF GREAT PRICE THE DRAG-NET, . . . 382
PART V.
BBCT. n THE CALLING AND CASTING AWAY ol THE JEW, THE CALLING AND
BRINGING IN OF THE GENTILE.
CHAPTER L THE GREAT SUPPER, ; 391
IL THE WICKED HUSBANDMEN THE MARRIAGE OF THE KING'S
SON, . a. 397
PART VI.
SECT. HI. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
THE DAYS OF NOAH AND Lor THE WOMAN IN TRAVAIL THE FIG-TREE
PUTTING FORTH HER LEAVES THE LIGHTNING SHINING THE CARCASS
AND THE EAGLES THE WAITING SERVANT THE TEN VIRGINS THE
TALENTS THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS, 410
APPENDIX, . JK' 435
INTRODUCTION.
IN publishing the present work on the Parables of our Lord
Jesus Christ, I feel it to be necessary to offer some remarks on
the following points : First, as to what is meant by a parable ;
next, as to the principle of interpretation which I have adopted ;
and then, as to the method of arrangement on which I have pro-
ceeded.
There is a perfectly clear and broad distinction to be observed
between the parable and the fable or the myth. This is well laid
down by Alford in his Notes on the New Testament. " The par-
able is not a fable, inasmuch as the fable is concerned only with
the maxims of worldly prudence, whereas the parable conveys
spiritual truth. The fable in its form rejects probability, and
teaches through the fancy, introducing speaking animals, or even
inanimate things, whereas the parable adheres to probability, and
teaches through the imagination, introducing only things which
may possibly happen. Nor is the parable a myth, inasmuch as in
mythology the course of the story is set before us as the truth, and
simple minds receive it as the truth, only the reflecting mind
penetrates into the distinction between the vehicle and the thing
conveyed ; whereas in the parable these two things stand distinct
from one another to all minds, so that the simplest would never
believe in the parable as fact."
The above distinction is clear and well defined. "When, how-
ever, we come to compare the- parable with the allegory or the
proverb, we find the distinction not so easily traced, and the
vi INTRODUCTION.
affinities much stronger. It is possible in strictness of definition
to separate them. Thus a proverb may be defined, as " a trite
wayside saying," passing current in ordinary conversation, and
which may or may not be based on that which is parabolic. As
an example of the first, we have " Physician, heal thyself;" of
the last, " Honesty is the best policy." The former is parabolic
the latter is not. The allegory, again, is self-interpreting. The
narrative is so blended with the actual truths intended to be
illustrated, that it speaks for itself, " the imaginary persons and
actions are put in the very places and footsteps of the real ones,
and stand there instead of them, declaring all the time by their
names and actions who and what they are." The Pilgrim's Pro-
gress is a remarkable example of this.
But these last distinctions, clear as they may be for the purpose
of laying down an arbitrary definition, become quite useless when
applied to the parables as delivered by our Lord Jesus Christ. It
appears to me that no such distinctions were ever intended to be
made in the New Testament ; and I believe that the attempt to
carry them out has been the cause why the parabolic teaching of
Jesus has not generally been set forth with that breadth and full-
ness which so wonderfully characterize it. Thus Mr. Trench, in
his Notes on the Parables, altogether passes by the parables of
the Good Shepherd and the True Vine, because they partake
more of the character of allegory than of parable, while he treats
as a proverb what Jesus said, " If the blind lead the blind, both
shall fall into the ditch," though, at the same time, he admits that
these words may be regarded as a " concentrated parable." It is
also strange that in a work professing to be " on the Parables,"
and not on some only of the parables, he should altogether have
omitted such parables as those of the Two Builders, the Old and
New Garment, and others equally important, which may be
brought under the head even of the strict definition he has him-
self laid '-O'.vn.
INTRODUCTION. Vli
When we come fairly to look at the subject, we shall find it to
be impossible to lay down any rule which can be universally
applied, in order to distinguish between allegory, proverb, and
parable, in the New Testament. Thus, as regards the allegory.
We have a notable example of this in the Epistle to the Gala-
tians ; and yet it is clear that it fails altogether in the very point
by which, in the strictness of such a definition as is given above,
it ought to be distinguished. There is no self-interpretation in it.
The Apostle gives a portion of history, and then shows how that
history illustrates some important truths. Besides, if this defini-
tion were strictly carried out, the parable of the " Eich man and
Lazarus" ought no longer to be considered a parable but an alle-
gory, inasmuch as it is assuredly interpenetrated with that which
interprets the story as it proceeds. What definition can be applied
to the Pilgrim's Progress as an allegory which may not equally
well be applied to this parable ?
Then, again, as to the proverb, what is admitted by Mr. Trench,
sufficiently shows the importance of not pressing a definition here
also. If a proverb be, as he truly remarks, often a " concentrated
parable," or as Alford, on the other hand, says of the parable,
that it is an "expanded proverb," then why should we, in an en-
larged view of the parables, exclude any because of a proverbial
character which may have been given to them ? The brevity of
a parable, or its concentration, does not make it the less forcible
or instructive. The Parables of the Mustard-Seed and the Leaven
are always treated as parables, and are not regarded as less in-
structive, because they are short, pointed, and concentrated.
Surely, then, such illustrations as resemble these in force and
brevity, such as that already quoted, "If the blind lead the
blind, both shall fall into the ditch," ought not to be the less
classed among the parables of Jesus, though they may have
passed at length into the proverbial language of a people.
But besides all this, the very language of the New Testament
Vlll INTRODUCTION.
itself forbids any such rigid application of a rule whereby to dis-
tinguish between the allegory, the proverb, and the parable. In
those remarkable chapters of the Gospel of St. John, where the
parables of the Good Shepherd and the True Vine occur, the
Evangelist calls them neither parables nor allegories, but proverbs
(fJagotfiia). "It is not difficult to explain how this interchange
of the two words should have come to pass. Partly it arose from
the fact of there being but one word in the Hebrew to signify
both parable and proverb, which circumstance must have had
considerable influence upon writers accustomed to think in that
language, and is itself to be explained from the parable and
proverb being alike enigmatical and somewhat obscure forms of
speech, 'dark sayings,' uttering a part of their meaning, and
leaving the rest to be inferred. This is evidently true of the
parable, and, in fact, of the proverb." (Trench.) Surely there
is ample reason here for relaxing any rule which might in fact
create a distinction manifestly not in the mind of the Inspired
Writer himself. Again, the Evangelist St. Luke in recording,
what some regard simply as a proverb, " Can the blind lead the
bind," etc., expressly prefaces it with these words, " He spake a
parable unto them." St. Matthew also records these words of the
Apostle Peter, " Declare unto us this parable," after our Lord had
said, " Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man." It
has been said, that although this is not strictly a parable, yet
Peter " took.it for a parable." But surely it is better with Peter
to take it for a parable, than to eliminate it from the parables in
order to suit a theory of definition.
On the whole, I desire to adopt in these pages the primary
meaning of the word parable as admirably given by Mr. Trench.
" 77o0a|?oA7j, from 7ia(>n{i(ttliv, projicere, objicere, i. e. TI -nvi, to put
forth one thing before or beside another ; and it is assumed when
nap(?o^7j is used for parable, though not necessarily included in
the word, that the purpose for whidh they are set side by side is.
INTRODUCTION. IX
that they may be compared one with the other. 11 This will include
all the imagery of the New Testament as found in the teaching
of our divine Master, whether we choose more exactly to call it
allegory or proverb or parable. We shall have something that
we can understand or pomprehend, set forth alongside of that in
which we are to be instructed the former to illustrate and ex-
plain the latter ; and whether these two are kept perfectly dis-
tinct as parallel lines, or touch one another at one point as in the
contact of two globes whether, in other words, the illustration
and the thing illustrated, are kept apart, or partially blended with
each other, we shall have the same blessed help afforded us to
grasp at the " things which are not seen," by those wonderful
analogies which were of old prepared by Him who in the days
of his flesh, was pleased to display them so largely for our " in-
struction in righteousness."
Now as to the principle of interpretation adopted in this vol-
ume, it would be in vain to endeavor to enunciate any general
rule. I trust I have observed I am sure I have endeavored to
do so the following admirable suggestion of Tholuck " It must
be allowed that a similitude is perfect, in proportion as it is on all
sides rich in application ; and hence, in treating the parables of
Christ, the exposition must proceed on the presumption, that
there is import in every single point, and only desist from seeking
it, when either it does not result without forcing, or when we can
clearly see that this or that circumstance was merely added for
the sake of giving intuitiveness to the narrative. We should not
assume any thing to be non-essential, except when by holding it
fast as essential the unity of the whole is marred and troubled."
In some of the parables, our Lord secures our full apprehen-
sion of them by a single sentence. Thus, for example " The
wind bloweth where it listeth, &c.,. so is every one that is born of
the Spirit." Here the key with its proper ward is put into our
hands at once, and the whole lies open before us. In others again,
X INTRODUCTION.
he rather hints at the meaning of the parable, than directly leads
to it. As, for example, in that of the Dishonest Steward. Some-
times the Evangelist who reports the parable, prefaces it with
what sets forth its scope and bearing, as in that of the Unright-
eous Judge. Sometimes the preceding narrative itself directly
suggests the purport of the parable which follows, as in those of
the Lost Sheep, the Lost Piece of Money, and the Lost Son.
Sometimes this must be gathered indirectly from the circumstances
narrated, as in the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. In
every one of these, however, the indications are never uncertain,
by which the general scope of the parable may be discovered,
and then in the working out of its details, the principle laid down
by Tholuck, as above, ought to be strictly carried out.
Indeed, that principle is manifestly derived from a careful ex-
amination of those remarkable interpretations which our Divine
Master has been pleased to give of two of his parables the sower
and the tares in the field. He appears to have left these in the
Word of Truth as guides by which the careful student may feel
his way when examining other parables also. The minuteness
of detail in these interpretations is very striking. We have not
only, as in that of the Tares in the field, an exact counterpart
given in the explanation to all the leading points in the parable ;
but we have specially, as in that of the Sower, such exactness in
detail, as that the " fowls of the air devouring the seed" sown " by
the wayside," are meant to represent Satan " catching away the
Wordj" and the "thorns" to represent "the cares, riches, and
pleasures of life which choke the word and make it unfruitful."
It is, indeed, surprising that with such patterns as these of ex-
plained parables, writers should be found who deny the propriety
of any save the most general interpretation, and who see nothing
in the elaborate details of some of them but a pleasing drapery to
surround one central truth. It is a matter of thankfulness in the
Church of God that a better and more consistent mode of exposi-
INTRODUCTION. XI
tion is becoming every day more manifest. Of course there is a
danger in the opposite direction which must be carefully avoided.
To give the rein to an unsanctified fancy, and to allow the imag-
ination to run riot in these simple and beautiful parables, as if
they were only stores of curious notions, is both disastrous to
the individual who thus departs from the words of " truth and
soberness," and most injurious to the cause of Christ in the
world.
It is, however, in considering such dangers on both sides that
our Lord's purpose in teaching by parables becomes manifest. It
is to test the carnal and try the spiritual mind. The parable is
not a " dark saying" in itself. It is, or it is not so, according to
the state of the hearer's mind. It is from the latter that the
darkness proceeds if it be not understood. It is because the
mind has become spiritually quickened, if it be really appre-
Bended. The very simplicity of the parable is that which causes
the unsanctified mind to stumble at it, while, on the other hand,
it wins and attracts the spiritual mind. And so it truly happens
that " whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have
more abundantly ; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be
taken away even that he hath." The spiritual mind will find in
these precious words of Jesus such a rich and plenteous store as
shall prove indeed to be inexhaustible, and the more he applies
to it the more he will obtain ; but the carnal heart, with no
spiritual appetite, no desires after these great mysteries of the
kingdom of God, will give so little heed to them, that, like the
seed sown by the wayside, " even that which he hath shall be
taken away."
A few words now as to the arrangement of the parables which
I have followed in this volume. I have for many years felt, that
in order to obtain a full impression of the extent and depth of
our Lord's parabolic teaching, wo must place his parables along
side of each other, and so endeavor to shed the light of one upon
Xii INTRODUCTION.
the other. I was quite sure that it could only be in this way that
two very important points could be established ; first, the very
wide field of truth embraced in them ; and next, how worthless
and unfounded the slanderous statements of those are who regard
many of them as mere repetitions of the same truth, clothed in a
variety of garb.
In carefully examining them with this view, I have been pene-
trated with the deepest admiration at the rich profusion with
which all the great objective and subjective truths of the Gospel
are found scattered throughout these parables. I could not but
observe how all the deepest and clearest impressions of Divine
truth that can be experienced in the human heart, are, under
God, imperceptibly wrought in by means of these " wondrous
things out of his law." I could not but remark that the strength
and reality with which the spiritual mind is enabled by grace to
apprehend the deep, abstract doctrines of the Gospel, are owing,
unconsciously indeed, to the inner reception of those glorious
analogies, which, like the ladder in Jacob's dream, connect the
things of earth with the things of heaven.
Nor was this admiration lessened, when I considered that
those " earthly things" were not selected at random, as a mere
man might do, in order to illustrate his teaching ; and that, per-
haps, after all, some more apt and suitable illustration might have
been found. On the contrary they are furnished by one, who him-
self prepared these earthly things for this highest and best of
ends, that they might be witnesses to the deeper things of spiritual
and heavenly truth. I found that if, on the one hand, the percep-
tions of the child of God are cleared and elevated regarding the
God of all grace in his spiritual kingdom by such simple things
as the growth of a seed, or the union of the branches with the
vine, or the relation of a father to his son on the other hand,
the gracious foresight of God in his providence becomes more ex-
ceedingly glorious, in that he has not only prepared in the king-
INTRODUCTION. X1U
dom of nature what was needful for the support and comfort of
his creatures there, but has so pre-ordained and fashioned and
arranged these very things, that they should prove, not at ran-
dom, but of necessity, most perfectly suitable to train up the
child of earth in the knowledge of the language of heaven.
Whether in the plan I have adopted in this volume, I shall
succeed in conveying similar impressions to the reader to those I
have received myself, I can not telL This must be left in His
hands, who has all hearts at His diposal. But this will, I think,
be admitted, even on a cursory glance, that nothing can exceed
the importance of the subjects which it contains.
I have first of all brought together into one Part, all those
parables which have specially and expressly to do with the king-
dom of darkness, both in regard to the ruler of that kingdom and
his subjects. I have formed these also into separate groups, .so
as more prominently to show their mutual dependence upon one
another, and thus bring out their depth and fullness.
In the next Part, I have collected and arranged in such order
as seemed most appropriate, all those precious parables which
directly and expressly illustrate the person and character of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
In the third Part, I have brought together those parables which
have special reference to the practical and experimental work of
grace in the heart of the sinner the soul's inner history, when it
is passing, and has passed from the kingdom of Satan to the
kingdom of God's dear Son.
In the fourth Part, I have gathered together the parables which
give a full and accurate description of the reception and progress
of the Gospel in the world.
In the fifth, I have brought together those which relate to the
great change from the Jewish dispensation to that of the Gentiles.
And in the last there will be found those which expressly refer
to the second coming of Christ.
XIV INTRODUCTION.
It will be seen that I have dwelt longest upon the first three
Parts in proportion to the rest. Specially is this the case in
those parables which directly testify of the person and character
of Christ, and in those of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Piece of
Money, and the Lost Son, because I am sure that it is in the
earnest and prayerful study of these, that deeper insight is to be
gained into all the rest. While in one respect they are so pro-
found, as to challenge unwearied examination, and to yield ever-
increasing freshness of truth on the other they are so simple, that
they may be regarded as the elementary portion of the parables.
Of course, I need hardly remark, that the illustration of a
parable is not a proof of divine truth. The proof of the great
truths of Scripture must be looked for in the dogmatic teaching
of the word of God. When this is done, however, then the illus-
tration becomes a most important agent, in giving precision,
force, and clearness, to our perception of the truth already
proved. It presents itself more as a picture or engraving to the
eye, while the direct teaching of the word of God falls upon the
ear ; but from this very circumstance it gives a form, reality, and
lucidity to our thoughts, which they could never otherwise attain.
It only remains, then, that I commit this volume to Him of
whose precious life-giving words it seeks alone to testify. May
He make use of it for His glory. None can be more sensible of
its numerous defects than I am myself. I have no wish to
extenuate these. I have given much labor to it, in the midst of
many pressing duties, but I can truly say that it has been labor
which has brought its own immediate reward, and I would gladly un-
dergo tenfold more for the priceless joy which it has administered.*
* It is not easy to over-estimate the excellencies of much of Mr. Trench's book
on the parables, to which I have had occasion frequently to refer in preparing
this volume. It is a work characterized not only by profound learning, but by a
manly and healthy tone of feeling. While saying this, however, I must guard
myself against being supposed to identify myself with his views on many essen-
tial points. On the contrary, I am constrained to differ from him very widely.
MONTPELIEE, December, 1854.
THE
PARABOLIC TEACHING OF CHRIST.
PART I.
MAN IN SATAN'S KINGDOM HIS CONDITION HIS ACTINGS
AND HIS PROSPECTS.
CHAPTER I.
THAT WHICH DEFILETH A MAX THE LIGHT OP THE BODY THE SICK.
EEVELATION makes known to us the existence of two king-
doms : the one utterly unclean, the other perfectly pure ; the
one all darkness, the other all light ; sin and eternal death in
the one, holiness and eternal life in the other. In the first, Satan
rules supreme, and his subjects are his victims. In the second,
Christ is King, and his subjects are his friends.
To one of these kingdoms every human being in his natural
condition belongs ; into the other there is no possible entrance
for any man, except that natural condition be radically changed.
Of the first he must be a subject, because he is born in sin ; of
the second, if he ever becomes a subject, it is alone by the grace
of God through Jesus Christ, and being "born again."
The Word of God does not reveal these things merely to stir
up our curiosity, or to gratify it when raised ; on the contrary, it
unfolds deep and solemn mysteries concerning these "kingdoms,
with the wise and loving purpose, that we should make immediate
and full use of the knowledge conveyed to us, and " flee from the
wrath to come."
And herein lies the secret of "hearing and understanding"
God's Word. If we search into it as a " common " and not a
sacred thing, if we gaze at it with the proud and self-sufficient
16 THE PARABLE OF
expectation of being able to fathom its depths, instead of looking
into it with the docility of a child, feeling as well as saying,
" What I know not, teach Thou me," then assuredly God will
hide himself from us, " our feet will stumble on the dark moun-
tains, and when we look for light, God will turn it into the
shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.".
But if, on the contrary, we sit like Mary at Jesus' feet, and
"hear his word," then not only will that Master's Word be ful-
filled in us, " To you it is given to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of God," but there shall also be such productiveness in
this knowledge, that we shall, in our every-day experience, real-
ize more fully what He meant when He said, "Whosoever hath,
to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly."
Nor will this abundance spring from one portion of God's
Word and not from another. It will arise from the whole. He
who is enabled to say with David, " My soul is athirst for God,"
finds refreshment in every page of Scripture. History, proph-
ecy, precepts, promises, the shadows of the Old Testament, the
substance of the New, the Law of Moses, and the Gospel of
Christ, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, the mira-
cles and the parables of Jesus, all these, not apart, but mutually
reflecting each other's light, are made to yield so fully and
abundantly to him, that he is able "with joy to draw water from
the wells of salvation."
In reviewing the various parables of our Lord, this shaU,
under the Divine blessing, be our aim not merely to discover
the special beauty of these very precious things of the Word, sim-
ple as they are, but also to use them as a lens of such fitness and
power, that all other portions of Eevelation may have their rays
of light concentrated on our minds,, and their warmth directed
into our hearts ; or, stretching them around us, in one grand pan-
oramic view, be thus enabled to gather more distinctness to the
Manual of' Truth in our hands, and have the remembrance of its
" lively oracles" more deeply engraven upon our memories.
We at once, then, pass to the consideration of those parables
which present before us the sad, degraded, and perilous condition
of man as a subject and victim of Satan in the kingdom of dark-
ness. The first which meets us gives us the key to the mystery
of his being in that kingdom at all.
THAT WHICH DEFILETH A MAN. 17
that ivhich goeih into the mouth defileth a man; but that
which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man" Matt. xv. 11.
" There is nothing from without a. man, that entering into him can
defile him : but the things which come out of him, those are they that
defile the man." Mark vii. 15.
Of the two Evangelists, the latter gives the parable in its sim-
plest form ; the former partly mixes the interpretation with it.
The main purport of it is very clear. As regards man's body, it
is not the nourishment which is provided for 'him and which he
takes, that denies him. It is important to notice how this truth,
as representing a deeper spiritual one, is clearly enforced in
Scripture. The distinction between clean and unclean animals
in the Law of Moses between that which might and that which
might not be eaten has nothing to do with the present view of
the matter. God chose, for certain definite purposes, to make
such distinction in a dispensation which was both ceremonial and
transitory ; but his doing so did not in the least imply that there
was any thing inherently unclean in those animals that were
forbidden, and which of necessity would therefore defile the
body. On the contrary, we find distinct statements to guard
against such an erroneous notion. Thus Peter is warned, when
Jewish prejudice revolted against the mingling of clean and
as they appeared before him in vision, that whatever
God might have been pleased to do in the former dispensation
for a set purpose then, he must not turn away from any creature
which, in His providence, he set before his servant now, " That
call not thou common,"* or unclean. And so in this sense Paul
says to the Eomans, " I know and am persuaded by the Lord
Jesus, that there is nothing unclean in itself"-^ And to the same
effect, only more pointedly, in writing to Timothy, " For every
creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be re-
ceived with thanksgiving."^: It is not that what man receives as
nourishment which defiles him bodily. Our Lord, in proceeding
to enforce the grand spiritual truth which he had in view, declares
the contrary, "That which cometh out of the man, that defileth
the man." And then he at once applies this to the great foun-
tain and source of spiritual defilement, of which all that he had
said of the body and its food was but a figure.
* Acts x. 15. f Romans xiv. 14. $ 1 Tim. iv. 4. Mark vii. 20.
2
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*
t]
n
18 THE PARABLE OP
/ "For from within out of the heart of man, proceed evil
i/y thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness,
wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride,
foolishness ; all these evil things come from within, and defile
the man." This is the application of the parable. See what it
.nfolds. Of course, the first and most obvious conclusion is
that which condemned the self-righteous Pharisee for being
rigidly careful not to ^it down to" meat with unwashen hands,
while he neglected to look to the cleansing of the source of all
pollution within himself. " To eat with unwashen hands defileth
not the man." But our Lord, as his wont was, is not satisfied with
shutting the mouth of the gainsayer, he likewise takes occasion
to preach a deep truth, and unfold a sad mystery. His applica-
tion of the figure before us, when extended, is to the following
effect : No spiritual? nourishment which God has provided for
the soul of man defiles it. From whatever quarter the evil has
sprung up which pollutes and destroys him, he has not had it
instilled into him by God. It has not come to him in the spir-
itual sustenance which God has provided for him. No ! It has
sprung up in his own heart. It has originated within. Man has
himself given birth to what defiles him. He has none to blame
but himself. " From within, out of the heart of man, proceed evil
thoughts," etc.
What a field of sad reflection does this open before us of the
commencement of evil in this world ! It leaves the question as
to the origin of evil just where it must ever remain, among the
hidden and unrevealed things of God. It afibrds us no help in
the merely curious inquiry, why evil was ever permitted at all.
But this practical question it does settle. It tells us where evil
originated in our world. It tells us, that if, on the one hand,
God made man upright, man made himself jrile, that there was
nothing in all God's arrangements for man's spiritual necessities
but those that were " very good," and that it was alone from
within the heart that a polluted stream began to well up, which
has from age to age enlarged itself in the defilement, desolation,
and misery, it has never ceased to spread on every sideT~~
And surely in this matter there has been more attributed to
Satan in the bringing in of evil into this world than of right be-
longs to him. And thus, too, the words of our Lord, " The prince
THAT WHICH DEFILETH A MAN. 19
of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me" fail to suggest
the real nature of tli e contrast between Him and our first parents.
The enemy came to Christ, and found nothing in him not a
single spot on which he could, with his utmost skill and deadly
malice, plant one temptation, so as to make success even possible.
He came to Eve, and he did find already there such a vantage-
ground. That this was not, and could not be. the mere fact that
it was possible for her to fall, is obvious, because this peculiarity
in her being was God's doing, not hers, but it was something
which she herself had prepared, a door which she herself had
opened, and which admitted the "breath of temptation, a stand-
point, which she herself had furnished, on which the adversary
might now, \vith advantage, press his temptation and finally
prevail. Does not our Lord, in the first of the deadly things
enumerated in his application of this parable, point out what this
vantage-ground for Satan was "evil thoughts?'' Look at the
history of the fall. See how the tempter approaches Eve,
" Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree ?* He does
not speak of the one forbidden tree directly, or as if starting a
new subject of thought for his victim ; on the contrary, the very
language of the temptation seems to imply that he is merely fall-
ing in with what had already begun to move within Eve's breast.
She had doubtless already, in however slight a degree, begun to
look at the tree with desire, to Avonder atTthe prohibition prob-
ably to question its justice. Her " evil thought " it Avas, and not
Satan's subtilty or power, which ^hivered the fair image of God
admitted thej' father of lies" Avhere truth should have been
forever enshrined, and was the first foul speck in a stream Avhich
has ever since polluted this Avorld Avith all manner of uncleanness.
And this accords" Avith the statement of James, who traces this
^ i - ^_
stream to its right source, \But every man Avhen he is tempted,
is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. T^hjjnjjivhen, lust
hath conceived, it bringeth iorth sin ; and sin, Avlien it is finished,
bringcth forth death.'V The same apostle likewise seems almost
to have had the w,ortfs of Christ in his mind, for he thus strongly
describes the things Which come^owf of thejnput/i 'VThe tongue
is a firej a Avorld of iniquity^ so is tne tongue among our mgja
bers, that it defileth the Avhole Body, and setteth on fire the course
* Genesis iii. 1. f James i. 14, 15.
20 THE PAEABLE OF
of nature ; and it is set on fire of hell."'* The heart provides
fuel for the tongue, for ''out of the abundance of the heart, the
mouth speaketh,^ and " it'is set on fire of hell," and involves all
around in a terrible and wide-spread conflagration. "Itsetteth
on fire the course of nature." See then what the parable por-
trays to us. It points to the heart of man as the prolific source
of all the evil with which we are acquainted in this world ; and,
moreover, it shows that evil within must soon be poured out.
The " evil treasure " must "bring forth evil things.'" The tongue
becomes the channel by which the pent up waters first break
forth, and as they gush out, a deeper tinge than ever man has
imparted, distinguishes^ them. Hell has lent her unutterable
deadliness to this corrupt and corrupting stream.
"We have this sad history further illustrated by another parable,
taken, as that we have just considered, from the human body,
and exhibiting another phase of the evil condition of man, as a
subject in the kingdom of darkness. His "foolish heart" led
him in, and then that "foolish heart became darkened."
"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy
whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole
body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be
darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matt. vi. 22, 23; Luke
xi. 34.
Here the eye is called the "Light of the body" or the lamp of
the body ; not, let it be observed, as if the eye were itself the
originator of light, but merely as the reflector of that light which
is diffused around the body, and altogether independent of it.
Now, if the eye be " single," or clear, the whole body has the
benefit of it, and " walks in light." On the other hand, if the
eye be evil, diseased, or perverted, it ceases to be a faithful guide
and the body becomes to all intent and purposes "full of dark-
ness" and " stumbles at noonday " as at midnight.
But, what the eye is to the body, the conscience, or the inner
light, is to the soul. It has not, and never was intended to have
light in itself; but its office is to reflect the pure light of the
Father of Spirits, 'which is altogether independent of it. Had
this conscience remained "single" clearly and fully reflecting
this supernal light, then the whole soul would have remained
* James iii. 6.
THE LIGHT OF THE BODY. 21
"full of light" both in its affections and in its faculties. It would
have felt, that nothing was so satisfying as the love and the favor
of God ; and all truth, physical, moral, intellectual, and spiritual,
would have been revealed before its gaze, with a luster over
which no dimness could ever fall with a certainty which could
never fail. But, alas ! this inner light became evil. Conscience
lost its power of being the great reflector of God's light on the
soul, and so reason and judgment, as well as affection, became
thoroughly darkened or perverted. The loveliness and the glory
of God's character are no longer perceived, and so the " beauty
of holiness " is unseen. Errors, mistakes, stumbling, falling, and
ruin, mark the soul's onward progress. Darkness is put for light,
and bitter for sweet. The simplest and the plainest things be-
come complicated and inextricable. Even the great truths of
external nature are of no avail in giving it a right direction,
because they are not seen in that harmony and proportion, in
that position and relationship, which can alone be discovered
when the true spiritual light of Him, who is at once the God of
nature and of grace, is fully shining on the heart.
Our Lord adds further, "If therefore the light that is in thee be
darkness, how great is that darkness /" If, for the use of the body,
its comfort and its safety, it was needful to prepare so delicate
and wondrous an organ as the eye, then, should the power of
vision fail, how grqat must that darkness be ! how extensive
shrouding the whole body in its pall and that not at one time,
or at another, but at all times. So, likewise, if for the guidance,
the safety, and the comfort of the soul, it was needful to place
within its inmost folds, so delicate and marvelous a mirror of
God's light, or, in other words, of God himself, by the aid of
whose wondrous properties alone, his image, his truth, lie Him-
self, could be seen, felt, appreciated, and according to its capacity
understood by the soul, how great must be the soul-darkness,
when that mirror is broken in pieces and its light gone ! Every
part becomes dark. The minute but light-conveying organ of
the soul is destroyed, and each one of those countless wonders
which compose that inner mystery is wrapped in thick darkness.
Each chamber in that marvelous dwelling, which before was all
light, is shut up and dark. The darkness of it is indeed " great."
Nor is there any hope of change. It is not such a darkness as is
22 THE PARABLE OF
succeeded, first by the dawn, and then by the brigLt noon-day,
it never gathers brightness, but blackness. As well might we
expect to be able to see with the hand or with the ear, as that the
great and gross darkness of the soul should, by any of its inner
powers, be turned even to twilight, when the lamp of the soul is
gone out.
But we proceed to another parable, taken from the human
body, and which presents to us a further view of the sad condi-
tion of man in the kingdom of Satan.
" 'They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick"
Matt. ix. 12.
Here is another apt and striking illustration of man's present
condition. Bodily sickness sets forth what neither of the para-
bles we have yet considered does. In the first of these, we have
distinctly intimated to us, whence the evil stream of pollution first
sprang in this world, viz., the heart. In the second, we have
gross, total darkness, both mental, moral, and spiritual, as the
result of a darkened conscience. Here we have the debility and
weakness of man portrayed, and the rapidity with which, if the
inner disease be not arrested, he is falling into eternal death. In
the first parable we have sin itself first rearing its head in this
world, and then pouring forth its deadly waters. In the second
we have it covering the soul with the shadow of death. And
now in that before us, we have the soul, in its departure from
God, and its solitary darkness, sinking down in weakness and
mortal disease into the arms of the second death. How terrible
is the full description of this disease as given us by the inspired
Prophet, " From the soul of the foot, even to the head, there is
no soundness in it, but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying
sores." What a loathsome thing to look upon ! What a wretch-
ed thing to be !
Very striking is this image of sickness to mark the prostrate
condition of man in his sin. He droops and languishes un-
der its influence. He is disabled by its enervating effects from
walking abroad in his vigor, running without weariness, or walk-
ing without faintness. That which in a sinless state would be
easy, delightful, and refreshing, becomes impossible and distaste-
ful to his sin-sick soul. How often has the poor afflicted sufferer,
in his chamber of sickness, felt bitterly the change in his every
THE SICK. 23
feeling which that sickness has induced? The light and the
breath of nature the sights and the sounds which gladdened
and cheered him before, have become almost intolerable to him.
The very voice of affection itself the very tone of gentlest love,
in seeking to soothe, are no longer what they were. The fever-
ish restlessness the longing for the morning dawn, and then for
the evening shade the parched tongue, the weary limbs, the
acute pain, the dull deep gnawing of mortal diseasey,the disar-
rangement of all the functions of the body, the .^pfeplessn^df
the delirium, the helplessness, the hopelessness, ai$ the solitari-
ness of the poor-stricken one, (for his bodily disease is his own
he shares it not with another the health or the sicl^n'ess of. all ^*
the world besides makes no difference to him ; he bears -his own
burden ;) surely all this supplies a wonderful P^'^JJJIjTJlCp
the soul of man, and the spiritual disease under which heTSsiHIr-
ing. The malady, doubtless, has its acute and chronic stage.
Sometimes a mitigation of symptoms occurs for a ttojf . Now and
then, it may be, the sufferer is able to breathefffie fresh air, or
move with less difficulty ; but the disease is still there, and ever
ready to assert its full power.
And then, what is the close to sickness of body ? Look into
that chamber ! Gaze into that dark grave ! The end of it is
death. And so to the soul, when disease commences there, it is
mortal. "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
And if the progress of the disease 1 be, in other words, but a grad-
ual dying, the end thereof is eternal death. Alas, there is a mys-
tery here beyond the illustration ! The poor body lies still in the
grave, when death has closed the scene of earthly suffering ; but
the soul that has sunk under the fatal power of mortal disease in.
this world, has but winged its way from lesser suffering to such
agony as this, " Where their worm dieth not, and J^&ir- fire, is
never quenched."
CHAPTER II
THE STECNG HAN AEJ1ED. THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT GOING OUT OF A MAN.
IN the preceding chapter we have seen vividly portrayed how
man entered the kingdom of darkness. His heart cherished the
"evil thought," and so he passed across the line which separates
the kingdoms of light and darkness. His condition in the latter
is, first, one of intellectual, moral, and spiritual darkness. He has
become adapted to his new position. And next, he has a '" sick-
ness unto death," inflicting on him from within himself all kinds
of spiritual distress and misery here, and filling him with the
gloomy forebodings of the disease consummated hereafter.
And here, then, another agent appears distinctly on the scene,
and henceforth occupies a most important and prominent position
there. He has as yet only been seen, as it were, to cross man's
path. His presence has only been obscurely intimated. His
mighty shadow alone has fallen on man, and darkened him in his
once fair home. Now he stands clearly revealed. We behold
him in his pride of conquest and his power of dominion. The
foul tempter, the false deceiver, the ruthless destroyer, the accuser
and the tyrant of fallen man. The following parable brings this
evil one under our notice :
" Or else, how can one enter -into a strong man's house, and spoil
his goods, except he first bind the strong man ? and then he will spoil
his house" Matthew xii. 29 ; Mark iii. 27.
" When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in
peace : but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and over-
come him, he takethfrom him all his armor wherein he trusted, and
divideih his spoils" Luke xi. 21, 22.
The figure which is the groundwork of this parable is very
THE STRONG MAN ARMED. 25
simple. We have a dwelling, and that not a common one. It
is a place of strength, capable of withstanding an assault, and, at
the same time, of grand and imposing appearance it is a fortress
and a palace. It is inhabited. The dweller in it, not the rightful
possessor of it, is a " strong man" one of power and nerve, suited
to the business he has in hand, namely, to hold securely the pa-
lace in which he lives. For this purpose he has all suitable ar-
mor, so as to make the strongest and the longest resistance against
any attack ; and so far as his skill and ability enable him, he
" keeps his palace," and his " goods are in peace" The rest of the
similitude we defer, until we examine into the meaning of that
part of the picture.
As to the "strong man," there can be no doubt. The context
clearly shews us that it is " the chief of the devils," Satan, the
great rebel against God, and the great adversary of man. What
then is his palace ? There is very probably in the parable a gen-
eral allusion to the world at large, as the place of Satan's power,
and the seat of his dominion, and this is needful to be had in re-
membrance, and will fall to be considered at another time ; but
it is manifest that our Lord was not dwelling primarily on this
general view. He had been engaged in casting out devils from
individuals, each sufferer being possessed with one or more of
these evil spirits. His enemies charged him with doing so by the
aid of Satan himself. Our Lord rebuts this charge, and that in
a short but very significant parable, " If a kingdom" he says,
" be divided against itself, that kingdom can not stand" If there be
nothing in a kingdom but divided council and separate action,
making on one side, and unmaking on the other, setting up and
pulling down, internal discord and civil war, " that kingdom can
not stand; " and if " Satan be also divided against himself," as the
Pharisees intimated, when they accused Jesus of casting out Satan
by Satan's own power, " how could his kingdom stand ? " No.
He is not so weak, so ignorant of what his strength is, nor so reck-
less of his resources. His bad power is yet a united power, and it
will not be for lack of oneness of purpose and action that his king-
dom shall at length fall. . Then our Lord likens him to " the strong
man keeping his palace. 11 . Obviously, therefore, the case of those
who were possessed with devils * supplied primarily tt ^ matter to
* Sec Appendix A.
26 THE PARABLE OF
be illustrated in the parable. When an evil spirit dwelt in Mary
Magdalene, in the Gentile woman's daughter, or in the fierce
maniac among the tombs, then we have brought before us in its
nearest, most palpable, and terrible reality, the " strong man keep-
ing Ids palace" But, after all, the dominion which these spirits
had over the bodies of the poor sufferers, was but indicative of
the power which they possessed over their souls. And is it not
probable, that besides the purpose of exhibiting, during our Lord's
sojourn on earth, before the eyes of all, his power over Satan, so
that " He cast forth the devils by a word," he might have per-
mitted such terrible evidence of their presence and power in the
body, to draw attention to the deeper, more solemn, and more
awful truth of their presence in the soul ?
That Scripture teaches this " dread reality," can not be denied.
The case of Ananias is one convincing proof, " Why hath Satan
filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost ? " * What is this but
the possession of the heart by Satan ? He holds every nook and
corner of it, he fills it. The case of Judas is another, and, in
one respect, even more striking. In the betrayal of his Master,
we are informed by the Evangelist, first of all, that the " devil put
into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him." He
must possess the heart, who can at his will, introduce such a dead-
ly intent. But this is not all. A little further on we are let in
to the full amount of the terrible power and dominion which Sa-
tan has over the heart of fallen man, " After the sop, Satan en-
tered into him." f The sinner's soul is a place at his command.
He has the keys of the door, and can go in and out at his plea
sure. He is its powerful possessor, its stern guard, and dark king.
And in the parable before us, then, we see this soul-possession
by the evil one wonderfully portrayed. The dwelling which he
holds is no common one. It was originally built for strength
and for beauty. The soul of man has indeed changed masters,
and every power and every ornament it contains has been trans-
ferred from God to Satan ; nevertheless there they are. It is a
stronghold still. Is it not so ? Mark its resistance against all
good ; its resolute and successful shutting out of all spiritual light.
It is a palace still ; for though the King of kings is no longer
there, its very possession has given a kingdom to a fallen angel ;
* Acts v. 3. f John xiii. 27.
THE STRONG MAN ARMED. 27
and as long as he retains it, he lifts himself up against the God
of Heaven, and dares to make war as " the prince " and "the god
of this world," against Jehovah and his saints.
And does not this very truth just stated shew admirably the
choice of our Lord's similitude? " The strong man." He must
needs be strong, he has proved himself to be strong, who has
not only entered in, but now holds in complete subjection such a
dwelling as this, such a fortress, such a palace. Satan " works in
the children of disobedience," and that so constrainingly that they
are called his " children." He " carries them captive at his will,"
and " the whole world lieth in the wicked one." The " strength "
of this usurper in the King's palace is well seen by the apostolic
description of the terrific conflict which must be waged, if the
soul shall ever escape. " We wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places."
But observe further ; when the strong man keeps his palace,
he has "his goods" in it, and they are " in peace." These are the
lusts and passions of the poor fallen soul ; all those wondrous fac-
ulties which once followed hard after God, but are now alienat-
ed from him, degraded by reason of the vileness of the objects on
which they now fasten, these are Satan's " goods." He, the fal-
len angel, has reached that awful depth so vividly painted by the
poet, as to say, " Evil, be thou my good." The deeper the guilt,
the more deadly the sin ; the more -atrocious the iniquity, it is
the more prized by him. These are the things which he most
carefully guards and watches over ; and as long as he remains in
possession of the soul, they are " in peace" he allows nothing to
mitigate their abomination, or change their character.
And then he has his armor wherewith to do all this, his
panoply, his whole armor, or " all his armor" as it is called,
his snares, guiles, temptations, his subtle suggestions, stirring
up evil by supplying food fbi it, awaking doubts against God,
and truth, and holiness, and Heaven, and leading on an outward
and bitter opposition against all that is good. This is " tfte ar-
mor wherein he trusteth" and which, alas, has done him, and is
still doing him such service in deluding and ensnaring the souls
of men, and driving them to utter and irremediable ruin.
28
But let us turn now to consider the remaining part of this par-
able. "What is set before us is this : A strong man, dwelling
in his fortified palace, and holding all his goods in peace by his
skill and power, well armed, and on his guard. Then a "stronger
than he " is introduced, and by reason of his superior strength,
the latter forces his way into the palace, "comes upon" the strong
man, "overcomes him" "binds him" " takes from him all his armor
wherein he trusteth" and "divides his spoils"
Here, then, we have the history of a severe conflict, and a com-
plete victory. For the present we pass over the consideration as
to who " the stronger than he " is, because another opportunity will
occur when we may more fully and suitably take this up, and
look into the precious truths which are involved in it ; suffice it
just now to remark, that the "goods" of the "strong man" are
" in peace" and his palace safe, as long as a stronger than he does
not come against him. His hold on the property will never be-
come weakened, impaired, or destroyed by any internal cause.
The loss of his palace and his spoils together will never happen
to the strong man from any want of care, forethought, skill, or
unity of purpose on his part, nor from the perfect fitness of all
that he has taken possession of within for his purpose. It is only
superior force that can at length lead this " captivity captive."
So with the soul of man domineered over as it is by Satan ; there
is no help for it, no hope for its deliverance, from any thing which
may happen within itself. Satan's hold of this soul-property
will never be relaxed by carelessness or want of vigilance on his
part, he is ever on the alert, " going about " to see that " his
goods are in peace" he is never "divided against himself;" no
ingenuity or subtilty are wanting on his part ; no willingness or
power are lacking to hold his own ; nor is there any thing in the
poor captive soul itself whence hope of deliverance from this
thraldom can arise. Alas, it is a " willing captive;" it "loves
darkness rather than light;" it has acquired a deadly affinity to
that evil one who has taken possession of it. It " walks according
to the prince of the power of the air," and if it be not " recovered
out of the snare of the devil," the notes of that awful harmony
shall never die away ; their " wailing " shall startle the echoes of
eternity.
But that there is a way of deliverance, the parable clearly
THE STRONG MAN ARMED. 29
makes known, Satan, indeed, will never of his own accord, by
his carelessness, or by internal weakness, give up his victim ; nor
will that victim ever, of its own accord, make any effort to dis-
lodge Satan. Unless some one else interfere, the terrible union
between the evil one and the soul is sealed forever. But if "the
stronger " than Satan takes the matter in hand one who fears
him 'not, who will not stoop to craft in contending with him, who
will not be content with a drawn battle, who takes him not una-
wares, but announces to him his determined purpose and his sure
work, then the bands of the wicked are broken nothing can
any longer keep Satan and the soul together as lord and slave
as sovereign and subject. Power, irresistible power, dissolves the
compact, severs the union, and destroys the dominion. The steps
by which this great deliverance is effected, and the final victory
secured to the "stronger" are well worthy of notice. He (the
stronger) enters into the soul, he " comes upon" the usurper there,
falls upon him in his might, " overcomes" him, grasps him by a
hand which is "mighty to save," "binds" him hand and foot,
makes him a captive in the very place where hitherto he reigned
supreme, exhibits him to the awakened and delivered soul in this
state of bondage, " takes from him his armor," makes the won-
dering soul fully aware of his subtilties, and unmasks the secrets
of his power, so that it is no longer " ignorant of his devices,"
and " divides the spoil," recovers all those powers and faculties
of the soul, which before only sounded as voices from the pit,
and tunes them to the melodies of heaven, at one time causing
them to burst forth in the grand swell of victory gained over the
tyrant, at another to join in the new song of praise, with all its
sweet cadences of unutterable joy. *
Thus only can the soul be effectually delivered from Satan ;
nothing can do it but the overwhelming strength of one alto-
gether distinct from the spoiler and the spoiled. This most im-
portant truth, which does indeed require to be deeply impressed
upon the heart of man, has not alone drawn forth the parable we
have just been considering. That illustration is in itself remark-
able for its clear and distinct teaching ; but, as if to remove any
possible doubt or cause for mistake in the matter, our Lord has
left us another parable, which fastens this nail in a sure place.
Let us give our attention to it.
30 THE PARABLE OF
" When ike unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walkeih
through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, 1
will return into my house from whence I came out ; and when he is
come, lie findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and
taketii with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and
they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse
than the first." Matthew xii. 43-45 ; Luke xi. 24-26.
The similitude in this parable, though interpenetrated with,
that which it is intended to illustrate, is still obvious enough.
We have set before our minds a house not now as in the former
parable, either a place of strength, or a palace, but simply q,
dwelling. It has a possessor, one who occupies it at his pleasure.
He calls it " my house." He leaves his dwelling for a time, of
his own accord. He has not a moment's thought of relinquish-
ing his property. He goes out of it for a little while, and jour-
neys according to his will. When he becomes wearied with his
wanderings, he turns his face homewards, and when he enters his
dwelling again, he finds it, as he expected, perfectly ready for his
reception, "empty, swept, and garnished;" and the only change
from his former life in his dwelling is, that he has introduced
others, his associates, with himself into it, welcomed them under
his roof, and made them share in his habitation.
Such is the groundwork of this parable. There is no doubt
that our Lord meant it to have, in a secondary sense, a reference
to the Jewish people of that day, " so shall it be also to the men
of this generation," and to this view of the parable our attention
will yet be directed ; but the deeper truth lies beneath that inter-
pretation. The very manner in which our Lord has mingled the
truth and the illustration together proves this. " When the un-
clean spirit," he says, " is gone out of a man." If we extend this,
it will read thus, "when like a man going out of his own house,
the unclean spirit is gone out of a man," an evil spirit, then,
going out of a man, is the first and main point of illustration in
this parable. And this, then, just throws us back upon the con-
clusion which we reached above, namely, that while our Lord
was immediately pointing to the possession of the bodies of men
by evil spirits, he had chiefly and specially in view the possession
of their souls.
Let us see, then, what instruction the parable yields to us in
THE UNCLEAR SPIRIT GOING OUT OF A MAN. 31
this respect. " When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man."
There is nothing here of a " stronger than he" coming upon him
and binding him ; rather the language suggests to us the strong-
est contrast between this case and those in which our Lord
openly interposed and " cast forth" the devils by his word.
We have then set forth here the utter hopelessness of deliver-
ance for the soul from the bondage of Satan, unless a third party
step in, and by his power dissolve the union forever. The
heart of man will not recover from its guilt, or its real concord
with Satan, notwithstanding the temporary absence of the latter,
and the withdrawal for a season of his direct temptations. It is
not the mere departure of the evil one for a season that will
deliver it from his thraldom, or change its nature, and renew it
into the image of God. The tyrant knows this full well, or he
would never withdraw his active temptations even for a moment.
He deliberately lets the poor soul alone at times, not because he
has become careless of his possession, but because he feels secure
in the hold he has obtained over it. During his voluntary but
temporary absence, he never ceases to regard it as " his house"
and means to return to it when he pleases. And just like the
man who leaves his dwelling for a time, and turns his steps
whithersoever he will, so the evil spirit, when he leaves a soul
alone for a time, without the immediate presence of temptations,
chooses to " walk through dry places" those barren and sterile
places, where he finds what is suited to his taste, where he can
devour, destroy or deceive, and leave the traces of his deadly
poison at every step. Wherever the grace of God is not, he finds
'a dry place" and he tarries there, if it be only as a wayfaring
man at an inn for his refreshment, to gratify his own deadly
passion for doing evil to the bodies and souls of those who are
exposed to his baleful influence.
What a glimpse into the state of these spirits of darkness docs
the single expression used by our Lord give us ! The evil spirit
wanders through dry places, "seeking rest" Alas! the worm
gnaws the fire burns the scorpion stings, and the accursed one
flies from one act of deadly spite to another, in eager desire to
dull the pain, and calm the restless tumult within. But all in
vain ; all his efforts only add fuel to the flame. The curse fol-
lows him at every step. The chain of darkness is riveted more
32 THE PARABLE OF
tightly around him. His "hell enlarges itself without measure."
Oh, if there is one view of the terrific effect of sin and departure
from God more awful than another, it is surely this bitter restless-
ness of evil, which thrusts the miserable being who has it into
fresh acts of defiance and ungodliness, only to increase the intol-
erable amount of disquietude and anguish forever. Truly these
words might well be written on the gates of the pit, "seeking rest,
and finding none," for they but too fully account for the sounds
that issue from within, " weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth."
Wearied with his wanderings through the dry places, the evil
spirit determines at length to return on his steps, and to dwell
again in the heart he had for a time left. How sad the picture is
of his entire confidence in holding fast his possession. "I will
return unto my house from whence I came out" And when he does
so, " he finds it empty, swept, and garnished" It is " empty." This
is the key-note of the description. There is no one to dispute his
entrance, or to claim possession of the property. In his absence
the door has not been opened to another master, nor have the
rooms been occupied by another tenant. The soul, though it has
not seen its possessor as it were face to face for a time, has never
abjured its allegiance, or turned its desire toward another. And
so the evil one is pleased to find it " swept" He is greatly satis-
fied with some appearances of reformation certain significant
tokens of cleanness, for he knows that these are all for him. Had
it been swept or cleansed for another, he would have fled from it
with dismay and hatred, but as it is for himself, he exults over it
with fiendish delight, as only making the habitation at length
more thoroughly his own and it is " garnished" too. Many
ornaments are found within. The soul has put forth some of its
inherent powers. It has enriched itself from the stores of art,
science and philosophy. It has shewn rare skill in works of
social benevolence. It has gained a good name for integrity and
uprightness. And all this, too, is gain to the evil possessor, not
to the rightful owner of it. All these he takes into his hand, and
turns them to his own bad purpose of keeping the soul still fur-
ther from God, and making use of it for the enlargement and
increase of the dominion and the power of darkness.
It is very remarkable to note the bearing of the parable at this
point. " Then goeth he, and taJceth with him seven other spirits more
THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT GOING OUT OF A MAN. 33
wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there, and the last
state of tfiat man is worse than the first" He first finds the soul
"empty" and not only so, but " swept" and "garnished;" and this
latter far' from giving him any disquiet, as if he were losing his
hold, only makes him perceive that there is henceforth room for
much more than there was before. It is capable of containing
more evil than before. It is ready to entertain more messengers
of Satan than before ; and so its last state is worse than the first.
It is surely impossible to mistake the solemn truth here illus-
trated. "We have not here the case of one outwardly going on
in a course of vile pollution and rampant ungodliness. In such
as these the unclean spirit never even seems for a moment to relax
his hold. Every day he appears to add a new accomplice in his
work of ruin and woe, until it may be, as in the case of the
dweller in the tombs, out of whom when the evil spirits passed,
for they were legion, they entered into a whole herd of swine
the poor soul becomes, in the most terrible sense of the term, " a
child of hell." But here we have the case of one, in whom out-
ward appearances are favorable, and yet these very things, exter-
nally so fair and good, are turned by the power and subtilty of
Satan into increased means of rebellion against God, and daring
triumph of his evil and accursed sway. Surely the great lesson
lies written as with a sunbeam on the parable, that as long as the
soul is " without God in the world," no matter what it may be in
other respects, in its outward manifestations, no matter what men
may think of it, nor what it may think of itself, it is still the
slave of sin, and the bond slave of Satan. The only possible
change in its condition for the better and not for the worse, is
when Satan is overpowered by the almighty strength of a greater
than he. And simultaneously with this, the delivered soul is
born again and made a new creature. Both of these acts, the
one by the Son, the other by the Spirit of God, we shall notice
at a future opportunity.
Meantime, dear reader, let me ask you to look and examine
closely into the condition of your heart. Have you reason to
fear that it is like the " dry places" of the parable, that you know
nothing of the former and the latter rain of God's Spirit, which
refreshes the thirsty ground of the heart, and makes the very
wilderness bloom and blossom as the rose? Is this your case ?
3
34 THE PARABLE OF THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT.
Take heed. It tempts evil spirits to seek you out It is just in
such states of the heart that they leave their traces. The dry
places, which will not yield a blade of grass, may have fuel
heaped upon them for the flame of lust. But perhaps you find
much within that is fair and promising much that pleases and
gratifies yourself, and the manifestation of which gives you a
name and reputation among others. But with all this, is your
soul " empty ?" It may be " swept and garnished" but is God
there ? Have you invited him to sit down on the throne of your
heart 1 Do all these lovely and loveable things, as you think
them, cluster round him, as of right belonging to him 1 Is the
perfume of all these sweet things, as you regard them, given
forth for him ? If not ! then once more I entreat you, beware !
Satan lurks beneath that flower. The potency of his temptation
arises in the very fragrance of the blossom. Your own pride of
heart is deceiving you, as much as the pollution of your neighbor
is deluding him ; and even like Eve in Paradise, when you have
turned away, as you suppose, from the serpent, and forgotten
him, and, it may be, the grandeur of being like a god knowing
good from evil, fills you with exulting expectation, the flaming
sword may even then be unsheathing which is to prevent your
ever seeing again the tree of life; and, alas ! your " last state will
be worse than the first."
CHAPTER III.
THE EICH FOOL.
"WE advai.ce another step. "We have already seen that it pro-
ceeded from the " evil thought" of man himself, that he became
a subject in the kingdom of darkness. His condition in that
kingdom we have traced as one of mental and spiritual darkness,
and of mortal disease. We have likewise seen that he has thus
sold himself to the prince of that kingdom, Satan, who dis-
poses of him as he will. We now turn to look for some of the
external manifestations of all this, which must assuredly appear,
as "the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart," can only
" 'bring forth evil things. 1 ' 1 Indeed, it is by such outward manifest-
ations that the real state of the case is known. " A good tree
can not bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit." The good fruit is not the cause of the good-
ness of the tree on the one hand, nor is the evil fruit the cause of
the badness of the tree on the other ; but the one is thus distin-
guished from the other. " The tree is known by its fruit ;" and
so " the unfruitful works of darkness," as they may be seen and
read of all men, are not the cause of man's unhappy and enslav-
ed condition ; but the necessary consequence, and the evidence of
it; and it is by them, as with " a pen of iron and the point of a
diamond," that the triumphs of sin and Satan are so clearly and
enduringly recorded.
The first parable that meets us at this stage in our progress, is
the following :
" The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully ; and
he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no
room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do : I
36 THE PARABLE OF
will pull down my barns, and build greater ; and there I will bestow
all my fruits and my goods. And I will say unto my soul, Soul, ihou
hast much goods laid up for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink,
and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul
shall be required of thee : then whose shall those things be which thou
hast provided f Luke xii. 16-20.
Our Lord addressed the parable to those around him, in conse-
quence of a very unseemly interruption, caused by a man who
was standing by. Jesus, according to his custom, had been en-
gaged in urging on the attention of his hearers some of those
important truths which were all-essential, as well " for the life
that now is as that which is to come," he was speaking "as
never man spake," of some of the great spiritual things which
man is so slow to understand, and yet which it is of eternal mo-
ment that he -should receive, when one of the company, with his
heart and thoughts wide of the mark, broke in upon his discourse.
This man had no love for those higher and purer things of which
Christ was speaking. He had no taste for those inner spiritual
possessions which Jesus was urging on him as well as others. All
that his carnal heart did for him was to assure him that there was
one before him teaching as with authority. He marked the def-
erence with which Christ was listened to. He concluded that he
must have much weight and influence in any thing he might
chose to say, and so he thought he had a notable opportunity to
promote some purposes of his own some selfish desires which
he cherished deeply in his heart, to the entire exclusion of those
better things which Christ set before him, " Master," said he,
"speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me."
Ah ! this man spake out candidly what thousands feel, but pru-
dently conceal. How many hide such thoughts within their
hearts, which he openly expressed, at the very time when the
most solemn truths of death, judgment, and eternity, are being
pressed upon them !
And let it be noted that what this man desired was, not to gain
an advantage over his brother, but merely to obtain a just and.
proper settlement at the hands of that brother. We shall miss
very much the force of the parable we are to consider, if we do
not bear this in mind. There is nothing wrong in itself implied
in the narrative. There can be little doubt that this man had
THE RICH FOOL. 37
been defrauded by his brother, and it is probable that, from the
clear conviction of the justice of his case, combined with what he
saw and heard of the purity and holiness of the Saviour's life
and conduct, he was led to appeal to the latter as he did. It is
not, then, that he asked any thing which was in . itself sinful or
improper. No ; his guilt lay in this, though not claiming any
other property than his own, he was yet suffering earthly things
to take the precedence of heavenly things, and so to obscure his
vision, and fill his heart, that he had no care, or thought, or
patience for the latter at all.
"When thus interrupted, our Lord at once refuses, in very
peremptory language, all such interference in worldly matters.
" Man," said he, " who made me a judge or divider over you?"
words which can not fail to suggest to us the contrast between
his conduct and that of Moses, when the latter, truly set as his
heart was on executing the Divine commission with which he
was intrusted, did yet most imprudently and unjustifiably seek to
do this by ways and means, and on occasions when he was not
specially directed by God.* Having thus pointedly refused to
undertake the settlement of the matter this man would have
thrust upon Him, our Lord seizes the opportunity of pressing
some solemn and important truths on his hearers, connected with
that carnal, earthly, sensual spirit, to which expression had just
been given. And he clothes his sentiments in the remarkable
parable before us.
" The ground of a rich man brought forth plentifully." We can
not but note the reason why our Lord chose this as the means
whereby the rich man became richer. Had he merely brought
under our notice the case of a wealthy man adding daily to his
already large stores, a wide margin would have been left to us to
suppose that he had been doing this by unfair as well as fair
means. The continued increase to his goods might possibly arise
from craft, dishonesty, and fraud, on his part. But this was not in-
volved in the matter our Lord had in hand. He was not aiming
his rebuke against what is regarded as fraudulent between man
and man. He was admitting that nothing of this kind existed, as
in the case of the man who had just interrupted his discourse.
What He had before Him was to illustrate the case of one who,
* Exodus ii. 11.
38 THE PARABLE OF
by no improper means, was increasing in riches, but who, as they
increased, had "set his heart upon them,"' and neglected God.
So he tells us that his fields brought forth plenteously. It was
by rains, and sun, and fertile soil, by cold and heat, summer and
- winter, that the stores of this man were continually becoming
greater. His wealth was not ill-gotten wealth, but the reverse.
Nor must we omit to notice the contrast implied in the very se-
lection of the imagery. The direct agency of God's providence
is specially seen in such a case of outward prosperity. It is, so
to speak, more marked than in many other ways whereby men
become rich ; and so the absorption of this man's mind and affec-
tion in the gift, and not in the Giver, comes all the more prom-
inently forth.
Well, with this increase of prosperity, what does the rich man
do ? Does it open his heart? Reader, disregard not this turning-
point in the parable. "We might think that it is at the time when
"riches are making to themselves wings," and departing from us,
that we cling to them the most, and that when they are increasing
we set the less store by them. Not so ! The drying up of the
springs of earthly prosperity is often accompanied by the opening
of all the affections of the heart toward God, while the increase
which God gives, not unfrequently shuts up the heart against
himself. Just so is it set forth in the parable. The rich man, in
his prosperity, did not try even to think how best to use the
means, the talents God gave him ; he did not sit down carefully
to examine into his duty as a steward of these things ; he did not
look around him for fitting objects on which to spend his wealth.
No ! The increase was to be wholly for himself for his own com-
fort and luxury. He will, therefore, pull down his barns and
build greater. He will enlarge his expectations. These barns
of his have been filled. Why should not greater? And then,
when these latter are filled, their store will be all for himself.
And mark, it is not merely the thorough-going selfishness of
man's carnal, sensual heart, which is here so vividly portrayed.
The very expressions used serve to mark utter forgetfulness of
his dependence on God of Him from whom all that he possesses,
or ever hopes to possess, must come. The fruits are " my fruits."
He regards them quite as his own, and not given in trust to him
by God. "All my fruits and my goods." This repetition of the
THE EICH FOOL. 39
expression enforces this view still more emphatically. The heart
of man in its self-love and self-seeking has just these two things
before it unceasingly : the means of gratification, and the person
to be gratified, that is himself. As to God, He is forgotten. He
is not in all the worldling's thoughts. He who resembles this
"rich man" takes care of himself, and what he calls his goods.
He never loses sight of these two things. But he is "without
God in the world."
Then again, as closely allied to this, see what the parable inti-
mates to us. Not 'only does the rich man speak of the fruits
which the earth has yielded as " his fruits ;" but he likewise is the
only party in his mind capable of devising or executing any plan
by which these may be stored up, preserved, and kept ready at
hand for future use. "/will" do^this and that, /will pull
down, and / will build up; and /will bestow my goods there,
and so forth. These two things always dance attendance upon
each other. The regarding the good things of this world as our
own, without any reference to God at all, and our wretched confi-
dence in ourselves that we are able to add to, to keep and " be-
stow" these things in all time coming.
But we have not yet done with this manifestation of selfish,
godless humanity. This rich man, regarding all the goods of Pro-
vidence as his own, and deliberating on their future safe posses-
sion and enjoyment, thus further communes with himself, " I will
say to my soul, Soul, ihou hast much goods laid up for many years:
take thine ease, eat, drfnk, and be merry" Note here, first, the fa-
tal mistake of the human heart. "Soul, thou hast much goods
laid up for many years! " As if these good things, these fruits
and stores of earthly things, had any thing in common with the
soul, so as to be capable of satisfying that. Ho\\ r grovelling is the
very thought of the carnal heart, seeking to fill and satisfy the
soul with these ! Truly the prophet's words apply here, " He
feedeth on ashes : a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that
he can not deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right
hand? " * What a mockery it is to address the soul, whose food
and sustenance alone can be the knowledge, love, and fear of God,
in such terms as these ; and yet it is just what thousands and
thousands are doing practically every day. Every one in whom
* Isaiah xliv. 20.
. *
I
40 THE PAKABLE OF
is the love of the world plays this trick with his soul, and eagerly
covets one thing or another, in the vain and delirious hope that
he is laying up " goods for his sold for many years"
Then notice further the utter sensuousness of this rich man's
address to his soul. " Take thine ease" or " rest thyself." This
is indeed the earthling's thought for himself. " Rest thyself," in
these ''goods" of earth, and time, and sense. God speaks in his
every act of providence, to say nothing of his word of grace, tell-
ing us that this is not, and never can be, the place of our rest,
that it is polluted, that it will destroy us if we think so, that
we have no continuing city here ; and that if we try to make one
we shall only " sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind." And yet
here is the universal language of the natural man. " Best thyself
here." One looks to this, another to that earthly couch on which
he hopes to repose in peace and comfort. Each has his own earth-
ly taste and worldly expectation ; and, alas, what must be the re-
sult of this, but that they " lie down in sorrow ? " As well might
Lot have expected to rest in peace in Sodom, had he refused to
accompany the messengers of the Lord out of it, as for any child
of man to look for repose to his soul in the enjoyment of those
things which perish in the using. Under every tempting flower
there lurks a poisonous serpent, and the foolish heart which has
sought its refreshment amid such treacherous things, will find it-
self pierced with many sorrows,
" Eat, drinlc" says the rich man to his soul. This man not only
expected ease and rest in the acquisition and safe-keeping of his
goods, but he meant to have great self-indulgence by means of
them. .He would procure the choicest viands, he would, like
another rich man, in another parable, "fare sumptuously every
day." This would form a very important feature in his existence.
It would fill a large portion of his time. It would make an es-
sential item in his happiness and soul-satisfaction, this eating and
drinking. Oh, how degrading this carnality appears, when nacked-
ly and plainly set forth, as it is by the terms of this parable. See
the deliberate manner in which this low sensuality is welcomed,
is looked forward to, is regarded as life and happiness. And
yet how common is this evidence of a fallen nature and a corrupt
heart ? How many thousands are there who would start back
indignantly if told that they were in the habit of communing with
THE RICH FOOL. 41
their souls as this rich man is said to have done ; and who, never-
theless, some more grossly, others with so-called refinement, re-
gard the mere eating and drinking of the dry a very important
part of its enjoyment! The wine-cup, with its sparkle, the va-
ried delicacies which tempt the palate, bring out and exhibit the
wretched and unworthy lusts of man now, even as they did of
old, when our Lord himself designated them as the things which
the Gentiles seek. " What shall we eat, or what shall we drink,
or wherewithal shall we be clothed ?"
Once more the rich man speaks to his soul, " Be merry" Take
thy fill of pleasure and of worldly enjoyment. The thing to be
avoided is sadness. Any thing which will cause a moment's pain
or sorrow is to be shunned. Life itself is after all short, and it
must be bright throughout. No gloomy thoughts, no fears, no
anxieties about God, or final judgment, are to be tolerated. "Be
merry.' 1 ' 1 "Let thy heart cheer thee," "rejoice in the ways."
Let " the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of
life," minister continued joy and pleasure to thee. What matters
it that past experience warns against all such unhallowed enjoy-
ment, still the pursuit must be followed. Those realities which,
when fairly brought into view, make the soul tremble, must all
be kept out of sight; excitement and novelty must lend their
aid to suppress unpleasant thoughts, and minister to present reck-
less mirth, which is, alas ! too like the crackling of thorns, as noisy
as it is short-lived. Truly this is the universal panacea which
the natural man lays to his soul. He has no other specific for
his disease but this, "Be merry." He has no other talisman by
which to charm away unpleasant thoughts but this, " Be merry."
He will not, dares not, look within, to notice there the dreadful
cause of misery, wretchedness, and death. He flies from himself
to his false mirth. He must make himself happy and cheerful by
the noise and tumult, the folly, and the vanity, of outward things;
and he calls the madness of momentary relief joy.
And then, while the rich man was thus dealing deceitfully with
his soul, ere yet the words of false hope and carnal expectation
had escaped from his lips, " Ood said unto him, Thou fool, this
night thy soul shall be required of thee ; then whose shaU these things
be which thou hast provided?' 1 ' 1 The parable evidently supposes
such a case as that of the heathen monarch in his palace at Baby-
42 THE PARABLE OF
Ion, when exulting over all his greatness, and glorying in his
pomp and power. At the very moment when his pride and self-
idependence were at their height, " While the word was in the
king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, King Ne-
buchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, The kingdom is departed from
thee." And obviously this is supposed in the parable for the
purpose of bringing the selfish, sensual, daring sinner, approach-
ing as he thinks the very summit of his joy, into direct and im-
mediate contact with the Being whom he has neglected, and who
yet, nevertheless, " for all these things will surely bring him into
judgment." It gives us at a glance an awful and solemn view of
a very common occurrence in such a world as this. Poor, de-
ceived, and guilty man, is seen below, wise in his own conceits,
prudent in his own sight, full of plans and hopes for to-morrow ;
and when we lift up our eyes, we behold the Author of his being,
and the judge of his life frowning on him, as he says, " Thou
fool ! " It may be likewise, that these two things are brought
into such close juxtaposition in the parable, in order to hint at a
very common experience in the hearts of fallen men. For not
unfrequently, at those very moments, when they seem nearest
the goal of their hopes, when all they have set their hearts upon
seems about to be realized, and as if they had only to put forth
their hands and gather the choice fruit which their souls coveted,
then it is that an irrepressible emotion steals in upon them of
doubt and misgiving as to those things in which they have em-
barked the prosperity and happiness of their souls. How often
is the successful moment .of worldly enterprise the very time
when, almost by an audible voice from heaven, the soul trembles,
as Belshazzar did when the hand came forth upon the wall !
How forcible is the term used in the parable " Thou fool !"
God had intrusted him with "goods" and he immediately regarded
them as his own. What folly ! " Shall a man rob God?" God
had blessed him with plenteous harvests in his fields, the " fool "
turned this blessing into a curse, by still further forgetting God.
God placed before him many precious opportunities, by using
which he might as it were dispose of his abundance in safe places,
even in God's sure keeping, so that he might have " laid up
in store for himself a good foundation against the time to come :"
and he had the folly to think his own storehouses the safest, and,
THE RICH FOOL. 43
what he liked best, the chiefest good. God had given him powers
which, rightly directed, might yield unutterable and endless joy
in His holy and reasonable service. The man speaks of worldly
rest, carnal indulgence, empty pleasures, as the proper things on
which to engage these powers. God held his life in His own
hand. He gave it, and he could take it away when he pleased ;
and yet, with unutterable folly, this man planned, schemed, con-
trived, labored and expected, without even for a moment taking
into consideration this great and solemn truth, that he was leav-
ing Him out of sight " in whom he lived and moved and had his
being."
The marginal reading gives a closer and more exact rendering
of the original. " This night do they require thy soul." The best
commentators are agreed that this is the most accurate transla-
tion, and that there is a reference here to the ministry of angels
in the execution of God's dealings with the children of men.
For just as in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus we are
told that the latter was " carried by the angels" into Abraham's
bosom, so here the messengers of God are supposed to come sud-
denly upon this foolish, careless sinner, and demand, require his
soul, not as a thing freely given up, but as a debt which can no
longer be left unsettled. The child of God yields up his soul to
God ; commits, commends it to his Master, willingly bids it
depart to be with Christ, and the angels gently carry it to its
haven of rest. The wicked cling tenaciously to their carnal
things, and those " ministers of God, who do his pleasure," knock
loudly at the door of the earthly tabernacle, and inexorably
" require their souls at their hands." " For like pitiless exactors
of tribute, terrible angels shall require thy soul from thee unwill-
ing, and through love of life, resisting. For from the righteous
his soul is not required, but he commits it to God and the Father
of spirits, pleased and rejoicing ; nor finds it hard to lay it down,
for the body lies upon it as a light burden. But the sinner who
has enfleshed his soul, and embodied it, and made it earthy, has
prepared to render its divulsion from the body most hard:
wherefore it is said to le required of him as a disobedient debtor,
that is delivered to pitiless exactors."
And again, what solemn irony lies in these words, " Then
whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" You have
44 THE PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL.
lived for nothing else than to provide those things for yourself.
You must now leave them, and prepare to meet me. Into whose
hands will all that abundance fall ? Whose will be the barns
and storehouses, and the fruits in which your soul delights?
You can not have them yourself. Can you secure them to any
one else ?
Does not this parable, then, furnish us with extensive evidence
of the fallen condition of man, and how " the god of this world
has blinded him?" It truly shews us, as in a glass, how his
"foolish heart is darkened," and how he has "become vain in
his imaginations." It shews us how natural it is for him to for-
get whence he has derived his life, and tg think "that life consists
in .the abundance of the things which he possesses." It shews us
how he covets things, not -for God, but for himself; and thus
every thing he touches, and which might have ministered to his
comfort or his happiness becomes accursed. It shews us how
deplorably low and grovelling are his notions of what "good"
things are ; " ease, eating, drinking, and carnal mirth." It shews
us how mad and foolish he is in mistaking these things as if they
could supply the cravings of his soul, how insane it is for him
ever to lay his account with securing them, and above all, to
forget that at any moment his soul may be required of him. He
is a fool both in his estimate of the things of time, and of time
itself. And it shews us that, in " laying up treasures for him-
self," in seeking his own gratification, man impoverishes his own
soul " towards God." And that while he may be proudly feeling
that he is " rich and increased in goods, and has need of nothing."
God's judgment at the very moment is, that he is " poor, and
miserable, and blind, and naked."
These deadly characteristics of the natural man lie broadcast
over the field of the world. The sins that are painted in this
parable are just the common sins of the race. In some they are
more prominent, in others less revolting ; but all share in them
more or less. And this parable then will ever stand like the
prophet of old as he pointed to the guilty monarch's heart.
When we are tempted to ask, whether we too are in darkness
and under Satan, it will testify of one " not rich towards God ;"
and it will apply the solemn truth to us, if not in Nathan's Ian
guage at least in the spirit of it, " Thou art the man."
CHAPTER IV.
CHILDREN IN THE MARKET-PLACE THE MOTE AND THE BEAM THE STRAINING OFF
A GNAT CLEANSING THE OUTSIDE OP THE CUP WHTTED SEPULCHERS GRAVES
WHICH APPEAR NOT THE PHARISEE AND SADDUCEE.
THE last parable gave us the main feature which distinguishes
fallen man, and, indeed, which manifests the fact, that he is
fallen and under Satan. It tells us that in a great number of
ways, and with a force and power operating variously in different
individuals, man is "not rich toward God" But there are other
marks and tokens of his eondition which need to be noticed and
examined. Weighty indeed is the condemnation which rests
upon him, when it is concluded that either as regards the things
of time or time itself he is "not rich toward God," but, on the
contrary, endeavors to " lay up treasure for himself" Still, it is
needful to observe some other traits which stand forth with no
obscurity, and which are in perfect harmony with this universal
ungodliness. These are presented before us in a number of para-
bolic sketches, and that too very emphatically. It will not be
needful to consider these at length. Indeed, the effect produced
by these life-like touches of the pencil will perhaps be greater by
making them pass somewhat rapidly under the eye.
The first of these which we look at is this :
"But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto
children sitting in the markets, and calling to their fellows, and say-
ing, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have
mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came
neither eating nor drinking, and (hey say, He hatii a devil. The Son
of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a gluttonous
man and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners: but Wis-
dom is justified of her children." Matt. xi. 16-19.
*
46 THE PARABLE OF
Now, the men of that generation were merely the types of the
men of all generations, to whom any message or word comes
from that Being whom all discard more or less from their
thoughts, of whom they practically declare, that He shall not
reign over them. And just then as the Jewish people objected
to God's message when it came through John, for the very oppo-
site reason which influenced them in rejecting Christ, and thus
proved the utter folly of their judgment altogether, so do men
always refuse to take God at his word, with child- like submission
receive just the messages which he sends, and be satisfied with
his mode of sending it. The first and natural movement of the
sinner's heart, when God speaks to him, is to question something
regarding the mode, or even to doubt the reality of the commu-
nication altogether. No matter how clear and convincing the
evidence may be, no matter how varied in its attendant circum-
stances, as, for example, in the outward difference of life in
the case of the Baptist and Jesus, no matter how lavish God
has been in furnishing tokens of himself, and of the reality of
what he demands, still the wicked heart craves for something
more. " This is not the evidence exactly that convinces me,"
are practically its words. " If this single point had been different,
or if some clearer statement had been made, or if I were to see
with my own eye the miracles recorded in Scripture, I might
believe." But " wisdom is justified of her children." It is not
the l%ck of evidence, nor is it the absence of any particular kind
of evidence that holds the sinner back. It is his own evil heart
of unbelief. As long as he keeps that bad tenant within his
bosom, then no matter what evidence be supplied, he will turn
away from it. No calls to repentance, nor glad tidings of great
joy, will awaken either sadness or sorrow within him. A " voice
from heaven," " one raised from the dead," one greater than
all the prophets before him, or the appearance of the Son of God
himself, will not satisfy him. It is alone when " the veil is taken
from the heart," and " faith in God" takes the place of trust in
himself, that the sinner says, whether God's words be many or
few, whether the evidence of them be great or little, " Speak,
Lord, for thy servant heareth." Caprice is clearly seen in all
man's doings ; but in nothing is it so apparent as when he cap-
tiously ventures to question the ways and the words of God.
THE MOTE AND THE BEAM. 47
How deep down it lies in the human heart appears sadly manifest
in the determined act of wicked unbelief on the part of one of
our Lord's favored followers, " Except I shall see in his hands
the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the
nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." After
all man's boasted cleverness, after all his acuteness in weighing
evidence, and learned criticism of all existing testimony, let him
take heed, that he be found no better than " children playing in
the market-place, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye
have not danced ; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not
lamented."
Closely allied to this self-will in finding fault with God, is the
cognate evil in the natural man of finding fault with his fellow-
man. The one, indeed, necessarily leads to the other. He who
dares to arraign his Maker, who passes under his review the
things which belong to God, and ventures to approve or to con-
demn just as it pleases him, or as it suits his judgment and fancy,
will not be backward to enter into judgment with men of like
passions with himself; and as in the former case he does not
hesitate, so in the latter he does not spare. His conduct, too, in
both cases arises from similar causes. Were he not blinded by
unbelief he would not dare to do the first. Were he not blinded
as to what he is himself, he would not venture to do the last.
This baneful tendency in the heart of the sinner, as exhibited
in his walk and conversation, finds a remarkable illustration in
the following parable :
" And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but
consideresl not the beam that is in thine own eye ? Or how wilt thou
say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye ; and,
behold, a beam is in thine own eye f Thou hypocrite, first cast out ifie
beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out
the mote out of thy brotJter's eye." Matt. vii. 3-5 ; Luke vi. 41, 42.
It will be well to observe here, that the epithet " hypocrite," so
frequently applied by our Lord to the Scribes and Pharisees of
that day, does not always mean that the parties so designated
were willfully deceiving those about them by a profession which
was not only hollow, but which they knew to be so. That it
very frequently is used to denote such characters is perfectly
true ; but it is equally true, that on some occasions, and among
48 THE PARABLE OF
others in the parable now before us, it is used simply to denote
the case of a man assuming a character which does not really
belong to him, but nevertheless under the fullest persuasion in
his own mind that he is what he professes to be. The force of
this parable will be lost, unless we bear this in mind. The case
of the man who offers to pull out the mote out of his brother's
eye supposes the 'fact of his considering himself to be perfectly
clear-sighted. It is not that he designedly tries to conceal from
others a defect in his own vision of which he is conscious. On the
contrary, his case is the very reverse of this he is not conscious
of any defect ; and herein lies his sin. He " considers not"
("perceives not" Luke) the " beam in his own eye."
"What a picture of fallen man ! True to the life ! Who that
has ever taken the trouble of looking within at the springs and
motives of his words and acts, but must be sensible that his por-
trait is drawn here by a hand which infallibly reveals the secrets
of all hearts ! "Who that honestly seeks to know himself but
must acknowledge that he is here in the presence of One who
thoroughly knows him ? It would be falling miserably short of
the scope of this parable if we merely applied it to the full blos-
soming and most matured fruit of that evil which it is meant to
mark out. Censoriousness has undoubtedly its image accurately
traced here. And the man who is even among his fellows notable
for this, would do well to pray, as the figure of " the beam " and
"the mote" rises before him "Search me, O God, and know
my heart ; try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
But is such a prayer only suited for such extreme cases ? Far
from it. Is any thing more general more frequent even among
those who would never be designated censorious than the habit
of seeing their neighbor's faults more readily and more clearly
than their own ? This need not be enlarged upon. It surely
needs only to be stated in order to be admitted. Men are lynx-
eyed for all the blemishes and faults which disfigure their neigh-
bors. They would indeed consider themselves deficient in per-
ception, and even candor, if they did not observe these things ;
and thus how often do they set themselves to the removal of what-
ever is wrong in others, without due consideration as to their own
fitness for such duty ; or if they do not proceed this length, how
THE MOTE ANT> THE BEAM. 49
generally do they by word or deed, a sneer of contempt, a wave
of the hand, or a word of ridicule, show that while they have de-
scribed " the mote" they have left unnoticed " the beam"
Nor must it be overlooked in this parable, that we are taught
" the, lesson of the true relative magnitude which our own faults,
and those of our brother, .ought to hold in our estimation. "What
is a ' mote ' to one looking on another, is to that other himself ' a
beam ; ' just the reverse of the ordinary estimate." * Suppose the
case of two men, whose faults may be regarded very much as on
a par. Then to either of them, the very quickness with which
he detects those of the other, while he neglects to look within,
adds immensely to the magnitude of those faults themselves. The
mote becomes a beam.
But it must not be supposed that our Lord meant by this par-
able that we are to shut our eyes to the defects which mar the
usefulness and dim the luster of the various characters of those
around us. This would indeed be a miserable perversion of the
lesson. What is demanded therein is not that we shall close our
eyes to what needs reformation and improvement in others, but
that we shall be, in the first place, jealously anxious to obtain
clear vision ourselves. Our Lord distinctly sets this before us.
" first" says he, "cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then
shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye" Be-
gin at home. Look within, and bring all the hidden things with-
in the heart to light. Come freely to the light not keeping back
any thing that needs inquiring into, nor reserving something from
merited condemnation because you do not want to part with it.
" All things " must be " opened before the eyes of him with whom
we have to do," and then you will be in no danger of rising in
your own estimation at your neighbor's expense, or overlooking
worse things in yourself, while you visit him with unhesitating
condemnation.
And the reason why our Lord gives this counsel is very ob-
vious. First, as regards the mere power of spiritual perception.
If a man has not learned to deal with his own heart unreservedly
in the way of tracing out, and bringing into the light of day all
that would hide itself there ; if he has not experimentally learned
how deceitful as well as wicked that heart is that there is no
* Alford's Greek Testament
4
50 THE PAKABLE OF
greater difficulty than the unvailing and exposing it to one's self
then he is not prepared to deal wisely with others. He is not
capable of entering into all those nice movements of the human
heart which are involved in the words and actions of those around.
He is like an unskillful musician who attempts to play upon an
instrument whose secrets he has not mastered. In doing so, he
only displays his own ignorance, and his performance grates harsh-
ly on the ears of those who hear. But if a man truly and sincere-
ly submits himself to the teaching of God, and desires above all
things a knowledge of himself, dragging out of his bosom all its
secrets, whatever be the cost, and prayerfully anxious to have the
crooked made straight, the dark light, and the rough plain, then
he will "see clearly" by the experience he has gained through the
operation of the Holy Spirit within himself, to "putt out the mote
out of his brother's eye" And, besides, the very process through
which he has himself passed will give a gentleness and tender-
ness to all that he may be called upon to do with others, which
he never could otherwise possess. It will make him approach
them in a very different manner from what he would have done
before. He will now speak as a friend, not as a "judge" * He
will indulge in no harsh or high-minded reproof. What he says
will be uttered in the spirit enjoined by the Apostle, " Brethren,
if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye that are spiritual, restore such
an one, in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also
be tempted." f The expression of the parable will be reversed
in his case. He will no longer " behold,' 1 ' 1 gaze at with pride and
self-sufficiency, the faults of Bothers, while he " considers not" does
not give the slightest look, into his own. On the contrary, he will
give himself no quarter, while his heart will overflow with tender-
ness toward others, " esteeming each one better than himself."
But there is another tendency of the human heart, at first sight
apparently very different from what has now been considered,
and which yet is a cognate evil with it one which indeed is very
generally associated and closely allied with this self-sufficient con-
demnation of- others. One very short but remarkable saying of
our Lord will place this distinctly before us.
" Ye blind guides, which strain at (off) a gnat, and swallow a
camel" Matthew xxiii. 24.
* Matthew vii. 1. f Galatians vi. 1.
THE STRAINING OFF A GNAT. 51
Our Lord does not intimate willful deception of others in this
parable, any more than in the former. He charges those of whom
he speaks with being " blind ; " but there is no reason for suppos-
ing that they were not perfectly sincere in what they did, and,
after their own fashion, thought they were " doing God service."
The allusion in this saying is to the care which the Jews, who
were scrupulous in the observance of their ceremonial law, took
to prevent the possible breach of the commandment in Leviticus
xi. 41, 42. For this purpose they were at great pains to strain
off their wine before drinking it, lest even by accident the small-
est insect should be found therein ; and yet, on the other hand,
they were so blind, so ignorant, so reckless in other matters, that
they would, as it were, "swallow a camel"
In the previous verse, our Lord evidently describes to the
letter the character which he sketches in this parable. ""Woe
unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye pay tithe of
mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier
matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith ; (" pass over judg-
ment and the love of God," Luke ; ) these ought ye to have
done, and not to leave the other undone." They were persons
who were scrupulously exact in the performance of the letter of
the law. Indeed, so much so, that rather than commit any breach
of that letter, they were careful to observe many things which it
did not actually enjoin. The most minute particulars were not
too minute for them to attend to in the daily discharge of what
they considered due to the law. But all this time they were
neglecting its " weightier matters." Judgment, mercy, faith, and
the love of God, were lost sight of, and not taken into account at
all. Like the rich young ruler, they could say, when the terms
of the law were propounded, " All these things have I kept from
my youth up ; what lack I yet ?" x but when they were confronted
with the spiritual requirements of that law, then, like him, they
shrank back, and proved that they had not yet learned the sim-
plest lesson of love to God, and self-denial toward man. Now
this is just the character which is most affected by the faults of
others. The young ruler just referred to, would be the very man
who would be likely to say to his brother, " Let me pull out the
mote out of thine eye ;" while he " considered not the beam in
his own eye." Indeed the more scrupulous the attention paid to
52 THE PARABLE OP
all that is external in conduct, and the more sincerely that all
this is done, while the eye directed, to what may well be called
" the weightier matters" within seeing that from these are the
issues of life is blinded by the beam in it, the more readily and
earnestly will such an one condemn, either in his heart or by
word, those around him who do not carry out to the letter all
those observances which in his estimate make up the round of all
important duties.
It is well to observe, that our Lord does not condemn here
scrupulosity in minute matters of conduct considered in itself.
There may be an error in this ; but it is not what is in hand at
present ; of that it may be said that each man is a " law unto
himself," and that " happy is he that condemneth not himself in
the thing which he alloweth." But it is when this scrupulosity
is manifested in one way and not in another when it discharges
all its anxiety and care on the smaller, to the neglect of the greater
matters, it is then that we see the original of this portrait. "The
straining off a gnat and the swallowing a camel" " These ought ye
to have done," says our Lord, " and not leave the others undone."
And thus, when we behold men whose whole outward conduct is
remarkable for the scrupulous care which they take in their deal-
ings with their fellow-men, whose names stand high in the mark-
et-place, at the exchange, in the senate, or the cabinet against
whom there is not a word to be said regarding their minute and
careful observance of all those moral duties which they consider
as forming the great social law of the community ; and yet who,
nevertheless, have not " taken up the Cross," and " left all " to
" follow Christ ;" who are strangers to the "love of God" in their
hearts, so as to do all for His name's sake alone, who forget that
He alone will finally judge them as well as others who know
not that " mercy " toward their fellow-men, and " faith" toward
their God, are the two great things of genuine religious character,
these, notwithstanding all their seeming excellence notwithstand-
ing their name and reputation notwithstanding all their sincer-
ity notwithstanding the purity and virtue attributed to them by
others, and which they themselves verily believe that they possess,"
are yet but "blind guides," "who strain off a gnat and swallow a
camel"
And this feature in fallen man is often seen now in the very
THE STRAINING OFF A GNAT. 53
form in which, it loved to show itself among those who were im-
mediately under our Lord's eye, when He uttered these words.
It is not only that we have the picture here of such as obtain in
the world among worldly people the character and reputation of
singular' morality and virtue, while they lack the one thing need-
ful, but it answers also well for those who, in the observances of
religion, in the .outward form and frame- work of it, are so careful,
that rather than leave any thing of the kind undone they are
ready and willing to do more than is required, and yet they are
grievously deficient in the whole spirit, life and marrow of relig-
ion, having, in fact, "the form of godliness, without the power of
it." These persons are so scrupulously careful over the mosaic
work with which they adorn the casket, that they know little or
nothing of the priceless gem within. "We have many such in
these days men who would be indignant if told that they did not
understand the spirit of what they professed, and that they were
neglecting the weightier matters of the law while they were
engrossed in " times and seasons," and " days and years," in
"weak and beggarly elements;" and yet those whom our Lord
addressed would have been equally offended, and with equal
reason, at such a charge also. Their sincerity is not doubted any
more than that of the young ruler who came with all his minute
observances to question Christ. Their earnestness is not questioned
any more than that of the Pharisees of old, who " compassed sea
and land to make one proselyte." But when signs become so
magnified as to exclude the far greater importance of the things
signified, and something of a legal bondage is assumed over the
profession of a Gospel faith, when there is the anxious and studied
appeal, " Touch not, taste not, handle not," with " the show of
wi^rorship^nd humility," then must we say of all such, that
they are just the parties described by our Lord " who strain off a
gnat and swallow a camel."
" Blind guides" How remarkable the epithet ! It is just such
persons who affect to be " guides." Whether it be the man who
rests mainly on his virtuous life, and considers himself as really
deserving the praise and commendation of his fellows ; or the
formalist who is never satisfied unless his " shibboleth " be pro-
nounced correctly ; and more than this, it is just such persons
that the great multitude of people are ready to acknowledge as
54 THE PARABLE OF
the best guides. The outward decorum of the one, and the
devotedness of the other, appear prominently before the public
eye, and win proportionate respect. But, after all, they are
" blind guides. 1 ' 1 "Whatever be the darkness or blindness of others,
they at least have " a beam" in their eye which altogether pre-
vents them from seeing clearly how and where to lead others.
And here we arrive at a new section in the series of parabolic
pictures. Hitherto we have had no occasion to deny the sincerity
of those who, nevertheless, venture to sit in judgment, first on
God, and then on their fellow-men, while they arrogate to them-
selves great excellence of character and conduct by their " strain-
ing off gnats." Now, however, we must look at fallen human
nature under another of its aspects. The shadows of the picture
become darker. As yet, we have seen illustrated the profession
of what is false, now we proceed to examine the portrait of a
false profession. Hearken to the following description :
" Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye make
clean the outside of the cup and platter, but within they are full of ex-
tortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee 1 cleanse first that which is
within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean
also" Matt, xxiii. 25, 26.
" Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the
platter ; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
Ye fools, did not He that made that which is without make that which
is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have / and,
behold, all things are clean unto you." Luke xi. 39-41.
The figure here is very simple. It is that of a person who
takes great care to make the outside of the vessels used at meals
thoroughly clean, while he knowingly allows the inside of those
vessels, with which, of course, the food he eats must be brought
into contact, to remain foul and uncleansed.
This is something altogether different from the " form of god-
liness." It is the desire to make " a fair show in the flesh."
Here we have the character of the hypocrite brought out in one
of its worst forms. A man who wishes to appear what he is not
anxious to save appearances, and yet is himself conscious that
he is acting a part. The way in which this is set forth in the
parable is very striking. The man endeavors to make the outside
of the cup look bright and clean. He drinks out of the inside,
CLEANSING THE OUTSIDE OF THE CUP. 55
which he has wittingly left unclean. And so the hypocrite
the man who says and does not who purposely does all his acts
that he may be seen of man, is yet secretly drinking in iniquity
like water. His cup is full, says our Lord, of " extortion and ex-
cess :" and wnat his cup is full of, that he drinks. He may profess
to be honest, generous, and charitable, but he loves to drink in
" extortion" He may sound a trumpet before him when he gives
alms, but he, at the same moment, makes a prey of "widows'
houses" in secret. He may profess to be moderate in his desires,
and temperate in his habits ; but as far as he dares to go, with
safety to the character he wishes to assume, he drinks in " excess. 11
He is a slave to lust in his heart, and he knows it ; and what he
does sincerely is to minister to it.
When our Lord says, (; Cleanse first that which is within the cup
and platter, that the. outside of them may be clean also" he does not
mean that the one cleansing will stand for the other ; or that the
last will take care of itself if the first be done ; but simply, that
by the kind of cleansing he -condemned, the cup was not really
clean ; and if they would have it so, they must first cleanse that
which is within, as the most important part, then their outside
cleansing would indeed make a clean cup.
And the very language which he uses points distinctly to the
true source of all real reformation in the character of the sinner.
Just as it is out of the heart that there proceeds all that defiles,
so it is the heart which must first be cleansed, if the cleansing of
the outside life is to be any thing more than a mere cheat a
clever disguise to hide the depravity and ungodliness which lurk
within. " Give alms" says Christ, "of such things as ye have" or
rather " of such things as are within you" Let real love to God
ana man flow out from within. Deny self on behalf of God and
your neighbor; and then, "Behold all things are clean to you"
Such a course of purification will be complete in its process and
work. A new heart and a right spirit, like-mindeduess to Christ
will alone lead to the transforming of the life ; and the once pol-
luted and vile sinner will really become what the hypocrite only
feigns to be. But alas, how much need have those who wish to
stand well before the world to take good heed unto themselves,
lest they be found at last to have been very diligent in removing
what was unsightly in the outward act and conduct, while they
66 THE PARABLE OP
have all the time been greedily consuming evil things in their
hearts.
This parable, then, give us the case of the natural man, with
his heart loving the " wages of iniquity," ''full of extortion and
excess ;" and yet hypocritically seeking to hide his real character
and conduct from the eyes of those who have no other means of
judging than by the " outward appearance." But if we turn now
to another parable, we shall find this fallen creature painted in
darker colors still.
" Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye are like
unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but
are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" Matt,
xxiii 27.
In the picture of the " cleansing the outside of the cup and
platter," we behold the character of the hypocrite in his endeavor
to appear fair, upright, honest, and temperate before men, while
in reality he is a slave to inward lust and passion. In this we
have the hypocrite portrayed in reference to his religious profes-
sion. With a fair and glittering appearance outside, he is only as
a chamber of the dead. The character here represented, is one
which makes much profession of religion, which arrogates to
itself much credit for its service to God, and is yet inwardly con-
scious that it loves him not. Like those of old who said, " The
Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are we ;" but who,
nevertheless, were no better than " whited sepukhers" Their
heart is not a temple, but a tomb!
And this hypocrisy is even more odious than the former. The
man who deceives his neighbor regarding his actual character, in
the matter of honesty or temperance, may make no pretension
whatever to being religious. But this man not only acts a part*n
society in the matter of morality, but of religion also. His hy-
pocrisy is deeper dyed. He strives to deceive not only man but
God ; and just as he finds thai he can often succeed in doing the
former, so he foolishly thinks that he can do the latter, " Tush,
God does not see I" "Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
As his evil course proceeds, he becomes more and more confident
in his deceitfulness. His heart becomes every day more insen-
sible to all that is upright and good. It is "fall of hypocrisy and
iniquity" . It is a spiritual grave a chamber of the dead a
GRAVES WHICH APPEAR NOT. 57
sepulcher of corrupt and corrupting things a place of defile-
ment a highway to hell. Of all characters displayed in Scrip-
ture this is the most terrible daringly to " mock God," and to
deceive man ; to use religion as a cloak to cover iniquity, and,
Balaam-like, to make much profession with the lips of honoring
and serving God, while the heart is "following after its covetous-
ness," " in the gaUtof bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity."
And it may be that a lower depth still in this character is set
forth by our Lord in the following words, which appear to have
been added by him after the above :
" Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye are as
graves ivhich appear not, and the men that walk over them are not
aware of them." Luke xi. 44.
The allusion here is to the notion which existed among the
Jews, that by walking over a grave a man contracted ceremonial
uncleanness. And so here the hypocrite is represented as the
means of defilement and pollution to others. Passers by ^become,
or ever they are aware, infected by him, and allured to evil.
Like Jeroboam, who set up the calves at Dan and Bethel, and
said, " These be thy gods, Israel ;" though his heart-purpose
was simply, by this outward respect for God, to secure himself,
as he thought, in the kingdom ; and so, we are told, he "made
Israel to sin." Or still more awfully have we this character re-
vealed to us in the case of Balaam, who not only "loved the
wages of iniquity," while he made much profession of doing
nothing except as the Lord willed ; but who also, when he found
himself shut up by the terrors of Jehovah from cursing Israel, as
he had hoped to do, in order to obtain the honors and the rewards
of Midian, set himself, with hellish malignity, to counsel the king
of "Moab to place a stumbling-block before Israel ; and so far suc-
ceeded in his devilish attempt as to introduce such a foul and
wide-spread leprosy of conduct into the camp of Israel as to
draw down an immediate and terrible judgment from the Lord.
Balaam would try to make people believe that he was influenced
not only by integrity, but by the fear of God ; and yet he will
gratify himself at all hazards he will feed his covetousness
though thousands of souls perish. Is there not something very
similar to this in the conduct of a modern despot, who has given
the rein to his godless and selfish ambition, who is fully resolved
58 THE PAKABLE OF
to gratify it if he can, at the expense of thousands of lives, the
breaking up of peace in the world, and the misery and ruin of
nations, against whom he has no other ground of quarrel than
that they stand in the way of his ambitious "projects? And all
this, too, has been heralded forth to an astonished world, by the
sickening profession of a godlike faith, and the hypocritical cant
that he can not do otherwise without doing violence to his relig-
ious conscientiousness! Here, indeed, is a grave full of dead
men's bones, and all manner of uncleanness a grave over which
thousands and thousands " walk" to their own destruction.
And here let us turn for a moment and briefly survey the
ground over which we have passed. Man's wayward heart made
him an easy prey to Satan. He gave the tempter admission, and
the latter has improved his advantage to the utmost. It is not
his fault if the mental and spiritual darkness which fell on the
soul of man does not become deeper every day. It is from no
want of will or forethought on his part if the sore disease with
which the poor soul is afflicted becomes not every day more
loathsome and more deadly. These are " his goods," and he will
spare no pains to guard and keep them. They are " his goods,"
and it will not be his fault if the " last state of the sonl is not
worse than the first," " tenfold more the child of hell than
before."
The two great sects into which the Jews were chiefly divided
in the days of our Lord, presented before him the very subjects
on which these evil powers were working so successfully ; and
they exhibited in their life and conduct the sad and terrible evi-
dence of this. And it is well to bear in mind, that -the Sadducee
and the Pharisee, while the one and the other appear before us
in the record we have of all that Jesus said and did, are but the
types of the men of every age and every nation. The name of
each sect was Jewish. The characteristic which distinguished it
belongs to the human race. The Sadducee represents not merely
the men in other nations and at other times, who deny the fact
of a future state of existence, of a resurrection, or of a spiritual
being, but especially of that much larger class, who, without
formally denying these things, practically live as if they did
men, who to all intents and purposes, live as if this life, and this
alone, were worth thinking about, and who 'say to themselves,
THE PHAEISEE AND SADDUCEE. 59
" Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." The Pharisee, on
the other hand, represents the outwardly correct, the self-right-
eous, and the hypocrite. And thus, while the parables of our
Lord are mostly directed against these different sects, as they
displayed themselves in his day, we must not suppose that they
were meant to be applied solely to them. On the contrary, they
are but as the glass in which we may behold the clearly- written
evidence of the havoc which sin and Satan together have made
in the heart and life of man of all times and ages. All the
revealings then of the true character and inner life of those
around him, whether the leaven of the Sadducee or the Pharisee
be the immediate subject of reproof, are equally for us, and for
our children, as admonitions. They are not merely applicable at
second hand to us, but go directly to the ungodly and unrighteous
thought or action now as then.*
And see, then, how He, " who knows what is in man," paints
his real character in its unregenerate condition ! See how He
sets up great landmarks to put us on our guard, if we will but
take heed ! See how He warns us of the shoals and the quick-
sands where we are ready to make shipwreck of our souls !
