T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S 4:14, 16, and James In 2:7. Christians were charged with every infamy.— Farrar. v. 23. Your reward is great in heaven. A hint that they were not to expect much of a reward here in this earthly life.—Horn. Com. v. 24. ■Woe unto rich. Verses 24-26 are a section peculiar to St. Luke. No tice that these four woes are in all respects the antitheses of the four pre ceding beatitudes.—-Crit. Com. Not woe upon all who have riches, ,but those who “ieceive their consolation” in this world—who are occupied with their worldly possessions and forget the life to come.— Calvin. v. 25. Woe unto, you that are full. Those who possess all that the heart can desire and do not hunger and thirst after righteousness, illustrated in the fate of the rich man in Luke 16. Woe unto you that laugh now. That is, sense less, frivolous, ungodly mirth, rebuked as in Ecc. 2:2; 7:6; Prov. 14:13. On the other hand, the Christian is de scribed as “ sorrowful, yet always- re joicing” (2 Cor. 6:10), and receives ex hortations to maintain this spirit of holy gladness (Phil. 4 :4 ).—Lange. v. 26. When,all men speak well of you. Compare James 4:4: “ The friend ship of the world is enmity with God.” Universal praise from the world (Jn. 15:19) is a stigma for the disciples since it brings them into the suspicion of unfaithfulness or characterlessness and of the lust of pleasing men. False prophets can ever reckon upon loud applause,— Van Oosterzee. When, by propagating such doctrines as encourage men In their sins, ye can gain their ap plause. Thus in old times false proph ets accommodated their doctrines to the fashions of men and were better received than the true prophets of God. j —Butler. v. 27. ¡Love your enemies. The word here used generally denotes complac ency in the character of the one loved,
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as distinguished from personal affec tion. Here the sense in which it is em ployed is that of maintaining kindly feelings and conduct towards another in spite of his enmity.— Lange. Love as /God does, regardless of merit and of the reciprocity of love, loving because you would like to be like God, because God has first loved you.— Vaughan. v. 28. Pray for them. Luke records two great examples of obedience to this precept'—in the case of Christ (23:34) and of the martyr Stephen (Acts 7:60). —Willcock. We should keep in mind that these passages are addressed to Christ’s own followers. They can neither be understood nor practiced by others. —Hastings. Many imagine that the things here commanded are impossible. Christ never commands impossibilities. This kind of perfection was attained by David in the case of Saul, by Abraham, and by Stephen the martyr, and by' Paul.— Jerome. v. 29. Smite thee on the cheek. Our Lord’s own meek yet dignified bearing when smitten rudely on the cheek. (Jn. 18:22, 23), and not literally presenting the other, is the best comment on these words. It is the preparedness after one indignity, not to invite but to submit meekly to another without retaliation, which this strong language is meant to convey.—Jamieson. v. 30. Give to every man. Love should go out to all, not merely the friend and neighbor. That most bother- ; some of men, the borrower, should not receive the cold shoulder.—:Torrey. The command, “ Give,” as interpreted by the life of Him who uttered it, is ever to stand fast. Give that which will make the receiver truly richer. Often, in this sense, a seeming denial will be the most real giving, as, on the othet hand, there are gifts which are no gifts. He who gives these does not really give. While he seems to be keeping the letter of this, he is violating the spirit of all Christ’s commandments.— Trench,
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