CRITICAL NOTES
Luke 12:13. One of the company.—Rather, “one out of the multitude” (R.V.). Perhaps the mention of magistrates and powers suggested to him Christ’s acting as a judge and giving a decision in his favour. Divide the inheritance.—See Deuteronomy 21:15-17. Whether the claim were just or not cannot be inferred from the narrative.
Luke 12:14. Man.—Apparently in reproof. Cf. Romans 2:1; Romans 9:20. A judge or a divider.—The one may mean an ordinary judge, the other an arbitrator specially chosen to decide conflicting claims. There is no doubt an allusion to Exodus 2:14.
Luke 12:15. Beware of covetousness.—A better reading and translation is: “keep yourselves from all covetousness” (R.V.), i.e., from every kind: the unlawful desire, the selfish enjoyment, of earthly goods. For a man’s life, etc.—The passage is a peculiar one, and might be rendered, “for not because one has abundance does his life therefore depend on the things which he hath.” “The meaning is, that abundance is not a necessary condition of existence: a man lives on what he possesses; all that is needed is a mere sufficiency” (Speaker’s Commentary).
Luke 12:16. The ground, etc.—This is not a case of riches acquired in any unlawful manner, but of riches derived from industrious labours and the bounty of heaven. Mere multiplication of his wealth, and selfish enjoyment of it, take up all his thoughts. My fruits.—Notice also in Luke 12:18 “my barns,” “my fruits,” “my goods,” and in Luke 12:19 “my soul”; as though this last were a possession of which he was equally sure.
Luke 12:18. All my fruits.—“Not a word of the poor” (Bengel). The word in the original is a different one from that in Luke 12:17, and may be rendered “my produce” or “my corn” (R.V.).
Luke 12:19. Take thine ease.—The gathering together of his wealth, and his schemes for hoarding it (Luke 12:17), had disquieted him; he would now make his wealth the basis of rest and enjoyment. In the original there are simply four words, four verbs in the imperative, for the second half of this verse. The conciseness of style gives additional vividness to the picture.
Luke 12:20. Thou fool.—Lit. “senseless”—wise though he was in worldly wisdom and in management of his property (Luke 12:18). This night.—As contrasted with “many years.” Shall be required of thee.—As contrasted with “I will say to my soul.” Lit., “they require thy soul; i.e., either the angels of God as ministers of death, or, it may be, robbers who deprive him of life and carry off his wealth. No great stress need be laid on this, as the “they” is not emphatic: the verb is impersonal. Whose shall those things be?—“Not that it matters to him into whose hands they pass: it is only an emphatic way of saying that they will not be his” (Bloomfield).
Luke 12:21. For himself.—I.e., for himself only. Rich toward God.—Elsewhere described as “laying up treasures in heaven,” by almsgiving and benevolence. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord” (Proverbs 19:17).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Luke 12:13-21
The Rich Fool.—Christ’s unusually stern and cold answer disclaims a commission, either from God or man, to decide squabbles about property, or to put such decisions in force. He lays down principles and supplies motives which dominate and purify the sphere of conduct connected with wealth; but He will not narrow Himself into a mere arbitrator of family feuds. If the man and his brother would lay to heart His next words, the feud would arbitrate itself. It is for others to trim the branches; he proceeds to dig up the root. The request is made the occasion of the general warning against covetousness—against all forms of undue desire after, and delight in, worldly good. Mark the only reason here assigned for the warning (Luke 12:15). “Life” simply means physical life, and the one reason our Lord gives for His warning is that worldly goods cannot keep alive. The abundance of the things which he possesseth can do much for a man; but one thing they cannot do, on which all the rest of their power depends—they cannot keep the breath in him, and, if it is out, they are of no more use. “Threadbare morality,” it may be said—“scarcely worth coming from heaven to tell us;” but Jesus did not disdain to repeat familiar truths, and no commonplaces of morals are too threadbare to be reiterated, until they are practised. There are but two stages in the parable:
I. What the foreseeing rich man said to himself; and
(II.) What God said to the blind rich man. There is something very grim and terrible in the juxtaposition of these two elements of the picture, enhanced, as it is, by the long-drawn-out statement of the man’s projects, and the brevity of the Divine word which smites them to dust.
