mh_parser/vol_split/42 - Luke/Chapter 16.xml

<div2 id="Luke.xvii" n="xvii" next="Luke.xviii" prev="Luke.xvi" progress="60.77%" title="Chapter XVI">
<h2 id="Luke.xvii-p0.1">L U K E.</h2>
<h3 id="Luke.xvii-p0.2">CHAP. XVI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Luke.xvii-p1">The scope of Christ's discourse in this chapter is
to awaken and quicken us all so to use this world as not to abuse
it, so to manage all our possessions and enjoyments here as that
they may make for us, and may not make against us in the other
world; for they will do either the one or the other, according as
we use them now. I. If we do good with them, and lay out what we
have in works of piety and charity, we shall reap the benefit of it
in the world to come; and this he shows in the parable of the
unjust steward, who made so good a hand of his lord's goods that,
when he was turned out of his stewardship, he had a comfortable
subsistence to betake himself to. The parable itself we have
(<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.1-Luke.16.8" parsed="|Luke|16|1|16|8" passage="Lu 16:1-8">ver. 1-8</scripRef>); the
explanation and application of it (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.9-Luke.16.13" parsed="|Luke|16|9|16|13" passage="Lu 16:9-13">ver. 9-13</scripRef>); and the contempt which the
Pharisees put upon the doctrine Christ preached to them, for which
he sharply reproved them, adding some other weighty sayings,
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.14-Luke.16.18" parsed="|Luke|16|14|16|18" passage="Lu 16:14-18">ver. 14-18</scripRef>. II. It,
instead of doing good with our worldly enjoyments, we make them the
food and fuel of our lusts, of our luxury and sensuality, and deny
relief to the poor, we shall certainly perish eternally, and the
things of this world, which were thus abused, will but add to our
misery and torment. This he shows in the other parable of the rich
man and Lazarus, which has likewise a further intention, and that
is, to awaken us all to take the warning given us by the written
word, and not to expect immediate messages from the other world,
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.19-Luke.16.31" parsed="|Luke|16|19|16|31" passage="Lu 16:19-31">ver. 19-31</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Luke.xvii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16" parsed="|Luke|16|0|0|0" passage="Lu 16" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Luke.xvii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.1-Luke.16.18" parsed="|Luke|16|1|16|18" passage="Lu 16:1-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Luke.16.1-Luke.16.18">
<h4 id="Luke.xvii-p1.7">The Unjust Steward.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Luke.xvii-p2">1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was
a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused
unto him that he had wasted his goods.   2 And he called him,
and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an
account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
  3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for
my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I
am ashamed.   4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put
out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
  5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors <i>unto
him,</i> and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
  6 And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto
him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.   7
Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A
hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and
write fourscore.   8 And the lord commended the unjust
steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world
are in their generation wiser than the children of light.   9
And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of
unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into
everlasting habitations.   10 He that is faithful in that
which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in
the least is unjust also in much.   11 If therefore ye have
not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to
your trust the true <i>riches?</i>   12 And if ye have not
been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you
that which is your own?   13 No servant can serve two masters:
for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he
will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God
and mammon.   14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous,
heard all these things: and they derided him.   15 And he said
unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God
knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is
abomination in the sight of God.   16 The law and the prophets
<i>were</i> until John: since that time the kingdom of God is
preached, and every man presseth into it.   17 And it is
easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to
fail.   18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth
another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is
put away from <i>her</i> husband committeth adultery.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p3">We mistake if we imagine that the design of
Christ's doctrine and holy religion was either to amuse us with
notions of divine mysteries or to entertain us with notions of
divine mercies. No, the divine revelation of both these in the
gospel is intended to engage and quicken us to the practice of
Christian duties, and, as much as any one thing, to the duty of
beneficence and doing good to those who stand in need of any thing
that either we have or can do for them. This our Saviour is here
pressing us to, by reminding us that we are but <i>stewards of the
manifold grace of God;</i> and since we have in divers instances
been unfaithful, and have forfeited the favour of our Lord, it is
our wisdom to think how we may, some other way, make what we have
in the world turn to a good account. Parables must not be forced
beyond their primary intention, and therefore we must not hence
infer that any one can befriend us if we lie under the displeasure
of our Lord, but that, in the general, we must so lay out what we
have in works of piety and charity as that we may meet it again
with comfort on the other side death and the grave. If we would act
wisely, we must be diligent and industrious to employ our riches in
the acts of piety and charity, in order to promote our future and
eternal welfare, as worldly men are in laying them out to the
greatest temporal profit, in making to themselves friends with
them, and securing other secular interests. So <i>Dr. Clarke.</i>
Now let us consider,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p4">I. The parable itself, in which all the
children of men are represented as <i>stewards</i> of what they
have in this world, and we are but stewards. Whatever we have, the
property of it is God's; we have only the use of it, and that
according to the direction of our great Lord, and for his honour.
Rabbi Kimchi, quoted by Dr. Lightfoot, says, "This world is a
house; heaven the roof; the stars the lights; the earth, with its
fruits, a table spread; the Master of the house is the holy and
blessed God; man is the steward, into whose hands the goods of this
house are delivered; if he behave himself well, he shall find
favour in the eyes of his Lord; if not, he shall be turned out of
his stewardship." Now,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p5">1. Here is the <i>dishonesty</i> of this
<i>steward.</i> He <i>wasted his lord's goods,</i> embezzled them,
misapplied them, or through carelessness suffered them to be lost
and damaged; and for this he was <i>accused to his lord,</i>
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.1" parsed="|Luke|16|1|0|0" passage="Lu 16:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. We are all
<i>liable</i> to the same charge. We have not made a due
improvement of what God has entrusted us with in this world, but
have perverted his purpose; and, that we may not be for this
<i>judged of our Lord,</i> it concerns us to <i>judge
ourselves.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p6">2. His <i>discharge</i> out of his place.
