Matthew · Chapter 25

V. 1. Then shall the kingdom of heaven-That is, the candidates for it, be like ten virgins-The bridemaids on the wedding night were wont to go to the house where the bride was, with burning lamps or torches in their hands, to wait for the bride groom's coming. When he drew near, they went to meet him with their lamps, and to conduct him to the bride.

Verse 1. Then shall the kingdom of heaven] The state of Jews and professing Christians-the state of the visible Church at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, and in the day of judgment: for the parable appears to relate to both those periods. And particularly at the time in which Christ shall come to judge the world, it shall appear what kind of reception his Gospel has met with. This parable, or something very like it, is found in the Jewish records: so in a treatise entitled RESHITH CHOCMAH, the beginning of wisdom, we read thus: “Our wise men of blessed memory say, Repent whilst thou hast strength to do it, whilst thy lamp burns, and thy oil is not extinguished; for if thy lamp be gone out, thy oil will profit thee nothing.” Our doctors add, in MEDRASH: “The holy blessed God said to Israel, My sons, repent whilst the gates of repentance stand open; for I receive a gift at present, but when I shall sit in judgment, in the age to come, I will receive none.” Another parable, mentioned by Kimchi, on Isaiah 65:13. “Rabbi Yuchanan, the son of Zachai, spoke a parable concerning a king, who invited his servants, but set them no time to come: the prudent and wary among them adorned themselves and, standing at the door of the king’s house, said, Is any thing wanting in the house of the king? (i.e. Is there any work to be done?) But the foolish ones that were among them went away, and working said, When shall the feast be in which there is no labour? Suddenly the king sought out his servants: those who were adorned entered in, and they who were still polluted entered in also. The king was glad when he met the prudent, but he was angry when he met the foolish: he said, Let the prudent sit down and eat-let the others stand and look on.” Rabbi Eliezer said, “Turn to God one day before your death.” His disciples said, “How can a man know the day of his death?” He answered them, “Therefore you should turn to God to-day, perhaps you may die to-morrow; thus every day will be employed in returning.” See Kimchi in Isaiah 65:13.

Virgins] Denoting the purity of the Christian doctrine and character. In this parable, the bridegroom is generally understood to mean Jesus Christ. The feast, that state of felicity to which he has promised to raise his genuine followers. The wise, or prudent, and foolish virgins, those who truly enjoy, and those who only profess the purity and holiness of his religion. The oil, the grace and salvation of God, or that faith which works by love. The vessel, the heart in which this oil is contained. The lamp, the profession of enjoying the burning and shining light of the Gospel of Christ. Going forth; the whole of their sojourning upon earth.

Verse 1. Then shall the kingdom of heaven, &c. — Our Lord, having fully informed his disciples of the circumstances and general season of his coming to destroy the Jewish place and nation, that lively, earnest, and strong figure of his future coming to judge the world; he passes, as we have seen, by a natural transition, to a declaration of that dread event; of the watchfulness necessary thereto; and of the punishment to be inflicted upon those who should neglect so to watch and prepare for their Lord’s coming. Referring to these events, he here proceeds to say, Then — When the Lord shall thus come to execute judgment on the Jewish nation, or to judge mankind in general, and punish the wicked servant, shall the kingdom of heaven — The gospel kingdom, or the state of things in the visible church, particularly the character, conduct, and lot of the subjects of that kingdom; be likened unto ten virgins — Or may be represented by the character, conduct, and fate of virgins at a wedding. In order to understand this parable, we must remember that here is an allusion to the customs of the Jewish marriages, as well as those of the other eastern countries. “With them it was usual for the bridegroom to bring home his bride in the evening, sooner or later, as it might happen. And that she might be received properly at his house, his female friends of the younger sort were invited to come and wait with lamps, till some of his retinue, despatched before the rest, brought word that he was at hand; upon which they went forth, with their lamps trimmed and burning, to welcome him, and conduct him with his bride into the house. And for this service they had the honour of being guests at the marriage-feast.” To ten such virgins our Lord compares the candidates for the heavenly kingdom, the complete number of all Christian professors: he mentions ten, because this, it seems, was the general number appointed at their weddings to wait upon the bridegroom. And he compares professors to virgins, to signify the purity required in the Christian character, or perhaps merely because the allusion in the parable so required it. Which took their lamps, &c. — The lamp means a religious profession, and every one may then be said to take up this lamp, when admitted into the outward church by baptism; and went forth to meet the bridegroom — The bridegroom means the Lord Jesus in this parable, as well as in that recorded Matthew 22:2, &c.; and every one that professes to expect and prepare for his coming, whether to call men hence by death, or to summon them to his bar. may be said to go forth to meet him.

Verse 1. Ten virgins took their lamps — to meet the bridegroom. Homer names the like custom among the Greeks, of the bridegroom being preseded by virgins bearing lighted torches. — The virgins represent the visible church, which make a profession of the faith, that Christ the bridegroom will come from heaven.

PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS, 1-13.

In the parable of the waiting servant, who said, “My lord delayeth his coming,” in the last chapter, our Lord had hinted the idea that the real time of his coming, though veiled under terms of immediateness, might be more distant than the words literally expressed. The present parable brings that intimation into a more prominent view. The virgins who sleep while the bridegroom tarrieth, are the generations of mankind who slumber in death, waiting for the judgment day. This parable, therefore, states the relation of death to the judgment. We are not so much to prepare for death as to prepare for the judgment; since preparation for judgment is preparation for death. Although the Son of man may come while we are living, he may not come until we have slumbered for ages the sleep of death. But if we have not the oil of the grace of God in the lamp of our hearts, there will be no remedy at the final day. Hence preparation for judgment must be made before death; and preparation for judgment is preparation for death; and preparation for death is preparation for judgment.

1. Then — At the judgment day. Ten virgins — Ten unmarried females. The fact that they are called virgins does not imply that they represent a holy character. The word simply means maidens, and such are selected because such performed the illustrative part in wedding performances. Hence they may be considered as representing all probationary human beings. The number ten is selected as probably the usual number of bridesmaids; as it seems that ten was a usual number of procession lamps. Went forth… bridegroom — The bridegroom, with his bride, is coming from her residence to his, where the nuptials will be performed. The ten maidens or virgins are to be met either at his house or some position in his route home.

1 The parable of the ten virgins, 14 and of the talents. 31 Also the description of the last judgment.

CHAPTER 25. Verse 1. Be likened unto ten virgins, &c. — In an inferior sense it has been supposed this parable may be applied to the state in which the Christian Church would be found at the coming of Christ to judge the Jewish nation, although its ultimate reference is admitted to be to the day of judgment. We do not, however, know that the state of the Hebrew Churches, or that of Jerusalem in particular, answered to the description of the parable. It is more satisfactory to consider it as relating solely to the day of final account, but SUGGESTED by the sudden coming of Christ to judge the Jews which was a type of his sudden second advent to judge the Church and the world. That it is the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, and not the Jewish nation, of which the parable speaks, is indicated by the introductory formula. Then shall THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN be likened unto ten virgins; for the phrase, “the kingdom of heaven,” always refers either to the Gospel dispensation, or that which is connected with it, as a part of its administration. As the parable is founded upon the customs observed at Jewish marriages, to state these will usefully serve to explain the literal sense of the parable. — After the marriage ceremony was performed and attested, it was customary for the bridegroom, in the evening, to conduct his spouse from her friends to his own home, in a procession rendered as brilliant and imposing as the circumstances of the bridegroom would allow. His young female friends and relations were invited, and with lamps waited in a company near the house, till the bridegroom returned with the bride and her attendant friends: when, after the customary congratulations, those who were in waiting joined the train, and with acclamations, and other expressions of joy, proceeded to the bridegroom’s house, to the nuptial entertainment, which among persons of rank was of the most splendid and costly kind. The doors were then closed to prevent the intrusion of strangers. The following extract from Ward’s “View of the Hindoos” shows how unchanged many of the customs of the east remain, and strikingly illustrates this parable: — “At a marriage, the procession of which I saw some years ago, the bridegroom came from a distance, and the bride lived at Serampore, to which place the bridegroom was to come by water. After waiting two or three hours, at length, near midnight, it was announced, as if in the very words of Scripture, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.’ All the persons employed now lighted their lamps, and ran with them in their hands to fill up their stations in the procession. Some of them had lost their lights, and were unprepared: but it was then too late to seek them, and the cavalcade moved forward to the house of the bride; at which place the company entered a large and splendidly illuminated area, before the house, covered with an awning, where a great multitude of friends, dressed in their best apparel, were seated upon mats. The bridegroom was carried in the arms of a friend, and placed on a superb seat in the midst of the company, where he sat a short time, and then went into the house, the door of which was immediately shut, and guarded by sepoys. I and others expostulated with the door- keepers, but in vain.”

The mystical meaning of the parable may be opened by the following remarks: —

1. The virgins represent not merely professed members of the Church, but persons who had all been under the influence of grace; and this view rendered the parable specially admonitory to the disciples, the professed friends of our Lord, to whom it was doubtless addressed. There was a time when the lamps of the whole ten virgins had been replenished with oil and were all burning; a time too when even the foolish virgins were at their post of duty, waiting for the bridegroom. The oil in the lamp, being of the same quality of that in the vessel, the fault of the five foolish virgins was that of not taking enough. There was deficiency of quantity; the delay of the bridegroom discovered the deficiency. The parable is specially designed to warn against resting in a superficial and partial piety. The mere number ten does not appear to involve any particular mystery; this number being a favourite indefinite term among the Jews.

2. Though all the persons represented by the ten virgins are to be considered as under the influence of grace, yet the work in the hearts of some of them was more deep and effectual than in the others, The terms wise and foolish, fronimoi and mwrai are to be understood in the sense of prudent foresight, and the contrary; and the first implies that steady regard to all future dangers and trials of grace which leads to a careful preparation for them. This is beautifully represented under the figure of the prudent virgins taking oil in their vessels with their lamps; for, although it is true that we can lay up no store of grace so as to render us less dependent upon the aid of God in future time than at the present hour, yet the vigorous use of our present spiritual strength, that is, of that moral power we derive from the influence of the Holy Spirit, so leads to those richer communications from God, and so strengthens the habit of holy decision in the will, and serves so to confirm the right and vigorous tendency of the affections, that he who is faithful to PRESENT grace does by that, constantly contribute to his FUTURE safety. — The foolish virgins, therefore, represent those who do not prudently look forward to the dangers and conflicts of future life, and so give up themselves fully to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ,” but sink into carelessness and lukewarmness of spirit. In this case the oil of the lamp burns out, and there is no supply in the vessel, because their hearts are withdrawn from the influence of God. Thus the principle of spiritual life perishes, and death cuts off the possibility of restoration for ever.

3. The eternal union of Christ with his faithful Church is represented under the figure of marriage. In the same metaphorical language the covenant relation of Jehovah and the Jewish people is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament; and some of the most striking passages of the prophets, expressive both of tenderness and reproof, are founded upon it. There are also predictions in the Old Testament of the union of the evangelical Church with Christ, that spiritual Church, composed of believers of all nations, which was to succeed that founded on natural descent from Abraham. Of this the forty-fifth psalm is a beautiful example. Here, in the parable before us, the subject is the union of Christ with his Church, glorified in heaven. She is to be brought to the house of the bridegroom “adorned as a bride for her husband,” arrayed in all the beauty and glory of grace and purity, to be united for ever with him, and to receive all the expressions of his love, and to render them back with entire and unabated; affection.

4. The tarrying of the bridegroom represents the delay of Christ’s second advent. — That day was made known to no man. The first disciples appear therefore to have felt that it might come at any moment, at least after the destruction of Jerusalem, or be combined with that event. The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Thessalonians, mentions the falling away which should come first, in order to correct an error into which they had fallen in supposing that that day was “at hand;” and St. Peter, when rebuking the scoffers of his age, while he seems to justify the use of expressions common probably in the discourses of the first preachers when they exhorted to preparation for that event, by referring the delay to God’s “long suffering;” and yet hints its delay by remarking that the lapse of ages could make no difference in the purposes of God, seeing that with him “one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” The whole mode of speaking on this subject was adapted to PRACTICAL purposes, and wisely connected the day of our death with the day of final judgment; because the apostles all taught that after death there could be no redemption for the wicked, and the righteous could not lapse from their state of security. Ages have indeed passed, and the Bridegroom still tarries; but every serious mind will live under the influence of the most solemn thoughts of that day; because of the uncertainty of life, and the equal certainty that in the same moral state in which death transmits him into the eternal world, the day of final account must find him.

5. It is added, they all slumbered and slept. Those interpreters who consider these words as intimating that all, even the most vigilant, are subject to religious decays, and are apt to fall into a slumbering and lukewarm state, do not appear to consider that their interpretation involves the absurdity of supposing that those persons whose hearts are abundantly furnished with holy affection, which is undoubtedly indicated by the wise virgins having made provision of oil in their vessels, can sink into this supposed state of religious indifference, and that equally with others; for whatever this slumbering and sleeping may signify, it is expressly said to have happened to the wise and foolish virgins alike: they ALL slumbered and slept. This view also allows the SAFETY of an unwatchful and lukewarm state of mind, contrary to the constant doctrine of Christ. Add to this, that no fault is ascribed either to the wise or foolish, virgins for slumbering and sleeping while the bridegroom tarried; but the praise of the former was, that they had prudently taken oil in their vessels with their lamps, and the fatal fault of the latter that they had neglected this necessary provision. Such an interpretation cannot, therefore, be maintained, and the scope and design of the parable requires us to understand slumbering and sleeping to represent DEATH. While the Bridegroom tarries, the successive generations of Christians, whether prepared or not for their Lord’s coming, sleep in death; and it is the last day only that shall fully declare which of them have taken oil in their vessels; that is, whose hearts are in a state of preparedness to hail his second advent with joy, and to enter into his everlasting kingdom.

6. The sudden appearance of Christ at the last day, and the pomp of it, is figured by the coming of the bridegroom. The gates are suddenly thrown open; the light of the torches of the attendants flashes at once upon the darkness of midnight: those who precede cry, “The bridegroom cometh!” then follows the splendour of the procession itself, which, among the opulent, was elaborate and imposing: these were all images familiar to the Jews, and wonderfully adapted to impress the imagination and to fix the moral of the whole. There is no reason to conclude from this that Christ will come to judgment literally at midnight; but this time is here mentioned to intimate the delay of Christ’s coming; for it was long before midnight that the ceremony described in the parable usually took place. Several circumstances are introduced into the parable which must be interpreted in their general import, and not strictly, as if every particular had a mystical meaning, and nothing was to be left to complete the narrative and to give it grace and action. This discrimination is essential to the sober interpretation of all parables, and particularly to this. We shall not, however, stray beyond this limit, if we consider the arising of the virgins as representing the resurrection from the dead, and the trimming of the lamps, by pouring in oil, and thus as the word ekosmhsan signifies, putting them in order for the purpose of meeting the bridegroom, as the resumption of that profession of devotedness to Christ, and attention to the duty of “waiting for his appearing,” which they had assumed during this life. Both the wise and the foolish virgins arose for this purpose; but it is to be remarked, that the wise only were able thus to rekindle their lamps, as they only had provided oil for this purpose, of which the others were destitute; and thus we are taught that those only whom the sanctifying grace of God has put into a state of due preparation for eternity will be able to resume even their profession. This lamp, the outward visible sign of connection with Christ, is in all others for ever quenched by death, and can never again be lighted up. The oil, the small measure of grace, which once supplied its flame, is consumed; the vessel of the heart, which ought to have been replenished with it, is empty; and the opportunity for obtaining a supply is past. This last most important point of instruction is illustrated by what follows; which must be understood as intended simply to inculcate this general truth. For we are not to suppose that there is anything in the case of persons found unprepared for the second coming of our Lord, to answer minutely to the application of the foolish virgins to the wise to give them of their oil, as though they should apply to them for grace; or in the answer, “Go unto them that sell, and buy for yourselves.” The general and solemn admonition and moral of this part of the parable is, that the case of all who, at the second coming of Christ, are found destitute of holy preparation for that event, will be as utterly hopeless as that of the five virgins who, when the cry, “The bridegroom cometh!” was already heard, should attempt to purchase oil, when the time would not admit of its being obtained before the bridegroom had entered his house, and the doors were shut. The period, midnight, when the dealers in oil were not likely to be found at their shops, and the small space of time which remained to resort to them had they been there, rendered success impossible; and it is this impossibility of repairing a previous neglect of salvation, when Christ shall come in his glory, which is the great lesson intended to be conveyed.

Verse 2. Five of them were wise] Or, provident, fronimoi-they took care to make a proper provision beforehand, and left nothing to be done in the last moment.

Five were foolish] mwroi, which might be translated careless, is generally rendered foolish; but this does not agree so well with fronimoi, provident, or prudent, in the first clause, which is the proper meaning of the word. mwrov in the Etymologicon, is thus defined, mh ora to deon, he who sees not what is proper or necessary. These did not see that it was necessary to have oil in their vessels, (the salvation of God in their souls,) as well as a burning lamp of religious profession, Matthew 25:3, 4.

Verses 2-4. And five of them were wise — Prudent and provident; and five foolish — Inconsiderate and careless. These latter took their lamps — Took up a profession of the true religion; but took no oil with them — No more than kept them burning just for the present. None to supply their future want, to recruit their lamps’ decay. They did not receive or maintain the saving grace of God, did not get or keep faith working by love, an interest in and union with Christ the good olive, or the life of God in their souls. But the wise took oil in their vessels, &c. — Together with the lamp of an external profession, they secured and maintained vital godliness, through the indwelling of the Spirit of God, and living in the Spirit, they walked in the Spirit, seeking daily, a fresh supply of spiritual strength, till their faith was made perfect.

Ver. 2. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. This idea represents half the christian world as shut out of heaven for want of grace.

2. Five… wise… five… foolish — As their conduct demonstrated. This is not to be taken as an indication of the comparative number of the saved and the lost.

V. 3. The foolish took no oil with them-No more than kept them burning just for the present. None to supply their future want, to recruit their lamp's decay. The lamp is faith. A lamp and oil with it, is faith working by love.

Verses 2-4. And five of them were wise — Prudent and provident; and five foolish — Inconsiderate and careless. These latter took their lamps — Took up a profession of the true religion; but took no oil with them — No more than kept them burning just for the present. None to supply their future want, to recruit their lamps’ decay. They did not receive or maintain the saving grace of God, did not get or keep faith working by love, an interest in and union with Christ the good olive, or the life of God in their souls. But the wise took oil in their vessels, &c. — Together with the lamp of an external profession, they secured and maintained vital godliness, through the indwelling of the Spirit of God, and living in the Spirit, they walked in the Spirit, seeking daily, a fresh supply of spiritual strength, till their faith was made perfect.

3. Lamps — Rabbi Solomo is thus quoted by Wetstein: “It was the custom in the land of Ishmael to bring the bride from the house of her father to that of her husband in the night time; and there were about ten staffs; upon the top of each was a brazen dish, containing rags, oil, and pitch, and this being kindled formed blazing torches, which were carried before the bride.”

V. 4. The wise took oil in their vessels-Love in their hearts. And they daily sought a fresh supply of spiritual strength, till their faith was made perfect.

Verse 4. Took oil in their vessels] They not only had a sufficiency of oil in their lamps, but they carried a vessel with oil to recruit their lamps, when it should be found expedient. This the foolish or improvident neglected to do: hence, when the oil that was in their lamps burned out, they had none to pour into the lamp to maintain the flame.

Verses 2-4. And five of them were wise — Prudent and provident; and five foolish — Inconsiderate and careless. These latter took their lamps — Took up a profession of the true religion; but took no oil with them — No more than kept them burning just for the present. None to supply their future want, to recruit their lamps’ decay. They did not receive or maintain the saving grace of God, did not get or keep faith working by love, an interest in and union with Christ the good olive, or the life of God in their souls. But the wise took oil in their vessels, &c. — Together with the lamp of an external profession, they secured and maintained vital godliness, through the indwelling of the Spirit of God, and living in the Spirit, they walked in the Spirit, seeking daily, a fresh supply of spiritual strength, till their faith was made perfect.

Ver. 4. The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Wisdom is the character of true religion; it draws the just conclusion, that with extinguished lamps we never can bear the insults of the populace. Learn then, oh my soul, to prepare by holiness to meet a holy God. Take the oil of grace, the faith that works by love and purifies the heart.

4. Oil in their vessels — Each virgin besides her lamp, or rather torch, had an oil can with which to replenish the lamp.

V. 5. While the bridegroom delayed-That is, before they were called to attend him, they all slumbered and slept-Were easy and quiet, the wise enjoying a true, the foolish a false peace.

Verse 5. The bridegroom tarried] The coming of the bridegroom to an individual may imply his death: his coming to the world-the final judgment. The delay-the time from a man’s birth till his death, in the first case; in the second, the time from the beginning to the end of the world. Slumbered and slept.] Or, enustaxan kai ekaqeudon, they became drowsy and fell asleep. As sleep is frequently used in the sacred writings for death, so drowsiness, which precedes sleep, may be considered as pointing out the decays of the constitution, and the sicknesses which precede death. The other explanations which are given of this place must be unsatisfactory to every man who is not warped by some point in his creed, which must be supported at every expense. Carelessness disposed them to drowsiness, drowsiness to sleep, deep sleep, which rendered them as unconscious of their danger as they were before inattentive to their duty. The Anglo-Saxon has hit the meaning of the original well-[Anglo-Saxon] of which my old MS. Bible gives a literal version, in the English of the 14th century: forsothe-alle nappeden and sleptyn.

Verse 5. While the bridegroom tarried — That is, before they were called to attend him; they all slumbered and slept — That is, all Christians, so called, good and bad, sincere and hypocrites, those who really love and wait for the bridegroom, and those who only profess to do so; lie down together in the sleep of death: all, while the bridegroom delays to come, slumber in the grave, with respect to their bodies, and sleep till the great call, that shall awake them to different situations. This is undoubtedly the meaning of this clause, if by the coming of the bridegroom we understand Christ’s coming to raise the dead and judge mankind, which seems evidently to be primarily intended thereby. But if we also consider it as referring to calamities coming on the Jews, or to his calling us hence by death, the spiritual slumbering and sleeping of the professors of Christianity must be intended, and the meaning of the clause must be, that while Christ defers to come in these senses, instead of accounting his long-suffering salvation, (2 Peter 3:15,) and improving it accordingly, they become unwatchful, remiss and careless, lukewarm and indolent. So it was with the professors at Laodicea and Sardis, who are therefore called upon to be zealous and repent, to be watchful, and to strengthen the things which remained, which were ready to die; Christ threatening that if they would not watch, he would come unexpectedly as a thief cometh. And even the wise, who have oil in their vessels, and their lamps burning; who have saving grace in their hearts, and whose conduct is generally exemplary, while Christ delays to call them hence by death, too often, like the church of Ephesus, leave in some degree their first love, lose their watchful spirit, and abate of their zeal and diligence in doing well, and their patience in suffering ill.

Ver. 5. While the bridegroom tarried. He delays till the seventh trumpet shall sound, till the mystery of God shall be finished; then shall be seen the sign of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven.

They all slumbered and slept. Some asleep, some half asleep; they sat at the appointed house, and became sleepy at the usual hour of repose. But sleep literally denotes the death of good men.

5. The bridegroom tarried — While the judgment day remained in the distance. It is a view on which the New Testament is emphatic, and which false interpretation at the present day has very much obscured, that the final judge is ready, is waiting, is on the point of coming, and so is to be expected, to be looked for, to be prepared for.

They all slumbered and slept — The living wait for the Son of man in life; the dead in death.

The following extract from Ward’s View of the Hindoos will in some degree illustrate the circumstances of this parable: “At a marriage the procession of which I saw some years ago, the bridegroom came from a distance, and the bride lived at Serampore, to which place the bridegroom was to come by water. After waiting two hours, at length, near midnight, it was announced, as if in the very words of Scripture, ‘Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.’ All the persons employed now lighted their lamps, and ran with them in their hands to fill up their stations in the procession; some of them had lost their lamps, and were unprepared, and it was then too late to seek them, and the cavalcade moved forward to the house of the bride, at which place the company entered a large and splendidly illuminated area before the house, covered with an awning, where a great multitude of friends, dressed in their best apparel, were seated upon mats. The bridegroom was carried in the arms of a friend and placed upon a superb seat in the midst of the company, where he sat a short time and then went into the house, the door of which was immediately shut and guarded by sepoys. I and others expostulated with the doorkeeper, but in vain. Never was I so struck with our Lord’s beautiful parable as at this moment. ‘And the door was shut!’ I was exceedingly anxious to be present while the marriage formulas were repeated, but was obliged to depart in disappointment.” In this case the nuptials took place at the bride’s house; in the case of the parable at the bridegroom’s; as appears from the foolish virgins being excluded by him. Verse 12.

