THE TEN VIRGINS
By ROBERT
GOVETT
That the
parable of the wise and foolish virgins has been misunderstood, the following
pages are designed to show. And
the misunderstanding is traceable to several assumptions, which have been
silently made by commentators. These assumptions, then, let us examine, before
entering on the interpretation here given.
(a) The main assumption, nearly universal among writers, on
this parable, is that Sincere Christians are the wise virgins, and hypocrites the foolish ones. The wise virgins are
those who truly enjoy, the foolish, those who only profess the purity and holiness
of His (Christs) religion.
I.
From this assumption it immediately follows that the writers seek to make differences, where
Christ has made agreement, in order to distinguish fundamentally the foolish
from the wise. Now the Saviour has stated that they were alike in eight points, and that
they differ in one only.
They agree in (1) being virgins - (2) and going forth - (3) to
meet the bridegroom - (4) In taking their lamps - (5) In falling asleep - (6)
In sleeping till the cry - (7) In rising at the cry - (8) In trimming their
lamps.
The one point of disagreement is that some carried no oil in
another vessel for future supply: for oil in their lamps for present use they all had.
All these points of identity are sought to
be depressed, or contradicted, in order that they may wear an
unfavourable aspect towards the foolish virgins. But
taken simply, and as the Saviour has stated the matter, the whole bears quite
appearance. All that is alleged against them is simple foolishness, or want of
foresight of what was expedient towards the securing the desired admission to
the wedding feast. The Saviour would manifest that all previous care and steps
taken towards it were rendered vain by the omission of
one. But no hint is dropped of their double-dealing or
wickedness. On the contrary they are alike in inward character, as to their persons: in external characteristics,
as to their works, and in the principle whence they
flowed. They were alike as to their voluntary
position of separation, and its motive was
the same in all.
2. But secondly, that they are not hypocrites, or
formal professors, is clear from the character given them by the Saviour. They
are virgins all. This is the
character of the true Christian alone. I have espoused you to one husband,
that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
If virgins, then are they not corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ
2 Cor. 11: 2, 3. They are pure, and purity is combined
with the sister graces of longsuffering, kindness
the Holy Ghost, love
unfeigned, the word of truth, and the
armour of righteousness: 2 Cor. 6: 6, 7. It is joined with things true, honest,
just, lovely, and of good report: Phil. 4: 8. It is conjoined with the hope of Christs appearing, and he
that hath this hope
purifieth himself even as Christ is Pure: 1 John 3: 3.
3. If they were professors alone, or hypocrites,
they would be described as adulteresses. Ye adulterers,
and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
James 4:
4. The character given of them, by Him
who cannot err, would have been that, they were, to His eyes, professed virgins
indeed, but really harlots. Thus the Church of Rome, which professes itself the
chaste spouse of Christ, is by Him who truly reads, and truly testifies of
character before Himself, described as the Great
Whore.
4. Lastly, you cannot wedge in a
distinction where Christ has made none. If the virginity of the foolish be professed
only, so is the virginity of the wise.
(b) It follows from the same assumption that the case of the
foolish virgins, on awaking, is a desperate one.
If they wanted true grace all through their lives, vain and fruitless must be
all hope of attaining it then. But this does not
appear so either to the wise virgins, or the foolish. Nor do the wise virgins reject
as absurd and impossible the application made to themselves
for oil.
(c) But there is one point more assumed, which, perhaps, one
might say is the radical error, from which all, or nearly all, the others have
flowed. This is, that the rejection by the bridegroom is damnation, and that the separation of the wise and foolish is
eternal. Hence it was argued - since none but the
false and insincere will be shut out from eternal life, those so shut out must
be hypocrites. And then follow the consequences just
named, and others afterward to be noticed. But proof
is not given, though so much depends on it. After this assumption, commentators
perplex themselves to make out an adequate reason for the damnation of the foolish, and thus are driven to overstate the Lords words, and to make distinctions where He has
made agreements. From the same mistake it originates that they confound wisdom and folly with wickedness and holiness:
and loss of privilege with a trust wilfully betrayed.
Again, if the awaking of the virgins be
the resurrection, then the resurrection of the saved and of the lost occurs at
the same time, contrary to the express declaration of Rev. 20. Or else, awaking must signify death,
and the virgins rising up must
signify a sinners lying down to die!
(d) Again, the assumption that the foolish virgins are
hypocrites has entirely diverted the instruction of the parable from those
truly concerned in it. For if the foolish be
hypocrites, then are the unbeliever and the formalist the characters to whom it
is addressed: and they who know themselves to be sincere, pass by this most
important lesson, as not bearing on themselves. To show the falsehood then of
the assumption, it is only necessary to observe that it is a lesson of the Lord
Jesus to His true disciples alone. If the foolish be unbelievers, the lesson is to those that are not Christs
true disciples. But the prophecy on the
II. On the question of their taking
their lamps and going forth, misapprehension again comes in. They make a show of being ready. All their care is to recommend themselves to their
neighbours ... not to approve themselves to Christ. Tell them of things not
seen as yet, and you are as
III. The same current of
misrepresentation sets in again with regard to the lamp (properly torch) The lamp is the profession of enjoying the burning and
shining light of the gospel of Christ. In order that a lamp may be profession alone, it must be a lamp not lit. But these are
lamps lighted. Nor have they
lamps alone, they go forth with them: and this is practice corresponding
with profession. Christians
alone shine as lights in the world. Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. And to maintain that the foolish are
deficient in the necessary display of good works is to make our Lords
description preposterous: for He
assigns as the characteristic note of folly the not taking the vessel of oil which lay unemployed, the lamp being (if I may so call it)
the working vessel, up to the very time of their awaking. The fact is,
commentators blame them as deficient with regard to the present; Christ, on the other hand, notes their folly only in
regard to the future. The unused oil is the
characteristic difference.
IV. We now come to the decisive
question. What is the oil?
1. Is it grace? Is it faith, or love? Then it
is internal grace exhibited
in its legitimate effect, the light given. Then cannot the foolish be hypocrites, or formalists. And to all who believe in the perseverance of the saints the
question is settled, that they cannot finally fall away, and be lost: and
therefore their rejection at the close is not final damnation.
Here the inconsistency of the interpreters appears. Grace is the oil. Oil is the
grace and salvation of God, or that faith which works by love. Then is
it monstrous to affirm of the foolish virgins that they have no principle within. Then is it a
dereliction of principle in a Calvinistic commentator, to speak of their
falling away. And then, even in an Arminian expositor,
it is a contradiction to affirm that the lamp was profession alone: for the
lamp has oil, and the oil is grace.
2. But some, seeing this, have adopted
an evasion which more directly contradicts the text.
They assume that the foolish had no oil at all. The wick that had blazed for a moment, was now burned down. What a useless thing is a lamp without oil! All
formal professors are like these foolish virgins ... forgetting that the lamp without oil - the outward appearance, without the
inward grace, is useless. Against this misrepresentation
it...is enough to state that the lamps of the foolish were burning or hours,
yea till midnight, not only while they were awake, but while they slept: and
that their lamps did not begin to fail any earlier than those of the wise
virgins. And if there were no oil in the lamps of the foolish, so neither was there any in those of
the wise: for all that is stated as a matter of difference in their cases is,
that the wise had oil in their vessels, and not in their
lamps only.
3. But lastly, would any affirm that the oil
(though the principle within which sustains the light) is something short of true grace? then
there is no evidence that the wise were true disciples. For they differ from the foolish only in having more
oil. It is a question, not between those who have some oil
and those who have none, but between those who have little,
and those who have more. If then oil be a
formal thing, a great deal of it is no
better than a little. But if it be
real internal grace, then a little of it is as secure of eternal life, as a great deal. It is either true grace in both, or false show in both. The parable
turns, not on the quality of the oil as good or bad, but on its quantity as enough, or less than
enough. Having considered these preliminary points, let us now
pass to the interpretation of the parable.
MATTHEW 25: 1.
Then shall
the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins who took their torches and
went forth for the purpose of meeting the bridegroom.