His lord <i>called for him,</i> and said, "<i>How is it that I hear
this of thee?</i> I expected better things from thee." He speaks as
one sorry to find himself disappointed in him, and under a
necessity of dismissing him from his service: it troubles him to
hear it; but the steward cannot deny it, and therefore there is no
remedy, he must make up his accounts; and be gone in a little time,
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.2" parsed="|Luke|16|2|0|0" passage="Lu 16:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. Now this is
designed to teach us, (1.) That we must all of us shortly be
discharged from <i>our stewardship</i> in this world; we must not
always enjoy those things which we now enjoy. Death will come, and
<i>dismiss</i> us from our stewardship, will <i>deprive</i> us of
the abilities and opportunities we now have of doing good, and
others will come in our places and have the same. (2.) That our
discharge from our stewardship at death is <i>just,</i> and what we
have deserved, for we have wasted our Lord's goods, and thereby
forfeited our trust, so that we cannot complain of any wrong done
us. (3.) That when our stewardship is taken from us we must <i>give
an account</i> of it to our Lord: <i>After death the judgment.</i>
We are fairly warned both of our discharge and our account, and
ought to be frequently thinking of them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p7">3. His <i>after-wisdom.</i> Now he began to
consider, <i>What shall I do?</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.3" parsed="|Luke|16|3|0|0" passage="Lu 16:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. He would have done well to have
considered this before he had so foolishly thrown himself out of a
good place by his unfaithfulness; but it is better to
<i>consider</i> late than never. Note, Since we have all received
notice that we must shortly be turned out of our stewardship, we
are concerned to consider what we shall do then. He must live;
which way shall he have a livelihood? (1.) He knows that he has not
such a degree of industry in him as to get his living by work:
"<i>I cannot dig;</i> I cannot earn by bread by my labour." But why
can he not dig? It does not appear that he is either old or lame;
but the truth is, he is <i>lazy.</i> His <i>cannot</i> is a <i>will
not;</i> it is not a natural but a moral disability that he labours
under; if his master, when he turned him out of the stewardship,
had continued him in his service as a labourer, and set a
task-master over him, he would have made him dig. He <i>cannot
dig,</i> for he was never used to it. Now this intimates that we
cannot get a livelihood for our souls by any labour for this world,
nor indeed do any thing to purpose for our souls by any ability of
our own. (2.) He knows that he has not such a degree of
<i>humility</i> as to get his bread by begging: To <i>beg I am
ashamed.</i> This was the language of his pride, as the former of
his slothfulness. Those whom God, in his providence, has disabled
to help themselves, should not be <i>ashamed</i> to ask relief of
others. This steward had more reason to be ashamed of cheating his
master than of begging his bread. (3.) He therefore determines to
make friends of his lord's debtors, or his tenants that were behind
with their rent, and had given notes under their hands for it:
"<i>I am resolved what to do,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.4" parsed="|Luke|16|4|0|0" passage="Lu 16:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. My lord turns me out of his
house. I have none of my own to go to. I am acquainted with my
lord's tenants, have done them many a good turn, and now I will do
them one more, which will so oblige them that they will bid me
welcome to their houses, and the best entertainment they afford;
and so long as I live, at least till I can better dispose of
myself, I will quarter upon them, and go from one good house to
another." Now the way he would take to make them his friends was by
striking off a considerable part of their debt to his lord, and
giving it in his accounts so much less than it was. Accordingly, he
sent for one, who owed his lord <i>a hundred measures of oil</i>
(in that commodity he paid his rent): <i>Take thy bill,</i> said
he, here it is, and <i>sit down quickly, and write fifty</i>
(<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.6" parsed="|Luke|16|6|0|0" passage="Lu 16:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>); so he reduced
his debt to the one half. Observe, he was in haste to have it done:
"<i>Sit down quickly,</i> and do it, lest we be taken treating, and
suspected." He took another, who owed his lord <i>a hundred
measures of wheat,</i> and from his bill he cut off a fifth part,
and bade him write <i>fourscore</i> (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.7" parsed="|Luke|16|7|0|0" passage="Lu 16:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>); probably he did the like by
others, abating more or less according as he expected kindness from
them. See here what uncertain things our worldly possessions are;
they are most so to those who have most of them, who devolve upon
others all the care concerning them, and so put it into their power
to <i>cheat them,</i> because they will not trouble themselves to
see with their own eyes. See also what treachery is to be found
even among those in whom trust is reposed. How hard is it to find
one that confidence can be reposed in! <i>Let God be true, but
every man a liar.</i> Though this steward is turned out for dealing
dishonestly, yet still he does so. So rare is it for men to mend of
a fault, though they smart for it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p8">4. The approbation of this: <i>The lord
commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely,</i>
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.8" parsed="|Luke|16|8|0|0" passage="Lu 16:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. It may be meant
of <i>his lord,</i> the lord of that servant, who, though he could
not but be angry at his knavery, yet was pleased with his ingenuity
and policy for himself; but, taking it so, the latter part of the
verse must be the words of <i>our Lord,</i> and therefore I think
the whole is meant of him. Christ did, as it were, say, "Now
commend me to such a man as this, that knows how to do well for
himself, how to improve a present opportunity, and how to provide
for a future necessity." He does not commend him because he had
done <i>falsely</i> to his master, but because he had done
<i>wisely</i> for himself. Yet perhaps herein he did well for his
master too, and but justly with the tenants. He knew what <i>hard
bargains</i> he had <i>set them,</i> so that they could not <i>pay
their rent,</i> but, having been screwed up by his rigour, were
thrown <i>behindhand,</i> and they and their families were likely
to go to ruin; in consideration of this, he now, at going off, did
as he ought to do both in justice and charity, not only easing them
of part of their arrears, but abating their rent for the future.
