The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 481

HOMILETICS. Ve!'ll. 1-13.-17ie parabl.e of the ten uirgins. I. Tmi:v GO FORTH. 1. The kingdom of heaven. Here, as olsewhere, that kingdom is the;visible Church. But the present parable seems to relate to a pa.rt only of the kingdom, a portion of the Church. 'fhere may possibly be no spiritual significance in the word" virgins." Like the number ten, perhaps a common number at such times, it may belong merely to the structure, the imagery of the parable; young unmarried women were and are usue.lly attendants of the bride (comp. Ps. xlv. 14). But these virgins all alike took their lamps; all alike went forth to meet the Bridegroom; a.II too had oil in theirlamps, though notall had a store of oil in their vessels also. Then a.II were something more than nominal Christians ; all had, in some sense, come oat of the world, and· had gone to meet the Bridegroom. There are no hypocrites in the parable, no openly wicked and disobedient men. This consideration givf'~ it a very awful meaning; it is not enough to have been once a.wakened, there is need of constant persevering watchfulness. The parable embodies and enforces the lesson of the last chapter, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." The virgins all had lamps; the lamp seems to represent the outward Christian life of worship a.nd obedience which is seen by the eye of men. They all had oil in their lamps; the oil is the Holy Spirit of God. They all went forth to meet the Bridegroom. The Bridegroom, of course, is Christ; he had come from heaven to fetch home his bride the Church. Lange well remarks, in his com- mentary, ".As it respects the relations of the virgins to the bride, we must bear in mind the analogy of the marriage supper of the king's son a.nd his guests. The Church, in her aggregate a.nd ideal unity, is the bride; the members of the Church, as indivi- dually called, are guests; in their separation from the world, and expectation of Christ's coming, they are his virgins." The bride is not mentioned in this pare.ble. It describes not the Church 811 a whole, but its individual. members; not e.ll its members, but those only who he.ve been once a.wakened, who have at least begun to come after Christ, and have made some progress, more or leBB, in the way of godliness. In the visible Church the evil are ever mingled with the good, a.nd among those who seem to be good there are always some whose" goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away." So among these virgins who all went forth to meet the Bridegroom, there were :five wise, but the re_maining five were foolish. 2. The differences which ezist atmong its citizeM. All the virgins took their lamps; ell the lamps were burning as they went forth. Outwardly there was no observable difference among them ; but the foolish took no oil with them; the wise took oil in their vessels with their'lamps. It is not e;g_ough to have been "once enlightened;" we may not dare put our trust in the grace once given in holy baptism, or in what may seem to have been the change of repentance a.nd conversion. The foolish virgins went forth to meet the Bridegroom. They had their lamps; and the lamps were not empty or dark, they were burning, they had oil in them. Then even the foolish were using the means of grace, they had been made "partakers of the Holy Ghost" (Heb. vi. 4), they seemed to be living Christian lives, they had made some real progress. But they took no oil with them; they acted as if the lamps, once lighted, would burn on for ever; they had no store of oil for future use. They had "the washing of regeneration ; " they delighted in their past experience, and trusted in it as if they had ell that was needed for their spiritual life. They had not "the renewing of the Holy Ghost." Their lamps burned brightly for a time; a.11 seemed well, but they had not br~qgh"t· tb,eir, vessels,.fl.a~~s· of_ oil,, to supply their lamps. Perhaps the vessels were cumb,rous, heav1.-to carry; plain, too, not striking in appearance; they made no show like tlii_ li~ing !aiii p. These vi.J:gins were like the seed that was sown upon the rock.. They heard ,the W o~d, ,and at 9nce received it with joy, but they had no root.·, Tlley were wanting in perseverance, in watchfulness. They did not keep in their minda the thought that, though the Bride- groom might come at any moment, yet he might long delay; that there was need of daily preparation, of constant watchfulness, for his coming. The wise took oil in the~r veesels with their lamps. '!'hey knew that it was not se.fe to trust to the grace of their baptism, to a f11111h of excitement, to p&Bt experience, however precious ; they counted not themselves to have apprehended; they forgot what was behind, and ever reached forth unto those thin~ which were before; they BOught in persevering prayer aud de.il7 OH,nv.1-46.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 487