As regards the question of
interpretation throughout the prophetic parables, this principle is assumed (the very contrary to that which is so frequently
met with in commentaries and expositions) that no part of them is trivial or useless, and merely intended for ornament. To maintain the
reverse of this seems to me unbelief. It is a manifestation of the incapacity
of the expounder, or of the fallacy of his exposition, but nothing more. It is a mistake of which
even the maker of enigmas among men is not guilty. Would any one be
satisfied with the explanation of an enigma that answered with more or less
adaptation some of the conditions of a riddle, but left others unsatisfied; and
explained them away, as meaning nothing, but mere ornament. Much less would it
be accounted satisfactory if the explanation contradict some of the statements. But we are not left
even to a clear analogy between the enigmas of God and those of men. Direct
instruction of the Saviour affirms that the Scripture cannot be broken, and Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one little shall in no wise pass from the law till
all be fulfilled: Matt. 5: 18. And if no jot of the law shall pass,
how much less of the Gospel? But more directly still. Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my words
shall
It is vain to say, as some do, that we are to take the general
meaning of the parable alone, in order to obtain the lesson of it. For the
general meaning can only be guessed at, till we have
obtained the meaning of the symbols and action of the parable.
The first word of this passage is important, and calls for
remark. Then. This admits of two interpretations, both however,
nearly agreeing with each other. (1)
We may understand it in general of the time of the end, or, according to the disciples question,
of Christs presence, and the end of the
age, as the
Saviour says, in the former chapter, Then shall the end come: Matt. 24: 14. (2) Or we may understand it more strictly
as parallel with the time described before. In days like those of Noah (Matt. 24: 37-51), in the hour not thought of by the wicked servant, at the
time when the watchful and unwatchful shall be suddenly separated - then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins.
A part of the parable is preparatory, or is supposed to be
past before the scene occurs, to which our attention is particularly called.
The first five verses are descriptive of the state of things in their
principles, and accounting for the results which follow.
The point of time to which the word then at the commencement refers, is, I judge, contained in the word - were sleeping. This states the condition in which
they were found, and which will have its answering
scene in the hour of the Saviours coming. The effects which
follow on the awaking are those to which the readers eye is specially
drawn as characteristic of that time.
But what is intended by the expression Kingdom of
heaven? I
consider the period intended by it the same with that contemplated by the
parables of Matt. 13.; and that it answers in part to
the time of mystery, and the present Church dispensation. The parable begins
from the commencement of the expectation of the bridegrooms return, and ends
with the presence of the Lord Jesus in heaven, and His marriage supper on high. Thus the whole period, from the first
setting forth of the return of the Lord Jesus as the hope of the believer, to
the consummation of this hope in glory, is taken in. The same period, I judge,
is intended in the parables of the king taking account of his servants (Matt.
18.); and the parable of the
wedding garment (Matt. 22.).
Ten virgins. The number ten is used, with
reference to the previous two: Matt. 24: 40. The ten represent the dead, the two the living disciples.
Ten is the number of the lamps in the
We inquire next, who are the virgins?
Most reply, the church in general: the visible body of
professing Christians. But then the proportion of the
wise is far too large. Are the half of professing
Christians wise?
And further, all these are found asleep when the
Lord comes. But it is not so with the church in
general. We
shall not all sleep. And
this holds, whether the sleep be supposed a spiritual deadness, or literal
death.
That they are [all regenerate] believers, the Saviour has furnished
us with most evident proofs.
1. They are virgins. Therefore are they chaste and pure in the Lords sight: 2 Cor. 11:
2,
3.
2. They take their torches. And all
those torches are lighted: ver. 8. Then are they the sons of God ... in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom they shine as lights in the world:
Phil.
2:
15. And their
light is that of good works. Ye are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works: Matt. 5: 14-16. Unbelievers are darkness; believers only are light in the Lord: Ehph. 5: 8.
3. They go forth. Then are they children of faithful Abraham, leaving their
homes and city through hope and faith: Heb. 11. Then are they the children of God, as it is written, Wherefore come
ye out from among them and be ye
separate ... and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty: 2 Cor. 6: 17, 18.
4. They go forth, to meet the bridegroom. Then they believe in, and hope for,
His appearing: 2 Tim. 4:
8. And to them
belongs not only salvation, but the hope of reward.
5. In these four
particulars we
have given us the inward personal character, and the outward display. the act, the constantly maintained attitude, and the motive. And all are
pure. Where is there room for hypocrisy or lip-profession?
They have faith, as is manifested by
their going forth. They have works, as is manifest by their lighted torches.
They believe with the heart as is manifest by their
going out to meet the bridegroom. They confess Him before men by taking their
torches. Their [eternal] salvation then is certain; for faith and confession make [that] salvation sure: Rom. 10: 9, 10. These points apply to all, wise and foolish alike. For if the foolish virgins torches were not lighted, so neither
were those of the wise.
6. If the sleep be death, then are they
believers, for of none else (I believe) is it spoken in the New Testament. The
proof that the sleep is death will be found in its
place.
7. They all rise together; and the
first resurrection is of [the holy] believers alone: Rev.
20: 5, 6.
8. The parable was
addressed to believers only.
They represent, I suppose, those in general who have fallen
asleep in Christ, since the return of Jesus as the Bridegroom began to be preached, and the gifts of the Holy Ghost were dispensed.
Hence the saints of the old Testament are [by
some to be] excluded from the meaning and lesson
of the parable.
The reasons why the title virgins is given to believers in the present parable,
are, I submit, two. First, the disciples name is ruled
by that which his Master takes. As then the Saviour
presents Himself as the Bridegroom the disciple takes the place of the
attendant bridesmaid, or virgin-companion of the bride. Secondly, because the parable is designed
to represent to us the manner in which a valuable privilege was lost, through want of foresight; no relation was so fit
to display this loss as the voluntary one of bridesmaid. This seemed to promise
a place at the marriage-feast, while, notwithstanding, the honour and pleasure
were lost through improvidence.
The subjects of the parable are female virgins, and as such
are marked out as companions of the bride, abiding with her, as the 144,000
virgins of Rev. 14. are the special companions of the bridegroom,
attendant on him in his passage to and fro between the earthly and the
heavenly
Lastly, they are at the Saviours first approach. Now this is
the privilege of those that are Christs: 1 Cor. 15.
Who took their torches - [See Greek ...]
Torch rather than lamp is the true translation of the word.
It is a light for out-of-door use, while the lamp is fitted
for indoor service: (Luke 12: 35 - [See Greek ...]). Torches,
or flambeaux are larger lights than those used for the house, which last are
more liable to be blown out by gust of wind and rain. Torches were and are
still, in use in the East for nuptial processions. They were
vessels of iron or brass, funnel shaped, ending from a broad mouth in a point,
which point was inserted into a handle of wood that the oil might not flow down
to the hand, or the communicated heat be too great for the bearer to endure, as
would have been the case had the whole been of metal alone. In this
funnel-shaped cavity rags were placed as the wick, and
oil was poured to maintain the light. We read of such instruments as these in
Gideons adventure with the Midianites. They were used also by those who came
forth to arrest Jesus in Gethsemane, and the translation there is the same as
is given above - Judas, having received a band
of men and officers from the chief-priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches, and weapons:
John 18:
3. The same, word occurs again of the
meeting of the disciples at
That the torches were lighted and
intended to give light, needs not any proof. It is assumed
throughout, and incidentally affirmed of the foolish, about whose torches alone
could there be any doubt: ver. 8. And the light answers to whatever of
Christs doctrines or practice is maintained by the believer: Eph.
5:
13. They have both the inward principle,
and its appropriate outward manifestation. The burning and shining light is the
proof of the oil within. And thus faith is shown by
works: James 2: 18.
And went forth for the
purpose of meeting the bridegroom.
Here is not only Christian profession,
but answerable Christian practice. They not only
believed the bridegrooms coming, but they went
forth to meet him. This going
forth implies the leaving of their own houses and their city. Thus they take
the position required of the members of Christ. Let us
go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His
reproach. For we have here no continuing city,
but we are seeking the one to come: Heb.
13:
13,
14.
The torches and their going forth made them distinct from the rest of the
citizens; they are a body apart, both before and after their sleep. And both the torch and the act of going forth were a
testimony to others and to themselves that they hoped for the bridegrooms
appearing, and looked for a place in the procession, and at the feast. They go
forth in the direction in which the bridegroom is expected, and wait for His
appearing, which is the attitude of the true believer in Jesus alone. None but
he expects, desires, and loves His appearing.
The Bridegroom This
is, of course, the Lord Jesus. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom (John 3:
29):
as John the Baptist
testifies, he himself being only the bridegrooms friend, rejoicing to hear the
voice of the bridegroom. I will show thee the bride, the Lambs wife; Rev. 21: 9. See also Matt. 9: 15; Mark 2: 18; Luke 5: 34.
