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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
M A T T H E W.
CHAP. XXV.
This chapter continues and concludes our Saviour’s discourse, which
began in the foregoing chapter, concerning his second coming and the
end of the world. This was his farewell sermon of caution, as that,
was of comfort to his disciples; and they had need of both in a world
of so much temptation and trouble as this is. The application of that
discourse, was, Watch therefore, and be ye also ready. Now, in
prosecution of these serious awakening cautions, in this chapter we
have three parables, the scope of which is the same–to quicken us all
with the utmost care and diligence to get ready for Christ’s second
coming, which, in all his farewells to his church, mention was made of,
as in that before he died
(John xiv. 2),
in that at his ascension
(Acts i. 11),
and in that at the shutting up of the canon of the scriptures,
Now it concerns us to prepare for Christ’s coming;
I. That we may then be ready to attend upon him; and this is shown in
the parable of the ten virgins,
II. That we may then be ready to give u our account to him; and this is
shown in the parable of the three servants,
III. That we may then be ready to receive from him our final sentence,
and that it may be to eternal life; and this is shown in a more plain
description of the process of the last judgment,
These are things of awful consideration, because of everlasting concern
to every one of us.
| The Parable of the Ten Virgins. |
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1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,
which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil
with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom
cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for
our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not
enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and
buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they
that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door
was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord,
open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you
not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour
wherein the Son of man cometh.
Here,
I. That in general which is to be illustrated is, the kingdom of
heaven, the state of things under the gospel, the external kingdom
of Christ, and the administration and success of it. Some of Christ’s
parables had shown us what it is like now in the present reception of
it, as
This tells us what it shall be like, when the mystery of God shall be
finished, and that kingdom delivered up to the Father. The
administration of Christ’s government, towards the ready and the
unready in the great day, may be illustrated by this similitude; or the
kingdom is put for the subjects of the kingdom. The professors of
Christianity shall then be likened to these ten virgins, and shall be
thus distinguished.
II. That by which it is illustrated, is, a marriage solemnity. It was a
custom sometimes used among the Jews on that occasion, that the
bridegroom came, attended with his friends, late in the night, to the
house of the bride, where she expected him, attended with her
bride-maids; who, upon notice given of the bridegrooms’ approach, were
to go out with lamps in their hands, to light him into the house with
ceremony and formality, in order to the celebrating of the nuptials
with great mirth. And some think that on these occasions they had
usually ten virgins; for the Jews never held a synagogue,
circumcised, kept the passover, or contracted marriage, but ten persons
at least were present. Boaz, when he married Ruth, had ten
witnesses,
Ruth iv. 2.
Now in this parable,
1. The Bridegroom is our Lord Jesus Christ; he is so represented
in the
and often in the New Testament. It bespeaks his singular and
superlative love to, and his faithful and inviolable covenant with, his
spouse the church. Believers are now betrothed to Christ
(Hos. ii. 19);
but the solemnizing of the marriage is reserved for the great day, when
the bride, the Lamb’s wife, will have made herself completely ready,
2. The virgins are the professors of religion, members of the church;
but here represented as her companions
(Ps. xlv. 14),
as elsewhere her children
(Isa. liv. 1),
her ornaments,
Isa. xlix. 18.
They that follow the Lamb, are said to be virgins
(Rev. xiv. 4);
this denotes their beauty and purity; they are to be presented as
chaste virgins to Christ,
2 Cor. xi. 2.
The bridegroom is a king; so these virgins are maids of honour,
virgins without number
(Cant. vi. 8),
yet here said to be ten.
3. The office of these virgins is to meet the bridegroom, which is as
much their happiness as their duty. They come to wait upon the
bridegroom when he appears, and in the mean time to wait for
him. See here the nature of Christianity. As Christians, we profess
ourselves to be,
(1.) Attendants upon Christ, to do him honour, as the glorious
Bridegroom, to be to him for a name and a praise, especially then when
he shall come to be glorified in his saints. We must follow him as
honorary servants do their masters,
Hold up the name, and hold forth the praise of the exalted Jesus; this
is our business.
(2.) Expectants of Christ, and of his second coming. As Christians, we
profess, not only to believe and look for, but to love and long for,
the appearing of Christ, and to act in our whole conversation with a
regard to it. The second coming of Christ is the centre in which all
the lines of our religion meet, and to which the whole of the divine
life hath a constant reference and tendency.
4. Their chief concern is to have lights in their hands, when they
attend the bridegroom, thus to do him honour and do him service. Note,
Christians are children of light. The gospel is light, and they who
receive it must not only be enlightened by it themselves, but must
shine as lights, must hold it forth,
Phil. ii. 15, 16.
This in general.
Now concerning these ten virgins, we may observe,
(1.) Their different character, with the proof and evidence of it.
[1.] Their character was that five were wise, and five foolish
(v. 2);
and wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness;
so saith Solomon, a competent judge,
Note, Those of the same profession and denomination among men, may yet
be of characters vastly different in the sight of God. Sincere
Christians are the wise virgins, and hypocrites the foolish
ones, as in another parable they are represented by wise and
foolish builders. Note, Those are wise or foolish indeed, that are so
in the affairs of their souls. True religion is true wisdom; sin is
folly, but especially the sin of hypocrisy, for those are the greatest
fools, that are wise in their own conceit, and those the worst
of sinners, that feign themselves just men. Some observe from
the equal number of the wise and foolish, what a charitable decorum (it
is Archbishop Tillotson’s expression) Christ observes, as if he would
hope that the number of true believers was nearly equal to that of
hypocrites, or, at least, would teach us to hope the best concerning
those that profess religion, and to think of them with a bias to the
charitable side. Though, in judging of ourselves, we ought to remember
that the gate is strait, and few find it; yet, in judging of others, we
ought to remember that the Captain of our salvation brings many sons to
glory.
[2.] The evidence of this character was in the very thing which they
were to attend to; by that they are judged of.
First, It was the folly of the foolish virgins, that they
took their lamps, and took no oil with them,
v. 3.
They had just the oil enough to make their lamps burn for the present,
to make a show with, as if they intended to meet the bridegroom; but no
cruse or bottle of oil with them for a recruit if the bridegroom
tarried; thus hypocrites,
1. They have no principle within. They have a lamp of profession in
their hands, but have not in their hearts that stock of sound
knowledge, rooted dispositions, and settled resolutions, which is
necessary to carry them through the services and trials of the present
state. They act under the influence of external inducements, but are
void of spiritual life; like a tradesman, that sets up without a stock,
or the seed on the stony ground, that wanted root.
2. They have no prospect of, nor make provision for, what is to come.
They took lamps for a present show, but not oil for after use. This
incogitancy is the ruin of many professors; all their care is to
recommend themselves to their neighbours, whom they now converse with,
not to approve themselves to Christ, whom they must hereafter appear
before; as if any thing will serve, provide it will but serve for the
present. Tell them of things not seen as yet, and you are like Lot to
his sons-in-law, as one that mocked. They do not provide for hereafter,
as the ant does, nor lay up for the time to come,
1 Tim. vi. 19.
Secondly, It was the wisdom of the wise virgins, that they
took oil in their vessels with their lamps,
v. 4.
They had a good principle within, which would maintain and keep up
their profession.
1. The heart is the vessel, which it is our wisdom to get furnished;
for, out of a good treasure there, good things must be brought; but if
that root be rottenness, the blossom will be dust.
2. Grace is the oil which we must have in this vessel; in
the tabernacle there was constant provision made of oil for the
light,
Exod. xxxv. 14.
Our light must shine before men in good works, but this cannot be, or
not long, unless there be a fixed active principle in the heart, of
faith in Christ, and love to God and our brethren, from which we must
act in every thing we do in religion, with an eye to what is before us.
They that took oil in their vessels, did it upon supposition that
perhaps the bridegroom might tarry. Note, In looking forward it is good
to prepare for the worst, to lay in for a long siege. But remember that
this oil which keeps the lamps burning, is derived to the candlestick
from Jesus Christ, the great and good Olive, by the golden
pipes of the ordinances, as it is represented in that vision
which is explained
Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
(2.) Their common fault, during the bridegroom’s delay; They all
slumbered and slept,
v. 5.
Observe here,
[1.] The bridegroom tarried, that is, he did not come out so soon as
they expected. What we look for as certain, we are apt to think is very
near; many in the apostles’ times imagined that the day of the Lord
was at hand, but it is not so. Christ, as to us, seems to
tarry, and yet really does not,
Hab. ii. 3.
There is good reason for the Bridegroom’s tarrying; there are many
intermediate counsels and purposes to be accomplished, the elect must
all be called in, God’s patience must be manifested, and the saints’
patience tried, the harvest of the earth must be ripened, and so must
the harvest of heaven too. But though Christ tarry past our
time, he will not tarry past the due time.
[2.] While he tarried, those that waited for him, grew careless, and
forgot what they were attending; They all slumbered and slept;
as if they had given over looking for him; for when the Son of man
cometh, he will not find faith,
Luke xviii. 8.
