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Mark X. 18.

234 Sect. 137. remember upon all Occafions, that none is perfectly Good, but one glorious and immutable Being, [even] the ever Bleffed and Eternal GOD; nor can any Man or Angel deferve the Title of Good, in any Degree of Comparison with him, from whom originally ftream forth all thofe Rays of Goodnefs, which are but imperfectly reflected from them. But as to the Queftion thou haft afked, If thou art refolutely determined to enter into Life, it is abfolutely neceffary thou shouldft keep the Divine Commandments, the perfect Obfervance of which alone can give thee a Legal Claim to it, and in the wilful Neglect of which thou must never on any Terms expect it.

JESUS bids him to keep the Commandments.

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Then the Young Ruler, that he might fully understand the Mind of Jefus, eagerly fays to him, Which are thofe Commandments, on the Obfervation of which my Eternal Life depends? Jefus faid, Thou undoubtedly knowest the Commanaments which GOD gave to Mofes, written on the Tables of Stone at Mount Sinai, among which thofe of the Second Table, however neglected by the Pharifees, are by no means to be forgotten; fuch as, "Thou shalt not kill Thou Jhalt not commit Adultery; Thou shalt not steal; "Thou shalt not bear falfe Witness against thy

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Neighbour; Thou shalt not covet any Part of "his Property, or take any Methods to defraud "him (d) ;" and that which indeed stands in the Front of all these, "Honour thy Father and thy "Mother." Thefe are the Six laft Commandments, which I now recommend to thy Confideration; and they may all be fummed up in that one comprehenfive Precept, "Thou shalt

"love

but one, that is GOD: [But if thou wilt enter into Life, keep the Commandments.] [MAT. XIX. 17. LUKE XVIII. 19.]

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(d) Thou shalt not defraud.] As Mark feems to put this for the Tenth Commandment, Dr. Hammond (in Loc.) and Archbishop Tillotson (fee his Works, Vol. ii. pag. 257.) fuppofe it a Key to the Senfe of thofe Words, Thou shalt not covet; the Meaning of which, they argue, is as if it had been faid, "Thou shalt not be fo defirous of thy Neighbour's Poffel"fions, as to be willing to injure the Owner by depriving him of them, that thou mayest "fecure them to thyfelf." But the Apostle Paul strongly intimates, that the Senfe of that Command is much more extenfive; (Rom. vii. 7.) and as the preceding Commandments had forbid, to invade the Life, the Bed, the Property, or Reputation of another, fo this requires a Guard on thofe irregular Appetites and Paffions, which might by infenfible Degrees lead Men to Murther, Adultery, Theft, or falfe Witness.

(e) I have

He fays he has done it; but is told, that One Thing was wanting.

235

love thy Neighbour as thy-love thy Neighbour as thyself." (See Exod. xx. Sect. 137. felf.] [MAT. XIX. 18, 19. 12,-17. and Lev. xix. 18.) LUKE XVIII. 20.]

20 And [the young Man] anfwered and faid unto him, Mafter, all thefe [Things] have I obferved from my Youth: [What lack I yet?] [MAT. XIX. 20. LUKE XVIII. 21.]

when he heard these Things,

And the Young Man, not apprehending the Mark X. 20. large Extent and fpiritual Meaning of thefe Precepts, replied with great Chearfulness and Confidence, and faid to him, Mafter, I have been early taught thefe Precepts; and may venture to fay, that I have confcientiously obferved all thefe, even from my Infancy (e), and have abstained from each of the Vices and Immoralities condemned in them: What then do I farther need, in order to fecure the glorious Prize after which I am seeking?

21 Then Jefus beholding And Jefus looking fedfaftly upon him, loved him, 21 him, loved him, and [LUK. and felt the Emotions of Complacency mingled he] faid unto him, [LUK. with tender Compaffion, in Regard to fo young Yet] one Thing thou lack a Perfon, who had maintained fo honourable a eft: Character in fuch an elevated Station of Life, and was under fuch Concern about another World, yet at the fame Time, amidst all these hopeful Circumftances, was governed ftill by a fecret Fondnefs for the Poffeffions he enjoyed in this: And as our Lord thought fit to manifeft this Fondness to himself and others, when he had heard thefe Things which have been mentioned above, he was pleafed to call him forth to a peculiar Trial; and therefore faid unto him, Thus far it is well; but yet, alas, One Thing thou still wanteft (f), in order to prove that Integrity of Soul, and that prevailing Love to Go D, without which none can be intitled

(e) I have obferved all thefe, even from my Infancy.] The Phrafe anо vedlnlos may indeed be very exactly rendered from my Youth; but as he was yet but a Young Man, it is probably here put for Infancy, or Childhood. It is plain, he did not understand the fpiritual Meaning and Extent of the Law, according to our Lord's Explication of it in his Sermon on the Mount; or he would not have pleaded his exact Obedience to it. But the Jews in general feem to have thought, that if they abftained from grofs Crimes, Sacrifices might atone for fmaller Neglects or Offences. And this Compound feems to have been that Righteousness of their own, in which, to their final Ruin, they trufted for Juftification before GOD, in the Neglect of the Righteousness which is of GOD by Faith. Compare Rom. x. 3. and Phil. iii. 9.

