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32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

a well-founded hope of eternal life. To such as bear these characters and bring forth these fruits only, he looks with acceptance; and the cultivation of them he urges by all those arousing motives which can be drawn from his approbation, or from his blessing or curse in that day in which he shall come to judge the world. Christ here again calls himself the Son of man, not simply with reference to his human nature, but as God-Man Mediator, in allusion to the prophecy of Daniel, where under this title he is represented as receiving a universal kingdom. Of this kingdom, the last act is to judge the world, and to distribute the rewards and penalties of eternity. This Son of Man comes therefore not in his humility, nor even in his spiritual power and invisible gracious influence, but personally in that visible glory in which he now "sitteth at the right hand of God." And all the holy angels with him, to give greater splendour to the solemn pomp; to take their part in gathering together the elect; and to be the spectators of a scene which is to minister instruction and admonition to them for ever. Then shall he sit as a Sovereign and a Judge upon the throne of his glory a Hebraism for his glorious throne. The same imagery we have in Rev. xx. 11, "And I saw a great white," or dazzling, "throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away."

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Verse 32. Before him shall be gathered all nations.—So that this is clearly the general and final judgment: not merely the Jewish nation or the Christian church is to be judged, but all nations; those who shall then be alive, and "the dead, small and great, stand before God." Here is not only an assembled world, but the assembled generations of the world, from the beginning of time, placed at his

bar, awaiting his sentence. Merely human writers have nothing so awfully sublime as this; for they had no distinct knowledge of the great facts here described in language so clear and simple as could never have been used but by HIM to whom the mysterious solemnities of the future were all clearly known.

He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd, &c.-This is done with unerring penetration, and with infinite equity, the vast multitude moving to the right hand or to the left under the influence of his mighty power, the consciousness of each answering to the impulse, and, as to the wicked, withering every effort at resistance. The metaphor is taken from the shepherds of ancient times, who kept the sheep and goats in different flocks, and hastily separated them when they became mingled together. A similar metaphor we have in Ezek. xxxiv. 17: "Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he-goats"

Verse 33. The sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.-The former represent the righteous, and the latter the wicked, but not for any resemblance of qualities; on which supposition many absurd allegories have been formed by imaginative commentators. The idea intended to be conveyed appears to be simply that of as complete and obvious a separation between the good and the bad, as between a flock of sheep and a flock of goats. The designation of the wicked, as goats, would be, however, very forcible to a Jew; the same Hebrew word being used both for a goat and an evil spirit, or demon. With the Jews, the right hand and left hand, in judicial proceedings, were highly significant. Maimonides states that in the sanhedrim two scribes stood before the judges, one on the right, the other on the left; and that the scribe

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in :

d Isaiah lviii. 7; Ezekiel xviii. 7.

on the right hand wrote the sentence of acquittal, and the scribe on the left hand the sentence of condemnation. Agreeably to which they have a saying, "There is a right hand and a left hand with the Lord; they that are on the right hand are for absolution, and they that are on the left hand are for condemnation." They are not, however, alone in this. Plato, in his description of the judgment, which takes place in the invisible state, represents the judges as assigning the right hand to the just, and the left hand to the unjust.

Verse 34. The King say.-Our Lord, by calling him the King, again shows the nature of his kingdom, and tacitly corrects the prevalent errors of the Jews, the influence of which still obscured the judg. ment of the disciples, and rendered them inapt to receive spiritual views. Messiah is indeed a King; but he is here seen, not distributing earthly but heavenly rewards; not inflicting temporal but eternal punishments; not establishing an external dominion over men's persons, but prostrating their whole souls before him in holy love, or guilty dread; not setting up a visible kingdom on earth, but welcoming the righteous into the celestial and hallowed glories of the kingdom of his Father; not honouring his companions and subjects in arms after a warfare of "confused noise and garments rolled in blood," but crowning those who had by the strength of his grace overcome themselves, the world, and sin.