The going forth of the virgins to meet the Bridegroom is a
mark of respect, love, and delight. Thus the servants of
the centurion came forth to meet and welcome their master with the joyful
tidings of the healing of his son: John 4: 51. Thus also the brethren at
It is worthy of observation that this mark of respect and love
is said to be paid to the Bridegroom, and to Him alone. The bride is not even once mentioned, though, as the virgins are her
female companions, we might have expected it. And,
therefore, a few manuscripts add to the Saviours declaration, and read- They took their lamps, and went forth for the purpose of
meeting the bridegroom and the bride. But this
bears marks of being unauthorized human addition, attempting to supply a
supposed defect of the word of God.
Yet we are permitted to know what is
to be understood by the bride. It is not
the church universal: for the Saviour supposes it not yet gathered: and the
present chapter describes the manner of assembling it from the earth, and from
the gates of
Hades, when they shall
no longer prevail against it: Matt. 16. But the
bride is the New Jerusalem, the city of
For the parable describes the
procession of the bridegroom and bride in company, when the bridegroom brings
home the bride from her fathers house. The usual
interpretation supposes the contrary to this, namely, that the bridesmaids came
forth to meet the bridegroom, when he is proceeding to take her. But first, this coming of the bridesmaids to meet the
bridegroom alone is not Eastern; and secondly, would not be accounted
consistent either with their or our notions of delicacy and propriety. The
procession is to the house of the
husband, as Jarchi,
the great Jewish commentator, testifies
was usual. It is the custom in the
land of Ishmael, to bring the bride from the house of her father to that of her husband in the night time, and there were about ten staves, upon the top of each
of which was a brazen dish, containing rags, oil, and pitch, and this being
kindled, formed blazing torches, which were carried before the bride.
This is also the scriptural exhibition of the matter. And Solomon
made affinity with Pharaoh, king of
Lastly, the structure of the parable shows that the procession
is that of the bridegroom and bride to the house or hall of the former. For it
is supposed throughout that his coming is a rapid and momentary passage, not
admitting of delay, and not offering any opportunity of retrieving the loss if
once the brief time be passed. But if the procession were the
bridegrooms going to fetch the bride from her fathers house, then we must
suppose that the virgins meet him, accompany him back to the house of the brides
father, attend him during the ceremonies of receiving her, and that they then
fall into his train as he retires with the bride from her fathers house to his
own. All this must produce considerable delay - a condition of things
quite opposed to the rapidity and directness of the movements indicated in the
parable.
2. And five of
them were wise and five were foolish. 3. They that were foolish, took their torches, and took
no oil with themselves.* 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their torches.
* Thus translated, it is seen to be an
error to suppose that the foolish had no oil in their torches. Had that been
the meaning, the expression used would have been [see Greek...] Something additional and distinct is implied by
the present words: Matt. 12: 45; Mark 9: 8.
In a due perception or not of the
meaning of these verses lies the comprehension or misunderstanding of the whole
of the parable. Commentators almost without exception, confound foolishness
with wickedness, and speak of the responsibility of the virgins. This leads to a train of thought utterly astray from the scope of the parable. The virgins are not described as entrusted with any thing on behalf of
another, for which they were called on to render account. Then they would have been
under responsibility, and either faithful or unfaithful, and so good or evil. But they are described as respectively wise and foolish. Now
this shows them to be regarded by the Saviour in quite
a different light from the former. Prudence consists in a care of our own interests,
as faithfulness consists in watching over the interests of another. Wisdom (or more properly prudence,) is concerned in the provision for our own
advantage in the future; while folly is displayed
in a careless contentment in the present, and the disregard of the means
necessary to secure a mans well-being hereafter. Accordingly
wisdom and folly are displayed by the different behaviour of persons under the
same circumstances, in proportion as they act in a manner adapted to advance
their own interests. This, therefore, is evidently distinguished from the case
of the servant, who is not left to his own will, but is under orders, and is
acting not for himself, but for his masters advantage, under a sense of
account to be rendered in. Hence, in the parable of the talents, the accepted
servant is addressed as Good and faithful; the rejected as Wicked and slothful. But the unjust
steward, when he is regarded as acting with a view to advance his own interests, is praised for prudence: for he
thoughtfully regarded the calamities that would be likely to fall upon him in the future, and contrived
to ward them off. This example shows us that prudence is by no
means equivalent to holiness. Nay, the Saviour goes on to say, that the children of
light are more deficient in prudence for eternal glory, than the children of
this world are for the present scene. And [regenerate] believers are sometimes addressed as being foolish, or
are cautioned against it - Therefore be ye not foolish (Greek) Eph. 5: 17. Thou fool,
that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die:
1 Cor. 15: 36. O foolish Galatians,
who hath bewitched you? Are ye so foolish? Gal. 3: 1, 3.
Thus then it is with the virgins before us. They are all the
children of light, but some are deficient in foresight, and the provident
securing of their own advantage. And the advantage to
be secured in the present instance, is the possession of a place at the
wedding feast of the Lord Jesus. Now, in proportion to the value of
the privilege ought to be their zeal and forethought, to assure themselves of
it, and to guard against any possibility by which the desired object might be
snatched from their grasp. But this prudence was possessed by but half of the number. Five only
were wise, and five foolish.
These five were foolish, because so much pains were spent on
attaining the end, and yet in vain, for want of forethought for the future.
Vain the going forth, the preparation and lighting of the lamp, its first
supply, and the watching for the bridegroom. All the other steps were useless,
for want of the second supply.
They are wise or foolish in the Saviours eyes from the very first,
and He stamps their character, before He proceeds to display it. The not taking
the vessel of oil is the one step of folly which draws on the disastrous result, and this Jesus
sets forth as the single point which characterizes them as wise or foolish to
His eye. But the foolish do not see their error till the close. Nor are its
consequences manifested till then;
although all the succeeding parts of the parable are intended to exhibit the
results of the error. But during the time of delay,
the improvidence does not appear, for the bridegrooms tarrying is the time of
mystery in which we now live. But at the coming of the bridegroom, a new state
of things ensues, and the wisdom of the wise is apparent, and their foresight
is crowned. But the bridegroom rejects the foolish,
that their folly may appear. A very little prudence would have sufficed to
attain the desired end. They might have been prepared against all mischances,
by the simple provision of a little extra oil. The foolish virgins were indeed
prepared, if the bridegroom came at the usual time; but the wise alone were prepared, whether his coming were
early or late. Under no circumstances of delay could the prize escape their hold. Their
torches could be made to burn till morn. But the foolish virgins left a loophole, through which loss
might enter; and at that neglected and unguarded entrance, it did come in.
Their want of vigilance herein was either ignorance, not discerning the need, and not advertised of it; or, reasoning folly,
not receiving the warning when given. Their
thought, and their plea, if asked - Why they had not provided an oil vessel in
case of need? would have been, doubtless, that
it was not essential,
not absolutely necessary. They had enough
for the present; why should they imagine that anything more was required? The bridegroom might thing they could tell; and
then, where would be the wisdom of troubling themselves with an additional burthen?
Since the whole force of the lesson of the parable depends on
the meaning we attach to the second supply of oil, I shall
,consider the point at some length.
First, I suppose it will be granted, that by
oil is meant the grace of the Holy Ghost. And
this is twofold; either sanctifying or miraculous.
1. If then I show that the second supply
is not sanctifying grace, it will follow that it is miraculous endowment, or the gift by grace.
I That it is
not any difference in degree of sanctification which is in question, is clear
from this - that then the parable would supply us with no rule by which to
discern between wise and foolish. For if you tell me only, that the difference
lies in degree of
sanctification, if you do not point out the degree, I
must either be terrified or secure. Terrified, if
I think I have not the degree requisite, while none can satisfy me what the
degree required is; or secure, that I have some grace, and why may not that be
enough to set me among the wise?
2. It cannot be any degree of
sanctification, for this oil gives no light to the world. It is unemployed in good works, which is
the meaning of the light of the torch.
3. As being a distinct supply, it
follows that the oil in the torch might be without that in the vessel, or vice versa. But it is not true
that any degree of the grace of sanctification can be distinct from its display
in good works. There cannot be two supplies of it, independent the one of the
other. But miraculous gift is distinct from, and may
be two supplies of it, independent of, grace: Matt. 7.
Three other proofs, arising from (1) the request of the
foolish, (2) the answer of the wise, and (3) the means of repairing the error, will be found in another part.
