Page images
PDF
EPUB

&c.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, h James v.1, where 1moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 but lay up for yourselves i treasures in heaven, where neither moth

i ch. xix. 21. Luke xii. 33, 34: xviii. 22.

1 Pet. i. 4.

j Luke xi. 34,

nor rust

1 Tim. vi. 19. doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye : if therefore thine shall be full of light.

36.

eye be single, thy whole body 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy

whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that k Luke xvi. 13. darkness! 24k No man can serve two masters: for either krender, how dark is the darkness!

does not seem to be necessary; the one might afford just as much occasion for

ostentation as the other.

19-34.] From cautions against the hypocrisy of formalists, the discourse naturally passes to the entire dedication of the heart to God, from which all duties of the Christian should be performed. In this section this is enjoined, 1. (vv. 19— 24) with regard to earthly treasures, from the impossibility of serving God and Mammon 2. (vv. 25-34) with regard to earthly cares, from the assurance that our Father careth for us.

19, 20. rust]

The word is more general in meaning than mere rust it includes the wear and tear' of time, which eats into and consumes the fairest possessions. The laying up treasures in heaven would accumulate the "bags that wax not old, a treasure that faileth not," of Luke xii. 33, corresponding to the "reward" of ch. v. 12, and the "shall reward thee" of vv. 4, 6, 18. See 1 Tim. vi. 19: Tobit iv. 9. break through] usually joined with "a house," as in ch. xxiv. 43, where the word in the original is the same. 21.] The connexion with the foregoing is plain enough to any but the shallowest reader. The heart is, where the treasure is.' But it might be replied, I will have a treasure on earth and a treasure in heaven also: a divided affection.' This is dealt with, and its impracticability shewn by a parable from 22, 23. The light] as lighting and guiding the body and its members: not as containing light in itself. Similarly the inner light, the conscience, lights the spirit and its faculties, but by light supernal to itself.

nature.

single, i. e. clear, untroubled in vision, as the eye which presents a welldefined and single image to the brain.

evil, i. e. perverse, as the eye which dims and distorts the visual images. full of light, rather, in full light, as an object in the bright sunshine; full of darkness, rather, as an object in the deep shade. If therefore &c.] Render, as in margin, If then the LIGHT which is in thee is darkness, how dark is the DARKNESS! i. e. 'if the conscience, the eye and light of the soul, be darkened, in how much grosser darkness will all the passions and faculties be, which are of themselves naturally dark!' This interpretation is that of nearly all the ancient fathers and versions. Stier expands it well: "As the body, of itself a dark mass, has its light from the eye, so we have here compared to it the sensuous, bestial life of men, their appetites, desires, and aversions, which belong to the lower creature. This dark region-human nature under the gross dominion of the flesh- shall become spiritualized, enlightened, sanctified, by the spiritual light but if this light be darkness, how great must then the darkness of the sensuous life be!" The A. V., which agrees with the usual modern interpretation, makes the words a mere expression of the greatness of the darkness thereby occasioned, and thus loses the force of the sentence.

24.] And this division in man's being cannot take place-he is and must be one-light or dark -- serving God or Mammon. serve] Not merely 'serve,' as we now understand it, but in that closer sense, in which he who serves is the slave of, i. e. belongs to and obeys entirely. See Rom. vi. 16, 17.

for

either or] is not a repetition; but the suppositions are the reverse of one another as Meyer expresses it, "He will either hate A and love B, or cleave to A and despise B:' the one and the other

he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve

1 Gal. i. 10. James iv. 4. 1 John ii. 15.

1 Pet. v. 7.

God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, m1 Take m Phil iv. 6.
no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is
not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the "fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither a Job xxxviii.
do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly
Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking m thought can add one cubit
unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for
raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;

1 render, Take not anxious thought.
П render, age.

keeping their individual reference in both
members. hate and love must be given
their full meaning, or the depth of the
saying is not reached: the sense love less,
disparage, for hate, would not bring out
the opposition and division of the nature
of man by the attempt. mammon]
the Chaldee word for riches. Mammon
does not appear to have been the name
of any Syrian deity, as some assert.
25. Therefore] A direct inference from
the foregoing verse: the plainer, since
the verb signifies to be distracted,' 'to
have the mind drawn two ways.' The
A. V., Take no thought,' does not express
the sense, but gives rather an exaggera
tion of the command, and thus makes it
unreal and nugatory. Take not anxious
thought, is far better. In Luke xii. 29 we
have live not in careful suspense" (A.V.
marg.). Is not the life] The argu-
ment is, Shall not He who gave us the
greater, also give us the less?

