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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>L U K E.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XVI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The scope of Christ's discourse in this chapter is to awaken and
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quicken us all so to use this world as not to abuse it, so to manage
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all our possessions and enjoyments here as that they may make for us,
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and may not make against us in the other world; for they will do either
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the one or the other, according as we use them now.
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I. If we do good with them, and lay out what we have in works of piety
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and charity, we shall reap the benefit of it in the world to come; and
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this he shows in the parable of the unjust steward, who made so good a
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hand of his lord's goods that, when he was turned out of his
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stewardship, he had a comfortable subsistence to betake himself to. The
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parable itself we have
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:1-8">ver. 1-8</A>);
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the explanation and application of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:9-13">ver. 9-13</A>);
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and the contempt which the Pharisees put upon the doctrine Christ
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preached to them, for which he sharply reproved them, adding some other
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weighty sayings,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:14-18">ver. 14-18</A>.
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II. It, instead of doing good with our worldly enjoyments, we make them
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the food and fuel of our lusts, of our luxury and sensuality, and deny
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relief to the poor, we shall certainly perish eternally, and the things
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of this world, which were thus abused, will but add to our misery and
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torment. This he shows in the other parable of the rich man and
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Lazarus, which has likewise a further intention, and that is, to awaken
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us all to take the warning given us by the written word, and not to
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expect immediate messages from the other world,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:19-31">ver. 19-31</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Lu16_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu16_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Unjust Steward.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich
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man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that
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he had wasted his goods.
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2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear
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this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest
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be no longer steward.
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3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my
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lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I
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am ashamed.
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4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the
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stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
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5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors <I>unto him,</I> and
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said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
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6 And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto
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him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
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7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he
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said, A hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take
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thy bill, and write fourscore.
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8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had
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done wisely: for the children of this world are in their
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generation wiser than the children of light.
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9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon
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of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into
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everlasting habitations.
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10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also
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in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in
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much.
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11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous
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mammon, who will commit to your trust the true <I>riches?</I>
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12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another
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man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
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13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate
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the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
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despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
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14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these
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things: and they derided him.
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15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves
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before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly
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esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
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16 The law and the prophets <I>were</I> until John: since that time
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the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
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17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one
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tittle of the law to fail.
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18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another,
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committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away
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from <I>her</I> husband committeth adultery.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We mistake if we imagine that the design of Christ's doctrine and holy
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religion was either to amuse us with notions of divine mysteries or to
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entertain us with notions of divine mercies. No, the divine revelation
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of both these in the gospel is intended to engage and quicken us to the
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practice of Christian duties, and, as much as any one thing, to the
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duty of beneficence and doing good to those who stand in need of any
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thing that either we have or can do for them. This our Saviour is here
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pressing us to, by reminding us that we are but <I>stewards of the
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manifold grace of God;</I> and since we have in divers instances been
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unfaithful, and have forfeited the favour of our Lord, it is our wisdom
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to think how we may, some other way, make what we have in the world
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turn to a good account. Parables must not be forced beyond their
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primary intention, and therefore we must not hence infer that any one
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can befriend us if we lie under the displeasure of our Lord, but that,
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in the general, we must so lay out what we have in works of piety and
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charity as that we may meet it again with comfort on the other side
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death and the grave. If we would act wisely, we must be diligent and
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industrious to employ our riches in the acts of piety and charity, in
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order to promote our future and eternal welfare, as worldly men are in
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laying them out to the greatest temporal profit, in making to
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themselves friends with them, and securing other secular interests. So
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<I>Dr. Clarke.</I> Now let us consider,</P>
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<P>
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I. The parable itself, in which all the children of men are represented
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as <I>stewards</I> of what they have in this world, and we are but
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stewards. Whatever we have, the property of it is God's; we have only
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the use of it, and that according to the direction of our great Lord,
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and for his honour. Rabbi Kimchi, quoted by Dr. Lightfoot, says, "This
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world is a house; heaven the roof; the stars the lights; the earth,
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with its fruits, a table spread; the Master of the house is the holy
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and blessed God; man is the steward, into whose hands the goods of this
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house are delivered; if he behave himself well, he shall find favour in
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the eyes of his Lord; if not, he shall be turned out of his
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stewardship." Now,</P>
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<P>
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1. Here is the <I>dishonesty</I> of this <I>steward.</I> He <I>wasted
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his lord's goods,</I> embezzled them, misapplied them, or through
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carelessness suffered them to be lost and damaged; and for this he was
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<I>accused to his lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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We are all <I>liable</I> to the same charge. We have not made a due
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improvement of what God has entrusted us with in this world, but have
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perverted his purpose; and, that we may not be for this <I>judged of
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our Lord,</I> it concerns us to <I>judge ourselves.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. His <I>discharge</I> out of his place. His lord <I>called for
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him,</I> and said, "<I>How is it that I hear this of thee?</I> I
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expected better things from thee." He speaks as one sorry to find
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himself disappointed in him, and under a necessity of dismissing him
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from his service: it troubles him to hear it; but the steward cannot
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deny it, and therefore there is no remedy, he must make up his
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accounts; and be gone in a little time,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Now this is designed to teach us,
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(1.) That we must all of us shortly be discharged from <I>our
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stewardship</I> in this world; we must not always enjoy those things
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which we now enjoy. Death will come, and <I>dismiss</I> us from our
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stewardship, will <I>deprive</I> us of the abilities and opportunities
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we now have of doing good, and others will come in our places and have
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the same.
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(2.) That our discharge from our stewardship at death is <I>just,</I>
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and what we have deserved, for we have wasted our Lord's goods, and
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thereby forfeited our trust, so that we cannot complain of any wrong
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done us.
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(3.) That when our stewardship is taken from us we must <I>give an
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account</I> of it to our Lord: <I>After death the judgment.</I> We are
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fairly warned both of our discharge and our account, and ought to be
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frequently thinking of them.</P>
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<P>
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3. His <I>after-wisdom.</I> Now he began to consider, <I>What shall I
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do?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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He would have done well to have considered this before he had so
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foolishly thrown himself out of a good place by his unfaithfulness; but
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it is better to <I>consider</I> late than never. Note, Since we have
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all received notice that we must shortly be turned out of our
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stewardship, we are concerned to consider what we shall do then. He
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must live; which way shall he have a livelihood?
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(1.) He knows that he has not such a degree of industry in him as to
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get his living by work: "<I>I cannot dig;</I> I cannot earn by bread by
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my labour." But why can he not dig? It does not appear that he is
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either old or lame; but the truth is, he is <I>lazy.</I> His
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<I>cannot</I> is a <I>will not;</I> it is not a natural but a moral
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disability that he labours under; if his master, when he turned him out
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of the stewardship, had continued him in his service as a labourer, and
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set a task-master over him, he would have made him dig. He <I>cannot
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dig,</I> for he was never used to it. Now this intimates that we cannot
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get a livelihood for our souls by any labour for this world, nor indeed
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do any thing to purpose for our souls by any ability of our own.
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(2.) He knows that he has not such a degree of <I>humility</I> as to
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get his bread by begging: To <I>beg I am ashamed.</I> This was the
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language of his pride, as the former of his slothfulness. Those whom
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God, in his providence, has disabled to help themselves, should not be
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<I>ashamed</I> to ask relief of others. This steward had more reason to
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be ashamed of cheating his master than of begging his bread.