II. The further relations of the two
supplies prove it. The oil in the torch is essential now, the oil in the vessel
is not essential now. Such is also the relative difference between the present
necessity of sanctifying grace, and of miraculous gift.
III. The second supply is additional,
something beside that of the torch:
and such is the place which the gifts of the Holy
Ghost take, as compared with His graces.
IV. The second store agrees with
miraculous gift in point of order. It is in succession after it. First the torch, then the vessel of oil.
So of gift it is written - In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed
with the Holy Spirit of Promise: Eph. 1: 13.
V. If they be all [regenerate] believers, the difference must be one which is not essential to [eternal] salvation. And among
things not essential to [that] salvation, what so great as the difference between the
possession, or the want of, the gifts of the Holy Ghost?
VI. It is met and
sustained by fact. Between the believers of modern times
and the ancient Church, there is, in this particular, just the difference supposed: the one possessing, the other wanting, the [miraculous] gifts
of the [Holy] Spirit.
VII.
A consideration of the order, in which the wise and foolish appear,
beautifully confirms this. We have the wise represented first, then the foolish:
ver. 2.
Then the foolish, and lastly the wise:
ver. 3. Thus the wise come first; the foolish occupy the intermediate space. And has it not been exactly thus with the
[Holy] Spirit's gifts? They were possessed at first, and then ceased; and the whole dreary interval of 1600 years has been taken up by
believers destitute of them. We might conclude, therefore, that as gifted
believers began the series, and ungifted ones have followed, so in the last
days gifted believers will rise again, and close the train. But
we can show by Scripture, independently of inference, that such will be the
case. Acts 2: 17, 18; Mark 13: 11; Luke 21: 14, 15; Rev. 16: 6; 18: 24; 2 Tim. 3: 8; Jas. 5: 7.
VIII. On the taking it or not, the
greatest stress is laid throughout the parable. On purpose to set it in the
strongest light possible, the wise and foolish agree together in every particular but this. And the
difference is optional; for in things within our power alone,
can wisdom or folly be seen. So are the gifts of the [Holy] Spirit made to rest upon our asking
for them or not. Luke 11: 13; 1 Cor. 14: 1. In the asking for, and receiving
these, therefore, that vigilance may consist, which is the lesson drawn from the parable
by our Lord.
IX. They are the powers of the
coming age: Heb. 6: 5. And answerably thereto, this oil is seen to come into play,
when the new age is begun.
X. They that sleep with the oil vessel,
awake with it. And even thus the gifts of God are unrepented of: Rom. 11: 29.
XI.
Further, as both are described as oil, so are the same
terms used of each kind of grace. In both cases these
powers of the Holy Ghost are said to fill the individual. The God of hope
fill
you with all joy and peace in believing,
that ye may abound of hope through the power of the Holy Ghost: Rom.
15:
13. The same expression is usual of the
miraculous gifts.
2. Both are said
to be taken or received. They who receive abundance of grace (sanctifying), and of the gift
of righteousness (the miraculous gifts attached to
justification by faith: Gal. 3.) shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ: Rom.
5:
17.
The grace of God,
and the gift by grace, which is by one
man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many: ver.
15.
3. Both are called
grace. No proof is required of this use of the word, concerning the
sanctifying powers of the Holy Ghost; but of its being used of the miraculous
gifts take these as examples - Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, given
unto me by the effectual working of His power: Eph. 3: 7. Unto
every one of us was given grace, according to the measure of the gift
of Christ. Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high, He
led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men: (Greek) Eph. 4: 7, 8.
XII.
But more pointedly
yet, it can be shown that the wisdom or folly of the believer is made to turn on his possessing or
surrendering the privilege of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. See then that ye walk
circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days
are evil. Therefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the
Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking
to yourselves in psalms and spiritual (or inspired)
songs, singing,
and making melody in your heart unto the Lord: Eph.
5:
15-19. And still more remarkably the third
chapter of Galatians
is nothing less than a reproof of the Galatians for their folly in
going back to the Law, and undervaluing thereby the miraculous gifts, and works
of power, which (as the apostle argues) are essentially connected with
justification by faith. It was with an eye to this difference, as involving
wisdom or folly, that Paul asks of the disciples at
XIII.
The additional oil was the riches of the wise virgins, - the want of it the poverty
of the foolish, at the coming of the bridegroom. Now this is just the place seen to be occupied
by the [Holy] Spirits gifts, in connexion with the coming of the Lord Jesus. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in every thing ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in
all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you (or
among you), so that ye
lack no gift, waiting for the
revelation (marg.) of our Lord Jesus Christ; who also shall confirm you to the end,
that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord
Jesus Christ: 1 Cor. 1: 4-8. In the possession of the gifts then lies the wisdom and riches, and blamelessness of the wise virgins at the coming of
Christ. But they who have them not, at His appearing
are found lacking.
Exhortations to seek and to pray for the [Holy] Spirits gifts occur not unfrequently, in token that the additional oil is not
vain. Covet earnestly the best gifts 1 Cor.
12:
31.
Desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy: 14: 1. As ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may abound to the edifying of the church:
ver. 12. Covet
to prophesy:ver. 39.
The reception of the [Holy] Spirits gifts is an optional thing, not absolutely essential, but promised to those that ask. The
power of procuring it is supposed open to all alike. Hence it answers to the voluntary taking or omitting to take
the second supply of oil in
the vessel: The [Holy] Spirits gifts are - [given to those who are OBEDIENT to Christ! (Acts 5:
32)] - not essential
to life, or to the Christians maintaining a witness for God in the present
state of things while the kingdom is a mystery. But it
is the mistake of the foolish to imagine that, because not essential at present,
they will be equally needless in the future, at the manifestation of the Lord Jesus. So widely,
however, has this error crept in, that the Saviour describes one-half of His believing people, as
made foolish by it!
The want of expectation of the bridegrooms return, and the
want of the additional oil, have gone together, as all Christian history will
inform us. But the parable manifests that even the
expectation of the coming of the Lord Jesus may revive, and yet that there may
be no consciousness of the need of extraordinary oil, and no petition for it.
Watchfulness is a duty which, as
Christ declares, applies to all. How this should apply to those who
fall asleep before Christs coming is not apparent.
But this lesson supplies the deficiency. If any say- Let those watch in whose life the signs predicted are
actually coming to pass, but we shall be dead ere then, and therefore the
question of preparation does not touch us - the parable enables us to
answer that there is a preparation required of those that shall be then the dead in Christ, no less than of those that shall be alive at His coming.
Preparation for death is not necessarily a preparation for the Lords coming. Sleep overtook all alike, and all appeared
alike while asleep, and the Bridegrooms coming found
all equally in the same condition of slumber. But at the awaking came the
difference. And then the extra supply of oil,
neglected as unnecessary before, is found
indispensable. We see therefore, that, even as regards those that are fallen asleep in
Christ Jesus, a state of things will come into play at the resurrection, which
will discriminate between those who lived in vigilant preparation for the
Lords coming, and those that did not; and that it is a mere deceit of a
foolish heart to compose ourselves to rest because Christ will not come in our
day.
By the vessel into which the additional oil was
put, we are to understand, I judge, the body. This is the
will of God, even your sanctification ...
that every one of you should know how to possess his
vessel in sanctification and
honour. Here the
body is not only a vessel, but the vessel in
possession of the man - his vessel. Oil in their vessels. Again it is said, We have this treasure in earthen
vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us:
(2 Cor. 4: 7) where, in relation to the power of the Holy Ghost
miraculously displayed by His ministry, they are called earthen vessels. And Paul
is said to be a vessel of election, who was to be filled
with the Holy Ghost: Acts 9: 15, 17; so Rom. 9: 21-23. The torch is, I believe, external
witness to others; the oil in the vessel a personal
possession and testimony to themselves.
5. Now while the Bridegroom tarried they all became drowsy and
were sleeping
(Greek)
What is intended by the Bridegrooms
tarrying, is easy to apprehend. The Saviour more than once dropped intimations
that His absence would be prolonged. He was a nobleman going into a far country for a long time: Luke 20: 9; 19: 12. After a
long time the Lord of those
servants cometh: Matt. 25: 19.
The cause of the delay is not specified,
and accordingly the reasons of the Saviours tarrying are unknown to us. The
seasons and their reasons are known only to God. And the time of this delay
answers to the time of mystery, during which the plans of God are greatly
hidden.
