The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 288

have their branches lopped till their body be felled; and will let go none of their goods, a~ if it pre..saged their speedy death; whe1:eas it doth not follow that _he tha~ puts oft h!s cl0:1k must present)Y: go to bed. On his death-bed he bequeaths his blessmg to nll his children. Nor reJ01ceth he so much to leave them great portions as honestly obtained. ~nlr: money well and ~w~ully gotte:1- is good and lawful money. .And if he leaves _his ~h1ldren young, ~e prmc1_pally nommates God to be their guardian; and, next to him, 1s ~reful to appomt provident overseers. The good child. He reverenceth the person of his parent, the old, poor, and froward. As his parent bore with him when a child, he bears with his parent if twice a child ; nor doth his diguity above him cance_~ his duty_ unto him. Wben _Sir Thomas ~ore was Lord Chancellor of England, a::id t;ir John his father one of the Judges of the King's Bench, he wouJd in Westminster Hall beg his blessing of him on his knees. He observes his lawful commands and practiseth his precepts with all obedience. I cannot, therefore, excuse St. Barbara' from 'tntiutiiulness, and occasioning her own death. The matter this: her futher, beina a f'3::,<"&D., commanded his workmen, building his house, to mnke two windows in a room": Barbara., knowing her father's pleasure, in his absence enjoined them to make three, that., seeing them, she might the better contemplate the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Methinks two windows might as well have raised her meditations, and the light arising from both would as properly have minded her of the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son. Her father, enniged at his return, thus came to the knowledge of her religion, and accused her to the magistrate, which cost her her life. Having }Jractised, then. himself, he euiails his parents' precepts on his posterity. Therefore such instructions are by Solomon (Prov. i. 9) compared to frontlets and chains (not to a suit of clothes, which serves but one, and quickly,wears out, or out of fashion), which have in them a real lasting worth, and are bequeathed as legacies to another age. The same counsels observed, are chains to grace, which, neglected, prove halters to strangle undutiful children. He is a stork to his parent, and feeds him in his old age. Not only if his futher bath been a pelican, but though he bath been an ostrich unto him, and neglected him in his youth. He confines him not a long way off to a short pension, forfeited if he comes in his presence, but shows piety at home, and learns as St. Paul saitb (1 Tim. v. 4) to requite his parent. .And yet the debt (I mean only the principal, not connting the interest) cannot fully be paid. And therefore he compounds with his father, to accept in good worth his ntmOIJt endeavour. Such a child God commonly re"'ards lrith long life in this world. If he chance to die young, yet he lives long that li,es well; and time misspent is not lived, bnt lost. Besides, God is better than his promise, if he takes him a long lease, and gives him a freehold of better value. As for disobedient children: if preserved from the gallows, they are reserved for the rack, to be tortured by their own posterity. One complained that never father had so undutiful a son as he had. 'Yes,' said his son, with less grace than truth, 'my grandfather had.' I conclude this subject with the example of a pagan's, which will shame most Christians. Pomponius Atticus, making the funeral oration at the death of his moth;r, did protest that, living with her three score and seven years, he was never reconciled to her, se n'Ul1UXf_'IJ,am matre in gratiam rediisse, because there never happened betwixt them the least jar which needed reconciliation."-D. T. Vers. 5-9.-Servants and their masters. "Servants," etc. There are two thoughts underlying these verses. 1. The ezistence of social distinctions amongst men. There are masters and servants, ruJers and subjects. 'l'hese distinctions are no accidental phases of society, they grow out of the constitution of ~hing~. Diversity in the tempera- ments, tastes capacities, and circUIDBtances of men give rise to masters and servants. 2. 'I'he one ,pirit which is to guvern men of all distinctions. 'l'he rich and the poor, the sovereign and his subject, the ~ter and the servant, are under an obliga~ion ~ be animat~ hy the same moral spmt, and controlled by the same moral conmderation. "All in all things should do the will of God from the heart." L TEE DUTY ov SERVANTS. The duty of servants, of course, is obedience. "Be obedie::it to them that are your masters." But the obedience is here cb~terizcd. 1. It is obedience in bodily maUers. "According to the flesh." Their service is limited to secular concerns thincrs that have reference to the material and temporal interests of their masters. They "':re to give their muscles, ~nd their limbs, 1md their contriving cu. '\'I, 1-24.] 'l'HE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 289