But the wicked shall have his Portion with Hypocrites.

397

Mat.XXIV.

47.

ner (f). Verily I Say unto you again, as I for- Sect. 163.
merly did, that he will prefer him as highly,
as if a Man fhould make his domeftic Steward,
who had served him faithfully, Ruler or Director
of all his Eftate, as a Reward for his Care in the
due Management of his Office. (Compare Luke
xii. 42,-44. pag. 121.)

48

But on the other hand, the faithless Wretch,
that is dishoneft in the Execution of fo high a
Charge, fhall be feverely punished: And if that
wicked Servant fhall prefume to fay in his Heart,
My Lord delays his Coming; And fhall on
that Prefumption begin to beat and abuse those 49
of his Fellow-Servants, who are more faithful
than himself, and to eat and drink in a riotous
and extravagant Manner with the debauched and
drunken Part of them, or with other diffolute
Perfons; he will do it at his Peril : For 50
the Lord of that Servant fhall certainly come in a
Day when he does not expect [him,] and in an Hour
when he is not at all aware, and cannot have Time-
to put on a Face of better Order, or to provide
and invent artful Excufes; And feeing him
in the midst of his Revels and Ufurpations,
he shall scourge him fo feverely, that he shall
even cut him afunder (g), and appoint [him] his
Portion with Hypocrites, the most odious Kind.
of Sinners in the Sight of GOD (b): With these
fhall

(f) Happy is that Servant, whom his Lord when he cometh, &c.] As no peculiar Rewards were conferred on any of the Apoftles, or other faithful Minifters, at the Time of Chrift's coming to destroy Jerufalem, this Claufe fufficiently proves a Reference to the final fudgment; and will not permit us, with Dr. Hammond, to understand the Gnofticks, or with Dr. Whitby, the Apoftate Jews, as particularly intended by the wicked Servant mentioned afterwards; which feems plainly to refer to a debauched and perfecuting Clergy, hypocritically pretending to a diftinguifhed Zeal for Chriftian Forms and Inftitutions.

(g) Shall cut him afunder.] That tearing, and cutting Perfons into feveral Pieces, was a cruel Punishment ufed among the Antients, none acquainted with Antiquity can doubt; and Wolfius on this Text has demonftrated it, more copioufly than any other Critick I have feen. Yet as the Criminal is here reprefented as furviving this Punishment, and configned over to wailing and gnashing of Teeth, after it had been inflicted; I therefore, as before, (Luke xii. 46.) muft understand it of being feverely fcourged, after which idle Slaves were often thrown into a Prifon, where they lived miferably in every refpect. To this our Lord alludes with a moft obvious Propriety. See Sect. 114. Note (1), pag. 122.

(b) His Portion with Hypocrites.] Mahomet in his Alcoran mentions Seven Caverns in Hell, the deepest and moft wretched of which is to be inhabited by Hypocrites. (Sur. iv. v. 144.) Elfner, who takes this for a Jewish Notion, by a very fingular Criticifm fuppofes

5K

398

Mat, XXIV.

5I.

A general Exhortation unto all to watch.

Sect. 163. fhall this falfe Creature be righteously doomed there fhall be weeping and to dwell for ever in thofe doleful Regions, where gnashing of Teeth, there fhall be nothing but weeping and gnashing of Teeth, proportionable to his former Indulgence and Luxury, and to the Importance of that Truft which he fo wickedly betrayed. (Compare Luke xii. 45, 46. pag. 122.)

Mark XIII.

35.

Let me then caution you, oh my Apoftles and Minifters, never to fuffer this important Exhortation, which I have now been giving you, to be forgot in any Circumftance of Life; but watch ye therefore continually, for ye know not when the Mafter of the Family cometh, whether in the Evening-Watch, or at Midnight, or at the Cock36 crowing, or in the Morning: Early and late hold yourselves in a prepared Pofture, left coming fuddenly, he find you fleeping, and negligent of your 37 proper Duty. And what I fay to you in

MARK XIII. 35. Watch ye therefore, for ye know

not when the Mafter of the Houfe cometh; (at Even, or at Midnight, or at the Cockcrowing, or in the Morn

ing:)

36 Left coming fuddenly, he find you sleeping.

37 And what I fay unto

publick Characters, I fay to all my Difciples, in you, I fay unto all, Watch.
every Station of Life, and in every Age, watch;
for in every Age and Station you will have Need
to do it, and Security may be attended with the
moft fatal Confequences.

