8. And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterwards thou shalt eat and drink ?

9. Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

10. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Those who do the most, are the readiest to think, and say so those who do little, or nothing, swell with selfconceit, and think they have made God their debtor. “We have done that which was our duty to do." God has a right to all our service; and though he has promised to reward it, the humble man always retains a deep sense of his unworthiness, and knows that all is of grace. Our best works need a pardon, and if trusted in, will sooner sink us to hell, than raise us to heaven.

SECTION LVII.

Chap. xvii. ver. 11-19.

CHRIST HEALETH TEN LEPERS.

11. And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

They knew their condition,-believed in Jesus for help, and met him for that purpose. Meeting Christ is all in all to our cure. Know your sin, the leprosy of the soul, and nothing will keep you from him. And till you know it, you will not take one step to meet him.

13. And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

This is the very picture of a convinced, awakened sinner. Though the sight of his loathsomeness in sin daunts him, and makes him afraid and ashamed to approach God; yet he is placed under a strong necessity to cry, and that loudly too, since it is for the soul, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on me."

14. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

They might have said, this was not what they wanted, to be ordered to show themselves to the priests, though it was the method appointed in the law, but to hear him speak the word for their cleansing. Nevertheless, they obeyed, and were healed. Learn from hence, to set a value upon God's ordinances, baptism, the Lord's supper, the preaching of the gospel. Of themselves they are not our cure but if God has appointed them, they must not be slighted, and he does not ordinarily work without them.

15. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God.

Faith in us answers to this sight. Faith is our healing; and when we have it, we shall glorify God with our tongues, our hearts, and in our lives.

16. And he fell on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

O the lively feeling, the humble posture, the gratitude of this man! And yet, what was his cleansing to ours from the power of sin? If we are unthankful for it, the very stones will cry out against us. We, Gentiles, may be well compared to these Samaritans: once strangers to God, but

now made nigh by the blood of Christ. Ep. ii. 13.

17. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine ?

Nine base, and ungrateful men, for one that was otherwise. A melancholy thing to reflect upon! God knows whether or not the unthankful among us are in this proportion.

18. There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

It was a heavy reproach, and the blackest character that could be given of them. Great as the mercy was which they had just received, behold there was no return of praise to God for it.

19. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Why were not the rest made whole, by being cured of their leprosy? They were; and for anything we know, the cure of their bodies might be lasting. But they had a much worse leprosy cleaving to their souls: and only one of the number, the thankful man, was healed of that plague,

SECTION LVIII.

Chap. xvii. ver. 20-37.

THE COMING OF CHRIST.

20. And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

The Pharisees asked this with respect to the Messiah, whom they expected to come with outward pomp of an earthly kingdom, according to their carnal notions of it, so as to be seen and observed of all.

21. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

It should be; in the hidden man of the heart; or among you: Christ is come, and with him the kingdom of God, though you discern it not. We know and believe he is

come; but in vain, if we are strangers to the inward power of his kingdom.

22. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

ye

Ye of the Jewish nation, and he here means the unbelieving part of it: these would have sad occasion to lament their rejection of Christ. This is said to us as well as to them, and is a warning to all to improve their day.

23. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.

They will be deceivers: the true Christ will be gone.

24. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

The coming of Christ to judgment; and before that, his coming to destroy their city and nation. And both of them will be like the lightning, which is general, sudden, and only discoverable, just at the moment of its appearing.

25. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

O let us not reject him! He died that we might not. But if we do not receive him into our hearts, we are of that generation, and should have joined with it in condemning him.

26. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

This includes all the time from his first to his last coming. Both his coming to take vengeance on the Jews, and his coming to judgment at the end of the world, will be as sudden, unexpected, and as little prepared for by the generality, as the flood was.

27. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark; and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

They did, and thought of nothing else than their worldly interests and pleasures. Let us be instructed, and let all within us give way to the light of scripture. Some will say, were not these things both lawful and necessary? Yes; but let us learn from hence that the business of this world is neither ours only, nor our great concern in it; and that if we give ourselves wholly up to it, to the neglect of our souls, though in never so prudent, sober, and reputable a way, we are undone, and live only to perish for ever.

29. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

30. Even so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

We may not live to see, and be surprised by that day. Death is, however, coming to every one of us; and yet most men die suddenly. Even sickness does not give us warning, and we think of nothing, almost to the last gasp, but living on.

31. In that day he that shall be upon the house-top, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

"In that day," chiefly of his coming to the destruction of Jerusalem, which is past, and does not so much concern us. But we are greatly concerned to carry our thoughts on to his last coming, of which that was a sign, and to consider in what state of preparation we are for the event. The meaning of the caution in the latter part of the verse is, that they were to make haste for their lives, and to make their escape, not having a moment to lose.

32. Remember Lot's wife.

Have we ?

She perished for looking back to Sodom. was in that look. No sin is little there. hour which way ours look.

Her heart God sees this