Those that inferred the suddenness of it from its certainty, when that
answered not their expectation, were apt from the delay to infer its
uncertainty. The wise virgins slumbered, and the foolish slept; so some
distinguish it; however, they were both faulty. The wise virgins kept
their lamps burning, but did not keep themselves awake. Note, Too many
good Christians, when they have been long in profession, grow remiss in
their preparations for Christ’s second coming; they intermit their
care, abate their zeal, their graces are not lively, nor their works
found perfect before God; and though all love be not lost, yet
the first love is left. If it was hard to the disciples to watch
with Christ an hour, much more to watch with him an age. I
sleep, saith the spouse, but my heart wakes, Observe,
First, They slumbered, and then they slept. Note, One degree of
carelessness and remissness makes way for another. Those that allow
themselves in slumbering, will scarcely keep themselves from sleeping;
therefore dread the beginning of spiritual decays; Venienti
occurrite morbo–Attend to the first symptoms of disease. The
ancients generally understood the virgins’ slumbering and sleeping of
their dying; they all died, wise and foolish
(Ps. xlix. 10),
before judgment-day. So Ferus, Antequam veniat sponsus omnibus
obdormiscendum est, hoc est, moriendum–Before the Bridegroom come, all
must sleep, that is, die. So Calvin. But I think it is rather to be
taken as we have opened it.
(3.) The surprising summons given them, to attend the bridegroom
(v. 6);
At midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh.
Note,
[1.] Though Christ tarry long, he will come at last; though he seem
slow, he is sure. In his first coming, he was thought long by those
that waited for the consolation of Israel; yet in the fulness of
time he came; so his second coming, though long deferred, is not
forgotten; his enemies shall find, to their cost, that forbearance is
no acquittance; and his friends shall find, to their comfort, that
the vision is for an appointed time, and at the end it shall speak,
and not lie. The year of the redeemed is fixed, and it will come.
[2.] Christ’s coming will be at our midnight, when we least look for
him, and are most disposed to take our rest. His coming for the relief
and comfort of his people, often is when the good intended seems to be
at the greatest distance; and his coming to reckon with his enemies, is
when they put the evil day furthest from them. It was at midnight that
the first-born of Egypt were destroyed, and Israel delivered,
Death often comes when it is least expected; the soul is required
this night,
Luke xii. 20.
Christ will come when he pleases, to show his sovereignty, and will not
let us know when, to teach us our duty.
[3.] When Christ comes, we must go forth to meet him. As
Christians we are bound to attend all the motions of the Lord Jesus,
and meet him in all his out-goings. When he comes to us at death, we
must go forth out of the body, out of the world, to meet him with
affections and workings of soul suitable to the discoveries we then
expect him to make of himself. Go ye forth to meet him, is a
call to those who are habitually prepared, to be actually ready.
[4.] The notice given of Christ’s approach, and the call to meet him,
will be awakening; There was a cry made. His first coming was
not with any observation at all, nor did they say, Lo, here is
Christ, or Lo, he is there; he was in the world, and the world
knew him not; but his second coming will be with the observation of
all the world; Every eye shall see him. There will be a cry from
heaven, for he shall descend with a shout, Arise, ye dead, and come
to judgment; and a cry from the earth too, a cry to rocks and
mountains,
Rev. vi. 16.
(4.) The address they all made to answer this summons
(v. 7);
They all arose, and trimmed their lamps, snuffed them and
supplied them with oil and went about with all expedition to put
themselves in a posture to receive the bridegroom. Now,
[1.] This, in the wise virgins, bespeaks an actual preparation for the
Bridegroom’s coming. Note, even those that are best prepared for death,
have, upon the immediate arrests of it, work to do, to get themselves
actually ready, that they may be found in peace
found doing
(ch. xxiv. 46),
and not found naked,
2 Cor. v. 3.
It will be a day of search and enquiry; and it concerns us to think how
we shall then be found. When we see the day approaching, we must
address ourselves to our dying work with all seriousness, renewing our
repentance for sin, our consent to the covenant, our farewells to the
world; and our souls must be carried out toward God in suitable
breathings.
[2.] In the foolish virgins, it denotes a vain confidence, and conceit
of the goodness of their state, and their readiness for another world.
Note, Even counterfeit graces will serve a man to make a show of when
he comes to die, as well as they have done all his life long; the
hypocrite’s hopes blaze when they are just expiring, like a lightening
before death.
(5.) The distress which the foolish virgins were in, for want of
oil,
v. 8, 9.
This bespeaks,
[1.] The apprehensions which some hypocrites have of the misery of
their state, even on this side death, when God opens their eyes to see
their folly, and themselves perishing with a lie in their right
hand. Or, however,
[2.] The real misery of their state on the other side death, and in the
judgment; how far their fair, but false, profession of religion will be
from availing them any thing in the great day; see what comes of
it.
First, Their lamps are gone out. The lamps of hypocrites often
go out in this life; when they who have begun in the spirit, end in the
flesh, and the hypocrisy breaks out in an open apostasy,
The profession withers, and the credit of it is lost; the hopes fail,
and the comfort of them is gone; how often is the candle of the
wicked thus put out?
Job xxi. 17.
Yet many a hypocrite keeps up his credit, and the comfort of his
profession, such as it is, to the last; but what is it when God
taketh away his soul?
Job xxvii. 8.
If his candle be not put out before him, it is put out with
him,
Job xviii. 5, 6.
He shall lie down in sorrow,
Isa. l. 11.
The gains of a hypocritical profession will not follow a man to
judgment,
The lamps are gone out, when the hypocrite’s hope proves like the
spider’s web
&c.), and like the giving up of the ghost
(Job xi. 20),
like Absalom’s mule that left him in the oak.
Secondly, They wanted oil to supply them when they were going
out. Note, Those that take up short of true grace, will certainly find
the want of it one time or other. An external profession well humoured
may carry a man far, but it will not carry him through; it may light
him along this world, but the damps of the valley of the shadow of
death will put it out.
Thirdly, They would gladly be beholden to the wise virgins for a
supply out of their vessels; Give us of your oil. Note, The day
is coming, when carnal hypocrites would gladly be found in the
condition of true Christians. Those who now hate the strictness of
religion, will, at death and judgment, wish for the solid comforts of
it. Those who care not to live the life, yet would die the death, of
the righteous. The day is coming when those who now look with contempt
upon humble contrite saints, would gladly get an interest in them, and
would value those as their best friends and benefactors, whom now they
set with the dogs of their flock. Give us of your oil; that is,
“Speak a good word for us;” so some; but there is no occasion for
vouchers in the great day, the Judge knows what is every man’s true
character. But is it not well that they are brought to say, Give us
of your oil? It is so; but,
1. This request was extorted by sensible necessity. Note, Those will
see their need of grace hereafter, when it should save them, who will
not see their need of grace now, when it should sanctify and rule them.
(2.) It comes too late. God would have given them oil, had they asked
in time; but there is no buying when the market is over, no bidding
when the inch of candle is dropped.
Fourthly, They were denied a share in their companions’ oil. It
is a sad presage of a repulse with God, when they were thus repulsed by
good people. The wise answered, Not so; that peremptory denial
is not in the original, but supplied by the translators: these wise
virgins would rather give a reason without a positive refusal, than (as
many do) give a positive refusal without a reason. They were well
inclined to help their neighbours in distress; but, We must not, we
cannot, we dare not, do it, lest there be not enough for us and
you; charity begins at home; but go, and buy for yourselves.
Note,
1. Those that would be saved, must have grace of their own. Though we
have benefit by the communion of saints, and the faith and prayers of
others may now redound to our advantage, yet our own sanctification is
indispensably necessary to our own salvation. The just shall live by
his faith. Every man shall give account of himself, and therefore let
every man prove his own work; for he cannot get another to
muster for him in that day.
2. Those that have most grace, have none to spare; all we have, is
little enough for ourselves to appear before God in. The best have need
to borrow from Christ, but they have none to lend to any of their
neighbours. The church of Rome, which dreams of works of supererogation
and the imputation of the righteousness of saints, forgets that it was
the wisdom of the wise virgins to understand that they had but oil
enough for themselves, and none for others. But observe, These wise
virgins do not upbraid the foolish with their neglect, nor boast of
their own forecast, nor torment them with suggestions tending to
despair, but give them the best advice the case will bear, Go ye
rather to them that sell. Note, Those that deal foolishly in the
affairs of their souls, are to be pitied, and not insulted over; for
who made thee to differ? When ministers attend such as have been
mindless of God and their souls all their days, but are under death-bed
convictions; and, because true repentance is never too late, direct
them to repent, and turn to God, and close with Christ; yet, because
late repentance is seldom true, they do but as these wise virgins did
by the foolish, even made the best of bad. They can but tell them what
is to be done, if it be not too late, but whether the door may not be
shut before it is done, is an unspeakable hazard. It is good advice
now, if it be taken in time, Go to them that sell, and buy for
yourselves. Note, Those that would have grace, must have recourse
to, and attend upon, the means of grace. See
(6.) The coming of the bridegroom, and the issue of all this different
character of the wise and foolish virgins. See what came of it.
[1.] While they went out to buy, the bridegroom came. Note, With
regard to those that put off their great work to the last, it is a
thousand to one, that they have not time to do it then. Getting grace
is a work of time, and cannot be done in a hurry. While the poor
awakened soul addresses itself, upon a sick bed, to repentance and
prayer, in awful confusion, it scarcely knows which end to begin at, or
what to do first; and presently death comes, judgment comes, and the
work is undone, and the poor sinner undone for ever. This comes of
having oil to buy when we should burn it, and grace to get when we
should use it.