<i>How much owest thou?</i> may mean, "What rent dost thou sit
upon? Come, I will set thee an easier bargain, and yet no easier
than what thou oughtest to have." He had been <i>all for his
lord,</i> but now he begins to consider the tenants, that he might
have <i>their favour</i> when he had lost <i>his lord's.</i> The
abating of their rent would be a lasting kindness, and more likely
to engage them than abating their arrears only. Now this forecast
of his, for a comfortable subsistence in this world, shames our
improvidence for another world: <i>The children of this world,</i>
who choose and have their portions in it, <i>are wiser for their
generation,</i> act more considerately, and better consult their
worldly interest and advantage, than the <i>children of light,</i>
who enjoy the gospel, in <i>their generation,</i> that is, in the
concerns of their souls and eternity. Note, (1.) The wisdom of
worldly people in the concerns of this world is to be
<i>imitated</i> by us in the concerns of our souls: it is their
principle to improve their opportunities, to do that first which is
most needful, in summer and harvest to lay up for winter, to take a
good bargain when it is offered them, to trust the <i>faithful</i>
and not the <i>false.</i> O that we were thus wise in our spiritual
affairs! (2.) The children of light are commonly <i>outdone</i> by
the children of this world. Not that the children of this world are
<i>truly wise;</i> it is only <i>in their generation.</i> But in
that they are <i>wiser than the children of light in theirs;</i>
for, though we are told that we must shortly be <i>turned out of
our stewardship,</i> yet we do not provide as we were to be <i>here
always</i> and as if there were not <i>another life after this,</i>
and are not so solicitous as this steward was to provide for
<i>hereafter.</i> Though as <i>children of the light,</i> that
light to which life and immortality are brought by the gospel, we
cannot but see <i>another world</i> before us, yet we do not
prepare for it, do not send our best effects and best affections
thither, as we should.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p9">II. The application of this parable, and
the inferences drawn from it (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.9" parsed="|Luke|16|9|0|0" passage="Lu 16:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>): "<i>I say unto you,</i> you my disciples" (for to
them this parable is directed, <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.1" parsed="|Luke|16|1|0|0" passage="Lu 16:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), "though you have but little in
this world, consider how you may do good with that little."
Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p10">1. What it is that our Lord Jesus here
exhorts us to; to provide for our comfortable reception to the
happiness of another world, by making good use of our possessions
and enjoyments in this world: "<i>Make to yourselves friends of the
mammon of unrighteousness,</i> as the steward with his lord's goods
made his lord's tenants his friends." It is the wisdom of the men
of this world so to manage their money as that they may have the
benefit of it hereafter, and not for the present only; therefore
they put it out to interest, buy land with it, put it into this or
the other fund. Now we should learn of them to make use of our
money so as that we may be the better for it hereafter in another
world, as they do in hopes to be the better for it hereafter in
this world; so <i>cast it upon the waters</i> as that we may
<i>find it again after many days,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.11.1" parsed="|Eccl|11|1|0|0" passage="Ec 11:1">Eccl. xi. 1</scripRef>. And in our case, though whatever
we have <i>are our Lord's goods,</i> yet, as long as we dispose of
them among <i>our Lord's tenants</i> and for their advantage, it is
so far from being reckoned a wrong to our Lord, that it is a duty
to him as well as policy for ourselves. Note, (1.) The things of
this world are the <i>mammon of unrighteousness,</i> or the false
<i>mammon,</i> not only because often got by fraud and
unrighteousness, but because those who trust to it for satisfaction
and happiness will certainly be deceived; for riches are perishing
things, and will disappoint those that raise their expectations
from them. (2.) Though this <i>mammon of unrighteousness</i> is not
to be <i>trusted to</i> for a happiness, yet it may and must be
<i>made use of</i> in subserviency to our pursuit of that which is
our happiness. Though we cannot find true satisfaction in it, yet
we may <i>make to ourselves friends</i> with it, not by way of
<i>purchase or merit,</i> but <i>recommendation;</i> so we may make
God and Christ our friends, the good angels and saints our friends,
and the poor our friends; and it is a desirable thing to be
<i>befriended</i> in the account and state to come. (3.) At death
we must all <i>fail,</i> <b><i>hotan eklipete</i></b>—<i>when ye
suffer an eclipse.</i> Death eclipses us. A tradesman is said to
<i>fail</i> when he becomes a <i>bankrupt.</i> We must all thus
fail shortly; death shuts up the shop, seals up the hand. Our
comforts and enjoyments on earth will <i>all fail</i> us; flesh and
heart fail. (4.) It ought to be our great concern to make it sure
to ourselves, that <i>when</i> we <i>fail</i> at death we may be
<i>received into everlasting habitations</i> in heaven. The
<i>habitations</i> in heaven are <i>everlasting,</i> not <i>made
with hands,</i> but <i>eternal,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.5.1" parsed="|2Cor|5|1|0|0" passage="2Co 5:1">2
Cor. v. 1</scripRef>. Christ is gone before, to prepare a place for
those that are his, and is there ready to <i>receive them;</i> the
bosom of Abraham is ready to receive them, and, when a <i>guard of
angels</i> carries them thither, a <i>choir of angels</i> is ready
to receive them there. The poor saints that are gone before to
glory will receive those that in this world distributed to their
necessities. (5.) This is a good reason why we should use what we
have in the world for the honour of God and the good of our
brethren, that thus we may with them <i>lay up in store a good
bond,</i> a good security, a good foundation <i>for the time to
come,</i> for an eternity to come. See <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.6.17-1Tim.6.19" parsed="|1Tim|6|17|6|19" passage="1Ti 6:17-19">1 Tim. vi. 17-19</scripRef>, which explains this
here.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p11">2. With what arguments he presses this
exhortation to abound in works of piety and charity.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p12">(1.) If we do not make a right use of the
<i>gifts of God's providence,</i> how can we expect from him those
present and future comforts which are the <i>gifts of his spiritual