What a festering mass of corruption must humanity be, when the
bad elements of which it is composed, singled out and dragged
into light, are such as we have seen. The rich fool, the children
in the market-place, the mote and the beam, the straining off a
gnat, the cleansing of the outside of the cup, the whited sepulcher,
the hidden grave these are the things which unerring wisdom
has selected to draw our attention to this sad reality ; that we
may not only hear by the ear, but, as it were, see by the eye what
our actual condition is that "our iniquity has increased over
our head," and our "trespass gone up into heaven," that what-
ever may be our miserable and false estimate of ourselves, the
Searcher of hearts tells us that He has looked and that He
beholds none righteous, no not one, and that " the imagination
of the thoughts of man's heart are only evil continually."
* See in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican,
CHAPTER V.
THS AX LAID TO THE ROOT OF THE TREES THE FLOOR THOROUGHLY PTTR<JED.
AND here we reach a point of deep and solemn interest in our
consideration of the parables. The gospel which Christ preached,
and which alone could be preached in virtue of his own sufferings
and death, is indeed a message of peace, good-will, and love. It
announces deliverance to the captive, recovery of sight to the
blind, life from the dead, joy for the sad, and the acceptable year
of the Lord. When Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth opened
the book of the Prophets, and read therein to the assembled
people from the prophecies of Isaiah, " The Spirit of the 'Lord
is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to
the poor : he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach
deliverance to the captive, and recovery of sight to the blind : to
set at liberty those that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year
of the Lord ;" he then added, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled
in your ears." The glad tidings of great joy were then sounding
in their ears, and their Prophet's words might well engage their
attention to the joyful sound, " Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money : come ye,
buy and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and
without price." The people who heard Jesus on that day at
Nazareth might well " bear him witness, and wonder at the gra-
cious things which proceeded out of his mouth."
But it is important to bear in mind that there is a dark as well
as a bright side to the Gospel. Yea, the darkness has a relative
proportion to the brightness. The greater the latter, the deeper
the former. Paul felt this in his inmost heart. It was this which
made him cry out, " Who is sufficient for these things ?" seeing
THE AX LAID TO THE ROOT OF THE TREES. 61'
that the Gospel with which he was intrusted made him i{ either a
savour of life unto life, or of death unto death." He never could
open his mouth for Christ, or write a word for him, that he was
not either the means of blessing or pf cursing. Now, this gives a
very solemn stamp to the Gospel dispensation. The peculiar
excellence of the Gospel is that to the sinner " God is just, and
yet the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus ;" that in it, " mercy
and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed
each other." But the very reconciling of these things over the
Sacrifice of the "Lamb of God," gives us to understand, that if
this sacrifice be neglected if we trample on it if we refuse to be
sprinkled by the precious blood there shed, then there "remain-
eth no more sacrifice for sins, but a fearful looking for of judg-
ment and of fiery indignation which shall consume the adver-
saries." If the Gospel is not received by faith in Him who
ratified it by his own sufferings and death, then it becomes terri-
ble judgment, and no future act of God's mercy remains to
temper its awful terrors. If we refuse to accept of it as a day of
grace, it will inevitably become to us a day of vengeance.
And is it not a little remarkable that this feature of the Gospel
dispensation is pressed upon our attention even before the words
of peace and mercy are heard from the lips of Jesus himself. We
have, as it were, a solemn warning, to carnal, unbelieving men,
that his season of probation is now rapidly passing away that
the limit to God's forbearance and mercy is very near that the
" end of all things is at hand," and that now having sent His
Son for the fruits of His vineyard, there is no other way of escape
for the sinner, if " he neglect so great salvation." It was John
the Baptist who was commissioned thus to warn sinners of the
danger of rejecting the offer about to be made to them personally
by the Son of God himself. When he came baptizing those
converts, who, stirred up by means of his preaching, confessed
their sin, we are told that " he saw many of the Sadducees and
Pharisees come to his baptism," those very parties whom we
have seen in the previous chapter as faithfully representing sinful
men of every age and nation the one in all that is infidel, selfish,
sensual, and earthly the other in all that is formal, superstitious,
proud, self-righteous, and hypocritical. And it was then, when
John saw these men before him, that while he rebuked them
62 THE PARABLE OF
sharply as a " generation of vipers," and urged repentance, and
works meet for repentance on them, he at the same time took
occasion to warn them solemnly of the great feature just men-
tioned in the Gospel dispensation which was then opening before
them. He did this by uttering two parables in their hearing.
Here is the first,
" And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees : therefore
every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast
into the fire." Mat. iii. 10 ; Luke iii. 9.
The image in this parable is very striking. It is that of a man
who owns certain trees, and who may be seen early in the morn-
ing passing through the midst of them with an ax in his hand.
The very implement he carries intimates to us the sort of work
in which he is engaged. He presently finds a tree, worthless and
unsightly, taking up room which would be better occupied by
something else a mere cumberer of the ground. That tree
must be removed. Perhaps he does not proceed at once to do so,
but with his mind made up, he " lays the ax at the root of the tree,"
ready at hand. And his doing this, it must be observed, is in the
parable considered as tantamount to his actually carrying out his
purpose. When the axe is thus laid at the root of the trees, it is
added then " every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hew n
down, and cast into the fire"
Now, this is just what Christ did when he came into the flesh.
If, on the one hand, this mission was to make reconciliation for
the transgressors and to bring in everlasting righteousness, it was
equally to " finish transgressions and make an end of sins." He
" laid the ax at the root of the tree." By the very covenant of
peace which He has introduced, He has at the same time brought
judgment near to the sinner. He has made, for the last time, an
effort, and that the greatest of all, to convince the sinner that He
has a controversy with him which must now be settled, either by
his unconditional and complete surrender, or by his speedy and
terrible punishment. And mark this well, that His dealing with
the sinner will proceed upon the simple fact, " fruit," or "no
fruit," "according to that done in the body, whether it be good
or bad." The Gospel message is indeed one of grace, and it is by
grace alone through faith that the sinner 'can be saved ; but here,
upon the very front of Christ's mission, is written clearly and
THE FLOOR THOROUGHLY PURGED. 63
indelibly that the judgment shall strictly proceed on works.
Where these exist, where they are seen and manifest, they will
prove that the sinner has believed, and is saved ; where they are
not, they will equally prove that he has rejected the counsel of
God against himself, and his condemnation will be just. At the
very outset, then, the sinner is solemnly warned that sentence of
death is hanging over his head; that the Gospel of peace has
brought that sentence nearer than ever to its execution, yea, laid
it at his very door, where already the "Judge standeth," and
unless he speedily repent and " bring forth fruits meet for repent-
ance," he must be cut down as a tree, be left to wither away, and
to be burned ! On the other hand, he is also given to understand
that no merely ceremonial adhesion to the Gospel will be of any
service; no mere acknowledging of Christ with the lips, "Lord,
Lord ;" but that the reality of his profession must be clearly and
undeniably exhibited by his being " created anew in Christ Jesus
unto good works" otherwise he will inevitably be " hewn down"
and his head-knowledge and nominal acceptance of Christ will
only increase his condemnation, and mark his rejection of his
Master, and his Master's rejection of him.
But the Baptist enforced the same truth, though in another as-
pect of it, by an additional parable. He proceeded to say, speak-
ing of Jesus:
" Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his
floor, and gather his wheat into the Darner : and he will burn up the
chaff with unquenchable fire " -Matt. iii. 12; Luke iii. 17.
The harvest-work alluded to in this parable is well known, and
needs no comment. It serves, however, to present the solemn
truth which was the subject of John's warning in another point
of view than was done before. A fruitless tree among fruitful
ones is recognized at once. The distinction is seen at a glance ;
there is no need of any special process of investigation. Not so
with the heap of mingled grain and chaff, which lies on the farm-
er's barn-floor, when he has gathered in the fruits of his fields,
and threshed out his full ears of corn. There is one confused mass,
wheat and chaff lie together not easily to be distinguished even
on the surface, while it is impossible to say whether the one or
the other mostly composes the hidden heap below. It is when he
carries k to his winnowing-floor that the separation takes place,
64 THE PARABLE OF
and the distinction is seen. There, by the strong blast of his win-
nowing machine he drives off the light chaff, while the heavy
wheat falls on the floor at his feet. The latter is gathered up
carefully and stored in his garner. The former is either cast but
to be trodden under foot as worthless, or burned with fire. And
thus the Baptist warns sinful men that in Messiah's day, the day
of His kingdom of grace on the earth, while " the ax is laid to
the root of the tree," the sinner may well take heed not to com-
fort himself with the false peace, that he will be overlooked in the
crowd. Many a man is forced, in the secret of his heart, to admit
that God might righteously judge him, and cut him down as a
barren tree, who yet deceives himself with the miserable hope
that in some way or another, he does not know how, he will yet
escape the terrible doom at last; that just as he passes muster
with his fellow-men, so -also, by some undefined process, he will
be allowed to pass in the great day of account. This parable tells
him his hope is vain. It announces to the Sadducee and the Pha-
risee of all generations, that the gospel day, however much it bears
for a time the mark of " the evil being mingled with the good,"
is a day, nevertheless, in which the preparation is going on for a
complete and final separation of these ill-assorted materials. It
tells all such that Christ going forth on his mission of love and
mercy, yet has " his fan in his hand" with which he is in readiness
to " tiwroughly purge his floor" and to "gather his wheat into his
garner."
Nor must we omit to notice, that John uttered this parable im-
mediately after he had spoken of the special distinction of Mes-
siah's kingdom. " He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
with fire." Christ's work as the great baptizer in his Church is
first, that by the power of the " Holy Ghost," he may purify and
refine each heart as silver and gold are purified and refined in the
fire. He will have none at the last owned by Him as His, other-
wise than as they have thus been tried, purified, and sanctified.
His workmanship in them will be a perfect one ; they will be
holy and without spot, and the very same jealousy, therefore,
with which he will to the utmost cast out of each of his people
every " root of bitterness," will lead him to the most rigid and
inexorable exclusion from the new Jerusalem, of any thing that
"defileth, or that worketh abomination, or that maketh a lie."
THE FLOOR THOROUGHLY PURGED. 65
The Gospel, then, though it be indeed " glad tidings of great joy
to all people," comes to the sinner with words of truth which
may well make him anxious and alarmed lest he be consumed.
It speaks plainly to him, as belonging to " a generation of vipers,"
to a poisonous and deadly brood. It warns him of " the ax laid
to the root of the trees," of the "fan in the hand" of the great
husbandman ; that it is alone the tree with fruit, or the precious
wheat which shall not be "cast into unquenchable fire " and it
leaves these 'solemn words ringing in his ears " Behold, I come
quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according
as his work shall be"
5
CHAPTER VI.
THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS.
BUT if man's condition be such as we have seen it described,
and if even the Gospel of peace itself issues forth with such solemn
notes of warning, it may be well now to look at the utter help-
lessness of man himself under these sad and threatening circum-
stances. His condition is wretched indeed, whether we consider
it in its intrinsic sinfulness, or as under Satan, and he is in immi-
nent peril of everlasting ruin. Is there no escape ? "^ hanks be
to God there is. A door of hope is opened to him in the valley
of Achor. A new and a living way is laid down by which he
may flee from the wrath to come. Still, as there is but this one
way, and no other; since, too, is is a "narrow way," and the en-
trance to it is by a " strait gate," and so it can not be very attract-
ive to a carnal mind ; and as all men would fain discover some
other and more easy way, it becomes of great moment that we
should see how every other way but this one is a false one, and
instead of leading to life, leads only to destruction. It is import-
ant to shew clearly man's utter helplessness to escape by any
other means than that one wherein God has chosen to be his
" helper and deliverer."
There are two parables of our Lord which illustrate this truth
in its length and breadth. The first of these is a brief but very
emphatic one
" If the Hind lead the Hind, both shall fall into the ditch" Mat-
thew xv. 14.
" And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind?
Shall they not both fall into the ditch f " Luke vi. 39.
The illustration here is very simple. No one is absurd enough
THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND. 67
to suppose that one blind man is a trustworthy guide for another.
No blind man, incapable as he is himself to distinguish one object
from another, would be so foolish as to jdelcl himself to the guid-
ance of another equally incapable with himself.
And here this truth then, first of all, is placed before us under
a figure which can not be mistaken, that " it is not in man that
walketh to direct his steps;" that each individual of the human
race has had his " foolish heart" so darkened by sin as to be un-
able by any means to find his own way out of the labyrinth into
which he has unhappily wandered. Wise though he be in his
own eyes, and prudent in his own sight, he is utterly unable to
deliver himself, or to discover a way of escape from the wrath to
come. He stumbleth at noon-day as at midnight, because there
is no light in him. Spiritual things can not be discerned by the
natural man, " neither can he know them, because they are spir-
itually discerned," and he walks on still in darkness, not knowing
whither he goeth.
Now, it is not a difficult thing generally to convince man that
he needs -guidance regarding the things of God and eternity.
The vast majority of the human race are well prepared to admit
this, not indeed that they are conscious of their guilty ignorance
and danger, but because they are idle and careless, slothful and
negligent in these things themselves. Thus they very readily
and with great facility turn to the right hand or to the left, and
fall an easy prey to the first plausible guide that presents himself,
to save them any further trouble of groping for the way them-
selves. Strange infatuation ! The very man who would laugh
to scorn a blind man calmly and wilfully selecting another blind
man as his guide yet when he feels in need of guidance himself
in other and still higher matters, does, nevertheless, willingly
commit himself to the direction of one as spiritually blind as he
is, and trusts implicitly to the guidance of another as incapable
as he is himself to discern the right way, or to guard against the
numberless dangers which surround him on every side.
And, alas ! how many " blind guides" have we ? Men who
with utter ignorance, and darkened understandings in all that
belongs to God, yet unblushingly proclaim their wisdom, pene-
tration, skill, and spiritual light. " We are the men," they cry,
"and wisdom shall die with us." There is no want of bold and
-if
68 THE PAKABLE OP
reckless assertion in these men. They make up for their lack of
sight by their ready willingness to undertake any thing which
poor fallen man may require to aid him in his miserable condi-
tion. In the midst of their blindness, they are ever crying " We
see," until they begin to believe their own lies, and others begin
to believe them also. They grope past all the bright and precious
promises of God, and boldly affirm that these are all the mere
creatures of a weak and fanatical imagination. They stumble on,
in the very face of impending judgment, with more than the
terrors of Sinai right before them in the way, and yet they
mockingly deride the very existence of these things. They tell
men, though God hath spoken, not to listen to Him, but to them,
and that it only needs every one to be of their way of thinking
to cause this wilderness to become a garden the desolations of
earth to disappear before the smiles of plenty and peace and
the disorder and misery of society to give place to a golden age
of justice, truth, and love. These are the men who see " motes
in their brother's eye," and desire to take them out, while in
reality "the beam is in their own eye ;" and so clearness of vision
is impossible. Alas, the end of all this is misery, despair, and
ruin ! Whether the guidance of these men takes a religious or
an irreligious aspect whether it be the direction of the Jesuit
confessor, or the self-willed presumption of our modern professors
of infidelity, the end is the same they who lead, and those who
are led by them, shall "both fall into the ditch;" it will be "as
with the servant so with his master." " The candle of the
wicked," that which he vainly and foolishly thought would give
him light, and direct his own way, and that of others, "shall be
put out," and the Prophet's words shall have their full and ter-
rible accomplishment : " Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, (strange
fire, not kindled from the sanctuary,) and compass yourselves
about with sparks, (miserable sparks, which only dazzle, and are
useless to guide aright ;) walk in the light of your fire, and of the
sparks which ye have kindled. This shall ye have at my hands,
ye shall lie down in sorrow.^*
And surely in this short parable, we have intimated to us very
emphatically the absolute necessity of 'a guidance that is not
blind of a light that will not go out in darkness, and leave the
* Isaiah 1. 11.
UNPROFITABLE SEKVANTS. 69
poor sinner that trusted in it to deplore his utter and irremediable
ruin. Where all are blind, and so utterly incapable of finding
the right way, or guiding each other to it, is it possible to sup-
pose that He who is light itself will not help the poor benighted
wanderers ? Assuredly he will. Yea, he has done it. He has
made a revelation. He has opened the windows of the upper
sanctuary, and suffered a bright beam of heavenly light to glance
down among these dark and sightless ones wandering on the
brink of the precipice of woe, and one after another stumbling and
falling over it. This God 'of light -has not left himself without
witness. He has spoken once, yea, twice. His own Son, " the
brightness of his glory, the express image" of the Eternal Light,
has come into the world ; and as he came among the blind wan-
derers of mankind, he proclaimed himself to be " the light of the
world ;" and one of the greatest of his followers pointed emphat-
ically to him as the very sum and substance of what blind men.
require, and God has graciously bestowed. "Awake, thou that
sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light"
Alas ! it is when there is such a light as this by which the foot-
steps of the erring may be led safely in the paths of peace, that
we see on every side "the Hind leading the blind" and "both
falling into the ditch" Oh ! that both leaders and followers might
acknowledge their utter helplessness, and come to the Light of
Life !
But if man is helpless by reason of his darkened heart, so that
he can never by himself discern the path of life, or extricate
himself from all the difficulties and dangers which surround him,
he is also helpless as regards the value of any thing he can do to
merit the favor of God, even supposing he were to see the import-
ance of making the attempt. " The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto
him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually dis-
cerned." TJiere is man's spiritual blindness. But can he do any
thing, by which, blind though he be, he may yet obtain the favor
of God ? In other words, what is the real value of any service
which man may or can render unto God? Let the following
parable answer the question :
"But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle,
will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and
70 THE PARABLE OF
sit aown to meal f And will not rather say unto him, Malce ready
wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten
and drunken ; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink ? Doth he
thank that servant because he did the tilings that were commanded
him ? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those
things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants ;
we have done that which was our duty to cfo."-^Luke xvii. 7-10.
In order to gather the full import of this parable, it will be
necessary that its connection with the preceding exhortation of
Christ be noticed.
Our Lord had just enforced two duties, which, from whatever
side they are viewed, require much self-denial, watchfulness, and
prayer, in order to their performance. The one was the duty .of
walking so circumspectly as to give no cause of offence. The
other was the duty of frank forgiveness. Very little knowledge
of the human heart will suffice to convince us of the difficulty
involved in these duties. The Apostles felt it. They began to
see more and more clearly that they were not to advance by a
royal road to earthly ease and worldly distinction as followers of
the Messiah ; but that they had to do battle at the very outset
with their own corrupt hearts that their first grand duty was to
subdue themselves ; and that this was a warfare which could not
be conducted by sight, but by faith in Him who alone they well
knew could give them victory ; and so they earnestly, and in a
body, made the urgent entreaty to their Master, " Increase our
faith." The Apostles uniting in this request, (the only instance
on record,) gives exceeding weight and importance to the subject
of their petition. It proves what a conviction they had of faith,
that it was alone by means of it that the highest attainments
could be made, and that when they did pray for it, it was for the
very purpose that it might bear its precious fruit of true holiness.
Our Lord, by his reply to their united supplication, confirms
the Apostles in their view of the vital importance of "faith."
He says, " If ye had faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye might
say unto this sycamore -tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and
be thou cast into the sea ; and it should obey you." As if he had
said, You have asked aright. You have touched the spring which,
as a means, is all-powerful in renewing, purifying, and sanctifying
vour whole being. These things of which I have spoken are
UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS. 71
indeed contrary to all your natural feelings, and seem in them-
selves almost impossible to acquire ; but with the faith which you
ask, and which I am ready to give, you will be made more than
conquerors. "Without me ye can do nothing;" but a living
faith in me will so " strengthen" you as to enable you to " do all
things."
And now will be seen the importance of the parable which our
Lord immediately proceeded to deliver. The natural tendency
of the human heart might lead the Apostles to go from one ex-
treme to another from the depressed feeling of being utterly
unable to attain to such an amount of Christian grace as was re-
quired, to the notion that, with the help vouchsafed to them ac-
cording to their request, and with their Master's testimony to its
power, their graces and good works might become intrinsically
valuable, and be so excellent in the sight of God as to deserve
commendation from him on their own account.
It was to meet and obviate this tendency that our Lord spake
this parable. In which, while he emphatically lays down the
real estimate which must be made of the work of those who are
truly his servants, he at the same time shows the impossibility of
any merit arising out of that work at all. (*It will be seen that
the parable may be regarded from two distinct points of view.
Thus we have first of all brought under our notice the case of a
man who has sent his servant into the field, in order to do the
work of his master there. At evening, when the day's work in
the field is over, the servant returns home. And our Lord asks
the question, whether any master would then, because of the serv-
ant's fidelity in the field, excuse him from his duty in the house ?
On the contrary, would he not expect him to be as faithful in the
discharge of those duties in the household which were incumbent
on him, as he had been in those in the field ?
And this gives us a very striking illustration of what is owing
by the creature to his Creator by man to God. It is indeed
very different from what man himself holds. His whole conduct
proves the laxity of his principles in this matter. How often does
he leave out of consideration one duty, while it may be he is not
habitually neglecting another. How frequently do we find that
a man will spend his day in the field, and that not idly, who,
nevertheless, when he returns home, idles there. And more than
72 THE PARABLE OP
this, some may do this carelessly, inadvertently, and" from sloth-
fulness ; others, however, do it knowingly and wittingly. There
is a grievous tendency in the human heart to put a well-performed
duty (as it is esteemed) " over against" one that is neglected, to
let the one be a sort of make- weight for the other to silence
conscience for what is left undone, by thinking much of that
which we consider well done. How often the excuse is readily
made for shrinking from the fatigue or the trouble of the house-
hold duty, because the out-door work has engaged us so much, and
occupied our time, our thoughts, and our labor ! Nor must we
omit to notice, that this perversion of what real duty to God is,
has been wrought into a system in the corrupt communion of the
Church of Rome. There a complete commercial barter has been
established, in virtue of which the good of one action may be
transferred so as to cover or make up for the want of it in
another. The servant may indulge himself in one way, if he
restrains himself in another. He may be relieved from one re-
sponsibility if he does not shink from another. Nor has this
fatal tendency rested here. For even the good which one man
has done, is supposed to be capable of being transferred to another,
so that one man's prayer may be regarded as having superseded
the necessity of another man's prayer ! or the' good deed of the
one, by a process of ecclesiastical legerdemain, be regarded very
much as the good deed of the other.
Now our Lord's parable cuts up such noxious weeds by the
roots. There is no such principle of give and take in the great
matter of what we owe to God. The grand, the universal, the
unchanging rule is, " These ought ye to have done, and not to
leave the other undone." He with whom we have to do will
never admit the performance of one duty to stand for the per-
formance of another. Nor can he ever esteem such excellence to
exist in the one as to require less excellence in the other. The
claim he has upon us is as strong at evening as in the morning.
Just as he sends us forth into the fields to our labor and to our
work until the evening " Go, work in my vineyard ;" so when the
evening comes, as the shadows are falling, and nature would will-
ingly rest itself from duty, he still meets us with the command
" Make ready, gird thyself, and serve me."
And it is very interesting to note how, by a single touch in the
UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS. 73
picture, our Lord conveys to us the great and blessed iruth, that
all this fulfillment of duty, both in the field and in the house,
while it is required full}-, and no reserve of the one allowed be-
cause of the discharge of the other, does, nevertheless, lead cer-
tainly to refreshment and rest at last " Till I have eaten and drunk-
en; and AFTERWARD thou shalt eat and drink" He loves to see
his people happy, he rejoices in their refreshment and rest. He
delights in their calm spiritual enjoyment and repose. But he
knows this is neither good nor safe, that in fact it can not be at-
tained by a half-hearted, or a half-performed service ; and so he
never ceases to urge his commands that they may be fully and
heartily complied with, because it is only "in the keeping of
them that there is great reward." It was only when his six day's
work was over, and after he beheld and saw all he had done that
it was "very good," that he "rested" himself; and so he desires
his creatures to understand that he demands all their duties to be
performed, not one sacrificed for another, but each and all done
well ; first, because it is right they are his servants, and it is their
duty ; and next, because he loves them, and desires to see them
rest in the full enjoyment of his favor, which is better than life.
It is when the great Saviour of the Church is able to say, "I
have eaten my honey-combs with my honey : I have drunk my
wine with my milk," accepted the free will-offerings of those he
loves that he adds, "eat, friends, yea drink abundantly, O
beloved."
But the parable presents us with another view of the relation-
ship between God and man. It makes known to us what is the
real intrinsic value of any thing man can do in the service of God.
Our Lord adds, to what has just been considered, " Doih he thank
tfiat servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I
trow not" This question obviously does not refer to any kindly
feeling that may exist between the master and the servant. That
is not the point here. What our Lord means to bring out is this
Does the servant by the mere discharge of what is his incum-
bent duty, put his master under any obligation to him ? By the
terms of his engagement he is to perform certain services. When
these are done they are not to be regarded as furnishing a claim
in his favor, so as to make his master his debtor ; they are siinply
the duties which are fairly required at his hands, which it would
74 THE PAEABLE OF
not be honest in him to neglect, and which he has no merit in
fulfilling.
"So likewise ye," says Christ, "when ye shall have done all these
tilings which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants :
ioe have done that ichich is our duty to do" Here we have all man's
performances, all that he can possibly do in the service of God,
estimated at the right value. Look at it first in the extreme case,
supposed by the words " uJien ye shall have done ALL." Supposing
that to the minutest point, to the very utmost " farthing," all is paid
that is required by God every service carefully attended to
every duty willingly, cheerfully, and completely performed all
kinds of work, in the field, and in the household, not only done,
but well done, what is the conclusion ? We are not for a moment
to presume thateven by all this we can make God our debtor. We
are not for a moment to think that we are such profitabk servants
as to lay just claim by reason of these services to his favor, or, in
other words, to acquire such merit as He must acknowledge, and
the reward of which it will not be just in him to withhold. " When
ye shall hai-e done ALL," all those things that are commanded you
when through grace, the supply of the Spirit, and the exercise
of a living faith not weak faith " as a grain of mustard-seed,"
but faith which is strong, great, lively, and influential a faith
that can remove mountains when by such help you are able to
attain the greatest eminence in the Christian walk when, let it
even be supposed, these very graces which seem now so hard to
attain, are not merely reached, but perfected when your whole
life, both inner and outward, is so brought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ that not the slightest offence shall arise from
your word or deed, either to the little ones of the flock or to the
world at large when, let it be further supposed, you have attain-
ed to a full, unbroken, and unclouded reflection of your Divine
Master's character in the forgiveness of trespasses when this
highest of all standards is attained when this glorious image is
stamped indelibly on you, and surrounds your character with the
light, beauty, and loveliness of heaven, from whence your Master
came, in order that he might take you back with him to enjoy its
glory forever when all this is done, so fully and so well done,
as we have supposed : then our Lord himself has put into our
mouth the only fitting language which can become even such
UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS. 75
attainments as these " We are unprofitable servants ; we have done
that which it was our duty to do."
And thus we have the clear and unmistakable judgment of
eternal wisdom as to the intrinsic worth of any thing that man
can do. Whatever he may spend in the discharge of his duty,
that is not a matter of choice with him, but simply a part of that
duty itself. If he does not exert himself to the very utmost of
his power, he comes short of his duty, and is to be condemned.
If he suffer nothing to keep him back ; if in that which is laid
upon him to do, he does it " with his might," spending all he has
to bestow upon it, turning it to the best account, then this is noth-
ing more than his duty. A duty unfulfilled exposes the servant
to blame and punishment. A duty fulfilled, is after all nothing
more or better than a duty.
And so all occasion is cut off for man supposing that b} r any
righteous acts of his by a life of unspotted, unsullied obedience,
if such could ever be he can possibly acquire such merit, or, ac-
cording to the language in our Lord's interpretation of the par-
able, be so " profitabk " as to engage the favor of God to himself
as a matter of right, justice, or reward. The utter folly becomes
here very apparent of a man venturing to hope that by any series
of performances whatever be the amount of his self-denial, his
love, his holiness, his devotedness, he can make up to God for a
sirile breach of his law that has been committed ; that there is
such price, such costliness, such excellence in his latter service,
that all that was formerly wrong, blemished, polluted, and dis-
honoring to God, shall never be had in remembrance by reason
of the value that God sets upon it, and the profit to himself, his
kingdom, his government, and his law, that it brings.
But it is important to observe that the heaviest blow aimed
against man's self-righteousness in this parable, is one that is not
expressed, but only implied. And perhaps it is all the heavier
because of the manner in which it is implied. Our Lord takes a
supposed case, and draws his conclusion from that. He/takes the
very best that can be conceived. " When ye have done all:" and
then he tells them they are still " unprofitable" If then it be so
in such a case as this, a fortiori, how much more in the actual cases
as they exist, where these things at the best are so imperfectly
done, where there are such miserable deficiencies and shortcom-
76 THE PARABLE OF
ings in the performance of duty even by God's own people, and
still more, in those who are not striving as . God's people do, nor
seeking the help which they have sought and found, and which
can alone enable them to perform to the least extent, or in any
way, what they owe to God.
. What a condemnation does this parable pronounce against that
slip-shod conception of the relation between God and man, which
leads so many to regard as so very easy the making up of their
concerns, and arranging and 'settling their accounts with God
which leads so many to talk with exceeding flippancy as well as
sin and folly, of their making their peace with God, of their satis-
faction that they have not done this or that which others have
done, and to turn at last their faces to the wall, in the hour ol
death and on the threshold of the judgment, as they thank God
they are able to look back upon a well spent life ! And thus,
forsooth, they can freely trust themselves to Him, and render up
their souls with comfort to one, who, as they imagine, owes them
eternal life, deliverance from death, and every blessing in heaven,
because they, poor, wretched, blinded souls! have done, on the
whole, what has satisfied themselves, and must therefore be satis-
factory and valuable to Him ! What insanity is this ! " Oh
that mine head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of
my people ! "
We shall yet have to draw attention to the blessed truth, that
while "all we" who have "gone astray," must ever confess "we
are unprofitable servants," there is one, "chief among ten thou-
sand," "the altogether lovely," who alone was a "profitable"
servant. 'In the mean time, it is interesting to observe that our
Lord, in giving the parable we have just considered, had only
one thing in view by it, namely, to guard against our placing a
value on any thing we do, which does not belong to it. His
simple object is, to clear that most important point which he
illustrates the relationship between God and his creature man
lest we think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think.
Unless we bear this in mind, the parable will inevitably wear
somewhat of a cold and repulsive aspect to us, as if exhibiting
but little kindliness and consideration on the one part, or little
of a service of love on the other. But as the truth it represents
UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS. 77
is so important, as it lies at the root of the scheme of Redemption
itself, as any mistake about it is fatal, and as the tendency in
man's heart to make mistakes regarding it is so universal, we
need not be surprised at the apparent harshness with which it is
set forth, because it is alone by this means that perfect distinctness
is obtained for the matter in hand.
How precious and delightful it is to turn to the language of
our Lord on another occasion, which, from the similarity of the
figure, can not fail to be associated in our minds with the parable
before us ! He is not, as now, guarding his people against the
danger of supposing that their good works can ever be intrin-
sically valuable or profitable in the sight of God but he is
urging them forward in the steadfast and faithful discharge of
duty for his name's sake under the trust they have from him,
and in prospect of his returning to take the kingdom to him-
self and so then he graciously promises to do, of his own love
and kindness, what he shows above he is not bound to do, by the
deserts of his servants. "Blessed," says he, "are those servants
whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching : verily I
say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down
to meat, and will come forth and serve them" Luke xii. 37.
Believer, be sure the loving Jesus meant no harshness to you,
when He said, " doth he thank that servant ?" any more than he
meant any harshness to his mother, when he said of his true dis-
ciples, that they were " his mother, and sister, and brother." He
wishes to guard you from a great peril. He wishes to save you
from yourself ; but oh, there is no service so full of unutterable
joy as his ; it is indeed " perfect freedom." The smile of your
master's countenance follows the faithful one in the discharge of
all his duty. The kind and loving presence, help, protection,
and forbearance of that master, makes even the heaviest burden
a light one, and refreshes you even in the heat of a long day of
hard labor and unceasing toil. And then at length, though when
your crown is gained, you will have to cast it at his feet, and
say, "Thou art worthy," yet will he not for your profitableness,
but out of the fullness of his heart's love take you to himself, and
be graciously pleased to say in your ears, " Well done, good and
faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
How faithfully then do these last two parables present before
78 THE PARABLE OF
us, as in a picture, man's utter helplessness in his sad condition.
Like the blind man, he lacks wisdom spiritual wisdom the
power of discerning the things of God. His natural mind can
not grasp these things. Then, as an unprofitable servant, he
lacks the power to set himself right with God. He has no ability
to perform a work of supererogation so that he shall have some-
thing in hand, something to spare, which may properly form the
basis of an agreement on any terms with God. He is in himself
utterly helpless, because he has neither the wisdom nor the power
to deliver himself out of the evil state in which sin and Satan
have placed him ; and here then would the history of man gather
eternal blackness, as one generation after another passed away in
despair, were it not that on the dark foreground of the picture
there falls a bright beam of light not like a lurid, fitful gleam
from smoldering embers beneath, but steady, and clear, and
hopeful, as it slants down from heaven by the edge of the ever-
lasting hills. True light, real heat, it brings to the dark and the
dreary dwellings of the lost, the guilty, and the helpless for it
tells of "CHRIST CRUCIFIED," "the wisdom of GOD," and " the
power of GOD."
And here the parables which have special reference to the
kingdom of darkness are closed. The sombre picture has revealed
deep shadows in the condition of poor, guilty, sinful man. His
corrupt heart with its polluting stream his spiritual darkness
and disease his thraldom under Satan the varied and deadly
evidences of all this the imminent peril in consequence and
his utter inability to deliver himself. It must not, however, be
supposed that even this dark account which we have reckoned
up presents us with a full or complete view of his character, his
ways, or his desttnj'-. "We can only gain a thorough knowledge
of these by carefully examining those other parables which have
specially to do with the kingdom of Christ. There, when we
shall discover that the very light which has sprung up from Cal-
vary, and which is yet to cover the earth with its robe of right-
eousness, serves but to detect and to bring out more fully and
specifically the deadly nature of sin, and the terrible power
which Satan exerts over his victim, we shall be all the more
ready to set our seal to the truth of God's word, in its description
UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS. 79
of that abominable thing which God hates of that adversary,
that as a roaring lion goeth about seeking whom he may devour
and of the infinite power, wisdom, and love of that being who
has broken the snare, and delivered the poor captive out of the
hands of the fowler. (Appendix B.)
PART II,
THE PRINCE OF THE KINODOM OP LIGHT.
CHAPTER I.
THE DOOR THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
IN the former part of this volume, it was the wretched slave,
the unhappy victim in the kingdom of darkness, which first
claimed our attention. In proceeding now to inquire into the
teaching of the parables regarding the kingdom of light, it is the
King, not the subject, which must first claim our attention. The
Prince of Darkness could have had no power over man had the
latter not willingly entered his dominion, and thus it is the course
and condition of man that forms the essential part of that history,
so far as we have to do with it. On the other hand, were it not
for the direct interposition, both as regards power and love, on
the part of the Prince of Peace and Light, man never could
become his subject, or enter into his happy kingdom and,
therefore the leading topic which must now engage our attention
is this "King of Glory," his offices and his character, and all his
work which he has performed, and is still performing, for those
whom he has brought under his mild, holy and happy sway.
The first view which we desire to take of this glorious Being,
who restores that which is fallen, builds up that which otherwise
would continue a ruinous heap, and leads captivity captive, is
derived from the striking parable we find in the Gospel of John.
" Verily, -verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door
into the sheep/old, but climleth up some other way, the same is a thief
and a roller. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of
the sheep. To him the porter openeth ; and the sheep hear his voice :
THE PARABLE OF THE DOOR. 81
and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And
when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the
sheep follow him : for they know his voice. And a stranger will
they not follow, but will flee from him : for they know not the voice of
strangers." John x. 1-5.
Let it be noted, that in these verses our Lord has not as yet
introduced any direct mention of himself, nor does he mix up
with the external figure here introduced, any of the deep spiritual
truths it is intended to illustrate. He is merely giving us a para-
ble which must have been matter of every-day observation by the
parties he was addressing. He alludes to a large sheep-fold, a
place where sheep may be housed in safety. He refers to the
fact, admitted by all, that the regular and proper mode of access
is by the door. He reminds them that there is a porter at the
door, whose duty it is to attend to it to keep it shut for the
security of the sheep within, and to open it to the shepherds
when they come for their sheep. Now, if any one were seen en-
deavoring to make his way into the fold otherwise than by the
door, he would at once be regarded as coming with an unlawful
object, and would be dealt with as a thief or a robber ; but when
the lawful shepherds came, the porter would at once admit them
by the door. The parable is further based upon what was usual
in the East then, and is so still, namely, that one fold was often
made the place of safety for several flocks belonging to different
shepherds. And thus we have the simple, every-day occurrence
under such circumstances beautifully told. When a shepherd
enters in by the door, the first thing he does is " he calleth HIS
OWN sheep by name, and leadeili them out" Then " he goeth before
them," and " the sheep follow him," for " they know his voice." And
if any body came by, and endeavored to draw them away by call-
ing them, or to force them on before him, " they will not follow
him," but " flee from him ;" for " they know not tlie voice of strangers."
Such is the parable. Our gracious Master has been pleased to
give us the key to its full and clear interpretation. In entering
upon this, it is well to observe the main scope of the parable.
" The sheep throughout this parable are not the mingled multi-
tude of good and bad ; but the real sheep, the faithful, who are
what all in the fold should be. The false sheep ( goats, Matt. xxv.
32) do not appear ; for it is not the character of the flock, but that
6
82 THE PAKABLE OF
of the slwpherd, and the relation between him and his sheep which
are here prominent."*
What, then, does the parable tell us of Christ ? He himself
has given us in a simple and wondrous order what he means to
convey to us regarding himself. " By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." Ob-
serve these three things, 1. The entering in for safety. 2. The
going in and out safely and freely. 3. The finding pasture.
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep." He
prefaces the statement as he was wont to do when anxious to
impress a very solemn truth upon his hearers, " Verily, verily, /
say unto you" Listen to this, reader. He who is the truth and can
not lie, is saying something of eternal moment to your soul. He
is speaking of safety from wrath from all the dangers and the
horrors of being left in utter darkness. He is telling you of what
is of the first importance, if you would live and not die "I am
the door of the sheep."
The sheep here spoken of are, as we have seen, the true people
of God, the real servants of Christ. They are not, therefore, the
mingled throng of evil and good that are found in the visible
church of Christ on earth. They are tne " Church of the first
born, which are written in heaven" the mystical body of Christ
the "Lamb's bride." Their place of safety the fold which
shelters them, where they can rest in peace which surrounds
them one every side which keeps off all that would harm them
is the everlasting power of Jehovah. They " dwell in the
secret place of the Most High," and "abide under the shadow of
the Almighty." There is their fold, their "quiet habitation,"
their " sure resting-place." Within the circle of that home, they
" shall not be afraid for the arrow that flieth by day, nor for the
pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that
wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at their side, and
ten thousand at their right hand; but it shall not come nigh
them." Now, of this wall of salvation round about, Christ is
" the door."
By this, he first gives us to understand, that' it is not in the
spiritual fold to which he is referring as in the common folds in
their sight, which suggested the parable. In the one case, there
* Alford in loco.
THE DOOR. 83
might be different flocks with their several shepoerds ; in the
case illustrated, there is but one flock and one shepherd; this
flock entering in by the door Christ ; and every one who thus
enters " is saved" So that this is the marked feature of every
one within the fold he is a saved soul. Here, then, we have
Christ in his great and glorious character of Saviour. " He shall
be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."
" Him hath God exalted at his right hand, to be a Prince and a
Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, and remission of sins."
" I am the door." There is none other no other way of access
nnto God, his favor, and his light no other way of escape from
wrath and death. " There is no other name given among men
whereby we must be saved, but the name of Jesus." Man placed
in Paradise, with every thing around him made to minister to his
enjoyment, yet indulged in evil thoughts, and so broke out of
the enclosure of God's 'love, and favor and protection. Nor could
he retrace his steps. That road was guarded by the cherubim
with the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the
way of the tree of life. " A new and & Jiving way," however, has
been consecrated for him by the blood of Jesus. And now the
Second Adam the Lord from heaven invites him by his voice,
and draws him to the door by which he may enter in, and be
saved. " Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy ladeq,
and I will give you rest."
Then notice this, "if any man enter in, he shall be saved."
Here is the blessed intimation for all the hapless and the helpless
sons of men all who are under darkness and in the shadow of
death. This door is not for righteous, but for sinners not for
those who need no salvation, but for those who do. This door is
not meant for such only as are of one class or degree in sin, but
for all who will flee from the wrath to come, and partake of the
safety to which it leads and which it secures. " If any man"
it is open for one and all who apply for admittance. Any poor
sinner that cries sincerely, and knocks heartily, shall enter in and
be saved. It is as good for the persecuting Saul as for the loving
John ; and it is as needful for John as for Saul. It stands as wide
for th^ penitent robber expiring on the cross as it did for the in-
quiring Nicodemus, who came privately to Jesus ; and Nicode
mus must look at it as steadily, and enter it as humbly as the
84 THE PARABLE OF
penitent robber. This is the great glory of Christ to be the
door, by " whom, whosoever cometh unto God, shall in no wise
be cast out." It is thus that he reverses man's own suicidal act,
when he destroys himself. It is thus that he plucks the sinner as
a brand from the burning, and saves with an everlasting salvation.
Further, observe what is intimated to us by this declaration of
our Lord, "lam the door., by me, if any man enter, he shall be saved '."
" Saved /" saved from Satan saved from the wrath of God
saved from sin, from its power, its pollution, as well as its guilt !
Who can do all this but God? He, then, who calls himself "the
door," is a Prince as well as a Saviour. He has power with God
and can prevail. Though he chooses to empty himself of his
reputation, and make himself manifest in the humble character
of the mere door by which his people are to enter into safety and
rest, yet he thinks it " no robbery to be equal with God." Yea,
even in the body of his humiliation, as the door of escape for sin-
ners, he has wrought such glorious things that in that character we
are told " God hath also highly exalted him, and given him a name
above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of things in heaven and things on earth, and things under
the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Header, be well as-
sured of this, that if we would know any thing truly of God, or
truth, or holiness if we would know what Heaven is by its pos-
session, and what hell would be, by the discovery of what they
have forfeited who are there if we would know peace which
passeth understanding, and which can not be taken away if we
would know what it is to cry, " Thanks be to God who giveth us
the victory," as the world is sinking beneath our feet, and eternity
throwing wide her gates to unvail the profound depths which lie
in her domain if we would know all this, we must first of all
know Christ as " the door." Be sure that you have Him, and you
are sure of all the rest : " All things are yours, whether Paul, or
Apollos, or Cephas, or life, or death, or things present, or things
to come, all are yours, for ye are Christ's, (his saved ones by en-
tering in at the door,) and Christ is God's.
But again, our Lord adds, "He shall go in and out;" and, in
this part of the interpretation which he has been pleased to give
us, he appears before us in that most loved and lovely of all his
THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 85
characters, of which there is so much said and implied throughout
the whole of the inspired word of God the Shepherd of the
sheep. In dealing with a parable which furnishes us with even a
faint illustration of what Christ is, we must bear in mind what
good John Bunyan says : " First I would premise, that He of
whom I am about to speak, hath not His fellow." And so, from
the very greatness and glory of Him who is set forth in this par-
able, and the utter insufficiency of any one figure to furnish a full
resemblance, we must endeavor to look at it from various points
of view. We nrust first, as it were, take it up in one way, and
when we have seen what it means, set it down, and take it up in
another, without allowing the first view to complicate or interfere
with the second. Thus we regard this parable first and simply
with reference to the door. Christ says He is that which is repre-
sented by the door. Well, after having considered this, we must,
as it were, forget for the moment that part of the illustration, and
pass to the second ; and here Christ is the Shepherd. "Jam,"
says he, " the good Shepherd;' 1 '' "by me" shall my flock "go in and
out." "lam the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known
of mine." Like the ordinary shepherd in the parable, He " calleth
his owri sheep by name, and leadetfi them out." " He goeth before
them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice"
And it is in this second view which the parable furnishes us
of Christ, that our attention is specially directed to the contrast
which he draws in it in such remarkable language. He describes
to his hearers what was well understood by them. If any one
were found seeking an entrance into a fold, except by the lawful
door, he would be regarded as dishonest, as " a thief or a robber"
Well, then, he adds, "All that ever came before me are thieves and
robbers." It is alone He that entereth in by the lawful door, who
is " the Shepherd of the sheep." This he did ; but who, then, are
the " thieves and robbers who came before him ?" It is impossi-
ble to limit these words to the few isolated attempts which were
made previous to the coming of Christ, by false pretenders to the
office of Messiah. The words will not admit of such restriction,
" all that ever came before me," &c. They must refer to all false
teachers of every age and of every kind. Nor can we avoid
marking what'appears to be the original of the contrast between the
good Shepherd and these " thieves and robbers," in the conversa-
86 THE PARABLE OF
I
tion between our Lord and the leaders of the Jewish people in the
preceding chapter but one. They, the self-constituted guides and
teachers of Israel, were delighted to be stj'led Rabbi, professed to
be the chosen seed of Abraham, and vainly boasted of their extrac-
tion from that patriarch. But Christ tells them, by their works
they dishonored their profession, for " Abraham rejoiced to see my
day" the day of the good Shepherd "he saw it and was glad."
Not only so, but he tells them plainly what their real condition
is, in what family they are, and from what parentage they are
sprung. "Ye are of your father, the devil ;" "*Le is a liar and a
murderer from the beginning." Yes, here was the first " thief
and robber," who endeavored to get into the fold " some other
way 1 " 1 than by the known and lawful one. All who have sought
to lead astray, whether spirits of darkness or fallen men, are but
the followers, the children, the imitators of this great adversary,
this head and front of " all subtilty and all mischief." He and
they have never ceased their efforts to rob God of his sheep, " to
steal, and to Mil, and to destroy" They are " treacherous dealers,
who deal very treacherously."
And when it is added that " the sheep did not hear them" this is
not meant in an absolute sense ; for, alas, who among the children
of God that has not at one time or another listened to the Syren
voice of the tempter, and been ready often and often to yield to
the subtle wiles which would draw away from safety, life and
peace for ever ? What our Lord would convey by this is, that
none of his people, none of his flock, none that know him really,
and are known of him, none whom he calls by name, and who
really love his voice and follow him, none of them ever heard so
as to be finally drawn away and lost. The voice of temptation
very often has reached them. They have often rashty listened,
and the longer they did so were the less able to distinguish
whose voice it was ; bat the good Shepherd never left them to
themselves. He with his rod and staff *" restored their souls,"
and ceased not " to lead them in the paths of righteousness for
his name's sake."
Those of whom he speaks, then, " the thieves and robbers,"
are primarily " the rulers of the darkness of this world," and
subordinately " evil men and seducers, deceiving and being de-
ceived." See the blessed contrast. " I am the good Shepherd,"
THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 87
says Christ. Good indeed unutterably good, for goodness is his
essential attribute. He is goodness itself good, because lie has
spared himself no cost, in order to promote the well-being of poor
sinful man good, because he does with his sheep whatever is
for their best interests good, because as he goes before them,
he guides them safely, and is likewise their bright example ; and
because every one of his flock shall have cause to say at last,
when they look back on all the care and love which he has
shown to them as their Shepherd, a Surely goodness and rnercy
have followed me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the
house of the Lord forever."
" To him" this good Shepherd, " the porter openetii? Mark this
well. The door into the sheepfold is thrown open, "hut it is to
" the Shepherd of the sheep.' 1 ' 1 The flock, doubtless, enter in and
go out by the door ; but it is not they who open it, nor is it on
their application that it is opened at all. It is unnecessary to
inquire here whether any, and if any, which of the persons in the
Trinity is specially meant by " the porter." It is enough for us
to notice the great lesson of the parable which is so strongly
enforced, namely, that while the door opens for the sheep to let
them in, and " no man can shut" it, and is shut for their security
when they are in, and " no man can open it ;" all that they have
to do with it, is to take advantage of what it offers to them, a
way in, and security when in. They did not make the door, nor
find it 'when it was made, nor open it when it was found. All
this is done for them, and it is to their good and loving Shepherd
that the porter attends, and does exactly as he requires, in either
opening or shutting " with the key of David."
And then the sheep "go in and out" There is something pe-
culiarly significant in the language. The sheep, first of all, go
in by the door, that they may be saved Then, when once in,
and under the rule and guidance of the good Shepherd, they "go
in and out" This shows us the perfect freedom of the service of
Christ. He brings salvation to us he surrounds us with its
walls and bulwarks ; but this is just in other words the liberty
wherewith Christ has made us free. His sheep, indeed, are never
without him, for they only follow as he leads, and listen to his
voice; and thus they are ever safe none dares to make them
afraid when ho is by their side ; but where he is, there is " liberty"
88 THE PAEABLE OF
Let this not be forgotten. The salvation to which Christ admits
his people is not a bondage, but a deliverance from bondage. It
is " the spirit of adoption " in exchange for " the spirit of fear."
The saved ^eoul does not feel as if a captive in its prison when it
enters the fold, but has all the fall assurance of everlasting safety,
while it walks at liberty, or, as the Prophet has it, " Walks up
and down in the name of the Lord."
And see here the blessed understanding mutually subsisting
between Christ and his people. "He calls his own sheep by name."
They "know his voice" "He leadeth them out." " They follow
him." Here the strong and the weak are found together. Blessed
communications of grace have passed from the one to the other.
The Shepherd calls. What heavenly music in that voice when
he speaks to his own ! He calls his own sheep. They are his
by right of purchase, and as such are very dear to him. How
this endearment shows itself in such words as these, " Fear not,
little flock !" He calls them all by name. Let not the humblest
believer, the youngest child in the family of God fear, lest amid
the flock which Christ has purchased, and the many names of
honored sons to be found there, he should be forgotten. The
Shepherd calls him by name, as well as others. No wonder that
the receiver of such graces should "know his voice" when he
speaks so pleasingly, so tenderly, to the heart of each. And
then following him is the result of this. " Whither thou goest,
I will go," is the language of each of his chosen ones.
This communication of grace from Christ to his people, and
their entire dependence on him, preserves them from strangers or
hirelings. He has made himself so known to his people all
that he is to them, as well as what he has done for them, is so
well understood by them, that they are at no loss to detect the
voice of strangers, and flee from them. " TJiat is not the Gospel,
the sound of glad tidings, as my Shepherd has taught me, and I
will have none of it," is the language of the enlightened child of
God. " If any man preach any other gospel, (which is not an-
other,)" said one faithful member of the flock, "let him be
accursed."
Such strangers or hirelings as these have always their own
purpose to serve ; but they care nothing for the real safety and
prosperity of the sheep. The prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 89
Zechariah have given awful descriptions of such false shepherds.
In the time of danger they leave the sheep " not the sheep of
the fold" spoken of as belonging to Christ, because he says,
"they hear not" these strangers, but such as are tempted to
follow them men who yield to their seductive teaching and
influence. These are deserted by them in the time of need.
When the hireling "seeth the wolf coming, he fleeth, and the
wolf catcheth them and scattereth the flock."
Our Lord, in alluding to these hirelings, takes occasion from
their conduct to introduce the great and crowning excellence of
his faithful, tender, and loving work as " the good Shepherd" The
hireling fleeth when he sees the wolf coming. He cares not for
the flock, but for himself. They may all be devoured for what he
cares, only let him be safe. The wolf may have their lives, if
only he may be delivered from his fangs. Not so the faithful
Shepherd. Look at a real case in point. David kept his father's
sheep not a hireling but a son, having a direct interest in the
flock, and there came out a lion and a bear, and the young shep
herd ran up and slew them both, and delivered his flock " out
of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear." In doing
so he of course put his own life in peril, in order to guard that
which was intrusted to him ; and so our Lord, with this part of
a faithful shepherd's work before the minds of the people, says
of himself, not merely that he risks his life for his flock, but " the
good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.' 1 ' 1 "I lay down," he
adds, " my life for the sheep."
It is surely not pressing the interpretation here too far, to take
the statement of our Lord as in immediate connection with what
he suggests in the figure the wolf attacking a flock, and a hire-
ling fleeing in order to save his life. The good Shepherd is not
like him, but " gives his life for the sheep." Who is the wolf?
It can mean only the great adversary of souls. Just as Satan is
represented in one view of the parable as " a thief and a robber,"
endeavoring to steal into the fold ; so now, when the flock are
in the field, he is set forth as a wolf ready to devour them. Our
Lord Jesus Christ, then, had to encounter this enemy, because ho
would deliver the prey out of his teeth ; and in this encounter
he did not merely risk his life, but he " gave" it. He not. merely
undertook a dangerous mission, but one which he knew must
90 THE PARABLE OF
issue in his own death ; and thus the enemy seemed at first to
gain the advantage over him. " The serpent bruised his heel."
The wolf succeeded in slaying the shepherd. But out of this
weakness came forth strength. " I lay my life down," he says,
"that I might take it again;" and thus he totally defeated his ene-
my, and " led captivity captive." He laid down his life for his
sheep ; in other words, " He died for the sins " of his people ; and
he "rose again" to bind Satan forever in chains of darkness, and
to justify his people before his Father. This was not a duty which
was forced upon him. This was not a positive injunction laid
upon a creature, which he must fulfill or be disobedient. It was
his voluntary act. He loved his sheep. He must secure their
safety. He must deliver them from Satan. He must give them
the blessing of " going in and out" freely and happily ; and so he
says, "I lay down my life," for " no man taketh it from me," but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have
power to take it again." And, as if to bind our hearts in wonder,
love, and praise to him who thus deals with his sheep, he singles
this out as pre-eminently the thing which draws forth the whole
love of his Father toward himself. " Therefore doth my Father
love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again."
But further, observe the assurance our Lord gives that as the
good Shepherd he not only leads his people " in and out " in
safety and freedom, but provides "pasture" for them. They "find
pasture" A plentiful supply for all their wants is provided by
him. " Of his fullness" all his people receive largely and liberally,
and " grace for grace." The child of God can take up the lan-
guage of David, and say, " The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not
want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he leadeth
me beside the still waters. He prepareth a table before me in the
presence of mine enemies, he anointeth my head with oil ; my cup
runneth over." We shall have to notice hereafter what these
" green pastures " and " still waters " are which the good Shep-
herd causes his people to find.
And then, again, it is important to observe that all this so done
so well done by the Shepherd for his flock, is in entire accord-
ance with the character and will of his Father. Just as the shep-
herd uses the right place of entrance the door, and does not
climb up into the fold, or pull part of it down in order to enter,
THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 91
even thus it is with Christ. He did not himself enter within the
true fold the grace, favor, and protection of his heavenly Father
and take sinners with him there, otherwise than by the lawful
door. He did not get over any of God's commandments, making
them, as it were, of little account he did not put them under his
feet in order to attain his end, nor did he make a breach in God's
holy and perfect law. He came not as a " thief or robber ;" on
the contrary, his entering in with his flock, and his leading them
in and out, have been openly done, and with no damage to the
law and the honor of his Father. He came by the proper door
perfect sinless obedience to God; and so he "magnified the law
and made it honorable." And therefore did his Father " love
him," because the violence he did was not on holiness, justice, or
truth not on the eternal walls which surrounded the Throne and
the glory of God, but on himself. He did not lay down truth,
but he laid down his own life. He did not sacrifice justice, but
he sacrified himself. He did not win his way into the fold in
spite of holiness, but because he was " holy, harmless, and unde-
filed." He was just such an high -priest as could offer a full atone-
ment for sin, and, being " consecrated for us," secure the eternal
holiness of his people.
And how strikingly is this entire accordance with the character
and will of his Father, in all that was done by the good Shep-
herd, intimated to ua in these precious verses, where Jesus seems
to bring within the compass of a few words the most delightful
and blessed view of this work for his people. " My sheep," he
says, " hear my voice ; and I know them, and they follow me :
and I give unto them eternal life : and they shall never perish,
neither shall any pluck them out of my hand : my Father which
gave them me is greater than all ; and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand." This work of the Son of God is
so- precious in the sight of the Father that when he Avas engaged
in it he declared from heaven, " This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased." It is in such strict accordance with the
Father's will and character, that, as regards this loved and pre-
cious flock, Christ says, "all mine arc thine, and thine are mine."
And so he adds, in the chapter before us, " I and my Father are
one," implying, doubtless, that the two persons of the Godhead
here mentioned are one in essence, but specially and primarily in
92 THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
this connection, manifesting the oneness of love, purpose, and
power, on the part of Father and Son, in keeping, guarding, and
holding fast possession of every member of their beloved flock.
These, then, are the great truths illustrated by this parable. It
tells us what the Prince of the Kingdom of Light is. First, a
Saviour he is the door into the sheepfold ; next, the good Shep-
herd he leads his flock as a shepherd, and provides full pasture
for them, having laid down his life for them, in order to purchase
their safety at this cost All this, too, is done according to truth
and justice ; and so he can point to it as manifesting forth this
eternal glory of the Godhead, "I and my Father are one."
CHAPTER II.
THE TRUE VINE.
WE proceed further to inquire into what the parables shadow
forth to us of the great Prinee of the Kingdom of Light. And
precious as the view is which the parable in the preceding chap-
ter gives us of him as the way of salvation, and the Shepherd of
the sheep glorious as the relationship therein represented is
which he has been pleased to form with his people, we have now
to regard him under another figure chosen by himself, in order to
shadow forth a still deeper and more precious truth regarding his
connection with those whom he saves, and who are to behold his
glory forever. The sheep going in at the door for safety, and
being carefully tended by the good Shepherd, have yet nothing
in common with the door or the Shepherd. By the one they are
admitted, by the other guarded, led, and nourished, and thus in-
estimable blessings are by these figures shadowed forth in the
most attractive manner, but still they imply nothing in common
between the two parties. They suggest danger and helplessness
in the one, they set forth the means of safety and protection by
the other ; but they do no more. Now, however, we shall see
these two parties, the Saviour and his saved ones the Shepherd
and his sheep not simply as conferring and receiving blessings,
but as being, in the most intimate and wonderful manner, identi-
fied with each other. It is possible to conceive of Christ, the
Prince of the Kingdom of Light, becoming the means of escape
to his people, and undertaking to be their Shepherd, and yet not
coming nearer to them than these figures denote ; but he has
given us another which marks explicitly that he is not only near
to them, but actually one with them. Listen to him, as he com-
forted and taught his faithful ones, on the night he was betrayed.
94 THE PARABLE OF
11 1 am Hie true vine, and my Father is the husbandman" John
xv. 1.
Our Lord selects the image here from fruit-bearing trees, and
among these from the noblest, the most beautiful and graceful,
and which has ever been esteemed most highly among men the
vine. He implies that the vine to which he refers is planted in a
vineyard, and that it is carefully tended by a husbandman.
Directly applying the figure to himself in the way of allegory,
he says, "lam the true vine" not the vine of truth, which yields a
cold and frigid sense, and is not allowable. " The true" is that
" not only by which prophecy is fulfilled " not only " in which
the organism and qualities of the vine are most nobly realized,"
(Tholuck,) but, as in chapter i. 9, ' original" "archetypal."* It
is here just as in the case of Moses and the tabernacle. The
prophet gained his insight into the proper frame and form of the
tabernacle which he was to make on earth, by the pattern which
he was permitted to behold in heaven. He first saw the original,
and then proceeded to execute his copy. The archetype came
first, the type afterward. So here we have the great original
archetype Christ. And the vine which we see rising from the
ground at our feet, and hanging its beauteous branches, laden
with luscious fruit, is the mere type of this " True Vine," made,
prepared, set in this world, and all its construction and habits ar-
ranged by the God of nature, to be a fitting emblem of his more
precious plant in the kingdom of grace.
And when our Lord assumed this figure to himself in this
striking language, we are led at once to some important and most
precious conclusions. The emblem of a vine is one of very fre-
quent occurrence in the Old Testament. Let two references to
these suffice. In Psalm Ixxx., the writer speaks in very striking
and highly poetical language of Israel being brought out of Egypt
by Jehovah, with a high hand and an outstretched arm, planted
in the land of Canaan, and there fostered and cherished by the
love and power of her great King. All this is graphically set
forth under the image of a vine. " Thou hast brought a vine
out of Egypt ; thou hafst cast out the heathen and planted it.
Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep
root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the
* Alford in loco.
THE TRUE TINE. 95
shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.
She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the
river." Glorious as this vine was, it was not the " true vine" Its
" hedges were broken down." It was " burned with fire." It
was " cut down."
Again, in the fifth chapter of Isaiah, we have a parable with
its interpretation given, in which the vine is the figure used :
" My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill : and ho
fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with
the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made
a wine-press therein ; and he looked that it should bring forth
grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes." Neither then was this
the " true vine" seeing it brought forth " wild grapes." And
although the reference is primarily made to this vine in its then
degraded state, as bringing forth " wild grapes," and it is said
" that the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah his pleasant plant," yet must we not omit
to notice that the expression in the parable, " the choicest vine,"
evidently refers to the parent stock from which this degenerate
vine had sprung that is Abraham. Just as the Prophet Jere-
miah also manifestly alludes to him, " Yet I had planted thee a
noble vine, wholly a right seed : how then art thou turned into the
degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me ?"* And thus we
gather that while Israel and Judah in their apostasy and rebel-
lion, though likened to a vine,' were not the " true vine" so like-
wise Abraham himself, though the friend of God, though the
father of the faithful one of all men most signally honored by
tokens of God's favor and love ; though he was indeed a " choice
plant," a " noble vine," " wholly a right seed," was, nevertheless,
not the " true vine" not the great original of which the vine is
but a type, but only as standing midway between the one and
the other, and catching some faint features of resemblance from
them both.
Unless we bear these things distinctly in mind, we shall fail to
have a just conception of the impression made on the minds of
those who heard him, when our Lord said to the true disciples
who then alone surrounded him, but who were all Jews, children
of the stock of Abraham, and who even then were disposed to
* Jeremiah ii. 21.
96
cling with bigoted tenacity to the mere fact of their outward ex-
traction from Abraham. " I am the true vine." It was, in truth,
the counterpart to that other declaration of his to the assembled
Jews, " Before Abraham was, I am." On that occasion he dis-
tinctly affirmed his superiority to Abraham in one sense. In
the parable before us he as distinctly asserts his superiority in
another.
For, notice the truth which underlies all this. Just as the vine
had been often used in the Old Testament Sciiptures to denote
Abraham, or the house of Israel, so now the Saviour adopts the
same image to denote his manhood. It is to this that the parable
mainly points. It is on this the great facts depend which are
illustrated by it. The husbandman prepares room for his plant,
and he sets it in the place thus made ready. So the Father sent
his Son into the world, having "prepared a body" for him.
" When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son,
made of a woman, made under the law." This Son of God made
man, "bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh," was not, like
Abraham, to give birth to a degenerate race, but every one who
claimed sonship from him should be a " king and a priest unto
God and the Father forever." " He shall have dominion from
sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth." This
is the " true vine" the humanity of Jesus, which has been set and
planted in this world, that it may yield plenteous fruit to the
heavenly husbandman, even "fruit that shall remain" yea,
" fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the praise
and glory of God."
But observe this special feature in the parable before us. He
who prepared the vine in the kingdom of his providence to illus-
trate the human nature of his own Son in the kingdom of grace,
chose to make this beauteous and fruitful tree dependent on
something else for its support. The vine needs to be trained on
something stronger than itself, otherwise it will lie prostrate on
the ground, wither and die, and be utterly worthless. So also
with Christ. Had there been manhood only in him, he never
could have done what he did, nor brought honor and glory to
God as he has done. And just as our idea of a beautiful and
fertile vine must always arise from seeing it held up and sup-
ported by something else, foreign to it, and yet united with it, so
THE TRUE VINE. 97
we never can realize Qhrist as the " true vine" otherwise than as
the Man " in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,"
who in his own person combines two natures, perfectly distinct
from each other, and yet perfectly united in him, " very God and
very man." In the first of these he is apart from us all. We
can have nothing in common with it. In the other he has come
down to. our level, in order that perfect union may exist between
us. And thus he proceeds to say
" lam the vine and ye are tfie branches" John xv. 5.
Here, then, we have the intimate union between Christ and
his people shadowed forth. He is not now merely "the door by
which they enter in and are saved," nor even as " the good shep-
herd," with whom they "go in and out, and find pasture," and
who even " lays down his life for the sheep," but he is one with
them, and they with him. Just as the branch and the stem are
one, so Christ and his people are one. One nature is common to
both. And as the branches of the vine are in the place where
the vine is planted, so Christ and his people have one vineyard
in which they flourish. And as the sap rises up in the stem and
thence through the branches, so it is the salf-same spirit which
dwelt " without measure" in Christ, and " by which he offered
himself without spot to God," in order to atone for his people,
which also works in measure in the people thus saved, and causes
them to bring forth precious fruit to the praise of God.
So far, generally, as regards the figure selected by our Lord.
He means to set forth the point of union between himself and his
people. " Verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but
he took on him the seed of Abraham." But another question is
here suggested. What special view of this union is meant to be
given ? Obviously " the vine and the branches " represent Christ
and his visible church. The mystical or invisible church can not
be intended here, because there are unfruitful branches, that are
broken off, withered, and cast into the fire. But we must take
care while asserting this, that we do not, as some have done, care-
lessly apply an epithet to Christ in connection with the figure
before us which is altogether alien from it, and which suggests
what is unscriptural and dangerous. " The vine," it has been said,
" is the visible church here, of which Christ is the inclusive Head.
And so ' the vine and the branches' answer to the Head and
7
98 THE PARABLE OF
members, in Eph. v. 23, 30 ; Col. ii. 19.". There is no scriptural
warrant for the mixing up of these two perfectly distinct things.
In the Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, the Apostle
more than once makes reference to the church of God in close
and intimate union with Christ under the figure of " the body,"
with its various members, and Christ the Head of it. God the
Father, as we are told, " hath put all things under his feet, and
given him to be the Head over all things to the church, which
is his body : the fullness of him that filleth all in all." These and
the other references which he makes to the church under the
figure of a body, are obviously meant to bring it under our notice
in its purely mystical character "the whole company of the
redeemed " the " called, and chosen, and faithful " those " who
endure unto the end, and are saved." The figure itself demands
this interpretation. A little reflection will prove this. The peo-
ple of God are represented as the members of a body " members
in particular ;" i. e., each one, as it were, stands in a relative posi-
tion to Christ as the several members of a body do to its head.
No doubt, if a member of a body become incurably diseased, it is
removed. A hand or a foot may be taken off, so as to check the
spread of a disease which might prove fatal to the whole body.
But what then ? This very excision of the diseased member
leaves the body maimed and mutilated. It may be saved from
death, it is true, but it has lost its symmetry, its proportion, and
its beauty; and thus to say that "we are members of Christ's
body, of his flesh and of his bones" that " he is the Head, and
we are the members" and that, after all, many of these members
become so corrupt as to be cut off and cast away altogether, des-
troys the force and beauty of the image, and is revolting to the
spiritual apprehension. No ! The union between Christ and his
people, as the Head with the members of one body, is such, that
when they once belong to him, they are his forever not to be
cut off again, and so leave the Head spoiled of his members, but
vivified by his life-giving, healing Spirit, " till we all come in the
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto
a perfect man unto the measure of the stature (or age) of the
fullness of Christ."
On the other hand, notice the wonderful .iccuracv of the
7 /
imagery of Scripture. The vine and the branches represent, not
THE TKUE VINE. 99
the " church of the first-born, written in heaven," not the " new,"
the "holy Jerusalem:" but the visible church on earth, wherein
the evil has been and always will be mingled with the good. It
is not here, then, as in the figure of a human body. If a branch
that is dried, withered, or worthless, be removed, the tree is im-
proved by such a process, not mutilated. It is no loss, but the
contrary, to a vine, for the useless, fruitless branches to be taken
away, in order to make room for the enlargement of its fruitful
boughs, that they may be trained and spread in the very place
where the barren ones were, and so a plentiful increase be drawn
for the use of the husbandman : and thus, too, in the visible
Church, the removal from time to time of that which is worthless,
and the final cutting away of every branch that bears no fruit,
far A-om impairing, will only issue in the perfect beauty and full
excellence of the " true vine" and his fruitful branches.
No doubt, in both figures, there is something which they have
in common ; the life of the plant in the one, the life of the body
in the other. The stem and the branches share in the one, the
head and the members in the other. But this is indeed slender
ground on which to conclude that both the one and the other
represent the church under one and the same aspect, in one and
the same condition ! On the contrary, a single glance will suffice
to lead us to the very opposite conclusion, even apart from the
reasons urged above. The one, we should be disposed to say,
tells us of some kind of union with Christ, which may either be
accompanied by fruit-bearing or barrenness, and so one branch
may after all be destitute of what another has ; the other tells us
of a union, so close, so vital, so particular, that every member
must in every respect fully share in that very life which is com-
mon to all.
And here it may be well to enter a protest against a certain
ecclesiastical terminology, which, whether it has been originally
derived from the imagery in the chapter before us or not, has
assuredly no Scripture warrant to support it, and which has im-
perceptibly led to much that is to be deplored in the history of
the Church of Christ, and which to this moment stands as a
special perplexity in the way of full and satisfactory views con-
cerning that Church. We are perpetually hearing of the " uni-
versal church," and that one church or another, peculiar to some
100 THE PARABLE OF
country or place, is, or is not a branch of this universal church.
Now in one respect there may be no harm in such application of
this term ; but when it is attempted to convert a mere phrase
into something more, and to give the language a specialty in-
volving things of such tremendous moment, as that, if a man
belongs to one particular communion, he is " within the cove-
nanted mercies of God," because that communion is " a branch of
the Church catholic," while another is not within the pale of these
covenanted mercies, because the communion in which he is, is not
a branch of the Church catholic, then indeed it is time to protest
against the use of language which, to the unreflecting, assumes
so much of weight and solemn importance, and which often pro-
duces fatal impressions on the souls of men.
Let it then be distinctly noted, that there is no Scripture
warrant whatever for calling any communion by the name 'of
" a branch." Our Lord did not address his faithful ones thus
" I am the vine," and ye are a branch, but " ye are THE
BRANCHES." There is no such use of the term found throughout
the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles, or the Revelation. If we are
to use the term at all, as significant of any thing connected with
spiritual things, let us do it as it is set forth here. Each man
who makes a profession of faith in Jesus is a branch of the vine.
The only thing which will eventually make the distinction be-
tween the branches, so that some shall remain and others be
burned, is fruit or no fruit. It is individual connection, either of
a nominal or a real character, with Christ which is meant by the
use of this figure. Our Lord condescends not to notice the walls
of separation which men have set up, and then prided themselves
in belonging to their own little area, as if it were nearer and
dearer to Christ than that in which their neighbors live. He
looks over all these, and he speaks to each man, and he tells him,
" If you are fruitful, well. If not, you shall be cut off. No con-
nection with what you call a true Church, or a true and apostolic
branch of the Church, is of any account in this matter. What
you have to think about and take care of, is your personal con-
nection with me, and the result of it in your own individual life,
conduct, and conversation. If fruit be not found in these things
if your heart remains unsanctified, your life unchanged, if you
walk not in God's ways, and seek not to do what alone is right
THE TRUE VINE. 101
before him, and to be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
bringing forth fruit in due season, then, no matter what your
communion may be, though it be one which, if Paul were on
earth, he would prefer to all others, that will be of no avail to
you. You shall be cut offj cast away, left to wither and die.
But if) on the other hand, true graces are found in you, my
image in your soul, the work of faith, the labor of love, the pa-
tience of hope, then it is not the numberless errors which may
exist in the communion to which you belong that will prevent
me from owning you at last as my own, and as one of those
' whose fruit shall remain.' "
Of course, this can not for a moment furnish any just plea for
remaining carelessly in a communion, which, however it may
profess to hold the fundamentals of the faith, has yet fatally de-
parted from them in practice. The scope and bearing of the
figure under review does not touch that at all ; it has nothing to
do with it. And, on the other hand, it as little furnishes a plea
for our necessarily regarding every man as an alien and an out-
cast from Christ, merely on the ground of his being associated
externally with that which is in reality unscriptural and unsound.
And thus the argument of certain parties falls harmlessly to
the ground, who reason thus " You admit," say they, " that
there are to be found in the Romish communion those who are
truly the people of God. You admit that there is some of the
wheat there which shall at last be gathered into the heavenly
garner. Well, then, it follows that the communion to which
these justified ones belong, though it may be, and undoubtedly
is, in many respects corrupt, is nevertheless a true and proper
branch of Christ's Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church." It is
easy to see that by this plausible reasoning there is substantially
a glossing over of. the real character of that communion alto-
gether. But the view which this parable gives us will lead to a
very different statement of the case. " We do admit that there
are true believers within the fold of the Church of Rome. We
do admit that God has his chosen ones there, whom he will
watch over and keep unto life eternal, for 'the Lord knoweth
them that are his.' Each one of these is a fruit-bearing branch
of the ' true vine. 1 But as to the system with which they are ex-
ternally connected, it has nothing to do with Christ or Christ's
102 THE PARABLE OF
Church. It is a contradiction in terms, and a mockery of God,
and is only calculated to delude and mislead the unwary, to call
it ' a branch of Christ's Holy Catholic Apostolic Church.' No !
We say of such men as Pascal or Martin Boos, l By their fruit ye
know them,' as 'branches.' You can distinguish their individual
incorporation into Christ, and their partaking of the life-giving
Spirit of him to whom they really belong ; but of the system in
which they were found, but of which they were not, we desire to
speak as Scripture speaks, and as the Eeformers in the sixteenth
century spake, and we call that system not ' a branch of Christ's
Church,' but Babylon the Great, the Mother of Abominations,
the Great Apostasy, Antichrist, whose head in no sense is Christ,
but, on the contrary, ' The Man of Sin, and the Son of Perdition.' "
But the figure of the vine and the branches, as dwelt upon by
our Lord, suggests some further truths. As regards Christ, we
have seen that it indirectly though necessarily implies the God-
head, which in him supplied the infinite strength required for
the great work in which he was engaged, while it directly repre-
sents the manhood of Christ clinging to that which is not mixed
up with it, so as to be confounded with it or mistaken for it, but
only united to it, in his person, so that he shall become while
truly a man, yet such a man, as that all other men who are
bound together with him in a living faith, shall partake of the
power, the holiness, the loveliness, and the life which are in him.
We have seen, likewise, that the figure before us has reference
to Christ, and all those who profess his name, whether that pro-
fession be true or false, formal or sincere.
In this latter use of the figure, an identity between Christ and
both these classes is implied, and it is interesting to observe
wherein alone this identity consists. As one substance is com-
mon to a vine and its branches, so the human nature is common
to Christ and every member of his visible church. But this is
the only point of real connection between them. There is noth-
ing else in common ; and this seems to show the peculiar aptness
of the figure here used. Some are startled by it at first, as won-
dering how false and godless men can ever in any sense by mere
profession be called branches of the " true vine" but it is not by
their profession that they are so. That profession, indeed, comes
to be taken into account as we shall see, because our Lord is not
THE TRUE VINE. 103
referring to those who never heard of him, but only to those who
have ; but it is not by their profession that they are branches of
the vine ; they are simply and solely regarded as such by reason
of that human nature which is common to them and the Lord
Jesus Christ as man, and, indeed, unless in the parables we found
the illustration of this identity, we should miss a very important
feature in the economy of grace, for it is this very identity in
nature with every one to whom Christ comes offering salvation in
his Gospel which makes apparent the deadly guilt and the awful
condemnation of those who profess to receive him, and yet by
their barrenness give the lie to their profession. He has taken
their nature on himself before he offers them salvation, and the
salvation he offers depends on this fact ; and so, if they abide not
in him, and bear fruit, they expose themselves to the terrible sen-
tence which inevitably follows all such barrenness.
But we must now proceed to notice some points which our
Lord brings before us in the course cf his reference to the vine
and the branches ; and first, surely the very way in which he
speaks to his Apostles on this occasion would lead us to conclude
that he meant to establish a distinction between one set of branches
and another not simply in the fact of the one being fruitful, the
other barren, for that is admitted ; but as if one set, after all, were
alone regarded by him as the branches, while he made, as it were,
no account of the other. He had said to them, "No wye are
clean, through the word I have spoken unto you." Judas was
no longer among them that fruitless branch was, alas ! regarded
as already cut off and withered. The rest were clean by the blessed
operation of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, bringing home the
truth of Christ there. They were not merely outward followers ;
they were true disciples. They were such as he could speak to
in this language, "I call you not servants," but "friends." They
were his " disciples indeed." "Well, then, when he had thus dis-
tinguished them as cleansed indeed, he adds, "lam the vine, ye
are tfic branches" Certainly this seems to intimate to us that He
who " knew whom he had chosen," regarded only his faithful ones
as the branches of the vine ; that they were ever in h^s sight and
esteemed by him, while he already regarded all others as if cut off,
as they assuredly will at length be, if they abide not in Christ,
and continue unfruitful.
104 THE PARABLE OP
In looking forward to this final condition of this " ir.x -:ine "
and its branches, and regarding it as if the time of its manifesta-
tion were already come, our Lord makes special reference to the
act of the husbandman. The latter, when taking care of the vine
which he has planted, sees to each branch, first of all that it be
trained suitably ; and that, according to its position in the vine,
every thing shall be done with it which will give it full oppor-
tunity to bring forth fruit unto perfection. If, after having done
what he can, he finds one branch remaining unfruitful, he removes
it, and so makes room for other fruitful branches to occupy the
space which had hitherto been filled to no purpose. And, on the
other hand, if he finds some branches which are fruitful, but not
as much so as they might be made, then he prunes off every thing
that is rank and luxuriant in them, in order that they may bring
forth more fruit.
Now, like this process of the husbandman with his vine, is the
certain separation of those from Christ, who, although professing
to be his, yet in works deny him, and also the equal certainty
that nothing will be spared, whatever immediate pain or sorrow
or distress it may cost to his own people, which, according to his
infinite wisdom, he perceives will be instrumental in causing them
to abound in every good word and work.
" Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away." This
he expresses more at large in the sixth verse. "If a man abide not
in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered ; and men gather
them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." These two
things are identified by Christ in this discourse, the " bearing no
fruit," and the " not abiding in him." It is a twofold description
of the same character. It is regarding one and the same kind of
professing Christians from two distinct points of view. The one
has regard to what appears externally ; the other takes note of
what is within. And so, in reference to the first, there is great
propriety in uniting with it the open judgment of God by reason
of unfruitfulness "He taketh it away" and, in reference to the
other, there is equal propriety in speaking of the final ruin as
springing from the inner and fatal cause of "not abiding in
Christ."
And it is in this expression, "abide," that there lies the real
distinction between the branches in the " true vine." They have
THE TBUE VINE. 105
a common nature, but nothing more in common. The one abide
in Christ, the other do not abide in him. It is impossible to ex-
press this in the parable otherwise than our Lord has done it, that
is, by representing the result of such abiding or not abiding in him,
namely, fruitful and unfruitful branches. But having marked the
distinction, then, where there is a feature of analogy between the
literal view and the figurative, he expressly calls upon us, by the
use of the language now before us, to look beneath the surface
and to trace out the hidden cause of all this. When, therefore,
he says, " Abide in me" he means something more than merely the
outward connection of the vine and the branch he refers to the
inner connection between himself and his people their dwelling
in him and he in them their real spiritual apprehension of him
as their life and their daily living in him, drawing from him act-
ively and constantly their supplies of the spirit of grace, which
will make them glorify God in their bodies and spirits, just as
the fruitful branch of the vine draws secretly but steadily the
living and fertilizing sap from the stem with which it is connected ;
and therefore, when he adds, " If a man abide not in me" he
further means, that if a man does not so dwell in me, as to par-
take of all I have to give, and am willing to bestow if he is
satisfied with a mere outward connection, and has no living trust
in me, so as to make me all in all to him so as to lead him to
apply to me continually for all things pertaining to life and god-
liness, then his unfruitfulness will be made manifest, and that
man will be driven away in his wickedness.
It is surely a most unwarrantable use to make of this language
of Christ to affirm that it gives any countenance to the opinion,
that a true child of God may finally be cast away. " This verse,"
says one, " is a most important testimony against supralapsarian
error, showing us (Jiat falling from grace is possible, and pointing
out the steps of the fall ;" and yet this same writer admits that
the vine and the branches mean Christ and his visible Church, the
latter containing both righteous and wicked. If the "falling
from grace," here spoken of, mean merely the falling away from
all the favor and grace which God shows to every man, when he
lays the Gospel at his feet, and permits him in his providence to
join himself to Him in an outward covenant, then there can be
no objection taken to it ; but if it means that one who has once
106 THE PARABLE OF
been made a child of God in Christ, who has undergone really in
his heart the great change from death unto life, who has been
really and truly born again of the Spirit of God, who has been
able heartily to say, " My beloved is mine, and I am his ;" that
such an one as this may be cast forth as a branch and withered
then we deny the inference which is sought to be drawn from
these words.
There is nothing in the language used to lead us to suppose
that the fruitful branch can ever become unfruitful, but the re-
verse. That branch is "purged that it may bring forth more fruit."
There is nothing said by which we may conclude that one who
abides in Christ at one time may not abide in him at all times.
It does, indeed, intimate to us that there can be no fruit without
abiding in Christ, and that the end of this must be destruction,
but it does no more. When Christ says, " Ye can not bear fruit,
except ye abide in me" he does not mean that they may fall away,
but he simply marks out to them the ground on which alone they
can be faithful, true, and fruit-bearing. It is one thing to bring
out clearly and to state plainly what pertains to the life and con-
stancy of a believer in order that he may profit thereby. It is
another and a very different thing to make such a statement
equivalent to a doubt cast upon the final safety of that believer
himself.
In a subsequent part of this chapter, our Lord seems still to
keep the imagery with which it opens before the disciples, and
his language is very emphatic and significant. "Ye have not
chosen me," he says. You have not chosen me from any impuls-
ive or capricious feeling of your own, or because I was in the
way and you did as others ; this would be the work of fruitless
branches; but I have chosen you. I have selected you, and have
" ordained you," or placed you, that is, as branches in the vine
this is my doing, not yours, and I have done it for this express
purpose, (and when I work, who can hinder it?) "that ye should
go, and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." And
these words obviously imply the same as those used by Christ on
another occasion " Every plant that my heavenly Father hath
not planted shall be rooted out."
These things, then, seem manifest. " No man can come to
Christ, except the Father, which hath sent Christ, draw him," i. e.,
THE TKUE VINE. 107
by his Holy Spirit. " Thine they were," says Christ, " and thou
gavest them me." " And this is the Father's will which hath sent
me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up again at the last day." Again, " I have
chosen you, and set you, or placed you," so firmly, by my Spirit
working in you, that ye shall abide in me, and " go and bring
forth fruit, and your fruit shall remain." That there are branches
of whom all this can not be said, and by reason of their barrenness
are at length cut down, dried up, and withered, is a sad truth.
That all this springs from their own unwillingness to abide in
Christ is true also. That they may for a long time appear very
much as the other branches, is not less true ; but their final sepa-
ration, arising out of their original and continued separation in
heart from Christ, is what the words of our Lord mark, not the
possible falling away of the truly righteous ; and in this respect
they are exactly similar in import to the words of the Evangelist :
" They went out from us, but they were not of us ; for if they had
been of us, they would have continued v:ith us : but they went out,
that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."*
Once more, we must observe the reference to the husbandman
of this True Vine. " My Father 1 " 1 is the husbandman. Now, if
to those who reject Christ " who trample under foot the Son of
God," and "put him to an open shame," by "crucifying him
afresh" this announcement is calculated to inspire them with
terror, seeing that they shall fall not only " into the hands of the
living God," as " a consuming fire," but into the hands of a
Father, whose only, whose well-beloved Son has been so treated
by them ; on the other hand, how full of sweet and precious
consolation it is to the people of God, " to those who have re-
ceived" the Son of the Father, " who have believed that he came
forth from God," and who have honored him, and will honor him
and serve him for his own sake forever that it is the Father of
this best friend of theirs that is mentioned as the husbandman
who will take care of them and all concerning them. And spe-
cially when the work of the husbandman here referred to is prun-
ing and cutting, intimating the painful and trying processes
through which the children of the kingdom must pass to their
everlasting haven how precious to be assured that it is a Father's
* John ii. 19.
108 THE PARABLE OF THE TRUE VINE.
hand that will guide the priming-knife, appoint and limit every
trial. What a pledge for tenderness and love and mercy in all
their tribulations ! "What continued refreshment was it to Christ
himself throughout the whole of his long and bitter sorrows, to
have the countenance of his Father, and to know that he was
finishing his work : and so in their measure and degree it is in-
tended that the people of God should be in this respect as their
Master. It was the Father who put the Son to grief, who laid on
him the iniquity of us all; and yet Christ ever testified, " Thou
lov'edstine before the foundation of the world;" and "thoulovest
me always." So let it be with his disciples. Let every thing the
Father sends to us, instead of crushing us, or causing us to faint
and be weary by the way, and to hang down our heads as a bul-
rush, lead us to look up more steadily than ever to himself, and
say, as our great High-Priest said before us, "Father, not my
will but thine be done."
CHAPTER III.
THE ROCK THE STRONGER THAN HE THE PHYSICIAN.
WE proceed now to another view of the great Prince of the
Kingdom of Light, as presented to us by his own parabolic
teaching.
" Upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell,
(Hades) shall not prevail against it." Matt. xvi. 18.
The similitude here is very simple. There is a builder engaged
in his work. He lias his materials, and vnili tliem lie constructs
his building according to his plan, and it rises under his hand
from the foundation to the top-stone, resting on the solid rock
beneath. It is not simply a building fitly framed together in
itself that is meant, but strong and enduring, and capable of re-
sisting the fury of the elements, and the assault of the deadliest
foe, because it is founded on a rock.
It is one of the most remarkable instances of the tenacity with
which the mind of man clings to a wrong interpretation of the
Word of God, when such interpretation has once become cur-
rent that this very simple image, so clear and so obvious in its
bearing, should have continued till now to be turned from its
right and lawful meaning to that which impairs alike its beauty
and its force. The servant has been made so prominent in the
interpretation that the glory of the Lord and Master has been
well-nigh lost sight of altogether.
Of course, reference is not now made to the Romish view of
this passage, by which it is declared that not only is Peter the
Rock, but that this proves both Jtis primacy over the other Apos-
tles, and likewise the primacy of all his so-called successors in
the see of Rome over the whole visible Church of Christ on earth.
110 THE PARABLE OF
It is not worth while to waste words in refuting such an utterly
groundless inference as this from the language before us, even if
we granted that Peter is "the Roclc" Archbishop "Whately's
view of this Eomish deduction is, no doubt, the common sense
one that the Romanists never gained their idea of either Peter's
primacy, or that of the Popes of Rome, from this passage ; but,
having resolved that Peter and the Popes should have the pri-
macy, it was found convenient to press this passage, if possible,
into the support of that which had already been received. It is
not, then, to this utterly untenable inference from this passage,
even supposing Peter to be " the J20c, Jr that allusion is now made,
but to the interpretation itself, which yields this designation to
him at all. It is against this that a formal protest ought to be
entered and steadily maintained, because, though we may avoid
taking along with this interpretation the wild follies ingrafted on
it by the Romish Church, we nevertheless lose by it a very pre-
cious view of the Lord Jesus himself.
It is very singular that a large number of Protestant comment-
ators should, from the part which Peter took in the conversation
in which our Lord introduced this similitude from the fact of
our Lord expressly naming him, though not for the first time, a
stone, and likewise from the fact of the same Apostle taking a
prominent part in the apostolic mission on the day of Pentecost
it is not a little singular that merely on this narrow ground they
are content to give to a man, a mere man, even an Apostle of
Jesus Christ, an epithet, which throughout the whole of the rest
of Scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments, is, by the ad-
mission of all, exclusively given to God. The figure occurs again
and again in the Old Testament, and invariabty is meant to rep-
resent Jehovah. Pages might be written in proof of this, but it
is unnecessary. And specially it may be remarked, that the
figure frequently occurs in those Psalms which are distinctly
prophetical of the Messiah, and therefore the very epithet which
throughout other portions always belongs to God, is at the same
time applied to Christ. Then in the New Testament the testi-
mony is equally explicit. " The Rock of offense," which is
laid in Zion, is Christ. "That Rock was Christ," says Paul, in
1 Cor. x. 4. Surely with all this evidence in favor of the invari-
able use of this epithet in Scripture, if in any one passage the
THE ROCK. Ill
figure which is thus always applied to Jehovah and Jehovah Jesus
be given to a mere man, the meaning of that passage should be
so distinct and plain as at once to silence all disputing.
It is also not a little remarkable how a writer, who, from the
force of habit, or from regarding too exclusively one feature in
the language of our Lord, concludes that Peter is "the Rock"
h ere does, nevertheless, in another parable given both by Mat-
thew and Luke, where the interpretation has never been made so
much the subject of dispute, suggest what surely is the true
meaning of the term. In the parable of the wise and foolish
builders, Alford says, " This similitude must not be pressed to
an allegorical or symbolical meaning in its details, e. g., so that
the rain, floods, and winds should mean three distinct kinds of
temptation ; but THE ROCK as signifying HIM who spake thus, is
of too frequent use in Scripture for us to overlook .it here" Strange
it is, that when this writer so truly expounds the Rock as Christ,
in the one figure, giving strength and security to the building,
he should substitute for him in the other a mere servant, though
an Apostle, giving strength and security, not to this or that indi-
vidual builder, but to the whole Church of the living God.
But in truth, any interpretation otherwise than that which
makes Christ "the Rock" will not stand examination. A fallacy
lurks in the other which applies it to Peter, that needs only to be
fairly looked at, in order to prove how untenable it is. Let the
following stand as a fair specimen of this latter interpretation.
" The name ntiqo;, (not now given, but prophetically bestowed
by our Lord on his first interview with Simon, John i. 43,) or
xi|yj, signifying a rock, the termination being only altered to
suit the masculine appellation (?), denotes the personal position of
this Apostle in the building of the Church of Christ lie was the
first of those foundation-stones (Eph. ii. 20; Rev. xxi. 14) on
which the living temple of God was built : this building itself
beginning on the day of Pentecost, by the laying of three Oiousand
living stones on this very foundation. That this is the simple and
only interpretation of the words of our Lord, the whole usage of
the New Testament shows : in which not doctrines, nor confes-
sions, but men, are uniformly the pillars and stones of the spiritual
building.*
* Alford, f loco.
112 THE PARABLE OF
This last statement is admirable, and strictly just. And it is
not to be doubted, that if those Protestant -writers who deny that
the Kock means Peter herej had been more careful in bearing
this in mind, instead of affirming that it is the doctrine which
Peter expressed, or the confession which he made which is meant,
there would have been less plausibility in the argument used in
opposition to their view. But, in truth, the question does not lie
in the mere critical examination of the passage between Peter as
the Eock, aud Peter's confession as the Eock. " The usage of the
New Testament" is assuredly against the latter. The question in
reality lies between Peter as the Eock, and Christ whom Peter
confessed. This altogether relieves us from the difficulty referred
to in the above extract. It is not Peter's confession, but He
whom Peter confessed, that is " the Rock" not a doctrine, but a
living being. A single glance at the context will bring this
plainly out. " Whom do men say that 1 am ?" Peter replied,
" Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." " Blessed art
thou, Simon Barjona, replied Christ, for flesh and blood liath
not revealed, (it, not in original,) but my Father which is in
Heaven." The writer of the above extract very justly draws
attention to the revealing here spoken of, as parallel to that
alluded to by Paul in the Epistle to the Galatians. A compar-
ison of the two does indeed yield most satisfactory results. Paul
says, "when it pleased God . . . to reveal HIS SON in me" And
then he adds, " He conferred not with flesh and blood" because
the latter had nothing to do with this revealing. Here, then, we
have the exact parallel to our Lord's words before us: First,
"Flesh and blood" being of no avail; then, "God," or "my
Father which is in heaven," the efficient cause of revealing;
and " HIS SON," that which was revealed both to Paul and Peter.
And so the words of our Lord may be paraphrased thus : " Thou
hast said that I, the Son of Man, am also the Son of the living
God. Blessed art thou, for flesh and blood hath not revealed
him, or me, unto thee, but my Father in heaven." And then
when he adds, " And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and on
this Eock will I build my Church," it is not the confession that
the Apostle made, but Jesus Christ the Son of the living God,
who had been " revealed in him," even as Paul, which is this glo-
rious, strong, and everlasting Eock of Ages.
*
THE EOCK. 113
But further, notice how this application of the epithet, " the
Rock" to Peter, involves the fallacy to which reference has been
made above. The language of the extract just given, brings out
this forcibly. The name, it is said, "denotes the personal position
of this Apostle in the building of the Church of Christ. He was the
first of these foundation-stones on which the living temple of God
was built." But surely there is the widest possible distinction
between a "foundation-stone " and " the Rock," on which the
whole building, from foundation to top-stone rests ! If Peter is a
foundation-stone, then he only rests upon the Rock, he is not the
Rock itself. Then it is doubtless true that the appellation, Peter
or Cephas, " denotes the personal position of this Apostle IN THE
BUILDING ; " but this very admission is destructive of the state-
ment that he is the Rock on which the whole building is erected.
He is indeed the "living stone," and honored to be a "founda-
tion-stone," and he is probably addressed as Peter or Cephas, in
allusion to this very fact, but having thus his " personal position
in the building," he is altogether precluded from being " the Rock"
on which both he and others equally are built. The fallacy lies
in making the words rock and foundation-stone convertible terms,
when there is nothing in the passage to warrant this. The word
foundation-stone is not used, nor adverted to in the passage.
When a builder is engaged in his work, he needs materials, which
he may arrange upon the rock which lies beneath ; and so when
our Lord refers to himself as the Rock, on which a building glo-
rious and secure is eventually to rise, he necessarily refers to the
material he uses in his building, and Peter, his faithful follower,
is ready at hand to supply the type of the " living stones " in
this temple.
But there is still another formidable objection to such an inter-
pretation as is quoted above. While it keeps prominently in
view the building, it keeps at the same time altogether out of view
what is equally prominent and important in the figure, the safety
of the building. " The gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Why ? Because it is " founded on a rock." It is so strong as to
defy all the power that can be brought to bear against it. Now,
if we admit for a moment that Peter is " the rock" because " he
was the first of these foundation-stones," the honored position
which he was privileged to hold there can never in any way be
114 THE PARABLE OF
justly regarded as the ground of the Church's safety ! Granted
that on Peter "the Jewish portion of the Church was built," was
this its security? was it in consequence of this that "the gates of
hell" should never prevail against it? Impossible. (Appen-
dix C.)
We conclude, then, that it is not Peter, but Peter's Master
not Cephas, but Christ, who is here set forth as "the Rock"
Christ not doctrinally, not in confessions of faith, not in systems
of mere notional religion, but Christ personally, " the Son of the
living God." Let us then see how gloriously the figure before
us adds to the testimony we have already gathered from the Gos-
pels regarding this Being.
We have seen the love of Christ united with his righteousness,
inasmuch as he is "the door" by which his people enter in and
are saved, not by doing violence to the justice of God, but by sub-
mitting to it. We have seen his love united with his wisdom,
in that he is "the good Shepherd," loving his flock so much as to
" lay down his life" for them, and dealing with them so wisely in
leading them " in and out," and providing pasture for them. And
we have seen his love united with his humiliation, in that as the
vine and the branches are one, he has so loved man as to humble
himself to take man's nature on him, that he may, in virtue of
his own merits, supply the inner life with all its fruitfulness to
such as believe in him. And now, here, in the figure before us,
we have Christ's love united with his power, in that as he has so
loved his Church as to build it upon himself, it may be immovable
in his strength and power forever.
And just as in the vine and branches there is, as we have seen,
implied that on which the vine is trained, and equally in the thing
illustrated, there is implied the Godhead to which the manhood of
Christ clung; so here the Godhead is expressly set forth, and
the manhood left to be implied. And this is just what we might
expect from the question whence the conversation arose between
our Lord Peter. " Whom do men say that I, the Son of man,
am ?" No question as to his manhood that is taken for granted.
Peter's reply introduces the subject of our Lord's rejoinder under
the figure before us. " The Son of the living God." An expres-
sion admitted by all the best commentators as necessarily mean-
ing the essential godhead of Christ.
THE ROCK. 115
And how admirably suited is the figure for this purpose : " This
Rock" Look at it in the light of Scripture, whether of the Old or
New Testament, and it raises the mind at once to the great and
glorious Jehovah He who is from everlasting to everlasting, God
over all, blessed forever and ever. Let the reader carefully select
all the passages in Scripture in which this image is used. Let
him arrange all these under his eye, and then he will be prepared
in some measure to enter into the force of the language which
our Lord used on this occasion. Or look at it merely as a natural
object a rock How apt is the figure ! Its strength. Its dur-
ability. " The everlasting hills," as Scripture has it. There is
nothing in the material world which can afford so striking an
illustration of the everlasting power and strength of Jehovah.
When a house is built on a rock, the builder prepares his mate-
rials and builds thereon, but he has not built the rock. He has
found it ready for his building sO when the great Master-builder
would build up his glorious Church, while he has his materials
to prepare in order to commence and complete his building, he
finds the rock prepared for his undertaking, " even his own eter-
nal power and Godhead."