The bridegroom came. Note, Our Lord Jesus will come to his
people, at the great day, as a Bridegroom; will come in pomp and rich
attire, attended with his friends: now that the Bridegroom is taken
away from us, we fast
(ch. ix. 15),
but then will be an everlasting feast. Then the Bridegroom will fetch
home his bride, to be where he is
and will rejoice over his bride,
Isa. lii. 5.
[2.] They that were ready, went in with him to the marriage.
Note, First, To be eternally glorified is to go in with Christ
to the marriage, to be in his immediate presence, and in the most
intimate fellowship and communion with him in a state of eternal rest,
joy, and plenty. Secondly, Those, and those only, shall go to
heaven hereafter, that are made ready for heaven here, that are
wrought to the self-same thing,
2 Cor. v. 5.
Thirdly, The suddenness of death, and of Christ’s coming to us
then, will be no obstruction to our happiness, if we have been
habitually prepared.
[3.] The door was shut, as is usual when all the company is
come, that are to be admitted. The door was shut, First, To
secure those that were within; that, being now made pillars in the
house of our God, they may go no more out,
Rev. iii. 12.
Adam was put into paradise, but the door was left open and so he went
out again; but when glorified saints are put into the heavenly
paradise, they are shut in. Secondly, To exclude those that were
out. The state of saints and sinners will then be unalterably fixed,
and those that are shut out then, will be shut out for ever. Now the
gate is strait, yet it is open; but then it will be shut and bolted,
and a great gulf fixed. This was like the shutting of the door
of the ark when Noah was in; as he was thereby preserved, so all the
rest were finally abandoned.
[4.] The foolish virgins came when it was too late
(v. 11);
Afterward came also the other virgins. Note, First, There
are many that will seek admission into heaven when it is too late; as
profane Esau, who afterward would have inherited the blessing.
God and religion will be glorified by those late solicitations, though
sinners will not be saved by them; it is for the honour of Lord,
Lord, that, of fervent and importunate prayer, that those who
slight it now, will flee to it shortly, and it will not be called
whining and canting then. Secondly, The vain confidence of
hypocrites will carry them very far in their expectations of happiness.
They go to heaven-gate, and demand entrance, and yet are shut out;
lifted up to heaven in a fond conceit of the goodness of their state,
and yet thrust down to hell.
[5.] They were rejected, as Esau was
(v. 12);
I know you not. Note, We are all concerned to seek the Lord
while he may be found; for there is a time coming when he will not
be found. Time was, when, Lord, Lord, open to us, would have
sped well, by virtue of that promise, Knock, and it shall be opened
to you; but now it comes too late. The sentence is solemnly bound
on with, Verily I say unto you, which amounts to no less than
swearing in his wrath, that they shall never enter into his
rest. It bespeaks him resolved, and them silenced by it.
Lastly, Here is a practical inference drawn from this parable
(v. 13);
Watch therefore, We had it before
(ch. xxiv. 42),
and here it is repeated as the most needful caution. Note,
1. Our great duty is to watch, to attend to the business of our souls
with the utmost diligence and circumspection. Be awake, and be wakeful.
2. It is a good reason for our watching, that the time of our Lord’s
coming is very uncertain; we know neither the day nor the hour.
Therefore every day and every hour we must be ready, and not off our
watch any day in the year, or any hour in the day. Be thou in the
fear of the Lord every day and all the day long.
| The Parable of the Talents. |
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14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a
far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto
them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to
another one; to every man according to his several ability; and
straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded
with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained
other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth,
and hid his lord’s money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and
reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought
other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five
talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord,
thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two
other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful
servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said,
Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou
hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth:
lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and
slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and
gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the
exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine
own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him
which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall
have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away
even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We have here the parable of the talents committed to three
servants; this implies that we are in a state of work and business, as
the former implies that we are in a state of expectancy. That
showed the necessity of habitual preparation, this of actual
diligence in our present work and service. In that we were
stirred up to do well for our own souls; in this to lay out
ourselves for the glory of God and the good of others.
In this parable,
1. The Master is Christ, who is the absolute Owner and
Proprietor of all persons and things, and in a special manner of his
church; into his hands all things are delivered.
2. The servants are Christians, his own servants, so they are
called; born in his house, bought with his money, devoted to his
praise, and employed in his work. It is probable that ministers
are specially intended here, who are more immediately attending on him,
and sent by him. St. Paul often calls himself a servant of Jesus
Christ. See
We have three things, in general, in this parable.
I. The trust committed to these servants; Their master delivered to
them his goods: having appointed them to work (for Christ keeps no
servants to be idle), he left them something to work upon. Note,
1. Christ’s servants have and receive their all from him; for they are
of themselves worth nothing, nor have any thing they can call their own
but sin.
2. Our receiving from Christ is in order to our working for him. Our
privileges are intended to find us with business. The manifestation
of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
3. Whatever we receive to be made use of for Christ, still the
property is vested in him; we are but tenants upon his land,
stewards of his manifold grace,
1 Pet. iv. 10.
Now observe here,
(1.) On what occasion this trust was committed to these servants: The
master was travelling into a far country. This is explained,
When he ascended on high, he gave gifts to men. Note,
[1.] When Christ went to heaven, he was as a man travelling into a
far country; that is, he went with a purpose to be away a great
while.
[2.] When he went, he took care to furnish his church with all things
necessary for it during his personal absence. For, and in consideration
of, his departure, he committed to his church truths, laws, promises
and powers; these were the parakatatheke—the great
depositum (as it is called,
the good thing that is committed to us; and he sent his Spirit
to enable his servants to teach and profess those truths, to press and
observe those laws, to improve and apply those promises, and to
exercise and employ those powers, ordinary or extraordinary. Thus
Christ, at his ascension, left his goods to his church.
(2.) In what proportion this trust was committed.
[1.] He gave talents; a talent of silver is computed to be in
our money three hundred and fifty-three pounds eleven shillings and ten
pence halfpenny; so the learned Bishop Cumberland. Note, Christ’s gifts
are rich and valuable, the purchases of his blood inestimable, and none
of them mean.
[2.] He gave to some more, to others less; to one five talents,
to another two, to another one; to every one according to
his several ability. When Divine Providence has made a difference in
men’s ability, as to mind, body, estate, relation, and interest, divine
grace dispenses spiritual gifts accordingly, but still the ability
itself is from him. Observe, First, Every one had some one
talent at least, and that is not a despicable stock for a poor servant
to begin with. A soul of our own is the one talent we are
every one of us entrusted with, and it will find us with work. Hoc
nempe ab homine exigiture, ut prosit hominibus; si fieri potest,
multis; si minus, paucis; si minus, proximis, si minus, sibi: nam cum
se utilem cæteris efficit, commune agit negotium. Et si quis bene
de se meretur, hoc ipso aliis prodest quod aliis profuturum parat–It
is the duty of a man to render himself beneficial to those around him;
to a great number if possible; but if this is denied him, to a few; to
his intimate connections; or, at least, to himself. He that is useful
to others, may be reckoned a common good. And whoever entitles himself
to his own approbation, is serviceable to others, as forming himself to
those habits which will result in their favour. Seneca de Otio
Sapient. Secondly, All had not alike, for they had not all alike
abilities and opportunities. God is a free Agent, dividing to every
man severally as he will; some are cut out for service in one kind,
others in another, as the members of the natural body. When the
householder had thus settled his affairs, he straightway took his
journey. Our Lord Jesus, when he had given commandments to his
apostles, as one in haste to be gone, went to heaven.
II. The different management and improvement of this trust, which we
have an account of,
1. Two of the servants did well.
(1.) They were diligent and faithful; They went, and traded;
they put the money they were entrusted with, to the use for which it
was intended–laid it out in goods, and made returns of it; as soon as
ever their master was gone, they immediately applied themselves to
their business. Those that have so much work to do, as every Christian
has, need to set about it quickly, and lose not time. They went, and
traded. Note, A true Christian is a spiritual tradesman. Trades are
called mysteries, and without controversy great is the
mystery of godliness; it is a manufacture trade; there is something
to be done by upon our own hearts, and for the good of others. It is a
merchant-trade; things of less value to us are parted with for things
of greater value; wisdom’s merchandize,
Prov. iii. 15; Matt. xiii. 45.
A tradesman is one who, having made his trade his choice, and taken
pains to learn it, makes it his business to follow it, lays out all he
has for the advancement of it, makes all other affairs bend to it, and
lives upon the gain of it. Thus does a true Christian act in the work
of religion; we have no stock of our own to trade with, but
trade as factors with our master’s stock. The endowments of the
mind–reason, wit, learning, must be used in subserviency to religion;
the enjoyments of the world–estate, credit, interest, power,
preferment, must be improved for the honour of Christ. The ordinances
of the gospel, and our opportunities of attending them, bibles,
ministers, sabbaths, sacraments, must be improved for the end for which
they were instituted, and communion with God kept up by them, and the
gifts and graces of the Spirit must be exercised; and this is trading
with our talents.