grace?</i> Our Saviour here compares these, and shows that though
our faithful use of the things of this world cannot be thought to
merit any favour at the hand of God, yet our unfaithfulness in the
use of them may be justly reckoned a <i>forfeiture</i> of that
grace which is necessary to bring us to glory, and that is it which
our Saviour here shows, <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.10-Luke.16.14" parsed="|Luke|16|10|16|14" passage="Lu 16:10-14"><i>v.</i>
10-14</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p13">[1.] The riches of this world are the
<i>less;</i> grace and glory are the <i>greater.</i> Now if we be
unfaithful in the less, if we use the things of this world to other
purposes than those for which they were given us, it may justly be
feared that we should be so in the gifts of God's grace, that we
should receive them also in vain, and therefore they will be denied
us: <i>He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also
in much.</i> He that serves God, and does good, with his money,
will serve God, and do good, with the more noble and valuable
talents of wisdom and grace, and spiritual gifts, and the earnests
of heaven; but he that buries the <i>one talent</i> of this world's
wealth will never improve the <i>five talents</i> of spiritual
riches. God withholds his grace from covetous worldly people more
than we are aware of. [2.] The riches of this world are
<i>deceitful</i> and <i>uncertain;</i> they are the <i>unrighteous
mammon,</i> which is hastening from us apace, and, if we would make
any advantage of it, we must bestir ourselves quickly; if we do
not, how can we expect to be entrusted with spiritual riches, which
are the only <i>true riches?</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.11" parsed="|Luke|16|11|0|0" passage="Lu 16:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. Let us be convinced of this,
that those are <i>truly</i> rich, and <i>very</i> rich, who are
rich in <i>faith,</i> and rich <i>towards God,</i> rich in Christ,
in the promises, and in the earnests of heaven; and therefore let
us lay up our treasure in them, expect our portion from them, and
mind them in the first place, the <i>kingdom of God and the
righteousness thereof,</i> and then, if other things be added to
us, use them <i>in ordine ad spiritualia—with a spiritual
reference,</i> so that by using them well we may take the faster
hold of the <i>true riches,</i> and may be qualified to receive yet
<i>more grace</i> from God; <i>for God giveth to a man that is good
in his sight,</i> that is, to a free-hearted charitable man,
<i>wisdom, and knowledge, and joy</i> (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.2.26" parsed="|Eccl|2|26|0|0" passage="Ec 2:26">Eccl. ii. 26</scripRef>); that is, to a man that is
<i>faithful in the unrighteous mammon,</i> he gives the <i>true
riches.</i> [3.] The riches of this world are <i>another man's.</i>
They are <b><i>ta allotria</i></b>, not <i>our own;</i> for they
are foreign to the soul and its nature and interest. They are not
<i>our own;</i> for they are God's; his title to them is prior and
superior to ours; the property remains in him, we are but
usufructuaries. They are <i>another man's;</i> we have them from
others; we use them for others, and <i>what good has the owner</i>
from his <i>goods</i> that <i>increase,</i> save <i>the beholding
of them with his eyes,</i> while still <i>they are increased that
eat them;</i> and we must shortly leave them to others, and we know
not to whom? But spiritual and eternal riches are <i>our own</i>
(they enter into the soul that becomes <i>possessed</i> of them)
and <i>inseparably;</i> they are a good part that will never be
taken away from us. If we make Christ our own, and the promises our
own, and heaven our own, we have that which we may truly call
<i>our own.</i> But how can we expect God should <i>enrich us</i>
with these if we do not serve him with our worldly possessions, of
which we are but stewards?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p14">(2.) We have no other way to prove
ourselves the servants of God than by giving up ourselves so
entirely to his service as to make <i>mammon,</i> that is, all our
worldly gain, serviceable to us in his service (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.13" parsed="|Luke|16|13|0|0" passage="Lu 16:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>): <i>No servant can serve two
masters,</i> whose commands are so inconsistent as those of God and
<i>mammon</i> are. If a man will <i>love</i> the world, and <i>hold
to that,</i> it cannot be but he will <i>hate God</i> and
<i>despise</i> him. He will make all his pretensions of religion
truckle to his secular interests and designs, and the things of God
shall be made to help him in serving and seeking the world. But, on
the other hand, if a man will <i>love God,</i> and <i>adhere</i> to
him, he will comparatively <i>hate</i> the world (whenever God and
the world come in competition) and will <i>despise</i> it, and make
all his business and success in the world some way or other
conducive to his furtherance in the business of religion; and the
things of the world shall be made to help him in serving God and
working out his salvation. The matter is here laid plainly before
us: <i>Ye cannot serve God and mammon.</i> So divided are their
interests that their services can never be <i>compounded.</i> If
therefore we be determined to <i>serve God,</i> we must disclaim
and abjure the service of the world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p15">3. We are here told what entertainment this
doctrine of Christ met with among the Pharisees, and what rebuke he
gave them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p16">(1.) They wickedly <i>ridiculed</i> him,
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.14" parsed="|Luke|16|14|0|0" passage="Lu 16:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. <i>The
Pharisees, who were covetous, heard all these things,</i> and could
not contradict him, but <i>they derided him.</i> Let us consider
this, [1.] As their <i>sin,</i> and the fruit of their
<i>covetousness,</i> which was their reigning sin, their own
iniquity. Note, Many that make a great profession of religion, have
much knowledge, and abound in the exercise of devotion, are yet
ruined by the love of the world; nor does any thing harden the
heart more against the word of Christ. These covetous Pharisees
could not bear to have that <i>touched,</i> which was their
<i>Delilah,</i> their darling lust; for this they derided him,
<b><i>exemykterizon auton</i></b>—<i>they snuffled up their noses
at him,</i> or blew their noses on him. It is an expression of the
utmost scorn and disdain imaginable; <i>the word of the Lord was to
them a reproach,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.6.10" parsed="|Jer|6|10|0|0" passage="Jer 6:10">Jer. vi.
