a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, 16 giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus an- 17 swering, said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, 18 save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: 19 thy faith hath made thee whole. And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the king- 20 dom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they 21 say, Lo here! or, Lo there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will 22 they had so great faith in the words of Jesus, as to set out to go to the priests before they were yet cured of their leprosy. - 16-18. At his feet, i. e. the feet of Jesus. The description of the leper's gratitude is strong and natural. Finding himself cured, he turns back, and utters loud ejaculations of praise to God, and hastening to Jesus, prostrates himself at his feet, thanking him for his kindness. To crown the whole, this devout, this grateful creature was a Samaritan. - Save this stranger. Or, alien, for so the Jews regarded the Samaritans, and they call them, even to this day, Cuthites. It is not said, whether all the rest were Jews or not, though the general tenor of the account seems to imply that they were. One of a despised race, which the Jews ranked among idolaters and Gentiles, and with which they had no friendly dealings, was found to be more religious than the Jews themselves. Jesus did not let any such opportunity pass, without bringing the good qualities of the Gentiles, and of the Samaritans, into notice, as well to rebuke the selfrighteousness of his own countrymen, as to remove their bigoted prejudices against other nations. It is too generally the case, that those who have recovered from severe sickness or wounds, forget the goodness of God in their restoration, and rush into the same careless course of conduct, which they resolved, in the hour of danger, they would pursue no more, if God should spare their lives. One, perhaps, turns to glorify his Maker, and thank his preserver; but nine go their ways, unthinking and ungrateful, to plunge again into the scenes of pleasure, and the whirlpools of business and worldliness, and to run the same race they have before pursued. "O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united." 20. Demanded of. Asked. The question seems to be dictated by contempt and scorn.- Cometh not with observation. Or, cometh not with that which attracts observation, with pomp, and outward splendor, as the Jews expected. Jesus would correct their false notions, by teaching that his kingdom is without display, is within, is not of this world. 21. The kingdom of God is within you. Some read it, "among you," "it has already commenced in your midst," but the change is of doubtful authority. "Look not abroad for the blessings of Christ. His reign and chief blessings are within you. The human soul is his kingdom. There he gains his victories. His noblest monument is a mind redeemed from iniquity, brought back and devoted to come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of 23 man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See 24 here! or, See there! go not after them, nor follow them. 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 25 of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and 26 be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, 27 so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 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, 28 and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot: they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they plant29 ed, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all : 30 even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the house-top, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he 32 that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember 33 Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life, shall lose it; 34 and whosoever shall lose his life, shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be 35 taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding 36 together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men God, forming itself after the perfections of the Saviour, great through its power to suffer for truth, lovely through its meek and gentle virtues. No other monument does Christ desire; for this will endure and increase insplendor, when earthly thrones shall have fallen, and even when the present order of the outward universe shall have accomplished its work, and shall have passed away."-CHAN NING. 22. One of the days of the Son of man. Meaning, ye shall desire to see the Son of man for a day, i. e. such a time as it was when I was on earth. Mat. ix. 15. 23-37. See notes on Mat. xxiv., where a full explanation is given of this passage. 24. Shineth. More intensely, flash eth. 27. They did eat. They were eating, they were drinking, &c. So also in ver. 28. 35. Two women shall be grinding together, i. e. at the hand-mill. This consists, according to Robinson, of "two stones, about eighteen inches or two feet in diameter, lying one upon the other, with a slight convexity between them, and a hole through the upper to receive the grain. lower stone is fixed, sometimes in a sort of cement, which rises around it like a bowl, and receives the meal as it falls from the stones. The upper stone is turned upon the lower, by means of an upright stick, fixed in it as a handle. We afterwards saw many The shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he 37 said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. CHAPTER XVIII. The Parables of the Unjust Judge, and the Publican and the Pharisee, with other Instructions of Christ, and his Cure of the Blind Man. AND he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a 2 judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man. And there 3 was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but after- 4 ward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet, because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, 5 lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, 6 Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge sometimes stated at the beginning, as here, sometimes at the end, and sometimes it is left to be inferred from the tenor of the passage. The subject of the preceding chapter,the coming woes of the times,-naturally led to this lesson upon the importance of constancy in devotion. The expression, always to pray, is intended to enjoin habitual prayer, and not literally ceaseless supplication. Luke xxi. 36; Acts xii. 5; Rom. xii. 12; Col. iv. 2; 1 Thes. v. 17. 