The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 437

d,,,- ~o M to re"eel it to us, that it was no nians' insensibility e.t the time of the gree.t J>ert of his mission from the Father to divulge plague, when the people aeemed to be exem- it to men, and therefore that he could truly plifying the maxim, "Let us eat and drink, sn" he knew it not. This seems r&ther an for to-morrow we die " (Isa.. xxii. 18). " For <'VRBion then an explanation of the difficulty. like as when the ark was making, they :But my Father only. The best manusoripte believed not; but while it was set in the have "the F1tther." " But" is ,,; µ.¾,, llUept. midst of them, proclaiming beforehand the 8o Christ said to his inquiring e.postles, " It evils that are to oome, they, when they B&W is not for yon to ln1ow the times or the it, lived in pleasure ... so nleo now, e.nti- Eeesons, which the Father bath put in hie chriet, indeed, ehe.11 appear, after whom is own power" (Acts i. 7). These words do not the end, and the punishments at the end, exclude the Son's pe.rticipation in the know- and vengeance intolerable; but they that ledge, though he willed tliat it ehonld not are held by the intoxication of wickedness extend to his human nature. With this and [comp. Wisd. iv. 12) she.ll not so much ns 1mch-like texts in view, how futile, pre- perceive the dreadful nature of the things- sumptuous, and indeed profe.ne, it is to that a.re on the point of being done. Where- attempt to settle the exact elate e.nd hour fore also Paul eaith, • e.s travail upon • when the present age shall end I woman 'With child' [l These. v. 3], even so Ver. 37.-Aa the days of Noe were. In ■hall those fearful and incurable evils come citing this example, the Lord bes special upon them" (Chrysostom, • Hom.,' in loo.). reference to the fa.et that the warning then Morison. considers that Christ is not blam- given we.s not heeded (Gen. vi 3). If, e.s ing the antediluvian&, but simply referring seems probable, the e.ntedilnvians bad more to the fact that up to the last moment they t.lian a century's warning of the coming were ignorant of the impending catastrophe. flood, it can be.rdly be only the enddenness But this seems inadequate. . of the calamity to which Christ would point Ver. 40.-The Lord gives two examples. (I Pel iii. 20). He has nsed the illustra- of the suddenness of his advent, and its tion elsewhere (Luke xvii. 26, 27), where effect in private life. Shall two be in the also the destrnction of Sodom is adduced field. They shall be working together at ae e. type of the last day. Bo shall e.llo. their ordinary agricultural occupations, with The parousie. of Christ shall fall on e. world nothing ontwardly to distinguish one from incredulous and heedleee. the other, good and bad being mingled to- Ver. 38.-They were eating, etc. The gether. The one shall be taken (..-a.pa.J,.ciµ.- Lord describes the reckless way in which /3&vETa.i, is taken, the present implying men went on their usual course, pursued certainty), and the other left (u,/Jl.-rci,, is left). their pleasures and avocations, with the Christ speaks e.s though he B&W the scene- doom hanging over tliem, in spite of the before him. The " taking" implies separa- warning given. The word for " ea.ting" tion from companions, as eh. xvii. 1 ; xviii. ( ,,-ptfryorrrn) implies the idea of gnawing food 16, etc. This is the work of the angels greedily like an animal, hence eating glut- (ver. 81). There is some doubt u to the tonously. They had lei:,rned to <lrin.k to destiny of the two clusee named. Jue the exceee long before Lot's time (Gell. ix. 20, good " taken " and the evil " left " ? or are 21). The periphrastic form of expression, the evil •• taken '' and the good "left " ? ;\o-civ ,,-ptfryo,,.,-n . . . ,rlvo,,.,-n, denotes not e. Some suppose that the terms allude to the single act, bnt he.bitude. Until the day. sudden approach ofe. hostile army by which Though they had watched Noah building 11ome a.re taken prisoners and others allowed the e.rk, e.nd heard him preach righteousneee to escape; or, since in the parable the tare, for many e. year, they took no heed. It are first gathered for the burning, those must be observed tLe.t Christ here confirms taken must be the wieked, tllose left are for the historice.l e.ccure.cy of thi.8 episode in storing in the everlasting gamer. On the Genesis. other hand, many commentators understand Ver. 39.-Xn.ew not. They would not the verbs in e. sense opposite to that men- comprehend the signs of the coming judg- tioned above. .As (ver. 31) the angels a.re ment, or, at any rate, refused to profit by sent forth to gather the elect, the "taken '' them, preferring their own carnal pleasures are of this class, who are caught away te to the care of their souls and the amend- meet the Lord and his saints (1 Thess. iv. ment of their lives. The Lord assures us 17; John xiv. S), while the_ others are le~ that similar recklessness o.nd unbelief will for judgment and reprobation (2 These. • be found e.t bis coming. Doubtless anguish 7-9). Bengel, continuing the reference~ and fear will fill many bee.rte, but the gene- the Flood writes, " .Asmmitur in tutelalli ral fetling will be incredulity, e.nd e. false (ver. 31), ;t Noachus own do~o sua; einftu, security which refuses to take warning. in periculis quicquid obveniat, ut bonunee 8acller compares it tc, Belsbazzar's fea~t at in cliluvio." 'The latter interpretation of the the very momen.t of danger, e.n.d the A1he- two seems to be the conect one. At any rate, cm. xuv. 1-51.] TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDINO TO ST. MA'ITIIEW. 443