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124

The Gospel would occafion violent Contentions,

Sect. 114. abandon themselves to a Life of Idleness and Luxury; who ftain their Sacred Character by Intemperance; who proudly cenfure their Brethren, and either call, or wifh, for the Secular Arm to fmite their Fellow-Servants, perhaps more faithful than themselves; let fuch hear and tremble. Their Lord may come in a very unexpected Hour; (as indeed, when do fuch expect him?) and what are the Stripes they have given others, when compared with those, which they shall themselves receive; Stripes, which shall cut them afunder, and pierce deep into their very Souls? How much more tolerable will it be, even for the worst of Gentile Sinners, than for such!

Ver. 46.

Let all, who are in any Measure diftinguished by the Gifts of the Divine Bounty to them, or by their Stations, whether in Civil of Sacred Offices, attentively dwell on this great Truth, fo folemnly repeated again and again; let them confider it with a View to their own Account: To whomVer. 48. foever much is given, of him will much be required. May Divine Grace fo imprefs it on their Hearts, that they may be diftinguished by prefent Fidelity, and future Rewards, in Proportion to the Difference which Providence has already made in their Favour! And may they never have Reason to reflect with Confufion and Anguish, on what is now their Honour and their Joy!

Sect. 115.

49.

SECT. CXV.

CHRIST obferves the Evils which would be occafioned by his Coming, yet declares his Defire to compleat his Work; and warns the Jews of the great Danger of neglecting the short Remainder of their Time of Trial. Luke XII. 49, to the End.

O

LUKE XII. 49.

UR Lord farther added in his Difcourfe to
his Disciples and the Multitude: After all

I

LUKE XII. 49.

Am come to fend Fire

on the Earth, and what

dled?

Luke XII. that I have faid to promote Humanity and Cha- will I, if it be already kinrity, yet it will in Fact appear, that I am come to fend Fire on the Earth; fo oppofite is my Doctrine to the Prejudices and the Lufts of Men, and fuch are the violent Contentions that my Gospel will occafion, thro' the Wickedness of those among whom it is preached: And yet what do I wish? that the Gofpel might be fuppreffed? nay, but I rather fay, Oh that this Fire, fierce as it shall be,

were

and be followed, not with Peace, but with Division.

50 But I have a Baptifm to be baptized with, and how am I ftraitened till it be accomplished !

51 Suppofe ye that I am come to give Peace on Earth? I tell you, Nay;

but rather Divifion.

125
were already kindled (a) by the univerfal Propa- Sect. 115.
gation of a Religion, whofe Bleflings fo abun-
dantly counterbalance all the accidental Evils
which can attend it? But I have indeed, in Luke XII.
the mean Time, a moft dreadful Baptifm to be 50.
baptized with, and know that I fhall shortly be
bathed, as it were, in Blood, and plunged in the
moft overwhelming Distress: Yet, far from draw-
ing back on that Account, how inexpreffibly am
I ftraitened and uneafy thro' the Earneftnefs of
my Defire, till, terrible as it is, it be fully com-
pleated (b), and the glorious Birth produced,
whatever Agonies may lie in the Way to it?

But thefe Benefits are to be fecured in a very 51
different Manner, from what fome of you, my
Difciples, imagine: For do you now fuppofe, that
I am come to give Peace on the Earth, or im-
mediately to establish that Temporal Tranquility
and Profperity, which you expect should attend
the Meffiah's Kingdom (c)? Nay, but confidering
how my peaceful Gofpel will be opposed, and
how it will be perverted, I may fay to you, that I

am

(a) And what do I wish? oh that it were already kindled ?] I think, Sir Norton Knatchbull has abundantly established this Verfion. Dr. Whitby (who here, as in many other Places, tranfcribes from Grotius,) feems fully to have proved, that es fometimes has this Force.. Compare Luke xix. 42. and Numb. xxii. 29. Joh. vii. 7. Pfal. lxxxi. 13. Septuag. (Perhaps we may add Luke xxii. 42.) See Grotius, in loc.

(b) How am I ftraitened and uneafy, till it be compleated?] The Word ouvexual feems to import, an Ardor of Mind, with which a Perfon is fo borne on towards the Object of his Affection and Purfuit, that the neceffary Impediments which lie in his Way are uneafy to him. Compare 2 Cor. v. 14. Mr. Locke understands it, of a Kind of Embarrament which Christ was under, to know how, faithfully to fulfil his Ministry, without giving fuch Umbrage to the Roman Power, as would have drawn Perfecution and Death upon him before the appointed Time. (See Mr. Locke's Reasonableness of Chriftianity, pag. 134.) But that feems to me a very foreign and unnatural Senfe.That which I take it in, is alfo favoured by Luke xvii. 15. Sect. 168. But if Grotius, whofe Sense I have hinted in the Parar phrafe, judge rightly of the particular Force and Beauty of the Word ouvexqual, it may be συνεχομαι, illuftrated by John xvi. 21. Sect. 178.