(f) One Thing thou wanteft.] Our Lord does not fay, he wanted but one Thing; fo that nothing can be concluded from hence againft the Neceffity of an Acquaintance with some Truths, of which this Youth, hopeful and amiable as he was, appears to have been ignorant. But it was to be charged on that Want of fincere Piety, which his Conduct prefently dif covered, that he did not come to the Knowledge of them by a continued and fubmiffive Attendance on the Teaching of Chrift. See John vii. 17. Sect. 99.

Gg 2

(8) Sell

Mark X. 21.

thou haft, and give to the

236 And being called to fell all that he had, he goes away forrowful. Sect. 137. intitled to future Bleffedness: By me he now com- eft: [if thou wilt be perfect,] mands thee, if thou wilt be perfect, and determine go thy Way, fell whatsoever to fubmit to all that he requires, to go thy Way Poor; and thou fhalt have immediately, and fell all thy Poffeffions (g), valu- Treasure in Heaven; and able as they are, and to diftribute the Money come, take up the Crofs, and follow me. [MAT. which arifes from the Sale of them to the Poor; XIX. 2L LUKE XVIII. do this, and thou shalt have an infinitely more excellent Treasure in Heaven: And in the affured Hope of this, I call thee, to come, and take up the Cross, and with Courage and Refolution to follow me as my conftant Attendant, tho' it should be even at the Expence of thy Life, as well as thine Estate.

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But when the young Man heard that Saying, and faw that all his gay and delightful Profpects for Life must be given up in a Moment, he was exceedingly concerned and troubled at it: And he went away in great Sorrow; for he was very rich, [and] had great Poffeffions, which were lately fallen into his Hands; and how defirous foever he was of Eternal Life, he could not refolve to fecure it at fo great an Expence.

And when Jefus faw, that tho' he was very forrowful, yet he chofe rather to go away, than to part with his Eftate in the Views of Eternal Happinefs; he looked round on all that were about him, and faid to his Difciples, Obferve this inftructive Incident, and learn to make this Reflection upon it; How hardly fhall they that poffefs the Riches of this World, enter into the Kingdom of GOD! Dwell upon the Thought, and repeat it, in order, if poffible, to wean your Hearts-from thefe delufive Vanities, which often prove fo fatal to the

Soul:

22.]

22 [But when the young Man heard that Saying,] he

was fad, and went away [LUK. very forrowful;] for

he [LUK. was very rich, and] had great Poffeffions [MAT. XIX. 22. LUKE XVIII. 23.1

23 And LUK. when Je

fus faw that he was very about, and faith to his Difciforrowful, he looked round ples, How hardly fhall they that have Riches enter into the Kingdom of GOD! [Verily

(8) Sell all thy Poffeffions.] It is ftrange, that the learned and accurate Dr. Clarke should fuppofe, that Chrift did not demand this, in order to his being in a State of Acceptance with GoD, but in order to his giving a Testimony of exalted Piety; or at least as neceffary at that Time to his being a Preacher of the Gofpel. Our Lord's Manner of propofing the Trial, and his Reflection on the Young Man's going away, plainly fhew, that it was in those Circumftances necessary to his Salvation. And indeed it is moft apparent, tha tho' GOD does not in Fact require every Man to diftribute all his Goods to others, and fo in effect to become only one Poor Man, among a Number of Poor to be relieved out of his Poffeffions; yet Virtue and Piety demand an habitual Readiness, not only to facrifice our Poffeffions, but our Lives, at the Command of GOD; and Providence does in Fact call fome out to Trials as fevere as this.His Refufal plainly fhewed, he valued his Worldly Poffeffions, more than Eternal Life; and our Lord with great Wisdom took this direct and convincing Method, of manifefting, both to himself, and others, that fecret Infincerity, and Carnality of Temper, which prevailed under all these fpecious Pretences, and promifing Appearances.

(b) Eafier

The Rich fhall hardly enter into the Kingdom of GOD.