26.] The two examples, of the birds and
the lilies, are not parallel in their ap-
plication. The first is an argument from
the less to the greater; that our heavenly
Father, who feeds the birds, will much
more feed us: the second, besides this ap-
plication, which (ver. 30) it also contains,
is a reproof of the vanity of anxiety about
clothing, which, in all its pomp of gorge-
ous colours, is vouchsafed to the inferior
creatures, but not attainable by, as being
unworthy of, us. Notice, it is not said,
"Sow not, reap not, gather not into
barns"-the birds are not our example
to follow in their habits, for God hath
made us to differ from them-the doing
all these things is part of our "how much
better are ye," and increases the force
of the à fortiori; but it is said, 'be not

[ocr errors]

41. Ps. cxlviii. 9.

m render, anxious thought. • render, anxious thought. anxious," "be not in suspense” Luke xii. 24). your Father, not their Father-thus by every accessory word does our Lord wonderfully assert the truths and proprieties of creation, in which we, his sons, are His central work, and the rest for us. of the air, and afterwards of the field, as Tholuck remarks, are not superfluous, but serve to set forth the wild and uncaring freedom of the birds and plants. I may add,-also to set forth their lower rank in the scale of creation, as belonging to the air and the field. Who could say of all mankind, "the men of the world?" Thus the à fortiori is more plainly brought out. 27.] These

words do not relate to the stature, the adding a cubit to which (= a foot and a half) would be a very great addition, instead of a very small one, as is implied here, and expressed in Luke xii. 26, "if then ye be not able to do that thing which is least," but to the time of life of each hearer; as Theophylact on Luke xii. 26, "The measure of life is with God alone, and each man cannot set the measure of his own age." So the best Commentators: and the context seems imperatively to require it; for the object of food and clothing is not to enlarge the body, but to prolong life. The application of measures of space to time is not uncommon. See Ps. xxxix. 5: Job ix. 25: 2 Tim. iv. 7. Mimnermus, a Greek poet, speaks of "a cubit's length of time." See other examples in my Gr. Test.

28.] Consider, implying more attention than "Behold." The birds fly by, and we can but look upon them: the flowers are ever with us, and we can watch their growth. These lilies have been supposed to be the crown imperial, (fritillaria imperialis,) which grows wild in Palestine, or

o see 1 Kings

iii. 11-13. Mark x. 29,

30.1

iv. 8.

im.

they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore P take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (for after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first ¶ the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no rthought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take

P render, take not anxious thought.

The Vatican MS. reads, His righteousness and kingdom: the Sinaitic, His kingdom and righteousness.

the amaryllis lutea, (Sir J. E. Smith,) whose golden liliaceous flowers cover the autumnal fields of the Levant. Dr. Thomson, "The Land and the Book," p. 256, believes the Huleh lily to be meant: it is very large, and the three inner petals meet above, and form a gorgeous canopy, such as art never approached, and king never sat under, even in his utmost glory. And when I met this incomparable flower, in all its loveliness, among the oak woods around the northern base of Tabor, and on the hills of Nazareth, where our Lord spent His youth, I felt assured that it was this to which He referred." Probably, however, the word here may be taken in a wider import, as signifying all wild flowers.

29.] We here have the declaration of the Creator Himself concerning the relative glory and beauty of all hunian pomp, compared with the meanest of His own works. See 2 Chron. ix. 15-28. And the meaning hidden beneath the text should not escape the student. As the beauty of the flower is unfolded by the divine Creator Spirit from within, from the laws and capacities of its own individual life, so must all true adornment of man be unfolded from within by the same Almighty Spirit. See 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4. As nothing from without can defile a man, (ch. xv. 11,) so neither can any thing from without adorn him. Our Lord introduces with "I say unto you" His revelations of omniscience see ch. xviii. 10, 19.

