habitations, can be only such as are themselves there, it is evident, that favors shown to the righteous must be here meant. But it is entirely irreconcilable with the principles at all times asserted by Christ, to suppose that he intended to say, that the righteous have power to receive those who may have ministered to their wants on earth, to a participation with themselves in their happiness; or that he would ascribe to the mere external act of giving alms to the poor, such a value as to compensate for the sins which the charitable have committed, and confer upon them a title to eternal blessedness. Further, as Christ presents the wisdom which the children of this world practise in their sphere, as an example to be imitated by the children of light, it is presupposed in this, that those here contemplated are already, in their disposition, the children of God; and hence, it can only be required of them, that they exhibit the proper practical evidence that this is their character. Of this evidence, an essential part consists in the exercise of brotherly love, as manifested in the use of our worldly possessions for the benefit of those who belong to the kingdom of God. Christ might have expressed himself thus: Make yourselves worthy, by your active Christian benevolence, to become the companions of those, in their eternal abodes in heaven, whose wants you have relieved during their pilgrimage on earth.' Instead of this, however, he conforms his language to the parable. He keeps still in view the comparison of the unjust steward, who had taken measures to secure the favor of his master's debtors, that he might reap the advantage of it in a time of distress; and hence, in conformity with this, he says to his followers, 'Let your policy be similar, that you may be received into everlasting mansions by those, whom you have made your friends.'

Worldly goods are here designated as μαμωνᾶς τῆς ἀδικίας, ¿dtxos paμμorãs, in so far as they are accustomed to be acquired in the world by unjust means, and to be devoted to evil purposes, until they are transferred to the cause and service of God. In this sense, Satan is denominated xоouоxqάrog, perhaps in consequence, also, of the representation in this parable, where, in the conduct of the unfaithful steward, the mammon appears as the mammon of unrighteousness; and this, applied thus to the purposes of sin, is opposed to the genuine, true good, which cannot be possessed at all by the children of the

world, but only by the children of light.* In a similar manner are the worldly goods designated as something foreign to the people of God, as the goods of a world, in which they dwell as strangers, as possessed by those who know of no objects of higher value, and who employ them for sinful uses, in opposition to the true riches of the kingdom of God, which are regarded by those who have a place in it, as their peculiar possession and inheritance. Christ presents, accordingly, at the conclusion of this parable, the principles by which its significance becomes first fully apparent; Prove yourselves faithful in the use of the goods of this world, that you may thus show yourselves worthy to be entrusted with higher riches. He who is faithful in the least, that is, in the improvement of worldly possessions committed to him by God for the objects of his kingdom, is faithful also when much is committed to him. The fidelity evinced in the administration of the smallest trust renders itself deserving of the bestowment of one still greater; and the rule, according to which it receives this, will be the measure always of such fidelity. And, on the contrary, he who neglects his duty in that which is least, acts in like manner when much is entrusted to him. Who, therefore, if you were not faithful in the use of the unrighteous mammon, will commit to you the true riches? And who, if you were not faithful in the improvement of that which was another's, will

* The opposition between ¿dizov and ¿¿ŋőívóv might suggest the idea, that the first should be understood as that which is not a good in the true sense; but the expression, aμuorās tīs údızlag, with an allusion to the parable, speaks rather for the first construction. We have here an illustration of the difference which exists between that view of worldly goods which the Ebionites maintained, and that which true Christianity inculcates. According to the former, Satan is considered as literally the lord and possessor of this world; the possession of earthly goods, beyond what serves for the bare supply of our necessary wants, is regarded as something wrong in itself, as an incursion into a territory which ought to be relinquished to the servants of Satan. On the contrary, according to the Christian view, worldly good is not, indeed, the true good; this, the pious only can possess; it remains theirs for ever, and is constantly imparted to them in greater and greater fulness; while the other, like the whole world, is subject to the dominion of the adversary of mankind. But as the world in general should be transformed from a kingdom of evil into a kingdom of God, so the earthly treasures of the righteous should be appropriated to the objects which God requires us to seek; and it is to such an application of them, that the prudence exemplified in this parable refers, in which the children of light should not suffer themselves to be surpassed by the children of this world. A further ground for reducing this general duty of laboring for the cause of God to so particular a form as that of relieving the wants of others, lay in the peculiar relations and circumstances of the time. Christ adapted himself to the actual state of things, as it then existed. Occasion had not yet been given, as De Wette on Matt. 19: 21 justly remarks, for the application of property to religious uses, in the numerous ways which afterwards arose in the subsequent progress of Christianity.

give you your own, that which belongs to you properly, as regards your higher nature and interests?'