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237

Soul: For verily I fay unto you, fo many Snares Sect. 137.
attend fuch Circumftances, that a Rich Man will
Mark X. 23.
hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, or be
brought to fuch a Relifh for the Gospel and its
future Bleffings, as either to refign, or improve
his Worldly Poffeffions, in fuch a Manner as the
Laws of that Kingdom require.

And the Difciples were quite aftonished at his 24
Words; for they were ready to imagine, that e'er
long all the Rich and Great People of the Coun-
try would appear for their Lord, and fix him on
the Throne of Ifrael.

But Jefus anfwering again to that Surprize
which he faw in their Countenances, fays to them
in the most condefcending Manner, My dear
Children, when you confider the Meaning of what
I faid more attentively, you will not fo much
wonder at it: You know the Generality of Rich
Men place their chief Confidence and Delight in
the Things of this prefent World; and you know
that true Religion requires a Heart abftracted from
them, and placed on nobler Objects: Judge then.
for yourselves, how hard is it for them, that thus
truft in their Riches, to enter into the Kingdom of
GOD! And therefore I fay to you again, in 25
yet stronger Terms, that your common Proverb
may have its Place here, that it is easier for the
huge Cable of a Ship, or even for a Camel, to go
thro' the Eye of a Needle (b), than it is for a Rich
Man to conquer the Snares of his Eftate, and
the Corruptions of his Heart, fo far as to enter
into the Kingdom of GOD, and become the faith-
ful obedient Subjects of his Son..

And when his Difciples heard [this] Repetition 26› and Illuftration of what was before faid, they were

Struck

(b) Easier for a Camel to go thro' the Eye of a Needle.] Theophylact, and after him fome other Criticks, for naunλ read naμor, which they explain of a Cable Rope, which might appear more fitly to be mentioned, as what could not pass thro' a Needle's Eye. Others very precarioufly affert, that there was near Jerufalem a low Gate called the Needle's Eye, thro which a Camel could not pass, unless his Load were taken off. But I fee no Reafon for departing from the received Reading, and Interpretation; nor is there any thing in this Proverbial Expreffion, as it here ftands, but what is very agreeable to the Eastern Tafte, and may be parallelled in other Jewish Writers. See Dr. Lightfoot's Har. Hebr. on Mat. xix. 24. where it is fhewn, there was a Jewish Proverb to the fame Purpose, of the Elephant.

Mark X. 26.

238 Sect. 137. ftruck into exceeding great and inexpreffible Amazement at it, faying one to another, And who then can be faved? Who that are Rich can ever get to Heaven? And what a Discouragement will it be to others, to see the Rich and the Great neglecting Salvation, and turning the Means of their Happiness and Ufefulness, into the Inftruments. of their Deftruction?

What is impoffible with Men, is poffible with GOD.

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28

Mat. XIX. 28.

an

But Jefus looking fedfafly upon them, faith unto them, With Men it is indeed impossible, and the Strength of corrupt Nature alone will not be fufficient to encounter fuch Difficulties as thefe; but it is not impoffible with GOD to animate their Hearts against them: For his Grace has Almighty Energy, and with GOD all Things are poffible, [even] the Things which are most impoffible with Men, and feem fo infurmountable to Human Strength, as to be reckoned utterly impracticable; to him therefore let the Rich and Poor unite their Supplications, that each may be rendered fuperior to the Snares which attend their refpective Circumstances.

Then Peter replied, and with fome Warmth and Confidence began to fay unto him, Well, Mafter, behold, we have done, what this Youth, hopeful as he seemed, had not the Refolution to do; for tho' indeed we had not much, we have left all the little that we had in the World, and have at all Adventures followed thee with the fincerest Zeal and Affection: What Reward fhall we therefore have? For we perfuade ourselves, thou wilt not permit us finally to be Lofers in thy Caufe.

And Jefus anfwering faid to them, You may depend upon it, that you shall not, but will be found, upon the whole, to have acted the wifeft Part; for verily I fay unto you, and affure you of it, who have followed me in my Humiliation, fhall at length be diftinguished by proportionable Honours And in the great Renovation of all Things (i), when all the Children of GoD fhall,

that

you

as

[exceedingly amazed, and] aftonished out of measure, faying among themselves, Who then can be faved? [MAT. XIX. 25. Luke XVIII, 26.]

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(i) In the great Renovation of all Things.] I have given what appears to me the most natural Senfe of this difficult Paffage. Mr. Fleming agrees with our Tranflators, in connecting the Words, e n way fever, with the preceding Claufe, and paraphrafes the

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