The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 295

could seek, for they could not afford to pay an oculist's fees. When we come to Christ the richest among us must approach him as beggars, The only plea of the sinner is in the mercy of his Saviour. III. THEIR TRYING DISOOURAGEMENT. 1. The multitude rebuked them-as the disciples rebuked the Per10&n mothers (eh. xix. 13). Their eager cries were irritating. They were but beggars; any one could take it upon him to reprimand such humble creat,ures. They who would come to Christ arc sometimes discoumo-ed 0 by the servants of Christ. 2. Jesus did not respond immediately. (1) Perhaps he did not hear. (2) Perhaps be was occupied with some important teaching. (3) Perhaps he would try the faith of the poor men. The answer to prayer is sometimes delayed. IV. THEIR lTh'DAlTh'TED PERSEVERANCE. Now is their opportunity. Soon Jesus will have passed, and it will be too late for them to seek his aid. Yet great is their need. So eagerly do they long for sight, that no discouragement of impertinent strangers shall hinder them. It is the persevering faith of such men as these that conquers in the end-like the perseverance of the Syro-Phcenician woman. V. THEIR CLEAR DECISION. 1. Jesus asked what he should do for them. This shows w~ngnes~ to help. But he must. bave_a clear s~tement of need. Perhaps he spoke with a smile of amusement at the mtens1ty of their eager cry, • As though there_were any doubt as to what they needed I His question will calm them. 2. They answered prompay and with()'IJ,t hesitation. They know what they want. We should know what we want from Christ. VI. THEIB PERFECT HEALING. 1. It sprang from the compassion of CJhrist. Too blind men asked for mercy. They got more-deep sympathy. This is the root and source of Christ's saving grace. 2. It was immediate. There was delay in finding Christ; there was no delay when he was found. 3. It was juat _the thing required. They asked for sight, and they received it. We do not always get exactly what we seek for, but if we seek aright we get its better equivalent.-W. F. A. Vere. 1-16.-The l,a,b00trera in the 9/ineyard. This parable ie one from which we are liable to draw some erroneous inferences unless we mentally hold it in strict connection with the circumstances in which it was originally spoken. When the rich young mati turned away sorrowful, our Lord, sympathizing with the severity of his temptation, said; "Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven;'' Peter, seeincr that he thus appreciated the difficulty of giving up property and detaching one's self fr~m the world, suggests that those who overcome that difficulty are peculiarly meritorious. "Behold," be says, "we have left all, and followed thee ; what shall we have tLerefore ?" But in so i,peaking, Peter revealed precisely that disposition which most thoroughly vitiates all service for Christ-the disposition to bargain, to work· for a clearly defined reward, and not for the sake of the work itself, and in generous faith ill the justice and liberality of the Master. Read in this light, it is obvious that the parable directs attention to the fact that, in estimating the value of work, we must tak~ into consideration, not only the time we have spent upon it or the amount we have 'got through, but the motive that has entered into it. An hour of trustful, loving service is of greater value to God than a lifetime of calculating industry and self-deceiving zeal. While men arc applauding the great workers who ostentatiously wipe the sweat from their brows and pant so that you can hear them across the whole field, God is regarding an unnoticed worker, who feelB he is doing little, who is ashamed that any one should see his work, who regrets he can do no more, who could not name a coin small enough to reward him, but who is perfectly well assured that the Master he serves is well worth i,ervirig. It is thus that the last becomes first, and the first last. That we are meant to see this difference of spirit in the workers is obvious from the terms of their eogacrement. 'l'hose hired early in the day agree to work for the penny. At four or five f;i the morning no man iri the market engages without making bis own terms, and striking bands with his hirer as his equal If he thinks one master's pay too little, hr: waits for a better offer; he is not going to work all day to oblige a neighbouring proprietor but to make a good wage for himself. But in the evening the tables are turned-the masters have it all their own way. Possibly these men were the proudest in the morning and missed their chance; but now pride gives place to hunger and ~ious th0ughts of the coming night. Jn no condition to bargain, they go, glad to oH, xx. 1-34.) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 299