26. He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

27. And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

28. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right ; this do, and thou shalt live.

When the Jews

These words at first surprise us. inquired of Peter and the rest of the apostles, (Acts ii. 37,)" Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter said unto them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." When "the keeper of the prison at Philippi (Acts xvi. 27, &c.) fell down before Paul and Silas, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." But our Lord here refers the lawyer to the commandments, and adds, This do, and thou shalt live.

A short consideration will reconcile the apparent difficulty.

What would be the reflection of a serious inquirer after salvation, when he was told by a teacher whom he revered, that if he loved the Lord his God with his whole soul, and served him with all his powers, and also loved his neighbour as himself, doing unto all men as he would that they should do unto him, he should inherit eternal life? Certainly, one who had so conducted himself, would live in the sight and favour of God: and, certainly, every one, under whatever dispensation he may be placed, and whatever he may be trusting to for acceptance,

must aim to keep these first and great commandments. But would not one who had been striving to follow such a course of life, when he heard the answer, This do, and thou shalt live,-would he not ask, "Who then can be saved? How shall man, "the imagination of whose heart is evil continually," surrounded as he is by things of earth, and disposed to set his affections on them; how shall he obey this law, and love the Lord his God with all his heart, and soul, and strength, and mind? And who was ever kept so free from selfishness, as to consider his neighbour's wishes and interests as his own, and constantly to think, and speak of him, and act towards him, as he would himself desire to be dealt with, to be thought, or spoken of? When, therefore, our Lord replies, This do, and thou shalt live, what is it but to say that no man shall inherit eternal life?

3

Such, surely, would be the reflection of any serious mind on hearing these words. And had the lawyer reasoned thus, he might have been answered as the young ruler was, who did carry his inquiry further, "Come, follow me, and thou shalt inherit eternal life." True, the law which says, "Do this, and thou shat live," says also, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." But the words of the Lord Jesus are, Come, follow me; enrol yourself among my disciples, and learn how God has prepared a way in which his mercy and his justice may meet together, in which he may be "at the same time just, and the justifier of them that

3 Matt. xix. 21

4 See Galat. iii. 10-12.

believe in Jesus."

And since I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil the law; since all my disciples must be ruled by the law, though they do not look to the law for justification; follow me, and ye shall be taught of God himself to serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind; he shall put a new heart and a right spirit within you: for that which is impossible to man, in his own nature, becomes possible to him when his corrupt nature is renewed by the almighty grace of God.

Thus the law might have had its due effect. "For by the law is the knowledge of sin;" and this man, like St. Paul afterwards, might come to know how "the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe." But he did not come with the "honest and good heart, which, having heard the word, keeps it." He was not

really anxious about eternal life; he turned from the subject, and showed that there was nothing sincere in his inquiry.

29. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

Alas! how common is that state of mind! He was willing to justify himself. Every unconverted man is ready to justify himself, and is able to find some plausible reason why it should be no worse with him than others. But one who is touched by the grace of God, instead of justifying himself, habitually feels that if God were severe to mark what he has done amiss, he could not abide it; and his constant prayer is, "Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified."

LECTURE XXXVIII.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN.

LUKE X. 30-37.

We know how the Jewish teachers perverted the law of God, when to the command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour," they added the clause," and hate thine enemy." It was likely that such teachers would proceed to limit the term neighbour within very narrow bounds. They did so. To commit murder upon a foreigner was not a capital crime; nor did they think themselves bound to rescue him, if in danger of death. The irrelevant question by which the lawyer evaded the argument of our Lord, when, willing to justify himself, he asked, Who is my neighbour? gave an opportunity of inculcating that universal benevolence which is the glory of the Christian faith from which it springs.

30. And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34. And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring

in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him: and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37. And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Go, and learn, that every man, of every nation, to whom thou canst possibly do good, is intended of God when he commands, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The traveller whom the Samaritan assisted, was not his relation, his friend, or even his countryman. He was called to relieve him by no tie, natural or civil, except that he was a creature of God like himself, and in need. The priest and the Levite passed him by because he was a stranger, and left him to his own people; the Samaritan took pity on him: and Jesus says to every one of his disciples, Go, and do thou likewise.

He indeed has taught us this by example, as well as precept; for none of the human race can be further removed from us, than the whole race of mankind was alienated from God, when God so loved the world as to send his only Son for their salvation. In this, "God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." "Herein was love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." And hence the just and universal inference, "If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."