I. What the foreseeing rich man said to himself.—He has made his money honestly in the innocent occupation of a farmer. God’s sun has shone on the fields of the unthankful, and his abundant harvest—what has it done for him? It has only added to his cares. He has no gratitude and no enjoyment yet. How clear and deep an insight Jesus had into the misery of wealth when He made the first effect of prosperity on this man to be reasoning within himself and perplexity as to what he was to do! How many rich men cannot sleep for wondering how they are to invest their money! This man is provident and enterprising. He sees quickly and clearly, and makes up his mind promptly to face the necessary expenditure entailed by prosperity. He has many of the virtues which commercial communities adore. Perhaps if the farmer had looked about him he could have found some empty barns not far off and some bare cupboards that would have taken the surplus and saved the new buildings. But that does not occur to him. “All my corn and my goods” are to be housed as “mine.” Looked at from the world’s point of view, he is a model man of business. He adds to all his other claims on the world’s esteem, that he is just about to retire, on a well-earned competence, to enjoy well-deserved leisure. His ideal of enjoyment is somewhat low. But how unconsciously he acknowledges that wealth has hitherto failed to bring peace! “Take thine ease” confesses that there has been no ease yet in his life, and unless he has really “many years” to live, there will have been none. His case is that of many prosperous men nowadays, who have no tastes but the coarsest, and who, when they go out of business, are miserable. They cannot eat and drink all day, and they have killed so much in themselves, by their course of life, that they care nothing for books, or thought, or nature, or God, and so live empty lives, and try to fancy they like it.
II. What God said to the blind rich man.—How awfully “God said unto him” breaks the thin tissue of the man’s dreams! The important points, in brief speech, are the Divine designation of every such life as folly, the swift snatching away of the soul, and the unanswerable question as to the ownership of the wealth. God addresses men in their true characters. When He does, the man knows himself for what he is, and others know him. The end of every self-deceiving life will tear down the veils, and the conscience will echo the Divine voice, and feel, “I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.” All lives greedily gripping to earthly good, and making it the be-all and end-all, are folly, and so is the presumption that reckons on many years. The soul which he had called “my soul” is demanded from him. He called it his, but he cannot keep it. A good man, dying, commits his soul into the Father’s hands, but this “fool” would fain cling to life, and has reluctantly to surrender it to the stern voice which demands and will not be put off. The grim reality of death, set by the side of the shattered projects of self-indulgent life, shows what a fool he is. And the last touch which perfects the picture of his folly is the question which he cannot answer, “Whose shall they be?” and the bitter irony of “thou hast prepared.” What foresight, which did not foresee the possibility of leaving them! What preparation, which got the things ready for a moment which never came! The parable is finally pointed to a specific application. “So is he” refers both to the folly and the fate of the man. The same absurdity is committed and the same end is certain, though not always with the same startling suddenness and completeness. Come how it may, the separation of the worldly soul from all its “goods” is sure to come, and “he that getteth riches,” or sets his heart on them, “shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.” The sin and folly lie, not only in amassing, but in doing so for self; and the only way to escape the snares of worldly wealth is to be “rich toward God.” “Toward God” is the antithesis to “for himself,” and the whole clause describes the only wise use of earthly good as being its consecration to the service of God.—Maclaren.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luke 12:13-21
Luke 12:13-21. The Rich Fool.—“Man does not live by bread alone.” Christ tells the history of a man who forgot that—
1. His history is a parable; but how real! and how often has it applied! In the Bible alone we have Balaam, Achan, Nabal, Gehazi, Judas, Ananias, These men were fools, utterly being overwhelmed in their covetousness.
2. But, again, to how many does it apply—to how few does it not apply, though in a less overwhelming manner, in our daily life! The very phrases that are current in men’s mouths testify to this. “What is he worth?” they say.
3. “Every good gift cometh down from above.” To learn that, and never forget it, is the way to rise above covetousness. This rich fool said, “my fruits” and “my barns,” and “my soul.” And so it came to pass that there was no way by which God could teach him that none of it was his, except the one way, that last and terrible way—by taking away his life. Paul said to the Corinthians, “All things are yours,” and he named “the world” and “life” among them. But then he added, “Ye are Christ’s.”—Hastings.