This tarrying is the critical point of the whole on the part
of the Bridegroom; just as the additional supply [of oil] is the critical point of the parable on the part of the virgins.
Had He come earlier, He might have found all awake, and the
extra supply of the wise would have seemed needless, nor would there have been
any difference of result to the wise and the foolish, and the wisdom of the
wise would not have been displayed, nor the disastrous consequences of want of
prudence seen. But the Bridegrooms tarrying gives
occasion to the sleep, which hinders the remedy of the error: and to the
continued consumption of the oil, which makes necessary the fresh supply of the
wise upon their common awaking. It is the delay of the Bridegroom, giving
occasion to the sleep of all, which makes the difference between this case and
that considered by the Saviour before. Had the virgins been awake at the
Bridegrooms coming, the case would have been that of the living saints, and thus
it would have been only the very same aspect of the Saviours coming which he had elsewhere considered.
But we must now investigate a very
important question as to the nature of the sleep, and give proofs of its true
signification. There are two ideas respecting it - (1) One, it is a blameable carelessness with regard to the Lords
coming, and a sinking into spiritual sloth and worldliness. (2) The other, that it is intended to represent the death of the virgins. Now, that
it is not a blameworthy sleep is evident from these considerations.
1. The sleep is seemingly
apologized for, by the mention of the Bridegrooms delay immediately preceding,
and assigned in a certain sense, as its cause. For the case of the virgins must be
ever kept distinct from that of servants under
responsibility, and charged to watch. To sleep while on guard is faithlessness worthy of punishment in a
servant; and hence the Saviour warns the servants against being
found sleeping. But where sleep overtakes one desirous of obtaining a pleasure, privilege, or honour,
which he is watching for, we at once ascribe it, not to want of will to resist,
but to want of power; and we consider the sleeping involuntary. The effect of
the Bridegrooms delay is here simply practical, not a moral one, like that of
the evil servant, who, finding his masters coming delayed, begins to beat his
fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.
2. To suppose the
sleep a falling away to carelessness, worldliness, and disregard of the Lords
coming, would be to argue utter defectibility of grace given, for the sleep is continued up to the Saviours
coming; and yet, in spite of this, we have the
highest privilege and joy awarded to those that have so carelessly slept! This
would be giving licence to sin, if the sleep were evil.
3. If
blameworthy, the parable would have been made to turn on it, and the Masters finding some awake, and others asleep, would have been
the natural ground of difference between the wise and the foolish.
4. It affects all
equally. The foolish and the wise together sleep, and
together wake. But if the sleep were sin,
either all the wise would not sleep together with all the foolish, or all the foolish would not wake at once with all
the wise.
5. The sleep is
not that of intemperance, nor that of worldly care, for they fall asleep in the
position of waiting and separation
which they held at first; their torches are still burning, and
they themselves still undefiled.
6. Were it an
error, then the parable would not (as it does) set forth the result of one single error committed at the
first, and traced out to its legitimate consequences, but a new mistake is
introduced, and the first lesson is lost, or obscured. But
the sleep comes in, not as a fresh error, but as a circumstance which fixes a
period to the opportunity of remedying the original mistake.
7. The wise sleep
no less than the foolish, and yet retain their character of wise: verse 8. Therefore, since the sleep does not
affect their character for wisdom, it was not an unwise sleep.
8. The sleep is not blamed, and the foolish, even when rejected, are not reproved for it. Therefore it is not criminal. It corresponds therefore most exactly to the blameless
sleep of death. Against this, wisdom and folly are equally powerless: however
willing the spirit may be, the flesh is weak; they were not
suffered to continue by reason of DEATH:
Heb.
7:
23. This is that sleep which cannot be
resisted, but which happens (as Solomon tells us) with like event both to the wise and the fool: Eccles. 2: 14.
9. Again - If the oil signify
grace, then is not the sleep sinful, especially in the wise. For
worldliness and careless indifference to Christs coming are incompatible with
the abundance of grace which the wise possess.
10. And if the sleep be death, then are
all the virgins believers ; for to none but such is
death a sleep.
The Bridegrooms coming is not death, for death affects but
one at a time, this all at once.
Further - It is the consequence of their sleep that they do
not notice the consumption of the oil, and consequently do not attempt to
replenish the torch. Hence the only time of repairing the error is before the
sleep begins. After that time, there is no possibility of remedy. For the sleep
continues till the resurrection; and between the
resurrection and the entrance into the glory of the feast, there is no time.
However long the interval of sleep, it is incapable of being applied to remedy
the imprudence, because of the inaction of sleep. The time of mystery, as we
should expect on this supposition, runs on indefinitely longer than their life.
But as it regards the virgins, it is occupied by but
one condition - the state of inactivity or sleep. And it is unbroken till the
Bridegroom comes. Till then not one of the sleepers
arises. The old age ends to them in sleep. The new begins by awaking.
Of the two words
that describe the sleep, the one notices the falling of the eyelids and the nodding of the head, which
characterizes the passing from wakefulness to sleep, and the other ([see Greek...]) describes the state of those asleep, after that of wakefulness has been abandoned.
Thus they correspond respectively to the act of dying, and to the state into
which death introduces the soul.
Of the frequent places in which the death of the believer is called sleep, a few instances will suffice. In the mouth
of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. Many
bodies of the saints which slept arose, and
came out of the graves after his resurrection, and
went into the holy city and appeared unto many: Matt. 27: 52, 53. Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. Then said Jesus
unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead: John 11: 11, 14. After that he
appeared unto five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but
some are fallen asleep: 1 Cor. 15:
6.
Here the very case in
question, the constant lapse of time, is cited as the
reason why those who had once beheld Jesus had fallen asleep. And in the case of Lazarus, we see the tarrying of Jesus to
be the occasion of his falling asleep while, afterwards, at His voice he
arises, and feasts with Jesus.
Further, this interpretation presents the Church in the two
great and real divisions in which the Scripture contemplates it at the coming
of Christ. The whole Church will then be composed either of those who are alive and remain, or of those who
are fallen asleep in Christ. And the passage which exhibits the Church in this aspect,
also teaches us why the sleep of the virgins, which seems the greatest
obstacle in the way of their attendance at the feast, will not be found to be
so. I would not have you ignorant,
brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as
others who have no hope. For if we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so them that sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent
(get the start of) those which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead
in Christ shall rise first: 1 Thess. 4: 13-16. And again, God hath not
appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us,
that whether we wake or sleep, we shall live together
with Him: 1 Thess. 5: 9, 10. The parable before us then respects the great body of the
Church who shall be found amongst the dead at Christs
appearing; while in the former chapter the Saviour had addressed himself in
giving signs, which could apply
only to the living. But here, they all slumbered and slept.
Accordingly, while the sleep begins at an indefinite time and
at different instants for each of the virgins, yet the sleep is not shaken off
by any till the coming of the Bridegroom. In the
interval of suspense nothing occurs but the dropping off to sleep of one and
another of the virgins, answering to the present successive decease of the
saints of Christ, owing to the time of His return being prolonged.
We may further remark that, as the
period embraced by this parable extends for at least the space of 1800 years,
from the time when the Saviours return began to be expected, up to the present
hour - if the sleep be supposed to be spiritual sloth, then the virgins
must be regarded as corporate bodies, or churches, for such only could continue from that period till
Christs return. And on the other hand, if the virgins be individuals, then the sleep is death; for this alone accounts for the
condition in which they are found during the Bridegrooms delay. But it has
been already proved that the sleep is death, therefore the virgins are justly
regarded as representatives of individuals.
6. But at
midnight a cry took place, Behold, the Bridegroom is coming, come
ye forth to meet Him.
Midnight is the midway point between one day and another. The
virgins awake into a new day answering to the new or coming [millennial] age. And though it be
midnight to earth, yet to the saints it is the hour of the bridal feast. For this
festal hour of the new age now begun on high, the powers of the coming age, must be highly appropriate, not to say
necessary. If earth itself, when the hour of Christs coming hath
dawned, will be filled with the Spirits gifts, how
can it be fitting that the sons of heaven be destitute of them?
It being proved that the sleep is death, we are prepared
readily to answer to the question- What is intended by the cry, and its
accompanying words of exhortation and command? It is doubtless the shout with which the Lord descends when the
dead in Christ arise. And the words which
follow appear to be those of the Bridegrooms angelic attendants and
forerunners. They take the place of the servants sent at supper
time to call those that are bidden - Come, for
all things are now ready.