V. 6. At midnight-In an hour quite unthought of.

Verse 6. At midnight there was a cry] The Jewish weddings were generally celebrated in the night; yet they usually began at the rising of the evening star; but in this case there was a more than ordinary delay. Behold, the bridegroom cometh] What an awful thing to be summoned to appear before the Judge of quick and dead! The following is an affecting relation, and fas est ab hoste doceri. “When Rabbi Jochanan ben Zachai was sick, his disciples came to visit him; and when he saw them he began to weep. They say to him, Rabbi! the light of Israel, the right hand pillar, the strong hammer, wherefore dost thou weep? He answered them, If they were carrying me before a king of flesh and blood, who is here today, and to-morrow in the grave; who, if he were angry with me, his anger would not last for ever: if he put me in prison, his prison would not be everlasting; if he condemned me to death, that death would not be eternal; whom I could soothe with words or bribe with riches; yet even in these circumstances I should weep. But now I am going before the King of kings, the holy and the blessed God, who liveth and endureth for ever and for ever; who, if he be angry with me, his anger will last for ever; if he put me in prison, his bondage will be everlasting; if he condemn me to death, that death will be eternal; whom I cannot soothe with words nor bribe with riches: when, farther, there are before me two ways, the one to hell and the other to paradise, and I know not in which they are carrying me, shall I not weep?” TALMUD Beracoth, fol. 29.

Verses 6-8. And at midnight — In an hour quite unthought of, and the most alarming. Perhaps the tradition mentioned by Jerome, which asserted that Christ would come to judgment at midnight, might be borrowed from hence; though certainly it is a very absurd one, since that can be the case only under one meridian at a time. There was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh — As Christ’s coming to judge the world will be at a time the least expected; so then a great cry will be made, for the apostle assures us, he will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, 1 Thessalonians 4:16. At this great cry, which will be heard to the ends of the earth, these virgins all awake, and begin to trim their lamps, to examine themselves, and prepare to meet their God: and now the foolish first perceive their folly: they find their lamps extinguished, and they have no oil wherewith to supply them: they find themselves destitute of vital religion, of union with Christ, and the graces of his Spirit, and that they have only a name to live while they are dead. Thus the hypocrite’s hope shall perish. And the foolish said unto the wise — Whom before, perhaps, they had despised and derided as needlessly provident; Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out — They were therefore once lighted and burning. As if they had said, The light that was in us has become darkness, and the warmth of our love and zeal has become cold and dead, and we are utterly unprepared to meet the bridegroom. What a time was this to make such a discovery! whether the time of being overtaken with some unexpected judgment, the time of death, or that of Christ’s second coming be intended. Reader, Unto which of the saints wilt thou turn? Who can help thee at such a season?

Ver. 6. At midnight there was a cry made. Christ will come as a thief in the night.

6. At midnight — In the very depth of the shades of time. This slumber by no means implies the unconsciousness of the souls of the dead. It implies that the day of probationary life has completely closed. Those who sleep with the oil in their lamps are happy. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours; and their works of faith and repentance follow them into the future, to render them blessed. Revelation 14:13. To them the judgment day will not seem distant; for it will not be tedious waiting, though that day is to be the full consummation of their bliss. Ages will be but as moments. As in some clear and beautiful atmospheres distant objects seem near at hand, so in the blessed air of the paradise of pure spirits the coming of the Judge, though it should be ages on ages distant, is, in full accordance with the phrases of Scripture, close at hand. To the restless spirits of the wicked it will be distant when their mind’s eye looks over the vast length of unrest to be endured before that day; but it will even to them seem terribly near when they contemplate the terrors of the day itself and the woes that shall follow. There was a cry made — By the narrative which we have given from Mr. Ward, it may be supposed that this cry was an ordinary fact at weddings; and so may be considered no significant part of the parable. It may have been the cry of self-announcement from the bridegroom’s party, or of waiting spectators, or of the virgins rousing each other. It does not contradict the fact that the coming of the Son of man is unwarned. It is more properly to be considered as identical with the blast of the last trumpet, announcing that the day of grace is past, and that the judgment day is come. More properly still, it is the cry of conscious confession and despair echoing through the world, that THE JUDGE COMETH and we must meet our doom.

V. 7. They trimmed their lamps-They examined themselves and prepared to meet their God.

Verse 7. Trimmed their lamps.] ekosmhsan, adorned them. I have seen some of the eastern lamps or lanthorns, the body of which was a skeleton of wood and threads, covered with a very thin transparent membrane, or very fine gauze, and decorated with flowers painted on it. It is probable that the nuptial 1amps were highly decorated in this way; though the act mentioned here may mean no more than preparing the lamps for burning. The following account of the celebration of a wedding in Persia, taken from the Zend Avesta, vol. ii. p. 558, &c., may cast some light on this place.

“The day appointed for the marriage, about five o’clock in the evening, the bridegroom comes to the house of the bride, where the mobed, or priest, pronounces for the first time the nuptial benediction. He then brings her to his own house, gives her some refreshment, and afterwards the assembly of her relatives and friends reconduct her to her father’s house. When she arrives, the mobed repeats the nuptial benediction, which is generally done about MIDNIGHT; immediately after, the bride, accompanied with a part of her attending troop, (the rest having returned to their own homes,) is reconducted to the house of her husband, where she generally arrives about three o’clock in the morning. Nothing can be more brilliant than these nuptial solemnities in India. Sometimes the assembly consists of not less than two thousand persons, all richly dressed in gold and silver tissue; the friends and relatives of the bride, encompassed with their domestics, are all mounted on horses richly harnessed. The goods, wardrobe, and even the bed of the bride, are carried in triumph. The husband, richly mounted and magnificently dressed, is accompanied by his friends and relatives, the friends of the bride following him in covered carriages. At intervals, during the procession, guns and rockets are fired, and the spectacle is rendered grand beyond description, by a prodigious number of LIGHTED TORCHES, and by the SOUND of a multitude of musical instruments.”

There are certain preparations which most persons believe they must make at the approach of death; but, alas! it is often too late. The lamp is defiled, the light almost out, and the oil expended; and what adorning is a wretched sinner, struggling in the agonies of death, capable of preparing for his guilty soul!

Verses 6-8. And at midnight — In an hour quite unthought of, and the most alarming. Perhaps the tradition mentioned by Jerome, which asserted that Christ would come to judgment at midnight, might be borrowed from hence; though certainly it is a very absurd one, since that can be the case only under one meridian at a time. There was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh — As Christ’s coming to judge the world will be at a time the least expected; so then a great cry will be made, for the apostle assures us, he will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, 1 Thessalonians 4:16. At this great cry, which will be heard to the ends of the earth, these virgins all awake, and begin to trim their lamps, to examine themselves, and prepare to meet their God: and now the foolish first perceive their folly: they find their lamps extinguished, and they have no oil wherewith to supply them: they find themselves destitute of vital religion, of union with Christ, and the graces of his Spirit, and that they have only a name to live while they are dead. Thus the hypocrite’s hope shall perish. And the foolish said unto the wise — Whom before, perhaps, they had despised and derided as needlessly provident; Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out — They were therefore once lighted and burning. As if they had said, The light that was in us has become darkness, and the warmth of our love and zeal has become cold and dead, and we are utterly unprepared to meet the bridegroom. What a time was this to make such a discovery! whether the time of being overtaken with some unexpected judgment, the time of death, or that of Christ’s second coming be intended. Reader, Unto which of the saints wilt thou turn? Who can help thee at such a season?

7. Virgins arose — The generations of the dead wake at the resurrection. Trimmed their lamps — For now the time hath come for them to shine in eternal glory.

V. 8. Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out-Our faith is dead. What a time to discover this! Whether it mean the time of death, or of judgment. Unto which of the saints wilt thou then turn? Who can help thee at such a season?

Verse 8. Our lamps are gone out.] sbennuntai, are going out. So then it is evident that they were once lighted. They had once hearts illuminated and warmed by faith and love; but they had backslidden from the salvation of God, and now they are excluded from heaven, because, through their carelessness, they have let the light that was in them become darkness, and have not applied in time for a fresh supply of the salvation of God. A Jewish rabbin supposes God addressing man thus:-I give thee my lamp, give thou me thy lamp; if thou keep my lamp I will keep thy lamp; but if thou extinguish my lamp I will extinguish thy lamp. That is, I give thee my WORD and testimonies to be a light unto thy feet and a lanthorn to thy steps, to guide thee safely through life; give me thy SOUL and all its concerns, that I may defend and save thee from all evil: keep my WORD, walk in my ways, and I will keep thy SOUL that nothing shall injure it; but if thou trample under foot my laws, I will cast thy soul into outer darkness.

Verses 6-8. And at midnight — In an hour quite unthought of, and the most alarming. Perhaps the tradition mentioned by Jerome, which asserted that Christ would come to judgment at midnight, might be borrowed from hence; though certainly it is a very absurd one, since that can be the case only under one meridian at a time. There was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh — As Christ’s coming to judge the world will be at a time the least expected; so then a great cry will be made, for the apostle assures us, he will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, 1 Thessalonians 4:16. At this great cry, which will be heard to the ends of the earth, these virgins all awake, and begin to trim their lamps, to examine themselves, and prepare to meet their God: and now the foolish first perceive their folly: they find their lamps extinguished, and they have no oil wherewith to supply them: they find themselves destitute of vital religion, of union with Christ, and the graces of his Spirit, and that they have only a name to live while they are dead. Thus the hypocrite’s hope shall perish. And the foolish said unto the wise — Whom before, perhaps, they had despised and derided as needlessly provident; Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out — They were therefore once lighted and burning. As if they had said, The light that was in us has become darkness, and the warmth of our love and zeal has become cold and dead, and we are utterly unprepared to meet the bridegroom. What a time was this to make such a discovery! whether the time of being overtaken with some unexpected judgment, the time of death, or that of Christ’s second coming be intended. Reader, Unto which of the saints wilt thou turn? Who can help thee at such a season?

8. Give us of your oil — Here is expressed, in dialogue form, the fearful condition of the soul that wakes in eternity without the grace of God. He finds his own case deficient. He looks to others for aid. Alas! he that is wise is wise for himself, and he that scorneth alone must bear it.

V. 9. But the wise answered, Lest there be not enough for us and you!-Beginning the sentence with a beautiful abruptness; such as showed their surprise at the state of those poor wretches, who had so long received them, as well as their own souls.

Lest there be not enough-It is sure there is not; for no man has more than holiness enough for himself.

Go ye rather to them that sell-Without money and without price: that is, to God, to Christ.

And buy-If ye can. O no! The time is past and returns no more!

Verse 9. Lest there be not enough for us and you] These had all been companions in the Christian course, and there was a time when they might have been helpful to each other; but that time is now past for ever-none has a particle of grace to spare, not even to help the soul of the dearest relative! The grace which every man receives is just enough to save his own soul; he has no merits to bequeath to the Church; no work of supererogation which can be placed to the account of another. Go ye rather to them that sell, and buy] By leaving out the particle de, but, (on the indisputable authority of ABDGHKS, and HV, of Matthai, with sixteen others, the Armenian, Vulgate, and all the Itala but one,) and transposing a very little the members of the sentence, the sense is more advantageously represented, and the reading smoother: Rather go to them that sell, and buy for yourselves, lest there be not enough for us and you. Beza, Mill, Bengel, and Griesbach, approve of the omission of the particle de.

Verse 9. But the wise answered, saying, Not so — The words, not so, are not in the Greek, which is only, mhpote ouk arkesh hmin kai umin, lest it should not be sufficient for us and you. They begin the sentence abruptly, showing thereby their surprise at the state of those poor wretches who had so long deceived them, as well as their own souls. Lest there be not enough — It is sure there is not: for no man has more holiness than is sufficient for himself. Go ye rather to them that sell — Without money, and without price: That is, to God in Christ. And buy — If ye can. O no! The time is past, and returns no more. But this clause, Buy for yourselves, seems, as Dr. Doddridge observes, “merely an ornamental circumstance; and it is strange that any popish writers should consider it as favouring their doctrine of a stock of merits in the church, founded on works of supererogation; since, if it referred to them at all, (which there is no reason to imagine,) it would rather expose than encourage any dependance upon them.” Observe, reader, now only is the accepted time, and the day of salvation, when we may come to God through Christ, in the use of the means of grace, and buy for ourselves the divine oil, which will never fail us: nay, we are counselled and exhorted to do so: and if we despise and reject these counsels and exhortations, while they may be useful, our cries and wishes will be as surely rejected another day, and our vain attempts to purchase when the bridegroom is coming will issue in an eternal exclusion from his kingdom.

9. Lest there be not enough for us — Here is a striking denial of the Romish doctrine of supererogation, by which the merits of particular saints may by surplus save other persons. The righteous are scarcely saved. After we have done all, we are unprofitable servants. We are saved not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by the merits of the Lord our righteousness. Go ye rather to them that sell — This is added to show how utterly too late it is. The wise give the only counsel that thought can devise, but it is a plain impossibility. The judgment is too near, and the remedy is beyond all reach.

Verse 10. While they went to buy, the bridegroom came] What a dismal thing it is, not to discover the emptiness of one’s heart of all that is good, till it is too late to make any successful application for relief! God alone knows how many are thus deceived.

And they that were ready] They who were prepared-who had not only a burning lamp of an evangelical profession, but had oil in their vessels, the faith that works by love in their hearts, and their lives adorned with all the fruits of the Spirit.

The door was shut.] Sinners on a death-bed too often meet with those deceitful merchants, who promise them salvation for a price which is of no value in the sight of God. Come unto me, says Jesus, and buy: there is no salvation but through his blood-no hope for the sinner but that which is founded upon his sacrifice and death. The door was shut-dreadful and fatal words! No hope remains. Nothing but death can shut this door; but death may surprise us in our sins, and then despair is our only portion.

Verses 10-12. While they went to buy — While they made some unsuccessful efforts to obtain oil, and light their lamps; the bridegroom came, and they that were ready — They who had put on the wedding- garment, who had an interest in Christ’s obedience unto death, and were renewed by his Spirit, who had recovered the divine likeness, the whole image of God stamped upon their soul; who had done and suffered the whole will of God unto the end, while they had kept themselves unspotted from the world: they, (to speak in the language of Christ,) whose loins were girded, and their lamps burning, and themselves like unto men waiting for their Lord, went in with him to the marriage — For blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, they rest from their labours, and their works follow them: and those that are found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless, in whatever way he comes to them, shall enter into the joy of their Lord, and sit down at the marriage-feast with patriarchs and prophets, and all the company of heaven. And the door was shut — The door of salvation, of pardoning mercy, and divine acceptance; the door of repentance, faith, and holiness; of grace and glory. This is always shut at death. It is universally acknowledged among Protestants, that as death leaves us judgment finds us. And surely then it is shut, when the final sentence is passed at the great day, and the eternal Judge has fixed the states of mankind for ever. Then all entrance into the heavenly city will be for ever precluded, and he that is filthy must remain filthy still. Afterward came also the other virgins — After the door was shut and bolted against them by the irreversible decree of Heaven, they came to enter, that is, they came too late, and therefore when they would have inherited the blessing, they were rejected, and found no place for repentance. For he answered, &c. — He was heard answering from within, I know you not — Ye pretended to be my friends, and to do me honour: but you have not acted as friends, nor do I acknowledge you as such.

10. And the door was shut — As the door of heaven must be closed to all who are arrested by the sleep of death before they have secured peace with God.

Verse 10. The instruction impressed by the result of the whole cannot be misunderstood. They that were ready went in with him unto the marriage. — Heaven is prepared only for those who are rendered “meet” for it by sanctifying grace; and the shutting of the door denotes the eternal exclusion of all others. Nor can a former profession of discipleship, nor even former experience of any degree of grace, if lost, like the consumed oil of the lamp, avail as a plea for admission, should even such pleas be made. When the five foolish virgins made their earnest application, the stern reply of a slighted Saviour was, I know you not; that is, I APPROVE or regard you not, and therefore disown you, though my professed friends. This sense of the verb rendered “to know,” answers to the Hebrew [ry, rendered by the Septuagint genoiskein, in Nahum 1:7, “The Lord knoweth them that trust in him;” he regards them with affection. To the whole our Lord adds the general moral, Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh; where by watchfulness is meant all that is implied by the prudence and foresight of the wise virgins; a steady regard to the certainty of Christ’s coming, however long delayed, and full and suitable preparation for it. Where these do not meet, the habit of true Christian watchfulness is not acquired; and the result must be fatal. Those who have searched the rabbinical writings have produced one or two parables bearing some imperfect similarity to this fine parable of our Lord; but which, instead of being the source, as they pretend, from which his was drawn, bear, like most other examples of this kind, internal evidence of being poor imitations, in which, however, both the spirit and grace are entirely lost.” How greatly,” we are gravely told by those who adopted this notion, “are the Jewish parables improved in coming through the hands of Christ!” We should rather say, How greatly are Christ’s parables spoiled in passing through the hands of Jewish doctors!

Verse 11. Afterwards came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord] Earnest prayer, when used in time, may do much good: but it appears, from this parable, that there may come a time when prayer even to Jesus may be too late!-viz. when the door is shut-when death has separated the body and the soul.

Verses 10-12. While they went to buy — While they made some unsuccessful efforts to obtain oil, and light their lamps; the bridegroom came, and they that were ready — They who had put on the wedding- garment, who had an interest in Christ’s obedience unto death, and were renewed by his Spirit, who had recovered the divine likeness, the whole image of God stamped upon their soul; who had done and suffered the whole will of God unto the end, while they had kept themselves unspotted from the world: they, (to speak in the language of Christ,) whose loins were girded, and their lamps burning, and themselves like unto men waiting for their Lord, went in with him to the marriage — For blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, they rest from their labours, and their works follow them: and those that are found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless, in whatever way he comes to them, shall enter into the joy of their Lord, and sit down at the marriage-feast with patriarchs and prophets, and all the company of heaven. And the door was shut — The door of salvation, of pardoning mercy, and divine acceptance; the door of repentance, faith, and holiness; of grace and glory. This is always shut at death. It is universally acknowledged among Protestants, that as death leaves us judgment finds us. And surely then it is shut, when the final sentence is passed at the great day, and the eternal Judge has fixed the states of mankind for ever. Then all entrance into the heavenly city will be for ever precluded, and he that is filthy must remain filthy still. Afterward came also the other virgins — After the door was shut and bolted against them by the irreversible decree of Heaven, they came to enter, that is, they came too late, and therefore when they would have inherited the blessing, they were rejected, and found no place for repentance. For he answered, &c. — He was heard answering from within, I know you not — Ye pretended to be my friends, and to do me honour: but you have not acted as friends, nor do I acknowledge you as such.

11. Lord, open to us — It is not to be supposed that there is to be any literal application by the lost at the door of heaven for admission. But the Saviour here puts in dialogue form the utter hopelessness that would attend such an application, as conceived in thought. It is then too late for prayer.

Verse 12. I know you not.] As if he had said, Ye are not of my company-ye were neither with the bride nor the bridegroom: ye slept while the others were in procession. I do not acknowledge you for my disciples-ye are not like him who is love-ye refused to receive his grace-ye sinned it away when ye had it; now you are necessarily excluded from that kingdom where nothing but love and purity can dwell.

Verses 10-12. While they went to buy — While they made some unsuccessful efforts to obtain oil, and light their lamps; the bridegroom came, and they that were ready — They who had put on the wedding- garment, who had an interest in Christ’s obedience unto death, and were renewed by his Spirit, who had recovered the divine likeness, the whole image of God stamped upon their soul; who had done and suffered the whole will of God unto the end, while they had kept themselves unspotted from the world: they, (to speak in the language of Christ,) whose loins were girded, and their lamps burning, and themselves like unto men waiting for their Lord, went in with him to the marriage — For blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, they rest from their labours, and their works follow them: and those that are found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless, in whatever way he comes to them, shall enter into the joy of their Lord, and sit down at the marriage-feast with patriarchs and prophets, and all the company of heaven. And the door was shut — The door of salvation, of pardoning mercy, and divine acceptance; the door of repentance, faith, and holiness; of grace and glory. This is always shut at death. It is universally acknowledged among Protestants, that as death leaves us judgment finds us. And surely then it is shut, when the final sentence is passed at the great day, and the eternal Judge has fixed the states of mankind for ever. Then all entrance into the heavenly city will be for ever precluded, and he that is filthy must remain filthy still. Afterward came also the other virgins — After the door was shut and bolted against them by the irreversible decree of Heaven, they came to enter, that is, they came too late, and therefore when they would have inherited the blessing, they were rejected, and found no place for repentance. For he answered, &c. — He was heard answering from within, I know you not — Ye pretended to be my friends, and to do me honour: but you have not acted as friends, nor do I acknowledge you as such.

Ver. 12. I know you not. I do not approve of you, nor acknowledge you as my friends.

12. I know you not — You call me Lord as if you were my servants, when in fact we are strangers. You have never gained my acquaintance. I recognize you not, and forever dismiss you as pretenders.

V. 13. Watch therefore-He that watches has not only a burning lamp, but likewise oil in his vessel. And even when he sleepeth, his heart waketh. He is quiet; but not secure.

Verse 13. Watch therefore] If to watch be to employ ourselves chiefly about the business of our salvation, alas! how few of those who are called Christians are there who do watch! How many who slumber! How many who are asleep! How many seized with a lethargy! How many quite dead! Wherein the Son of man cometh.] These words are omitted by many excellent MSS., most of the versions, and several of the fathers. Griesbach has left them out of the text: Grotius, Hammond, Mill, and Bengel, approve of the omission.

Verse 13. Watch, therefore, &c. — See, therefore, that your mind be always awake and watchful, and that you maintain an habitual readiness for the coming of the bridegroom, not presuming on preparations to be made hereafter, lest you meet with a sad disappointment: for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh — To receive his prepared people to himself, and for ever to exclude the backslider, the hypocrite, and the sinner, from the glories and joys of his heavenly kingdom; or when he cometh to call you hence by death, or to summon you to his bar. Remember your life is a vapour, which appeareth for a little while, and then vanisheth; work while it is day, before the night come when you cannot work. Take care especially that you have oil in your vessels, and that you keep your lamp burning, for unless you attend to these things you watch in vain; these being the great, and indeed the only distinguishing difference between the wise and the foolish virgins here spoken of. Upon the whole, in this parable the characters and final judgment of the subjects of the kingdom of heaven are described, that is to say, of persons who have enjoyed the outward dispensation of the gospel, and by professing themselves to be Christians, pretended to honour Christ. Some, with the fair light of an outward profession in their hands, have the principles of the divine life in their hearts, a stock of oil to keep that light continually burning, both pure and clear, by which means they persevere in holiness to the end. But others, having the blaze of a profession, and nothing to keep it alive, it must needs end in smoke and darkness, failing them when they have most occasion for it. The midnight cry, raised at the coming of the bridegroom, shows, not only that the day of judgment will take place when by the generality it is not looked for, but how suddenly and unexpectedly some are called away by death, so that little or no preparation can be made for the awful event in the confusion and perplexity of a death-bed sickness. In this parable, therefore, our Lord has taught us that unless we persevere in grace, having it always in possession, and even in exercise, as occasion requires, we shall be excluded from the abodes of the blessed without remedy, though we may have expressed considerable zeal and diligence in the service of Christ for a time: also, that the grace of other men, and their piety and virtue, will stand us in no stead at the hour of death or at the day of judgment. To conclude, as the parable represents the suddenness with which Christ frequently comes to call individual persons off the stage of life, it shows us both the folly and danger of delaying true and vital religion to a deathbed, and powerfully enforces habitual watchfulness upon all men, in every age, from the consideration of the uncertainty of human life; and strongly enforces the advice of Eliphaz, Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace; and more especially the declaration and exhortation of Christ, Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown: for, if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

13. Watch therefore… day nor the hour — Watch through your life, for you will certainly watch in the spirit-world.

V. 14. Our Lord proceeds by a parable still plainer (if that can be) to declare the final reward of a harmless man. May God give all such in this their day, ears to hear and hearts to understand it!

The kingdom of heaven-That is, the King of heaven, Christ. Mark 13:34; Luke 19:12.

Verse 14. Called his own servants] God never makes the children of men proprietors of his goods. They are formed by his power, and upheld by his bounty; and they hold their lives and their goods, as in many of our ancient tenures, quamdiu domino placuerit-at the will of their Lord.

