may at first sdght be supposed ; for bad manners are bad morals." (Paley's Evidences. Part 2. chap. 2. 1.)
[Worship.] The Greek word so translated means literally "glory," or "honour." Our translation is unfortunate. It must however be remembered that the meaning of words changes with time. The word ," worship " did not mean ex- clusively religious worship, when the last revision of the Bible took place in England. The sense in which the word is here used, still lingers amongst us in the epithet "worshipful," applied to "mayors," and "worship" to magistrates. In tlie marriage service of the Church of England, the word also occurs in the sense of " honour."
1 1. — [Whosoever exalteth himself y Jtc.'] Let it be noted that hardly any saying of our Lord's is so frequently repeated as this sen- tence aoout humility.
12. — [CaU not thy friends ^ dc.'\ This is a remarkable directior. There are few sayings of our Lord's in which we are so plainly required by the equity of interpretation, to put a qualified sense on his command. Just as it is impossible to put a literal con- struction on His saying, " if any man come after me and hate not his father, &c., he cannot be my disciple," so it is impossible to put a literal sense on His words here.
Poole remarks, " Many things are delivered in Scripture, in the form of an universal and absolute prohibition, which must not be so understood, amongst which this is one instance. None must think that our Saviour doth here absolutely or universally forbid an invitation of brethren, kinsmen, rich neighbours, friends, to dine with us. There was nothing more ordi- narily practised among the Jews, and Christ Himself was at divers meals. But Christ teacheth us here, (1.) That inviting friends is no act of charity. It was a lawful act of humanity and civility, and of a good tendency to procure unity and friendship amongst neighbours and friends, but no such act of charity as they could expect a heavenly reward for. (2.) That such feastings ou^ht not to be upheld in prejudice to our duty in rplieving the poor, that is, they ought not to be maintained in such excesses and immoderate degrees, as by them to disable us from that relief of the poor, which God requu*eth of us as our duty."
The evil consequences of an excessively literal interpretation of this passage, may be seen in the well-meant but grossly abused charities to the poor, which were so prevalent in this country before the Keformation, and which are still to be seen in Roman Catholic countries on the Continent at the present day. It is notorious that profuse charity to the poor, given in- discriminately, and without inquiry, does no real good, fosters idleness, rears up a class of professional mendicants, promotes