I. The Saviour’s refusal to interfere.—
1. He implied that it was not His part to interfere.
2. It was implied that His kingdom was one founded on spiritual disposition, not one of outward law and jurisprudence.
3. He refused to be the friend of one, because He was the friend of both.
II. The source to which He traced this appeal for a division.—Covetousness.
III. He proceeds to give the true remedy for covetousness.—“A man’s life,” etc.; a true consolation and compensation for the oppressed and the defrauded.—Robertson.
Luke 12:13. A Type of the Wayside Hearer.—
1. This man who interrupted Christ while preaching on this occasion had just heard Him utter the words, “Magistrates and powers,” and these suggested to him the topics on which his thoughts were habitually fixed—his dispute with his brother about their patrimony.
2. And so it happened to him according to the parable of the sower. The truth he had heard did not get into his mind, hardened as it was, like a beaten path, by the constant passage through it of current thoughts about money; it was very soon forgotten altogether, caught away by the god of this world, who ruled over him through his covetous disposition.—Bruce.
Misplaced Discontent.—Men misplace their discontent. They are very well satisfied with what they are; they are only dissatisfied with what they have: whereas the very reverse ought generally to take place; and the only desire which we ought to set no bounds to is that of increasing in godliness.
Use of the Passing Incident.—This incident becomes a text for a sermon on covetousness. And thus the Holy Spirit teaches us to consider every event of our lives as an occasion for applying to ourselves the words of Christ. He instructs us to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the holy gospel in such a manner that we may be able to bring its precepts to bear on the principal occurrences, public and private, of our own lives and of the world’s history.—Wordsworth.
Luke 12:14. “Who made Me a judge?”—Reasons why Christ refused to interfere—
I. His interference would have encouraged the delusion that the Messiah would be an earthly ruler.
II. He wished to draw a distinction between the kingdoms of this world and the government of His Church.
III. Because he saw that this man was neglecting graver matters than the inheritance which he wished to be shared with him.
A Higher Office than Arbitrator of Property.—With great propriety He declines interference with matters of this world who came not down on their account; nor does He, who was Judge of quick and dead, to whom belonged the final disposal of the souls of men, condescend to be an arbitrator in men’s contentions about their property.—St. Ambrose.
The Error of Moses not Repeated.—Christ will not repeat the error of Moses (Exodus 2:14), and thrust Himself into matters that do not concern Him. His work was from the inward to the outward, and so He kept within the limits of that moral and spiritual world from which alone an effectual renovation of the outer life of man could proceed.—Trench.
A Lesson to All Religious Teachers.
I. Their influence in the external relations of life is great, but only when it is indirectly exercised.
II. It is broken when they interfere directly with secular and political matters.—When ministers of religion keep within their proper sphere, all parties look up to them, and they are often the means of mollifying the bitterest feelings and reconciling the most conflicting interests.—Brown.
Luke 12:15. Covetousness.
I. This is one of the red flags our Lord hung out which most people nowadays do not seem much to regard.—Christ said a great deal about the danger of riches; but not many persons are afraid of riches. Covetousness is not practically considered a sin in these times. A man may break the tenth commandment, and be only regarded as enterprising. The Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil; but every man who quotes the saying puts a terrific emphasis on the word “love,” explaining that it is not money, but the love of it, that is such a terrific root.
II. To look about one, one would think that a man’s life did consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.—Men think they become great just in proportion as they gather wealth. So it seems, too; for the world measures men by their bank account. Yet there never was a more fatal error. A man is really measured by what he is, and not by what He HAS. You may find a shrivelled soul in the midst of a great fortune, and a grand, noble soul in the barest poverty.
III. The chief thing is to gather into our life all the truly great and noble things of character.—Here are two texts which settle the question: “Whatsoever things are true, honest, … think on these things”; “Add to your faith virtue,” etc.”—Miller.
The Fool’s Fourfold Mistake.
I. As to the true gauge of the worth of life.—He valued his days by the money he could make in them. Men like him sell their soul for money—abandon heart culture, the amenities of life, the choice delights of home life, for money. Now, worth means, not wealth, but quality of character, purity, sweetnees, nobility, truth. If a millionaire is of worthless character, he dies a pauper.