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(3.) He therefore determines to make friends of his lord's debtors, or
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his tenants that were behind with their rent, and had given notes under
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their hands for it: "<I>I am resolved what to do,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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My lord turns me out of his house. I have none of my own to go to. I am
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acquainted with my lord's tenants, have done them many a good turn, and
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now I will do them one more, which will so oblige them that they will
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bid me welcome to their houses, and the best entertainment they afford;
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and so long as I live, at least till I can better dispose of myself, I
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will quarter upon them, and go from one good house to another." Now the
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way he would take to make them his friends was by striking off a
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considerable part of their debt to his lord, and giving it in his
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accounts so much less than it was. Accordingly, he sent for one, who
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owed his lord <I>a hundred measures of oil</I> (in that commodity he
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paid his rent): <I>Take thy bill,</I> said he, here it is, and <I>sit
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down quickly, and write fifty</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>);
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so he reduced his debt to the one half. Observe, he was in haste to
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have it done: "<I>Sit down quickly,</I> and do it, lest we be taken
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treating, and suspected." He took another, who owed his lord <I>a
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hundred measures of wheat,</I> and from his bill he cut off a fifth
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part, and bade him write <I>fourscore</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>);
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probably he did the like by others, abating more or less according as
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he expected kindness from them. See here what uncertain things our
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worldly possessions are; they are most so to those who have most of
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them, who devolve upon others all the care concerning them, and so put
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it into their power to <I>cheat them,</I> because they will not trouble
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themselves to see with their own eyes. See also what treachery is to be
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found even among those in whom trust is reposed. How hard is it to find
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one that confidence can be reposed in! <I>Let God be true, but every
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man a liar.</I> Though this steward is turned out for dealing
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dishonestly, yet still he does so. So rare is it for men to mend of a
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fault, though they smart for it.</P>
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<P>
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4. The approbation of this: <I>The lord commended the unjust steward,
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because he had done wisely,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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It may be meant of <I>his lord,</I> the lord of that servant, who,
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though he could not but be angry at his knavery, yet was pleased with
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his ingenuity and policy for himself; but, taking it so, the latter
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part of the verse must be the words of <I>our Lord,</I> and therefore I
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think the whole is meant of him. Christ did, as it were, say, "Now
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commend me to such a man as this, that knows how to do well for
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himself, how to improve a present opportunity, and how to provide for a
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future necessity." He does not commend him because he had done
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<I>falsely</I> to his master, but because he had done <I>wisely</I> for
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himself. Yet perhaps herein he did well for his master too, and but
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justly with the tenants. He knew what <I>hard bargains</I> he had
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<I>set them,</I> so that they could not <I>pay their rent,</I> but,
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having been screwed up by his rigour, were thrown <I>behindhand,</I>
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and they and their families were likely to go to ruin; in consideration
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of this, he now, at going off, did as he ought to do both in justice
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and charity, not only easing them of part of their arrears, but abating
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their rent for the future. <I>How much owest thou?</I> may mean, "What
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rent dost thou sit upon? Come, I will set thee an easier bargain, and
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yet no easier than what thou oughtest to have." He had been <I>all for
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his lord,</I> but now he begins to consider the tenants, that he might
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have <I>their favour</I> when he had lost <I>his lord's.</I> The
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abating of their rent would be a lasting kindness, and more likely to
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engage them than abating their arrears only. Now this forecast of his,
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for a comfortable subsistence in this world, shames our improvidence
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for another world: <I>The children of this world,</I> who choose and
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have their portions in it, <I>are wiser for their generation,</I> act
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more considerately, and better consult their worldly interest and
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advantage, than the <I>children of light,</I> who enjoy the gospel, in
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<I>their generation,</I> that is, in the concerns of their souls and
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eternity. Note,
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(1.) The wisdom of worldly people in the concerns of this world is to
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be <I>imitated</I> by us in the concerns of our souls: it is their
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principle to improve their opportunities, to do that first which is
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most needful, in summer and harvest to lay up for winter, to take a
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good bargain when it is offered them, to trust the <I>faithful</I> and
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not the <I>false.</I> O that we were thus wise in our spiritual
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affairs!
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(2.) The children of light are commonly <I>outdone</I> by the children
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of this world. Not that the children of this world are <I>truly
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wise;</I> it is only <I>in their generation.</I> But in that they are
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<I>wiser than the children of light in theirs;</I> for, though we are
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told that we must shortly be <I>turned out of our stewardship,</I> yet
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we do not provide as we were to be <I>here always</I> and as if there
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were not <I>another life after this,</I> and are not so solicitous as
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this steward was to provide for <I>hereafter.</I> Though as <I>children
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of the light,</I> that light to which life and immortality are brought
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|
by the gospel, we cannot but see <I>another world</I> before us, yet we
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do not prepare for it, do not send our best effects and best affections
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thither, as we should.</P>
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<P>
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II. The application of this parable, and the inferences drawn from it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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"<I>I say unto you,</I> you my disciples" (for to them this parable is
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directed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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"though you have but little in this world, consider how you may do good
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with that little." Observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. What it is that our Lord Jesus here exhorts us to; to provide for
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our comfortable reception to the happiness of another world, by making
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good use of our possessions and enjoyments in this world: "<I>Make to
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yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness,</I> as the steward
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with his lord's goods made his lord's tenants his friends." It is the
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wisdom of the men of this world so to manage their money as that they
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may have the benefit of it hereafter, and not for the present only;
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therefore they put it out to interest, buy land with it, put it into
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this or the other fund. Now we should learn of them to make use of our
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money so as that we may be the better for it hereafter in another
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world, as they do in hopes to be the better for it hereafter in this
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world; so <I>cast it upon the waters</I> as that we may <I>find it
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again after many days,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:1">Eccl. xi. 1</A>.
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And in our case, though whatever we have <I>are our Lord's goods,</I>
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yet, as long as we dispose of them among <I>our Lord's tenants</I> and
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for their advantage, it is so far from being reckoned a wrong to our
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Lord, that it is a duty to him as well as policy for ourselves. Note,
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(1.) The things of this world are the <I>mammon of unrighteousness,</I>
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or the false <I>mammon,</I> not only because often got by fraud and
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unrighteousness, but because those who trust to it for satisfaction and
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happiness will certainly be deceived; for riches are perishing things,
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and will disappoint those that raise their expectations from them.
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(2.) Though this <I>mammon of unrighteousness</I> is not to be
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<I>trusted to</I> for a happiness, yet it may and must be <I>made use
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of</I> in subserviency to our pursuit of that which is our happiness.
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Though we cannot find true satisfaction in it, yet we may <I>make to
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ourselves friends</I> with it, not by way of <I>purchase or merit,</I>
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but <I>recommendation;</I> so we may make God and Christ our friends,
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the good angels and saints our friends, and the poor our friends; and
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it is a desirable thing to be <I>befriended</I> in the account and
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state to come.
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(3.) At death we must all <I>fail,</I> <B><I>hotan
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eklipete</I></B>--<I>when ye suffer an eclipse.</I> Death eclipses us.
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A tradesman is said to <I>fail</I> when he becomes a <I>bankrupt.</I>
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We must all thus fail shortly; death shuts up the shop, seals up the
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hand. Our comforts and enjoyments on earth will <I>all fail</I> us;
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flesh and heart fail.
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(4.) It ought to be our great concern to make it sure to ourselves,
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that <I>when</I> we <I>fail</I> at death we may be <I>received into
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everlasting habitations</I> in heaven. The <I>habitations</I> in heaven
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are <I>everlasting,</I> not <I>made with hands,</I> but <I>eternal,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+5:1">2 Cor. v. 1</A>.
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Christ is gone before, to prepare a place for those that are his, and
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is there ready to <I>receive them;</I> the bosom of Abraham is ready to
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receive them, and, when a <I>guard of angels</I> carries them thither,
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a <I>choir of angels</I> is ready to receive them there. The poor
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saints that are gone before to glory will receive those that in this
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world distributed to their necessities.
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(5.) This is a good reason why we should use what we have in the world
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for the honour of God and the good of our brethren, that thus we may
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with them <I>lay up in store a good bond,</I> a good security, a good
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foundation <I>for the time to come,</I> for an eternity to come. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+6:17-19">1 Tim. vi. 17-19</A>,
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which explains this here.</P>
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<P>
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2. With what arguments he presses this exhortation to abound in works
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of piety and charity.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) If we do not make a right use of the <I>gifts of God's
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providence,</I> how can we expect from him those present and future
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comforts which are the <I>gifts of his spiritual grace?</I> Our Saviour
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here compares these, and shows that though our faithful use of the
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things of this world cannot be thought to merit any favour at the hand
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of God, yet our unfaithfulness in the use of them may be justly
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reckoned a <I>forfeiture</I> of that grace which is necessary to bring
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us to glory, and that is it which our Saviour here shows,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:10-14"><I>v.</I> 10-14</A>.</P>
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<P>
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[1.] The riches of this world are the <I>less;</I> grace and glory are
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the <I>greater.</I> Now if we be unfaithful in the less, if we use the
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things of this world to other purposes than those for which they were
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given us, it may justly be feared that we should be so in the gifts of
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God's grace, that we should receive them also in vain, and therefore
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they will be denied us: <I>He that is faithful in that which is least
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is faithful also in much.</I> He that serves God, and does good, with
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his money, will serve God, and do good, with the more noble and
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valuable talents of wisdom and grace, and spiritual gifts, and the
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earnests of heaven; but he that buries the <I>one talent</I> of this
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world's wealth will never improve the <I>five talents</I> of spiritual
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riches. God withholds his grace from covetous worldly people more than
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we are aware of.
