And all the people came early— St. Luke does not mean to say, that the people came and heard Jesus preach in the temple after this; for Jesus himself had declared, that he never was, to preach to them any more. Matthew 23:38-39. But, having described in what manner our Lord spent his time at this Passover, the evangelist adds, that his ministry sustained no damage by his leaving the city at night, because he did not fail to return every morning very early to the temple; thus exemplifying his precept of watching, as well as that of prayer, Luke 21:36.
Having already enlarged so much on the subject of the destruction of Jerusalem, I shall only subjoin in the way of Inference a few remarks on the grace of patience, drawn from Luke 21:19 of this chapter, making a few cursory observations on the other subject in my Reflections.
Inferences.—We learn from history, observation, and experience, that the life of man in the general is full of misery: all histories are little more than continual registers of the evils incident to humanity; and what we read of past times, we find repeated in the present. Yet, notwithstanding these concurrent advertisements, how apt are we still to promise ourselves a lasting felicity in the enjoyments of this world! And though the past life of the generality has been vexatious, and the present is perplexed with daily evils, how do they feed themselves with vain hopes in the remainder yet unseen.
The scriptures give a different view of things, teaching us that this life is a state of probation and exercise, wherein God leads us through many wants and difficulties, to humble, to rectify, and to improve us, through his grace. They promise us no outward calm, but inward serenity and peace of mind in the midst of the storm; not peace with the world, but successful war; not to escape evil, but overcome it; so enduring for a season, as thereby, through almighty grace, to fit ourselves for heaven, where only is perfect happiness.
The art of rightly enduring the evils of this life is very remarkably taught us by our Lord in the verse now under notice. In your patience, says he, possess ye your souls:—to possess is the common desire of mankind; but they do not rightly consider what those things are, the possession of which can make us happy. They look for happiness out of themselves, in the possessions of this world; but true happiness must arise from within,—from a rectified frame of mind; and the only rule to attain it, adjoined to prayer and faith, is that which our Lord prescribes.
We cannot think as we ought, or act in consequence as rational creatures, till our soul, that thinking faculty, be fully possessed by us,—till we have it, through grace, in our power, and use that power to the proper end; and this cannot be done, while passions disturb the mind, and put us, as it were, beside ourselves. Anger, for instance, or grief, when they are excessive, obstruct the use of reason; and the proper office of patience is to repress and hold them down, so that the soul may under the divine blessing be maintained in vigour to bear, and to extricate itself from the evils which invade it. As long as we can preserve an inward calm and composure, the cross accidents of life make but slight impressions upon us; but when we lose our temper, then they break in with violence, they over-bear the judgment, they captivate the will, and fill the soul with darkness and confusion. The soul may, in this respect, be compared to a water, which, whilst it stands serene, is within its own substance clear, transparent, and delightful; and from its surface, as from a polished mirror, reflects the images of all things that surround it, in their proper forms and just proportions: but, when it is ruffled with the wind, its clearness and brightness ceases; and though it should not be so much obscured as to lose all reflection, yet does the wrinkled surface, at best give false and mishapen forms, fallacious images, and monstrous representations of things.
Thus it is with the soul, whose inward tranquillity can only be preserved by patience. While that, through grace, is duly exercised, all is calm and serene; a man has the free use of his reason, and can hear and follow its dictates. But when the soul is ruffled through impatience, evil passions darken and obscure it; they dethrone reason, unhinge the mind, and discompose all its faculties.
Hence we may collect the force of that expression, Possess ye your souls; which to do under any notable provocation, is the proper act of patience through the Spirit of God,—a grace or virtue which prevents many evils, and mitigates all; which is found so necessary, in order to make life tolerable, that even those who have no religion, and reject many of the virtues, are forced to extol the excellence of this. They cannot but agree with Solomon, that the triumphs of patience are more estimable than those of valour; that the patient man is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city: nay, they must confess too, with him, the danger and misery of the contrary practice; who observes, that he who hath no rule over his own spirit, is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. These are acknowledged truths, even with bad men, who, though void of religious principles, which can alone produce a genuine patience, yet forge to themselves some spurious kinds of it, which may well be termed, the political and the stoical.