30. the grass] The wild flowers which form part of the meadow growth are counted as belonging to the grass, and are cut down with it. Cut grass, which soon

rrender, anxious thought.

withers from the heat, is still used in the East for firing. See "The Land and the Book," p. 341. the oven] "a covered earthen vessel, a pan, wider at the bottom than at the top, wherein bread was baked by putting hot embers round it, which produced a more equable heat than in the regular oven." Wilkinson and Webster's 32. for your heavenly Father knoweth] This second "for" brings in an additional reason. 33. seek ye first] Not with any reference to seeking all these things after our religious duties, e. g. beginning with prayer days of avarice and worldly anxiety, but make your great object, as we say, your first care.

note.

his righteousness] Not here the forensic
righteousness of justification, but the spi-
ritual purity inculcated in this discourse.
His righteousness answers to His perfec-
tion, spoken of in ch. v. 48, and is another
reference to the being as our heavenly
Father is. In the Christian life which
has been since unfolded, the righteousness
of justification is a necessary condition
of likeness to God; but it is not the righte-
ousness here meant.
shall be added

unto you] There is a traditional saying
of our Lord, "Ask ye for great things,
and small things shall be added unto
you: ask for heavenly things, and earthly
things shall be added unto you."
34] literally, for the morrow will care
for it, viz. for itself, the morrow men-
tioned above: i. e. will bring care enough
about its own matters: implying,-' after
all your endeavour to avoid worldly cares,
you will find quite enough and more
of them when to-morrow comes, about

thought for [ the things of] itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

q

xiv. 3, 4, &c.

12.

VII. 1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For p Rom. ii. 1: with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and James iv. 11, 9 with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured a Mark iv. 24. to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brothe 's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy s omit.

to-morrow itself: do not then increase those of to-day by introducing them before their time.' A hint, as is the following evil thereof, that in this state of sin and infirmity the command of ver. 31 will never be completely observed.

CHAP. VII. 1-12.] Of our CONDUCT TOWARDS OTHER MEN: parenthetically illustrated, vv. 7-11, by the benignity and wisdom of God in his dealings with us. The connexion with the last chapter is immediately, the word evil, in which a glance is given by the Saviour at the misery and sinfulness of human life at its best; and now precepts follow, teaching us how we are to live in such a world, and among others sinful like ourselves:-mediately, and more generally it is, the continuing caution against hypocrisy, in ourselves and in others. 1.] This does

not prohibit all judgment (see ver. 20, and 1 Cor. v. 12); but, as Augustine, enjoins us to interpret others charitably in all cases where doubt may exist as to the motives of their actions. judge has

con

been taken for "condemn" here; and this
seems necessary, at least in so far that it
should be taken as implying an ill judg
ment. For if the command were merely
not to form authoritative judgments of
others,' the second member, "that ye be
not judged," would not, in its right in-
terpretation, as applying to God's judg
ment of us, correspond. And the "
demn not," which follows in Luke vi. 37,
is perhaps to be taken rather as an ad-
ditional explanation of judge, than as a
climax after it.
judged] i. e. by
God,' for so doing;-a parallel expression
to ch. v. 7; vi. 15; not by others.' The
bare passive, without the agent expressed,
is solemn and emphatic. See note on
Luke vi. 38; xvi. 9; and xii. 20. The

[ocr errors]

sense then is, that you have not to an-
swer before God for your rash judgment
and its consequences.' The same remarks
apply to ver. 2.
3-5.] Light-

foot produces instances of this proverbial
saying among the Jews. With them,
however, it seems only to be used of a
person retaliating rebuke; whereas our
Lord gives us a further application of
it, viz. to the incapability of one involved
in personal iniquity to form a right judg-
ment on others, and the clearness given
to the spiritual vision by conflict with
and victory over evil. There is also no
doubt here a lesson given us of the true
relative magnitude which our own faults,
and those of our brother, ought to hold in
our estimation. What is a mote to one
looking on another, is to that other himself
a beam just the reverse of the ordinary
estimate.
3.] beholdest, from with-

out, a voluntary act: considerest not,
apprehendest not, from within, that which
is already there, and ought to have excited
attention before. The same distinction is
observed in Luke. 4.] how wilt thou
say, is "how canst thou say" in Luke:
Luther renders it "how darest thou say?"

