While such confident believers in the doctrine of endless misery, as Gill, and Hammond, and Whitby, and Campbell, allow that this text affords no proof of its truth, we need not be immoderately alarmed, even though some ministers of the present day think, or at the least speak, differently on the subject.

SECTION XXX.

'Wherefore, if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell-fire.'-MATT. xviii. 8, 9.

THE parallel place is Mark ix. 43-48. So far as I have examined, all the orthodox commentators agree in referring this passage to the concerns of the future life; chiefly, it would seem, on account of the word gehenna, which occurs here. The reader is referred, for some remarks on this word, to the notes on Matt. v.. 22, 29, 30.

SECTION XXXI.

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me; and I will pay thee all. Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him a hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, pay me that thou owest. And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with

me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me; Shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother their trespasses,'-MATT. xviii. 23-35.

THIS parable was designed to teach men their duty to forgive each other, in view of God's goodness and grace to themselves; and to teach them further that God would surely recompense them according to their deeds, if they neglected this duty. Most commentators refer the punishment, denounced by implication, to the future life, though they interpret the parable itself as having relation to temporal affairs only. I have not found any, so far as my examination has extended, who make a direct application of the whole passage to temporal concerns, though some, as Rosenmuller and Kenrick, seem to leave the matter in doubt, whether the punishment belong to this life or the next. Grotius says, the celestial kingdom, or kingdom of heaven, in this place, signifies the period after the advent of Christ.' And he, like the others I have named, leaves it somewhat doubtful whether he understood the punishment to belong to the present, or the future life.

SECTION XXXII.

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily, I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.'-MATT. xix. 23-24.

THE parallel places are Mark x. 24, 25, and Luke xviii. 24, 25. That the phrase kingdom of heaven, has relation to a state of things in the present life, may

be seen by the following quotations from standard wri

ters:

1. GILPIN. How almost impossible is it, said Jesus, turning to his disciples, for a rich man to become a sincere christian. The disciples expressing their surprise at what he said, he explained himself by adding, that the difficulty arose, not so properly from their having riches, as from their trusting in them—from their being so attached to them, as this person was; who, when called on by his religion, could not give them up. It was impossible, he said, for any person, under the influence of such a disposition, to be a member of his kingdom.' Expos.in Mark x. 24, 25.

'Jesus, on this, observed the very great difficulty of a rich man's being properly disposed to receive the gospel; and when his disciples expressed their concern at what he said, he added, that he spoke only of man unassisted by divine grace. By God's grace, said he, all the bad dispositions of our hearts, and all the temptations of the world, may be conquered.' Expos. in Luke xviii. 24, 25.

2. PEARCE. A rich man, i. e., as Mark expresses it, a man who trusteth in his riches. Shall hardly; i. e., not without great difficulty. Enter into the kingdom of heaven; i. e., become one of my disciples.' Com. in loc.

3. ELSLEY. 'It may be read "will" hardly enter; meaning, that, in the approaching time of persecution, a rich man will hardly be persuaded to be a disciple of Christ; which is here called entering into the kingdom of heaven. Wall's Critical Notes.' Annot. in loc.

KENRICK. The kingdom of heaven here means, as in several other parts of the evangelists, the body of Christians. To come into this kingdom, therefore, is to become the disciple of Christ. Christ says that the rich are unwilling to do this; riches generally corrupted the manners, and made men averse to the pure precepts of the gospel, as a yoke which they were unable to bear. This aversion was further strengthened by the losses to which men in those times were exposed, by assuming the name of Christians. Two instances are mentioned in the gospel, of rich men becoming the disciples of Christ;

the one is Joseph of Arimathea, and the other Nicodemus; but the difficulty which they felt in doing it, is evident in both cases: for the former was a disciple of Christ secretly, for fear of the Jews; and the other, no doubt from the same motive, came to him by night: but the young ruler, of whom we have here an account, had not resolution to do either the one thing nor the other.' Expos. in loc.

5. ROSENMUller. • To enter into the kingdom of heaven, is to join the company of Jesus, and become his follower. The rich, says Jesus, cannot become my followers without difficulty. Riches are frequently an excitement to evil, and certainly an impediment to virtue. The reason is this:-the rich, generally, are accustomed to trust in their riches, and account them the chief good, as Mark indicates, x. 24. And this difficulty was the greater, in those days, on account of the dangers to which they who professed the name of Jesus were exposed; for those who acknowledged Jesus to be the Messiah, were excommunicated, and deprived of their possessions. John ix. 22, 34, xii. 42.' Scholia in loc.

From the preceding quotations, it is seen that, in the opinion of these commentators, Jesus had reference, not to the difficulty with which rich men should obtain final salvation, but to the difficulty they experienced in becoming his disciples-his professed followers. course the passage affords no proof that any portion of the human race will endure endless misery; inasmuch as the words have respect to the affairs of the present existence alone.

Of

SECTION XXXIII.

'Hear another parable; There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a wine-press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto him likewise. But last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus said unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone, will be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.'-MATT. xxi. 33-44.

THE parallel places are Mark xii. 1-11, and Luke xx. 9-18. Some have attempted to show that this passage relates to punishment in the future life. But Jesus appears to have had no such intention. In consequence of their extreme wickedness, he assures the Jews their peculiar privileges as the people of God, here termed the kingdom of God,' should be taken from them and bestowed on others. So much of the passage has manifest relation to the affairs of the present life. And I see no necessity that the remainder should have a different application. The writers quoted below give a similar view of this parable.

6

1. DUTCH ANNOTATIONS. In this parable or similitude, God the Father is compared to the father of a family, the church of the Jews to a vineyard, the priests and scribes to husbandmen, the prophets and faithful teachers to servants, Christ to the son of the father of the family, and faith and obedience to fruits; which seeing they did not bring forth, therefore their ruin by