II. As to the true use of his superfluity.—He had more than he needed. This made him think of building bigger barns. It is well to have an overplus, but to what use are we to put it? To make provision for sickness, old age, death? Yes, and after that is done to be a trustee for the orphan, the widow, the poor.
III. As to the true way of being merry.—This man talks in a strange way to his soul. What does his soul say in response? “I am ill at ease. I cannot be merry. I cannot eat gold or corn.” It is a profound mistake that one can be made happier by a bigger house, or a “place in the country.” More likely to be at “ease” with a daily wage than as an anxious, speculating business man. “Ease!” Yes! get it from a clean conscience and a pure heart. Money, rank, and power, cannot give it.
IV. As to the tenure of his life.—He thought of “many years.” He had only one day left. He had a good title for earth, but no lease, and he had no title for heaven. The soul that night crept out from it all—all its wealth—a poor beggar, into God’s presence. How full of warning is the record of this man’s mistakes!—F. B. Meyer.
A Warning Against Avarice.—So far as the request had to do with secular matters Christ refused to accede to it; but so far as it revealed a faulty moral condition it entered within the Saviour’s province to deal with it. Though not a judge of civil questions, He was a Redeemer from sin—from avarice no less than from hypocrisy. Nor are his followers in slight need of the warning He gives: for avarice is a sin which may attack those who have triumphed over lusts of the flesh, and who are in many other respects exemplary in spirit and life.
“Covetousness.” “All covetousness” (R.V.); both
(1) that which leads a man to desire the possessions which rightly belong to another, and
(2) that which sets an exaggerated value upon earthly goods. Whether the petitioner were in the right or the wrong, he was evidently in danger of one form or other of this sin.
“A Man’s Life.”—There is a contrast here between the earthly natural life and the true life—between his “living” and his “life”: the one is sustained by what he has, the other depends upon what he is. Possession of worldly goods may
(1) for a time secure a measure of ease and comfort, but
(2) it may overlay, hinder, and strangle the higher nature.
Money a Test of Character.—The philosophy which affects to teach us a contempt of money does not run very deep; for, indeed, it is clear that there are few things in the world of greater importance. And so manifold are the bearings of money upon the lives and characters of mankind, that an insight which should search out the life of a man in his pecuniary relations would penetrate into almost every cranny of his nature. He who knows, like St. Paul, both how to spare and how to abound, has a great knowledge; for if we take account of all the virtues with which money is mixed up—honesty, justice, generosity, charity, frugality, forethought, self-sacrifice—and of their correlative vices—it is a knowledge which goes near to cover the length and breadth of humanity: and a right measure of manner in getting, saving, spending, giving, taking, lending, borrowing, and bequeathing, would almost argue a perfect man.—H. Taylor.
Possessions and Life.—Not from the possession of many goods, but from the will of God, who lengthens or shortens the thread of life, does it depend whether one remains long and quietly here in life or not. One may be preserved in life without possessing goods, and also remain in the possession of goods and unexpectedly lose life.—Van Oosterzee.
Luke 12:16-21. This Parable Teaches—
I. That God maketh His sun to shine and His rain to fall on the just and on the unjust.
II. That the increase of riches increaseth care.
III. That worldly men’s possessions are their “good things”—such they esteem them, and such is their whole portion from God.
IV. Great estates and enjoyments of this life have a very enticing quality in them:
1. They make us loth to die, and willing to think we shall live many years.
2. They lull the soul to sleep.
3. They entice us to sinful mirth and luxury.
V. He that hath most may have his soul taken from him in a night.
VI. A man is no longer owner of the goods of this life than he can keep an earthly possession of them.
VII. When he dies he knoweth not where these things shall be.
VIII. That it is the greatest folly imaginable to spend all one’s time and strength in getting and laying up treasure upon earth, and in the meantime neglecting to be rich towards God.—Pool.
Luke 12:16. “A parable.”—To teach
(1) how short and transitory life is;
(2) that riches are of no avail for prolonging it; and
(3) that the great duty of all, both rich and poor, is to be rich toward God.
A Fault often Condemned in the New Testament.—There are more parables, I believe, in the New Testament against taking no thought about heavenly things, and taking too much thought about earthly things, than against any other fault whatsoever.—Hare.