The notice thus given before the Saviour appears, and the
interval which succeeds, prove that this is not the coming of Jesus to the
living: for that is a thief-like approach, with no notice beforehand to herald His
appearing. It is a sudden flash of lightning breaking without previous warning
from the darkness of the night.
The expression - The Bridegroom is coming. represents him as still on his way. He has set forth, but is not yet arrived at the hall of the feast.
This marks the time at which the dead awake. The interval between this
commenced approach and its ceasing at a distance from the earth (when it is
called his presence)
([Greek...]) gives the time that elapses between the rising of the
saintly dead and their being caught up (in conjunction with the living saints)
to meet him. That it is very brief, the parable shows. The Bridegrooms
setting out takes place while all are asleep. But his
coming is after all are awake.
Come ye forth to meet him. The virgins first going forth was
not enough. Here they are required to come forth again. And the explanation of the sleep above
given, clears up the point. Their first going forth as a
voluntary separation from the world. But this
second coming forth is from the tombs. The same word is used in
Scripture to express both these ideas. There met him two possessed with devils, coming
out of the tombs: Matt. 8: 28. The hour is
coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth, they that have
done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the
resurrection of damnation: John 5: 28, 29. He cried with a
loud voice, Lazarus, come
forth. And he that was dead came
forth: John 11: 43, 44. Thus we have the very command of the
parable addressed to Lazarus at his resurrection, Lazarus,
come forth!
They came forth for the purpose of
meeting him. And the place of meeting is the air: 1 Thess. 4:
17. The meeting supposes that the
Bridegroom is moving towards the earth, and that they are to move away from it. The first going
forth denotes the sanctification of the spirit; the
second, the redemption of the body. The first act is voluntary; the second
requires an awaking from without.
7. Then all those
virgins arose and trimmed their torches.
Such as the sleep is, such is the awaking, and as the awaking
so the sleep. If the sleep be death, the awaking is
the resurrection. And if the awaking at the
Bridegrooms coming be the resurrection, then is the sleep death.
The word used is that constantly applied to the resurrection, Young man,
I say unto thee, Arise:
Luke 7:
14.
Maid, arise:
8:
54.
After I am risen
again, I will go before you into
That the arising is not, as some have imagined, any present
awakening among the saints to the importance of Christs second coming is seen from these considerations. 1. The awaking takes place by a cry external to the virgins
themselves. But this awakening of believers has been owing to warnings among
themselves. 2.
When they awake there is not time for the unready virgins to repair
their mistake: which is not the case with us. 3. There is no universality in the sleeping or awaking, as in the
parable. There all sleep and all awake together. But now on the subject of the Lords advent, some believers
are awake and some asleep.
The virgins all arise at once. This proves them all believers:
for none but the saints rise at the first
resurrection. The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. And their
resurrection creates no stir in the city, nor does the Bridegrooms train enter
it. Those who are outside are awakened by the sound, but none
within the city. They rise in the same place in which they fell asleep:
for the resurrection is not the ascent of the saints.
On arising, their first care is to trim their lamps. A part of
the wick is consumed to ashes and makes the flame to
burn dimly. They all, therefore,
remove this impediment to the brightness of the torch, and the act reveals to
them the state of the supply of oil. The wise, therefore, complete what is
further necessary to the trimming of
the torch, by adding the requisite oil.
The first supply was just failing, having lasted for the same time in all. Now, therefore,
the necessity of the second supply began to appear. The wise are able to meet
that necessity. They pour in fresh oil, and the torch is rekindled as brightly
as before.
8. And the
foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil,
for our lamps are
going out.
(margin.) ([Greek ...])
With the resurrection a new state of
things begins. Then the difference between those that seemed equally ready
before begins to be perceived. We could draw no argument against the necessity
of the spiritual gifts for the coming [millennial] day of glory, from the fact that Gods
saints have fallen asleep happily, without perceiving their need of them. There
was no difference perceivable between the two companies in
their falling asleep, nor in their continuing so.
But when the foolish see the wise recruiting with fresh oil
the decaying flame of their torches, they become sensible of a preparedness
which they have not themselves. All need the fresh supply on awaking, but the wise alone can
meet the exigency. The old burns on till midnight, the
end of the former day: but a new stock is needed for the new day that is begun.
Then it is painfully felt by the foolish that the extra supply is not as they
vainly imagined, needles. They refused
it before as not essential;
but now the foolishness of God
in providing the second supply is seen to be wiser
than mans wisdom in declining it. It seemed an unnecessary burthen, for the
gifts of the Holy Ghost must, in an evil world, peculiarly provoke the enmity
and perhaps the ridicule of men.
But now they find their want of foresight.
They see at length that enough oil for the present is not enough
for the future. They see that
it was folly to imagine that what is not essential now may not be so at Christs coming. They discern that it is folly to rest content with the
present, and not to provide for the new state of things to ensue on the coming
of Jesus and the [promised select rapture and] resurrection. In the day of the bridal they find themselves unfit for that especial glory. The [Holy] Spirits powers were witness of the age to come before it came, but in the age that is
now come they find their especial sphere, and beauty,
and brightness. The want of the glory possessed by the wise will
then be keenly felt. To be
content with no more than is absolutely indispensable for the present, while it was thought
wisdom for the time, is now
discovered to be folly. The issue of the whole manifests
that while the extra supply is not essential to the character of a virgin, it is essential to the virgins entrance into the
wedding-feast. The only oil used in the
marriage-procession is the additional supply. The gifts of the Holy Ghost are first-fruits now (Rom. 8: 23), but then they will be poured out on all flesh.
The wise were prepared before they slept; and their wisdom shines brightly now. Whether the
Bridegroom came early or late they were ready: and
their torches now show it. But the torches of the
foolish throw a dying light. They are not gone out indeed, for then oil alone would not suffice to make them
ready, and they would have indeed a wick, and would rather have asked for a light than for oil. But the parable supposes all to wake in
circumstances exactly alike, as before they slept under the same circumstances;
in order that the difference of character as wise and foolish might be the more
openly demonstrated.
9. But the
wise answered, saying (Not so*), Lest
there be not enough for us and for you; but go ye rather to them that
sell, and buy for yourselves.
* The
words - Not so are added
by the translators to supply it seeming ellipsis. They might
be translated sufficiently closely to our idiom - Perhaps there would not be enough for us and you.
It has been thought
by some that this reply of the wise was intended as a keen cutting rebuke of
irony. A strange supposition! Even from a believer to
an unbeliever this were unkind, but between believers impossible. Those who
could taunt the unwise with their folly, when grace alone made them to differ,
would not be fit to enter at once into the wedding-feast of love! But in truth there is not a particle of the style of irony
about it. And had the words of the wise been those of
derision, the counsel offered would not have been taken by those to whom it was
given; since indeed it were no counsel, but a bitter jest.
Its purport is very observable, as
corroborating the interpretation given. For their answer to the address of the
foolish is not that their request is impossible to be complied with. This
would, this must have been the reply
had the question been concerning the power of the believer to communicate saving grace
to unbelievers. They do not deny the possibility of granting their petition, but they gently represent
it as inexpedient: that is, they indirectly admit the power of granting it. And
this answers to the fact that one believer is able to transmit the gifts of the
Holy Ghost to another. Nay, the laying on of an apostles hands was actually
the ordinary way of communicating them: Acts 8: 17; 9: 17; 19: 6. And this difference
answers to the difference of the oil in the torch, and the oil in the vessel.
The oil in the torch could not be communicated, as
being already imbibed by the wick: but the oil in the vessel was in a state to
be transferred at the discretion of the possessor.
The plea of the foolish is their own
necessity. The counter plea of the prudent is that they need the oil for
themselves. Had the thing been impossible, this, as the most effectual answer, would have been returned; as we see in the dialogue between
Abraham and his evil son. Send Lazarus, is the request. They that
would pass from hence to you cannot, is the reply.
Nor do either of the parties esteem
the omission on the part of the foolish to be irreparable. The wise do not
reply, as they would have done to the unbelieving (were it permitted us to suppose that the wicked would
rise at the same time with the just) - Your case is desperate. It is the day of resurrection. Your hour of grace is gone by
for ever. Do you not see how foolish your request is? Not only have we no more grace than we ourselves require in order to be saved, but were we
disposed to grant you any, as imagining ourselves to have more than enough, it
were impossible. Instead of this,
they suppose that oil was still procurable. The remedy against the omission of
the foolish, as it was open at the first, so they assume it to be even at last.