The political patience is much studied and practised by men of business. Wise as they are in their generation, they hold, as a secure maxim, that "good policy has no passions;" and therefore they heedfully suppress their own, and strive to excite those of others, that they may dexterously play them off to their own advantage. This is a cruel cunning, an antichristian self-denial, which will one day have its proper reward.
The stoical patience is chiefly in vogue with men of letters and speculation, who, confiding in the force of their own minds, endeavour to harden themselves against misfortune, and, by forcibly diverting their thoughts to other objects, may sometimes maintain a certain serenity of self-possession in the article of distress. But as this firmness of temper depends much upon constitution, and a flow of animal spirits, it will not be more permanent, though it is but a miserable and specious virtue at the best; and it is happy for such men that it does not endure long: for as all the dispensations of God tend to the good of his creatures, and misfortunes in particular are graciously sent to reclaim them to a sense of their duty, and of their dependance on him; to humble them under his almighty arm, and oblige them to have recourse to him for deliverance;—if these men could support themselves by their own philosophy, and deaden the sense of their sufferings, so as not to be affected by them, they would perhaps in every instance frustrate the merciful designs of the Creator, who never corrects his creatures but for their amendment: and, alas! how few are there of these who are thus wise after the flesh, who will be prevailed upon by afflictions or any other means, to stoop so low as to embrace the gospel of Christ!
Such are the spurious kinds of patience; they are void of religion, and therefore want the essence of true virtue. Not so the genuine patience, which is a pious submission to the will of God: her first lesson is, to see his hand in all our sufferings; and from that view she receives, not only consolation and support under the present evil, but also gradually engages us, through grace, to extirpate the cause of all evil, even the root of all inordinate passions.
All the passions are desires differently modified. If the desire be just in its nature, and reasonable in its degree, the passion, in whatever form it appears, will be equally just and reasonable; but all excess in the desire will be felt in the pardon which it produces; and therefore the patience assuaging passion is never a solitary virtue that acts alone, but must have with it some of that specific virtue, which answers to the original excess. When pride is the cause of anger, patience cannot calm that anger, if humility does not concur with it. It might be dangerous, if we could do it, to stop a symptom, while the disease remains in its full vigour; yet the symptom may be of great service in directing where to apply the remedy.
When therefore an ambitious man, for instance, is perplexed with passions which destroy his peace; when he is enraged with anger, or oppressed with grief, at the disappointment of his aspiring projects, he should consider such grief, or anger, as the painful symptom of a depraved heart; a heart estranged from God, and idolizing worldly grandeurs. If he desire the relief of patience, he must first, through grace, turn from these vanities to the living God. This is the cardinal point, the hinge on which all that deserves the name of virtue depends and moves. He must in prayer obtain some lively knowledge of God, some pious sense of the divine Majesty, who made, who governs all things, and who graciously interposes those obstacles of his ambitious pursuits, on purpose to divert him from them. He will then discern the hand of God in the cross accidents which caused his distress, and he will bear it with patience, seeing that he ought to be thankful for it.
What has been said of ambition is equally applicable to covetousness, sensuality, and every other evil propensity, which bring with them their own punishment in the painful affections which accompany them. The crime is ours, but the punishment comes from God, and is executed within by the fixed laws of our nature, against which it is in vain to strive. As mercy predominates in all the ways and works of God, so those pains which he has annexed to every inordinate desire, are intended as means, through his grace, for its cure. He hedges up our way with thorns, as his prophet speaks, (Hosea 2:6.) to hinder our advancing in it; and patience can give no redress, until we change our course, and, under his blessing, return to him in a dutiful submission.
Men want a patience whereby they may sin at ease; whereby they may indulge their evil desires with impunity; but by the goodness of God, that is not possible; for solid patience can never be attained but in the practice of religion.