10</scripRef>. They laughed at him for going so contrary to the
opinion and way of the world, for endeavouring to recover them from
a sin which they were resolved to hold fast. Note, It is common for
those to <i>make a jest</i> of the word of God who are resolved
that they will not be ruled by it; but they will find at last that
it cannot be turned off so. [2.] As <i>his suffering.</i> Our Lord
Jesus endured not only the <i>contradiction</i> of sinners, but
their <i>contempt;</i> they <i>had him in derision</i> all the day.
He that spoke as never man spoke was bantered and ridiculed, that
his faithful ministers, whose preaching is unjustly <i>derided,</i>
may not be disheartened at it. It is no disgrace to a man to be
laughed at, but to deserve to be laughed at. Christ's apostles were
<i>mocked,</i> and no wonder; the <i>disciple is not greater than
his Lord.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p17">(2.) He justly reproved them; not for
<i>deriding</i> him (he knew how to <i>despise the shame</i>), but
for <i>deceiving</i> themselves with the shows and colours of
piety, when they were strangers to the power of it, <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.15" parsed="|Luke|16|15|0|0" passage="Lu 16:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. Here is,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p18">[1.] Their <i>specious outside;</i> nay, it
was a <i>splendid one. First,</i> They <i>justified themselves
before men;</i> they denied whatever ill was laid to their charge,
even by Christ himself. They claimed to be looked upon as men of
singular sanctity and devotion, and justified themselves in that
claim: "<i>You are they that</i> do that, so as none ever did, that
make it your business to court the opinion of men, and, right or
wrong, will justify yourselves before the world; you are
<i>notorious</i> for this." <i>Secondly,</i> They were <i>highly
esteemed among men.</i> Men did not only <i>acquit</i> them from
any blame they were under, but <i>applauded</i> them, and had them
in veneration, not only as <i>good men,</i> but as the <i>best of
men.</i> Their sentiments were esteemed as oracles, their
directions as laws, and their practices as inviolable
prescriptions.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p19">[2.] Their <i>odious inside,</i> which was
under the eye of God: "He <i>knows your heart,</i> and it is in his
sight an <i>abomination;</i> for it is full of all manner of
wickedness." Note, <i>First,</i> It is folly to <i>justify
ourselves before men,</i> and to think this enough to bear us out,
and bring us off, in the judgment of the great day, that men
<i>know no ill</i> of us; for God, who knows our hearts, knows that
ill of us which no one else can know. This ought to check our value
for ourselves, and our confidence in ourselves, that <i>God knows
our hearts,</i> and how much deceit is there, for we have reason to
abase and distrust ourselves. <i>Secondly,</i> It is folly to judge
of persons and things by the opinion of men concerning them, and to
go down with the stream of vulgar estimate; for that which is
<i>highly esteemed among men,</i> who judge according to outward
appearance, is perhaps <i>an abomination in the sight of God,</i>
who sees things as they are, and whose judgment, we are sure, is
according to truth. On the contrary, there are those whom men
despise and condemn who yet are accepted and approved of God,
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.10.18" parsed="|2Cor|10|18|0|0" passage="2Co 10:18">2 Cor. x. 18</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p20">(3.) He turned from them to the publicans
and sinners, as more likely to be wrought upon by his gospel than
those covetous conceited Pharisees (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.16" parsed="|Luke|16|16|0|0" passage="Lu 16:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): "The <i>law and the prophets
were</i> indeed <i>until John;</i> the Old-Testament dispensation,
which was <i>confined</i> to you Jews, continued till John Baptist
appeared, and you seemed to have the monopoly of righteousness and
salvation; and you are puffed up with this, and this gains you
esteem among men, that you are students in the law and the
prophets; but since John Baptist appeared <i>the kingdom of God is
preached,</i> a New-Testament dispensation, which does not value
men at all for their being doctors of the law, but <i>every man
presses</i> into the gospel kingdom, Gentiles as well as Jews, and
no man thinks himself bound in good manners to let his betters go
before him into it, or to stay till the <i>rulers</i> and the
Pharisees have led him that way. It is not so much a political
national constitution as the Jewish economy was, when <i>salvation
was of the Jews;</i> but it is made a particular personal concern,
and therefore <i>every man</i> that is convinced he has a soul to
save, and an eternity to provide for, thrusts to get in, lest he
should come short by trifling and complimenting." Some give this
sense of it; they derided Christ or speaking in contempt of riches,
for, thought they, were there not many promises of riches and other
temporal good things in the <i>law and the prophets?</i> And were
not many of the best of God's servants very rich, as Abraham and
David? "It is true," saith Christ, "so it was, but now that the
kingdom of God is begun to be preached things take a new turn; now
blessed are the poor, and the mourners, and the persecuted." The
Pharisees, to requite the people for their high opinion of them,
allowed them in a cheap, easy, formal religion. "But," saith
Christ, "now that the <i>gospel is preached</i> the eyes of the
people are opened, and as they cannot now have a veneration for the
Pharisees, as they have had, so they cannot content themselves with
such an indifferency in religion as they have been trained up in,
but they <i>press</i> with a holy violence into the kingdom of
God." Note, Those that would go to heaven must take pains, must
strive against the stream, must press against the crowd that are
going the contrary way.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p21">(4.) Yet still he protests against any
design to invalidate the law (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.17" parsed="|Luke|16|17|0|0" passage="Lu 16:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>It is easier for heaven and
earth to pass,</i> <b><i>parelthein</i></b>—<i>to pass by,</i> to
pass away, though the foundations of the earth and the pillars of
heaven are so firmly established, <i>than for one tittle of the law
to fail.</i> The moral law is confirmed and ratified, and not one
tittle of that fails; the duties enjoined by it are duties still;
the sins forbidden by it are sins still. Nay, the precepts of it