5. Thou hypocrite] "He calls this man a hypocrite, as usurping the office of a physician, when he really fills the place of a sick man or as in pretence busying himself about another man's fault, but in reality doing it with a view to condemning him." Euthymius. shalt thou see clearly,

with purified eye. The close is remarkable. Before, to behold the mote was all-to stare at thy brother's faults, and as people do who stand and gaze at an object, attract others to gaze also:-but now, the object is a very different one-to cast out the mote-to help thy brother to be rid of his fault, by doing him the best and most

r Prov. xxiii. 9. brother's eye.

Acts xiii. 46. see ch. xiii. 10, 11.

s ch. xxi. 22

John xiv. 13:

XV. 7: xvi.
23, 24. James
i. 5, 6. 1 John

iii. 22: v. 14,

ye

6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend and parallels. you. 7 8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that

15.

[ocr errors]

difficult office of Christian friendship. The
beholding was vain and idle; the seeing
clearly is for a blessed end, viz. (ch. xviii.
15) to gain thy brother.
6.] The
connexion, see below. that which is
holy] Some have thought this, in the
Greek, to be a mistranslation of a
Chaldee word signifying an earring, or
amulet; but the connexion is not at all
improved by it. Pearls bear a resem-
blance to peas or acorns, the food of
swine, but earrings none whatever to the
food of dogs. The similitude is derived
from "the holy things," the meat offered
in sacrifice, of which no unclean person
was to eat (Lev. xxii. 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16).
Similarly in the ancient Christian Liturgies
and Fathers, "the holy things are the
consecrated elements in the Holy Commu-
nion. Thus interpreted, the saying would
be one full of meaning to the Jews. As
Dean Trench observes (Serm. Mount,
p. 136), "It is not that the dogs would
not eat it, for it would be welcome to
them; but that it would be a profanation
to give it to them, Exod. xxii. 31." The
other part of the similitude is of a different
character, and belongs entirely to the
swine, who having cast to them pearls,
something like their natural food, whose
value is inappreciable by them, in fury
trample them with their feet, and turning
against the donor, rend him with their
tusks. The connexion with the foregoing
and following verses is this: "Judge not,"
&c.; "attempt not the correction of others,
when you need it far more yourselves:"
still, "be not such mere children, as not to
distinguish the characters of those with
whom you have to do. Give not that which
is holy to dogs," &c. Then, as a humble
hearer might be disposed to reply, if this
last be a measure of the divine dealings,
what bounties can I expect at God's hand?'

(ver. 7), ask of God, and He will give to each of you: for this is His own will, that you shall obtain by asking (ver. 8),-good things, good for each in his place and degree (vv. 10, 11), not unwholesome or unfitting things. Therefore (ver. 12) do ye the same to others, as ye wish to be done, and as God does, to you: viz. give that which is good for each, to each, not judging uncharitably on the one hand, nor casting pearls before swine on the other?

7.] The three similitudes are all to be understood of prayer, and form a climax. 8.] The only limitation to this promise, which, under various forms, is several times repeated by our Lord, is furnished in vv. 9-11, and in James iv. 3, "Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask 9.] There are two questions here, the first of which is broken off. See a similar construction in ch. xii. 11. The similitude of bread (a loaf) and a stone also appears in ch. iv. 3. Luke (xi. 12) adds the egg and the scorpion.

amiss."

[ocr errors]

11.

evil] i. e. in comparison with God. It is
not necessary to suppose a rebuke conveyed
here, but only a general declaration of the
corruption and infirmity of man. Augus-
tine remarks, in accordance with this view,
that the persons now addressed are the
same who had been taught to say Our
Father' just now. Stier remarks, "This
saying seems to me the strongest proof of
original sin in the whole of the holy scrip-
tures." Reden Jesu, i. 236.
things] principally, His Holy Spirit, Luke
xi. 13. The same argument à fortiori is
used by our Lord in the parable of the unjust
judge, Luke xviii. 6, 7. 12.] Trench
(Serm. on the Mount, p. 143) has noticed
Augustine's refutation of the sneer of in-
fidels (such as Gibbon's against this pre-
cept), that some of our Lord's sayings have
been before written by heathen authors.

good

« PreviousContinue »