Luke xxi. 36. Mat. xxiv. 42. Mark

xiii. 33.

W

IMPROVEMENT.

HAT flothful Hearts muft we have, if these repeated Admonitions do not awaken us; even Line upon Line, and Precept upon Precept? The Patience of GOD is waiting upon us, as it did on the old World, while the Ark was preparing: (1 Pet. iii. 20.) May we take the Warning, and feek Shelter, before the Door be fhut against us! Let Luke xxi. 34. us therefore take heed, left Senfuality and fecular Cares overcharge and deprefs our Hearts, and amufe us with vain Delufions, till fudden and unavoidable Destruction come upon us. (1 Theff. v. 3.)

Mark xiii. 34.

We are by Profeffion the Domefticks of Christ. Let us attend to the Offices he has affigned us, tho' he seem at a Distance. Let us diligently Mat. xxiv. ait bis Coming, at whatever Seafon. Let his Minifters efpecially wait it; and be folicitous, that they may be found fo doing, conducting themselves

45, 46.

like

it, or fomething analogous to it, referred to here, and Rev. xxi. 3. where he thinks Lyars are the fame with Hypocrites, and obferves very precarioufly, that taking the Fearful and Unbelieving, or thofe that thro' Cowardice apoftatize, for the first Sort of Criminals, Lyars are the feventh Clafs.

Reflections on preparing for the Coming of CHRIST.

399

like wife Stewards of the Myfteries of GOD, difpenfing to every one his Sect. 163. Portion of Food in due Seafon. Then will our Account be honourable, and our Reward glorious.

Ver. 47.

May GOD deliver us from the Guilt, and Condemnation of the cruel, Ver. 48, 49. the imperious, and the luxurious Servant, who began to beat his Fellows, and to eat and drink with the Drunken; fince we are exprefsly told his dreadful Doom! Justly does our Lord declare, that to fuch a one he will appoint a Portion with Hypocrites, terrible as their Portion must be; for Ver. 51. no Hypocrify can be bafer, than to call ourselves the Servants and Minifters of Christ, while we are the Slaves of Ambition, Avarice, and Intemperance. Where-ever fuch are found, under whatever Mask and Form, may he reform them by his Grace, or difarm them of that Power and Influence, which they continually abufe to his Dishonour, and to their own aggravated Damnation! Let us in the mean Time be exhorting each other daily, while it is called To-day, left any by infenfible Degrees be hardened thro' the Deceitfulness of Sin; (Heb. iii. 13.) and let us always remember, that every Exhortation, which we give to others, returns with redoubled Weight upon ourselves.

CHRIST enforces his Exhortation to Watchfulness, by the
Parable of the Ten Virgins. Mat. XXV. 1,----13.

MAT. XXV. 1.

Mat, XXV.

I.

UR Lord, in order to imprefs upon the Sect. 164. Minds of his Hearers a Concern about C the great and awful Day of future Judgment, to which the latter Part of his preceding Difcourfe had fo plainly referred, went on to reprefent it under à Variety of moft lively Figures, and particularly by the following Parable; faying, Then, or in that Day of final Account, when the faithful Servant fhall be rewarded, and the treacherous Hypocrite fo feverely punished, fall the Kingdom of Heaven, or the State of Things under the Gofpel Difpenfation, appear to be like the Cafe of Ten Virgins (a), who being invited to

a

(a) Ten Virgins.] This whole Parable contains a plain Reference to the Cuftom, which prevailed among the Jews then, and ftill prevails among many Eastern Nations: (See The

Cuftoms

4.00

Mat. XXV.

took their Lamps, and went forth to meet the Bride

The Parable of the Wife and Foolish Virgins. Sec. 164. a Marriage-Feaft, (which, according to the Cuftom of this Country, was to be celebrated in the Night,) took their Lamps as foon as it begun to grow dark, and went out together to meet the Bridegroom, and to light him to the House where the Banquet was to be kept.

I.

groom.