are explained and enforced by the gospel, and made to appear more
spiritual. The ceremonial law is perfected in the gospel colours;
not <i>one tittle</i> of that <i>fails,</i> for it is found printed
off in the gospel, where, though the force of it is as a law taken
off, yet the figure of it as a type shines very brightly, witness
the epistle to the Hebrews. There were some things which were
connived at by the law, for the preventing of greater mischiefs,
the permission of which the gospel has indeed taken away, but
without any detriment or disparagement to the law, for it has
thereby reduced them to the primitive intention of the law, as in
the case of divorce (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.18" parsed="|Luke|16|18|0|0" passage="Lu 16:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>), which we had before, <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.5.32 Bible:Matt.19.9" parsed="|Matt|5|32|0|0;|Matt|19|9|0|0" passage="Mt 5:32,19:9">Matt. v. 32; xix. 9</scripRef>. Christ will not
allow divorces, for his gospel is intended to strike at the bitter
root of men's corrupt appetites and passions, to kill them, and
pluck them up; and therefore they must not be so far
<i>indulged</i> as that permission <i>did</i> indulge them, for the
more they are indulged the more impetuous and headstrong they
grow.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Luke.xvii-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.19-Luke.16.31" parsed="|Luke|17|19|17|31" passage="Lu 17:19-31" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Luke.17.19-Luke.17.31">
<h4 id="Luke.xvii-p21.5">The Rich Man and Lazarus.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Luke.xvii-p22">19 There was a certain rich man, which was
clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
  20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was
laid at his gate, full of sores,   21 And desiring to be fed
with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the
dogs came and licked his sores.   22 And it came to pass, that
the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;   23 And in
hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar
off, and Lazarus in his bosom.   24 And he cried and said,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip
the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am
tormented in this flame.   25 But Abraham said, Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art
tormented.   26 And beside all this, between us and you there
is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to
you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that <i>would come</i>
from thence.   27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father,
that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:   28 For I
have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also
come into this place of torment.   29 Abraham saith unto him,
They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.   30 And
he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the
dead, they will repent.   31 And he said unto him, If they
hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded,
though one rose from the dead.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p23">As the parable of the prodigal son set
before us the grace of the gospel, which is encouraging to us all,
so this sets before us the <i>wrath to come,</i> and is designed
for our awakening; and very fast asleep those are in sin that will
not be awakened by it. The Pharisees made a jest of Christ's sermon
against worldliness; now this parable was intended to make those
mockers serious. The tendency of the gospel of Christ is both to
reconcile us to poverty and affliction and to arm us against
temptations to worldliness and sensuality. Now this parable, by
drawing the curtain, and letting us see what will be the end of
both in the other world, goes very far in prosecuting those two
great intentions. This parable is not like Christ's other parables,
in which spiritual things are represented by similitudes borrowed
from worldly things, as those of the sower and the seed (except
that of the sheep and goats), the prodigal son, and indeed all the
rest but this. But here the <i>spiritual things themselves</i> are
represented in a narrative or description of the different state of
good and bad in this world and the other. Yet we need not call it a
history of a particular occurrence, but it is <i>matter of fact</i>
that is true every day, that poor godly people, whom men neglect
and trample upon, die away out of their miseries, and go to
heavenly bliss and joy, which is made the more pleasant to them by
their preceding sorrows; and that rich epicures, who live in
luxury, and are unmerciful to the poor, die, and go into a state of
insupportable torment, which is the more grievous and terrible to
them because of the sensual lives they lived: and that there is no
gaining any relief from their torments. Is this a parable? What
similitude is there in this? The discourse indeed between Abraham
and the rich man is only an illustration of the description, to
make it the more affecting, like that between God and Satan in the
story of Job. Our Saviour came to bring us acquainted with another
world, and to show us the reference which <i>this</i> world has to
<i>that;</i> and here is does it. In this description (for so I
shall choose to call it) we may observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p24">I. The different condition of a <i>wicked
rich man,</i> and a <i>godly poor man,</i> in this world. We know
that as some of late, so the Jews of old, were ready to make
prosperity one of the marks of a true church, of a good man and a
favourite of heaven, so that they could hardly have any favourable
thoughts of a <i>poor man.</i> This mistake Christ, upon all
occasions, set himself to correct, and here very fully, where we
have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p25">1. A wicked man, and one that will be for
ever miserable, in the height of prosperity (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.19" parsed="|Luke|16|19|0|0" passage="Lu 16:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>): <i>There was a certain rich
man.</i> From the Latin we commonly call him <i>Dives—a rich
man;</i> but, as Bishop Tillotson observes, he has no name given
him, as the poor man has, because it had been invidious to have
named any particular rich man in such a description as this, and
apt to provoke and gain ill-will. But others observe that Christ
would not do the rich man so much honour as to name him, though
when perhaps he called his lands by his own name he thought it
should long survive that of the beggar at his gate, which yet is
here preserved, when that of the rich man is buried in oblivion.