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[2.] The riches of this world are <I>deceitful</I> and
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<I>uncertain;</I> they are the <I>unrighteous mammon,</I> which is
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hastening from us apace, and, if we would make any advantage of it, we
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must bestir ourselves quickly; if we do not, how can we expect to be
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entrusted with spiritual riches, which are the only <I>true riches?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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Let us be convinced of this, that those are <I>truly</I> rich, and
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<I>very</I> rich, who are rich in <I>faith,</I> and rich <I>towards
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God,</I> rich in Christ, in the promises, and in the earnests of
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heaven; and therefore let us lay up our treasure in them, expect our
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portion from them, and mind them in the first place, the <I>kingdom of
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God and the righteousness thereof,</I> and then, if other things be
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added to us, use them <I>in ordine ad spiritualia--with a spiritual
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reference,</I> so that by using them well we may take the faster hold
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of the <I>true riches,</I> and may be qualified to receive yet <I>more
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grace</I> from God; <I>for God giveth to a man that is good in his
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sight,</I> that is, to a free-hearted charitable man, <I>wisdom, and
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knowledge, and joy</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+2:26">Eccl. ii. 26</A>);
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that is, to a man that is <I>faithful in the unrighteous mammon,</I> he
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gives the <I>true riches.</I>
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[3.] The riches of this world are <I>another man's.</I> They are
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<B><I>ta allotria</I></B>, not <I>our own;</I> for they are foreign to
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the soul and its nature and interest. They are not <I>our own;</I> for
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they are God's; his title to them is prior and superior to ours; the
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property remains in him, we are but usufructuaries. They are <I>another
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man's;</I> we have them from others; we use them for others, and
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<I>what good has the owner</I> from his <I>goods</I> that
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<I>increase,</I> save <I>the beholding of them with his eyes,</I> while
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still <I>they are increased that eat them;</I> and we must shortly
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leave them to others, and we know not to whom? But spiritual and
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eternal riches are <I>our own</I> (they enter into the soul that
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becomes <I>possessed</I> of them) and <I>inseparably;</I> they are a
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good part that will never be taken away from us. If we make Christ our
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own, and the promises our own, and heaven our own, we have that which
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we may truly call <I>our own.</I> But how can we expect God should
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<I>enrich us</I> with these if we do not serve him with our worldly
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possessions, of which we are but stewards?</P>
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<P>
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(2.) We have no other way to prove ourselves the servants of God than
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by giving up ourselves so entirely to his service as to make
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<I>mammon,</I> that is, all our worldly gain, serviceable to us in his
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service
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
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<I>No servant can serve two masters,</I> whose commands are so
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inconsistent as those of God and <I>mammon</I> are. If a man will
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<I>love</I> the world, and <I>hold to that,</I> it cannot be but he
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will <I>hate God</I> and <I>despise</I> him. He will make all his
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pretensions of religion truckle to his secular interests and designs,
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and the things of God shall be made to help him in serving and seeking
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the world. But, on the other hand, if a man will <I>love God,</I> and
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<I>adhere</I> to him, he will comparatively <I>hate</I> the world
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(whenever God and the world come in competition) and will
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<I>despise</I> it, and make all his business and success in the world
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some way or other conducive to his furtherance in the business of
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religion; and the things of the world shall be made to help him in
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serving God and working out his salvation. The matter is here laid
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plainly before us: <I>Ye cannot serve God and mammon.</I> So divided
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are their interests that their services can never be <I>compounded.</I>
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If therefore we be determined to <I>serve God,</I> we must disclaim and
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abjure the service of the world.</P>
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<P>
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3. We are here told what entertainment this doctrine of Christ met with
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among the Pharisees, and what rebuke he gave them.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) They wickedly <I>ridiculed</I> him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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<I>The Pharisees, who were covetous, heard all these things,</I> and
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could not contradict him, but <I>they derided him.</I> Let us consider
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this,
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[1.] As their <I>sin,</I> and the fruit of their <I>covetousness,</I>
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which was their reigning sin, their own iniquity. Note, Many that make
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a great profession of religion, have much knowledge, and abound in the
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exercise of devotion, are yet ruined by the love of the world; nor does
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any thing harden the heart more against the word of Christ. These
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covetous Pharisees could not bear to have that <I>touched,</I> which
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was their <I>Delilah,</I> their darling lust; for this they derided
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him, <B><I>exemykterizon auton</I></B>--<I>they snuffled up their noses
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at him,</I> or blew their noses on him. It is an expression of the
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utmost scorn and disdain imaginable; <I>the word of the Lord was to
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them a reproach,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:10">Jer. vi. 10</A>.
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They laughed at him for going so contrary to the opinion and way of the
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world, for endeavouring to recover them from a sin which they were
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resolved to hold fast. Note, It is common for those to <I>make a
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jest</I> of the word of God who are resolved that they will not be
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ruled by it; but they will find at last that it cannot be turned off
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so.
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[2.] As <I>his suffering.</I> Our Lord Jesus endured not only the
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<I>contradiction</I> of sinners, but their <I>contempt;</I> they <I>had
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him in derision</I> all the day. He that spoke as never man spoke was
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bantered and ridiculed, that his faithful ministers, whose preaching is
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unjustly <I>derided,</I> may not be disheartened at it. It is no
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disgrace to a man to be laughed at, but to deserve to be laughed at.
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Christ's apostles were <I>mocked,</I> and no wonder; the <I>disciple is
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not greater than his Lord.</I></P>
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<P>
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(2.) He justly reproved them; not for <I>deriding</I> him (he knew how
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to <I>despise the shame</I>), but for <I>deceiving</I> themselves with
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the shows and colours of piety, when they were strangers to the power
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of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
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Here is,</P>
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<P>
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[1.] Their <I>specious outside;</I> nay, it was a <I>splendid one.
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First,</I> They <I>justified themselves before men;</I> they denied
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whatever ill was laid to their charge, even by Christ himself. They
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claimed to be looked upon as men of singular sanctity and devotion, and
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justified themselves in that claim: "<I>You are they that</I> do that,
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so as none ever did, that make it your business to court the opinion of
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men, and, right or wrong, will justify yourselves before the world; you
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are <I>notorious</I> for this." <I>Secondly,</I> They were <I>highly
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esteemed among men.</I> Men did not only <I>acquit</I> them from any
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blame they were under, but <I>applauded</I> them, and had them in
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veneration, not only as <I>good men,</I> but as the <I>best of men.</I>
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Their sentiments were esteemed as oracles, their directions as laws,
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and their practices as inviolable prescriptions.</P>
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<P>
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[2.] Their <I>odious inside,</I> which was under the eye of God: "He
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<I>knows your heart,</I> and it is in his sight an <I>abomination;</I>
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for it is full of all manner of wickedness." Note, <I>First,</I> It is
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folly to <I>justify ourselves before men,</I> and to think this enough
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to bear us out, and bring us off, in the judgment of the great day,
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that men <I>know no ill</I> of us; for God, who knows our hearts, knows
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that ill of us which no one else can know. This ought to check our
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value for ourselves, and our confidence in ourselves, that <I>God knows
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our hearts,</I> and how much deceit is there, for we have reason to
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abase and distrust ourselves. <I>Secondly,</I> It is folly to judge of
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persons and things by the opinion of men concerning them, and to go
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down with the stream of vulgar estimate; for that which is <I>highly
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esteemed among men,</I> who judge according to outward appearance, is
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perhaps <I>an abomination in the sight of God,</I> who sees things as
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they are, and whose judgment, we are sure, is according to truth. On
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the contrary, there are those whom men despise and condemn who yet are
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accepted and approved of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+10:18">2 Cor. x. 18</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) He turned from them to the publicans and sinners, as more likely
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to be wrought upon by his gospel than those covetous conceited
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Pharisees
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
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"The <I>law and the prophets were</I> indeed <I>until John;</I> the
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Old-Testament dispensation, which was <I>confined</I> to you Jews,
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continued till John Baptist appeared, and you seemed to have the
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monopoly of righteousness and salvation; and you are puffed up with
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this, and this gains you esteem among men, that you are students in the
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law and the prophets; but since John Baptist appeared <I>the kingdom of
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God is preached,</I> a New-Testament dispensation, which does not value
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men at all for their being doctors of the law, but <I>every man
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presses</I> into the gospel kingdom, Gentiles as well as Jews, and no
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man thinks himself bound in good manners to let his betters go before
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him into it, or to stay till the <I>rulers</I> and the Pharisees have
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led him that way. It is not so much a political national constitution
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as the Jewish economy was, when <I>salvation was of the Jews;</I> but
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it is made a particular personal concern, and therefore <I>every
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man</I> that is convinced he has a soul to save, and an eternity to
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provide for, thrusts to get in, lest he should come short by trifling
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and complimenting." Some give this sense of it; they derided Christ or
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speaking in contempt of riches, for, thought they, were there not many
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promises of riches and other temporal good things in the <I>law and the
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prophets?</I> And were not many of the best of God's servants very
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rich, as Abraham and David? "It is true," saith Christ, "so it was, but
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now that the kingdom of God is begun to be preached things take a new
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turn; now blessed are the poor, and the mourners, and the persecuted."
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The Pharisees, to requite the people for their high opinion of them,
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allowed them in a cheap, easy, formal religion. "But," saith Christ,
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"now that the <I>gospel is preached</I> the eyes of the people are
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opened, and as they cannot now have a veneration for the Pharisees, as
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they have had, so they cannot content themselves with such an
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indifferency in religion as they have been trained up in, but they
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<I>press</I> with a holy violence into the kingdom of God." Note, Those
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that would go to heaven must take pains, must strive against the
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stream, must press against the crowd that are going the contrary
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way.</P>
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<P>
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(4.) Yet still he protests against any design to invalidate the law
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
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<I>It is easier for heaven and earth to pass,</I>
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<B><I>parelthein</I></B>--<I>to pass by,</I> to pass away, though the
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foundations of the earth and the pillars of heaven are so firmly
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established, <I>than for one tittle of the law to fail.</I> The moral
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law is confirmed and ratified, and not one tittle of that fails; the
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duties enjoined by it are duties still; the sins forbidden by it are
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sins still. Nay, the precepts of it are explained and enforced by the
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gospel, and made to appear more spiritual. The ceremonial law is
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perfected in the gospel colours; not <I>one tittle</I> of that
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<I>fails,</I> for it is found printed off in the gospel, where, though
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the force of it is as a law taken off, yet the figure of it as a type
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shines very brightly, witness the epistle to the Hebrews. There were
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some things which were connived at by the law, for the preventing of
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greater mischiefs, the permission of which the gospel has indeed taken
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away, but without any detriment or disparagement to the law, for it has
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thereby reduced them to the primitive intention of the law, as in the
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case of divorce
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
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which we had before,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:32,19:9">Matt. v. 32; xix. 9</A>.
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Christ will not allow divorces, for his gospel is intended to strike at
|
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the bitter root of men's corrupt appetites and passions, to kill them,
|
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and pluck them up; and therefore they must not be so far
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<I>indulged</I> as that permission <I>did</I> indulge them, for the
|
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more they are indulged the more impetuous and headstrong they grow.</P>
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<A NAME="Lu17_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_29"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_30"> </A>
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<A NAME="Lu17_31"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Rich Man and Lazarus.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple
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and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
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20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid
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at his gate, full of sores,
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21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the
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rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
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22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried
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by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and
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was buried;
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23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and
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seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
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24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and
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send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and
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cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
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25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime
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receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but
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now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
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26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great
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gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you
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cannot; neither can they pass to us, that <I>would come</I> from
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thence.
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27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou
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wouldest send him to my father's house:
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28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them,
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lest they also come into this place of torment.
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29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets;
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let them hear them.
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30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them
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from the dead, they will repent.
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31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the
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prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from
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the dead.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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As the parable of the prodigal son set before us the grace of the
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gospel, which is encouraging to us all, so this sets before us the
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<I>wrath to come,</I> and is designed for our awakening; and very fast
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asleep those are in sin that will not be awakened by it. The Pharisees
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made a jest of Christ's sermon against worldliness; now this parable
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was intended to make those mockers serious. The tendency of the gospel
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of Christ is both to reconcile us to poverty and affliction and to arm
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us against temptations to worldliness and sensuality. Now this parable,
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by drawing the curtain, and letting us see what will be the end of both
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in the other world, goes very far in prosecuting those two great
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intentions. This parable is not like Christ's other parables, in which
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spiritual things are represented by similitudes borrowed from worldly
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things, as those of the sower and the seed (except that of the sheep
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and goats), the prodigal son, and indeed all the rest but this. But
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here the <I>spiritual things themselves</I> are represented in a
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narrative or description of the different state of good and bad in this
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world and the other. Yet we need not call it a history of a particular
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occurrence, but it is <I>matter of fact</I> that is true every day,
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that poor godly people, whom men neglect and trample upon, die away out
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of their miseries, and go to heavenly bliss and joy, which is made the
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more pleasant to them by their preceding sorrows; and that rich
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epicures, who live in luxury, and are unmerciful to the poor, die, and
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go into a state of insupportable torment, which is the more grievous
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and terrible to them because of the sensual lives they lived: and that
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there is no gaining any relief from their torments. Is this a parable?
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What similitude is there in this? The discourse indeed between Abraham
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and the rich man is only an illustration of the description, to make it
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the more affecting, like that between God and Satan in the story of
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Job. Our Saviour came to bring us acquainted with another world, and to
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show us the reference which <I>this</I> world has to <I>that;</I> and
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here is does it. In this description (for so I shall choose to call it)
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we may observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. The different condition of a <I>wicked rich man,</I> and a <I>godly
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poor man,</I> in this world. We know that as some of late, so the Jews
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of old, were ready to make prosperity one of the marks of a true
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church, of a good man and a favourite of heaven, so that they could
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hardly have any favourable thoughts of a <I>poor man.</I> This mistake
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Christ, upon all occasions, set himself to correct, and here very
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fully, where we have,</P>
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<P>
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1. A wicked man, and one that will be for ever miserable, in the height
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of prosperity
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
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<I>There was a certain rich man.</I> From the Latin we commonly call
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him <I>Dives--a rich man;</I> but, as Bishop Tillotson observes, he has
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no name given him, as the poor man has, because it had been invidious
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to have named any particular rich man in such a description as this,
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and apt to provoke and gain ill-will. But others observe that Christ
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would not do the rich man so much honour as to name him, though when
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perhaps he called his lands by his own name he thought it should long
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survive that of the beggar at his gate, which yet is here preserved,
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when that of the rich man is buried in oblivion. Now we are told
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concerning this rich man,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) That he was <I>clothed in purple and fine linen,</I> and that was
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his <I>adorning.</I> He had <I>fine linen</I> for <I>pleasure,</I> and
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clean, no doubt, every day; night-linen, and day-linen. He had
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<I>purple</I> for <I>state,</I> for that was the wear of princes, which
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has made some conjecture that Christ had an eye to Herod in it. He
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never appeared abroad but in great magnificence.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) He <I>fared</I> deliciously and <I>sumptuously every day.</I> His
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table was furnished with all the varieties and dainties that nature and
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art could supply; his side-table richly adorned with plate; his
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servants, who waited at table, in rich liveries; and the guests at his
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table, no doubt, such as he thought <I>graced</I> it. Well, and what
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harm was there in all this? It is no sin to be rich, no sin to wear
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purple and fine linen, nor to keep a plentiful table, if a man's estate
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will afford it. Not are we told that he got his estate by fraud,
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oppression, or extortion, no, nor that he was drunk, or made others
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drunk; but,
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[1.] Christ would hereby show that a man may have a great deal of the
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wealth, and pomp, and pleasure of this world, and yet lie and perish
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for ever under God's wrath and curse. We cannot infer from men's living
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great either that God loves them <I>in</I> giving them so much, or that
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they love God <I>for</I> giving them so much; happiness consists not in
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these things.
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[2.] That plenty and pleasure are a very <I>dangerous</I>
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and to many a <I>fatal</I> temptation to luxury, and sensuality, and
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forgetfulness of God and another world. This man might have been happy
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if he had not had great possessions and enjoyments.
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[3.] That the indulgence of the body, and the ease and pleasure of
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that, are the ruin of many a soul, and the interests of it. It is true,
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eating good meat and wearing good clothes are lawful; but it is true
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that they often become the food and fuel of pride and luxury, and so
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|
turn into sin to us.
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[4.] That feasting ourselves and our friends, and, at the same time,
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forgetting the distresses of the poor and afflicted, are very provoking
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to God and damning to the soul. The sin of this rich man was not so
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much his dress or his diet, but his providing only for himself.</P>
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<P>
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2. Here is a godly man, and one that will be for ever happy, in the
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depth of adversity and distress
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
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<I>There was a certain beggar,</I> named <I>Lazarus.</I> A beggar of
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that name, eminently devout, and in great distress, was probably well
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|
known among good people at that time: a beggar, suppose such a one as
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Eleazar, or Lazarus. Some think Eleazar a proper name for any poor man,
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for it signifies the <I>help of God,</I> which they must fly to that
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are destitute of <I>other helps.</I> This poor man was reduced to the
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last extremity, as miserable, as to outward things, as you can lightly
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suppose a man to be in this world.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) His body was <I>full of sores,</I> like Job. To be sick and weak
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in body is a great affliction; but sores are more <I>painful</I> to the
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patient, and more <I>loathsome</I> to those about him.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) He was forced to beg his bread, and to take up with such scraps as
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he could get at rich people's doors. He was so sore and lame that he
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could not go himself, but was carried by some compassionate hand or
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other, and <I>laid at the rich man's gate.</I> Note, Those that are not
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able to help the poor with their <I>purses</I> should help them with
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their <I>pains;</I> those that cannot lend them <I>a penny</I> should
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lend them <I>a hand;</I> those that have not themselves wherewithal to
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|
give to them should either bring them, or go for them, to those that
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have. Lazarus, in his distress, had nothing of his own to subsist on,
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no relation to go to, nor did the parish take care of him. It is an
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instance of the degeneracy of the Jewish church at this time that such
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a godly man as Lazarus was should be suffered to perish for want of
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necessary food. Now observe,</P>
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<P>
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[1.] His expectations from the rich man's table: <I>He desired to be
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fed with the crumbs,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
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He did not look for a mess from off his table, though he ought to have
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had one, one of the best; but would be thankful for the crumbs from
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under the table, the broken meat which was the rich man's leavings;
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nay, the leavings of his dogs. <I>The poor use entreaties,</I> and must
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be content with such as they can get. Now this is taken notice of to
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show, <I>First,</I> What was the distress, and what the disposition, of
|
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the poor man. He was <I>poor,</I> but he was <I>poor in spirit,</I>
|
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contentedly poor. He did not lie at the rich man's gate complaining,
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and bawling, and making a noise, but silently and modestly desiring to
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be <I>fed with the crumbs.</I> This miserable man was a good man, and
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in favour with God. Note, It is often the lot of some of the dearest of
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God's saints and servants to be greatly afflicted in this world, while
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wicked people prosper, and have abundance; see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+73:7,10,14">Ps. lxxiii. 7, 10, 14</A>.
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Here is a child of wrath and an heir of hell sitting in the house,
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faring sumptuously; and a child of love and an heir of heaven lying at
|
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the gate, perishing for hunger. And is men's spiritual state to be
|
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judged of then by their outward condition? <I>Secondly,</I> What was
|
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the temper of the rich man towards him. We are not told that he abused
|
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him, or forbade him his gate, or did him any harm, but it is intimated
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that he slighted him; he had no concern for him, took no care about
|
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him. Here was a <I>real</I> object of charity, and a very
|
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<I>moving</I> one, which spoke for itself; it was presented to him at
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<I>his own gate.</I> The poor man had a good character and good
|
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conduct, and every thing that could recommend him. A <I>little</I>
|
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thing would be a <I>great</I> kindness to him, and yet he took no
|
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cognizance of his case, did not order him to be taken in and lodged in
|
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the barn, or some of the out-buildings, but let him lie there. Note, It
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is not enough not to oppress and trample upon the poor; we shall be
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found unfaithful stewards of our Lord's goods, in the great day, if we
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do not succour and relieve them. The reason given for the most fearful
|
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doom is, <I>I was hungry, and you gave me no meat.</I> I wonder how
|
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those rich people who have read the gospel of Christ, and way that they
|
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believe it, can be so unconcerned as they often are in the necessities
|
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and miseries of the poor and afflicted.</P>
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<P>
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[2.] The usage he had from the dogs; <I>The dogs came and licked his
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sores.</I> The rich man kept a kennel of hounds, it may be, or other
|
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dogs, for his diversion, and to please his fancy, and these were fed to
|
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the full, when poor Lazarus could not get enough to keep him alive.
|
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Note, Those will have a great deal to answer for hereafter that feed
|
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their dogs, but neglect the poor. And it is a great aggravation of the
|
|
uncharitableness of many rich people that they bestow that upon their
|
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fancies and follies which would supply the necessity, and rejoice the
|
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heart, of many a good Christian in distress. Those offend God, nay, and
|
|
they put a contempt upon human nature, that pamper their dogs and
|
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horses, and let the families of their poor neighbours starve. Now those
|
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dogs <I>came and licked the</I> sores of poor Lazarus, which may be
|
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taken, <I>First,</I> As an aggravation of his misery. His sores were
|
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<I>bloody,</I> which tempted the dogs to come, and lick them, as they
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did the blood of Naboth and Ahab,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+21:19">1 Kings xxi. 19</A>.
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And we read of the <I>tongue of the dogs dipped</I> in the <I>blood of
|
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enemies,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+68:23">Ps. lxviii. 23</A>.
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They attacked him while he was yet alive, as if he had been already
|
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dead, and he had not strength himself to keep them off, nor would any
|
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of the servants be so civil as to check them. The dogs were like their
|
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master, and thought they fared sumptuously when they regaled themselves
|
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with human gore. Or, it may be taken, <I>Secondly,</I> as some relief
|
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to him in his misery; <B><I>alla kai</I></B>, the master was
|
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<I>hard-hearted</I> towards him, <I>but</I> the dogs <I>came and licked
|
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his sores,</I> which mollified and eased them. It is not said, They
|
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<I>sucked</I> them, but <I>licked</I> them, which was good for them.
|
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The dogs were more kind to him than their master was.</P>
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<P>
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II. Here is the <I>different condition</I> of this <I>godly poor
|
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man,</I> and this <I>wicked rich man, at</I> and <I>after death.</I>
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Hitherto the wicked man seems to have the advantage, but <I>Exitus acta
|
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probat</I>--<I>Let us wait awhile, to see the end hereof.</I></P>
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<P>
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1. They both died
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
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The <I>beggar died;</I> the <I>rich man also died.</I> Death is the
|
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common lot of rich and poor, godly and ungodly; there they meet
|
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together. One dieth <I>in his full strength,</I> and another in <I>the
|
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bitterness of his soul;</I> but they shall <I>lie down alike in the
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dust,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+21:26">Job xxi. 26</A>.
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Death favours not either the rich man for his riches or the poor man
|
|
for his poverty. Saints die, that they may bring their sorrows to an
|
|
end, and may enter upon their joys. Sinners die, that they may go to
|
|
give up their account. It concerns both rich and poor to prepare for
|
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death, for it waits for them both. <I>Mors sceptra ligonibus
|
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æquat--Death blends the sceptre with the spade.</I></P>
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<CENTER>
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<TABLE BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD>------æquo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas,
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<BR>Regumque turres.
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<BR>
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<BR>With equal pace, impartial fate
|
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<BR>Knocks at the palace, as the cottage gate.</TD></TR>
|
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</TABLE>
|
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</CENTER>
|
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|
|
<P>
|
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|
2. The beggar <I>died first.</I> God often takes godly people out of
|
|
the world, when he leaves the wicked to flourish still. It was an
|
|
advantage to the beggar that such a speedy end was put to his miseries;
|
|
and, since he could find no other shelter or resting-place, he was
|
|
<I>hid in the grave,</I> where the <I>weary are at rest.</I></P>
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|
<P>
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|
3. The rich man <I>died and was buried.</I> Nothing is said of the
|
|
interment of the poor man. They dug a hole any where, and tumbled his
|
|
body in, without any solemnity; he was <I>buried with the burial of an
|
|
ass:</I> nay, it is well if they that let the dogs lick his sores did
|
|
not let them gnaw his bones. But the rich man had a pompous funeral,
|
|
lay in state, had a train of mourners to attend him to his grave, and a
|
|
stately monument set up over it; probably he had a funeral oration in
|
|
praise of him, and his generous way of living, and the good table he
|
|
kept, which those would commend that had been feasted at it. It is said
|
|
of the wicked man that he is <I>brought to the grave</I> with no small
|
|
ado, and <I>laid in the tomb,</I> and <I>the clods of the valley,</I>
|
|
were it possible, are made <I>sweet to him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+21:32,33">Job xxi. 32, 33</A>.
|
|
|
|
How foreign is the ceremony of a funeral to the happiness of the
|
|
man!</P>
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|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. The beggar died and was <I>carried by angels into Abraham's
|
|
bosom.</I> How much did the honour done to his soul, by this convoy of
|
|
it to its rest, exceed the honour done to the rich man, by the carrying
|
|
of his body with so much magnificence to its grave! Observe,
|
|
|
|
(1.) His soul <I>existed</I> in a state of separation from the body. It
|
|
did not <I>die,</I> or <I>fall asleep,</I> with the body; his candle
|
|
was not put out with him; but lives, and acted, and knew what it did,
|
|
and what was done to it.
|
|
|
|
(2.) His soul <I>removed</I> to another world, to the world of spirits;
|
|
it returned to God who gave it, to its native country; this is implied
|
|
in its being <I>carried.</I> The spirit of a man goes upward.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Angels took care of it; it was <I>carried by angels.</I> They are
|
|
ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation, not only while they
|
|
live, but when they die, and have a charge concerning them, to <I>bear
|
|
them up in their hands,</I> not only in their journeys to and fro on
|
|
earth, but in their great journey to their long home in heaven, to be
|
|
both their guide and their guard through regions unknown and unsafe.
