time as then; and his whole conduct shows that he was more disposed to gratify himself than to accept the invitation. He was selfish just as all sinners are, who, to gratify their own worldliness and sins, refuse to accept the offers of the gospel.

20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

'I have married a wife. Our Saviour here doubtless intends to teach us that the love of earthly relatives and friends often takes off the affections from God, and prevents our accepting the blessings which he would bestow on us.

21 So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

Showed his lord.' Told his master of the excuses of those who had been invited. Being angry.' So foolish as well as wicked is the conduct of the sinner, so trifling is his excuse for not repenting and turning to God, that it is no wonder if God cannot look upon such conduct but with abhorrence. 'Go out quickly. The feast is ready. There is no time to lose. Those who partake of it must do it soon. So the gospel is ready: time flies and they who partake of the gospel must do it soon, and they who preach it must give diligence to proclaim it to their fellow-men.

22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

'Go out into the highways,' &c. He commands him to go into the roads, the public highways out of the city, as well as to the streets in it, and invite them also. A great point in this parable was, that God would call in the Gentiles after the Jews had rejected the gospel. This should be kept always in view in interpreting all the parts of the parable. Compel them.' That is, urge them, press them earnestly, one and all. Do not hear their excuses on account of their poverty and low rank of life, but urge them so as to overcome their objections and lead them to the feast. So God commands his servants, his ministers, to urge sinners to come, to press on them the salvation of the gospel, and to use all the means in their power to bring them to heaven.

24 For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden, shall taste of my supper.

6 None of those men.' None who so decidedly rejected the offer of the gospel should be saved. The invitation is full and free; but when men turn wilfully away from it, God leaves them to their chosen way, and they are drowned in destruction and perdition. How important, then, is it to embrace the gospel at once, to accept the gracious invitation, and enter without delay into the path that conducts to heaven.

25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

'And hate not.' The word hate,' here. means simply to love less. See the meaning of the verse in Matt. x. 37. Literally to hate our parents, would be expressly contrary to the fifth commandment. See also Eph. vi. 1-3. Col. iii. 20. But we are to love them less than we love Christ; we are to obey Christ rather than them. This is not an uncommon meaning of the word 'hate' in the sacred scriptures. Compare Mal. i. 2, 3. Gen. xxix. 30, 31. Deut. xxi. 15-17.

28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it ? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

'Intending to build a tower.' See Matt. xxi. 33. A tower was a place of defence or observation, erected on high places or in vineyards, to defend from robbers. 'Counteth the cost.' Makes a calculation how much it will cost to build it. "Haply.' Perhaps. To mock him.' To ridicule him. To laugh at him.

31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

'With ten thousand to meet,' &c. Whether he will be able

with the forces which he has to meet his enemy. To meet him.' To contend with him. To gain a victory over him. Or else.' If he is not able. If he is satisfied he would be defeated. 'An ambassage.' Persons to treat with an enemy, and propose terms of peace. The general scope of the parable is to be learned from the connection, and may be thus expressed: Every man who becomes a follower of Jesus should calmly and deliberately look to all its consequences, and be prepared to meet them. Religion is a work of soberness, of thought, of calm and fixed purpose, and ro man can properly enter on it who does not resolve by the grace of God to fulfil all its requirements, and make it the business of his life. It will cost us the mortification of our sins, and a life of self-denial, and a conflict with our lusts, and the enmity and ridicule of the world. Perhaps it may cost us our reputation, or possibly our lives and liberties, and all that is dear to us. But we must cheerfully undertake all this, and be prepared for all that is before us.

