The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 288

here is of the personation of a part (a man wild in the East, would not "tread down" free from impediment in his vision) which the food. Trample them nnder their feet ( eh. does not belong to you. First ea.at out the v, 13). In ignorance of their ree.I worth e.nd beam out of thine own eye. In ver. 3 the in disappointment that they do not afford order of the words le.ye the emphasis on them satisfaction. (For the futnre, Ka-.a1<aT~- " thine ; " here, on the eye. It is in thine <To11<Tw, cf. eh. v. 25, note.) It here expresses eye, of all places, that the beam now is. the greater certainty of the trampling than And then shalt thou see clearly to ea.et out of the rending (aorist subjective). And turn the mote out of thy brother's eye, Surelya again-Revised Version omits" again"-and promise as well as a statement. Bee clearly rend you. In rage at the diso.ppointmenl (6,a./:l:>..,1/ms, 610.- discriminatingly); a.s in the experienced. The clause expresses the right text of Me.rk viii. 25, itself after the personal enmity which those who wilfully recovery of full power of sight. Bee clearly. reject the gospel often feel towards those Not the mote (ver. 3), but to cast out the that have offered it to them. It might mote. The verse seems to imply that if the be thought difficult to carry out this com- spirit of censoriousness be absent, it will be mand, as it is evident that we oannot know possible for os to remove " motes " from the beforehand who will accept the gospel or eyes of our brothers. Thus the passage as a not. But in cases where the character of the whole does not say that we never ought to person is not known (e.g. as when St. Paul try to remove such "motes," but that this is preached at Athens, etc.), the command does monstrous and al.most impossible so long as not apply. Our Lord supposes the case we ourselves have a fault of so muoh mag- where the character is apparent (cf. 1 Tim. nitude as oensoriousness. v. 24). Theodoret ('llide Resch, 'Agrapha,' Ver. 6.-Matthew only. Give not that pp. 103, 168), in quoting this verse, adds, which is holy, eto. While you a.re not to be "My mysteries are for me and mine," which, oensorions towards brethren (vers. 1-5), clearly an adaptation of Symmachus and you must recognize the great and funda- Theodotion's rendering of Isa. xxiv. 16, mente,l differences that there are between ,', 'li (cf. also Targ. Jon.), seems to have be- men. You must not treat those who e.re come almost an an thori.zed, and certainly mere dogs and swine as if they were able to a true, interpretation of our verse. appreciate either the holiness or the beauty and wealth of spiritual truth. Give. Vere. 7-11.-.Ask, and it shall be giuew. Observe that "give," "cast," are nature.Uy you, eto. Parallel passage: Luke xi 9-13. used of feeding dogs and swine respeotively. Nearly verbally identical, but in the son's That which is holy (Tb li,.,ov). The metaphor request, reads " egg" e.nd •• scorpion " for is taken from the law that the things offered "bread" and "stone," and reverses the in sacrifice were no longer to be treated as common food (Lev. xxii. 1-16, especially order of the sentences. ver. 14, Tb ll-y,ov). Unto the dogs. 'l'he In Luke the verses are closely connected scavengers of Ee.stern cities, which by nature (" and I say unto you") with the pnrable and he.bit love e.nd greedily devour the most of the friend at midnight, which ilseU unholy of things (cf. Exod. xxii. 31). Neither immediately follows the Lord's Prayer. It oast ye your pearls. Pearlll. Only here and oh. xiii. 45, 46 in the Gospels. ln form not seems probable thnt, as with the Lord's so very unlike swine's food of beans or nuts, Prayer (eh. vi. 9-i3, note), so with these they here represent the beauty and precious verses, the original position is given in wealth of the various parts of the Gospel, in Luke; yet, as nlso with the Lord's Pro.yer, which Cluist's disoiples are accustomed to Matthew's form of the individual clauses delight (6µwv). Ignatius(' Eph.,' § 11) calls his bonds his "spiritual pearls." Before muy be the more original (cf. ver. 11, note). swine; before the swine (Revised Version). With the general promise contained in the11e Probably in both cases the article is used verses, of. l\Iark xi. 24. with the object of bringing the parlioulor 'l'he connexion with the preceding verse dogs nnd swine to whom these nre given is probably not (I) pray for others who have more vividly before us. Swine. Which hnve no care for such things, but rather wallow no apparent capacity for receiving the truths in filth (2 Pet. iL 22). Dogs ... swine. The of the gospel (Weiss); nor (2) in answer to terms seem to so fnr indicnte different classes the question suggested by ver. 6, if this be of men, or more truly different chcnacters in the measure of the Divine dealings, what men, as that the one term points to the greedy bounties can sinners expect at God's hnnds ? participation of the wicked in open profnno.- tion, the other to the sottish indifference of Let them, nevertheless, ask of God, and it sinners to that which is most attractive. Lest shnll be given them (of. Alford); but (3) in they; (e. the swine. Dogs. even though close connexion with the whole subject from  282 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [on. vu. 1--29.