From the foundation of the world.-This phrase signifies from the creation of the world, and refers us to the designs and counsels of God in eternity. It was his eternal purpose to raise to the felicity of beaven all who should truly believe in

Christ, and endure faithful to the end of life. For them, AS BELIEVERS, not as a specific number selected arbitrarily from the mass of mankind, this state of "glory, honour, and immortality," here figuratively called a kingdom, was prepared. The creating power of God has produced and arranged it, and the entrance of our Saviour into "the holy places," with his own blood, has claimed it in behalf of all who embrace his universal offer of grace and eternal salvation. Heaven thus opens its gates for fallen man whose sin forfeited the inheritance of paradise; and whosoever will may enter, in the way, and on the gracious conditions, which are laid down in the holy gospel.

Verse 35. For I was an hungred, &c. After this general sublime description of the pomp and solemnity of the final judgment, our Lord proceeds to give the reason for this public acknowledgment of the righteous, and the equally public disowning of the wicked. These reasons, it is, however, to be remarked, are not the only ones in either case. Neither are the wicked punished solely because they have been fruitless in works of mercy, nor the righteous solely because they have abounded in them. They are taken in each case as manifestations of CHARACTER; and they are specified to show the importance attached to them, and that where religion is not PRACTICAL, it is wholly false and delusive. That benevolent actions separate from true charity, which is the love of God and man, cannot avail, we have the express testimony of St. Paul, who teaches, that if a man "give all his goods to feed the poor, and have not charity," in the principle, "it profiteth him nothing;" whilst on the other hand, St. James instructs us in the

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

equally important truth, that "faith without works is dead," and therefore unsaving. The three great ends of Christ's religion are, to reconcile men to God, to renew the heart in righteousness, and to inspire that universal philanthropy which shall lead to the most beneficent acts of mercy to others; and as he had inculcated other virtues in preceding parables under the sanction of eternal rewards and punishments, so now, that he may present the picture of "the man of God made perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good work," he exhibits the FRUITFUL faith and charity of his people in their practical benevolence, and confers upon their good works the high rewards of his kingdom.

Verse 36. And ye visited me.-' -The word επισκεπτομαι signifies not only to look upon, but to look after; that is, to take care of, or relieve; and may comprehend the administration of both spiritual and temporal comfort.

And ye came unto me.- -With sympathy and aid, either to sustain in prison or to devise means to obtain liberation from it.

Verse 37. Lord, when saw we thee an hungred? &c.-The manner in which the case was put, as though they had ministered to the Lord himself personally, excites their astonishment; and their modest forgetfulness of their own works, and the total absence of all idea of merit from their minds, rendering what was said more mysterious than it would otherwise have been, are circumstances finely touched; and with infinite skill they are made to give the greater force to the affecting

truth, that what is done for the relief and comfort of persons in penury, sickness, and trouble, he regards as done to himself! Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. The benevolence of Christ could have no stronger a demonstration than this identification of himself with all poor and troubled persons throughout the world, and in all ages; and no motive to their charitable relief can be so moving and efficacious with us as this. It affords one of many instances, that when Christian morals are the same in substance as those taught by the wiser Heathen, the former are not only presented unto us under more definite views, but enforced by motives beyond comparison more powerful. They have at once the authority of God, and the persuasive influence which results from an appeal to our purest and most influential affections. Those who restrain the term brethren, to poor and destitute Christians, have no warrant from the words or from the scope of the discourse. To narrow up the obligations of beneficence to those of our own faith would have been rather in the spirit of Judaism than according to the liberal and expansive genius of Christianity; and it would greatly tend to that, were we taught to consider that those acts of mercy which are done "to the household of faith" are the only works of that kind which shall be noticed and rewarded at the last day. The term brethren is therefore to be taken in its largest sense for all mankind. By taking upon him our nature, Christ became the brother of every man,

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, *Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink :

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

e Psalm vi. 8; Matt. vii. 23.

f Dan. xii. 2; John v. 29.

and even in his exalted and glorified state, recognises us under that relation.

