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But our minds will be reconciled to this seeming inequality of state, if we survey

II. Their still more different conditions in the invisible

world

The rich man was reduced to a state of deserved misery

[We read not of any enormous crimes that he committed; and therefore we cannot justly impute any to him. His elegant clothing and costly fare were not in themselves sinful, provided they were such as were suited to his station in life. That which constituted his guilt in the sight of God was, that his heart was set upon them; that he sought his happiness in them rather than in God; and that he lived solely for himself, to the neglect of those, whose necessities he should have delighted to relieve.' And behold, what fearful punishment this iniquity brought upon him! His career of sin was soon terminated; and nothing of all his happiness remained to him but the guilt which he had contracted by it. He was buried indeed in a sumptuous manner; but what pleasure could he receive from funeral processions, sepulchral monuments, or flattering inscriptions? Alas! his body was insensible of the honours paid to it, and his soul was enduring unutterable anguish in the flames of hell. He prayed indeed, but his prayer was now too late. Had he called upon God when he was on earth, he might have obtained all the glory of heaven: but now he was refused, though he asked no more than a momentary mitigation of his pain. He begged that a messenger might be sent to warn and to convince his five surviving brethren, who were walking securely in his delusive steps: but neither could this be granted him; nor indeed would it have been of any use to those who disregarded the testimony of the sacred records. Instead of finding any relief, he was upbraided with his having sought an earthly portion, while he neglected those things which were to endure for ever; the remembrance of which folly could not but greatly aggravate his misery. Ah! how altered now his state, from honour to ignominy, from pleasure to pain, from affluence to extremest want!]

The poor man, on the contrary, was raised to a state of unspeakable felicity

[As death put a speedy period to the enjoyments of the one, so it soon also terminated the sorrows of the other. Nothing is spoken of the burial of the poor man; he was carried unnoticed, unregretted to the silent grave; or rather, his fellow-creatures probably rejoiced that they were rid of a public nuisance. Not but that he was honoured in his death;

for though disregarded by men, he was attended by angels, who gladly received his departing spirit, and bore it on their wings to the regions of light and glory. Let our eyes now follow him to his blest abode: behold, he, who once had scarcely enough to satisfy the cravings of nature, is now sitting next to Abraham himself at the heavenly banquet; while the man who had "fared sumptuously every day" on earth, has not so much as a drop of water to cool his tongue! Nothing now remains to him of all his former sorrows, except their sanctifying influence on his soul. Now he has the good things which he sought on earth, the things in which alone he found delight. The enjoyment of the divine presence was then his only consolation; and now it is his abiding, his everblessed portion.

Now let us contrast the two; and we shall confess that Lazarus with all his penury was, on the whole, an object of envy; while the rich man with all his indulgences was, on the whole, an object of the deepest commiseration.]

Let us LEARN from hence

1. How vain are riches without grace!

[What could the rich man's wealth procure him in this life? nothing but food and raiment: nor were his delicacies more sweet to him than to the cottager his homely meal. His riches could not ward off for a moment the stroke of death; much less could they "profit him in the day of wrath." They served only to witness against him, and to “ prey upon his flesh like fire." Let not any then envy the great and gay; but rather seek to be rich in grace, and happy in the enjoyment of their God.]

2. What consolation will religion afford under the severest trials!

[Though Lazarus appeared so destitute, he doubtless had his comforts as well as his sorrows. He would console himself with such reflections as these: 'I have no earthly treasures; but I have treasures laid up for me in heaven: I am diseased in body; but my soul flourishes in health and vigour: I am scantily supported with refuse crumbs; but I have meat to eat which the world knows not of: I am without a mortal friend to minister unto me; but God is my friend, and angels are my ministering servants: I have nothing that I can call my own in this life; but I have all the glory of heaven in the life to come.' Yes, thousands of such consi

d'At feasts they lay on couches; so that one seemed, as it were, to be in the bosom of the person next to him. In this view, the circumstance of his being in Abraham's bosom is well worthy of notice. Jam. v. 1-5,

derations would raise his drooping spirits, and often render him happier than all the gratifications of sense could possibly have done. And all who possess real religion in their hearts shall find it as conducive to their happiness in this life, as it is to their eternal felicity.]