And again, just as in the vine and the branches, we have, as
we have seen, Christ and his visible church set forth, so here in
the rock and the building on it, we have Christ and his true
Church his chosen and faithful ones set forth. And here, also,
we must take special note of the admirable adaptation of the
imagery. In the vine and the branches, it is the human nature
which is prominent. It is this which alone forms the general
identity between the stem and all the branches, whether barren
or fruitful ; and so we are not surprised when this is the sole con-
nection common to all, to find some, i. e., the unfruitful branches,
broken off. In the Rock and the building, on the other hand, it
is the Godhead which is prominent ; and so, when we hear of a
building raised on t/iat a building, each stone of which has thus,
in a mysterious manner, become identified as it were with it we
instinctively feel that the building is to remain perfect and intact.
Not a stone placed there at first which has not been shaped, pre-
pared and polished, and fitted into its right position ; and not a
stone, when once there, ever again removed. And surely it is in
this figure that we have the strict analogy to that frequently used
116 THE PARABLE OF
in the Epistles, " The body and its members." The mystical
body of Christ in the latter is just the Rock and the building
here. There is the same general idea of mutual dependence per-
vading both : and there is especially common to both, the abso-
lute necessity if the one or the other are to be perfected that
nothing once in either of them shall ever be removed. A member
cut off from the body, mutilates the body and disfigures it. A
stone taken out from a building impairs its strength, and destroys
its beauty.
And let us trace out the figure a little further. "We- have said,
that the humanity of Christ is taken for granted. " Whom do
men say that I, the Son of Man, am ?" Where, then, does this
manhood find its position here in connection with " the Rock,"
and " the building" on it ? A brief parable, which our Lord
adopts from the Old Testament, will suggest the answer to this
question, and therefore it will be well to consider it here, though
not at any length, as the main purport of it falls in elsewhere.
" Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The
stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the Head of the
comer?" Matt. xxi. 42.
We shall, in taking up this passage, more fully afterward
show, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the stone here spoken of; not
" the Sock" now, but a stone. A stone offered to the builders, and
rejected by them, and yet at length becoming the Head of the
corner, or the chief corner-stone in the foundation, on which the
whole building rests. And this, then, supplies to us what is left
to be inferred in the figure of " the rock and the building."
Christ, as the Son of God, is the rock immovable and everlast-
ing, and bearing the whole weight of the building that is raised
upon it. Christ, again, as the Son of Man, is a stone " a tried
stone" a "precious stone" "the chief corner-stone " built, not
ly man, on the rock, but by his heavenly Father ; for "this is the
Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes." And thus we
have him set forth, as is frequently done by the Apostle Paul.
Speaking of the true Church of the living God, he says, "Ye are
built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
himself being the chief corner-stone." And again, " Other foun-
dation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus."
With what exquisite fitness, then, does the whole figure come
THE ROCK. 117
forth from this examination ! Christ is the Hock. As such he
abideth ever. Not moved from one place to another. No
changeableness. Not built MZ, but built upon. Again he is him-
self one of the stones in the building laid on this rock. His
human nature was prepared, and began to exist in time. He
was set in, and appointed to, his right place in the great spiritual
temple, which is his body, the church. He is himself, as Peter
says, " a living stone." And thus he and his people are brought
near to each other. He and they are one building, just as the
head and the members are one body. And yet, as Christ is
the Head and we the members, in the latter figure, so among
the living stones of the former, He is "the chief among ten
thousand," and the " altogether lovely."
And so against this united strength, this rock of the Godhead,
and this manhood of Christ with all those made alive again in
him, resting forever on that Godhead, " the gates of hell shall
not prevail." The gates of Hades. The ordinary idea attached
to this, that the powers of darkness are here meant, is only re-
motely involved in the other and primary one. It is as if our
Lord had said, " My church built upon me, depending on me,
united to me, raised by myself, can never be moved or destroyed
no weapon formed against her can prosper. True, this will
not yet for a while appear. First, as regards myself, I shall go
down to the grave. Hades will appear to prevail over me.
Then, one after another of the living stones in my temple shall
pass away dust returning .to dust, and the spirit to God who
gave it ; but this apparent triumph of death is but for a moment
' / am the resurrection and the life,' and ' he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live.' Yet it shall be seen
that I will put all things under my feet ; and my crowning prom-
ise to my church is, that by her union with me, and resting on
the rock, she shall at length be the conqueror, and ' death and
Hades shall be cast into the lake which burneth with fire.'"
And thus it is that Christ " loves his people unto the end." And
herein is his power seen likewise in " saving with an everlasting
salvation." %
It may not be out of place here to draw attention to an illus-
tration given us of Christ in a parable already considered, the
peculiar feature in which was then purposely omitted, inasmuch
118 THE PARABLE OF
as it finds room more suitably now. In the figure we have just
had under review, the love united with the everlasting power
and strength of Jehovah-Jesus is brought before us. And yet it
is power and strength mostly under a passive aspect. The rock
and the stone are each of them severally and unitedly the em-
blems of strength and durability. When once the stones are
placed in the building on the tried foundation, and on the rock,
then they are secure in the strength of that on which they rest.
We also notice in the words of our Lord, who it is that places
these stones in the right place. " On this rock will / build my
church." He who is the everlasting strength of his church
" the rock of ages" who is also one with them in the building
as the chief corner-stone is also the great and wise Master-
builder who has planned and devised the beauteous structure,
and who will never cease his labor until its glorious pinnacles
shall rise amid the cloudless sunshine of the eternal world, and
the last ornament be placed on the summit, amid the shoutings
of the countless throng, crying, " Grace, grace unto it."
But then, besides all this, there is the material for this glorious
church implied. The builder may have his rock, and his chief
corner-stone, and have all his plans perfect and complete, but
whence does he obtain his materials ? This implies a different
process from what is directly conveyed to us in the imagery be-
fore us. He must go to the quarry. He must select there what
is most suitable for his purpose. He must hew this out of the
surrounding mass. He must shape, and form, and polish it, and
he must convey it to the building on which he is working, and
there fix it in the proper place. Even so with the thing illustrated.
When Christ says, "On this rock will I build my church," there is
implied the previous process of going after, discovering, separat-
ing, preparing, and bringing to himself all the material of which
the church is composed. The same Apostle whose answer led
to this declaration, significantly calls this material " lively stones"
When, therefore, the spiritual mind observes Christ's glorious
church rising when he sees " the Lord daily adding to his church
such as shall be saved," and recognizes all these saved ones as
" fitly framed together, and growing into a holy temple, in the
Lord, an habitation of God through the Spirit," then he knows
that before one of these stones could have found its position there,
THE STEONGEB THAN HE. 119
there must have been a work of preparation ; for each was at one
time but a part of a shapeless mass of stone, or, to dismiss the
figure, "dead in trespasses and sins," under the dominion of "the
prince of the power of the air," and " without God" in the world.
How, then, did these dead become alive again, so as to be unit-
ed in one blessed bond forever with God, and bear his glory ?
How did these worthless stones become "lively stones?" This
great change has been effected by the Spirit of God, as the im-
mediate agent in the matter. He has discovered them, separated
them from the evil mass, made them new creatures, and so fitted
them to take their place in the family, and among the chosen ones
of God. When the Spirit's work comes specially to be considered,
we shall endeavor to unfold all this fully. Meanwhile, let it be
noticed that he does this as the great agent of the Head of the
church even Christ. "He (that is Christ) shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost and with fire." And thus we observe, that while
it is the Spirit who is immediately operating on the sinner's heart,
changing, and renewing, and fitting it for the living temple, he
does all this under Christ. And so, as the great Builder of his
church, we must not only regard him as laying each stone suc-
cessively in that glorious structure, and securing all upon the
rock, but it is he also who has prepared these stones and made
them what they are, fit for this habitation.
And here, then, besides his love in selecting, and renewing,
and cleansing by his Spirit, there comes forth the manifestation
of his power and strength, not now in its passive aspect, but in
fall active operation. The poor sinners whom he has taken out
of the pit, and hewn out of the rock, on whom he has set his
love, were not only spiritually dead before his Spirit breathed
into them the breath of life, but they were strongholds of Satan.
Each of them was a fortress and a palace of the wicked one.
" The strong man," who " trusted in his armor," " kept his pal-
ace," and held " his goods in peace." Each one of them was in
the possession of the great and powerful adversary of God and
man. "When, therefore, they are to be brought to the spiritual
temple, and made meet to be partakers in the inheritance of the
saints in light, there must be something more than outward or
even inner changes in them. It is not enough, if they are to join
the " general assembly and church of the first-born written in
120 THE PARABLE OF
Heaven," that they be even "swept or garnished," the "strong
man" must be bound so as no longer to reign within them as his
palace, and hold all there as his own ; and who does this ? " The
stronger tiian he cometh upon him, overcomes him, taketh from
him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils,"
Thus Christ's power and strength arexevealed against this ter-
rible foe. He binds Satan in each heart, and destroys his do-
minion there, and this process shall never cease, as long as he has
"lively stones" to place in his temple ; and when that temple is
completed, then will he finally bind this evil one in chains of
darkness, and cast him forever into the lake of fire. Every
" lively stone," then, as it is placed in the building of Grod, is not
only an evidence of the power which sustains and keeps it there,
but it is in itself an evidence of the power which delivered it out
of the tremendous grasp of the spirit that worketh in the children
of disobedience ; and then we must not omit to notice, that the
binding of the strong man in the palace he had called his own,
and the spoiling of his goods, implies, further, that it has changed
owners. " The stronger than he" has " divided the spoil," and
dwells there now the rightful, the lawful possessor, the King
upon his throne, the supreme director and controller of all within,
so that when the believer is placed in the temple, he is not merely
fixed on the " rock of ages," made one with the " tried founda-
tion" in other words, resting on Christ, and united to Christ for-
ever ; but Christ is also in him, the giver of his life, the conqueror
of his mighty foe, the Lord and King of his heart, and the "hope
of his glory." Header, if you can hope that you are among the
" lively stones" of the spiritual house, how precious ought David's
prayer to be in your estimation ! how constantly ought you to
make it your own ! " Let the words of my mouth and the medi-
tations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my
strength (rode, Heb.) and my Redeemer}' 1
A single glance may well be taken here at this great Prince of
the kingdom of light in another feature still from any that pre-
cede. We have seen his love and his righteousness, his love and
his wisdom, his love and his humiliation, and his love and his
strength, presented in their union before us, by the several figures
we have examined. One other still remains, to which allusion
has been already slightly made, and which must now be briefly
THE PHYSICIAN. 121
noticed, f" They that be whole need not A PHYSICIAN, but they that \
are sicJc.^ J
Christ's love and his skill are set forth in these words as united
foy the good of his people. When he visited this world, he found
not righteous but sinners in it. It was, indeed, because of this
that he came. He found what he expected, and his purpose in
coming was to save the sinner, or, in the figurative language be-
fore us, to heal those sick with the disease of sin. Now, if a
physician is to be of any service to one laboring under severe
bodily disease, he must first exercise his skill in the discovery of
the disease. A mistake here may be fatal ; while aiming at the
patient's health, if he is at fault in his diagnosis, he may add
another malady to the sickness already existing, and at once de-
stroy all hope of the recovery of the sufferer. Then, when the
disease is discovered, the next exercise of his skill must be in the
determining on the proper remedy. Here, also, an error may be
as fatal as in the previous stage ; and beside this, when he has
discovered the disease and laid his hand upon the remedy, his
skill is further to be taxed and tested by the application of the.
remedy, not giving it to one patient just as he gives it to another,
but suiting it to the constitution and habits of each, and then care-
fully watching every turn in the progress toward health and cure,
skillfully taking advantage of every symptom of improvement,
and warding off any adverse influences which might check, im-
pede, or impair the remedy he is applying.
Now, in all these things the physician of the body, however
zealous, careful, and anxious he is, may after all lack the skill
which will eventually be the means of recovery to the patient.
But Christ, the great Physician of the soul, has not only skill, but
unfailing skill, with which to deal with the poor soul troubled and
dying under the malady of sin. He sees at a glance every symp-
tom of the disease, and understands it all, as the Searcher of the
heart that is diseased. " All things are naked and open to him
with whom we have to do." " He knows what is in man." He
can not be mistaken in the nature of the disease, nor can his
skill ever be at fault as to its character, its cure, or, if left un-
checked, its end. He also knows the remedy his skill has de-
vised that also a remedy which can not fail a sure and
sovereign cure for the mortal disease of the sin-sick soul. Every
122 THE PAKABLE QF
thing connected with its power of healing is as clearly seen by
this skillful Physician as the disease which is to be cured. Then
his skill never fails him in the application of this remedy. In
one case he exhibits it in one way, or under one form ; to another,
in another ; but in each and every one he is infallibly successful ;
the remedy in his hand is omnipotent in all. Then his skill never
wavers in the process of curing, be that lengthened out or quickly
over. Every moment of the recovering soul is not merely care-
fully watched, but skillfully provided for. He protects it from
evil influences; he gently stimulates it when it is progressing
well, or uses more powerful means, bitter things, of which he well
knows the efficacy, if the progress be slow and dull.
And then, in addition to all this, his skill as the Physician of
the soul is linked to unutterable love for that soul. The physi-
cian of the body may be thoroughly skillful. It may be that he
shall never be at fault in the discharge of his duty to the diseased
and the suffering, and yet all this may be associated with indiffer-
ence, coldness, or apathy. He may take pleasure in his work for
its own sake, and be proud of his scientific achievements in the
arresting of disease and the promotion of health, but he may
never throw away a kindly thought on the patient, or make him
feel that the skill which he is exhibiting is stimulated and excited
by his friendship and his love. Not so with Christ. This Phy-
sician, before he came into contact with the sin-sick soul, had to
deny himself. He had to " empty himself of his reputation."
He had to leave unutterable glory that he might come and stand
by the sick-bod of the poor wretched sufferers of mankind. He
willingly and gladly laid all aside in order that he might, with
vailed glory, touch the hand of the sinner, and make him feel
that a friend and a helper was nigh. And more than this, the
remedy which he applies is one that cost Him much. It was not
to be bought with silver and gold it was purchased at the ex-
pense of his own suffering and death not one single moment's
hope for the poor sinner not a ray of hope not a single move-
ment toward recovery not a single change in the feverish pulses
of his diseased life unless this were done. But this kind and
loving Physician faltered not. "I have a baptism, he cried, to
be baptized with, and how am I straightened until it be accomp-
lished" And then, even when this is done, he does not place the
THE PHYSICIAN. 123
sufferer in other hands till this cure is perfected, but he himself
never leaves him for a moment. " Fear not, for /am with thee,"
is the sweet and thrilling language which he gently utters by the
faint and weary soul. All that is sharp and painful he kindly,
lovingly mitigates by his gentle sympathizing presence. The
terrors of the soul fly before the still small voice of his peace and
love. " It is I, be not afraid." All the sadness and the sorrow
of heart in the sufferer is hushed by knowing that Chris f , his
Physician, is " touched with a feeling of his infirmities," and that
he consented himself to ".suffer, being tempted, in order that hie
might succor them who are tempted." O, reader, commit your
soul to this loving Physician he will heal, he will cleanse it.
His skill is unerring, and his love is infinite. " Look unto him,"
and he will meet you at the beautiful gate of the temple, and give
you feet to walk therein, and a tongue unloosed to join in its
songs of praise. " Look unto him," and disease and death shall
be driven away forever from your soul weakness and infirmity
be known no more; and when they that have gone to other
sources of health and cure shall "faint and be weary, and the
young men (those who boasted of their strength, and appeared to
be what they boasted) shall utterly fail" then you shall " renew
your strength, you shall mount up with wings as eagles ; you shall
run and not be weary, you shall walk and not faint"
CHAPTER IV.
THE BRIDEGROOM THE OLD AND NEW GARMENT THE OLD AND NEW WINE.
BUT we come now to that special view of the Prince of the
Kingdom of Light which may well be regarded as the most pre-
cious and glorious. "We have to look at him now as crowning
all his gifts with the brightest and best of them all. He is the
"door" of safety, the "good Shepherd," the "true vine," the
"rock," the "foundation-stone," the "stronger" than all our ene-
mies, the " physician" of our souls and, over and above all this,
he is " the bridegroom " of his Church one to whom she is
espoused, with whom she is joined in an everlasting covenant,
and in whose house and home she is to dwell forever. The
forerunner of Christ had, as his ministry was drawing to its close,
sweet and lowly thoughts of this truth, and announced it to his
followers. His ministry was nearly at an end. It was a mere
transition one. He must begin to decrease before " the mightier
than he." He marked the glorious day of the Gospel which was
opening, and even at its dawn giving token of its latter-day
splendor and he cried, " He that hath the bride, is the bride-
groom, (not I, a mere ' voice in the desert' to ' prepare his way ;')
but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth
him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this
my joy therefore is fulfilled." And Jesus himself took occasion
to use the same imagery regarding himself, so full of bright
anticipation to his Church, when the days of her wilderness pil-
grimage shall have closed.
" Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bride-
groom is with them ? but the days will come when the bridegroom
shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast" Matthew ix. 15.
" Can ye make the children of the bride-chamber fast" &c.
Luke v. 34, 35.
THE PARABLE OF THE BRIDEGROOM. 125
"We must not dwell now upon the circumstances which called
forth this parable, nor of the mourning and fasting spoken of in
it. These things will find their suitable position farther on. It
is simply to Christ as "the bridegroom" that our attention at
present is to be directed. And here let it be observed, that
although God's people, his Church, are here represented by " the
children of the bride- chamber," the personal friends of the bride-
groom, because what our Lord had immediately in hand required
this, they are not the less to be considered as his "bride" of
whom, when the Baptist used the same imagery, he spake. In
fact it is here ns in the parable of the ten virgins. The five wise
virgins represent the Church of the living God under one aspect,
waiting for the bridegroom to welcome his approach, and to go
in with him as his attendants ; and yet we are not to suppose
that this excludes the higher view, that the faithful, watching
people of God are " the bride" herself. Indeed such variety of
figure is absolutely required by the necessities of the case. When
the sinner is " married unto Christ" by the very act which makes
him "a servant of Christ," we see and recognize the necessity for
such variety of imagery.
"What a wonderful intimation have we here of what the Prince
of the kingdom of light is to his people ! ' ' Thy Maker is thy
husband, the Lord of hosts is his name." It is not merely now
that pardon is vouchsafed to the sinner, deliverance from death
to the transgressor, recovery of sight to the spiritually blind,
health to the spiritually sick, and everlasting security on the
rock of ages but this poor, sinful, erring, diseased, dying crea-
ture is to be raised to "glory, honor, and immortality," by an
everlasting union with the king who has redeemed him. This is
what Christ has determined to do. This is " the joy which is set
before him." This, when finally accomplished, shall satisfy him
for the " travail of soul" he has endured. Listen to the testimony
of his servant in this matter. " Husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it ; that he
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the
Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be
holy and without blemish."
There is something very remarkable when we trace out this
126 THE PARABLE OF
glorious connection so represented before us under the figure of
bridegroom and bride, husband and wife. The Lord Jesus leaves
his Father's house, and comes down to seek out, and to save poor
guilty, sinful souls. He does a great work for them, and procures
their pardon and salvation. He also does a great work in them,
by renewing, sanctifying, and cleansing them, so making them
spiritually meet to be joined with the holy and pure in his king-
dom forever. In this inner work in each heart, he so- manifests
himself to them, in the nearest and closest manner, that the soul
loses all fear, and learns to lean on him and confide in him as its
best friend. It is "drawn to him by the cords of love, by the
bands of a man ;" it learns to take sweet counsel with him. As
he is " the beloved" of the Father, so the soul begins to understand
in measure how that word can alone express its earnest longing
and love toward him. But while all this is going on secretly in
each heart, the world holds on its way, saying, "All things con-
tinue as they were from the beginning of the creation" men
taking no note of the inner binding of soul after soul in the great
espousal of the Christian covenant, just as we are told regarding
the building of Solomon's temple, that there was no sound of ax
or hammer heard on the spot ; the stones and the beams were
all made ready at a distance, not seen as the great work was
going on with each one, which was but preparatory to its being
placed in its proper position in the temple. And beside this, the
very work of preparation itself secretly going on in each heart is,
during the whole of this dispensation, accompanied by that which
is dark, threatening, and trying from without. The Church is
indeed in the wilderness her lord and bridegroom, after having
finished his work on her behalf, has left her for a season without
any visible manifestation of his presence. While each heart is
undergoing its wondrous and mysterious process of change, "into
the image of Christ, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of
the Lord," all, as regards outward things, seem only passing
through tribulation and trial. The people of God have more the
aspect of the bereaved widow than the expectant bride ; but the
time is coming when the voice shall be heard " The bridegroom
cometh" and when that time does come, then shall heaven and
earth ring again with the glorious shout of triumph, " Let us be
glad and rejoice, and give honor to him : for the marriage of the
THE BRIDEGROOM. 127
Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." Then
shall Christ show outwardly what Ije is doing and has done in-
wardly. Then shall he confess those before his Father and the
holy angels who have confessed him before men. Then shall
he make clearly known to the whole universe, by his own words
and work, that the consummation of his work of love for the
sinner is nothing short of his "receiving them to himself, that
where he is, there they may be also," that " they may behold his
glory," and share that glory with him forever. Then shall be
brought to pass that saying that is written, "Unto him that
overcometh will I give to sit down with me on my throne, even
as I have overcome, and am sat down with my Father on his throne."
And let us not pass by the evidence of his love to his people
which arises from this consideration of the glory which shall be
revealed in them. True, this love stands clearly manifest in the
very fact that such glory is in store for them. His must, indeed,
be a great and everlasting love, to raise poor sinful creatures, and
set them not only among, but above the princes of the people
not only to deliver them from death, but to make them kings
and priests unto God. " Herein is love indeed." But it is not
to this mark of his love that reference is now made. It is not so
much his love in its great and eternal purpose of mercy, as love
in its wonderful forbearance and long-suffering. That the great
Head of the Church, her heavenly Bridegroom, should continue
his love to her, notwithstanding all her waywardness, is indeed
wondrous. Alas, what righteous cause do his people give him
every day to turn away from them, and to leave them alone for-
ever ! What is it that prevents his jealousy burning like fire,
but the everlasting, unchangeable, persevering love whcrewilli he
loves even to the end ? It is indeed here as in other respects,
" His ways are not as our ways, nor his thoughts as our
thoughts." What human love would stand constant, repeated,
and flagrant manifestations of neglect, coldness, and faithlessness
on the part of a betrothed one ? What man is there in whose
heart love would not wither and die, if he were ever met by
heartlessness upon her part to whom he is espoused ? But it is
not so with Christ. He loves always. He wearies not in his
love. He makes no change in his purpose. " Many waters
can not quench his love." He loves not only " unto the end,"
128 THE PARABLE OF
but through all the progress to that end through seasons of de-
clension and spiritual decay through seasons of slowness of
heart and little faith ; and he calmly and patiently waits till his
Church shall "see him as he is," "awake up after his image,"
and " be like him" like him in the depth of his love like him
in its unchanging fullness and purity forever.
And this will be the fitting place to consider the two parables
which follow that which has just engaged our attention the
parable of the old and new garment, and that of the old and new
wine. The real purport and bearing of these parables can not be
fully appreciated, unless by examining them in immediate con-
nection with our Lord's statement regarding himself as the Bride-
groom. They manifestly spring out of what he had said of him-
self, as they, in point of fact, immediately follow in his discourse.
It has been justly remarked, that "the idea of the wedding seems
to run through them." Our Lord had just spoken figuratively
of himself as the Bridegroom, and made a solemn and important
announcement in connection therewith, and then, as if carrying-
on the same train of thought, and taking up the figure of the
marriage-robe, or the wedding-garment, either that with which
the bride was arrayed, or which was provided for the guests, and
th,e wine prepared for the entertainment he makes each of them
in succession the groundwork for an important parable. The
one not being by any means a mere repetition of the other, but
filling up a deeply important view of the great truth he was aim-
ing to inculcate. Let us attend to each in succession.
" No man putieth apiece of new doth into an old garment, for that
which is put in to Jill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is
made worse. 111 Matt. ix. 16.
" And he spake also a parable unto them : No man putteth a piece
of a new garment upon an old: ifotfierwise, then bot/i the new malceih
a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the
old." Luke v. 36.
The general idea pervading the figure here is the difference
between new and old cloth. The one strong and fresh, the other
weak and decaying. " The new agreeth not with the old" There
is an incongruity between them. There is not a relative fitness,
and every endeavor to bring them together, or to unite them, will
not make a strong or becoming garment, but will only tend to
T.HE OLD AND NEW GARMENT. 129
show how different the one is from the other. The original of
our version "that which is put in tofillit up" is more literally, "the
completeness of it" t. e., of the new piece its substance, weight,
consistency. This " takes from the (old) garment," which is not so
strong, and the " rent is made worse."
Now, it was in consequence of an objection taken by some of
the Pharisees against his conduct, and that of his disciples, which
led our Lord to deliver the discourse in which this parable occurs.
" Why," they asked, " do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy
disciples fast not ?" Our Lord first of all answered these objec-
tions by the parable of the bridegroom and the sons of the bride-
chamber, intimating that there was a period coming when his
disciples should so mourn and weep that, in comparison of it, all
the fastings of the Pharisees were as nothing. The tune, he
said, had not come then. As long as he was with them it could
not be. When he was taken away it would. And then, accord-
ing to his general practice, he proceeds to set forth in the parable
before us a more enlarged view of the whole question, of which
fasting was but a small and comparatively insignificant portion.
He gives them to understand that that which he was bringing
in was not a mere addition to, or complement of that which had
gone by. The whole Jewish dispensation was passing away.
The dispensation of the Gospel was at hand. But the latter was
not to be thrust into the midst of the former in order to make it
last longer, or wear better. The old dispensation was not the
more important of the two ; and so the new ought not to be used
to renovate and help on the old. The garment of law righteous-
ness was old. The garment of Christ's righteousness was new.
The first was waxing feeble, and ready to perish altogether. The
latter was not to be pieced into it, in order that it might be pre-
served. Such an attempted blending of law and gospel, of shadow
and substance, of ceremony and reality, of type and antitype, was
not to be thought of. The issue of it could be nothing else than
most unsatisfactory. The old could not contain or hold the new,
by reason of the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. And
any attempt to mix up the one and the other for the marriage-
robe would be useless and vain.
Let it be noted, that the "agreement" spoken of in the parable
as not existing between the new and the old, simply has reference
9
130 THE PARABLE OP ^
to any effort to bring them together, to unite them, to save the
one from perishing by the help of the other. The old and the
new garments may have been originally from the same materials,
and in that respect there would be a close agreement between
them.; and so likewise in the thing illustrated. The agreement
which does not exist between the old and the new covenants ex-
tends only to this, that they must not be blended together, or
mixed up with each other, as if to make but one. They agree
perfectly with each other in this respect, that they are both
originally from God. Both originally as from Him are good, but
utterly incongruous if brought together for the purpose of making
a perfect whole out of the two.
The distinction, then, between the old and new dispensations,
and the superiority of the latter over the former, are admirably
brought out in this parable. They are as distinct as an old gar-
ment from a new, for the one " decayeth and waxeth old, and is
ready to vanish away," while the other is " well ordered in all
things and sure." The Apostle Paul had been deeply taught to
perceive this distinction. " "What things," he says, " were gain to
me, (what as a Pharisee of the Pharisees I had prized, and in
which as touching the law I was blameless,) those I counted loss
for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom
I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but
dung, that I might win Christ, and be found in him ; not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but ivhich is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God byfaitfi"
He had no conception of his robe being a mere patch-work be-
tween law and gospel. He shrank with horror from any, even
the slightest tendency toward this. He says it is "preaching an-
other gospel." His words are fearfully pregnant with this truth
to the erring Church at Galatia. " Christ is become of no effect
to you, whosoever of you are justified (or consider yourselves
justified) by the law. Ye are fallen from grace." " Stand fast,"
he pleads anxiously with them, "stand fast, therefore, in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled
again with the yoke of bondage," for otherwise " Christ is become
of no effect to you. 1 ' He resisted every attempt to keep the old
system together by the piecing of the new with it.
THE OLD AND NEW GAKMESTT. 131
There is a rendering of one part of the parable as given by St.
Luke which is well worthy of notice, and which is certainly more
accurate than that in the present version. " Then both the new
maketh a rent," ought more properly to be, " Then he likewise
rendeth die neu\ and the piece that," &c. And this suggests im-
portant reflections. The parable, as far as given by Matthew,
makes known the futility of attempting to renew or preserve
what is old and decaying by the adding thereto of what is new.
The parable, as given more largely by Luke, teaches us how both
new and old are rendered useless by such attempts. The new
garment is spoiled by taking a part out of it it is rent, and made
worthless, and, after all, that which is taken out of it to add to the
pld agreeth not therewith. And so in the thing illustrated. Not
only is it impossible by any means to stay the progress of decay
in the old dispensation, " which stood only in meats and drinks,
and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed until the
time of reformation ;" but any such effort is fatal to the Gospel
dispensation. To make Christ, or any portion of his work, a
mere addition to, or a filling up of what is lacking or needs re-
pairing in such things, is indeed to rend his robe, and to make it
utterly useless. Assuredly God will not be mocked with impu-
nity by them who would thus mix up the direct personal work
of his dear Son with those mere "figures of the true" which went
before.
The old dispensation is to the new what the shadow is to the
sun. The shadow is not a part of the sun, though it is cast by
the sun. It shows that there is a sun. It shows the direction in
which the sun is, but it is not the sun itself. And his madness
and folly who would desire to put out the sun from his place in
the heavens, in order that the shadow he casts might be retained
or improved, is not so great as the folly and the wickedness of
him who would remove the Sun of Eighteousness from his sole
and supreme possession of the heaven of righteousness, in order
to help on, or to preserve the " weak and beggarly elements" of
a righteousness which is utterly unattainable by man. Let it
never be forgotten that this is the very motto of Christ's king-
dom, " Old things are passed away ; behold, all things are become
new." The righteousness which really covers sin, and puts away
transgression, is a seamless robe, " woven from the top through-
132 THE PARABLE OF
out" the complete and the entire work from first to last of
Christ, and of Christ alone. This is alone the "fine linen, white
and clean,'' with which his people can enter the bridal-chamber,
" washed and made white," not in any sense or way otherwise
than in type and figure, by the " blood of bulls and goats," but
really and truly by the "precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb
without blemish and without spot." " the blessedness of the
man whose transgression is forgiven, and whose sin is covered"
by this new, this spotless, this perfect garment. the glory of
all those forgiven at last, when they stall stand before the throne
of God and of the Lamb, with all their robes washed white in the
"blood of sprinkling." Then, indeed, shall they be seen as the
bride, over whom the bridegroom shall " rest in his love," per;
fectly satisfied with her purity and holiness. Truly then she
" shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework," and
all " her clothing shall be of wrought gold." And as she will be
all fair in her bridal array, so shall her inner graces be equally
precious " She shall be all glorious within ;" and " she shall
enter into the king's palace," and forever "sit together in the
heavenlies with Christ."
Turn now to the second parable.
" NeWier do men put new wine into old bottles ; else the bottles break,
and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish : but they put new
wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." Matt. ix. 17. " No
man also, having drunk old wine, straightway desireth new for he
sailh, The old is better." Luke v. 39.
The fact on which this parable is founded, was well known to
all the hearers of our Lord. The leathern bottles used in the
East, if they were old, and had been used for some time, would
be utterly unfit to contain strong new wine. The rapid action
and fermentation of the latter would inevitably burst the bottles,
and both the one and the other would be lost. If any man
wished to preserve his new wine, he must see to its being stored
in new bottles, then " both would be preserved."
In this parable the Lord Jesus turns from the wedding-robe to
the wine set forth at the marriage-feast. And as the garment
supplied him with an admirable figure illustrative of one import-
ant truth regarding his gospel kingdom, so the wine supplies
THE OLD AND NEW WINE. 133
him with another illustration, 'equally suitable and striking, for
another not less important and cognate truth.
In the one parable we have the Gospel covenant set before us
with reference to that which is put on the believer ; not the old
garment repaired by the new, nor the new rent in order to make
up the old, but the new by itself, in its completeness. In the
parable now before us, we have that Gospel covenant set forth
with reference to what the believer receives within him, and the
absolute necessity of his being prepared suitably to keep and
preserve this gift. In the former, his justification is specially the
subject of illustration. In the latter it is specially his sancti-
ftcation by the Gospel introduced into the inner man of the
heart.
And it is very important that these two things be borne in
mind. To attempt to make a compromise between the righteous-
ness of the Law and that of Christ not, it may be, to substitute
the one for the other, but to strive after an ill-assorted union of
both, is indeed "to frustrate the grace of God;" for if righteous-
ness came by the law," (in any way,) " then Christ is dead in
vain." And equally impossible is it for the man who clings to
the shadows and forms of the old dispensation, who is moulded
inwardly according to " the rudiments of the world" those
" weak and beggarly elements" to contain the free and energiz-
ing spirit of the Gospel. These two things his state of mind,
and the living principle which can alone call forth into active
and fervent operation all that is really good, holy, and true are
utterly dissimilar. His convictions are all in favor of formal ob-
servance, external rounds of duty, and outward devotion ; and
thus he has no sympathy with, or affinity to, the " worshiping
in spirit and in truth," which the Gospel demands, and without
which all religion is but a dead letter. " Admirably does this
parable describe the vanity of the attempt to keep the new wine
of the Gospel in the old ceremonial man, unrenewed in the spirit
of his mind. ' The bottles are burst. 1 The new wine is something
too living and strong for so weak a moral frame ; it shatters the
fair outside, of ceremonial seeming ; and ' Hie wine is poured out ;'
the spirit is lost ; the man is neither a blameless Jew nor a faith-
ful Christian; both are spoiled. And then follows the result;
13-i THE PARABLE OF
not merely the damaging, but the* utter destruction of the vessel,
1 Hie bottles perish.' "*
The man who would be filled with the true spirit of Gospel
light and liberty who would have within him, as the sanctify-
ing, vivifying power of all his thoughts, and words, and works, a
principle not his own, but of sufficient potency to bring "all his
thoughts into captivity, into the obedience which. is in Christ
Jesus" must himself be a renewed man. He must have been
born again of the Spirit made a new creature in Christ Jesus,
before he could be capable of appreciating that which he is invited
to receive. But when this is the case when this preparation of
the heart has been made then there is a blessed harmony estab-
lished between himself and the inner pervading spirit of Gospel
life, and light, and liberty. Being u baptized with one Spirit into
one body" made part of* Christ's mystical body, and so a ne\v
creature in him, he is made " to drink into one Spirit." And
instead of finding it to be the " spirit of bondage again to fear,"
he discovers that, " where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty ;" and thus he is preserved as a vessel meet for the master's
use ; and those precious gifts and graces of the Spirit given him,
are preserved in him to the glory of God, and his own eternal
Our Lord adds these words, as we observe in St. Luke '' No
man also, having drunk old wine, straightway desircth new ; for he
saith, The old is belter"
Observe, he does not mean by this addition to the similitude to
affirm, that "the old" is "better." The general opinion among
the Jews of that period regarding old and new wine, is merely
taken advantage of as a matter of fact ; and the force of his words
is this that accustomed as they were to consider old wine supe-
rior to new, it would be matter of great surprise if, after partaking
of the former, they should at once prefer and desire the latter.
And so as regards the matter he was illustrating. He tells them
that it was no wonder if, with all their notions regarding their
law, their minds trained and formed under the peculiar dis-
cipline and teaching of the old dispensation, they should mani-
fest no taste or relish for the new and precious truths which he,
as the Messiah, was urging on them in the new. It was no won-
* Alford.
THE OLD AND NEW WINE. 135
der if, in that generation especially, when with the absence of all
the idolatrous tendencies of their forefathers, they adhered with
a tenacity unexampled in history to the .outward rites and observ-
ances of their law, while their hearts, nevertheless, were as far
from God as that of their fathers no wonder if, accustomed to
the splendid ritual of their venerated and beautiful temple, with
all the deep-rooted prejudices in their mind regarding the peculiar
excellence thence derived to themselves as the holy nation, the
chosen people of Jehovah with all the time-honored associations
of their race considering themselves as the rightful possessors
of the Holy Land the lineal, and faithful, and distinguished
descendants of Abraham, with their succession of prophets and
holy men no wonder if, with all these, they should turn away
with disgust and dislike from a system which demanded the re-
moval of their temple, the lapsing of all its gorgeous ceremonial,
the opening of the door of grace and peace to the Gentile, and
the placing him on an equal footing with his hitherto more favored
brother.
And what our Lord says regarding the Jews of that period, is
true of the natural mind under similar circumstances at all times.
When the heart has been trained up under a system of form and
ceremony when its every notion of religion has been adopted
in connection with what is external in rite, and captivating to
the senses in outward observance then it is no matter of sur-
prise, but the reverse, if when the new wine of the Gospel be of-
fered, it is set aside with dislike, and with the decided preference,
" the old is better" And so, it needs not only a new man to be
able to contain the new principle which the Gospel provides no
weaker vessel than one specially prepared by the Spirit of all
grace but none other than he can desire the new wine. Unless
a man be born again, he can not see, know, appreciate the kingdom
of God. He has no taste for it would rather be without it
likes his old habits of religion best begs to be allowed to do as
those gone before him have done says that what was good for
them, is equally good for him and that as he has tried what he
has got, and is satisfied, he has no wish to try what, by its very
dissimilarity with all that he has experienced, gives no promise
of pleasure to his taste.
Note well, reader, that the grace which leads the sinner to
136 THE PARABLE OF THE OLD AND NEW WINE.
Christ, and Christ alone which enables him to seek the robe of
Christ's righteousness to cover him, is absolutely necessary also to
change his habits and make him a willing partaker of the life-
giving spirit of the Gospel. And when the former is really found,
and the poor trembling soul is covered by it, the latter never fails
to be added. When Paul, as we have seen, testifies to his giving
up all thoughts of " the righteousness of the law," in order that
he might cling to the " righteousness of God by faith," he directly
adds, " that I might know him and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to
his death." Having put on the new garment, he was able and
willing to receive the new wine.
CHAPTER Y.
THE SHEPHEBD LAYING DOWN HIS LIFE THE CORN OP WHEAT DYING THB
BRAZEN SERPENT.
THERE remains still another view to be taken of the Prince of
the kingdom of light. We have seen his righteousness, -wisdom,
humility, power, and skill illustrated, and all of these blended
with infinite love. "We have also seen portrayed his glory as the
Bridegroom with the new garment and the new wine for his mar-
riage-feast, and these, too, associated with his everlasting love.
Now we must turn not to what he is, but to that which happened
to him. We have noticed his love breathing throughout his
whole character and life. We must now look at it as it shines
forth in his sufferings and death ; and he has himself furnished
us with most interesting and instructive illustrations of these suf-
ferings and that death. It may be convenient to arrange these
under distinct heads. First, the illustration of his death regarded
as a voluntary act on his part. This is fully intimated in the
parable of the Good Shepherd, which has been already considered.
In enforcing this parable, our Lord says, " Hay down my life for
the sheep.' 1 ' 1 "No man taJceth it from me; I have power to Jay it
down, and power to take it up again" Nothing can more forcibly
show the willingness with which Christ submitted to death than
this. It was not laid upon him by the will of another which
could not be resisted ; it was willingly undertaken by himself.
No doubt, in one sense, the death of Christ was according to the
will of God ; " it pleased the Lord to bruise him ; he hath put
him to grief;" but there is another side on which to behold this
" determinate will and foreknowledge of God." It is this, namely,
the readiness of the Son of God to take the nature of man upon
138 THE PARABLE OF
him, and so undertake of l^is own accord to submit, as man to this
will. Hearken to his words as recorded by inspired men " Lo,
I come to do thy will, O God." Freely the Son of God chose to
place himself in the body prepared for him, and to undergo
every thing there, which, in the counsels of the Divine mind,
were decreed as absolutely essential for the great purpose of
man's redemption. And it is in the 'clear understanding of this
truth that we are able in some .measure to obtain a glimpse at
the merit of Christ's death. Had the sufferer in the stead of
sinful man been a mere creature, made ready and prepared by
the Creator for this great work, then he had no choice in the
matter. Born into the universe for this great end, he must ac-
complish it as an act of holy obedience. He has no choice but
to submit. It is a demand made upon him irrespective of his
II power 11 to yield acquiescence or to resist. Created a dependent
being with this task assigned to him, it is nothing more than his
duty to do it. He could acquire no merit by its performance, nor
could he yield any profit to God on that account ; and the neces-
sary effect produced on those for whom such a work should be
done, must be a still further shrinking than ever from God, who
could lay on a mere creature such a load of suffering and woe,
while pity would be stirred up for the sorrows of one who must
submit to bear them, though he deserves them not, and has never
had the opportunity of freely undertaking to endure them.
How different is the real state of the case ! We behold Christ
as man. Every thing that can be required of sinless obedience
to the law of God Tv.as fully paid by him. He was " holy, harm-
less, undefiled, and separate from sinners." This moral obedience,
however, acquired no merit for him. It was due from the crea-
ture to the Creator. Unless this obedience had been as perfect
as it was, what he offered as meritorious could not have satisfied
and yet it was not in itself meritorious. But beside all this,
Christ is surrounded with suffering and sorrow, and at last is led
forth to die. This was not what belonged to his condition as a
holy and sinless being, but what he voluntarily assumed for his
own and his Father's purpose. " I and my Father are one," he
testifies, and as the Father saw but one way, and that a way of
suffering, shame, and death, by which salvation might be brought
to the guilty, and the sinner restored to his favor and made meet
THE SHEPHERD LAYING DOWN HIS LIFE. 139
to enjoy it ; so the Son agrees to travel by that way, to undergo
all the terrible toil of that journey, and never stop until he has,
by his own offering of himself, once for all, perfected forever
them that are sanctified. Herein was the merit of Christ. The
will of God demanded an atonement for the sinner. Christ put
himself, of his own accord, in such a condition that he might
yield obedience to that will, and " THEREFORE, God also hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every
name."
And thus, too, we see who alone among the sons of men can
be considered a " profitable" servant. If to save " a multitude
whom no man can number, of all people, and nations, and lan-
guages, and tongues" to reclaim a lost and guilty world, and
make "the wilderness and the solitary place be glad, and the
desert rejoice and blossom as the rose" if to arrest the progress
of sin in God's created universe, and say, " hitherto shalt thou
corns and no farther," casting death and hell forever into the lake
of fire if this be profit, if this be gain for Jehovah, then Christ
is the profitable servant who has succeeded in effecting all this.
Profit ! To stay the ravages of a spiritual pestilence, and smite
down a foul usurper forever from his dominion ! this is gain in-
deed ; and Christ has brought these to God. Shall God then be
indebted to a mere creature for the purity and safety of his king-
dom ? Shall God have done for him, by one whom he has made,
what he can not do by himself? Shall he suffer a creature of his
own hands to build up what he himself was unable to prevent
from falling into ruins ? Impossible ! But that He himself
should do all this " in the form of a servant" betokens the ex-
haustless resources of his wisdom, and enhances the unutterable
glory of his love. And this it is which is shadowed forth in the
statement of Christ, " No one tuketh it from me ; I have power to
lay it down, and I have power to take 'it again" He and he alone
of all the sons of men, can by right of conquest, by the excellence
and merit of his work, stand before the Throne, and demand as
a right all the rich blessings involved in the covenant of grace,
and yet by that very demand which must be granted, establish
the throne of the Eternal King, for he was fully justified in
thinking " it no robbery to be equal with God."
But we must not omit to notice what seems in the parable of
140 THE PARABLE OF
the good shepherd to call forth this declaration on the part of
Christ. Obviously it is the danger to which sheep are exposed
by the rapacity of wolves and beasts of the field. The wolf
which seeks to devour and to destroy the flock of God is Satan.
The description given of him is to the life "going about seeking
whom he may devour." If as a designing, crafty thief climbing
up some other way into the fold, his fraud is detected, and his
schemes baffled, so in his onslaught as the wolf, he is met by the
good Shepherd, who, unlike the hireling, does not flee when he
seeth the wolf coming. Thus we have pictured before us the
Son of God looking down on the poor, wandering sons of men,
with their great adversary the devil ready to make a full end of
them ; and as he beholds this, he comes down and stands between
the destroyer and his helpless victims. He delivers the prey
from the teeth of the oppressor, but he does it by " tasting death
for every man" it is " through death that he destroys him that
had the power of death." He defeats the enemy on his own
ground, just as he himself appears to be vanquished the mo-
ment of his death is that in which " life and immortality are
brought to light ;" and the poor sheep of the flock that had
all but perished have not only " life," but " they have it more
abundantly."
But we proceed to another view which our Lord gives us of
his death.
" Verily, vei-ily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into
tiie ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth,
much fruit" John xii. 24.
In the parable of the good shepherd, Christ is represented as
coming between the spoiler and his prey, the destroyer and his
victim as willingly undertaking by his own death to deliver his
poor, persecuted flock ; and by this voluntary submission to
death acquiring merit before his Father. In the short parable
before us, we have intimated to us the connection which exists
in the counsels of Jehovah between death on behalf of the sinner
and that sinner's deliverance. It does not explain to us why
God should demand the death of the surety before he pardons
the sinner ; but it conveys to us the fact that forgiveness can
come in no other way. It makes known to us that in the inscru-
table depths of the Divine will, this and this alone is the way by
THE COEN OF WHEAT DYING. 141
which God can be "just and yet the justifier""of the sinner. It
announces to us that " it became him for whom are all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salva-
tion perfect through sufferings"
Our Lord connects this parable with what he says of the glori-
fying of his Father, and likewise the glorifying of himself by the
death he was about to die. Thus showing that in the counsels
of the Eternal it was a settled thing, absolutely necessary for the
stability, and honor, and glory of the throne of God, that if his
great work was to be finished in redeeming the lost, and bringing
many sons and daughters unto righteousness, it could alone be
through death. He might have been born into this world taking
on him the likeness of sinful flesh, and living a holy life among
the vile and the worthless, bringing down in his own person a
bright ray of heavenly light among the dwellings of the children
of darkness ; but if this had been all, the divine will had decreed
that he should be alone. If it had been possible to " save him"
from "the hour and the power of darkness," and yet have his
work finished, it would have been done. As a perfectly holy
being he would, indeed, have delivered himself. Divine justice
would have rejoiced in acknowledging his unsullied holiness and
perfect obedience ; but not one perishing soul would have been
recovered from the pit not one brand plucked from the ever-
lasting burning. Just as the corn of wheat lying in the granary
of the husbandman may be perfectly good may be in every
respect sound and matured, " having life in itself" yet if it
remain there, "it abideth alone" so it would have been with Jesus.
He would never be able to say at last, " Behold I, and (he chil-
dren whom thou hast given me" And the " Divine will which has
determined the law' of the glorification of the Son of man, has
also fixed the law of the springing up of the wheat-corn, and the
one in analogy to the other, i. e., both through deatfi." So that,
as on the one hand God in his providence has been graciously
pleased to ordain that a corn of wheat if cast into the ground
shall first die, and then spring up and "bear much fruit" and has
thus previously prepared in the kingdom of nature that which
shall remarkably illustrate a great truth in the kingdom of grace ;
so when Christ went down to the grave he died alone ; he by
himself "endured the grief and despised the shame;" "of the
142 THE PARABLE OF
people, there was none with him." A solitary being, a spectacle
to men and angels, he hung for a brief period on the accursed
tree, and then disappeared in the grave. Then it was that his
work obtained its full reward. He rose again, like the bright,
fresh, green blade which rises from the ground where the corn of
wheat lay, telling that death was resolved into life ; and when at
length the harvest time shall come, he will be found like the
corn of wheat which has passed through its stages, first the
blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear, to be no longer
" alone," but to have brought forth " much fruit." The people
whose sins he bore in his own body on the tree will be gathered
into the heavenly garner, as the 1 mighty harvest of the travail of
his soul.
And it is interesting to observe what it was which was the im-
mediate cause of our Lord uttering this parable. Certain Greeks,
not Hellenistic Jews, but Gentiles, most probably proselytes of
the gate, who were in the habit of coming up to Jerusalem to the
feast, expressed a strong desire to see Jesus. They confer with
Philip, who again speaks to Andrew, and both tell Jesus. Our
Lord, when he heard it, immediately declared, " The hour is
come, that the Son of man should be glorified." The coming
of the Gentiles to him, introduced to his presence by the instru-
mentality of Jews, was as it were the very sign of his being now
very near that death by which he was to glorify God in bringing
both Jew and Gentile into reconciliation with God, and so ob-
taining that spiritual seed, which was not to be confined to one
nation or country on the earth, but was to include in it " all the
kinJ^eds of the people," " a multitude whom no man can num-
ber" of them all. It has been very strikingly remarked, " These
men from the west, at the end of the life of Jesus, set forth the
same as the magi from the east at its beginning ; but these came
to the cross of the King, as those to his cradle."* In the one case
and the other, it showed that unto Christ should the gathering of
the people be, that he was to be the head among many brethren,
that in him all nations should be blessed, and that of " the in-
crease of his government and peace there should be no end ;"
and as the wise men were met by the tokens of this great one's
humiliation " not having where to lay his head," " despised
* Steir. Reden. Jesu, v. 78.
THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 143
and rejected of men," " a root out of -a dry ground," " without
form or comeliness," so these Gentiles were met by the solemn
declaration of Jesus, now arrived at the very eve of his sufferings,
that the great harvest of souls which he was to gather from all
parts of the world, whether Jew or Greek, barbarian, Scythian,
bond or free, was only to be obtained by his own submission to
death and the grave. And what solemnity is stamped on this
announcement of the necessity of his death, in order to bring
souls to God and heaven, by a distinct voice being heard from
the Father; for even as our Lord was telling "of the hour and
power of darkness" through which he was to pass, and yet in the
full confidence of his will and purpose, saying, " Father, glorify
thy name," " then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I
have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."
But there is still another view of his death which our Lord
gives us, and which suggests other considerations connected with
that wondrous and mysterious event. His parable to illustrate
this, is taken from a well-known part of the history of Israel.
" And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of man be lifted up: (hat whosoever believeth i?i him should
not perish, but hare everlasting life" John iii. 14, 15.
Our Lord alludes to a remarkable event in the history of the
people of God, and draws from it a figure by which in the most
striking manner to illustrate his own death. The expression,
" even so must the Son of man be lifted up" can only refer to
the peculiar manner in which he suffered death, so aptly repre-
sented by the raising of the serpent of brass on a pole. On the
occasion of his delivering the parable of the corn of wheat, which
we have just been considering, he said, " I, if I be lifted up, will
draw all men unto me," and the Evangelist immediately adds,
"This he said signifying what death he should die." And when
at length he was taken by wicked men and was about to be put
to death, the same writer draws our attention to the circumstances
which led to the peculiar kind of death which he was to endure,
" that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, signifying what
death he should die."
But let us look more closely into this incident in Jewish history
thus set before us, as faithfully portraying the death of Christ
his being lifted up upon the Cross. And it is important that in
144
doing .so, we shall not be misled by the general fact that the ser-
pent throughout Scripture is taken to symbolize the great enemy
of the souls of -men. It by no means follows from this, that in
the event before us, the poisonous serpents, or the brazen serpent,
were meant to represent this evil one. That they do or do not,
depends on the connection in which they are found, just as " leav-
en" which is throughout Scripture used to denote an evil and
corrupting principle, nevertheless means the very reverse in the
parable where the " kingdom of heaven" is likened unto it.
Now it seems to be impossible to regard the serpents which bit
the children of Israel in the wilderness, so that many thousands
of them died, as emblematic of Satan. Had these serpents bitten
the people, and the effect produced on the latter been a rushing
headlong into sin, and had there followed hard on this a wide-
spread pestilence and death, then there would be something plaus-
ible in this view. But the history is very different. The people
had wickedly murmured against God. Their old rebellious spirit
had afresh broken forth, and they provoked the holy One of Israel
to anger. " They spake against God and against Moses. Where-
fore have ye brought us up out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness?
for there is no bread, neither is there any water ; and our soul
loatheth this light bread." Their iniquity was then at its full.
V It was already crying to God for vengeance, and so he sent ser-
pents among them, which bit them, and much people died. Sure-
ly then, we must regard these serpents as the instruments of God's
righteous anger and judgment on those already ripe for judgment
by their sins. They were not permitted by God to prove and try
his people, but they were sent to punish them.
Unless this is clearly borne in view, we shall be involved in
inextricable difficulty in the examination of this event. For if
when Moses was required to lift up a brazen serpent on a pole,
and to require the children of Israel to look at it that they might
be healed from the poisonous bites of the serpents, we are to see
in this a figure of our Lord Jesus Christ lifted up on the Cross
then how can this be reconciled with the view that the serpents
themselves were emblematic of Satan. The most ingenious de-
fense of such an interpretation has been recently set forth in the
following terms: "'The serpent' is, in Scripture symbolism,
the devil, from the historical temptation in Genesis iii. downward.
THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 145
But why is the devil set forth by the serpent? How does the
bite of the serpent operate ? It pervades with its poison the frame
of its victim : that frame becomes poisoned, and deatfi ensues. So
sin, the poison of the devil, being instilled into our nature, that na-
ture has become a. poisoned nature, a, flesh of sin. Now the brazen
serpent was made in the likeness of the serpents which had bitten
them, fit represented to them the power which had gone through
their frames, and it was hung up there, on the banner -staff, as a
trophy to shew them that for tfie poison there was healing thai
the plague had been overcome. In it there was no poison, only
the likeness of it. Now was not the Lord Jesus made ' in the like-
ness of sinful JleshT Was not he made sin for us, who knew no
sin ? Did not he, on his cross, make an open shame of, and tri-
umph over the enemy, so that it was as if the enemy himself had
been nailed to that cross? Were not sin and death and Satan
crucified when he was crucified?
The suitableness of setting Satan before us under the figure or
emblem of a serpent, is laid down clearly and admirably in the
above extract. But as soon as the writer attempts to apply it to
the case in hand, he can not prevent a fallacy from creeping into
his interpretation. In truth, ho loses the distinction between that
which bites, and that which is bitten. If JMoses had been com-
manded to make a brazen representation of one of the people
suffering agony under the bite of the serpents, then the above
statements would be correct. The brazen figure would be in the
likeness of that which was bitten. "In it, there would be no poi-
son, only the likeness of it" And so it might be truly added, that
our Lord was " made in the likeness of sinful flesh." But surely
there is a vast difference between being made in the likeness of
flesh that has been made sinful, and being made in the likeness of
that which has made it sinful. And so there is no ground what-
ever for the statement which is added, in order to bridge over the
difficulty, that when Christ was on the cross, " it was 05 if the en-
emy himself had leen nailed to that cross" Not so, indeed. It was
as if the sinner had been nailed to the cross, and so by that suf-
fering and death, the dominion ended forever of " him who has
the power of death, that is, the devil." That accursed spirit died
by his very effort to destroy Christ. But what then ? Can it be
said with any propriety that the real death which Christ did never-
10
146 THE PAEABLE OF
theless undergo, was as if the enemy had suffered it ? This would
be in other words saying that he suffered in the stead of this en-
emy. He suffered in the stead of his people, and the enemy
destroyed himself by his very effort to destroy Christ, a widely
different kind of death from the death of the cross. Neither was
it " sin and death and Satan " which were crucified, when " Christ
was crucified." Paul gives the true view, "/(the sinner, not
sin) am crucified with Christ." " For if we are planted in the
likeness of his death" &c.
But, on the other hand, let us dismiss from the incident here
referred to, the above symbolism, which by no means need be
applied to it, and we shall see how significantly it speaks to us
of Christ's death. Observe these different points : 1. The bra-
zen serpent was lifted up the Son of man was lifted up. 2.
The one was according to the will of God .commanded the other
was by the same will permitted. 3. Every one who looked on
the brazen serpent lived every one who looks unto or believes
in Christ shall live. 4. In the one there was the healing of the
body in the other the healing of the soul. 5. In the one case
it was the hands of Moses which lifted up the serpent in the
other it was by the hands of men that Christ was lifted up.
Now in looking at this incident, thus set side by side with the
death of Christ, and every particular in the one so closely analo-
gous to corresponding features in the other, we see very clearly
the importance of giving a widely different interpretation to that
quoted above, regarding the meaning of the symbol on which the
whole depends. That the "brazen serpent" should, on the one
hand, represent the evil one under the form of poisonous serpents
biting the people, and on the other represent Christ on the cross
healing the people, is what can not be entertained. That the
eyes of God's people are to be directed to Christ crucified, " as if
the enemy were crucified" there, is not for a moment to be thought
of. But how harmonious is the whole picture, if we regard the
fiery poisonous serpents as the instruments of God's vengeance
and righteous indignation inflicting merited punishment on a sin-
ful people, and thus themselves personifying, as it were, the wrath
of God against sin. Now when Moses, by the command of God,
raised a figure of brass upon the pole, resembling one of these
serpents, and when, moreover, he commanded the people to look
THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 147
on it, in order that they might be healed from the bites of the
serpents, what was the impression calculated to be made on their
minds by this ? "When they saw the figure of the poisonous ser-
pents, would they not be instantly and powerfully reminded of the
anger of God against their sin ? "Would they not, as they de-
scried the brazen serpent lifted high on the pole, tremble as they
recognized the very image of that which had already dealt de-
struction in the camp ? And yet as they looked at it as it hung
motionless and lifeless there, and as they felt within them the
deadly poison which had been diffused through their veins being
gradually subdued in its fatal power, and life, and strength, and
health once more restored to them, would they not equally per-
ceive in that mystical figure that God's anger was, as regards them,
dead, that he had turned away from the fierceness of it, that he
was reconciled to them, and would no longer visit them according
to their sin, nor reward them according to their iniquity ?
Now apply all this to Christ. The serpents in the wilderness
represented the wrath of Jehovah against sin. They were ter-
rible proofs that God can not look on sin but with abhorrence.
When Christ came, this Jehovah, this pure and holy God, him-
self became manifest in the flesh. And as we have already seen,
the very announcement of his presence was couched in terms im-
plying the nearness of one who would enter into judgment, and
consume the adversaries : " Now also, the ax is laid unto the root
of the trees," " whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly
purge his floor." But just as his earthly mission closes, we find
this very Being, who is " to execute judgment because he is the
Son of man," " lifted up" on the cross ! And what then are the
two things which meet our steady gaze at this wondrous and
amazing event. First, we behold the wrath of God against sin
revealed as it never could otherwise be. The impression made on
the Israelite by the appearance of the brazen serpent, of the wrath
of God against his sin, is as nothing in comparison of what the
spiritual eye discovers in the crucifixion and death of the " only-
begotten Son of God." This does indeed bring to his mind what
God can and will do with the sinner. And again, as he looks
unto Jesus thus crucified, and finds spiritual health given to him,
the poison of sin subdued within him, and the vigor and strength
of renewed life vouchsafed, then he perceives how the wrath of
148 THE PARABLE OF THE BRAZEN SERPENT.
God is, as it were, dead, in regard to him. He sees in the death
of Christ, that God has now nothing to say against him. Through
that dark and lowering storm there breaks forth a bright ray of
love and peace for him the thunder and lightning of God's
anger have all been spent on that lifeless form, and can be heard
and felt no more by those who look, believe, and live.
And here we have likewise the simple connection which binds
together Christ and his people, so that God turns away from his
anger against them forever. Just as the Israelite looked at the
brazen serpent, and lived, so the sinner has but to look unto
Jesus to t believe in him, that he may live forever. It was not
truly his mere looking that healed the Israelite, nor is it the mere
faith, the instrumental cause, which saves the sinner. It was the
power of God in the one case, it is the power of God in the other.
But just as God chose to give bodily health only to those who
looked, so he has chosen to give spiritual health only to those
who believe. He is the source of health and life in both, and
the certainty of the gift rests on the everlasting security of his
promise.
And once more, let it be noted that it was by the hands of a
man that the brazen serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, and
so it was by the hands of men that Christ was lifted up on the
Cross. The sin of the people was the ultimate cause, the hands
of the people the proximate cause in both. And thus as we have
seen that Christ by his death delivered his sheep from the wolf
and likewise by his own determinate will as God, bore " much
fruit" "became the author of eternal salvation to all that be-
lieve ;" so now we see him in the perfection of his love, dying
by the hands of those very beings he came to save ; yea, dying
for them, enemies and ungodly as they were, and breathing forth,
as he yielded himself to their fury, the prayer, "Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do." His death was a volun-
tary one. It was submitted to because God willed it should thus
be in bringing souls to himself. It was a shameful and ignomin-
ious death, because it was inflicted by men who, as they pierced
his soul by their unbelief and sin, pierced his hands and feet with
nails, and his brow with a crown of thorns.
CHAPTER VI.
LIVING WATER LIVING BREAD.
BUT there still remain two views of the death of Christ, and
his great love in thus dying, which are necessary to complete the
series of illustrations showing forth the glory of the man Christ
Jesus. The first of these is the following :
" In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that
believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water" John vii. 67, 38.
Alford Las a very striking supposition regarding that which
probably suggested the use of this imagery by our Lord. He
alludes to the practice at the feast, of a priest bringing water in a
golden vessel from Siloam, followed by a jubilant procession, and
pouring it out on the altar, while the Hallel (Ps. cxiii., cxviii.)
was sung. He says that some regard this custom as referring to
the striking of the rock at Horeb, others to the rain for which
they then prayed for the seed of the ensuing year,, while others
see in it an allusion to Isaiah xii. 3, and the effusion of the Spirit
in the days of the Messiah. It is possible that all of these might
have been included. This custom, then, was observed during
seven days of the feast, but was not observed on the eighth: Now,
it was on this, the eighth, the last and great day of the feast, that
Jesus stood and cried, " If any man tiiirst, let him come unto me and
drink" And thus, when the mere ceremonial rite had run its
course and passed away, Jesus stood forth and proclaimed him-
self on the last day of the feast the great antitype the perennial
spring of that living water, which one and all require.
When Jesus thus cried aloud in the hearing of the people, it
150 THE PARABLE 'OF
would be hardly p< ssible for them to do otherwise than compare
his words with the language of their prophets. Surely the' lan-
guage of David must have recurred to their memory at the time,
" With thee is the fountain of life ;" or that of Jeremiah, " For
my people have committed two evils, they have forsaken me the
fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken
cisterns, that can hold no water."
But whether those who heard Jesus remembered such wondrous
things or not, he himself distinctly and emphatically claims them
as belonging to him. The figure which he uses is equally simple
and beautiful. It is that of a fountain from whence there is ever
rising up a constant supply of clear pure water. The expression
"living" is purposely ambiguous. When applied solely to the
figure, it means fresh, springing, running water water that
sparkles as it flows on. and tempts the thirsty to drink, and re-
freshes the weary and faint. What then such a fountain with
this clear flowing stream is to the weary traveler, so is Jesus to
the poor, worn out, parched heart of man. "Ho, every one that
thirsteth," is his long-continued invitation. " If any man thirst,
let him come unto me and drink." "The Spirit and the Bride say,
Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that
is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water
of life (this ' living ivaterj now in its spiritual sense) freely."
But our Lord is graciously pleased to explain to us by his
Evangelist what he meant to set forth by the illustration he was
using. "Let him come unto ME and drink" directs us at once to
himself, as the fountain whence this living water flows. It is not
here as in the streams of earth, that we may be refreshed by
drinking at any part of their course, and be altogether ignorant
of the source from whence they sprang. If any one will have
the living water here spokon of, he must go to the fountain for
it. He must go to Christ himself, if he would obtain it. "If
thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee,
Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and HE would
have given thee living water" The stream, then, is ever flowing
on full, clear, deep, and refreshing, but Christ alone can give to
drink. " As the hart pants after the water-brooks," so he that
really desires this living water must be able to say to Christ, " So
panteth my soul after thee, God." " Let him come unto me and
LIVING WATER. 151
drink" says Christ " When shall I come and appear before
God ?" breaks forth from him who is athirst.
But while the words themselves tell us of Christ as the fount-
ain, the Evangelist farther informs us as to this " living water"
and its true meaning. " But this spake he of the Spirit, which
they that believe on him should receive : for the Holy Ghost was
not yet given ; because that Jesus was not yet glorified." Here
is an express and distinct reference to the death of Christ. He
was not yet " glorified." The use made by this Evangelist of
this expression makes it certain that he directly and unequivo-
cally referred to the death of Christ. The words of Christ, as
given by him in a subsequent chapter, leave no doubt on the
subject. " The hour is come when the Son of Man shall be glo-
rified." It was only through the grave and gate o'f death, that
he could pass to his glorious resurrection. It was on the cross
that the Son glorified the Father, by submitting to be made a sin-
offering for his people. It was on the cross that the Father glo-
rified the Son, by accepting the ransom offered, and making him
the first-born among many brethren.
It is, then, from the cross- of Christ, that this water of life flows.
It is alone in virtue of the death of Christ, that the Holy Spirit is
given. These words must not for a moment be supposed to in-
timate that the Holy Spirit had not been given at all in the form-
er dispensation. This is contrary to the whole tenor of Scrip-
ture. We are repeatedly assured of the fact, that the Spirit was
given to the saints of old. " Holy men of old spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost." He is continually referred to as the
agent of inspiration nor less emphatically as the direct agent
working in each heart, or resisted in each heart as, for example,
in the defense of Stephen, when he charges on the conscience of
his wicked judges the sin of their wicked and stubborn forefathers
" Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost ; as your fathers did, so
do ye." Nor yet, again, does it appear to be a satisfactory view
of these words to say, that the Spirit had not been given so fully
and abundantly as he was about to be poured forth on the day
of Pentecost. Doubtless, there was specific reference to this great
effusion of the Spirit; but this hardly satisfies the very emphatic
language " The Holy Ghost was not vet given because that
Jesus was not yet glorified."
152 THE PARABLE OF
Surely this statement can only mean that there was something
peculiar in the gift of the Spirit which is to distinguish this dis-
pensation from the former, and that this peculiarity in the gift is
essentially connected with the death of Christ. Nor does it
appear difficult to trace this peculiarity. The Holy Spirit was
given (and largely given, as the records of the saints of old, in
Hebrews xi., make known) in the former dispensation; but he
proceeded alone from God. He came to Abraham, to Moses, or
.to David, with all the power, and wisdom, and love, of Jehovah,
and wrought wondrous things in them, and with them moved
in them, spake in them, and worked by them ; but it was reserved
for the new dispensation that he should proceed not merely from
God, but from CHRIST. From Christ, not alone considered as
God, but from Christ as being in one person both God and MAN.
What is it that the child of God in the kingdom of grace ex-
perimentally understands as the work of the Spirit in his heart ?
Is it not the testimony which he bears to Christ? He takes of
the things of Christ and shows them unto his people. He brings
all things to their remembrance, whatsoever Christ hath said.
He does not speak of himself, but of the man Christ Jesus. And
thus it is seen how expedient it was for Christ personally to retire
within the vail and leave this other Comforter for his people.
Had he tarried on earth, the hearts of his people could never
have been satisfied otherwise than in his presence. But he retires
to heaven, while he proclaims the rich promise, " Lo, / am with
you, even to the end of the world." His Spirit should be with
each and every one of his people, even to the end of time. And
the work of that Spirit is, that each heart may feel that Christ
himself is at hand, not only all-powerful and loving as God, but
all-sympathizing as man. And so the anxious, the tried, the
laboring, the doubting, the weak, or the strong, may be able
spiritually to hold the closest communion with him tell him
every thing obtain every thing from him, as if they saw him with
the bodily eye, and listened to the very sound of his voice.
This is one of the great secrets revealed to the believer by the
manhood of Christ, his " being touched with a feeling for our
infirmities," having been " tempted in all things as we are." And
it is this precious truth with which the Spirit in this dispensation
?mes laden with which he charges himself for the comfort and
LIVING WATEE. 153
edification of the chosen people of God. He makes the manhood
with all its thrilling emotions and stirring sympathies present,
even as he brings near all the calm, glorious and infinite power,
wisdom and love of the Godhead. Now, this could not be till
the death of Christ. The virtue of that sacrifice was, indeed, by
anticipation made the groundwork of all that passed in the way
of covenant between God and man of old ; but the experience of
this death by Christ must run out before the fullness of that ex-
perience can be made as a rich heritage and treasure for his
people. Christ must taste all sorrows, he must drink of every
bitter cup up to the last, even the bitterest in the garden and at
Calvary. He must pass through a course of inner struggle and
emotion, which could be gained alone in human form, and by
mingling with the woe and the misery of man. He must try all
this practically himself, become acquainted with it, not only as a
truth which he saw and understood afar off, but which he felt
and received, as a matter of deep inner experience in his human
nature. This long course of spiritual training, of learning obedi-
ence by the things he suffered, could only be perfected at his
death. That completed the life-long instruction through which
he voluntarily and lovingly passed, that he might with a heart
fully strung to every possible emotion of the human soul, be not
only a faithful but a loving High-Priest.
" In all the griefs that rend the heart,
The Man of Sorrows bears a part."
And then when Christ says, " If any man thirst, let him come
unto me and drink ;" and the Evangelist adds, " This spake he of
the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive ; for
the Holy Ghost was not yet given : because that Jesus was not
yet glorified" we are made aware of the presence in the tcorld,
vailed in human form, in the garb of humiliation, of one who was
nevertheless "the fountain of living waters" that it was from
the temple of his body that such living water was now to come
forth as should be for the life and refreshment of all people, and
that when he had altogether finished the work given him to do,
and gone away again then this living water should flow out of
the "Throne of God and the Lamb." Such as this had never
been before, except under type and shadow. The Holy Spirit
154 THE PARABLE OF
had never thus been given. This fountain had not yet been un-
sealed and opened. Mighty and vast were the preparations for
it from the beginning of the world. Earnestly did even the
heavenly hosts look on as the time passed away, and the day drew
nigh, in which it was to be opened in the house of David, and
for the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; and then, at length, when on
the cross, the anointed one of God cried out, " It is finished !"-
the waters gushed forth from the smitten rock, and among the
first-fruits of the Spirit sent forth anew with new gifts of love in
his hand to all people, thousands on the day of Pentecost drank
of the living water, and " never thirsted" more.
Christ's death, therefore, has made him the fountain of "living
water," not marking so much its original source whence it is de-
rived, that is, heaven, as specially and expressly the place where
it is opened, where it gushes forth to view, and for the refresh-
ment of the weary and the faint, that is, on earth. He died for
them when he defeated Satan. He died for them when he satis-
fied the demands of God. He died for them when he submitted
to be crucified by man ; and now we see he died for them that
what he gives them " might be in them as a well of water spring-
ing up into everlasting life."
And surely these considerations present us with the key to
some passages in the previous part of this gospel, which have
been made the subject of much controversy. In the words before
us our Lord does not allow us to doubt as to his meaning, since
the inspired comment of his servant John follows immediately.
In a previous chapter He had used precisely the same figure
when speaking to the woman at the well of Samaria as he did
when standing in the temple on the last great day of the feast
" If thou knewest," he said, " the gift of God, and who it is that
saith unto thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of
him, and he would have given thee living water." No one ques-
tions the reference made by our Lord in these words. It is
universally admitted. " This spake he of the Spirit." And why,
then, may it not be asked, when, in the chapter immediately pre-
ceding, the same Evangelist is recording a conversation of deep
interest and similar import between the same Jesus and another
inquirer, Nicodemus why is it that, on the latter occasion, the
meaning of the same word that is used in the case of the Samar-
LIVING WATER. 155
itan woman, and in the temple on the great day of the feast, is
regarded as substantially different, instead of being identical ?
Why is it that " water" is taken in a spiritual or figurative sense
when occurring in our Lord's words in the temple and at the
well of Samaria, but in a literal sense when occurring in his
conversation with Nicodemus ? Surely it would require such a
mode of expression as to leave no possible doubt in our minds if
Jesus meant such very distinct significations to be conveyed by
the use of the same word on three occasions, very similar to each
other, and the records of which lie so near at hand in the Gospel
written by the same Evangelist. On the contrary, the words of
our Lord clearly point in the same direction in all these cases.
Nicodemus did not understand what he meant by the new birth,
and our Lord condescended to explain this. He calls it being
." born of water and of the Spirit." If this meant literal water,
the explanation would only tend to perplex the inquirer the
more. But if it was meant spiritually, namely, that the new birth
to which he referred was the work of the Spirit, and that his
work was to the soul what water is to the body, then our Lord
by using the figure did two things : first, he suggested to the
mind of Niccdemus, what, as a master of Israel, he ought to
have well remembered the many passages in the prophets
where the operations of the Spirit are spoken of under the same
figure ; and next, he led him at once and completely away from
that carnal notion he had expressed " Can he enter a second
time into his mother's womb and be born ?"
"We shall have to recur to this subject, and that fully, when, in
the course of our consideration of the parables, the work of the
Spirit comes immediately under review. In the meantime, let it
be sufficient to state, that in the conversation between our Lord
and Nicodemus no reference can be fairly considered as made to
the ordinance of Christian baptism. To introduce the outward
element in that rite into the conversation, is to perplex and mis-
lead the student, not to guide him. Surely the just and proper
view is to regard these words as pointing to one and the same
truth, to which Christian baptism also points. These words tell
of new birth through the Spirit, given by the great Head of the
Church. They direct attention to this great and fundamental
doctrine of the Gospel. And equally on the other, does the
156 THE PARABLE OP
sprinkling of water in the name of Father, Son, and Spirit,
point to the same truth. One and the same truth is reached, but
by different approaches. In the one case by a dogmatic state-
ment, in the other by a significant emblem. There will thus
necessarily be a close correspondence between the two, as both
give one and the same testimony ; but this is a very different
thing from endeavoring to identify the two.
But in truth, our Lord's conversation with the woman of Sa-
maria suggests the right explanation of his conversation with
Nicodemus. He first of all tells her, " Thou wouldest have asked
of him, and he would have given thee living water." What she
needed was a gift. Something which she had not in her own
possession or power, which she herself could not obtain at any
price ; but which, nevertheless, as it was in the gift of another,
the possessor of it was willing to bestow. " If thou knewest," he
said, " the gift of God" What she required was a gift bestowed
by another. And none was able to bestow what she required but
God. And Nicodemus lacked the very same gift. When he
said, " Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God,"
he only displayed his own ignorance of the person he addressed.
Our Lord immediately replied, " Except a man be born again he
can not see the kingdom of God ;" as if he had said, " You think
you perceive, or know, that I am sent from God, but you are blind
to the reality of my mission as the Messiah, and the Prince of the
kingdom, and I tell you that unless you are born again, you can
not perceive it." You require a gift something which you can
not obtain for yourself the gift of a new birth being born
afresh, or born from above a gift which none but God has, and
none but God can bestow.
Again, our Lord enlarges on his first statement to the woman
of Samaria, " Whosoever shall drink of this water shall thirst
again : but whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give
him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall give him shall
be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
The water from Jacob's well might allay natural thirst for a
brief season, but again and again the woman would require to go
thither and draw. " Not so," says our Lord, " with the gift of
God, which I am able and willing to bestow. That living water
shall be in him who receives the gift a well of water springing
LIVING WATER. 157
up into everlasting life. Once receive the precious gift, and it
lodges itself within you. Your partaking of the water that I
shall give becomes then, as it were, a life-long draught. Ever in
your own heart there will be welling up its unceasing refresh-
ment, and the pangs of thirst can be known no more." In other
words, the gift of God, which he offered to this poor woman, was
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within her, who would then
become the unfailing spring and source of every spiritual grace
and blessing. She would have this new thing lodged within her
heart, and bringing forth such holy and precious things as that
heart never could have produced by itself. And so, too, in the
case of Nicodemus, when Jesus replied, " Except a man be born
of water and of the Spirit" what was this but testifying that
unless " living water" was bestowed, and " became in him a well
of water springing up into everlasting life," he could not " enter
into the kingdom of God." This living water becoming a well
of water springing up, is one and the samo thing as the new birth
or creation. "What was in the natural heart before ? Barrenness
and death. Not one spiritual emotion, thought, or desire. It
was altogether carnal ; and that which was born of the flesh was
flesh all its fruit every thing which proceeded from it was of
this character ; but when this seed of new birth is implanted, or
this " well" of new birth opened in the soul, then all things be-
come new : " that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." The
new life, the new desires, the rew walk of the child of God, is
just the welling up of this living water from within him into
everlasting life.
Finally, let these points thus be kept in mind. Nicodemus,
when he came to Christ, was yet carnally minded. In the low-
view he took of Christ, he only showed the truth, " that which
is born of the flesh is flesh." The woman at the well was equally
carnal, for she thought the water of Jacob's well superior to what
Christ spoke of, and wondered how he could think himself great-
er than Jacob who digged it. Both were utterly deficient in
spiritual things both needed the entering into their hearts of
that which was not natural to either. Unless some such change
took place, they could never see the kingdom of God, but would
be ever hewing out broken cisterns that could hold no water.
Each required a new principle within, a new birth, living water.
158 THE PARABLE OF
If both obtained this, the blessed result in both would be, spirit-
ual fruits, springing up into everlasting life. The one and the
other must ask and obtain this as a free gift, a gift " from above,"
" the gift of God" and to both our Lord thus in effect said, " If
any man thirst, let him come unto ME and drink." Here is the
" gift of God" even his dear Son here is the seed of the new-
birth, here the well springing up within the believer, even Christ,
" Christ in you, the hope of glory;" and thus we find Paul wri-
ting to his Galatian brethren " My little children, of whom I
travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you" Christ, then,
by his death has given himself to his people, that he may dwell
in them forever as the fountain of living waters, himself supply-
ing them with every thing which they can possibly need by the
way, whether it be power, love, wisdom, or sympathy, until they
attain the glorious kingdom above.
But we now advance to the last view which the illustrations of
the New Testament give us of Christ's love for his people in his
death. Let us listen to the memorable language which he uses
regarding himself
"lam the bread of life : he that cometh to me shall never hunger,
and he tfiat believeth in me shall never thirst." John vi. 35.
We have just had our minds directed to him as " living water ;"
we now would dwell upon the equally blessed truth, that he is
"living bread." In the one case, cleansing and refreshing, sancti-
fying and comforting ; in the other, sustaining, nourishing, and
supporting unto life eternal. " This is the bread which cometh
down from Heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die."
" He that eateth of this bread shall live forever." And just as
in the former case the point of comparison was probably meant
to be between the water flowing from the rock of Horeb, and
Christ, the fountain of living water ; so here the comparison is
distinctly set forth between the manna in the wilderness of old,
and this " bread of life" now. Jesus took occasion of the large
number of the people who pressed upon him, because they had
seen his miracles of the loaves, and had partaken of that supernat-
ural supply, and who, doubtless, had their minds forcibly turned
to the miraculous supply of manna to their forefathers, to warn
them that man doth not live by bread alone. He urged them not
to labor for the meat which perisheth. He at once appealed to
LIVING BREAD. 159
the very incident in their history which was probably uppermost
in their thoughts, " Your fathers did eat in anna in the wilder-
ness." Well, and what then? They "are dead" Turn your
attention, then, from the mere carnal view of " what shall we eat,"
to the spiritual apprehension of what is now within your reach ;
labor " for that meat which eridureth unto life eternal, which the
Son of man shall give unto you." " Moses gave you not that
f bread from Heaven," not the bread which excelleth, not that sus-
tenance or nourishment which will feed you and support you for-
ever. It was, indeed, a type, but it was nothing more. " But
my Father giveth you the true bread from Heaven." " / am
(he bread of life : he that cometh unto me shall never hunger, and he
that believeth in me shall never thirst."
Our Lord thus intimates to us here, that just as a man eats
bread, which is the staff of life to his body, and seeks to appease
his hunger by so doing, so by a process which finds here its full-
est illustration, must the inner union be effected between him and
his people, that he may nourish them forever, and satisfy all their
spiritual desires ; and he explains what this act of eating bread
means, when applied to himself and his people figuratively. It is
" coming " to and " believing " in him. Whoever does this comes
to Jesus and believes in him is feeding on the "true bread"
that " cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world."
Bearing this in mind, let us proceed farther to notice how, as in
the figure of " water," the Evangelist in explaining what that
meant, adds the important fact that the gushing forth of the spir-
itual stream depended on the glorification of Christ by his death
and passion, so our Lord in this wonderful discourse before us
now, distinctly and unequivocally refers to the same solemn event,
as absolutely essential for the providing of this " bread of lift " to
the famished soul of man. It was not by simply following him,
as those around him were doing then, when as he lived and walked
among them, he showed forth his marvelous power, in feeding
thousands with a few loaves, calming to rest the turbulent billows
of Gennesaret, or raising the dead to life again. It was not by
simply believing in him, as thus living and working among them,
and crying out in amazement, " This is of a truth that prophet
which should come into the world." If their coming to him, and
belief in him went no further than this, he never could become
160 THE PARABLE OF
" the bread of life 11 to their souls. No ! for their life by him, he
must die for them ; and their coming and believing must be to
one who "liveth and was dead, and behold he is alive again for-
ever more ;" or it would be worthless and vain.
And so, we find that having fastened the attention of his hear-
ers on the great truth that he was 'the true bread from Heaven,
and that coming to and believing on him would give them partici-
pation in this heavenly food, he loses no time in following up
this by a clear and emphatic statement regarding his death, as
that which must alone make them partakers of the spiritual food
they required. This he shows us forcibly in the 51st verse " I
ain the living bread which carne down from Heaven ; if any man
eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I w r ill
give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
" He that cometh and believeth on me" must come to and believe
on one who " gives his flesh for the life of the world." " Verily,
verily, I say unto you," he solemnly adds, " except ye eat the
flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in
you." Here is the " living bread" which we are to eat and live
forever to come to and believe in Jesus as one whose blood was
poured out from his flesh.
Obviously the whole discourse, therefore, hinges on these points
" Labor not for the meat that perisheth." " Come to me, and
I will give you meat which endureth unto life everlasting." I
will give you myself. " lam the bread of life." And I will tell
you how this bread is to be eaten by coming and believing. I
will also tell you what it is you are to confess and believe as re-
gards this bread my death. You are to receive me as one pour-
ing out his life blood for the world a slain offering a bleeding
lamb. Your eating is confessing or coming, and believing. My
preparation for being the living bread, is death.
They who heard Jesus stumbled greatly at these words. They
took literally what he meant spiritually. In this way they re-
coiled in horror from his statement, that this man should not only
" give them his flesh to eat," but his " blood " the very thing so
constantly and carefully forbidden in their law, and any trans-
gression of which was a capital offense that he should invite
them to " drink his blood," was indeed a " hard saying," and they
could not bear it. One word our Lord interposed to give those
LIVING BREAD. 161
who were departing and ready to walk no more with him, one
opportunity more. What! he said, doth this offend you? even
if ye shall see the Son of man /ascend up where he was before !"
unquestionably referring to his ascension. How can you, as if
he said, attach such a carnal meaning to my words ? But if 'you
do so now, will ye continue to do so, when ye shall see (what by
this very declaration is made known to you as certainly to hap-
pen) the Son of man, this very body no longer bruised and
wounded, the flesh and the blood separated in death, but glorified,
and ascending up into Heaven ? Surely the anticipation of that
glorious event of which I now forewarn you should cast down
any such carnal thought in your minds as you are now indulging
in. Flesh, in this carnal sense, profiteth nothing. The words
that I speak unto you, tfiey, if you will but listen to them with,
unprejudiced minds, and receive them as little children, are spirit
and they are life ; that is, they are not merely to be taken spiritu-
ally, but they vivify, they give life.
Now, did not the walking away of the men who had hitherto
followed him, and who, as far as we know, never returned to him
any more did not this fact prove the necessity of our Lord's
plain speaking in this matter ? As long as his cause was one
which was pleasing and gratifying to their carnal minds as long
as they regarded him in the light of one who could feed them at
his will, and astonish them by his miraculous power, they were
very well content to go on and wait on him, and be numbered
among his disciples ; but they started aside as a broken bow,
when the real truth which they must believe, if they were to con-
tinue his followers, was brought before them. " They stumbled
at that stumbling-stone." Doubtless they made abundant excuses
to themselves and neighbors why they could not with propriety
identify themselves any longer with a teacher who uttered such
strange things; but the real truth was, their "natural hearts re-
ceived not the things of the Spirit of God." They were offended
at them, and so it is, and ever will be, with sinful man. It is not
a Saviour who merely appeared in this world that turns him back
with contempt and hatred. No ; he might consent to listen to
such a teacher, and enroll himself among his followers, if he were,
indeed, great, and wise, and good, and powerful. But it is when
he is told to believe in a Saviour that has died for " t/te life of the
11
162 THE PARABLE OF
world, 11 and so for him, then his heart rebels against this humbling
truth ; then the offense of the Cross causes him to stumble, and
he either goes away with the carelessness of a Gallic, or he turns
against it with the rabid hatred of the judges of the first martyr,
who " gnashed on him with their teeth."
It will be seen by the above how utterly groundless is the hor-
rible dogma of the Eomish Church as professedly based on this
discourse of Jesus. It is abundantly clear that they never drew
their idea of the doctrine of Transubstantiation from this ; but
having once possessed themselves with the idea, they, in their
eager search after any thing which would defend them, laid vio-
lent hands on some portions of this passage, and wickedly claimed
it as their own. But passing by this, we can not but remark how
strange it is that many persons find in this discourse a direct ref-
erence to the Lord's Supper I Surely, when we consider that that
feast was not yet instituted, and when- the language here used is
absolute and unconditional, we can not for a moment entertain
this view, unless we go the length of those who exclude all from
the kingdom of God who have not partaken of that feast, and
some of whom have in consequence uttered such things as come
near blasphemy in endeavoring to Reconcile their theory with the
startling fact of the salvation of the penitent robber on the cross.
The following wise and weighty remarks deserve deep consider-
ation, as evidently marking out the true bearing of this discourse.
" The question whether there is here any reference to the ORDINANCE
OF THE LORD'S SUPPER has been inaccurately put. When cleared
of inaccuracy in terms, it will mean, Is the subject here dwelt vpon,
the same as that which is set forth in the ordinance of the Lord's /Sup-
per ? And of this there surely can be no doubt. To the ordi-
nance itself there is here no reference, nor could there well have been
any. But the spiritual verity which underlies the ordinance is
one and the same with that here insisted on ; and so considered,
the discourse is, as generally treated, most important toward a
right understanding of the ordinance."* Oh, if men had but kept
this simple landmark in view, how much misery, disquietude, and
desolation in the outward church of Christ might have been
warded off I If they had looked steadily at the great " spiritual
verity" of the sacrifice and death of Christ, and as they gazed
* Alford.
LIVING BREAD. 163
simply and lovingly on that, heard him say, " Except ye eat my
flesh and drink my- blood ye have no life in you," and then
marked from time to time by the way, the elements of bread
broken, and wine poured out, significantly pointing to the same
verity, and uttering the same thrilling language, how much would
have been spared of shame and dishonor to the cause of Christ
in the house of his professed friends !
It may not be uninteresting to quote here the very distinct and
clear statement of the compilers of the English Liturgy, which
so exactly corresponds with the view quoted above. In the office
for the communion of the sick, it is said, if any man is hindered
from partaking of the sacrament of Christ's body and blood as
he desired to do, '' then the curate shall instruct him that if he
do truly repent him of his sins, and steadfastly believe that Jesus
Christ hath SUFFERED DEATH UPON THE CROSS for him, and shed
his blood for his redemption, earnestly remembering the blessings
he hath thereby, and giving him hearty thanks therefor, he doth
eat and drink the body and blood of Christ profitably to his soul's
health, although he did not receive the sacrament by his lips?''
One remark may not inappropriately be made here. Surely
when we see such a discourse as that under review, made by the
enemy of all truth the very battle-field on which he has so long
and so successfully endeavored to draw away souls from the faith,
and plunge them into the depths of false doctrine and deadly er-
ror ; when, if he can not blind men altogether to the reception
of what is so fearful in its character as the Romish dogma, he yet,
to a great extent, succeeds in perplexing minds on the most pre-
cious things of the Gospel, and confounding ordinances with the
verities which they set forth. When he puts forth all his power
and craft to do this in connection with such passages as that now
before us, we may be sure that he is not only anxious to take up
carnal and vain things which can never help or profit, but he is
all the while taking the utmost pains, by this very means, to con-
ceal a vital and important truth. When the enemy raises such a
cloud of dust as he has done around these simple precious words
of Christ, it well becomes us to wait on the breathing of the Spirit
of God, that he may dispel the darkness, and give us to receive
and keep the blessed truths which Satan would hide from our
eyes.
164 THE PARABLE OF LIVING BREAD.
Now there is not to be found in Scripture a clearer or more
simple view of one of the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel
than in these words, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and
drink his blood, ye have no life in you" The justification of the
sinner before God is here taught, not in abstract terms, which, it
may be, by themselves, could never fully or clearly convey to us
this great mystery, but in such a simple figure as to bring it home
to the understanding and the heart. These words teach us with
great simplicity that justification before God first demands the
death of Christ. His body must be broken, and his blood poured
out. All the benefit of this must be received in the case of the
justified one by faith. This faith is not itself justification, but it
unites the justifier with the justified. And this is the great cha-
racteristic of it. It does for him spiritually what eating does to
the body naturally. It takes Christ crucified, and presents him
to the soul, which, by the indwelling power of the Holy Ghost,
appropriates and lives upon this heavenly food. It is to him
henceforth " the bread of life" life-giving food. And not as the
manna which was rained down only at stated periods, this true
bread, even Christ himself, is ever within the heart of the believer,
so that he hungers no more, but is for ever satisfied, and has
everlasting life. No wonder, when we have such great and glo-
rious truths so simply taught in these words that Satan should
leave no stone unturned to keep men's mind away from them,
"lest the light of the glorious Gospel should shine into them."
Surely, then, we have in the death of Christ his wondrous love
displayed in what he is to his people the water and the bread of
life. When as the good Shepherd he leads his flock in and out,
no wonder that they "find pasture" since he himself is always
with them. No wonder that they, with full hearts and grateful
minds, take up such language as this, " The Lord is my Shepherd,
I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures :
he leadeth me by the still waters"
And here we close the series of parabolic pictures in which the
Lord Jesus Christ has been graciously pleased to make known
to us some of those great and glorious characteristics which dis-
tinguish him as the Prince of the kingdom of light.
PART III.
CHRIST'S WORK OF GRACE, IN ITS PERSONAL AND EXPERIMENTAL
CHARACTER.
CHAPTER I.
THE LOST SHEEP THE LOST PIECE OP SILVEB THE LOST SOK.
WE now proceed to examine those parables which treat at
large and fully of the work of this great Prince and Saviour in.
bringing into and preparing for his kingdom those whom, he
loves and saves. They may be profitably regarded under two
great divisions. First, as exhibiting Christ's personal and exper-
imental work of grace; and secondly, Christ's external and
historical work in the Church and in the world. Of course the
. one and the other of these will be found from time to time com-
bined in the same parable. Indeed from the very nature of the
case it would be impossible to treat of them as absolutely distinct,
seeing that all that is historically recorded or prophetically de-
clared of the kingdom of Christ must necessarily include what
is doctrinal and practical. Still the division now suggested will
serve to place them in such a point of view at least as will re-
markably exhibit their fullness and wondrous beauty in the two
great departments of Christ's work in the heart and in the world.
"We turn, then, first, to the personal and practical work of Christ.
And iu doing so we are met at the outset by three parables which
claim priority of attention, which have ever been regarded as
wonderful alike for their simplicity and exquisite pathos; and
which must always be looked at side by side, if we would gain a
full and deep insight into their meaning, inasmuch as the one fills
up what is lacking in the other, yvhile all are directed to one and
the same subject of illustration. They are not like mirrors set
166 THE PARABLE OP
by chance over against each other, which only confuse, while
they multiply the objects they reflect. They are rather like the
reflectors in the kaleidoscope, which, by their beautiful and yet
simple arrangement and collocation, unite together in presenting
to the eye a perfect and orderly figure of exceeding beauty. Let
us, then, look at these parables, taking them in succession, and
treating them, so far as is necessary, distinctively, but at the same
time noting the relative bearing of each upon the other. This
latter feature will, of course, come more forcibly before us as we
proceed in the examination of the second, and still more of the
third parable in the series.
" Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to
hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, 'saying,
This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he
spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you having
an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and
nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neigh-
bors, saying unto them, JRejotce with me ; for I have found my sheep
which was lost. I say unto you, That likewise joy shall be in heaven
over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just
persons, which need no repentance." Luke xv. 1-7.
In order to have a distinct perception of the great leading truth
illustrated by this and the following parables, it is essential that
we bear in mind throughout, what it was that called them forth.
This was an objection urged by the Pharisees and scribes against
the conduct of Christ. " This man," they said, "receiveth sin-
ners, and eateth with them." In the opening verse of this chapter
we are told that " publicans and sinners" drew near to hear him.
In the objection taken by the Pharisees, "sinners" are only
spoken of, because they included the publicans in this expression
the latter being regarded as among the very lowest and most
degraded of the people. Indeed there can be little doubt that
the publicans, who are so often spoken of in the Gospels (not of
the higher grade, which was very respectable, but the lower, who
farmed the taxes for the other), were regarded by the people
generally as even worse and more degraded than such as, by their
profligacy or immoral conduct, were specially called sinners. The
THE LOST SHEEP. 167
term sinners, therefore, in the objection urged, must be considered
as embracing the publicans mentioned in the first verse, as well
as others. *
Now we shall be in danger of missing very much the bearing
of the parables which were given in order to meet this objection,
if we regard in it too exclusively the carping, murmuring spirit
of those who made it. It is very natural, in reading the Gospel
history;, to set down such an accusation as this merely as the ex-
pression of unworthy spite, envy, and malice on the part of
Christ's chief foes among the people ; nor is it improbable that
in by far the greater number of cases this was really the case.
Still it is possible that some among them may have started ob-
jections from a sincere though mistaken conviction of their being
well founded, or at least that, with real vindictiveness in their
hearts against Christ, they contrived, from time to time, so to
shape their objections as that they should appear in some respects
really formidable.
Now in the objection under consideration, we must not over-
look these points. We must not regard it merely as an ebullition
of spite and malice. Had it been so, it would probably have
been met in silence, or by such a startling and terrible denuncia-
tion as "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" But,
in truth, the objection was a most plausible one it was one which
was likely to turn the tide of public opinion against Christ. Nay,
more, it was an objection which, if in a certain point of view it
could have been substantiated, would have utterly condemned
the mission of Christ, and held it up to well-deserved reproach.
Had our Lord's fellowship with the persons here spoken of been
such as this that he descended to their level that he held con-
verse with tbem without rebuking their sins, but, on the contrary,
by his silence tacitly encouraging them had he, in fact, entered
their territory, in order to have communion with them there, and
to sit down and rest with them, and to sup with them, and they
with him, amid the impenitence and the unforsuken ungodliness
of their ways (hen, indeed, the objection, "this man . receiveth
sinners, and eateth with them," would be well founded, and
nothing else of power or love on the part of him who did so
could wipe away that stain.
It was to clear this important matter that our Lord uttered the
168 THE PARABLE OF
three parables in this chapter. It may be that the Pharisees were
only gratifying their malice and hatred in the accusation they
made, but Jesus, without giving heed to the spirit which prompted
the objection, at once proceeded carefully to vindicate his conduct
from any false construction which might be put upon it, while at
the same time he took occasion from the accusation itself to set
forth, under most remarkable imagery, the true nature of that
fellowship in which he himself rejoiced, his " receiving sinners,
and eating with them." In considering these parables, therefore,
let us bear in mind the objection, not so much in that it might
have been malicious, for that we do not actually know, but in that
it was plausible, for that is manifest.
In the first of these as given above, we have the case of a man
who owned a hundred sheep out of this number one had strayed.
The careful shepherd did not remark this unconcernedly. He at
once adopted measures to bring back the lost sheep if possible.
He leaves the ninety and nine in the wilderness, not in what is
generally among us termed a wilderness, that is " a dry and
thirsty land where no water is," a solitary, barren desert but
such a place as was known by that term to the persons our Lord
was addressing a place where water abounded, where all was
fresh and green such a wilderness as that in which John came
preaching and baptizing, or such as that where thousands were
fed with a few loaves, and in which we are told there was " much
grass ;" and so these ninety and nine are left well cared for in
"green pastures" and "beside still waters," in peace, safety, and
plenty, while the shepherd went to recover the lost one. He sets
out on his quest. He takes much pains to discover the wanderer.
He does not leave it to others to track it out. He goes after it
himself; and he does this until he finds it. He is bent on his
work of recovery. Nothing hinders him until he succeeds. Then
indeed he brings the lost sheep on his shoulders rejoicing. His
search is successful. He has found what he wanted. His toil is
at an end. He is richly rewarded. He takes sure possession of
it. He carries it gently, carefully, and yet so that all should see
what he is doing. And when he reaches home, he calls his
friends and neighbors together, in order that they may share in
the satisfaction with which he finds his journey and his toil so
happily concluded.
THE LOST SHEEP. 169
Now, bearing in mind the objection to which we have already-
adverted, it will be seen that our Lord, in this first parable, ap-
pears at first to give a stronger expression to that objection itself.
The parable does not deal with one receiving, but with one seek-
ing. And so his first mode of dealing with the objection is
this : " You object to my ' receiving sinners, and eating with
them.' Well, I not only acknowledge that I do this, but I tell
you that my special purpose and object in the mission in which I-
am now engaged is to seek out, to find, to discover sinners, for this
very communion and fellowship in which I rejoice and glory. I
am not only ' the friend of publicans and sinners,' but so much
their friend that I do not wait for them to come to me, but I must
needs go and find out them."
That the shepherd in the parable means Christ there can be no
doubt. His own assumption of this character and name in the
tenth chapter of John, is conclusive here. Nor must we pass
over the remarkable intimations which abound in the Old Testa-
ment, and which tell of the Messiah under this character ;. and
especially must we bear in mind such passages as are to be found
in Ezekiel xxxiv., where the faithless shepherd is particularly
marked out in his faithlessness, and condemned, because he does
not seek out and recover the lost or straying sheep of his flock.