2. Feared not God, &c. Two proverbial phrases descriptive of great wickedness. 3. Came. Imperfect tense; it has here the force of, kept coming.. Avenge me, &c. Better, execute judgment, or, do me justice on my adversary. The same change should be made in verses 5, 7, and 8. 7, 8. We here see the connexion between this parable and the foregoing chapter.- Shall not God avenge, &c. Or, shall he not execute judgment in behalf of the elect, by his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear 8 long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? 9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in them10 selves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the 11 other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extor12 tioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice 13 in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful destroying their Jewish persecutors? The argument is a fortiori, or from the less to the greater. If a wicked judge would grant a request, because he was importuned, how much more would a just God listen to the unwearied petitions of his chosen ones! -Bear long with them? Or, delay help for them, or, delay their cause so long. Rom. xiii. 11; James v. 7; 1 Pet. iv. 7-17.-Shall he find faith on the earth? Or, shall he find this faith, faith in the final deliverance by God, in the land, or among the Jews. The common interpretation has referred the coming of the Son of man to the destruction of Jerusalem, and makes the question express a doubt, whether the Jews would have any faith or expectation of that appalling catastrophe. 2 Pet. iii. 4. But Furness gives this paraphrase: "When the Man cometh whom the whole nation is so anxiously looking for, with the hope of whose appearance all hearts burn, will he find men prepared to believe in him?" He considers, that "Jesus speaks of himself, and speaks of the Messiah as the Son of Man;' but with a difference. He was the man who commanded present attention. The Christ was the man whom all were expecting, the man who was to come. Jesus knew that the two were one and the same. But he did not explicitly declare” it, because a mere verbal announcement, that he was the Messiah, would do no good, unless the people were already convinced by the moral evidence of his works and words, that he was the veritable Christ. 9. Unto certain. Or, concerning certain, i. e. the scribes and the Pharisees. The parable may be viewed as connected with the preceding passages, and teaching yet further the nature of true devotion, and the necessity of humility in our supplications to God. 10-12. To give point to the illustration, two individuals are selected from the opposite extremes of society, the lordly Pharisee, and the despised tax-gatherer. With himself. These words should be connected with stood. He stood by himself, as if more holy than others. Is. lxv. 5. His prayer was vitiated by a spirit of self-satisfaction and uncharitable judgment of other men a case but too common, we fear, in these latter days.- Extortioners, unjust. These were the very vices of which the Pharisees were preëminently guilty. Twice in the week. On Monday and Thursday. 13. Standing afar off, &c. Every word in this verse is expressive of humble penitence. The tax-gatherer to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house 14 justified rather than the other for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch 15 them but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But 16 Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the 17 kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein. And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what 18 shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, 19 Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do 20 not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my 21 youth up. Now, when Jesus heard these things, he said unto 22 him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very 23 sorrowful for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that 24 he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a 25 camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it, said, Who 26 then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impos- 27 sible with men, are possible with God. Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. 28 neither enumerates his own virtues, nor other men's vices, but sums up all in one bursting, whole-souled ejaculation of faith and repentance. A poet has aptly said, speaking of the position of the two worshippers, 'One nearer to God's altar trod, The other to the altar's God." 14. The gromology, so called, or miscellaneous collection of Christ's discourses and miracles, which began at chap. ix. 51, terminates here. Justified. Regarded as a good man. 15-30. Compare notes on Mat. xix. 13-29, and Mark x. 13-30. 17. It was necessary for those, who received the gospel, to be as teachable and as free from prejudice as little children. Is not much of the same disposition still requisite, to constitute us followers of the self-denying Jesus? 22. Sell all that thou hast. This was no unusual demand. See ver. 28. 27. Christianity was not established by human means, but the power of God was exerted to overcome, |