those only which have been done to the body are mentioned, which are both more despised in the world, and will then be a more evident specimen of faith, inasmuch as a man in them expends somewhat of his material resources and trouble (whereas those which concern the spirit are without expense), and will come more sensibly under the observation of the wicked. Nor was it suitable to the Judge to say : " I have erred, I have sinned, and you have recalled me,"1 etc. — Mo/, to Me) This presupposes faith, for the faithful perform acts of kindness on this ground. — fdi^ffa, K.T.X., / was thirsty, etc.) Such is the condition of the faithful in this life : hunger, thirst, nakedness, captivity, etc. — <tu\/7)-yu'yirs, ye took (Me) in) The LXX. use the same verb in Judges xix. 15, 18.
37. Hort 2s t'ldopev, x.r.X., when saw we Thee, etc.2) The faithful do not estimate their good deeds, nor the wicked their bad (ver. 44), in the same manner as the Judge.
40. 'Ep* SffoV) inasmuch as, in as far as) An intensifying par ticle. Without doubt, even individual acts will be brought forward. — \vi, unto one) All things are accurately reckoned up ; nothing is omitted. Even a solitary occasion is frequently of great importance in either direction ; see ver. 45. — rouruv, of these) used demonstratively. — ruv ddiXpuv Moo, My brethren) It is better to do good to the good than to the wicked ; yet these are not excluded from the operation of Christian love (see Matt, v. 44), provided that a due precedence be preserved in the character of the men and works. Men, the more that they are honoured, treat so much the more proudly those with whom they are connected (suos) : not so Jesus : at the commencement of His ministry He frequently called His followers disciples ; then, when speaking of His cross (John xiii. 33), He once called them little sons,3 and (John xv. 15) friends ; after His
1 That is to say, The judge decides by the love, or absoace of love, which existed towards Him. He could not speak of spiritual benefits done to Him, inasmuch as He was holy and sinless : He therefore mentions tempo ral and corporeal benefits. — ED.
2 In like manner, many of the righteous, who have conferred benefits on each other in this world, remain mutually unknown. — B. G. V.
8 Filiolos. The word in the original is rtx.vtet, plural of riwtov, which is the diminutive of rix,vov — child or offspring — derived from rlx.ru, to bring forth.— (I. B.)