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النشر الإلكتروني

LECTURE LXIII.

PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.

LUKE XVI. 19-31.

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.

The connexion in which this parable is found, explains its object. Our Lord had been showing the necessity of using the good things of this world, as faithful stewards: of "making to ourselves friends out of the mammon of unrighteousness." He had also declared the impossibility of serving both God and mammon: which implied a condemnation of the Pharisees, who were covetous; and who in their turn derided him.

This leads him to unveil the scene, and open the prospect beyond this present world. If there were no such prospect, and all were to close here, why should not the atheist's maxim be pursued, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die?" But if "all must stand before the judgment-seat of God, to receive according to the things done in the body" then take heed that ye be not like the rich

man in this parable, who in his lifetime received his good things, but laid up no treasure in heaven. For here, as we know, was the fault. Poverty is no virtue: riches are no crime: it is the order of God's providence that there should be some rich, and many poor, and that the expenditure of one class should employ and support the other. Such is the course of things; and we might as well endeavour to level the mountains of the globe, and make the earth one smooth plain, as to level all conditions, and give to all one like inheritance. Neither, again, is poverty a virtue: nor was Lazarus rewarded in heaven, because on earth he had evil things. Had he not possessed that " godliness which is great gain;" that patience, that humility, which, though it is tried by affliction, is not produced by affliction-angels would not have ministered to him as an heir of salvation. And the wealth of the rich man, instead of increasing his condemnation, might have added jewels to his crown of righteousness, if he had not been devoted to mammon rather than God: if he had not "said unto his soul, Soul, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry:" whilst he owned no responsibility to the Author of all his blessings. This is evident from the description. The rich man was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: while the beggar Lazarus was laid at his gate full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. This does not describe the character which St. Paul commends in a rich Christian: one who is "rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing

to communicate, laying up in store for himself a good foundation against the time to come." 1 Had this been his character, here was an opportunity at hand and Lazarus would not have lain neglected at his gate, while 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 receivdest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26. Aud besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulph fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

Such is the dreadful cousequence of treating this present life, as if it were a mere scene of business, or of self-gratification: looking to nothing beyond devoting the heart to the creature instead of the Creator; serving not God, but mammon. Well might the apostle say, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For the world passeth away, and the lust thereof." The rich man dies, and is buried: and all that he ever possessed cannot purchase him a drop of consola11 Tim. vi. 17-19.

tion, whilst he is suffering the anguish of "the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched." How striking is this comment upon the acknowledged but forgotten truth. "What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" The rich man feels this, now that it is too late; and desires to warn the friends whom he had left behind.

27. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house :

28. For I have fire 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.

This, at first, may seem a hard saying. But it is altogether true. Want of testimony is not the cause which keeps men at a distance from God. Add evidence to evidence, warning to warning, the heart too often remains the same; a stranger to penitence and prayer.

For what could one rising from the dead tell us of which we are not assured already? Moses and the prophets had forewarned this rich man, that although he might "walk in the ways of his heart, and in the sight of his eyes, yet for all these things God would bring him into judgment." It seems that he shut his ears to this, and led a life of

2 Sce Eccles. xi. 9.

2

thoughtless luxury, instead of a life of self-denial and holiness. He did not believe it on the testimony of Scripture; why should he believe it on the testimony of one rising from the dead?

The truth is, however, that men do believe these things on the testimony which they' possess: but that it is one thing to know and believe, and another thing to act as if we knew and believed. A messenger from the dead might report to us of a holy God, a searching judgment, and an all-sufficient Saviour. But what would he testify except what we believe already? Many live as if they denied these things: but there are few who do not profess that they believe them. And on a bed of sickness, it appears that they really have believed them. For then they begin to act upon the belief: though sickness gives no fresh proof or assurance: sickness brings no one from the dead to open new evidence but sickness takes away those earthly things, those objects of this world, which too commonly stand between men and a future state, and prevent their living according to their belief. One rising from the dead would not mortify us to "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life," unless he could also put a right spirit within us, and make us less attached to the honours, or riches, or pleasures of this world. For a few days, perhaps a few months, the impression might be vivid, and remain; as it often proves for a time, when the loss of some valued friend, or the expectation of a man's own death, strongly affects the mind. By degrees the effect would wear off, and leave him as he was before; believing, but not

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