He thought of nothing but meriting heaven by his works. Christ takes him in his own way, and tries him to the truth.

19. And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

As if he had said, Thou dost not know who I am, why then dost thou call me good? There is none good, and therefore, not thou thyself. Thou art not good enough of thyself for heaven, whatever thou thinkest.

20. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

21. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

Supposing he had been correct in this assertion, which was not the case, one step more must be taken, or he could never set his foot in heaven. Alas! he stopped short, and lost all.

22. Now, when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, poor, follow me.

Do we lack but one thing? Sell all that thou hast, is a particular, positive command from God to this man. This was to be the trial of his obedience. And the inference with regard to us is, that we must be ready to part with all for Christ, whenever he calls us to make any sacrifice. 23. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful; for he was very rich.

He was now laid open to the root. cleave to God, but to his possessions.

His heart did not

24. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Notwithstanding what is here said, the poor will not understand to this day, in how much better condition they

VOL. II.

X

are for salvation than the rich, who have so strong a chain about them to bind them to the world.

25. For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

And yet how fain would we all have this load upon our backs!

26. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

What rich man, or who? Seeing that all have the same hearts; and if they are not rich, would be so.

27. And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

As if the rich man's conversion was but barely possible. But remember that the poor man can do nothing without God. And if we are not come to a true prayer for ourselves, all is to begin.

28. Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.

It may be asked with what view? As yet they were but babes in knowledge, and had not yet quitted the notion of a temporal kingdom. But they had a root of sincerity; and the same Spirit which opens the eyes of all, fully opened their's at the day of Pentecost.

29. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,

That is, upon a divine call. This cannot be a general command. The instruction intended for all is, be ready, sit loose to the world, have no rival with Christ in our affections.

30. Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

He shall receive what is of manifold more value, namely, spiritual enjoyments, spiritual relations, spiritual hopes, and spiritual possessions. Believe this and thou art a Christian. What is thy treasure, and what does thy heart cleave to for happiness?

SECTION LXII.

Chap. xviii. ver. 31–43.

CHRIST SPEAKS OF HIS PASSION, AND RESTORES TO A BLIND MAN HIS SIGHT.

31. Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.

32. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:

33. And they shall scourge him, and put him to death; and the third day he shall rise again.

All these things came to pass in a very little time.

34. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

The same thing had been remarked before of the apostles, in chap. ix. 45. And it is here again expressed as strongly as possible. Let us learn from hence,

1st, To have patience with the ignorant. If they are in earnest, the time of their understanding will come.

2ndly, To have an eye to ourselves; to consider in what respects we are blind to the plainest words of Christ; and to submit implicitly to his teaching, though it is never so cross to our own knowledge, our wills, or our worldly interests.

35. And it came to pass, that, as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:

Why is this told us, but to convince us of the power of Christ, and that we may come to him for our own cure? Our distemper is spiritual blindness; and the consequence of it, as you cannot but know, is much worse than that of natural blindness. Either Christ has opened our eyes, or he has not. Let us think how it is with us this very hour.

36. And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it

meant.

37. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.

He is now passing by in the power of his gospel; and what is more, he is present in the power of his Spirit to heal us.

38. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

This cry is always heard.

39. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace; but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.

Whenever the mouths of any poor sinners are opened to cry for mercy, they will meet with many such officious rebukers. Their neighbours, and nearest friends, will be ready with their pestilent advice, to stop their crying. But, as in the present case, they will cry the more, when they know that they are blind. And they will know too, as he did, that their help is not in themselves.

40. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him and when he was come near, he asked him,

41. Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.

Christ knows what we want; but no relief comes, till he draws a confession from us. If we should say this, or, Lord have mercy upon me, without knowing, or believing that we are blind in sin, it is the way to keep us so for ever.

42. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee.

Faith alone saves all; but behold, without sense of sin going before, hearty trouble for it, and conviction of our helplessness under it, it is impossible.

43. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

:

Grant, O God, that what we have now heard may cause us to make deep search into ourselves, and that we may all glorify thee for thy mercy in Christ Jesus.

SECTION LXIII.

Chap. xix. ver. 1—10.

THE CONVERSION OF ZACCHEUS.

1. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

In the foregoing chapter, Christ had said, that the conversion of a rich man, though hard, was possible with God. For their comfort and encouragement, here is an instance of it immediately subjoined, in the person of Zacchæus; and also of the natural workings, and effects, of a true conversion in all.

2. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

3. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

God had touched his heart, and he was resolved to have a sight of Jesus. O! the least working toward Christ is worth a world. If it is sincere, he sees it, and will as surely show himself to that man, with all his powerful love, as he did to Zacchæus.

4. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore-tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

He might have said, I would fain see Jesus, but I am little, and cannot help it, and must be content without a sight of him. But he did not make such an excuse. no! here was a heart and good will; and everything he said and did shows that his heart was lively within him. What would you think, if you were to see a great rich man climbing up into a tree on such an occasion? Let us give up our unbelief, and our vain excuses; and let us see what