“The Ground,” etc.—Christ selects the most innocent method of acquiring riches, that which most obviously tended to lead the mind constantly to thankful acknowledgment of God, and thus makes this wretched harvest-joy all the more frightful and all the more impressive a warning to every man.—Stier.
“A Certain Rich Man.”—The character here drawn is exactly that of a prudent worldly man, who rises from inferior circumstances to great affluence by assiduous industry and good management, and then retires from business, to spend the latter part of his life according to his own inclinations. His is the sort of life which is often held up as a model to young men. He figures here as a warning. All who desire to be successful in business, as he was, should keep in mind the words of the Psalmist: “He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.”
Luke 12:17-20. The Miseries of the Worldly Rich Man:—
I. Discontent.
II. Anxieties and cares.
III. False hope.
IV. The terror of losing all his goods.
Luke 12:17-19. The Worldly Character.—
1. Activity in promoting his own temporal interest.
2. Selfish love of ease and pleasure. The “soul” which he addresses is the seat of the emotions and of the power of enjoyment—not the spiritual element in man.
Luke 12:17. “What shall I do?”—Not what should I do? Scarcely any other words could more vividly depict his utter and unconscious selfishness. That all he has is to be secured for himself and for his own exclusive benefit is assumed as a matter of course—the only difficulty is as to the precise method of doing this.
“I have no room.”—Thou hast barns—the bosoms of the needy, the houses of the widows, the mouths of orphans and of infants.—St. Ambrose.
“My fruits.”—Compare the speech of Nabal (1 Samuel 25:11), who says, “Shall I take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers?” And on the very next day his heart died within him, and he became as a stone; and in ten days after he died. Contrast the words in Deuteronomy 8:10-18, and David’s language, 1 Chronicles 29:12-14.
Luke 12:18. “This will I do.”—Man proposes.
I. How boastful!—He speaks of his barns and fruits as though he, and he only, had any share in producing them, any right of ownership in them.
II. How shortsighted!—He speaks of the “many years” as a matter of certainty, when he must have known the uncertainty of life.
III. How selfish!—His aims are all selfish. There is no provision made for others. His life is entirely self-centred.
IV. How unworthy!—His idea of life is a low one. Indolent ease, eating, drinking, and merrymaking. Pity for the sorrows of others; charity for the aged and poor; provision for those who had helped to make him rich;—all these are forgotten.—W. Taylor.
Luke 12:19. “I will say to my soul.”—What folly! Had thy soul been a sty, what else couldst thou have promised to it? Art thou so bestial, so ignorant of the soul’s goods, that thou pledgest it the foods of the flesh? And dost thou convey to thy soul the things which the draught receiveth?—St. Basil.
“Thou hast many goods.”—The devil does not now endeavour to deceive us by saying, “Ye shall not surely die.” He knows that so notorious a cheat would never pass upon us; but yet for fear, lest we should undervalue the allurements of the world, he whispers in our ears, “Ye shall not die so soon.” And “Although thou hast not all that thou canst wish for, thou hast many goods”; and “Though thou canst not enjoy them always, yet they are laid up for many years”; and what hast thou to do but “take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry,” as if thou wert to live for ever? Behold the best that we can make of the most happy state we hope for here.
Little Satisfaction Yielded by Wealth.—He unconsciously confesses how little satisfaction his wealth has brought him; he looks for rest, but it is only in the distant future, when the intended work shall have been completed, that he can hope to obtain it.
This Parable found in Germ in Ecclesiasticus.—Cf. Sir. 11:17-19: “The gift of the Lord remaineth with the godly, and His favour bringeth prosperity for ever. There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching, and this is the portion of his reward: whereas he saith, I have found rest, and now will eat continually of my goods; and yet he knoweth not what time will come upon him, and that he must leave those things to others, and die.”
Luke 12:20. “Thou fool.”—Why is this man called a fool?
I. Because he deemed a life of secure and abundant earthly enjoyment the summit of human felicity.
II. Because, having acquired the means of realising this, through prosperity in his calling, he flattered himself that he had a long lease of such enjoyment, and nothing to do but to give himself up to it. Nothing else is laid to his charge.—Brown.
Loss.—He comes before the judge with a lost name, for God calls him “Thou fool”; with a lost soul, for it is taken away from him by force; with a lost world, for it he has to leave behind him; and with a lost heaven, for in heaven he has laid up no treasure.
