The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 470

close it seemed to bring heaven down to earth, and what absolute and real inter- communion I VI. THE K:t.LlING OF ALL TilE ARGUllENT AND EXPOSTULATION WI'l'R ONDELIEII' BY THAT ONSORPAl'SED INVITATION AND OFFER, OF SURPASBtNG GBACE 1 "Colllll ONTO 111!:1 ALL THAT LA.DOUB," ETC. Fir6t, note the covering, forgiving love of this call. It is aa though the memory of bis own miesion, and the eupremeet object and end of it; flashed again fresh upon the wonderful vision already of the Saviour,partly as he bad threaded the way that day through the subterfugee of unbelief, and partly as jllBt now for one moment of elysian communion he had addressed himself to the Father. &cond, note the breadth e.nd the length of that call-" Come to me, till that .toil and are heavily burdened (do not translate cc All ye"). Those that day, and in that place, who had tangled themselves in the meshes and the excuses of unbelief; those far and wide, as the good tidings should travel to tkm, of an all-sufficient help; those dowu through nil the ages of time who had toiled, to take nothing, and had overburdened· them• Bclves, to break their own strength ;-to all these the invitation of this anrpaasi.ng grace is given. Thir<ily, note the intrinsic, inherent, unconscious right and claim involved in the invitation on the part of him who gives it-. There is no mistaking the word of it ; it is cc Come to me." Fourthly, note the engagement entered into. cc I will give you rest "-rest from biting care; rest from bitter memory; rest from the chagrin of uin and wasted toil ; rest from a reproaching conscience; rest from remorse. Who ~ver offered to enter into such an engagement except he who now did so? And he only can perform it. Whe.t tribute to his faithfulness to that offer, invitation, assur- ance, would millions, absolutely untold, render and present from that day to this I Lastly, note the more developed form of the simple call, "Come to me." It is thia: .. Take my yoke on you," a.nd the burden I bear with it. The yoke is. easy, the burden is light; for I am meek, and give my neck meekly to the yoke, and the burden follows, lightly weighing. Tlu!se are of the highest things to be learned on earth of Jesus. Nor is there honour to compare with this-to wear the yoke that he wore, and wear it lik, him ; to bear the burden he bore, and bear it like him. So have we learned of J esua, and so lihal.l lea.rn, more and more.-B. Vera. 1-lL-John's inquiry. L THE KOTIVE 01' THIS mQumY 01' JoBl!l'B la not at once apparent. What was ea.using him perplexity, if not disappointment, about our Lord? He was disappointed because the works he heard of were not the kind of works he had himself expected the Messiah to perform. His own work had been to denounce prevailing iniquities, and to predict the advent of One who should cleanse with fire where he cleansed with water; who would come in the same spirit as- himself, but with a mightier manifestation of it; One who would lay the a.xe to. the root of the tree of evil, and q uick.ly e.1.ecute judgment in Israel His whole soul went forth. with expect~. tion, and there was J10thing w meet it. He had learned how 1hort a time would be given to any one who wa.s resolved to root out evil from the,le.nd. Why, then, this pa&&i.ve inactivity on the part of Jesus? Why was he cont.ent to go about in villages, bdping beggars, speaking with uninfl.uential sinners, while the nation groaned under for.ei_gn tyranny and cried for its king? From this doubting inquiry of John'• we may leam aeveral thing&, as: 1. How entirely.J88118 had to depend on himself. What must have heen the clearness of aim and stability of purpose which could put aside not ouly the popular e.1.pectation, but the grave judgment.s and ■uggestiona of men like John? 2. John's state of mind showa how apt people are to allow their own distresses to distort their views of Providence. When things go against u ■, and the despotic law■ oi the world move on and pay no respect to our prayers or our piety, we are apt to a<lmit doubts where all was plain and sure to us. 3. When we ouraelvea are not used in God's work, we are tempted to think he is doing nothing. If a religious movement. goes on without us, we think of it critically and with 1w,picion. 4:. We see here how- i!,signi1icant the effects of the gospel always semL. John saw only what he thought a go,.>d doctor could rival II. Tq ilBWEB BUT BY Jaus TO JoBll becomes at once intelligible 10 1100n u the lia.ture of the inquiry ii understood. The important item in the report was the preaihi.ng of the gospel to the poor. H had always been recognized 1111 ooaracteristio of. ihe McBBia.h that the poor were to be gladdened when he came. He would no, ,ver- ~. xr. 1-30.] TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTIIEW. 4-61