Verses 14, 15. For, &c. — To show us more clearly the nature and duty of Christian watchfulness, to which he exhorts us in the preceding verse, our Saviour immediately subjoins another parable, wherein he represents to us the different characters of a faithful and slothful servant, and the difference of their future acceptation. Like the former, the present parable is intended to stir us up to a zealous preparation for the coming of our Lord, by diligence in the discharge of our duty, and by a proper employment and a careful improvement of our talents: as well as to unmask still more fully the vain pretences of hypocrites, and to demonstrate that fair speeches and outward forms, without the power of godliness, will stand us in no stead at the last day. The kingdom of heaven is as a man, &c. — The words kingdom of heaven are improperly supplied here. The sentence should rather run thus: For he (namely, the Son of man, mentioned in the preceding verse) is as a man travelling into a far country — Alluding to Christ’s withdrawing his bodily presence from his church when he ascended into heaven, or to that long-suffering by which he waits for the fruit of our works: who called his own servants — Touv idiouv, his own, because created by his power, preserved by his providence, and purchased by his blood; and delivered unto them his goods — The goods of which he was the sole proprietor. Unto one he gave five talents — As being able to traffic with them; to another two — As not being sufficient to manage more; and to another one, as being still more infirm. So Origen. A talent being in value about 187l. 10s., he who was intrusted with five, received 937l. 10s.; and he who had two, 375l. sterling. And who knows whether, all circumstances considered, there be a greater disproportion than this in the talents of those who receive the most and those who receive the fewest? By the talents here we are to understand gifts or endowments conferred for a spiritual end, powers of body and mind, abilities natural and acquired, health, strength, long life, understanding, judgment, memory, learning, knowledge, eloquence, influence, and authority over others, wealth, privileges, or offices, civil or religious, and indeed every power and advantage of which a good or bad use may be made. To every man according to his several ability — Ekastw kata thn idian dunamin, to each according to his individual or respective capacity, namely, to manage the sum, and according to the prospect there might reasonably be of his improving it. Or, according to the prudence, ability, and activity which he knew each to be possessed of.

PARABLE OF THE TALENTS, 14-30.

The parable of the virgins illustrates the watch for the judgment in life or in death; so the parable of the talent teaches the duty of working while the day lasts.

14. Man travelling into a far country — Our Lord ascending into heaven, until he comes to judge the quick and the dead. His own servants — The slaves of antiquity were frequently educated men, trained to the various kinds of business, and who toiled for the benefit of their masters.

Verse 14. For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling, &c. — Our translators have supplied the ellipsis here by the kingdom of heaven; others prefer the Son of man. The former is, however, the usual form of introduction to such parables. As the necessity of deep personal and persevering piety had been inculcated by the former parable; this is designed to impress upon Christians the necessary duty of public usefulness, the neglect of which would be equally fatal to the soul. A parable somewhat similar is recorded by St. Luke, but it was spoken on another occasion, in the house of Zaccheus. This, like the former, was delivered on the mount of Olives, three days before the last passover. Both, however, are grounded upon a custom which still prevails in some parts of the east, for masters to intrust capital to their servants, even when slaves, to trade with, the proceeds of which are rendered to the master, but rewards are bestowed upon the most diligent and successful. Among the Jews, as Maimonides informs us, when “a master went out of the land of Israel, he could not take his servants with him, unless they pleased.” The most profitable manner of employing them during his absence would therefore often be in trading.

His goods. — Ta uparconta, used for property of any kind.

V. 15. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one-And who knows whether (all circumstances considered) there be a greater disproportion than this, in the talents of those who have received the most, and those who have received the fewest?

According to his own ability-The words may be translated more literally, according to his own mighty power.

And immediately took his journey-To heaven.

Verse 15. Unto one he gave five talents-to every man according to his several ability] The duties men are called to perform are suited to their situations, and the talents they receive. The good that any man has he has received from God, as also the ability to improve that good. God’s graces and temporal mercies are suited to the power which a man has of improving them. To give eminent gifts to persons incapable of properly improving them, would be only to lead into a snare. The talent which each man has suits his own state best; and it is only pride and insanity which lead him to desire and envy the graces and talents of another. Five talents would be too much for some men: one talent would be too little. He who receives much, must make proportionate improvement; and, from him who has received little, the improvement only of that little will be required. As five talents, in one case, are sufficient to answer the purpose for which they were given; so also are two and one.

The man who improves the grace he has received, however small, will as surely get to the kingdom of God, as he who has received most from his master, and improved all.

There is a parable something like this in Sohar Chadash, fol. 47: “A certain king gave a deposit to three of his servants: the first kept it; the second lost it; the third spoiled one part of it, and gave the rest to another to keep. After some time, the king came and demanded the deposit. Him who had preserved it, the king praised, and made him governor of his house. Him who had lost it, he delivered to utter destruction, so that both his name and his possessions were blotted out. To the third, who had spoiled a part and given the rest to another to keep, the king said, Keep him, and let him not go out of my house, till we see what the other shall do to whom he has entrusted a part: if he shall make a proper use of it, this man shall be restored to liberty; if not, he also shall be punished.” See Schoettgen. I have had already occasion to remark how greatly every Jewish parable is improved that comes through the hands of Christ.

In this parable of our Lord, four things may be considered:- I. The master who distributes the talents.

II. The servants who improved their talents.

III. The servant who buried his talent. And

IV. His punishment.

1. The master’s kindness. The servants had nothing-deserved nothing-had no claim on their master, yet he, in his KINDNESS, delivers unto them his goods, not for his advantage, but for their comfort and salvation.

2. The master distributes these goods diversely;-giving to one five, to another, two, and to another one. No person can complain that he has been forgotten; the master gives to each. None can complain of the diversity of the gifts; it is the master who has done it. The master has an absolute right over his own goods, and the servants cannot find fault with the distribution. He who has little should not envy him who has received much, for he has the greater labour, and the greater account to give. He who has much should not despise him who has little, for the sovereign master has made the distinction; and his little, suited to the ability which God has given him, and fitted to the place in which God’s providence has fixed him, is sufficiently calculated to answer the purpose of the master, in the salvation of the servant’s soul.

3. The master distributes his talents with WISDOM. He gave to each according to his several ability, i.e. to the power he had to improve what was given. It would not be just to make a servant responsible for what he is naturally incapable of managing; and it would not be proper to give more than could be improved. The powers which men have, God has given; and as he best knows the extent of these powers, so he suits his graces and blessings to them in the most wise, and effectual way. Though he may make one vessel for honour, (i.e. a more honourable place or office,) and another for dishonour, (a less honourable office,) yet both are for the master’s use-both are appointed and capacitated to show forth his glory.

II. The servants who improved their talents.

These persons are termed douloi, slaves, such as were the property of the master, who might dispose of them as he pleased. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded, Matthew 25:16.

1. The work was speedily begun-as soon as the master gave the talents and departed, so soon they began to labour. There is not a moment to be lost-every moment has its grace, and every grace has its employment, and every thing is to be done for eternity.

2. The work was perseveringly carried on; after a long time the lord of those servants cometh, Matthew 25:19. The master was long before he returned, but they did not relax. The longer time, the greater improvement. God gives every man just time enough to live, in this world, to glorify his Maker, and to get his soul saved. Many begin well, and continue faithful for a time-but how few persevere to the end! Are there none who seem to have outlived their glory, their character, their usefulness?

3. Their work was crowned with success. They doubled the sum which they had received. Every grace of God is capable of great improvement. Jesus himself, the pure, immaculate Jesus, grew in wisdom and favour with God, Luke 2:52.

4. They were ready to give in a joyful account when their master came and called for them. 1st. They come without delay: they expected his coming; and it was with an eye to this that they continued their labour-they endured as seeing him who is invisible. 2dly. They come without fear; the master before whom they appear has always loved them, and given them the fullest proofs of his affection for them: his love to them has begotten in them love to him; and their obedience to his orders sprung from the love they bore to him. He that loveth me, says Jesus, will keep my words. 3d. They render up their accounts without confusion: he who received five brought five others; and he who had received two brought two more: nothing was to be done when their master called; all their business was fully prepared. 4th. They gave up every thing to their master, without attempting to appropriate any thing. Their ability was his, the talents his, and the continued power to improve them, his. All is of God, and all must be returned to him.

5. Their recompense from their gracious master. 1st. They receive praise. Well done, good and faithful servants, Matthew 25:21. What a glorious thing to have the approbation of God, and the testimony of a good conscience! They were good, pure and upright within-faithful, using to God’s glory the blessings he had given. 2d. They receive gracious promises. Ye have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. These promises refer not only to a future glory, but to an increase of God’s grace and mercy here; for the more faithfully a man improves what God has already given him, the more he shall have from his gracious Master: for he giveth more grace, till he fills the faithful soul with his own fulness. 3d. They receive GLORY. Enter into the joy of your Lord. As ye were partakers of my nature on earth, be ye sharers of my glory in heaven. The joy, the happiness wherewith I am happy, shall be your eternal portion! O, what is all we can do, all we can suffer, even the most lingering and cruel martyrdom, in comparison of this unbounded, eternal joy!

III. Of the servant who buried his talent.

He that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his Lord’s money, Matthew 25:18.

1. See the ingratitude of this servant. His master gave him a talent, capable of being improved to his own present and eternal advantage; but he slights the mercy of his lord.

2. See his idleness. Rather than exert himself to improve what he has received, he goes and hides it.

3. See his gross error. He DIGS to hide it-puts himself to more trouble to render the mercy of God to him of none effect, than he would have had in combating and conquering the world, the devil, and the flesh.

4. See his injustice. He takes his master’s money, and neither improves nor designs to improve it, even while he is living on and consuming that bounty which would have been sufficient for a faithful servant. How much of this useless lumber is to be found in the Church of Christ! But suppose the man be a preacher-what a terrible account will he have to give to God-consuming the provision made for a faithful pastor, and so burying, or misusing his talent, as to do no good, to immortal souls!

5. Hear the absurdity of his reasoning. Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard (or avaricious) man, reaping where thou hast not sown, &c., Matthew 25:24. See this meaning of sklhrov proved by Kypke. The wicked excuse of this faithless servant confuted itself and condemned him. Nevertheless it is on this very model that sinners in general seek to justify themselves; and the conclusion turns always against them. I knew thee to be a hard man. How awfully deceived and deeply depraved must that person be, who not only attempts to excuse his follies, but to charge his crimes on GOD himself!

I was afraid-Why? Because thou wert an enemy to thy soul, and to thy God.-I was afraid-of what? that he would require more than he did give. How could this be? Did he not give thee the talent freely, to show thee his benevolence? And did he not suit it to thy ability, that he might show thee his wisdom, justice, and goodness, in not making thee responsible for more than thou couldst improve?

IV. Behold the awful punishment of this faithless servant.

1. He is reproached. Thou wicked and slothful servant! Wicked-in thy heart: slothful-in thy work. THOU knewest that I reap where I sowed not. Thou art condemned by thy own mouth-whose is the unemployed talent? Did I not give thee this? And did I require the improvement of two when I gave thee but one?-Thou knowest I did not.

2. He is stripped of what he possessed. Take-the talent from him. O terrible word!-Remove the candlestick from that slothful, worldly-minded Church: take away the inspirations of the Holy Spirit from that lukewarm, Christless Christian, who only lives to resist them and render them of none effect. Dispossess that base, man-pleasing minister of his ministerial gifts; let his silver become brass, and his fine gold, dross. He loved the present world more than the eternal world, and the praise of men more than the approbation of God. Take away the talent from him!

3. He is punished with an everlasting separation from God and the glory of his power. Cast forth the unprofitable servant, Matthew 25:30. Let him have nothing but darkness, who refused to walk in the light: let him have nothing but misery-weeping and gnashing of teeth, who has refused the happiness which God provided for him.

Reader, if the careless virgin, and the unprofitable servant, against whom no flagrant iniquity is charged, be punished with an outer darkness, with a hell of fire: of what sorer punishment must he be judged worthy, who is a murderer, an adulterer, a fornicator, a blasphemer, a thief, a liar, or in any respect an open violater of the laws of God? The careless virgins, and the unprofitable servants, were saints in comparison of millions, who are, notwithstanding, dreaming of an endless heaven, when fitted only for an endless hell!

Verses 14, 15. For, &c. — To show us more clearly the nature and duty of Christian watchfulness, to which he exhorts us in the preceding verse, our Saviour immediately subjoins another parable, wherein he represents to us the different characters of a faithful and slothful servant, and the difference of their future acceptation. Like the former, the present parable is intended to stir us up to a zealous preparation for the coming of our Lord, by diligence in the discharge of our duty, and by a proper employment and a careful improvement of our talents: as well as to unmask still more fully the vain pretences of hypocrites, and to demonstrate that fair speeches and outward forms, without the power of godliness, will stand us in no stead at the last day. The kingdom of heaven is as a man, &c. — The words kingdom of heaven are improperly supplied here. The sentence should rather run thus: For he (namely, the Son of man, mentioned in the preceding verse) is as a man travelling into a far country — Alluding to Christ’s withdrawing his bodily presence from his church when he ascended into heaven, or to that long-suffering by which he waits for the fruit of our works: who called his own servants — Touv idiouv, his own, because created by his power, preserved by his providence, and purchased by his blood; and delivered unto them his goods — The goods of which he was the sole proprietor. Unto one he gave five talents — As being able to traffic with them; to another two — As not being sufficient to manage more; and to another one, as being still more infirm. So Origen. A talent being in value about 187l. 10s., he who was intrusted with five, received 937l. 10s.; and he who had two, 375l. sterling. And who knows whether, all circumstances considered, there be a greater disproportion than this in the talents of those who receive the most and those who receive the fewest? By the talents here we are to understand gifts or endowments conferred for a spiritual end, powers of body and mind, abilities natural and acquired, health, strength, long life, understanding, judgment, memory, learning, knowledge, eloquence, influence, and authority over others, wealth, privileges, or offices, civil or religious, and indeed every power and advantage of which a good or bad use may be made. To every man according to his several ability — Ekastw kata thn idian dunamin, to each according to his individual or respective capacity, namely, to manage the sum, and according to the prospect there might reasonably be of his improving it. Or, according to the prudence, ability, and activity which he knew each to be possessed of.

Ver. 15. To one he gave five talents. In the royal household the servants must sustain a gradation of rank, and proper talents for every station. So likewise in the kingdom of heaven. One has wisdom and genius for science, and talents for trade; another has learning and eloquence. One has a talent for training up children, and the instruction of youth; another has local influence by riches, by manufactures and commerce. In the sanctuary likewise, one is a son of thunder; another of consolation; a third speaks wisdom with them that are perfect.

But the touchstone of the parable is, that all persons must improve their talents; yea, double them, and gladden the church by the progress they make in grace, and all divine attainments. So shall the great rewards of grace be, as when a general after victory receives promotion, and the first favours of the king.

In a word, from this very important parable we learn, that God will admit of no excuse for negligence and delay; for every excuse we make, every plea we allege, is a criminal insult to the author of our being, and to the Saviour who gave his life for our redemption. Such a wretch shall have his shame covered with outer darkness, and the forfeiture of his talent. Our Lord delivered a similar parable when going up from Jerusalem to Jericho. Luke 19:12.

15. Five talents… according to his several ability — The word talents has acquired in our language, doubtless from this parable, the meaning of abilities. Yet this is not the meaning of the word in the parable. For the talents are said to be conferred according to their ability. The talent is plainly a trust to be discharged; a responsibility to be met. And every man in probation has a charge and office; and that task God imposes in proportion to our ability.

Verse 15. Five talents, &c. — The talent of silver is doubtless here meant; which at its lowest estimate was equal to 187l. 10s.; at its highest, 342l. 3s. 9d.

According to his several ability. — According to his capacity and opportunity to employ the money to advantage. The talents represent the various gifts, and opportunities for employing them for the benefit of mankind, which are furnished to each individual; for our Lord graciously accounts the good we do to others to be using our gifts and opportunities to his profit as the great Master and proprietor of all. Thus a fine view is opened of the benevolence of God: what is done to promote the happiness and salvation of any of his creatures, he regards as done to himself. Variously were the supernatural gifts by which many of the first Christians were distinguished, bestowed upon them, — “to one, the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another faith, to another the gift of healing, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy,” &c.; but this “manifestation of the Spirit was given to every man to profit withal,” that is, to promote the conversion and edification of men. The ordinary gifts had then and still have the same variety. Knowledge, eloquence, and influence, or the capacity of attaining them, and favourable opportunities of employing them and improving them by use, are dispensed indifferently by an infinite and infallible wisdom. And it is here to be remarked that as every servant had at least one talent, so, as every Christian is a servant of Christ, and has his work assigned him, not only that of his own salvation, but the work of serving others, he has the means of usefulness assigned to him, and though in a lower degree than some, yet at the lowest in a large measure: for this is indicated by the one talent, which, though but one, was no inconsiderable sum. Every Christian, however humble, has by his example, his sound and savoury speech,” seasoned with grace, ministering grace to the hearers,” and by taking his part in some service of usefulness, the power by God’s blessing, to promote not merely some temporal interest of others, in which his ability may be very limited, but that which is connected with the soul and with eternity.

Verses 16-18. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded, &c. — Thus the servants of Christ should consider the gifts or talents which they have received, whether by nature or by grace, as being intrusted with them for the sole end of their serving God and their generation with the use of them; and made them other five talents — Thus he who endeavours to use the gifts of God according to the design of the giver, is sure to find them increased; and that both because the exercise of any power or ability, gift or endowment, has a natural tendency to increase it, and because the divine blessing never fails to crown human diligence, when that diligence is used in the fear of God, in obedience to his will, and with a single eye to his glory. “He who lives not solely to his own profit,” says Theophylact, “but whether he have prudence, or riches, or power, or whatever influence or art he hath, endeavours thereby to serve and be useful to others, o toioutov diplasiazei to doqen autw, this is the man who doubles that which is given to him.” Likewise he that had received two, &c. — He went immediately and traded with the talents he had received, and his improvement was in the same proportion; he gained other two. But he that had received one — Being displeased, probably, that he had received no more, or being seized with servile fear, without so much as attempting to make any proper use or improvement of his talent; went and digged in the earth, &c. — Buried his talent, instead of employing it according to the design of his master, who had intrusted him with it. He did not mis-spend or mis-employ it; did not embezzle or squander it away, but he hid it. Here we have the characteristic of a slothful servant, of one who has received from God an excellent gift, and yet suffers it to remain useless and unemployed, and therefore unimproved; like money laid up in a bag, which, if properly used and dispersed, might be of much advantage, as well to the possessor as others, but while so locked up, is at once unprofitable to the owner and to all besides. And the sin of this slothful servant was highly aggravated in this, that the talent intrusted to him was not his own; he hid his lord’s money. Had it been his own he might have asked, Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? but, in truth, whatever abilities and advantages men, as the creatures and servants of the living God, possess, they are not their own: they are but stewards of them, and must give an account to their lord, whose goods they are. It was, moreover, an aggravation of this servant’s slothfulness, that his fellow-servants were busy and successful in trading; their zeal and assiduity should have provoked his; and, incited by their example, he should have gone and done likewise. It will be a high aggravation of the offence of slothful professors, who have suffered the gifts of God to remain unimproved, that their fellow-servants have, with the same means, and the same opportunities, acted with the fidelity required, and gained to the talents committed to them a sufficient increase to obtain their Lord’s approbation and applause. Reader, art thou thus slothful? Art thou burying the talent God hath lent thee?

16. Made them other five talents — As we say a man makes money. His five talents were a high duty to perform, proportioned to his high ability. The five other talents is an amount of good he had accomplished by his discharge of his task in life. He may have been a minister in the Church of God, and faithfully discharged his office. He may have been a wealthy man, on whom rested an office for distributing to the good of man and the glory of God, and that duty he may have liberally done. God requireth of man according to his ability. He may have been a magistrate, and have well discharged the duty of guarding the morals and peace of society.

Verse 16. Other five talents, &c. — As wealth, rightly and industriously occupied, produces wealth, so it is with him who rightly, diligently, and prayerfully uses, for the spiritual benefit of others, those gracious gifts with which our Lord has put him in trust. The communication of religious knowledge produces religious knowledge, and that both in himself and others. The influence of piety exerted on others increases our own, and usually is successful as to many of those for whose spiritual good we are seriously and earnestly concerned; and he who is strenuously and affectionately desirous of saving others, both “saves himself and them that hear him,” So glorious is this vocation of the true servants of Christ; and with the potentiality of producing such effects, so criminal is he that despises even the one talent, which when employed might lead to such results.

Verses 16-18. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded, &c. — Thus the servants of Christ should consider the gifts or talents which they have received, whether by nature or by grace, as being intrusted with them for the sole end of their serving God and their generation with the use of them; and made them other five talents — Thus he who endeavours to use the gifts of God according to the design of the giver, is sure to find them increased; and that both because the exercise of any power or ability, gift or endowment, has a natural tendency to increase it, and because the divine blessing never fails to crown human diligence, when that diligence is used in the fear of God, in obedience to his will, and with a single eye to his glory. “He who lives not solely to his own profit,” says Theophylact, “but whether he have prudence, or riches, or power, or whatever influence or art he hath, endeavours thereby to serve and be useful to others, o toioutov diplasiazei to doqen autw, this is the man who doubles that which is given to him.” Likewise he that had received two, &c. — He went immediately and traded with the talents he had received, and his improvement was in the same proportion; he gained other two. But he that had received one — Being displeased, probably, that he had received no more, or being seized with servile fear, without so much as attempting to make any proper use or improvement of his talent; went and digged in the earth, &c. — Buried his talent, instead of employing it according to the design of his master, who had intrusted him with it. He did not mis-spend or mis-employ it; did not embezzle or squander it away, but he hid it. Here we have the characteristic of a slothful servant, of one who has received from God an excellent gift, and yet suffers it to remain useless and unemployed, and therefore unimproved; like money laid up in a bag, which, if properly used and dispersed, might be of much advantage, as well to the possessor as others, but while so locked up, is at once unprofitable to the owner and to all besides. And the sin of this slothful servant was highly aggravated in this, that the talent intrusted to him was not his own; he hid his lord’s money. Had it been his own he might have asked, Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? but, in truth, whatever abilities and advantages men, as the creatures and servants of the living God, possess, they are not their own: they are but stewards of them, and must give an account to their lord, whose goods they are. It was, moreover, an aggravation of this servant’s slothfulness, that his fellow-servants were busy and successful in trading; their zeal and assiduity should have provoked his; and, incited by their example, he should have gone and done likewise. It will be a high aggravation of the offence of slothful professors, who have suffered the gifts of God to remain unimproved, that their fellow-servants have, with the same means, and the same opportunities, acted with the fidelity required, and gained to the talents committed to them a sufficient increase to obtain their Lord’s approbation and applause. Reader, art thou thus slothful? Art thou burying the talent God hath lent thee?

PARABLE OF THE TALENTS, 14-30.

The parable of the virgins illustrates the watch for the judgment in life or in death; so the parable of the talent teaches the duty of working while the day lasts.

14. Man travelling into a far country — Our Lord ascending into heaven, until he comes to judge the quick and the dead. His own servants — The slaves of antiquity were frequently educated men, trained to the various kinds of business, and who toiled for the benefit of their masters.

V. 18. He that had received one-Made his having fewer talents than others a pretence for not improving any.

Went and hid his master's money-Reader, art thou doing the same? Art thou hiding the talent God hath lent thee?

Verses 16-18. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded, &c. — Thus the servants of Christ should consider the gifts or talents which they have received, whether by nature or by grace, as being intrusted with them for the sole end of their serving God and their generation with the use of them; and made them other five talents — Thus he who endeavours to use the gifts of God according to the design of the giver, is sure to find them increased; and that both because the exercise of any power or ability, gift or endowment, has a natural tendency to increase it, and because the divine blessing never fails to crown human diligence, when that diligence is used in the fear of God, in obedience to his will, and with a single eye to his glory. “He who lives not solely to his own profit,” says Theophylact, “but whether he have prudence, or riches, or power, or whatever influence or art he hath, endeavours thereby to serve and be useful to others, o toioutov diplasiazei to doqen autw, this is the man who doubles that which is given to him.” Likewise he that had received two, &c. — He went immediately and traded with the talents he had received, and his improvement was in the same proportion; he gained other two. But he that had received one — Being displeased, probably, that he had received no more, or being seized with servile fear, without so much as attempting to make any proper use or improvement of his talent; went and digged in the earth, &c. — Buried his talent, instead of employing it according to the design of his master, who had intrusted him with it. He did not mis-spend or mis-employ it; did not embezzle or squander it away, but he hid it. Here we have the characteristic of a slothful servant, of one who has received from God an excellent gift, and yet suffers it to remain useless and unemployed, and therefore unimproved; like money laid up in a bag, which, if properly used and dispersed, might be of much advantage, as well to the possessor as others, but while so locked up, is at once unprofitable to the owner and to all besides. And the sin of this slothful servant was highly aggravated in this, that the talent intrusted to him was not his own; he hid his lord’s money. Had it been his own he might have asked, Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? but, in truth, whatever abilities and advantages men, as the creatures and servants of the living God, possess, they are not their own: they are but stewards of them, and must give an account to their lord, whose goods they are. It was, moreover, an aggravation of this servant’s slothfulness, that his fellow-servants were busy and successful in trading; their zeal and assiduity should have provoked his; and, incited by their example, he should have gone and done likewise. It will be a high aggravation of the offence of slothful professors, who have suffered the gifts of God to remain unimproved, that their fellow-servants have, with the same means, and the same opportunities, acted with the fidelity required, and gained to the talents committed to them a sufficient increase to obtain their Lord’s approbation and applause. Reader, art thou thus slothful? Art thou burying the talent God hath lent thee?

18. Received one — His duties were not as responsible as those of the man of five, yet he discharged them less faithfully. Hid his lord’s money — He buried his responsibility to heaven under a load of earth. He merged the celestial in the terrestrial. He sunk duty in selfishness.

Verse 18. And hid his lord’s money. — He neglected to trade with it, as being slothful; and he hid it in the earth, that it might be safe, and so be returned to his master, which he vainly hoped would screen him from punishment, though it might deprive him of reward; in which he was influenced, as the sequel shows, by a slavish fear, and false apprehensions of difficulty and danger, and was without the animating desire of approbation and reward, and the courage to seek them through a difficult path. This servant appears to represent a numerous class of professing Christians who are so far influenced by the apprehension of Christ’s displeasure at last, as to avoid all direct ABUSE of the talents of various kinds intrusted to them, but are not roused into exertion and zeal either by right views of the danger to which neglect and indifference in the cause of Christ expose them, nor animated by the noble desire of approving themselves to their Lord, and of attaining the honours and larger rewards of the eternal world. They run not for this prize, because they possess not spirituality enough to value it. For their excuses see what follows.

Verses 19, 20. After a long time — Namely, of trial and long-suffering, and at an hour when they thought not of it; the lord of those servants cometh — Returned and summoned them to give an account of their several trusts. Thus, though the heavens have received the Lord Jesus till the time of the restitution of all things, he will surely come and reckon with his servants, and require of them a strict account of the use which they have made of their privileges and advantages, gifts and endowments; and will say to each of them, Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward. So he that had received five talents — brought other five — Having doubled his blessings and gifts by the proper use of them; saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me, &c. — He acknowledges, (as did also the second, to whom two talents had been delivered,) that from the Lord only had proceeded his blessings and advantages; that they were the Lord’s talents; and that, of consequence, he was accountable to the Lord for his use of them, and for all their increase, and was to depend on the Lord’s bounty for all his reward. Observe, reader, this is the main thing on which the fidelity of us all depends: for if we do not acknowledge God’s property in us and whatever we have or are; — if we think we have an independent right to dispose of ourselves or talents just as we see fit, without reference to the great Lord of all, we do as much as we can toward divesting him of his absolute sovereignty and supremacy; we disclaim his service, and set up for ourselves; presume, impudently presume, to trade upon our own bottoms, even with the very privileges and talents with which our Lord himself hath intrusted us for his own glory. This is a much greater evil than it may be at first suspected, and far more common than we in general apprehend. Behold, I have gained five other talents — Thy gifts have been wonderfully increased by being used according to thy direction and for thy glory. Here we have a second mark of fidelity in a true servant of Christ. As he acknowledges the Lord’s absolute propriety in him, so he diligently improves the talents intrusted to him. And this he perseveres to do, notwithstanding all the inconveniences, difficulties, and impediments he meets with, or even the long absence of his Lord. Still he keeps his eye intent upon his business, and still applies himself diligently to his work, never weary of this well doing, for he knows in due season he shall reap if he faint not; and that he must be faithful unto death if he would receive the crown of life. But these proofs of fidelity will always be attended with a third, namely, a readiness to give up his account. When a man is assured that he has acted with a single eye to his master’s advantage, it is with satisfaction that he submits his account to his master’s inspection, as thereby his honesty is proved, and fidelity clearly manifested. And so it is with the sincere Christian: it is with joy that he goes to meet his Master, and to give up his account, as having the testimony of his conscience that it has been his desire and endeavour to be faithful to his trust in the use and improvement of his talents, and that with simplicity and godly sincerity he has had his conversation in the world. Then with delight he hears of his lord’s return, and, not doubting of his approbation, goes forth with joy to meet him.

19. After a long time — We have here an intimation that the judgment day was very probably far distant. Cometh — The Son of man coming to judgment.

Verse 19. After a long time, &c. — Even until the day of final account, the reckoning is delayed. But then it takes place; and here the following circumstances are to be noticed: —

1. That “every one shall give account of himself to God.” He reckoneth with them SEVERALLY, one by one; for though the last judgment may not be in its formality particular to any one, it will be so really both from the secret consciousness which each one has, that the Judge is dealing with him according to his merits, and from the exact apportionment of the reward or the penalty. In effect and reality it will be the same as though every individual had a personal and particular trial, and an express decision on his formally stated case.

2. That the account required is exact and strict. This is indicated by the phrase, kai sunairei met’ autwn logon, and reckoneth, compares or adjusts the account, with them; his own gifts, and the use to which they were to be applied, and the increase which was required as the result, strictly compared with the actual use and improvement, or otherwise, of what had been intrusted to each servant.

3. That in each case the capital, had been doubled by the faithful servants: Behold, I have gained beside them FIVE talents more; — behold, I have gained TWO other talents beside them. This was successful trading, and is designed to show the abundant increase of good which would be produced in the world by an entire fidelity in the discharge of all the active duties of the Christian life. This is a most animating motive to excite the zeal of Christians; and it is confirmed by fact. The decline of religion in the world has in all ages resulted, not so much from the obstinacy of the wicked, as from the slothfulness of Christ’s servants.

4. That faithful services shall be publicly acknowledged and rewarded by Christ at his second advent. There was indeed no meritorious claim to peculiar distinction in the approved servants. They themselves were the lord’s property; the money with which they traded was his; their time, abilities, and activity, equally belonged to him; yet here we see that “no work of faith, or labour of love,” shall be forgotten. Commendation from the lips of such a Being, the acceptance of our persons and services by Him whose “favour is better than life,” and the joys of heaven must, from their nature, be, not rewards of merit, but of stupendous grace. They are therefore subjects of promise to encourage us to fidelity, sustain us against temptation, and to show the regard which God has to all that is benevolent and holy in his creatures by stamping, it with the seal of his munificent bounty.

5. The manner of conferring the reward, and its exalted nature are also to be noted. Well done, eu, a word of force and emphasis; the word, indeed, with which the spectators, at any public performance or exercise, expressed their applause. Here it is pronounced by the Judge himself. I will make thee ruler over many things. The servant is now to be raised into the condition of a ruler; and the few things committed to him on earth, as a laborious and responsible trust, are heightened into many things put into his power to regulate and enjoy. Heaven is a place of order and government. This is indicated in various parts of the New Testament, though with their nature and laws we are not acquainted. It is implied in the words, “I will make thee ruler over many things,” set thee over a greater and more honourable charge, where the heightened capacity shall still have employment, and be still exalted by it; and where the loftier service of Christ, in a more perfect form, shall bring still higher felicity. Enter into the joy of thy Lord, eiv thn caran tou kuriou sou. Some take cara to signify a feast or entertainment; and the honour to be, that the servant is permitted to sit down with his royal Master. But though under this metaphor the heavenly reward is sometimes exhibited, we have a much better exposition of the phrase in the words of St. Paul, who, speaking of Christ, says that “for the joy set before him, he endured the cross,” &c. That JOY was the glorification of his humanity in body and soul; and into that joy the faithful servant shall come, he too shall be glorified in his own person, and be like Christ. Thus he shall enter into joy; “enter,” says an old writer, “as it were, into an abyss, a sea of joy, be every way surrounded with it, and dwell in it for ever.” The same reward is conferred upon him who was faithful in the two talents. The trust was less, the “ability” smaller, but the principle of fidelity the same in both; and therefore the language of the rewarding judge the same. The absolute equality of the future rewards of the redeemed does not, perhaps, follow from this. The reward, however, is the same in kind, and equally felicitous, as filling the capacity with joy that has no deficiency.

6. The case of him that buried his one talent next presents itself. The excuses he makes for his conduct are not to be understood as describing any thing which shall be alleged at the great day of account; but as intended by our Lord to open the false views upon which the slothful palliate and disguise their neglects, and which, in the end, lead to so fatal a result. I knew that thou art a hard man, sklhrov, severe and unreasonable in thy demands upon thy servants, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering, collecting corn, where thou hast not strewed, or scattered seed; that is, exacting more from thy servants than they have ability to perform, or ought to be required of them. The key to this allegation of the slothful servant is to be found in the scope of the parable. Its design, as above stated, is to inculcate active usefulness; but our Lord had not hidden it from his disciples that the consequence of their fidelity and diligence in this respect would, in this world, be great reproach, persecution, and suffering, and that the true disciple must “deny himself and take up the cross.” It is to these difficulties and sufferings in Christ’s service that the slothful servant alludes. As this was the service, the master was concluded to be a hard man, and to make harsh, and most unreasonable demands. The principle of sloth would magnify the difficulty, by looking at that alone, losing sight of the promised help and consolation; and a base, cowardly spirit would shrink from the danger. Hence those false views of Christ and his service were generated in the soul and led to the desertion of duty. And I was afraid; yet this very fear ought to have roused his slothful spirit into exertion; but it was fear without love. So far, however, it operated, that he hid the talent in the earth to keep it safe; he did not misemploy, though he did not employ it; and for this negative virtue, such is the inconsistent reasoning of a deceived heart, he hoped even from him whom he esteemed a hard master to escape punishment: Lo, there thou hast that is thine. To this pretence how many answer! That many professed Christians are too slothful to be useful, is a melancholy fact; their talent is buried, their time, their abilities, their opportunities of doing good neglected; and the true reason will be found in the secret hard thoughts they have of the severity of Christ’s service, and the difficulties, reproaches, and inconveniences to which it must expose them if they fully engage in it, and carry on an offensive warfare against the evils of the world, and endeavour strenuously to attain the highest degrees of salvation themselves and bring others into the same state. They shun therefore the cross, they evade difficulties, they retire into themselves, they put their light under a bushel, and hide their talent in the earth; and because they are not positively profane and wicked, because they do not absolutely abuse and mis-employ their advantages, they still hope to escape condemnation. But what is the decision? The slothful servant is judged as a wicked servant. He is silenced upon his own principles: if the master was indeed severe and exacting, he ought at least, from his professed fear of him, to have put his money to the exchangers, that it might be rendered back with usury, or interest. He ought to have made some effort to improve the talent, though small and imperfect; and the absence of this showed that the true principle of fidelity was wanting, not only in degree, but altogether. His talent is taken from him, all his means and opportunities of getting good and doing good, and that for ever. These are multiplied to him who had the ten talents, but to the negligent they are for ever lost; and, as unprofitable, he is cast into outer darkness and torment. Weighty here are the words of Baxter: “Unprofitableness and omission of duty is damnable; unfaithfulness in us who are but stewards and servants. To do no harm is praise fit for a stone, and not for a man.”

Verses 19, 20. After a long time — Namely, of trial and long-suffering, and at an hour when they thought not of it; the lord of those servants cometh — Returned and summoned them to give an account of their several trusts. Thus, though the heavens have received the Lord Jesus till the time of the restitution of all things, he will surely come and reckon with his servants, and require of them a strict account of the use which they have made of their privileges and advantages, gifts and endowments; and will say to each of them, Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward. So he that had received five talents — brought other five — Having doubled his blessings and gifts by the proper use of them; saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me, &c. — He acknowledges, (as did also the second, to whom two talents had been delivered,) that from the Lord only had proceeded his blessings and advantages; that they were the Lord’s talents; and that, of consequence, he was accountable to the Lord for his use of them, and for all their increase, and was to depend on the Lord’s bounty for all his reward. Observe, reader, this is the main thing on which the fidelity of us all depends: for if we do not acknowledge God’s property in us and whatever we have or are; — if we think we have an independent right to dispose of ourselves or talents just as we see fit, without reference to the great Lord of all, we do as much as we can toward divesting him of his absolute sovereignty and supremacy; we disclaim his service, and set up for ourselves; presume, impudently presume, to trade upon our own bottoms, even with the very privileges and talents with which our Lord himself hath intrusted us for his own glory. This is a much greater evil than it may be at first suspected, and far more common than we in general apprehend. Behold, I have gained five other talents — Thy gifts have been wonderfully increased by being used according to thy direction and for thy glory. Here we have a second mark of fidelity in a true servant of Christ. As he acknowledges the Lord’s absolute propriety in him, so he diligently improves the talents intrusted to him. And this he perseveres to do, notwithstanding all the inconveniences, difficulties, and impediments he meets with, or even the long absence of his Lord. Still he keeps his eye intent upon his business, and still applies himself diligently to his work, never weary of this well doing, for he knows in due season he shall reap if he faint not; and that he must be faithful unto death if he would receive the crown of life. But these proofs of fidelity will always be attended with a third, namely, a readiness to give up his account. When a man is assured that he has acted with a single eye to his master’s advantage, it is with satisfaction that he submits his account to his master’s inspection, as thereby his honesty is proved, and fidelity clearly manifested. And so it is with the sincere Christian: it is with joy that he goes to meet his Master, and to give up his account, as having the testimony of his conscience that it has been his desire and endeavour to be faithful to his trust in the use and improvement of his talents, and that with simplicity and godly sincerity he has had his conversation in the world. Then with delight he hears of his lord’s return, and, not doubting of his approbation, goes forth with joy to meet him.

20. Behold, I have gained — With a sweet and cheerful boldness does the faithful servant come before his Lord. Behold, I have gained, as it is in Matthew; and, Thy pound hath gained, as it is in Luke. These united expressions show how man and God unite in the performance of Christian duty. But even in Matthew the servant recognizes that it is the five talents which thou deliveredst unto me.

Verse 21. His lord said unto him, Well done — “The original word, Eu, well done, has a peculiar force and energy, far beyond what we can express in English. It was used by auditors or spectators in any public exercise, to express the highest applause, when any part had been excellently performed.” — Doddridge. Good and faithful servant — Those that own and honour God now, he will own and confess hereafter, and their diligence and integrity will be found to praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 1st, Their persons will be accepted. He that now knows their integrity will then bear witness to it; and they that are now found faithful, will then be declared to be so. 2d, Their performances will be accepted, Well done. Christ will call those, and those only, good servants, who have done well; for it is by a patient continuance in well doing that we seek for and obtain this glory and honour: and it is on condition of our doing that which is good, that we shall have praise of the same. Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler, &c. — It is usual, in the courts of princes and families of great men, to advance those to higher offices who have been faithful in lower. Christ is a master that will prefer his servants who acquit themselves well. He has honour in store for those that honour him, — a crown, a throne, a kingdom. Here they are beggars: in heaven they shall be rulers and princes. Observe, reader, the disproportion between the work and the rewards. There are but few things in which the saints are serviceable to the glory of God, but many things wherein they shall be glorified with God. The charge we receive from God, the work we do for God in this world, is but little, very little, compared with the joy set before us: put together all our services, all our sufferings, all our improvements, all the good we do to others, all we obtain to ourselves, and they are but a few things, next to nothing, not fit to be named the same day with the glory to be revealed. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord — The joy which he himself has purchased and provided for his servants; the joy of the redeemed, bought with the sorrow of the Redeemer; the joy which he himself is in possession of, and which he had his eye upon when he endured the cross and despised the shame, Hebrews 12:2; the joy of which he himself is the fountain and centre; for it is joy in the Lord, who is our exceeding joy. Into this joy glorified saints shall enter, that is, shall have a full and complete possession of it; as the heir, when he comes to age, enters upon his estate. Here the joy of our Lord enters into the saints, in the earnest of the Spirit, but shortly they shall enter into it, and shall be in it to all eternity, possessing fulness of joy and unspeakable pleasures for evermore.

21. Well done — For, though we are not saved for the merit of our works, (for our sins infinitely overbalance all our good,) yet having been forgiven all our sins by the merits of Christ, all that we have done of good, or avoided of evil, by faith in Christ, our final judge will applaud, and will view in it a merit which he will reward. Few things… many things — Their merits, at the most favorable reckoning, are few, and have to be rewarded with a surplus over their value. A small faithfulness has a plentiful reward. Ruler over many things — Or as it is in Luke 19:17: Have thou authority over ten cities. The words are taken from Eastern customs. A monarch rewards a faithful servant with the government and revenues of a satrapy, or principality of a province, or of a certain number of cities. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord — The same favourite, rewarded with the rule and revenue of a distant province, shall reside in the palace of his lord, enjoying the felicity of his favour and sharing the happiness of his royalty.

Verses 22, 23. He also that had received the two talents — said, Behold, I have gained two other talents — Here we see that he who had received only two talents, gives up his account as cheerfully as he who had received five; for our comfort and reward in the day of reckoning will be according to our faithfulness, not according to our usefulness; our sincerity, not our success; according to the uprightness of our hearts, and not the degree of our opportunities. We may, therefore, well rest contented with the talents our Master has allotted us, how few or small soever they may be, especially considering, 1st, that they are intrusted with us by him who knows infinitely better than we do what we are capable of managing, and who gives to all his servants according to their ability, or according as he knows they are able to cultivate or improve more or fewer: and considering, 2d, that if more and greater talents had been vouchsafed us, more care, caution, and diligence would have been requisite, and our account would have been more difficult. But these considerations should not only make us easy in every situation of life, but should incline us to constant activity in our sphere, be it what it may. Men frequently deceive themselves, (and the delusion is specious,) by supposing if they were in such a state, and had such and such opportunities, how much they could do, what good they might effect; by which means they are led frequently to overlook the advantages and means of good in their own state, and are carried out in fond desires after that imaginary one; falling short of which, they do no good at all. So the tempter gains his end. It is our wisdom to improve the present state, the present means, the present hour. All is in God’s hand, and he best knows where and how his servants may or may not be subservient to his glory, and there can be no doubt but he will dispose of us accordingly. “Some,” says Henry, “make it an excuse for their laziness, that they have not the opportunities of serving God which others have: and because they have not wherewithal to do what they say they would, they will not do what we are sure they can, and so sit down and do nothing: it is really an aggravation of their sloth, that when they have but one talent to take care about, they neglect that one;” as is represented in the next character.

PARABLE OF THE TALENTS, 14-30.

The parable of the virgins illustrates the watch for the judgment in life or in death; so the parable of the talent teaches the duty of working while the day lasts.

14. Man travelling into a far country — Our Lord ascending into heaven, until he comes to judge the quick and the dead. His own servants — The slaves of antiquity were frequently educated men, trained to the various kinds of business, and who toiled for the benefit of their masters.

Verses 22, 23. He also that had received the two talents — said, Behold, I have gained two other talents — Here we see that he who had received only two talents, gives up his account as cheerfully as he who had received five; for our comfort and reward in the day of reckoning will be according to our faithfulness, not according to our usefulness; our sincerity, not our success; according to the uprightness of our hearts, and not the degree of our opportunities. We may, therefore, well rest contented with the talents our Master has allotted us, how few or small soever they may be, especially considering, 1st, that they are intrusted with us by him who knows infinitely better than we do what we are capable of managing, and who gives to all his servants according to their ability, or according as he knows they are able to cultivate or improve more or fewer: and considering, 2d, that if more and greater talents had been vouchsafed us, more care, caution, and diligence would have been requisite, and our account would have been more difficult. But these considerations should not only make us easy in every situation of life, but should incline us to constant activity in our sphere, be it what it may. Men frequently deceive themselves, (and the delusion is specious,) by supposing if they were in such a state, and had such and such opportunities, how much they could do, what good they might effect; by which means they are led frequently to overlook the advantages and means of good in their own state, and are carried out in fond desires after that imaginary one; falling short of which, they do no good at all. So the tempter gains his end. It is our wisdom to improve the present state, the present means, the present hour. All is in God’s hand, and he best knows where and how his servants may or may not be subservient to his glory, and there can be no doubt but he will dispose of us accordingly. “Some,” says Henry, “make it an excuse for their laziness, that they have not the opportunities of serving God which others have: and because they have not wherewithal to do what they say they would, they will not do what we are sure they can, and so sit down and do nothing: it is really an aggravation of their sloth, that when they have but one talent to take care about, they neglect that one;” as is represented in the next character.

PARABLE OF THE TALENTS, 14-30.

The parable of the virgins illustrates the watch for the judgment in life or in death; so the parable of the talent teaches the duty of working while the day lasts.

14. Man travelling into a far country — Our Lord ascending into heaven, until he comes to judge the quick and the dead. His own servants — The slaves of antiquity were frequently educated men, trained to the various kinds of business, and who toiled for the benefit of their masters.

V. 24. I knew thou art a hard man-No. Thou knowest him not. He never knew God, who thinks him a hard master.

Reaping where thou hast not sown-That is, requiring more of us than thou hast given us power to perform. So does every obstinate sinner, in one kind or other, lay the blame of his own sins on God.

Verses 24, 25. He which received the one talent came — “This may intimate that we are accountable for the smallest advantages with which we are intrusted; but it cannot imply that they who have received much will ordinarily pass their account best; for it is too plain a fact, that most of those whose dignity, wealth, and genius give them the greatest opportunities of service, seem to forget they have either any Master in heaven to serve, or any future reckoning to expect; and many of them render themselves much more criminal than this wicked and slothful servant, who hid his talent in the earth.” — Doddridge. I knew that thou art a hard man — Here we have another, and no less certain mark of a slothful and wicked servant, his entertaining hard thoughts of his master. I knew, &c. — No: thou knewest him not. He never knew Christ who thinks him a hard master. Reaping where thou hast not sown — Requiring more of us than thou givest us power to perform. So does every obstinate sinner, in one kind or other, lay the blame of his own sins on God. And I was afraid — To risk thy money in trade, lest by some accident or other it should be lost, or miscarry under my management, and thou shouldst show me no mercy. Or rather, Lest, if I had improved my talent, I should have had more to answer for. So, from this fear, one will not learn to read, another will not hear sermons. Lo, there thou hast that is thine — If I have not made it more, as others have done, yet, this I can say, I have not made it less: and this, he thinks, may serve to bring him off, if not with praise, yet with safety. Observe, reader, many go very securely to judgment, presuming upon the validity of a plea that will be overruled as vain and frivolous. This servant thought that his account would pass well enough, because he had not wasted his lord’s money. As if he had said, “I was no spendthrift of my estate, not prodigal of my time, not a profaner of thy sabbaths, nor an opposer of good ministers and good preaching. Lord, I never despised my Bible, nor set my wits on work to ridicule religion, nor abused my power to persecute any good man; I never drowned my parts nor wasted God’s good creatures in drunkenness and gluttony; nor ever, to my knowledge, did I do an injury to any one.” Many that are called Christians build great hopes for heaven upon their being able to make such a plea; and yet all this amounts to no more than, There thou hast that is thine, as if no more were required, or would be expected.

24. The one talent — Our Lord does not mean by this, that men of inferior responsibilities are less likely to discharge them than those of higher. Men whose splendid abilities or means lade them with a mighty load of responsibilities, often make their very means an instrument, not only of unfaithfulness, but of great positive wickedness. Perhaps the smallness of the sum committed arose from the very smallness of his first moral value, and that same smallness of moral value he showed in his neglect. His talent was one because his ability was little, and because his heart and will were little.

Hard man — Very few men excuse their own sin without blaming God as a hard master. His religion is severe; he lays down too stern a morality; he exposes us to powerful temptation; he has established a humbling plan of salvation; he has not made the evidence of Christianity sufficiently clear; and in fine, he expects too much of men in the circumstances in which he has placed them. He would reap a harvest of requirements where he has not sowed sufficient means. The last clause is an allusion to the cleaning the wheat from the chaff. Thou art a man, gathering the clean kernels where thou hast not strewed or winnowed with the fan. The verbs to straw, to strow, or to strew, are all but different orthographies of the same word, and are cognate with the Latin sterno, to scatter. The scattering here is that done in the winnowing alluded to Matthew 3:12.

V. 25. And I was afraid-Lest if I had improved my talent, I should have had the more to answer for. So from this fear, one will not learn to read, another will not hear sermons!