The faithfulness and tender love of the good shepherd are here
set in contrast with those false and faithless shepherds, even as
he stands contrasted with the " thief that seeks to enter the fold
some other way," and the " hireling, who fleeth when he sees the
wolf coming."
But who are the " ninety and nine" sheep left securely and
happily in the green pastures, and who the " one of them" which
has strayed and is lost ? One commentator suggests a solution
of the difficulty which lies in the parable here, by saying that it
is the " one lost" which is the great and prominent subject about
which the imagery of the parable is gathered, and after the stray-
ing of this one is mentioned, he affirms that the " ninety and
nine" pass out of sight and are not considered any more. But
this is surely inconsistent with our Lord's interpretation so far of
the parable, for these "ninety and nine" are brought forward
prominently at the close of the shepherd's work. The lost one
wandered from among them at firzt. He is rejoiced over
170 THE PARABLE OF
than they all at last. Far from passing out of sight, then, they
must be kept steadily in view if we would understand the parable
aright. And when Jesus speaks of the " ninety and nine" sheep
as truly representing " ninety and nine just persons which need no
repentance" he has given us the key to the interpretation.
It is not for a moment to be admitted that these words of our
Lord so distinct and explicit mean only " persons who esteem-
ed themselves to be righteous," or wished to be thought righteous
in the eyes of others. When he meant such persons, our Lord
plainly and unequivocally expressed what he meant, " Ye are
they which justify yourselves before men : but God knoweth your
hearts." And, again, " This parable (the Pharisee and publican
in the temple) spake he unto certain which trusted in themselves
that they were righteous, and despised others." The words of Christ
before us are too plain and emphatic to allow of such a reference,
unless, indeed, we use the language of Scripture merely as an
elastic ring, which can be stretched at will to hold any thing we
may thrust within its embrace. There is no instance in our Lord's
preaching which can be quoted as laying down such a principle
of interpretation as this. For as to that declaration, " I came
not to call righteous but sinners to repentance," it surely can not
be regarded as an ironical admission on his part that these were
righteous, or that they were so in their own esteem, but merely
that he came to a sinful, not a righteous world. And besides this,
the conclusion in the parable is absolutely opposed to such a view.
The " lost sheep 11 is rejoiced over more than the " ninety and nine,"
but this very statement proves that the latter were the objects of
joy likewise, though not so much as the former. This can in no
sense be said of such as " trusted in themselves that they were
righteous and despised others." Indeed nothing can be more op-
posed to the simple majesty of these parables, and the sublime
truth which they illustrate, than to bring such an element as this
into the interpretation. It robs them of their beauty, and makes
any thing like a consistent view of them impossible.
The difficulty of receiving such an interpretation of the "ninety
and nine" as the above, is acknowledged to be insurmountable
by a recent writer on the parables, who has most admirably and
ably added to the store of biblical literature on this subject. He
gi\es up the above view as untenable, and so far clears the ground ;
THE LOST SHEEP. 171
but the view which, he entertains, can not, it is conceived, be re-
ceived as satisfactory, nor does it answer the requirements of the
parable more fully than the other. " We may get rid both of
this difficulty and of the other by seeing here an example of our
Lord's severe yet loving irony. These ninety and nine, needing no
repentance, would then be, like those whole who need not, or count
that they need not (?) a physician, (Matt. ix. 12,) self-righteous
persons as such, displeasing to God, and whose present life
could naturally cause no joy in heaven. So that it would be easy
to understand how a sinner's conversion would cause more (?) joy
there than the continuance of such in their evil state. But the
Lord could hardly have meant to say merely this ; and, moreover,
the whole construction of the parable is against such an explana-
tion. ' The ninety and nine sheep have not wandered ; the nine
pieces of money have not been lost ; the elder brother has not left
his father's house.' "* This last sentence states the matter fairly
and justly as it stands in these parables. It must never be lost
sight of, if we would come to a satisfactory view of either of them.
The sheep left behind were not lost. The money left in the house
was not lost. The elder son never left his father's house, and was
not lost. But while this writer so clearly states the case as it exists,
the explanation which he suggests appears to be in the last degree
unsatisfactory. " His own view (he proceeds) of the parables
which affords a solution of the difficulties appears to be this that
we understand these ' righteous 1 as really such, but also that their
righteousness is merely legal, is of the old dispensation, so that
the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than they. The law
had done a part of its work for them, keeping them from gross
positive transgression of its enactments, and thus they needed not,
like the publicans and sinners, repentance from these ; but it had
not done another part of its work it had not brought them, as
God intended it should, to a conviction of sin it had not been
for them ' a schoolmaster to Christ,' and to a glad and thankful em-
bracing of his salvation. The publicans and sinners, though by
another path, had come to him ; and he now declares, that there
was more real ground of joy over one of these who were now en-
tering into the inner sanctuary of faith, than over ninety and nine
* Trench's Notes on the Parables, p. 379.
172 THE PARABLE OF
of themselves, who lingered at the legal vestibule, refusing to go
further in."
The objections to this view are altogether insuperable, besides
that it is impossible to do otherwise than enter a solemn protest
against some of the sentiments here expressed, as strongly mili-
tating against the simple principles of the doctrine of Christ.
Is it possible to suppose that our Lord could have alluded to
the Pharisees generally under these terms " as really ' righteous ?' "
The Pharisees of whom, when we first read of them in the Gospel
history, we find the Baptist crying aloud in his amazement at
their coming to hear him, " O generation of vipers, who hath
warned you to flee from the wrath to come ?" the Pharisees whom
our Lord himself so repeatedly denounced in language unequaled
for its solemn and awful force, " Woe unto you, scribes a^d-EhaC:
isees, hypocrites !'' Ye take away the key of knowledge ye en-
ter not in yourselves, and ye suffer not others to enter in. Ye de-
vour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Ye
do all to be seen of men. Ye love the praise of men more than
the praise of God. Ye cleanse the outside of the cup and platter,"
while the inside is full of extortion and excess. Ye are whited
sepulchers, full of dead men's bones, and all manner of unclean-
ness. Ye adorn the tombs of the^prophets which your fathers
killed. Thus ye say, that ye are their children. Fill up the
measure of your iniquity. Ye compass sea and land to discover
one PEQseJ^te, and when ye have fouj)Ld_him, ye make him tenfold
more the child of hell than yourselves. Ye serpents, ye^gengiac
tion of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell !
Can we for a moment receive the softening expressions which
are applied to such men in the explanation suggested above? It
is utterly impossible, unless we would confound all good and evil,
right and wrong, righteous and unrighteous together nay, un-
less we would make our Lord hknself put forth under the guise
of a parable a sentiment regarding the Pharisees the very reverse
of all that he ever distinctly and emphatically declares concerning
them. If it were possible to conceive that our Lord had them in
his mind as the parties represented by the ninety and nine in the
parable, there is no escape from the conclusion that 'while he was
vindicating his admission of sinners to himself, he was at the same
time nourishing to the very utmost of his power the pride, the
THE LOST SHEEP. 173
self-righteousness, the legal spirit of the Pharisees, making them
comfortable in the possession of those very principles which were
the prolific source of the ungodliness he so vividly and terribly
denounced.
But more than this. Granting what the above writer affirms
regarding the real righteousness of these men, (which we hold to
be entirely opposed to the doctrine of Christ,) but granting this
for a moment, the explanation does not in the least degree meet
the requirements of the parable, even as stated by this writer
himself. He says, " the f ninety and nine" have not wandered.
But does the fact of their real legal righteousness consist with
this ? On the contrary, it disproves it. Just as the righteousness
of faith proves that he who is covered by it has wandered, so the
righteousness which is of the law^grojj.sa that he who thinks he
can cover himself with it has wandered also. The explanation,
then, fails here in its most important, and, indeed, essential point.
Further, it fails here also. The writer says, " Thus they needed
not, like the publicans and sinners, repentance from these from
gross, positive transgression." But inasmuch as the "law had
not done another part of its work," in bringing them to Christ,
as "God intended" it should do, they needed repentance here.
But in direct opposition to this, our Lord says, "just persons who
need NO repentance."
Once more. " He (Christ) declares that there- waa more real
ground of Jov over one sinner," etc., so that there was some
ground of joy over those " who lingered at the legal vestibule,
refusing to go in." T\ey arfi_pp.rsnna whn cl i ii g, tLLlighteouanGSS
of v.-liidi our Lord positively said, thut if they IKK! no more, they
ronld''i!i no r;isr enter into the kingdom of henvrn,'' :m<l yet
there is some ground of joy over such as these ! Surely it needs
but to state these things to prove how utterly untenable all those
views are which would seek to identify the "ninety and nine"
sheep who never strayed, and the "just persons who need no
repentance" with the bitterest enemies of Christ, the most deter-
mined opposers of his Gospel, whose conduct drew forth from
him the most solemn warning he ever uttered, regarding such a
sin, or rather course of sin, as should never be forgiven either in
this world or in the world to come.
But another and insuperable objection to this interpretation
174 THE PARABLE OF
must be briefly noticed. If these " ninety and nine just persons"
are Pharisees in their legal righteousness, whence was it that the
publicans or the sinners strayed from them ? How could it ever
be said, with any propriety, that like as one sheep separates itself
from the flock, wanders away and is lost, so the publicans and
sinners separated themselves from these righteous Pharisees
wandered away and were lost ? Such an interpretation utterly
destroys the meaning of the parable in one of its essential fea-
tures, namely, the straying of the lost sheep. And if it were the
true interpretation, what but this must have been to the Pharisees
the certain conclusion, so grateful to their self-love, " The publi-
cans and the sinners have wandered and are lost, but / have
never wandered. I am not one of the lost sheep of the house of
Israel." How differently our Lord deals with their case is mani-
fest from such a parable as that of the Pharisee and publican,
wherein the two characters are by it statedly and expressly on
the scene. The man who thought himself righteous sincere
enough in his own conviction and the poor, humbled, penitent
publican the last went down to his house justified rather than
the other; " for every one," adds Christ, "that exalteth himself
shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
Nor is it unimportant to notice here what our Lord says of
these very Pharisees in another parable, which plainly exhibits
what he desired to inculcate on all who heard him regarding
them. In the parable of the two sons required by their father to
work in his vineyard, the second promised to go and went not.
This son, by our Lord's own interpretation, means the Pharisee,
and the other is the publican ; and so he adds that while the
latter were pressing into the kingdom of heaven before their
faces, the former "repented not" Is it possible to suppose that
our Lord would contradict the teaching of one parable by that
of another? that in one he would charge with "repenting not,' 1 ' 1
the very same parties of whom in another he said, " they need no
repentance ?"
We dismiss, then, as utterly untenable, and altogether incon-
sistent with the simple story of the parable, all interpretations
which would identify the "ninety and nine just persons which need
no repentance" with the Pharisees. That such interpretations
have been entertained at all that they have continued to hold
THE LOST SHEEP. 175
their ground so long that they are so generally acquiesced in
proceeds obviously from neglecting to notice what, it is con-
ceived, is so essential to a due perception of the meaning of these
parables, namely that the Pharisees who made the objection call-
ing them forth are not so much to be considered as the objection
itself. Once let that objection be properly set aside once let the
flood of Divine light from the Son of righteousness be poured
down on that wondrous truth, Christ receiving sinners, admitting
them to his fellowship, honoring them by his presence, calling
them his friends once let this be fairly and distinctly set forth
and explained let but the lips of him who never yet spake as
man spake be opened to illustrate the grand and glorious fact,
that God and the sinner are reconciled then, all that was plausi-
ble in the objection made is dispersed as a cloud before the wind ;
and then, too, in the most emphatic manner, the Pharisees will
have their answer.
Let us then turn to the parable, and see whether there be not
one explanation of it which in all its parts is consistent with
itself which retains the natural simplicity of the story itself,
without forcing into the interpretation any thing which does not
necessarily and obviously belong to the great truth illustrated.
It is admitted that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Shepherd.
Who, then, are the " ninety and nine" sheep who went not astray
the u ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance ?" The
interpretation glanced at by Theophylact, and received with favor
by Hilary, is that which is unhesitatingly adopted here as the
only one which can satisfy the condition now mentioned. " These
(the ninety and nine) the good Shepherd left in the wilderness,
that is, in the higher heavenly places ; for heaven is this wilder-
ness, being sequestered from all worldly tumult, and fulfilled
with all tranquillity and peace."* He left them in the heavenly
places, secure, happy, peaceful, unfallen, amid plenty, and in
glory, while he went forth himself to seek the one erring, wan-
dering, hapless sheep that had gone astray on the mountains of
vanity fallen, degraded, and lost man. Alford, in his admirable
notes on the Old Testament, gives the alternative which is here
accepted : " Or, if it be required that the words should be liter-
ally explained, seeing that these ninety-nine did not err, then I
* See Trench, p. 379, note.
176 THE PAKABLE OF
see no other way but to suppose them, in the deeper meaning of
the parable, to be the worlds tiiat have not fallen, and the one that
has strayed, our human nature, in this one world."
This extract touches the matter with the point of a needle.
The words in the parable must be regarded as literally meaning
that the ninety and nine did not err ; for if not, there is no possi-
ble escape from the conclusion, that the straying of the one sheep
can not be literal either. Let us endeavor to follow out this in-
terpretation in the several particulars of the parable.
Man as originally cheated, though made a little lower than the
angels, was yet a meet and suitable companion of angels. He
reflected the image of his Maker in his being, even as they do in
theirs. He enjoyed the fullness of his Maker's favor even as they.
God's delight was with him even as with them. Holiness and
obedience were required of him even as of them. Happiness,
peace, joy, life, were secured to him even as to them, if he con-
tinued obedient. The history of man, as revealed to us in the
Inspired Word, scarcely opens it scarcely begins to unfold to us
man's happy condition, walking with God, and God with him, in
want of nothing, for God was with him as his Shepherd, making
him to lie down by pastures of tender grass, and 'by the waters
of quietness scarcely does revelation cause this bright and glow-
ing picture to 'open before us than a cloud comes over it, and
turns all its brightness into the shadow of death. Man's habita-
tion is quickly changed. We see him for one brief moment in
Eden, amid bowers of beauty and unutterable loveliness the
friend and companion of all that is holy and happy ; the next,
we find him dwelling in a world which is accursed thorns and
thistles springing up around him light gone from his eye the
nobleness of his image changed darkness, thick darkness, around
him and fear, doubt, anxiety, and danger, his constant compan-
ions. It is the very original of the parabolic picture before us
man went astray as a sheep strays from its fold.
Nor must we forget to notice what has repeatedly been urged
by commentators here that while in the fold, and amid their
pastures, sheep give us a striking image of peace, security, and
plenteousness ; on the other hand, in the straying of a sheep we
have set forth a blind and stupid ignorance. None can miss the
truthfulness of the illustration here who has chanced to observe
THE LOST SHEEP. 177
a sheep that lias wandered from its companions. And so as re-
gards man. What ignorance, what doltish stupidity did he
manifest when he put forth his hand and took of that fruit which
was forbidden him to taste as if by breaking the commandment
of Him who made him, and gave him all things richly to enjoy,
he could make himself wiser, better, and happier ! "What unut-
terable folly, to barter Paradise and its glorious life for the eating
of an apple !
Then how apt is the illustration further. The sheep that has
strayed, wanders on, continually increasing its distance from the
flock. And so with fallen man. He is not satisfied merely with
losing the companionship of the holy and the pure he has
wandered further and further away from God continually. Then,
too, it may be, the heedlessness of man may be represented here.
Perhaps, at first, the stray sheep may feel alarm when it finds it-
self separated from its companions. This, however, very soon
wears off. The pasture it has chosen for itself may suffice for the
present ; and as it wanders on, cropping here and there in its
perverse way what suits its taste, it may go on in fancied security,
and with no desire to retrace its steps. And so with man. When
first the awful sentence was passed upon him, and he was driven
out of Paradise, a terrible dread gathered around his soul ; but
this passed away, and he has in his grievous wandering from God,
learned so to solace himself with the things he has chosen for
himself, as to become heedless and careless of all that has been
lost.
Then, too, the stray sheep is exposed to the greatest peril, and
that of various kinds. Noxious, deadly things, may be mistaken
for wholesome, pleasant food. Darkness will overtake it, and de-
struction become imminent. An imprudent step, or a beast of .
the field may suddenly and forever close its wanderings And so
with man. He is surrounded on every side with threatening
danger. He has lost the perception with which he may discern
truly between that which is deadly and that which is wholesome.
His feet stumble on the dark mountains. His own folly may
quickly close the story of his sad wandering, and Satan triumph
in the everlasting ruin of his soul.
Such was the picture which presented itself before the eyes of
the Son of God when man fell away and wandered from his fold.
12
178 THE PARABLE OF
How full of deep and affecting pathos are the words of this Son
of God himself, when he actually set out upon his mission of
mercy, and when he looked upon poor fallen human nature, not
now as he had done before, when seated on his throne, and de-
termined to seek and save the lost, and when, in the likeness of
man, he stood among the children of men. " When he saw the
multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because
they fainted, (were tired and lay down, margin,} and were scat-
tered abroad as sheep having no shepherd." It was thus he had
looked down from heaven, when man first strayed from his kind
and gentle care, and he resolved to seek out the wanderer, at
whatever cost or trouble to himself. The "ninety and nine" are
dear to him. They have not wandered, and he delights in them
still. There is but one gone. Surely that will not be missed.
He may allow it to wander. He has enough left. He may give
himself no thought or care about the ungrateful, thoughtless one
which has gone ! Not so are his ways or his thoughts. He will
not love " the ninety and nine" less. He will not care for them
less ; nay, he will show them that he cares for them even more
than they could have conceived by his leaving them safe as they
were, and happy, in order that he may never rest until he has re-
stored their wandering companion to them again. What a new
spring must have been opened in heaven, of loving confidence in
the care of the good Shepherd when he set himself to the task of
finding out and bringing back his lost sheep. What new impres-
sions of Divine love must have been created in the minds of the
holy and glorious hosts of God by such a manifestation of tender
self-denying care on the part of the good Shepherd !
Then mark how the parable puts it : " If he lose one of them"
. The wandering of the sheep is counted by him as his loss. He
can not regard it in any other light. And so as regards man.
Whatever be the ruin and wretchedness he has brought upon
himself, still, let it be remembered, that by his fall the great King
has been deprived of a bright jewel. The fine gold which he had
prepared of honor and glory unto himself, in this lower world,
has become dim. The Son of God, then, would not suffer him-
self to be forever deprived of this jewel. And just as the shep-
herd sets forth in the parable to seek until he find his stray
sheep, so He set forth on his quest of pity and of mercy.
THE LOST SHEEP. 179
In this part of the parable, the incarnation of the Son of God is
plainly intimated. The shepherd sent not his servants forth to
bring back the lost. He did not remain at home and issue his
commands for the recovery of his sheep. He set out himself, left
his home, followed the sheep in its wanderings till he found it.
Obviously this directs our attention to the Son of God leaving
his glory, " emptying himself of his reputation," and never ceas-
ing until he stood face to face with the sinner on the ground of
his wandering, until he personally sought him out in his low and
lost estate, until he found him sunk as he was in the depths of
sin, and far, far removed from his Father's house. This he did
by taking man's nature on him. It was thus he came near to him.
It was thus he stood face to face with him in his wandering, and
made preparation for his being brought back and restored to
glory, honor, and immortality. When this good Shepherd set
out on his errand of mercy, all heaven bowed down to speed him
on his way, and rang again with the loud hosannas of expectant
that the Lord Jesus Christ did in the flesh for the poor
lost soul of man is graphically set forth in this parable by the
single expression, "He ivent after that which was lost until he found
it" This embraces the whole work of toil, self-denial, and sacri-
fice which he voluntarily underwent, in order that he might get
at the lost soul to save it. All the sufferings of his life and death
are comprised in his thus " going after the lost soul until he find
it." He had counted the cost, and nothing deterred him from
pursuing until he found. Oh, who can describe what that cost
must have been ! We behold it terribly distinct at Calvary,
when he was close upon the lost one, just finding him with all
the darkness and the sorrow of the accursed tree, the hiding of
his Father's face, the desertion of friends, the bitter spite of ene-
mies, and the faintness of bodily suffering. We see it distinctly,
too, in the garden of Gethsemane, when not even his truest fol-
lowers could watch with him one hour in his agony. When he
prayed and agonized alone, " his soul being exceeding sorrowful
even unto death." Yet these were but the closing scenes of his
long journeying after his lost one. His whole course from first
to last, through thirty years and more, was but one continued
contradiction of sinners against him. He toiled, and labored,
180 THE PAKABLE OF
and struggled always as a man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief. He bent his steps in one way to find the lost ; but each
of these steps was one of untold sadness, suffering, reproach, and
trouble, to the kind, loving, good Shepherd.
Now, watch the Shepherd who has gone after his lost sheep,
and after a long, weary, and fatiguing search, borne, nevertheless,
unflinchingly, because he knew what he was doing, whither he
was going, and where he would find his strayed sheep observe
him as he finds it his search successful \\\s setting forth after it
his "going out" after it, happily at an end. "When he hathjound
it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing" And so just as the going
forth of the shepherd till he find his sheep presents before us the
Lord Jesus Christ in his work of sorrow, and trial, and self-deny-
ing love for his people ; so the returning of the shepherd marks
his glorious and happy return with the fruit of the travail of his
soul. The power of Christ is here revealed. Just as the shep-
herd lays his sheep on his shoulders, so Christ bears his ransomed,
his redeemed one, by his mighty power when he has found him.
He does not drive him in his weariness, or require him to follow
in his weakness. He carries him by his own might. He lifts
him by his strong hand and his almighty power, and " makes a
show openly" of what he has done in delivering his poor erring
child ; and he does all this " rejoicing," His pain, sorrow and
struggle are over. He has paid the price which he knew was
required. He faltered not a moment till this was done to the
uttermost. And now, as he leads captivity captive, he goes on
his way rejoicing, his humiliation passed forever; and glory, the
glory of redemption, that key-note of the new song in heaven
that new, and of all his crowns the brightest, fills him with unut-
terable joy.
And then mark the language of the parable. " When he
cometh home." This does not mean, as some have supposed, that
the shepherd on his return brought his lost one to the house
instead of placing it again in the fold. Such a view would mar
the simple, natural story of the parable. All that is meant by it
is this. The shepherd succeeded in his search which took him
from home, or from his house ; and he returned home with his
lost one found. The evident purpose of the introduction of such
words is, to impress upon the hearts of all God's ransomed ones
THE LOST SHEEP. 181
this precious truth, that when the Saviour carries them by his
power from the place of danger to the place of safety he is going
home, and therefore so are they. His home is their home. His
place of rest theirs. In his Father's house are many mansions,
and the end of their salvation will be in its perfect happiness to
realize in the presence of God, and Christ, and the holy angels,
in its utmost and highest perfection, all that rises in the heart,
and speaks of calm, gently joy in that one blessed word, home.
And now, before noticing briefly the closing part of this para-
ble, it is important that we observe the following particulars in it,
and the great truths it illustrates. In the story itself we see the
shepherd setting out, and then returning home successful, and
rejoicing with others at his success. Thus it was in Christ's
work. He left his glory to come down to this world to seek and
save the lost ; and as soon as he had accomplished his work,
made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness, he
returned, he went back, ascended up where he was before, and
now sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high. In so doing
he virtually bore back with him that which he came to save. He
held forever safe the souls whom he redeemed. They were now
his in the bonds of the everlasting covenant, which his own blood
had ratified and sealed ; and besides all this, his own presence in
the courts of heaven, not now merely as the Son of God, but as
the Son of Man, was but the first-fruit and the pledge that every
one of his own people is safe forever from the fury of the de-
stroyer. This has been already effected. The safety of his ran-
somed ones is already secured. But the time is yet to come when
they will each and every one of them be seen restored and happy
in the heavenly fold. And thus our Lord in explaining and en-
forcing the parable does not say, " There is joy in heaven," but
" I say unto you, that likewise joy SHALL BE in heaven over one sin-
ner, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no
repentance."
Not that he means by this that the joy does not exist now ;
but it shall not be manifested forth among the mighty hosts of
God by things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under
the earth, until the day when each and all of the redeemed shall
be presented spotless before God in glory. But when that day
arrives, then it shall be seen how there is greater joy in heaven
182 THE PARABLE OF
over the restoration of this once lost, but now found child, than
over all those who have never wandered. "Joy in heaven!"
' Joy throughout heaven. Joy from the center to the widest bor-
ders of the paradise of God. Joy on the Throne, in the heart of
the mighty God himself deep, unutterable wondrous joy in the
bosom of Jehovah. Joy amid the hosts of God. Those hosts
who sang their hymns of praise when earth appeared robed in
her fair mantle of beauty, fresh from her Maker's hand those
hosts who bowed down to herald the approach of the Son of God
on his mission of mercy those hosts who look into the great
work he came to finish, with the unwearied intelligence of their
perfect understanding, and the ever-increasing glow of their per-
fect love -joy shall be among them, too, when the lost one shall
be restored. The broken link in the glorious creatureship of
Jehovah shall be repaired. The jewel shall be restored to the
Master's crown. The rooms in heaven's mansions so long empty
shall be filled. And with all this, the pledge and the security
shall be given to all the holy and pure in heaven that sin's power
is at an end, and that never again can it enter one of the" fair
fields of God's creation, and spread desolation, ruin and death
there.
But this joy will be greater than over the "ninety and nine just
persons who need 'no repentance." As regards the Son of God
himself it will be greater, because he will see in them " the fruit
of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." He created the
angels, and gave them all their beauty, their strength, their hap-
piness, and their glory. They sprang into being at his mighty
word, and he has surrounded them with every thing which can
minister to their glorious and exalted position in his kingdom.
But for the restoration of poor lost humanity he did far more
than this. He it was that created man at first, and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life, and " without him was not any
thing made that was made," which could minister to man's hap-
piness, comfort, and joy. Thus he held an equal place with
angelic beings in the relationship subsisting between the wise,
good, and bountiful Creator, and his obedient and happy crea-
tures. "Whatever the joy of God in the one, it was of the same
character as his joy in the other. But when he would bring back
this human nature after it had fallen and been lost, he must not
THE LOST SHEEP. 183
only put forth creative energy so as to make new all that had
fallen into decay, and build up what had crumbled into rums ;
he must also himself take upon him the very nature, with all per-
taining to it, except its sin, and by a long course of suffering and
sorrow, closed by an ignominious death, procure at this cost, and
by nothing less, the object he had in view. When, therefore,
the Son of God shall look on his gathered saints at last, he will
behold in them not only creatures who by that simple relation-
ship afford to him pure and perfect joy, but he will specially look
on them as the fruit of his own sorrow and suffering. And just
as the latter was bitter, terrible, and agonizing, so will his joy be
exceeding great when he presents them to himself at last without
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, redeemed by his own pre-
cious blood, bought with the price he alone could pay and
above all, in whose inner joy at their deliverance, and their in-
heritance of glory, he is not merely interested as one looking on,
but which he shares with them as their elder brother. The na-
ture which he assumed, and which was common to him and fallen
man, enabled him to suffer, and also to become the way by which
man might rise up in sympathy of love and joy with Jehovah.
And it likewise furnished to himself that wherein he might expe-
rience the accumulated joy, feel it as if it were his own, of all his
ransomed children.
And so too, among the hosts of heaven, greater joy will be felt
in connection with the story of man's recovery from his wander-
ing and death, than in any thing connected with their own his-
tory. If redemption has given a new song to the saints of God,
which they shall sing forever in heaven, let it not be forgotten
that it is a song in the chorus of which " every creature which is
in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as
are in the sea," shall join. The presence of these restored ones
in heaven has opened up new glories in heaven itself. The an-
gels see, what had never appeared before " in the midst of the
throne, a Lamb as it had been slain." This tells them the won-
drous story of God's wisdom, power, and love. It makes known
to them these things in such force and to such an extent as they
never understood before. It gives them a deeper insight .than
they could ever have otherwise possessed of the ground on which
they stand as holy and responsible creatures, while, at the same
184 THE PARABLE OF
time, it gives them unutterable confidence in the stability of the
government of God's kingdom, of the increase, prosperity, peace,
and safety of which there shall now be no end. It affords them
a further view into the resources of the divine mind. It shows
them how he can bring good out of evil, and make even the
threatened desolation of his kingdom the very means by which it
shall never be moved. It causes them to see, as they never
could before, the love of God love which has been tested love
which has been sorely tried love which has triumphed love
which many waters could not quench, but whose everlasting
glory could alone be manifested by the story of the Good Shep-
herd bringing back his strayed ones rejoicing. And, beside all
this, though the connection is not sg close, so dear, so precious to
them as to the redeemed themselves though it is not their ex-
alted and glorious privilege to be the Lamb's bride, the new, the
holy Jerusalem, of which the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple, yet are they " ministering spirits" to this bride
yet do they delight to regard themselves as " fellow-servants"
with God's people, who have " the testimony of Jesus." Thus,
too, the bond of a common nature which has linked so closely
together the saved one with him who sits upon the throne, has
also exalted creatureship itself so gloriously, that no wonder if,
in the wider circle of the angelic throng as they surround the
throne of God, nearest to which stand those who can cast their
golden crowns and cry, " He was slain for us" the inspired Evan-
gelist saw in vision myriads who caught up the inner joy that
spread from the holy of holies through the ranks of the redeemed,
and " heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and
the living creatures, and the four-and-twenty elders, and the
number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, even
thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom,
and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing."
See, then, what this parable unfolds to us regarding the great
truth that God is reconciled to the sinner. Our Lord not only
admits this, but he puts it in its strongest point of view. He rep-
resents himself as leaving heaven in order to seek out the sinner
that he may bring him back, and still more wondrously, he de-
clares that the return of this sinner, his sitting down with the
THE LOST PIECE OF SILVER. 185
holy and good in heaven, will be the cause of greater joy than
can spring from those who have never wandered. Jesus thus
gave the objection urged in its fullest length. He makes it as
forcible as possible " You charge me with receiving sinners
.true ; but I tell you more I go after them until I find them, and
when I bring them back there is greater joy than over just per-
sons who never strayed." And yet, let it be observed, how at
the same time he intimates a condition absolutely iuseparable
from all this, but which is not set forth in the imagery of this
first parable, although it appears in a subsequent one. In a sin-
gle word, He states his vindication of himself from any reproach
in having fellowship with sinners, making it the key-note to
which he will again recur, while he dwells at large upon the glo-
rious work he took occasion to unfold. Mark that word "I say
unto you, that likewise joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner that
REPENTETH," &c. He^seeks oq| sinnera gndqfiffi ft]l ffpflkrinff-
until he finds sinners carries them home rejoicing and makes
heaven ring with new shouts of joy by reason of his. finished
work. But the sin has been left behind. It has been blotted
out in its condemning power. The guilt of it has been lost in
the depths of his own mighty sacrifice and death ; and the stain
and the pollution of it have been by grace put away from the
sinner, so that as rebellion marked his wandering from God, so
now repentance' marks his return again to God.
We proceed, then, to the second parable in this series.
" Either what woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one
piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently
till she find it ? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends
and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I hare found
(he piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, Tfiere is joy in
the presence of the angels of God over one sinner tfiat repenteth"
Luke xv. 8-10.
It is unnecessary to dwell on the simple story of this parable.
We at once, then, direct attention to that which it illustrates ;
and while we shall see that the great truth of the former parable,
namely, man in his lost condition, appears equally as the leading
truth here, yet it is presented before us in an entirely new and
deeply interesting aspect.
And first, then, as to that which in this parable represents the
186 THE PARABLE OF
lost soul of man " a piece of money" this takes the place of
the " lost sheep" in the first parable. A great deal of ingenuity
has been spent by ancient commentators, as well as by many
modern ones, on this part of the parabolic picture. It does not
appear, however, to have led to any satisfactory result. The
prevailing idea that in the introduction of a piece of money into
the imagery, there is intended to be intimated the fact, that man
was originally created in the image of God, even as the coin
bears the image and superscription of the king or ruler of the
country where it is current, but that this image has become
greatly defaced, and that even as it is, it is lost in darkness and
amid the corruption and pollution of this sinful world is an in-
terpretation which seems to rest upon altogether too slender
grounds to recommend itself to the mind as the true one. It is
too recondite, and far too uncertain ; for, first of all, the piece of
money here spoken of in the parable was the drachma, a Greek
coin, and it is extremely doubtful whether there was on it any
image of a king at all. Indeed, it is remarkable that an able
writer who has yielded to the " delight of tracing a resemblance
to the human soul, (in the piece of money,) originally stamped
with the image and superscription of the great king, (' God cre-
ated man in his own image,')" is obliged to confess in a note
" It is true that against this view it may be said that the Greek
drachma, the coin here particularly named, had not, like the
Koman denarius, the image and superscription' of the emperor
upon it, but commonly some image, as of an owl, or tortoise, or
head of Pallas !" Surely this is sufficient to set aside every such
interpretation as that now mentioned, as unworthy of the simple
story in hand, notwithstanding its fascination to some minds.
But, even granting that the piece of money here spoken of had
the image and superscription of the emperor on it, this would be
a very fallacious representation of the lost soul of man. In the
latter the image is not simply to a considerable extent defaced ;
it is totally obliterated. We might as well speak of life partly re-
maining with the dead, as the image of God partly left upon the
fallen soul. " In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely
die," was the warning. Man did eat, and died. By that spiritual
death the stamp of resemblance to his heavenly King was utterly
and entirely lost. Lost, as much as in the case of the fallen an-
THE LOST PIECE OF SILVEE. 187
gels, though, blessed be God, not like them beyond the possibility
of being renewed and restored, when passed through the fire and
melted, and stamped with God's image afresh, under such condi-
tions of peace and love, that the ceaseless ages of eternity as they
roll on shall never find the sharpness of even the minutest por-
tion of this new creation impaired or worn away.
What, then, is the meaning of the "piece of money" as repre-
senting the lost soul ? Obviously, it is added in the second par-
able, in order to complete and fill up what the figure of a " lost
sheep" in the first fails to present before the mind. When a sheep
strays from the shepherd, and wanders away from the footsteps of
the flock, it does sometimes happen, it may frequently happen,
that the sheep that has wandered shall, by some happy accident,
find its own way back, and that uninjured, to the fold. It has
stupidly and ignorantly wandered out ; it may as stupidly and
ignorantly wander in again. But it will not do to leave this as a
possible result regarding that solemn and important truth illustrat-
ed the lost soul. It will not do to leave it to be implied that by
any possibility or in any way, the soul once lost can ever find its
own way back to God ; and thus the second parable gives us the
figure of the lost piece of money to enforce (his part of the truth
upon us. The lost sheep might wander back the lost piece of
money can never, by any possibility, find its own way back again
to the purse. As it falls, when lost, so must it lie forever, as far
as its own power goes, or until lifted up by something extraneous
to itself; and thus the use of this figure in the parable supplies
an important fink in the series of these truths involved in the fall
of man. It tells us, that as far as regards all power to help him-
self, he is dead. More than this, that this death prevents the pos-
sibility of his making even accidentally, so to speak, a movement
in the right direction. It is the parabolic picture in these three
stories before us, of the sinner " dead in trespasses and sins."
But, besides this, the selection of this figure suggests another
reflection. In the case of the wandering sheep, there may remain
some faint, instinctive recollection of the fold, and when darkness
and danger surround it, or the pangs of hunger fasten upon it,
some instinctive effort to recover what it has lost. But the figure
of the piece of money tells us that, in the case of the lost soul, even
the consciousness of his condition is a wanting. He is lost, but he
188 THE PARABLE OF
knows it not. He is in danger, but he heeds it not. He has for-
feited his father's favor ; he cares not. He is a victim of Satan ;
he does not believe it. He calls himself lord in this world, when
he is nothing better than a slave. He is as unconscious of his real
condition, fallen, degraded, lost, and in danger of eternal ruin, as
the "piece of money 11 is unconscious that it is lying lost amid the
darkness and the dust where it has been dropped.
But is there not an additional illustration supplied to us in this
parable regarding the recovery of the lost soul, in the figure of
the woman lighting the candle and seeking for the lost piece of
money, just as that piece of money itself supplies a very import-
ant one, as we have seen ? Doubtless it does. It has been sug-
gested by Trench, that the woman with her candle, represents
the Church of God with the Word of God seeking (though only
as she is filled with the Holy Ghost) for lost sinners within the
house, that is, the visible Church. But this is in every respect
most unsatisfactory. It introduces a new element into the frame-
work of these parables altogether at variance with their simple
and clear purpose. If this be the true interpretation, then the
illustration in this second parable is not so much God and sin-
ners reconciled God " in Christ," receiving sinners, as the Church
receiving sinners not so much God in Christ engaged in seeking
out and finding, which is the great point of the first parable, and
which is equally necessary to the second, but the Church seeking
out and finding. Nor is this objection at all qualified or removed
by the assertion that all this is only done by the Church as filled
with the Spirit of God, for this still leaves the fact illustrated, not
as it ought to be, God and God alone dealing with sinners in the
way of seeking out and receiving, but those very sinners them-
selves, though in their new and changed condition, as members
of Christ, children of God and heirs of glory.
But more than this. Granted that the figure of the woman with
the lighted candle means the Church, then we do not find in
Scripture any warrant at all for our speaking of the Church col-
lectively in this manner. Men are commissioned and sent forth
to preach the Gospel to every creature. They have intrusted to
them a great and glorious mission to tell in the ears of all, of
peace, and hope, and life, for a guilty world to proclaim glad
tidings of great joy unto all people, that whosoever belie veth in
THE LOST PIECE OF SILVER. 189
Christ. shall be saved. This is all that the holiest, the most true
and faithful servant of the Lord Jesus can do, in the great work
of Eedemption. And equally is this all that the whole body of
the faithful at any one period of the Church's history can ever
attempt to do. The message may be published sinners entreat-
ed to come warnings threatened promises offered. But this is
all and surely this is a very different thing from finding the lost !
The Church, as a body or individually, may tell of God's love, his
willingness to save, but Scripture lays down emphatically the
limit, and oh ! let not man attempt to make any change here :
" Paul may plant, and Apollos may water, but God givetJi the in-
crease" The seeking which ends in finding must be his and his
alone. His glory will he not give to another. We dismiss, then,
this interpretation, as inconsistent with the scope and bearing of
those parables, which are directed to one point, Christ and not the
Church receiving sinners as not warranted by Scripture but con-
demned, by it and as dishonoring to Him who alone can effect-
ually seek so as to find. The woman lights her candle, and
sweeps the house, and seeks diligently " TILL SHE FIND IT."
Another interpretation, less liable to objection than this, inas-
much as it does not make the woman in the parable represent the
Church of Christ, does nevertheless appear to be unsatisfactory
in regarding the house as the Church that is, the external Church.
This is inconsistent with the fact illustrated, for lost souls are not
only sought out and found within the limits of the visible Church :
they are found throughout the whole world, and the finding of
the lost piece of money is as truly realized when the idolater
leaves his idol, the heathen his superstition, the savage his ignor-
ance, as when the nominal Christian leaves his formalism and is
placed among those who are " precious in the sight of the Lord."
Surely the explanation of the parable ought to proceed on
simpler grounds than these. The scenery of the first is chosen
because so admirably adapted to the special view of truth
required, that is, the powerful recovery of the lost soul by the
exertions of Christ himself. Every thing connected with this is in
admirable keeping in the figure of a flock of sheep a stray one
of the flock, and the shepherd himself going after it till he find
it, and then laying it on his shoulders rejoicing. So in the para-
ble now before us. Inasmuch as the main point brought out here
190 THE PARABLE OP
is the utter helplessness of the sinner, and his unconsciousness
of his state, under the figure of a lost piece of money ; where but
within a house could this better be set forth where lighting a
candle, sweeping, and searching are required in the illustration
of this piece of money when found? And since it is a woman in
the parable who does this, why need we go further than to say
that these things, so simply and naturally introduced into the
story of this parable, are just woman's work generally in the
house, and, therefore, there is a fitness in setting before us a
woman, and not a man, in this parable, just as there is a fitness
of the same description in the parable of the woman leavening
her three measures of meal, inasmuch as this was well known by
the hearers of our Lord as the usual employment of women. We
need no more than this in the explanation of the figure in this
parable, and thus, too, we have in its simple grandeur the great
truth which is the subject of the illustration.
This subject is God seeking for the sinner. He appears before
us in the first parable, as in Christ personally, engaged in the
special work of redemption for the sinner, following him into the
wilds of his transgression, and recovering him from them. In
the parable before us he appears again with the same purpose in
view, but under another aspect ; not now as a shepherd, but a
woman who has lost a piece of money, and who lights a candle,
and sweeps the house, and seeks diligently till she find it. On
this, a recent commentator remarks: " The sinner lies in the dust
of sin, and death, and corruption ; then the Spirit, lighting the
candle of the Lord, searching every corner, and sweeping every
unseen place, finds out the sinner." This parable, therefore, sets
forth to us the work of God the Holy Spirit for the accomplish-
ment of the great purpose of Jehovah in the recovery of the
lost. And the order in these illustrations is just what we might
expect Christ first, the Spirit following. It is alone by the
direct, personal work of the Son of God in the flesh by his suf-
ferings and death, in virtue of this meritorious passion, that the
Spirit works at all. Unless Christ's work had been perfected for
the sinner, the Spirit's work had never been begun in the sinner.
It was necessary, first of all, to consecrate the new and living way
by which the sinner may return to God, before the Spirit finds
him and draws him into that way.
THE LOST PIECE OF SILVER. 191
And then take note of the adaptation of the diferent parts of
the illustration to this view. The "piece of money" lost, represents
man's soul in darkness and corruption unconscious of its own
condition helpless in any way to save itself dead, in fact, in
sin. How admirably proportioned then to this 'one side of the
parable is that of the other the woman with her candle, sweep-
ing the house, seeking diligently till she find the piece of money,
as representing the work of the Holy Spirit bringing light to the
dark soul, separating it from corruption, making it sensible of its
condition, helping it as it never could help itself, and, in fact,
raising the dead to life.
Nor must we omit to notice further in the mere placing of this
parable between that of the lost sheep and the prodigal son, that
this arrangement seems to be specially suitable, when we think
of the recovery of the lost in these two ways first, as being re-
stored by the power and through the merits of the Son of God ;
and next, as being, in consequence of this meritorious work, re-
ceived into favor by " the Father.' 11 In the very midst of this,
there is set forth in the parable before us, the Spirit's part in this
work. He, by his seeking and finding brings to the lost soul all
the merits of the Son's work. And under the all-powerful stim-
ulus of the new motives thus given the new light thu's bestowed
the new life thus implanted leads the soul to say, "I will
arise, and go to my Father." And this location of the Spirit's
work between the carrying back by the Son, and the hearty re-
ception by the Father, is still more significant when we remember
the terms in which our Lord himself spake of these recovered
ones, in their relation to the Father and to himself " All mine are
thine, and thine are mine," The Father gives them to the Son.
" Thou gavest them me." The Son restores them to the Father :
" To them gave he power to become the sons of God." Now, in
both these gifts the Holy Spirit exercises his love and power, and
is one with the Father and the Son. He finds out, and leads
every soul that the Father gives to Christ, and never tarries until
he has sealed him in his heart and on his forehead as one with his
Divine Master, even the good Shepherd of the sheep. And when
at length the Son shall himself present his chosen ones before
his Father "Behold me, and the children whomthou hast given
me," then shall all these be holy and without blemish by the
192 THE PARABLE OF
same Spirit's work in his sanctifying power, making them meet
to stand in the presence of God and in the kingdom of their
Father forever.
In the great truth which Christ was illustrating the sinner in
fellowship with himself, in other words, with God it was abso-
lutely necessary to give special prominence to this precious work
of the Spirit. Christ had himself declared that " No man can
come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him."
And this " drawing" by the Father, he thus expresses further ;
"Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father,
cometh unto me." Here, then, is the dead soul made to hear and to
learn, and he is thus drawn by the Father unto Christ. Well,
then, our Lord adds, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth." This is
the Spirit's work, and his alone. None but he can thus seek and
find ; but when he begins his work, none can let or hinder it.
He never commences his search without finding the lost, and re-
storing it from spiritual death to spiritual life. And thus the
Apostle embraces, in a single sentence, the work of the Son and
of the Spirit, when speaking of the common ground on which
both Jew and Gentile stand before God in the matter of salva-
tion: " For through him, that is Christ, we both have access by
one Spirit unto the Father." And so the Spirit's work is complete.
The end of that work is the restoration of the lost to glory with
the Father ; and the way by which that end is attained is through
the Son.
And may we not add that there is an individuality suggested
by this seeking and finding which there is not in the first parable.
This, doubtless, appears still more strikingly in the last of the
three parables ; but still it seems to be glanced at in the one before
us. The seeking and finding, in the first parable, has more to do
with man as a race, and with the restored family of Christ, col-
lectively at last. This parable seems rather to point out to us
the individual and personaj discovery of each sinner by the Spirit
of God. The first parable shall find its full realizing when all
the saints of God " are presented before the presence of his glory
with exceeding joy." The second finds its accomplishment every
day wherever and whenever there is a dead soul made alive again
to God born from above, and stamped as an heir of glory. It
is not now added by our Lord as in the former, "Joy shall be in
THE LOST PIECE OF SILVER. 193
heaven over one sinner that repenteth," but, " There is joy in the
presence of God over one sinner that repenteth." Neither does
he say, " More than over ninety and nine just persons which
need no repentance." This special characteristic of the joy seems
to be left as its crowning one, when the whole story of fallen and
restored humanity shall be made known from first to last, with
lall its springs and all its consequences. But in the parable before
us, there is the present joy expressed when one after another of
the family of man is taken out of the kingdom of darkness, and
brought into the kingdom of God's dear Son. The seeking and
finding by the Spirit of the least and the meanest of these, gives
still a deeper and a fuller tone to the notes of joy which swell
from the harps of the heavenly hosts. And there is something
striking in the very expression used "in the presence of the angels,"
before the angels, as if indicating what must indeed ever be the
only source of true joy, either in its commencement or increase
among the holy and happy servants of God above. They ever
look to their King and Father. He is ever before them. They,
never lose sight of him for a moment. They indeed are gloriously
bright, but it is only as they reflect' the glory which shines forth
from the throne of God, and in the house of the Author of their
being. "When, therefore, it is said, "joy in the presence of the an-
gels," may we not say that it means to point out the joy springing
up first in the bosom of the Eternal King, as child after child is
restored to him by the Spirit's power, and then breaking forth
from him so as to fill all the courts of heaven with a fresh flood
of joy, because another jewel is added to the Eedeemer's crown.
Oh ! how thrilling is the thought, as we behold God's work on
earth here and there a lost one found that the throb of the
new lifo in each one of these has been felt in heaven that it has
taken its place arnid the serene joys of the Eternal, and swept
through the harps of the angel-hosts as with the breathing of the
Almighty, thus bidding them to new joy. " Tlicre is- joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."
But while these are the special and prominent points in this
parable, let us not pass over what lies scattered over it so dis-
tinctly as regards the character of the Spirit's work. Surely we
have here exhibited to us " the love of the Spirit." lie seeks and
finds the lost. And this is felt and persevered in, notwithstand-
13
194 THE PARABLE OF
ing all that might be expected to turn him away from his loving
work. From the first man who fell and was brought back, to
the last soul that shall be saved, this loving Spirit never ceases
his earnest and merciful search. No amount of ignorance, dark-
ness or corruption has stayed his progress. He has been grieved
and resisted every day and every hour ; and yet he has not tar-
ried in his diligent search. He has left nothing undone that
could be done to discover the lost one, to bring him into light, to
free him from the pollutions which have gathered around him,
and to give him a name and a place in the kingdom of God.
Nor must we forget that his love is not merely seen in the seek-
ing until he finds ; but when he has found the lost how much
has he to bear in the willfulness and unbelief, the waywardness
and the folly of the sinner whom he has undertaken to lead back
to light, and holiness, and peace ! And in view, then, of all this,
with what force and power the solemn appeals of the Apostle
come sounding in our ears, " Quench not the Spirt." Resist him
not, lest even his love may at length be withdrawn. " Grieve
not the Spirit." Give him no pain or sadness in his great love
for you, for it is he who " seals you unto the day of redemption."
But we have now arrived at the last parable of the three. And
truly, if it may be allowed to compare one parable with another,
or to give the preference to one over the other, where all are
equally good and all equally precious as the words of our beloved
Master, we might say that this parable excels all others. A
German writer has truly said, "If we might venture here to
make comparisons, as we do among the sayings of men, this
parable of the Lord would rightly be called the crown and pearl
of aU his parables. 1 ' 1 *
'' And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of
them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods thatfall-
eth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many
days after, the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey
into afar country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land;
and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a
citizen of that country ; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
And he would fain hav( filled his belly with the husks that the swine.
* Stier.
THE LOST SON. 195
did eat: and no man gave unto him. And ivhen he came to himself,
he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough,
and to spare, and I perish with hunger ! I will arise, and go to my
father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven,
and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son : make
me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father.
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the
son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and in thy
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father
said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and
put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet : and bring hither the
fatted calf, and kill it ; and let us eat, and be merry : for this my son
was dead, and is alive again ; he was lost, and is found. And they
began to be merry.' 1 '' Luke xv. 11-24.
The latter part of the parable must be reserved for distinct and
separate consideration.
It is, perhaps, to be regretted in some respects that this parable
has been generally known by the designation of " The Prodigal
Son." It is very true that this epithet is most just and appropri-
ate. The history before us is truly that of a prodigal son, and
the name has probably originated in what is said of him in his
land of voluntary exile and sin, that he " wasted his substance in
riotous living." Still, admitting the propriety of the epithet, there
are reasons which cause regret that it has become so current, to
the exclusion of that which the parable itself so emphatically
suggests, and which tends to link it so closely with the two pre-
ceding ones. That which is represented as the leading subject
of all the three is the lost soul of man guilty, sinful man. The
great truths concerning this are taught us, first, by the figure of
a "lost sheep," then, by that of a "lost piece of money," and
now, by that of a " lost son." " This my son was lost and is
found." Just, then, as we call the first the parable of the Lost
Sheep, so we ought to call the last the parable of the Lost Son.
And as we proceed in the examination of this parable, we shall
.find how important it is to keep this steadily in view.
But before entering consecutively into the several particulars
of this parable, it may be well to note in general what it so
emphatically adds of important truth to the two which precede,
196 THE PARABLE OF
in the mere selection of the leading part of the illustration. We
have in all these the sheep, the piece of money, and the younger
son the one great lesson taught that man has strayed, has fallen,
has departed from God ; but each of them gives distinct aspects
of this truth ; nor can we have, a right and just conception of
that truth itself unless we make ourselves acquainted with all
three.
Thus, as we have seen in the case of the lost sheep, we are told
that it went astray. The shepherd lost it. Still it is possible to
suppose that it might find its way back to the fold. Nothing in
that image prevents us from making such a supposition. The
sheep that wanders from the fold rnay, with like carelessness,
wander back again. Now, to correct this mistake, which might
possibly arise if the illustration in the first parable remained by
itself, we have that in the second given us. a piece of money.
Here we see the impossibility of man finding his way back to
God by himself, by his own wisdom, or his own power, while,
added to this, we havo the intimation of man's utter nmconscious-
ness of his sad and miserable condition. The sheep may instinct-
ively, feel that it is lost. Man no more feels. this than does an
inanimate piece of money.
But yet there is something lacking here to complete the picture.
Notwithstanding the fullness of truth with which the imagery of
the first, and the second presents us, if they stood by themselves,
they would be deficient in expressing the whole truth as regards
this lost soul of man. Thus in the case of the lost sheep, it
might be said, Why did not the shepherd take better care of it ?
Why did he not see that the sheep should not wander? This
may have resulted from his carelessness. The very language of
the parable might seem to justify such a conclusion : "If he lose
one of them." So also in the second, the loss seems necessarily
to arise from the carelessness of the person who had the ten
pieces of silver. Was it not her fault that the piece was lost at
all ? Now, both in the one case and the other, this possible con-
jecture arises from the very necessity of the figures used ; but
then, if the thing to be illustrated were represented only by them,
might we not be tempted to ask, "Why doth he yet find fault?"
and so charge all the ruin and misery of sin upon God, not man.
Now, it is to meet all such conjectures that, as one reason, we
THE LOST SON. 197
have the parable of The Lost Son. Here there can be no mis-
take, as in either of the former. The sheep and the money might
have been lost by the carelessness of the owners. He is lost by
his own willful transgression and waywardness of heart. The
sheep might have strayed through the neglect of others. He
departed willingly, alienated himself from, his father and his
father's house, because he would not remain, because he would
love and choose something better. Thus we see how important
generally is the addition here made to the illustrations, in these
parables concerning lost man. While, at the same time, it is
obvious that if this parable had stood by itself, it would have
failed in giving us just those very points of resemblance which
are so strkingly and markedly developed in the other two.
Here, then, we have faie voluntary exile, the willful rebel, the
disobedient, lawless child. Here we have loss, desertion, ruin,
misery, and death, but all these brought on and welcomed by
the mad folly of man himself. The address of God to the nation
of Israel in its apostasy may well describe this the great and ter-
rible apostasy of the whole human race : " O Israel, thou hast
destroyed thyself."
And here, too, we find our Lord drawing nearer, and approach-
ing more closely to the objection urged against him, in order to
dispose of it at once and forever. In the two former parables he
had spoken not of receiving sinners, but of seeking and finding
them. But here he specially refers to receiving sinners. He gave
the objection its full weight by the former, while he, by his own
explanation, guarded himself in each by affirming that it was
only the penitent that he meant but now he will meet the objec-
tion fully on its own ground, while he sets forth what that peni-
tence is to which he had so carefully referred.
And just as we have in the first parable the personal work of
Christ in redeeming the lost, set forth, and in the second the per-
sonal work of the Spirit in cooperating with the Son in this great
work, so in the third we have the personal work of the Father,
setting the seal of his eternal approval on the work of the Son
and of the Spirit, one with them in the restoration of the lost,
and one with them in the pure and holy joy at the goodly
heritage thus obtained for the kingdom of God forever.
And as in the parable of the lost sheep we have the stupidity
198 THE PARABLE OF
of the wanderer mostly expressed by that figure, so in the para-
ble now before us, there rises up before us at the very outset his
great and horrible ingratitude. It is not now a silly sheep that
has left the fold and is in danger of death, it is the son of a kind,
a loving, and a gracious Father. The wanderer in this parable
has left not merely security, and run the risk of ruin and death,
but he has left a Father's arms, a Father's house, brought dis-
honor on a Father's name, slighted a Father's love, and squan-
dered a Father's means. It needed this figure truly to represent
in all its malignity and darkness the ingratitude, folly, and wick-
edness of the willful wanderer from God. It needed this parable
fully to illustrate what the relationship between God and man
was, which the latter lightly esteemed and recklessly broke
asunder. It needed this parable by which to show, not only
what the others do the sinner when lost but to trace the path
as he goes downward in all its sad and dark colors, and to mark
the precious blessings he despised, and the high and glorious
position which he forfeited. And as our Lord presents before us
in a figure here, that repentance of which he had only spoken in
his application of the former parables, it was needful that he
should exhibit strongly what it is that, in its whole length and
breadth and height and depth, constitutes man's guilt in inward
thought and outward act, and of which he must become truly
penitent before he can enter into the kingdom of God, or live
once more under the protection and in the enjoyment of a
Father's loved and happy home.
For the clearer elucidation of this parable, it may be well for
us to look at it in three distinct stages of the story as it pro-
gresses. 1. The conduct of the lost son, up to the moment of
his looking back to his home, with a desire to return. 2. His
conduct after this. And. 3. The father's conduct when his son
returned.
Now the first of these divisions of the parable gives us, in a
very remarkable manner, the history in brief of man's fall and
departure from God. No doubt there is meant to be an indi-
vidual application of this by each sinner to himself. Every sin-
ner, who is taught by the Spirit of God, will be able to identify
with himself the description here given of the ungrateful and
erring child. Still, it is important to regard the imagery in its
THE LOST SON. 199
widest signification, as having reference to the departure of man,
the race of man, from God. " A certain man had two sons." Who
the elder cf these sons is, remains yet to b e seen. In the mean-
time we have only to do with the second " The youngest said
unto his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to
me" We are not necessarily to suppose that this request was
made by the younger son with any outward mark of disrespect,
or in a marked tone of defiance to his father. It would be wrong
to regard it as expressive of a rude and insolent manner on the
part of this child toward his father. The great feature evidently
intended to be set forth here, was the pride and self-sufficiency
of this young man in regarding himself as having a right to any
portion at all of his father's goods " the goods which falleth to
me:" as if these were his as much as they were his father's
that there was something in these things by themselves which
made them as much his lawful property as that of his father.
And then, together with this, tnere breaks forth the inner separa-
tion of his heart from his father. He may have preferred his
request with the greatest reverence. Nay, far from asking petu-
lantly what he desired, as if he were conscious of asking what
was wrong, he may have stated his wishes with all outward
tokens of respect, as if demanding only what was just and right,
but out of the whole of his proceeding there appeared the tokens
of a heart already becoming alienated from his parent, because
he thought that by having " the goods falling to him," made over
to himself, he might be partaker of a satisfaction which he never
could enjoy, when he merely received the benefit of them, day
by day from his Father's hand.
And is not this just the sad story of Eden brought home to us
under the simple guise of an earthly parent and his child ? Adam
and Eve did not, in the fatal sin which brought ruin and death
into the world, at once openly and shamelessly fly in the face of
God. They did not approach their Heavenly Father with irrever-
ence or any outward expression of even diminished love. On
the contrary, the course of the temptation proves that they only
sinned because they vainly expected by so doing not to separate
themselves from God, but to make themselves more like God
the very sin of this younger son. They were deceived by their
own hearts and by Satan into the belief that they had a right to
200 THE PAKABLE OF
take of this tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They de-
termined to be no longer in the position of just receiving each
day in Eden what the love and bounty of the Father would be-
stow, but to " put forth" their hand and take something of their
own, and so far act independently of God. The younger son's
wicked ambition was to hold the good's he coveted as his father
held them. Our first parents' godless ambition was to do the
same in other words, to be "as gods, knowing good and evil."
And thus, too, they betrayed in all this how their hearts were al-
ready being separated from God already the process of alienation
had begun the wandering had commenced. They would them-
selves have started with horror if charged with it at the moment,
but, nevertheless, they were losing their love to God. They
vainly and impiously conceived that they could enjoy more satis-
faction in that which was not directly conveyed to them from
God than from what was ; and that a more sparkling cup of
pleasure would be theirs which they themselves presented to
their lips, than any which a father's gentle kindness could give
them to drink.
But we must notice that the expression in the parable is one of
those remarkable links -which bind the parables together, and give
to all in this connection a deeper and more solemn meaning than
either of them separately can have. The words of the lost son
here " Give me the portion of goods which falleth to me" exactly
accord with those of the rich fool in the parable already consid-
ered, when he speaks of " my fruits," "my barns," " my goods."
"Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;" and thus
he, as this younger son, was guilty of the wicked folly of seeking
to "lay up treasure for himself. 1 ' 1 Then, too, these words of the
prodigal remind us of what Satan's work is, as described in
another parable. That which this younger son calls " the portion
of goods falling unto me" which the rich fool equally considered
as his own Satan says likewise that it is his. " He keepeth his
palace, (the human heart,) and his goods are in peace." And then
we have still further, in one of the most solemn and awful of the
parables uttered by our Lord, a single, but, in connection with the
above, a most emphatic glance at the same thing, where Abraham
replies to the deep wail of anguish proceeding from the tortured
soul amid the flames which surrounded him when he " went to
THE LOST SON". 201
his own place," "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receiv-
edst thy good things." Man thought he could obtain and keep a
" portion of goods" apart from God he vainly and foolishly calls
them his own. Satan is the only real, substantial possessor in
this matter ; and when the poor, deluded, guilty soul falls into
the depths of eternal ruin, it has the unutterable misery of look-
ing back to its brief space of life here, with the nominal posses-
sion of things it coveted after, but which have passed away
forever. It has bartered its peace and the love of God for a
moment's foolish and guilty intoxication. It has sold its birth-
right for " a mess of pottage." /
When the younger son made his request to his father, we are
told that the latter " divided unto them his living." In the story
there is implied the patient, gentle, long-suffering of this father.
The father's heart told him what " a heritage of woe" his son was
taking, when he so longed to be " Lord of himself." He did not
refuse him his request, because he would not retain him against
his will, when his heart was wavering in its allegiance, but gave
him what he sought. And thus, when our first parents sought to
be independent of God, and so began that long and evil course
of divided hearts and disobedient wills, God gave them what they
sought. He allowed them to experience what evil is, as they had
already experienced what good is. He, as it were, put into their
hands, at their disposal, things which, as originally from him,
were good, that they might do with them according to the vain
and godless desires of their own hearts, and eat of the fruit of
their own devices. He did not utterly cast them off, no more
than the father in the parable utterly cast off his son. He suf-
fered him to enter on the bitter course of experience he had
chosen; but neither in the one case nor in the other was the
return of the wanderer declared to be impossible. And, even as
we may suppose, it was with tears in his eyes, as with sad com-
passion in his heart, that the father in the parable gave his son
what he burned to possess ; so, also, when our Heavenly Father
allowed our first parents to take what they coveted after, while he
distinctly warned them of the fatal character of the possession,
he graciously spanned the dark cloud of sin, separation, and death
with the bright bow of promise betokening a better day yet to
corne, when one like unto this younger son should roll away the
202 THE PARABLE OF
darkness of sin and restore the wanderer once more to his arms,
and bring sunshine again into the room in his father's house,
which his departure had left empty and desolate.
Such was the first step which man took in departing from the
living God. See how naturally the next followed upon it. " Not
many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and took ^his
journey into afar country, and there wasted his substance with riotous
living" These words bear out what has been stated above, as to
the design in this parable, to show that the first act of the son
was not performed in an openly insulting and offensive manner
to his father. On the contrary, the story evidently implies that
he merely desired to call his own what in reality belonged to his
father, but that in doing so he had no wish to remove himself
from his father altogether. After he had received his portion he
still lingered at his father's house ; and it was " not many days
after 1 ' 1 that he departed. This forcibly illustrates the gradual de-
scent in the guilty path of fallen man. Our first parents little
dreamed of leaving Eden when they first transgressed. They little
dreamed of wishing to be far away from the God who made them,
and had given them all things richly to enjoy ; but their offspring,
the great family which has succeeded to them, " begotten after
their likeness, in their image," wandered as they had not thought
of doing. The evil disease in their nature was working and
bringing forth its terrible and fatal results ; and so man, not satis-
fied with merely seeking his own apart from God, began to shun
his presence altogether, and at length became so completely
alienated from him as to forget, or wish to forget, that such a
being ever existed, and thus, as it were, " gathered all together 1 ' 1
gathered in blind unbelief and reckless ingratitude, all he could
lay his hands upon, "and took his journey into afar country" at as
great a distance from God as possible. We can not but observe
how true to the life this picture of the history of fallen man is.
First, separation of heart from God, the entire forgetfaluess of
God " God not in all his thoughts" until " the fool says in his
heart, There is no God."
Then comes the next step, " and there wasted his substance in riotous
living.' 11 These words do not refer to one species of immorality or
ungodliness rather than to another. They do not mean one flesh-
ly lust more than any other. They include the whole of those
THE LOST SON. 203
things to which sinful, fallen man, has become addicted by his
transgression against God and his willful banishment of himself
from his Father's rule, protection, favor, and love. They mean
total profligacy of character. The lust of the eye, and the lust
of the flesh the depraved, wretched, and degrading passions of
corrupt and corrupting human nature that festering mass which
can yield nothing else than the fatal and disgusting miasma of a
moral pestilence. In these things man has " wasted his substance"
what he coveted after what he never rested till he obtaifljsd
that is, something to spend of his own accord, without his father
overlooking him. All this is wasted. The things of his father,
so good in themselves, are all thrown away, or rather, they are
so abused and perverted, that they have become evil in the hands
of the sinner ; and, instead of being a means of blessing, only
minister to his decay and death. How these words of inspiration
in the real history of the prodigal son, of which the story in the
parable is but a faint image and resemblance, give us at a glance
the whole truth in its terrible and deadly guilt of man's departing
from God, and " wasting his substance in riotous living !" "And
God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil con-
tinually." " And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was
corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 11
Again, we proceed another step in this story. " And when he
had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land ; and he began
to le in want. 11 There is unquestionably an important transition
here in the parable to something still worse than what has gone
before. Some evil of a new character seems to be intimated.
The poor profligate spends all he had. Just as he discovers the
extent of his extravagance, and finds out how utterly destitute he
has become by his own fault and imprudence, a terrible and griev-
OTS famine in the land he had chosen to dwell in meets him, and
he begins to feel the dreadful effects of pinching famine. " He
begins to be in want 11 Now, let us remember, that in the thing
illustrated here, while we have to regard the outwardly godless and
profligate course of fallen man, a prey to his sinful and corrupt
passions, we must not overlook the master evil within his heart
which, through the whole of his rebellious conduct, is showing it-
self in such fearful declension from God and holiness. What,
204 THE PARABLE OP
then, of man's inner feeling in his downward course, is set for.th
by these words of the parable, " When he had spent all, he began
to be in want?" Obviously this man plunged himself into the
corruption which his guilty nature loved. He rushed into every
excess which that nature desired. He took every thing it could
give him apart from God. He drained the cup to the very dregs.
He spent all He was not merely a spendthrift, he was a bankrupt.
He abused the things he called his own so terribly, that he him-
self began to find that they were being utterly wasted and gone.
"He began to be in want" He felt that the independence which
he had so coveted was, after all, a fatal gift ; he began to be in
want of some one whom he could apply to on whom he could
'depend who could protect him, feed him, and give him his good
things still. His solitary independence amid his corruption, was
nothing else than feeling the pinchings of want in the midst of a
famine. He must seek some help out of tliis. He is persuaded
that he can not any longer sustain himself that there is in his
very nature the necessity of dependence and so he looks about
for the supply of this need.
What that is in the history of man, will become apparent as
we go on with the story in the parable. "And he went and joined
himself to a citizen of that country ; and he sent him into his fields to
feed swine" This is the history of fallen man deliberately seeking
out and yielding himself to his new master. He went away from
God, and chose a distant land, in the vain hope that there he
would be as a god. Now, he must learn that he is only a slave.
He does not turn again to his duty. He does not retrace the steps
of his broken allegiance to God ! No ! He can live no longer
without depending on some one stronger and mightier than he ;
but his eye is not toward home, or his father. He has no thought
of leaving the land in which he is. He does not dream of that.
His wishes and his expectations begin and end there; and so jp
the language of the parable, he " went and joined himself to a citi-
zen of that country" " That citizen," says Bernard, " I can not
understand as other than one of the malignant spirits, who in that
they sin with an irremediable obstinacy, and have passed into a
permanent disposition of malice and wickedness, are no longer
guests and strangers, but citizens and abiders in the land of sin."
This is, doubtless, the just view of this part of the parable. The
THE LOST SON. 205
prodigal joining himself to the citizen of the country, is fallen man
giving himself to " fastening," or " pinning himself" upon the
evil and corrupt dweller in the land of sin on him whose abode
it is not only now, but forever who, with his legion of fallen
and corrupt angels, knows well how to lord it over the poor wan-
dering souls of men in that dark and deadly land.
And surely, then, this points us to that feature in the history
of fallen man wherein, after exhausting, as it were, every thing
of evil passion in himself, of daring neglect of God, and deter-
mined disobedience, he turned himself to the still further guilt
and disobedience of idolatry. Instead of turning again to the one
living and true God from whom he had strayed, he made unto
himself "gods many and lords many." He did indeed seek to
conceal from himself what the actual character of this special step
in his guilty progress was. He professed it to be a seeking of
God, a worshiping of the Creator, a depending on Jehovah. But
the real truth of his pretended worship of God was just this he
" sacrificed to devils, not to God." He really and truly trans-
ferred his allegiance to the great adversary who had deceived,
and tempted, and seduced Adam in Paradise. He made him
gods of wood and stone, of gold, of silver, or of brass ; or he
worshiped the host of heaven according to his own whim, or
caprice, or fancy his deceived heart leading him astray further
and further, and giving triumph to spirits of darkness, inasmuch
as by his every act he has now, to all intents and purposes, the
worshiper of the "god of this world" "the citizen of that country"
Pass away for a moment from the parable and its meaning,
and look at the living picture as traced by the finger of inspira-
tion. " Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him
not as God, neither were thankful: but became vain in their
imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory
of the uncorruptible God into an image made like unto corrupti-
ble man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, through the
lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between
themselves : who changed the truth of God into a lie, and wor-
shiped and served the creature more (rather) than the Creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen." Romans i. 21-25.
206 THE PAEABLE OF
In the part of the parable, then, at which we have arrived, we
have the representation of man at a further stage in his downward
progress than when corrupting himself. He has become an idol-
ater. He has installed Satan in the place cf God, and, as far as
he can do it, has placed in the hands of the spirits of darkness the
control of the course of this world. See, then, how the god of
this world treats his victim. " He went and joined himself to a cit-
izen of that country, and HE sent him into his fields to feed swine. 111
When Satan gets the mastery, it is not to elevate, but to degrade
his victim it is not to add luster, but to bring total darkness to
the soul it is not to restore health, but to increase moral and
spiritual corruption, even to the horrors of eternal death. And
thus, just as " the citizen" in the parable contemptuously gives the
wretched prodigal the very meanest and lowest occupation, so
Satan, when once he has his slave in fetters, when once he has
his victim in his toils, drives him at once to the depths of degra-
dation and shame. He feels secure in his possession, and with
malignant and triumphant contempt he plunges the poor lost one
deeper and deeper still into the mire of sin. "And he would fain
have fitted his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man
gave unto him" Our version here hardly gives the full import
of the original. Lazarus, we are told, "desired to eat of the
crumbs which fell from the rich man's table," and we understand
by that that he did eat of them. And so here the prodigal de-
sired to eat of these husks, and did eat thereof. For " no man
gave unto him." No man gave him any thing else. This fare
of the beasts hdd become essential to keep him in life. He
eagerly snatched at it as he best could ; for none, neither the cruel
task-master nor his tyrannical servants gave him any thing else.
And this truly illustrates the sad history of fallen man. His
idolatry, his worshiping of devils under every varied and fan-
tastic form that his own wicked and depraved imagination could
suggest, just plunged him deeper and deeper in the mire and
filth of mere carnality. Look at this as exhibited in one of its
most frightful aspects in the history of Eome under the emperors.
There we see, amid the boasted refinements of that age, man, as
a moral and responsible being, sunk to a level, yea, beneath the
level of the beasts that perish. What a history of swinish lust
and passion is much of that which presents itself to the eye, and
THE LOST SON. 207
makes the heart ache in that period. "All the monstrous luxu-
ries and frantic wickednesses which we read of in later Roman
history, at the close of the world's Pagan epoch, stand there like
the last despairing effort of man to fill his belly with the husks."
" In this light we may behold the incredibly sumptuous feasts
the golden palaces, the enormous shows and spectacles, and all
the pomp and pride of life carried to the uttermost the sins of
nature, and the sins below nature ; while yet from amid all this
the voice of man's misery only made itself the louder heard.
The experiment carried out on this largest scale only caused the
failure to be more signal only proved the more plainly that of
the food of beasts there could not be made the nourishment of
man."
And if from the boasted and so-called refinement of imperial
Rome we turn to the rude and savage barbarians to be found
amid the burning sands of Africa, or amid the vast prairies of
America if we look at the bushmen of Australia or of Africa,
there, too, we find the same type of utter moral degradation as
in the above. Sunk they are, lower than the very beasts which
perish, in both the one case and in the other, with only this dif-
ference, that the moral degradation, the swinish nature, is tricked
out in the one in the fantastic garb of man's pride and folly, and
in 'the other it lies exposed in its native nakedness ; and if we set
the " one over against the other," we shall hardly say that man's
utter depravity and carnal slough is the least disgusting, when
arrayed in the motley of the fool, and bedizened with the gilt
and spangles of the stage.
The following are weighty remarks on the whole of this dark
and gloomy picture, so far as we have hitherto traced it. " He
who would not, as a son, be treated liberally by his father, is
compelled to be the servant and the bond-slave of a foreign mas-
ter. He who would not be ruled by God is compelled to serve
the devil. He who would not abide in his father's royal palace
is sent to the field among hinds. He who would not dwell
among brethren and princes is obliged to be the servant and
companion of brutes. He who would not feed on the bread of
angels, petitions in his hunger for the husks of the swine."*
And here we have reached the second division of this part of
* Corn, a Lapide [Trench.]
208 THE PARABLE OF
the parable which we proposed. We have followed this lost son
in his willful and wicked departure from his father, his home,
and his country, up to this point, when it is said, "He came to
himself" We have now, then, to follow his course from that
time to his once more presenting himself before the father whom
he had left.
And here it is necessary to interpose a remark which ought
not to be forgotten, if we would enter fully into the meaning of
this parable. In the history of the younger son demanding his
portion of goods, leaving his father's house, plunging himself
into godless dissipation, joining himself to the citizen of the for-
eign land, and degraded to be a swine-herd, and to eat swine's
food, we must regard him as giving us a picture of man gener-
ally the race of man, fallen and departed from God. We can
have no just and proper conceptions of what the departure from
God's house of a child hitherto loved, protected, and well pro-
vided for must be, if we confine our attention to individual cases.
We must take the whole course of the history generally. We
must trace its commencement in Eden, and mark its fearful
though necessary and legitimate results in all the unnatural
crimes, the bloody deeds, the unutterable horrors referred to in
the first chapter of Eomans, and staining the history of man with
the deepest and darkest colors. True, each individual who has
thus wandered, if left to himself, would exhibit in his own per-
sonal history all these terrible features, and that infallibly, for
the bitter fountain could only send forth bitter waters. More-
over, if God had not devised a plan of mercy for wandering man,
and in virtue of this had not put the restraints of his providence
and his grace upon him, each one of the race, from Adam down-
ward, would have betrayed an exact and fearful resemblance in
every point to the course of this prodigal. In his career, every
one who has eyes to see, or ears to hear, may perceive what he
might have been, and inevitably would become, unless restrained
by the grace of God, who still has an offer of mercy and peace in
store for him, and willeth not the death of a sinner, but is re-
solved to open a door of hope for him, and at least invite him to
flee from the wrath to come. (Appendix D.)
And thus we see that it is absolutely necessary for us to regard
the downward course of the prodigal as representing to us not
THE LOST SON. 209
the actual personal history of this or that individual of the hu-
man race, but their history in the mass the development and
bringing to light of that evil thing of which they all partake,
and which, in their common history, has blossomed and brought
forth such fearful works of darkness as we have seen.
But now, in the second division of this part of the parable,
namely, the return of the prodigal to his father's house, we must
no longer regard it as having this general reference to the race,
because it is jiot true that the whole race returns to God, nor is
it necessary to regard it as giving the general history even of
those who do return, but of each individual, and for this simple
reason, that each must undergo the steps in this history himself.
He may have been restrained by the grace of God from experi-
encing much in the history of the prodigal hitherto, which yet
truly depicted his fallen nature ; but he must now experience
what this prodigal experienced when he is restored again to his
father's house. The true history of the fall its guilt and its ter-
rible consequences, can only be read off from the aggregate his-
tories of the children of this fallen race. The true history of
paradise regained may be read off from the single personal history
of each one of the children newly adopted into God's family.
The consequences of the former spread over a race, and infected
each and all together. In the latter, every thing that is required
for the whole family is needed for one. The Cross of Christ, his
Spirit, a changed heart, a renewed mind, justification, sanctifica-
tion, all these are not merely the general features of the family,
they are the particular and personal features of each ; and not as
in the former so in the latter, for by natural descent all the hor-
rors of the former are propagated and extended, but in the latter
each stands by himself, that is, it is not his return, his new birth,
kis change, his salvation, which propagates and extends the sal-
vation, and change of other dead souls, such as he himself once
was.
When, therefore, we follow the prodigal on his return, we leave,
from the very necessity of the case, the general view of the hu-
man race in the things illustrated, and compare the story of this
repentant son with the history of each one of those saved ones
for whom the Good Shepherd gave his life, and who, by his
mighty power, are at length safely housed in his heavenly fold.
14
210 THE PARABLE OF
Let us now, then, proceed with the parable. " And when he came
to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread
enough, and to spare, and I perish with hunger /" How significant
and beautiful is the language ! " he came to himself" He had been
up to this time " beside himself"' he had been a fool and a mad-
man, spurning away his own mercies, and making shipwreck of
his own happiness he had mistaken himself altogether he had
fancied that his happiness would be all the greater, first as inde-
pendent of his father, then, as away from under his eye, not to
say control, then in a Strange land, then in riotous living, then in
foreign service. And now he finds out how bitterly he is mis-
taken how miserably he has deceived himself what a madman's
part he has acted. He came to himself. He awakes out of a dream
the vail is rent asunder, and he now sees himself in his true
colors. Then mark the exceeding simplicity and beauty of the
story. Immediately that this mist clears away from his mind,
and he becomes sensible of what he is himself, what kind of man
he is, so different from what he had thought in the day of his
pride and rebel-lion his heart turns to his father's house the
very same moment finds him with self-consciousness of his folly
and guilt, and a wondrous change in his impressions of home
that home, where in his former state he had proudly and wickedly
sought even more than a son's due. Now he thinks of it as com-
pared with his own condition, and the very servant, the "door-
keeper," call forth the longings of his heart, that he might be
even as they. And then comes his resolution, given in words
which, as long as language can be uttered and understood, will
send a thrill into the heart of him who hears them: " I will
arise, and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned against Heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be
called thy son : make me as one of thy hired servants."
Notice this in the above language. In the story in the parable,
we must simply consider the erring child going back to an earthly
parent. "Well, then, mark how deeply he had been taught as to
the nature of his sinful conduct. He does not think it enough
to go back and acknowledge his ingratitude to his parent, and so
seek by that acknowledgment to gain his pardon. He feels the
whole magnitude of his sinful career " / have sinned AGAINST
HEAVEN," as well as u and before thee" His heart began to tell
THE LOST SON. 211
him -what an evil thing and a bitter he had been doing. Sin is
no longer what it was before. It is now before him in its true
colors, as an offence against Heaven, as that which brings him who
commits it into direct antagonism and collision with all that is
holy, just, pure, and good. His language is just as David's,
" Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done evil in thy sight."
He did not feel the direct offence against hjs father less. Far
from it. But he put it in its right place. The "iniquity of
his sin," was first, in that it was "against Heaven," and next,
" before thee."
And now, in turning to that which is illustrated, we may re-
mark, in passing, how the selection of the special imagery of this
parable is seen at this point also to be absolutely necessary for a
full exhibition of the great truth which is the subject of all the
three parables in this chapter. We have already seen that it was
needful to give a just view of human nature as lost. The sheep
might have wandered, the money might have been dropped
through the carelessness of others. As far as these two parables
go, they are both defective in one point. That one point is sup-
plied by the present parable. It tells us, as we have seen at
large, that man departed willingly from God ; that he has been
lost in consequence of his own willful act ; that his " sin (the
blame of it) lies at his own door." And so also in that part of
the parable which we have reached, nothing more is needed to
complete the view given by the others regarding the finding of
the lost than this. If the other two parables had been all the
illustration given, we might have said that the salvation of the lost
was a work with which the sinner had as little to do, in any voli-
tion of his own, as if he were borne, like the strayed one, on the
shepherd's shoulders to the fold, or as a coin lifted up by the
woman when discovered lying in some obscure corner of the
house. And thus these two parables, taken by themselves, would
seem to leave man merely a slave still. In his wanderings he
willingly made himself a slave to Satan. In his return, he would
appear to be made, irrespective of his will, a servant of God.
The parable before us supplies us with what is lacking here.
It shows us in the strongest and most forcible manner, that
the sinner is not saved contrary to his will, but that when he
is saved it is with his will ; that he is not forced back whether
212 THE PARABLE OF
he will or no, but that he is gently carried back when he entreats
and implores to be restored. The shepherd's arm is mighty to
secure his return. The Spirit's light will find him out in the
darkest corner. And he himself will cry out, " / will arise, and
go to my father}' 1 These three things must concur in each con-
verted soul, in each restored, saved, and sanctified child of Adam,
for we must not neglect to notice the importance of the other two,
in the testimony which this, by itself, can not furnish. Here we
have the soul "made willing" but it is in the day of God's power
the power of Christ in furnishing the salvation needed, and the
power, of the Spirit in applying that provided salvation.
And here, then, we have the full and glorious picture of that
which our Lord only mentioned in his application of the former
parables, but which, from the nature of the imagery there em-
ployed, could not enter directly into those parables themselves.
Here is the parabolic image fully, truly given, just on such a
tablet as may illustrate every line in the feature and every
shadow and color in the picture, of " the one sinner that repenteih"
This is true repentance. This is godly sorrow. This is the
turning of the heart back again to God. This is the change of
mind which must mark each and every one of those who are
admitted into the presence of God at last, as dwellers in his king-
dom, and as -furnishing unutterable joy to himself, and to all his
holy and happy servants.
The sinner who will at length be found in heaven owned by
Christ, received by God, and all glorious in spiritual light, has
the very turning-point of his history marked by this " He came
to himself." When the Shepherd met him, and stood face to face
with his poor lost one when the ray of light from the Spirit fell
upon him in his darkness and death then " he came to himself"
he awoke out of sleep out of the sleep of death. Like the poor
man in the Gospel, " once blind," he now " sees." " He has
passed from death unto life." The Spirit has moved upon his
heart and the inner discovery has been made that up to that
moment, to that point, darkness alone had covered it, and
the present experience of it is, that even now, when light has
sprung up, it is "without form and void." A mighty expanse
lies before the awakened sinner, of depraved affection, perverted
thoughts, guilty inclinations, godless habits all these spreading
THE LOST SON. 213
their evil influence on the amazed and perplexed soul. Look at
that Philippian jailer as he " comes to himself" and begins to cry,
" Lord, what must I do to be saved !" and you have the original
of the partbolic painting in this part.
And then see how, with the knowledge of self, there comes
into the awakened soul holy thoughts and longings after God.
O that I knew him ! O that I could be his ! O that I might
dwell under the shadow of his wing, in the secret place of the
Most High ! that I might be admitted into his presence to
behold his face in peace to have him near me otherwise than in
anger to dwell, at least, so dependent on him that I might have
even the crumbs from his table. Yea, "I would rather be a
doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness-."
And then all this follows upon the keen perception of the
worthlessness of all else to supply the cravings of the soul.
What are the former things now ? The husks are understood
now, by bitter experience, to be no true nourishment in the
mighty famine which th'e soul is experiencing. As far as they
are concerned the soul feels, " I perish with hunger" All these
things which "tyeregain" at one time, are now " counted loss ;"
yea, reckoned as the vilest and most worthless refuse. And so
the poor striken one pours forth the earnest purpose formed
within : " / will arise, and go to my father." Already the spirit of
adoption is given. Already he can say, " my Father." He is
now. in the right direction. "Turn thou me, and I shall be
turned," is what has taken place within him, and he has already
commenced in reality to retrace his steps.
What a difference between the opening language in this para-
ble uttered by this son, and that uttered now ! The former, full
of pride, hardness of heart, stubbornness, and rebellion. The
latter breathing humility out of a softened spirit and from a gen-
tle loving heart. Is this the same person? Can this be the
same being? Yea, it is true "He was dead and is alive again"
And all that can be conceived as distinguishing a state of life
from a state of death, is but a faint image of the great and won-
drous change which he has undergone, when ho lifts up his eyes
to heaven, and cries out of the depth of his sin, as it has found
him out, "I will arise, and go to my fatJier, and will say unto him,
214 THE PARABLE OF
Father -, / have sinned against Heaven, and before thee, and am no
more worthy to be called thy son."
But the prodigal was not satisfied with a resolution. He lost
no time in carrying it out. " He arose and came to *his father"
And so, too, the sinner, when once the light has burst in upon
his soul, and he has been taught what he is. As soon as God
"reveals Christ in him," he tarries not with the mere wish or
desire for deliverance. He does not linger in the mire of his
degradation, with this new-born hope and feeling within him.
This he can not do. The new birth of his soul is an all-powerful
thing he has derived from God. It is a new creation which
exerts its own energy, and supplies the mightiest impulse.
" That which is born of the Spirit is spirit," and this will not
abide in fleshly things. It is within him " a well of water spring-
ing up" rising up, pouring forth its living stream, and so he can
not rest until he breathe out, at his father's feet, what has thus
been created in his soul. When the poor guilty child of Adam
has been enlightened by the Spirit and sees its shame, and
descries, though yet afar off, the house and home of its heavenly
parent, and contrasts the light there with its own darkness the
order there with its own confusion the plenty there with its own
want the comfort there with its own misery ; when the vail
drops from the mind, and the curtain rises which has hitherto
screened "the things unseen and eternal," and when all this
presses on the aching heart in the power and force of a true
spiritual change, bringing him to his knees, as he never was
before making him speak the word, "Father" as he never spoke
it before causing him to bow down as Saul of Tarsus did in
Damascus, after Christ had met him in the way, then we have
what the parable means by these simple words, "He arose, and
came to his Father."
And now we are to trace his course, when this penitent child
arose and came to his father. But what of the father himself?
" When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had com-
passion, and ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him" All his child's
ingratitude had not quenched that father's love. The past was
forgotten, and he only saw his poor child laboring and toiling in
his weary way, clad in the wretched soiled garments of his pov-
erty, the iamine mark in his face, and that face now turned again
THE LOST SON. 215
to his own home. This was enough for him. His full heart
overflowed towards the weary wanderer. " When he was yet a
great way off, his father saw him" Had he received some tidings
from the far country of his son's misery, and how he had begun
to exhibit a desire to return home ? Was the father then eagerly
watching the direction in which he knew his son would return
home ? Was he then waiting with all a father's neart to be gra-
cious to his erring child? Possibly the parable indicates this.
When, however, he did see his son yet a great way off, " he had
compassion" He had grieved over his lost one. The pity with
which he regarded him, as he set forth, is doubled now, when he
sees him returning. He knew well what would surely happen to
his child as he saw him go ; but now he beholds him in the depth
of his trouble, weariness, faintness, and misery, and his compas-
sion arises with double tenderness in his heart. " He ran" to
meet him. How exquisite is this touch of simple story in the
parable ! Think of the' prodigal. The last few steps will not
only be when he is wearied with his journey, but just as he
approaches his home, misgivings may arise. "Will my father
receive me ? Even as a hired servant, will he admit me ? What
if I be turned away after all from his door ? It is what I may
justly expect, for it is what I merit, but if it be so, my heart will
break, and I must lie down and die." His loving, pitying father
spared him this. While yet a great way off, his father ran to
meet him was beforehand with him or ever he was aware,
had prevented these thickly-gathering thoughts from pressing
still more deeply on his heart, and without a word, but in the ten-
derness of that silent love, which is often more eloquent than lan-
guage, he "fell on his neck, and kissed him"
And such, then, in its highest sense, is the conduct of our heav-
enly Father when the penitent soul bows down in the new-born
spirit of adoption, and dares to look up and ask itself, " Is there
hope for me ?" When all its sin becomes more manifest as it
draws nearer and nearer to him from whom it has wandered
when it is almost ready to sink down in despair, and feels as if
the hope could scarce ever be realized, of a happy restoration to
its home, tfien does the tenderness of God our Father appear.
Then "his heart is turned within him, his repentings are kindled
together." He has seen and watched all his child's weary and
216 THE PARABLE OF
sad thoughts. He has followed him every step of his spiritual
journey of anxiety, doubt, fear, and kindling hope ; and just at
the time when the poor heart needs it most, He meets his peni-
tent child. The Saviour's words become sweetly realized in that
child's experience "The Father, himself 'loveth you;" and the
heart-searching of him who is now with his face turned Zionward,
is calmed down by these gentle words of reconciliation : "I, even
I, am he that blotteth out your transgressions for mine own sake,
and will not remember your sins."
But see what the prodigal does. This gracious, loving recep-
tion by his Father so unexpected, so undeserved does not
change his mind from its new and blessed condition of repentance.
This abounding goodness of his parent does not quench his pur-
pose of sin-confession. No ! Even with such love as is shown to
him even with his father's arms around him, and the soft kiss of
love and forgiveness on his cheek, he breaks forth into his heart-
felt acknowledgment of his sin "Father, I have sinned against
Heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy
son"
And thus it is with the penitent sinner. The exceeding great
love of his heavenly Father to him, in bowing down from heav-
en as it were, to meet him in making him feel, that on his knees
and in prayer, he has found one close by that he had but a mo-
ment before thought "a great way off," this exceeding great
love, condescension, and forgiveness, just opens his heart still
more as it unseals his lips to cry, " Grod be merciful to me a sin-
ner." That confession which he longs to make without making
which he knows there can be no hope of relief to his soul r but
which fear might have frozen on his lips, and sent him fainting
and wretched away, is made to gush out in warm streams of
lively sorrow by the near and gentle embrace of his reconciled
Father. It is the very conviction of that Father's inextinguish-
able love, the very consciousness that, notwithstanding all he has
done, that Father is waiting to be gracious, exalted to have mer-
cy, and willing to fold to his heart his hitherto rebellious child
it is this which at once brings the confession freely forth to be
poured into the ear not of man but of God, in the close personal
embrace of sorrow on his heart, and forgiveness on the part of
his Father.
THE LOST SON. 217
And yet there is one part of what the prodigal meant to say to
his father which is left out. He did not say, " Make me as one of
thy hired servants" And this does in a very precious manner
touch upon the inner experience of the penitent sinner in the hour
when he has been met by his father and embraced by him, and
welcomed home again. The fullness and freeness of his father's
love make him all the more disposed to pour out the confession
of his sin ; but that very free and full love forbids him regarding
it as less than what the father means. His father's conduct to
him, is that of forgiveness to his child. All the precious words
which the Gospel whispers to the penitent, and wbich the awaken-
ed spirit so fondly drinks in, in the day of his being reconciled
to God, are his own, as one of the children of God, and an heir
of his kingdom. And thus he never thinks of pleading other-
wise now than as a son. His humility is true, and so he bows
down his heart in sorrow for his sin and weeps his bitter tears.
His humility would be false, if with all that his father shows
himself to be, by so many infallible proofs, he should shrink from
the condition and relationship of a child.
And how did the father answer this self-reproach on the part
of his penitent child ? "He said unto Iiis servants Bring forth the
best robe, and put it on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes
on his feet: and bring hit/ier the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat,
and be merry : for this my son was dead, and is alive again ; he was
lost, and is found" The father does not check his son's expres-
sion of sorrow : he receives it into his parental bosom. He does
not forbid the tear : he wipes it away. He does not deny the
misery and wretchedness of his wandering : he takes away that
misery from him. He must go home. He must come in. His
room is ready. But he must enter as his father's child not as a
forlorn, weary, forsaken outcast; and so he calls to his servants
to bring out a robe, the best one ; nor will he forget even a ring,
to put for a special ornament on his hand, and shoes on his feet ;
and thus arrayed, he takes him in rejoicing, and bids the feast be
prepared which shall mark outwardly his joy because of his son's
return, and unite his household with him in the expression of
this joy too. His son had poured his sorrowing confession into
his father's ear, and that was a sacred thing between them both.
But his father proclaims, as it were, upon the house-top, that
218 THE PARABLE OF
which after all was the mainspring and cause of joy and festivity
"This my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is
found"
What a wonderful picture does the parable here give us of
God's dealing with his penitent children ! We can not but see
in the " best robe" of the parable or the "first robe," i. e., not
the robe which the son wore before, for he gathered .all he then
had together, and took them away with him, but the first as the
best we can not but recognize in this robe the righteousness of
Christ which is " of God by faith," " unto all, and upon all them
that believe." The vision which Zechariah saw throws reflected
light on this parable. Joshua is seen standing in filthy garments
before the angel ; and the Lord Jehovah commands that his
filthy garments be taken away from him ; and " he said unto
him, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and
I will clothe thee with change of raiment." The iniquity passing
away from the soul is its " change of raiment ;" and this change
of raiment is the best robe the righteousness of Christ. And
hence the blessedness of the man "whose transgression is for
given, and whose sin is covered."
And here we see how needful the imagery of this parable is to
fill up what is lacking in that of the lost sheep. When the shep-
herd brings back the sheep to the fold, all the change there is
from its condition of being lost, to its condition of safety. That
parable could give no more. It expressly marks the power of
Christ in delivering the lost soul. But this parable shows that a
change must come over the lost before he be admitted again to
his Father's house. The sinner has lost his own righteousness.
That robe has passed away forever. He is now " clothed with
filthy rags." But this is no seemly raiment for his Father's
house. No amount of love or tenderness on the part of God can
ever make it right to introduce his child thus clad into his home.
And so he covers him with righteousness not his own that is,
not of his own providing a righteousness which his great and
good Shepherd has purchased for him by the price of his own
most precious death, and which he has risen again from, the dead
in order tha.t it may be applied to the sinner's soul, making him
to be " freely justified from all things by the redemption which
is in Christ Jesus."
THE LOST SON. 219
This, then, is the robe wherewith the Father covers his peni-
tent child whom he receives. It is the lest robe. There is none
like it in the courts of heaven. The light and unutterable splen-
dor of the archangel's apparel is obscured before the glory of this.
Like the morning star which is lost in the flood of light when the
sun rises, so all other things in heaven merge in the everlasting
glory and brightness of this lest robe. And then mark, it is not
given because of the child's penitence. It is the free gift of the
Father's mercy. It is not even asked for first by the child. It is
offered and bestowed of free and sovereign grace. Nevertheless,
it is given only to the penitent. It was not sent to be worn in
the far country among the citizens and the swine-herds of the
world. It is bestowed on the lowly, humbled, sorrowing, home-
seeking child, and on him alone. Penitence never gained or can
gain this robe but it never is wanting to the penitent ; that as
he goes back to his Father's house, whatever be the shame and
sorrow for sin which wells up within his own stricken bosom, no
shame or sorrow shall ever by his entrance mar the beauty or
darken the light of that glorious dwelling. Christ by his mighty
power bears his lost one through the dangers, and from the foes
which surround him. In the covenant of peace between him and
the Father he lays down his life, and so places in the hand of
that Father the glorious robe of finished righteousness with which
the Father may clothe his recovered -child as he enters once more
into his family.
Then there is " the ring on his hand" The penitent is not only
to receive such clothing as shall not dishonor his Father's house,
and which shall distinguish him as his child, but he must have
an ornament on his hand, distinguishing him in dignity and
honor. This seems clearly to mark the Spirit's work. If it be
merely as an outward token of honor, such as the conferring of a
ring sometimes was, then it marks those spiritual graces which
are the true ornaments of the penitent and forgiven soul ; or if it
be in reference to the habit of sealing important documents with
a ring, and so be intended to signify the high confidence reposed
in the party so honored, it will refer to the promise that the ran-
somed people of God shall become kings and priests unto God ;
or, it may be, that by the mere act of placing the ring on the
hand is meant what is spoken of in the Epistle to the Ephesians
220 THE PARABLE OF
of the " sealing" of believers by " the Spirit of promise unto the
day of redemption."
Then there are "shoes for his feet" "What kind of sandal the
Gospel sandal is, Paul has told us in his Epistle to the Ephesians,
" Having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of
peace ;" and the mention of shoes here seems very strikingly to
indicate this truth, that hitherto the soul has only wearied itself
in its wilderness wanderings. Like the poor prodigal, who, be-
fore he was met by his father, would have his bare feet wounded
and cut with the road he traveled, so the soul has found the way
in which he walked hard, and rough, and bitterly painful. But,
when reconciled to the Father, its walk henceforth is in peace.
It is, as it were, shod with the gospel of peace. Formerly it
walked without God, and no wonder if that walk was sorrow,
pain, and misery. Now " it walks up and down in the Lord,"
and no wonder that it finds the change so blessed ; or, to vary
the metaphor, the soul which was broken down and overwhelmed
under its own burden, when it takes Christ's burden instead, finds
that to be " easy and light."
Then the feast and the joy spoken of in this parable are just
what our Lord explains of the former ones : "Joy in heaven over
one sinner tfiat repenteth"
And now, we may observe how the objection raised against
our Lord's conduct, and which drew forth these three parables,
has been fully and finally met. Met, not on the ground of the
private feelings of those who made it, y\-hatever these might be,
but on the simple merits of that objection itself. Was it right or
not was it holy or not was it becoming or not for Christ to re-
ceive sinners and eat with them ? He has taught us that lie not
only receives sinners, but seeks them out, and that, too, first by
his own personal toil and suffering, and then by the diligent
seeking and finding of the Holy Ghost ; and then he tells us, as
if to mark the truth in the strongest terms which he was explain-
ing, and the explanation of which could alone fairly meet the
objection, that heaven itself rings again with joy, when such
seeking and saving of lost sinners take place. Then he passes
on, and exhibits God the Father receiving the sinner, and taking
him home, and making a feast in consequence, and giving him
not merely a welcome, but one marked by gifts of special grace
THE LOST SON. 221
and kingly favor. And is all this, then, wrong ? Is it inconsist-
ent with the character of God, derogatory to his honor, contrary
to his laws, and tending to confound sin and holiness, good and
evil together, under the actings of mere pity and compassion ?
Nay ; this is not done as saving in sin, but saving from sin. God
has not forgotten what is due to himself, to his honor and glory,
in this seeking, finding, and receiving of the sinner for see how
that sinner comes ! Heartbroken, sad, sorrowing, humbled, pen-
itent. He comes not to hold fellowship with God as a sinner,
but he comes to God to be delivered from his sin forever. He is
weary of it, he abhors it, he loathes it, he longs to be rid of it.