(2.) They were successful; they doubled their stock, and in a little
time made cent. per cent. of it: he that had five
talents, soon made them other five. Trading with our talents
is not alway successful with others, but, however, it shall be so to
ourselves,
Note, The hand of the diligent makes rich in graces, and comforts, and
treasures of good works. There is a great deal to be got by industry in
religion.
Observe, The returns were in proportion to the receivings.
[1.] From those to whom God hath given five talents, he expects the
improvement of five, and to reap plentifully where he sows plentifully.
The greater gifts any have, the more pains they ought to take, as those
must that have a large stock to manage.
[2.] From those to whom he has given but two talents, he expects only
the improvement of two, which may encourage those who are placed in a
lower and narrower sphere of usefulness; if they lay out themselves to
do good according to the best of their capacity and opportunity, they
shall be accepted, though they do not so much good as others.
2. The third did ill
(v. 18);
He that had received one talent, went, and hid his lord’s money.
Though the parable represents but one in three unfaithful, yet in a
history that answers this parable, we find the disproportion
quite the other way, when ten lepers were cleansed, nine of
ten hid the talent, and only one returned to give thanks,
Luke xvii. 17, 18.
The unfaithful servant was he that had but one talent: doubtless
there are many that have five talents, and bury them all; great
abilities, great advantages, and yet do no good with them: but Christ
would hint to us,
(1.) That if he that had but one talent, be reckoned with thus for
burying that one, much more will they be accounted offenders, that have
more, that have many, and bury them. If he that was but of small
capacity, was cast into utter darkness because he did not improve what
he had as he might have done, of how much sorer punishment, suppose
ye, shall he be thought worthy, that tramples underfoot the greatest
advantages?
(2.) That those who have least to do for God, frequently do least of
what they have to do. Some make it an excuse for their laziness, that
they have not the opportunities of serving God that others have; and
because they have not wherewithal to do what they say they would, they
will not do what we are sure they can, and so sit down and do nothing;
it is really an aggravation of their sloth, that when they have but one
talent to take care about, they neglect that one.
He digged in the earth, and hid the talent, for fear it should
be stolen; he did not misspend or misemploy it, did not embezzle it or
squander it away, but he hid it. Money is like manure (so my
Lord Bacon used to say,) good for nothing in the heap, but it must be
spread; yet it is an evil which we have often seen under the sun,
treasure heaped together
which does good to nobody; and so it is in spiritual gifts; many have
them, and make no use of them for the end for which they were given
them. Those that have estates, and do not lay them out in works of
piety and charity; that have power and interest, and do not with it
promote religion in the places where they live; ministers that have
capacities and opportunities of doing good, but do not stir up the gift
that is in them, are those slothful servants that seek their own things
more than Christ’s.
He hid his lord’s money; had it been his own, he might
have done as he pleased; but, whatever abilities and advantages we
have, they are not our own, we are but stewards of them, and
must give account to our Lord, whose goods they are. It was an
aggravation of his slothfulness, that his fellow-servants were busy and
successful in trading, and their zeal should have provoked his. Are
others active, and shall we be idle?
III. The account of this improvement,
1. The account is deferred; it is not till after a long time
that they are reckoned with; not that the master neglects his affairs,
or that God is slack concerning his promise
no, he is ready to judge
(1 Pet. iv. 5);
but every thing must be done in its time and
order.
2. Yet the day of account comes at last; The lord of those servants
reckoneth with them. Note, The stewards of the manifold grace of
God must shortly give account of their stewardship. We must all
be reckoned with–what good we have got to our own souls, and what good
we have done to others by the advantages we have enjoyed. See
Now here is,
(1.) The good account of the faithful servants; and here observe,
[1.] The servants giving up the account
(v. 20, 22);
“Lord, thou deliveredst to me five talents, and to me
two; behold, I have gained five talents, and I two
talents more.“
First, Christ’s faithful servants acknowledge with thankfulness
his vouchsafements to them; Lord, thou deliveredst to me such
and such things. Note,
1. It is good to keep a particular account of our receivings from God,
to remember what we have received, that we may know what is expected
from us, and may render according to the benefit.
2. We must never look upon our improvements but with a general mention
of God’s favour to us, of the honour he has put upon us, in entrusting
us with his goods, and of that grace which is the spring and fountain
of all the good that is in us or is done by us. For the truth is, the
more we do for God, the more we are indebted to him for making use of
us, and enabling us, for his service.
Secondly, They produce, as an evidence of their faithfulness,
what they have gained. Note, God’s good stewards have something to show
for their diligence; Show me thy faith by thy works. He that is
a good man, let him show it,
Jam. iii. 13.
If we be careful in our spiritual trade, it will soon be seen by us,
and our works will follow us,
Rev. xiv. 13.
Not that the saints will in the great day make mention of their own
good deeds; no, Christ will do that for them
(v. 35);
but it intimates that they who faithfully improve their talents,
shall have boldness in the day of Christ,
1 John ii. 28-iv. 17.
And it is observable that he who had but two talents, gave up
his account as cheerfully as he who had five; for our comfort,
in the day of account, will be according to our faithfulness, not
according to our usefulness; our sincerity, not our success; according
to the uprightness of our hearts, not according to the degree of our
opportunities.
[2.] The master’s acceptance and approbation of their account,
First, He commended them; Well done, good and faithful
servant. Note, The diligence and integrity of those who approve
themselves the good and faithful servants of Jesus Christ, will
certainly be found to praise, and honour, and glory, at his
appearing,
1 Pet. i. 7.
Those that own and honour God now, he will own and honour shortly.
1. Their persons will be accepted; Thou good and faithful
servant. He that knows the integrity of his servants now, will
witness to it in the great day; and they that are found faithful, shall
be called so. Perhaps they were censured by men, as righteous
overmuch; but Christ will give them their just characters, of
good and faithful.
2. Their performances will be accepted; Well done. Christ will
call those, and those only, good servants, that have done well;
for it is by patient continuance in well-doing that we seek for
this glory and honour; and if we seek, we shall find; if we do that
which is good, and do it well, we shall have praise of the same.
Some masters are so morose, that they will not commend their servants,
though they do their work ever so well; it is thought enough not to
chide: but Christ will commend his servants that do well; whether their
praise be of men or not, it is of him; and if we have the good word of
our Master, the matter is not great what our fellow-servants say of us;
if he saith, Well done, we are happy, and it should then be a
small thing to us to be judged of men’s judgment; as, on the contrary,
not he who commendeth himself, or whom his neighbours commend, is
approved, but whom the Lord commends.
Secondly, He rewards them. The faithful servants of Christ shall
not be put off with bare commendation; no, all their work and labour of
love shall be rewarded.
Now this reward is here expressed two ways.
1. In one expression agreeable to the parable; Thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many
things. It is usual in the courts of princes, and families of great
men, to advance those to higher offices, that have been faithful in
lower. Note, Christ is a master that will prefer his servants who
acquit themselves well. Christ has honour in store for those that
honour him–a crown
(2 Tim. iv. 8),
a throne
(Rev. iii. 21),
a kingdom,
ch. xxv. 34.
Here they are beggars; in heaven they shall be rulers. The upright
shall have dominion: Christ’s servants are all princes.
Observe the disproportion between the work and the reward; there are
but few things in which the saints are serviceable to the glory of God,
but there are many things wherein they shall be glorified with God.
What charge we receive from God, what work we do for God in this world,
is but little, very little, compared with the joy set before us.
Put together all our service, all our sufferings, all our improvements,
all the good we do to others, all we get to ourselves, and they are but
a few things, next to nothing, not worthy to be compared, not fit to be
named the same day with the glory to be revealed.
2. In another expression, which slips out of the parable into the thing
signified by it; Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Note,
(1.) The state of the blessed is a state of joy, not only because all
tears shall then be wiped away, but all the springs of comfort shall be
opened to them, and the fountains of joy broken up. Where there are the
vision and fruition of God, a perfection of holiness, and the society
of the blessed, there cannot but be a fulness of joy.
(2.) This joy is the joy of their Lord; the joy which he himself
has purchased and provided for them; the joy of the redeemed, bought
with the sorrow of the Redeemer. It is the joy which he himself is in
the possession of, and which he had his eye upon when he endured the
cross, and despised the shame,
Heb. xii. 2.
It is the joy of which he himself is the fountain and centre. It is the
joy of our Lord, for it is joy in the Lord, who is our exceeding
joy. Abraham was not willing that the steward of his house,
though faithful, should be his heir
(Gen. xv. 3);
but Christ admits his faithful stewards into his own joy, to be
joint-heirs with him.
(3.) Glorified saints shall enter into this joy, shall have a full and
complete possession of it, as the heir when he comes of age enters upon
his estate, or as they that were ready, went in to the marriage
feast. Here the joy of our Lord enters into the saints, in the earnest
of the Spirit; shortly they shall enter into it, shall be in it to
eternity, as in their element.
(2.) The bad account of the slothful servant. Observe,
[1.] His apology for himself,
Though he had received but one talent, for that one he is called
to account. The smallness of our receiving will not excuse us from a
reckoning. None shall be called to an account for more than they have
received; but for what we have, we must all account.
Observe, First, What he confides in. He comes to the account
with a deal of assurance, relying on the plea he had to put in, that he
was able to say, “Lo, there thou hast that is thine; if I have
not made it more, as the others have done, yet this I can say, I have
not made it less.” This, he thinks, may serve to bring him off, if not
with praise, yet with safety.
