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the benefit of the Pharisees, to whom He was speaking when He delivered it. I believe the connecting link is to be found in the 9th verse, where Jesus said, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness,” and in the 14th verse, where it is said, "The Pharisees, who were covetous, heard all these things, and derided him." And I believe that our Lord's principal object was to rebuke the selfishness, worldliness, want of charity, and general forgetfulness of their responsibilities, of which the Pharisees were guilty, and to expose the fearful end to which their unbelief and neglect of their own Scriptures were rapidly bringing them.

[Clothed in purple.] Purple was a peculiarly rich and expensive dye, and clothes dyed with it were worn by none but the rich and noble. Lydia in the 16th chapter of Acts, is mentioned as a "seller of purple."

[Fared sumptuously.] The Greek word rendered "fared," is only translated so in this place in the New Testament. In other places the verb is rendered" to be merry,-make merry,-rejoice, -or be glad."

Let it be noted, that we are not told that the rich man was an open breaker of any one of the ten commandments. It is not said that he was an idolater, blasphemer, murderer, adulterer, or thief. But he was one who lived only for himself. This was the ruin of his soul.

20.-A certain beggar named Lazarus.] The Greek word rendered "beggar" does not necessarily mean what our English word implies, a mendicant. In thirty-one out of thirty-two other places where it is used in the New Testament, beside this parable, it is translated "poor."

We know nothing of this Lazarus, excepting that he was not the brother of Martha and Mary. Several of the fathers call attention to the fact that the beggar's name is given, but not the name of the rich man. It is thought to imply that the rich man's name was not in the book of life, while that of Lazarus was. Let us add to this, that to mention the name of the rich man in such a history as that before us, would have been most invidious, and most offensive to his relatives and friends. 21.-Desiring to be fed.] This does not imply that he was not fed, though he desired it. It rather signifies, as in the case of the prodigal son with the husks, (Luke xv. 16.) that he was "only too glad to have" the crumbs. That which fell from the rich man's table, as refuse, was food for Lazarus.

[The dogs came and licked...sores.] Some have thought that this is mentioned as an aggravation of Lazarus' misery, and that the dogs added to his sufferings. I cannot see this. To me it seems rather to imply that the dogs cared more for Lazarus than man did. It was an act of kindness.

22.-[Into Abraham's bosom.] This expression is most probably a proverbial one. It signifies the place of rest and safety to which all believing Jews were carried after death. Abraham was the father of the faithful, and the head of the whole Jewish family, and to be with him after death implied happiness. The expression, "to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God," is somewhat like it. (Matt. viii. 11.) 23. [In hell...in torments.] In interpreting the expressions of this verse, and several of those which follow, we must carefully remember that we are reading a parabolical narrative. Our Lord's language is adapted to our understandings. How a lost soul can be susceptible of bodily suffering before the resurrection of the body, we cannot explain. The whole subject of the sensations of a disembodied spirit is far too deep for us to dogmatize about it. Let it suffice us to believe that lost souls can suffer intensely before the resurrection, and that they are conscious of their own lost condition, and of the happier condition of those who are saved.

24-[Father Abraham, have mercy.] It is highly probable that this description of the rich man crying to Abraham to help him, was intended to rebuke the superstitious reverence of the Jews, and specially of the Pharisees, for Abraham. "Think not," says our Lord, in another place, "to say, We have Abraham to our father." (Matt. iii. 9.) He would have them learn from this parable that Abraham himself could do nothing for those who died in sin, and that connection with Abraham would save no one from hell.

[Lazarus,...water,...cool my tongue.] The fathers, and all commentators have justly dwelt here on the awful contrast between the state of the rich man before death and after death, and the complete change between his condition and that of Lazarus in another world.

[I am tormented in this flame.] Let that expression be noted. Few sayings in the Bible prove more strongly the reality of future punishment.

25.-[But Abraham said, Son.] In this, and the following verse, the dignity and solemnity of Abraham's language should specially be noted. On the one hand there is nothing about it of severity, harshness, or unkindness. On the other, there is nothing of affected pity or compassion.

[Remember.] This word should be noted. The recollection of former things will be one of the worst parts of hell.

[Thy good things.] This expression deserves notice. It is not merely "good things," in contradistinction to "evil things," which Lazarus received. It is "thy good things,"-"Things which thou didst consider good, and care for as thy only good,

to the utter neglect of thy soul, and its everlasting interests. Thou didst choose thy portion, and wast content with a mere earthly possession. Thou must now reap according as thou hast

sown.

