29 place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them 30 hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abra

ham but if one went unto them from the 31 dead, they would repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.*

1

CHAP. XVII.

THEN said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come :† but 2 woe unto him through whom they come. It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should ensnare one of these little ones.

3

Take heed then to yourselves; If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; but if 4 he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I 5 repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the

apostles said unto the Lord, increase our faith. 6 And the Lord replied, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye might say unto this sycamine-tree, Be thou plucked up by the root,

*The common evidences of the truth of revelation are sufficient to satisfy candid and attentive minds; and those of different dispositions would not probably be convinced by extraordinary events.

Such is the nature and condition of man, that it is morally certain causes of offence will happen.

and be thou planted in the sea; and it should 7 obey you. But which of you having a servant plowing, or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by when he is come from the field, Go, 8 and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready that I may sup; and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat 9 and drink? Is he obliged to that servant, be

cause he did the things that were commanded 10 him? I think not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants : we have only done that which was our duty to do.*

11

And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaira, 12 and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain

village, there met him ten men who were 13 lepers, who stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have 14 mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priest. And it came to pass that as they went 15 they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and 16 with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down

on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks; 17 and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus said,

Were there not ten cleansed ? and where are 18 the nine? Are none found who have returned

* Our best virtues and services cannot promote the divine felicity, and therefore do not oblige God to confer favors on

418.

to give glory to God, but this stranger? 19 And he said unto him, Arise go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.

20

And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God would come,* he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh 21 not with observation.† Neither shall they say, Lo here; or, Lo there it is: for behold, the 22 kingdom of God is within you. Then he said unto the disciples, The days will come when ye will desire to see one of the days of the 23 Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, See there: go 24 not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning which lighteneth from one place under heaven, shineth unto another part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his 25 day. But first he must suffer many things, 26 and be rejected of this generation. And as it

was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in 27 the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and the flood came, 28 and destroyed them all. So also as it was in the days of Lot: they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they

* Or when would the reign of the Messiah commence. + That is, with external parade or splendor; but is known by its effects on the hearts and lives of men.

The destruction of Jerusalem was as unexpected to the Jews, as the flood to the Antediluvians: or the fire from heaven to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Josephus informs us the slaughter was immense.

29 builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from 30 heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is 31 revealed. In that day, he who shall be upon the house-top, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away and he who is in the field, let him likewise not return 32 back. Remember Lot's wife, Whosoever will 33 seek to save his life, shall lose it; and whoso34 ever 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 taken and the other 35 shall be left. Two shall be grinding together;

the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two shall be in the field; the one shall be 37 taken and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.†

1

CHAP. XVIII.

AND he spake a parable unto them, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 saying, There was in a city a judge, who 3 neither feared God, nor pitied man. And

there was a widow in that city; who came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

* See note to Matthew, x. 39. xvi. 25.

†That is, wherever the Jewish people are, there will the Roman soldiers (whose standard is an eagle) assemble to attack and slay them.

7

4 And he would not for a time: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, 5 nor care for man; yet as this widow giveth me trouble, I willļavenge her, lest by perpetual appli6 cation she weary me. And the Lord said, Do ye hear what the unjust judge saith? And will not God much more avenge his own elect, who cry day and night unto him? and will he long 8 delay in their cause? I tell you, that he will soon do them justice. However, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth ?*

9

And he spake another parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, 10 and despised others: Two men went up to

the temple to pray; the one was a Pharisee, 11 and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed thus, God I thank thee, that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers; or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I pay tithes of all I 13 possess. And the publican, standing afar off,

would not lift up even his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merci14 ful to me a sinner. I assure you, this man went down to his house approved; but the other not: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased but he that he that humbleth himself 15 shall be exalted. Then they brought infants

to him, that he might touch them: but when his 16 disciples saw it they rebuked them. But Jesus

A question often implies a negative. The idea is, tha+ when Christ should come to destroy the wicked, unbeliev ing Jews, they would have no belief or expectation of it.