And so, as far as the changed condition of the poor sinner's heart
is concerned, the edge of the objection is turned when Christ was
condemned as receiving him. But besides this, he shows us in
this parable how God not only has respect to the inner condition
of that son which he graciously and lovingly receives, but also
how he has respect to his own honor and glory, seeing he will
not take him to his house otherwise than clad in the best robe,
with a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. What man lost
by his folly he can never regain. But God has magnified his
law, and made it honorable, by providing a free gift for man, at
the cost and by the sacrifice of his dear Son, so that the iniquity
is canceled and blotted out, not at the expense of justice, but of
the voluntary sufferer ; and the reception of the sinner is marked,
not by his trampling on the immutable restraints which encircle
the kingdom of the Holy One, but by his entering by a new and
living way, consecrated into the Holiest of all by the blood of
Jesus. And so the great truth, which requires to be explained
and vindicated, is fully set forth in reply to what was meant to
be and wore the appearance of a plausible objection against the
conduct of our gracious Master. It is now the very diadem of
beauty and of glory that crowns his brow forever. " This man
receiveth sinners, and eateth with them."
But we now go on to consider the last part of this parable.
"Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew
nigh to the house, he heard music and dancinrj. And he called one
of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto
him, Thy brother is come ; and Oiy father hath killed the fatted calf,
because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and
222 THE PARABLE OF
he would not go in : therefore came his father out, and entreated him.
And he, answering, said to his father, Lo, these many years do I
serve thee; neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment;
and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry ivith
my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come,, which hath
devoured thy living with harlots, thou ha^t killed for him the fatted
calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all
that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry and be
glad: for this thy brother ivas dead, and is alive again ; and was
lost, and is found" Luke xv. 24-32.
The detailed and particular description in this part of the
parable, is utterly inconsistent with a mere generalizing interpre-
tation here ; unless, indeed, we would make the parables, which
were meant to give instruction " more abundantly" to the spiritu-
ally taught, nothing better than pretty stories, with some single
truth shrouded and folded in a great and cumbrous drapery. At
the same time, it must be admitted that very considerable diffi-
culty exists regarding this part of the parable. Whom does the
elder son represent?
This question has been answered by some thus : The elder
brother represents the Jew, who murmured at the introduction
of the Gentile within the terms of the gospel covenant to equal
privileges with himself. This explanation, when merely looked
at generally, seems to meet the parable, but is found to be
altogether untenable on a closer examination. " The mystery of
the admission of -the Gentiles into God's Church was not yet
made known in any such manner as that they should be repre-
sented as of one family with the Jews ; not to mention that this
interpretation fails in the very root of the parable for in strict-
ness the Gentile should be the elder the Jew not being consti-
tuted in his superiority till two thousand years after the creation.
The upholders of this interpretation forget that when we speak
of the Jew as elder, and the Gentile as younger, it is in respect
not of birth, but of this very return to and reception into the
father's house, which is not to be considered yet," in the opening
part of the parable. ( Alford.)
This latter objection can not be set aside. But, besides this,
what ground have we for introducing a subject like this, so totally
alien from all that our Lord had then in hand ? What had the
THE LOST SON. 223
introduction of the Gentiles into the Church to do with the objec
tion made by the Pharisees that Christ received publicans and
sinners? Such an explanation is opposed to the whole scope of
our Lord's personal mission, which he himself describes, when
he says, " I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of
Israel" The attempt to make the explanation more plausible,
by supposing that some of the publicans might be Gentiles, is
utterly groundless, and only proves the insuperable difficulty of
such an explanation at all. No Gentiles are spoken of, nor are
heard of at the time, as being within reach of our Saviour's voice,
and the introduction of the subject of the Gentile Church at all,
is altogether improbable. Besides it fails in other essential points
as well as those mentioned above. How can it be that God
should be represented as saying to the Jew, the elder brother, at
the very time when the latter was filling up the measure of his
iniquity, and the blood of all the slain servants of the Lord in
past generations to be required at the hands of that generation
who were to slay Christ, and whose house was to be left desolate
how could he be truly represented as saying to him, "Son, ihou
art ever with me, and all that I have is thine ?" Such language
as this is not only not to be reconciled with, but is totally
opposed to, what is said of the removal, the cutting off, the put-
ting away of the Jewish Church, when the Gentiles were called
in, as it is set forth in the eleventh chapter of Romans. Nay,
more, it is diametrically opposed to the only parable of our Lord
iu which he plainly intimates what would afterward take place,
when the Jewish Church should be lost sight of in the calling in
of the Gentiles. In the parable of the wicked husbandmen, he
refers by universal admission to Jew and Gentile. And in what
way ? The Jews are the wicked husbandmen who slew the serv-
ants sent, from time to time, for the fruit of the vineyard, and
added this greatest crime to all the rest, that when the son of the
lord of the vineyard was sent, they caught him, and killed him,
and cast him out of the vineyard. And our Lord's solemn con-
clusion to this terrible similitude is, that the Lord of the vineyard
will miserably destroy those wicked husbandmen, and will let
out the vineyard unto others, who will render him the fruit in
due season. This was the fearful doom awaiting the Jewish
Church a doom which settled heavily down upon them in that
224 THE PARABLE OF
day of unparalleled ungodliness, when they shouted out, as Jesus
was being led forth to be crucified, " His blood be on us and on
our children."
Now, it is at once admitted that one of the excellences of
Scripture, is the endless variety with which Infinite "Wisdom
places his truths before us. But that is a very different thing
from placing one and the same thing in such a light as to be
absolutely and diametrically opposed to itself. We may have
countless images which, taken altogether, give us large and glo-
rious views of those things which are taught ; but what should
we say to have a series of illustrations of the same truth, which
are in their nature perfectly and entirely incongruous with each
other ? And how, then, can we for a moment suppose that our
Lord, in one parable, would speak of the Jews in the terrible
announcement that they would be miserably dstroyed, and the
vineyard hitherto kept by them given out to others, and yet, in
another parable, represent the father as saying to these same
Jews, in connection, too, with these very successors of themselves
in the vineyaid, "Son, thou art ever ivith me, and all that I have is
thine!" We dismiss, then, this interpretation as most objection-
able, while it will be found that in disposing of another which
can not either be sustained, it has, in common with the latter,
one objection equally fatal to both.
All that has been urged against the explanation which makes
the ninety and nine sheep, or the ninety and nine just persons
which need no repentance, to signify the Pharisees, applies with
tenfold ibrce here. To regard the elder son in the parable as
representing these Pharisees, is to bring in complications into
the interpretation, which render it well-nigh unintelligible. For,
first of all, when the publican was brought back, converted,
made a disciple of Jesus, did this bring him back to the Pharisees,
as well as to his heavenly Father? And when Jesus sought and
found and received a Matthew or a Zaccheus, was there a single
act or word of his which bears the slightest analogy with the
father in the parable going out and entreating his elder son to
come in ? Did our Lord ever speak to the Pharisees, or of the
Pharisees, as those whom he was anxious to reconcile to the fact
of his admitting publicans and sinners to himself? Far from it.
He makes the entrance of these very publicans into the kingdom
THE LOST SON. 225
of heaven an argument for' the sternest rebukes against the
Pharisees for their lack of repentance. And can we forget his
conduct when he sat at meat in the house of Simon the Pharisee,
and the poor woman had washed his feet with the tears of bitter
sorrow ? Did he strive to reconcile Simon to his admission of
this poor lost child into favor ? On the contrary, he made the
circumstance an express occasion for administering the sharpest
reproof to his proud self-righteous host giving him to under-
stand that the conduct of the poor woman ought to be his, and
that for him as for her, there was but one way of being restored
to God's favor, namely, by being found humbled and penitent at
the feet of Jesus.
But further. How is it possible to sustain this interpretation in
the face of the statement made by the elder son, and uncontra-
dicted by the father, " Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither
transgressed I thy commandment at any time ?" Is it credible that
our Lord in a parable meant to introduce prominently and em-
phatically the case of those whom he denounced as those " who
say and do not," could yet give a tacit admission to the fact that
they were really faithful and obedient children ? And still fur-
ther, is this credible, when not only no contradiction is given to
the assertion of constant steady obedience, but when, in addition,
the father declares, " Son, iftou art ever with me, and all that I have
is tiiine T } Such language could only be calculated to mislead
and deceive. If hypocrites and self-deceivers, extortioners and
unjust, proud and self-righteous men, can be addressed thus, even
in the language of one parable, we may well be permitted to say
in another spirit than Pilate, "what is truth," or, "where is
truth?"
And these objections tell with equal force against the explan-
ation which makes the elder brother the Jew. So that, unless we
give up the very pith and marrow of this part of the parable
altogether, we must set aside both these interpretations as fatally
defective in the very point in the story on which it altogether
turns the very hinge of the door which we desire to open.
That there must be a harmony of interpretation throughout
these three parables is universally admitted. The lost soul of
man finds its similitude in the lost sheep, the lost piece of money,
and the lost son. The latter parable does not introduce a new
15
226 THE PARABLE OP
subject. It only places the same subject with which the other two
parables had to do, in a new light. It fills up and completes the
picture representing man as fallen away from God. When, there-
fore, we are told of the ninety and nine sheep which were not
lost, of the nine pieces of money not dropped from the purse, the
elder son who did not leave his father's house, we ought, in all
consistency of interpretation, to look to the latter as filling up an
important part of the parabolic picture of the sheep that strayed
not, and the money that was not lost. Whatever view is taken
of these must be carried on to the case of the elder son.
Now the ninety and nine sheep are said by our Lord to mean
" ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance." And
so we add, the " elder son" in the parable before us represents
"just persons which need no repentance." And what is said of
him exactly corresponds with this. When introduced to our
notice in the parable, he is just returning from the field. His
younger brother's conduct had not influenced him. He is actively
engaged in his proper and fitting employment in his father's prop-
erty. He is able to call his father to witness that he never trans-
gressed a single commandment of his. By his silence -his father
admits the truth of this in other words, admits that he needs no
repentance, and marks his sense of his righteous or just conduct
by telling him that all that he has belongs to this his son who has
never left him, never given him a moment's uneasiness, and who
shall continue ever with him.
Now, in the view we have taken of the ninety and nine just
persons referred to in the first of these parables, we have adopted
the alternative mentioned by Alford, and regard them as repre-
senting those holy and pure beings which retained and still retain
their state of holy, happy obedience, when man fell away ; and,
therefore, as a, necessary consequence, we must regard the elder
son in this parable as representing the same happy and glorious
beings. Nor are we driven to this explanation as one of neces-
sity to be taken in order to give a consistent interpretation of all
three parables, but we adopt it because it just does in this part of
the third parable what is done in other parts that are equally
prominent it adds important material to us for our complete
perception of the case of these ninety and nine just persons which
need no repentance, while at the same time it completes, in the
THE LOST SON. 227
most remarkable manner, our Lord's explanation of the great
truth, that he received publicans and sinners.
In the first parable and in the second, while it was quite easy
to represent joy in heaven over the penitent, by the shepherd and
the woman severally gathering their friends together and bidding
them to rejoice, it was nevertheless impossible to express, in the
imagery of the one or the other, the sentiments which might pos-
sibly exist among t*ne holy and pure beings from the midst of
whom one had strayed, and afterward been restored to their num-
ber. Nothing in this direction could be obtained from the figure
of ninety and nine sheep, or of nine pieces of money ; but the
case of the elder son is one in which these sentiments may find
their just and remarkable expression.
Nor can it be fairly objected to this view, that as the servants
represent angelic beings, the elder son can not represent them
too, seeing that the very nature of those who are so represented
demands this. Angels are servants, in one sense, of their heavenly
King. In another, they are children of their heavenly Father.
It is in the latter relationship that the peculiar sentiments existing
among them must be developed on the restoration of the lost,
prodigal son. And, therefore, there is no inconsistency, but
rather fitness, in the complex figure of servant and son in the
parable representing but one class, namely, those holy and pure
beings who have " kept their first estate." And this is just ac-
cording to our Lord's mode of teaching in other parables. Thus,
in the parable of the ten virgins, we have the five wise virgins
going in merely as friends to the marriage. And yet they repre-
sent, at the same time, the people of God, who are themselves
the bride. And so in the parable of the marriage-supper, the
guests there are the people of God, while at the same time they
are the bride of the King's Son. So here, the servants in this
house refer to angelic beings, and as such, they are'seen to min-
ister to the heir of salvation. The elder son also represents the
same beings ; and he is seen admitting not only into his former
place, but above himself, the once prodigal, but now forgiven
child.
And there is this further to be observed throughout the three
parables. All of them express the joy on the lost one found all
describe it as a festal occasion when the wanderer is brought back.
228 THE PARABLE OF
The shepherd did for his own sheep he had found, what he never
did for the others. The woman rejoiced over the finding of the
one piece'more than she did over those she had not lost. And so,
in the parable before us, this superior joy is indicated in the story
by the special fact mentioned, and to which the elder son point-
edly refers as marking a festivity which had never been exhibited
in his case ; the fatted calf was killed for the younger son, while
the elder never had even " a kid to make merry with his friends."
And thus in heaven there is more joy over the return of the pen-
itent, saved soul, than over those pure and holy beings who never
fell. So that, while in priority of birth, the angels are to men as
the elder brother to the younger, and as regards the actual nature
of each, " man was made a little lower than the angels," and so
in this sense too, second or youngest son in the Father's house, yet
on that day, when not priority of birth, but the special work of
redeeming love shall finally order and arrange the whole house-
hold of God, there shall be given to man what angels never have
had, nor shall have, "to sit down with Christ on his throne." A
marriage-supper shall be spread for him, such as heaven has never
witnessed. And when the Lamb's bride shall appear in all the
glory and the beauty of her marriage raiment, as the King's
daughter and his son's wife, then shall the superior gift of grace
bestowed on the race of man appear, and he who, when created,
was lower than the angels, shall, in his new creation, rise above
them in the glory and dignity of his Father's house.
The difficulties in the way of this interpretation are far more
apparent than real. They may be stated in a single sentence.
How is it possible to supjpose that pure and holy beings, such as"
the angels are, who have never fallen, should not merely object
to the return of sinful man, but should be angry, and at first re-
fuse to admit this wayward one again among themselves ? This
is alone what, with any plausibility, can be objected to the ex-
planation now given. And far from being insurmountable, it
will be found that the very ground on which the objection rests,
furnishes a very remarkable and important confirmation of the
view now taken.
But, before noticing the objection, it may be well just to ob-
serve how in every thing in the parable (keeping out of view for
the present the difficulty now mentioned) the explanation given
THE LOST SON. 229
suits the story. First, the simple fact stated. The elder and the
younger son. Angels first, and then man. Then the contrast
man leaving his first love, and breaking away from God living
at a distance from him, and serving sin and Satan. On the other
hand, the angels those ministers of his who do his pleasure
cleaving to God gathering nearer to him, as the blank is made
by the lapse of the transgressor more jealous of his honor and
glory than before diligent, constant, and persevering in his serv-
ice. While man is in a strange land, wasting his substance with
riotous living, the faithful ones of God are " in the field," caring
for their Father's profit and honor. Then the clear conscience
of the latter, not afraid to have the eye of God on them not
boasting of their own worth any more than Paul boasted of his
apostlcship, but stating the simple truth, and supported in this
by the God of, truth himself. Then his gentle bearing toward
them no wrath on his brow, for these children deserve none.
He has no rebuke for them, no work of forgiveness and atone-
ment to be done in their case ; it is only entreaty, instruction,
information, and guidance and the continued assurance that,
whatever may be the blessings which he is lavishing on his re-
stored and penitent child, their cup shall never have one drop the
less of everlasting joy. All that he has shall be theirs forever, as
it has ever been before.
But now as to the difficulty in the way of this interpretation.
We first remark upon the parable itself, that the conduct of the
elder son, far from exciting surprise or condemnation, ought
rather to be regarded as just the fitting and appropriate filling up
of the imagery of this simple story. We have a father of blame-
less life and character, kind and loving to his children, showing
the greatest forbearance and long-suffering to a disobedient and
reckless son. We have an elder son walking in all his father's
wa yg taking him as his example loving his character cheer-
fully submitting to serve him and to receive all that he had con-
tinually from him to get from him " day by day his daily
bread." Nor is there a word in the parable to show that he did
otherwise than deeply sympathize with his kind parent under the
trying circumstances in which he was placed by the conduct of
his younger son. Nevertheless, he continued to do his father's
work. He would to the utmost of his power sustain his father's
230 THE PARABLE OP
character, and by steady, child-like obedience endeavor to remove
from his father's house the blot which his brother's conduct had
brought upon it. On his return home one evening from the
field, after fulfilling his own work, he is surprised by the tokens
of special mirth in the house. He immediately inquires the
cause. A servant tells him that his "brother has returned ; but
the information goes no further than that he is "safe and sound,"
and that a special honor has been shown him by the killing of
the fatted calf. Is it to be wondered at that, with his ignorance
of the real state of the case, he was angry ? He knew nothing
of what had passed between his father and brother. The mere
fact stared him in the face, that one who had brought such foul
dishonor on his father and his father's house who had broken
the family bond and made his father's name a by-word, should
be received with honor into that house. He had v no reason for
supposing he was different in character from what he was when
he went forth. And yet a special mark of parental favor is
shown him as soon as he chooses to set foot within the house he
had despised and dishonored. Will not this last be worse than
the first ? Will not such a reception as this of a wayward prodi-
gal do more to bring discredit on his father than his first depart-
ure from home could ever have done ? His father hears of his
eldest son's return. He goes out to him. He is perfectly aware .
that what has taken place needs explanation, and that none can
give it but himself. The sight of his father calls powerfully
forth the feelings of the son. He speaks as one in amazement
at the effect of this conduct. He has never transgressed his
father's commandment for a moment. His brother had devoured
that father's living with harlots. And yet the latter is raised in
dignity over the other ! How can he account for this ! What
must be the general conclusion from it ? His father speaks to
him in reply " Thou art my dear son. All that I have is thine.
Do not think that what I have done casts the least slight on the
great principles of child-like obedience which I have ever taught,
and you have ever followed. But ' IT WAS MEET' that all this
should occur when your brother returned. There is righteous-
ness in this act. It is proper, and for this reason not merely
that he is now at home again not merely that he has chosen to
return as he chose to go but because he has returned a changed
THE LOST SON. 231
man. I tell you not merely that the lost one is found, though
that, perhaps, might sufficiently show the change which has hap-
pened, but he is now alive, as he was once dead alive to all the
holy and the pure laws and feelings which regulate my house
which bind me to you and you to me so that my honor, truth,
and justice, are all vindicated by his very return, and the blank
in my house once more filled with increased honor to me and
happiness to you ; so that in this sense too, ' all that I have if>
thine.' " And here the parable closes, leaving it obviously to be
inferred that the entreaty of the father was at once successful, and
that the elder son went in and partook of the joy in his father's
house.
Now, taken as a mere narrative of what might be supposed to
occur in one of the families of man, there is nothing in the con-
duct of the elder son, as stated above, reprehensible, but the
reverse. We behold a young man exceedingly jealous for his
father's honor, misapprehending for a moment his father's con-
duct, but cheerfully acquiescing in it when his father speaks to
him in order to remove his misapprehension.
But in that which is here illustrated can we suppose that
angelic beings would conceive or could express such mistaken
impressions of the conduct of their heavenly Father ? The an-
swer to this is very simple. They needed instruction regarding
God's dealing with his erring ones among men, because Scripture
tells us that they are encouraged to " look into these things ;"
and hence the same Scripture assures us that one of the purposes
of redeeming love to man is " to the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by
the Church the manifold wisdom of God." " Known" to the
angelic beings because they never could comprehend it otherwise
than through this fatherly teaching and, moreover, because the
end of the great Redeemer's work is to " gather together in one
all things which are in heaven, and which are on earth." Now,
if this instruction had been withheld if this needful information
had been kept back, what is there in the nature of angelic beings
to prevent them from regarding God's work in " receiving sin-
ners" unto himself very much in the light exhibited in the
parable? Perfect as they are, they are not infallible. High,
intelligent, and glorious as they are, they have had terrible evi-
282 THE PARABLE OF
dence in their own ranks that these things do not necessarily
prevent a fall. If some among themselves kept not their first
estate, but fell from their lofty position by pride of heart against
Jehovah, is it difficult to conceive that they who remained as yet
faithful if they had been left uninformed on a point involving
the character of their king for unchangeable justice, for love of
truth and holiness as well as mercy, inasmuch as he received sin-
ful men when even sinful angels were passed by that they might
have felt toward God very much as this elder son is said in the
parable to have done toward his father ?
It will then be admitted that, under the supposition that an-
gelic beings had been kept in ignorance of the great principles
which lie at the root and pervade the whole work of forgiveness
to the sinful child of man, they might well be supposed to start
back with horror and anguish at such treatment of the sinner
as would appear to them to confound all truth and falsehood, right
and wrong together, and to sap the very foundations of their
Father's throne ; and this, then, is all that the parable is intended
to convey. Our Lord does not mean by the imagery he has given
us, to tell us that angelic beings actually address their Father in
such language, or actually are angry and will not go in. He
merely portrays before us what it is quite possible to conceive
under certain circumstances might have taken place ; nay, what
probably would have taken place, had not he been pleased to
make known to his angelic creatures the mysteries of his redeem-
ing love, and instruct them in the glorious truths which magnified
his mercy, and yet vindicated his law. " This my son was dead,
and is alive again ; he was lost, and he is found"
That this peculiar usage is by no means uncommon in the para-
bles it is not difficult to prove. Thus, in regard to the murmuring
laborers in the vineyard, there is involved very much the same
principle of interpretation as that now proposed. These laborers
are all true servants of God men who have left their spiritual
idleness in order to engage in God's work, such as Peter and his
fellows, whose question suggested the parable. Do we, then, for
a moment suppose, that when Christ at last shall lavish his gifts
on all his faithful ones, that _ any one or more of them shall be
found murmuring against him? Impossible. "As far as the
parable is addressed to Peter, 'and in him to all true believers,"
THE LOST SON. 233
says Trench, " it is rather a warning against what might be, if they
were not careful to watch against it, than a prophecy of what would
be." And so, just as our Lord warns his disciples against what
might be their conduct if they indulged in certain ambitious de-
sires, he, in the parable before us, shows what the angelic beings
might have ventured to think of God and of his doings, had they
not been taught and instructed so as to see and feel, " Just and
true are all thy ways, thou King of saints."
Another parable likewise furnishes us with a similar instance
of this mode of handling the illustration. In that of the talents,
we are told by our Lord of the servant who received only one tal-
ent, that, when called to account by his lord, he addressed him in
such language as this: " I knew thee, that thou wert an austere
man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where
thou hast not strawed," &c. Now, we do not for a moment sup-
pose that at the day of reckoning with his servants, when the
secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, any such harsh accusation of
the supreme Judge will be made to his face rather we feel, that
the speechlessness of the man detected without the wedding-gar-
ment, combined with the dread horror of the rich man in torment,
will mark the appearance at the bar of judgment of him who has
hid his lord's money. Our Lord puts into his mouth the expres-
sion of what, it may be, he felt on earth, and what he would feel
also when judged at last, did not the light of that day reveal him
to himself. And so in the case before us. Angels would have
judged of God's conduct, even as this eldest son did of his father,
had they not been enlightened regarding God's dealings with the
fallen sons of men.
Again, in the parable of the unrighteous judge, we have God
there presented before us in figure in his dealings with his people.
We never suppose for one moment that his being likened to such
a judge as this implies unrighteousness in him. We see that this
use of the illustration serves to bring out an important view qf
divine truth, and that is all. So, in the parable before us, we do
not for a moment suppose that angels ever addressed God, or ever
will address him in language such as this eldest son used ; but a
most important truth is indicated by the mere supposition that
they might have done so.
Once more, in this parable itself, we know that, in the case of
234 THE PARABLE OF
the prodigal son, every one from among the children of men who
is brought back to God, must regard himself in no better light
than as that prodigal. But, on the other hand, it is never affirm-
ed that each one has passed through all that is described in the
history of that younger son. Each one might have done so, and
would have done so, if left to himself; and so the angelic beings
might, and would, have questioned the conduct of their heavenly
Father, if they had been left to themselves to grope darkly amid
the mysteries of that work which, while it laid hold on the guilty,
yet restored him as a bright jewel to their Master's crown.
The latter portion of this parable, therefore, sets forth before
us what the moral resistance of angelic beings would have been
to the great work of raising the sinner to become a king and a
priest in God's kingdom, had not that gracious Father who de-
vised and perfected his scheme of redemption for the sons of men,
been pleased to enlighten and teach the minds of his pure and
faithful servants regarding those great principles which that scheme
of redemption has alone developed in the kingdom of God, and
by which alone he can be "just and yet the justifierof him which
believeth in Jesus."
And let it not for a moment be supposed that such explanation
as the above is only calculated to furnish us with mere specula-
tive views regarding the condition of angelic beings, without in-
volving any practical result to ourselves. Quite the reverse.
The allusions which abound throughout Scripture to the feelings
and the work of these glorious beings are assuredly not given for
the mere purpose of exciting our curiosity. Nor is the allusion
to them here made for this purpose. The view on which we now
insist tends to meet and rectify an error in the natural man regard-
ing himself, as seen and known by the dwellers in heaven. The
sinner, inasmuch as it is against God that he has sinned, ever re-
gards God as his special enemy. He has no such thoughts regard-
ing the pure and holy beings which surround God's throne. He
thinks of them -very much as of his fellow-men. He lives in no
dread of their anger, and relies securely on their sympathy. He
feels, if he would analyze his emotions, that as far as regards his
entrance into heaven, if there were only angels with whom he had
to do, there would be no difficulty. He would live in no fear of
their shutting the door against him, or excluding him forever
THE LOST SON. 235
from glory and happiness. It is when he turns to Him who is
on the Throne, the King of angels and of men, ,that his heart is
filled with misgivings. It is alone when he thinks of God that
the terrors as of a consuming fire rise up before him, and fill his
soul with agonizing anticipation. Now this parable places in a
very remarkable manner before us what the real state of matters
is, and regarding which the natural heart makes so false a calcu-
lation. Other Scriptures, in referring to the acts of angels, sug-
gest the same lesson. We read of them with flaming swords at
the gate of Eden, standing there to prevent man's return to Par-
adise. We read of one engaged in a dread work of desolation,
when 70,000 of the children of Israel died from pestilence. Who
was it that checked him in his career of judgment? Who was
it that said, "It is enough, stay now thine hand?" We hear of
angels as the reapers of the world's harvest, whose special prov-
ince it will be to gather the tares in bundles to burn them. And
so in the parable before us, we see that if man had had to wait
for pardon and forgiveness from angels, he would have waited
forever. We see from what source it is that the plan has sprung
of redeeming love and pardoning mercy. This is not their plan.
Nay, it is so strange to them, so alien to what they have ever
known before, that they need to be reconciled to it. So that if
sinful man looks up to heaven, and thinks that it is alone on the
throne of God that he can see his adversary, and nowhere else in
the plains of heaven, he is grievously mistaken. Every bright
and holy spirit there is his adversary. If they were left to the pure
and holy zeal which burns in their minds, not one of them but
would bar heaven's gate against him. God alone is his friend.
He alone planned to bring him back as angels never would.
He alone has chosen to "reconcile things in heaven and things
in earth, 4 ' to change the current of angelic feeling, and make
those glorious ones not only willing, but full of happiness at the
restoration of the lost. And thus, too, we may observe, the
condemnation of that grievous heresy by anticipation, in the
Church of Rome, wherein guilty sinners are taught to seek the
intercession of angels with God ! Alas, the true scriptural
view of the matter is, that poor sinners should entreat God to
check the burning zeal of those pure and holy beings lest it
should break forth, and spend itself on the guilty heads of those
236 THE PARABLE OF
who are bringing dishonor on the name and the law of their
adorable King.
But, besides, the explanation opens to us a bright and glorious
view of the character of the joy which fills heaven on the return
of the wanderer. The other two parables speak of the fact of
that joy. This shows us what it is. The loud hosannas that
shall swell throughout the vaults of heaven on that festal day,
when the Great King shall touch the keynote of heaven's great
joy, " Rejoice with me," will not be from the hearts of angelic
beings who are mere partakers of the joy which brightens the
home of their Master. Were this all, their joy would lack one
of its most blessed ingredients. They might, indeed, feel the
sunshine of universal gladness, and be so far partakers of the holy
mirth of a blessed family but it would be as servants " who
know not what their Lord doeth." They might acquiesce in the
general festivity, and understand generally its cause, but this falls
short of what it will be. The joy in heaven will be the intelli-
gent joy of beings whose hearts the Great Father has filled with
all the blessed details of that which causes his own joy. It will
be the joy of sons, with whom the secrets of the house are lodged,
who are admitted to a fellowship with the father, to which a mere
servant would be a stranger, and so their joy will be " unspeak-
able and full of glory." And surely when the believer regards
this glorious prospect as soon to be realized in the kingdom of his
Father, such deep, true, intelligent joy among those who have
never fallen, when they at length receive the ransomed of the
Lord on high, he must feel more than ever the preciousness of
that apostolic word, u Rejoice in the Lord alway ; and again I say,
Rejoice."
And, once more, observe how this explanation gives the full
and final reply to those who desired to condemn Christ because
he received sinners. As regards himself, he glories in seeking,
finding, and receiving the sinner, while he carefully points out
that the restored child must be clad in the best robe before he
can enter his father's house, and have a changed, penitent heart,
before he can be clasped in his father's embrace. Then as regards
others, he tells what effect this receiving of sinners has on them
others, not on earth, but in heaven. He takes the highest
grade of created beings. It is with those who are only inferior
THE LOST SON. 237
to himself that he has to do, and whose sentiments, after his own
regarding fallen men, he is anxious to exhibit. And so he speaks
of the joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. And then
in this last parable, he tells us what that joy is, the intelligent joy
of the elder son admitted to the special confidence of the Father,
and thus he vindicates his conduct as the friend of sinners. He
is so, because while he admits them to heaven, he has atoned for
their guilt, and removed the pollution of sin from them and all
that is holy, and good, and intelligent in his kingdom enter into
his joy, and hail this fellowship between him and his recovered
wanderer as the highest ornament of his kingly diadem. The
mere silencing of the Pharisees, who used these words, " This
man receiveth sinners," is very secondary to the vindication of
the great truth which was involved in the words themselves.
This latter he elucidated. He guarded himself against all mis-
take, and then, " if any man had ears to hear," he left his dis-
course to fall with its full weight of moral condemnation upon
those who had ventured to insinuate in words which contained
real truth, a grievous accusation against himself. The argument,
a fortiori, will here apply in all its force : " If the receiving of the
penitent sinner, as I have laid it before you, be so honoring and
satisfying to God, and give new cause of joy in heaven itself
among the righteous who need no repentance among the sons
who have never left the Father's house, or grieved him by their
conduct for a moment, how ought the mouths of wretched sinners
to be stopped who, themselves rejecting the offer of salvation,
seek to frame an accusation against me for admitting those who
heartily and joyfully close with it !"
We have dwelt at considerable length on these three parables,
because of the vast field of truth over which they extend, and
because of their touching on that all-important stage in the his-
tory of the poor prodigal his return to his father's house. It is,
we firmly believe, in the deep study of these three parables that
we may gain such simple, precious views of this wondrous tran-
sition from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's
dear Son, as shall, by the Divine blessing, guard us from being
led astray by many fanciful theories which man is riot slow to
propound which, on the one hand, invest God with a sternness
altogether foreign to his nature, or with a facility altogether sub-
238 THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SON.
versive of his character ; or, on the other, invest man either with
a moral vigor which does not belong to him, as if he might win
heaven when he pleases, or with such an entire absence of respon-
sibility, as that wherever the guilt of his transgression lies, it is
not with himself.
The tenth Article of the English Church seems based upon the
great truths inculcated in these parables, and, indeed, forms an
admirable summary of them. " The condition of man after the
fall of Adam is such that he can not turn and prepare himself, by
his own natural strengtfi and good works, to faith and calling
upon God. Wherefore we have no power to do good works
acceptable to God without the grace of God by Christ preventing
us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we
have that good will."
CHAPTER II.
THE WIND BLOWETH WHERE IT LISTETH THB TWO SONS THE BARKEN FIG-TREE.
WE now pass on to a brief but very impressive parable of
Jesus, and which very suitably finds its place in connection with
the leading topics of the foregoing chapter.
" The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou nearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is
every one that is born of the Spirit" John iii. 8.
Our Lord's interpretation, as given in the last clause of this
verse, at once places us on firm ground regarding the explanation
of this parable. The work of the Spirit of God in the new birth
of the soul, of which Jesus had just been speaking, and without
which it, can neither see nor enter into the kingdom of God, is
here represented to us under the figure of the wind. The ima-
gery is exceedingly beautiful and instructive. " It is not a violent
wind here, but the gentle breath of the wind and it is heard,
not felt a case in which ' thou canst not tell whence it cometh,
nor whither it goeth,' is more applicable than in that of a violent
wind steadily blowing. It is one of those sudden breezes spring-/
ing up on a calm day, which has no apparent direction, but we
hear it rustling in the leaves around."*
With what exquisite beauty is the Spirit's work thus set forth 1
and with what nicety is the very language, as the above extract
shows, chosen just to express what is required, and no more. If
we walk forth in a calm summer eve, with all nature reposing in
her beauty and loveliness around us every thing may be still
and motionless at first, until, without feeling it even fanning our
cheek, we see the leaves of a tree nigh at hand quivering on their
* Alford.
240 THE PAKABLE OF
branches.* The breath is so gentle, we can not possibly discover
from which quarter of the heavens it has proceeded ; all we know
is that the leaves of the tree are rustling under the gentle pressure
of this invisible agent. Who that has studied God's word who
that has drunk from the wells of salvation, and has witnessed
such a scene as this amid the works of nature, but must have
been deeply touched by the wondrous analogies of nature and
grace? God "holds the winds in his fists," and they breathe in
the gentle zephyr, or stir in the mighty tempest just as he wills ;
and he has prepared them for this set purpose, that they may, by
their agency, supply the very image of that higher agency which
proceeds equally from him, the agency not instrumental now, but
efficient, of his own Holy Spirit.
But mark what the special object in view is in the words of
our Lord before us. He is not explaining the character of the
Spirit's work. He is not telling us what the nature is of his
operations on the human heart, except so far as this may be
gathered in a secondary sense. He has done this when he de-
clared, ;{ Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can
not enter into the kingdom of God." His purpose now is to mark
that Spirit's work in the outward tokens before man of its exist-
ence. He is not so much describing, in the parable, what it is, as
describing the evidence of its presence ; and in this respect his
words are pregnant with considerations of the deepest importance.
If this simple parable had been well pondered over, and calmly
considered in its direct and immediate reference to the great sub-
ject of our Lord's conversation with Nicodemus, there would
have been less room for such antagonistic views as exist of the
meaning of that conversation itself.
Let us look, then, more closely at the figure presented before
us here. If, when standing in the open air, we see every leaf
hang motionless on the trees if every thing around us that, can
be shaken with the slightest breath of wind is perfectly still, we
know and are convinced that the wind does not blow at all.
How mad and foolish it would be to aver, in the face of the self-
evident fact as now stated, that notwithstanding this entire absence
of movement among the leaves of the forest, nevertheless the
wind is blowing?
Here is the first lesson. We have no right to speak of the
THE WIND BLOWING WHEEfi IT LISTETH. 241
new birth as having taken place, apart from the evidence of the
fact. "We may charitably hope that it is so. We may speak of
one or another, as if it were so ; but to affirm positively and
absolutely that this change has taken place, the Spirit's new-
creating energy really applied to a soul in the absence of all out-
ward tokens of such presence, is to fly in the face of the direct
teaching of our Lord in these words, " Thou hearest the sound
thereof" " So is every one that is born of the /Spirit" Unless the
eye mark some heavenward progress unless the ear detect some
of those sweet strains of heaven's new song, which the redeemed
alone can sing, and which the Spirit alone can teach, then we
are but deceiving ourselves and others by the assertion of a
change having taken place, without the least warrant for doing
so ; nay, in direct opposition to the rule here furnished by our
Lord.
It will be seen that this view is altogether independent of
whatever interpretation may be given of the statement in the
conversation, " born of water and of tbfe Spirit." Let that inter-
pretation be that baptism is directly referred to, (which we do
not for a moment believe,) or that the work of the Spirit is as the
washing of water, of which baptism truly is a most significant
sign and seal ; let the one interpretation or the other be held of
Avhat goes before, there can be no doubt as to what is taught here,
that we have no authority for regarding the work of the Spirit
as commenced, otherwise than "by having such evidence of its
existence before us as we are capable, at present, of understanding,
and in some measure, at least, of appreciating. If it would be
the part of a fool or a madman to affirm that the wind is blowing
while all nature lies still in a perfect calm not a leaf waving,
nor a single rustling sound of such movement floating through
the air much more is it both folly and insanity to reiterate loud
declarations, and enunciate strqng convictions of this or that man
being born again, being regenerated, in the absence of any of
those tokens by which alone it is made apparent to us, that the
Spirit has moved upon liis soul, and quickened it into life. Had
any one stood by, and heard a prodigal, as it were, thus thinking
aloud, " I will arise, and go to my father ;" or had any one
watched him as he left off evil courses, and changed the whole
tenor of his life, turning his face Zionward, then he might truly
16
242 THE PARABLE OP
gather, "this man is born again." But what should we say if he
were to affirm this of the same being, when he was still " in the
gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity" while he was will-
ingly abiding away from his Father, doing despite to the Spirit
of grace, dwelling amid the pollutions of the world, a slave of
lust, a servant of sin ! Could any thing justify the use of such
language regarding him ? Far from it. And yet what is this
but the common every-day language of hundreds and thousands,
who absolutely identify regeneration a real, moral change of
nature and heart with baptism tie it necessarily to baptism,
and so speak of all baptized persons as truly regenerate ! Is this
not deliberately to turn away from the solemn caution which
these words of Jesus suggest? Is it not deliberately to falsify
his statement, and read it thus " not so, is every one that is born
of the Spirit?"
It is very remarkable, and most interesting to notice, that the
Evangelist, who records this conversation, seems to have been,
through grace, so imbuetl with this important truth, that when,
many years afterward, he was led to write an epistle to the
children of God, while he frequently makes use of the expression
which forms the central truth in this passage, " born again," he
does it invariably in immediate connection with some one or
other of the precious evidences which spring up, and manifest
themselves wherever that new birth takes place. Thus " every
one that believelh is born of God" " We know that whosoever is
born of God sinneth not." " If ye know that he is righteous, ye
know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him."
" Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world." " Every one
that loveth is born of God" John knew of no new birth, no
regeneration apart from these things. In the course of the short
epistle to which we have just referred, we see how frequently he
alludes to that glorious truth ; never, however, without indicating
one or other of its most precious fruits or evidences. He never
seemed to lose the impression of the words of Jesus, " The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and ihou hearest the sound thereof, but
canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth ; so is every
one that is born of the Spirit." He loved to think and to write
of the Spirit's work ; but it was not in the misty and hazy man-
ner in which modern theology too often presents it, but as a
THE WIND BLOWING WHERE IT LISTETH. 243
living thing seen and heard by its action on the heart, the words,
and the life of the sinner. He rejoiced in the Spirit's work when
he heard the sound thereof, as it stirred the still things into
motion, as it made a shaking amid dry bones, and quickeneth
into life the dead in trespasses and sins. ,
But further, the words of Christ teach more than this. " Thou
canst not tell whence it cometh." " The wind bloweth where it listeth"
" so is every one that is born of the Spirit." As the Spirit pleases,
when he pleases, where he pleases ! This, and nothing short of
this, is meant here. To weaken or modify the force of this, is to
make the language of Christ mean any thing. The words teach
us that the Spirit moves on the soul, not in any way set down
and arranged, so that man can follow and trace this out, but
absolutely independent of all such set and appointed ways. He
moveth as he listeth. He is not tied to the preaching of the
Gospel, nor to the reading of the Bible, nor to the strange and
wondrous providences which befall man. He is not tied to ordi-
nances neither that of baptism nor the Lord's Supper. He that
stands by the baptismal font, and dogmatically proclaims that
every one therein baptized is really and truly changed by the
operation of the Holy Spirit on his heart, proceeding absolutely
from this sacred rite, united necessarily with this sprinkling of
water, is vainly endeavoring to set bounds to that which is abso-
lutely free from all such restraints ; and he would not be so vain
in his imaginings, or so dark in his perceptions, who went forth
at his door and bid the winds of heaven to rise from the east or
from the west according to his pleasure, as he who demands, as a
necessary consequence of his action at the font, the presence of
that mighty Being who fills infinite space, and lives in eternity,
and of whose perfectly unrestrained action our Lord so plainly
speaks here, positively declaring that while we can alone know of
his operations by the evidence produced, even then it is utterly
beyond our ken to discover whence his first breathing arose.
And still further, " Thou canst not tell whence it cometh, nor
whither it goeth." All that is seen as the gentle wind fans the tree
is the waving of the leaf. We perceive that. What has gone
before we know not : what follows after is alike hidden from our
eyes. So with the Spirit's work. When the sinner exhibits
tokens of a new heart a penitent heart a heart made alive to
244 THE PARABLE OF
God, and dying to sin then we see two beings closely brought
together, the one acting upon the other, the sinner himself under
the power and influence of the Spirit, even as the leaf is seen to
move under the^influence of the wind, but we know no more.
"V^Tience came this ? We can not tell. "Whence sprang this holy
influence first ? We can not tell. What shall be the end thereof
whither will he go next? None can tell. As little can we
know which leaf is next to quiver in the breathing of the gentlest
wind, as the pathway of the Spirit, " whither he goeth." We see
him working on one soul, and wonder at the change he is pro-
ducing ; but we must wait" to see similar evidence of that work-
ing on another, before we dare to speak of his having gone from
the one to the other.
But while this brief parable expressly teaches us to know the
Spirit's work only by the tokens proceeding from it while it is
expressly given in reference to what appears before men of that
work, yet does it likewise very beautifully describe one feature
in that work itself on the soul of man. Just as the wind moves
the leaf, and causes it to give forth the rustling sound which
reaches the ear of one standing by, so the Spirit communicates
spiritual movement to the soul. Under this influence, the soul
begins to say, " I will arise, and go." And as soon as the desire
springs up, it is even with that soul as with the young man at
the gate of Nam "He that was dead sat up, and began to
speak." Spiritual movement in the soul, and the utterance and
expression of spiritual life from the soul.
We advance, however, to another parable which will be found
to have very close and important connection with all we have
been considering in this chapter.
"But what think ye? A certain man had two sons ; and he came to
the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He answered
and said, I will not; but afterward he repented, and went. And he
came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I
go, sir ; and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his
father? They say unto him, The first." Matt, xxi. 28-31.
After our examination of the parable of the lost son, we can
not fail to notice the similarity of the first expression in that
parable and in this. " A certain man had two sons" We have
endeavored to show how insuperable the objections are to the
THE TWO SONS. 245
explanation of the former, which regards the elder son as the
Pharisee and the younger as the publican. "We have sought to
prove, that a comparison between these two is altogether foreign
to the scope and bearing of the parable of the lost son, and that
the expressions there used are utterly irreconcilable with it,
unless we do such violence to the plain words of Scripture as will
make it speak any language we please. In the parable before us,
however, we have these very parties expressly and avowedly
brought by our Lord into direct comparison and contrast. His
own application provides the key to the parable. He was, at the
time, addressing "the chief priests and elders" who had come to
him ; or, as they are called, " the chief priests and Pharisees," in
verse forty -five ; and so as he closed his parable, he turned the
whole force of its application on them, " Verify, I say unto you, The
publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of Heaven before you."
Here there can be no mistake as to the characters intended pri-
marily in the parable. The first son is the publican or the sinner.
The second is the Pharisee or the self-righteous man. And this
certainty of application here, materially supports the objection
raised against explaining the parable of the lost son as having
reference to those two classes. Here the Pharisee, when spoken
of, is represented in his true color, in his real character. It is a
home- thrust to his proud, carnal, self-righteous spirit. Is it pos-
sible to conceive that the very same character so clearly and
undeniably set forth in this parable, should be presented in
another, as if he were in every respect a loving, faithful, obedient
child enjoying the favor, and partaking fully and forever in all
the goods of his father ?
And mark the very order here chosen. There are two sons.
It does not say that the one was the elder, and the other the
younger. We are left without any information regarding the
respective places in the family of the two. And this is just what
we might expect when it refers to two classes of persons in the
same nation. There is a manifest impropriety on the face of it,
to speak of the Pharisee as the elder son, and the publican as the
younger. Nothing can justify such an allusion to those parties
as children of their heavenly parent. When they arc to be con-
trasted at all, we are simply informed that they are brothers in
one family. But besides this, while no priority of age is spoken
246 THE PARABLE OF
of here, it is important to notice that the first of the two sons
represents the publican, the second the Pharisee. And it may be
that this very order was selected by our blessed Master that we
might thus have in one parable, where he distinctly refers to
these two parties, a significant hint, that in the parable of the
lost son, he was engaged in no sueh comparison.
And further, observe the emphatic contrast between the descrip-
tions given in the two parables. The eldest son is "in the field,"
actively engaged in his father's work diligent, obedient, and
faithful. The second son, in the parable before us, answers to the
command to work in the vineyard, " I go, sir" but " he went NOT."
The delineation here of those who, as our Lord plainly described
them on another occasion, " said, and did not" is as clear and
unequivocal in the latter parable as it is altogether out of the
question in the former.
But while the publicans and the Pharisees are expressly and
primarily referred to in this parable, we must not forget, that
these two parties are but the representatives of the two great
classes, in one or other of which all are found to whom the Gos-
pel is sent, the message, indeed, of a Father's love, but the utter-
ance also of a Father's command, until they are drawn by the
Spirit of God into the family of God. The natural heart ever
has done, and ever will do, one of two things ; when the com-
mand requires it to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, it will either
rebelliously spurn at the message at once, treat it with indifference
or contempt, or it will receive it in form, not in power, giving an
assent without the heart, and making a profession of obedience
which in works is contradicted and denied.
Now, giving the parable this wide scope in its application, it
teaches some most remarkable and important truths for all to
whom the Gospel message is sent. First of all, it teaches the
absolute necessity of repentance in every case. The first son in
the parable, after contemptuously turning away from his father's
command, yet "afterward repented and went" He repented of
his disobedience of his resisting his father's command. He was
sorry for his fault, and under the pressure of this change of mind,
he went at once about his father's work. The second son is not
excluded from the privilege of working, as far as this parable
goes. The door is yet not finally shut against him. But if he is
THE TWO SONS. 247
at length found side by side with the first son, it must be in the
spirit of repentance also. "Ye" (the Pharisees, the second son,)
said Christ, " wlien ye had seen it, repented not afterward" Up to
that time, they had shown no signs of repentance. They had
seen the publicans and the harlots passing into the kingdom of
heaven before them hastening into tb'e vineyard to work ; but
they " repented not" If at length they shall be found in that
kingdom, and honored laborers in that vineyard, it will only be
on their repentance. If the publican needs this, so does the
Pharisee. The first wickedly and presumptuously disobeyed his
father. The second as grossly disobeyed him, but tried to vail
his disobedience. The same evil thing marked the conduct of
both. They would not, and they did not go ; and the one aggra-
vated his sin of disobedience by the insolence of his refusal, and
the other by the hollowness of an empty profession. This repent-
ance is absolutely essential in every case. The malefactor on the
cross, and Saul of Tarsus, must equally learn that lesson, if they
would inherit eternal life.
But further, mark what this parable teaches regarding this
repentance. It shows us its real character. The father of those
young men had laid his commands upon them to go and work.
The first refused, but afterward repented. He changed his mind
regarding the great duty of obedience. His relationship with his
father appeared now in its true light. He recognized a claim
which he had formerly slighted, and was impelled, under a con-
sciousness of duty, to go and do as his father required. This
change of mind regarding what his father was to him, and what he
owed to his father, could not take place without causing sorrow
of heart for his past disobedience. And this is one view of true
repentance the heart enlightened as to its relationship with God,
the full justice and propriety of God's commandments admitted,
and shame for the disobedience with which these have been met.
The application of the parable by our Lord extends and en-
larges this view. What in the parable appears at first simply
under the aspect of a command, " Son, go work to-day in my
vineyard," is at the close spoken of as " the will of his father"
And this suggests to us a special characteristic in the relationship
between God and man. When God commands man, it is not
merely such a commandment as that if man fails in his obedience
248 THE PARABLE OF
to it he may yet hope to change his Father's purpose in issuing it.
It is his will equally as his command ; and it is at man's peril that
this will be neglected. Nothing but misery must follow such
neglect. No happiness but in submission to it. And here, then,
is another view of repentance. When the sinner truly repents
before God, his mind is altered regarding this great truth. He
had hitherto thought Jehovah very much such an one as himself.
He measured the Infinite by his own puny standard. And so it
was a matter of indifference to him to pay much attention to this
or that commandment, as, after all, disobedience to it might not
involve so very much. But now he knows better. God's com-
mandment is his will, and he now knows that resistance to that
will inevitably perils the interests of his soul forever. His mind
is not only changed as to the propriety of. his fulfilling a duty
imposed on him, but it is also changed so as to receive the con-
viction, that there lies in that commandment such a potency and
immutability of will, that eternal life or eternal death are, and
must be, the alternatives of reception or refusal.
And it is deeply interesting to observe how our Lord, by stat-
ing a fact in the application of the parable, points attention to
another characteristic of genuine repentance : " John truly came
unto you in the way of righteousness, (this was the Father's com-
mand, involving the Father's will,) and ye believed him not ; but the
publicans and the harlots believed him : and ye, when ye had seen
it, (seen those sinners pressing into the kingdom before your eyes
this first son, formerly disobedient, now hastening into the vine-
yard,) repented not afterward that ye might BELIEVE him." The
repentance, then, which makes the sinner aware of the true nature
of God's command, namely, that it is the, unalterable will of him
who changes not, which makes him alive to the fact, that eternal
joy or eternal misery is in that balance according as he receives
with meekness the will, or rejects the commandment of God
against himself, this repentance is nothing else than such a change
of mind as can be best described by what the blind man said
when restored to sight : " One thing I know, that whereas I was
blind, now I see." It is inward sight restored to the soul it is
the vail taken away from the heart it is the evil heart of unbe-
lief changed, and the poor convicted sinner made to cry, " Lord,
I believe : help thou mine unbelief."
THE TWO SONS. 249
And then, further, the words of our Lord suggest a connc3tion
between the great lesson of this parable and that which he taught
to Nicodemus, when he told him, that "except a. man be born
again, he can not see the kingdom of God." He says here,
" Verily, I say unto you, the publicans and the harlots go into
the kingdom of heaven before you." We can not but connect
this expression with what he says in explanation of the above to
Nicodemus " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he can not enter into the kingdom of God." These sinners were
now, with all earnestness and anxiety, " entering into" the king-
dom of God. They were, indeed, " pressing into it," as it were,
"the violent taking it by force." They were then "born again
of water and of the Spirit." This new t)irth had passed over
them ; without this they could not even see the kingdom could
know nothing about it were in blindness of heart and darkness
of spirit about it ; but with it, they had already " passed from
death into life," from " the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom
of God's dear Son." See here, then, just another name for this
new birth ; it is " repentance" change of mind and heart regarding
the commandments and the will of God a change marked first
of all by faith in God where formerly there was no trust or con-
fidence faith so real and living, that it accepts at once and
unhesitatingly all that God says, and bows with undivided wor-
ship to his will ; a change, too, evidenced by a deep and godly
sorrow for the past, and a confession of it from the heart ; yea,
such a confession, as is best of all manifested by forsaking the
paths of disobedience, and becoming careful to honor God in all
things to be in the way of his commandments, to have them
written on the tablets of the memory, and performed as a delight
and privilege.
This it is to be " born of water and of the Spirit ;" and see,
then, how this parable speaks in similar language to that recently
considered, where the work of the Spirit is compared to the wind,
which, without being seen as to whence it comes or whither it
goes, makes itself known by the effects produced. Here we have
" the sound" which all men may hear when the Spirit works in
the sinner's soul, and makes him a child of God regenerates him.
He grieves for his sin acknowledges it ; he repents he walks
henceforth, not by sight, but by faith ; and, as an evidence of all
250 THE PARABLE OF
this, which every one may perceive, he goes to the vineyard of
his father and works as zealously as he had before neglected that
work rebelliously. Again, therefore, we have a solemn warning
not to speak of the Spirit's work as having been begun, until that
work has made itself known in the outward bearing and conduct
of the sinner. Shall we say of such as the first son, when he
insolently disobeyed his father, that they are nevertheless regen-
eraje, because under the outward protection of the house, and
within a saving means of grace ? Can we for a moment venture
to apply the epithet ol new birth to such as he, in his contumely
and sin ? or shall we talk mysteriously of the seeds of regenera-
tion being sown but not appearing ? God forbid. Secret things
are known alone to him ; and it is impossible for us to know any
day when or how he may begin, and either secretly or otherwise
carry on his operations in the heart ; but this we do know, be-
cause all Scripture plainly testifies to it, that we are not entitled
to speak of any man, be he baptized or not be he an outward
member of a church or not be his communion in all its outward
arrangements regular or not, we are not entitled to speak of
him as born again, except we see evidence that he has " repent-
ance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ ;"
unless he " repent," and " bring forth fruits meet for repentance."
Unless there is such evidence as this, no matter what his external
privileges may have been, or are, and no matter whether his life
be openly wicked, or his conduct formally devout, as far as we
can see, he is "in the gall of bitterness and the bond of ini-
quity."
There is another touch given here in the application of this
parable which must not be overlooked. " The going into the
kingdom of Heaven" in the application, is the " working" in the
vineyard in the parable, and the going or entering in, as we have
seen, is just in other words such repentance as means faith in
God, sorrow for sin, and a return to obedience. Our Lord there-
fore identifies a real living faith with working in the vineyard
no barren principle no such gift of grace, such as when a man
has received it he will henceforth "continue in sin," but the very
opposite. It is so vital, so potent, so convincing, that he who has
it must be " not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work." It
is a foul slander on evangelical truth to affirm that the faith it
THE BARREN FIG-TREE. 251
*
professes leads to Antinomian carelessness and sin. This is not the
faith which Paul preached and which we have received. The man
who abides in his sin, continues in disobedience, refuses to work
in the vineyard, has not the faith of the Gospel though he may
affirm that br has. If true ' faith existed in him at all, it would
" purify the neart," " overcome the world," and " work by love."
No man can have this faith within him and be unfruitful no
man can possess this gift and leave it idle and useless. Faith is
the work of God ; it is his gift, and he has produced it within the
sinner's soul, and his very first, as it ever afterward becomes his
ruling and pervading motive is, " Lord, what wilt thou have me
to do ?" Let this lesson taught him never be forgotten. When
the Jews asked Christ what they "should cfo" to "work the
works of God," he replied, " This is the work of God, that ye
believe on him whom he hath sent." He thus bound faith and
work together : let no man put them asunder. Faith is in the
highest sense work; because it will not suffer idleness in the
vineyard of the Lord. It makes a willing workman, not a boast-
ing one a loving child, not a terrified slave.
We proceed to consider another parable which will not unsuit-
ably follow this just reviewed, containing, as it does, most solemn
reproof and warning, and that, too, directed from such a point
of view in divine truth as will enforce the lessons which have
passed before us.
"He spake also this parable: A certain man had a Jig-tree planted
in his vineyard: and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found
none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these
three years I come seeking fruit on this Jig-tree, and find none : cut it
down ; why cumbereth it the ground ? And he, answering, said unto
him, Lord, 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" Luke xiii. 6-9.
What may be called the text of this discourse of the Lord is
found in the verses immediately preceding. " Or these eighteen
persons on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think
ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem ?
I tell you, nay ; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
Jesus did not by these words, of course, mean that the impeni-
tence of those whom he was addressing, if persevered in, would
252
be followed by an exactly similar judgment, namely, the fall of a
tower upon them ; but merely that just as judgment overtook those
because they repented not, so surely, also, would it overtake
them if they continued in their impenitence. And it is this
word, " except ye repent" which forms the key-note to the parable
now before us. The barren fig-tree, at length to be cut down as
a cumberer of the ground, is just a representation of all those
who continue in their sin, and refuse all the entreaties, and scoff
at all the warnings of God.
And thus we observe that this parable gives us, as it were, the
opposite side of the picture from that which we have just con-
sidered. Or rather, perhaps, it would be more correct to say
that it solemnly closes the lesson begun in the former. In the
parable of the two sons, we see true repentance at work the
disobedient child breaking off his evil course, and becoming con-
formed to the will of his father ; while, as regards the other son,
we see the door, as it were, yet standing open for him. The en-
trance to heaven may still be gained. He has the example of his
brother before him. He may yet repent, and be as that brother
a loving and obedient child. But what if he do not repent I
"What if he continue in disobedience ! What if notwithstanding
the summons to work in the vineyard, he stand the whole of the
day of grace idle f What if he continue faithless and unholy,
unwilling and disobedient ! The parable now before us supplies
the answer and supplies it, too, in a manner terribly significant.
" Then, AFTER THAT, thou shalt cut it down"
"A certain man had a Jig-tree planted in his vineyard" It is not
an uncommon thing in the East to see fig-trees in the vineyards
and our Lord thus alludes to what was frequently before the eyes
of his hearers, to illustrate the important truth in hand. We
would not exclude a reference to the Jewish nation generally in
this parable, but it is only secondary and remote. " Those
eighteen" seem to give an individual turn at once to the whole
discourse of Jesus. And, besides this, the vineyard here spoken
of, must in all consistency of interpretation be regarded accord-
ing to the inspired comment given in Isaiah, " The house of
Israel." It has been strikingly remarked by Alford, after affirm-
ing that the vineyard does not mean the world, but the house of
Israel and the men of Judah ; that " the fig-tree planted in the
THE BARREN FIG-TREE. 253
vineyard -among the vines (a common thing,) denotes an indi-
vidual application fixing each man's thought upon one tree, and
tbat one himself just as the guest without the wedding-garment
in Matthew xxii." And it may be added, that the language of
the parable is very significant in speaking of this fig-tree. It is
not said that the qwner of the vineyard, or the vine-dresser, planted
it. They permitted its being there, in the vineyard, but neither
the one nor the other are said to have placed it there. All that
is said is, that a certain man possessed a vineyard, in which there
was a fig-tree. In truth, the close of what is said in this parable
regarding this tree can alone show by whom it was planted. If,
when toil and labor had been spent on it, it became fruitful, then
it would be seen to be a " tree of righteousness, the planting of
the Lord" But if all efforts failed, it would be seen to be none
of his planting, and when it was cut down, and cast out of the
vineyard, it would prove that " every plant which my heavenly
Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up."
The vineyard, then, in the parable is the visible Church of God,
limited to the " house of Israel" in the former dispensation, and
embracing all the nations of the earth in the latter. But who is
the owner of the vineyard, and who the vine-dresser? Some
think that the Father is the owner, and that the Son is the vine-
dresser, and that it is by the intercession of the latter that more
time and opportunity are given to the barren fig-tree. But this
does not appear to be satisfactory, nor to meet the various details
of the parable.
It is better to take the parable found in Isaiah v., as our guide
to the right interpretation of that before us now. There we find
Jehovah himself speaking by the mouth of his prophet, and in
his own name. " Now will I sing to my well-beloved, a song of
my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vine-
yard in a very fruitful hill," &c. Such language on the part of
Jehovah can bear but one signification. In this " song touching
his vineyard," he is speaking to his Son his well-beloved Son
his only-begotten Son, " in whom he is well-pleased." And he
speaks to this son of a vineyard which belongs to him. " My
well-beloved hatii a vineyard," &c. In that parable, then, it is ob-
viously the Son of God who is to be regarded as the possessor of
the vineyard. And yet, even as in the protection and safety of
254 THE PARABLE OF
the sheep, " the Father and the Son are one ;" so there, while the
son is spoken of as the owner of the vineyard he " hath a vine-
yard," Jehovah, the Father, speaks of it as his also "Judge* I
pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard." And thus as the Son
of God is in a special sense "the 'good Shepherd," though both
the Father and the Son guard the sheep, that they perish not, so
likewise, although the Son of God is in a special sense the owner
of the vineyard, yet the "wild grapes" it produced was a loss sus-
tained equally by the Father and the Son.
We infer, therefore, that the owner of the vineyard in the par-
able now before us, is not primarily the Father, but in a special
manner the Son, the " well-beloved" of Jehovah. In the parable
of the wicked husbandmen, who for a season had charge of the
vineyard as servants, there seems an approximation to this view.
There the son is called " the heir," and the husbandmen reasoned
that if they could succeed in putting him out of the way, the in
heritance would be theirs. Well, in this parable, we have the
heir in possession, though in such sort only, as can be conceived,
when the word is applied to the eternal Son of the everlasting
Father. His entering into possession, does not rob his Father of
his right, but only ministers to his glory ; for " all mine are thine,
and thine are mine," and " all things that the Father hath, are mine."
The expressions in the parable fully justify this interpretation.
The owner of the vineyard is represented as " coming" to his fig-
tree, seeking fruit thereon. This is language peculiarly appropri-
ate to the Son of God, " coming to his own." When the father is
specially prominent as the owner, he sends his son for the fruit.
When the son is specially prominent as the owner, he "comes" of
his own accord seeking fruit. And then at the close of the par-
able, when allusion is made to the cutting down of the fig-tree if
it continue barren, it is the owner who is to do this. " Thou shaU
cut it down" And this is what the Father hath given to the Son
to do. To him is not only given " all power in heaven and on
earth," but specially "authority to execute judgment also, because
he is the Son of man." " When the Son of man shall sit upon
the throne of his glory," he will be manifested in the awful dis-
charge of this great trust, on " all nations gathered before him,"
even as he is represented in the parable as inquiring after the char-
acter of one individual in his outward Church, and ready to cut
THE BARREN FIG-TREE. 255
him down, if lie abide unfruitful. And surely we can not but see
that our Lord's symbolic action in the case of the barren fig-tree
which he passed on his way to Jerusalem, gives the key to this
parable. There the Son goes to the fig-tree, if haply he may find
fruit thereon. He finds none. He says, " Let no fruit grow on
thee henceforth forever," and "presently the fig-tree withered
away." This is just the opening and the close of the parable be-
fore us. The intercession and the work of the vine-dresser are
not seen in that parable action of Christ but his own action is
very distinctly made known. He comes seeking fruit on the fig-
tree, and finds none. And if the barrenness continue, it is his
voice which will condemn it as a cumberer of the soil, and leave
it to wither and be destroyed.
Then as to the vine-dresser. With the son as the owner of the
vineyard, we can have no difficulty in at once regarding the
vine-dresser as the Holy Spirit. And this is not only according
to the analogy of the faith, but it exactly accords with the kind
of work implied in the name. Thus while it is true that the
Church belongs to Christ, yet it is by the work of the Holy
Spirit, his diversities of gifts and operations, that she is made
meet and prepared to be presented unto Christ at the last. And
then as to the special figure used, there can be nothing more in
accordance with the teaching of Scripture than the name and
office here ascribed to the Holy Spirit. Thus in the Old Testa-
ment Church, in the vineyard of old, we see numberless servants
engaged as workmen in it. Holy men of old, servants of the
living God, toiled, and labored, and spent their strength in that
vineyard. But who was the one great and all-pervading agent
that wrought all their works in them ? Who but the Holy
Spirit ! They only spake or acted Moses, Samuel, David, and
the rest, as they were moved by him. Their work in the vine-
yard was only under the immediate direction and control of this,
the great vine-dresser. And so also in the New Testament
Church. The apostles and teachers of the Gospel of Christ, and
all who have ever either publicly or privately sought to promote
that Gospel for the salvation and the sanctification of man, are
servants and laborers in the vineyard ; but each and all of them
are energized in their work, and directly sustained and blessed
in it, only by the presence and power of this heavenly vine-
256 THE PARABLE OP
dresser. It is only because of his gracious work and sovereign
mercy that all the fruit in the vineyard has not been from first to
last as " wild grapes." If in any one individual in the Church
there has ever appeared, or ever will appear, one manifestation
which is acceptable to God, that is alone by the efficient working
of this gracious Being. He it is who by countless providences
of mercy and of judgment, by unceasing appeals to the conscience
and the heart of man, has striven with him, and shall continue to
strive till the day of the revelation of all things, when his work
within shall be revealed, even as Christ's work for his people
shall be made clearly known, and justification by the merits of
the Son be crowned forever by perfect sanctification through the
power of the Holy Ghost.
And now let us see how striking the parable becomes with
this view of the owner and vine-dresser. The Son hath done
every thing he can for his vineyard. What could have been
done more? He is justified not only in expecting fruit, but
much fruit. He is represented as coming for this purpose, to
see with his own eyes, as it were, whether the fruit is as abundant
as it ought to be ; and he finds one tree in the vineyard utterly
barren. He calls to the vine-dresser, and demands that it be at
once cut down, even as a cumberer of the ground. The vine-
dresser intercedes for the tree, "Let it alone for this year aZso." " You
have borne with it for a long time : well, try it yet once again,
another year. Meantime I will exhaust all my skill upon it : I
will do every thing that lies within my power, and if, when you
return, you find fruit appearing, you will have your reward ; but
if not, then cut it down."
Now at first sight, when we hear of the intercession here
alluded to, we are disposed to think of the intercession of Christ.
Nor can we think of that too much. But it is not the interces-
sion here spoken of. The intercession of Christ is that of a great
high priest before the throne of God. It is the intercession of
one who has approached through such precious, meritorious
blood-shedding as must be heard. It is the intercession of one
who there pleads for pardon to poor sinners, even those given to
him in the covenant of peace by the Father, and for whom he
chose to die. The intercession here is of a totally different char-
acter. First, there is nothing meritorious or vicarious in its
THE BARKEN FIG-TREE. 257
character. Christ pleads above because he died in the room of
hJS"pCCpIe. The intercession before us is that of mere entreaty.
It is an appeal to pity and compassion, not to justice. Again,
the place where this intercession takes place is in this world,
within the bounds of the visible Church of Christ on earth,
where barren trees are found mingled with the fruitful. Christ's
intercession, on the other hand, is in heaven. Again, the inter-
cession represented in the parable may or may not have a happy
and successful issue. There may be fruit brought forth, or bar-
renness confirmed. But the intercession of the priest above is a
prevailing one, because he is the propitiation for the sin before
he is the advocate for the sinner.
We are brought, then, to this point. The intercession here
represented in the parable by the vine-dresser entreating a delay
before the fig-tree be destroyed, is none other than the interces-
sion of the Holy Spirit. An intercession not in heaven but on
earth. An intercession not of merit but of pity and compassion.
It is the Holy Spirit striving with man, surrounding him with all
his holy influences, interceding in his behalf in the very place of
his disobedience and barrenness, for another and another season
of trial and probation. Our Lord himself gives to the Holy
Spirit this very name, " Intercessor." "We translate it in the
English version " Comforter ;" but the latter is the secondary
meaning of the word. Doubtless he is the comforter of God's
people ; but it is by his being their intercessor first. And how
remarkably does the apostle Paul set forth this special office and
work of the Holy Spirit in his Epistle to the Romans : " Like-
wise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities ; for we know not
what we should pray for as we ought ; but the Spirit itself mak-
eth intercession for us with groanings which can not be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of
the Spirit, because he maketh intercession according to the will
of God."
"We behold the Spirit here, therefore, in the highest depart-
ment of his most gracious work, making intercession in the heart
of God's people for their growth in grace and increase in fruit-
fulness. It is he that wings the prayer, and breathes the sigh
that rises from the heart of the believer in Christ, and enters into
the ear of the Lord of hosts. And when the poor penitent cries
17
T
258 THE PARABLE OF
out, " Spare me, cast me not away," " send me not forth from thy
presence," it is the Spirit himself who makes that intercession,
and whose still small voice has mingled with the cry of the faint,
and weary, and burdened soul. And just as he intercedes for
the saints according to the will of God, puts into their hearts de-
sires which God will satisfy, so for those who are still barren or
unfruitful he ceases not to interpose delay, and to seek another
and another year, if so be that at length the owner of the vine-
yard may receive an abundant supply of fruit from what hitherto
had yielded none.
But has he always continued to intercede without setting limits
to that intercession? Has he no limits to his intercession for
individuals? Will there be no limit to his intercession, as the
day of this dispensation is drawing to its close? These are sol-
emn inquiries ; and solemnly does the book of God reply to
them. When the flood was about to ingulf the former world,
when the hand of vengeance was just about to be lifted up to
strike, we are emphatically told that Jehovah himself declared,
" My Spirit shall not always strive with man." A time was at
hand when that Spirit would ask no more, and when that time
came, the world then existing was destroyed. And "as it was
in the days of Noah, so also shall it be in the days of the Son of
man." The Spirit of God will not always strive then, even as he
ceased his striving before ; and when that striving ceases, there
shall be a visitation of judgment and fiery indignation such as
this world has never seen before. Then, too, as regards the
Jewish nation, as long as the Spirit strove with them judgment
was withheld ; but when he ceased to strive, when, according to
our Lord's affecting words, "the things which belong to their
peace" were " forever hidden from their eyes," because " they
knew not the day of their visitation," and suffered the Spirit to
strive in vain ; " always resisting the Holy Ghost," even as their
fathers had done ; then sudden destruction fell upon them, and
their house was left unto them desolate.
And so what is true of nations, or of all the inhabitants of the
earth collectively, is true of individuals ; and the parable sets this
forth to us. Each man to whom the Gospel is preached, is as a
fig-tree planted in the vineyard. If he bear fruit, well ; but if he
is barren and unfruitful, why is it that he is not at once cut down ?
THE BARREN FIG-TREE. 259
The intercession of the gracious, loving Spirit has warded off the
blow. A little longer time is granted. A further trial is given.
Some more efforts are made. Nay, all such efforts are exhausted.
But if all fail, the Spirit intercedes no more. He has done his
work. He has waited, and pleaded, and striven, but in vain ; and
so he departs. He leaves the soul alone, and the end of that is
desolation and destruction.
And I can not but believe that we have here brought before
us, under the simple and plain teaching of this precious parable,
what, when regarded by itself, as expressed dogmatically by Christ,
has ever appeared dark and mysterious, and has also often been
the cause of great perplexity and anxiety to the children of God.
" Whosoever shall sin against the Holy Ghost, it shall never be
forgiven him, either in this world or in that which is to come."
It has been generally considered that what our Lord alludes to in
these words is some one special act of sin ; and thus many anxious
and fearful ones, who, with fear and trembling, like the poor
woman, hardly dare to touch, as it were, the hem of their Mas-
ter's garment, are not unfrequently tortured with dread, lest they
may have committed this unpardonable sin, and so all their hopes
be vain, and their final exclusion from the kingdom of God inev-
itable. "The principal misunderstanding of this passage has
arisen from the prejudice which possesses men's minds owing to
the use of the words, ' the sin against the Holy Ghost.' It is not
one particular act of sin which is here condemned, but a state of
sin, and that state a willful, determined opposition to the present
power of the Holy Spirit."*
The sin against tho Holy Spirit, then, would appear to be just
the continuing in a state of willful resistance to all his efforts.
He, as the vine-dresser, will use all appliances. " He wiU dig
about 11 the roots of the barren tree loosen its hold on the world
by trials and other means supply all that he sees and knows to
be suitable, and which, if received, would issue in fruitfulness ;
but if, after a set time, known alone to himself and the owner of the
vineyard if after this set time no fruit appears, then he gives it
up. He lets it alone. He leaves it in its barrenness to be dealt
with as it merits to be cut down and cast out of the vineyard.
And so, when he has thus given it up, when he thus ceases his
*Alford
260 THE PARABLE OF
exertions, the whole course of sinful resistance, which is now at
an end not because the sinner has yielded, but because the Spirit
intercedes* no more is truly and emphatically one great sin
against the Holy Ghost. The barrenness of the fig-tree, when
the owner of it first came, was sin against himself, because it ought
to have borne fruit even then. But it was spared spared by the
intercession of the vine-dresser ; and if that availed not, he had
nothing farther to say. " Then after THAT thou shall cut it down"
And this sin has, and can have, no forgiveness in this world or in
the world to come.
And this, too, clears up the mystery which has often been
attached to this declaration, as if there was something peculiar in
an act of sin committed against one person in the Godhead, ren-
dering the transgressors more guilty thereby than by any sins
committed against the other persons. For, in reality, the unpar-
donable sin against the Holy Ghost, includes sin against the
Father and the Son. It is but the close and winding up of every
kind of resistance and transgression against Father, Son, and
Spirit. Thus, when man fell from God, he broke away from his
Father and sinned against him. His transgression, however, did
not shut up the tender mercy of that Father from him. The
door of mercy was left open. Nay more, the Father so pitied
his lost one, that he sent his Son into the world to suffer and die
in order to deliver him. And how was this gift received ? The
Son himself was cast out of the vineyard, and by the hands of
wicked men crucified and slain. But did this, evenj avail to dry
up the spring of divine mercy and loving-kindness ? Did all this
terrible sin and ingratitude against the Father and his Son quench
the love borne to the children of men ? Far from it. Both
Father and Son send forth the Holy Spirit, that with his unceas-
ing, willing labor in the vineyard, he may call in and seek out
the poor, wayward, wandering sheep of God's fold. But this is
all they will do. Beyond this there is no other effort. The
Father's commandment has been broken the Son's love slighted;
but when the Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son,
works, and works in vain intercedes for time, and yet the tree
continues barren then there is nothing else to be done. He who
has cast away this mercy, who has sinned away this grace, has
done despite to this Spirit, until he shall strive no more, has also
THE BARREN FIG-TREE. 261
" trampled under foot the Son of God," and cast himself against
"the bosses of the Almighty's shield." His sin is not merely
against the Father, for his sending his Son proved that that might
be forgiven nor against the Son, for the sending of the Spirit
proved that forgiveness might be extended to that also ; but it is
" against the Holy Ghost," and as such is but the summation of
his guilt against the other persons in the Godhead ; and when its
limit is reached, and he is left alone, then truly there is no hope
for him, either in this world or in that which is to come.
And we must not omit to notice, that this sin against the Holy
Ghost this long-continued and persevering resistance against the
work, and in spite of the intercession of that Spirit may justly
receive its special stamp and character from the closing effort on
the part of the Spirit, and the final resistance on the part of the
sinner. Thus with Judas his whole attendance on our Lord was
a ceaseless striving on the part of the Spirit, and a continued re-
sistance by him against that striving. His long career of sin
proceeded, and at length reached its climax. The moment ap-
proached when he was to be left by that Spirit, and suffered,
without further effort, to pass on and "go to his own place."
And when, therefore, at the table with his Master, he took the
sop from the hands of Jesus, and instead of falling down and in
deep penitence confessing his purposed sin, he went immediately
out ; that act, might, in its special significance as the crowning
one of a long series of such sins be called "his sin against the
Holy Ghost." And so when the Pharisees contradicted and blas-
phemed when, notwitstanding all that was done in their favor
and on their behalf, they " did always resist the Holy Ghost,"
even as their fathers had done when, in the face of some of
Christ's most glorious miracles those evidences of his divine
authority and mission they dared to ascribe all these to the
agency of Satan, then He who saw the heart and knew the actual
condition of each soul, perceived that they were on the very point
if some had not already passed it of sinning away the inter-
cession of the Holy Ghost that the Spirit was at that moment,
it may be, ceasing to strive with their sinful souls, leaving them
to themselves : and so that godless blasphemy of theirs might
well, in its special significance as the crowning one of all their
guilty resistings be designated their " sin against the Holy Ghost"
THE PARABLE OF
And this brings down the statement of Jesus regarding this sin
very close to every man. We have not now to wonder what the
nature or character of it may be whether it may or can be com-
mitted now, or whether it was a sin that could only be committed
in the age when Christ sojourned among men. It is a sin which,
specially in this dispensation of the Spirit lies close at every
man's door. Every man who continues to shut his ear to prom-
ises and warnings every man who gives no heed to the things
pertaining to his salvation every man who continues to give his
heart, and life, and time to the world, notwithstanding all that is
urged upon him in the way of providence and the pleadings with
him by means of grace every such man is in imminent danger
of falling under this terrible condemnation. Over him, as in the
parable, the Spirit may be pouring out the supplication, ''Let it
alone this year also" and if that period pass by, like those which
have gone before, then that very Spirit which now intercedes
will plead no more. " Then after that thou shalt cut it down." The
" after that" may be long or short as regards present existence
the " life that now is ;" but in matters not, the "cutting down"
must come at length inevitably come ; the sin against the Holy
Spiiit has been committed, and this world or the next affords no
place for repentance unto salvation, but only such repentance as
made Judas rush to his Aceldama here, and the rich man wail
forth his misery in the place wherein God has forgotten to be
gracious.
How terrible is the thought ! It may be, another idle word of
godless unbelief another broken Sabbath-day another indulg-
ence of gross, carnal sin another neglect of a solemn appeal to
conscience another hardening of spirit against some sad and
powerful providence and the die is cast, the limit is reached and
passed over the Spirit strives no more. The unpardonable sin
is committed. The wretched sinner is cut off, and that " without
remedy" Alas I what a revelation will that be at the last, when
so many professing Christians who have gone down to the grave,
in the spiritual slumber which so sadly characterizes a large por-
tion of the visible church with only a name to live will be
found to have sunk down under the weight of this deadly, unpar-
donable sin. The Spirit's work of forbearance, intercession, and
love has failed, and so wrath has fallen upon them to the utter-
THE BARREN FIG-TREE. 263
most, and the terrible condemnation pronounced by him whose
every offer of mercy they have slighted, " They stall not enter
into my rest."
One thought more is suggested by this parable. The love of
the Father is evidenced by his sending his Son, and his not spar-
ing him. The love of the Son is evidenced by his freely offering
himself, "Lo, I come to do thy will," and never ceasing until he
had drained the cup of bitterness to the dregs, which his Father
gave him to drink. The " love of the Spirit" is evidenced by his
daily and hourly strivings with the thoughtless and impenitent
sinner by his arresting his attention on the one side and on the
other, patiently and perseveringly giving him "precept upon
precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little," and by his
interceding for further time, that he may yet again and again strive
with the obdurate and hardened heart that has so repeatedly and
shamefully despised him. See, then, what love is rejected when
the Spirit is finally grieved to take his departure from the soul,
and all his living influences quenched forever as regards that
soul. What love is cast aside and contemned! Truly in its
height and depth and length and breadth, it "passeth knowl-
edge." And no wonder, therefore, when the wretched sinner
reaches the last point of merciful forbearance, and finally resists
every appeal of such love, springing, as it does, from the depths
of the heart of the eternal Father, consecrated in the blood and
by the passion of his dear Son, and ceaselessly brought nigh and
offered by the Holy Ghost, that the terrible doom shall press
intolerably upon him forever, " He hath joined himself unto his
idols, let him alone" He is beyond forgiveness in this world and
in that which is to come.
Then, reader, pause and consider, that when the Spirit's love
has been recklessly slighted, and he has ceased his striving, the
day in which the terrible consequences of this shall appear, will
be specially marked by the presence of the Lord of the vineyard
once more not now as one who gave all he had in order to
purchase the vineyard and reclaim it from desolation and ruin
not now as one who may be, for yet another year, induced to pause
in his final decision but on the throne, with the books opened
before him ; and the very hand that was nailed on the cross in
redeeming love, will fall with resistless, terrible weight on the
264
THE PARABLE OF THE BARREN FIG-TREE.
barren fig-tree, as the voice of him, whose gentlest whisper is
love itself, shall be heard, " Cut it down, why cumbereth it the
ground?" Ah, wait not for that day, in order to " come to your-
self" and "repent" and " work in the vineyard." Such waiting
will be fatal. You will discover when too late, "the harvest
past, the summer ended, and yourself not saved." " Now is the
accepted time, now is the day of salvation."
CHAPTER III.
THE BBOAD AND N.IRROW WAT THE MAN BUILDING A TOWER THE TWO KINGS
AT WAR.
THESE parables speak solemnly to us of the soul's history.
We see what must take place if the lost be found. He must
arise and go to his Father ; and this he does because he is " born
again" of the Spirit, whose work is as the "wind which bloweth
where he listeth ;" and his repentance, too, is of this character,
that his mind is changed regarding his father's authority, and his
own disobedience, and he turns again to his father, not to be dis-
obedient and idle, but lovingly to submit himself and to " work
in the vineyard." We have likewise seen the fearful peril he
thus escapes, the terrible alternative which alone lies before him.
If he arise not if he repent not if he believe not if he work
not, then inevitably he will be cut down as a cumberer of the
ground.
And we now, then, go on to notice some details in the inner
history of the soul, when it is passing through the experience of
the young prodigal, as he resolved to arise and go to his father.
The first of these will be aptly set before us by the following
parable :
"Enter ye in at Oie strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is
the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many tiiere be which go in
thereat : because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which lead-
eth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matt. vii. 13, 14.
The similitude here is very simple 'and very beautiful. A
traveler is supposed just to have arrived at a point where two
ways branch off from each other. He has reached the very spot
where, as he can not go back, he must deliberately make his
266 THE PARABLE OF
choice of one or other of them. He looks on them both, and the
one presents attractions to him, while the other repels him the
one is broad, and apparently easy and pleasant to walk upon
the other is narrow, and manifestly rough, and difficult, and
tedious. The one is terminated by a wide gate through which
he may pass with the greatest facility the other has a strait one,
through which he will find it hard to pass, if he get through at
all. Moreover, as he looks at the first, he sees that obviously it
is the favorite path of the great number of his fellow-travelers.
He beholds them going in one after another in goodly bands, and
the voice of mirth and gladness, " the harp and the viol, the
tabret, and pipe, and- wine," are with them. But when he turns
to the other, he sees it comparatively deserted only a few strag-
glers on the road no such sounds mark their progress as proceed
from the multitude on the other. He is not near enough to be-
hold the expression of their countenance ; indeed, they are before
him, so he can not discern that yet; but, as far as he is concerned,
being about to make the choice, there seems to be nothing pleas-
ant or agreeable in joining that little feeble band. He is just
about to follow his inclination, when the thought flashes across his
mind after all, am I sure that the broad road is the right one ?
Pleasant as it appears to me now, what is the end of it ? If,
after all, it should lead me away from home, and not to it,
what loss to me ? Just as he hesitates, one stands by him and
tells him, " Enter in by that gate, strait though it be go by that
way, narrow though it is shun that other way, for it leads to im-
minent peril. This narrow way assuredly will bring you home."
Now, this is just what the poor prodigal has to do this is the
choice which presents itself before him, as in the land of his exile
his thoughts begin to stir within him thoughts of home which
he never had before desires which he never felt before, until
the poor conscience-stricken sinner says, " I will arise and go to
my father." Instantly the conflict begins. As long as it was
within his own bosom, agonizing as the reflections may have
been which the Spirit has called forth to humble and to prove
him, they are yet known only to himself and to God. But now
he must " arise and go to his father" he must take his stand
he feels he must return he can not remain any longer away
he must set foot upon the road ; and so at once he is brought to
THE BROAD AND NARROW WAY. 267
the spot where the two ways diverge the broad and the narrow
way.
It is then that the world pleads both forcibly and plausibly.
The awakened sinner is not arrested in his determination to be
on his journey far from it ; but then there is just such a path
as the world approves of offered for him to walk on. He is
tempted toward it by every feeling in the natural heart which
yet lingers within him. "What the world says to him is just in
accordance with the whispers of his own heart. The poor prodi-
gal who has risen up from the pollution into which he had fallen,
will find many specious reasons furnished to him from without,
and responded to from within, why he should go as the great
number of people around him are going. He will be told that
God has not placed him in this world to lead a life of asceticism
and gloom ; that God is not honored by a melancholy and dull
religion ; but that while all religious duties ought to be attended
to, and Heaven kept in view as the end at last, there is no reason
why there should not be much enjoyment by the way. Innocent
amusement and pleasure are right and good, and should be freely
used. And then the great body of pilgrims on this path of
worldly conformity and empty profession is eagerly and triumph-
antly pointed out. Surely it is enough to see so goodly a com-
pany for the sinner to cast in his lot with them. Surely he can
not suppose but that such a multitude as that is must be right.
They surely can not be lost. If they were but a very few, it is
possible to suppose this ; but so many ! They can not all be
wrong ! And why, then, should he be different fj-om them ?
why make himself appear strange ? why have the character of
being particular, and ridiculed accordingly ?
These temptations press - on the awakened sinner's soul on
every side. They arise from those very quarters which have
always hitherto received his implicit confidence. Learned men,
men of the world, men universally esteemed by their fellows,
shrewd men, " wise in their generation" those, too, of his own
household the wife of his bosom, it may be the children whom
God has giver him, perhaps a father or mother a brother or
sister a husband any of them, or all of them together, may be
urging him to take that path which leads home, as they say, but
in which he may, at the same time, be "conformed to the world,"
268 THE PARABLE OF
and living in "the course" of it. How terribly potent these
temptations are no one can tell but those who have passed
through them. Alas ! how many at the day of judgment who
will then " seek to enter in and not be able," may charge home
their choice of the path which leads, notwithstanding all its fair
promises, " to destruction" on those nearest and dearest to them
here!
Then, we must not pass over the " gate" in this parable. The
one is " wide" and the other is " strait." It suggests to us that
the greatest difficulty in the choice, when the sinner reaches the
point where he must deliberately go on the one way or the other,
lies at the commencement of the path. Had there been no gate,
he might have slipped in unobserved ; but to get through this
" strait' gate will inevitably draw down upon him the attention
of the world, its rude and scornful gaze, and its bitter hate, and
this, too, at the very outset. If he does choose the narrow path,
the first step is through that "strait" gate. Is he prepared for
this? Nature shrinks and is ready to faint the heart turns
anxiously to the broad way friends, relations, all encourage it
thither. Oh, then, for one among ten thousand to be at hand to
help ! Yes, when the poor prodigal has arisen, his whole natu-
ral desires may lead him on to the path which is so tempting to
him ; but the Spirit which has lead him hither tells him that the
end thereof is death. Has he not breathed that loved word "fa-
ther f" Has he not thought again of his home, and risen for the
very purpose, in order that he may go home ? Then, if he pass
in by the "wide gate" and go along "the broad way" let him be
assured no father will be found at the close of that. No. There
" hell enlargeth herself without measure."
But, on the other hand, let him take his stand at once. Even
as Christ is the " door" of the sheepfold, so is he this " strait gate"
Let him see to it, that without any hesitation, he at once identify
himself with this precious Saviour. Boldly and unreservedly let
him press on, and pass in. Let him deny himself and take up
the cross.
" Master, I would no longer be
Loved by a world that hated thee."
And though he be reviled and despised, hated or persecuted^ let
him gladly and cheerfully endure it all, because his Master went
THE BROAD AND NARROW WAY. 269
through all, and much more, before him. Then let him plod on
by the narrow way, enduring hardships as a good soldier of the
cross. He will find as he proceeds difficulties becoming less. He
will experience how different it is patiently and perseveringly to
walk in the narrow way from standing aloof, and being terrified
and offended by the difficulties it presents. He will find the
" crooked made straight, the rough places plain." He will find,
in fact, that by walking in that way, he so learns Christ, who is,
indeed, "the way, the truth, and the life," that every successive
hour in his company relieves him of another burden, brings light
to his eye, and elasticity to his step, while, from time to time, he
catches a glimpse of the home whither he is going, giving him
the assurance that he is in the right path, and causing him, even
in the narrow way, to breathe forth his deep songs of joy. He
finds, too, that although there is not that noisy tumult which
marks the broad road, and which is neither deep nor lasting, there
is pervading the pilgrim band on the way " a peace which passeth
all understanding." He needs to be on the road himself in order
to perceive it ; but when once there, he knows by his own expe-
rience that it is indeed such a peace as "the world can neither
give nor take away."
Let it not, then, be supposed that conversion to God implies
what is easy or pleasant to flesh and blood. It is not merely a
longing thought of heaven a sentiment of devout desire to be
there to be safe through the storms of life, and quietly admitted
into the haven at last. It implies a decision at once on the part
of the awakened sinner a decision to be made in the face of the
world, in opposition to it, and in spite of it a decision involving
self-denying, mortifying, and crucifying of the flesh. It implies
a coming out and being separate, a simple faith and a single eye,
" choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than
to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a. season;" and "esteeming the
reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt."
This parable, then, stands, as it were, before the eyes of every
child of Adam, whose heart is stirred within him who feels that
he durst not stand still that he is passing on from time to eter-
nity, and that an eternity either of joy or misery. It stands by
the roadside of his pilgimage, and at the moment when solemn
thoughts pass through his mind when anxious emotions trouble
270 THE PARABLE OF
him, it urges on him at once the choice, " Enter ihou in at tJie strait
gate."
We must just briefly notice in passing, the use which our Lord
makes of this same figure in reply to an inquiry of the disciples :
"Lord, said they, are there few that shall be saved?" A vain
and curious inquiry, with which they had nothing to do ; and yet
one to which all mankind are specially prone. All of us will
much rather speculate than believe. We are far more ready to
discuss than to receive and to look on than go in. Eeader,
guard against this. To stand where the two ways branch off,
and instead of making the solemn inquiry immediately urgent on
yourself, "What shall /do?" to begin to make curious and un-
suitable inquiries as to others to be merely watching how others
go, and what others do to occupy your precious time thus, is
already to have a leaning to the "wide gate" Your danger is
imminent. Your own salvation may be compromised while you
are speculating about that of others. And so listen to the earn-
est word which our Lord attached to the admonition as given in
Matthew, when he would reprove such conduct. " Strive, he
says, to enter in at the strait gate." "Agonize to enter in." This
is no time or place for such idle, perverse curiosity. Your life or
death are trembling in the balance. Go now, or it may be too late.
Tarry a little longer indulging in these idle imaginings, and you
may find the door shut, and all effort to enter utterly in vain.
"Strive" at once to enter in. Contend earnestly as one who strug-
gles for his life. Put forth all your energy, all your strength.
Exhaust your every resource, for the issue is eternal life if you
enter, but " weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth" if you
are shut out.
But when the penitent is led to " arise and go to his father,"
and when he finds at the very outset that he must make his choice
between conformity to the world, or separation from it walk
with the multitude, or by his faith, " condemn the world," when
he must openly and avowedly take his journey with Christ, in
distinct and declared antagonism to the world which crucified
him ; let it not be supposed that when he passes in by the strait
gate, and begins his journey on the narrow way, all that is re-
quired of him is to be certain that he is right, and the path he
now pursues is one leading home to his father and to happi-
THE MAN BUILDING A TOWER. 271
ness forever. This alone will not suffice for him as he enters on
his pilgrimage. He must not only be sure that he is right that
he is on the way home, but if he would walk therein, as a child of
his heavenly Father, as a subject of his heavenly King, as a dis-
ciple of his heavenly Master, and overcome its difficulties, tri-
umph over its obstacles, lift cheerfully its many crosses, bear its
numerous trials, and have its bitter waters made sweet and
refreshing to his taste, he must, as he enters on it, " count the
cost." He must not rush into it blindfold, with a strong impul-
sive feeling, as transient, it may be, as superficial ; as destitute of
root as it is likely to be scorched by the first thing which tries it.
He must not go headlong on his journey, as if the first step se-
cured all the rest, and he had nothing to do but to go in, in order
to go on as if, now that he had a mind to proceed by that way, it
was as good as passed over. No, he must look well to what he
is about he must gird up the loins of his mind he must see to
his armor that it be well and tightly buckled on, for the contests
before him are to be waged with a foe of terrible strength-, and
unequaled cunning, and the pilgrim who safely reaches the end
of his path, has his song of triumph equally divided between the
praise he owes to his master for putting him into the way, and
what he owes to him for carrying him in safety to the end of it.
Now mark, therefore, how our Lord guards us in this respect,
and by two very striking parables, gives us to understand how
we must take heed not to boast ourselves when girding on our
armor, as if we were taking it off. Here is the first of them.
"For which, of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first,
and countelh the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest
haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not alile to finish it,
all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build,
and was notable to finish}" 1 Luke xiv. 28-30.
This parable of our Lord was delivered by him under circum-
stances which must have made it most significant to his hearers.
He had been speaking of the necessity of showing mercy and
kindness to the poor, when one who heard him cried out,
" Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God."
This at once gave occasion to our Lord to utter the remarkable
parable of " The Great Supper." Those who heard him, seem to
have been much impressed by it. Probably their minds as usual
272 THE PABABLE OF
adopting a specially carnal view of our Lord's words. However
the impression was so great, and for the moment they were so
attracted to Jesus, that " great multitudes" went with him. -And
then it was that, as we are told, " Jesus turned and said unto them,
If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and
wife and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life
also, he can not be my disciple." And then immediately followed
the parable just quoted.
Jesus perceived the state of heart pervading this " great multi-
tude." They were under a slight and transient impression.
Their following him pleased and gratified them for a moment, and
they probably thought that they would very gladly continue to
be his disciples. He then at once turned to them, and solemnly
warned them, that discipleship was no easy thing. It was not so
pleasant as they were disposed to think. He would not have one
follower otherwise than as he was thoroughly alive to all that he had
to do, and to suffer, all that he had to bear of self-denial, reproach,
shame, and even death itself. Unless he was prepared deliber-
ately and honestly to face all these, he could not be Christ's disciple.
These words, " if any man hate not," &c., form the theme as it
were of the parable now before us. Their meaning is very ob-
vious. No one for a moment supposes that our Lord meant abso-
lutely that they should hate their relations. His whole life and
teaching, his conduct to his mother when he was on the cross, re-
fute such a notion at once. Yet it is interesting to observe how
our Lord with infinite wisdom, even by the words themselves,
guards himself against possible misconstruction. For he says not
only, " if any man hate not his father and mother," and so forth,
but "his own life also" To know what he means by the hate in
the one case, we have only to consider what it can mean in the
other. Obviously, then, what he means is this, that true disciple-
ship implies a readiness on the part of the disciples to give up all
for Christ. If one or another dearly cherished object stands on
one side, and Christ on the other, we must not hesitate to choose
the latter. The very love we bear to the former constitutes the
trial. "We love them not the less, because we can not go with
them ; but we love Christ more, and can not but take up his cross
to go after him. Yea, this may be to the very death. He may
require this at our hands, and we must be prepared to yield it.
THE MAN BUILDING A TOWER. 273
This is in one point of view " the counting of the cost 11 spoken of
in the parable, and what every one must do who would not end
in misery himself, and be the object of mockery before others.
All this must be deliberately considered and well weighted and
calmly adopted, by him who would " run with patience" in the
" way that leadeth unto life."
Consider the parable briefly. A man about to build a house, if
he is wise, will be careful what he is doing. He wishes to have a
house in which to shelter himself. But if he spend all he has to
spend on the foundation, and be utterly unable to finish the build-
ing, he is a fool both ways. He has not succeeded in what he set
about, and he has squandered means in a profitless undertaking.
No wonder if he be the laughing-stock to those who pass by.
No ; his first duty is " to sit down 11 calmly, and to look over every
thing connected with his plans, to satisfy himself that he is about
to commence what he will be able to finish, and to attempt no
more. That plan alone secures a good beginning, and a happy
successful ending.
And so, on entering in at the strait gate, the sinner must do
this calmly and deliberately. He must, as it were, "sit down first,
and count the cost. 11 He must ask himself if he is prepared to meet
the exigences of the great work to which he is giving himself.
He is surrounded with those things which minister to his earthly
comfort and happiness. Is he prepared to give up all these things
at the command of his Father ? Is he prepared whenever their
claims upon him would interfere with what his Master demands
at his hands, at once to set them aside for the sake of Jesus?
Yea, is he ready like Paul to say, " I count not my life dear unto
me, so that I might win Christ, and be found in him ?" Is he
ready, out of the wreck of earthly things, from blighted hopes,
and crushed feelings, to gather his material for his building ? In
other words, does he deliberately make up his mind to such a
sanctified holding of every thing placed in his hands in this world,
as to feel assured that if he is called upon to part with all that he
has, he must do it at once and cheerfully, well knowing that when
his Master makes such demands upon him, it is that he may
become rich in every spiritual blessing well furnished unto the
kingdom of God a wise master-builder, not only laying his
foundation well, but completing his building with joy.
18
274 THE PARABLE OF
This is one of the necessities of discipleship. He that would
follow Christ must sit loosely- to all things here must possess
them as though he possess them not seeing that it is not unfre-
quent^- from the bitter experiences arising Out of these things,
whether in the disappointments of life, or in the yielding ourselves
to the will of God, rather than in following our own inclination,
that he who knows what is in man prepares all those wholesome
lessons for his spiritual child, as shall call him through grace to
run in the way of God's commandments and not be weary, to
walk and not faint.
But our Lord urges the necessity of "counting the cost" by those
who would be his disciples under another aspect, and that by an-
other parable.
" Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not
down first, and consulteth, whether he be able with ten thousand to meet
him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while
the other is yet a great way off, lie sendeth an embassage, and desireth
conditions of peace." Luke xiv. 31, 32.
Our Lord in applying this adds, " So likewise, whosoever he
be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, he can not be my
disciple." This parable presents us with another view of what a
disciple of Christ must fairly make up his mind to, if he would
walk in the narrow path. " The two kings here are, the man desir-
ous to become a disciple., to work out his salvation ; and GOD, with
whose just and holy law he is naturally at variance;" "and the
question for eaCh man to sit down and ask himself is, 'can I with
(eX with all that I have, all my material of war) my ten thousand,
stand the charge of him who cometh against me with (F*GIU, being
only as many as he pleases to bring with him for the purpose) twenty
thousand?'"*
Now, when once the sinner is awakened to the consideration
of this all-important question, " Can I meet God with all that I
have ? He is coming against me as my adversary. I am a rebel
against him. I have dared to dispute his authority, and sought
to reign as a king, independently of his eternal sovereignty. Can
I meet him when he is coming to contend with me ? How shall
I be able to conduct myself in this mighty controversy ?" When-
ever the sinner has been awakened to this solemn consideration,
* AJford.
THE TWO KINGS AT WAR. 275
he is not long before he discovers how utterly inadequate all his
resources are for such a contention. He may gather together " all
that he has ;" but all this, and much more than this, will avail
him nothing. And so, in the hopelessness of attempting by him-
self to meet his powerful adversary, and making the startling
discovery that, as regards every thing in himself, he is completely
at the mercy of one, who, if he does smite, will not cease till he
put every enemy under his feet, he at once earnestly and anxiously
sues for peace. Like the king in the parable, who, when his
mightier opponent was yet a great way offj sends " an embassage,
and desires conditions of peace" so the poor penitent sinner, finding
out his own helpless condition, perceiving that he is ready to* be
overwhelmed by the power and the great wrath of the mighty
God whom he has offended, seeks to be reconciled, supplicates for
pardon and peace. He sends his petition . to his heavenly King.