The concluding thought is then expressed as follows: 'As no one can be the servant of two masters at the same time, as, on the contrary, a person can serve only one, if we take the idea of that relationship in the strictest sense, as implying an entire dependence on the part of a servant upon his master, and a devotion to his interests in all things, so in a spiritual sense, no one can have two masters at the same time; but he acknowledges him only as his master, by whom he allows his whole life to be controlled.' Hence, no one can make his life dependent, at the same time, on God and mammon. To find his highest good in mammon, and to serve God as his master, are things which stand in contradiction to each other. He who is truly a servant of God, who acts in consistency with the character of the children of light, will employ his possessions for the purposes which God requires, and will show himself as his faithful servant in the use which he makes of them, while he regards them not as his highest good, but as conferred upon him for the promotion of that kingdom which he feels to be identified with his highest. happiness and welfare.

It is evident now, that this sentiment, which is found out of its place in Matt. 6: 24,* harmonizes strictly with the scope of this parable, and indeed is absolutely required, in order to place the idea of it in a clear light. For, as we before remarked, the whole parable is directed to showing the connection of prudence with the decision and perseverance which belong to a life, controlled by one predominant aim and purpose. And it is to this precisely that all is reduced by the declaration in question. True wisdom in the use of that which is earthly presupposes, as its very element and origin, that the soul be not divided between God and the world; but that it subordinate every thing to an undeviating regard to Him as the one Master, to whom the whole life is consecrated. Thus we see here the point of view, which appears

*This remark seems to be entirely unnecessary. The thought, as it stands in Matthew, appears by no means in an unnatural connection, especially when we consider the nature of the discourse in which it is found, and the fragmentary character of the record which the evangelist has given of it. That the same expression should be repeated in another place, as here in Luke, is not singular; for nothing seems to have been more common for the Saviour than to repeat important thoughts and instructions on different occasions and in different connections.-TR.

in many of the expressions of Christ, according to which the essence of Christian virtue is represented as comprised in the single form of prudence; for the soul, which entertains this single aim, and employs, under the direction of it, every thing worldly for the kingdom of God, possesses certainly the root and substance of every Christian virtue.*

14. The parable of the wise virgins, Matt. 25; the same thought in Matt. 24: 45-47; the ground of this representation.

This representation of the Christian virtues under the idea of prudence, we find also in the parable of the wise virgins, Matt. 25; the prudence which consists in so regulating the whole life, as to be constantly prepared to appear before the Lord, and to render to him an account of our conduct; also in Matt. 24: 45-47. But surely now, it is nothing accidental, that this particular virtue has been employed by Christ to represent the spirit of the gospel; for it belongs to Christianity as an essential characteristic of it, it forms one of its main features of distinction, as compared with those systems of religion, in which a partial and excessive sensibility, or a wild imagination bears sway, that it enkindles a noble inspiration of soul, while it, at the same time, leaves the understanding clear and considerate.

§ 15. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man, Luke 16; two principal thoughts; the occasion of it unknown.

The second parable, which illustrates the difference between a true and false use of earthly goods, is the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, Luke 16. This parable contains two prominent thoughts; and a person must be acquainted with the unknown occasion of it, to be able to determine which of them is more especially its object. In the one case, we have held up to us the warning, which is furnished by the example of one, who makes worldly pleasure his highest good, and who, by this course, suppresses within himself all sense of his higher wants and interests, and incurs thereby the misery which follows from such a life. In the other case, the principal idea is contained in the answer of Abraham to the request of the rich man; an important truth is expressed by it, which admits of being applied, in various ways, to the

In this mode of development appears clearly the pertinence and connection of every part, contrary to what Strauss (Bd. 1, s. 601, drit. auf., s. 668) and others have asserted.

Jews in reference to their conduct towards the Saviour, their unsusceptible spirit, and their demand of miracles as a condition of their faith in him. He says to them, that no compulsory power from without can awaken men to repentance, when the proper moral susceptibility does not exist; that miracles, addressed to the senses, can produce no permanent impression on the mind, when inward sincerity and a desire. for the truth are wanting. The revelation of the ancient economy would have been sufficient to awaken those brethren to a higher life, to lead them to a consciousness of their wickedness and the misery which threatened them on account of it, had they possessed a heart to appreciate and love the word of God; but without this, even a new revelation by the resurrection of one from the dead, could make only a superficial, transient impression upon them.

ARTICLE VII.

RIGHT ESTIMATES OF TIME.

MANKIND, universally, are prone to set a wrong estimate upon time and eternity. They assign to each a place disproportionate to its value and importance. They set time too high, and eternity too low. Or, while they rate time too highly, as furnishing the means and the opportunity of worldly gratification, they rate it too low for its real worth in reference to the future. That which is seen has bound so strong a spell upon most men, that they think little of that which is unseen and eternal. The outward and perishing things of this visible world, which strike the eye, the ear, and all the senses through which knowledge is communicated to the soul, produce a stronger impression than the unseen, infinite realities of the world to come; and that which is most striking to the senses, we are apt to esteem most highly; like children, who deem the most showy baubles the most valuable. It is but too seldom that we strive, by a serious effort, to convince ourselves of the real condition of things. Did we but dwell often upon true views of the present and the future, the glory of this sublunary scene, by which we are so dazzled, would