Luke vii. 31, 32, 35. And the Lord said, Whereunto tlien shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, arid ye have not danced; toe have mourned to you, and ye have not wept But wisdom is justified of all her children.
THOUGH man is iistinguished from all other animals by the faculty of reason, he is far from sub- mitting readily to its dictates. In things that are agreeable to his mind he is easily persuaded : but where he is at all swayed by prejudice, or passion, or interest, he cannot be prevailed upon, even by the clearest arguments, to embrace truth, or to fulfil his duty. Thus it was with the Pharisees in our Lord's time ; on which account he compared them to per- verse children, who could not be induced by their companions to participate in their amusements, not- withstanding every endeavour on their parts to accom- modate themselves to their wishes3.
In this parable our Lord intimates,
I. The reception which his Gospel meets with —
God has used a great variety of means in order to recommend his Gospel —
[He published it to the Jews under types and shadows, and gradually unfolded it to them in a long series of prophe- cies. When the time came for its more general promulgation, he sent the Baptist to prepare their minds, and the Messiah himself to preach it to them, and to confirm his word by miracles without number. He endued also a few poor fishermen with miraculous powers, and sent them to publish the glad tidings, that their divine mission being unquestionable, their testimony might be universally received. Nothing was wanting that could in any wise promote the acceptance of the truth.]
a It was customary to use pipes both at marriages and at funerals ; at the one in cheerful, at the other in plaintive strains. And the children, in their play, are supposed to represent first the festivity of a marriage, and afterwards the lamentations of a funeral : in neither of which could they get their companions to join them.