He pleads with him through an all-prevailing Mediator and inter-
cessor. " He takes with him words, and turns to the Lord" his
God. He gives up all confidence in himself. He confesses that
he is " poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked." He acknowl-
edges his utter inability to save or help himself; and he casts
himself on the forbearance, the compassion, and the kindness of
the Being whom he has offended.
Now this, which marks the sinner's first awakening to a consci-
ousness of his own helpless and perilous condition as long as he
is opposed to God instead of being reconciled to him, must equally
pervade the whole of his pilgrimage of trial as he walks in the
narrow way. He must deliberately make up his mind to thia
point. He must " deny himself," " give up all that he has" con-
tinually. He must never for a moment suppose that he can
prevail in any thing by his own strength, or trusting to his own
resources. He must start upon his journey with the full convic-
tion that for every step he takes he requires the same submission
to his heavenly King, the same acknowledgment of his own weak-
ness as he made when first he discovered what an adversary he
had standing in the way against him.
"When first the sinner is roused to a knowledge of his own dan-
ger, he perceives that it is God with whom he has to do. All
else sinks into insignificance in comparison with that one thought,
" How shall I meet him ?" And so, during the whole course of
276 THE PARABLE OF THE TWO KINGS AT WAR.
his earthly pilgrimage, whatever he has to do that is right and
good whatever he has to shun that is wrong and evil whatever
he has to endure of trial whatever he has to give up of cher-
ished things, on each and all of these occasions he meets the
same God face to face. It is God who requires him to do or
to suffer. It is God who requires him to shun every evil way,
and who lays burdens of trial on him. Even then, as he met
God in the first hour of his reconciliation through the merits
of Christ when the scepter was held forth to touch him as for-
given, so must he meet him during the whole process of sanctifi-
cation giving up all vain carnal confidences, acknowledging that
he is unable to meet God in his own strength, even for the denial
of one lust, or the doing of one good thing, any more than he
could meet him and demand salvation from him by his own merit.
This is the spirit in which the follower of Christ must go after
his Master. Unless he thus " forsake all that he has" he can not
be Christ's disciple. Unless while he says, " I live," he can also
heartily add, "Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God,"
he can not be Christ's disciple. And so, let every man who is
entering on the way of life "count this cost" also. The way
wherein he is to walk will make continued demands upon him in
this respect, to prove him whether he has, with his whole heart,
learned the lesson of his own utter weakness, and his Master's
all-prevailing strength. The natural self-righteousness of the heart
must not only yield at the foot of the Cross to the unmerited
righteousness of another imputed by faith ; the sinner must learn
at that first meeting with a % reconciled Father, to bear that Cross
ever with him on his way, and step by step, inch by inch, in the
practical work of sanctification within, to yield every atom of that
evil and accursed thing, which, as it is the root of all man's trans-
gression, sorrow, misery, and death, so it is the last thing which
is dragged forth and cast out of the believer's heart.
CHAPTER IV.
THE LOWEST BOOH THE TWO BUTLDEBS THE TWO DEBTORS THE GOOD SAMABITAK.
WE advance to the consideration of other parables which still
carry on the history of the soul in connection with the work of
Christ We have noticed the prodigal " come to himself," and
resolved to arise and seek his father. We have seen that imme-
diately when this resolution is formed he is met by the necessity
of choosing between two paths. He must declare by his outward
conduct what he is, and whither he is going. He must at all
hazards, and in spite of contempt, reproach, and opposition,
" Enter in at the strait gate ;" but this must be done deliberately,
not rashly by sitting down first and counting the cost, not rush-
ing heedlessly into it, only to leave it again as hastily, covered
with shame, and the object of scorn.
We come now from those general views of what the awakened
sinner must feel and do, to the particular details of character and
conduct which must mark his whole progress until he pass from
his period of probation to his eternal day of glory, and " shine as
a star in the kingdom of his Father forever." The first thing
which demands attention is the spirit required of him when he is
graciously received by his forgiving and reconciled Father. We
have seen how, when the prodigal was raised to a consciousness
of his sin, the earnest longings for his home were mingled with
the deepest humiliation. This spirit of humility, then, must not
be diminished as he is made sensible of his Father's love and for-
giveness. Because he is admitted again and evermore acknowl-
edged as a son, the same feeling which prompted him at first to
desire rather to be a servant in the house than to remain out of
it, though it may not express itself in that way, must grow and
278 THE PARABLE OF
increase, not decay or become weak. And here is our Lord's
teaching, then, on this point.
"And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he
marked how they chose out the chief rooms ; saying unto them, When
thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest
room, lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him ; and he
that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place ;
and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou
art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room ; that when he that
lade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher : then
shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with
thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted." Luke xiv. 711.
Under the circumstances in which these words were uttered,
they were no doubt a lesson for those present as to their bearing
toward each other on the occasion when they were addressed,
but, at the same time, that which had suggested them was thus
made by our Lord the groundwork for an important parable by
which he preached to them a still higher lesson regarding that
grace of humility he wished to inculcate. It is probable that the
entertainment at which the parable was delivered was a splendid
one, and possibly many of the guests were persons of distinction.
As Jesus marked the self-esteem which showed itself as certain
among them " chose out the chief places," etc., he delivered the
parable. The Evangelist by calling the words a parable, indicates
to us the deeper meaning they contain. Had he not prefaced
them with this statement, we might have just regarded them as a
reproof directly conveyed to the proud and the selfish men pres-
ent ; but inasmuch as it was a parable which was put forth, we are
led to look beyond the mere rebuke which the words conveyed
to persons present, and to others who like them exhibit a similar
spirit, and to mark how Jesus merely took occasion of the enter-
tainment then before him to teach a truth in connection with a
still greater entertainment even such a supper as he again refers
to in that other parable he shortly after delivered.
The sinner is bidden to enter the household of his Father. He
is bidden to hold fellowship with that Father himself, and with
all his family. Every thing that is needful for his refreshment
and comfort is spread out for him within the house, where he has
THE LOWEST ROOM. 279
been admitted. When, according to this invitation, the sinner
enters, even now " to sit together in heavenly places in Christ,"
he is in a very different position from what he was before he had
heard or replied to that invitation. He was formerly an outcast
and an alien, now he is a recognized and welcome guest. Now
the " table is prepared for him in the presence of his enemies,"
and he is bidden to partake of the bounties of his Father's house.
He must then take good heed to himself. There is no room for
self-exaltation here. He must not " begin to take the highest room"
The same spirit which led him to feel so unworthy of the least
benefit from his father which led him to stand afar off, and
hardly dare to lift up his eyes unto heaven, must characterize
him still. He is, indeed, no longer the prodigal at a distance.
He is the prodigal received by the father treated graciously,
kindly, and honorably by him. But what should we say of him
if, when he entered his father's house, and there saw all the pre-
parations being made to welcome his return, the bearing which
marked him hitherto was thrown aside, and without waiting to
be placed where his father willed, he strode at once to the seat
of the elder brother, and chose out the chief place next his father
as if it were now his own by reason of the very pardon and for-
giveness which had been sealed to him ?
And who that has studied human nature by looking into his
own heart, but at once recognizes the solemn meaning of such a
lesson as this ; and how needful it is for the sinner when restored
to a favor that he had forfeited, and brought again within the
circle of a house which he had despised ? Is pride quenched in
the heart when the penitent makes his humble confession and
supplication before God ? Is that evil and deadly thing uprooted
and all its power destroyed when once the sinner has found the
way to his knees in an agony of sorrow and shame, " Father, I
have sinned against heaven and before thee ?" Alas ! no. Within
the fellowship of saints it fails not to mark its presence still. Its
main features truly are altered, but the monster evil is the same.
It deals not now with the vanities which have been wrenched
away from the heart, but it fastens itself on those very things
which have been so graciously brought into their place those
realities with which a loving Father nourishes and comforts his
people. The pride that has been quenched in one direction, too
280 THE PARABLE OF
often, alas ! breaks forth in another. If it has no longer things
of earth, and time, and sense to lay hold upon, it will stealthily
seek for its gratification from the " things that are unseen and
eternal." The pride which in its first phase was of earth, earthy,
is not the less odious or perilous when it puts on a spiritual
guise, and insinuates itself among high, and holy, and heavenly
things.
How solemn is the lesson for all ages which the inspired Word
conveys, when we are told that even among Christ's Apostles, his
immediate friends and followers, there was disputing " which of
them should be greatest," and when one of the gentlest and most
loving of them on one occasion took upon him to forbid a man
from preaching in the name of Jesus, because he followed not
with them, and on another joined his brother in the request to
call down fire on a village of the Samaritans because the latter
refused to receive them! Alas, it is true, spiritual pride seeks to
enter in with the veriest prodigal, even as he is received back
and welcomed to the security and comfort of his father's house.
He needs not only in the day of his first sorrow to learn the les-
son as to the rock whence he was hewn, and the hole of the pit
whence he was digged, but he needs to learn it more and more
every day, when his gracious Father sets him with the princes
of his people.
This lack of humility may display itself in two ways toward
them that are without, and toward them that are within. In the
one case, it takes the form either of contempt at the ignorance of
those who willingly continue in their sin, or anger at their oppo-
sition to the truth. In the other, it plumes itself on the special
gifts which mark the spiritual life. It leads the believer to " think
more highly of himself than he ought to think" to look down
upon the attainments of his fellow-pilgrims sometimes to " de-
spise the day of small things" sometimes " to break the bruised
reed, and quench the smoking flax" sometimes to regard with
indifference the work of others in comparison with his own at
other times to overlook some of the most precious gems of divine
grace, because he does not look low enough to discover them, and
thus alas ! frequently to do the very things which our Lord con-
demns in this parable, " When thou art bidden of any man to a wed-
ding, sit not down in the highest room" This parable in fact fur-
THE LOWEST ROOM. 281
- t
nishes us with an exact parallel to the words of the Apostle -and
they are golden words indeed " Let each esteem other, better
than themselves."
The injunction is to take " the lowest room" not to think of
others at all, but to feel that to be admitted to sit down in such
communion is sufficient, and the soul asks no more. Our Lord
says that this conduct will be followed by the master of the feast
calling the lowly one higher. He does not put forth this as a mo-
tive why we should take the lowest place, but merely to show that
the whole ordering and arranging of these things are of the Lord.
"He may say unto thee, Go up higher," or he may not. You
have nothing to do with that. It is enough for you to be at the
feast leave all the rest to him with this certainty, however, that
"he that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he who humbleth
himself shall be exalted." God will himself according to his own
will, and in his own way establish this truth. We must honor
him by putting all this into his hands with real heartfelt humility.
And he will take care just to give us that place by which he will
be honored, and we ourselves made happy and glorious forever.
And if this spirit of humility is to mark the sinner's conduct
with its special grace, through the whole of the blessed and glo-
rious fellowship to which 'he has been admitted, we must remem-
ber that he is called to activity in that fellowship. In one view
of that fellowship, it is as if a man were called and invited to sit
down at a splendid and costly entertainment, furnished with guests
of honorable name and distinguished character. In another view,
it is that the sinner must become an active and willing workman
for his heavenly Father. Though we see the prodigal admitted
to a joyous feast, we know that the next morning he would be
ready to accompany his elder brother " to the field." His turning
again, indeed, is just the same as the repentance of the first son
in the other parable, and his proceeding at once to work in his
father's vineyard. In other words though an honored guest, and
restored son, he is not to be an idle servant. He has work to do,
and it must not only be done, but well done.
Now, the figure of a fruitful tree, or a son working in a vine-
yard, will sufficiently mark these two things namely, that the
activity of the restored sinner, his bringing forth fruit unto God,
is the result of his heavenly Father's culture, and by reason of-
THE PARABLE OF
4 ' 4
the life that flows into him from another, while his own willing,
cordial cooperation in all that is for the honor and glory of his
Father, is equally set forth ; but it is then for the different details
of his work what it is that he has to do, and how he ought to do
it, that we now look to a series of most interesting parables to
supply us with a full and complete illustration. And the first
that presents itself in this series is the parable of the two builders.
"Thwefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,
I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock ;
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
beat upon that house ; and it fell not : for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not,
shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the
sand and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house ; and it fell: and great was the fall of it"
Matthew vii. 24-27. ("And digged deep, and laid the foundation on
a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon
that house, and could not shake it. . . . That, without a foundation,
built an Jiouse upon the earth ; agdinst which the stream did beat ve-
hemently, and immediately it fell ; and the ruin of that 'house was
great: 1 } Luke vi. 48, 49.
In comparing the conduct of these two builders, we see many
points of similarity between them. Each was a builder. They
had both a work to do. Both of them set about their own sev-
eral occupations. The one and the other proceeded to build his
house. To one passing by they would appear to be equally wise
and skillful all he could see would be the walls of either house
as they were rising above the level of the ground the one, it
may be, attracting him most from a greater pretension about it than
the other. The object of both these men was the same. They
wished to build a house which should shelter them under its roof,
and be the means of pleasure and comfort to them. Both of them
had time given them in order to do this. They had opportunity
to engage in it as they severally desired. Both of them had the
choice of situation. They might build where they pleased.
Both of them finish and take possession of their dwellings. This
was in fair weather, when all was calm and serene, and gave prom-
ise of quiet, and security and peace. Both of them were tried.
On each of the buildings there fell a great storm, which put them
THE TWO BUILDERS. 283
to the severest proof. It was not a little storm for one and a great
one for the other. It was a vehement flood and tempest for both.
Hitherto they are alike in every thing as far as appears outwardly ;
but now, one house stands immovable under the shock of the
tempest, the other crumbles into ruins, and the flood, as it sweeps
on its course, reveals the cause of stability in the one, and of de-
struction in the other. The first is founded on a rock : the sec-
ond was built upon the earth. And so likewise is revealed the
wisdom of the one builder and the folly of the other.
Now even if we look at this parable in its mere structure,
we should feel certain that it was meant to indicate some very
important feature in the work which our heavenly Father imposes
on his faithful and obedient children. The whole bearing of it indi-
cates an earnest, active, and laborious work in hand. But our
Lord is not satisfied with leaving this to be inferred. He tells us
that he is illustrating the conduct of two parties those who are
not hi% people and those who are those who are not in the vine-
yard, and those who are. And this is the distinction which marks
these classes respectively, the " one heareth his sayings, and doeih
them not" the other "heareth his sayings, and doeth them" His
great purpose then is to instill into the heart of his disciples that
they must " not be forgetful hearers but doers of the word," and
the mode he has chosen in this parable to inculcate this is, as we
shall see, most significant.
And before noticing this particularly, let us just observe by the
way, that in the case of the wise builder, we have set forth the
faithful and enlightened disciple, who, as he starts in his heavenly
career, " first sits down and counts the cost." We see him here
now diligently engaged building that house, of all the parts of
which, the materials it would require, its stability and usefulness,
he had carefully taken note before. He has wisely thought over
the plan beforehand seen the amount of expenditure it would
require, and now he is doing his work hard at the building,
and never will he rest, until it be finally perfected in glory and
beauty.
The special point in his work, then, with which this parable
has to do, is his foundation-work. And it is well that this should
be looked to first, for all the rest of his work, its stability and its
value, depends on this. We shall have yet to trace the returned
284 THE PARABLE OF
prodigal's faithful obedience to his Father, in a variety of active
duties in detail ; but every one of these depends upon his making a
good beginning, and laying such a foundation for the superstruc-
ture of good works, as shall make these valuable, and secure their
permanence. The works of others may find their external resem-
blance to his, though coming from the hands of those who are
not true and faithful disciples like himself it is for him to take
heed that his work is not simply such as may be seen and approved
of men, but such as shall stand before the eyes and obtain the
approval of one who looks beneath the surface, and diligently
notes each man's work to see of what sort it is.
It is of the greatest importance to mark the scope of the para-
ble in this respect. One of the first charges against true disciple-
ship by a thoughtless and superficial world is, that it is not
practical that there is so much said of faith as to leave little
room for works. "We can well conceive, in connection with the
story in the parable, a stranger passing by on the day w]^en he
witnessed the two builders severally making their preparations,
and then it may be in a short time afterward, on his return, be-
holding one building already showing its fair proportions, and
rising rapidly to it destined height, while, perhaps, the other has
not jet appeared above ground, and it would be a very natural
conclusion for him to arrive at, that the first was a much more
skillful, wise, and active builder than the last. But he was not
on the spot to observe the real cause of the difference, and which,
had he seen it, would materially change his estimate of the two.
If he had been, he would have observed that the former at once
began his building " on the eo.rth" just as he found it, and so, at
least, he had the satisfaction of making a great show with it, and
it may be, plumed himself on the skill with which he nicely ad-
justed his building to the surface of the ground as it was ; but he
would have seen the latter " digging de&p" not satisfied with lift-
ing a spadeful here or there, but toiling and laboring, and
descending deeper and deeper through the soil, until he reached
the rock, and laid his foundation there. And then ; having found
that, he patiently and earnestly proceeds to raise course after
course on his building above it.
And this gives us a correct view of that which the world
understands not. The rock on which the believer's superstruc-
THE TWO BUILDERS. 285
ture of works can alone rest in security, is Christ. And lie is the
true workman he is the real laborer who sets about his search
for this foundation at the beginning of his work. The other is,
after all, a mere counterfeit, and nothing better. The building
of the former may not have at once the same pretensions before
the eyes of men, but it will surely and steadily progress, and
every stone that is added to it will remain as a proof and token
that his work from the commencement has been real, and not
apparent only.
And thus it is that in the parable the foolish builder is said to
represent one who "hears and does not!" Why, at first sight, we
should be disposed to say, that he has done a great deal he has
built his house at any rate. Is that not doing ? Certainly not, in
the estimation of his master, who sees the end from the begin-
ning, and judges accordingly. The truth is, we must take into
consideration from the first, the object of the several builders. Both
of them wished to build, in order to shelter themselves. This was
their purpose. To fail in this, was to be an idler, not a workman
the man was merely passing time, not improving it. He heard
what might have secured real, lasting work at his hands if he had
attended to it, but he did it not ; and so, to all intents and pur-
poses, he was not " a doer of the work," and his specious appear-
ances came at length to be nothing better than "the baseless
fabric of a vision," which vanishes in the night watches, and
"leaves not a wreck behind."
The work which the true disciple has to do, is one which must
stand and be a shelter to him ; and in order to this, it must be
founded on Christ. He must begin there, whatever be the cost
in the casting away of cherished earthly things, in the digging
down and passing through the hard and all but impenetrable soil
of a proud, a carnal, and a self-righteous heart. He must never
cease until he has found Christ, as the strong rock on which he
may rest every hope for time and for eternity. This is the work
of faith, not of sight. This spiritual perception of what he needs
for his building is the " gift of God through Jesus Christ." He
knows and understands by this, that if he is to have any personal
work of holiness at all which will stand the trial and the proof
of the great day of account, it must alone be deeply imbedded in
the perfect righteousness of the Son of God.
286 THE PAEABLE OP
And thus, too, we see the wondrous connection between the
disciple's work and his security. If he is really in search of a
foundation, it is in order to build. If he is really, with his whole
heart, seeking for Christ, it is that he may go after him, walk with
him, and be like him. And further, he must surround himself
with all his fruits of righteousness, just as the wise builder raised
stone over stone in his building. He is to be seen and known
by them he is to dwell in them. They are to be for a covering
unto him. But it is not from them he derives his safety. It is
not simply because they are there around him that they remain,
and that he is safe and happy. The other builder, for that mat-
ter, had the same kind of materials about him. No ! It is because
they all rest on Christ because they are " fruits of righteousness
by Jesus Christ" that they are every thing the poor believer can
desire, as proving the quality of his work, and affording him a
safe and happy shelter.
It is "the day of the Lord Jesus" alone which will make
known the real character of man's different buildings. As long
as they are merely tested by man, it may not be possible to detect
the real and substantial differences which exist. Means of ob-
servation so accurate as to reveal the whole are not to be found
in the present state of probation. It is alone on the day " when
the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed" that these things shall
become apparent. Then the floods shall be let loose, the tempest
of divine wrath against sin shall sweep resistlessly along, the
streams of all-searching judgment shall beat vehemently on all
that must be- tested ; and then it shall be seen that while mere
good works, as they are called, laid carelessly by themselves on
the earth on the mere worldly and carnal notions of virtue and
excellence, shall be swept away, and leave the poor soul that
trusted in them exposed and forlorn, with a ruin at his feet, in-
stead of a house over his head on the other hand, the same
season of trial shall but have cleared away what remained of
earth from the believer's work, and revealed the blessed secret of
his strength and security the rock on which his house has been
built ; and the storm, as it passes, winged with sudden destruc-
tion to the wicked, shall not even shake a single stone in ]iis
building, because it is founded on that rock of ages which can
never be moved.
THE TWO DEBTOKS. 287
Let, then, the true disciple, since he is called to work and not
to idleness, see that he begin that work well. Let him build
with reference to the stormy day, not the calm. The stormy
will succeed the calm : and it is then that he needs shelter the
most. Let him then spare no pains to secure a good foundation.
He is not a workman called to work in order that he may be seen
of man, but that " he may have praise of God." It is " unto the
Lord, and not unto man" that he must labor ; what he does must
be in the " name of the Lord Jesus," and to the glory and praise
of God " not unto himself, but unto him who died and rose
again." And all this he must do with " his might," and then let
him patiently and hopefully leave himself and his work in the
Lord's hands, and his divine Master will take care that during
his work he will not appear as " one not able to finish ;" and
when his work is over he will own it and approve of it. " Well
done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord."
But let us proceed further to inquire into the work of the true
disciple to see of what sort it is. He must first of all give heed
to his foundation. He must, before all things, take heed that he
is on the rock ; every thing else will be in vain and worthless
without this. But this rock will, to all things built on it in sim-
ple faith, impart such real worth as shall make them, though not
meritorious, yet acceptable to God prized by him, and retained
by him as precious forever. Look now at one of these things
built on this rock.
" There was a certain creditor which had two debtors ; the one owed
Jive hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when tfiey had nothing
to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of
them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that
he to whom he forgave the most. And he said unto him, Thou hast
rightly judged" Luke vii. 41-43.
The great feature of this parable is love. The love of gratitude
for benefits bestowed, for mercy freely and graciously shown.
There is some little difficulty in the general inference which our
Lord draws from the parable. At first it looks as if the amount
of loving gratitude to him must depend upon the amount of our
guilt as if we must love him all the more because of the depth
of ungodliness into which we have been previously sunk ; and so
288 THE PARABLE OF
one might be tempted to say, better to sin " earnestly with both
hands," in order that when much is forgiven, we may at length
love the more. Such a view is altogether opposed, however, to
the simple meaning of the parable when fairly considered. It
need hardly be said to be opposed to the whole teaching of the
word of God, which condemns, in unmeasured terms, sinning that
" grace may abound," and which certainly gives us no reason to
suppose that the penitent robber on the cross loved Christ more
than John, or Mary, or the mother of our Lord.
The truth is that the meaning of the parable turns on this
point, the sense on the part of the debtors, that their debt is
remitted. They are both supposed to know exactly what has
been remitted to them. They are conscious of this sensible of
it. It is this which underlies the whole structure of the parable ;
and so the general inference is very clear. That sinner loves
Christ most who is the most sensible of what Christ has done for
him. If one man feels that he has been forgiven, as it were, to
the amount of "five hundred pence" he will love more deeply and
more gratefully than the man who is only conscious of forgiveness
to the extent of "fifty pence" In other words, the more tender
the conscience of a child of God, the more alive he has become
to all that he is in himself, and all that God has done for him
and is ready to do for him still the deeper he will feel himself
in debt to his Lord, the larger the amount which he will reckon
as owing by him to this gracious friend, and therefore the more
full and deep will be his love for the frank forgiveness of one
from whom he had no right to expect 'the remission of one
farthing.
But if the general inference drawn by our Lord presents, at
first sight, a difficulty, his special deduction from it presents none.
He directly applies it to the case of a poor woman, who, while
he sat at meat in Simon the Pharisee's house, had come in and
"brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet
behind him, and began to wash his feet -with tears, and did wipe
them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed
them with the ointment." Our Lord draws the attention of
Simon and the other guests to what she had done. " Seest thou
this woman," he said, and then he proceeded to enumerate all
that she had done while he sat at the table. He pointed emphat-
THE TWO DEBTORS. 289
ically to every tiling that had passed the washing of his feet
with tears the anointing of his head with the ointment, and
then he demands wherefore it is that all these things have been
done by this poor woman, all these marks of reverence, love, and
gratitude shown to him, which were all the more remarkable in
their contrast to the absence of even ordinary respect paid to him
by his proud host. He demands how it is that this poor woman
has not ceased to do all this, while others were neglecting him ;
and he tells them that it was because " she loved much." All
these things were a proof ready to hand of the deep, fervent,
holy love she bore to him, for whom the tears were shed and the
box of ointment bought ; and she loved much because she felt
how much had been forgiven. She was fully conscious of the
large debt which that gracious Master had forgiven. She needed
no stranger's hand to point to her and condemn her she did
that herself to the very utmost. If she had been asked to say,
she would have replied that she was the " chief of sinners." She
felt that she was that one " to whom Jesus forgave most;" she loved,
therefore, in proportion ; and her acts of gentle gratitude and
lowly tenderness were a precious evidence of the greatness of
that love.
We must not suppose that Simon himself is alluded to in the
debtor which owed "fifty pence." This would throw the greatest
perplexity into the whole subject. Simon's conduct is quoted by
our Lord, not as bearing any proportion to the poor woman's,
which it would have done, if he even loved as a debtor whose
"fifty pence" were remitted, but as diametrically opposed to that
of the penitent and grateful one at Christ's feet ; for just as Jesus
records one act after another of love on the part of the latter, he
makes these more apparent by the contrast on the part of Simon,
who was not merely niggardly in his attention, but neglected the
most common expression of it altogether. He was not conscious
of his debt at all, and so he felt no love, and did none of those
tender offices of respect and gratitude which would have marked
outwardly what he experienced inwardly. There had passed no
inner work of the soul between him and Christ, making him feel
his guilt and the tender compassion of Jesus in forgiveness, and
so his love and his loving acts existed not. She, the poor humbled
penitent she, like that other woman, it may be, who did but
19
290 THE PAEABLE OF
touch the hem of his garment she had already known what
soul-work is she had already gone through the bitterness of dis-
covered sin, and the gross and thick darkness of that sin had
been pierced through by-the love and the forgiveness of her Mas-
ter. That very forgiveness showed her more than everthe extent
of her debt made her more than ever sensible of it she loved
her Saviour more, and there was nothing she would not now do
to manifest that love. She would do it amid the sneers and the
scorn of the world she would do it amid neglect and reproach
she would do it, not as one taking the " lowest room" where her
Master was, but as one who only desires not to be kept out, and
whose station, when once in, shall not be as a guest at the table,
but at his feet kneeling and penitent before him who has forgiven
her. She, indeed, " loved much" because she knew that " much
was forgiven her"
And we can not, then, fail to observe here the practical char-
acter which our Lord has been pleased to stamp upon this love
of gratitude. It is not, as appears by his application of the par-
able, to be a mere love of sentiment, an emotion of the soul,
however deep, and .true, and lasting it may be. It is to be that
which will find its expression in something to be done. It is,
indeed, to be deeply felt, but it is also to be acted out. A blessed
principle in the heart, a glorious work in the life. And this is
among the first precious stones which the true disciple is to lay
upon the rock Christ. This, indeed, as part of his work to do,
may be called the foundation which he lays on the rock, and over
which all his future labor is spent. Love to his Master, deep,
enduring love to Christ. Love for grace and mercy so freely
given. Love for pardon and peace so fully bestowed. Love for
sin blotted out, and a name written in the book of life. Love
begotten by his infinite love. Love which has sprung from the
deepest consciousness of what he ''owes unto his Lord," and not
one farthing of which he could ever pay, but which has been all
"frankly forgiven" Oh, the preciousness of that one word
"frankly." Here is no remission of a debt with a grudging which
makes the gift ungracious ; nor, on the other hand, is there here
the canceling of a debt with an air of indifference, as if it were
of no importance, but it is "frankly" done. The value of it not
denied, but that value infinitely enhanced by the graciousness
THE GOOD SAMABITAN. 291
with -which it is bestowed ! Sinner, have you not found this the
character of Christ's remission of your debt ?
But the poor woman, as we have seen, had the opportunity of
manifesting to Christ himself the fullness of her grateful love.
Has his disciple in every age the same ? Yes, verily. If Christ
be not personally present, yet has he left us a word, which points
to such opportunities of showing love to him, as never cease in
every age of the Church's history. " Inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto me" The love of gratitude, then, which the true disciple
cherishes toward his heavenly Master, ought to become a loving
work toward all that Master's followers. This. love ought to have
its most full and blessed expression in the "household of faith."
There, in lowliness of spirit like this poor woman, the true child
of God may indeed show his consciousness of how much he owes
to Christ who has forgiven him, and how deeply he loves Christ
for this forgiveness, by acts of tenderness, love, and pity to his
people, and that amid the sneers of the world, and the scowl of
the ignorant and self-righteous. Such acts as these will, indeed,
be " labors of love," a*nd will form some of the goodliest stones in
his building. Such acts of calm, gentle, unassuming gratitude to
him who has forgiven him, will be among the very first which
the poor penitent and restored prodigal will long and love to
pay to every one within the circle of his Father's house, not to
show his love, but because his full heart will not suffer him to
withhold them.
We pass on to another deeply important parable, as giving us
still further insight into the work of the true disciple of the Lord
Jesus.
" A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jtricho, and fell
among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him,
and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came
down a certain priest that way ; and when he saw him, he passed by
on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place,
came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a cer-
tain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was : and when he
saio him, he 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 mor-
292 THE PARABLE OF
row, when lie departed, he took out two pence, 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. Which, now,
of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the
thieves ? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said
Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.' 1 ' 1 Luke x. 30-37.
This parable was delivered by our Lord in reply to a question
put to him by a certain lawyer. What this man's motives may
have been in standing up and tempting Christ, by asking him,
" Master what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" it is unnecessary
for us to inquire. Our Lord referred him to his own law. '"How
readest thou" there? He replied, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself."
He had thus answered his own question. For there is no entrance
into life, or inheritance in heaven for an unloving spirit. What-
ever be the means by which that love to God and man are to be
produced, one thing is clear, that unless they do exist, there can
be no eternal life ; for " God is love," and to love God is to li ve.
The lawyer, however, " willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus,
And who is my neighbor?" The parable before us is the reply.
It will at once be observed that the reply given, however, is indi-
rect ; and yet, on that very account, it is all the more forcible.
Thus the question is " Who is my neighbor?" while the parable
drives the questioner to the consideration, " Who is it to whom
you should not show a neighborly love and kindness ?" The
lawyer wished to draw off the point of conversation from him-
self, and turn it upon a mere generality ; our Lord brings it back
upon himself with all the force of individual application. " Who,
then, thinkest thou, was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?"
And when the lawyer could not but reply, " He that showed
mercy on him," then did our Lord close the conversation by
a direct appeal to the man himself, " Go thou and do likewise."
You ask, Who is your neighbor ? Go and look around on all
the sons and daughters of sorrow and affliction ; behold on every
side, those who have an immediate and urgent claim upon your
love and pity go without delay and show mercy, and thus
prove yourself a neighbor to every man that needs your help.
Trench has some very striking remarks on the mode which our
THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 293
Lord adopted in his reply to the lawyer. " He who asked, ' whom
shall I love,' proved that he understood not what that love meant
of which he spake ; for he wished to lay down beforehand how
much he was to do, and where he should be at liberty to stop
who had a claim and who had not upon his love ; thus proving
that he knew little of that love whose essence is that it has no
limit, except in its own inability to proceed further, that it receives
a law only from itself, that it is a debt which we must be content
to be always paying, and not the less still to owe. (Eomans xiij.
8.) Especially wonderful is the reply which our blessed Saviour
makes to him, wonderful, that is, in its adaptation to the need of
him to whom it was .addressed, leading him, as it does, to take off
his eye from the object to which love is to be shown, and to throw
it back inward upon him who is to show the love ; for this is the
key to the parable, and with this aim it was spoken." (Notes on
the Parables, p. 306.)
The great scope of the parable, then, is to illustrate a very im-
portant feature in the Law of love, to set forth an essential part of
that " labor of love" which is required at the hands of every true
disciple. It has been said that while the imagery of the parable
is directed toward this object, and has this aim, yet at the same
time, it is meant to be symbolical of the great work of the Son
of God himself, in coming down from heaven to bind up the
wounds of the sinner, to save him from death, to do for him what
others would not, and could not do, and never ceasing in his love,
compassion, and care for him, until he restored him " safe and
sound" to his home. This has given rise to many ingenious efforts,
both in ancient and modern times, to explain the allegorical allu-
sions of the different parts of the parable. These are on the whole
not very satisfactory. Perhaps it is better to regard the story in
the parable as being simply uttered by our Lord with reference to
what was immediately the topic of conversation, and with the in-
tent of leaving to all his people a solemn lesson of their duty and
their privilege, in showing pity and mercy to every one who needs
them. But, then, as the very highest and most glorious pattern
of such love and pity, we have the whole work of the Son of God
himself set before us in his life, sufferings, and death for sinners ;
and so we need not wonder if the story given to inculcate com-
passion and love in the disciple, bears throughout, in its general
294 THE PAEABLE OF
features, a striking resemblance to that perfect love which has
been manifested by the disciple's Master.
The circumstances in the story are very striking. A traveler
in going down from the metropolis to Jericho is attacked by rob-
bers not merely thieves, but by men whose trade it is to take life
with as little compunction as they take money. He is left by the
road-side, stripped, wounded, and expiring. This is not done in
a retired "spot. It is on the public road where there is much traf-
fic, and so the matter can not long be concealed, A priest ap-
proaches in the same direction, probably returning from Jerusa-
lem after having fulfilled his course. He sees the wounded man,
but " he passes by on the other side." Next comes a Levite. He
does more than the first. "He looked on him ;" and then he also
went his way, passing by on the other side. Hardly had he de-
parted, when " by coincidence" not chance, in our use of the word,
but according to that concurrency of events which are so often to
be seen distinguishing the acts of God's providence, a certain
Samaritan, as he journeyed, " came where he was." How aflect-
ingly is the conduct of this " stranger," described in contrast to
that of the priest and Levite. Whatever might have been the
excuse these two men made for their neglect, he might have pleaded
the same ; while there was the traditionary enmity between the
Jews and the Samaritans which he might have pleaded over and
above. But, on the contrary, as soon as he drew near, and saw
him, he had compassion on him, he went to him, he bound up his
wounds with his own hand, he set him on his own beast, and
brought him to a place of safety. Even there his compassion did
not rest. He took care of him, and charged himself with any
expense which might be incurred during his recovery from his
wounds. We must not omit to notice the additional force which
our Lord gave to the lesson he was teaching, by selecting a Samar-
itan, though he himself was a Jew, as affording so bright an ex-
ample of compassionate love.
And here then, in this full teaching of our divine Master, we
have strongly inculcated upon us, as an active duty, not a passive
emotion, the love of compassion and benevolence toward every
one that stands in need of the exercise of such love ; while this
urgent duty is made more impressive by the failure of others on
this very point. In the parable of the two debtors, we have en-
THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 295
forced . the love of gratitude to Christ, not reposing within the
breast that feels it, but actively engaged either toward Christ per-
sonally, when he was in the world, or to those of his household
for his sake, since he has gone away. The love here enforced takes
a wider range than this. It looks on the world, and diligently
inquires after every one that needs its help ; and thus rests not till
it has lavished its treasures of mercy and compassion on the needy.
It is not satisfied with merely asking whether tjiere be any of the
" household of faith" which it can benefit by its exertion or its
self-denial, but it seeks for " opportunity to do good unto all men."
These emotions and their exercises though kindred are yet dis-
tinct. The love of gratitude to Christ is one which looks up.
The love of compassion is that which gazes down. The love of
gratitude shows itself in what John so constantly enforces in his
epistles, " love to the brethren," because each brother reflects the
image of him whom the soul loves. The love of compassion
shows itself toward those who are without who are not in such
favoratile circumstances as we are who stand in need of our help,
and to whom we must go whom we must seek out, by the way-
side of this pilgrimage, in order to help. The love of gratitude
sympathizes. The love of compassion pities.
And so here we have the true disciple of Christ who has
looked well to his foundation that is laid on the rock, and begun
his building by the precious stones of active " love to the brother-
hood" for Christ's sake, earnestly warned to "go and do likewise,"
as this kind, and generous, and self-denying Samaritan did. He
must see that he labors with this love also.
It is instructive to note how one and the same evil-working of
the human mind makes itself seen and known from time to time
under different forms. Thus, when Cain said, contemptuously,
"Am I my brother's keeper ?" he but expressed in strong and
repulsive language the very sentiment which the lawyer clothed
in a more plausible guise when he asked, " And who is my neigh-
bor ?" Both questions indicate the rupture which sin has made
between the heart of man and the objects of its love, compassion,
and care. And though we maj not hear now such language
used, or such questions in so many words asked, yet is the spirit
which pervades them both widespread and general. The feeling
which led the lawyer to ask the question he did, is presented be-
296 THE PARABLE OF
fore us in the parable by the conduct of the priest and the Levite.
They acted that principle out. Their conduct was a practical
demonstration that they did not know who was their neighbor
in other words, that they did not know themselves, and what
they owed to every one in need whom they could by their exer-
tions or their assistance help. And so also we find large numbers
of persons practically exemplifying in their conduct now what
these men did long ago.
And is the question asked, "What kind, of need is it that de-
mands compassion and help from the disciple ? The answer is
very simple "All kinds." Wherever there is any one of the
human race in need that we can help, there is our neighbor, and
we must see that we do a neighbor's work by him. Whatever be
his need, if we have wherewith to help him, we have no love to
our neighbor if we withhold it. And thus we have in this para-
ble two grand objects of compassionate love inculcated on the
true disciple of Jesus. Wherever throughout the wide world he
sees any human creature suffering temporal distress which he has
it in his power to relieve, he must take heed that he pass not by
it. And wherever through the wide world he beholds his fellow-
creature suffering under the greater and more appalling calamity
of spiritual distress, bleeding and dying of the wounds inflicted
by sin, asking, as it were, in piteous wailing, whether no man
will care for his soul, there, too, he must give good heed that he
be like the Samaritan, stranger as he was, rather than as the
priest and the Levite, who, by their wicked neglect, trampled on
the union which binds all mankind in a common brotherhood
for mutual kindness, benevolence, and charity.
Surely this parable speaks with solemn and weighty condem-
nation against those who, under the meager and flimsy pretext
of spending their energies on the spiritual necessities of those at
home, refuse to recognize the claims of the poor dying heathen
who appeal to them day by day for help in their terrible desola-
tion. The very language of the parable is significant in its
reproof of such. The excuse so often heard for looking coldly
on the poor heathen, and passing by on the other side, is just
this, " I must attend to my neighbor first to him who is at my
very door." Why, the very excuse proves that they who make
it know not who their neighbor is, and what it is to have a
THE GOOD SAMAKITAN. 297
neighborly spirit. The priest and the Levite couJd, doubtless,
comfort themselves by thinking, as they wickedly passed by the
wounded man, that there were others more immediately depend-
ent on them, as they chose to think, to whom they would gladly
do a neighbor's part. But he who was in the way was their
neighbor, and they had no right to "pass by " him. And so also,
if God in his providence gives us opportunities now, and, as it
were, places before our eyes and within reach of our help, the
poor, ignorant, perishing heathen, and we pass them by with the
poor excuse that our neighbors are nearer home, we may rest
assured that our unloving, unbrotherly, unneighborly conduct is
condemned in the courts of heaven, and if these hapless ones
perish, their blood will be required at our hands.
And they who urge these base and selfish excuses for with-
holding help, if it can be given, to " every creature" under heaven
who needs it, do so in direct antagonism to the law of love so
beautifully characterized in the above extract from Trench.
They look out for limits to that which ought to have no bounds.
They are narrowing the circle that they may know where to stop,
instead of suffering their love to feed upon its own blessed exer-
cise, and to become continually more expansive in the power of
its operation, even as it becomes every day more fully alive to
the objects of its blessed and tender compassion. They do not
perceive, also, that if they admit such a principle as this, there is
virtually an end to every thing like large-heartedness of love, or
even the earnest exercise of a puny, meager, worldly philan-
thropy. If one man finds a neighbor only within a certain limit,
another will make that limit less, until, in fact, the charity of
those who frown down all kind, loving, and compassionate effort
to go forth to every creature and preach Jesus to them ere they
die, will resolve itself into the meanest self-love, and the deter-
mination just to do as much good for others as is agreeable and
suitable to ourselves.
A modern philosopher, who has sought to give the tone to
morals, while he despises the simplicity of the Gospel, and whose
talents have, alas ! given him too many disciples, shows plainly
enough where the charity of so-called Christian people would
lead them, when they narrow the limits within which their com-
passion and benevolence are to be brought into play. Trench,
298 THE PARABLE OF
in referring to the opinions of this writer, thus prefaces an extract
from them " It is striking to see the question of the narrow-
hearted scribe, ' Who is my neighbor ?' reappearing in one with
whom we would think that he had little in common. I make
this extract from Emerson's Essays, (Ess. 2,) ' Do not tell me,
as a good man did to-day, of my obligation to put all poor men
in good situations. Are they my poor ? I tell thee, thou foolish
philanthropist, that I grudge the dollar, the dime, the cent, I give
to such men as do not belong to me, and to whom I do not belong.
There is a c]ass of persons to whom, by all spiritual affinity, I am
bought and sold for them I will go to prison, if need be ; but
your miscellaneous popular charities, &c.' " (Notes on the Para-
bles, p. 306.) What a humiliating picture of selfish, hollow-
hearted, would-be philanthropy ! Not content, like the priest
and Levite, with passing by, but glorying in his shame. And
we may well say to those who love to worship at such shrines as
these, " Behold thy gods, O Israel !"
We can not but glance at the conduct of our blessed Lord on
one occasion as being very instructive in the contrast it presents
to the low standard of love which many would set up in his
name. When the Gentile woman came to him, he did indeed say
to her, as he replied to her urgent request, " Let the children first
be filled ; for it is not meet to take the children's bread and cast
it to the dogs." And such is very much the language of many
professed followers of Jesus now, when asked to help the heathen
who cry aloud to them for help. But with what a different
meaning and purpose ! They speak thus, because they mean to
act upon what they say. Our Lord uttered these words only to
try the faith of the poor woman for the moment, in order that the
blessing he had in store might be all the more richly lavished
upon her. With him it was but the prelude to unutterable
mercy, "Be it unto thee even as thou wilt ;" and so he bound
up her wounds and took care of her. With them it is the un-
merciful reply of those who mean to show no mercy. Oh, that
his Spirit may be given largely to those who bear his name, that
they be not only like the good Samaritan, but like Jesus himself;
that all who profess to follow him may feel so deeply what he
has done in rescuing the poor bleeding soul from death and hell,
and restoring it to life and heaven, as to be unable to restrain
THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 299
their compassion from going forth, to every child of Adam to
whom they can offer the balm of Gilead, and tell of the skill of
the great Physician to whom they can whisper the story of
peace which will give light to the eye, and joy to the heart, and
dispel every cloud of pain and sorrow forever. Strange it would
have been, if the returned prodigal had not poured forth the ten-
derness of a child's love under his father's roof strange if he had
not gladly sought out such prodigals as himself in the land of
spiritual famine and death, and besought them, as one who him-
self had obtained mercy, to " arise and go to their Father." And
strange indeed, then, if the true disciple does not manifest this
special work in his life and conduct, to carry the lamp of life to
those who are in darkness, and thus adorn as well as strengthen
the house he is building on the rock Christ.
CHAPTER V.
THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD.
WE now turn to another parable, which furnishes us with
another feature, which ought to characterize the conduct of the
true disciple of Christ.
" Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother
sin against me and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto
him, I say not unto thee, until seven times; but, until seventy times
seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain
king, which would take account of his servants. And when he begun
to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand
talents: but forasmuch as he had not to pay } his lord commanded him
to be sold, and his ivife and children, and all that he had, and payment
to be made. The servant, therefore, fell down, and worshiped him,
saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then
the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him,
and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found
one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence ; and he
laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that
thou owest. And his fellow- servant fell down at his feet, and besought
him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he
would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the
debt. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very
sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his
lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, thou wicked serv-
ant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desireds! me : shouldest
not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I
had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the
tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise
shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts
THE PARABLE OF THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT.
forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." Matthew xviii.
21-35.
The story in this parable is oriental rather than Jewish in its
structure. The servants spoken of in it are not household slaves,
who might be regarded as the property of their master, but per-
sons in offices of trust and confidence under a king, who, at the
same time, exercised despotic authority over them, and all that
they possessed. " The servants here are not slaves, but ministers
or stewards. In oriental language, all the subjects of the king,
even the ministers of state, are called servants. The individual
example is one in high trust, or his debt could never reach the
enormous sum mentioned ten thousand talents is the sum at
which Hamaii reckons the revenue derivable from the destruction
of the whole Jewish people." (Alford.)
The " reckoning" in this parable must not be regarded as repre-
senting the final reckoning by our heavenly King with his
servants. It is perfectly distinct from such a taking account of
his servants as is set forth in the parables of the talents or the
pounds, in that of the ten virgins, the sheep and the goats, and
the marriage-supper. The reckoning here must have reference
to something before the day of probation closes, not when that is
past forever. Certain results of this primary reckoning are taken
into account before the king deals finally with his unforgiving
servant. It is indeed just such a taking account as is represented
in the parable of the barren fig-tree when the owner comes and
makes a certain investigation, but does not yet close the season
of grace the day of salvation.
There can be no doubt as to the meaning of the enormous debt
which the servant, with whom the king reckons, is found to owe
to his master. It is manifestly intended to represent the great
debt which every sinner owes to the justice. of God. And just as
it is said of the servant here, that " he had nothing to pay" so it is
true of the sinner. It is not that he is just short of the whole
sum by which he might clear his account with God but he has
absolutely nothing which can in the least pass current in such a
settlement as God requires in the affairs of his soul. And thus,
by this spiritual bankruptcy, he has fallen into the hands of the
living God, and exposed himself to the whole penalty due to his
misdeeds.
302 THE PARABLE OF
So far there is no difficulty in the explanation of the parable.
Here, however, we are met by the inquiry, " Who is meant by
this servant ? Is he meant to represent a true child of (rod, or
not ?" The answer to this question manifestly involves issues of
the greatest magnitude. If we adopt the first of these views, we
are driven to the conclusion that one who has been brought from
darkness to light from Satan's power to the kingdom of Christ
may again be banished to outer darkness, and separated from
Christ forever. If we adopt the last, then the difficulty occurs,
" How is it, then, that he is said to be forgiven?"
The *first of these views will be regarded very differently, ac-
cording as persons regard the analogy of the faith. They who
believe that a sinner who has become a child of God and an heir
of heaven, may again become a child of Satan and an heir of
hell, will be disposed to look on this parable as illustrating .their
opinion of the testimony of Scripture. But let such take heed
that they really have received, in simple faith, the teachings of
Scripture in this matter, before they at once close with this view
of the parable. They must take care not to derive their view
from the parable, but only to confirm and establish by illustration
the view they have, obtained elsewhere. Now, it does appear as
if Scripture testimony were directly opposed to such a doctrine as
that just stated. It would be impossible to enter on the discussion
of this subject at any length here, and, therefore, a very general
statement is all that can be made.
Some of those solemn warnings in Scripture, which seem at
first sight to support this view, can not do so in reality, unless
pressed beyond their legitimate bearing. Thus when Paul says,
" But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest
when I have preached to others, I myself shall be a cast-away,"
it is undoubtedly true, that if he had, by his conduct and life,
denied Christ, Christ would also at length deny him ; but then
this very denial by Christ of his professing servant, would only
at length prove and show openly that Paul had never been one
of his. If Paul should turn out to be a barren tree, he would be
cut down and cast out of the vineyard, doubtless, frit then this
would show infallibly that he had "lied unto God," when he said,
" the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who hath loved me, and given himself for me."
THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT. 303
And so of the case of Judas, enlightened as he was tasting as
he did much of the good word of God and the powers of the world
to come, yet when he fell away, he only proved that he had been
very near the kingdom, but not in it almost, but not altogether
a disciple ; and to him the words of the Apostle emphatically
apply : " They went out from us, but they were not of us ; for if
they had been of us, they would, no doubt, have continued with
us ; but they went out, that they might be made manifest that
they were not all of us." (John ii. 19.) The truth is, as long as
this day of probation lasts, no man has a right io assume of
another that whatever be the outward manifestation, he must in-
fallibly be found to be a true child of God at the last. No man
has any right to presume that he himself has, as it were, seen his
own name written in the book of life. All that we are entitled
to say of others, or of ourselves here is, that as long as genuine
fruit appears to us to be produced, there is the evidence of being
not only with Christ, but of Christ ; but if these fruits are not,
then equally there is the evidence that we are none of his, and
never have been. The day of the Lord will alone display the real
state of the case in each heart, and hence the importance of all
the solemn warnings, which, under such circumstances, must of
necessity, if they would have any force at all, take such a form
as apparently, but only apparently as we have seen, to imply the
possible falling away of a true child of God from that to which
he had already, through grace, attained.
. On the other hand, consider the exceeding fullness and precious-
ness of Scripture testimony as to the real and final security of all
who are truly of Christ. " None shall pluck them (my sheep) out
of my hands" " none shall pluck them out of my Father's hands."
In this special purpose of preserving my sheep, (and if one were
snatched away, could such language be used?) "I and my Father
are one." Then they are the gift of the Father to the Son
" Thou gavest them me." A fall here of the child not only
implies a weakness on his part, but, with all reverence be it said,
a weakness on the part of him who speaks of his child in such
terms. And herein lies the unspeakable difficulty against receiv-
ing such a doctrine as that under review. It is quite possible to
conceive one such as Adam falling. Another, and still another,
like him in his original innocence, might be created, and they, too,
304 THE PARABLE OF
might fall. But the fall of a converted soul from God is a widely
different matter. He is not merely a creature, but a new crea-
ture, and that, too, in Christ Jesus. He is born again of the
Spirit, and so becomes spiritually alive. He has actually been
snatched as a brand from the burning. He has been taken out
of the family of Adam and brought within the family of God.
He is delivered from the power of Satan, and owns happily and
thankfully the sway of Jesus. To suppose, then, that when all
this has truly taken place when all this has really passed when
it has been positively and absolutely done, and not merely in
name and by profession to suppose that such a soul, under these
circumstances, can at length fall away and be lost, is in reality to
give Satan a triumph over Christ, to make man's salvation, as of
merit, depend on something else than the free grace and sovereign
power of Jehovah, and utterly to destroy the meaning of that
grand and glorious antithesis of the Apostle, " As in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Such a supposi-
tion would throw doubt and discredit on all the great and precious
promises of God, who, when he begins, will not tarry till he per-
fects his good work in his people. It would make some of the
most blessed portions of God's word meaningless and vapid ; it
would force us to conclude that, when our Lord says, " there is
joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth," such joy might
possibly be a mistaken joy, and the return of the lost one be only
the prelude to a greater loss than ever, and a deeper dishonor
cast upon the great King. Nay, more, it would lead us further
to question the propriety of the Father's joy when the prodigal
returned, and to think it ill-timed, and as regards the thing illus-
trated, deceptive, if after the robe, and the ring, and the sandals
were given, even the fatted calf killed, and the whole household
assembled to give utterance to the general joy if after the kiss
of reconciliation, and the tender embrace of a kind and loving
Father, all this was but to herald a deeper dishonor than ever to
this forgiving parent, and only be the prelude to his losing more
by the second departure of his son than he did by the first. We
can not, then, admit that Scripture teaches such a doctrine as this,
Scripture warns solemnly in this matter, lest there be deception
practiced on ourselves or on others regarding the real condition
of our souls, but it guards with equal jealousy that precious truth
THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT. 305
which forms the concluding petition of our gracious Master's
loving prayer, and which must remain unanswered, if ever one
of the " called, and chosen, and faithful," fall away again into
the ranks of the faithless and the lost. " / will that they whom
thou hast given me, be with me where lam, that they may behold my
glory."
But when we turn to the parable which has necessarily sug-
gested these reflections, a little examination will satisfy us that the
description given of the servant who owed the ten thousand
talents can not with any propriety be said to apply to a true child
of God. Note the manner in which the king proceeds to take
account of him. First of all the very aspect of the king is not
like that which the Father of Mercies assumes toward the child
whom he receives. He goes " to reckon," with his servants. He
is aware that something is wrong, and a frown is on his brow as
he " takes account" of the actual state of matters. Very different
this from the loving father pitying his wayward but now penitent
child. It might stand for a picture of God going down to take
account of Sodom and Gomorrah, not of Him as he met face to
face with the robber on the tree. Again, it is said, "one was
BROUGHT unto him which owed." Mark that word, " brought unto
him." It was a seizure of this debtor. It was no willing act on
the part of this servant. This " reckoning" was any thing but a
voluntary thing with him. He sought it not. This settlement
only troubled his soul. He had no desire to face his creditor.
"What a perfect contrast to the case of real genuine repentance as
given in the parable of the prodigal son. The prodigal comes to
himself. He says, " I will arise and go to my father." He it is
that must needs go and pour out the acknowledgment of the
great debt he can never pay. He it is that seeks out his Father,
resolved that nothing shall prevent him from having this matter
between them settled at once. He has forfeited every thing. He
is a pauper and in rags. He has nothing wherewith to pay back
what he took away from his Father at the first; but just as he is
he must go ; and he will lie at his Father's feet until he knows
the worst. Any thing is better than living away with the griev-
ous debt pressing on him. This is manifestly heart-work in one
rising up earnestly to settle with God ; but the wretched servant
in this parable had none of this. He is ignonliniously dragged
20
306 THE PABABLE OF
as a pnsoner ; all unwillingly, to the presence of a severe judge.
Then further, mark his plea "Have patience with me, and I will
pay thee all." Is this the language of real genuine conversion ?
Can this be the portrait of one over whose soul, before God, there
has passed that solemn and precious moment, in which the dead
has lived, and the lost been found ? Impossible. Such words as
these prove nothing but utter blindness to the actual nature and
extent of his liabilities, and of his utter incapacity to meet them,
in him who is represented by this servant. " I am not worthy"
is the genuine cry. "Poor and miserable, blind and naked,' 1 is
the genuine conviction. But this before us in the parable is the
very image of blind ignorance, unbelief, and presumption, as to
what sin is, the guilt of the sinner, and the holiness and justice
of God.
We hold, then, that apart altogether from the dogmatic state-
ments we have briefly adverted to, the description in this parable
is wholly inapplicable to the case of a true disciple and child of
God. And that, be it observed, not in consequence of the unfor-
giving spirit manifested at length by the servant, but by the
primary description of his case when his lord first reckoned with
him. We do not conclude thus from what is said of him in his
lapsed condition, but from what is said of him as he first appeared
in the presence of the king.
This servant, then, does not represent any who are of the true
" Israel of God," but some who belong to the outward communion
of his people. This man in the household is just to be regarded
in a similar light as the barren fig-tree in the vineyard. The
actual condition represented by these two figures is the same
not of Christ, but with Christ. In both is represented a trial
given for a set purpose. In both is intimated the dread result if
that trial prove unsatisfactory.
The question of Peter to our Lord in the twenty-first verse orig-
inated this parable. The apostle, by his question, proved that he
needed instruction in the great duty of forgiveness. And our Lord
deals with him accordingly. Peter asked how often he was to for-
give his brother. Our Lord first of all replied to the effect that no
limit was to be placed to such acts. In accordance with his lan-
guage elsewhere, he wished to impress on the mind of his disciple,
that as often as an offending brother asked forgiveness, so often
THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT. 307
there should be a ready and frank exercise of this spirit. But he
taught him more than this by the parable. Peter was obviously
too much taken up with the mere number of times in which it was
expected that he should forgive his offending brother. Our Lord
by thih parable urges, not, as some have superficially observed,
the bare duty of forgiveness, and have thus lost sight of the real
scope and bearing of the parable, but the "forgiving from THE
HEART." This is the great point in it. "So likewise shall my
heavenly Fatiier do unto you, if ye FROM YOUR HEARTS forgive not
every one his brother their trespasses."
And what, then, does the parable tell us of the servant who
forgave not? Why, just this. It tells us he had not "the heart"
to forgive. The story is most instructive as to this. First, the
miserable sum in which his fellow-servant was indebted to him.
How heartless to persecute him for that ! Then see how he does
it : "He laid hands on him, and took him by tfie throat" It is the
conduct of a harsh, heartless bully ; and all this, too, just when
his lord had remitted such a debt on his part ! Nothing can
more significantly point to the main feature in the parable than
these things. It is not merely a description of one who forgives
not, but his utter want of heart in not forgiving. And what,
then, in other words, is this but saying that he was thoroughly in-
sensible of the benefit his master had conferred on himself? His
debt was remitted, but as regards the real value of this remission,
he was willfully and stupidly unconscious. The mercy of the
king had not reached his frozen heart, or brought forth one gen-
tle, loving, forbearing thought there.
Now, God is ever " reckoning" as in this parable, with merely
nominal believers, or professed servants, when from time to time
he confronts them with some trial, or some pressure of Provi-
dence, arresting them, as it were demanding from them an ac-
count of what they owe, and filling them with alarm and dread.
They plead, and they plead, it may be, heartily, for it is for mercy
to themselves. Such an one may be stretched on a bed of sickness,
and may cry mightily indeed for deliverance may implore with
a reality he never did before to be forgiven, and at the same time
mingle with his cries of terror the utterance of his own ignorance.
He may supplicate for patience, and make loud promises to pay
in future. And God listens and raises him up again. He goes
THE PARABLE OF
forth once more his conduct now will prove whether he has
really taken what God has freely offered, forgiveness, full, frank,
and free. If he had done so, his heart would move within him
as it never did before ; and the precious outgoings of its new and
changed nature would be seen on every side. But he has not
done so, and he quickly shows it by such heartless conduct as
gives the lie to his profession that he has accepted of a gift such
as God is willing to bestow, when he says, " Come, now, let us
reason together ; though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be
white as snow, though red as crimson, they shall be as wool."
(Isaiah i. 18.) The gift offered has not been received, for his
heart's insensibility proves that he knows nothing about if its
inestimable value its incalculable benefit. That gift has, indeed,
been freely and graciously offered ; but it has been only nomin-
ally accepted, and really rejected ; so that, not by any withdrawal
of mercy on the part of God, but by spurning of mercy on the
part of man, the original debt remains in full force between the
servant and his Lord ; and he who despised mercy must face
judgment. And what, then, can better illustrate this than the
case of this servant, whose conduct proved that he was utterly
insensible to the actual transaction between him and his king ; so
that after all he spurned in reality the gift that king offered. He
thought only of the talents of gold, the outward expression of
forgiveness, and he was willing and ready enough to take that.
He gave not a moment's thought to the inner love of reconcilia-
tion offered such a thing never glanced across his mind, nor
gave him a moment's uneasiness it never caused him shame for
the past, nor created a desire for a new heart for the future. And
so he left that offer in his king's presence. There it was at his
feet, but he heeded it not ; he " went out" despising the gift, and
so no wonder that the gold and the silver did not help him to
forgive his fellow.
And thus Peter was answered fully" Forgive your brother
as often as he turns and says, ' I repent.' " The number of times
you have to do this will cause you no difficulty when you dr'nk
deeply into the forgiveness of your heavenly Father to you. If^
you know not what this forgiveness is, you can have no heart-
forgiveness toward your brother ; and your heavenly Father will
at length withdraw the gift now offered by him, but despised by
THE LABOREKS IN THE VINEYARD. 309
you. But if you do, and the more you think of it and ponder
over it the better, then you will find no difficulty in the exercise
of sucli a spirit. On the contrary, it will be a source of delight
and pleasure to you, " to be merciful even as your Father which
is in Heaven is merciful."
Such, then, is the spirit and such the conduct we might expect
from the penitent and restored prodigal. Such will every true
penitent desire to possess and to exhibit. And such, then, is
another and most important part of the true disciple's work. He
must lay these precious stones in his building on the rock Christ.
Forgiveness in heart, forgiveness by word and deed; because
God also, for Christ's sake, has forgiven him. Both emotion and
act must be united here. "Without the act, this stone would not
be shaped or fitted to its place without the emotion, it would
not be a " lively "stone."
And here, as having no remote connection with what has just
been under notice, we turn to another remarkable parable of
Jesus :
" For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an Jwuse-
holder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his
vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a,
day, lie, sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third
hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place, and said unto
them, Go ye also into the vineyard ; and whatsoever is right I will
give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the
sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventii hour
he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why
stand ye here all the day idle ? They say unto him, Because no man
hath hired us. He saiOi unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard ;
and whatsoever is right, tiiat shall ye receive. So when even was come,
the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and
give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when
they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, tfiey received every
man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they
should have received 'more; and they likewise received every man a
penny. And when tfiey had received it, they murmured against the
goodman of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour,
and thou hast made tiiem equal unto us, whicli have borne the burden
and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend,
310 THE PARABLE OF
/ do thee no wrong : didst not thou agree with me fc-r a penny f
Take that thine is, and go thy way : I will give unto this last even as
unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own ?
Is thine eye evil, because I am good'? So the last shall be first, and
the first last: for many be called, but few chosen." Matt. xx. 1-16.
Although tbe apostles and ministers of Christ are in a special
sense " laborers" in God's vineyard, yet this parable must not be
restricted within such a limit in its application. Every believer
has a work to do in the vineyard, and the whole body of work-
men are here represented. The different times at which the
laborers were sent into the vineyard must not be set down to any
particular period, either in the history of the Jewish Church or
of the Christian. Nor, on the other hand, must a reference to
such early and late periods of the history of the Church of God
of all ages and every country be lost sight of, by confining the
application to the early or late periods in each man's life when
called to labor in the vineyard. Eather the very common prac-
tice of hiring at certain stated hours in the day, as mentioned in
the parable, must be taken as meaning that God does at " sundry
times," as well as in " divers manners," speak to people and call
them to work for him. Some are called early in the day of grace
others in the latter part of that day. Some are called early in
their own day of probation others are called when the shadows
of that day are beginning to fall on them.
But who are the laborers ? Now, just as in the parable of the
unforgiving servant, we have seen that the very description
requires us to look on that servant as by no means representing
a truly converted, penitent, and believing child of God, so here
the careful and emphatic language of the parable shuts us up to
the necessity of regarding the laborers in the vineyard as the true,
faithful people of God.
In proof of this, consider the following : When we first meet
with the laborers in the parable, they are idle in the market-place.
In the crowded, bustling place of business, these men were unoc-
cupied. The householder knew where to seek for laborers ; and,
as often as he chose to go to the market-place, there he ever found
men " standing idle." He calls them and sends them into his vine-
yard ; and, accordingly, one band after another go and do as he
bids them. Surely by putting this along side of that other para-
THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD. 311
ble, wherein the father bids his sons go work in the vineyard,
and the first at length went ; and when our Lord tells us, that in
so doing he did the will of his father, and represented those who
were entering into the kingdom of Heaven, we can not but con-
clude that the " laborers" here truly represent those who repent
and believe, and "do works meet for repentance ;" we can not but
regard them as being among the real servants of God, seeing they
not only are bidden to go, but actually do go into the vineyard,,
and that when there, they are no longer what they were before
" idle" but actively engaged in the duty and the sphere marked
out for them by their heavenly Father who hath called them.
And this becomes still more manifest when we consider the case
of those who are said in the parable to " murmur" for if there
can be a shadow of doubt thrown on the characters here repre-
sented as being true children of God, it arises from thence. And
yet it is specially by them that it is said and admitted also by the
householder, " they bore the burden and heat of the day." Such lan-
guage would be altogether unintelligible if applied to those who
were not true disciples : nor is it to be overlooked that it is spe-
cially with regard to those first hired, and wh6 then murmured
when they received their wages, that in the parable we are told that
the householder " agreed with them;" very significantly pointing to
the covenant of grace, mercy, and peace, not only offered to, but
accepted by those who are the "faithful followers of the Lamb."
And besides all this, there is the payment of the laborers at
the close of the day's labor. No one is questioned as if he had
left his work undone no one is condemned for having proved
himself by his conduct to be disqualified to receive his wages.
On the contrary, the fidelity of each to his engagement is tacitly
acknowledged, and each one receives the sum of money which
was agreed on. This can only represent the case of those who
are not cast out, but received, and everlasting favor conferred
upon them by him who has called them into his kingdom, and
who " giveth to every man according to his work." Nor is it
uninteresting to observe how, by a single expression, our Lord
seems at once to put aside the possible mistake, that the one party
might represent true and faithful disciples, while the others do
not ; for, in replying to the murmurer and condemning his spirit,
he at the same time, says of those murmured against, " / mil give
312 THE PARABLE OF
unto these last even as UNTO THEE." He did not withhold from
the one and give to the other ; but even as he checked what was
wrong, he made him who was first hired understand that what
he was giving to the last was "even as unto thee" If, then, the
parable gives us in the case of " the last" the representation of
true believers at length receiving eternal. life at the hands of God,
then " the first" also must represent such too, for they likewise
receive the same.
But then, how is it that truly righteous persons can be said to
" murmur" against God ? The difficulty in explaining the parable
on this point has very greatly arisen from not observing and
keeping steadily in view what it was that called it forth. The
division of chapters in our version arbitrary, though in many
respects useful, as it is has, in some cases, done much harm by
dislocating parts of Scripture which can only be seen in their
true light, or their full emphasis perceived when kept carefully
together. The chapter in which this parable occurs is one of
these. It ought never to have been severed from the preceding
one, for it is there that we find the cause which led our Lord to
utter the parable before us. A little attention will discover this
cause. The young rich ruler had sorrowfully left our Lord be-
cause he had great possessions, which he could not bring himseli
to give up, even for the sake of following Jesus. Our Lord's
observations on this sad picture of worldliness drew forth from
Peter, who probably expressed the feeling which existed in the
minds of his fellow-disciples, the question, " Lo we have forsaken
all, and followed thee : what shall we have therefore ?" The much
or the little forsaken is altogether beside the mark here. "Whether
little or much, it is all which Peter and his brethren had given
up in order to follow Christ. " What, then," he asks, " shall we
have therefore?".
This question of Peter's indicated an under-current of feeling
within his mind which was wrong, and needed warning and
reproof. In the first place, he seemed to put himself and his
brethren into & favorable comparison with the young ruler who
had just left them. It was as much as to say, " He has gone,
because he could not give up what he had for thee/ But we
have forsaken all and followed thee! we have done what he
would not we have denied ourselves as he could not, and have
THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD. 313
shown love to t-iee as lie has not." It was, in fact, a glorifying
of himself and what he had done, by an implied condemnation
of this young man. But further, the spirit manifested in the
question was specially wrong, by the very terms of that ques-
tion itself " What shall we have therefore ?" As if by their
leaving all and following Christ, they had put the latter under
obligation to them, instead of receiving unspeakable mercy in
being allowed to follow him at all as if, in fact, it was to be ex-
pected, that by their " bearing the burden and heat of the day" they
had acquired a special claim for some benefit by so doing, and he
was anxious to know what that would be.
Our Lord's reply to the question is remarkable. In infinite
condescension he at first passes over the unsanctified spirit which
on that occasion led Peter to speak as he had done, and graciously
sets before the Apostles a glorious prospect of coming glory for
them. But then, immediately after, he adds, for the very purpose
of checking the spirit which he marked, though Peter himself
was probably ignorant of it at the time, "and every one (not you
only who have entered first, but every one) that hath forsaken
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or
children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred-
fold, and shall inherit everlasting life." And then he emphatically
declares " And many that are first shall be last, and. the last
shall be first." Thus giving the key-word to the following para-
ble, as after having uttered it, he thus applies it, " So the last shall
be first, and the first last."
The parable, then, was given for the purpose of warning his
disciples against the indulgence of a spirit which they were in
danger of fostering, but which he altogether condemned. This
spirit of jealous dislike that others should be as favorably re-
garded as ourselves, because we think that they do not deserve it
as well, is, alas ! too often met with even among the followers of
Jesus. We are all too ready in this matter, to " sacrifice to our
own net, and burn incense to our own drag." We are all too
prone to magnify our day of toil and labor, its burden and its
heat, and to overlook the work of others, or at least to consider
our own as in many respects much better. We would by- no
means deny their excellence, but we will not put it on a level
with our own ; and what is this but practically putting Peter's
314 THE PARABLE OF
question, " What shall we have therefore f" What is this but in-
dulging in a spirit which feels aggrieved and sore, when it appears
as if we were slighted, and others, whose work we esteem less
than our own, are preferred before us. Now, the parable does
not by any means require us to conclude that there will be any
of God's servants at the last at the close of the day of grace, or
at the end of their own day- of labor, who will really speak to the
heavenly Householder in such terms as are here set forth ; but
our Lord does in this emphatic manner give us to understand the
exceeding greatness of that evil thing which is working within
even God's people now, and which they must by all means, and
that without delay, seek to overcome. We must begin at once
to discipline ourselves into entire acquiescence with this truth,
that many who appear the least just now, may be seen to be the
greatest when the day's work is done, and those who are the last
and apparently far back in the actual entering on their labor,
may stand the first in the final acknowledgment of the owner
of the vineyard.
And all this is based on the one great and all-important truth
which this parable inculcates, namely, that whatever the believer
receives at last from God, is of grace, and not of works. It has
been truly said, that its teaching is parallel with the first four
verses of the fourth chapter of Koinans. It is intended to urge
on all God's disciples, that by the very terms of the covenant
under which alone they stand before God, or are admitted to
work at all in his vineyard, all boasting is excluded, as if they
deserved any thing at his hands because of what they had done,
or better than others who have labored at their side. It is to
strike at the root of all such questioning " What shall we have
therefore f" It is not because of any merit in themselves that they
have been sent into the vineyard in the first instance, nor is it
because of meritorious work when in it that they at length shall
reap a full reward. The first is of grace, and the last is equally
so. "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own f
truly sets forth the nature of all such transacticns between God
and his people. What he gives them is not their own, but his
own. It is of his own sovereign grace and mercy that he bestows
any thing on them which they have or hope to have. " / will
give unto this last even as unto thee."
THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD. 3i5
What is meant by this " gift" in the parable is admirably set
forth by Alford. " This gift I believe, then, to be eternal life, or,
in other words, GOD HIMSELF. (John xvii. 3.) And this, rightly
understood, will keep us from the error of supposing that the
parable involves a declaration that all who are saved will be in
absolute equality. This gift is and will be to each man as he is
prepared to receive it." Eternal life, God himself, his favor, his
light, his glory, all that the great King and Creator can ever be
to a creature, is the portion forever of those who are found at the
evening faithful workmen in his vineyard. But " if the vision
of God constitute the blessedness of the future world, then they
whose spiritual eye is most enlightened, will drink in most of his
glory." According to the enlargement of the vessel, " it will re-
ceive more amply of the ftivine fullness ;" and thus with the
same reward at last to all, even as it was given to Abraham
through faith long ago, " / am thine exceeding great reward," it
shall still happen that " there are first which shall be last, and
last first" some by the very largeness of the capacity to receive
and enjoy, shall be, as it were, before others who started in the
race before them ; and some who have " borne the burden and
heat of the day," though not less full, yet according to the meas-
ure of their stature shall be as " the last."
Our Lord adds, " For many are called, but few chosen," not as
a further application of the special features of the parable, but as
an important caution to be received regarding the whole matter
at large to which the parable is directed. From each body of
workmen going at once when called to work in the vineyard, it
might have been inferred that all who heard the gospel invitation
would obey it, and faithfully serve God as his chosen active
servants. Our Lord corrects this notion by these words just
quoted. It was necessary for the scope of the parable and its
special bearing, that different groups should be found repairing
at once, just as they were called, into the vineyard. All these
before they begin their work are called ; and as they are seen at
their work, they prove themselves to be chosen ; but there is a
vast number beside of whom the parable takes no immediate
cognizance, because they come not within its scope, who, though
called and invited, yea, again and again entreated to go and
work in the vineyard, yet love the wages of iniquity better, are
316 THE PARABLE OF THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD.
not found among the faithful servants of their heavenly Master,
and so are destitute of that mark of grace which his own people
manifest, as not only " called," but also " chosen and faithful."
And here, then, is another work of true discipleship, to be a
faithful laborer, and that, too, in the place, and for the time ap-
pointed for our Divine Master. To bear any toil he lays upon
us, and yet to know that after all the reward is not of works but
of grace, and that the greatness and preciousness of that reward
is the enjoyment of God's presence forever. And he, then, will
the most readily and frankly forgive the errors of his fellow-
servants who most deeply feels that he himself stands by grace,
and not through his own merit ; and these precious stones will
ever appear side by side in the house of the wise builder his
conformity with his gracious Master*in acts of forgiveness, and
his dependence on that Master's grace, so to sanctify all he does
as that it may be owned at last to be the true and faithful work
of a chosen and beloved servant.
CHAPTER VI.
THE UNJUST STEWARD THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.
WE now pass on to another parable, which gives still farther
insight into what is required of true discipleship what is expect-
ed at the hands of a returned and converted prodigal.
"And he said, also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man
which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had
wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it
that I hear this of thee ? give an account of thy stewardship ; for thou
mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself,
What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship:
lean not dig ; to beg lam ashamed. lam resolved what to do, that,
when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their
houses. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and
said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord ? And he said,
An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill,
and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And
how much owest thou ? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat.
And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the
lord commended the unjust steward, because he had lone ivisely: for
the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children
of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mam-
mon of unrighteousness ; that when ye fail, they may receive you into
everlasting habitations." Luke xvi. 1-9.
In order fully to enter into that which this parable is designed
to teach, we must bear in mind that it presents before us, from
first to last, a finished picture of thorough worldliness. The fa-
cility with which the interpretation has been admitted, making
the rich man to represent Jehovah, and the steward, each one of
the human race who has received certain things in trust from Je-
318 THE PARABLE OF
hovah, at once perplexes the whole passage, and is altogether for-
eign to the purport of the parable.
The words with which our Lord draws the parable to a close
before proceeding to the full application, ought to have prevented
this view from being entertained. " The children of this world
are in their generation wiser than the children of light." Now
this expression does not refer merely to the steward, nor yet to
the debtors with whom he had conspired to defraud his master,
but equally to that master himself, together with both these par-
ties. The parable, in fact, portrays in lively colors before us a
group of " the children of this world," it exhibits to us some
marked features in their dealing with each other, and illustrates
" their wisdom in their generation" their shrewdness and clever-
ness in adapting their means and energies toward the end they
have in view. Let us look at this group as they appear before us
in the parable.
First of all, there is the "rich man 11 himself. Not here such a
rich man as we observed in another parable, preparing to build
new barns and storehouses, in the miserable hope of a future of
peace, prosperity, and comfort nor such a rich man as is set forth
in the parable at the close of the chapter where this is found, who
was "clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously
every day," but a rich man who was careful of "his goods" He
does not appear to be exceedingly anxious as to their increase, nor
yet lavish and luxurious in their expenditure, but he takes good
care not to lose sight of them. He is obliged to trust in others
so far, but his is no blind confidence. He keeps his ears and his
eyes open to all that concerns his affairs, and he will not be long
before he detects what is wrong, nor will he lose time in punishing
the wrong doer. He is, in fact, in the worldly sense of the term,
a careful man, one who looks well after his own interests, and is
not the less fond of "his goods" because he does not appear to be
in such a hurry as some to increase them, or as others to spend
them. Look at him when he discovers the fraudulent conduct
of his steward. "The Lord (His Lord, it ought to be rendered,
the lord of the steward) commended the unjust steward, because he
had done wisely" He did not commend him for his injustice. He
turned him out of his office on that account ; but as a man of the
world he could not withhold from him commendation for his clev-
THE DISHONEST STEWARD. 319
erness and shrewdness in the plan he had formed for his future
provision and comfort. What is this but the very echo of what
we hear continually amid the ranks of worldly men ? Persons
who will no1 defraud others, and who take good care not to be
defrauded by others, and yet who can not refrain from admiring
the " sharp practice" of the less scrupulous, and even at the very
moment when they condemn dishonesty, and visit it with a heavy
penalty, yet speak of the fraudulent person as a very clever though
an unprincipled man.
Then, as to the second party in this group. He is not such as
our Lord had spoken of, some little time before " "Who then is
that faithful and wise steward ?" He is a dishonest and cunning
one. He goes on for some time using the opportunities he has of
fraudulent conduct, and indulging himself at the expense of his
master, but he manages to save appearances. "When, however,
he is detected, far from repenting of his former evil course, he
takes advantage ' of the last moment, before he renders up his
stewardship, to defraud still more, and to implicate others in his
evil deeds, in order, if possible, to secure for himself such shelter
and help at length as he will need. "Sit down quickly" he says
to his lord's debtors no time to be lost. If you do not change
your bill now, you will never be able to do it afterward. If you
do, I will take care in my reckoning that you are not exposed.
He displays his tact and shrewdness in taking advantage of the
very last moment he had at his disposal, and also by implicating
others with him in his fraud.
Then, there are the debtors themselves persons who will not
strike out such a plan of fraud and crime as the steward does, but
who are not on the whole unwilling to lend an ear to his sug-
gestions; not as bold in dishonesty as the other, but equally
greedy after the wages of iniquity, and content to connive at
what is sinful, if, peradventure, they may themselves " suck there-
out no small advantage."
Now, all these persons are " in their generation wiser than the
children of light." They are not wiser in regard to what they
are, because, by implication, they arc children of darkness, but in
their way with the end they have before them they show much
more shrewdness and cleverness in their efforts to attain that end
than the children of light. Are the latter as prudently careful
320 THE PARABLE OF
over what they possess as this rich man was over " his goods f "
Are they as watchful as he, that none shall in any way rob or
defraud them of these precious things which have been given to
them ? Are they as clear-sighted and watchful over their eternal
interests as he was about his temporal ? Are they, again, as quick
and prompt to take advantage of every moment, in order to
make provision for the time to come, as the steward was in regard
to his future prospects in the world ? Are they eagerly vigilant
not to let slip any opportunity which may be improved in pro-
moting "the things which belong to their everlasting peace?"
Are they as ready to gather from the experience of others, from
their foresight and decision, what may add to their own store of
the riches of Christ, so that they may also out of that abundance
be a means of blessing in return, as these debtors were in the pur-
suit of their earthly prosp*erity ? Alas, no ! In all these points
they are put to shame by the people of the world. They have
a glorious inheritance the true riches unsearchable riches
gold that perisheth not a treasure in the heavens that faileth not,
and yet there is no comparison between the .zeal, and the care,
and the wisdom, and the shrewdness with which they " lay up
for themselves in store," and what those manifest who have set
their heart upon the world, and have taken the things it offers as
their treasure and chiefest good. The latter teach the people of
God many a lesson which they would do well to profit by, in
real earnestness, regarding the things on which they have severally
set their hearts.
But, lest there should be any misapprehension regarding the
imagery used in this parable lest it might be supposed that he
was doing more than merely drawing such an inference as that
just given lest it might for a moment be supposed that he was
marking with his approval the conduct of the parties in the par-
able, our Lord proceeds to give his second application of it.
"And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of
unrighteousness, that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlast-
ing habitations" These men in the parable, were not doing this.
They were wise in their generation, no doubt, but they had missed
this true wisdom they had not gained the secret of making the
mammon of unrighteousness, the gold and the silver of the world,
their friends. They had not acquired a real knowledge of the
THE DISHONEST STEWARD. 321
character of these things. While they showed great sagacity in
pursuing them, they were, nevertheless, ignorant of their real
value. They knew well how to run eagerly after them. They
knew not how to keep them. They could grasp them in their
hands, but it was only to feel them pierce them with sorrow, or
see them take wings and fly away as quickly as they came.
Now, our Lord's earnest advice to his disciples by means of
this parable, was to take warning by those spoken of in it, and
not to do as they are represented as doing. Their hearts were so
set on the mammon of unrighteousness, that it became the prolific
source of mutual enmity. It likewise became an enemy to them
in their own bosom. Their care and love for the world filled
them with anxieties and fears. The disciples of Jesus were to
take heed that it was not so with them. They ought to " make to
themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness}' 1 They were
to use the world as not abusing it. They were to set its proper
value on it, and keep it in its right place. They were not, with
the means at their disposal, to provide for themselves " barns and
storehouses," nor "purple and fine linen," and sumptuous fare.
They were not to make use of them for the mere purposes of self-
indulgence, and personal ease or comfort, but they were to make
"friends of them" they were to make such a use of all worldly
things, as that these should not rise up in judgment against them
at the last, and condemn them, but be an evidence in their favor
that they sought to serve God with the very things which worldly
men reserve for themselves. In other words, we are taught that
a sanctified use of what is in itself worthless and perishing, will
turn it into a friend. It will then be a witness for us and not
against us ; one or other of which it must be. It will speak in
our favor before God not as showing merit in us, but as proving
the true work of grace within, that we have been led to consecrate
every thing within our reach to God, instead of misspending it
on ourselves.
And this receives still further force from what our Lord added,
"No servant can serve two masters." The worldly man loves mam-
mon and serves mammon, and, therefore, he is a slave who does
what his master bids, while by this very choice of mammon, he is
at enmity with God. But the true disciple has chosen God as his
master, and thus he is not enslaved by the world, but, on the
21
322 THE PARABLE OF
contrary, he is above it, and by reason of this relationship with
God, he can " make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness."
To be at enmity with God is, in other words, to serve mammon.
To serve God is, in other words, to turn the curse of mammon
into a blessing to extract sweetness out of bitterness to change
" the root of all evil" into a goodly plant to turn a deadly enemy
into a real frierid.
"That when ye fail" proceeds our Lord, or rather more accu-
rately, when it, (i. e., the more money, the actual gold and silver,
when we are beyond the power of using it any longer,) " when it
fails, they (the friends made by it) may receive you into ever-
lasting habitations." The evidences of your faithfulness in the
mammon of unrighteousness will be 'produced at last in your
favor, and though they will not open the wayybr you into your
everlasting habitation, will, nevertheless, welcome you thither.
"Your bread cast upon the waters will be found after many
days." You will find that you have " laid up in store a good
foundation against the time to come." The use you have made
of earthly things will bear friendly testimony to you in Heaven,
and the keeper of this friendly testimony will be none other than
your Master himself as it will also be none other than He who
will at last declare and publish that testimony to the universe
" Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye
have done it unto me." This is " to make friends of the mammon
of unrighteousness." This is the friendly welcome which they
who do so shall receive at the last*
And here, then, the disciple of Jesus is earnestly reminded
that while he has given up the world, in order to follow Christ,
he is still in the world, and has a great deal to do with the world.
* The following admirable note tends to show very clearly the connection between
the above parable and the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth verses following, which present
at first sight considerable difficulty. The three verses are " closely connected with
the foregoing. The faithfulness in the least is the same as the prudence and shrewd-
ness just spoken of; in the case of the children of light, they run up into one who
then is that faithful and icise steward? 'That which is least'='the unrighteous
mammon' ' that which is another man's' i. e., the wealth of ihis present world, which
is not the Christian's own, nor his proper inheritance. The 'much'= 'the true
riches, '=' that which is your own,'=i/*e true riches of God's inheritance. The wealth
of this world is u.u6-p<oi 'another's,' forfeited by sin orly put into our hands to
try us, and to be rendered an account of." Alford.
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 323
First, he is, by the example of worldly men, the shrewdness, dil-
igence, care, and forethought which they exhibit in their pursuit,
to be prudent, diligent, earnest, and active in his. He is to prove
by all his words and works that he is as really in earnest on his
side as they are on theirs. He is to learn a lesson from their worldly
wisdom, and to put it into practice without their worldliness. And
then, secondly, he is to extract true value out of " unrighteous
mammon," he is to turn to the very best account the mere dross
of this world its gold and its silver and so " provide himself
bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth
not, where no thief approacheth, nor moth corrupteth." Thus
will the wise builder fashion precious stones out of very unprom-
ising material. Thus will the poor prodigal himself restored
search the land wherein he had formerly dwelt, that he may
bring the things he had once basely squandered, and lay them at
his Father's feet.
"We advance now to another parable closely connected with
that just considered, .delivered by our Lord on the same occasion,
and evidently completing what was there illustrated in a very
solemn and striking manner.
" There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and
fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day ; and tJiere was a certain
beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and
desiring to be fed with tiie crumbs which fell from the rich man's table:
moreover, tJie dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass,
that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom : the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lifted
up his eyes, being in toi-ments, and seeth Abraham afar offhand Laz-
arus in his bosom. And he cried, and said, Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger
in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But
Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy
good tilings, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is com-
forted, and thou art tormented. And besides all this, between us and
you there is a great gulf faced: so that they ivhich would pass from
hence to you can not ; neither can tfiey pass to us, that would come
from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou
wouldest send him to my father's house: for I have five brethren; (hat
he may testify unto them, lest they aim come into this place of torment.
324 THE PARABLE OF
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets ; let them
hear them. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham ; but if one went
unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him,
If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded
though one rose from the dead.' 1 ' 1 Luke xvi. 19-31.
We are told by the Evangelist that the Pharisees, "who were
covetous/' on hearing the parable of the unjust steward, derided
Jesus. And our Lord, then, in the parable now before us, gives
a terrible illustration of the man who fails to " make unto him-
self friends of the mammon of unrighteousness."
"We have here, first of all, a description of one of the " children
of this world" a rich man living in luxury and splendor. His
clothing, his eating, and his drinking, all as sumptuous as carnal
heart can desire. It is important, however, that we do not exag-
gerate the character here portrayed. There is nothing said of
this man as implying any thing in his outward deportment or
conduct but what might be " highly esteemed among men." He
is not said to be dishonest, nor avaricious, nor yet a spendthrift.
He spends his money freely, but not, as far as the story shows,
with reckless extravagance. He might be regarded by others as
one merely living handsomely according to his means. We have
nothing hinted at, as if displaying a specially selfish character
with reference to those in his own house. On the contrary, the
simple notice of what he says near the close of the parable of his
" five brethren," would rather lead us to regard the character
intended to be represented as amiable and generous in the esti-
mation of the world. And even as to the beggar at his gate, it
is wrong- to regard what is said of the latter, as if pointing to a
marked and special contempt and neglect on the part of the rich
man toward his poor afflicted neighbor. If the description of the
beggar, "full of sores" refers to the plague of leprosy, as appears
probable, then there was a legal necessity for his not being
allowed to go farther than the gate of the house. And when
likewise it is said of the poor man that he " desired to be fed ivith
the crumbs" &c., it means that he did obtain his wish, that he
" looked for" and " willingly took" it. He was laid at the gate,
according to his wish, as the most convenient place where he
could lie, and where he knew he would receive of the superflui-
ties of the rich man's table. There is nothing to prevent the
THE EICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 325
supposition that the rich man gladly assented to this. In the
latter part of the parable he recognizes Lazarus, and so we may
gather that at least not unwillingly he knew of the daily relief
which the poor beggar received at his gate. Nay, as he himself
passed in and out, he may have bestowed kind words on the
afflicted leper, even as he allowed him to be fed from his table.
To make this man out to be unamiable, uncharitable, cold, and
contemptuous to the poor and the suffering, is not within the
scope of the parable at all, or rather, it militates against its true
bearing, and assuredly is not supported in the least degree by the
words of the parable itself. But whence then his condemnation,
according t the terrible description given at the close of the par-
able ? "Was it simply because he was rich ? Far from it. No
fair construction of the parable can ever admit of such a view.
And it is not unworthy of passing remark, that, as if to prevent
us for a moment harboring the thought, we have Abraham intro-
duced as on the other side of the gulf, and yet he " was exceeding
rich."
The real key to this man's character and the cause of his con-
demnation, is to be found in a single expression used by Abraham
toward him, " Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst THY
good things" " What a weighty, precious word is this, ' THY,' "
exclaims a modern commentator. It scatters to the winds the
false deductions of De Wette and others, that the parable means,
" Woe to the rich, but blessed are the poor." " THY good things"
the things you have chosen as your portion the things of earth,
and time, and sense, in the enjoyment of which you lived content-
edly and happily as your own. God put them into your hands
as a steward to be taken care of and used for him ; you have dis-
honestly seized and appropriated them to yourself, as if they
were your own property. They have been your good. THY good
things! How this, as formerly noted, binds several of these para-
bles together ! The prodigal son demanded the portion of "goods
which falleth to ME." The rich fool made all preparation for
preserving " His goods" the " children of this world" contended
with each other about what each wished to call "HIS goods"
(verse 1,) and now here this rich man, instead of making friends
of his riches, using them for God's glory, as a faithful and a wise
steward, has just taken them as his own ; thus wasting what did
326 THE PARABLE OF
not belong to him, spending it as he pleased, not as God required;
until at length being called to give an account of his stewardship,
he is found guilty and condemned.
And in the word " receivedst" as in the original, there is great
emphasis. " It expresses the receipt in full the exhaustion of all
claim on. Those that were good things to thee came to an end in
thy lifetime : there are no more of them." "Whatever can be de-
rived from the guilty use of the things of earth, apart from the
giver, and in neglect of fidelity to him, had been received by this
rich man. He had taken them as his own, and he received his
reward. They gave him as much as they could, and then left him
to perish. The rich man in this parable, then, is the* representa-
tive of that large class of worldly persons who have " their por-
tion in this life," who stand well in the estimation of those who
judge according to the outward appearance, but who are altogether
destitute of love to God, and blind to the solemn responsibility
laid upon them, to use their possessions not for their own indul-
gence, but according to his will. They are persons who, with all
their amiability, are deficient in every emotion of gratitude toward
God with all their integrity regarding their fellow-men, are dis-
honest in respect of their heavenly Master, and with all the def-
erence they exhibit for the opinions and the wishes of the world,
have none for the plain requirements of Jehovah.
Turn now to the other party introduced to our notice in this
parable the beggar. It is worthy of remark, that just as the
character of the rich man is marked by a single expression such
as we have noted, so it would appear that our Lord by a single
word would convey to us the impression he desired regarding the
poor man. This is the only one of his parables in which he in-
troduces parties to us by name. We have, first, the beggar named
Lazarus ; and then Abraham is brought expressly before us, in the
latter part of the parable. We may readily assume that our Lord
had some special reason for this unusual addition to the general
characteristic of his parables. When, therefore, he says the beg-
gar was called Lazarus, (the Lord my help,) it is not too much to
infer that he wished by this very name to give us this insight into
his character, that he was one of the true Israel ; that he belonged
to those who trusted in the living God, who realized in his poverty
and disease, that " man doth not live by bread alone, but by every
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 327
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God ;" that amid all
that was so dreary and dark outwardly in his condition, he was
a partaker of the blessedness of the man who " has the God of
Jacob for his help, and whose hope is in the Lord his God."
"We see then in him an entire and striking contrast to the other
as regards outward things. The one is clothed in purple and fine
linen the other in rags. The one fares sumptuously the other
desires to be fed with the leavings of the rich man's table. The
one reposes on his luxurious couch the other is laid at the rich
man's gate. And yet the contrast in the external condition is not
more remarkable than that which exists when we look farther.
The rich man takes all that he has as his good things the poor
man has evil things ; but note, they are not his evil things, they
are sent by his heavenly Father for a set purpose and a set time
to prove and try him, and he has nothing further to do with them
they are as little his portion in reality as the good things which
the rich man has belong to him. He knows it the rich man does
not Again, the rich man trusts in what he has the poor man
trusts in God takes what God sends him without murmuring
is thankful for crumbs, and suffers even the " dogs to lick his
sores." And thus, while the one would ever find abundance of
thorns in his bed of roses, the other would often forget the hard-
ness of his outward lot by the gracious manifestations of his
Father's love to him ; realizing, it may be, as bright visions, as
Jacob did when he had no softer pillow than a stone whereon to
lay his head.
"We come now to the turning-point in the parable. We have
both these men strongly contrasted with each other in life we
have them both brought together for a moment, and but a moment,
in deatfi. "Tlie beggar died" " The rich man also died." "It is
appointed unto all men once to die." Nothing but the mere act
of death connects the two. Even its accompaniments were widely
different in both cases. The rich man had a stately funeral. This
was a fitting termination to a life whose main feature was the in-
dulgence of the poor body. The beggar, too, was buried ; but no
mention is made of his burial here. His dust was precious in the
sight of that God in whom he trusted, and in the resurrection-
morning God will show how much he prizes the redeemed bodies
of his saints ; but the parable has only at this point to do with
328 THE PABABLE OF
what takes place among men ; and so it merely leaves us to infer,
that while the rich man was carried to the tomb with earthly pa-
geantry and state, the poor diseased body of the beggar was hid
out of sight in any obscure grave which the hand of charity
might provide for it.
Now let us tarry for a moment at this point in the story. Let
us place ourselves in imagination at the door of the rich man's
house, when the band of hired mourners has passed away, as his
body is* borne to the grave. His place is empty now within the
gorgeous halls he called his own. That tenant is gone forever.
The place of poor Lazarus is empty too. There is the spot on
which he rested his wearied aching limbs, and received his daily
pittance from the rich man's table. That spot shall know him no
more forever. Turn now from the things that are seen, and pause
in solemn awe as he who has the keys of death and Hades draws
aside with his own hand that dread veil which hides the things
that are unseen and eternal. What bright spirit is that which, shi-
ning with heavenly radiance, is conducted by the angels to the
abodes of bliss, where are Abraham, and all who have followed
in the footsteps of his faith? It is Lazarus. "He is carried by the
angels into Abraham's bosom" Fadeless bloom, endless light, un-
broken peace, are there, and all are his forever. But whence is
that wail of anguish ? Look across that terrible unfathomable
gulf, and, as the eye becomes accustomed to the dread darkness
resting there, behold him in this region of despair from whom this
bitter cry has arisen. Can you recognize him ? It is the rich
man. He diecl. He was buried. He has " lifted up his eyes" in
Hades, " being in torment" Now, judgment and eternity are stern
realities brought before him face to face. He sees now as he never
did before. And from amid his desolation he beholds Abraham
and Lazarus, but alas, both are " afar off" and so he cries with an
exceeding great and bitter cry from the unutterable misery which
has fallen upon him. Ah, if the rich man's couch is empty now,
and the place at his gate also where the beggar was wont to lie
the region of bliss and the abode of misery have had each a
place filled in them, and the contrast of time is as nothing in com-
parison of that in eternity with this terrible change severally in
the condition of the two, that " now he (Lazarus) is comforted, and
tkou (the rich man) art tormented"
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 329
And here we must enter a protest against all those attempts
which have been made to set aside a very important inference to
be drawn from this part of the parable, by affirming that our Lord
did not necessarily mean to convey to us any view of the actual
condition of each soul at death, but merely based his parable on
the Jewish notion that all true believers when they died were
carried to Abraham's bosom. Such dealing with the parable is
utterly indefensible. It is turning the parable into a fable, taking
the illustration out of the region of reality, and so altogether
destroying its force. The connection between a vine and its
branches is a real not a fabulous thing. The office and work of a
shepherd is not a fabulous thing. The obedience of some sons,
and the profligacy of others is not a fabulous thing. The rela-
tionship between master and servant, husbandman and laborers,
is not a fabulous thing. The losing of a sheep or a piece of
money is not a fabulous thing. The fraudulent ways of the chil-
dren of this world is not a fabulous thing. And so here, unless
we would withdraw this parable from all the rest, and rob it of
what distinguishes every one of them, we must conclude that our
Lord has laid bare to us one of the most solemn, as it is one of
the most startling truths connected with our present condition,
namely, that death to the believer ushers him at once into endless
felicity, and that to the impenitent, also, it brings him under the
immediate pressure of everlasting despair. He teaches us here,
that to the child of God to be " absent from the body is to be
present with the Lord," while to the impenitent, to be dismissed
from the body is but to " go to his own place," where " the worm
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
See with what terrible distinctness all this is delineated in the
parable. The rich man dies, is buried, and is "in torment" There
is no waiting for the last day and its final judgment. The die is
cast, and while the body is not yet returned to the grave, the
spirit has joined those who like itself have chosen death rather
than life. The whole pleading of this wretched man with Abra-
ham implies that the day of grace for those he had left behind
still lasted, and that the day of final judgment was still future.
Then, just as this gives us the instantaneous plunging of the im-
penitent into misery at death, so also does it mark the hopeless-
ness of any change after death. Not even a drop of water to be
330 THE PARABLE OF
found there. A "great gulf between the righteous and the
wicked, and that " FIXED," so that the passage from the one to
the other is impossible on either side. When once the spirit has
taken its flight from its earthly prison, the dread decree comes
into force never to be relaxed " He that is unjust, let him be
unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he
that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy,
let him be holy still."
Then consider further what the parable intimates to us. The
wretched man entreats that Lazarus be sent to his five brethren
lest they also join him in the place of torment. Alas, as long as
they are in this world the wicked find their greatest satisfaction
in drawing others after them in their forgetfulness of God, and
indulgence of themselves. It will be widely different in the world
to come. Then every addition to the sad and guilty throng will
plant an additional sting in the bosom of the lost. Increasing
numbers will only increase their anguish ; and if there can be a
glimmer of hope at all where every thing is despair, it is only
expressed in such terrible words as these, " lest they also come into
this place of torment"
But much light is thrown upon the whole truth intended to be
illustrated here by the express mention of Abraham, and what he
says to the rich man. Can there be any room for doubting the
purpose of Jesus in singling out Abraham in the place of rest, and
peace, and joy, as the one whom Lazarus joined? Both of these
persons, the rich and the poor, were his children after the flesh
one only was his child according to the faith. Abraham himself
in bliss is there specially as the " father of the faithful." He has,
" through faith and patience, inherited the promises ;" and so,
when Lazarus joins this "friend of God," we are unmistakably
informed that he has reached that happy abode, not by works
not in consequence of his sufferings, nor by reason of his sub-
mission under them but because he walked in the steps of the
faith of Abraham, and so now his faith is also swallowed up in
sight, and, like his great progenitor, he receives full possession of
the promises which he formerly embraced, and of the reality of
which he was fully persuaded long before. The picture in the
parable of Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, is the precious repre-
sentation before the eye of the words of the Apostle, " So then
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 331
they which be of faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham" (Gala-
tians iii. 9.)
