ourselves—not to put the worst construction on our own actions-not to publish our own disgrace-to apply to those who can relieve us in the time of distress-to be happy on account of our own success, and to be grieved by our own calamities; and, if we are under the influence of vital religion, our self-love leads us, above every thing, to seek the prosperity of our own souls. In like manner, love to our neighbour should lead us to respect his rights-to treat him kindly to bear with him-to be tender of his reputation -to help him in his poverty and affliction-and to pray, and do whatever else we can, for his salvation.

Let us consider whether we do indeed love our neighbour in this way. If we are negligent, let us be so no more. If we do, in some measure, attend to the duty, let us seek more and more to be "kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us. Let us be followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and given himself for us."

To proceed with the history before us:-our Lord commended, as to the letter of it, at least, the answer which the lawyer had given, and said, "This do, and thou shalt live." If any man shall do this perfectly, he shall have a legal claim to life: and whoever shall do this habitually, and from proper motives, though not perfectly, then his obedience, though neither the ground, nor the means, of his justification, will show that he is on the way, and will indeed itself be the way, which leads to heaven.

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"But the lawyer willing," that is, wishing, " to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?" He seems to have vainly felt as if he would have said, with a certain young man, in reference to the commandments, “ All these have I kept from my youth up." He makes no further allusion, however, to the first table of the law, or the love of God; either thinking that he could with more plausibility lay claim to the merit of having kept the second table, or judging himself absolutely perfect in piety to God by his observance of the legal ceremonies. But, with regard to the extent of the duty of benevolence, he put the question, "Who is my neighbour?"-holding himself, probably, the error which was so common among the Jews, namely, that their benevolence was due only to those who were of their own nation, or who had become proselytes. Now, this error was very inexcusable. The precept, in Lev.

xix. 18, runs thus: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord." And, as if it were for the express purpose of preventing the bigoted limitation of the precept, it is added, in the 33d and 34th verses of the same chapter, "And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." Still, many of the Jews, and especially the Pharisees, very unscripturally limited the precept in the way we have just stated. The following passages occur in the writings of a very learned Jew:-" An Israelite killing a stranger-inhabitant, he died not for it by the sanhedrim; because it is said, If any one lift up himself against his neighbour. And it is not necessary to say, He does not die upon the account of a Gentile; for they are not esteemed by them for their neighbour."-" The Gentiles, between whom and us there is no war, and so those that are keepers of sheep among the Israelites, and the like—we are not to contrive their death; but if they be in any danger of death, we are not bound to deliver them for example, if any of them fall into the sea, you shall not need to take him out for it is said, Thou shalt not rise up against the blood of thy neighbour: but such a one is not thy neighbour."* To counteract such uncharitable notions as these, and to meet the question, "Who is my neighbour?" as put by this lawyer, who was desirous of justifying himself, our Lord, "answering," or taking up the subject, spoke the parable, as it is commonly considered (though some incline to the opinion that it is a real history), of the good Samaritan.

"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho." Jericho was a city in the lot of the tribe of Benjamin, about seven leagues from Jerusalem. A great many priests and Levites resided in Jericho-some say as many as twelve thousand; and, of course, some of them must have been almost constantly travelling to and from Jerusalem, whither they had to go to fulfil their course of service at the temple. There was a desert between these two cities, which, it is said, was much infested with robbers. The circumstances supposed * Quoted by Lightfoot from Maimonides.

+ Adamim (Adummim) quondam villula, nunc ruinæ, in sorte tribus Judæ, qui locus usque hodie vocatur Maledomim, et Græce dicitur ἀναβασις συρρών, Latine autem appellari potest ascensus ruforum, sive

to have happened, if they be only supposed, are, therefore, probable, and likely to have occurred. The man, who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, must be supposed to have been a Jew himself; and, therefore, even on the narrowest interpretation of the law, was entitled to the sympathy of every Jew. As this Jew was on the way, “he fell among thieves," or rather, robbers, "who stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead." What a proof is it of the exceeding depravity of man, that there have always been highwaymen, who, divesting themselves of every feeling of honesty and humanity, go out like natural beasts of prey, which are made to be taken and destroyed! While the poor man was lying on the road in this wretched plight, "by chance"*—that is, altogether undesignedly on the part of the creature, though every thing of the kind is arranged by the providence of God" there came down a certain priest that way," who, from his office and profession, might have been expected to have been peculiarly ready to every good work: "but when he saw him," instead of stopping to examine him, and to help him, he immediately averted his eye, and "passed by on the other side" of the road. Then another man, who, though not of the family of Aaron, was of the tribe of Levi, "when he was at the place, came" (drew near), " and looked on him ;" and though he could not have been ignorant of the woful state of the poor man, and though there was time for his eye to affect his heart, he was nevertheless steeled against the feelings of compassion, and, like the priest, he too "passed by on the other side." No doubt, each of these unfeeling men had his excuse for this conduct, and said to himself, I have no time; or, I shall be brought to trouble and expense if I meddle; or, I am not called on to interfere but, as they "forbore to deliver him that was drawn unto death," He that pondereth the hearts would consider it, and mark it against them. Those who are employed in rubentium, propter sanguinem qui illic crebro a latronibus funditur. Est autem confinium tribus Judæ et Benjamin descendentibus ab Aelia Hierichum, ubi et castellum militum situm est ob auxilia viatorum.— Hieronymus De locis Hebraicis. Thus, the road referred to in this parable was of equally bad reputation in the days of Jerome, who was born about the year 329, as it appears to have been at the time the parable was spoken. It happened by coincidence of time and other cir