34 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

See Matt. v. 13. Mark ix. 49, 50. 'Salt is good.' It is useful. It is good to preserve life and health, and to keep from putrefaction. His savour.' Its saltness. If it becomes tasteless or insipid. 'Be seasoned.' Be salted again. Fit for the land.' Rather, it is not fit for land, i. e. it will not bear fruit of itself. You cannot sow or plant on it. 'Nor for the dunghill.' It is not good for manure. It will not enrich other land. "Cast it out. They throw it away as useless. 'He that hath ears,' &c. See Matt. xi. 15. You are to understand that he who has not grace in his heart, who merely makes a profession of religion, and who sustains the same relation to true piety that this insipid and useless mass does to good salt, is useless in the church, and will be rejected. Real piety is of inestimable value in the world. It keeps it pure, it saves it from corruption, as salt does meat. But a mere outward profession of religion is fit for nothing. All such professors must be rejected by the Son of God, and cast into a world of wretchedness and despair. Compare Matt. vii. 22, 23; viii. 12; xxv. 30. Rev. iii. 16. Job viii. 13; xxxvi. 13.

CHAPTER XV.

1 THEN drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.

'Publicans and sinners.' See note on Matt. ix. 10.

2 And the pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

'Murmured.' They affected to suppose that if he treated them kindly he must be fond of their society, and be a man of similar character. They did not remember that the very object of his coming was to call the wicked from their ways, and to save them from death. 'Receiveth sinners.' Receives them in a kind manner, does not drive them from his presence. 'And eateth with them.' Contrary to the received maxims of the scribes. By eating with them he showed that he did not despise or overlook them.

3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

'This parable.' See note, Matt. xiii. 3, and xviii. 12, 13.

7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

'Likewise joy,' &c. It is a principle of human nature that the recovery of an object in danger of being lost affords much more intense joy than the quiet possession of many that are safe. Thus we rejoice in our health most when we recover from a dangerous disease. Likewise, in like manner, or on the same principle, there is joy. In heaven.' Among the angels of God. Compare ver. 10. The heavenly beings are thus represented as rejoicing over those who repent on earth. They see the guilt and danger of men; they know what God has done for them, and they rejoice at the recovery of any from the guilt and ruin of sin. One sinner.' One rebel against God, however great may be his sins, or comparatively small. If a sinner, he must perish unless he repents, and they rejoice at his repentance because he is brought back to God, and because he is saved from death. 'That repenteth.' See Matt. ix. 13. 'Just persons.' The word 'persons' is not in the original. It means simply just ones, or those who have not sinned. It may refer to angels as well as to men. There are no just men on earth who need no repentance. There have been none, and there will be none. Eccl. vii. 20. Ps. xiv. 2, 3. Rom. iii. 10-18. Our Saviour did not mean to imply that there were any such. He was speaking of what took place in heaven in the view of the angels: of their emotions when they contemplated the creatures of God. And he says that they

rejoiced in the repentance of one sinner more than in the holiness of many who had not fallen. By this our Saviour vindicated his conduct. If angels rejoiced in this manner, it was not improper for him to show similar joy, and especially to seek the conversion and salvation of sinners. Angels know of how much value is the immortal soul. They see what is meant by eternal death.

8 ¶ Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

"Ten pieces of silver.' In the original, ten drachmas. They amounted to about six shillings and sixpence sterling, The amount is of no consequence in understanding the text. 'There is joy in the presence, &c. Jesus in this parable expresses the same sentiment which he did in the preceding.

11 ¶ And he said, A certain man had two sons

Jesus illustrates still further the sentiment which he had uttered by a most beautiful and instructive parable. We shall see its beauty and propriety by remembering that the design of it was simply to justify his conduct in receiving sinners, and to show that to rejoice over their return was proper.

12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

By this younger son, we are to understand the publicans and sinners to be represented. By the elder, the pharisees and scribes. Give me the portion. The part. Of goods.' Of property. That falleth to me.' That is properly my share. He divided unto them his living.' His property, or means of living. Among the ancient Romans and Syrophenicians, it was customary when a son came to maturity, if he demanded his par: of the inheritance, for the father to give it to him. This the son might claim. It is possible that such a custom may have prevailed among the Jews, and that our Saviour refers to some such demand made by the young man.

13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.