♦
carnal, worldly, irreligious, godless, or profane P Then let us understand that this is the state of his heart. When a man's tongue is generally wrong, it is ahsurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that his heart is right.
Let us close this passage with solemn self-inquiry, and use it for the trial of our own state before God. What fruits are we bringing forth in our lives P Are they, or are they not, fruits of the Spirit P — ^What kind of evidence do our words supply as to the state of our hearts P Do we talk like men whose hearts are "right in the sight of GodJ^ " — ^There is no evading the doctrine laid down by our Lord in this passage. Conduct is the grand test of character. Words are one great symptom of the condition of the heart.
Notes. Luke VI. 39—45.
39. — [Can the blind lead the blind?] Let it be noted that this is the second occasion on which our Lord uses this saying. Both here, and in the other place where it is used (Matt. xv. 44), the application is manifest. It is a warning against following un- sound religious teachers.
40. — [The disciple is not above his mastery do.] It is common to regard this verse as descriptive of the portion of all believers in this world, and as parallel with such sayings as these, " If they have persecuted me they will also persecute you." "If they have kept my saying they will also keep yours." The perfection is looked upon as the being made " perfect through sufferings."
But I feel unable to interpret the verse in this sense. It is good divinity, but not the sense of this passage. The true meaning, I believe, must be sought in connection with the verse which immediately precedes it. In that verse our Lord, under a parable, had been delivering a warning against false teachers. He had been comparing them to blind guides, and showing that if the blind lead the blind, " both must fall into the ditch." He then seems to foresee the common objection that it does not follow because our teachers go astray that we shall go astray also. " Beware of that delusion," He seems to say. " Bisciples must not be expected to see more clearly than their teachers. The scholar will become as perfect as his master, but not more 80. He will certainly copy his errors, and reproduce his faults. If you choose to follow blind guides, do not wonder if you never