|
|
The soul of man, if not chained to this earth and clogged by it as
|
|
unsanctified souls are, has in itself an elastic virtue, by which it
|
|
<I>springs upward</I> as soon as it gets clear of the body; but Christ
|
|
will not trust those that are his to that, and therefore will send
|
|
special messengers to fetch them to himself. One angel one would think
|
|
sufficient, but here are more, as many were sent for Elijah. Amasis
|
|
king of Egypt had his chariot drawn by kings; but what was that honour
|
|
to this? Saints ascend in the virtue of Christ's ascension; but this
|
|
convoy of angels is added for state and decorum. Saints shall be
|
|
brought home, not only safely, but honourably. What were the bearers at
|
|
the rich man's funeral, though, probably, those of the first rank,
|
|
compared with Lazarus's bearers? The angels were not shy of touching
|
|
him, for his sores were on his <I>body,</I> not on his <I>soul;
|
|
that</I> was presented to God <I>without spot, or wrinkle, or any such
|
|
thing.</I> "Now, blessed angels," said a good man just expiring, "now
|
|
come and do your office."
|
|
|
|
(4.) It was carried <I>into Abraham's bosom.</I> The Jews expressed the
|
|
happiness of the righteous at death three ways:--they to go <I>to the
|
|
garden of Eden:</I> they go <I>to be under the throne of glory;</I> and
|
|
they go <I>to the bosom of Abraham,</I> and it is this which our
|
|
Saviour here makes use of. Abraham was the <I>father of the
|
|
faithful;</I> and whither should the souls of the faithful be gathered
|
|
but to him, who, as a tender father, lays them <I>in his bosom,</I>
|
|
especially at their first coming, to bid them welcome, and to refresh
|
|
them when newly come from the sorrows and fatigues of this world? He
|
|
was carried <I>to his bosom,</I> that is, to feast with him, for at
|
|
feasts the guests are said to lean on one another's breasts; and the
|
|
saints in heaven <I>sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.</I>
|
|
Abraham was a great and rich man, yet in heaven he does not disdain to
|
|
lay poor Lazarus in his bosom. Rich saints and poor meet in heaven.
|
|
This poor Lazarus, who might not be admitted within the rich man's
|
|
gate, is conducted into the dining-room, into the bed-chamber, of the
|
|
heavenly palace; and <I>he</I> is laid in the bosom of Abraham, whom
|
|
the rich glutton scorned to <I>set with the dogs of his flock.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. The next news you hear of the <I>rich man,</I> after the account of
|
|
his <I>death</I> and <I>burial,</I> is, that <I>in hell he lifted up
|
|
his eyes, being in torment,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) His state is very miserable. <I>He is in hell,</I> in
|
|
<I>hades,</I> in the state of separate souls, and there he is in <I>the
|
|
utmost misery</I> and <I>anguish</I> possible. As the souls of the
|
|
faithful, immediately <I>after they are delivered from the burden of
|
|
the flesh, are in joy and felicity,</I> so wicked and unsanctified
|
|
souls, immediately after they are fetched from the pleasures of the
|
|
flesh by death, are in misery and torment endless, useless, and
|
|
remediless, and which will be much increased and completed at the
|
|
resurrection. This <I>rich man</I> had entirely devoted himself to the
|
|
pleasures of the <I>world of sense,</I> was wholly <I>taken up</I> with
|
|
them, and <I>took up with them</I> for his portion, and therefore was
|
|
wholly unfit for the pleasures of the <I>world of spirits;</I> to such
|
|
a carnal mind as his they would indeed be no pleasure, nor could he
|
|
have any relish of them, and therefore he is of course excluded from
|
|
them. Yet this is not all; he was hard-hearted to God's poor, and
|
|
therefore he is not only cut off from mercy, but he has <I>judgment
|
|
without mercy,</I> and falls under a punishment of <I>sense</I> as well
|
|
as a punishment of <I>loss.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The misery of his state is aggravated by his knowledge of the
|
|
happiness of Lazarus: He <I>lifts up his eyes,</I> and <I>sees Abraham
|
|
afar off,</I> and <I>Lazarus in his bosom.</I> It is the soul that is
|
|
<I>in torment,</I> and they are the eyes of the mind that are lifted
|
|
up. He now began to consider what was become of Lazarus. He does not
|
|
find him where he himself is, nay, he plainly sees him, and with as
|
|
much assurance as if he had seen him with his bodily eyes, afar off in
|
|
the bosom of Abraham. This same aggravation of the miseries of the
|
|
damned we had before
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+13:28"><I>ch.</I> xiii. 28</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in
|
|
the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.</I>
|
|
|
|
[1.] He saw <I>Abraham afar off.</I> To see Abraham we should think a
|
|
pleasing sight; but to see him afar off was a tormenting sight. Near
|
|
himself he saw devils and damned companions, frightful sights, and
|
|
painful ones; afar off he saw Abraham. Note, Every sight in hell is
|
|
aggravating.
|
|
|
|
[2.] He saw <I>Lazarus in him bosom.</I> That same Lazarus whom he had
|
|
looked upon with so much scorn and contempt, as not worthy his notice,
|
|
he now sees preferred, and to be envied. The sight of him brought to
|
|
his mind his own cruel and barbarous conduct towards him; and the sight
|
|
of him in that happiness made his own misery the more grievous.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Here is an account of what passed between the rich man and Abraham
|
|
in the separate state--a state of separation one from another, and of
|
|
both from this world. Though it is probable that there will not be, nor
|
|
are, any such dialogues or discourses between glorified saints and
|
|
damned sinners, yet it is very proper, and what is usually done in
|
|
descriptions, especially such as are designed to be pathetic and
|
|
moving, by such dialogues to represent what will be the mind and
|
|
sentiments both of the one and of the other. And since we find damned
|
|
sinners tormented <I>in the presence of the Lamb</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+14:10">Rev. xiv. 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
and the faithful servants of God looking upon them that have
|
|
<I>transgressed the covenant,</I> there where their <I>worm dies not,
|
|
and their fire is not quenched</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:23,24">Isa. lxvi. 23, 24</A>),
|
|
|
|
such a discourse as this is not incongruous to be supposed. Now in this
|
|
discourse we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The request which the rich man made to Abraham for some mitigation
|
|
of his present misery,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
Seeing Abraham afar off, <I>he cried to him,</I> cried aloud, as one in
|
|
earnest, and as one in pain and misery, mixing shrieks with his
|
|
petitions, to enforce them by moving compassion. He that used to
|
|
<I>command</I> aloud now <I>begs</I> aloud, louder than ever Lazarus
|
|
did at his gate. The songs of his riot and revels are all turned into
|
|
lamentations. Observe here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) The title he gives to Abraham: <I>Father Abraham.</I> Note, There
|
|
are many in hell that can call Abraham <I>father,</I> that were
|
|
Abraham's seed after the flesh, nay, and many that were, in name and
|
|
profession, the children of the covenant made with Abraham. Perhaps
|
|
this rich man, in his carnal mirth, had ridiculed Abraham and the story
|
|
of Abraham, as the scoffers of the latter days do; but now he gives him
|
|
a title of respect, <I>Father Abraham.</I> Note, The day is coming when
|
|
wicked men will be glad to scrape acquaintance with the righteous, and
|
|
to claim kindred to them, though now they slight them. Abraham in this
|
|
description represents Christ, for to him all judgment is committed,
|
|
and it is his mind that Abraham here speaks. Those that now slight
|
|
Christ will shortly make their court to him, <I>Lord, Lord.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The representation he makes to him of his present deplorable
|
|
condition: <I>I am tormented in this flame.</I> It is the torment of
|
|
his soul that he complains of, and therefore such a fire as will
|
|
operate upon souls; and such a fire the <I>wrath of God</I> is,
|
|
fastening upon a guilty conscience; such a fire horror of mind is, and
|
|
the reproaches of a self-accusing self-condemning heart. Nothing is
|
|
more painful and terrible to the body than to be tormented with fire;
|
|
by this therefore the miseries and agonies of damned souls are
|
|
represented.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) His request to Abraham, in consideration of this misery: <I>Have
|
|
mercy on me.</I> Note, The day is coming when those that make light of
|
|
divine mercy will beg hard for it. O for <I>mercy, mercy,</I> when the
|
|
day of mercy is over, and offers of mercy are no more made. He that had
|
|
no mercy on Lazarus, yet expects Lazarus should have mercy on him;
|
|
"for," thinks he, "Lazarus is better natured than ever I was." The
|
|
particular favour he begs is, <I>Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip
|
|
of his finger in water, and cool my tongue.</I>
|
|
|
|
[1.] Here he complains of the torment of his <I>tongue</I>
|
|
particularly, as if he were more tormented there than in any other
|
|
part, the punishment answering the sin. The <I>tongue</I> is one of the
|
|
organs of speech, and by the torment of that he is put in mind of all
|
|
the wicked words that he had spoken against God and man, his cursing,
|
|
and swearing, and blasphemy, all his <I>hard speeches,</I> and
|
|
<I>filthy speeches;</I> by his words <I>he is condemned,</I> and
|
|
therefore in his tongue he is tormented. The tongue is also one of the
|
|
organs of <I>tasting,</I> and therefore the torments of that will
|
|
remind him of his inordinate relish of the delights of sense, which he
|
|
had <I>rolled under his tongue.</I>
|
|
|
|
[2.] He desires a <I>drop of water to cool his tongue.</I> He does not
|
|
say, "Father Abraham, order me a release from this misery, help me out
|
|
of this pit," for he utterly <I>despaired</I> of this; but he asks as
|
|
small a thing as could be asked, <I>a drop of water</I> to cool his
|
|
tongue for one moment.