2 And Five of them were

3 They that were foolish took their Lamps and took

no Oil with them:

2. And it appeared by their Conduct, that Five
of them were prudent Perfons; and Five of them wife, and Five were foolish.
were foolish and inconfiderate, who made no
Provifion against an Accident which might very
3 naturally happen. They that were foolish, when
they took their Lamps, went forth with them
lighted, but did not take any Oil with them, befide
that which was at firft poured in: Whereas
the prudent Maidens, confidering that they might
perhaps be obliged to wait fome Hours took a
Referve of Oil with them in their Veffels, which
they carried with their Lamps, to feed the Flame
when the former Stock should be wafted.

4

4 But the wife took Oil

in their Veffels with their

Lamps.

Cuftoms of the Jews and Indians compared, pag. 41, & feq.) The Bridegroom used to conduct his Bride Home in the Evening, by the Light of Lamps, which were used (as Elfner fhews, Obferv. Vol. i. pag. 114, 115.) by the Jews and Romans on the like Occation: They were carried by Bride- Maids, who ufed afterwards to fup with them; and fome tell us, their Number must at least be Ten.- -It feems from the Circumftances of this Parable, that if any of the Neighbours, befides thofe who were directly invited, thought it worth their while to pay their Refpect to the new-married Couple, it was esteemed a decent Piece of Civility to admit them to a Share in the Bridal Feaft, if they made their Appearance at a proper Time.

(b) In the Middle of the Night.] Perhaps the Tradition, which Jerom mentions, that afferted, Chrift would come to Judgment at Midnight, might be borrowed from hence; tho' to be fure, it is a very abfurd one, fince that can be the Cafe only under one Meridian at a Time.—A celebrated Commentator has clouded this Parable exceedingly, by attempting to explain it of the different Effects Chrifl's Admonition concerning the Deftruction of Jerufalem would have on different Perfons.

(c) Buy

8 And the Foolish faid unto the Wife, Give us of

your Oil, for our Lamps are gone out.

401

Mat. XXV.

The Wife are admitted to the Feaft, and the Foolth excluded. pear as clean as poffible. And the Foolish Dam- Sect. 164. fels in great Surprize faid to the Prudent, Give us fome of your Oil, for you seem to have a great g Stock with you; whereas our Lamps are gone out, and all our Oil is fpent. But the Prudent re- 9 plied, [We cannot do it,] left there should not be enough for us and you, and fo we should all be left on a fudden without Light, and the Bridegroom be disappointed and affronted; but rather go ye to them that fell Oil in the Neighbourhood, and buy fome for yourselves, as foon as poffible, that ye may follow and join the Proceffion (c).

so;

9 But the Wise answered, faying, Not fo; left there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that fell, and buy for your

felves.

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.

II Afterward came alfo

Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and faid, Verily I fay unto you,

I know you not.

And while they went to buy it at that inconveni- 10
ent Time of Night, the Bridegroom and his Re-
tinue came; and thofe Maidens that were ready to
receive him, joined the Company; and when they
came to the Bridal Houfe, they went in with him
to the Marriage-Feaft; and, to prevent Distur-
bance, the Door was shut and faftened.

And fome Time after the other Virgins alfo 11
the other Virgins, faying, came, and knocked at the Door, and called with
great Importunity, faying, Sir, Sir, we defire
you would open to us, who are alfo fome of your
Guests, tho' by an unfortunate Accident we are
come a little too late. But be, being unwill- 12
ing to be disturbed in the Feaft, and to open the
Door again, anfwered them, faying, Truly, I fay
unto you, I know you not (d): My Houfe is al-
ready furnished with Guefts, and I will admit no
more. Thus these thoughtlefs Creatures entirely
loft both their Labour and Expence, meeting
with nothing but Disappointment and Shame.
And fuch will be your Cafe, if you content
content your-
felves with a mere empty Profeffion of Religion,
while you fink into a careless and negligent Con-
duct,

(c) Buy for yourfelves.] This feems merely an ornamental Circumstance; and it is strange, that any Popish Writers fhould confider it, as favouring their Doctrine of a Stock of Merits in the Church, founded on Works of Supererogation; fince if it referred to them at all, (which there is no Reafon to imagine,) it would rather expofe, than encourage any Dependance upon them.

(d) I know you not.] This Circumftance in the Parable is not abfurd; for nothing intimated a perfonal Acquaintance with them, and Guefts afking Admittance with fuch a Pretence, might have been multiplied beyond all Reafon and Convenience. At leaft its Significancy in the Application is very apparent and important: