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fellowship or encouragem ent to expect from th e pious and devout, how caa we look among them for religion?— Saphir. v. 3. Sought to see Jesus. Notice th e four R ’s of th e sinner up a tree. (1) Resolution— sought to see Jesus. (2) Repentance— he came down. (3 ) Re ception— he received Him joyously: (4) R estitution— I restore.-^-Bennett. He was little of statu re. Zacchaeus is a typical ch aracter, a type of many who are w anting to see Christ bu t who are spiritually too sho rt (Rom. 3 :2 3 ). They are looking for sycomores to help them see.— Lovell. v. 4. H e ran . God always rewards us if He sees us eager for good.—Bel. Climbed up. He overcomes th a t false pride through which so many precious opportunities are lost.—Horn. Com. Curiosity was probably his only motive, though his determ ination not to be balked was overruled fo r more th a n he sought—-J., F. & B. In to a sycomore— or Egyptian fig—not to be confounded w ith the sycamine tree (1 7 :6 ) or with the sycamore. The sycomore is exceed ingly easy to climb.— F a rra r. v. 5. Jesu s saw him . He who knows how to find His own in the most un likely places, who had seen N athaniel und er th e fig tree, w ith sure and un err ing glance discerned Zacchaeus in the sycomore.— Butler. Make haste and come down. The very summons must have th rilled Zacchaeus’ soul. Was he to be selected among all th e men of Jericho as the host of Jesus? W hat grace th ere was in th e selecting of Zac chaeus.— Blaikie. F o r today. If Zac chaeus had not been a lert now, he would have failed of his only opportunity. This is always a memorable tim e in any man’s history, when through a book, a letter, a personal interview , a special providence, he is brought into contact w ith the sp iritual power which arrests his waywardness and changes th e whole cu rren t of his being.— Adams. I must abide a t th y house. The Lord accepted many invitations but this is th e only tim e He invited Himself,,—McNeill. Having come into the h eart, He p ro ceeds to come in to th e home, where His presence soon reveals all th a t is out of harmony w ith th e requirem ents of divine holiness,—-Holden. v. 6. H e m ade h aste and came down. Zacchaeus in th e sycomore tree was like ripe fru it which dropped into the Sav iou r’s lap a t His first and lightest touch. — T r e n c h . Received Him joyfully. Whence th is so sudden joy in th e cold
incident of this trium ph an t journey of the Saviour could have given Him deeper joy. He declared the despised publican to be a tru e son of Abraham because he had become ennobled by th a t renun ciation of sin which is the tru e te st of a genuine repentance. This saving search for the lost began in the garden of Eden. “Adam, where a rt th o u ?“ It is going on today. He still continues H is m inistry of seeking. Repentance and am endment go to gether. While th ere are some sins th a t repentance cannot undo, th e desire and effort to make th ing s rig h t as far as they can be made rig h t is always pres ent w ith th e tru ly rep en tan t soul. Re- .pentance is religion in its simplest term s. “Repentance unto life is a sav ing grace, whereby a sinner, out of a tru e sense of his sin, and apprehension of th e mercy of God in Christ, doth, w ith grief and hatred of his sin, tu rn from it unto God, and w ith full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience,” It is th e golden key which opens the sinner’s h ea rt to God’s forgiving mercy,* It is th e first step in the highway of holiness which leads up to the ‘city of God. v. 2. Zacchaeus, chief among th e publicans. He was a g ath erer of the Roman public imposts. The Roman publican paid a certain sum to th e gov ernm ent for the COMMENTS FROM privilege of col- MANY SOURCES lecting them and K eith L, Brooks then indemnified himself and appro priated what over-plus he cduld from the taxes he gathered. There was th e re fore evidently a tem ptation to over charge and to oppress.— Robertson. Pharisees and priests passed them by w ith contempt and disdain. People looked upon them as excluded from the religious life, as immersed in worldli ness and love of gain, w ithout con science or fear of God. Hence th e pub licans acquiesced in it and looked upon it as a fixed necessity th a t in th eir posi tion of life they could not fear God and keep His commandments. Having no
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