It is just this which makes the eternal distinction between
Lazarus and the rich man. The one believed, the other did not.
And so Lazarus sits down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the
kingdom of God, while the rich man is cast out. Through faith
the one has entered into rest. Because of unbelief the other
enters not, and so the wrath of God abides upon him. And just
as this is implied in the mere introduction of Abraham here, so
his conversation with the rich man fully proves it. See what the
latter desires for his brethren. He begs that Lazarus may be sent
to testify to them, if it may be that they will "HEAR," " BE PER-
SUADED," and "REPENT." Tbia is just as if he had confessed,
that in his lifetime he had done none of these things. It is his
acknowledgment that his lot in torment was but the necessary
result of his not hearing, believing, (or being persuaded,) and repent-
ing. It distinctly and unequivocally implies that Lazarus in
Abraham's bosom had escaped the torment with which the other
is now enveloped, just because he did hear, believe, and repent.
It was not his riches that gave the rich man his place in torment ;
neither was it the poverty of Lazarus that gave him his place in
bliss. It was because the one rejected the counsel of God against
himself, and turned a deaf ear to God, who, " at sundry times,
and in divers manners, spake in times past unto him ;" and be-
cause the other "believed God, and so it was counted to him for
righteousness."
And besides all this, the language of Abraham clearly sets
forth what is the grand and fruitful source of all man's misery
and death. Not the deficiency of evidence, but the deficiency of
willingness to receive any evidence at all. "If they hear not Moses
and the prophets, neither will they be. persuaded though one rose from
the dead. 11 It is impossible to pass unnoticed the wonderful con-
firmation of this statement which the after history of Christ sup-
plied, and which is still more striking from the identity of the
names. When Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was
raised from the dead when those who had seen him a dead
corpse, saw him once more sitting at the supper-table with his Mas-
ter this, instead of bringing the enemies of Christ to his feet,
only stirred them up all the more to conspire againt him, to put
332 THE PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.
him to death. Verily, a Lazarus did go to them from the dead ;
but a deaf ear to Moses and the prophets made them blind to this
also, and so they were not " persuaded."
And here, then, the true disciple who is building on the one
foundation, even Christ, is taught some precious and important
truths regarding his work. He must be ready not only to do,
but to suffer. He must make up his mind to a cheerful acquies-
cence in the will of God, even if God shall be pleased to send
him manifold " evil things" in his outward lot even if he be
laid as a Lazarus at some rich man's gate, and dependent on the
merest charity for his daily food. In other words, he must let
patience have her perfect work, and rest assured that those will
not be among the least precious or beautiful of the stones he is
building on the tried foundation, which, under the chastening
hand of God, give some blessed tokens of resemblance to and
fellowship in suffering with him who "knew not where to lay
his head." Further, this parable must teach him not to be jeal-
ous at the prosperity of the wicked ; it must tell him how uncer-
tain these things are which the men of the world choose as their
portion, and how "the rich man," who trusts in his riches, "fades
away in his ways." And far from envying them, therefore, when
they are " flourishing like a green bay -tree," it appeals to his
every sympathy and feeling to lose no time in seeking, by prayer
and every other possible means, to do that which the poor man
in torment so eagerly desired to do, but in vain, namely, to turn
the wicked from his wickedness the rich man from his confi-
dence that they may be converted and live.
CHAPTER VII.
THE PHAEI8EE AND FtBLICAN THE SON ASKING BREAD THE FBIEND AT MIDNIGHT
THE UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGE.
WE come now to a very interesting and important group of
parables. When the bitterest persecutor of the early church was
converted to God, he was pointed out to a disciple of Jesus, in
his changed condition, by these significant words, " Behold, he
prayeth." And that prayer was a life-long one. The simple
turning of his heart toward his Father, and the affecting words
poured forth by the poor prodigal, beautifully represent the spirit
of adoption in the true child of God, " whereby he cries, Abba,
Father." We have then, as we might expect, some precious par-
ables bearing on this express mark of true discipleship. The
wise builder must not only see to his foundation, take heed unto
his spirit, and diligently add to his building one stone after an-
other of those " works which are by Jesus Christ to the praise of
God," but he must ever throughout the whole process see that he
uses proper tools for his work. Unless he does this, he will not
proceed either so rapidly or so successfully in his work as he
might, and as he ought. If he uses inferior tools, he will often
be satisfied with " wood, hay, and stubble," for his materials. It
is only when he has those tools in his hand which are altogether
suitable for his work, that he never will use any thing but the
finest and most precious material " gold, silver, precious stones."
What he has to labor with, then, throughout his whole course of
work, is prayer. Just as the man who has " the whole armor of
God," will not even then fight well unless he is " praying always,"
so he, who has reached the true foundation, and has discovered
the way to the proper quarries, will not even then build well,
unless he continue " instant in prayer."
334 THE PARABLE OF
The first of this series of parables emphatically poiats out what
prayer really is.
" Two men went up into the temple to pray ; the ortx, JL Pharisee,
and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with
himself, 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, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon
his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this
man went down to his house justified rather than the other : for every
one that exalteth himself shall be abased ; and he that humbleth him-
self shall be exalted." Luke xviii. 10-14.
Our Lord, just before delivering this parable, had spoken an-
other, " to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to
faint." But while encouraging them to this duty, he takes care
to impress upon them in that now before us what that duty really
is. A mistake here is fatal. He has no encouragement for a
life-long prayer, such as that offered up by the Pharisee, but only
for that breathed forth by the publican.
It is important to notice that this parable was not spoken to
Pharisees and publicans, nor concerning Pharisees and publicans.
These two sections in the Jewish people are introduced by our
Lord into the parable as fitly representing two distinct classes of
mankind in general those who " trust in themselves that they
are righteous, and despise others," and those who, with gracious
humility, repent truly before God. It is not improbable that,
even among his own followers, Jesus detected the seeds of self-
righteousness which needed to be cast out of their hearts, and
that even such men as Peter, and James, and John, needed the
solemn warning of this parable to guard them against exalting
themselves and despising others. That he should, however,
introduce a Pharisee into the parable as a type of the self-right-
eous spirit generally, is a remarkable proof in confirmation of
what has been already advanced in this volume, namely, that our
Lord's frequent allusions in his discourses to the Pharisees, the
Sadducees, and the Publicans, must not be regarded as merely
addressed to them severally and exclusively, but to them as
"each representing psychologically a distinct class of persons."
It is thus that from the pages of the Gospel the mere names of
THE PHAEISEE AND PUBLICAN. 335
these sects seem to vanish away, and leave only those grar A prin-
ciples they represent, and by one or other of which all mankind
are moved. Self-righteousness and pride unbelief and self-
indulgence or, godly sorrow for sin.
Let us then first note what the parable condemns, though it has
the outward aspect of prayer. The very mode in which the Phar-
isee is represented as engaging in prayer is suggestive, "He stood
and prayed." This expression, "he stood" does not refer to the
mere attitude of standing instead of kneeling at prayer, but it sets
forth a certain formality in his proceedings forcibly descriptive of
his state of mind. It is as if it were said, " He took his place"
he set himself pompously in the position he chose, in order to go
through regularly and formally the routine of his devotions. We
are by no means to suppose that he was in this acting a hypocritical
part. He may have fancied all the time that he was really devout,
and a true worshiper ; but his very outward conduct indicated
thus much, that if he practiced devotion in its outside observance,
he knew nothing of its inner spirit.
Then, look further at the subject-matter of his prayer. "Why,
he is not as a suppliant, asking at the hands of God what he needs.
He stands as one in need of nothing as one rich in every spir-
itual gift and grace and in the full tide of self-righteous feeling,
he pours out a series of thanksgivings for what he is and what
he does. His is not an humble prayer for what he requires, it is
an arrogant, self-satisfied enumeration of what he vainly thinks
that he possesses. And what is so broadly expressed in this part
of the parable is just what exists in reality in unconverted minds.
They pray, it may be yea, they may do so constantly. Their
place of devotion may be a distinguished one ; but if the inward
bearing of the spirit could be noticed, it would ever be found in
reality to be breathing such a self-righteous spirit as that before
us contentment, with its present spiritual condition satisfied
and happy with what it fancies that it has, rather than earnestly
seeking what it has not.
Then, see further how this spirit is expressed in the parable.
The Pharisee not only enumerates a long list of excellent graces
which he possesses, he also with great complacency regards him-
self as very much superior to others. He thanks God that he is
' not as other men are" and specially that he is not as the poor
336 THE PARABLE OP
Publican. These two things are always to be found together
a lofty imagination of our own excellences, and a contemptuous
glance at others. The heart that is self-satisfied, is just the heart
that is ever on the alert to claim superiority over others. And
so our Lord unites these two things in the statement with which
he opens the parable, as descriptive of the character he was about
to paint. " He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and despised others"
But turn now to the illustration of what true prayer is. The
Publican stands " afar off" He does not bustle into his place as
the Pharisee. He must come where " prayer is wont to be made,"
because he must pray. But he stands afar off. He will keep out
of sight. He has no desire to be seen of men in this act. The
external part of devotion has but a slight hold upon him in com-
parison of what is rising up so vehemently of its spirit within
him. Outward things the people surrounding him do not en-
ter into his thoughts. It is enough for him that he is in the pres-
ence of an all-seeing, a heart-searching God. This absorbs his
whole thought. This is too solemn a presence-chamber for him to
see any other, save Him with whom he has to do. And so even
amid many worshipers, he draws nigh to prayer, alone with God.
Then, " he would not so much as lift: up his eyes to heaven" Why
so ? Did he not come to pray ? "Why then not look up ? To
say that he was so humble, is only to give half the explanation.
The humility with which he kept his head bowed down to the
earth, was but the consequence of that deep introspection which
he was making into his own heart. It was there that his eyes an
thoughts were directed. It was there he was gathering startling
arguments of terrible power to force him to his cry of penitence
and sorrow. Unlike the other who was gazing into the world at
good deeds done, and around at greater sinners than himself, as
he supposed, this poor Publican kept his eye fixed on that evil
and corrupt and deceitful heart which he bore about with him
every where, and as if the sad and terrible realities he discovered
there their deadly nature, their pollution and deceitfulness,
amounted almost to physical agony, " he smote upon his breast. 11
The whole man was busy within himself not in the wayward
folly of looking away, so as to picture in imagination an excel-
lence which had no real existence, but looking in, so that every
THE PHARISEE AND PUBLICAN. 33 /
dark corner might be visited, and every root of bitterness dragged
forth and seen.
And then hear his cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner" He
" has come to himself.' 1 ' 1 He has found out what he is. He casts
about for no palliation thinks of no excuse. He has none to
condemn but himself. He has not the folly to suppose he can
help himseli He has not the madness to promise that in future
he will do better if only he be suffered to escape at present. No !
Unreservedly, fully, and yet confidently, he leaves himself in the
hands of God. "Be merciful to me a sinner" God and himself
are the only parties in his view. No third party can interpose.
He is a sinner, and unless he gets rid of his sin he is lost. God
alone can do this ; and the only thing he can plead with such a
God is, "Be merciful" He had for himself found out in some
measure what the prophet meant when he said, " O Israel, thou
hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help found" " Take with
you words, and turn to the Lord and say, Take away all iniquity."
Our Lord adds, "I tell you this man went down to his house justi-
fied rather than the other" Of course he does not mean by this
that the prayer of the Publican justified him. That the man who
pleaded merely for mercy should be justified by his prayer is ab-
surd. He was justified, forgiven, his sin pardoned, his guilt re-
mitted, by that mercy which he had invoked ; but it was mercy
in answer to his prayer. And thus we have brought before us
these two things in connection with the sinner in the presence of
God. God's love, mercy, and forgiveness toward him are marked
by the humility and earnestness of his prayer to God. The free
redemption from all sin granted by God to the sinner is ever ac-
companied on the part of that sinner with the heartfelt cry for
mercy. In other words, true prayer such as that of the Publican
does not and can not exist out of a state of justification, but only
in it. It was after Paul was met by the way that he began to
pray, no longer as the Pharisee, but as this Publican ; and so also
in his case the proud was abased, and the humble exalted.
Here, then, is the great instrument which must ever be in use
by him who is building his house on Christ. Every stone which
he lays must be done in the spirit of such prayer as this. Every
thing he does must be begun, carried on, and ended, with this
upon his heart, "God be merciful to me a sinner ;" and then truly
22
338 THE PARABLE OF
he will be "blessed in his deed." He will have the sweet assur-
ance within him of one whose mercy is over all his works ; and
the labor of his hands will no longer be a grievous toil and a
heavy burden, but a happy, joyous, and free service. He will go
down from every undertaking "justified freely from all things
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." This will
ever be the precious, cheering word of truth upon his- heart " If
any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins."
But just as this parable shows us what true prayer is, so also
another parable of our Lord gives a most precious view of the
confidence with which we may come with such a prayer as that
of the Publican to God. Let us turn to this.
" If a, son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give
him a stone f or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent f
or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion ? If ye then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children ; how much
more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him f" Luke xi. 11-13.
Here, then, we have these things set forth. "We have first of
all the relationship expressed which subsists between the suppli-
ant and God it is that of a father and son. This betokens the
covenant of grace and mercy, under which the poor penitent
makes his supplication. The Being whom he addresses is his
"heavenly father.' 11 This endearing relationship has been formed
by Christ. He it is who gives power to as many as believe in
him to " become the sons of God." And "because they are sons,
God sends forth the Spirit of his Son into their hearts, whereby
they cry, Abba, Father." Oh, how precious it is to be able to
begin every prayer with such a word of confidence and love,
" My Father." The very word itself, as it trembles on the lip
of the true believer, carries peace to his heart. It is the language
of adoption. It is the utterance of one who has found a friend
nigh at hand, and has not to gaze hopelessly after a God afar off.
But again, our Lord in pointing to the relation between God
and the humble suppliant, is graciously pleased to draw from the
domestic circles of earth some precious arguments for confidence
in approaching our heavenly Father. There is something very
touching in the manner in which he places his Father and our
THE SON ASKING BREAD. 339
Fatter, as it were on a level with earthly parents, as regards the
most common and ordinary emotions of their hearts toward their
offspring. " If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father,
will he give him a stone ?" This is not the way you ever dream
of dealing with your children who depend on you for their sup-
port. When they arc hungry, you do not mock them by giving
them that which is not food. On the contrary, does not your
heart rejoice when you can supply the nourishment they require?
Would you not rather be without it yourselves, than that they
should be famished? And still more, who among you would
give a noxious and deadly thing instead of food ? not merely
mock at the urgent necessities of your children, by giving a stone
instead of bread, but would give serpents and scorpions that
might bite and sting, and inflict fatal injury on your own chil-
dren ? Jesus regards all this as so unnatural, that the general
feeling, even among fallen men, will rise up in horror and detest-
ation against such a want of parental love and care.
Well, then, he adds "If ye, then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children ; how much more shall your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him ?" Can any thing
be more tenderly set forth than this ? Can any thing exceed the
kindness and the grace with which he thus encourages the sup-
pliant to " ask that he may have ?" We see and recognize the
feelings which exist between a parent and his offspring we
understand their action and feel their power, and we are then as-
sured by Christ that all such emotions in the earthly relationship
of parent and child, are as nothing in comparison of what our heav-
enly Father bears toward his spiritual children. u How much
more" says he, " will your heavenly Father," &c.
And then, mark what he says that our heavenly Father will
give " The Holy Spirit." This comprises every other gift.
Whatever the poor suppliant stands in need of whatever he
longs to obtain in the kingdom of grace, is included in the prom-
ised gift. St. Matthew says, " How much more shall your Father
which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him ?" All
good things are conveyed to the waiting, praying child of God by
the Holy Spirit. Not a single blessing for time or eternity, that
is not immediately the result of his presence with the suppliant.
When the poor penitent cries for pardon, u God be merciful to
340 THE PARABLE OF
me a sinner" the Holy Spirit given, brings the pardon and the
peace after which it pants. When the earnest soul entreats,
" Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out
of thy law" the Holy Spirit given, " takes of the things of Christ
and shows them" to the awakened and inquiring heart. When
the convinced soul earnestly prays, " Create in me a new heart,
and renew a right spirit within me" the Holy Spirit given, does
all this by his mighty power and love ; and when the reclaimed
sinner is journeying toward his home, and eagerly desires to
" run in the way of God's commandments," the same Holy Spirit
given, works in him mightily both to will and to do of God's
good pleasure.
Here then is encouragement and confidence given to the disci-
ple of Christ regarding prayer. All that he does must be begun
and ended with prayer yea, such a prayer as that of the Publi-
can. But let him pray thus confidently for he is speaking to a
Father in Christ Jesus a Father more ready to grant every
needful blessing than any earthly parent to his offspring a
Father who opens his hand wide to fill every empty soul, and to
satisfy every longing soul, by the one gift of his Holy Spirit,
which includes all that He can give, or the soul receive.
But we turn now to a distinct branch of this subject of prayer.
What we have been considering in the last two parables, refers
to individual supplication on the part of the penitent sinner on
behalf of himself. They tell us what his prayer ought to be
with what constancy it ought to be offered up and what gracious
encouragement he has in doing so. We have now to observe
what the parables teach us regarding intercessory prayer. Here
is the first view presented before us of this duty and privilege.
"And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and
shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me
three loaves ; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I
have nothing to set before him f And he from within shall answer
and say, Trouble me not : the door is now shut, and my children are
with me in bed; lean not rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though
he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of
his importunity lie will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye
shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one
THE FRIEND AT MIDNIGHT. . 341
that askeih, receiveth and he that seeketh, findeth / and to him that
knocketh, it shall be opened." Luke xi. 5-10.
Our Lord, immediately before delivering this parable, had given
to his disciples that form of prayer, which is so simple that the
merest child may use it " with the heart and with the understand-
ing also," and yet so sublime, that the most mature in grace, and
knowledge, and virtue, need nothing more. After having given
this form of prayer, Jesus, in this parable, proceeds to urge very
forcibly on his disciples the duty not merely of praying, but of
praying urgently, importunately, yea, of never ceasing to pray
until the prayer be granted. And this exhortation of his is
specially associated with intercessory prayer. That it should be
so is just what might have been anticipated, when we regard the
arrangement of the prayer he had just taught his disciples for
the intercessory petitions in that prayer, " thy kingdom come
thy will be done on earth," precede the personal supplications
which the individual believer offers up. Therefore we need not
be surprised if he enforced continued, energetic prayer, and that
specially in intercession for others.
But, besides this, surely there is special comfort to be derived
from this fact. If the exhortation to importunity in prayer had
been given simply in connection with personal supplication for
ourselves, it would, indeed, be precious encouragement to pray,
and not to faint, to wait, to ask, to knock, and never to be weary,
until we receive an answer ; but this would not have compre-
hended the other. We could not have argued from the assurance
given to personal prayer when constantly urged to the same
regarding intercessory prayer. But now, when the assurance is
so richly and fully given to intercessory prayer, we can confidently
assume that all things which we need for ourselves, and for which
we earnestly pray, will be given unto us.
Our Lord's application of the parable, "And I say unto you,
Ask" guides us with certainty in the interpretation, specially
when we couple that application with what immediately follows,
and which we have above considered, regarding the Father and
the gift he so willingly bestows. The man who goes to his
friend to ask for three loaves, is the believer drawing near to ask
a favor from God. The friend to whom he goes is " the Father
in Heaven." And what the friend gives at length, represents
342 THE PARABLE OF
the gift of the "Holy Spirit" all "good things" that arc sought
for.
Without endeavoring to trace out too minute resemblances in
the details of the parable, we may, at least, in passing, suggest
the following. The friend who is in want of the bread, and for
whom application is made, comes, as we are told, " at midnight"
It is only in this dark world that such requests can be made and
responded to. Appeals for help by one sinner to another, and
intercession on behalf of a fellow-sinner, can never be of any
avail, except in this day of gloom and thick darkness. As soon
as the bridegroom cometh, and his day commences, no such
communications can any more take place. Then it is said that
this man was " in his journey" The margin gives a very striking
rendering, and most probably the true one " out of the way."
This gives great naturalness to the story. It is the case of a
benighted traveler one who has lost his way in the darkness,
and providentially lights upon the house of a friend. And so we
have the condition of a poor sinner, "out of the way," walking
on still in darkness, not knowing whither he goeth, and then ob-
taining help from a fellow-sinner.
Then mark what the man does whose door the wanderer had
reached. He goes to a friend's house, and he begs three loaves
of bread, for he says he has nothing to set before the poor needy
man in whom he is interested. This is just the believer bearing
on his heart before God the case of one whom he can not help
himself. What that other needs is heavenly food the bread of
life that he may eat and live forever. The believer knows
where this is to be had, but he has no power in himself to bestow
it. All that he can do is to entreat him who has it, and who can
give it, to bestow it on his needy friend; and the parable then
points to the blessed assurance that the help thus sought will not
be denied.
But further, see what the parable tells us of the man to whom
the application was made. He says "Trouble me not: the door is
now shut, and my children are with me in bed ; I can not rise and
give thee." This person is meant in the parable to represent Him
to whom the believer is urged to go. And yet let it be distinctly
noted what the ground of comparison is. It is not that the one
is like the other, but the argument is 'from the less to the greater,
THE FRIEND AT MIDNIGHT. 343
or rather from the worse to the better. " If selfish man can be
won by prayer and importunity to give, and unjust man to do
right, much more certainly shall the bountiful Lord bestow, and
the righteous Lord do right."
The two points which are mainly brought out in the parable
here are, first, the assurance given to the believer .to pray for a
needy fellow-sinner that if the churlish man was at length led
to do as required, infinitely more may the believer reckon on the
help and favor of God. Then, besides this, we are taught that it
is only in answer to unceasing prayer, urgent, earnest prayer,
that this will be given. The believer is to be as importunate in
his entreaty as if he had overcome the greatest dislike on the
part of his heavenly Father to grant to him the desires of his
heart. This importunity is very forcibly set before us by our
Lord's application of the parable, "ask," "seek" "knock." Each
one of these words manifests increased not diminished importun-
ity, encouraging the believer to this realization of his privilege,
namely, that far from being cast down, when, again and again, he
seems to be repulsed, each successive apparent refusal should only
add earnestness to his entreaty, and more impressive urgency to
his prayer.
For, be it observed, that the repeated refusals on the part of
the man in the parable, which arose merely from dislike to be
troubled, are, in the case of the believer, represented in it most
important trials of his faith not thrown in his path out of the
caprice or whim of one who is dealing with him, but for the
wisest and most loving pupose first, that his own confidence in
his heavenly Father might be put to a proper proof might be
fairly tested as to its strength and firmness, and so the gift, when
at length bestowed, be a suitable confirmation of that faith.
Our Lord's conduct toward the Syro-Phenician woman exhib-
ited in a very remarkable manner the leading points which this
parable is intended to illustrate. On that occasion we perceive
one coming to Christ, not on behalf of herself, but on behalf of
her child. Her daughter is suffering under Satanic agency, and
she, the poor mother, is helpless in the way of giving relief.
Christ can do this, she knows ; and she knows of none other who
can. She comes anxiously to him then. She is thoroughly in
earnest in the matter, and deeply interested in the result. At
344 THE PARABLE OF
first, Jesus replied not at all. He seemed studiously to repulse
her. Just like the man in the parable who suffered the applicant
to remain outside the house did not even open the door, and
allow him to prefer his request on the threshold so Christ, when
the Gentile woman first asked, gave her not the slightest encour-
agement. Far from checking her earnestness, however, this
seemed only to make her more importunate. She came and wor-
shiped him, and cried, '" Lord, help me." Then Jesus appeared
even harshly to extinguish all hope of assistance from him,
almost spurning her from his feet " It is not good to take the
children's bread and cast it to dogs." But even this failed to turn
her from her purpose. It only gave her a fresh argument for
continued entreaty. " Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs
which fall from their master's table." And now her faith was
crowned with blessing. She had asked, not only so but sought,
not only so but knocked, and now she received, she found, and the
door was thrown wide open to her. " O woman, great is thy
faith ; be it unto thee even as thou wilt." Jesus withheld his
answer for the purpose not only of proving and trying her, but
also of giving her a larger and a fuller joy at last; and she
learned by the process through which she had passed that impor-
tunity in prayer was not required in order to induce Christ to
listen, but that it called forth the graces of patience, of child-like
confidence, of loving expectation, and added preciousness to the
blessing when received.
Here, then, we see duty and privilege going hand in hand as
they always do. It is our solemn duty to seek for the bread of
life to be given to others. This duty becomes more palpable and
direct the nearer that those who need it are to ourselves. And
it is at the same time our precious privilege to be assured that
we shall not ask, or seek, or knock in vain. Then precept and
encouragement go hand in hand also. The injunction manifestly
laid down in the parable is, to "continue instant in prayer"
never to allow any refusal, or number of refusals, to cause de-
spondency, but the reverse to quicken and make more earnest
and pressing than ever our anxious entreaties. And the encour-
agement lies close by. The very length of time when we may
be held waiting the very absence from day to day of the desired
blessing, is not for one moment to be set down to an unwilling-
THE UNEIGHTEOUS JUDGE. 345
ness to hear and give on the part of our heavenly Father, but,
on the contrary, to his graciously preparing to give us " more
than we can even ask or think." That is a remarkable termina-
tion to the story in the parable " I say unto you, Though he will
not rise and give him, because he is a friend, yet because of his impor-
tunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth." The
importunity of the man at the door at length prevails, so that the
man in the house does not order some one of his household to
rise and give just the three loaves, but he himself rises, and is
ready to give " 05 many as he needeth" And so the believer is
encouraged to know that thus it will be with his heavenly
Father, that "because of his importunity he will rise and give" and
that, too, out of the tenderest friendship, which did not influence
the man in the parable at all, He will be ready to pour upon
him such a full blessing as there shall not be room enough to re-
ceive it.
One other parable still remains, which completes the view
presented before us of the great duty and privilege of prayer.
11 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought
always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a
judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man : and there was a
widow in that city ; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of
mine adversary. And he would not for a while : but ajlerward he
said within himself , Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet
because this icidow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her contin-
ual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what tfie unjust
judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day
and night unto him, though he bear long with tliem ? I tell you that
he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when tfie Son of man
Cometh, shall he find faitii on the earth f" Luke xviii. 1-8.
In this parable, as in that we have just considered, the argu-
ment is from the worse to the better. " None but the Son of
God himself might have ventured to use this comparison. It
had been over bold on the lips of any other. For, as in the par-
able of the friend at midnight, we were startled with finding God
compared to a phurlish neighbor, so here with finding him likened
to an unrighteous judge. Yet we must not seek therefore to ex-
tenuate, as some have been at great pains to do, and by many
forced constructions, his unrighteousness ; but, on the contrary,
346 THE PARABLE OF
the greater we conceive that to have been, the more encourage-
ment does the parable contain, the stronger the argument for
persevering prayer becomes. If a bad man will yield to the
mere force of the importunity which he hates, how much more
certainly will a righteous God be prevailed on by the faithful
prayer which he loves ?" (Trench, p. 492.)
Before noting the special bearing of this parable, it will be well
to glance briefly at the different points in detail. The only two
points in which there is a direct and complete resemblance be-
tween this unjust judge and God are these ; first, the delay before
granting the request of the suppliant ; and next, the favorable
issue at length of the supplication itself. In all other respects
the unjust judge and God stand in direct and complete contrast
with each other. It is, however, from this very contrast, forcible
as it is, that the main argument in the parable derives its fullest
confirmation. Let us look at these in succession.
Observe, then, the character of this judge generally, "He feared
not God, neither regarded man. 1 ' 1 This is said, irrespective of the
special case about to be detailed in the parable. It is the descrip-
tion of what this man was always and under every circumstance
thoroughly, radically, lawless and unjust. On the contrary,
without respect to this special act of his people praying to him,
Jehovah is "just and true in all his ways." His every act is in
strict conformity with his own most holy law, and through the
whole course of his government the Judge of all the earth doeth
right. And see here, then, the contrast between the condition
of the poor woman in the parable and God's elect. She had
none other than one unjitst judge to whom she could -appeal- -
that tribunal was her only refuge ; failing that, she had no pros-
pect of relief. The other also has but one tribunal to which they
can appeal ; but then righteousness and judgment are the estab-
lishment of that throne on which their Judge forever sits, and
thus they are assured of an equitable sentence.
Again, mark when this unjust judge resolved on yielding to
the widow's request, how in a special manner his unrighteous
character displayed itself in his very act of granting relief to her.
He took no pains to discover whether her cause was right or not.
It was a matter of perfect indifference to him whether she were
the injured party or not whether she really needed to be de-
THE UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGE. 347
fended from another, or was herself only anxious to inflict an
injury. All this never entered into his calculations. His sole
reason for yielding assent to her petition was the fear of being
constantly troubled by her importunity, " lest by her continual
coming, she weary me." Nay, he makes a boast of this :
" Though I fear not God, nor regard man" he says. He is anx-
ious to clear himself of the possible weakness of acting in the
widow's case from principles of justice and truth. His sole desire
is to save himself all further trouble in the matter. On the con-
trary, when God hears the prayer of his elect, and answers it, he
proceeds on the strictest principles of law and justice not a sin-
gle petition granted to one or all of his people, which is not
stamped with the image and superscription of that King, " the
girdle of whose loins is righteousness" and who gives, not because
he cares not to withhold, but because his law is magnified and
made honorable in the gift.
But further, as this unjust judge did not grant the widow's peti-
tion out of any regard to the justice of the claims she advanced,
neither did he grant it out of any regard to the poor suppliant
herself. She was an object of perfect indifference to him. He
cared nothing for her happiness and prosperity on the one hand,
or her misery and wretchedness on the other. All he sought was
to get rid of her and her petition together, and so hear nothing
more of either. "Well may our Lord, mark this contrast so em-
phatically in this parable. "Hear what the unjust judge saith.
And shall not God avenge His OWN ELECT? How these words
" his own elect" touch in the tenderest manner the great and eternal
contrast -between this unjust judge and God ! The latter yields to
the prayer of the suppliants ; first, because it is right to do so,
and then he does it with his whole heart, it is his joy and delight
to do so. The suppliants are his own beloved people his chosen
ones, very precious in his sight so precious, indeed, that it is said
of them, " he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye."
And so his gift comes to them distinguished by the tokens of that
"holiness which becometh God's house forever," as well as of "a
love which passe th knowledge."
Mark, then, how the very contrasts here presented only tend to
confirm the blessed assurance which the parable conveys to God's
people, that he will without fail grant their requests. His eternal
348 THE PARABLE OF
character as a righteous God must be sustained. The prayers of
his saints present a righteous claim. And moreover he loves his
own elect with an everlasting love. While, too, he requires from
them a patient continuance in supplication, and an ever-increasing
earnestness in drawing near to him, even as if he needed to be
overcome by such importunity, he yet sustains their faith by such
pledges of his truth and love, and by such exceeding great and
precious promises, as may, indeed, cause them " always to pray,
and not to faint"
And now, it is important, as we draw toward the great appli-
cation of the parable, to observe, that it is Christ who is specially
set forth in it, as the avenger of his own elect. The question at
the close, settles this point, " Nevertheless, when the Son of man
cometh." For what purpose ? Let the Apostle Paul furnish the
reply. ""When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance ; or, as it
is very forcibly rendered in the margin, " yielding vengeance,"
that is, yielding to the cry of his elect for vengeance. The aven-
ger of God's elect, then, is the Son of man at his coming.
And this must be carefully borne in mind, if we would rightly
understand the special view of continuing instant in prayer, which
this parable is designed to set forth. It is not personal prayer
nor is it intercessory prayer for friends. It is indeed, well quali-
fied to give encouragement in both these respects. But it is
specially and distinctively prayer for the whole body of Christ's
Church prayer for the coming and establishment of his kingdom,
and the complete and final overthrow of all his enemies. The
great subject of the prayer is, "Avenge me of mine adversary"
And, as in the parable, the party who utters this, is a poor widow
woman, so we are by it reminded of the church in her present
bereaved and desolate condition deprived by her enemies of
what is due to her suffering oppression and sorrow ; and yet as
generation after generation pass away from the tribulations of the
world, there lingers ever on the track of their trials and their
griefs, the earnest cry, " Lord, how long dost thou not judge and
avenge our cause !"
And here we see one resemblance in the parable between the
unjust judge and Christ. We are told of the first : " he would not
for a time ;" and of the Avenger of God's elect, it is added, " though
THE UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGE. 349
he bear long with them," that is, stays his hand; he knows the limit
which he himself has appointed for the long trial of the faith and
patience of his church ; but though he tarries, yet he slumbers
not. Just as he longed to accomplish his own work of suffering
for them, so he longs to put an end to their trials, and to " avenge
them speedily"
And thus the meaning of the question at the close of the parable
becomes very plain. " Nevertheless, when the Son of man com-
eth, shall he find faith on the earth ?" That is, when the Son of
man shall at length come arise to take vengeance to bring in
the year of his redeemed the very thing Avhich his people in
every age have been praying for, " thy kingdom come," the very
thing which his whole character as a righteous God and a loving
Saviour are pledged to secure which he has promised to bring in
confirmed his promise with an oatfi, and scaled it by his own
blood, and entreated his people to pray for without fainting will
he, when he at length appears, find a faith among his people at
all commensurate to the truth, love, and fullness of what he has
done and promised on his side ? Will he find such unflinching,
faithful prayer, when the last shadows of the night that precede
the dawn of his day are gathering thickly around, as shall show
no yami-heartedness among his people? Will the cry, "Lord,
how long" "Avenge us of our adversaries," become stronger or
weaker as the day approaches ? Will there be vigilant, prayerful
eagerness to redouble entreaty and importunately to multiply
prayer, as the hours of the last terrible conflict ring out their knell?
or, like the disciples in the garden, will there be " sleeping for
sorrow ?" or, the " love of many waxing cold," by reason of
abounding iniquity? Solemn questions, indeed. Enough to
make each child of God tremble for himself. Enough to make
each one, as he truly desires to "stand in his lot at the end of
days," take good heed to the weighty lesson taught in the parable,
that "men ought always to pray, and not to faint" Always! Not
merely in the sunshine of peace and quiet, and when there is little
comparatively to try faith, but equally when the storm and the
tempest are abroad, and nothing but a sure and steadfast -anchor
of the soul can prevent it from drifting away to everlasting ruin.
And thus in these last parables, we have the implements with
which the wise builder must ever labor when building his house
350 THE PARABLE OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGE.
on the sure foundation. Prayer humble, faithful, persevering,
importunate prayer; prayer for himself, " Give us each day our
daily bread;" prayer for his brethren of mankind, "Thy will be
done on earth;' prayer for the establishment and glory of his
Master's kingdom, " Thy kingdom come." With such prayer as
this constant through life, and instant by its urgency he will
indeed " prove himself to be a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed."
CHAPTER VIII.
THE SALT OP THE EABTH THE LIGHT OP THE WORLD THE OFFENDING ETB, FOOT,
OB HAND BBOTHER, SISTEB, AND MOTHEB.
THERE are still three views of true discipleship which we must
pass rapidly under our notice, and which will very suitably close
this division of the parables. The first of these concerns the in-
fluence which a true follower of Christ has, and ought to exert in
the world. If Christ's inner work of grace be truly proceeding
in him, this influence must ever be proceeding steadily from him.
"We have, in a few verses, a most precious view given us of this
influence, in short parabolic sentences.
"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor,
wherewith shall it be salted ? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to
be cast out, o.nd to be trodden under foot of men.
" Ye are the light of the world.
"A city that is set on an hill can not be hid.
"Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on
a candlestick ; and it giveth light to all that are in tJie house" Matt,
v. 13-15.
When the prodigal turns again to his father in bitter sorrow,
he must not only express his penitence, but he must "bring forth
fruits meet for repentance." He must not, however, do these
things in order to be seen of men, but to have " praise of God."
Still, it is important to bear in mind, that if on the one hand he
esteems lightly and at its proper value, the applause or praise of
men, and proceeds on his way, irrespective of their frowns or
their smiles, yet he must honor and confess his God before men.
He must take care that " the beauty of holiness" is manifested in
his whole life and character, so that all men shall see whither
he is going, and have some faint conceptions of the purity and
352 THE PARABLE Of
brightness of his home above, by the sl.ining garments with
which, as a pilgrim, he is traveling onward to heaven. The wise
builder, while his chief object is to raise his house as God ap-
proves, must see that he wait on God continually to know how
best he may also manifest before men the work of God in his
hands.
The verses just quoted show four different ways in which the
believer is called upon to take heed unto himself that Christ's
work in him shall be felt, seen, and known among men. He
must remember that he is " the salt of the earth." Salt preserves
that with which it is mingled from falling to decay. And believ-
ers are said to be "the salt of the earth" for these two reasons:
First, by their presence among the otherwise godless race of man-
kind. They are the cause why God's wrath is held back from
the latter. To what an extent this preserving influence is ex-
ercised by them, through the tender-mercy of God, may be seen
by ther remarkable intercession of Abraham on behalf of Sodom.
There, though the men were exceedingly wicked, and even among
idolatrous nations the cry had come up for marked and condign
punishment upon them, yet, even there, Jehovah promised to hold
back his hand and not to destroy the place, if there were only
ten righteous men in it. Another instance forcibly confirming
this view, is to be found in the opening chapter of Isaiah, where
the Prophet declares that it was alone by the presence among
them of " a very small remnant," that the terrible judgment which
had overtaken the guilty cities of the plain had not also over-
taken them. The parable of the tares and the wheat speaks sim-
ilar language. The tares are suffered to remain, because of the
wheat.
Again, believers are the salt of the earth, because in their
direct intercourse with mankind, they, by their good works, their
holy life, their pure aspirations, produce a great effect in restrain-
ing the tide of evil and ungodliness. Their direct personal influ-
ence is continually pervading, more or less, the whole mass of
human society, and thus many checks are imposed on iniquity,
and a bridle put in the mouth of the wicked. They impercep-
tibly, but truly, exercise an influence, in the absence of which
the whole human family would soon become nothing else than a
lazar-house of plague and corruption a vast cemetery of the dead.
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 353
Now the preserving quality in salt is its savor. If that be lost,
the salt becomes utterly useless. Whether there can be such a
thing as salt without savor, is matter of dispute, but is unessen-
tial to our present purpose. All that we need to mark is, that if
salt have not its saltness, or its savor, it is utterly worthless. And
so if believers lack what in them corresponds to the savor of the
salt, they also must be utterly worthless in these two things just
mentioned either in arresting God's judgment upon the earth,
or in stemming the torrent of actual corruption. Now it is
manifest that Christ is the savor in all true believers. It is alone
by his presence in them that any one benefit or blessing is con-
veyed to the earth in which they dwell. Each one of them has
been washed in the blood of Christ, and this blood speaks better
things than "that of Abel." The latter cried for vengeance.
This cries for mercy. So that whenever God looks on a loving
child on earth, he sees the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, his
only-begotten Son; and seeing this, he bears long with the
iniquity of the guilty ones of earth he spares them he forbears
to strike he gives them, again and again, opportunity to repent,
and, as in the days of Noah, his " long-suffering waits." Thus it
is only when the believer can say, in a measure, that it is " Christ
to him to live," that his savor is made manifest in every place.
It is when people take knowledge of him that he has been with
Christ when he bears about with him the presence of his Divine
Master, that wickedness is restrained, and sin shamed into corners.
If Christ be not thus with them who profess his name, they are
no blessing, but the reverse, to the people of the world around
them. They are causes of offense and falling, of decay and death,
not of preservation and life. And it is just in proportion as the
believer fully lives up to the excellence of that savor which he
possesses, that he exerts the full influence he may ever do os"the
salt of the earth"
But further, the believer is also " tiie light of tfic world" As
" the salt of the earth," he is a gracious means of preservation
from decay. As " the light oftlie world" he is the gracious means
of preventing the whole earth from being covered with gross
darkness. This he does by " holding forth the word of life."
He has received into his heart and understanding those great
truths which God alone can teach, and which are excellent and
23
854 THE PARABLE OF
perfect, and he exhibits them in the midst of a perverse and sin-
ful generation. Imperceptibly his influence is felt here likewise,
as in the former case. Though men may refuse to accept fully
what he has received, though they may not choose to " come to
the light," lest their deeds should be reproved, yet they can not
prevent some scattered beams of that light from reaching them.
Thus the enlightening and ennobling principles of the word of
God as precious for the intellectual as the moral man, pervade
human society, wherever true disciples of the Lord Jesus are to
be found. High principle, based on the revealed maxims of the
word of God, unwittingly drawn, or, as it were, stolen from
thence steady, well-balanced mental activity, stimulated by the
actual presence of what reflects Infinite Wisdom, are found to
exist even among the ranks of the people of the world. And
thus while they affect to despise the humble, the lowly, and the
meek follower of Jesus, they are in fact deriving from his vital
" holding forth of the word of life," whatever of true light shines
in their habitation. And here, too, it is just as the believer holds
forth Christ, that he is "the light of the world" Christ is the
source and the author of the light he possesses. He shines as " a
light in the world," because Christ " the true light" shines in him.
But again, the believer is " a city that is set on a hill," and so
** can not be hid" In the last figure, the influence of the believer
is felt by the world, without the latter knowing or caring to
know that it is so. In this figure it is intimated to us, that a true
follower of Christ will assuredly, just as his Master did, draw
attention to himself. He " can not be hid" because he is " a city
set on a hill" If he is careful in his walk specially if he be
jealous in manifesting that all he is depends on Christ, and all he
does is for Christ if he make it very clear that he is built upon
the rock Christ, he will draw eyes to himself. Men will take
note of him ; they will see that he has solid reason for happiness ;
they will perceive that he has discovered that, of which they in
the plain of destruction knew nothing ; that he is secure from
the floods which may overwhelm them below, and so they may
be drawn by the influence of what they behold in the strength
and safety of the believer as resting on his Master, to seek for the
same foundation, to share in the "munition of rocks" which
guard and defend him.
THE OFFENDING EYE, FOOT, OB HAND. 355
Once more, the believer is like "a candle," not "lighted" to be
"put under a bushel," but " on a candlestick," that it may "give
light to them that are in the house" This is not to be regarded as
a mere repetition of the former verse, " Ye are the light of the
world." Its purport is perfectly distinct. In that verse it is
" the world," among whom some rays of light penetrate from the
believer when he bears Christ with him and holds forth his word.
In this it is the house, and the people in the house who are benefited
by the light. The area is vastly circumscribed here. In the
former case the light travels over the world, lighting up bright
points here and there on the dark mountains of vanity, so that at
least, it may be said, that there is some witness for the light of
life among men. In the latter, the light is confined to the house.
It is then the influence which the believer may exert among the
household of faith. That which tells in this does not tell upon
the world at large ; but he must be as jealous and watchful in
the one case as in the other. He must be as careful of all that
he is in the eyes of the church, as an example to believers, as he
is in the eyes of the world, as a warning against their evil ways,
and so his light must shine before men, all men, whether in the
Church or in the world, and we may add, whether in private or
public, within the circle of his family, or amid the busy haunts
of men, that they may see his good works and glorify his Father
which is in heaven.
We pass on to another group of parabolic passages, which
present before us another and a very solemn view of what is
required at the hands of a true disciple.
"And tf thy hand offend tfiee, (or, cause thee to offend, margin,) cut
it off: it is bettei' for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two
hands to go into heU, into tiie fire that never shall be quendied ; where
the worm dieth not, and t/iefire is not quenched.
"And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off. . . .
"And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it oui." Mark ix. 43-48.
It is important, in gaining a correct apprehension of this pass-
age, that we note well what it is in the figure that we are
required to put away, if it either cause offense to ourselves or to
others. A hand, a foot, or an eye. Observe, it is not the one or
the other of these under the influence of disease, but simply re-
garded by themselves. And here, then, is a lesson of self-denial,
356 THE PARABLE OF
of a peculiar character, indicated to the believer. All the evil
and corrupt lusts and passions which belong to depraved human-
ity, he is of course called upon at once to part with. He must
crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts he must mortify
his evil and corrupt members that are upon the earth he must
make no more provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof,
and cleanse himself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit ; but
when all this is in process of being done, there is something else
besides which must not be left undone. There are certain things
which he must be willing to give up, nay, violently to thrust
away from him, which are not to be found in the list of the affec-
tions and lusts of the flesh things which, considered in them-
selves, may be as really good and lawful to the soul as the hand,
or the foot, or the eye to the body. There may be things pleasant
to the eye, agreeable to the taste, refreshing to the mind, and cap-
tivating to the intellect there may be things in which the hand
might be most pleasantly engaged there may be places where
the foot might very willingly and happily be often found, and
each one of these things so agreeable to our inclinations be at
the same time perfectly lawful, involving in themselves no sin or
guilt on the part of him who seeks them ; and yet, if they become
sources of spiritual offense to ourselves or to others if, however
good in themselves, they become, under the present circumstances
of our lot, liable to check the growth of the inner spiritual life,
and to call forth into proportionate activity some of the latent
germs of the old nature within, then we must have no hesitation
in parting with all these things. The process may be a most
painful one the things which we, as it were, " cut off" or "pluck
out" may be in themselves perfectly harmless ; but we must cast
them all from us that we fall not into condemnation. Truly, if
our Lord Jesus Christ solemnly warned his disciples that it were
better for a man that a millstone should be hanged about his
neck, than that he should cause offenses to those around, we
need not be surprised at the strong terms in which he insists on
believers earnestly watching against the indulgence of any thing
which, however lawful in itself, may yet lead to scandal or
offense, nor of the unshrinking self-denial which he demands in
dealing with it and putting it away. Surely many things will be
suggested to the thoughtful mind, which will range themselves
BROTBER, SISTER, AND MOTHER. 357
under the above category, of lawful, but not expedient, and
therefore to be dealt with at once as ^"they were unlawful. Paul
furnishes us with a remarkable example in his own person of the
carrying out of this rule. In alluding to the practice of idolaters
eating in the idol's temple meat that had been offered to idols,
and by which act they were generally regarded as idolaters ; and
seeing that some Christians at Corinth, using their liberty, were
found partaking of the food, without meaning by so doing to
acknowledge the idol as any thing ; and yet, by this conduct on
their part, were wounding the consciences of their brethren,
filling their minds with uncertainty, and so in reality putting a
stumbling-block in their way the Apostle emphatically declares
what his conduct would be under such circumstances. " If meat
make my brother to offend, I will eat no meat while the world
standeth, lest I make my brother to offend."
One other passage still remains, and it fitly closes this part of
the subject. A very brief notice of it will suffice.
" But he answered and said unto him that told him, "Who is
my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched
forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother
and my brethren I For whosoever shall do the will of my Father
which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother"
Matt. xii. 48-60.
We have seen the influence which the disciple of Jesus is
called upon to exercise constantly in the world and in the
Church. We have seen the call upon him for unsparing self-
denial, even in lawful things if they become matters of offense.
And now we have set forth his high and glorious privilege. If
the inner work of the grace of Christ leads to such a blessed, and
bright, and holy life and conduct as shall constrain others to glo-
rify God if it shall make him ready even to pluck out an eye,
or cut off a hand, rather than offend one of God's little ones how
blessed and precious amid all this is the relationship which the
same grace calls forth and establishes between Christ and him-
self! Let the wise builder on the true foundation well consider
this. Let the faithful laborer in the vineyard earnestly ponder
over this. "He that doelh the will of my Father which is in heaven,
the same is my brother, and sister, and motfier" The very labor in
which they are engaged is that which marks their privilege in
358 THE PARABLE OF BROTHER, SISTER, AND MOTHER.
this wondrous relationship with Christ. The very burden and
heat of the day which they are bearing, is just doing the will of
their Father in heaven ; and so as they have grace to be thus
faithful, thus " fervent in spirit, serving the Lord," their divine
Master encircles them with this unutterable glory, crowns them
with this distinguished honor they are to him as " brother, and
sister, and mother." The mere earthly ties which bound him to
his mother and brethren according to the flesh are as nothing in
comparison of this. They vanish and disappear in the presence
of this most excellent and glorious distinction bestowed on the
members of his mystical body, the Church. And if the former .
sought to realize the blessing and the glory of relationship to
Christ at all, and feared to be disowned by him, it could only be
by entering within the spiritual circle of true discipleship, and
therein doing the will of God from the heart.
And mark the fullness of the privilege. "Brother, sister, and
mother" all that can be conceived by the heart of man regarding
these relationships, in their highest sense and purest condition
all that can be imagined of brotherly, sisterly, and motherly
union, within the hallowed circle of a pure and a holy home, is
intended by our Lord to be considered by his faithful ones as
only affording a faint shadow of that bright and better relation-
ship existing between himself and them. He has a brother's
love for them, with its manliness and self-devotion. He has a
sister's love for them, with its gentleness and constancy. He has
a mother's love toward them, with all its unwearied watchfulness,
its unselfish care, its sustained forbearance, and its unspeakable
tenderness. Oh, if even here the heart of a true believer leaps
with joy, when sometimes the deep, spiritual impressions of his
Saviour's home-love break in upon him, by the gracious inner
speaking of the Holy Spirit what will his emotions be on that
day when the work of grace shall be completed by the work of
glory, and He that sits upon the throne shall, as it were, stretch
forth his hand toward his chosen ones, and say. "Behold my
mother and my brethren."
PART IV.
CHRIST'S WORK OP GRACE, IN ITS HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL
CHARACTER.
SECT. L GENERAL RECEPTION AND PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL.
CHAPTER I.
THE SOWER THE GROWTH OP THE SEED THE WHEAT AND THE TABE&
WE have now arrived at another section of the parables of Je-
sus. Those we have considered in the last part of this volume
have more to do with the inner history of Christ's kingdom.
fTliese now before us are chiefly directed to the external history
of that kingdomTj Still, as we proceed in our examination of the
latter, we shall be ever gaining farther insight into important par-
ticulars regarding the former. As we watch the mighty stream
of the Gospel in its onward course to the glorious consummation,
when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the
waters cover the channel of the sea, we shall never cease to ac-
quire deeper insight into all those things which pertain to the
work of grace in each heart, which manifest the principles in
progress there, and the precious fruits which these principles pro-
duce.
We go on, then, to examine those parables which specially il-
lustrate the reception of the Gospel in all ages of this dispensa-
tion among those to whom it is sent, and what its actual progress
is and will be. The first to be considered is the following :
" Behold a sower wentfortfi to sow : and when he sowed, some seeds
fell by Vie wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up: some
fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and forthwith
360 THE PAKABLE OF
they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth : and when the
sun was up, thei. were scorched: and, because they had no root, they
withered away : and some fell among thorns ; and the thorns sprung
up, and choked them : lut other fell into good ground, and brought
forth fruit, some an hundred-fold some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold"
Matt. xiii. 3-8 ; Mark, iv. 3-8 ; Luke, viii. 5-8.
Before expressly considering this parable, it may be well to
realize the scenery in the midst of which it was delivered. The
following description will give us some idea of what it probably
Avas. Jesus uttered this parable from a boat into which he had
' entered on the Lake of Genesareth, while the people to whom
Ut was uttered stood on the shore. "The Jewish writers, (says
Trench,) would have it, that it (Genesareth) was beloved of God
above all the waters of Canaan ; and, indeed, almost all ancient
authors that have mentioned it, as well as modern authors, speak
Un glowing terms of the beauty and fertility of its banks. Hence
sometimes its name of Genesareth has been derived, which some
explain as 'the garden of riches,' though the derivation is inse-
fcure. And even now, when the land is crushed under the rod
\of Turkish misrule, many traces of its former beauty remain,
many evidences of the fertility which its shores will again assume
in the day which assuredly can not be very far off, when that rod
shall be lifted from them. It is true that the olive gardens and
vineyards which once crowned the high and romantic hills with
which it is bounded on east and west have disappeared, but the
i citron, the orange, and the date -trees are still found there in rich
Abundance ; and in the higher regions the products of a more
temperate zone meet together with these ; while lower down, its
C banks are covered with aromatic shrubs, and its waters are still
f as of old, sweet and wholesome to drink, and always cool, clear,
and transparent to the very bottom, and as quietly breaking upon
the fine white sand with which its shores are strewn, as they did
of old, when the feet of the Son of God trod these sands, or
walked upon these waters."
We can easily imagine how such scenery as this would at once
supply to our Lord the imagery of the parables which he de-
livered 'on this occasion. It may be, that "the Lord lifted up his
eyes, and saw at no great distance an husbandman scattering his
seed in the furrows." This would furnish the ground-work for
THE SOWER. 361
his parable of the sower, and of the tares in the field. And even
when he had retired with his disciples into the house, (verse 36,)
/some of whom were themselves fishermen of Galilee, it may be
I that the dragging of some net to shore, just as they left the mar-
gin of the lake, would be equally suggestive of the parable with
/ which this remarkable series closes.
In giving our attention to the parable of the sowei^let us first
of all notice one or two of its leading features. [Who is the
sower here spoken of? In the explanation given by^our Lord
of this parable, he does not directly answer this question, though
it is obviously implied."} In the next parable, however, where we
have similar imagery introduced a sower sowing in his field, he
/expressly declares what he means. " He that soweth the good
\ seed is the Son of mp^" We carry back therefore this explana-
tion to the parable now before us, and take it as a settled point,
that the " sower" here also, is the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
Then as to the seed which the sower scatters, our Lord explains
as we find emphatically, in Luke's account. " The__seed is
1 nf Gnf?." Exactly the kind of seed which we should ex-
pect from the hands of such an husbandman. In the parable of
fthe tares in the field, Jesus calls this seed " good seed.' 1 ' 1 The seed
ywhich be sows is_always good. Whatever be the result of the
sowing however some may fall on"grbund where no fruit is ever
brought to perfection this is not the fault of the seed. It is good
seed. Or, as the Apostle Peter speaks of it, " t/ie incorruptible
d" of the "living God." As the " word of God," it must be
good, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear
whether they will listen and receive, or close their ears and re-
ject whether they are doers of the work, or forgetful hearers,
et " He abideth faithful." He " can not deny himself." His
word is "the word of truth," and, like himself, it "liveth and
abideth forever."
See, then, what the great Head of the Church has at his dispo-
sal. He has his "good Spirit," and his "good Word." With
Him, and Him alone, there rests all power in the Gospel-field.
He baptizes " with the Holy Ghost and with fire," he alone can
bestow the efficient cause by which dead souls shall live, and bar-
ren soil become fertile. He sows " the good seed" he alone can
bestow the instrumental cause of spiritual health and life, so as
:
362 THE PAEABLE OP
"by his own will to beget us with the word of truth, that we
should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures."
Now when we look at this parable generally, as given by these
evangelists, there is a peculiarity in the language which they use
regarding this seed when sown by the great Sower, which must
not be passed over without notice. At first sight, there would
almost appear to be a confusion in the similitudes, when we lay
the different accounts side by side with each other. Thus in the
explanation given by Matthew, he always speaks of the different
classes as they " who received" the seed. Mark, on the other hand,
speaks of these classes as "those who are sown; 11 and so also
Luke, " That which fell among thorns," &c. Now in reality there
lies a deep truth under this apparent confusion of the metaphor.
/" The seed sown, springing up in the earth, becomes the plant ; it
is therefore when sown the representation of the individuals of
whom the discourse is." (Alford.) In other words, whenever
the heart of man, under any of the conditions placed before us
in the parable, is brought into contact with the Word of God
when according to the similitude, the seed falls on the ground,
then, from that time, it must be regarded in reference to its recep-
tion or rejection of that word its fruitfulness or barrenness in
connection with that word. It can no longer be considered sim-
ply in its former condition. A message has been brought to it.
An offer made to it. What is it then after this has been done ?
It is plain that this question may be answered, either by describ-
ing the perverse action or otherwise of the heart regarding that
which has been sent, or by describing the results of that action as
they appear. And so this is just what the evangelists have done
in this parable. The one speaks of the different soils, as marking
the inner cause or action which brings about the various results.
The other speaks of these results themselves. The one tells of
the ground the other tells of the plant springing from the ground,
the result of the inner action on the seed sown.
Let us then proceed to gather from this parable, the different
kinds of reception which the good word of God has at the hands
of sinful men. The grand leading distinctions between the vari-
ous " hearers" of mankind are given us very clearly. The one is
often found to run into the other, but it is of the utmost import-
ance to regard them in their distinctive characteristics.
THE SOWER. 363
We have then 3 first the wayside hearer " when he sowed, some
feU by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up" The
explanation given by our Lord himself is " When any one hear-
eth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not, then com-
eth the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in
his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside." The
ground here spoken of, was probably the hard beaten path on
which the sower was walking, as he scattered his seed. The seed
does not sink into it at all. It lies for a moment on the surface,
and then the fowls of the air devour it. Now this forcibly repre-
sents to us the case of the man who hears the word, but " under-
stands" it not. That is, he does not in the least appreciate its
excellence. He may understand what it means, but he does not
in the least understand the urgent necessity of his immediately
receiving and keeping it. He may know all about it ; but he un-
derstands sojittle of itej^alue^jhat he suffers it to lie exposed to
the first temptation, to be trodden down or snatched away. This
is the true secret of the wayside hearer. He may have nothing
to say against the excellence of the word itself. Nay, he may give
it all praise and commendation. He may assent to its evidences,
and admire its precepts but he blindly refuses to see the direct
and immediate interest which he has in it, and so he recklessly
suffers it to pass away from him as quickly as it came.
St. Luke adds an emphatic word in the description of the way-
side hearer "It was trodden down" This is one of the first and
most certain effects produced in consequence of the hard heart
refusing to let the seed penetrate into it ; or, as above, to " under-
stand it." The good word of God is exposed to the scorn and
contempt of others by it. Every man who turns carelessly away
and gives no entrance into his heart of that which is offered to
him by the goodness and the love of God, is just doing all he can
to add to the contempt which a wicked world regards all God's
mercies. He exposes that to be trodden under foot, which he
ought to have cherished in his own breast He has lent his aid
to " put the Son of God unto an open shame."
And how terribly does the dark shadow of the Prince of dark-
ness the prince of the power of the air, again come down here
on the parabolic scenery I The three Evangelists mark him out
with fearful distinctness, " Then cometh tiie wicked one" "Satan"
364 THE PAEABLE OF
" the devil" He who in the natural heart has been truly repre-
sented as dwelling in it as his own home considering it as his
palace, and as a strong man holding his goods in peace within it,
is now seen in his bitter hostility against the Prince of the king-
dom of light. All his efforts were in vain to prevent the entrance
and glorious triumph of Emmanuel in this world. " The stronger
than he" overcame him, but again and again he returns to the as-
sault of the unhappy race for whom Christ died ; and as this great
and gracious Being scatters the good seed of the word, " which is
able to make wise unto salvation," he is ever at hand to catch
up and snatch away all good and holy impressions, if but for a
moment the careless heart suffers them to lie upon the surface-
The expression, "fowls of the air" most aptly brings before us this
hateful work of Satan. His breath of temptation. His rapidity
of movement. His sudden assault, so that the soul hardly knows
what it has had and lost. The deadly spite which leads the ene-
my of all righteousness to do this, is given by Luke, " lest they
should believe and be saved." Modern Theologians and Tractari-
ans may talk loudly of their forms and their ceremonies of their
fonts and their altars their crucifixes and their candles while
they sneer at bibliolatry and "preaching the word" But Satan
knows better than they. He will give them all these things which
their souls lust after, and make them heartily welcome to much
more too, if they will only allow him to snatch away the word, as
seed after seed of it falls upon the heart by the wayside ; for he
well knows that all these things have never saved, and can never
save a soul but he knows equally well that the word really re-
ceived into the heart, ^jbl1 nwp d t>J heliemng u upto Mdnafon"
Turn now to the second class of hearers as described in this
parable. "Some fell on stony places, where they had not much earth"
Luke expresses it, "Some fell on a rock" And this is the real
meaning of the words in Matthew " roclcy ground" a rock, with
merely a thin layer of soil on the surface. In this case the seeds
enter partly into the soil. "Forthwith they sprung up, because they
had no deepness of earth" Quickly up, they as quickly disappeared.
"When the sun was up, they were scorched ; and because they had no
root, they withered away" Here the heart_j_as_Jiard t _Qi: harder
than in the first class ; but there is a thin covering of outside pro-
fession. And so when the word comes, it is apparently received
THE SOWER. 365
with much joy. Much eagerness is displayed many good reso-
lutions formed much emotion felt and great promises of future
growth. Note that word in the parable "Forthwith it sprang up,
because it had no deepness." True in nature as in grace. The
rock under a thin layer of earth may, by the heat which it reflects,
stimulate the seed into a rapid growth. The heart which remains
hard and unconverted, is just that which, if there be a momentary
profession of religion which is agreeable to it for a time, so that
it receives it with joy, will make the most rapid show of what it
has got. It will stimulate the growth of outward seeming with
amazing rapidity. But such a man has " no root in himself." The
word has never gone down into his heart. The roots lie along in
the profession of the man, not in the man himself* And so, no
wonder if^ " in time of temptation, he falls away." "When any
thing arises to prove him to try of what character his reception
of the word is no wonder that he is offended. Just as the sun
soon scorches the plant whose roots are only on the surface of a
rock, and thus lack moisture, so the practical things of Christian-
ity the cross-bearing after Christ the denial of self, and the
confessing him before men the strong light and heat of the Sun
of righteousness soon prove the utter lack of grace at the root
of the profession, and shrivel it up into a dead and worthless
thing.
Mark the third class of hearers, "And some fell among thorns,
and tfie thorns sprung up and choked them" There is more reality
in this class than in either of the former. The seed of the word
penetrates more deeply ; but, alas ! it is so mingled with other
things which exercise an all-powerful sway over the feelings and
affections, that it is rendered useless and unprofitable. How
pointed is the description given in Mark's account of this class.
" They hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceit-
fulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke
the word, and it becometh unfruitful." They do not with hard-
ened hearts reject the word, or endeavor to keep it out. On the
contrary, they are conscious of its great importance, and welcome
it as something which they require, and the growth of which is
essential for them in time and in eternity ; but witfi this there
enter in, at the same time, these things "cares of this world,
deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things ," or, as Luko
366 THE PARABLE OF
has it, " cares, and riches, and pleasures of life." And all these
are so strong and luxuriant in their growth they have so much
in common with the natural soil of the heart, that they rapidly
spring up, and long ere the good seed can bring forth fruit unto
perfection, they " choke it" render it feeble and attenuated de-
stroy its vigor, and cover the life and conversation with the weeds
of vanity. Let not these expressions in two of the gospels be
omitted first, these lusts of other things " entering in" (Mark,)
that is, with the seed. And, "the thorns sprung up with it"
(Luke,) and " choked it." The very knocking at the door of the
heart by the preaching of the word, often opens it to the entering
in of these " other things." Men warm for a little moment at the
sound of the Gospel, and then the rein is given to their desires
on the mountains of vanity. And if there should be any appear-
ance of growth of the good seed afterward if serious thoughts
begin to intrude, and the calls of truth and love begin in some
measure to be felt, then those " other things" without loss of time
spring up with these the natural heart takes alarm, and soon
drowns thought and anxiety for the future by "the cares, the
riches, and the pleasures of the present."*
One other class still, remains. "But others fell into good ground,
and brought forth fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some
thirty-fold. 11 One evangelist reports to us that this means those
" who hear the word and understand it" the very reverse of the
wayside hearers. The latter are utterly ignorant of the true
value of the word, and of the urgent necessity for them to receive
it the former feel it to be all-important for them. They under-
stand that the " entering in of the word giveth life," and so they
are never at rest until it has been received into their hearts and
is kept safely in their bosoms. St. Luke's words are very re-
markable in describing this class. He says they are such as " in
an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and
bring forth fruit with patience." They do not let it be snatched
* " This class is not confined to the rich. IlAovrof in Scripture, is not riches abso-
lutely, as possessed, but riches desired. Here there is a divided will, a half-service
which ever ends in the prevalence of evil over good." (Alford.) What an affecting
example have we of this class the choking of the seed, the unfruitfulness, and the
condemnation, in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, who " kept back part of the
price," and " lied unto God !"
THE SOWER. 367
away as the first do they " keep it" They may make less show
and profession than the second or the third, but " they bring forth
fruit with patience" They receive it in an " honest and good
heart ;" in other words, a heart prepared for this precious seed.
This preparation does not appear in this parable : we shall have
to notice it in a subsequent one. It is not the subject of this.
The present has simply to do with the scattering of the word of
life by the Son of man upon the hearts of men, and the manifest
and clearly-seen results of this. When therefore the seed is seen
to take deep root downward, and to spring up and bear much
fruit upward, then, when that is seen, there is the mark of an
" honest and good heart," just as the springing up of the seed
scattered by the sower, and bearing an hundred, sixty, or thirty-
fold, proves that it has fallen, not on barren, or hard, or unculti-
vated ground, but on soil prepared before for the reception of it.
On the whole, we may remark three things, as regards the
first three classes. The first rejects at once. The second not so
speedily. The third still less so. If we attempted to distinguish
between the guilt of these several rejections, we might almost
affirm that it is in the inverse ratio of their order here. It has
been also forcibly remarked, that " the first is more the fault of
careless, inattentive CHILDHOOD ; the second of careless, shallow
YOUTH ; the third of worldly, self-seeking AGE." Again, just as
we have three different kinds and degrees of sin, in rejecting the
word, so we have three degrees given us of fruitfulness under it,
" an hundred-fold, sixty-fold, thirty-fold." It is not enough for
us merely to watch and pray, lest we be found hard, rocky, or
weedy ground ; but it ought to be the unceasing study of our
life to bring forth the " hundred-fold," nay more, to bring that
forth "unto perfection" not only much fruit as regards the
quantity, but the best fruit as regards the quality.
We have, therefore, in the parable before us very striking ex-
amples of the reception of the " word which by the Gospel is
preached unto us." And the solemn lesson to be gained from it
is expressed by St Luke in a single sentence " TAKE HEED
HOW YE HEAR: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given ; and
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he
soemeth to have."
We *go on now to consider the next parable in this series, and
368 THE PAKABLE OF
for reasons which will presently be advanced, in doing so, we
break in upon the order and sequence of the parables as given
by Matthew after that of the sower.
"And Jesus said, so is the Jcingdom of God, as if a man should
cast seed into the ground ; and should sleep, and rise night and day,
and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For
the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then Hie ear,
after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth,
immediately he puttelh in the sickle, because the harvest is come."
Mark iv. 26-29.
This parable is peculiar to Mark. There is unquestionably
great difficulty in ascertaining the exact purport of one portion
of it, and this difficulty is probably increased by the apparent
isolation of the parable, or rather from its being too much re-
garded by itself, in consequence of being found only in Mark.
The great difficulty is as to the sower. If we conclude that he
represents the Lord Jesus himself, then the question arises, how
can it be said of him that the seed springs and grows up " he
knows not how f" On the other hand, if we take the sower to
mean the servants of Christ, then truly the parable answers well
as regards them, that the seed groweth they ." know not how ;" but
then a still greater difficulty remains, for the parable closes thus,
" When the fruit is brought forth, immediately HE (the sower)
putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come" The latter is no
doubt the more perplexing difficulty of the two.
Now, in looking at the position which this parable occupies in
Mark's Gospel, it seems very obvious that it was delivered by our
Lord to his disciples privately, and that immediately after the
parable of the sower. Matthew has omitted it, probably because
he only meant to narrate those which were either delivered to the
multitude as they were gathered on the sea-shore, or those which
were afterward given when they retired into the house. By com-
paring the accounts given by the Evangelist, it seems certain that
after the delivery of the parable of the sower, there was a pause
in the Lord's address to the multitude. The disciples being alone
with their Master in the boat, took that opportunity of asking
him to explain it. Now, the Evangelist Mark, immediately after
closing his account of this explanation of the parable of the
sower, with the solemn admonition, " Take heed what yc hear,"
THE GROWTH OF THE SEED. 369
proceeds at once to give this parable " And he said," &c. Assur-
edly, then, we must regard it as following up the train of thought
suggested by the former parable, and yet privately given to the
disciples alone. Nor need there be any surprise at this parable
being in one Gospel and not in another. This may be said of
others ; and in truth at the best, there could only be a very limit-
ed selection made in the reporting of what Jesus did and said,
for otherwise, as St. John, says, " I suppose that even the world
itself could not contain the books that should be written."
Even apart from this manifest fact in the history, we might be
disposed to regard the same train of thought carried on from the
parable of the sower to this, by the identity of the imagery ; the
sower sowing seed in his field, and then the seed appearing and
progressing until it brought forth its ripe grain. And from this
last circumstance, namely, the ripening of the grain, we seem to
be irresistibly drawn toward the last class in the parable of the
sower, in which alone the seed sown attains to maturity and bears
fruit. And then when we reflect that it was to his disciples alone
he was now speaking to those who were hearing and understand-
ing and keeping the good word of God, and in the way of bring-
ing forth fruit with patience, then it does appear more than prob-
able, that the parable now before us was uttered to the disciples,
in further elucidation of the good seed sown on "good ground."
Keeping this connection steadily in view, we shall find that this
parable does indeed add most important and instructive reflec-
tions to that which goes before, and likewise that the difficulty
referred to above, is greatly diminished, if not entirely removed.
The words in which Mark narrates the explanation of the last
class in the parable of the sower, are " such as hear the word of
God, and receive it." All the other classes reject it. This last re-
ceives it. Well, it is the more complete history of this reception
which is given in the parable before us a reception not, bo it re-
membered, into the hearts of individual believers, though it may
be with perfect propriety applied to each one of these, but the
reception of the good word into the whole body of believers
the one class as distinct from all the others who reject it the
multitude of the faithful of every place, and in all generations of
the Christian age, from its commencement to its close. What
then do we learn from the parable regarding this class ?
24
370 THE PARABLE OP
"jSo if the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the
ground.' Delivered as the parable was, after that of the sower,
and just before that of the tares in the field, we can not do other-
wise than conclude that He that " casts seed into the ground" is
" the Son of man" It is added of the sower in the parable, that
after sowing " he sleeps, and rises night and day." This expression
is admitted by the best commentators simply to mean, that after
he had scattered his seed, the sower went about his ordinary avo-
cations, while all this time the seed was "growing and springing
up he knew not how" Clearly there must be some limitation to
these last words. The husbandman does know in one sense
how the seed grows, that is, he knows that it is by the fertilizing
power in the earth which has received the seed. He does know,
that unless the seed be in the earth and unless that earth be pre-
pared and specially unless the rain and sun from above are re-
freshing and warming it, that the seed can not grow. This is
knowing a great deal. Obviously, then, the words mean simply
this, that his personal work is ended for the time, when he casts
the seed into the ground. Up to that point, he is a direct and im-
mediate agent in the matter. Beyond this, he is not. It is his
care and his duty hitherto. Beyond this, another agency must
see to it. His own hand is engaged in it so far. He commits it
to another afterward. The words, " he knoweth not how" can not
be strained to any thing further than this.
Again, however, the sower appears in his field. The seed
which in spring he had sown, has now passed through its several
stages of development and growth, and being ripened by the
summer sun is ready for the harvest. The direct personal work
of him who first sowed, is again seen in his reaping his precious
grain " When the fruit is brought forth, (ripe, margin,) immediately
heputteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come."
Now this very remarkably presents before us the fact of the
Lord Jesus Christ personally visiting his church on two occasions.
The first of these was, as it were, the seed-time. He made every
preparation for the sowing of the field. He spared himself no
pains or cost in order to secure perfectly good seed to sow in it.
The word which he gave was perfect for the purpose he designed,
for it was himself himself as the author of eternal life to all that
shou!d believe on him. And this living word was set forth,
THE GROWTH OF THE SEED. 371
made known, declared by the written word which his servants
were ordained by him to publish. Then after having done this,
he retired personally from the field. He returned within the vail.
Having giver, the word, the good seed, he went away, as he him-
self declared it was expedient that he should do leaving the
seed to grow and manifest itself during the long and changeful
season of this dispensation. But he will again visit his field. He
has scattered good seed over it, and he has a right to look for a
plentiful increase. He has left it for a time, but it is only to re-
turn at the harvest, that he may gather and store up in his heav-
enly garner all his chosen ones who have sprung up from the
merits of his death, and are bearing fruit, some a hundred, some
sixty, some thirty-fold.
But while he himself warned his disciples that thus it must
be " It is expedient for you, that I go away ;" " I leave the
world and go unto the Father ;" " Father, I come to thee ;"
" Now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world ;"
he joined with this warning the gracious promise that his personal
removal from the field was just to make way for the personal
presence and work of another. " If I go not away," he says,
" the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I will
send him unto you." The work of this infinitely gracious and
glorious agent would be to " guide into truth ;" " to bring all
things to remembrance whatsoever Christ hath said ;" " to take
of what belongs to Christ and show it" unto Christ's people, to "con-
vince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."
And here, then, we mark the field of the world under the dis-
pensation of the Spirit, with the word scattered over it by the
Divine sower. The Son's personal work is for a time closed on
earth. He has prepared the seed and sown it, and he leaves all
work now to the operation of the Holy Ghost. So that every
proof of vitality in the seed sown, every token that a heart has
become instinct with spiritual life, is by the direct application of
the written word, through the power of the Holy Ghost, bringing
the soul into immediate and blessed fellowship with the living
word. Every advancement in spiritual growth, whether it be
clear discernment, heavenly-mindedness, or true godliness, is
alone the work of the Holy Ghost in bringing more and more
clearly before the sinner all that pertains to Christ causing him
THE PARABLE OF
to realize more the glory of his union with him as the living
word through the instrumentality of the written word and, by
his various dispensations of grace and mercy, as well as of chas-
tisement and correction, rapidly maturing and preparing him for
the heavenly garner, by the warm rays of the Sun of righteous-
ness, and the refreshing influences of the " water of life," con-
veyed to him by his own personal work. And when all this
spiritual process is passed through in the mighty field where the
word is sown, when the Spirit has completed and perfected all
his work of preparation, then shall the Son himself again return
to his faithful and longing people, and " receive them unto him-
self, that where he is, there they may be also."
It is interesting to observe how the personal absence of Christ
from his church during this dispensation is, in the individual
work of grace in the heart of man, exhibited in the parable of the
barren fig-tree, where the vine-dresser is the Spirit, and Christ is
merely introduced as inquiring into the condition of the tree, but
taking no direct hand in its culture while here in the parable
before us, in which the whole history of the church from seed-
time to harvest is set forth, the same absence of Christ is point-
edly illustrated.
And here, too, we perceive what it is that makes what is called
in the parable of the sower, " good ground ;" and in the explana-
tion, " an honest and good heart ;" or, in the parable now before
us, " the earth bringing forth fruit of herself." It is the presence of
the Spirit in the temporary absence of Jesus. There can be no
good ground no honest reception of seed into the heart no
power of bringing forth, unless under the immediate and direct
presence of the Holy Ghost. " The earth of itself," taken abso-
lutely, can not bring forth fruit. It can only do so as it is brought
under such influences as will make it fertile. According to that
word in the Hebrews, " The earth which drinketh in the rain
that cometh ofl upon it, and bringing forth herbs meet for them
by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God." So with
the heart of man, if the influences of the Spirit are all turned
back if they never penetrate beneath the surface, then no seed
can spring up or flourish there. But if it " drink in" the " former
and the latter rain" of that Spirit, then it " bringeth forth fruit,' ;
and " receiveth blessing from God."
THE WHEAT AND THE TARES. 373
And let the order of these parables be noted. First the sower,
and then the seed growing. The very sequence is natural as
regards the illustration. Then as to what is meant. The Spirit
can not work before Christ. It is only because of Christ that he
can work at all. Unless Christ had perfected his personal work
at his first advent, the Spirit could have nothing to do in the
field of the world. But, on the other hand, though Christ's work
comes first, yet without the Spirit's work it would be of no avail.
And just as he has handed over his completed work to be under
the sole charge of the Holy Spirit, so the latter will at length
give back to Christ his completed work too. Both works need-
ful, and both done. Each dependent on the other each with a
common end in view and both terminating in " bringing many
sons and daughters unto God," justified through the meritorious
work of Jesus, and sanctified by the inner operation of the Spirit
righteously inheriting by virtue of the one made forever meet
by the power of the other for the glory and the presence of the
everlasting Father. (Appendix E.)
We pass on to another parable, which is closely allied to both
of those we have been considering.
"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of
heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field ; but
while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat,
and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought
forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the house-
holder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in
tfiy field ? from whence then hath it tares ? He said unto them, An
enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou tfien
that we go and gather them up ? But he saul, Nay ; lest while ye
gather up tJie tares, ye root up also tfie wheat with them. Let both
grow togeOier until the harvest: arid in the time of harvest I ivill say
to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind tiiem in
bundles to .burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." Mat-
thew xiii. 24-30.
The precise explanation graciously given by our Lord to his\
disciples of the various particulars in this very remarkable para- ]
ble, leaves us nothing to desire regarding its scope ; and all that
remains is to dwell briefly on one or two of these. When the
disciples sought to be informed as to this parable, our Lord thus
374 THE PARABLE OF
replied to them " He that soweth the seed is the Son of mau ;
I the field is the world ; the good seed are the children of the
/kingdom ; but the tares are the children of the wicked one ; the
Wemy that sowed them is the devil ; the harvest is the end of
(the world ; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the
tares are gathered and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in the
end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels,
and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend,
and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace
of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then
shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father."
Notwithstanding this precious and full explanation of the
parable, some have attempted to add to it in some important
particulars. Thus, it has been affirmed that while " the reapers
are the angels" yet that " the servants" who first detect the tares in
the field are ministers of Christ's church on earth ! Now, surely
when we look over the explanation given step by step by our
Lord himself noting with the greatest distinctness each success-
ive particular, it is a bold thing to hazard such an assertion as
the above. If these servants of the householder are ministers of
Christ's church on earth, we may reverently ask the question,
Why is there a gap altogether in the explanation regarding
them ? Specially does the force of this appear, when it is con-
/sidered that the main drift of the parable depends on the discovery
(made by these servants, and their desire for immediately uproot-
(ing the noxious weeds which had been sown in the field. Why,
then, we repeat, when all the other matters in the parable are, as
it were, placed side by side with the things they represent, why
is nothing said of this ? If there is truly such a marked distinc-
tion in the parable, that the servants mean ministers on earth,
and the reapers angels from heaven, is it possible to conceive
that this too would not have been declared ?
We at once reject all such additions to this explanation, as being
not only in the highest degree improbable by the marked silence
regarding it, but also because it is altogether uncalled for. The
story in the parable speaks for itself. The householder in posses-
sion of the good field in which he has sowed good seed has his
farm-servants. When these are first introduced they are merely
THE WHEAT AND THE TABES. 375
asking a question they are not actually engaged in field work,
and so they are only called servants. At the close of the parable,\
however, they are engaged in field work, and so they are called)
" the reapers" They are obviously the same parties as are spoken
of at first, but are now named " the reapers" from the employment
in which they appear at last to be engaged. And as our Lord
says " the reapers are the angels," we can not come with proprietv
to any other conclusion than that these " servants of the householder 11
are angels too. The double reference, indeed, to these beings in
the parable is in exact accordance with what Scripture says re-
garding them. They are, on the one haud, " ministers (or serv-
ants) of God who do his pleasure," that is their general designa-
tion. They are likewise a " flame of fire," that is their particular
designation when they are specially sent forth by him to execute
his wrath. The "servants of the householder" were made " the reap-
ers." The angelic ministers are made " a flame of fire."
It is no matter of surprise, when such an interpretation of " the
servants" in the parable is given, that it should be followed up by
certain views of other parts very cognate to it. Thus, it has been
said, that the field is the visible Church ; and that the coming of
" Hie servants" to the householder is the surprise and anxiety which
ministers of that Church feel when they behold such noxious
things as they are compelled to do, growing up within the out-
ward fold, as show plainly they came from the evil one. More-
over, it is added, that when the servants ask, "Wilt thou,tfien, that
we go and gather them up?" this is the language of those who have
authority to exercise discipline in the Church of Christ, and who,
if left to themselves, would with unsparing and probably indis-
criminate zeal, seek to cast out, or, in other words, excommunicate
from the fold all that offends.
It is hardly possible to conceive any thing more alien to the
whole bearing of the parable than these matters. "The field is not
the visible Church. Our Lord expressly says it is " the world ;"
and yet, with this clear and emphatic statement, so entirely irrecon-
cilable with the view just referred to, many fanciful theories have
been propounded as deducible from this parable about the extent
and limitation of church-discipline, and so forth ! This parable,
indeed, was a special battle-ground in the early history of the
Church, and is frequently introduced in the controversy which
376 THE PARABLE OP
raged between the Donatists and Augustine, who opposed them
on the orthodox side. That controversy was very similar to some
modern ones whether it is or is not the duty of the members of
the visible Church to exclude every one from their communion
who does not bring forth the fruits of righteousness ? The Do-
natists said it was ; Augustine said it was not. The latter adduced
this parable in support of his view. The former evaded the force
of it by affirming what is in itself true, that the field is " the world"
not the Church. But the truth is, the parable does not help either
side. It does, indeed, indirectly prove the Donatists to have been
in error, because it sets forth the state of Christ's Church during
the whole of this dispensation as mingled wheat and tares ; but
it says not a word about the discipline, more or less, which may
or ought to be used in order to purify the visible Church from
corrupt membership, or whether all such discipline should indeed
be let alone. It is the attempt to make " the servants" in the par-
able ministers of the Church on earth which has introduced such
confusion into the explanation, and brought in matters entirely ir-
relevant to the figure employed.
Let us start from the firm ground of our Lord's own words
"The field is the world" " Go ye into all the world (the same word
as in the parable), and preach the Gospel unto every creature."
Such is the field ; the material world, or the whole race of man-
kind taken simply in its natural, worldly sense. When the Sa-
viour gave the glorious commission to his servants, just mentioned,
v then did the Son of man "sow good seed in his field."
> Now, observe a remarkable change here from the parable of
the sower. It is the word which is there said to be sown. Here
it is " the children of the kingdom." The reason for this change is
obvious. In the former parable Jesus meant to show the recep-
tion of his Word by the heart of man under its great leading va-
rieties. In the latter he means to show the history in the world
of those who have received his Word into their hearts, and so be-
come " the children of the kingdom" This history is comprised in
two words. As the husbandman sowed his good seed in his field,
so Christ places his beloved ones in the world, throughout it,
spreads them over it, as the "salt of the earth," and the "light of
the world." And, as the husbandman found tares mingled with
his wheat, so Christ finds evil men who profess to be "children of
THE WHEAT AND THE TARES. 377
the kingdom," and appear in the midst of " the world" as such, but
who in reality are " the children of the evil one" And so the whole
figure assumes its proper and simple form. The field is " the
world." " The wheat with the tares" is the visible Church of
Christ in the world, having the " evil mingled with the good."
We are farther told how this state of things came about. Not,
be it observed, evil in the world, for that prevailed in the world
long before, but evil within the Church in the world. " While
men slept, his enemy came, and sowed tares among the ivheat, and
ivent his way" " While men slept," that is, at night, when the deed
could be done secretly and stealthily, under cover of the darkness ;
so were the " children of the evil one" stealthily introduced among
the godly in Christ Jesus, This mystery of iniquity began to work
even in apostolic days, and was not long before it showed in its
revelation how busily the enemy had been engaged. " The ene-
my" is " the Devil." Again, we are brought in sight of this great
adversary. In the parable of the sower we see him on the watch
to catch away if possible the living word from the hearts of poor
sinners, lest they should believe and be saved. Here he is craftily
and secretly introducing such evil men within the profession of
the Gospel as he trusts may spread death not life in the world, and
destroy the growth of the kingdom of light. How emphatic are
the words, " and went his way" This is a kind of work in which
it is for his interest to bo as little seen as possible. His object is
to fill the world with evil children, but they must have the appear-
ance of the children of light. They must be his in heart, but
they must be Christ's in name. They must be- really dead, but
they must appear to live. They must be barren and accursed, but
they must have the semblance of good and profitable seed. So,
after having done his utmost to attain this end, he keeps out of
sight, he retires into the back-ground, satisfied with leaving a seed
behind him who call Jesus Lord, but in works deny him.
When at length the work of this enemy appeared, " tiie servants
of the householder came andsaul unto him," &c. We have already
denied the accuracy of the view which makes these " servants"
mean ministers of Christ's church on earth. One reason we have
already given, and it is sufficient in itself. Others remain. What
is said cf the mingled growth of wheat and tares in the field, ap-
plies tt ministers, and to those having authority in the visible
THE PARABLE OF
church, as well as others. The evil is mingled with the good there,
even as in the body of the church at large. (2 Corinthians xi.
13-15.) To make them apply, therefore, to their Master under
such circumstances, is, to say the least, a most incongruous ex
planation of the parable. And this incongruity is greatly height-
ened by putting such words as these into their mouths, " Wilt thou
then, that we go and gather them up ?" And if the refusal on the
part of Christ, "Nay, let both grow together" was meant to apply to
them, and to the exercise of discipline in the visible church, we
know that in the apostolic age, this was not carried out ; for we
find at least one of the most prominent of the apostolic band, en-
gaged himself, and engaging the other members of the church,
" to put away from among them that wicked person."
"The servants" are the angels of God, who are able to look over
the field at a glance, and who, as faithful themselves, are exceed-
ingly jealous for the honor of his name. It is altogether consist-
ent and congruous to the subject in hand, that they should come
and seek information about what appears so strangely adverse, as
they think, to the progress of that kingdom and the children of
it, in which their own future interests are so much involved.
They had seen from the beginning the works of Satan in the
world ; but now there is something new which they do not yet
comprehend. Christ has planted his kingdom in the world. He
has sown the seed the precious, the good seed of that kingdom
throughout the world. And hardly has he done so, when before
the eyes of these angelic servants there appears this strange anom-
aly Christians without Christianity something in the earthly
stage of the kingdom of Christ apparently springing out of it,
and yet utterly diverse from it. "From whence then hath it tares ?"
How is it possible that these should have arisen 1 The servants
of the householder, when told that an enemy had done this, im-
mediately begged to know whether they should go and at once
root up this evil and noxious crop. And here, we have just such
another intimation of what angelic minds may feel regarding what
passes in this world, as we had in the parable of the prodigal son.
Their first impulse is to go at once and take out of Christ's king-
dom any thing that offends. They can not endure such dishonor
to be cast upon him. They burn with holy jealousy to root out
all unbelievers from the field in which the church is passing
THE WHEAT AND THE TARES. 379
through her period of probation. They would do it at once.
They would have no delay. But their Master thinks otherwise.
He restrains their just and holy ardor. He will not, for wise pur-
poses of his own, allow them to go forth at once against those
who have only a " name to live ;" but the time is coming when
he will send them forth, and then their zeal for the Lord of hosts
will clear out of the field every root of bitterness, and destroy
every noxious plant. Let it be noted in passing, how this parable
is dovetailed into that of the lost son, by what it reveals of the
mind and feelings of angels regarding the whole scheme of re-
demption. First, they need to be instructed in, and reconciled to
the great work of redemption, as marked by Christ receiving sin-
ners ; and next, they need further instruction in regard to the long
preparatory course over which the children of the kingdom must
pass before being finally severed from all that is hostile to Christ,
and dishonoring to God.
But now as to the tares sown in the field. Many discussions
have arisen as to whether the plant here spoken of was of such a
kind as that the good wheat might degenerate into the evil tares ;
or, on the other hand, the evil tares be improved into the good
wheat. And then, of course, this application has followed that
if evil men may be changed into, or may become good, so, on
the other hand, good men may become evil. Now, in truth, the
parable has nothing to do with any such thing at all. This is not
a subject in the least within its scope. Whatever be the truth or
otherwise, either physically or spiritually, which may be held on
this point, this parable is altogether independent of it takes no
cognizance of it, and is complete in its great lesson without it.
" In the parable, the Lord gathers, as it were, the whole human
race into one life-time, as they will be gathered in one harvest, and
sets forth that as simultaneous, which has been scattered over the
ages of time." (Alford.) And all, then, which lie means to con-
vey by this parable, is, that in all ages of the church's history, aa\
a matter of fact, the evil will be mingled with the good the good J
being the good seed, the evil the bad, and at first sight not readily-/
to be distinguished. And that at the close of this dispensation
the great harvest of the world this will be found to be so still.
But at that time, he will see to the entire separation forever of all
that is really good from all that is really bad.
380 THE PARABLE OF
All that we have to do with the plant called " tare" in the par-
able, is to see whether it bears out this manifest intimation, that
it might at certain periods of its growth be mistaken for wheat.
This is the special point in the parable the resemblance of the
wheat and tares at first, the time when the difference began to be
descried, and yet the danger at that time of endeavoring to root
them up and cast them out of the field. The researches of scien-
tific men have settled this matter. The tare in the parable is un-
questionably a plant, which in its first growth and development,
bears a very strong and marked resemblance to wheat in the same
stage of growth. So much, indeed, is this the case, that it needs
a very practiced eye to discover some minute features which indi-
cate the different classes to which these plants belong.*
The work of the enemy would not then appear at once. The
parable tells us when it was that it did appear, " When the blade
was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also"
Mark that the tares are meant here to be in the same stage of
development. The fruit had begun to appear in both. Now this
is just the stage at which the plant, which botanists consider to
be the tares of Scripture, displays its entire distinctiveness from
the wheat. As soon as the fruit appears, the plant is known. And
so it has been, and ever will be, in the history of the visible Church.
Only "by their fruits shall ye know them." No other means for any
one but Jehovah himself to know who are his, and who are not.
But then, " the servants" are forbidden from going at once and
gathering up the tares, and for this reason, " lest -while ye gather
up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them" We do not care
to deal with the notion which has been sometimes advanced in
explanation of the danger which would be incurred by presently
uprooting the tares, namely, that the roots of the plants might be
so far mingled with each other, as that violence to the one would
be fatal to the other and so making it in some way or another
necessary for the righteous in this world, that the evil should not
be violently taken from among them. This is altogether unsat-
isfactory and alien to the point at issue. The great thing is the
final separation of the evil and the good. " The Lord knoweth
* I have great satisfaction in referring to Appendix F for an admirable note on
this subject from my excellent friend the Professor of Botany in the University of
Edinburgh.
THE WHEAT AND THE TARES. 381
them that are his," but his judgment, his separation at last, will
be according to works, according to that done in the body,
whether good or bad. Now he will not suffer his angels at once
to proceed against the evil in his visible Church, because the time
has not arrived when the full manifestation of fruit of both kinds
will clearly show who are his, and who are not ; and therefore
even they might make mistakes in the matter.
An expression in the parable of the "seed in its growth,"
seems to suggest the true meaning of this part of the parable
now before us. Speaking of the growth previous to harvest, our
Lord says, " First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn
in the ear." Now this is just what we may see in any field of
grain. There is ever this gradual development ; and more than
this, we shall invariably find different plants at different stages
of this development. "While one is nearly " the full corn in the
ear," another will be only as far on as " the ear," another not so
far, only " the blade." Now in the parable before us, the time
mentioned when the servants made the discovery, was when " the
blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit" In other words,
some of the most advanced of the plants began to show distinctly
what their true character was, either wheat or tares. But many
would be yet a stage or two behind. The real distinctivencss
derived from the first appearance of fruit could not yet be detected
in them, and hence the danger of attempting at that period to root
out the tares. This could only be done with safety at the extreme
period of harvest, when the time for the sickle had come, and
when every plant in the field would then show itself of what
kind of seed it was.
And so the whole lesson of this solemn parable lies before us.
God at present pauses in his judgment on those who, with an
outward profession, yet are none of his in heart He waits until,
over the whole field of the world, and during the entire history
of the Church, such distinct and tangible evidence shall be pro-
duced as to " the children of the kingdom," and " the children
of the evil one," that the angels whom he shall send forth to
gather out of his kingdom all those that offend, can not possibly
misunderstand their work, for then, as they cast the wicked into
the furnace of fire, even as tares into the burning, " t/ie righteous
shall shine (before them) in the kingdom of their Father."
CHAPTER II.
THE MU8TARD-SJED THE TREASURE IN THE FIELD THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
THE DRAG-NET.
THE following parables still further illustrate the history of the
progress of the Gospel in the world, and its reception by man.
"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, 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 becomefJi a tree, so that the
birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." Matthew
xiii. 31, 32.
In the parable of the sower, the seed scattered yielded a return
to the husbandman in only one of the four kinds of soil on which
it fell. This by itself might have left an impression on the minds
of Christ's hearers, that his Gospel must be deficient in power, if
it proved successful in only one out of four classes of mankind.
The work of the enemy in the parable of the tares might have
rather strengthened, than otherwise, this impression. So in this
parable he sets before the people the inherent power of the
" kingdom of heaven." It may seem at first to find little accept-
ance with man. It may have its " day of small things." It may,
by the permission of the Prince of the kingdom, encounter a
long-continued effort of the enemy, either to make it of none
effect, or to overrun it with the worthlessness of a hollow and
counterfeit profession. Nevertheless, amid all these tokens of
apparent weakness, this shall be its history. Small and insignifi-
cant at first, indeed, to outward sense begun by a man, igno-
miniously crucified, with a few illiterate followers, having no
countenance or support from the ordinary forces of the world, it
has yet daily become greater and greater, and at length it shall
THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD-SEED. 383
be for shelter to all tlie inhabitants of the earth. This is manifestly
the purport of the imagery in this parable. It sets forth the in-
herent power in the kingdom of heaven to strike its roots deeply
in the earth, to grow in spite of all obstacles, to " stretch forth its
boughs unto the sea, and its branches unto the river," until the
whole earth shall gladly seek for and find protection under its
shadow. This parable assures us of the outward glory and
triumph of the Messiah's kingdom in the earth. It is the repre-
sentation of all those glorious promises regarding his " govern-
ment and peace" in the world. It places before us in a lively
and striking figure such truths as these " The earth shall be
covered with the knowledge of the glory of God, even as the
waters cover the sea," "All shall know me, from the least to the
greatest." It marks the sure progress from the manger in the
stable at Bethlehem, with a new-born infant lying there, " because
there was no room for him in the inn," to that other day when
there shall be " great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of
the world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his
Christ, and he shall reign on the earth." Then shall the lowly
one, who as an " infant of days" was " despised and rejected of
men," esteemed " small and of no reputation," and who, in ap-
parent weakness, hung dead upon the cross, then shall that very
Being " have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto
the ends of the earth." If for a time " the world" has been, by
his wise permission, partly overrun by tares, he will take care
that at length all such offenses shall be cast forth, and in "his
field" still will be gathered "all the kindreds of the people" to
rest under the shadow of that kingdom which is " righteousness,
and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."*
" Another parable spake he unto Oiem : The kingdom of heaven is
like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of
meal, till the whole was leavened" Matt. xiii. 33.
The parable of the mustard-seed represents " the inherent of self-
developing power of the kingdom of Heaven as a seed containing
in itself the principles of expansion ; this, of the power which it
possesses of penetrating and assimilating a foreign mass till all be
taken up into it." (Alford.)
* See Appendix G, for some remarks by Professor Balfour, regarding the plant
referred to in this parable.
384 THE PARABLE OF
These two parables have often been regarded as representing
one and the same aspect of truth, namely, the gradual progress
from the small beginnings of the kingdom of Christ up to its per-
fect development and establishment. But nothing can be more
mistaken than such a view. The bearing of each parable is per-
fectly distinct from the other. The first has to do with the open,
manifest triumph and glory of Messiah's kingdom, with the na-
tions of the earth finding a safe and a happy shelter under its
universal dominion. The other shows that coextensive with
this, there is proceeding an inward process of "penetrating and
assimilating" so that the dwellers under the shadow of the king-
dom shall also have it " within them." Just as the tree of right-
eousness, planted by the love and watered by the sufferings of
Christ, is advancing to its glorious maturity, so is regeneration
and sanctification by every means of grace constantly proceeding
in the souls of his people, and when the perfect consummation of
his work for them shall be at length made manifest, his perfect
work in them shall be completed too. ' ' The whole shall le leavened"*
The parables we have just been considering were, equally with
those of the sower and the tares, delivered by our Lord to the
multitude on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Those which we
are now to look into were delivered by him to his disciples alone,
after he had retired into the house, (ver. 38.) And bearing this
in mind we shall the more readily perceive the main scope of
what was uttered under these circumstances.
* I have not thought it necessary to notice here the opinion that " the leaven*'
in this parable is symbolic of pollution and corruption, and therefore that the
parable refers to the progress of corruption and deterioration in the outward visi-
ble Church. Let the following remarks suffice for this view. " But, then, how is
it said that the kingdom of heaven is like this leaven ? Again, if the progress of
the kingdom of heaven be toward corruption, till the whole is corrupted, surely there
is an end of all the blessings and healing influences of the Gospel in the world.
It will be seen that such an interpretation can not for a moment stand on its own
ground, but much less when we connect it with the parable preceding." (Alford.)
I add the following admirable remark by the same writer regarding the woman
and the three measures of meal. " As to whether the ywrj has any especial mean-
ing (though I am more and more convinced that such considerations are not always to
be passed by as nugatory), it will hardly be of much consequence here to inquire,
seeing that -yvvalKef airoTroioi would be every where a matter of course. ' The three
measures,' an ephah, appears to have been the usual quantity prepared for a bak-
ing.- (See Gen. xviii. 6; Judges, vi. 19; 1 Sam. i. 24.)"
THE TREASURE IN THE FIELD. 885
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in afield:
the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goetJi
andselkth all that he hath, and luyeih that field" Matt, xiii. 44.
Hitherto our Lord had spoken of the kingdom of heaven in
its reception among men, and its external and internal process, in
respect of the power with which that kingdom itself operates.
Thus it is good seed cast into the ground, and then springing up.