|
|
|
|
[3.] He sometimes suspected that he had herein an ill design upon
|
|
Lazarus, and hoped, if he could get him within his reach, he should
|
|
keep him from returning to the bosom of Abraham. The heart that is
|
|
filled with rage against God is filled with rage against the people of
|
|
God. But we will think more charitably even of a damned sinner, and
|
|
suppose he intended here to show respect to Lazarus, as one to whom he
|
|
would now gladly be beholden. He <I>names</I> him, because he
|
|
<I>knows</I> him, and thinks Lazarus will not be unwilling to do him
|
|
this good office for old acquaintance' sake. Grotius here quotes Plato
|
|
describing the torments of wicked souls, and among other things he
|
|
says, They are <I>continually raving</I> on those whom they have
|
|
<I>murdered,</I> or been any way <I>injurious to,</I> calling upon them
|
|
to <I>forgive them</I> the wrongs they did them. Note, There is a day
|
|
coming when those that now hate and despise the people of God would
|
|
gladly receive kindness from them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The reply which Abraham gave to this request. In general, he did not
|
|
grant it. He would not allow him one <I>drop of water, to cool</I> his
|
|
tongue. Note, The damned in hell shall not have any the least abatement
|
|
or mitigation of their torment. If we now improve the day of our
|
|
opportunities, we may have a full and lasting satisfaction in the
|
|
streams of mercy; but, if we now slight the offer, it will be in vain
|
|
in hell to expect the least drop of mercy. See how justly this rich man
|
|
is paid in his own coin. He that denied a crumb is denied a drop. Now
|
|
it is said to us, <I>Ask, and it shall be given you;</I> but, if we let
|
|
slip this accepted time, we may ask, and it shall not be given us. But
|
|
this is not all; had Abraham only said, "You shall have nothing to
|
|
abate your torment," it had been sad; but he says a great deal which
|
|
would add to his torment, and make the flame the hotter, for every
|
|
thing in hell will be tormenting.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He calls him <I>son,</I> a kind and civil title, but here it
|
|
serves only to aggravate the denial of his request, which shut up the
|
|
bowels of the compassion of a father from him. He had been a son, but a
|
|
rebellious one, and now an abandoned disinherited one. See the folly of
|
|
those who rely on that <I>plea, We have Abraham to our father,</I> when
|
|
we find one in hell, and likely to be there for ever, whom Abraham
|
|
calls <I>son.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He puts him in mind of what had been both his own condition and
|
|
the condition of Lazarus, in their <I>life-time: Son, remember;</I>
|
|
this is a cutting word. The memories of damned souls will be their
|
|
tormentors, and conscience will then be awakened and stirred up to do
|
|
its office, which here they would not suffer it to do. Nothing will
|
|
bring more oil to the flames of hell than <I>Son, remember.</I> Now
|
|
sinners are called upon to <I>remember,</I> but they do not, they will
|
|
not, they find ways to avoid it. "<I>Son, remember</I> thy Creator, thy
|
|
Redeemer, remember thy latter end;" but they can turn a deaf ear to
|
|
these <I>mementos,</I> and forget that for which they have their
|
|
memories; justly therefore will their everlasting misery arise from a
|
|
<I>Son, remember,</I> to which they will not be able to turn a deaf
|
|
ear. What a dreadful peal will this ring in our ears, "<I>Son,
|
|
remember</I> the many warnings that were given thee not to come to this
|
|
place of torment, which thou wouldest not regard; remember the fair
|
|
offers made thee of eternal life and glory, which thou wouldest not
|
|
accept!" But that which he is here put in mind of is,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That <I>thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things.</I> He
|
|
does not tell him that he had <I>abused</I> them, but that he had
|
|
<I>received</I> them: "Remember what a bountiful benefactor God has
|
|
been to thee, how ready he was to do thee good; thou canst not
|
|
therefore say he owes thee any thing, no, not a <I>drop of water.</I>
|
|
What he gave thee <I>thou receivedst,</I> and that was all; thou never
|
|
gavest him a receipt for them, in a thankful acknowledgment of them,
|
|
much less didst thou ever make any grateful return for them or
|
|
improvement of them; thou hast been the grave of God's blessings, in
|
|
which they were buried, not the field of them, in which they were sown.
|
|
Thou receivedst <I>thy good things;</I> thou receivedst them, and
|
|
usedst them, as if they had been <I>thine own,</I> and thou hadst not
|
|
been at all accountable for them. Or, rather, they were the things
|
|
which thou didst choose for <I>thy good things,</I> which were in thine
|
|
eye the <I>best things,</I> which thou didst content thyself with, and
|
|
portion thyself in. Thou hadst meat, and drink, and clothes of the
|
|
richest and finest, and these were the things thou didst place thy
|
|
happiness in; they were <I>thy reward, thy consolation,</I> the
|
|
<I>penny</I> thou didst <I>agree for,</I> and thou hast had it. Thou
|
|
wast for the <I>good things of thy life-time,</I> and hadst no thought
|
|
of better things in another life, and therefore hast no reason to
|
|
expect them. The day of thy <I>good things</I> is past and gone, and
|
|
now is the day of thy <I>evil things,</I> of recompence for all thy
|
|
evil deeds. Thou hast already had the last drop of the <I>vials of
|
|
mercy</I> that thou couldest expect to fall to thy share; and there
|
|
remains nothing but <I>vials of wrath</I> without mixture."
|
|
|
|
[2.] "Remember too what <I>evil things Lazarus received.</I> Thou
|
|
enviest him his happiness here; but think what a large share of
|
|
miseries he had <I>in his life-time.</I> Thou hast <I>as much good</I>
|
|
as could be thought to fall to the lot of so <I>bad a man,</I> and he
|
|
<I>as much evil</I> as could be thought to fall to the lot of <I>so
|
|
good a man.</I> He <I>received</I> his evil things; he bore them
|
|
patiently, received them from the hand of God, as Job did
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:10"><I>ch.</I> ii. 10</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not
|
|
receive evil also?</I>)--he <I>received</I> them as physic appointed
|
|
for the cure of his spiritual distempers, and the cure was effected."
|
|
As wicked people have <I>good things</I> in this life only, and at
|
|
death they are for ever separated from all good, so godly people have
|
|
evil things only <I>in this life,</I> and at death they are for ever
|
|
put out of the reach of them. Now Abraham, by putting him in mind of
|
|
both these together, awakens his conscience to remind him how he had
|
|
behaved towards Lazarus, when he was reveling in his <I>good things</I>
|
|
and Lazarus groaning under his <I>evil things;</I> he cannot forget
|
|
that then he would not help Lazarus, and how then could he expect that
|
|
Lazarus should now help him? Had Lazarus in his life-time afterwards
|
|
grown rich, and he poor, Lazarus would have thought it his duty to
|
|
relieve him, and not to have upbraided him with his former unkindness;
|
|
but, in the future state of recompence and retribution, those that are
|
|
now dealt with, both by God and man, better than they deserve, must
|
|
expect to be rewarded <I>every man according to his works.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) He puts him in mind of Lazarus's present bliss, and his own
|
|
misery: <I>But now</I> the tables are turned, and so they must abide
|
|
for ever; <I>now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.</I> He did
|
|
not need to be told that he was <I>tormented;</I> he felt it to his
|
|
cost. He knew likewise that one who lay in the bosom of Abraham could
|
|
not but be comforted there; yet Abraham puts him in mind of it, that he
|
|
might, by comparing one thing with another, observe the
|
|
<I>righteousness of God,</I> in recompensing <I>tribulation to them who
|
|
trouble his people,</I> and <I>to those who are troubled rest,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+1:6,7">2 Thess. i. 6, 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Heaven is <I>comfort,</I> and hell is <I>torment:</I> heaven is
|
|
<I>joy,</I> hell is <I>weeping, and wailing,</I> and pain in
|
|
perfection.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The soul, as soon as it leaves the body, goes either to heaven or
|
|
hell, to comfort or torment, immediately, and does not sleep, or go
|
|
into purgatory.