Contrasts.—Note the contrasts:
1. “Thou fool,” though he has manifested worldly prudence.
2. “This night,” as opposed to “many years.”
3. The “soul” in the one case, at its ease, eating, drinking, and making merry; in the other, demanded, rendered up, judged.
Vain Preparation.—“Prepared”—“made ready;” “but not for thyself.”
Fourfold Folly.—His folly is fourfold:
1. He forgets God, the giver of his wealth.
2. He appropriates all he receives for himself.
3. He counts these things the food of his soul.
4. He does not think of the daily possibility of death.
Moderation.—A wise man will desire no more than what he can get justly, use soberly, distribute cheerfully, and leave contentedly.—Bacon.
Riches Without Godliness.—The gloom of barrenness has besieged your mind; and while the light of truth hath departed thence, the deep and profound darkness of avarice has blinded your carnal heart. You are the captive and slave of your money; you keep your money, which, when kept, does not keep you; you heap up a patrimony which burdens you with its weight; and you do not remember what God answered to the rich man, who boasted, with a foolish exultation, of the abundance of his exuberant harvest. Why do you watch in loneliness over your riches? Why, for your punishment, do you heap up the burden of your patrimony, that, in proportion as you are rich in this world, you may become poor to God?—Cyprian.
“Shall be required.”—From the righteous his soul is not required, but he commits it to God and the Father of spirits, pleased and rejoicing, nor finds it hard to lay it down, for the body lies upon it as a light burden. But the sinner who has enfleshed his soul, and embodied it, and made it earthy, has prepared to render its divulsion from the body most hard; wherefore it is said to be required of him, as a disobedient debtor that is delivered to pitiless exactors.—Theophylact.
The Parable brings vividly before us Four Considerations:—
I. The embarrassment which wealth, and especially a sudden accession of wealth, may bring to a man who is not under the guidance of high and true principles.
II. Here is an example of the love of property, as such, and apart from anything that can be done with it.
III. There is that in the human soul, even when most forgetful of its true destiny, which refuses to take pleasure for ever in the mere handling money or any sort of matter, as a thing to be rejoiced in for its own sake.
IV. The whole scheme of definite enjoyment may collapse: no man has a right to presume upon the future.—Liddon.
Luke 12:21. False and True Riches.—The contrast between the false and the true riches is implied in the two phrases, “to lay up treasure” and “to be rich.”
I. The one is to hoard up laboriously things which are outside one’s self.
II. The other is an actual condition of wealth and happiness.
Rich Towards God.—There is a contrast between “laying up treasure for oneself” and being “rich towards God.” God cannot be enriched or impoverished. That man is rich toward God who lays up treasure in heaven, and so he is rich indeed (cf. 1 Timothy 6:17). By being rich towards God he becomes rich for ever.
“He who is rich for himself, laying up treasures for himself, is by so much robbing his real inward life, his life in and toward God, of its resources; he is laying up store for, providing for, the flesh; but the spirit, that which God looketh into and searcheth, is stripped of all its riches” (Alford).
The evil is not in the treasure, nor in laying up treasure, but in laying up treasure for oneself. A case like this, where the sinner is respectable, honest, and prosperous, shows the true nature of sin—it is a devotion to self, not to God; and laying up solely for self is, therefore, a sin, according to the judgment of Christ.
Change the Place of Riches.—God desires not that thou shouldst lose thy riches, but that thou shouldst change their place. He has given thee a counsel, which do thou understand. Suppose a friend should enter thy house, and should find that thou hadst lodged thy fruits on a damp floor, and he, knowing by chance the tendency of those fruits to spoil, whereof thou wert ignorant, should give thee counsel of this sort, saying, “Brother, thou losest the things which with great labour thou hast gathered; thou hast placed them in a damp place; in a few days they will corrupt.”—“And what, brother, shall I do?”—“Raise them to a higher room”—thou wouldst listen to thy brother, suggesting that thou shouldst raise thy fruits from a lower to a higher floor; and thou wilt not listen to Christ, advising that thou raise thy treasure from earth to heaven, where that will not, indeed, be restored to thee which thou layest up—for He bids thee lay up earth, that thou mayest receive heaven, lay up perishable things, that thou mayest receive eternal.—Augustine.