Note, Many a one goes very securely to judgment, presuming upon the
validity of a plea that will be overruled as vain and frivolous.
Slothful professors, that are afraid of doing too much for God, yet
hope to come off as well as those that take so much pains in religion.
Thus the sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that
can render a reason,
Prov. xxvi. 16.
This servant thought that his account would pass well enough, because
he could say, There thou hast that is thine. “Lord, I was no
spendthrift of my estate, no prodigal of my time, no profaner of my
sabbaths, no opposer of good ministers and good preaching; Lord, I
never ridiculed my bible, nor set my wits to work to banter religion,
nor abused my power to persecute any good man; I never drowned my
parts, nor wasted God’s good creatures in drunkenness and gluttony, nor
ever to my knowledge did I injury to any body.” Many that are called
Christians, build great hopes for heaven upon their being able to make
such an account; yet all this amounts to no more than there thou
hast that is thine; as if no more were required, or could be
expected.
Secondly, What he confesses. He owns the burying of his talent;
I hid thy talent in the earth. He speaks as if that were no
great fault; nay, as if he deserved praise for his prudence in putting
it in a safe place, and running no hazards with it. Note, It is common
for people to make a very light matter of that which will be their
condemnation in the great day. Or, if he was conscious to himself that
it was his fault, it intimates how easily slothful servants will be
convicted in the judgment; there will need no great search for proof,
for their own tongues shall fall upon them.
Thirdly, What he makes his excuse; I knew that thou were a
hard man, and I was afraid. Good thought of God would beget love,
and that love would make us diligent and faithful; but hard thoughts of
God beget fear, and that fear makes us slothful and unfaithful. His
excuse bespeaks,
1. The sentiments of an enemy; I knew thee, that thou art a hard
man. This was like that wicked saying of the house of Israel,
The way of the Lord is not equal,
Ezek. xviii. 25.
Thus his defence is his offence. The foolishness of
man perverteth his way, and then, as if that would mend the matter,
his heart fretteth against the Lord. This is covering the
transgression, as Adam, who implicitly laid the fault on God himself;
The woman which thou gavest me. Note, Carnal hearts are apt to
conceive false and wicked opinions concerning God, and with them to
harden themselves in their evil ways. Observe how confidently he
speaks; I knew thee to be so. How could he know him to be so?
What iniquity have we or our fathers found in him?
Jer. ii. 5.
Wherein has he wearied us with his work, or deceived us in his wages?
Has he been a wilderness to us, or a land of darkness? Thus long
God has governed the world, and may ask with more reason than Samuel
himself could, Whom have I defrauded? or whom have I oppressed?
Does not all the world know the contrary, that he is so far from being
a hard master, that the earth is full of his goodness, so far
from reaping where he sowed not, that he sows a great deal where he
reaps nothing? For he causes the sun to shine, and his rain to fall,
upon the evil and unthankful, and fills their hearts with food and
gladness who say to the Almighty, Depart from us. This
suggestion bespeaks the common reproach which wicked people cast upon
God, as if all the blame of their sin and ruin lay at his door, for
denying them his grace; whereas it is certain that never any who
faithfully improved the common grace they had, perished for want of
special grace; nor can any show what could in reason have been done
more for an unfruitful vineyard than God has done in it. God does not
demand brick, and deny straw; no, whatever is required in the covenant,
is promised in the covenant; so that if we perish, it is owing to
ourselves.
2. The spirit of a slave; I was afraid, This ill affection
toward God arose from his false notions of him; and nothing is more
unworthy of God, nor more hinders our duty to him, than slavish fear.
This has bondage and torment, and is directly opposite to that entire
love which the great commandment requires. Note, Hard thoughts of God
drive us from, and cramp us in his service. Those who think it
impossible to please him, and in vain to serve him, will do nothing to
purpose in religion.
[2.] His Lord’s answer to this apology. His plea will stand him in no
stead, it is overruled, nay, it is made to turn against him, and he is
struck speechless with it; for here we have his conviction and his
condemnation.
First, His conviction,
Two things he is convicted of.
1. Slothfulness; Thou wicked and slothful servant. Note,
Slothful servants are wicked servants, and will be reckoned with as
such by their master, for he that is slothful in his work, and
neglects the good that God has commanded, is brother to him that is
a great waster, by doing the evil that God has forbidden,
He that is careless in God’s work, is near akin to him that is busy in
the devil’s work. Satis est mali nihil fecisse boni–To do no good
is to incur very serious blame. Omissions are sins, and must come
into judgment; slothfulness makes way for wickedness; all become
filthy, for there is none that doeth good,
Ps. xiv. 3.
When the house is empty, the unclean spirit takes possession. Those
that are idle in the affairs of their souls, are not only idle, but
something worse,
When men sleep, the enemy sows tares.
2. Self-contradiction
(v. 26, 27);
Thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not: thou oughtest therefore
to have put my money to the exchangers. Note, The hard thoughts
which sinners have of God, though false and unjust, will be so far from
justifying their wickedness and slothfulness, that they will rather
aggravate and add to their guilt. Three ways this may be taken;
(1.) “Suppose I had been so hard a master, shouldest not thou therefore
have been the more diligent and careful to please me, if not for
love, yet for fear, and for that reason oughtest not thou
to have minded thy work?” If our God is a consuming fire, in
consideration of that let us study how to serve him. Or thus,
(2.) “If thou didst think me to be a hard master, and therefore durst
not trade with the money thyself, for fear of losing by it, and being
made to stand to the loss, yet thou mightest have put it into the hands
of the exchangers, or goldsmith, mightest have brought it into the
bank, and then at my coming, if I could not have had the greater
improvement, by trade and merchandize (as of the other talents), yet I
might have had the less improvement, of bare interest, and should have
received my own with usury;” which, it seems, was a common
practice at that time, and not disallowed by our Saviour. Note, If we
could not, or durst not, do what we would, yet that excuse will not
serve, when it will be made to appear that we did not do what we could
and durst. If we could not find in our hearts to venture upon more
difficult and hazardous services, yet will that justify us in shrinking
from those that were more safe and easy? Something is better than
nothing; if we fail of showing our courage in bold enterprises, yet we
must not fail to testify our good will in honest endeavours; and our
Master will not despise the day of small things. Or thus,
(3.) “Suppose I did reap where I sowed not, yet that is nothing
to thee, for I had sowed upon thee, and the talent was my money which
thou wast entrusted with, not only to keep, but to improve.” Note, In
the day of account, wicked and slothful servants will be left quite
without excuse; frivolous pleas will be overruled, and every mouth will
be stopped; and those who now stand so much upon their own
justification will not have one word to say for themselves.
Secondly, His condemnation. The slothful servant is
sentenced,
1. To be deprived of his talent
(v. 28, 29);
Take therefore the talent from him. The talents were first
disposed of by the Master, as an absolute Owner, but this was now
disposed of by him as a Judge; he takes it from the unfaithful servant,
to punish him, and gives it to him that was eminently faithful, to
reward him. And the meaning of this part of the parable we have in the
reason of the sentence
(v. 29),
To every one that hath shall be given. This may be applied,
(1.) To the blessings of this life–worldly wealth and possessions.
These we are entrusted with, to be used for the glory of God, and the
good of those about us. Now he that hath these things, and useth
them for these ends, he shall have abundance; perhaps abundance
of the things themselves, at least, abundance of comfort in them, and
of better things; but from him that hath not, that is, that hath
these things as if he had them not, had not power to eat of them, or to
do good with (Avaro deest, tam quod habet, quam quod non habet–The
miser may be considered as destitute of what he has, as well as of what
he has not), they shall be taken away. Solomon explains
this,
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that
withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty. Giving to
the poor is trading with what we have, and the returns will be rich; it
will multiply the meal in the barrel, and the oil in the cruse: but
those that are sordid, and niggardly, and uncharitable, will find that
those riches which are so got, perish by evil travail,
Eccl. v. 13, 14.
Sometimes Providence strangely transfers estates from those that do no
good with them to those that do; they are gathered for him that will
pity the poor,
Prov. xxviii. 8.
See
Job xxvii. 16, 17; Eccl. ii. 26.
(2.) We may apply it to the means of grace. They who are diligent in
improving the opportunities they have, God will enlarge them, will
set before them an open door
(Rev. iii. 8);
but they who know not the day of their visitation, shall have the
things that belong to their peace hid from their eyes. For proof of
this, go see what God did to Shiloh,
Jer. vii. 12.
(3.) We may apply it to the common gifts of the Spirit. He that hath
these, and doeth good with them, shall have abundance; these gifts
improve by exercise, and brighten by being used; the more we do, the
more we may do, in religion; but those who stir not up the gift that is
in them, who do not exert themselves according to their capacity, their
gifts rust, and decay, and go out like a neglected fire. From his that
hath not a living principle of grace in his soul, shall be taken away
the common gifts which he hath, as the lamps of the foolish virgins
went out for want of oil,
v. 8.
Thus the arm of the idle shepherd, which he had sluggishly
folded up in his bosom, comes to be dried up, and his right eye, which
he had carelessly or wilfully shut, becomes utterly darkened, as it is
threatened,
2. He is sentenced to be cast into outer darkness,
v. 30.