The true art of patience, under any kind of trouble, consists in a devout recollection, whereby we withdraw our attention as much as possible from the painful ideas excited in us, that so the mind may ascend in pious meditations to the throne of grace, and there find shelter from the anguish and tumult of the passions. There it will feel divine influence, and recover an inward peace, which will soon diffuse itself through the lower passions. Such was the advice of Eliphaz to Job, (Ch. Luke 22:21, &c.) "Acquaint thyself now with God, and be at peace; receive the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up; and thou shalt put away iniquity far from thee. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence; thou shalt have thy delight in him, and the light shall shine upon thy ways."
Such is the true practice of patience, and such is its reward. By patience we possess our souls; and by the means of patience, springing from a living faith, through the grace of God, and the Blood of the Covenant, we may save them for eternity; where patience will be a needless virtue, and all our duty, joy.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, The commendation of the poor widow's offering we considered, Mark 12:41., &c. We may observe, (1.) That it is the duty of all, according to their ability, to contribute to the service of the sanctuary, the maintenance of a gospel ministry, the education of youth, and the relief of the necessitous. (2.) The least mite which is given to the offerings of God from a heart zealous for his glory, and breathing fervent charity, shall be remembered, and infinitely recompensed to the faithful in the great day.
2nd, The disciples, vastly pleased with the magnificence of the temple, and the gifts with which it was enriched, could not but grieve at the thoughts that it should be utterly destroyed, and fain would move the Saviour's compassion to reverse the sentence that he had pronounced; but he confirms the doom of that devoted place, and in answer to their request informs them of the signs preceding the threatened desolation.
1. False Christs would arise, making great profession of delivering the Jews from the Roman yoke, and affirming that the time fixed in the ancient prophesies was near, when the temporal kingdom of the Messiah should be set up. But they are to beware of such deceivers, and neither follow nor be led by them. His kingdom, as they had been often advised, was not of this world, nor must they look for any other Messiah but himself.
2. Terrible commotions and awakening judgments would precede the day of his coming to destroy the Jewish nation. Bloody wars and tumults would ravage the country; earthquakes rock the ground; famines and pestilence desolate the land; and fearful sights in the heavens terrify the beholders, and portend the approaching dire calamities. But they must not be terrified at the signs, nor apprehensive of the consequences; for they shall be under the peculiar care of the divine Providence, though greater evils are still behind.
3. They must expect fiery persecutions, and will find their nearest and dearest relations, filled with enmity against the gospel, their bitterest enemies. They will be scourged in the synagogues by their own countrymen; cast into prison; brought before heathen magistrates and kings; hated of all men; and called to resist unto blood, sealing the truth which they professed with martyrdom. But to support and encourage them herein, Christ assures them, [1.] That their sufferings and persecutions shall tend to make the gospel word to be more diffused, and be a testimony against those who maliciously and cruelly persecuted them. [2.] He promises them extraordinary aids in times of extraordinary trials. They need not be solicitous about the answer that they should make when cited before the tribunals of magistrates and kings; nor must they depend upon their own prudence for their defence, but expect divine assistance. I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. The Holy Ghost should furnish them with matter and words; fill their mouths with such arguments, and give such energy to their discourse, as should quite confound and silence their persecutors, if it did not convince them. And all God's faithful ministers and people, when suffering for the truth's sake, and called in defence of the gospel to answer before the rulers, may still depend on the same divine help, (See Acts 4; Acts 5; Acts 6.) [3.] Out of all their severest trials God will save them harmless. Not an hair of your head shall perish: either literally he would strangely deliver them from the most imminent perils, as he saved them out of Jerusalem when the Romans came to besiege the city; or, figuratively, it expresses his singular care of them; so that though they should be delivered to prison, or to death, his eye should be upon them for good, and give their faithful souls at least a happy issue out of all their afflictions; bringing them through these tribulations to eternal life and glory; so that they should be infinite gainers by all their sufferings. [4.] He exhorts them to bear up patiently under every temptation, and not be ruffled or discomposed, but with holy serenity and calm resignation to cast their care upon God, and quietly wait for his salvation. Note; (1.) In trying times the hardest conflict is within, to preserve the tranquillity of our own souls, by humble confidence in God. (2.) A little patience will bring us to the end of every human woe.
