| an undue time. By this Speech of our Saviour's he diverts them from that curious Queſtion, about the number of thoſe that ſhall be ſaved. That was not ſo much their concern to know, as that they | ſhould be ſome of that Number, | 25 When once the maſter of the houſe is riſen up ; and * hath ſhut to the door, and ye begin to ſtand * vi without, and to knock at the door, ſaying, * Lord, '*. } Lord, open unto us : and he ſhall anſwer, and {ay unto you, 2 , g I * know you not whence you are. he : 26 Then ſhall ye begin to ſay, We have eaten and c drunk in thy preſence, and thou haſt taught in our d ſtreets, B 27 But he ſhall ſay, I tell you, I know you ng , whence you are; * depart from me all ye workers of -;; bo iniquity, | | tt e] Our Saviour 1n theſe verſes doth repreſent himſelf by a Man, O! who having invited gueſts to his Supper, ſtays till all thoſe who th were invited, and accepted the invitation, were come in ; then ri- m ſing up, ſhuts the Door, and after that is ſhut, turns a deafcar t9 Je any that ſhall come knocking, let them plead for admittance whet C: they can plead. By this Parabolical expreffing of himſelf, he both Ta | openeth in part, what he meant by the foregoing Words. May $a ſhall ſeek to enter in, and ſhall not enter, and alſo lets us know, that of there is a determinate time, wherein Souls muſt (if ever) accept of E; the offers of Grace and Salvation when they are made to them, th which if they lip, they will not be able to obtain of God an entrance no, into the Ringdom of Heaven. Seek the Lord while he may be found ſer ſaith the Prophet, I/a. 55. 6. 7. In an acceptable time I have heard too thee, (faith the Prophet) T/a. gs. 8. which the Apoſtle, 2 Cor. 6. 2. and applyeth to perſwade Mer that they ſhould not receive the Grace of Pre God (in the Goſpel) in vain. What this determinate time is, God of C hath hidden from us, and it is probable that it is not the ſame as to ful, all Perſons. We know nothing to the contrary, but while there & wha life there is hope, which warranteth us to Preach Faith and Repen- Tca tance to all. Weare alſo further inſtruted, That no outward Pri- day viledges, tho Chriſt hath taught in our Streets : No external afts if free! Communion with Chriſt,tho we can ſay, we have Eat and Drank with brar him, will juſtifie our hopes of entrance into Heaven, if in the mean but time we be Workers of iniquity. We had much the ſame, Matth. 7.21, whit 22, 23- Seethe Notes there. thoſ 28 There ſhall be weeping and gnaſhing of teeth, when = ye ſhall ſee Abraham, and Itaac, and Jacob, and all the = prophets in the kingdom of God, and you your ſelves w4 thruſt out, | $& 29 And they ſhall come from the eaſt, and from the = weſt, and from the north, and fro: the ſouth, and ſhall ſit - 7 down.in the kingdom of God, phet: We have the ſame Matth. 8. 11, 12. only he faith, only from the meat Kaſt, and from the Weſt. . See the Notes there. Wailing, and gnaſhing viou of teeth, are uſual expreffions by which the pains of the Damned ar* Hhly exprefſcd ; eſpecially by the Evangeliſt Matthew, ch. 8. 12. c. 15. 42, 5s Ch, 22. 13. Ch, 24. gt. ch. 25. 30. One cauſe of this vexat!- h | on of Spirit expreſſed under this Notion, is the Jews ſight of the reit pnet and happineſs that their Relations, nay ſome to whom they upon Ofter Earth were Enemies, ſhould enjoy in Heaven. Nay which ſome hen - which were Heathens ſhould enjoy there, when as they that too: not 3 themſelves to be the only Church, and to have the fame right to tile | ; Kingdom of Heaven, that Children have to the Inheritanccs of the!! S\ Father, ſhould be caſt out, as having no portion there. GG And : +20. time 3o And behold, there are laſt which ſhall be fir!t, a and there are firſt which ſhall be laſt. By This is a Sentence which our Saviour often made uſe of, and n9! 45rd always to the fame purpoſe, See the Notes on Matth. 19. 3%: = the + 20, 16, Mark. 10. 31. Asto the ſenſe of them. here, 1t 15 pain. _ are /; Saviour here forztelleth the Converſion of the Gent?les 5 but FE : kunity donot take the Gentiles to be all who are intended under the Not!0" Shin, of the Laſt, but divers others alſo, Men who both in their ___ to effe of themſelves, and in reality with reſpe& to Priviledge, arc ! w__ but th whether in reſpe& of-Gifts, or Office, or the means of Grac?, Cl * '- have d
feſſion, will many of them be the laſt, that is, furtheſt off from - 4JOLC UN:?
4
_ hp. 1 1
112,25
time come when ye ſhall ſay, * Blefſed & he that cometh |
XIII.
will in the Day of Judgment 62 fir, that is, appear ſo, as having more of the favour of God, and be ſo, taken to Heaven, when the others ſhall be caft to Hell, Matth. 11. 29D, 21, 22, Oc.
7 The ſame day there came certain of the Phariſees» ying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence : for Herod wil kill thee. 32 Ard he ſaid unto them, Go ye and tell that fox, Behold, I caſt out devils. and I do cures ro day and to morrow, and the third day [I ſhall be perfe&-
d. ; 33 Nevertheleſs, I muſt walk today and to morrow, and the day following : for it cannot be thar a prophet
periſh our of Jeruſalem.
It is plain from this Text. that our Saviour was at"this time in Galilee, for that. was the Tetrarchy, or Province of Herod Antipas, who is the Herod here mentioned : whether theſe Phariſees came up- on their own heads, or as ſent by Herod is not fo plain, nor ſo well agreed by Interpreters. If they came upon their own heads it is certain they came not out of kindneſs, for the whole Hiſtory of the Goſpel, lets us know, that the Phariſees had no kindneſs for Chriſt, hut were his moſt implacable Enemies, and continually conſulting how to deſtroy him 3 but they either came to ſcare him out of Galli- 1:e, whoſe repute was ſo great, and who 4id them ſo much miſchicf there. or to drive him into the rap, which they had laid for him *n Judea But it is moſt probable, that they cime as ſecretly ſent by Herod, who tho of himfclf he be report:d to be of no Blood diſpoſition, yet upon the Phariſees *continu | Callicitatiovs might be