Now we are told concerning this rich man,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p26">(1.) That he was <i>clothed in purple and
fine linen,</i> and that was his <i>adorning.</i> He had <i>fine
linen</i> for <i>pleasure,</i> and clean, no doubt, every day;
night-linen, and day-linen. He had <i>purple</i> for <i>state,</i>
for that was the wear of princes, which has made some conjecture
that Christ had an eye to Herod in it. He never appeared abroad but
in great magnificence.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p27">(2.) He <i>fared</i> deliciously and
<i>sumptuously every day.</i> His table was furnished with all the
varieties and dainties that nature and art could supply; his
side-table richly adorned with plate; his servants, who waited at
table, in rich liveries; and the guests at his table, no doubt,
such as he thought <i>graced</i> it. Well, and what harm was there
in all this? It is no sin to be rich, no sin to wear purple and
fine linen, nor to keep a plentiful table, if a man's estate will
afford it. Not are we told that he got his estate by fraud,
oppression, or extortion, no, nor that he was drunk, or made others
drunk; but, [1.] Christ would hereby show that a man may have a
great deal of the wealth, and pomp, and pleasure of this world, and
yet lie and perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. We cannot
infer from men's living great either that God loves them <i>in</i>
giving them so much, or that they love God <i>for</i> giving them
so much; happiness consists not in these things. [2.] That plenty
and pleasure are a very <i>dangerous</i> and to many a <i>fatal</i>
temptation to luxury, and sensuality, and forgetfulness of God and
another world. This man might have been happy if he had not had
great possessions and enjoyments. [3.] That the indulgence of the
body, and the ease and pleasure of that, are the ruin of many a
soul, and the interests of it. It is true, eating good meat and
wearing good clothes are lawful; but it is true that they often
become the food and fuel of pride and luxury, and so turn into sin
to us. [4.] That feasting ourselves and our friends, and, at the
same time, forgetting the distresses of the poor and afflicted, are
very provoking to God and damning to the soul. The sin of this rich
man was not so much his dress or his diet, but his providing only
for himself.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p28">2. Here is a godly man, and one that will
be for ever happy, in the depth of adversity and distress
(<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.20" parsed="|Luke|16|20|0|0" passage="Lu 16:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>): <i>There
was a certain beggar,</i> named <i>Lazarus.</i> A beggar of that
name, eminently devout, and in great distress, was probably well
known among good people at that time: a beggar, suppose such a one
as Eleazar, or Lazarus. Some think Eleazar a proper name for any
poor man, for it signifies the <i>help of God,</i> which they must
fly to that are destitute of <i>other helps.</i> This poor man was
reduced to the last extremity, as miserable, as to outward things,
as you can lightly suppose a man to be in this world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p29">(1.) His body was <i>full of sores,</i>
like Job. To be sick and weak in body is a great affliction; but
sores are more <i>painful</i> to the patient, and more
<i>loathsome</i> to those about him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p30">(2.) He was forced to beg his bread, and to
take up with such scraps as he could get at rich people's doors. He
was so sore and lame that he could not go himself, but was carried
by some compassionate hand or other, and <i>laid at the rich man's
gate.</i> Note, Those that are not able to help the poor with their
<i>purses</i> should help them with their <i>pains;</i> those that
cannot lend them <i>a penny</i> should lend them <i>a hand;</i>
those that have not themselves wherewithal to give to them should
either bring them, or go for them, to those that have. Lazarus, in
his distress, had nothing of his own to subsist on, no relation to
go to, nor did the parish take care of him. It is an instance of
the degeneracy of the Jewish church at this time that such a godly
man as Lazarus was should be suffered to perish for want of
necessary food. Now observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p31">[1.] His expectations from the rich man's
table: <i>He desired to be fed with the crumbs,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.21" parsed="|Luke|16|21|0|0" passage="Lu 16:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. He did not look for a
mess from off his table, though he ought to have had one, one of
the best; but would be thankful for the crumbs from under the
table, the broken meat which was the rich man's leavings; nay, the
leavings of his dogs. <i>The poor use entreaties,</i> and must be
content with such as they can get. Now this is taken notice of to
show, <i>First,</i> What was the distress, and what the
disposition, of the poor man. He was <i>poor,</i> but he was
<i>poor in spirit,</i> contentedly poor. He did not lie at the rich
man's gate complaining, and bawling, and making a noise, but
silently and modestly desiring to be <i>fed with the crumbs.</i>
This miserable man was a good man, and in favour with God. Note, It
is often the lot of some of the dearest of God's saints and
servants to be greatly afflicted in this world, while wicked people
prosper, and have abundance; see <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.7 Bible:Ps.73.10 Bible:Ps.73.14" parsed="|Ps|73|7|0|0;|Ps|73|10|0|0;|Ps|73|14|0|0" passage="Ps 73:7,10,14">Ps. lxxiii. 7, 10, 14</scripRef>. Here is a child
of wrath and an heir of hell sitting in the house, faring
sumptuously; and a child of love and an heir of heaven lying at the
gate, perishing for hunger. And is men's spiritual state to be
judged of then by their outward condition? <i>Secondly,</i> What
was the temper of the rich man towards him. We are not told that he
abused him, or forbade him his gate, or did him any harm, but it is
intimated that he slighted him; he had no concern for him, took no
care about him. Here was a <i>real</i> object of charity, and a
very <i>moving</i> one, which spoke for itself; it was presented to
him at <i>his own gate.</i> The poor man had a good character and
good conduct, and every thing that could recommend him. A
<i>little</i> thing would be a <i>great</i> kindness to him, and
yet he took no cognizance of his case, did not order him to be
taken in and lodged in the barn, or some of the out-buildings, but
let him lie there. Note, It is not enough not to oppress and
trample upon the poor; we shall be found unfaithful stewards of our
Lord's goods, in the great day, if we do not succour and relieve
them. The reason given for the most fearful doom is, <i>I was
hungry, and you gave me no meat.</i> I wonder how those rich people
who have read the gospel of Christ, and way that they believe it,
can be so unconcerned as they often are in the necessities and
miseries of the poor and afflicted.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p32">[2.] The usage he had from the dogs; <i>The
dogs came and licked his sores.</i> The rich man kept a kennel of
hounds, it may be, or other dogs, for his diversion, and to please
his fancy, and these were fed to the full, when poor Lazarus could
not get enough to keep him alive. Note, Those will have a great
deal to answer for hereafter that feed 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 fancies and follies
which would supply the necessity, and rejoice the 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 horses, and
let the families of their poor neighbours starve. Now those dogs
<i>came and licked the</i> sores of poor Lazarus, which may be
taken, <i>First,</i> As an aggravation of his misery. His sores
were <i>bloody,</i> which tempted the dogs to come, and lick them,
as they did the blood of Naboth and Ahab, <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.19" parsed="|1Kgs|21|19|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:19">1 Kings xxi. 19</scripRef>. And we read of the
<i>tongue of the dogs dipped</i> in the <i>blood of enemies,</i>
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p32.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.68.23" parsed="|Ps|68|23|0|0" passage="Ps 68:23">Ps. lxviii. 23</scripRef>. They
attacked him while he was yet alive, as if he had been already