3rdly, Having exhorted them to bear up in these dangerous days that should precede the final destruction of Jerusalem, he passes on to describe her utter overthrow.
1. After a variety of fearful signs, at last the destroying army of the Romans shall approach—the signal for the faithful to leave the devoted place, and fly for their lives, as history informs us every Christian did, so that not one perished in Jerusalem. The days of vengeance then shall come upon the Jewish nation for all their wickedness, and especially for that blood of the Messiah, the curse of which they imprecated upon their own heads, and now shall terribly seize them. Great indeed would be the distress of those who fled, especially of such as were with child, or who gave suck, because this must retard their speed, and add to their other afflictions; yet greater far would be the misery of those who remained, on whom the full vials of wrath would be poured out; the sword making the most fearful ravages among them, and the few who remained alive after the siege being led captives, and dispersed into all nations; while their once glorious city, razed from the foundations, should long lie in ruins, and never be restored to its former grandeur, but continue under the power of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled; when the fulness of them in the last days being come in, Israel shall again be gathered, and Jerusalem, most probably, be again restored, and inhabited by the Jewish converts. This desolation of Judea would be terrible, as if the very elements were dissolving around them: their whole civil and ecclesiastical polity would be utterly destroyed; and, half-dead with terror and dismay, the wretched inhabitants would sink under the load of complicated evils. Such fearful signs shall also precede the final dissolution of all things, when the judge of quick and dead shall at last be revealed from heaven, taking vengeance on all that know not God, and obey not his gospel.
2. Christ encourages his disciples, when these calamities begin, to lift up their heads in joyful hope, knowing that their redemption draweth nigh. The destruction of the Jewish people, who were the most inveterate persecutors of the first Christians, would be to them a great deliverance, and afford matter for their thankfulness to God, who had avenged them of these bitter enemies.
4thly, Those signs of the times which Christ had set before them, if duly remarked, would as clearly point out to them the approach of the threatened judgments, as the summer is known to be at hand, when the buds and flowers of spring appear. The time for the fulfilment of this prophesy was near, and the accomplishment of it sure: therefore,
1. He cautions them to beware of sensuality and security, lest the day of his coming should surprise them unprepared to meet him. Note; (1.) We are in jeopardy every hour: the day of death and judgment is uncertain; we need be every moment on our guard: they who are immersed in the cares and pleasures of the world, will be terribly surprised by it; and woe to those on whom it shall come as a snare, and seize them in their sins. (2.) If we would meet our judge with comfort, and be found of him in peace, we must keep a strict rein on inordinate appetites, and learn to die daily to the world, and sit loose to all its cares and inticements. They who are dead to the world while they are in it, will be the readiest to go out of it at the most sudden summons. (3.) Surfeiting and drunkenness must necessarily unqualify us to meet our God. A glutton! a drunkard! what a fearful reckoning must he make in the day of judgment! (4.) The cares of this world as effectually stupify the conscience, as the fumes of liquor do the body; and though men are apt to think sober worldlings decent characters, compared with notorious drunkards; yet is their state equally dangerous, and perhaps the former the most difficult to be wrought upon. The drunkard sleeps, and is sober; but the worldly-minded rises up as he lay down, overcharged with the same load of worldly anxiety and carking solicitude.
2. He exhorts them to watch and pray always, that they may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man, with comfort, and confidence of his favour and regard. Not that our watchfulness and prayers confer any proper merit; we must in this sense be counted worthy and accepted in the Beloved; but these are the means that God has appointed, in the use of which he has promised his grace and blessing to us: and if we be awake, and expect our Lord's arrival, and look up to him for strength continually, he will bring us safe through every temptation, and give us to partake at last of his final salvation.
3. During the few days between his triumph and his sufferings, he continued indefatigable in his labours, preaching daily in the temple; and when the evening came, he retired to the Mount of Olives for prayer and meditation, returning in the morning to his delightful work in the temple, where an attentive auditory waited eager to hear his divine discourses.