Luke 16:24,25 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

He cried, Father Abraham, have mercy on me Being in an agony of pain, by reason of the flames, and the anguish felt in his conscience, he cried to Abraham to take pity on him, his son, and send Lazarus to give him, if it were but the very least degree of relief, by dipping the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue, for his torment was intolerable. Abraham might have replied, Thou art not my son, I disown thee; what has become of thy purple and fine linen, thy perfumes, thy feastings, thy dancings? Where are thy delicious wines, now that thou art so earnestly begging a drop of water to cool thy tongue? Instead of thy stately palace, thou art shut up in hell; instead of pleasure, thou art filled with pain; instead of music and mirth, nothing is heard but wailing and gnashing of teeth. No: such speeches, however just, would not have been suitable to the humanity of blessed Abraham; for which reason that good patriarch did not so much as put this wicked man in mind of his ill-spent life; only, being to justify God for having made so sudden and so remarkable a change in his state, he called him his son, and spake of his past debauched way of living in the softest manner possible, showing us the sweet disposition of the blessed in heaven. It cannot be denied, that there is one precedent here in Scripture, of praying to a departed saint: but who is he that prays? and with what success? Will any one who considers this be inclined to imitate him? And Abraham said, Son That is, according to the flesh; remember, &c. Is it not worthy of observation, that Abraham will not revile, even a damned soul? And shall living men revile one another? That thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things He bade him consider, that in his lifetime he chose and accepted of worldly things, as his good, his happiness, despising heaven, and valuing, and seeking nothing but the riches, pleasures, and honours of earth. And can any be at a loss then to know why he was in torments? This damnable idolatry, had there been nothing else, was enough to sink him to the nethermost hell. But Abraham further intimates to him, that having enjoyed the good things of this world in the greatest perfection, he could not think it hard if, by the sentence of God, in the open violation of whose laws he had lived, especially of the great law enjoining sincere and fervent love to God and man, he was deprived of that heaven, and of those spiritual and eternal blessings, which he had always despised. And likewise Lazarus evil things He reminded him that Lazarus, on the other hand, had borne the miseries of life with patience, had trusted in God, and looked forward to a better state: but now he is comforted His afflictions are all brought to an end, and he is refreshed with eternal joys, which know neither hunger, nor cold, nor pain. He who had no house in which to hide his head, is now a free citizen, and blessed inhabitant of heaven: immortal joys and everlasting love refresh his soul, who lately desired the crumbs from thy table. Glory is his splendid robe for ever, health and gladness attend him always, who was covered only with sores and ulcers upon earth; and he is delighted with the sweet society of God, of angels, and of all the saints, whom no man regarded upon earth, and whose sores the dogs licked, more compassionate than his fellow-creatures. And thou art tormented Instead of thy purple robe and fine linen, thou art invested with a robe of fiery flame: instead of sumptuous fare, art fed with bitter tears, and gnawed continually by a condemning conscience; instead of thy past elegancies and comforts, nothing but torment and anguish surrounds thee. Observe well, reader, it is not the merely being in a state of poverty and affliction on the one hand, or of wealth, affluence, and ease on the other, that causes this difference in the future conditions of men, that in itself saves or destroys their souls: but it is the right or wrong use of either state. When a man considers the good things of this life as his chief good; when his heart is taken up by them, and he is so intent on the gaining, the retaining, the increasing, or the enjoyment of them, as to neglect making his peace with God, and giving his heart to him in holy love, and his life in uniform obedience; or, when he makes his riches the instruments of pride, luxury, and uncharitableness; of impiety toward God, and inhumanity toward his fellow-creatures; then he so receives his good things here as to give up all right to the good things hereafter; and having been here comforted by the enjoyment of temporal goods, will hereafter be tormented by the suffering of eternal evils. “For,” as an able writer well observes, and as is intimated in the note on Luke 16:21, “our Lord's principal view in this discourse most evidently was, to warn men of the danger of that worldly- mindedness, neglect of religion, and devotedness to pleasure and profit, which is not so much any one vice, as it is the foundation and source of all vices. It is that which makes men regardless of futurity, and not to have God in all their thoughts. It is that deceitfulness of riches, ambition, and voluptuousness, and the care of things temporal, which stifle all sense of religion, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”