Verse 41. Prepared for the devil and his angels. He does not say that this everlasting fire was prepared for these evil spirits, as the kingdom of heaven was prepared for the righteous, "from the foundation of the world;" that is, from eternity, as a part of the counsel and design of God. But simply, that it is prepared for the devil and his angels, but contrary to that gracious purpose for which they were created. A glorious heaven they found prepared for them the moment they sprang into existence; and it was not until they actually fell, that divine vengeance kindled up in one dark and doleful part of the universe an everlasting fire for the punishment of the disobedient. Into this same fire, and in company with these rebellious spirits, shall all the wicked be at last driven from the presence of him who had never been to them an unrelenting Judge, had they

not rejected him as a merciful and gracious Saviour.

Verse 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, &c.-These words are decisive of the doctrine of the eternity of the punishment of the wicked; and no reasonings of men, the supposed certain indications from assumed principles of the divine government, can avail against their clear and unequivocal meaning. Even Wakefield, a Socinian commentator, has noticed and admitted their force. It is observable that the same word of time is here employed by the evangelist to denote the punishment of the wicked, and the happiness of the just, in a future state: they are equally called EVERLASTING. Nor is there any passage in the whole New Testament which can be urged in defence of what is usually denominated, the "proper eternity of hell torments," with greater propriety than the text before us. No one disputes the endless duration of the happiness reserved for the righteous

CHAPTER XXVI.

1 The rulers conspire against Christ. 6 The woman anointeth his feet. 14 Judas selleth him. 17 Christ eateth the passover: 26 instituteth his holy supper: 36 prayetk in the garden: 47 and being betrayed with a kiss, 57 is carried to Caiaphas, 69 and denied of Peter.

1 AND it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,

2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

b

3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

a Mark xiv. 1; Luke xxii. 1; John xiii. 1.

in heaven; and why should the eternity of future punishment be controverted more than that, when the term applied to the duration of both is not merely of a similar import, but actually THE SAME?

b John xi. 47.

teenth day of the same month, and then slain in the evening. A lamb or a kid was killed in each family; and if the number of the family was not sufficient to eat it, they might associate two families together. It was eaten with unleavened

CHAPTER XXVI. Verse 1. All these bread, and was followed by the seven sayings. All these discourses.

Verse 2. Is the passover.-This was one of the great annual festivals of the Jews, instituted with great solemnity by divine direction, to commemorate the PASSING of the destroying angel OVER the houses of the Israelites, and their deliverance from Egypt. It was a grand instituted TYPE of our redemption, and therefore Christ is called " Our PASSOVER sacrificed for us." The paschal sacrifice derives its appellation from DD, which signifies, to pass by or over. In the Septuagint and the New Testament To Taxa signifies both paschal lamb, and also the paschal feast. The institution is explained Exodus xii. 27: "It is the sacrifice of THE LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses." The victim was to be a male of the first year, without blemish, from the sheep or from the goats. It was chosen on the tenth day of the month Abib in every year, kept till the four

days of unleavened bread, so that the whole feast lasted eight days.

These words seem to have been spoken by Jesus on the fourth day of the week, that is, on Wednesday in the afternoon; and on Thursday in the evening, that is, on the evening which followed the fifth day, the passover began, and was continued from Thursday evening to Friday evening, when the sabbath, or seventh day, began.

Is betrayed. Will be delivered up; the present being put for the future, as a significant manner of denoting a certain and approaching event.

Verse 3. The palace of the high priest Caiaphas.-Avλn, rendered palace, properly signifies an inclosed area, open to the air; but is often applied, as here, to the whole mansion or palace of kings, or persons in authority. Caiaphas was the high priest at this time, and during the whole period in which Pilate was governor. He married a daughter of Annas, who also is called high priest, because be

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