|
|
|
|
[3.] Heaven will be heaven indeed to those that go thither through many
|
|
and great calamities in this world; of those that had grace, but had
|
|
little of the comfort of it here (perhaps their souls refused to be
|
|
comforted), yet, when they are fallen asleep in Christ, you may truly
|
|
say, "Now <I>they are comforted:</I> now <I>all their tears are wiped
|
|
away,</I> and all their fears are vanished." In heaven there is
|
|
everlasting consolation. And, on the other hand, hell will be hell
|
|
indeed to those that go thither from the midst of the enjoyment of all
|
|
the delights and pleasures of sense. To them the torture is the
|
|
greater, as temporal calamities are described to be to the <I>tender
|
|
and delicate woman, that would not set so much as the sole of her foot
|
|
to the ground, for tenderness and delicacy.</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+28:56">Deut. xxviii. 56</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(4.) He assures him that it was to no purpose to think of having any
|
|
relief by the ministry of Lazarus; for
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Besides all this,</I> worse yet, <I>between us and you there is a
|
|
great gulf fixed,</I> an impassable one, <I>a great chasm,</I> that so
|
|
there can be no communication between glorified saints and damned
|
|
sinners.
|
|
|
|
[1.] The kindest saint in heaven cannot make a visit to the
|
|
congregation of the dead and damned, to comfort or relieve any there
|
|
who once were their friends. "<I>They that would pass hence to you
|
|
cannot;</I> they cannot leave beholding the face of their Father, nor
|
|
the work about his throne, to fetch water for you; that is no part of
|
|
their business."
|
|
|
|
[2.] The most daring sinner in hell cannot force his way out of that
|
|
prison, cannot get over that great gulf. <I>They cannot pass to us that
|
|
would come thence.</I> It is not to be expected, for the door of mercy
|
|
is shut, the bridge is drawn; there is no coming out upon parole or
|
|
bail, no, not for one hour. In this world, blessed be God, there is no
|
|
gulf fixed between a state of nature and grace, but we may pass from
|
|
the one to thee other, from sin to God; but if we die in our sins, if
|
|
we throw ourselves into the pit of destruction, there is no coming out.
|
|
It is a pit <I>in which there is no water,</I> and <I>out of which
|
|
there is no redemption.</I> The decree and counsel of God have fixed
|
|
this gulf, which all the world cannot unfix. This abandons this
|
|
miserable creature to despair; it is now too late for any change of his
|
|
condition, or any the least relief: it might have been prevented <I>in
|
|
time,</I> but it cannot now be remedied <I>to eternity.</I> The state
|
|
of damned sinners is fixed by an irreversible and unalterable sentence.
|
|
A stone is rolled to the door of the pit, which cannot be rolled
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back.</P>
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<P>
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3. The further request he had to make to his father Abraham, not for
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himself, his mouth is stopped, and he has not a word to say in answer
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to Abraham's denial of a drop of water. Damned sinners are made to know
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|
that the sentence they are under is just, and they cannot alleviate
|
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their own misery by making any objection against it. And, since he
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cannot obtain a drop of water to <I>cool his tongue,</I> we may suppose
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he <I>gnawed his tongue for pain,</I> as those are said to do on whom
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one of the <I>vials</I> of God's wrath is <I>poured out,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+16:10">Rev. xvi. 10</A>.
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The shrieks and outcries which we may suppose to be now uttered by him
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|
were hideous; but, having an opportunity of speaking to Abraham, he
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|
will improve it for his relations whom he has left behind, since he
|
|
cannot improve it for his own advantage. Now as to this,</P>
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<P>
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|
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(1.) He begs that Lazarus might be <I>sent to his father's house,</I>
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|
upon an errand thither: <I>I pray thee therefore, father,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
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Again he calls upon Abraham, and in this request he is importunate:
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|
"<I>I pray thee.</I> O deny me not this." When he was on earth he might
|
|
have prayed and been heard, but now he prays in vain.
|
|
"<I>Therefore,</I> because thou hast denied me the former request,
|
|
surely thou wilt be so compassionate as not to deny this:" or,
|
|
"<I>Therefore,</I> because <I>there is a great gulf fixed,</I> seeing
|
|
there is no getting out hence when they are once here, O send to
|
|
prevent their coming hither:" or, "Though there is a <I>great gulf
|
|
fixed</I> between you and me, yet, since there is no such gulf fixed
|
|
between you and them, send them hither. Send him back <I>to my father's
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|
house;</I> he knows well enough where it is, has been there many a
|
|
time, having been denied the crumbs that fell from the table. He knows
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|
I have <I>five brethren</I> there; if he appear to them, they will
|
|
<I>know him,</I> and will regard what he saith, for they knew him to be
|
|
an honest man. Let him <I>testify to them;</I> let him tell them what
|
|
condition I am in, and that I brought myself to it by my luxury and
|
|
sensuality, and my unmercifulness to the poor. Let him warn them not
|
|
to tread in my steps, nor to go on in the way wherein I led them, and
|
|
left them, <I>lest they also come into this place of torment,</I>"
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>.
|
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Some observe that he speaks only of <I>five brethren,</I> whence they
|
|
infer that he had <I>no children,</I> else he would have mentioned
|
|
them, and then it was an aggravation of his uncharitableness that he
|
|
had no children to provide for. Now he would have them stopped in their
|
|
sinful course. He does not say, "Give me leave to go to them, that I
|
|
may testify to them;" for he knew that there was a <I>gulf fixed,</I>
|
|
and despaired of a permission so favourable to himself: his going would
|
|
frighten them out of their <I>wits;</I> but, "Send Lazarus, whose
|
|
address will be less terrible, and yet his testimony sufficient to
|
|
frighten them out of their <I>sins.</I>" Now he desired the preventing
|
|
of their ruin, partly in tenderness to <I>them,</I> for whom he could
|
|
not but retain a <I>natural affection;</I> he knew their temper, their
|
|
temptations, their ignorance, their infidelity, their inconsideration,
|
|
and wished to prevent the destruction they were running into: but it
|
|
was partly in tenderness <I>to himself,</I> for their coming to him, to
|
|
that <I>place of torment,</I> would but aggravate the misery to him,
|
|
who had helped to show them the way thither, as the sight of Lazarus
|
|
helped to aggravate his misery. When partners in sin come to be sharers
|
|
in woe, as tares bound in bundles for the fire, they will be a terror
|
|
to one another.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Abraham denies him this favour too. There is no request granted in
|
|
hell. Those who make the rich man's praying to Abraham a justification
|
|
of their praying to saints departed, as they have far to seek for
|
|
proofs, when the practice of a damned sinner must be valued for an
|
|
example, so they have little encouragement to follow the example, when
|
|
all his prayers were made <I>in vain.</I> Abraham leaves them to the
|
|
testimony of Moses and the prophets, the ordinary means of conviction
|
|
and conversion; they have the written word, which they may read and
|
|
hear read. "<I>Let them</I> attend to that <I>sure word of
|
|
prophecy,</I> for God will not go out of the common method of his grace
|
|
for them." Here is their privilege: <I>They have Moses and the
|
|
prophets;</I> and their duty: "<I>Let them hear them,</I> and mix faith
|
|
with them, and that will be sufficient to keep them from this place of
|
|
torment." By this it appears that there is sufficient evidence in the
|
|
Old Testament, in Moses and <I>the prophets,</I> to convince those that
|
|
will hear them impartially that there is another life after this, and a
|
|
state of rewards and punishments for good and bad men; for that was the
|
|
thing which the rich man would have his brethren assured of, and for
|
|
that they are turned over to Moses and the prophets.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) He urges his request yet further
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Nay, father Abraham,</I> give me leave to press this. It is true,
|
|
they have Moses and the prophets, and, if they would but give a due
|
|
regard to them, it would be sufficient; but they do not, they will not;
|
|
yet it may be hoped, <I>if one went to them from the dead, they would
|
|
repent,</I> that would be a more sensible conviction to them. They are
|
|
used to Moses and the prophets, and therefore regard them the less; but
|
|
this would be a <I>new thing,</I> and more startling; surely this would
|
|
bring them to <I>repent,</I> and to change their wicked habit and
|
|
course of life." Note, Foolish men are apt to think any method of
|
|
conviction better than that which God has chosen and appointed.</P>
|
|
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