They take it for granted that in the city which they
had left, there were shops at which oil was disposed of. And
this falls in with what has been shown above, that the [Holy] Spirits gifts will be abroad on
earth in the latter days. At this point the usual interpretations fail. The
words of the wise are - Go ye rather to them that sell. It is not said,
To him that sells, as it must have been, had saving grace been the matter in question: for who
can communicate this but God? But the power of communicating the gifts of the
Holy Ghost was committed at first (and therefore we may conclude that it will
be so at last also) to more than one. The selling doubtless,
is that kind of sale of which the prophet speaks - Buy wine and
milk without
money and without
price: Isa. 55: 1. And we know one
who was reproved with awful solemnity for supposing that the gift of God could
be purchased by money.
The sellers are those who keep more than sufficient for their
own supply, and whose office it is to impart, on certain terms, to others. Such
were the apostles; to whom was imparted the power of
bestowing gifts on believers of the first age.
The prudent here prudently refuse, because the supply, though
enough for one, might not be enough for two.
10. But while
they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came,
and they that were ready went in with him to the
marriage feast ([See Greek...])
and the
door was shut.
The error of the foolish is not irreparable
in its nature, but the parable is intended to show
that it is not repaired in result. It was
a question of time, but time was not afforded. The
remedy came too late.
The foolish see the justice of the
refusal of the wise, and perceive also that their
advice is the only alternative that presents itself under the circumstances.
Their going to obtain a supply is necessary, and is felt
to be so; but the very means adopted to retrieve the error only display it more
manifestly. They are compelled to withdraw from the scene, and to sever
themselves from the company of the wise. But this departure, though necessary,
carries with it exclusion. They are not upon the spot when the Bridegroom
arrives, and the procession cannot tarry. The voluntary separation, therefore,
is the first step to an involuntary one. The refusal of oil by the virgins is
the prelude to a refusal of a place at the feast by the Bridegroom.
On purpose to manifest the wisdom of the wise, and by
contrast, their improvidence, as
soon as they have withdrawn, the Bridegroom comes. In what follows, speed is set
forth - The Bridegroom came - those ready went in - the door was shut.
By the going in to the wedding-feast
is, I believe, meant the catching up of the saints, that they may enter into
the gates of the new Jerusalem - the bridal city, the
wife of the Lamb.
The feast is on high [in
heaven], for this is the place of the sons of
God raised from the dead. And the parable of the Great
Supper informs us that none of those to whom the wedding-feast was first
proclaimed should taste of it; Luke 14: 24. And hence its
scene is not earth, but heaven; not the living in the flesh, but the saints of
incorruptible bodies.
This [select] rapture of the saints takes place at the thief-like
coming of the Son of Man. It is a sudden momentary glance, like the lightning
opening heaven for a moment with its flash, and suddenly shutting it again. It
is in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye. The
open door answers to the glory suddenly shining forth: the closed door, to the
darkness settling on all things again.
The door that is opened and shut is
that of the house of God in heaven. In my Fathers house are many mansions: John 14: 2. For we know that
if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building from God (ek) an house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is
from heaven. This
gives us, however, not so much the general place of assembly of the saints, as
our own special locality in the city. But what follows
casts light, as I suppose, upon the parable. If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked: 2 Cor. 5: 1-3. For the foolish virgins are in the
condition of those who have not watched and kept their garments. Hence the thief-like presence of the Lord is come upon them
unawares; though they are clothed with their immortal bodies, because they are
risen again. Yet are they found naked; because in the hour in which one is taken up and another is left behind,
they remain upon the earth. Thus they walk naked, and
men see their shame. The torches were the proof that they were serious of
entering the wedding, and seemed to have almost the certainty of doing so; but
they are now memorials of their disgrace. The house has been broken into because
not guarded, and the master has to mourn over his loss, with the melancholy
reflection that it was owing to his own want of vigilance, and not to want of
warning.
Of this part of the parable
we have a beautiful illustration in the book of Revelation. As soon as the Saviour has finished
giving to John the counsels and warnings to the church; as soon as He has
threatened His thief-like coming, and has made promise with the obedient to sup
with him (chapter
3), we read, After this I saw and behold a door
was opened in heaven. He
is called up by a voice like a trumpet, a token of that
which is to awake the dead, and the voice says, Come up hither. And the result to himself was, that he was there immediately in
the spirit, as these will be there in the body
also.
The door was
shut.
1. The use of a door is to shut out
those without from sight and hearing. It is the means recommended by the
Saviour, when we would be hidden from men, and in
communion with God: Matt.
6:
6. And even thus the glory of the
bridal feast is shut out from man. It is a magnificent assembly, of which the
sleeping world is ignorant. The shut door hides the brightness from their eyes,
and prevents the melody from reaching their ears.
2. It marks the determination of the
owner to sever between the guests and those without. It is the signal of full
and free communication among those that are within, and the cutting off of communication and communion with those without. It is
an effectual barrier interposed against entrance from without, as it intimates
also the full acceptance of those within (Luke 11: 7), and is the token that the feast is begun. Heaven has before been shut from men, as it regarded the
out-pouring of its earthly treasures of rain. But this
shutting up is for the prevention of those without from entering into its
glories.
If we inquire by whom it is shut, we
shall find it is by the Bridegroom. A door was opened to me of the Lord: 2 Cor. 2: 12. I
have set before thee an open door, and none can
shut it: Rev. 3: 8. As the master of the house, it depends on His will to admit
or to exclude: Luke 13: 25.
11. Now
afterwards came also the other virgins, saying,
Lord, Lord, open unto us. 12. But He answered
and said, Verily, I say unto you, I know you not.
Whether they were successful in their
errand is not stated. But if
they have obtained at length the needed supply, it has come too late. The
opportunity has slipped by. The once open door is shut.
It is not clear whether they are caught up into heaven afterwards, or whether
they are supposed to return to the same spot at which they left the wise, and
on finding them departed, perceive the loss they have
sustained. The others entered in They come. They try their last and forlorn hope by making a personal appeal to the
Bridegroom for admittance - Lord, Lord, open unto us. But their suit is refused. It is refused
in terms so strong, as to make many suppose that it implies the eternal
perdition of those so addressed. But a nearer
examination of the words will show us that this is not intended. Indeed, in
some most important points it stands in contrast to those cases
which seem to resemble it.
First, then, it is uttered by the
Bridegroom to brides-maidens; and it implies, I as bridegroom do
not recognize you as guests and companions of the bride at the feast. But the
characters of Bridegroom and of brides-maidens are temporary characters. Hence while they have lost that peculiar and temporary privilege
represented by the title of virgins, they ay yet be received after the feast is over. And in
accordance with this, the words, I know you not, stand in contrast to those which are
addressed to the wicked - I never knew you. The address to the foolish implies only - During the present period of the feast, my countenance will
not be upon you for joy. But it does not add
the fearful declaration, that, You are none of my
chosen ones; your names are not in the book of life at all.
The exclusion is punishment enough - the loss of privilege
consequent upon the neglect of the call to vigilant preparation is its own
sufficient recompense. They have done much with a view to the desired end, yet
for want of forecast have come short of it. This loss is enough of itself.
There is the being ashamed before Christ at His coming; and shame is the proper recompense of folly. Punishment is not
awarded to folly by a
judge. The damage it brings to a mans own interests is
considered sufficient. None is injured but the mans own self.
A bridegroom is not judge of brides-maidens. Therefore, there
is not, as in the other cases, the sentence of the judge, Depart
from me. It is now only - While I am feasting, you cannot enter, but must wait without. I have the key of David - I shut
and none opens. I open and none shuts. Nor is a word added as to their character. They are not addressed as workers of iniquity, for then they
would be more than foolish, but now they are the unwise ones among the children
of light, reaping the sad wages of their imprudence. Nor is there any word of
the outer
darkness and weeping and
gnashing of teeth, as in the cases of utter exclusion. For that is the sentence on
faithlessness and wickedness, and want of the wedding garment: Matt. 8: 12; 13:
42, 50; 22:
13; 24: 51; Luke 13:
28. This silence, then, of the Saviour,
on these points, in the present instance, is a true silence: it gives us to understand that the loss of
privilege is all.