Verses 24, 25. He which received the one talent came — “This may intimate that we are accountable for the smallest advantages with which we are intrusted; but it cannot imply that they who have received much will ordinarily pass their account best; for it is too plain a fact, that most of those whose dignity, wealth, and genius give them the greatest opportunities of service, seem to forget they have either any Master in heaven to serve, or any future reckoning to expect; and many of them render themselves much more criminal than this wicked and slothful servant, who hid his talent in the earth.” — Doddridge. I knew that thou art a hard man — Here we have another, and no less certain mark of a slothful and wicked servant, his entertaining hard thoughts of his master. I knew, &c. — No: thou knewest him not. He never knew Christ who thinks him a hard master. Reaping where thou hast not sown — Requiring more of us than thou givest us power to perform. So does every obstinate sinner, in one kind or other, lay the blame of his own sins on God. And I was afraid — To risk thy money in trade, lest by some accident or other it should be lost, or miscarry under my management, and thou shouldst show me no mercy. Or rather, Lest, if I had improved my talent, I should have had more to answer for. So, from this fear, one will not learn to read, another will not hear sermons. Lo, there thou hast that is thine — If I have not made it more, as others have done, yet, this I can say, I have not made it less: and this, he thinks, may serve to bring him off, if not with praise, yet with safety. Observe, reader, many go very securely to judgment, presuming upon the validity of a plea that will be overruled as vain and frivolous. This servant thought that his account would pass well enough, because he had not wasted his lord’s money. As if he had said, “I was no spendthrift of my estate, not prodigal of my time, not a profaner of thy sabbaths, nor an opposer of good ministers and good preaching. Lord, I never despised my Bible, nor set my wits on work to ridicule religion, nor abused my power to persecute any good man; I never drowned my parts nor wasted God’s good creatures in drunkenness and gluttony; nor ever, to my knowledge, did I do an injury to any one.” Many that are called Christians build great hopes for heaven upon their being able to make such a plea; and yet all this amounts to no more than, There thou hast that is thine, as if no more were required, or would be expected.

25. Was afraid — There doubtless will many be damned from moral cowardice. The fearful as well as the unbelieving shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. Revelation 21:8. Thou hast that is thine — I give you back all you gave me. I have done no harm. I am a very innocent man. I have destroyed nothing. We now are about even.

V. 26. Thou knewest-That I require impossibilities! This is not an allowing, but a strong denial of the charge.

Verses 26, 27. Thou wicked and slothful servant — Wicked, because slothful. Observe well, reader, slothful servants are wicked servants, and will be reckoned with as such by their Master: for he that is slothful in his work, and neglects to do the good that God has commanded, is brother to him that is a great waster, by doing the evil that God has for bidden, Proverbs 18:9. He that is careless in God’s work, is near akin to him that is busy in the devil’s work: Satis est mali nihil fecisse boni. It is evil enough to have done no good. Omissions of duty are commissions of sin, and must come into judgment as such. Slothfulness makes way for wickedness, and when the house is empty, the unclean spirit takes possession of it. Thou knewest — I reap where I sowed not? — That I require impossibilities! This is not an allowing, but a strong denial of the charge. Thou oughtest therefore, &c. — On that very account, on thy own supposition, to have improved my talent, as far as was possible. To have put my money to the exchangers, &c. He mentions this instance of good management, because it was the lowest that could be, and was attended with the least trouble; to intimate that, though the servant had not pursued that particular sort of trade in which he ought to have employed the talent, yet if he had been at any pains at all to improve it, though it had been little, his lord would have accepted it. And then I should have received mine own with usury — Sun tokw, with interest, or produce. “Anciently, the import of the word usury was no other than profit, whether great or small, allowed to the lender for the use of borrowed money. As this practice often gave rise to great extortion, the very name at length became odious. When Christian commonwealths judged it necessary to regulate this matter by law, they gave to such profit as does not exceed the legal, the softer name of interest; since which time, usury has come to signify solely extravagant profit disallowed by law; and which, therefore, it is criminal in the borrower to give, and in the lender to take. As it is not this kind of profit that is here meant, the word usury is now become improper.” — Campbell. Observe, reader, though the parable represents but one in three unfaithful; yet, in a history that answers the parable, we find the disproportion quite the other way; when ten lepers were cleansed, nine of the ten hid the talent, and only one returned to give thanks, Luke 17:18, 19. The unfaithful servant was he that had only one talent, but doubtless there are many that have five talents, and bury them all; great abilities, great advantages, and yet do no good with them: but Christ would intimate to us, 1st, that if he that had but one talent was reckoned with thus for burying that one, much more will they be accounted offenders that have more, that have many, and bury them. If he that was but of small capacity was cast into outer darkness, because he did not improve what he had as he might have done, shall those be spared that trample under foot the greatest advantages? 2d, That often those who have least to do for God, do least of what they have to do. 3d, That the hard thoughts which sinners have of God will be so far from justifying their slothfulness, that they will rather aggravate and add to their guilt; so that in the day of final accounts, they will be left quite without excuse; all frivolous pleas will be overruled, and every mouth will be stopped.

26. Wicked and slothful servant — The precise opposite of good and faithful. Wicked in self-exculpation, by calumniating his Lord. Slothful in neglecting his talent. Thou knewest — The master echoes the culprit, in order to condemn him on his own grounds. It is best understood as an interrogation: “You knew I was a hard man, did you?”

V. 27. Thou oughtest therefore-On that very account, on thy own supposition, to have improved my talent, as far as was possible.

Verse 27. With usury.] sun tokw, with its produce-not usury; for that is unlawful interest, more than the money can properly produce.

Verses 26, 27. Thou wicked and slothful servant — Wicked, because slothful. Observe well, reader, slothful servants are wicked servants, and will be reckoned with as such by their Master: for he that is slothful in his work, and neglects to do the good that God has commanded, is brother to him that is a great waster, by doing the evil that God has for bidden, Proverbs 18:9. He that is careless in God’s work, is near akin to him that is busy in the devil’s work: Satis est mali nihil fecisse boni. It is evil enough to have done no good. Omissions of duty are commissions of sin, and must come into judgment as such. Slothfulness makes way for wickedness, and when the house is empty, the unclean spirit takes possession of it. Thou knewest — I reap where I sowed not? — That I require impossibilities! This is not an allowing, but a strong denial of the charge. Thou oughtest therefore, &c. — On that very account, on thy own supposition, to have improved my talent, as far as was possible. To have put my money to the exchangers, &c. He mentions this instance of good management, because it was the lowest that could be, and was attended with the least trouble; to intimate that, though the servant had not pursued that particular sort of trade in which he ought to have employed the talent, yet if he had been at any pains at all to improve it, though it had been little, his lord would have accepted it. And then I should have received mine own with usury — Sun tokw, with interest, or produce. “Anciently, the import of the word usury was no other than profit, whether great or small, allowed to the lender for the use of borrowed money. As this practice often gave rise to great extortion, the very name at length became odious. When Christian commonwealths judged it necessary to regulate this matter by law, they gave to such profit as does not exceed the legal, the softer name of interest; since which time, usury has come to signify solely extravagant profit disallowed by law; and which, therefore, it is criminal in the borrower to give, and in the lender to take. As it is not this kind of profit that is here meant, the word usury is now become improper.” — Campbell. Observe, reader, though the parable represents but one in three unfaithful; yet, in a history that answers the parable, we find the disproportion quite the other way; when ten lepers were cleansed, nine of the ten hid the talent, and only one returned to give thanks, Luke 17:18, 19. The unfaithful servant was he that had only one talent, but doubtless there are many that have five talents, and bury them all; great abilities, great advantages, and yet do no good with them: but Christ would intimate to us, 1st, that if he that had but one talent was reckoned with thus for burying that one, much more will they be accounted offenders that have more, that have many, and bury them. If he that was but of small capacity was cast into outer darkness, because he did not improve what he had as he might have done, shall those be spared that trample under foot the greatest advantages? 2d, That often those who have least to do for God, do least of what they have to do. 3d, That the hard thoughts which sinners have of God will be so far from justifying their slothfulness, that they will rather aggravate and add to their guilt; so that in the day of final accounts, they will be left quite without excuse; all frivolous pleas will be overruled, and every mouth will be stopped.

27. Thou oughtest therefore — In view of my very supposed hardness. Men sometimes think that the doctrine of eternal condemnation is too terrible to believe, and so refuse to believe or repent. The infinitely better way is to say, “The eternal damnation is so terrible I will make sure not to incur it.” Exchangers — Brokers, or men whose business it is not only to give one kind of coin for another, but also to take money as loan and pay interest upon it. Usury — The word, in the time it was used by the New Testament translators, meant lawful interest. Our Lord then, in this verse, reasons with the culprit. If I am, as you say, a hard exacter, you ought at least to have done justice; if you dared not trade for fear of loss, you might at least have put the money in a savings bank, where a legal interest would have accrued. If a man will not in his place and according to his ability try to win laurels by extra good, he certainly may not damage his place by sinking below his ability, or by wasting what powers he has.

Verse 27. The exchangers. — They were called trapezitai, from the table which was placed before them; and not only exchanged one kind of coin for another, for the accommodation of foreigners, or those going into foreign countries, but acted as bankers, taking money, and giving interest upon it.

Verses 28, 29. Take therefore the talent from him — Ye angels, the ministers of my will, take from him the blessing which he has thus abused, and give it unto him which hath ten talents — As a further token of my acceptance and favour. The master, who in disposing of the talents at first acted as an absolute owner and bountiful benefactor, now acts as a judge, and takes the talent from the unfaithful servant to punish him, and gives it to him that was eminently faithful, to reward him. And this may be applied, 1st, To any of the blessings of this life, such as wealth, honour, authority over others, health, strength, &c. Men are intrusted with these, that they may use them for the glory of God, and the good of their fellow-creatures: and he that conscientiously uses them for these ends, (which is signified in the next verse by having them; that is, having them to a good purpose,) shall have abundance, perhaps, of these things themselves, but if not, abundance of comfort in them, and of better things; but from him that hath not — That is, that hath these things as if he had them not, not doing good with them; they shall be taken away. Giving to the poor, and in other ways doing good with our talents, is trading with what we have, and the returns will be rich. The meal in the barrel, and the oil in the cruise will be multiplied, 1 Kings 17:14; but those that are niggardly and uncharitable will find that those riches which are so acquired and hoarded, Will perish by evil travail, or are kept by the owners thereof to their hurt, Ecclesiastes 5:13, 14. And it often happens that Providence strangely transfers property from those that do not do good with it to those that do. And other gifts and endowments are frequently taken from those who do not employ them according to the design of the great Master, and are given to others who are disposed to make a better use of them. 2d, We may apply it to the means of grace. They who are diligent in improving the opportunities and advantages they have, may expect to have them continued and increased; but they who know not and improve not the day of their visitation, shall have the things that belong to their peace hid from their eyes. In proof of this, see what God did first to Shiloh, and then to Jerusalem, and to the churches of the Lesser Asia, mentioned Revelation 2., 3. 3d, We may apply it to spiritual gifts. He that hath these, and doth good with them, shall retain them and find them greatly enlarged, for they will improve by exercise, and brighten by use: but as to those who stir not up the gift that is in them, who do not exert themselves according to their capacity, their gifts rust and decay, and die away like a neglected fire.

28. Take therefore the talent from him — Take from him all farther probation and chance for doing service.

V. 29. To every one that hath shall be given-So close does God keep to this stated rule, from the beginning to the end of the world. Matthew 13:12.

Verse 29. Unto every one that hath shall be given] See Clarke on “Matthew 13:12”.

Verses 28, 29. Take therefore the talent from him — Ye angels, the ministers of my will, take from him the blessing which he has thus abused, and give it unto him which hath ten talents — As a further token of my acceptance and favour. The master, who in disposing of the talents at first acted as an absolute owner and bountiful benefactor, now acts as a judge, and takes the talent from the unfaithful servant to punish him, and gives it to him that was eminently faithful, to reward him. And this may be applied, 1st, To any of the blessings of this life, such as wealth, honour, authority over others, health, strength, &c. Men are intrusted with these, that they may use them for the glory of God, and the good of their fellow-creatures: and he that conscientiously uses them for these ends, (which is signified in the next verse by having them; that is, having them to a good purpose,) shall have abundance, perhaps, of these things themselves, but if not, abundance of comfort in them, and of better things; but from him that hath not — That is, that hath these things as if he had them not, not doing good with them; they shall be taken away. Giving to the poor, and in other ways doing good with our talents, is trading with what we have, and the returns will be rich. The meal in the barrel, and the oil in the cruise will be multiplied, 1 Kings 17:14; but those that are niggardly and uncharitable will find that those riches which are so acquired and hoarded, Will perish by evil travail, or are kept by the owners thereof to their hurt, Ecclesiastes 5:13, 14. And it often happens that Providence strangely transfers property from those that do not do good with it to those that do. And other gifts and endowments are frequently taken from those who do not employ them according to the design of the great Master, and are given to others who are disposed to make a better use of them. 2d, We may apply it to the means of grace. They who are diligent in improving the opportunities and advantages they have, may expect to have them continued and increased; but they who know not and improve not the day of their visitation, shall have the things that belong to their peace hid from their eyes. In proof of this, see what God did first to Shiloh, and then to Jerusalem, and to the churches of the Lesser Asia, mentioned Revelation 2., 3. 3d, We may apply it to spiritual gifts. He that hath these, and doth good with them, shall retain them and find them greatly enlarged, for they will improve by exercise, and brighten by use: but as to those who stir not up the gift that is in them, who do not exert themselves according to their capacity, their gifts rust and decay, and die away like a neglected fire.

29. Unto every one that hath — That hath the addition of talents resulting from faithful improvement of talents. Hath not — The gains of improvement. Shall be taken away even that first conferred talent which he hath.

Verse 29. Unto every one that hath shall be given, &c. — To have, ecein, is here employed in the sense of to use well, or profitably; and to have not, signifies “not to possess to any valuable end.” This is therefore the rule of the Divine government, that those who profitably use what is committed to them shall be esteemed worthy of a higher trust; and those who neglect to improve their advantages shall be deprived of them.

From him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. — This form of speaking is found in other writers. Aristotle, in his Ethics, remarks “that he who has this or that, and makes no use of it, may not improperly be said both to have it and not to have it: oste kai ecein pwv kai mh ecein.” So also Plautus quotes a proverbial saying as to the avaricious, that “what they have, they have not; and what they have not, they have as an evil;” quod habes ne habeas, et illud quod nunc non habes, habeas malum. And Juvenal: —

Nil habuit Codrus, et tamen illud

Perdidit infelix totum nihil.

“Codrus had nothing, and yet all that nothing the wretch has lost.” The Jews also have proverbs of a similar import to the former part of this axiomatic moral which our Lord subjoins to this parable. “The blessed God gives not wisdom but to him that has or uses wisdom.” “If one adds, it is added to him; and if he lessens, it is lessened to him.”

V. 30. Cast ye the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness-For what? what had he done? It is true he had not done good. But neither is he charged with doing any harm. Why, for this reason, for barely doing no harm, he is consigned to outer darkness. He is pronounced a wicked, because he was a slothful, an unprofitable servant. So mere harmlessness, on which many build their hope of salvation, was the cause of his damnation!

There shall be the weeping-Of the careless thoughtless sinner; and the gnashing of teeth-Of the proud and stubborn.

The same great truth, that there is no such thing as negative goodness, is in this chapter shown three times:

1. In the parable of the virgins; 2. In the still plainer parable of the servants, who had received the talents; and 3. In a direct unparabolical declaration of the manner wherein our Lord will proceed at the last day. The several parts of each of these exactly answers each other, only each rises above the preceding.

Verse 30. Weeping and gnashing of teeth.] See Clarke “Matthew 8:12”, a note necessary for the illustration of this, and the foregoing parable.

Verse 30. And cast ye the unprofitable servant — Who has so wickedly abused my goodness; into outer darkness — The darkness which is without the heavenly city, even the horrible darkness of hell. There, instead of the light and joy possessed by those who are admitted to the marriage- supper of the Lamb, shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth — Through the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched. There shall be the weeping of the careless, thoughtless sinner, and the gnashing of teeth of the proud and stubborn. See notes on Matthew 8:12; 13:42; 22:13. But why does this servant meet with this punishment? What had he done? It is true he had not done good. But neither is he charged with doing any harm. Why, for this reason, for barely doing no harm, he is consigned to outer darkness. He is pronounced a wicked, because he was a slothful, an unprofitable servant. So mere harmlessness, on which many build their hope of salvation, was the cause of his damnation! Observe this well, reader; slothful servants, who do nothing with respect to the purpose of their being sent into the world, nothing to answer the end of their birth and baptism, who are no way serviceable to the glory of God, or the good of others, will be reckoned with as unprofitable servants. A slothful servant is a withered member in the body, a barren tree in the vineyard, an idle drone in the hive, that is good for nothing. In one sense, indeed, we are all unprofitable servants, Luke 17:10. We cannot profit God, Job 22:2; but to others, and to ourselves, it is required that we be profitable; and if we be not, Christ will not own us as his servants.

Ver. 30. Cast into outer darkness. See on Matthew 8:12.

30. Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness — This is the consummation of judgment. Loss of all farther means of divine favour, and rejection from the life and glory of the divine presence. See note on Matthew 8:12.

Verse 30. The unprofitable servant. — Those who take acreion in the general sense of bad or wicked, lose sight of the scope of the parable itself. That this servant was bad is true, but in a particular sense, because he was UNPROFITABLE through his sloth. — The proper meaning of acreiov is therefore useless.

V. 31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him-With what majesty and grandeur does our Lord here speak of himself Giving us one of the noblest instances of the true sublime. Indeed not many descriptions in the sacred writings themselves seem to equal this. Methinks we can hardly read it without imagining ourselves before the awful tribunal it describes.

Verse 31. When the Son of man shall come] This must be understood of Christ’s coming at the last day, to judge mankind: though all the preceding part of the chapter may be applied also to the destruction of Jerusalem. Holy angels] The word agioi is omitted by many excellent manuscripts, versions, and fathers. Mill and Bengel approve of the omission, and Griesbach has left it out of the text. It is supposed by some that our Lord will have other angels (messengers) with him in that day, besides the holy ones. The evil angels may be in attendance to take, as their prey, those who shall be found on his left hand.

The throne of his glory] That glorious throne on which his glorified human nature is seated, at the right hand of the Father.

Verse 31. When, &c. — The same great truth, that there is no such thing as negative goodness, which was shown, 1st, in the parable of the virgins; 2d, in the still plainer parable of the servants who had received the talents; is here shown a third time, in a direct unparabolical declaration of the manner in which our Lord will proceed at the last day. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, &c. — With what majesty and grandeur does Christ here speak of himself! giving us one of the noblest instances of the true sublime. Indeed, not many descriptions in the sacred writers themselves seem equal to this. We can hardly read it without imagining ourselves before the awful tribunal it describes. He styles himself the Son of man here, because, when he appears as the great Judge, he will appear in the human form, and as very man, as he is, being to judge the sons of men. For by being of the same nature with those whom he judges, and having shared with them in human infirmity, he is the more proper for the office of their judge. But no one that reads this can reasonably suppose that he who speaks thus is a mere man. He is termed the Son of man, too, because his wonderful condescension in taking upon him our nature, and becoming the Son of man, will be recompensed by his exaltation in that day. For he shall come, not only in the glory of his Father, but in his own glory as mediator. His first coming was under a dark cloud of obscurity; but his second will be in a bright cloud of glory. Doubtless if his disciples understood and believed what he here declares concerning his future glory, it would help them to meet with fortitude the offence of the cross, and prepare them for the approaching scene of his humiliation and sufferings. To manifest his glory still more, all the holy angels, who had long been subject to him as his ministering servants, shall now come along with him, and that not only for state, as his attendants, but for service, as ministers of his justice. They shall come to summon the court; to gather together the elect, to sever the wicked from the just, to be witnesses of the saints’ glory, Luke 12:8; and of the sinners’ misery, Revelation 19:10. Then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory — A throne high and lifted up, and conspicuous to the eyes of the whole assembled world; the throne of judgment, very different from the throne of grace, upon which he now sits, with his Father, and to which we may come boldly.

Ver. 31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory. Our Saviour with perfect propriety closed his predictions, for the day, with a sublime view of his final coming, and of the last judgment. The images are impressive, and sublime in the highest degree. The curtains of heaven shall be drawn, and all the world surprised by the revelation of the Lord Jesus in flaming fire. He shall come in the glory of the Father, in all the incommunicable perfections of the Godhead. He shall come in his own glory, as the firstborn among many brethren; and as the prophet, priest, and king of his people. His holy and mighty angels shall swell the train. Having been the great ministers of his providence, their happiness and duty are most intimately connected with the closing scene. As the oriental shepherds cleared their fields and forests at certain seasons, and separated the sheep from the goats, so he will separate the righteous from the wicked, who are here called goats, because they resemble that animal in lasciviousness, as Chrysostom says, and in obstinacy of temper, haughtiness of carriage, and impurity of habit.

The Judge will proceed to try the universe according to their works; they alone are the sure tests of the dispositions of the heart and mind. The works fixed upon are, visiting the sick, the poor and the persecuted. These are all works of charity; and the end of the law and the gospel is charity, out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. If religion do not make us love, it does not make us resemble its great author. The king, having favoured the sheep with a seat at his right hand, shall pronounce them blessed of the Father, and invite them to his kingdom, prepared for them from the foundation of the world, for man was made in the image of God and created for his glory. But turning to the culprits on his left hand, a reprobate throng — he shall say, Depart ye cursed. Not cursed indeed of the Father, for God blessed Adam in his creation; but — cursed for violating the law, and rejecting the gospel. Depart ye into everlasting fire, prepared, not for man, but for the devil and his angels. God having chosen us in Christ Jesus, as in ver. 34, from the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and without blame before him in love. And if we are not holy, but are the servants of Satan, we shall have no portion with him for ever. Yes, the master will claim his servants, and the devourer will roar for his prey. And as Satan, now subjected to greater torments for his cruelties to the human race, cannot avenge himself on the Judge eternal, he will turn all his fury against apostate man.

Be warned then, oh unbeliever, not to come into that place of torment. Thou swearer, impious and profane, thou adulterer and drunkard, thou degraded mortal whose heart is attached to gold and corruption, and whose soul is destitute of the godlike fruits and tempers of pure religion; be warned, I say once more, not to come into that place of torment. Be it also remembered, that the punishment is eternal. The very same word is here obviously used to express both eternal blessedness and eternal misery. It may often signify seculum, an age, but in this place it must mean eternity, and in all the following texts. Matthew 6:13. 21:19. Mark 3:29. John 4:14. 6:51, 58. 8:51. 10:26. 12:34. 13:8. Matthew 12:32. The last of these is, if possible, more pointed still.

Were we to admit the explication which certain men have attempted to give to this word, we should have no bible. Every sacred word, the basis of all our hope, would have a vague and unsettled import. Do these men say, that if a father be very angry with a son, and if that son shall repent and implore mercy, will not the father forgive him? True; and I always love humanity. The bible everywhere represents God as clothed with mercy, and waiting to be gracious. But if the appeal be made to humanity, there is a crisis in human crimes which all nations have agreed to punish with death: and if the appeal be made to the bible, it is everywhere clear, that with men, with nations, and with the finally impenitent there is a period of vengeance, when the age of mercy is absolutely past.

§ 119. PICTURE OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT, 31-46.

1. In the passage Matthew 24:29-31, the introductory circumstances of the judgment day are described. But as they are there introduced for a given purpose, namely, to contrast the sudden shock of that day with the slow process of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Lord suspends the conclusion in order to attend to other points of the contrast, and to give parabolic illustrations of the nature of the coming of the Son of man. Now it is time that the commenced picture should be completed. Accordingly, a cursory examination will show that both parts of the picture perfectly fit to each other. This latter passage presupposes the other. Let them be read in connection and they will form one complete narrative.

2. There is not the slightest reason for calling this description a parable. In all the preceding parables the likeness, or parabolic similarity, is expressly declared. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto its illustration. All the terms here are literal. Surely the verses 29-31 describe literal things by their literal names. And in this passage the literal Son of man, (not a parabolic husbandman or master of servants,) in his literal person, at his literal coming to the literal judgment, so often alluded to in Scripture, is described. The folly of calling it “a parable of the sheep and goats,” (of which even Olshausen is guilty,) is exposed in our comment on verse 32.

3. A certain class of expositors as strenuously maintain that this passage is an allegory symbolizing the destruction of Jerusalem. They do this for the purpose of maintaining the tenets of universal salvation, by removing from the Bible the doctrine of a future judgment and a future retribution. In this they have had, we regret to say, but too much aid from the expositions of orthodox commentators of the present day. It is unnecessary for us to say how inadmissible such a perversion of the passage is, for it appears from our whole mode of explaining this discourse. We view the whole discourse as a distinguishing and not a blending of the two events, (the destruction and the advent,) which the disciples specified in their two questions.

31. Son of man — In all places in which the judgment scene is alluded to, it is not the Father but the Son who is the visible judge. Hence in Revelation 20:12, God must be understood to designate the God incarnate, yet glorified. It is therefore strictly speaking a proof text of the divinity of the Son of man. Our Lord receives, or rather assumes this title not as a term solely of humiliation; but for the purpose of identifying himself as the Son of man, described in the glorious prophetic visions of Daniel. All the holy angels — That belong to the sphere of our mundane system. Throne of his glory — Of his final eternal kingdom. He exercises, like the judges of the Old Testament, both the judicial and regal authorities. Hence, in verse 34, he is styled king, although the action is, on the face of it, judicial.