dead, and he had not strength himself to keep them off, nor would
any of the servants be so civil as to check them. The dogs were
like their master, and thought they fared sumptuously when they
regaled themselves with human gore. Or, it may be taken,
<i>Secondly,</i> as some relief to him in his misery; <b><i>alla
kai</i></b>, the master was <i>hard-hearted</i> towards him,
<i>but</i> the dogs <i>came and licked his sores,</i> which
mollified and eased them. It is not said, They <i>sucked</i> them,
but <i>licked</i> them, which was good for them. The dogs were more
kind to him than their master was.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p33">II. Here is the <i>different condition</i>
of this <i>godly poor man,</i> and this <i>wicked rich man, at</i>
and <i>after death.</i> Hitherto the wicked man seems to have the
advantage, but <i>Exitus acta probat</i>—<i>Let us wait awhile, to
see the end hereof.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p34">1. They both died (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p34.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.22" parsed="|Luke|16|22|0|0" passage="Lu 16:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>): The <i>beggar died;</i> the
<i>rich man also died.</i> Death is the common lot of rich and
poor, godly and ungodly; there they meet together. One dieth <i>in
his full strength,</i> and another in <i>the bitterness of his
soul;</i> but they shall <i>lie down alike in the dust,</i>
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p34.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.21.26" parsed="|Job|21|26|0|0" passage="Job 21:26">Job xxi. 26</scripRef>. 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 death, for it waits for them both. <i>Mors sceptra ligonibus
æquat—Death blends the sceptre with the spade.</i></p>
<verse id="Luke.xvii-p34.3">
<l class="t1" id="Luke.xvii-p34.4">———æquo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas,</l>
<l class="t1" id="Luke.xvii-p34.5">Regumque turres.</l>
<l class="t1" id="Luke.xvii-p34.6"/>
<l class="t1" id="Luke.xvii-p34.7">With equal pace, impartial fate</l>
<l class="t1" id="Luke.xvii-p34.8">Knocks at the palace, as the cottage gate.</l>
</verse>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p35">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>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p36">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> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p36.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.21.32-Job.21.33" parsed="|Job|21|32|21|33" passage="Job 21:32,33">Job xxi. 32, 33</scripRef>. How foreign is the
ceremony of a funeral to the happiness of the man!</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p37">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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p38">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>
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p38.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.23" parsed="|Luke|16|23|0|0" passage="Lu 16:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p39">(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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p40">(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 (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p40.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.13.28" parsed="|Luke|13|28|0|0" passage="Lu 13:28"><i>ch.</i> xiii.
28</scripRef>): <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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p41">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> (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p41.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.14.10" parsed="|Rev|14|10|0|0" passage="Re 14:10">Rev.
xiv. 10</scripRef>), 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> (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p41.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.66.23-Isa.66.24" parsed="|Isa|66|23|66|24" passage="Isa 66:23,24">Isa. lxvi. 23, 24</scripRef>), such a
discourse as this is not incongruous to be supposed. Now in this
discourse we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p42">1. The request which the rich man made to
Abraham for some mitigation of his present misery, <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p42.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.24" parsed="|Luke|16|24|0|0" passage="Lu 16:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p43">(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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p44">(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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p45">(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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p46">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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p47">(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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p48">(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
(<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p48.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.2.10" parsed="|Luke|2|10|0|0" passage="Lu 2:10"><i>ch.</i> ii. 10</scripRef>, <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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p49">(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> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p49.1" osisRef="Bible:2Thess.1.6-2Thess.1.7" parsed="|2Thess|1|6|1|7" passage="2Th 1:6,7">2 Thess. i. 6, 7</scripRef>. 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>
<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p49.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.56" parsed="|Deut|28|56|0|0" passage="De 28:56">Deut. xxviii. 56</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p50">(4.) He assures him that it was to no
purpose to think of having any relief by the ministry of Lazarus;
for (<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p50.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.26" parsed="|Luke|16|26|0|0" passage="Lu 16:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>),
<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 back.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p51">3. The further request he had to make to
his father Abraham, not for himself, his mouth is stopped, and he
has not a word to say in answer to Abraham's denial of a drop of
water. Damned sinners are made to know that the sentence they are
under is just, and they cannot alleviate their own misery by making
any objection against it. And, since he cannot obtain a drop of
water to <i>cool his tongue,</i> we may suppose he <i>gnawed his
tongue for pain,</i> as those are said to do on whom one of the
<i>vials</i> of God's wrath is <i>poured out,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p51.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.16.10" parsed="|Rev|16|10|0|0" passage="Re 16:10">Rev. xvi. 10</scripRef>. The shrieks and
outcries which we may suppose to be now uttered by him were
hideous; but, having an opportunity of speaking to Abraham, he 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>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p52">(1.) He begs that Lazarus might be <i>sent
to his father's house,</i> upon an errand thither: <i>I pray thee
therefore, father,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p52.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.27" parsed="|Luke|16|27|0|0" passage="Lu 16:27"><i>v.</i>
27</scripRef>. Again he calls upon Abraham, and in this request he
is importunate: "<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 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 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>" <scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p52.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.28" parsed="|Luke|16|28|0|0" passage="Lu 16:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p53">(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 class="indent" id="Luke.xvii-p54">(3.) He urges his request yet further
(<scripRef id="Luke.xvii-p54.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.30" parsed="|Luke|16|30|0|0" passage="Lu 16:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>): "<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>
</div></div2>