showed mercy was his neighbour, Jesus dismissed him with this charge: Go, and do thou likewise.' Luke, xi. 41, Give alms of such things as ye have : behold, all things are clean unto you.' Luke, xii. 15, Take heed, and beware of covetousness. Be

not solicitous what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, nor what ye shall put on;' be not fearful or apprehensive of want, for it is your Father's pleasure to give you a kingdom. Sell that you have and give alms: and provide yourselves bags that wax not old, and treasure in the heavens that faileth not; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let your loins be girded, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for the lord, when he will return. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Blessed is that servant, whom the lord having made ruler of his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season, the lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him a ruler over all that he hath. But if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to beat the men-servants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; the lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with unbelievers. And that servant who knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself; neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes: for he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes; for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to

whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.' Luke, xiv. 11: Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.' Verse 12: When thou makest a dinner or supper, call not thy friends, or thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy neighbours, lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor and maimed, the lame and the blind, and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.' Verse 33: 'So likewise, whosoever he be of you that is not ready to forego all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.' Luke, xvi. 9: 'I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. If ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?' Luke, xvii. 3: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him.' Luke, xviii. 1:

He spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.' Verse 18: 'One comes to him, and asks him, saying, Master, What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He says, which? Jesus said, Thou knowest the commandments: Thou shalt not kill; Thou shalt not commit adultery; Thou shalt not

Mal; Thou shalt not bear false witness; Defraud vot; Honour thy father and thy mother; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. He said, All these have I observed from my youth. Jesus hearing this, loved him; and said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.' To understand this right, we must take notice, that this young man asks our Saviour what he must do to be admitted effectually into the kingdom of the Messiah? The Jews believed that when the Messiah came, those of their nation that received him should not die; but that they, with those who, being dead, should then be raised again by him, should enjoy eternal life with him. Our Saviour, in answer to this demand, tells the young man, that to obtain the eternal life of the kingdom of the Messiah, he must keep the commandments. And then enumerating several of the precepts of the law, the young man says he had observed these from his childhood: for which, the text tells us, Jesus loved him. But our Saviour, to try whether in earnest he believed him to be the Messiah, and resolved to take him to be his king, and to obey him as such, bids him give all he has to the poor, and come, and follow him, and he should have treasure in heaven. This I look on to be the meaning of the place this of selling all he had, and giving it to the poor, not being a standing law of his kingdom,' but a pro

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Doubtless not; yet he who revels in superfluities while his poorer brother in Christ lacks the very necessaries of life, is, in the true sense of the words, not a Christian. Few, I am afraid, are inclined to interpret this, and similar passages, half so literally as they were meant: but, if Christ never intended we

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bationary command to this your whether he truly believed him to b and was ready to obey his commands, quish all to follow him, when he, his quired it.

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152. And therefore we see, Luke, xix. 14, w our Saviour takes notice of the Jews not receiv. him as the Messiah, he expresses it thus: We wi not have this man to reign over us.' It is not enough to believe him to be the Messiah, unless we also obey his laws, and take him to be our king to reign over us. Matt. xxii. 11-13: He that had not on the wedding garment, though he accepted of the invitation, and came to the wedding, was cast into outer darkness. By the wedding garment, it is evident good works are meant here. That wedding garment of fine linen, clean and white, which we are told is the dikaiμara, righteous acts of the saints;' or, as St. Paul calls it, 'the walking worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called." This appears from the parable itself: 'The kingdom of heaven,' says our Saviour, 'is like unto a king who made a marriage for his son.' And here he distinguishes those who were invited into three sorts-1. Those who were invited, and came not; that is, those who had the gospel, the good news of the kingdom of God proposed to them, but believed not. 2. Those who came, but had not on a wedding garment; that is, believed Jesus to be the

should sell all, and give it to the poor, which would render us poorer than any of them, he doubtless did intend we should suffer them to partake of what we have, and we can never be his disciples unless we do so.-) -ED. 2 Ephes. iv. 1.

Rev. xix. 8.

essiah, but were not new clad (as I may so say) th a true repentance and amendment of life, nor lorned with those virtues which the apostle, Col. i., requires to be put on. 3. Those who were inited, did come, and had on the wedding garment; hat is, heard the gospel, believed Jesus to be the Messiah, and sincerely obeyed his laws. These hree sorts are plainly designed here; whereof the last only were the blessed, who were to enjoy the kingdom prepared for them. Matt. xxiii.: Be not Eye called Rabbi; for one is your Master, even the

Messiah, and ye all are brethren. And call no man eyour father upon the earth; for one is your Father he which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters; for one is your Master, even the Messiah. But he that is greatest amongst you, shall be your servant; and whosoever shall exalt himself, shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself, shall be exalted.' Luke, xxi. 34: Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be at any time overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life.' Luke, xxii. 25: 'He said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest amongst you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.' John, xiii. 34: A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another: by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another.' This command of loving one another, is repeated again, chap. xv. 12, 17. John, xiv.: 'If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is