Verse 31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, &c. — To the two parables just given, our Lord adds in conclusion a magnificent and solemn description of that second advent to which he had referred under the veil of figurative language as the coming of the bridegroom, and the return of a master from a far country to reckon with his servants. So far, therefore, as the same event is spoken of in the following verses, in express terms, which had previously been couched under metaphor, this description may be considered as explanatory of the two preceding parables. Still as by each of these parables there is a particular moral enforced, so this more elaborate and particular description of the general judgment has its particular point of instruction. As the parable of the virgins was designed to inculcate the deep and persevering piety of the heart, and that of the talents the duty of active religious usefulness, so this scenic representation of the judgment appears to have been designed particularly to impress upon his followers the duty of works of mercy; and the three taken together complete the picture of the truly Christian man. As the lamp is supplied with oil from the vessel, so his profession of Christ’s religion is grounded in a renewed state of heart, kept under the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit; as the laborious and faithful servants rightly apply and profitably use their talents, whether five or two, so he employs his powers and opportunities in the service of Christ for the enlargement of his kingdom of grace among men; and as delivered by the transforming spirit of the religion he has cordially embraced from all malevolence, avarice, and selfishness, he does good, not only to the souls but to the bodies of men, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, receiving strangers, and visiting the sick and the captive. — Thus does our Lord unfold by this series of striking discourses the hallowing nature and practical influence of his religion, in contrast with those earthly and carnal views which the Jews entertained of the dispensation to be established by Messiah at his coming. — To renew the heart, to connect outward godliness with its principles and affections as its source, to make saved man the instrument of saving others by his charitable sympathy and exertions, and to open the springs of a true benevolence, so that they might flow forth in all works of mercy and kindness to the destitute and miserable — these were to be the glorious effects of his spiritual dominion established over the hearts of men, these his victories and triumphs, and these the tests of a true discipleship and a well founded hope of eternal life. To such as bear these characters and bring forth these fruit, only, he looks with acceptance; and the cultivation of them he urges by all those arousing motives which can be drawn from his approbation, or from his blessing or curse in that day in which he shall come to judge the world.

Christ here again calls himself the Son of man, not simply in reference to his human nature, but as God-man Mediator, in allusion to the prophecy of Daniel, where under this title, he is represented as receiving a universal kingdom. Of this kingdom, the last act is to judge the world, and to distribute the rewards and penalties of eternity. — This Son of man comes therefore not in his humility, nor even in his spiritual power and invisible, gracious influence, but personally in that visible glory in which he now “sitteth at the right hand of God.” And all the holy angels with him, to give greater splendour to the solemn pomp; to take their part in gathering together the elect; and to be the spectators of a scene which is to minister instruction and admonition to them for ever. Then shall he sit as a Sovereign and a Judge upon the throne of his glory? a Hebraism for his glorious throne. The same imagery we have in Revelation 20:11, “And I saw a great white,” or dazzling “throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.”

Verse 32. All nations] Literally, all the nations-all the Gentile world; the Jews are necessarily included, but they were spoken of in a particular manner in the preceding chapter.

He shall separate them] Set each kind apart by themselves. As a shepherd divideth, &c.] It does not appear that sheep and goats were ever penned or housed together, though they might feed in the same pasture; yet even this was not done but in separate flocks; so Virgil, Eclog. vii. v. 2.

Compulerantque greges Corydon et Thyrsis in unum;

Thyrsis OVES, Corydon distentas lacte CAPELLAS.

“Thyrsis and Corydon drove their flocks together:

Thyrsin his sheep; and Corydon his goats, their udders distended with milk.” These two shepherds had distinct flocks, which fed in the same pasture, but separately; and they are only now driven together, for the convenience of the two shepherds, during the time of their musical contest.

Verses 32, 33. Before him shall be gathered all nations — That is, all the individuals of all nations and ages; not only all that are found alive at the time of his appearing, and are changed in a moment, and rendered immortal, that they may be capable of enjoying eternal happiness, or of suffering everlasting misery, but all that had ever lived from the beginning to the end of time. All of every clime, country, and place, great and small, even from the remotest corners of the world. And he shall separate them one from another — According to their different characters, (which he most perfectly knows,) with as much ease as a shepherd divideth his sheep, which belong to his flock, from the goats, which may be mingled with them, and places them in distinct companies. And he shall set the sheep — The righteous, whom he will own as such, and who are termed sheep on account of their innocence, meekness, and usefulness; on his right hand — In token of his favour to them, and of the further honours he purposes to bestow upon them. And the goats — That is, the wicked, called goats because of the exorbitancy of their lusts; on his left — To intimate his displeasure against them, and their final removal from among his people; nor shall the haughtiest and mightiest sinner be able to resist that appointment by which he is placed in this situation. “I cannot imagine,” says Dr. Doddridge, “a more magnificent image than this; the assembled world distinguished with such unerring penetration, and distributed into two grand classes, with as much ease as sheep and goats are ranged by a shepherd in different companies.” The wicked and the godly in this world dwell together in the same kingdoms, cities, churches, families, and are not with certainty distinguishable always one from another: such are the infirmities of saints, such the hypocrisies of sinners, and one event frequently happening to both; but in that day they will be separated and parted for ever: for the Lord both knows them that are his, and them that are not, and he can and will separate them: and the separation will be so exact, that the most inconsiderable saint shall not be lost in the crowd of sinners, nor the most plausible sinner hid in the crowd of saints, Psalms 1:5Psalm 1:5; but every one shall go to his own place. Dr. Whitby thinks, that there is an allusion here to the received custom of the Jews in capital causes, to place them who are to be acquitted on the right hand, in the sanhedrim, and those who were to receive the sentence of condemnation, on the left.

32. All nations — Of all ages and all continents. Assyria, Persia, Greece, Rome, Russia, England, and America shall, with all their populations, come up before God. All the lesser tribes and all the unorganized wanderers shall appear; for “every eye shall see him.” Revelation 1:7. That it is a judicial arraignment of individuals, and not of organic nations, is plain; because the merits and demerits upon which they are judged are purely individual, and not national, (verses 35-40, 42-45.) So in Matthew 28:19, the apostles are commanded to go teach all nations, baptizing them, etc. That is, the entire nation is to be baptized by the baptism of every individual in it. Mark expresses it: “Preach the gospel to every creature.” So “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in the body.” 2 Corinthians 5:10. He hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world.

Separate them — The separation is even previous to the judgment. This strikingly and, as we may say, undesignedly coincides with the view everywhere clearly expressed or implied, that the resurrection, though one in general time, is yet twofold. It is of the just and of the unjust, (Acts 24:15;) it is unto life and unto damnation, (John 5:29;) it is unto everlasting life and unto shame and everlasting contempt. Daniel 12:2. The saints strive for a better resurrection, a glorious resurrection; and Paul strove to attain to an extra resurrection, exanastasiv. Philippians 3:11. Every man shall be in his own order. 1 Corinthians 15:23. And Christ here so arrays them right and left, that their position decides their destiny before their sentences pronounce it. As a shepherd — Here is a slight simile running through some three lines, from which interpreters of a certain class have taken license to misname this whole description of sixteen full verses, “The parable of the sheep and the goats.” The allusion to the shepherd is very transient, being a slight simile, and illustrates but a single point, namely, the separation before the judgment.

In this allusion, as in other Scripture allusions of the same kind, no doubt some reference is made to the character of the two animals. The goat is especially a repulsive animal, and so a fit image for wicked men; and in Hebrew there is a single word which seems to designate the goat and a demon. And similarly, in all ages perhaps, the right hand has had the preference, and the right hand seat has been the place of honour.

Verse 32. Before him shall be gathered all nations. — So that this is clearly the general and final judgment; not merely the Jewish nation or the Christian Church is to be judged, but all nations; those who shall then be alive; and “the dead, small and great, stand before God.” Here is not only an assembled world, but the assembled generations of the world, from the beginning of time, placed at his bar, awaiting his sentence. Merely human writers have nothing so awfully sublime as this; for they had no distinct knowledge of the great facts here described in language so clear and simple as could never have been used but by HIM to whom the mysterious solemnities of the future were all clearly known.

He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd, &c. — This is done with unerring penetration, and with infinite equity, the vast multitude moving to the right hand or to the left under the influence of his mighty power; the consciousness of each answering to the impulse, and, as to the wicked, withering every effort at resistance. The metaphor is taken from the shepherds of ancient times, who kept the sheep and goats in different flocks, and hastily separated them when they became mingled together. A similar metaphor we have in Ezekiel 34:17: “Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he-goats.”

Verse 33. He shall set the sheep, &c.] The right hand signifies, among the rabbins, approbation and eminence: the left hand, rejection, and disapprobation. Hence in Sohar Chadash it is said, “The right hand is given, the left also is given-to the Israelites and the Gentiles are given paradise and hell-this world, and the world to come.” The right and left were emblematical of endless beatitude and endless misery among the Romans. Hence Virgil:-

Hic locus est, partes ubi se via findit in ambas,

Dextera, quæ Ditis magni sub moenia tendit:

Hac iter Elysium nobis; at læva malorum

Exercet poenas, et ad impia Tartara mittit.

Æn. vi. 540.

Here in two ample roads the way divides,

The right direct, our destined journey guides,

By Pluto’s palace, to the Elysian plains;

The left to Tartarus, where bound in chains

Loud howl the damn’d in everlasting pains. PITT.

Of the good and faithful servants he approves, and therefore exalts them to his glory; of the slothful and wicked he disapproves, and casts them into hell.

SHEEP, which have ever been considered as the emblems of mildness, simplicity, patience, and usefulness, represent here the genuine disciples of Christ.

GOATS, which are naturally quarrelsome, lascivious, and excessively ill-scented, were considered as the symbols of riotous, profane, and impure men. They here represent all who have lived and died in their sins. See Ezekiel 34:17, and Zechariah 10:3.

Verses 32, 33. Before him shall be gathered all nations — That is, all the individuals of all nations and ages; not only all that are found alive at the time of his appearing, and are changed in a moment, and rendered immortal, that they may be capable of enjoying eternal happiness, or of suffering everlasting misery, but all that had ever lived from the beginning to the end of time. All of every clime, country, and place, great and small, even from the remotest corners of the world. And he shall separate them one from another — According to their different characters, (which he most perfectly knows,) with as much ease as a shepherd divideth his sheep, which belong to his flock, from the goats, which may be mingled with them, and places them in distinct companies. And he shall set the sheep — The righteous, whom he will own as such, and who are termed sheep on account of their innocence, meekness, and usefulness; on his right hand — In token of his favour to them, and of the further honours he purposes to bestow upon them. And the goats — That is, the wicked, called goats because of the exorbitancy of their lusts; on his left — To intimate his displeasure against them, and their final removal from among his people; nor shall the haughtiest and mightiest sinner be able to resist that appointment by which he is placed in this situation. “I cannot imagine,” says Dr. Doddridge, “a more magnificent image than this; the assembled world distinguished with such unerring penetration, and distributed into two grand classes, with as much ease as sheep and goats are ranged by a shepherd in different companies.” The wicked and the godly in this world dwell together in the same kingdoms, cities, churches, families, and are not with certainty distinguishable always one from another: such are the infirmities of saints, such the hypocrisies of sinners, and one event frequently happening to both; but in that day they will be separated and parted for ever: for the Lord both knows them that are his, and them that are not, and he can and will separate them: and the separation will be so exact, that the most inconsiderable saint shall not be lost in the crowd of sinners, nor the most plausible sinner hid in the crowd of saints, Psalms 1:5Psalm 1:5; but every one shall go to his own place. Dr. Whitby thinks, that there is an allusion here to the received custom of the Jews in capital causes, to place them who are to be acquitted on the right hand, in the sanhedrim, and those who were to receive the sentence of condemnation, on the left.

§ 119. PICTURE OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT, 31-46.

1. In the passage Matthew 24:29-31, the introductory circumstances of the judgment day are described. But as they are there introduced for a given purpose, namely, to contrast the sudden shock of that day with the slow process of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Lord suspends the conclusion in order to attend to other points of the contrast, and to give parabolic illustrations of the nature of the coming of the Son of man. Now it is time that the commenced picture should be completed. Accordingly, a cursory examination will show that both parts of the picture perfectly fit to each other. This latter passage presupposes the other. Let them be read in connection and they will form one complete narrative.

2. There is not the slightest reason for calling this description a parable. In all the preceding parables the likeness, or parabolic similarity, is expressly declared. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto its illustration. All the terms here are literal. Surely the verses 29-31 describe literal things by their literal names. And in this passage the literal Son of man, (not a parabolic husbandman or master of servants,) in his literal person, at his literal coming to the literal judgment, so often alluded to in Scripture, is described. The folly of calling it “a parable of the sheep and goats,” (of which even Olshausen is guilty,) is exposed in our comment on verse 32.

3. A certain class of expositors as strenuously maintain that this passage is an allegory symbolizing the destruction of Jerusalem. They do this for the purpose of maintaining the tenets of universal salvation, by removing from the Bible the doctrine of a future judgment and a future retribution. In this they have had, we regret to say, but too much aid from the expositions of orthodox commentators of the present day. It is unnecessary for us to say how inadmissible such a perversion of the passage is, for it appears from our whole mode of explaining this discourse. We view the whole discourse as a distinguishing and not a blending of the two events, (the destruction and the advent,) which the disciples specified in their two questions.

31. Son of man — In all places in which the judgment scene is alluded to, it is not the Father but the Son who is the visible judge. Hence in Revelation 20:12, God must be understood to designate the God incarnate, yet glorified. It is therefore strictly speaking a proof text of the divinity of the Son of man. Our Lord receives, or rather assumes this title not as a term solely of humiliation; but for the purpose of identifying himself as the Son of man, described in the glorious prophetic visions of Daniel. All the holy angels — That belong to the sphere of our mundane system. Throne of his glory — Of his final eternal kingdom. He exercises, like the judges of the Old Testament, both the judicial and regal authorities. Hence, in verse 34, he is styled king, although the action is, on the face of it, judicial.

Verse 33. The sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. — The former represent the righteous, and the latter the wicked, but not for any resemblance of qualifies; on which supposition many absurd allegories have been formed by imaginative commentators. The idea intended to be conveyed appears to be simply that of as complete and obvious a separation between the good and the bad, as between a flock of sheep and a flock of goats. The designation of the wicked, as goats, would be, however, very forcible to a Jew; the same Hebrew word being used both for a goat and an evil spirit, or demon. With the Jews, the right hand, and left hand, in judicial proceedings, were highly significant. Maimonides states that in the sanhedrim two scribes stood before the judges, one on the right, the other on the left; and that the scribe on the right hand wrote the sentence of acquittal, and the scribe on the left hand the sentence of condemnation. Agreeably to which they have a saying, “There is a right hand and a left hand with the Lord; they that are on the right hand are for absolution, and they that are on the left hand are for condemnation.” They are not, however, alone in this. — Plato, in his description of the judgment, which takes place in the invisible state, represents the judges as assigning the right hand to the just, and the left hand to the unjust.

V. 34. Inherit the kingdom-Purchased by my blood, for all who have believed in me with the faith which wrought by love.

Prepared for you-On purpose for you. May it not be probably inferred from hence, that man was not created merely to fill up the places of the fallen angels?

Verse 34. Ye blessed of my Father] This is the king’s address to his followers; and contains the reason why they were found in the practice of all righteousness, and were now brought to this state of glory-they were blessed-came as children, and received the benediction of the Father, and became, and continued to be, members of the heavenly family. Inherit] The inheritance is only for the children of the family-if sons, then heirs, Galatians 4:7, but not otherwise. The sons only shall enjoy the father’s estate.

Prepared for you] That is, the kingdom of glory is designed for such as you-you who have received the blessing of the Father, and were holy, harmless, undefiled, and separated from sinners.

From the foundation of the world] It was God’s purpose and determination to admit none into his heaven but those who were made partakers of his holiness, Hebrews 12:14. The rabbins say, Seven things were created before the foundation of the world. 1. The law. 2. Repentance. 3. Paradise. 4. Hell. 5. The throne of God. 6. The temple; and 7. The name of the Messiah.

Verse 34. Then shall the King say, &c. — In verse 31 he had only called himself the Son of man, but he now changes the appellation, taking the title of king with great propriety, when he is speaking of himself as exercising the highest act of kingly power, in passing the final sentence on all men as his subjects, whereby their state shall be unalterably fixed for ever. And this title adds unutterable beauty to the condescending words he is represented as speaking on this great occasion. Come, ye blessed of my Father — Here we see that while Jesus asserts his proper dignity as Lord of all, he represents himself as acting in subordination to his Father in his kingdom, addressing the righteous as persons blessed of his Father — inherit the kingdom prepared for you — Purchased by my blood for you, and all others who have believed in me with the faith which wrought by love. Does it not appear probable from hence, that they are mistaken who suppose that mankind were created merely to fill up the place of the fallen angels? The present state of good men is at best but a melancholy banishment from their native country; an exile in which they are frequently exposed to manifold temptations, to persecutions, to poverty, to reproach, and to innumerable other evils. But that they may bear all with unwearied patience, courage, and constancy, “they are given to know by this sentence that they are beloved, and blessed of God as his own children; that there is no less than an eternal kingdom prepared for them, even from the foundation of the world; and that they are the undoubted heirs of this eternal kingdom. Well may such bear with the violence of their oppressors, knowing what an exceeding and eternal weight of glory awaits them!” Macknight.

34. Kingdom prepared for you — By God’s eternal purpose an immovable kingdom of glory has been prepared, and predestinated for all who should by faith in Christ and obedience to him become its heirs. The plan of redemption in Christ has been adopted with full view to this, and all who accept its terms will inherit its results. If this verse proves the eternal predestination of individuals to life, then verse 41 proves that the wicked were by predestination excluded from everlasting fire, because that was prepared for devils only; and yet, contrary to predestination, they are sent there!

Verse 34. The King say. — Our Lord, by calling him the King, again shows the nature of his kingdom, and tacitly corrects the prevalent errors of the Jews, the influence of which still obscured the judgment of the disciples, and rendered them inapt to receive spiritual views. Messiah is indeed a King; but he is here seen, not distributing earthly but heavenly rewards; not inflicting temporal but eternal punishments; not establishing an external dominion over men’s persons, but prostrating their whole souls before him in holy love, or guilty dread; not setting up a visible kingdom on earth, but welcoming the righteous into the celestial and hallowed glories of the kingdom of his Father; not honouring his companions and subjects in arms after a warfare of “confused noise and garments rolled in blood,” but crowning those who had by the strength of his grace overcome themselves, the world, and sin.

From the foundation of the world. — This phrase signifies from the creation of the world, and refers us to the designs and counsels of God in eternity. It was his eternal purpose to raise to the felicity of heaven all who should truly believe in Christ, and endure faithful to the end of life. For them, AS BELIEVERS, not as a specific number selected arbitrarily from the mass of mankind, this state of “glory, honour, and immortality,” here figuratively called a kingdom, was prepared. The creating power of God has produced and arranged it, and the entrance of our Saviour into “the holy places,” with his own blood, has claimed it in behalf of all who embrace his universal offer of grace and eternal salvation. Heaven thus opens its gates for fallen man whose sin forfeited the inheritance of paradise; and whosoever, will may enter, in the way, and on the gracious conditions which are laid down in the holy Gospel.

V. 35. I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink-All these works of outward mercy suppose faith and love, and must needs he accompanied with works of spiritual mercy. But works of this kind the Judge could not mention in the same manner. He could not say, I was in error, and ye recalled me to the truth; I was in sin, and ye brought me to repentance.

In prison-Prisoners need to be visited above all others, as they are commonly solitary and forsaken by the rest of the world.

Verse 35. I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat] Every thing which is done to a follower of Christ, whether it be good or evil, he considers as done to himself, see Matthew 25:40; Acts 9:4, 5; Hebrews 6:10. Of all the fruits of the Spirit, none are mentioned here but those that spring from love, or mercy; because these give men the nearest conformity to God. Jesus had said, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy; and he here shows how this promise shall be fulfilled. The rabbins say: “As often as a poor man presents himself at thy door, the holy blessed God stands at his right hand: if thou give him alms, know that he who stands at his right hand will give thee a reward. But if thou give him not alms, he who stands at his right hand will punish thee.” Vaiyikra Rabba, s. 34, fol. 178.

A stranger, and ye took me in] sunhgagete me, ye entertained me: Kypke has fully proved that this is the meaning of the original. Literally, sunagein signifies to gather together. Strangers are sometimes so destitute as to be ready to perish for lack of food and raiment: a supply of these things keeps their souls and bodies together, which were about to be separated through lack of the necessaries of life. The word may also allude to a provision made for a poor family, which were scattered abroad, perhaps begging their bread, and who by the ministry of benevolent people are collected, relieved, and put in a way of getting their bread. O blessed work! to be the instruments of preserving human life, and bringing comfort and peace into the habitations of the wretched!

While writing this, (Nov. 13, 1798,) I hear the bells loudly ringing in commemoration of the birth-day of E. Colson, Esq., a native of this city, (Bristol,) who spent a long life and an immense fortune in relieving the miseries of the distressed. His works still praise him in the gates; his name is revered, and his birth-day held sacred, among the inhabitants. Who has heard the bells ring in commemoration of the birth of any deceased hero or king? Of so much more value, in the sight even of the multitude, is a life of public usefulness than one of worldly glory or secular state. But how high must such a person rank in the sight of God, who, when Christ in his representatives was hungry, gave him food; when thirsty, gave him drink; when naked clothed him; when sick and in prison, visited him! Thou blessed of my Father! come. Thou hast been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, and now thou shalt eternally enjoy the true riches. The Supreme God is represented in the Bhagvat Geeta as addressing mankind, when he had just formed them, thus: “Those who dress their meat but for themselves, eat the bread of sin.” Geeta, p. 46.

Verses 35, 36. I was a hungered, and ye gave me meat, &c. — All the works of outward mercy here mentioned suppose faith and love, and must needs be accompanied with works of spiritual mercy, such as instructing the ignorant, alarming the careless, encouraging the disconsolate, comforting the distressed, strengthening the weak, confirming the wavering, reclaiming the wicked, edifying the righteous. But works of this kind could not be mentioned by the Judge in the same manner: he could not say, I was ignorant, and you instructed me; I was in error, and you recalled me to the truth; I was in sin, and you brought me to repentance. But how astonishing is it to hear the great Judge declaring, that all the good offices which men have ever performed, supposing they performed them in obedience to his will, and with a single eye to his glory, were done to him! It is as if he had said, “In the whole of your conduct you have imitated the goodness and benevolence of my Father, and therefore I now declare you blessed and beloved of him, and appoint you to inherit this kingdom. Moreover, that you may know how acceptable acts of kindness and charity are to me, I assure you that I reckon every thing of this kind as done to myself. It was I who was a hungered and athirst, and a stranger and naked, and sick and in prison. It was I whom you clothed and lodged, and visited and comforted in prison.” The word epeskeyasqe, rendered, ye visited, properly signifies to take the oversight and care of any thing that requires diligent inspection and attendance; (compare James 1:27;) and it strongly intimates that such an attendance on the poor in their illness is a very acceptable charity: and this is what many may have an opportunity of doing, who have very little money to spare.

Ver. 35. I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat. The Lord has taught us to appreciate a tree by the excellence of its fruit. A good man is satisfied from himself; he tastes the fatness of God’s house, and walks in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. Acts 9:31. The church however requires exterior and more certain proofs. Hereby we know that we know him, because we do his commandments. 1 John 2:3. Revelation 22:12. Charity to the poor therefore, and charity in every form is the grand, the sure test, that He whose nature is love, dwells in the heart, and kindles it with a flame of charity to all mankind. It is thus that the love of God to a fallen world is the moving cause of our salvation, and good works demonstrate the operations of grace in the heart. John 3:16.

35. For — A reason why they, and not others, do inherit this kingdom. Works of mercy and of love are the testimonies in their favour, that the faith and the spirit of Christ have dwelt in their hearts. All they have done has been done in his name and for him.

Because deeds only are named as grounds of reward, some reasoners have argued that the doctrine of justification by faith is here ignored; and others have even inferred thence that not the judgment day, but the destruction of Jerusalem is the subject. But,

1. The same argument would prove that the destruction of Jerusalem is not the subject; for numerous passages prove that Jerusalem was destroyed for want of faith in Christ, and her rejection of him as Messiah. Matthew 23:37; Romans 9:32; 11:20.

2. That no complete enumeration of the grounds of reward is intended is plain from this: only a few deeds of physical benevolence are named, and those performed solely to Christ and to “these my brethren.” And this, indeed, gives the true key, and shows that faith underlies the grounds of approval. For,

3. These my brethren are the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom he is now delivering these discourses, and to whom he had said, “He that receiveth you receiveth me,” (Matthew 10:40,) which is precisely parallel with the closing clauses of verses 40 and 45 here. The same phrase is by inference applicable to all the messengers of Christ in all ages. Whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you he shall not lose his reward. And these are specific acts of faith. (See notes on Matthew 10:40-42.) The receiving the apostles was the receiving their message and their Gospel; and that, by faith, producing these works in them.