It is also a gram of mustard-seed, becoming at length a tree ; and
also it is leaven pe'rvading the mass into which it is introduced,
until 'the whole is leavened. Now, however, Jesus represents
this reception of the kingdom of heaven under another aspect,
namely, the eagerness of men to possess it, when they come to
know its value. He shows to his disciples, who were already, by
his Spirit, earnestly seeking after that kingdom, that in the mat-
ter of its reception, men were not acted on, as if merely inert
and passive, like the soil of the earth, but they were eagerly de-
sirous to obtain that which, by the Spirit, they had discovered to
be " unsearchable riches," and unspeakably precious.
The parable before us illustrates the case of the man who makes
an unexpected discovery of the inestimable value of what the
Gospel of the kingdom is ; and who, when he has once done so,
strains every nerve, gives himself no rest, until he can call that
precious treasure his own. Our Lord took the similitude from a
very common occurrence in Eastern countries, both in ancient
and modern times, where the insecurity of property is proverbial.
It was and is no unusual thing, for men of wealth to divide their
property into three parts ; one part to be invested in the daily trans-
actions of commerce ; a second converted into precious stones,
which might be easily secreted about the person and carried away
on any emergency ; and the third buried in some secret place
known only to the owner. It has frequently happened, that the
owner has never returned to recover his property ; and thus
another, often very unexpectedly, has lighted on " the hid treas-
ure" Our Lord supposes such a case, and as the law then in
force in Judea would make the present proprietor of the field in
which the treasure lay the legal possessor of the latter, this man
is said, as soon as he made the discovery, " to sell all that he hatfi,
and to buy the field" in order that he may possess the treasure.
Observe, our Lord merely takes such a case as frequently oc-
25
386 THE PARABLE OF
curred, as the similitude of the truth he wished to inculcate
As to the honesty or otherwise of the man in the matter, we have
nothing to do. It is no more intended that we should act upon
the principle which influenced him, than we are to act upon the
principle which influenced the unjust steward. Just as in the lat-
ter case, it is the man's shrewdness, not his dishonesty, that is the
lesson ; so in the parable before us, it is the man's eager desire to
obtain at every cost the " treasure in ike field" which is the lesson,
not the craft and cunning by which he attained his end.
What, then, does the " treasure hid in the field''' 1 mean ? It can
not mean what the field in the former parables does " the world"
There is no treasure in that field worth the buying ; neither can
it be, in any sense, said of any one, that he " bought the world?
Neither can it mean " the Church," as some would have it, for the
Church has no such treasure in her which can thus be taken pos-
session of. She may tell of such treasure, and point to where it
is to be found the faithful may tell where they themselves have
found it, but they will say as Paul did, "We neither received it of
man, neither were we taught it, but by revelation cf Jesus Christ."
Besides, how can it ever be said with any propriety, that as the
man in the parable bought the field for the treasure, so also he who
seeks for the Gospel treasure must possess himself of the Church,
in order to obtain the treasure ! Surely it is enough to state this
view plainly, in order to condemn it.
The "field" in this parable is the same which is set forth in the
parable of the sower by " the seed." It is " the word of God"
When the direct power and energy of the word upon the sinner's
heart is intended to be shown, then it is good seed sown on good
ground, springing up and bearing fruit. When it is the sinner's
eager desire to possess that word with all its hid treasure, to give
up all, in order to obtain it then it is " a field" in which " a trea-
sure is hid" Now mark the process illustrated here. The writ-
ten word of God lies before the sinner as the field in the parable lay
before the man. It does not yet belong to him. He looks at it
he may labor in one sense in it but as long as he is unconverted,
as long as his desires are " earthly, sensual, devilish," he has "no
part or lot in the matter ;" and as long as this state lasts, he has no
desire to possess it. There is nothing, as it appears to him, so
precious in it, as to make him " sell all that he has" in order to get
THE TREASURE IN THE FIELD. 387
it. But let the Spirit of God " reveal Christ" to that sinner's soul,
awake him to a sense of sin, a need of pardon, a fear of hell, and a
hope of heaven, by showing him " the Lamb of God," then he has
made the great discovery of the treasure which the field contains
of what the Scriptures hold, " they are they which testify of
me" And so he never rests until he has really and spiritually
made himself possessor of that which " is the testimony of Jesus."
He must have as his own, and at every cost, the written word, be-
cause of the living word within it.
See, moreover, what he does when he makes the discovery of
Christ in his Word. "He hideth it" This is the only way in which
he can secure possession of it. " Thy Word have I hid within .
my heart." " Thy words were found, and I did eat them," that
in the inner process of spiritual life, known only to God and the
soul, the latter might appropriate to itself the "unsearchable
riches of Christ." Then '''for joy thereof he goelh and selleth all that
he hath, and buycth that field" Mark well, this does not mean the
believer buying his salvation. He has not a farthing wherewith to
attempt to do that. The treasure in the field of the Word is al-
ready a bought salvation a salvation purchased not with " cor-
ruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood
of Christ." It is this which makes it so infinitely valuable, so
gloriously precious ; and when, therefore, the sinner sells all that
he has in order to buy this, it means that " what things were gain
to him," these he must now "count loss for Christ;" and he must
be ready to "suffer the loss of all things, that he may win Christ,"
God's unspeakable gift.
And so we pass on to the next parable.
"Again, tfie kingdom of heaven is Wee unto a merchant-nian seeking
goodly pearls ; who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went
and sold all that he had, and bought it" Matt. xiii. 45, 46.
In the former parable, we have the case of a man who, without
any previous heart-searching, is suddenly brought face to face with
the Gospel treasure, and so becomes eager to obtain it. The case
of the woman at the well of Samaria is a remarkable example of
such. In this, on the contrary, we have the case of a man so far
enlightened, so far awakened, as to have become thoroughly dis-
satisfied with his own condition, and who has received strong im-
pressions of the odiousness of sin, and of the beauty of holiness.
388 THE PARABLE OF
One who feels that lie can not sit still, and make no effort after
what is good. He is conscious of his need, and sincerely sets
about endeavoring to get what he wants. He is seeking "goodly
pearls.' 11 The grace of God leads him to discover the one "pearl
of great price," even Jesus Christ. He had been searching for
"pearls" for many ornaments. He finds one, worth more than
them all. In other words, when the awakened soul is sincerely
and really desirous to put on " whatsoever things are lovely, hon-
est, just, pure, or of good report," then he discovers that in Christ
every such precious thing is to be found. He discovers that if he
obtains- Christ he gets " all things" besides that if he " put on
Christ" it is the certain and the only way in \vhich he can put
away what is vile and unworthy, and be clothed with such a sal-
vation as shall not only be a covering for him in the way of par-
don, but shall be glorious apparel, in which he may walk adorned
with all the gifts and the graces of the Spirit of God. When
Paul said, "to me to live is Christ" he showed that he had parted
with every thing, and made the "pearl of great price" his own.
And just, then, as in the "treasure hid in the field" we have the
believer hiding the precious word with Christ in it within his heart,
as his heritage forever ; so in this latter parable we have the be-
liever setting forth the preciousness and glory of Christ before
men, wearing this " pearl of great price" as his unspeakably costly
ornament, and so "adorning the doctrine of God his Saviour in
all things."
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into
the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they
drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast
the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall
come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast
them into the furnace of fire,: there shall be wailing and gnashing of
teeth" Matt. xiii. 47-50.
While this parable is identical with that of the tares in thejkld
in two points, namely, the permitted mingling of good and evil
within the outward Church on earth, and the final and complete
separation of these in the day of the Lord at the end of the
world, as it is called in both, but more properly the end of the age,
or the present dispensation ; the aspect under which these are
presented to us is perfectly different in the two parables. A brief
THE DRAG NET. 389
examination of this one will suffice to show the points of differ-
ence.
It is not a field now in which seed is sown, but the sea into
which a net is cast. From this we gather an important distinc-
tion between the general bearing of the two parables, while each
closes with the separation of the good from the evil. The parable
of the tares intimates to us that the ungodliness of mere profes-
sion will be seen to be mingled more or less with the reality of true
godliness during the progress of this age or dispensation. The
parable before us indicates another view of the matter. The net
is cast in, and as " it gathers of every kind" its operation is out of
sight. The end will show what it is gathering ; but as it is drag-
ged along it is under the water, and so out of view.
The same Being, likewise, who is mentioned in the former, is
implied in this. "The Son of man," who is represented as if
" sowing good seed in a field," must be regarded here as if " cast-
ing a net into the sra." But the imagery of the two parables sug-
gests a widely different application. In the parable of the tares
in the field we see the representation of the vital power of the
Word in "the children of the kingdom." They are the "good
seed," because with prepared hearts they have received the Word
and keep it. In the parable now before us we behold the judicial
power of the Word in retaining its hold on every one with whom
it is brought into contact, unto the judgment of the great day.
How solemn is the lesson thus taught ! The Lord Jesus has
given his Word. In other words, he has himself announced his
Gospel message, preached the kingdom of heaven, and, by his
ministering servants he never ceases to call attention to this fact
This, then, is as if a man "cast a net into Hie sen" To whomso-
ever that Gospel comes, it never leaves him. From that moment
he never can shake himself loose from its power. It takes fast
hold of him, and he never can escape from it. He may appear
in outward things just as he appeared before. Men may mark no
difference in him. They, may be as little aware of a change of
condition in him as a man standing on the shore is ignorant of
what may be inclosed in a net which is being drawn, but in real-
ity he has become inclosed within the meshes of a net which is
dragging him irresistibly along. Whether for good or for evil
whether for acquittal or condemnation whether to be gathered
390 THE PARABLE OF THE DRAG-NET.
among the pure in heaven, or cast among the guilty ;n hell, he
can not arrest his progress for an instant toward the judgment to
which he is being carried from the first moment when the offer of
salvation in the Gospel was made to him.
How different the condition of the two parties involved in this
mighty net cast into the sea ! The one good, the other bad. The
one " the children of the kingdom," the other " the children of
the. evil one." The one carried on toward everlasting life, the
other dragged toward everlasting death. Truly as the prophet
has it, " Thy word shall not return unto thee void" When as a
net it is at length "brought to shore" it will be "full;" and then
shall the angels of Gk>d "come forth" summoned now to cast out
all evil from the communion of the kingdom, and sever the wick-
ed from among the just ; and then shall the Apostle's words be
fully verified that the Gospel message must be either " a savor of
life unto life, or of death unto death." Reader, bear well in mind
that the Gospel of Christ is like the pillar on the shore of the Eed
Sea, which had its bright side for the Israelite, its dark and threat-
ening one for the Egyptian. So is the Gospel to you. If you will
not have it in one way, it will in wrap you in gloom in another.
If it is not your salvation it will become your condemnation. If
it does not give life, it will deepen the horrors of eternal death.
It will not let you go without a blessing or a curse. " How shall
you escape" the last, if you despise the first ?
PART V,
CHRIST'S WORK OF GRACE IN ITS HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL
CHARACTER.
SECT. H. THE CALLING AND CASTING AWAY OF THE JEW, AND
THE CALLING AND BRINGING IN OF THE GENTILE.
CHAPTER I.
THE GREAT SUPPER.
IN the last section we have had a wide field of contemplation
spread before us, regarding the reception of the Gospel generally
by those to whom it is sent, and the progress of that Gospel itself
from the time that it was given by the Son of man until the day
when it shall bring before him for final judgment and separation
all who have come within its mighty influence. We now turn to
another view of Christ's work of grace, as it appears in its histor-
ical and prophetical character, and that with special reference to
the Jew and the Gentile.
U A certain man made a great supper, and bade many : and sent
his servant at supper-time to say to them t/tat were bidden, Come; for
all tilings are now ready. And they all wit/i one consent began to make
excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece, of ground, and
I must needs go and see it: I pray Mice have me excused. Andanot/ier
said I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove t/tem: I pray
thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and
therefore lean not come. So tfiat servant came, and showed his lord
these things. Then the master of tlie house, being angry, said to his
servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of tlie city, and bring
in hither the poor, and t/ie nuiim&J, and tiie halt, and the blind. And
the servant said, Lord, it is done as tiiou hast commanded, and yet
392 THE PARABLE OF
there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the
highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may
be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were lid-
den shall taste of my suppsr." Luke xiv. 16-24.
Allusion has already been made in these pages to the occasion
on which this parable was delivered. Our Lord was at the " house
of one of the chief Pharisees." Most probably guests of dis-
tinction sat down with him to eat bread, for the anxiety he ob-
served among them to choose the chief places at the table drew
forth the parable of the lowest room. This is still more manifest
from what he said directly to his host (verses 12-14).
When our Lord referred to " the resurrection of the just," one
who sat at meat with him cried out, " Blessed is he that shall eat
bread in the kingdom of God." The Jews entertained the ex-
pectation that the resurrection of the just would be ushered in by
a great and glorious festival, and it is most probable that this man
with a low and carnal view of the Messiah's kingdom altogether,
" spoke these words," as Trench remarks, " with a very easy and
comfortable assurance that he should make one of them that
should thus eat bread in the kingdom of God." As a Jew he
looked upon himself as belonging to the favored band who should
be present at the festival in the kingdom of God. He took it for
granted. To instruct and warn him as well as the rest our Lord
put forth the parable before us.
The last verse we have quoted gives us the key to the parable.
' I say unto you!" 1 (tf.wr*'). Now, in the parable there are only two
persons introduced, the householder and his servant, as conversing
about the supper. These words, then, can not be meant as if
spoken by the man in the parable to his servant, but they are the
words of Christ to those around the table with him at the time.
" I say unto you." And he thus at once gives us to understand,
that he is " the man who made a great supper, and bade many," and
that the supper to which he invited guests was the Gospel that
" feast of fat things" of which the prophets had written.
Bearing this in view, the parable is most impressive. Our Lord
was then an invited guest at the table of a chief Pharisee, sur-
rounded by others of the same class, who were most willingly
present. He tells them in the parable then, that he also has made
a great supper and has bidden many. And he puts it to their
THE GREAT SUPPER. 393
hearts and consciences whether they have as cordially attended to
his invitation, as they did to their host at whose table they were
then sitting. The point with which this appeal was made will ap-
pear as we consider the different parts of the parable in detail.
The parable is based on a custom existing among the Jews in
giving entertainments. They first issued their invitations to their
guests generally, then on the day appointed they sent out again to
them who were invited- to call them to the feast. The Master of
the Gospel feast in the former dispensation " bade many" He had
made all previous preparation for the glorious festival widen he
had determined to give, and he had made the most clear announce-
ment of his purpose. He spake in times 'past unto the fathers by
the prophets. When, however, "the time of the promise drew
nigh," when the Gospel feast was being really spread, then he
sent forth a special message to those who had been invited, " Come,
for all things are now ready}" 1 This was John the Baptist's sum-
mons when he began his ministry in the wilderness of Judea
this was its sum and substance, " Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.' 1
The reception of John's invitation to the Gospel feast, by the
"chief Pharisees," the scribes and the rulers of the people, is the
first thing with which our Lord deals in the parable. These "sat
in Moses' seat," and had authority in the land. They professed
to be the guides of the people, and the latter took the law from
their lips. What then do they say to the express invitation, now
that Gospel times have arrived "Come, for all tilings are now
ready?" This was the natural order to take in showing what con-
sideration Jesus, who "made the great supper" received at the
hands of those whom he invited. And it is not uninteresting to
bear in mind, that when John came preaching, it was the Phari-
sees who came prominently forward to demand an account of him
and of his message. It was markedly with them that the settle-
ment was first to be made regarding the " supper now ready"
(John i. 19-24.)
See, then, how these persons received the message "They all
with one consent began to make excuse" Our Lord proceeds to givo
specimens of the excuses these persons made, which indeed too
truly represent the worldly-rmmlod and the sclf-righteouH of all
ages, who have no love for the good things of the Gospel. Note
394 THE PARABLE OF
the variety not only of the excuses made by each, but of the terms
in which the refusal is couched. The first man has bought " a
piece of ground," and " he must needs go and see it." He pleads the
necessity of his case. He is sorry not to attend, but he has what
is more urgent, as he thinks, on hand. He will come another
time. The second says, "I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I goto
prove them" This man does not plead the necessity of the case
as the other. He goes to prove his yoke of oxen, simply because
he chooses to do this, rather than go to the feast. The third says,
" / have married a wife, and therefore I can not come" This is a rude,
point-blank refusal. The cares and the pleasures of life so fill the
man's soul, that he has no room even to think of another time
when he may possibly attend, or feel an inclination to go. He
dismisses all thought of it at once.
With such variety of feeling existing in individuals to whom
John's message came, our Lord as we have seen, groups them all
together in one class under this general character, common to all,
''They all with one consent began to make excuse" "We must not
suppose that our Lord meant absolutely that all the leading men
among the Pharisees did so. There may have been some ex-
ceptions, such as Nicodemus, for example. But these were so rare,
that he was justified in marking the whole class as he does here.
In alluding to them on the occasion of his putting forth the par-
able of the two sons, as those who " went not," he says, " John
came unto you in the way of righteousness, and YE believed him
NOT : but the publicans and the harlots believed him, and YE,
when ye had seen it, repented not afterward that ye might believe
Mm. And these men themselves gloried in this their rejection of
the Gospel message. " Are ye also deceived ?" they said once in
their council, to their own officers sent by them to apprehend Je-
sus. " Have ANY of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on
him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed."
(John vii. 48, 49.)
Such is the first class in the parable to which the invitation is
given, and who so unanimously reject it. There is a single word
at this part of the parable which demands attention : "The master
of the house BEING ANGRY." Through the whole of Christ's min-
istry of love and reconciliation, it is alone when dealing with " the
scribes and Pharisees," that we behold the flashing forth of his
THE GREAT SUPPER. 395
righteous indignation. At one time he looks round upon them
with anger. At another he denounces them for their hypocrisy.
And, again, he marks them with special condemnation, because
they neither would " enter into the kingdom of heaven themselves,
nor suffer those who were entering, to go in."
If this be the true application of the first part of the parable,
we can well see how it must have cut into the heart of many of
those " chief Pharisees" with whom he was then sitting at meat.
One of them had spoken of the eating bread in the kingdom of
God, as if it were already his. " Take heed," says our Lord in ef-
fect to him, " that you, too, are not found among those high-mind-
ed, worldly, carnal men, who with one consent are rejecting me,
and so returning careless or insolent refusals, as the case may be,
to the only Being who has the power to admit to that great supper"
The second sending forth of the servant, refers to the commis-
sion given to the Apostles of Christ to preach the glad tidings of
his Gospel, and invite sinners to his feast. By the terms of this
commission, they were to " begin at Jerusalem." And so here it
is, " the streets and lanes of the city" to which the servant is sent.
" To the poor the Gospel is now preached," both those who were
of low degree, and those who were poor in spirit, but still expressly
among the Jews. Among the great masses of the people, while
the proud Pharisees despised and rejected Christ, were to be found
those who as " poor, and maimed, and halt, and blind," (mark
here the connection between verses thirteen and twenty-one,) were
bidden, as on the day of Pentecost, and who " gladly received the
word," and who pressed eagerly in, to " eat bread in the kingdom
of God." And even when those proud Pharisees began to do to
the servants as they had done to the Master, and persecute them
even to the death, yet was the " number of the disciples multiplied,"
and " the street and tfie lanes" of Jerusalem witnessed to the faith and
patience of many who " rejoiced that they were counted worthy
to suffer shame for the name of Christ," and who would not be
hindered from going to share in the rich bounties of their Master's
feast of love.
But " yet there is room," is the intimation given by the servant
to the master of the feast. That feast must have its full comple-
ment of guests. It has been prepared at a most costly price, and
there must not be one vacant place at the table. Here we have
396 THE PARABLE OF THE GREAT SUPPER.
the glory ol the Gospel of Christ specially set forth. Though
first delivered to the Jew, it is not limited to the Jew. This limit-
ation in the former dispensation was needful for the day of prepa-
ration. But when once ready, nothing will satisfy the master of the
house, but to embrace all the families of the earth in his universal
invitation, "Come, for all things are now ready" And so, here, the
servant is desired to go "OUT into the highways and hedges ;" no
longer to the city, but to the country, to the pagans, the heathen,
the Gentiles, and bear to them the glad tidings of the Gospel of
peace. The Apostles " beginning at Jerusalem," were not to be
satisfied without preaching the Gospel to every creature." And
this was to be their special attitude, they were " to compel them to
come in" They were to use all earnestness and persuasion, as
those who must give account, that many might be gathered from
the north, and south, and east, and west, and so their "master's
house be "filled" How remarkably does the ministry of Paul an-
swer to this description ! a Knowing, therefore, the terrors of the
Lord," he says, " we persuade men." "As though God did beseech
you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God."
The parable closes with the indignant declaration of the master
of the feast, to which reference has been made already. "For I
say unto you, That none of those men that were bidden shall taste of
my supper" When we reflect on what that feast is, and who gives
it, this exclusion is, indeed, an awful one. The feast is salvation
with its untold blessings ; the master of the feast is the Author and
the Finisher of salvation ; and to have no part or lot with these,
is to have a part in the lake which burneth with fire forever.
Terribly does our Lord describe the final condition of those who
had trifled away their day of grace, who had refused his repeated
invitations " There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when
ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and. Jacob, and all the prophets
in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they
shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north,
and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God."
They who with " one consent began to make excuse," while the
door into the master's house was open, will find, when too late,
and when the door is shut, what they have lost ; and their cry,
"Lord, open unto us," will be replied to, by the righteous con-
demnation, " I know you not" " depart from me."
CHAPTER II.
THE WICKED HUSBANDMEN THE MARRIAGE OP THE KING'S 8OK.
THE next parable in this section was delivered at a later period
of our Lord's ministry than that we have considered in the last
chapter ; and this will account for the increasingly stern character
of the announcement now made.
"Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which
planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a wine-press
in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a
far country: and when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his
servants to the husbandmen, that tJiey might receive the fruit of if.
And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another,
and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first:
and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his
son, saying, They will reverence my son. But ichen the husbandmen
saw the son, they said among tlicmselves, TJiis is the heir ; come, let us
kitt him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And (hey canght him, and
cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the Lord therefore
of the vineyard cometh, what will he do u to t/iose husbandmen f
They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and
will kt out his vineyard unto otlier husbandmen, which shall render
him the fruits in their seasons." Matt. xxi. 33-11 : Mark xii. 1-12 ;
Luke xx. 9-18.
In the immediately preceding part of this chapter, our Lord had
given a well-merited rebuke to the " chief priests and ciders of the
people," in the parable of the two sow, and he takes the opportu-
nity of still further setting forth their evil conduct in the parable
before us. " Hear another parable," he says to them. The Evan-
gelist Luke tells us, that he spoke this parable to the people;
but he also notes the presence within hearing of those Scribes
398 THE PAKABLE OP
and Pharisees. And we thus gain from the separate accounts,
what it was that our Lord specially desired to represent in the
parable. The whole Jewish people must be regarded as the hus-
bandmen. " Therefore I say unto you, The kingdom of God shall
be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits
thereof." But as it is the chief priests and Pharisees who were
leading on the people to the filling up of their iniquity as they
were the chief instigators in all those things which were bring-
ing wrath upon the ration unto the uttermost, it is not to be won-
dered at, if they are made in the parable the special representa-
tives of the people, in connection with the desolation which was
coming on the latter under their guidance. And no wonder that
it is added, " When the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his
parable, they perceived that he spake of them."
What is the " vineyard" in the parable ? It can not mean here,
as in others, "the house of Israel, and the men of Judah," for
these latter are the husbandmen to whom it is first let, and who
are then driven out to make room for others who shall " bring forth
the fruits thereof." The vineyard must be something which was
first put into the hands of the Jews to keep, and then taken from
them because of their wickedness. This can be nothing else than
the revealed truth of God a revelation embracing all that he was
pleased to make known of himself of the condition of man of
his plans toward the latter of his warnings and his promises.
This revelation, first spoken and then written the " lively oracles"
of God, was first committed solemnly to the charge of the Jewish
people. The covenant in the wilderness formally and distinctly
settled them as keepers of this vineyard, with all things pertaining
to it. This covenant installed them as the responsible parties for
all that the Householder had reason to expect from his vineyard
in other words, for all the blessed results which such a trust as
they had from the God of truth, love, light, and holiness, was, if
duly improved, capable of providing. It was in the wilderness
that the vineyard was expressly "let out" under the terms of a
binding covenant, to the first husbandmen.
The " hedging round about," the "wine-press dug" the "tower
built," must not be pressed too minutely in the interpretation. It
is enough that we see generally in these, that the householder
could not have done more than he did in his vineyard. Its de-
THE WICKED HUSBANDMEN. 399
fenses were such that proper care on the part of the husbandmen
would have sufficed for its protection. Its means were all pre-
pared and at hand to extract the precious sweetness of divine truth.
And it had its tower of prayerful watchfulness, where the inter-
ests of the Lord of the vineyard might be vigilantly guarded.
The messages that are spoken of in the first part of this para-
ble, as sent by the householder to the husbandmen, for the fruit
of the vineyard, refer to the constant appeals made to Israel by
God's servants the prophets. Jehovah is represented as so
anxiously engaged in this effort to obtain fruit from his vineyard,
as " to be rising up early and sending" these servants. The re-
ception which they met with, is just as described in the parable.
They were despised they were shamefully entreated they were
often put to death. The history of the prophets of Israel is as
remarkable in the testimony it bears to the long-suffering and
patience of Jehovah in continuing to send one servant after an-
other, " at sundry times and in divers manners," as for the terrible
proof it gives of the stubbornness, rebellion, and ungodliness of
the husbandmen who so wickedly betrayed their trust.
The turning point in the parable is where the householder is
said to send his son as the very last effort he could possibly make
in order to bring the husbandmen to a proper sense of their duty.
This necessarily refers to the coming of the Son of God in the flesh.
Up to this time, the prophets and servants of God, under the Old
Testament, had come to the husbandmen, and in vain. The Son of
God himself closes that long period of waiting and long-suffering
by his own advent, in the "form of a servant," to make one last
appeal to the husbandmen.
The parable as given by Luke is most striking and affecting
just at this point. " Then said the Lord of the vineyard, What
shall I do ? I will send my beloved son : it may be they will rev-
erence him when they see him." These words carry their own
interpretation with them. Jehovah lias but one gift better than
all the others left he has given prophets and holy men, Samuel,
Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, but to no purpose. " What will he
do?" He has " his beloved son in whom he is well -pleased," the
" only -begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Will he
part with him ? Will he send him to such ungrateful and wicked
wretches ? Will he put him for a time in their power, within
400 THE PARABLE OF
reach of their malice and wickedness, that they may have this one
final opportunity of turning away from their evil and accursed
ways? Yes, even this shall not be withheld! "I will send my
beloved son : it may be they will reverence him when they see
him."
The awful guilt of the people to whom the Son of God thus
came, is shadowed forth in the parable, and written as in letters
of flame on the pages of the New Testament. The husbandmen
conspired together, and in the mad hope of acquiring the vineyard
to themselves, they took the son of the householder and cast him
out of the vineyard and slew him. " Ye men of Israel," said
Peter on the day of Pentecost, "hear these words: Jesus of Naz-
areth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and won-
ders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye
yourselves also know : Him ... ye have taken, and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain." " Ye stiff-necked and uncircum-
cised in heart and ears," exclaimed Stephen, before the Sanhedrim,
" ye do always resist the Holy Ghost ; as your fathers did, so do
ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted ?
and they have slain those which showed before of the coming of
the just one ; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and mur-
derers."
There is a remarkable account given by John, which shows the
singular point and force of the parable, where it is said of the
husbandmen, that they said one to another, when the Son of the
Lord of the vineyard came : "This is the heir ; come, let us kill him,
that the inheritance may be ours" After the raising of Lazarus, the
Evangelist informs us that the " chief priests and Pharisees gather-
ed a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many
miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe in him :
and the Eomans will come and take away both our place and na-
tion." The very original of the parabolic picture ! " All men
will believe on him" Then " the Romans will come and take
away our place and nation." Thus our position will be irretrieva-
bly ruined, if we suffer this man to escape from us any longer.
He will get the heritage, if we do not take instant measures to
prevent it. " It is therefore expedient for us that one man die for
the people." "This is Hie heir ; come, let us kill him, and the inher-
itance shall be ours /"
THE "WICKED HUSBANDMEN. 401
The parable closes with the miserable punishment inflicted on
those wicked men, who were both unfaithful to the trust commit-
ted to them, and who perpetrated such atrocities in order to pro-
mote their own infamous purposes. They are destroyed, and the
vineyard let out to other husbandmen. What kind of destruction
is referred to here regarding the Jews will be seen in the next
parable. It is enougfi to observe just now, the fact so distinctly
announced by our Lord. The people, urged on by their rulers,
were stirred up to cry with blood-thirsty eagerness, " Crucify him,
crucify him," and in the overflowing of their malice against " the
heir" they formally placed themselves under the curse of innocent
blood : " His blood be on us, and on our children." And just
then, as he was about to give himself into their hands with the
full knowledge of what was before him, he solemnly declared
their occupation of the vineyard to have ceased : ' Your house
is left unto you desolate," " The things which belong unto your
peace are forever hidden from your eyes." And so, to use the
figure of the Apostle of the Gentiles, the Jews were cut off as
worthless branches of the olive-tree, in order that the Gentiles
might be graffed in.
Our Lord intimates further the awfulness of this destruction
which he predicts against the Jews. The " heir" cast out and
slain is in a following verse " the stone which the builders reject-
ed." Both mean the Lord Jesus. The rejection of the latter,
however, is followed, as he declares, by its being made the " head
of the corner," and this change in the similitude is to show, that
although they might reject, and cast out, and slay the sou, yet He
himself would finally be victorious over them ; and it is this which
will cause the destruction to be so terrible. He that takes offense
at Christ will be broken he does it at his own cost, and will suf-
fer accordingly ; but he on whom the weigh* of Christ's special
vengeance shall fall, as on those wicked murderers, shall be dash-
ed to pieces ground to powder. The privilege the latter have
despised the slight they have offered to Christtheir malicious
designs against him their hands stained with the blood of the
Prince of Peace all these shall bring upon them a swifter de-
struction, a more terrific judgment, than they shall experience
whose iniquity has not abounded as theirs did. We go on to an-
other parable which was delivered immediately after that which
20
402 THE PARABLE OP
we have just considered, and which deals very much with the
same subject.
"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a
marriage for fiis son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were
bidden to the wedding : and they would not come. Again, he sent
forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, 1
have prepared my dinner : my oxen and my failings are Jailed, and
all things are ready ; come unto the marriage. But they made light
yf it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandize :
2nd the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and
slew them. But when Hie king heard thereof, he was wroth : and he
sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up
their city. Then saith he to his servants, TJie wedding is ready, but
they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the
highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those
servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all, as
many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnish-
ed with guests." Matt. xxii. 210.
We shall consider the concluding part of this parable separately.
It is now all but universally admitted that this parable is en-
tirely different from that of the great supper as given by Luke.
It is indeed wonderful how they could ever have been confounded
together. Except that a feast is spoken of in both, that invitations
are issued in both, and that some reject and others accept these,
there is nothing in common between the two. The places at
which these parables were delivered were different. The great
supper was delivered during an entertainment in a Pharisee's
house. This parable was delivered in the temple. The times, too.
were different the former was delivered at an earlier period of
our Lord's ministry the latter, as that ministry was drawing to its
close. The tone of the two parables coincides with this. In the
one the persons simply refuse to attend, and so their punishment
is spoken of under the milder term of exclusion. . In the latter,
refusal is followed by overt acts of violence and murder, and so
the punishment is expressed in proportionate sternness. How
suitable was this to the times in which the parables were uttered !
It was only toward the close of our Lord's ministry that the hard-
heartedness which led many of the Jews to reject him from the
first, had become so aggravated, that nothing but the blood of Christ
THE MABRIAGE OF THE KING'S SON. 403
and of his servants would satisfy their malice. Then mark, that
just as the wickedness of Christ's enemies is more distinctly set forth
as the time passed away, so the deadly character of their sin is more
clearly made known. In the parable of the great supper, it is
simply a man who makes the supper and bids many. In the par-
able of the husbandmen, it is the possessor of a vineyard a per-
son of property and authority. In the parable before us, it is a
king making a marriage for his son. The first displays the in-
gratitude of the recusants the second, their breach of covenant
accompanied by violence the third, their rebellion, daringly seal-
ed by the blood they shed of the subjects of their king. It was
the crime of Barabbas " insurrection and murder in the insurrec-
tion."
There is likewise this progressive illustration to be noted in
these three parables. The first comprehends the period of our
Lord's ministry, and marks his righteous indignation because of
the hardness of heart with which he was met. The second em-
braces the same period likewise, with the additional announce-
ment of his own violent death. The third refers to the period
subsequent to Christ's ministry altogether, namely, to the preach-
ing of his Gospel to Jew and Gentile from the day of Pentecost,
down to the day of the restitution of all things. And mark the
nicety with which the figure is chosen in consequence. Before
Christ died, he offers a feast he publishes peace" Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand." But it is after he died that he
specially received the character of the Bridegroom. His death
was the price he paid for his bride, the church. It was only by
his death that the marriage of the king's son could be contem-
plated ; and so we see how suitable it is to present under the fig-
ure of this parable, what not only occurred after Christ's death, but
what derives its peculiar signification from the fact of his death
We have, then, the invitation to the marriage of the king's
son, met, in the first instance, by two distinct classes of persons.
The first are those who neglected so groat salvation,
are those who, to their neglect of the salvation, added persecution
even unto death against those persons who announced it to them.
Of the former, we arc told that they went one to hufarm, anot
to his merchandize,"-^? were men who had property, and were
engrossed in what thej had, and men who were equally engr
404 THE PARABLE OF
in getting what they had not before ; both so pre- occupied by
worldly care, that " tliey could not come" Yea, when again en-
treated in the most impressive manner, " all things are ready" the
king having prepared the " feast upon the sacrifice" for them, they
"made light of it;" because, Demas-like, they "loved this present
world" rather than Christ. Of the latter, we are .told that they
" took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them"
How this description in the parable was realized to the very
letter, the Acts of the Apostles give large testimony. Through-
out that early record of the Church, we read not only of the con-
tinued and general resistance of the Jews against the truth, their
constant "contradicting and blaspheming," but of their deter-
mination to extirpate, if possible, by violence, the very name of
Christ from the earth. Stephen and James were only the first of
a large "army of martyrs," who sealed with their blood the tes-
timony they bore to Christ, being " entreated spitefully and slain"
And here we come in the parable to a more distinct announce-
ment of the particular kind of judgment which was to fall on
those despisers of Christ, and persecutors of his saints, than in
the more general statement of the preceding parable, " He will
miserably destroy these wicked men." In the parable before us,
we are told, that "when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and
he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up
their city" The destruction which fell on the Jews because of their
wicked and bloodthirsty opposition to Christ, was just this they
and their city were destroyed together, with an amount of awful
calamity, such as never had been known before, and has never
been equaled since. The " armies" here spoken of, may refer to
the Roman armies, who took Jerusalem, and like other nations of
old (Is. x. 5 ; xiii. 5 ; Jer. xxv. 9 ; Joel ii. 25), were Jehovah's
messengers of wrath against that devoted city ; or they may re-
fer to the " legions of angels" who are sent forth by him to exe-
cute his righteous judgments in the earth, whatever be the lower
instrumentality employed, whether famine, pestilence, or sword.
It was afe the terrible destruction of Jerusalem, then, that this part
of the parable was fulfilled, as that event likewise accomplished
the words which Jesus spake on another occasion " Therefore,
said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles,
and some of them they shall slay and persecute: that the blood
THE MAKRIAGE OF THE KING'S SON. 405
of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the
world, may be required of this generation." Thus were the first
husbandmen in the vineyard " miserably destroyed."
Now, although previous to the destruction of Jerusalem the
Gospel had been preached to the Gentiles Cornelius, the centu-
rion, specially called, and Paul chosen as the Apostle of the Gen-
tiles yet it was not until that destruction that the actual, formal
removal of the Jew, and the substitution of the Gentile in his
room took place. It was not till that event that the language of
the parable was as it were, proclaimed to the world, that although
the Jews were bidden to the marriage, they were now considered
by the king, who invited them, to be " not worthy" They them-
selves had, according to Paul's own declaration made in their
hearing, "judged themselves to be unworthy of everlasting life;"
that is, they unworthily rejected the offered salvation. And so
the destruction of their city with all the horrors which then be-
fell those murderers, were the tokens that Jehovah was dealing
with them on that very account
Again, therefore, in the parable the servants are sent forth not
now to the city, but to the highways and as many as they could
find, they were to " bid to the marriage.' 1 '' Obviously this means
the calling of the Gentiles the changing of the outward aspect
of the kingdom of God among men, just as it is said immediately
before, " therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be
taken from you (the Jews) and given to a nation (the Gentiles),
bringing forth the fruits thereof." But observe what the servants
did: "They gathered all, as many as they found, both bad and good."
The " bad and the good" here mean those who were regarded as
such, when the invitation came to them. And so they direct us
to this truth, that the message of mercy in the Gospel the invi-
tation to the marriage-supper of the Lamb is the same to all kinds
as well as all conditions of men, those who are outwardly moral
and those who are not ; and that they who at length answer the
invitation and " come unto the marriage" are drawn alike from
those who, like Nathaniel or Cornelius, may be, in one sense call-
ed the " good" and from those who, like the woman that was a
sinner, may be in the same sense called the " bud." And note
here, that this single expression in the parable guards us against
misconception as to the other just noticed, " they are not worthy."
406 THE PARABLE OP
Since the " bad" are at length among the "gathered" we necessa-
rily conclude that the unworthiness spoken of does not refer to
moral unworthiness, but to the special act of their unbelief and
rebellion in voluntarily " putting away from them the word of
God."
We turn now to the concluding part of this parable : "And
when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had
not on a wedding-garment : and he saith unto him, Friend, how earn-
est thou in hither, not having a wedding-garment f And he was
speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, and take Mm away, and cast him into outer darkness : there shall
be weeping ana gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are
chosen" Verses 11-14.
The servants of God in this dispensation are engaged in " gath-
ering" together the guests for the marriage of the Lamb. When
these shall be finally gathered, both those who accept the invitation
heartily, and those who only profess to do so, then shall the king
come in to "see" them. He will come in to see that there is
nothing there that " offends," that none are there but those who
not only come invited, but also who are suitably prepared for his
presence. This part of the parable, then, corresponds to the har-
vest in that of the tares to the coming of the bridegroom in that
of the ten virgins and the final separation between the righteous
and the wicked, when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne
of his glory.
" He found there a man," we are told, " which had not on a
wedding-garment." It is still a matter of dispute whether the
custom was ever a general one, to provide a garment for every
guest invited to a marriage-feast. Some affirm it was; others
question it. It is of secondary importance how this may be set-
tled. It is quite enough for us to observe, that obviously in the
story of the parable before us, it is taken for granted, and would
be so understood by those who heard it, that some such provision
had been made for the guests, which made the conduct of the man
who had not on the wedding-garment altogether inexcusable.
The very manner in which the king addressed him implies this :
"How earnest thou in hither, not having on a wedding -garment ?"
Every thing has been provided for you, why have you not taken
advantage of it ? The man's silence, too, equally proves that the
THE MARRIAGE OF THE KING'S SON. 407
story was based upon what the hearers would perfectly understand,
that it was owing to his own culpable carelessness, as well as to
his contemptuous disregard of what was due to the king, that he
appeared thus without a wedding-garment.
But what, then, does the wedding-garment mean? Some say
faith, others love. But why disconnect the two, instead of just
speaking of them as one, " faith working by love." If the wed-
ding-garment be faith, then it is such a faith as shows itself by
love. If it be love, then it is such a love as springs only from
faith. Better though to say, that it is what comprises both faith
and love which implies them both which demands them both,
but which is higher than both the righteousness of Christ " unto
all, and upon all them that believe," and " who walk in love."
This is what has been provided for the poor sinner, " without
money and without price." This is what " covers his sin," and
" clothes him with salvation." This is the " new garment 11 which
Christ has himself prepared for him, " woven . from the top
throughout." This is the " best robe" which the Father puts upon
his penitent child, as he seals his justification by the kiss of peace.
This is the wedding-garment which " white in the blood of the
Lamb," alone qualifies for a place at his marriage-supper. It is his
purchase, and the price was his blood. Clothed with it, the poor
sinner is "justified freely from all things through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus." And it is as necessary at the last as at
the first. It has been his admission into the family of God. It
alone must be hie raiment of glory in the " inheritance of the
saints in light."
But why in this parable is there but one man singled out, as not
having a wedding-garment? Evidently to point attention to the
minute personal examination that awaits all who have received
the Gospel invitation. It intimates to us how searching will be
the judgment of that day, when Christ shall separate "one from
another," even as a shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats.
And it points to the heart of each individual who reads the para-
ble, as if with the solemn warning, to take heed, lost he should at
length be as the man without the wedding-garment Amid the
thousands that will at length be found in this case, let each man
reflect that he will be individually detected, exposed, and cast out,
as if he, and he alone, were the exception in that mighty gathering
408 . THE PARABLE OF
of those who shall sit down at length clothed with the wedding-
garment.
Mark the tone of address to this man, "Friend, how earnest thou
in?" For what purpose is this ? It is to mark, that the judg-
ment which at the last day shall bring home to the heart of the
unrighteous man his sin, and condemn him, shall not be the stern,
terrible blaze of revealed majesty, as it were bearing him down
to destruction, but it shall be the still small voice of awakened
conscience. The sinner who is destitute of Christ's righteousness
at last, will not be rendered "speechless 11 by the unspeakable terror
of manifested power and glory, but by the unutterable inward
horror that he has sinned away his own mercies. It is not the
pressure of irresistible power which will consume him with mis-
ery, but the fearful dawning of such light within him, revealing
truth despised and love slighted, which will make him speechless
in his wretchedness. Oh, the silence of self-conviction at the last
day, under the. eye and within the hearing of Jesus! "Friend,
how earnest thou in hither, not iaving on a wedding-garment ?"
is far more awful to think of, and will be infinitely more dread-
ful to realize, than all the thunders, and the lightnings, and the
loud trumpet voices of Sinai. Yes, then there shall be acted out
on the mightiest scale, and before an assembled universe, what
appeared in type when Jesus once stood in the temple. They
who hear his voice at last in such an address as that in the para-
ble, " convicted by their own consciences, shall go out, one by one,
beginning at the eldest, even unto the last."
Ah, reader, what will matter all the " binding hand and foot" by
the king's servants, to one bound thus by the adamant of an
awakened conscience ? What will matter the " outer darkness"
in comparison of that "blackness of darkness" which will brood
forever on the soul, as it feels, " I might have been, but am not
saved ?"
It is impossible not to observe the gracious purpose of Christ
in drawing this parable to such a close. He had shown in it the
destruction of the Jew, and the choosing of the Gentile in his
room. Let the latter, then, take heed. " If God spared not the
natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee." " Be not
high-minded, but fear." If ye are found without "the wedding-
garment' 11 x last, after such amazing love and goodness to you, it
THE MARRIAGE OF THE KING'S SON. 409
may be, that you will envy the fate of those whose city was de-
stroyed. And let all who now among the nations are privileged
to have the invitation to the marriage of the King's son brought
to them, solemnly remember, that while the singling out of only
one without the wedding-garment is meant to make each man look
well to himself and his own hope, on the other hand, our Lord
gives the sad intimation, that "many are called, but few chosen,"
to show that in the Gentile day of grace as well as the Jewish, it
is after all but a small remnant who really accept of God's invita-
tion of mercy at all.
PART VI,
CHRIST'S WORK OF GRACE, IN ITS HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL
CHARACTER.
SECT. III. THE RETURN OF THE SON OF MAN.
WE have now reached the closing and not the least solemn
section of the parables of our Lord. The last section set forth
before us the close of the Jewish dispensation. This carries us
forward to the close of the Gentile age. Eepeatedlj in Scripture
we are assured that the close of this age will be signalized by the
" glorious appearing" of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is to this great
and stupendous event, then, that the parables still to be considered
specially refer. The event itself is spoken of as " the coming of
the Son of man." (Matt. xxiv.; Luke xii.) And also as "the
return" of the Son of man. (Luke xii., xix.) The time when
this event shall take place is called " The day of the Lord" (Luke
xvii.), or "the hour" in which "the Lord" or "the Son of man"
shall come. (Matt, xxiv.) In turning our attention to what is
given to us in the parables regarding this coming or return of
Christ, we shall first glance at two or three very brief but em-
phatic parables, which severally present in detail the most promi-
nent circumstances connected with it, and the most striking fea-
tures of it. Here is the first of them.
" And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of
the Son of man. . . . Likewise also, as it was in the days of
Lot. . . . Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man
is revealed." Luke xvii. 26, 28, 30.
These two most terrible and awful occurences in the history of
the world are turned by our Lord into exact similitudes of what
is yet to come; "As it was," &c. "Even thus shall it be," &c. ;
and they present before us therefore a very solemn picture of what
THE PARABLE OF THE DAYS OF NOAH AND LOT. 411
the state of the world will be when the Son of man returns. It
will be such as to combine in its great characteristics all that can
be said of the world before the flood, and of the inhabitants of
Sodom and Gomorrah before their destruction. Then these par-
ables show that after a period of long-suffering, and when iniquity
shall at length abound, judgment shall surely and suddenly come
upon the world. And the horrors of that day may be like the
combined horrors of a flood of water and a flood of fire. And
thus, too, we are taught to look forward not to a world gradually
becoming better, and holier, and happier, but to a world becoming
every day more hostile to God, more ripe for judgment, and at
length shaken out of its carnality and spiritual slumber by over-
whelming desolation. Look now at the reverse side of this pic-
ture.
"A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is
come : but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no
more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world." John
xvi. 21.
From our Lord's remarks in the context we assuredly gather
that these words give us the state of the true Church of Christ at
his return. "Ye" says our Lord (Judas had gone out ; he spake
then to those left, as representing his own chosen and faithful
ones), " ye shall weep and lament." The absence of your Mas-
ter will cause sorrow and sadness to you ; and this will become
deeper and darker as the time goes on, just as with the woman
" whose hour is come." All this time, however, " the world shall
rejoice" they will go on as in the days of Noah and Lot. But
" ye shall be sorrowful." Like your Master, whose last hours
were marked by his being " exceeding sorrowful even unto death,"
so shall it be with you.. But " your sorrow shall be turned into joy."
Like the woman who " remembers no more her anguish" the very
matter of your grief will be the matter of your joy.
you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man
taketh from you." Thus we see that although the moment of
judgment for the world will be the hour of extreme trial for the
people of God, it will, at the same time, be the hour of their
deliverance, when they and the world shall severally exchange,
the one their sorrow for joy, the other their joy for sorrow,
will at the same time be the day when they shall "sec" Christ
412 THE PARABLE OP
again, and he will take care that their joy shall never be taken
from them.
Observe, further, the indications of the approach of this day of
the Lord.
"Now learn a parable of the fig-tree : When his branch -is yet
tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so like-
wise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it (He, margin
" The kingdom of God," Luke xxi.) is near, even at the doors."
Matt. xxiv. 32, 33.
It would be impossible, and out of place here, to enter into any
detail regarding " these things" here spoken of. Suffice it to say,
that if the people of God are really " looking up" simply, hum-
bly, patiently seeking " to discern this time," they shall be guided
to "understand" these also, as clearly as they know by the putting
forth of the leaves of the fig-tree that summer is nigh at hand.
Their Master, who has told them that he will " come as a thief in
the night," that is, all unexpectedly to the people of the world,
warns them not to let that event come upon them unawares, and
we may rest assured therefore that he will not leave them in
darkness as the day approaches.
But, again, note the suddenness with which the Son of man shall
be revealed.
11 As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west ; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" Matt. xxiv.
27 ; Luke xvii. 24.
Though by the children of God the gathering thunder-cloud
shall be long descried, and they shall distinctly note the tokens
of coming vengeance on the wicked, as well as " redemption
drawing nigh" to themselves, yet at length, just at the moment
known only to God, like the lightning-flash from the bosom of the
storm, the Son of man shall be revealed in his day. And not
only so, but there will be no mistake about it then. People will
not be saying, " Lo here, or, lo there." All these false cries and
vain speculations can only exist when as yet he has not appeared.
But when he does, " every eye shall see him." The " brightness
of his coming" shall be " out of the one part under heaven, even
unto the other part under heaven."
And if we put the question as the disciples did, " "Where, Lord ?"
then the following will supply the answer :
THE TEN VIRGINS. 413
" Wheresoever the body is, there shall the eagles be gathered together."
Matt. xxiv. 28 ; Luke xvii. 37.
The day of the Lord will be that in which he will " make in-
quisition for blood," in which he will "come out of his place to
punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity." Wherever,
therefore, there is a faithless servant, a disobedient child, a rebel-
lious subject, there, as upon a dead carcass, shall fall the judgment
of that day. Wherever there is to be the sifting out of the
wicked from among the just, the gathering of the tares from the
wheat, the good from the bad in the net the one " taken and the
other left" wherever this is to be done, will the Son of man be
in his day, " destroying them which destroy," or " corrupt"
(margin), as with the presence of a putrefying dead body, " the
earth."
So far then, generally, as regards, the return of the Son of man.
We now proceed to inquire into what our Lord has charged par-
ticularly on the heart and conscience of his people in the pros-
pect of that coming. And the parables in which this will be
found, are directed specially to the condition of the outward
Church of Christ in view of his appearing. Here is the first of
them.
"Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning ; and ye
yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return
from the wedding ; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may oj)en
unto him immediately." Luke, xii. 35, 36 ; Mark, xiii. 34.
In this passage we have the case of certain servants to whom
is intrusted the care of their Master's house during his absence
from it. He has gone forth, and is expected to return from his
marriage, bringing his bride with him. The servants, then, nrc to
" WAIT for their Lard." They are to be in their right plnco, not
taking advantage of his absence to be out of the way, but remain-
ing at home, ready, as soon as the Master " cometh and knocketh"
to "open unto him immediately" Mark speaks of the servant ftfl
" the porter." And this just marks the special duty here required,
namely, quiet, steady " waiting" at his post for the return of hia
Master ready just at the moment when he hears him, to open
the door.
And here then we have set forth what believers ought to be
in their present condition their Lord being absent from them,
414 THE PARABLE OP
and faithlessness abounding in his professing Church. They
ought to be " waiting" for Christ. As the Apostle has it, " The
Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, 'and into the
patient waiting for Christ." This means steady, calm endurance
even to the end, not moved by " evil tidings," or " casting away
confidence," but kept in perfect peace, having " the mind stayed
on God." It means that the believer should " hold fast that which
he has," and be ready at any moment when his Lord returns, to
say, " Lo, this is the Lord ; I have waited for him."
But there is something more demanded of the believer than
merely ivaiting. The servant may be in his right place, in expect-
ation of his Master's return, but he may be drowsy, and lacking
in that wakeful diligence which shall prevent him from being
taken even for a moment unawares by his Master knocking at the
door. We have therefore a very striking parable given us, in
order to enforce something more than waiting.
" Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,
which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And
five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish
took their lamps, and took no oil witJi them : but the wise took oil in
their vessel's with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all
slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made. Be-
hold, the bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him. Then all those
virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto
the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the
wise answered, saying, Not so ; lest there be not enough for us and
you; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And
while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready
went in with him to tiie marriage : and the door was shut. After-
ward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
But he answered and said, Verily, I say unto you, I know you not."
Matthew xxv. 1-12.
" Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened" at the time
spoken of in the preceding chapter, namely, the " coming of the
Son of man." As the night closes in upon this dispensation, then
shall those things represented in the parable take place. The
following is an interesting and just description of the custom on
which the parable is founded. " The bridegroom, accompanied
by his friends ' the children of the bride-chamber,' goes to the
THE TEN VIRGINS. 415
house of the bride, and conducts her with pomp and giadness to
his own house. She is accompanied from her father's house by
her youthful friends and companions, while other of them, the
' virgins' of the parable, at some convenient place, meet and join
the procession, and enter with the rest of the bridal company into
the hall of feasting." The number ten is given, simply because
that number was regarded as a company. The virgins have
lamps, because the marriages in the East are always performed at
night, and so both to give needful light, and to add brilliancy to
the marriage progress, those who wish to do honor to the bride-
groom, or hope to share in the festivities of his, house, always
" go forth to meet" him thus. The close of the parable is also
based simply on the custom, that it is only those who are ready
to go in with the bridegroom who are admitted. And that when
once he and his party have gone in, no intreaty can induce them
to open the door to any one else.
Now this parable is not directed against the openly irreligious
and the ungodly. These are not taken account of at all in it. It
is a solemn warning to those who make a profession of godliness,
as well as to those who are what they profess to be. " The king-
dom of heaven shall be likened," &c. The kingdom as it appears
outwardly before men in this dispensation. The mingled wheat
and tares in the field, and the good and bad in the net. The
visible Church on earth will " then be likened," &c.
Of the one company of ten virgins, we are told "five were wife
and five were foolish" Apart from other considerations, this de-
scription is decisive as regards the main character of the sections
of the visible Church represented by these two groups. The one
are " wise unto salvation" the other have thoir "fnolM he-irt>
darkened," whatever profession they may make. The parable of
the two builders confirms this view. The one was wise, the other
foolish. Both builded their houses, that is, both made a formal
profession of discipleship. But the one had a foundation, the
other had not ; that is, the disciple represented by the .
has Christ he who is represented by the foolish builder has not
Christ. And so here. The " wise virgin*" mean those who " hear
Christ's sayings and do them." The " foolish virgins"
do not."
But the wisdom of :he one, and the folly of the other, are alike
416 THE PARABLE OF
exhibited in the parable. " The foolish took their lamps, and took
no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their
lamps" The first were satisfied with a certain show, the others
took care not to be " found wanting." These lamps which all the
virgins carried, mean that which in the outward church appears
before man. As far as this goes, it is not always possible to dis-
tinguish between the two sections pointed out. The distinction
will at length be manifest, but in reality it exists from the first.
The foolish virgins had only their lamps. The wise, besides their
lamps, had a store of oil in vessels which they carried.
There can be no doubt as to the signification of this part of the
payable. What is it that makes the believer " shine as a light in
the world ?" It is alone the Spirit of God, so frequently spoken
of in Scripture under the figure of " oil." (2 Cor. i. 21 ; 1 John
ii. 20, 27, &c.) Nothing but the continued supply of the Spirit
of all grace can suffice to keep his light from being extinguished.
This supply the believer carries always about with him for use ;
and the vessel which contains it for him is " the Word of God
and prayer" not the one without the other, but both together
the latter being the lid, as it were, of the vessel, which must be
lifted up, in order to get at the supply within the former. Here
the believer has an unfailing supply. This will suffice to trim
his lamp through all the days of his pilgrimage, and at the dark-
est midnight at his Lord's coming, will so fill him with all grace,
that he shall be as a " shining light, shining more and more unto
the perfect day."
The "foolish virgins" who " took no oil 11 with them, are precisely
similar to those who are represented in the parable of the sower
as receiving the seed on " rocky ground." They at first " receive
the word with joy." A marked and apparently very decided pro-
fession is speedily made. They are eager to "go forth," but they
have " no root in themselves" no " oil with them" no grace
in their heart. They " lack moisture" they have no supply for
their lamps they have not the Spirit, and so in " time of temp-
tation they fall away" their " lamps go out" and leav e them in
darkness.
This parable, then, would in one respect seem to warn us, that
in the last days of this dispensation, previous to the coming of
the Son of man, this special feature of nominal Christianity shall
THE TEN VIRGINS. 417
abound a hasty and very zealous profession " a spinging up"
of this forthwith a going forth with it with much seeming joy
a bright flashing of lamps, and then, at- the moment when there
ought to be the strongest evidence of true discipleship, " a falling
away" and " a going out."
" While the bridegroom tarried" we are told, " they all slumbered
and slept" The tarrying of the bridegroom marks well the period
referred to in the parable. It is not when he set forth to bring
the bride nor when be had been gone for some time but when
he was expected back, and when to those who " went forth," he
appeared to be " delaying his coming." The direct consequence
of this apparent delay, or tarrying (for, be it remembered, there
was no real tarrying on his part), was that " they ALL slumbered
and slept" first became drowsy, and then slept. It seems to be
impossible to gather any thing else from this very positive state-
ment, than that the whole professing church of Christ will be
found at last in the state here set forth. The kingdom of heaven
will then be found like the ten virgins who " all slumbered and
slept." Of course, the sleep here spoken of is a widely different
thing in the several cases of the wise and the foolish. The fool-
ish are sleeping in their carnal security, quite satisfied with the
profession they make deceiving themselves, and "at ease in
Zion." The wise are sleeping, overcome by their lengthened
watching, and because of the weakness of their faith. They are
sleeping, as the Apostles did in the garden, " for sorrow," weighed
down by the days of darkness and of gloom which have settled
on the church. They are sleeping, because their faith has not
arisen proportionately to their Lord's demand, that " they should
pray always and not faint" because when he returns he will not
find that it has a strength at all commensurate with his promises,
or that its living energy has gone on increasing during the period
when he "bears long with them," and appears to delay his com-
ing.
The consequence of this slumbering and sleeping would be at
once apparent in the company of the ten virgins. During that
time none of them would be trimming their lamps at all. The
foolish would not have their attention directed to the ominous
fading of the light in their lamps. The wise would not see that
their lamps were not burning so brightly as they might and ought
27
418 THE PARABLE OF
to have done. Thus it will be before the Bridegroom cometh.
The spiritual slumber of the merely nominal believer will close
his eyes to the imminence of his danger. He will become more
insensible to the worthlessness of a mere profession. And, on
the other hand, the languid faith of the true believer his faint-
heartedness and his feeble hope will prevent him from taking
care that his light shall not even flicker will prevent him from
such a stead} T , unflinching, and watchful perseverance through
the whole dark night of his waiting for his Master, as truly is be-
coming on his part, and as his Master well deserves at his hands.
Suddenly, then, " at midnight" the Bridegroom came, and the
cry sounded in the ears of the waiting virgins, " Go ye out to meet
him." And now the distinction between the two groups becomes
palpable. The wise had their oil with them in their vessels, and
though not so prepared as they ought to have been, they had their
full supply to replenish their lamps, and they accordingly arose,
trimmed them, and were ready. It is evident that in the parable
there is a short period marked between the cry, " Go ye out to
meet him" and the account, " while the foolish virgins went to
buy, the Bridegroom came." And it may be, then, that just as the
time of the " promise draws nigh," there may be such a startling
cry such " signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars,"
as shall effectually rouse the people of God, and by the full out-
pouring of the Spirit in these last days, make them to shine glori-
ously just as the Bridegroom actually returns, so that they shall
be indeed "ready to go in with him to the marriage"
But what of the "foolish virgins?" They, too, tried to trim
their lamps, but in vain, for the oil was spent, and they had no
supply. " Our lamps" they cry, " are going out" (margin). They
begin to see the reason ; they lack oil. They apply to the wise,
"Give us of your oil" but they can not get what they want there.
So as they rush to them who sell, in order to get it, the Bride-
groom comes those that were ready go in with him, and they
are shut out. This presents before us very forcibly the fact, that
the very period at the close of this dispensation, when the people
of God shall "begin to lift up their heads," because of their "re-
demption drawing nigh," will be marked by the discovery of the
impossibility of mere profession " abiding the day of Christ's
appearing." While the " wise shall understand," and shall " stand
THE TEN VIRGINS. 419
in their lot at the end of days," the foolish shall awake to a con-
sciousness of their lamentable folly in trusting to a lamp with-
out oil. Their " hearts shall fail for fear, and for looking after
the things which are coming on the earth." The warning of the
Son of man's approach, which will at length cause the true disci-
ple to cry rejoicingly, " This is the Lord, we have waited for
him," will make the nominal disciple ready only to cry to " the
rocks to fall on him, and the hills to cover him from the wrath of
the Lamb."
The details of the parable at this point are most instructive as
well as touching. "Give us of your oil" the foolish virgins cried
to the wise. " Not so" the latter replied, " lest tli&re be not enough
for us and you" How striking this refusal ! It just means that
no man has more grace than he needs himself that while there
is an unfailing fountain from whence alone every one can obtain
what he requires, each as he receives has nothing to spare for
another. He may direct to the same source which has supplied
himself, but he can not afford to part with any of his own. He
will need all that he has for his own use. He has nothing ap-
proaching to supererogation, he has not " enough" for himself and
another. The wise virgins counseled the foolish to go to those
who sold oil, and buy for themselves. This was all they could
do in the emergency. The latter went. In the mean time, how-
ever, the Bridegroom came. He went in. The door was shut.
And when they came and cried, " Lord, open to us," all admittance
was refused. The Bridegroom declared "/ know you not" and
so they were left out. In this we see remakably set before us
the true bearing of God's people toward those who will apply to
them for help, as the last moment approaches, and the Bride-
groom is close at hand. They can give no help themselves.
But they earnestly urge them to go and seek for what they need
where alone it can be found. They urge them to go and get it
at any cost to sell all and obtain it. But alas, the parable seems
to intimate that then it will be too late ! The careless and heart-
less disciple may be roused to anxiety and dread, and he may con-
fusedly run hither and thither for help, but in the mean time the
Lord comes, they that are ready go in, and he is shut out. And
when it is said to him as he knocks for entrance, and knocks in
vain, "/ never knew you" this just shows that lie never knew
420 THE PARABLE OF
Christ, that there had never been any thing save a barren lifeless
calling him, "Lord, Lord," and that now, though "he seeks to
enter in, he shall not be able."
And thus we come to the great and solemn lesson inculcated
by our Lord in this parable. " Watch, therefore, for ye know
neither the day nor the hour when the Son of man cometh."
Observe this is urging more than merely waiting. The disciple
may be waiting, that is, like the " porter" at the door, he may be
in his right place ; but he may be asleep at his post. He may
not have gone out of the way, and be idling his time in pursuits
and in places dishonoring to his Master, and showing unconcern
for his name ; but he may, while in the way, be "slumbering" and
" sleeping /" and so the earnest appeal to him is not only to wait,
but to watch for the coming of his Lord not only to be at the
door, ready to open when his Master knocks, but wakefully to be
looking out from his watch-tower of prayer, and, as it were, speed-
ing on the return of his Lord, by the watchful cry, " Come, Lord
Jesus, come quickly."
And surely the parable further urges on true believers the
guilt of slumbering and sleeping at all in reference to those who
make the same profession with themselves. If the wise virgins
had been as watchful as they ought to have been, they might
have more opportunely and more earnestly urged the foolish vir-
gins to look well to their lamps, and to lose no time in getting a
supply. And let every child of God, then, "according as he sees
the day approaching," "watch unto prayer" himself. "Watch and
pray that he enter not into temptation ;" and then give all dili-
gence to rouse the carnally-minded and the self-deceivers around
him from their vain hopes and refuges of lies ere it be too late,
and the awakening from their slumber shall only reveal to them
at one and the same time the emptiness of their profession, and
the door forever shut against them.
But our Lord, when drawing the attention of his disciples to
his return at the close of this dispensation, gives them further in-
structions as to what he then will look for and require at the
hands of his faithful people, and also gives further warning to
those who have only " a name to live."
" For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far
country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his
THE TALENTS. 421
goods. And unto one he gave Jive talents, to another two, and to
another one ; to every man according to his several ability ; and
straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five
talents went and traded with the same, and made them other Jive talents.
And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But
he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his
lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and
reckonetfi with them. And so he that had received five talents came
and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me
five talents: behold, I have gained besides them five talents more. His
lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant ; tfwu
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many
things : enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received
two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents :
behold, I have gained two oilier talents besides t/tem. His lord said
unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been
faithful\ over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things :
enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the
one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard
man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou
hast not strawed : and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent
in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered
and said unto' him, Thou wicked and slotliful servant, thou knewest
that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not'
strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the ex-
changers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own
with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto
him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be
given, and he shall have abundance : but from him tliat hatli not,
shall be taken away even that which he hat/i. And cast ye the un-
profitable servant into outer darkness: tfiere shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth}' 1 Matthew xxv. 14-30.
One special purpose in this parable is to teach us that in look-
ing for the return of our Master we must be found actively en-
gaged in the performance of all those duties which he requires us
to fulfill. "We must not only wait, we must also watch for his ap-
pearing. And lest the last parable should give to this watching
too much of a merely contemplative character, lest the notion
might possibly be entertained that the proper watching for the
422 THE PAKABLE OF
Lord means an idle, looking out for him, lest it might be supposed
that the attitude of expectation ought to be merely that of the
wise virgins, only awake and not asleep our Lord teaches us in
/this parable that we must not only be faithfully waiting, and wake-
l fully watching, but diligently working that he is not the servant
who does his Master's will, who, though in his place, and expect-
ing him, gazes forth into the darkness, and consumes his time in
idle speculations as to the exact manner or . time of his Lord's re-
turn, or in dreamy contemplation of the coming event, but who
is engaged in his household work, who is in his right place, wake-
ful and vigilant, and is " doing with his might whatsoever his
hands find to do." That man will not think the less deeply, or
expect the less anxiously, or look the less clearly for his Master
who works the most diligently " while it is called day."
Besides, we ought to observe that, as in the parable of the ten
virgins, it is the inner life of the believer that is specially set forth
there, by their carrying oil with them in their lamps ; so here it
is the outward manifestation of that inward life which is set forth,
not now in the steady burning of a true profession, but in the
faithful discharge of duty to our Master.
Of course we must not form our impressions of this parable
from households as existing among ourselves. There is nothing
in the latter at all resembling the groundwork of the parable.
'But "slaves in antiquity were often artisans, or were allowed
otherwise to engage freely in business, paying, as it was fre-
quently arranged, a fixed yearly sum to their master ; or, as here,
/they had money committed to them wherewith to trade on his
i account, or with which to enlarge their business, and to bring him
/in a share of their profits." Something of this latter sort is as-
'x sumed in the parable.
Observe, then, as the master in the parable means to leave his
house for some time, he does two things with his servants who are
to remain behind. First, he " delivers unto them his goods" He gives
in charge to them the valuable things in his house. Here gene-
rally we have set forth the Gospel with all its treasures, its
unsearchable riches, its blessings for time and eternity committed
into the hands of Christ's servants. The Church of God on earth\
has this sacred deposit given her by her Divine Head. She is to I
guard it with the utmost jealousy and watchfulness ; and she will J
THE TALENTS. 423
/ have to give account at last for her faithfulness or otherwise in
\ this trust.
But besides this, the master of the house in the parable gives
certain talents to his servants, and to these in different propor-
tions, to be used by them in the interval of his absence, and
turned to the very best account in his service. He gives to one
five, to another two, and to another one. What do these talents-
mean ? They can not mean mental endowments, intellectual ca-
pacities, and so forth, because it is said that the talents were/
given to each "according to his several ABILITY" or power. Each)
servant got something proportioned to the endowments and ca*
pacities which he had already. Neither can the talents mean
spiritual graces, for it can never be said x>f them that they are
givn according to the ability of the servant. Spiritual graces en-\
large capacity and increase ability, but they are never bestowed^
according to these. What then, is it that is meant by this dis^\
tributirig of talents ? It is by remembering that these servants )
had a general trust given them of their master's goods put into
their hands, besides the talents, that we shall gain the just view
of the latter. Thus the servants of Christ, his people, the mem-\
bers of his visible Church on earth, have a solemn trust* committed I
to them, even the precious things of his Gospel. Each one of
them also has ability, fitting him if he please to serve his Master.
The ability may be great or small, he may be endowed largely or\
moderately with it, and according to this will much or little be
expected from him. He will be reckoned with according to that J
which he hath, not according to that which he hath not. But be-
sides this general trust of his Master's good things, and the ability I
bestowed on him to serve Christ if he will, his Master expressly J
gives him opportunities to exercise that ability in his service/
Not, indeed, such as he has not ability to take advantage of, but
such as are exactly suited to that ability, and which if used and
improved will redound to the glory of the Master and the good
of the servant. These are the talents in the parable. To one
whose ability is proportionably large, he gives, suitably to this,
large opportunities of faithful, diligent, active service, expressed
by the five talents. To another, whose ability is not so great, he )
gives only as much as may be represented by two talents ; while
to a third, whose ability is still less, he gives only one. Observe
424 THE PARABLE OF
these opportunities, by the due improvement of which we may
faithfully serve our heavenly Master, are set forth by the various
numbers of five, two, and one, just to show that each one who is
professedly *a member of Christ's Church, has throughout his
whole earthly course a certain amount of opportunity afforded
him in the use of which he may do the will of God ; and whether
that amount be as five, or two, or one, yet that it is just in ac-
cordance with his ability to use it. And if enlarged ability re-
ceives as five, instead of one, let it be remembered that the respons-
ibility is proportionally increased, for " to whom much is given,
(of him will much be required." Guilty as the man is in the
parable who left unimproved his own talent, the guilt of the
other would have been much greater if he had left unimproved
his five talents. And so here we observe the loving wisdom of
the great Head of the Church. He gives opportunity to serve
suited to each one, but he does not impose upon any a responsi-
bility unsuited to his capacity.
Now, the first two servants just doubled their talents. The
became ten, and the two four. They represent those in the
lurch of Christ, therefore, who improve the opportunities given
them whereby they may serve Christ. They turn the oppor-
tunity to the account their Master intends and wishes, that is, to
good account. The talent doubled, is just good fruit springing
from active, diligent use of opportunity to serve Christ. The
doubling of the talent admirably expresses the due improvement
of an opportunity. An opportunity not duly improved, is, in
other words, not improved. And so there is, as it were, a fixed
proportion between the opportunity and the improvement of it ;
and that is aptly represented by each talent being doubled, neither
more nor less.
"After a long time" we are told, " the lord of the servants cometh
and recJconeth with them" The Lord Jesus Christ, after having
provided such "good things as pass man's understanding," for his
people to keep, "traveled into a far country" returned to his
Father went within the vail passed through the heavens. As
each professing servant after another appears in his outward
church, he receives his solemn charge of the goods, and such a
number of talents as are according to his ability. When the
" long time" of the Church's trial, during the absence of her Lord
THE TALENTS. 425
is past, then he will return, and lie will take account of all that
has passed during his absence, whether it be good or bad.
Those servants who have not been " slothful in business, but
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord," he will receive into his
special favor. And this favor will be shown to them in two
ways. As in the parable, the lord of the servants then says,
" Thou hast been faithful over a few tilings, I will make thee ruler
over many things" so the favor which Christ will show at last to
his faithful servants will be first of all this He will show greater
confidence in them now than ever. They have had a certain^
charge committed to them they have been faithful in that 4re
will now enlarge his trust exceedingly which he will place in their\
hands, on the principle he himself enunciated, "He that is faith- J
ful in that which is least, will be faithful also in much." And"*^
then, as the master in the parable says, "Enter thou into Hie joy of
thy Lord" so the Lord Jesus shall, as it were, call his people " no
longer servants, but friends" bring them into such close and in-
timate union with himself as they never had before cause them
to sit down with him at the feast prepared to celebrate his return,
and so make them partakers of the joy which will satisfy him, as
he sees the fruit of the travail of his soul. Oh, who would not
encounter shame for his name ! who would not rejoice in all self- \
denyings, and cross-bearings ! who would not wait, and watch, I
and work, and pray, if at last these unutterable blessings crown/
our time of trust and service on earth if at last we hear the ex-
pression of our Master's approval "Well done, good and faithful
servant I" an enlarged trust be put into our hands by himself
and as we enter on that, to enter also forever into his joy !
One servant of the three in the parable, was found at the day
of reckoning with his talent unused. He had buried it in the
earth. When called to account, he endeavored to screen his own
wicked conduct, under imputed harshness or the part of his mas-
ter. "/ was afraid" he said. His master judged him rightly :
" T/iou wicked and slotfiful servant" "Wickedness and sloth were
the real causes of his evil conduct. Upon his own showing, also,
he was condemned. "If I were such a master as you describe,
there was the more urgent call for you to work so zealously that
I might have received mine own with interest on my return."
And the sentence passed upon him was just, " Take away the
426 THE PARABLE OF
talent which has been lent him till now," and "put him away from
my household forever."
Observe here, that as in the parable of the ten virgins, the five
foolish set forth those who are rejected at last because they think
too lightly of the requirements of the Lord, so here, on the other
hand, this servant represents those who are rejected because they
think too hardly of his commands. Our Lord touches the root
from which both these spring, " wickedness and sloth}'' And notice
further, the servant is not condemned because he has turned the
talent to bad account, but because he had not turned it to any
account at all. He has been idle and slothful. And so we have
/this very -solemn truth pressed upon us, that the judge who will
I reckon with us, will not be satisfied with the plea that we have
\ done no harm (which plea, however, never can be substantiated),
/but he will equally condemn on the ground of our having done
' no good. To bury amid the cares and pleasures of life, so as to
turn to no account, every opportunity of serving Christ which
he may put into our hands thus, " to hide it in the earth, "" in-
\stead of improving it, will call forth this terrible sentence, " Cast
re the unprofitable servant into outer darkness."
And note further, " take from him the talent." All opportunity
serving Christ is now forever withdrawn. He has slighted
that on earth, and he is driven away in his wickedness out of the
dwelling of his Master, wherein service is alone possible. There
'is something very startling in the reflected light which is thrown
on this part of the parable by that other, where the " rich man"
in torment. He desires a drop of water for himself. He can
['not have it. Hope as regards himself is extinguished. But if
\that can not be, he would help his brethren he would send a
message to them, to warn them. That can not be either. While
ae was on earth, he buried his opportunity of serving God in
regard to these as well as other things, amid his "purple and fine
linen," and " sumptuous fare." And now the " talent is taken
from him." He wishes to do now what he might have done be-
fore ; but the time is gone by the die is cast and " the outer
darkness" wraps in its eternal gloom the idle, slothful, wicked
servant who hid his Lord's money.
And yet, once more, " Give the talent unto him that hath ten
talents" A deep and precious truth lies under this. The man
THE POUNDS. 427
who had received five talents, got that number " according to his
ability" By having another talent given him at last, is intimated
that his " ability" has become greater than it was before. And so
it will be, indeed, with the faithful servant who shall enter into
his Master's joy in heaven. His ability, his capacity, his power,
will be gloriously increased and enlarged ; and still " according
to that ability" will his divine Master place within his reach in-
creased and enlarged opportunities of serving him. And the
servant who sits down at the table with his Master will realize in
the activities as well as the rest of heaven, the blessed fullness of
his Lord's words, " unto every one that hath shall be given, and he
shall have abundance"
But we go on now to another parable, in some respects similar
to that we have just considered, and yet in others perfectly dis-
tinct from it.
"A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself
a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and de-
livered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We
will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that,
when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he com-
manded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given
the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by
trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained
ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant : because
thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten
cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained
five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five
cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound,
which I have kept laid up in a napkin: for I feared thee, because thou
art an austere man : thou takest up tiiat thou layedst not down, and
reapest that thou didst -not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine
own moutfi will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that
I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not doicn, and reaping
that I did not sow: wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the
bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him Die pound, and
give it to him that hath ten pound*. (And they said unto him, Lord,
he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, Thai unto every one which
428 THE PABABLE OF
hath shall be given ; and from him that hath not, even that he hath
shall be taken away from him. Bat those mine enemies, which would
not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before
me." Luke xix. 12-27.
It is wonderful how this parable could ever have been supposed
to be identical with that of the talents. They were delivered at
two distinct periods of our Lord's ministry, and in different places.
[The parable of the talents was addressed to the disciples alone,
Shis to the disciples and the multitude. The former has to do
merely with the proprietor of a house, the latter with a king.
And so in the one, faithful or unfaithful service is all that is
taken account of, while in the other rebellion is likewise repressed
and punished. In the former there are only three servants
spoken of. In the latter there are ten. In the parable of the
talents there is an inequality in the number of talents given,
while there is an equality in the blessings bestowed on the faith-
ful servants at last. In the parable of the pounds all this is re-
versed. There is equality in what is first given, and inequality
in the blessings finally received. For all these and other reasons
we conclude that the two parables are perfectly distinct from each
other.
The groundwork of the parable before us must have been well
understood by our Lord's hearers. " Thus Herod the Great was
at first no more than a subordinate officer in Judea, and flying to
Home before Antigonus, was tlien declared by the senate, through
the influence of Antony, king of the Jews. In like manner, his
son Archelaus had personally to wait upon Augustus, before he
inherited the dominions left him by his father." And this cus-
tom, then, is made in the parable to represent the departure of
Christ, after his work on earth was finished, to the throne of God,
there to obtain, as it were, the investiture of the kingdom he had
purchased, to be "the king set on the holy hill of Zion," and to
have " all enemies put under his feet."
Passing by for a moment the allusion to the citizens, let us see
what charge is given to the servants here. He gave to each of
his ten servants one pound, and charged them, "Occupy till I
come" Here is no mention made of a general delivery of his
goods into their hands, nor of their ability, but each one of the
servants, irrespective of his own personal qualification, and also
THE POUNDS. 429
of the circumstances in which he is placed, has precisely the same
gift as his fellow. Surely, therefore, from this we must conclude
that what is given in this parable means the gift of God's grace
freely offered to the professing servants, that they may occupy it
faithfully and diligently until the king returns. They are " no
longer under the law, but under grace" And "unto every one
of us," as the Apostle has it, " is given grace" " not according to
our ability," but " according to the measure of the gift of Christ ;"
and what that measure is John the Baptist informs us "And of
his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." The giv-
ing of the pound, then, to each servant, represents to us Christ's
free offer to each one of his professing people, of his salvation
with its unlimited means for his service, and its unmerited re-
wards. (Titus ii. 11.)
And mark, then, on the day of reckoning, what a different
view is set forth here from that in the parable of the talents.
The two faithful servants mentioned here (manifestly a selection
made for the sole purpose of eliminating this truth, the ethers
being passed over in silence), are not said to have doubled their
pound. Instead of this the first servant gains ten pounds by his
one, the second five. By this we are given to understand the un-
bounded power of expansion in the gift of God's grace in Christ,
when really and faithfully received by his servants. As far as
the similitude teaches us, there was no reason why the servant
who gained Jive pounds might not have gained ten, nor why the
other might not have gained twenty. The limitation as regards
the productiveness of the gift of God's grace, does not spring from
any thing in that gift itself, but from lack of faithfulness and un-
ceasing diligence on the part of those who have it. And, again,
observe whatever be the return, whether ten or five, yet in each
and every case it is the result of the gift itself. The servant by
his want of vigilance and prayer may impede its full productive-
ness, but whatever be the gain must arise from the gift alone
" THY pound hath gained ten pounds." It is not here the man
merely turning to account an opportunity of service, and so
doubling his talent, though he can not do even that without
God's help, but it is the inherent power of a received gift from
God in Christ, which of itself bears much fruit. (1 Peter iv. 10.)
Then look at the reward bestowed. The one man is made
430 THE PARABLE OF
ruler over ten cities, the other over five. The re ward is in propor-
tion to the gain. The latter, indeed, creates the capacity for the
former. He who has made the best use of the gift of grace on
earth, is on that very account most fitted for the highest place in
heaven. And mark how the idea of glory enters into the reward
here. In the parable of the talents the servants are admitted into
the joy of their Lord, and there is perfect equality there. They
are here raised to glory, and there is a difference. This is just
what we might expect from the scope of this parable. The gift
of grace ends in the gift of glory, and the rewards of the latter
differing, indeed, in the various servants of Christ, shall be
" reckoned not of debt but of grace."
Of the one faithless servant in this parable it is unnecessary to
say much in addition to what has been remarked regarding the
faithless one in the last parable. Suffice it to say, that sloth does
not appear so much in the condemnation of the servant here as
daring wickedness. He has not listened to the entreaty. " We
beseech you that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." He
has done what he could " to frustrate the grace of God." It may
be, that he is the representative of those " ungodly men" of
whom Jude writes, "who turn the grace of God into lascivious-
ness," and who thus brings upon themselves swift destruction
the blessings which they might have had forever taken from
them, and given to add to the glory of the good and faithful serv-
ant.
But now turn for a moment to " the citizens 1 '' who are spoken
of in this parable. The mention of these is accounted for when
we consider our Lord's audience at the true. His own professed
followers are solemnly addressed as " the servants" in the parable.
The multitude (ver. 3), who were then pressing on Christ . are
" the citizens" In the momentary enthusiasm which they felt,
they were ready to accompany him as a triumphant king to Jeru-
salem. They had come " nigh to Jerusalem," and "they thought
that the kingdom of God" in its glory " should immediately ap-
pear." To check such expectation, and to exhibit the true char-
acter of this mixed multitude to themselves, was, then, the other
object which Christ had in view in this parable. He first of all
gave them to understand that he knew where all their present
enthusiasm would end. Their shouts of " Hosanna" would be
THE POUNDS. 431
exchanged for the cry " Crucify him." He would choose the man-
ner of his departure in order to " receive his kingdom," and then
their real sentiments would break forth " We will not have this
man to reign over us." " We have no king but Caesar." " Say
not, The king of the Jews." And just as he then revealed what
their conduct would be, he took occasion, as we have seen, to
teach his own disciples that before the kingdom in its glory shall
come, and be enjoyed, the kingdom in its grace must be received,
and a long and toilsome occupation of the gift in the latter expe-
rienced, before the "honor, glory, and immortality" of the form-
er can be attained. Then, once more at the close of the para-
ble the rebellious citizens are brought forward for condign pun-
ishment. This intimates something different from the " destruc-
tion of the city," in the parable of the "Marriage of the King's
Son." It points to some judgment yet future that is, at the re-
turn of Christ when he shall have received the kingdom which
shall light upon the rebels on whom shall be found the red spot
of the murderer, " His blood be on us and on our children."
It is interesting to observe how the Evangelist Mark seems to
have been led by the Spirit to express in two or three verses the
leading points of these last parables we have been considering.
" For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left
his house, and gave authority to his servants (' delivered unto
them his goods'), and to every man his work (talents and pounds),
and commanded the porter to watch. (Luke xii. 35, 36.) Watch
ye, therefore : for ye know not when the master of the house
cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the
morning ; lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping" (as the ten
virgins).
And in view of these solemn announcements, the " ministers
and stewards of the mysteries of God" may well ask Peter's ques-
tion, " Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?"
(Luke xii. 41 ;) and then lay to heart our Lord's reply " Who
then, is that faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord shall make
ruler?" &c. "Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he
cometh, shall find so doing" (as in ver. 35, et seq). " Of a truth, I
say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath."
Blessed, indeed, will all the servants be who are faithful in their
work for Christ Specially blessed will tfiey be, who, saved by
432 THE PARABLE OF
grace themselves, sliall have besides "crowns of rejoicing in the
day of the Lord Jesus," by the salvation of others. Bur, if
faithfulness here will have a special reward, faithlessness will have
its special punishment. If the " steward of the mysteries of
Christ" forgets his Master amid his own duty, and acts as if he
said, " my Lord delay eth his coming," and exhibits either of these
two terrible characteristics of faithless pastors tyranny and op-
'pression under pretense of his derived authority "beating the
men-servants and the maidens" or, self-indulgence at the expense
of the flock "feeding himself" "eating the fat, clothing him-
self with wool" "eating and drinking with the drunken," then
will his Lord not merely, as in the case of the unprofitable serv-
ant, banish him from his presence, but "he will cut him asun-
der" he will mark the condemnation of him by a specially terri-
ble sentence, and " appoint him his portion with the unbelievers."
He that, instead of feeding Christ's flock, made them his prey,
shall have his own lot cast at length with unbelievers, and his
acquired habit on earth of gratifying himself at the expense of
others, will make him all the more terribly sensitive to the portion
he shall at length receive with those who have forever banished
themselves from the presence of God.
We come now to the closing parable in this series, and solemn
indeed are the thoughts which it suggests.
"And before him shall be gathered all nations ; and he shall sepa-
rate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the
goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the
kft." Matt. xxv. 32, 33.
This, indeed, forms a fitting conclusion not only to this section,
but to the whole of the parables. "We have met with this
Shepherd of whom it testifies, first of all in the parable of the
good Shepherd, in which we behold the excellency of his per-
sonal character and work. We have seen him again in the
parable of the lost sheep, directly in contact with the poor sinner,
on whose behalf all his toil has been undertaken, and all his work
done. And now at last we see him as the Shepherd separating
and dividing his sheep from the goats.
The context leaves us no room to doubt respecting the applica-
tion here. " When the Son of man shall come in his glory, then
shall he sit on the throne of his glory." The same day of which
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS. 433
the parables of the virgins and the talents and the pounds
specially testify, is the day spoken of here. It is the day of the
Bridegroom's return. It is the day of reckoning with the ser-
vants of the house. It is the day when it shall be seen that
Christ has received the kingdom ; and so he shall come in his
glory, his holy angels with him, ready at once to execute the
commands of their Master now seated on "his throne of glory."
Observe, too, this is merely giving a more enlarged and grand
and solemn view of what is the main subject of the preceding
parables. They all give in detail the separation of the wise from
the foolish, the righteous from the wicked. The separation here
is painted on larger canvas and a multitude is set before us in
the judgment, not a few household servants.
And this ought to lead us to the conclusion, that they are the
same classes of persons who are judged in this parable as in the
former. And, indeed, all that is said regarding this latter sepa-
ration, makes it necessary that we regard it, as a separation be-
tween real and nominal Christians not between the wicked gene-
rally and those who are saved from among them.
It can not be such a judgment as is spoken of in Revelation,
where the great white throne is seen where the sea and the
land give up the dead which are in them, both small and great,
because the very point on which the discrimination here recorded
proceeds is one which can not be applied to all mankind. The
condemnation here hinges on the manifestation of an unloving
spirit toward Christ's servants, as proving that there is no love
to Christ himself. The welcome, on the other hand, hinges on
the very reverse of this. But hundreds of millions of the human
race never heard of the name of Christ, or had an opportunity
either of receiving him or rejecting him in the persons of hia
servants. They, therefore, can not be meant in a separation
which proceeds wholly upon a test which has never been applied
to them.
"We must regard, then, " the nations," who are said here to be
gathered before Christ, as the nations in the world at the time of
Christ's second coming, and those of them and in them who have
had the Gospel preached to them, whose ears ha^ve listened to the
joyful sound, and who have heard the summons, " Repent and
believe the Gospel" " Come, for all things are ready." And
28
434 THE PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS.
thus we are brought again into the presence of the same event, as
is intimated by the harvest, when the tares are separated from the
wheat, and the bad separated from the good when the net is
drawn to the shore. The separation here is just as there, not be-
tween the bad and good generally, but between the bad and good
within the outward fold of Christ's church, between those who
call him only " Lord, Lord," and those who really " do his will."
And here we have the true distinction between this nominal and
real discipleship when the one profess to be Christ's, they " do
it NOT unto him" the other, on the contrary, " do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus," and for his sake alone.
And just, then, as we have seen the Lord at the close of the
Jewish Dispensation, "searching Jerusalem as with candles," so
here we see him at the close of this dispensation searching the
Gentile churches, with this great and marked distinction, that the
former took place at the close of his first advent, the latter will
take place when he returns again to take the kingdom to himself
and reign forever.
Eeader, may you and I be able to " abide the day of his ap-
pearing," by seeing one on the throne whom our hearts tell us
that we love. May it not need a spoken word then to make us
understand that our place is on the right hand of the kingly
Shepherd. And may we discover amid the unutterable blessings
there the "exceeding great weight of glory" there that one
priceless gem above all the others has been given to us, which
even in the new Jerusalem will shine brightest and most lovely,
the " confession" of him who sits upon the throne, " Ye have
done it unto me."
APPENDIX,
APPENDIX A.
" THIS remarkable narrative brings before us the whole question of
DEMONIACAL POSSESSIONS in the Gospels, which I shall treat here once for
all, and refer to this note hereafter. I would then remark in gen-
eral, (1.) That the Gospel narratives are distinctly pledged to the historic
truth of these occurrences. Either they are true, or the Gospels are false.
For they do not stand in the same, or a similar position, with the dis-
crepancies in details, so frequent between the evangelists ; but they form
part of that general groundwork in which all agree. (2.) Nor can it be
said that they represent the opinion of the time, and use words in accordance
with it. This might have been difficult to answer, but that they not only
give such expressions as dainovi&uevo;, 8atf*o*iadels (Mark v. 18; Luke
viii. 36), and other like ones, but relate to us words spoken by the Lord
Jesus, in which the personality and presence of the demons is distinctly
implied. See especially Luke xi. 17-26. Now either our Lord spoke
these words, or he did not. If he did not, then we must at once set aside
the concurrent testimony of the evangelists to a plain matter of fact ; in
other words, establish a principle which will overthrow equally every
fact related in the Gospels. If he did, it is wholly at variance with any
Christian idea of the perfection of truthfulness in him who was truth
itself, to suppose him to have used such plain and solemn words repeat-
edly, before his disciples and the Jews, in encouragement of, and conniv-
ance at, a lying superstition. (3.) After these remarks, it will be un-
necessary to refute that view of demoniacal possession which makes it
identical with mere bodily disease, as it is interpreted above ; but we may
observe, that it is every where in the Gospels distinguished from disease,
and in such a way as to show that, at all events, the two were not in that
day confounded. (See Matt. ix. 32, 33, and compare Mark vii. 32.)
(4.) The question then arises, Granted the plain historical truth of de-
moniacal possession, WHAT WAS IT? This question, in the suspension or
436 APPENDIX.
withdrawal of the gift of ' discerning of spirits' in the modern Church,
is not easy to answer. But we may gather from the Gospel narratives
some important ingredients for our description. The demoniac was one
whose being was strangely interpenetrated (' possessed" 1 is the most exact
word that could be found) by one or more of those fallen spirits, who are
constantly asserted in Scripture (under the name of dai/nows, 5utu6vta,
novr]g&, nvstftuTa dxddapra, their chief being 6 didfiolog, or
to be the enemies and tempters of the souls of men. (See
Acts v. 3 ; John xiii. 3, et passim.) He stood in a totally different posi-
tion from the abandoned wicked man, who morally is given over to the
devil. This latter would be a subject for punishment ; but the demoniac
for deepest compassion. There appears to have been in him a double
will and double consciousness sometimes the cruel spirit thinking and
speaking in him, sometimes his poor, crushed self-crying out to the Sav-
iour of men for mercy ; a terrible advantage taken, and personal realiza-
tion, by the malignant powers of evil, of the fierce struggle between
sense and conscience in the man of morally divided life. Hence it has
been not improbably supposed, that some of these demoniacs may have
arrived at their dreadful state through various progressive degrees of
guilt and sensual abandonment. ' Lavish sin, and especially indulgence
in sensual lusts, superinducing, as it would often, a weakness in the
nervous system, which is the especial band between body and soul, may
have laid open these unhappy ones to the fearful incursions of the powers
of darkness.' ( Trench on the Miracles, p. 160.) (5.) The frequently urged
objection, How comes it that this malady is not now among us ? admits
of an easy answer, even if the assumption be granted. The period of our
Lord's being on earth was certainly more than any other in the history
of the world under the dominion of evil. The foundations of man's moral
being were broken up, and the ' hour and power of darkness' prevailing.
Trench excellently remarks, ' It was exactly the crisis for such soul-mala-
dies as these, in which the spiritual and bodily should be thus strangely
interlinked, and it is nothing wonderful that they should have abounded
at that time : for the predominance of certain spiritual maladies at cer-
tain epochs of the world's history, which were specially fitted for their
generation, with their gradual decline and disappearance in others less
congenial to them, is a fact itself admitting no manner of question.'
(Pp. 162, 163.) . . . . But, (6.) The assumption contained in the
objection above, must not be thus unreservedly granted. We can not
tell in how many cases of insanity the malady may not even now be
traced to direct demoniacal possession. And, finally, (7.) The above
view, which I am persuaded is the only one honestly consistent with any
APPENDIX. 437
kind of belief in the truth of the gospel narratives, will offend none but
those who deny the existence of the woijd of spirits altogether, and who
are continually striving to narrow the limits of our belief in that which
is invisible ; a view which at every step involves difficulties far more
serious than those from which it attempts to escape." (Alforcfs Greek
Testament, vol. i. pp. 76, 77, 2d ed.)
APPENDIX B.
The following extract from the writings of one of the most celebrated
of modern authors, will show the lax view entertained by many of the
VALUE of man's work :
" I trust this poor woman had remaining sense to feel and join in the
import of my prayers. But let us humbly hope we are judged of by our
opportunities of religious and moral instruction. In some degree she
might be considered an uninstructed heathen, even in the bosom of a
Christian country ; and let us remember, that the errors and vices of an
ignorant life were balanced by instances of disinterested attachment,
amounting almost to heroism. To him who can alone weigh our crimes
and errors against our efforts toward virtue, we consign her with awe,
but not without hope."
APPENDIX C.
" Another instance, I would humbly submit, is in the common applica-
tion of Matt. xvi. 18, 'The gates of hell (or, hades) shall not prevail
against it,' (xmioxixrovaw x&TTjg). The idea is that of prevailing by supe-
rior strength to keep an adversary down. This text is almost always
quoted as a promise that Satan shall never destroy Christ's Church on
earth. But what can the gates of hades have to do with the Church on
earth ? But viewing hades as the place of departed spirits, where they
remain till the resurrection, the passage is clear, and the excellence of
the promise at once seen. It is a promise that the Church shall not re-
main always in that place of intermediate rest, but shall be ultimately
delivered from it by him who ' hath the keys of hades and of death.'
(Rev. i. 18.)" (Goode's Rule of Faith, vol. i. p. 113, 1st ed.)
APPENDIX D.
" It might be here, perhaps, urged, that the picture drawn in the para-
ble, if it be applied to more than a very few the deepest sunk in de-
438 APPENDIX.
pravity, is an exaggeration both of the misery and also of the wickedness
even of those who have turned^ their backs upon God : that in the cor-
ruptest times not all, and in more moral epochs only a few, even of these
fall so low in wretchedness and guilt. This is true, yet all might thus
fall. By the first departure from God, all this misery, and all this sin,
are rendered possible, they all are its legitimate results ; and they only
do not always follow, because God, in his infinite mercy, does not suffer
sin, in all cases, to bear all the bitter fruits which it might, and which are
implicitly contained in it. In the present case, it is suffered to bear all
its bitter fruit: we have one who has done ' evil with both hands earn-
estly,' and debased himself even unto hell : and the parable would be
incomplete without this ; it would not be a parable for all sinners ; since
it would fail to show that there is no extent of departure from God,
which renders a return to him impossible." (Trench's Notes on the
Parables, pp. 400, 401.)
APPENDIX E.
" But it still remains to consider in what sense that which is said of
leaving the seed to itself can be attributed to Christ. Olshausen sug-
gests this explanation of the difficulties above noted. It is true, he says,
that the inner spiritual life of men is never in any stage of its develop-
ment without the care and watchfulness of the Lord who first communi-
cated that life ; yet are there two moments when he may be said espe-
cially to visit the soul ; at the beginning of the spiritual life, which is the
seed-time, and again when he' takes his people to himself, which is their
time of harvest. Between these times lies a period in which the work
of the harvest is going forward without any such manifest interpositions
on his part not indeed without the daily supply of his Spirit and the
daily ordering of his providence, but so as that he does not put to his hand
so plainly and immediately as at those two cardinal moments. And the
difficulty will be slighter when we make application of the parable as
undoubtedly we are bound to do to the growth and progress of the uni-
versal Church, and not only to that of the individual soul. The Lord at
his first coming in the flesh sowed the word of the kingdom in the world,
planted a Church therein : which having done he withdrew himself; the
heavens received him till the time of the consummation of all things.
Many and many a time since then the cry has ascended in his ears, ' Oh
that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down !'
often it has seemed to man as though the hour of interference had ai>
APPENDIX. 439
rived, as though his Church were at its last gasp, at the point to die, as
though its enemies were about to prevail against it, and to extinguish it
forever, unless he appeared for its deliverance. Yet he has not come
forth, he has left it to surmount its obstacles, not indeed without his
mighty help, but without his visible interference. He has left the divine
seed, the plant which he has planted, to grow on by night and by day,
through storm and through sunshine, increasing secretly with the increase
of God ; and will let it so continue, till it has borne and brought to ma-
turity all its appointed fruit. And only then, when the harvest of the
world is ripe, when the number of his elect people is accomplished, will
he again the second time appear unto salvation, thrusting in his sickle,
and reaping the earth, and gathering the wheat into his barns." (Trench's
Notes on the Parables, pp. 286, 287.)
APPENDIX F.
" In regard to the word Zizania, translated tares, I am disposed to
think that it was a plant resembling wheat as regards its foliage, and
probably only fully distinguishable from it when the harvest came. It
seems to be a grass, and in all probability is the Lolium temulentum, or
Darnel-grass, which is said to have deleterious qualities. There is an
Arabic word Ziwan, which is considered as meaning darnel Avicenna
describes two kinds of ziwan, one resembling wheat of which bread is
made, and the other inducing intoxication, and often found among corn.
The genus Triticum (.wheat), and the genus Lolium (darnel), are very
like each other in appearance. They are readily distinguished when in
fruit, by the Triticum having two glumes, and having the florets placed
with their edges toward the axis, and the Lolium having only one glume
and the back of the florets next the axis. I am constantly in the habit
of showing my pupils these distinctions between Triticum repens and
Lolium perenne, which otherwise are very like. Indeed, an ordinary ob-
server would not perceive the difference. These are the reasons why I
consider Zizania as being the infelix lolium of Virgil. Both wheat and
tares belonged no doubt to the family of grasses, and could only be sep-
arated with certainty at the time of hervest."
APPENDIX G.
"As to the mustard, the Greek Sinapi, the plant appears to be Salvo-
dorapersica, known under the Arabic name of Khardal. This word khar-
440 APPENDIX.
dot is the common name for mustard in the East, and it is applied to a
plant quite different from our mustard-plant. The plant in the East is a
tree of considerable size, a native of the hot and dry parts of India,
Arabia, and Persia. The berries are much smaller than a grain of black
pepper, and are pungent like cresses. The plant has a small seed, which
becomes a tree, in the branches of which the birds can and do lodge.
The seed is used in the same way as our mustard."
THE END.
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