26.-[A great gulf fixed, &c.] The language of this verse teaches plainly, if words have any meaning, that there is no hope of deliverance from hell for those who die in sin. Once in hell, men are in hell for ever. The doctrines of purgatory, or of a limited duration of punishment, are both incapable of reconciliation with this text.

27.-[Send him to my father's house.] It has been argued by some that the rich man's anxiety about his five brethren was a sign of improvement in him, and that his punishment had alalready purified his heart, and made him love his brethren, and that the notion of purgatory is consequently not without truth. Both these ideas appear to me destitute of foundation. That the rich man's state was hopeless is clear from the preceding verse. That he felt anything like true love, or spiritual affection for his five brethren is mere gratuitous assumption. It might easily be argued that his desire to have Lazarus sent to them arose from a selfish dread of their following him to the place of torment. Their company would doubtless add greatly to his misery. But it must not be forgotten that we are reading a parable, and that particular expressions in parables must not be stretched too far.

28.-[Testify.] The Greek word so rendered is a very strong and intensive one. It is the same that is used in Acts ii. 40; xviii. 5; xx. 21; 1 Tim. v. 21.

29.-[Moses and the prophets.] This expression doubtless means the writings of Moses and the prophets, and the instruction contained in them. It is a strong evidence of the sufficiency of Scripture for man's salvation. If the Old Testament alone was better than a dead man's testimony, how much better must the whole Bible be!

30.-[They will repent.] This is the reasoning of ignorant natural man. He knows neither the difficulty of repentance, nor the foolishness of expecting results from miraculous visions which have not been produced by the word.

31.-[Though one rose from the dead.] Let the striking fact be noted that after this a man named "Lazarus" did rise from the dead, yet the Jews remained unbelieving! Above all let it be remembered that Christ Himself rose from the dead, and yet the Jewish nation would not believe!

Baxter remarks on this verse,-"God will bless His own means. Affrighting men will not renew their natures, and kindle in them a love to God and holiness. How little should

we know whether one from the dead was a devil or a credible messenger? and whether he said true or false? Should he dwell with us as long as ministers, men would again despise and persecute him. Should he come but once, it would not equal the daily solicitations of God's ministers."

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Would not the rich man's guilty brethren accuse him of scandalizing and slandering the soul of their noble deceased brother, for telling them he was in hell,-and persecute him, if he was within their power?"

LUKE XVII. 1-4.

1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come but woe unto him, through whom they come !

2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

WE are taught for one thing in these verses, the great sinfulness of putting stumbling-blocks in the way of other men's souls. The Lord Jesus says, "Woe unto him through whom offences come! It were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little

When do men make others stumble? When do they cause "offences" to come? They do it, beyond doubt, whenever they persecute believers, or endeavour to deter them from serving Christ.—But this, unhappily, is not all. Professing Christians do it whenever they bring discredit on their religion by inconsistencies of temper, of word, or of deed. We do it whenever we make our Christianity unlovely in the eyes of the world, by conduct not in keeping with our profession. The world may not

understand the doctrines and principles of believers. But the world is very keen-sighted about their practice.

The sin against which our Lord warns us was the sin of David. When he had broken the seventh commandment, and taken the wife of Uriah to be his wife, the prophet Nathan said to him, "Thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." (2 Sam. xii. 14.) It was the sin which St. Paul charges on the Jews, when he says, "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you." (Rom. ii. 24.) It is the sin of which he frequently entreats Christians to beware:-"Give none offence, neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God." (1 Cor. x. 32.) The subject is a deeply searching one. The sin which our Lord brings before us is unhappily very common. The inconsistencies of professing Christians too often supply the men of the world with an excuse for neglecting religion altogether. An inconsistent believer, whether he knows it or not, is daily doing harm to souls. His life is a positive injury to the Gospel of Christ.

Let us often ask ourselves whether we are doing good or harm in the world. We cannot live to ourselves, if we are Christians. The eyes of many will always be upon us. Men will judge by what they see, far more than by what they hear. If they see the Christian contradicting by his practice what he professes to believe, they are justly stumbled and offended. For the world's sake, as well as for our own, let us labour to be eminently holy. Let us endeavour to make our religion beautiful in the eyes of men, and to adorn the doctrine of Christ in all things. Let us strive daily to lay aside every