(c) Or immediately to establish that Temporal Tranquility, &c.] There are fo manyProphecies of the Peaceful State of the Maffiah's Kingdom, (compare Pfal. lxxii. 7. Ifa. ii. 4.. xi. 6,-9. lxv. 25.) that it is hard to fay, how Chrift could compleatly anfwer the Character of the Meffiab, if he fhould never give Peace on Earth: But the Error of the Jews lay in fuppofing, he was immediately to accomplish it; whereas the Prophecies of the New Teftament, especially the Revelations, fhew, and thofe of the Old Testament moft plainly intimate, that this profperous State of his Kingdom was not only to be preceded by his own Sufferings, but by a Variety of Perfecutions, Trials, and Sufferings, which should in different Degrees attend his Followers, before the Kingdoms of the Earth became by a general Converon the Kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Christ. (Rev. xi. 15.) See Dr. Leland's Anfwer to the Moral Philofopher, pag. 353,-366..

(d) The

52.

126

The Jews were inexcufable in not knowing him to be the Meffiah.

Sect. 115.am rather come to occafion the most unnatural m Divifion. For fuch are the contentious Heats Luke XII. that will attend the Publication of the Gofpel, that e'er long Five in one Family fhall be fo divided, that there fhall be Three against Two on the one Side, and Two against Three on the other : 53 And this fhall be the Cafe, when those Families confift of Perfons in the nearest Relations to each other: The Father, for Inftance, shall differ with the Son, and the Son with the Father; the fondeft Mother with the Daughter, and the Daughter with the Mother; the Mother-in-Law with her Son's Wife, and the Daughter-in-Law with her Hufband's Mother (d); and fo inveterate fhall their Hatred against all that embrace my Gofpel appear, that they fhall break the Bands of Nature, as well as of Friendship, to exprefs it. (Compare Mat. x. 34, 35. Vol. i. pag. 469.)

54

And he faid alfo to the People, This Perversenefs already fhews itself, in your overlooking fo many Proofs of the Meffiah's Appearance among you: For when you fee a Cloud arifing out of the Weft, or coming from the Mediterranean Sea, you prefently fay, A heavy Shower is coming (e); 55 and it is fo. And when you find] the South Wind blowing from the Defart of Arabia, and other hot Climates, you fay, There will be fultry Heat; 56 and it comes to pass. Ye Hypocrites, that pretend to ask farther Signs, as if you were really defirous to know, whether I be, or be not, a Divine Teacher; you know how by fuch Remarks as these, to diftinguish the Face of the Earth, and of the Heavens, fo as to foretell the Changes in the Weather before they come; but how is it, that you do

not

52 For from henceforth there fhall be Five in one

Houfe divided, Three againft
Two, and Two against
Three.

53 The Father fhall be divided against the Son, and the Mother against the the Son against the Father: Daughter, and the Daughter against the Mother: the

Mother-in-Law against her
Daughter-in-Law, and the
Daughter-in-Law against
her Mother-in-Law.

54 And he faid alfo to Cloud rife out of the Weft, the People, When ye fee a ftraightway ye fay, There cometh a Shower; and fo

it is.

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(d) The Mother-in-Law with her Son's Wife, and the Daughter-in-Law with her Hufband's Mother] The original Words, bega, and ruuon, are exactly expressed in this Tranflation. The English Words Mother-in-Law, and Daughter-in-Law, are more extenfive, and rather, tho' not neceffarily, lead us to think of [Noverca, palevia,] a Step-Dame, or Father's fecond Wife, and her Hufband's Daughter.Our Lord might mention this Relation, because, in Confequence of the Obligation which the Jewish Children were under to maintain their aged Parents, a young Man might, when he fettled in the World, often take his Mother, if a Widow, into his Family, and her Abode in it might occafion lefs Uneafinefs, than that of a Mother-in-Law in any other Sense.

(e) A heavy Shower is coming ] OCpos properly fignifies a beavy Shower; and navowy, in the next Verfe, fultry or fcorching Heat.

(f) Why

The Danger of neglecting to be reconciled to GOD.

is it, that ye

this Time?

do not difcern

57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

Wa

58 When thou goeft with thine Adverfary to the Magiftrate, as thou art in the Vay, give Diligence that thou mayeft be delivered from him; left he hale thee to the Judge, and the Judge deliver thee to the Officer, and the Officer caft thee into Prifon..

127

Luke XII.

not difcern and judge of the much more evident Sect. 115.
Signs of this Time, which carry fuch evident and
unparallelled Tokens of the Meffiah's Coming? 56.
(Compare Mat. xvi. 2, 3. Vol. i. pag. 538.)
Yea, why is it you do not even of yourfelves judge 57
what is fit and right (f), and gather from fuch
obvious Premises, how you ought in Reason and
Confcience to treat fo extraordinary a Perfon, as
I appear to be from the whole Series of my Doc-
trine and Conduct, instead of difregarding all the
Proofs that fhew me to be fent from GOD?