Here,
(1.) His character is that of an unprofitable servant. Note,
Slothful servants will be reckoned with as unprofitable servants, who
do nothing to the purpose of their coming into the world, nothing to
answer the end of their birth or baptism, who are no way serviceable to
the glory of God, the good of others, or the salvation of their own
souls. A slothful servant is a withered member in the body, a barren
tree in the vineyard, an idle drone in the hive, he is good for
nothing. In one sense, we are all unprofitable servants
we cannot profit God,
Job xxii. 2.
But to others, and to ourselves, it is required that we be profitable;
if we be not, Christ will not own us as his servants: it is not enough
not to do hurt, but we must do good, must bring forth fruit, and though
thereby God is not profited, yet he is glorified,
(2.) His doom is, to be cast into outer darkness. Here, as in
what was said to the faithful servants, our Saviour slides insensibly
out of the parable into the thing intended by it, and it serves as a
key to the whole; for, outer darkness, where there is weeping and
gnashing of teeth, is, in Christ’s discourses, the common
periphrasis of the miseries of the damned in hell. Their state is,
[1.] Very dismal; it is outer darkness. Darkness is uncomfortable and
frightful: it was one of the plagues of Egypt. In hell there are
chains of darkness,
2 Pet. ii. 4.
In the dark no man can work, a fit punishment for a slothful
servant. It is outer darkness, out from the light of
heaven, out from the joy of their Lord, into which the faithful
servants were admitted; out from the feast. Compare
[2.] Very doleful; there is weeping, which bespeaks great sorrow, and
gnashing of teeth, which bespeaks great vexation and indignation. This
will be the portion of the slothful servant.
| The Process of the Last Judgment. |
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31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the
holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his
glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his
sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats
on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty,
and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I
was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw
we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee
drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked,
and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say
unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty,
and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye
clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we
thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or
in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did
it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the
righteous into life eternal.
We have here a description of the process of the last judgment in the
great day. There are some passages in it that are parabolical; as the
separating between the sheep and the goats, and the dialogues between
the judge and the persons judged: but there is no thread of similitude
carried through the discourse, and therefore it is rather to be called
a draught or delineation of the final judgment, than a parable; it is,
as it were, the explanation of the former parables. And here we
have,
I. The placing of the judge upon the judgment-seat
(v. 31);
When the Son of man shall come. Observe here,
1. That there is a judgment to come, in which every man shall be
sentenced to a state of everlasting happiness, or misery, in the world
of recompence or retribution, according to what he did in this world of
trial and probation, which is to be judged of by the rule of the
everlasting gospel.
2. The administration of the judgment of the great day is committed to
the Son of man; for by him God will judge the world
and to him all judgment is committed, and therefore the judgment of
that day, which is the centre of all. Here, as elsewhere, when the last
judgment is spoken of, Christ is called the son of man, because
he is to judge the sons of men (and, being himself of the same nature,
he is the more unexceptionable); and because his wonderful
condescension to take upon him our nature, and to become the son of
man, will be recompensed by this exaltation in that day, and an honour
put upon the human nature.
3. Christ’s appearing to judge the world will be splendid and glorious.
Agrippa and Bernice came to the judgment-seat with great pomp
(Acts xxv. 23);
but that was (as the original word is) great fancy. Christ will
come to the judgment-seat in real glory: the Sun of righteousness shall
then shine in his meridian lustre, and the Prince of the kings of the
earth shall show the riches of his glorious kingdom, and the honours of
his excellent majesty; and all the world shall see what the saints only
do now believe–that he is the brightness of his Father’s glory. He
shall come not only in the glory of his Father, but in his own glory,
as mediator: his first coming was under a black cloud of obscurity; his
second will be in a bright cloud of glory. The assurance Christ gave
his disciples of his future glory, might help to take off the offence
of the cross, and his approaching disgrace and suffering.
4. When Christ comes in his glory to judge the world, he will bring all
his holy angels with him. This glorious person will have a glorious
retinue, his holy myriads, who will be not only his attendants, but
ministers of his justice; they shall come with him both for state and
service. They must come to call the court
to gather the elect
(ch. xxiv. 31),
to bundle the tares
(ch. xiii. 40),
to be witnesses of the saints’ glory
(Luke xii. 8),
and of sinners’ misery,
5. He will then sit upon the throne of his glory. He is now set
down with the Father upon his throne; and it is a throne of grace, to
which we may come boldly; it is a throne of government, the throne of
his father David; he is a priest upon that throne: but then he
will sit upon the throne of glory, the throne of judgment. See
Solomon’s throne, though there was not its like in any
kingdom, was but a dunghill to it. Christ, in the days of his flesh,
was arraigned as a prisoner at the bar; but at his second coming, he
will sit as a judge upon the bench.
II. The appearing of all the children of men before him
(v. 32);
Before him shall be gathered all nations. Note, The judgment of
the great day will be a general judgment. All must be summoned before
Christ’s tribunal; all of every age of the world, from the beginning to
the end of time; all of every place on earth, even from the remotest
corners of the world, most obscure, and distant from each other; all
nations, all those nations of men that are made of one blood, to dwell
on all the face of the earth.
III. The distinction that will then be made between the precious and
the vile; He shall separate them one from another, as the tares
and wheat are separated at the harvest, the good fish and the bad at
the shore, the corn and chaff in the floor. Wicked and godly here
dwell together in the same kingdoms, cities, churches, families, and
are not certainly distinguishable one from another; such are the
infirmities of saints, such the hypocrisies of sinners, and one event
to both: but in that day they will be separated, and parted for ever;
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the
wicked,
Mal. iii. 18.
They cannot separate themselves one from another in this world
(1 Cor. v. 10),
nor can any one else separate them
(ch. xiii. 29);
but the Lord knows them that are his, and he can separate them. This
separation will be so exact, that the most inconsiderable saints shall
not be lost in the crowd of sinners, nor the most plausible sinner hid
in the crowd of saints
(Ps. i. 5),
but every one shall go to his own place. This is compared to a
shepherd’s dividing between the sheep and the goats; it is taken from
Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle. Note,
1. Jesus Christ is the great Shepherd; he now feeds his flock like a
shepherd, and will shortly distinguish between those that are his, and
those that are not, as Laban divided his sheep from Jacob’s, and set
three days’ journey between them,
2. The godly are like sheep–innocent, mild, patient, useful: the
wicked are like goats, a baser kind of animal, unsavoury and unruly.
The sheep and goats are here feeding all day in the same pasture, but
will be coted at night in different folds. Being thus divided, he will
set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his
left,
v. 33.
Christ puts honour upon the godly, as we show respect to those we set
on our right hand; but the wicked shall rise to everlasting shame,
It is not said that he shall put the rich on his right hand, and the
poor on his left; the learned and noble on his right hand, and
unlearned and despised on his left; but the godly on his right hand,
and the wicked on his left. All other divisions and subdivisions will
then be abolished; but the great distinction of men into saints and
sinners, sanctified and unsanctified, will remain for ever, and men’s
eternal state will be determined by it. The wicked took up with
left-handed blessings, riches and honour, and so shall their doom
be.
IV. The process of the judgement concerning each of these.
1. Concerning the godly, on the right hand. Their cause must be first
despatched, that they may be assessors with Christ in the judgement of
the wicked, whose misery will be aggravated by their seeing Abraham,
and Isaac, and Jacob, admitted into the kingdom of heaven,
Observe here,
(1.) The glory conferred upon them; the sentence by which they
shall be not only acquitted, but preferred and rewarded
(v. 34);
The king shall say unto them. He that was the Shepherd (which
bespeaks the care and tenderness wherewith he will make this
disquisition), is here the King, which bespeaks the authority wherewith
he will then pronounce the sentence: where the word of this King is,
there is power. Here are two things in this sentence:
[1.] The acknowledging of the saints to be the blessed of the Lord;
Come, ye blessed of my Father. First, He pronounces them
blessed; and his saying they are blessed, makes them so. The law
curses them for their many discontinuances; but Christ having redeemed
them from the curse of the law, and purchased a blessing for them,
commands a blessing on them. Secondly, Blessed of his Father;
reproached and cursed by the world, but blessed of God. As the Spirit
glorifies the Son
(John xvi. 14),
so the Son glorifies the Father by referring the salvation of the
saints to him as the First Cause; all our blessings in heavenly things
flow to us from God, as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Thirdly, He calls them to come: this come is, in
effect, “Welcome, ten thousand welcomes, to the blessings of my
father; come to me, come to be for ever with me; you that followed me
bearing the cross, now come along with me wearing the crown. The
blessed of my Father are the beloved of my soul, that have been too
long at a distance from me; come, now, come into my bosom, come into my
arms, come into my dearest embraces!” O with what joy will this fill
the hearts of the saints in that day! We now come boldly to the throne
of grace, but we shall then come boldly to the throne of glory; and
this word holds out the golden sceptre, with an assurance that our
requests shall be granted to more than the half of the kingdom. Now the
Spirit saith, Come, in the word; and the bride saith,
Come, in prayer; and the result hereof is a sweet communion: but
the perfection of bliss will be, when the King shall say,
Come.
[2.] The admission of the saints into the blessedness and kingdom of
the Father; Inherit the kingdom prepared for you.
First, the happiness they shall be possessed of is very rich; we
are told what it is by him who had reason to know it, having purchased
it for them, and possessed it himself.