4. The reason thence appears why our Lord’s statement of the ground of condemnation and approval in this passage are so incomplete. He takes that special view which suits the case of his apostles present. It was saying to these — the preachers of his Gospel in all the world — Whosoever, of mankind, from faith in my name, receives and gives you aid in the hunger, thirst, imprisonment, and exile you are called upon to suffer, will find in the day of judgment that I am his rewarder.

Verse 35. For I was a hungered, &c. — After this general sublime description of the pomp and solemnity of the final judgment, our Lord proceeds to give the reasons for this public acknowledgment of the righteous, and the equally public disowning of the wicked. These reasons, it is, however, to be remarked, are not the only ones in either case. — Neither are the wicked punished solely because they have been fruitless in works of mercy, nor the righteous solely because they have abounded in them. They are taken in each case as manifestations of CHARACTER; and they are specified to show the importance attached to them, and that where religion is not PRACTICAL, it is wholly false and delusive. That benevolent actions, separate from true charity, which is the love of God and man, cannot avail, we have the express testimony of St. Paul, who teaches that if a man “give all his goods to feed the poor, and have not charity,” in the principle, “it profiteth him nothing;” while on the other hand St. James instructs us in the equally important truth, that “faith without works is dead,” and therefore unsaying. The three great ends of Christ’s religion are, to reconcile men to God, to renew the heart in righteousness, and to inspire that universal philanthropy which shall lead to the most beneficent acts of mercy to others; and as he had inculcated other virtues in preceding parables under the sanction of eternal rewards and punishments, so now, that he may present the picture of “the man of God made perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good work,” he exhibits the FRUITFUL faith and charity of his people in their practical benevolence, and confers upon their good works the high rewards of his kingdom.

Verse 36. I was sick, and ye visited me] Relieving the strangers, and visiting the sick, were in high estimation among the Jews. One of their sayings on this head is worthy of notice: “He who neglects to visit the sick is like him who has shed blood.” That is, as he has neglected, when it was in his power, to preserve life, he is as guilty in the sight of the Lord as he is who has committed murder. See Kypke in loco.

Verses 35, 36. I was a hungered, and ye gave me meat, &c. — All the works of outward mercy here mentioned suppose faith and love, and must needs be accompanied with works of spiritual mercy, such as instructing the ignorant, alarming the careless, encouraging the disconsolate, comforting the distressed, strengthening the weak, confirming the wavering, reclaiming the wicked, edifying the righteous. But works of this kind could not be mentioned by the Judge in the same manner: he could not say, I was ignorant, and you instructed me; I was in error, and you recalled me to the truth; I was in sin, and you brought me to repentance. But how astonishing is it to hear the great Judge declaring, that all the good offices which men have ever performed, supposing they performed them in obedience to his will, and with a single eye to his glory, were done to him! It is as if he had said, “In the whole of your conduct you have imitated the goodness and benevolence of my Father, and therefore I now declare you blessed and beloved of him, and appoint you to inherit this kingdom. Moreover, that you may know how acceptable acts of kindness and charity are to me, I assure you that I reckon every thing of this kind as done to myself. It was I who was a hungered and athirst, and a stranger and naked, and sick and in prison. It was I whom you clothed and lodged, and visited and comforted in prison.” The word epeskeyasqe, rendered, ye visited, properly signifies to take the oversight and care of any thing that requires diligent inspection and attendance; (compare James 1:27;) and it strongly intimates that such an attendance on the poor in their illness is a very acceptable charity: and this is what many may have an opportunity of doing, who have very little money to spare.

§ 119. PICTURE OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT, 31-46.

1. In the passage Matthew 24:29-31, the introductory circumstances of the judgment day are described. But as they are there introduced for a given purpose, namely, to contrast the sudden shock of that day with the slow process of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Lord suspends the conclusion in order to attend to other points of the contrast, and to give parabolic illustrations of the nature of the coming of the Son of man. Now it is time that the commenced picture should be completed. Accordingly, a cursory examination will show that both parts of the picture perfectly fit to each other. This latter passage presupposes the other. Let them be read in connection and they will form one complete narrative.

2. There is not the slightest reason for calling this description a parable. In all the preceding parables the likeness, or parabolic similarity, is expressly declared. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto its illustration. All the terms here are literal. Surely the verses 29-31 describe literal things by their literal names. And in this passage the literal Son of man, (not a parabolic husbandman or master of servants,) in his literal person, at his literal coming to the literal judgment, so often alluded to in Scripture, is described. The folly of calling it “a parable of the sheep and goats,” (of which even Olshausen is guilty,) is exposed in our comment on verse 32.

3. A certain class of expositors as strenuously maintain that this passage is an allegory symbolizing the destruction of Jerusalem. They do this for the purpose of maintaining the tenets of universal salvation, by removing from the Bible the doctrine of a future judgment and a future retribution. In this they have had, we regret to say, but too much aid from the expositions of orthodox commentators of the present day. It is unnecessary for us to say how inadmissible such a perversion of the passage is, for it appears from our whole mode of explaining this discourse. We view the whole discourse as a distinguishing and not a blending of the two events, (the destruction and the advent,) which the disciples specified in their two questions.

31. Son of man — In all places in which the judgment scene is alluded to, it is not the Father but the Son who is the visible judge. Hence in Revelation 20:12, God must be understood to designate the God incarnate, yet glorified. It is therefore strictly speaking a proof text of the divinity of the Son of man. Our Lord receives, or rather assumes this title not as a term solely of humiliation; but for the purpose of identifying himself as the Son of man, described in the glorious prophetic visions of Daniel. All the holy angels — That belong to the sphere of our mundane system. Throne of his glory — Of his final eternal kingdom. He exercises, like the judges of the Old Testament, both the judicial and regal authorities. Hence, in verse 34, he is styled king, although the action is, on the face of it, judicial.

Verse 36. And ye visited me. — The word episkeptomai signifies not only to look upon, but to look after; that is, to take care of, or relieve; and may comprehend the administration of both spiritual and temporal comfort. And ye came unto me. — With sympathy and aid, either to sustain in prison or to devise means to obtain liberation from it.

V. 37. Then shall the righteous answer-It cannot be, that either the righteous or the wicked should answer in these very words. What we learn herefrom is, that neither of them have the same estimation of their own works as the Judge hath.

Verse 37. Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, &c.] This barbarous expression, an hungered, should be banished out of the text, wheresoever it occurs, and the simple word hungry substituted for it. Whatever is done for Christ’s sake, is done through Christ’s grace; and he who does the work attributes to Jesus both the will and the power by which the work was done, and seeks and expects the kingdom of heaven not as a reward, but as a gift of pure unmerited mercy. Yet, while workers together with his grace, God attributes to them that which they do through his influence, as if they had done it independently of him. God has a right to form what estimate he pleases of the works wrought through himself: but man is never safe except when he attributes all to his Maker.

Verses 37-40. Then shall the righteous answer, &c. — The righteous, with great surprise, ask, with reverence and humility, when all this happened, since they never had seen him in want of their assistance, nor could remember that they had ever bestowed aught upon him. It cannot be supposed, however, that either the righteous or the wicked should answer in the very words here mentioned. But what we learn here from is, That neither of them have the same estimation of their own works which the Judge hath. And the King shall answer — Inasmuch as, &c. — “This is unspeakably astonishing! The united wisdom of men and angels could not have thought of any thing more proper to convey an idea of the warmth and strength of the divine benevolence to men, or offer a more constraining motive to charity, than that the Son of God should declare from the judgment-seat, in presence of the whole universe assembled, that such good offices as are done to the afflicted are done to him. Having in the days of his flesh suffered injuries and afflictions unspeakable, he considers all the virtuous distressed as members of his body, loves them tenderly, and is so much interested in their welfare, that when they are happy he rejoices; when they are distressed he is grieved: Ye have done it unto me — O wonderful condescension of the Son of God! O astonishing stupidity of men, who neglect altogether, or are persuaded with difficulty to do good to Christ! That Jesus should call the poor, even among the heathen, his brethren, is a great honour to the human nature, and shows the divine benignity in an amiable light. This happy relation arises from the manhood which he still possesses in common with men, and from the poverty, affliction, and other miseries of mankind, that he was exposed to while he lived in the world. He calls good men, more especially, his brethren, because they are children of the same Father, (namely, God,) after whose image they are formed by the influence of his Spirit. It is this conformity of natures, human and divine, which makes men Christ’s brethren; for which reason, in whatever person it is found, he will acknowledge the relation, without regard to any circumstance whatever that is out of the person’s power.” — Macknight.

Ver. 37. Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee. Christ addresses the righteous in new language, language to which they had not been accustomed. Habituated only to magnify grace, and sing of His lovingkindness, works of charity had passed away as summer showers. They had kept no memorials, except of their sins which he remembers no more. This is the mutual delight of Christ and the church, which shall augment the felicities of heaven for ever.

37. Then shall the righteous answer — The great principle of the inadequacy of all creature merit to so high a reward is here put into the mouths of the saints, where it most beautifully belongs. It is a truth which their deep humility prompts them to express.

Verse 37. Lord, when saw we thee a hungered? &c. — The manner in which the case was put, as though they had ministered to the Lord himself personally, excites their astonishment; and their modest forgetfulness of their own works, and the total absence of all idea of merit from their minds, rendering what was said more mysterious than it would otherwise have been, are circumstances finely touched; and with infinite skill they are made to gave the greater force to the affecting truth, that what is done for the relief and comfort of persons in penury, sickness, and trouble, he regards as done to himself! Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. The benevolence of Christ could have no stronger a demonstration than this identification of himself with all poor and troubled persons throughout the world, and in all ages; and no motive to their charitable relief can be so moving and efficacious with us as this. It affords one of many instances, that when Christian morals are the same in substance as those taught by the wiser heathen, the former are not only presented unto us under more definite views, but enforced by motives beyond comparison more powerful. They have at once the authority of God, and the persuasive influence which results from an appeal to our purest and most influential affections. Those who restrain the term brethren to poor and destitute Christians, have no warrant from the words or from the scope of the discourse. To narrow up the obligations of beneficence to those of our own faith would have been rather in the spirit of Judaism than according to the liberal and expansive genius of Christianity; and it would greatly tend to that, were we taught to consider that those acts of mercy which are done “to the household of faith” are the only works of that kind which shall be noticed and rewarded at the last day. The term brethren is therefore to be taken in its largest sense for all mankind. By taking upon him our nature, Christ became the brother of every man, and even in his exalted and glorified state, recognizes us under that relation.

Verses 37-40. Then shall the righteous answer, &c. — The righteous, with great surprise, ask, with reverence and humility, when all this happened, since they never had seen him in want of their assistance, nor could remember that they had ever bestowed aught upon him. It cannot be supposed, however, that either the righteous or the wicked should answer in the very words here mentioned. But what we learn here from is, That neither of them have the same estimation of their own works which the Judge hath. And the King shall answer — Inasmuch as, &c. — “This is unspeakably astonishing! The united wisdom of men and angels could not have thought of any thing more proper to convey an idea of the warmth and strength of the divine benevolence to men, or offer a more constraining motive to charity, than that the Son of God should declare from the judgment-seat, in presence of the whole universe assembled, that such good offices as are done to the afflicted are done to him. Having in the days of his flesh suffered injuries and afflictions unspeakable, he considers all the virtuous distressed as members of his body, loves them tenderly, and is so much interested in their welfare, that when they are happy he rejoices; when they are distressed he is grieved: Ye have done it unto me — O wonderful condescension of the Son of God! O astonishing stupidity of men, who neglect altogether, or are persuaded with difficulty to do good to Christ! That Jesus should call the poor, even among the heathen, his brethren, is a great honour to the human nature, and shows the divine benignity in an amiable light. This happy relation arises from the manhood which he still possesses in common with men, and from the poverty, affliction, and other miseries of mankind, that he was exposed to while he lived in the world. He calls good men, more especially, his brethren, because they are children of the same Father, (namely, God,) after whose image they are formed by the influence of his Spirit. It is this conformity of natures, human and divine, which makes men Christ’s brethren; for which reason, in whatever person it is found, he will acknowledge the relation, without regard to any circumstance whatever that is out of the person’s power.” — Macknight.

§ 119. PICTURE OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT, 31-46.

1. In the passage Matthew 24:29-31, the introductory circumstances of the judgment day are described. But as they are there introduced for a given purpose, namely, to contrast the sudden shock of that day with the slow process of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Lord suspends the conclusion in order to attend to other points of the contrast, and to give parabolic illustrations of the nature of the coming of the Son of man. Now it is time that the commenced picture should be completed. Accordingly, a cursory examination will show that both parts of the picture perfectly fit to each other. This latter passage presupposes the other. Let them be read in connection and they will form one complete narrative.

2. There is not the slightest reason for calling this description a parable. In all the preceding parables the likeness, or parabolic similarity, is expressly declared. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto its illustration. All the terms here are literal. Surely the verses 29-31 describe literal things by their literal names. And in this passage the literal Son of man, (not a parabolic husbandman or master of servants,) in his literal person, at his literal coming to the literal judgment, so often alluded to in Scripture, is described. The folly of calling it “a parable of the sheep and goats,” (of which even Olshausen is guilty,) is exposed in our comment on verse 32.

3. A certain class of expositors as strenuously maintain that this passage is an allegory symbolizing the destruction of Jerusalem. They do this for the purpose of maintaining the tenets of universal salvation, by removing from the Bible the doctrine of a future judgment and a future retribution. In this they have had, we regret to say, but too much aid from the expositions of orthodox commentators of the present day. It is unnecessary for us to say how inadmissible such a perversion of the passage is, for it appears from our whole mode of explaining this discourse. We view the whole discourse as a distinguishing and not a blending of the two events, (the destruction and the advent,) which the disciples specified in their two questions.

31. Son of man — In all places in which the judgment scene is alluded to, it is not the Father but the Son who is the visible judge. Hence in Revelation 20:12, God must be understood to designate the God incarnate, yet glorified. It is therefore strictly speaking a proof text of the divinity of the Son of man. Our Lord receives, or rather assumes this title not as a term solely of humiliation; but for the purpose of identifying himself as the Son of man, described in the glorious prophetic visions of Daniel. All the holy angels — That belong to the sphere of our mundane system. Throne of his glory — Of his final eternal kingdom. He exercises, like the judges of the Old Testament, both the judicial and regal authorities. Hence, in verse 34, he is styled king, although the action is, on the face of it, judicial.

Verses 37-40. Then shall the righteous answer, &c. — The righteous, with great surprise, ask, with reverence and humility, when all this happened, since they never had seen him in want of their assistance, nor could remember that they had ever bestowed aught upon him. It cannot be supposed, however, that either the righteous or the wicked should answer in the very words here mentioned. But what we learn here from is, That neither of them have the same estimation of their own works which the Judge hath. And the King shall answer — Inasmuch as, &c. — “This is unspeakably astonishing! The united wisdom of men and angels could not have thought of any thing more proper to convey an idea of the warmth and strength of the divine benevolence to men, or offer a more constraining motive to charity, than that the Son of God should declare from the judgment-seat, in presence of the whole universe assembled, that such good offices as are done to the afflicted are done to him. Having in the days of his flesh suffered injuries and afflictions unspeakable, he considers all the virtuous distressed as members of his body, loves them tenderly, and is so much interested in their welfare, that when they are happy he rejoices; when they are distressed he is grieved: Ye have done it unto me — O wonderful condescension of the Son of God! O astonishing stupidity of men, who neglect altogether, or are persuaded with difficulty to do good to Christ! That Jesus should call the poor, even among the heathen, his brethren, is a great honour to the human nature, and shows the divine benignity in an amiable light. This happy relation arises from the manhood which he still possesses in common with men, and from the poverty, affliction, and other miseries of mankind, that he was exposed to while he lived in the world. He calls good men, more especially, his brethren, because they are children of the same Father, (namely, God,) after whose image they are formed by the influence of his Spirit. It is this conformity of natures, human and divine, which makes men Christ’s brethren; for which reason, in whatever person it is found, he will acknowledge the relation, without regard to any circumstance whatever that is out of the person’s power.” — Macknight.

§ 119. PICTURE OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT, 31-46.

1. In the passage Matthew 24:29-31, the introductory circumstances of the judgment day are described. But as they are there introduced for a given purpose, namely, to contrast the sudden shock of that day with the slow process of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Lord suspends the conclusion in order to attend to other points of the contrast, and to give parabolic illustrations of the nature of the coming of the Son of man. Now it is time that the commenced picture should be completed. Accordingly, a cursory examination will show that both parts of the picture perfectly fit to each other. This latter passage presupposes the other. Let them be read in connection and they will form one complete narrative.

2. There is not the slightest reason for calling this description a parable. In all the preceding parables the likeness, or parabolic similarity, is expressly declared. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto its illustration. All the terms here are literal. Surely the verses 29-31 describe literal things by their literal names. And in this passage the literal Son of man, (not a parabolic husbandman or master of servants,) in his literal person, at his literal coming to the literal judgment, so often alluded to in Scripture, is described. The folly of calling it “a parable of the sheep and goats,” (of which even Olshausen is guilty,) is exposed in our comment on verse 32.

3. A certain class of expositors as strenuously maintain that this passage is an allegory symbolizing the destruction of Jerusalem. They do this for the purpose of maintaining the tenets of universal salvation, by removing from the Bible the doctrine of a future judgment and a future retribution. In this they have had, we regret to say, but too much aid from the expositions of orthodox commentators of the present day. It is unnecessary for us to say how inadmissible such a perversion of the passage is, for it appears from our whole mode of explaining this discourse. We view the whole discourse as a distinguishing and not a blending of the two events, (the destruction and the advent,) which the disciples specified in their two questions.

31. Son of man — In all places in which the judgment scene is alluded to, it is not the Father but the Son who is the visible judge. Hence in Revelation 20:12, God must be understood to designate the God incarnate, yet glorified. It is therefore strictly speaking a proof text of the divinity of the Son of man. Our Lord receives, or rather assumes this title not as a term solely of humiliation; but for the purpose of identifying himself as the Son of man, described in the glorious prophetic visions of Daniel. All the holy angels — That belong to the sphere of our mundane system. Throne of his glory — Of his final eternal kingdom. He exercises, like the judges of the Old Testament, both the judicial and regal authorities. Hence, in verse 34, he is styled king, although the action is, on the face of it, judicial.

V. 40. Inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it to me-What encouragement is here to assist the household of faith? But let us likewise remember to do good to all men.

Verse 40. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren] The meanest follower of Christ is acknowledged by him as his brother! What infinite condescension! Those, whom many would scorn to set with the dogs of their flock, are brothers and sisters of the blessed Jesus, and shall soon be set among the princes of his people.

Verses 37-40. Then shall the righteous answer, &c. — The righteous, with great surprise, ask, with reverence and humility, when all this happened, since they never had seen him in want of their assistance, nor could remember that they had ever bestowed aught upon him. It cannot be supposed, however, that either the righteous or the wicked should answer in the very words here mentioned. But what we learn here from is, That neither of them have the same estimation of their own works which the Judge hath. And the King shall answer — Inasmuch as, &c. — “This is unspeakably astonishing! The united wisdom of men and angels could not have thought of any thing more proper to convey an idea of the warmth and strength of the divine benevolence to men, or offer a more constraining motive to charity, than that the Son of God should declare from the judgment-seat, in presence of the whole universe assembled, that such good offices as are done to the afflicted are done to him. Having in the days of his flesh suffered injuries and afflictions unspeakable, he considers all the virtuous distressed as members of his body, loves them tenderly, and is so much interested in their welfare, that when they are happy he rejoices; when they are distressed he is grieved: Ye have done it unto me — O wonderful condescension of the Son of God! O astonishing stupidity of men, who neglect altogether, or are persuaded with difficulty to do good to Christ! That Jesus should call the poor, even among the heathen, his brethren, is a great honour to the human nature, and shows the divine benignity in an amiable light. This happy relation arises from the manhood which he still possesses in common with men, and from the poverty, affliction, and other miseries of mankind, that he was exposed to while he lived in the world. He calls good men, more especially, his brethren, because they are children of the same Father, (namely, God,) after whose image they are formed by the influence of his Spirit. It is this conformity of natures, human and divine, which makes men Christ’s brethren; for which reason, in whatever person it is found, he will acknowledge the relation, without regard to any circumstance whatever that is out of the person’s power.” — Macknight.

40. Ye have done it unto me — By a turn of surpassing beauty the Lord confers an infinite value upon the least of their good or approvable acts. It was done to him. Eternal glory is the thanks he returns for personal favours. He identifies himself with the humblest object of charity, and assumes that all mercy done is done to him. He holds himself remunerator for all the good done.

V. 41. Depart into the everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels-Not originally for you: you are intruders into everlasting fire.

Verse 41. Depart from me, ye cursed] Or, Ye cursed! depart.-These words are the address of the king to the sinners; and contain the reason why they are to be separated from blessedness: Ye are cursed, because ye have sinned, and would not come unto me that ye might have life.-No work of piety has proceeded from your hand, because the carnal mind, which is enmity against me, reigned in your heart; and ye would not have me to reign over you. Depart! this includes what some have termed the punishment of loss or privation. Ye cannot, ye, shall not be united to me-Depart! O terrible word! and yet a worse is to come. Into everlasting fire] This is the punishment of sense. Ye shall not only be separated from me, but ye shall be tormented, awfully, everlastingly tormented in that place of separation.

Prepared for the devil and his angels] The devil and his angels sinned before the creation of the world, and the place of torment was then prepared for them: it never was designed for human souls; but as the wicked are partakers with the devil and his angels in their iniquities, in their rebellion against God, so it is right that they should be sharers with them in their punishment. We see here, plainly, why sinners are destroyed, not because there was no salvation for them, but because they neglected to receive good, and do good. As they received not the Christ who was offered to them, so they could not do the work of righteousness which was required of them. They are cursed, because they refused to be blessed; and they are damned, because they refused to be saved.

Verses 41-43. Then shall he say to them on the left hand — In this account of our Lord’s proceedings at this awful time, the absolution of the righteous is represented as taking place before the condemnation of the wicked, to show that God takes greater delight in rewarding than in punishing. Depart from me — In this world they were often called to come to Christ, to come for life and rest; but they turned a deaf ear to his calls; justly, therefore, are they bid to depart from him, who would not come to him. Depart from me, the Fountain of all good; from me, the Saviour, and therefore from all hope of salvation; I will never have any thing more to say to you, or do with you. But if they must depart from Christ, might they not be dismissed with a blessing? with one kind and compassionate word at least? No: Depart, ye cursed — They that would not come to Christ to inherit a blessing, must depart from him under the burden of a curse, the curse of the law, due to every one that breaks it; and that of the gospel, which belongs to all that disobey it. But observe, Christ calls the righteous the blessed of his Father; for their blessedness is owing purely to the grace of God: but the wicked are called only, ye cursed, for their damnation is entirely of themselves. Into everlasting fire, prepared — Not originally for you: you are intruders into this everlasting misery; but for the devil and his angels — This declaration of our Lord, compared with verse 34, where the kingdom of heaven is expressly said to be prepared for the righteous, seems to have been intended to teach us that God’s original design was to make men happy, and that their becoming miserable is the effect of their own voluntary iniquity and perverseness, in rejecting the counsel of God against themselves. No sooner was man created, than a state of consummate felicity was formed for him and his posterity. But the fire of hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, namely, after their fall: and because wicked men partake with devils in their sin of rebellion against God, they are doomed to share with them in their punishment. Perhaps, also, the fire of hell is here said to be made for the devil and his angels, to intimate the greatness of the misery to which sinners dying in sin shall be consigned. The punishment which they shall suffer is of the heaviest kind, being the punishment of devils.

41. Prepared for the devil and his angels — Sad mistake of these men! A glorious kingdom was prepared and predestinated for them (see our comment on verse 34) from the foundation of the world; but lo! they have missed that predestinated lot, and fallen into an everlasting fire not intended for them, but prepared for the devil and his angels! As if God had provided no hell for men! He had secured a Redeemer mighty enough, and a heaven capacious enough for all, and had made no other arrangements. So God’s plans of mercy are not accomplished, and his predestinations are not fulfilled. But as they had made themselves utterly unfit for heaven, he stows them away forever in the devil’s lake of fire.

Verse 41. Prepared for the devil and his angels. — He does not say that this everlasting fire was prepared for these evil spirits, as the kingdom of heaven was prepared for the righteous, “from the foundation of the world;” that is, from eternity, as a part of the counsel and design of God. But simply, that it is prepared for the devil and his angels, but contrary to that gracious purpose for which they were created. A glorious heaven they found prepared for them the moment they sprang into existence; and it was not until they actually fell, that Divine vengeance kindled up in one dark and doleful part of the universe an everlasting fire for the punishment of the disobedient. Into this same fire, and in company with these rebellious spirits, shall all the wicked be at last driven from the presence of Him who had never been to then an unrelenting Judge, had they not rejected him as a merciful and gracious Saviour.