This, however you may neglect it, is a Mat- 58
ter of the utmost Importance: I must therefore
inforce the Exhortation I formerly gave you, (Mat.
v. 25, 26. Vol. i. pag. 231.) and prefs you to
endeavour with the greatest Diligence, that the
Controverfy may immediately be made up be-
tween GoD and
tween GoD and your Souls. For you count it a
Rule of human Prudence, when you go to the Ma-
giftrate with your Adverfary, who has a Suit
against you, to use your utmost Endeavour to
make up the Affair with him (g), while you are
yet on the Way; left he force thee before the Judge,.
and the Judge having found thee to be indeed
accountable, deliver thee to the Cuftody of the
Sergeant, and the Sergeant throw thee into Prison.
59 I tell thee, thou fhalt It will not then be in thy Power to compound
not the Matter upon gentler Terms, or to get free
from thy Confinement; but I tell thee, that when

he

(f) Why is it you do not even of yourselves, &c.] The Phrafe a' saula, does not feem here to fignify, From the like Principles of good Senfe, which you ufe in common Affairs, "or in Matters relating to yourfelves;" but it seems an Advance on that Thought, as if our Lord had faid, "Even tho' I had not fo exprefsly drawn the Confequence, yet from the "Tenor of my Doctrine and Character, as well as from my Miracles, you might have "difcerned yourselves, that it must be a very wrong and very dangerous Thing, to reject. "and flight me."- -Caftalio and Grotius connect this Verfe with the two following, I think without any Reafon.

1

(8) Ufe your utmoft Endeavour to make up the Affair with him.] Theophylact intimates, and Salmafius, and after him La Cene, largely infilt upon it, that dos pastav fignifies, "Pay the Intereft, as well as the Principal, of thy Debt, in order to procure Deliverance?' But Luke makes ufe of another Word [Toxos] for Ufury, (Luke xix. 23.) which I think a confiderable Argument for the common Rendering, which is alfo more extenfive.Araba fignifies, not merely any Kind of Deliverance, but fuch an Agreement, as fecures the Defendant from any farther Danger of Profecution; as Elfner accurately fhews, Obferv. vol. i. pag. 237.· It is well known, that adnos properly fignifies a Profecutor, of one: who has a Suit at Law against another, whether in a Civil, or Criminal Cafe. (b), The

599

128

Sect. 115.

Reflections on the Regard we should fhew to the Gospel.

he has thee at fuch an Advantage, thou shalt not not depart thence, till thou Luke XII. the very last Mite of the Debt thou oweft (b). be able to come out from thence, till thou hast paid haft paid the very last Mite.

59.

Luke xii 49.

And thus if you trifle with the Propofals of
GOD's Mercy, while the Day of Life and Grace
is continued, nothing is to be expected from the
Tribunal of his Juftice, but a fevere Sentence,
which will end in everlafting Confinement and
Punishment.

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IMPROVEMENT.

O what a lamentable Degree is Human Nature corrupted, that fo noble a Remedy as the Gospel feems, fhould in fo many Instances only irritate the Disease! How monftrous is it, that any should hate their Ver. 51,-53. Neighbours, yea, and their nearest Relatives, for that which might recommend Strangers to their Esteem and Affection! Yet let not thofe, who meet with fuch Treatment, be discouraged; knowing they have a Father and a Saviour in Heaven, whofe Love is ten thousand Times more than all: Nor let others be offended, as if Chriftianity had been the Occafion of more Evil, than Good; for fuch is the Nature of Eternity, that the Salvation of one immortal Soul will be more than an Equivalent for the greatest and most lafting Temporal Evils, which the greatest Number of Perfons can fuffer for Confcience fake.

Ver. 50.

Let this awaken our Zeal to fave Souls, in Proportion to the Rage with which the Enemy is endeavouring their Destruction. May we be animated in it, by the Example of Jefus, who with a View to this, even longed for thofe Sufferings, which innocent Nature could not but regard as the Object Ver. 54,-56. of strong Averfion! May we be fo wife, as to difcern the Evidences, and to comply with the Purposes, of the Gofpel; elfe our Knowledge in Natural Things, fhould it extend, not only to the most common, but the most curious Appearances, on the Face of the Earth, or the Heavens, will turn to no other Account, but to fhame and condemn us!

Ver. 58.

If we have any Reason to fear, that thro' obftinate Impenitency, the Bleffed GOD is ftill an Adverfary to us, let us make it our firft and greatest Care, that by an humble Submiffion of Soul to him, in the Methods of his Gospel Grace, that ftrict Scrutiny of his Juftice may be prevented,

(b) The very laft Mite of the Debt thou oweft.] The Mite [lov] was the leaft valuable of their Coins, (fee Mark xii. 42.) containing no more than Half of their leaft Kind of Farthing, or of their nad parins, or Quadrans; which was itfelf but the Fourth Part of the As, or dosaplov, or of the larger Farthing, mentioned Mat. x. 29. and Luke xii. 6. So that the Mite was but little more, than the Third Part of an English Farthing, and a Sparrow was reckoned worth Four of them.

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