Vho love the praise of man more than the praise of God, and will turn their backs on Christ, rather than not keep in with the world. — ^These are the kind of men whom our Lord had in view when He prononnced the solemn words, *'Woe, woe nnto you." He knew well that there were thousands of such persons among the Jews, — thousands who, notwithstanding His miracles and ser- mons, would love the world better than Him. He knew well that there would always be thousands of such in His professing Churcl;, — thousands who, though con- vinced of the truth of the Gospel, would never give up anything for its sake. — To all such He delivers an awful warning. — "Woe, woe unto you ! "
One mighty lesson stands out plainly on the face of these verses. May we all lay it to heart, and learn wisdom ! That lesson is the utter contrariety between the mind of Christ, and the common opinions of man- kind, — ^the entire variance between the thoughts of Jesus, and the prevailing thoughts of the world. The conditions of life which the world reckons desirable, are the very conditions upon which tiie Lord pronounces "woes.'' Poverty, and hunger, and sorrow, and perse- cution, are the very things which man labours to avoid. Kiches, and fulness, and merriment, and popularity, are precisely the things which men are always struggling to attain. When we have said all, in the way of qualifying, explaining, and limiting our Lord's words, there still remain two sweeping assertions, which flatly contradict the current doctrine of mankind. The state of life which our Lord blesses, the world cordially dislikes. The people to whom our Lord says, "woe unto you," are the
(180 KXPOSrrrORT THOUGHTS.
very people wliom the world admiresy praises, and imitates. This is an awful fact. It onght to raise within US great searchings of heart.
Let ns leave the whole passage with honest self-inqnirj and self-examination. Let ns ask ourselves what we think of the wonderful declarations that it contains. Can we subscrihe to what our Lord says P Are we of one mind with HimP Do we really believe that poverty and persecution, endured for Christ's sake, are posdtive blessings P Do we really believe that riches and worldly enjoyments, and popularity among men, when sought for more than salvation, or preferred in the least to the praise of God, are a positive curse P Do we really think that the favour of Christ, with trouble and the world's ill word, is better worth having than money, and merriment, and a good name among men, without Christ P — ^These are most serious questions, and deserve a most serious answer. The passage before us is emiuently one which tests the reality of our Christianity. The truths it con- tains, are trutiis which no unconverted man can love and receive. Happy are they who have found them truths by experience, and can say "amen" to all our Lord's declarations. Whatever men may please to think, those whom Jesus blesses are blessed, and those whom Jesus does not bless will be cost out for evermore.
Notes. Luke VI. 20—26.
20. — [And he lifted up his eyes!] It is a disputed point, whether the discourse which hegins with this verse, is the same as that recorded in St. Matthew, (chapters v. vi. vii.) and commonly called the Sermon on the mount. The majority of commentators unquestionably regard the two discourses as the same. To this opinion, after much consideration, I feel unable to subscribe.