3. How earnestly we should improve our time in preparation for eternity!

[Whether we be in prosperity or in affliction, we are hastening to the grave: the whole of this life is but as a dream: death will soon terminate our present joys or sorrows: and our condition in the future world will depend entirely on the manner in which we have lived in this state of probation. God has drawn aside for a moment the veil of the invisible world; and shewn us what we shall all be in a little time: yes; all of us shall be banquetting in heaven, or agonizing with inexpressible, unintermitted anguish in hell: and in whichever state we be, all transition from it will be prevented by an "impassable gulf." Let us endeavour to realize these awful truths. Let us believe what the scriptures have told us respecting the issue of a worldly life. Let us pity those who, like the five brethren, are hastening in the delusive paths of ease and pleasure to the place of torment. And let us live now, as we shall wish we had lived, when our state shall be for ever fixed.].

CCLXI. THE OBEDIENT SERVANT.

Luke xvii. 10. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

PRIDE is deeply rooted in the heart of man-It was that which first instigated him to disobedience; he wished to be as God—Since his fall it leads him openly to cast off his allegiance to the Supreme Being-And to become a god unto himself, independent, self-seeking, and selfsufficient-This principle operates even in the renewed mind-And endangers the acceptance of our persons and services-Our Lord frequently cautioned his disciples against it-He had just inculcated the arduous duty of forgiving injuries-And had assured them that, however

a Gen. iii. 5. VOL. III.

61 Tim. iii. 6.
X

• Ver. 3, 4.

difficult it might be, faith would enable them to fulfil it

But, aware that such obedience might serve as an occasion for pride and vain-glory, he now teaches them, by a just comparison, what thoughts they should ever entertain even of their best services-We shall consider

I. The comparison

The extent of God's authority over us is not sufficiently considered

There is no slave so much at his master's disposal as we are at God's

The Jews exercised a most despotic power over their

servants

[Some of the servants among the Jews were captives taken in war Others were slaves bought with money-Over these, their master had unlimited authority. They were regarded by him as his stock, and, like his cattle, were transmitted to his children as a part of their inheritance-They were employed in all kinds of services-Nor did their master esteem himself indebted to them for any services they might perform-This was perfectly well known to those whom our Lord addressed-Perhaps many of his hearers had servants whom they so treated. Hence our Lord appealed to them respecting the truth of his statement-]

But God has infinitely higher claim to our services

[He originally formed us in the womb-We have not a faculty which we did not receive from him-This gives him an entire right over ush-He, upon this very ground, has an unlimited authority over the greatest monarch, as much as over the meanest slave He has preserved us every moment since our first existence in the world-However he may have made use of second causes, he has been "the author of every blessing" we have enjoyed-The beasts are not so dependent on their owner as we on him-On this ground he claimed the homage of his people of old-And may justly demand our utmost exertions in his service-He moreover has bought us with a price-He has paid down a sum which exceeds all calculation Silver and gold were insufficient for the cost-Nothing would suffice but the blood of his only dear son-Behold,

e Ver. 7-9.

d Ver. 3, 6. Lev. xxv. 44-46. In this land of liberty this state of things does not exist: would to God it did not in any part of the British dominions!

b Isai. xliv. 21.

i Job xxxi. 13-15. k Exod. xx. 2, 3.

he withheld not the mighty ransom-He delivered up his son for us all And has not this given him a right over us?-Can we say in any respect that "we are our own?"-Is not the apostle's inference just, That we should glorify him with our bodies and our spirits which are his?"-]

Hence it is evident that we can never confer an obligation upon him

[Even hired servants do not confer an obligation by the services they render-Much less do they, who belong to their master as his purchased possession-Least of all can we make GOD our debtor-We can do no more than what is our absolute duty to do-Works of supererogation exist only in the conceits of blind superstitious papists-The idea of perform ing them is arrogant in the extreme-None can entertain it in their minds without involving their souls in utter ruin-The. point is decided for us by the voice of inspiration—]

The justness of the comparison being made to appear, we proceed to consider

II. The command grounded upon it

The injunction in the text is manifestly grounded on the preceding comparison-It imports

1. That we should not be puffed up with a conceit of our high attainments

[There is no notice taken of our manifold defects-It is supposed that we actually do all that is commanded us-Yet even on that supposition we have nothing to boast of However perfect our obedience were in all other respects, pride would at once debase it all-God will have no flesh to glory in his presence-The very angels, who never fell, are constrained to give all the glory to God-The seraphim around the throne veil their faces and their feet as unworthy to behold or to serve their Maker-And the glorified saints cast their crowns at the feet of Jesus, ascribing all their happiness to him aloneTM-Sinful man therefore can never have whereof to glory before God-His zeal and holiness can be of no account with God if once they be made the grounds of his confidence-God, so far from approving such a proud boaster, would abhor him—And would surely abase him in the day of judgment-]

2. That we should be humbled under a sense of our unprofitableness

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