1. It is a kingdom; which is reckoned the most valuable
possession on earth, and includes the greatest wealth and honour. Those
that inherit kingdoms, wear all the glories of the crown, enjoy all the
pleasures of the court, and command the peculiar treasures of the
provinces; yet this is but a faint resemblance of the felicities of the
saints in heaven. They that here are beggars, prisoners, accounted as
the off-scouring of all things, shall then inherit a kingdom,
Ps. cxiii. 7; Rev. ii. 26, 27.
2. It is a kingdom prepared: the happiness must needs be great,
for it is the product of the divine counsels. Note, There is great
preparation made for the entertainment of the saints in the kingdom of
glory. The Father designed it for them in his thoughts of love, and
provided it for them in the greatness of his wisdom and power. The Son
purchased it for them, and is entered as the fore-runner to prepare a
place,
And the blessed Spirit, in preparing them for the kingdom, in effect,
is preparing it for them.
3. It is prepared for them. This bespeaks,
(1.) The suitableness of this happiness; it is in all points adapted to
the nature of a soul, and to the new nature of a a sanctified soul.
(2.) Their property and interest in it. It is prepared on purpose for
them; not only for such as you, but for you, you by name, you
personally and particularly, who were chosen to salvation through
sanctification.
4. It is prepared from the foundation of the world. This
happiness was designed for the saints, and they for it, before time
began, from all eternity,
The end, which is last in execution, is first in intention. Infinite
Wisdom had an eye to the eternal glorification of the saints, from the
first founding of the creation: All things are for your sakes,
2 Cor. iv. 15.
Or, it denotes the preparation of the place of this happiness, which is
to be the seat and habitation of the blessed, in the very beginning of
the work of creation,
There in the heaven of heavens the morning stars were singing together,
when the foundations of the earth were fastened,
Secondly, The tenure by which they shall hold and possess it is
very good, they shall come and inherit it. What we come to by
inheritance, is not got by any procurement of our own, but purely, as
the lawyers express it, by the act of God. It is God that makes
heirs, heirs of heaven. We come to an inheritance by virtue of our
sonship, our adoption; if children, then heirs. A title by
inheritance is the sweetest and surest title; it alludes to possessions
in the land of Canaan, which passed by inheritance, and would not be
alienated longer than to the year of Jubilee. Thus is the heavenly
inheritance indefeasible, and unalienable. Saints, in this world, are
as heirs under age, tutored and governed till the time appointed of the
Father
and then they shall be put in full possession of that which now through
grace they have a title to; Come, and inherit it.
(2.) The ground of this
(v. 35, 36),
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat. We cannot hence
infer that any good words of ours merit the happiness of heaven, by any
intrinsic worth or excellency in them: our goodness extends not unto
God; but it is plain that Jesus Christ will judge the world by the same
rule by which he governs it, and therefore will reward those that have
been obedient to that law; and mention will be made of their obedience,
not as their title, but as their evidence of an interest in Christ, and
his purchase. This happiness will be adjudged to obedient believers,
not upon a quantum meruit–an estimate of merit, which supposes
a proportion between the work and the reward, but upon the promise of
God purchased by Jesus Christ, and the benefit of it secured under
certain provisos and limitations; and it is the purchase and promise
that give the title, the obedience is only the qualification of the
person designed. An estate made by deed or will upon condition, when
the condition is performed according to the true intent of the donor or
testator, becomes absolute; and then, though the title be built purely
upon the deed or will, yet the performing of the condition must be
given in evidence: and so it comes in here; for Christ is the Author of
eternal salvation to those only that obey him, and who patiently
continue in well doing.
Now the good works here mentioned are such as we commonly call works of
charity to the poor: not but that many will be found on the right hand
who never were in a capacity to feed the hungry, or clothe the naked,
but were themselves fed and clothed by the charity of others; but one
instance of sincere obedience is put for all the rest, and it teaches
us this in general, that faith working by love is all in all in
Christianity; Show me thy faith by thy works; and nothing will
abound to a good account hereafter, but the fruits of righteousness in
a good conversation now. The good works here described imply three
things, which must be found in all that are saved.
[1.] Self-denial, and contempt of the world; reckoning the things of
the world no further good things, than as we are enabled to do good
with them: and those who have not wherewithal to do good, must show the
same disposition, by being contentedly and cheerfully poor. Those are
fit for heaven that are mortified to the earth.
[2.] Love to our brethren; which is the second great commandment, the
fulfilling of the law, and an excellent preparative for the world of
everlasting love. We must give proof of this love by our readiness to
do good, and to communicate; good wishes are but mockeries without good
works,
Jam. ii. 15, 16; 1 John iii. 17.
Those that have not to give, must show the same disposition some other
way.
[3.] A believing regard to Jesus Christ. That which is here rewarded is
the relieving of the poor for Christ’s sake, out of love to him, and
with an eye to him. This puts an excellency upon the good work,
when in it we serve the Lord Christ, which those may do that work for
their own living, as well as those that help to keep others alive. See
Those good works shall then be accepted which are done in the name of
the Lord Jesus,
I was hungry, that is, my disciples and followers were so,
either by the persecutions of enemies for well-doing, or by the common
dispensations of Providence; for in these things there is one event to
the righteous and wicked: and you gave them meat. Note,
First, Providence so variously orders and disposes of the
circumstances of his people in this world, as that while some are in a
condition to give relief, others need it. It is no new thing for those
that are feasted with the dainties of heaven to be hungry and thirsty,
and to want daily food; for those that are at home in God, to be
strangers in a strange land; for those that have put on Christ, to want
clothes to keep them warm; for those that have healthful souls, to have
sickly bodies; and for those to be in prison, that Christ has made
free. Secondly, Works of charity and beneficence, according as
our ability is, are necessary to salvation; and there will be more
stress laid upon them in the judgment of the great day, than is
commonly imagined; these must be the proofs of our love, and of our
professed subjection to the gospel of Christ,
But they that show no mercy, shall have judgment without mercy.
Now this reason is modestly excepted against by the righteous, but is
explained by the Judge himself.
1. It is questioned by the righteous,
Not as if they were loth to inherit the kingdom, or were ashamed of
their good deeds, or had not the testimony of their own consciences
concerning them: but,
(1.) The expressions are parabolical, designed to introduce and impress
these great truths, that Christ has a mighty regard to works of
charity, and is especially pleased with kindnesses done to his people
for his sake. Or,
(2.) They bespeak the humble admiration which glorified saints will be
filled with, to find such poor and worthless services, as theirs are,
so highly celebrated, and richly rewarded: Lord, when saw we thee an
hungered, and fed thee? Note, Gracious souls are apt to think
meanly of their own good deeds; especially as unworthy to be compared
with the glory that shall be revealed. Far from this is the temper of
those who said, Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not?
Isa. lviii. 3.
Saints in heaven will wonder what brought them thither, and that God
should so regard them and their services. It even put Nathanael to the
blush, to hear Christ’s encomium of him: Whence knowest thou me?
John i. 47, 48.
See
“When saw we thee an hungered? We have seen the poor in distress
many a time; but when saw we thee?” Note, Christ is more among us than
we think he is; surely the Lord is in this place, by his word, his
ordinances, his ministers, his Spirit, yea, and his poor, and we know
it not: When thou wert under the fig-tree, I saw thee,
John i. 48.
2. It is explained by the Judge himself
(v. 40);
Inasmuch as ye have done it to these my brethren, to the least,
to one of the least of them, ye have done it unto me. The good
works of the saints, when they are produced in the great day,
(1.) Shall all be remembered; and not the least, not one of the least,
overlooked, no not a cup of cold water.
(2.) They shall be interpreted most to their advantage, and the best
construction that can be put upon them. As Christ makes the best of
their infirmities, so he makes the most of their services.
We see what recompences Christ has for those that feed the hungry, and
clothe the naked; but what will become of the godly poor, that had not
wherewithal to do so? Must they be shut out? No,
[1.] Christ will own them, even the least of them, as his brethren; he
will not be ashamed, nor think it any disparagement to him, to call
them brethren,
Heb. ii. 11.
In the height of his glory, he will not disown his poor relations;
Lazarus is there laid in his bosom, as a friend, as a brother. Thus he
will confess them,
[2.] He will take the kindness done to them, as done to himself; Ye
have done it unto me; which shows a respect to the poor that were
relieved, as well as to the rich that did relieve them. Note, Christ
espouses his people’s cause, and interests himself in their interests,
and reckons himself received, and love, and owned in them. If Christ
himself were among us in poverty, how readily would we relieve him? In
prison, how frequently would we visit him? We are ready to envy the
honour they had, who ministered to him of their substance,
Wherever poor saints and poor ministers are, there Christ is ready to
receive our kindnesses in them, and they shall be put to his
account.
2. Here is the process concerning the wicked, those on the left hand.
And in that we have,
(1.) The sentence passed upon them,
It was a disgrace to be set on the left hand; but that is not the worst
of it, he shall say to them, Depart from me, ye cursed. Every
word has terror in it, like that of the trumpet at mount Sinai, waxing
louder and louder, every accent more and more doleful, and exclusive of
comfort.