* Κατα συγκυριαν. cumstances.

General and great as is the cruelty which characterizes heathenism, many of the heathens themselves will rise up in judgment against such

sacred offices have been often, like others, unfeeling and unkind; nay, when their minds are blinded by avarice and bigotry, they become the most griping and most persecuting of men: this is a great scandal to the cause they profess to espouse. The true servants of God, however, are of a very different spirit; and many of them have displayed the greatest generosity and self-denial.

At last " a certain Samaritan"- -one of the people with whom the Jews had no friendly dealings, and whom they utterly despised "as he journeyed, came where" the wounded Jew "was" lying; "and when he saw him," rising above every narrow sentiment, and allowing his sympathy free scope, "he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine," either separately, or rather, beaten up together as an ointment, to cleanse and heal; "and set him on his own beast," as he was unable to walk, "and" holding him on," "brought him to an inn;* and" there "took care of him," that he should be refreshed, and properly lodged for the night. We may here notice, in passing, the use and the abuse of inns:their use, when they are kept only where really needed, and resorted to by travellers, for necessary refreshment and lodging, and by persons who have business to transact which requires some such accommodation; thus, Jacob's sons stopped at an inn, on their way back to Canaan, and Joseph and Mary resorted to the inn, on their arrival at Bethlehem: their abuse, when they are multiplied solely for the sake of gain and to entrap the unwary, and when they are frequented for idleness and intemperance, as is but too much the case at the present day.

The next morning, when the Samaritan found it necessary to leave the inn, he gave the landlord, for the poor man, "two pence," or two denarii. The Roman denarius was about sevenpence half-penny of our money; and, when it is considered how much greater the value of money was in ancient times than now, it must appear that fifteenpence of our money was the full amount of the expense already incurred. Probably, the Samaritan did not carry much money with him, both because less was needed when it was usual bigotry and cruelty on the part of the professed worshippers of the true God. Herodotus says of the Assyrians, "It is unlawful for them to pass by in silence any person in distress, without first inquiring what is the matter with him.” Σιγῇ δε παρεξελθειν τον καμνοντα οὐπω σφι ἐξεστι, πριν ἂν ἐπείρηται ἡντινα νούσον έχῃ.—Lib. i.

*avdoxov, a place for receiving all.

for travellers to carry provisions along with them, and also because, having to travel by so dangerous a road," it would have been imprudent to charge himself with much more money than he was likely to want in his journey." But, in departing, he directed the landlord to take all possible care of the wounded stranger, and assured him that whatever additional cost or trouble might be incurred, he would discharge when he came back.

This beautiful account made its way to the conviction of the judgment of the lawyer, in spite of all his pride and prejudice: for when our Lord asked him which of the three, the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan, was "neighbour," that is, acted the neighbourly and friendly part to the man who had fallen among the robbers, though the lawyer would not condescend to say expressly, "The Samaritan," he replied to that effect" He that showed mercy on him." As for the lawyer himself, who thought that he perfectly obeyed the law of love, and merited heaven by his obedience, this parable showed him that, by limiting the precept of love, he entirely misunderstood it, and, therefore, violated it, and was condemned by it.

Not for the benefit, however, of this lawyer only was this parable spoken, but for the benefit of all who should ever read or hear it. Let us also learn from it the folly of attempting to justify ourselves on the ground of our benevolence. There are, probably, none of us who have not, at times, felt and exhibited some kindness to our fellow-creatures; but who among us has acted up to the precept of charity, so as never to have broken it? Who has always been so ardent and unlimited in this duty as he ought? who has loved his neighbour as himself? nay, who has not been conscious, at times, of the very opposite sentiments and conduct? Let us all again plead guilty here, and have recourse to God for pardon through his Son. Let us "believe in Jesus Christ, that we may be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

But, if we have improved this parable to humble us, and to lead us to God for salvation by grace, then we are rightly prepared to improve it also as suggesting to us a most beautiful illustration and example of true benevolence. "Go and do thou likewise," said Jesus to the scribe; and so he says to each of us. Let us, theoretically and practically, * Doddridge.