Verse 42. I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat] I put it in your power to do good, and ye would not. A variety of occasions offered themselves to you, but ye neglected them all, so that my blessings in your hands, not being improved, according to my order, became a curse to you.

Verses 41-43. Then shall he say to them on the left hand — In this account of our Lord’s proceedings at this awful time, the absolution of the righteous is represented as taking place before the condemnation of the wicked, to show that God takes greater delight in rewarding than in punishing. Depart from me — In this world they were often called to come to Christ, to come for life and rest; but they turned a deaf ear to his calls; justly, therefore, are they bid to depart from him, who would not come to him. Depart from me, the Fountain of all good; from me, the Saviour, and therefore from all hope of salvation; I will never have any thing more to say to you, or do with you. But if they must depart from Christ, might they not be dismissed with a blessing? with one kind and compassionate word at least? No: Depart, ye cursed — They that would not come to Christ to inherit a blessing, must depart from him under the burden of a curse, the curse of the law, due to every one that breaks it; and that of the gospel, which belongs to all that disobey it. But observe, Christ calls the righteous the blessed of his Father; for their blessedness is owing purely to the grace of God: but the wicked are called only, ye cursed, for their damnation is entirely of themselves. Into everlasting fire, prepared — Not originally for you: you are intruders into this everlasting misery; but for the devil and his angels — This declaration of our Lord, compared with verse 34, where the kingdom of heaven is expressly said to be prepared for the righteous, seems to have been intended to teach us that God’s original design was to make men happy, and that their becoming miserable is the effect of their own voluntary iniquity and perverseness, in rejecting the counsel of God against themselves. No sooner was man created, than a state of consummate felicity was formed for him and his posterity. But the fire of hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, namely, after their fall: and because wicked men partake with devils in their sin of rebellion against God, they are doomed to share with them in their punishment. Perhaps, also, the fire of hell is here said to be made for the devil and his angels, to intimate the greatness of the misery to which sinners dying in sin shall be consigned. The punishment which they shall suffer is of the heaviest kind, being the punishment of devils.

§ 119. PICTURE OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT, 31-46.

1. In the passage Matthew 24:29-31, the introductory circumstances of the judgment day are described. But as they are there introduced for a given purpose, namely, to contrast the sudden shock of that day with the slow process of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Lord suspends the conclusion in order to attend to other points of the contrast, and to give parabolic illustrations of the nature of the coming of the Son of man. Now it is time that the commenced picture should be completed. Accordingly, a cursory examination will show that both parts of the picture perfectly fit to each other. This latter passage presupposes the other. Let them be read in connection and they will form one complete narrative.

2. There is not the slightest reason for calling this description a parable. In all the preceding parables the likeness, or parabolic similarity, is expressly declared. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto its illustration. All the terms here are literal. Surely the verses 29-31 describe literal things by their literal names. And in this passage the literal Son of man, (not a parabolic husbandman or master of servants,) in his literal person, at his literal coming to the literal judgment, so often alluded to in Scripture, is described. The folly of calling it “a parable of the sheep and goats,” (of which even Olshausen is guilty,) is exposed in our comment on verse 32.

3. A certain class of expositors as strenuously maintain that this passage is an allegory symbolizing the destruction of Jerusalem. They do this for the purpose of maintaining the tenets of universal salvation, by removing from the Bible the doctrine of a future judgment and a future retribution. In this they have had, we regret to say, but too much aid from the expositions of orthodox commentators of the present day. It is unnecessary for us to say how inadmissible such a perversion of the passage is, for it appears from our whole mode of explaining this discourse. We view the whole discourse as a distinguishing and not a blending of the two events, (the destruction and the advent,) which the disciples specified in their two questions.

31. Son of man — In all places in which the judgment scene is alluded to, it is not the Father but the Son who is the visible judge. Hence in Revelation 20:12, God must be understood to designate the God incarnate, yet glorified. It is therefore strictly speaking a proof text of the divinity of the Son of man. Our Lord receives, or rather assumes this title not as a term solely of humiliation; but for the purpose of identifying himself as the Son of man, described in the glorious prophetic visions of Daniel. All the holy angels — That belong to the sphere of our mundane system. Throne of his glory — Of his final eternal kingdom. He exercises, like the judges of the Old Testament, both the judicial and regal authorities. Hence, in verse 34, he is styled king, although the action is, on the face of it, judicial.

Verse 43. I was a stranger] If men were sure that Jesus Christ was actually somewhere in the land, in great personal distress, hungry, thirsty, naked, and confined, they would doubtless run unto and relieve him. Now Christ assures us that a man who is hungry, thirsty, naked, &c., is his representative, and that whatever we do to such a one he will consider as done to himself; yet this testimony of Christ is not regarded! Well, he will be just when he judges, and righteous when he punishes.

Verses 41-43. Then shall he say to them on the left hand — In this account of our Lord’s proceedings at this awful time, the absolution of the righteous is represented as taking place before the condemnation of the wicked, to show that God takes greater delight in rewarding than in punishing. Depart from me — In this world they were often called to come to Christ, to come for life and rest; but they turned a deaf ear to his calls; justly, therefore, are they bid to depart from him, who would not come to him. Depart from me, the Fountain of all good; from me, the Saviour, and therefore from all hope of salvation; I will never have any thing more to say to you, or do with you. But if they must depart from Christ, might they not be dismissed with a blessing? with one kind and compassionate word at least? No: Depart, ye cursed — They that would not come to Christ to inherit a blessing, must depart from him under the burden of a curse, the curse of the law, due to every one that breaks it; and that of the gospel, which belongs to all that disobey it. But observe, Christ calls the righteous the blessed of his Father; for their blessedness is owing purely to the grace of God: but the wicked are called only, ye cursed, for their damnation is entirely of themselves. Into everlasting fire, prepared — Not originally for you: you are intruders into this everlasting misery; but for the devil and his angels — This declaration of our Lord, compared with verse 34, where the kingdom of heaven is expressly said to be prepared for the righteous, seems to have been intended to teach us that God’s original design was to make men happy, and that their becoming miserable is the effect of their own voluntary iniquity and perverseness, in rejecting the counsel of God against themselves. No sooner was man created, than a state of consummate felicity was formed for him and his posterity. But the fire of hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, namely, after their fall: and because wicked men partake with devils in their sin of rebellion against God, they are doomed to share with them in their punishment. Perhaps, also, the fire of hell is here said to be made for the devil and his angels, to intimate the greatness of the misery to which sinners dying in sin shall be consigned. The punishment which they shall suffer is of the heaviest kind, being the punishment of devils.

§ 119. PICTURE OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT, 31-46.

1. In the passage Matthew 24:29-31, the introductory circumstances of the judgment day are described. But as they are there introduced for a given purpose, namely, to contrast the sudden shock of that day with the slow process of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Lord suspends the conclusion in order to attend to other points of the contrast, and to give parabolic illustrations of the nature of the coming of the Son of man. Now it is time that the commenced picture should be completed. Accordingly, a cursory examination will show that both parts of the picture perfectly fit to each other. This latter passage presupposes the other. Let them be read in connection and they will form one complete narrative.

2. There is not the slightest reason for calling this description a parable. In all the preceding parables the likeness, or parabolic similarity, is expressly declared. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto its illustration. All the terms here are literal. Surely the verses 29-31 describe literal things by their literal names. And in this passage the literal Son of man, (not a parabolic husbandman or master of servants,) in his literal person, at his literal coming to the literal judgment, so often alluded to in Scripture, is described. The folly of calling it “a parable of the sheep and goats,” (of which even Olshausen is guilty,) is exposed in our comment on verse 32.

3. A certain class of expositors as strenuously maintain that this passage is an allegory symbolizing the destruction of Jerusalem. They do this for the purpose of maintaining the tenets of universal salvation, by removing from the Bible the doctrine of a future judgment and a future retribution. In this they have had, we regret to say, but too much aid from the expositions of orthodox commentators of the present day. It is unnecessary for us to say how inadmissible such a perversion of the passage is, for it appears from our whole mode of explaining this discourse. We view the whole discourse as a distinguishing and not a blending of the two events, (the destruction and the advent,) which the disciples specified in their two questions.

31. Son of man — In all places in which the judgment scene is alluded to, it is not the Father but the Son who is the visible judge. Hence in Revelation 20:12, God must be understood to designate the God incarnate, yet glorified. It is therefore strictly speaking a proof text of the divinity of the Son of man. Our Lord receives, or rather assumes this title not as a term solely of humiliation; but for the purpose of identifying himself as the Son of man, described in the glorious prophetic visions of Daniel. All the holy angels — That belong to the sphere of our mundane system. Throne of his glory — Of his final eternal kingdom. He exercises, like the judges of the Old Testament, both the judicial and regal authorities. Hence, in verse 34, he is styled king, although the action is, on the face of it, judicial.

V. 44. Then will they answer-So the endeavour to justify themselves, will remain with the wicked even to that day!

Verse 44. Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, &c.] It is want of faith which in general produces hard-heartedness to the poor. The man who only sees with eyes of flesh is never likely to discover Christ in the person of a man destitute of the necessaries of life. Some pretend not to know the distressed; because they have no desire to relieve them; but we find that this ignorance will not avail them at the bar of God.

Verses 44-46. Then shall they answer, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, &c. — So their endeavour to justify themselves will remain with the wicked even to that day! Perhaps, however, it may not be intended here to signify that the wicked shall make this answer in words: it is probably, rather, to be considered as the language of their hearts, which Christ perceiving, shall reply to as in the next verse. Multitudes will, no doubt, remember that they had often heard what reply will be made to such a plea: God grant that none who read it here may be in the number of those to whom it will be made! These shall go away into everlasting punishment — So the word kolasin properly signifies, and not destruction, or annihilation, as some would understand it; and the righteous into life eternal — Either, therefore, the punishment is strictly eternal, or the reward is not; the very same expression in the original being applied to the former as to the latter. It appears, that the Judge will speak first to the righteous in the audience of the wicked; and then to the wicked, who shall go away into everlasting fire in the sight of the righteous. Thus the damned shall have no view of the everlasting life, but the righteous will see the punishment of the ungodly. It is not only particularly observable here, 1st, that the punishment lasts as long as the reward: but, 2d, that this punishment is so far from ceasing at the end of the world, that it does not begin till then. To conclude, the issue of the judgment, as it is represented in this paragraph, is awful beyond description. If the meaning of this last short sentence were fully understood and duly considered, what an impression would it make upon the minds of men! Everlasting punishment! Eternal life! What is there that is not comprehended in these words? And how miserable are they who dare to venture their souls on the supposition that the important word aiwniov, which is the same in both places, signifies a limited duration in either!

44. They also answer him — Such is the answer that wicked men’s hearts are now prepared to give him. Jesus puts it into their mouths here to show of how little worth it is in the trying time. What wicked man now believes he is deserving everlasting fire? What great hurt has he done? How cruel it is, and impossible to believe, that the everlasting company of the devil and his angels is a fit destiny for him? Christ shows in the answer what is his view of the solemn matter.

Verses 44-46. Then shall they answer, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, &c. — So their endeavour to justify themselves will remain with the wicked even to that day! Perhaps, however, it may not be intended here to signify that the wicked shall make this answer in words: it is probably, rather, to be considered as the language of their hearts, which Christ perceiving, shall reply to as in the next verse. Multitudes will, no doubt, remember that they had often heard what reply will be made to such a plea: God grant that none who read it here may be in the number of those to whom it will be made! These shall go away into everlasting punishment — So the word kolasin properly signifies, and not destruction, or annihilation, as some would understand it; and the righteous into life eternal — Either, therefore, the punishment is strictly eternal, or the reward is not; the very same expression in the original being applied to the former as to the latter. It appears, that the Judge will speak first to the righteous in the audience of the wicked; and then to the wicked, who shall go away into everlasting fire in the sight of the righteous. Thus the damned shall have no view of the everlasting life, but the righteous will see the punishment of the ungodly. It is not only particularly observable here, 1st, that the punishment lasts as long as the reward: but, 2d, that this punishment is so far from ceasing at the end of the world, that it does not begin till then. To conclude, the issue of the judgment, as it is represented in this paragraph, is awful beyond description. If the meaning of this last short sentence were fully understood and duly considered, what an impression would it make upon the minds of men! Everlasting punishment! Eternal life! What is there that is not comprehended in these words? And how miserable are they who dare to venture their souls on the supposition that the important word aiwniov, which is the same in both places, signifies a limited duration in either!

45. Ye did it not to me — He here imputes an infinite demerit to their character and conduct. All their sins of omission and commission were against the very person of him — of him, the incarnation of the infinite mercy of God. By the infinite dignity of his person does he measure the infinite demerit of their sin. Hence eternity alone can measure the length of their penalty.

We have already shown clearly to our readers, we trust, that the phrase “these my brethren” refers to the apostles and messengers of the Gospel of Christ. The rejection, by these wicked ones, of these was a rejection of the Gospel and a rejection of all faith in Christ. No positive crimes, no murders, treasons, sacrileges are in this colloquy imputed to them. Their primal and all-comprehensive sin is the rejection of Christ through the ministration of his Gospel. From this cause, whatever sins they have committed stand all unforgiven. They stand without a cover in all their life’s guilt, in complete exposure to the full unrestrained measure of justice without mercy. There is no need then for our Saviour to call over their catalogue of sins.

V. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life everlasting-Either therefore the punishment is strictly eternal, or the reward is not: the very same expression being applied to the former as to the latter. The Judge will speak first to the righteous, in the audience of the wicked. The wicked shall then go away into everlasting fire, in the view of the righteous. Thus the damned shall see nothing of the everlasting life; but the just will see the punishment of the ungodly. It is not only particularly observable here,

1. That the punishment lasts as long as the reward; but, 2. That this punishment is so far from ceasing at the end of the world, that it does not begin till then.

Verse 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment] No appeal, no remedy, to all eternity! No end to the punishment of those whose final impenitence manifests in them an eternal will and desire to sin. By dying in a settled opposition to God, they cast themselves into a necessity of continuing in an eternal aversion from him.

But some are of opinion that this punishment shall have an end: this is as likely as that the glory of the righteous shall have an end: for the same word is used to express the duration of the punishment, kolasin aiwnion, as is used to express the duration of the state of glory: zwhn aiwnion. I have seen the best things that have been written in favour of the final redemption of damned spirits; but I never saw an answer to the argument against that doctrine, drawn from this verse, but what sound learning and criticism should be ashamed to acknowledge. The original word aiwn is certainly to be taken here in its proper grammatical sense, continued being, aeiwn, NEVER ENDING. Some have gone a middle way, and think that the wicked shall be annihilated. This, I think, is contrary to the text; if they go into punishment, they continue to exist; for that which ceases to be, ceases to suffer. See Clarke’s note on “Genesis 21:33”, where the whole subject is explained.

A very good improvement of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins is made by Salvian, a very pious writer of the fifth century, (Epist. ad. Ecclus. Cath. lib. ii.,) the substance of which, in Mr. Bulkley’s translation, is as follows:-

Ego unum scio, &c. “One thing I know, that the lamps of the foolish virgins are said to have gone out for want of the oil of good works; but thou, whoever thou art, thinkest that thou hast oil in abundance, and so did they; for, if they had not believed themselves to have had it, they would have provided themselves with it; for since afterwards, as the Lord says, they would gladly have borrowed, and sought it so eagerly, no doubt they would have done so before, had they not been deceived by the confidence of having it. Thou thinkest thyself wise, and these did not imagine themselves to be foolish: thou thinkest that thy lamp has light, and they lost their light because they thought they should have it. For why did they prepare their lamps if they did not think they should be lighted? In a word, their lamps, I suppose, must have afforded some degree of light; for since we read of their being afraid that their lamps should go out, they certainly had something which they feared would be extinguished. Nor was it a groundless fear; their lamps did go out, and that pure light of virginity which appeared profited them nothing, for want of a supply of oil. From whence we understand that what is but a little, is in a manner nothing. You have therefore need of a lamp plentifully filled, that your light may be lasting. And if those which we light up here for a short time so soon fail, unless copiously supplied with oil, how much must thou stand in need of that thy lamp may shine to eternity?”

This writer was a priest of Marseilles, in 430. He bewailed the profligacy of his times so much, and so pathetically, that he has been styled the Jeremiah of the fifth century. Were he still upon earth, he would find equal reason to deplore the wickedness and carelessness of mankind.

From what our Lord has here said, we may see that God indispensably requires of every man to bring forth good fruit; and that a fruitless tree shall be inevitably cut down, and cast into the fire. Let it be also remarked that God does not here impute to his own children the good works which Jesus Christ did for them. No! Christ’s feeding the multitudes in Judea will not be imputed to them, while persons in their own neighbourhood are perishing through want, and they have wherewithal to relieve them. He gives them a power that they may glorify his name by it and have, in their own souls, the continued satisfaction which arises from succouring the distressed. Let it be farther remarked, that Christ does not say here that they have purchased the eternal life by these good deeds. No! for the power to work, and the means of working, came both from God. They first had redemption through his blood, and then his Spirit worked in them to will and to do. They were therefore only workers together with him, and could not be said, in any sense of the word, to purchase God’s glory, with his own property. But though God works in them, and by them, he does not obey for them. The works of piety and mercy THEY perform, under the influence and by the aid of his grace. Thus God preserves the freedom of the human soul, and secures his own glory at the same time. Let it be remarked, farther, that the punishment inflicted on the foolish virgins, the slothful servant, and the cursed who are separated from God, was not because of their personal crimes; but because they were not good, and were not useful in the world. Their lives do not appear to have been stained with crimes,-but they were not adorned with virtues. They are sent to hell because they did no good. They were not renewed in the image of God; and hence did not bring forth fruit to his glory. If these harmless people are sent to perdition, what must the end be of the wicked and profligate!

ST. MATTHEW

Verses 44-46. Then shall they answer, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, &c. — So their endeavour to justify themselves will remain with the wicked even to that day! Perhaps, however, it may not be intended here to signify that the wicked shall make this answer in words: it is probably, rather, to be considered as the language of their hearts, which Christ perceiving, shall reply to as in the next verse. Multitudes will, no doubt, remember that they had often heard what reply will be made to such a plea: God grant that none who read it here may be in the number of those to whom it will be made! These shall go away into everlasting punishment — So the word kolasin properly signifies, and not destruction, or annihilation, as some would understand it; and the righteous into life eternal — Either, therefore, the punishment is strictly eternal, or the reward is not; the very same expression in the original being applied to the former as to the latter. It appears, that the Judge will speak first to the righteous in the audience of the wicked; and then to the wicked, who shall go away into everlasting fire in the sight of the righteous. Thus the damned shall have no view of the everlasting life, but the righteous will see the punishment of the ungodly. It is not only particularly observable here, 1st, that the punishment lasts as long as the reward: but, 2d, that this punishment is so far from ceasing at the end of the world, that it does not begin till then. To conclude, the issue of the judgment, as it is represented in this paragraph, is awful beyond description. If the meaning of this last short sentence were fully understood and duly considered, what an impression would it make upon the minds of men! Everlasting punishment! Eternal life! What is there that is not comprehended in these words? And how miserable are they who dare to venture their souls on the supposition that the important word aiwniov, which is the same in both places, signifies a limited duration in either!

46. And these shall go away — Millenarians, who hold that the righteous are raised from the dead at a first resurrection one thousand years before the resurrection of the wicked at a second resurrection, are unable to explain this entire scene of judgment. Here at our Lord’s next advent, at an unknown distance, stand the righteous and the wicked at once before his bar, listen in common to each other’s trial and sentence before either pass to their final doom. The ordinary subterfuge is to say that this judgment day is a thousand years long. For this there is no support in the passage. Besides, by their view the righteous ought to be acquitted and glorified for a millennial kingdom before the wicked are tried, or even raised from the dead. Whereas by this whole description the wicked are raised, adjudged, and condemned before the righteous enter at all upon their reward. Everlasting punishment. . . life eternal — The words everlasting and eternal are here in the original precisely the same word, and should have been so translated. Hence the duration of the penalty of the wicked is defined by the same measurement as the duration of the reward of the righteous. One is just as long as the other. The pillars of heaven are no firmer than the foundations of hell. The celestial nature of saint and angels is no more immutable than the infernal nature of devils and sinners. And since the word used is the most expressive of perpetuity that the Greek affords, so we have the strongest assurance here that language can afford. And since the term is used as a measurement of divine duration, we may well infer that the foundations both of the divine rewards and the divine penalties are as perpetual as the foundation of the divine government. Clouds and darkness are indeed round about him; righteousness and justice are the basis of his throne.

The word aiwn (we may suggest to scholars) is not derived, as Dr. Clarke, (quoting Aristotle) asserts, from aei, always, and wn, existing; for wn is but the noun termination added to aei. This noun termination is equivalent to the Latin termination um; so that the Latin aevum is (with a digamma inserted) the same word as aiwn. The Latin word aevum is the same as our word ever, so that the Greek eiv aiwna is precisely forever. By adding the adjective termination ernus to aei we have (inserting a strengthening t) aeternus, eternal. So that aiwn, ever, and eternal, are etymological equivalents.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE.

Time of the Second Advent.

On this chapter we would remark: It has been objected by skeptics that the New Testament in many places predicts that the day of judgment would take place in the apostolic day. Such passages are James 5:7: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.” 1 Peter 4:7: “The end of all things is at hand.” Philippians 4:5: “The Lord is at hand.” Hebrews 10:37: “Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”

From this even some Christian commentators have inferred actual mistake by the apostles. But what is more remarkable is, that the same mistake, if any, occurs in the language of our Lord himself, especially in this discourse; so that if error was committed it must be as truly imputed to him as to his apostles. This difficulty may be obviated by the following considerations:

1. Both our Lord and the apostles abundantly affirm, that with regard to the particular time of the judgment day there is a complete uncertainty. “It is not for you to know the times and seasons,” says our Saviour to his apostles in reference to this very point, “which the Father has put in his own power.” Acts 1:7. And St. Paul says in very similar words, (1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2 :) “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” That the Thessalonians knew this “perfectly,” indicates that this uncertainty was a matter notorious among all Christians at that day, But the most striking passage of many on this subject is the words of our Lord, Mark 13:32: “Of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven.” Now ignorance or even mistake on a subject regarding which a man explicitly professes to be uninspired or uninformed, cannot affect his authority regarding facts within the limits of his inspiration.

2. There are many indications occurring in the New Testament that that day was after all to be considered as indefinitely distant. The following texts indicate an expectation of death before the Second Coming of Christ: 1 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Corinthians 4:14; 5:1; Philippians 1:21, etc.; 3:10, 11. “My lord delayeth his coming,” is the language of the servant in the parable. Matthew 24:48. “While the bridegroom tarried.” Matthew 25:5. “The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling in a far country.” Matthew 25:14. And in John 21:22, 23, the language of our Lord in regard to the beloved disciple, “I will that he tarry till I come,” produced the impression among the apostles that that disciple should not die. But John adds that his Lord did not say that; and then he repeats the very words which the Lord did utter, in a manner indicating that he himself did not pretend to know their precise meaning. St. Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10, intimates that that day shall not come until events of indefinite magnitude should be completed. The Apocalypse, if we rightly interpret it, is a prophecy of a long series of events before the judgment day.

3. But the key to the whole mystery is furnished in 2 Peter 3:8; where, in regard to this very point, Peter reminds us that “one day with the Lord is as a thousand years.” Scoffers in the last days, he tells us, would raise this very objection: “Where is the promise of his coming?” Peter replies by informing us that the distance of the event is to be measured by the arithmetic of God. One day is as a thousand years; and language that would seem to intimate a few days may really embrace a few thousands or myriads of years. In conclusion: If it be true that both Christ and his apostles have warned us that the time of the second advent was to them unrevealed and unknown; if they use in abundance terms indicating an indefinite distance: if they themselves furnish the solution of all their expressions intimating its near proximity, all objection to their infallibility in regard to other subjects upon which they speak with professed inspiration, are nugatory and captious.

Verse 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, &c. — These words are decisive of the doctrine of the eternity of the punishment of the wicked; and no reasonings of men, the supposed certain indications from assumed principles of the Divine government, can avail against their clear and unequivocal meaning. Even Wakefield, a Socinian commentator, has noticed and admitted their force. It is observable that the same word of time is here employed by the evangelist to denote the punishment of the wicked, and the happiness of the just, in a future state; they are equally called EVERLASTING. Nor is there any passage in the whole New Testament which can be urged in defence of what is usually, denominated the “proper eternity of hell torments,” with greater propriety than the text before us. No one disputes the endless duration of the happiness reserved for the righteous in heaven; and why should the eternity of future punishment be controverted more than that, when the term applied to the duration of both is not merely of a similar import, but actually THE SAME?