[1.] To be so near to Christ was some satisfaction, though under his
frowns; but that will not be allowed, Depart from me. In this
world they were often called to come to Christ, to come for life and
rest, but they turned a deaf ear to his calls; justly therefore are
they bid to depart from Christ, that would not come to him. “Depart
from me the Fountain of all good, from me the Saviour, and therefore
from all hope of salvation; I will never have any thing more to say to
you, or do with you.” Here they said to the Almighty, Depart from
us; then he will choose their delusions, and say to them,
Depart from me. Note, It is the hell of hell to depart from
Christ.
[2.] If they must depart, and depart from Christ, might they not be
dismissed with a blessing, with one kind and compassionate word at
least? No, Depart, ye cursed, They that would not come to
Christ, to inherit a blessing, must depart from him under the burthen
of a curse, that curse of the law on every one that breaks it,
As they loved cursing, so it shall come unto them. But observe,
The righteous are called the blessed of my Father; for their
blessedness is owing purely to the grace of God and his blessing, but
the wicked are called only ye cursed, for their damnation is of
themselves. Hath God sold them? No, they have sold themselves, have
laid themselves under the curse,
[3.] If they must depart, and depart with a curse, may they not go into
some place of ease and rest? Will it not be misery enough for them to
bewail their loss? No, there is a punishment of sense as well as loss;
they must depart into fire, into torment as grievous as that of
fire is to the body, and much more. This fire is the wrath of the
eternal God fastening upon the guilty souls and consciences of sinners
that have made themselves fuel for it. Our God is a consuming fire, and
sinners fall immediately into his hands,
[4.] If into fire, may it not be some light or gentle fire? No, it is
prepared fire; it is a torment ordained of old,
Isa. xxx. 33.
The damnation of sinners is often spoken of as an act of the divine
power; he is able to cast into hell. In the vessels of wrath he
makes his power known; it is a destruction from the presence of the
Lord, and from the glory of his power. In it shall be seen what a
provoked God can do to make a provoking creature miserable.
[5.] If into fire, prepared fire, O let it be but of short continuance,
let them but pass through fire; no, the fire of God’s wrath will
be an everlasting fire; a fire, that, fastening and preying upon
immortal souls, can never go out for want of fuel; and, being kindled
and kept burning by the wrath of an immortal God, can never go out for
want of being blown and stirred up; and, the streams of mercy and grace
being for ever excluded, there is nothing to extinguish it. If a drop
of water be denied to cool the tongue, buckets of water will never be
granted to quench this flame.
[6.] If they must be doomed to such a state of endless misery, yet may
they not have some good company there? No, none but the devil and
his angels, their sworn enemies, that helped to bring them to this
misery, and will triumph over them in it. They served the devil while
they lived, and therefore are justly sentenced to be where he is, as
those that served Christ, are taken to be with him where he is. It is
terrible to lie in a house haunted with devils; what will it be then to
be companions with them for ever? Observe here, First, Christ
intimates that there is one that is the prince of the devils, the
ring-leader of the rebellion, and that the rest are his angels, his
messengers, by whose agency he supports his kingdom. Christ and his
angels will in that day triumph over the dragon and his,
Secondly, The fire is said to be prepared, not primarily for the
wicked, as the kingdom is prepared for the righteous; but it was
originally intended for the devil and his angels. If sinners
make themselves associates with Satan by indulging their lusts, they
may thank themselves if they become sharers in that misery which was
prepared for him and his associates. Calvin notes upon this, that
therefore the torment of the damned is said to be prepared
for the devil and his angels, to cut off all hope of escaping it;
the devil and his angels are already made prisoners in the pit, and can
worms of the earth think to escape?
(2.) The reason of this sentence assigned. God’s judgments are all
just, and he will be justified in them. He is Judge himself, and
therefore the heavens shall declare his righteousness.
Now,
[1.] All that is charged upon them, on which the sentence is grounded,
is, omission; as, before, the servant was condemned, not for wasting
his talent, but for burying it; so here, he doth not say, “I was hungry
and thirsty, for you took my meat and drink from me; I was a stranger,
for you banished me; naked, for you stripped me; in prison, for you
laid me there:” but, “When I was in these distresses, you were so
selfish, so taken up with your own ease and pleasure, made so much of
your labour, and were so loth to part with your money, that you did not
minister as you might have done to my relief and succour. You
were like those epicures that were at ease in Zion, and were not
grieved for the affliction of Joseph,”
Note, Omissions are the ruin of thousands.
[2.] It is the omission of works of charity to the poor. They are not
sentenced for omitting their sacrifices and burnt-offerings (they
abounded in these,
Ps. l. 8),
but for omitting the weightier matter of the law, judgment, mercy,
and faith. The Ammonites and Moabites were excluded the sanctuary,
because they met not Israel with bread and water,
Deut. xxiii. 3, 4.
Note, Uncharitableness to the poor is a damning sin. If we will not be
brought to works of charity by the hope of reward, let us be influenced
by fear of punishment; for they shall have judgment without mercy,
that have showed no mercy. Observe, He doth not say, “I was sick,
and you did not cure me; in prison, and you did not release me”
(perhaps that was more than they could do); but, “You visited me
not, which you might have done.” Note, Sinners will be condemned,
at the great day, for the omission of that good which it was in the
power of their hand to do. But if the doom of the uncharitable be so
dreadful, how much more intolerable will the doom of the cruel be, the
doom of persecutors! Now this reason of the sentence is.
First, Objected against by the prisoners
(v. 44);
Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst? Condemned
sinners, though they have no plea that will bear them out, will yet in
vain offer at excuses. Now.
1. The manner of their pleading bespeaks their present precipitation.
They cut it short, as men in haste; when saw we thee hungry, or
thirsty, or naked? They care not to repeat the charge, as conscious
to themselves of their own guilt, and unable to bear the terrors of the
judgment. Nor will they have time allowed them to insist upon such
frivolous pleas; for it is all (as we say) but “trifling with the
court.”
2. The matter of their plea bespeaks their former inconsideration of
that which they might have known, but would not till now that it was
too late. They that had slighted and persecuted poor Christians, would
not own that they had slighted and persecuted Christ: no, they never
intended any affront to him, nor expected that so great a matter would
have been made of it. They imagined it was only a company of poor,
weak, silly, and contemptible people, who made more ado than needed
about religion, that they put those slights upon; but they who do so,
will be made to know, either in the day of their conversion, as Paul,
or of their condemnation, as these here, that it was Jesus whom they
persecuted. And, if they say, Behold, we knew it not: doth not
he that pondereth the heart consider it?
Prov. xxiv. 11, 12.
Secondly, Justified by the Judge, who will convince all the
ungodly of the hard speeches spoken against him in those that are his,
He goes by this rule
(v. 45);
Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it
not to me. Note, What is done against the faithful disciples and
followers of Christ, even the least of them, he takes as done against
himself. He is reproached and persecuted in them, for they are
reproached and persecuted for his sake, and in all their afflictions
he is afflicted. He that touches them, touches him in a part no
less tender than the apple of his eye.
Lastly, Here is the execution of both these sentences,
Execution is the life of the law, and Christ will take care that that
be done according to the sentence.
1. The wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment.
Sentence will then be executed speedily, and no reprieve granted, nor
any time allowed to move in arrest of judgment. The execution of the
wicked is first mentioned; for first the tares are gathered and burned.
Note,
(1.) The punishment of the wicked in the future state will be an
everlasting punishment, for that state is an unalterable state. It can
neither be thought that sinners should change their own natures, nor
that God should give his grace to change them, when in this world the
day of grace was misspent, the Spirit of grace resisted, and the means
of grace abused and baffled.
(2.) The wicked shall be made to go away into that punishment;
not that they will go voluntarily, no, they are driven from
light into darkness; but it bespeaks an irresistible conviction of
guilt, and a final despair of mercy.
2. The righteous shall go away into life eternal; that is, they
shall inherit the kingdom,
v. 34.
Note,
(1.) Heaven is life, it is all happiness. The life of the soul results
from its union with God by the mediation of Jesus Christ, as that of
the body from its union with the soul by the animal spirits. The
heavenly life consists in the vision and fruition of God, in a perfect
conformity to him, and an immediate uninterrupted communion with him.
(2.) It is eternal life. There is no death to put a period to
the life itself, nor old age to put a period to the comfort of it, or
any sorrow to embitter it. Thus life and death, good and evil, the
blessing and the curse, are set before us, that we may choose our way;
and so shall our end be. Even the heathen had some notion of these
different states of good and bad in the other world. Cicero in his
Tusculan Questions, lib. 1, brings in Socrates thus speaking,
Duæ sunt viæ, duplicesque cursus è corpore
exeuntium: nam qui se vitiis humanis contaminarunt, et libidinibus se
tradiderunt, iis devium quoddam iter est, seclusum à consilio
deorum; qui autem se integros castosque servarunt, quibusque fuerit
minima cum corporibus contagio, suntque in corporibus humanis vitam
imitati deorum, iis ad illos a quibus sunt profecti facile patet
reditus–Two paths open before those who depart out of the body. Such
as have contaminated themselves with human vices, and yielded to their
lusts, occupy a path that conducts them far from the assembly and
council of the gods; but the upright and chaste, such as have been
least defiled by the flesh, and have imitated, while in the body, the
gods, these find it easy to return to the sublime beings from whom they
came.
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