The entrance to the marriage feast of the Lamb is set forth as
a peculiar blessedness: Rev. 19: 9. It is not a necessary thing, short of which is perdition. It
is a glory bright but brief, before the Lord Jesus is
manifested from the open heavens: Rev. 19: 11. It is not intended for all the
subjects of the kingdom, but for the household. The feast may be lost, and yet
the loser be the partaker in the kingdom which is
revealed. And he who misses it, does so by an error answering to want of
punctuality; as when a passenger, having paid his fare by a vessel, and sent on
board his goods, arrives after the time required, and loses both his money and
his passage. The vexation and damage sustained are, in such cases, rebuke
enough. Here is a suffering loss, a diminish ing of the: 1 full reward Cor. 3: 15; 2 John 8.
13. Watch,
therefore, for ye know
neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man cometh.
This is the great lesson of the parable applied to the
disciples, and enforced by the result of the preceding history. The wise were
vigilant that they might not lose the great object of their desire as
brides-maidens, and therefore, being ignorant at what time the bridegroom might
come, they prepared themselves for the latest hour, and the most unfavourable
case, that the expected pleasure might not escape them. Not only were their
lamps furnished with what was indispensable for present consumption, but they had an eye to future need, and provided themselves
with a second supply. The foolish were ready if the Bridegroom had come early
but if He came late, their present supply of oil might not be enough. And this
possibility, against which they neglected to secure themselves, as the wise had
done, proved the inlet to the disastrous result to themselves. But it was wholly traceable to their own improvidence that
they were excluded from the feast.
The lesson is the same to us. Do you take, like the wise
virgins, the second supply of oil. Go seek, without
money, and yet with fervent, importunate prayers, the gifts of the Holy Ghost.
Buy before you fall asleep in Jesus, for if you have them not ere then, it will
be too late. Be ready, not for the present alone, but provide for the future of
Christs appearing. And as
you know not the day nor the hour of it, nor whether He shall find you asleep
or awake, prepare for either. The day of His coming will make a separation
between the wise and the foolish. The [Holy] Spirits gifts are not indeed necessary for the
present, but the parable shows that for an admission into the guest-chamber of
the wedding, they are. Is this indeed the lesson of the parable? How important
then that we should covet earnestly the best gifts! Let me beg the believer
to search the Scriptures and see whether these things are not so.
(Concluded)
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THE ADVENT
It is a significant fact in the history of the Church that the
blessed hope, instead of fading with time, has
come, in these latter days, to be a vastly more prominent truth to countless
Christians than for ages before. - BISHOP HANDLEY MOULE.
Never did the sacred opportunity to watch with Christ return
to His disciples. Lost then (Mark 14: 41), it was lost forever. And if now when Jesus is still beholding the travail of His
soul in the redemption of the world, if we fail to be with Him watching for
souls as they that must give account, remember that the opportunity will never
return. Watch, therefore,
says our Lord, lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. - A. J. GORDON, D.D.
* *
*
ONE TAKEN AND ONE LEFT
By ROBERT
GOVETT
The one shall be taken. Nor is the other
left because concealed from the eye of man; for both
are in the field, where the eye would take in the two
as in the same open space together. Both are equally in the daylight, in Matthew (24:
40); both equally in bed, and so probably
in darkness - in Luke (17: 34) - when this mysterious force separates them. Can this be the
act then of any other than God, of whom it is written, The darkness and the light to THEE are both alike? There is no security against this hand
within doors or without. But walls and doors are
barriers to all of mortal bodies.
1. The taking is quite sudden. To them there has been no previous signal.
Neither sight nor sound has disturbed them from their daily round of toil. This
unexpectedness then finds them in their ordinary posture of soul. Had they, by
sound or sign, been aware of the day or hour, then surely they would have been
upon their knees in the midst of the assembly of the saints.
2. The separation
is most rapid. Quickly as the sentence which describes
it is uttered, so speedily will the severance be. And
the Saviours words are in this case peculiarly brief, to intimate the speed of
the removal. That they are men and women is known only
by the gender of the participles. There is no connecting particle between the
words descriptive of the destiny of the women and the men. Then shall
two be in the field; the one is taken and the
other is left: two grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. The language hurries, and would
suggest to us the celerity of the result.
At this point, the questions will
naturally arise:- (1)To what class do the taken and the left belong? And (2) of what character
are the taking and the leaving? Now these * points mutually affect each other,
as we shall see on considering the answers given to the questions above
supposed. It may be replied -
1. The two are Jews.
2. The two are Christians: one a nominal, the other a real believer.
3. Both are believers: the one watchful,
the other unwatchful.
1. Now if we take up with the idea that
both are Jews then the taking will be in wrath, for destruction; and the leaving will indicate Gods mercy sparing the
other to enjoy length of life on the millennial earth.
2. If the parties be
both Christian, then, as length of life on earth is not the promise to believers
in Jesus, the leaving will signify dishonour, and the taking the rapture to
glory. This applies to both the two last suppositions.
3. And again, if the taking be for honour, the parties are Christians ; as, if the taking be for wrath, the parties are
Jews. This is the point by which the question will be decided.
In regard to the meaning of the taking and
leaving, it is granted on both sides that the two are opposites. If therefore
we know the moral meaning of the taking, we know that of the leaving; and the converse. Now the alternatives as to the meaning
of the taking are these: It signifies either (1) the removal in wrath, or (2)
the removal in mercy. If then the taking be not a removal in wrath, it is for
mercy. But here again we must distinguish. The removal
in mercy may be of two kinds:- Either (1) the earthly escape from the wrath
upon
(1) First, then,
the taking is not for wrath, as appears by the word employed. It is quite
different from that which describes the destruction wrought by the deluge. The flood came and took them all away ([See Greek ...]). The word used to describe the separation between the
two in the field and at the mill is another ([s Greek word ... ]). To which I add, that the same word is
used by both Matthew and Luke, when speaking of the same thing; which, I infer,
implies that there is a peculiar appropriateness in it to express the thing
intended.
Now the idea expressed by the word in question, is the taking
one as a companion by our side. It is ordinarily the result of friendship. It
is the word used by the Lord Jesus to describe his final reception of his
people to himself. I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14: 3). By the same word
Jesus describes the evil spirits choice of companions. Then goeth he
and taketh with himself seven other spirits more
wicked than himself (Matt. 12: 45).
(2) But it may be
pleaded that, while indeed the taking intends honour done to the party taken,
yet it follows not that this power is the rapture heaven-ward,
but only the earthly escape. The taking may mean one put into a place of safety
on earth, no less than in heaven. Athaliah arose and destroyed all the seed royal. But
Jehosheba ... took Joash ... and stole him from among the kings sons
that were slain, and they hid him, even him and his nurse in the bed-chamber from Athaliah,
so that he was not slain (2 Kings 11: 1, 2). Thus also
the angels laid hold on
The Saviour, where the earthly escape is in question, demands,
as the condition of that deliverance,
the most earnest and instant flight (Matt.
24:
17).
Had that been the matter here, the passage before us must have borne marks of it
in some such way as follows:- Two shall be in the field: one shall flee, and the one shall be left and taken. In
such case the taking would be manifestly evil, implying the captivity of the
party, and his being caught in the danger which the other evades. The two
deliverances in the history of the flood are either Enochs passive removal, or Noahs
active escape: the
first before the tribulation,
the other at its crisis. Now the deliverance here is wholly passive,
In the present case, both are one moment together,
the next, without any effort on either of their parts, severed: one only
remains in the field. The one is taken: the other is left. The same
force that took but one, could, had it so pleased, have taken
both.
This deliverance is passive, and therefore discovers the Enoch
rapture. God took him, in the days that were before the flood. The flood
overwhelmed all not in the ark. The difference then was not, that both the preserved and the drowned
being in the same circumstances when the wrath began, the one was left
on earth, and the other removed from it in destruction; but that the saved were
in different circumstances from the
lost, the righteous being within the ark, the lost
outside it.
In the first part of the prophecy on Olivet
the warning is directed against the physical burdens which unfit for active bodily exertion: in the parables
and exhortations which succeed this sign, the Saviours voice is raised against
the spiritual burdens of covetousness,
love of the pleasures of life, and engrossment with its cares. Take heed to yourselves as regards your moral state, is
the cry to the church: beware of things without, is the call to the earthly elect.
I conclude, in short, that the taking is proved to be the rapture of the watchful believer, by the following
proofs. (1) The force of the words
used. (2) The warning subjoined,
which would be quite incongruous on any other view. (3) The drift of the context, which
implies that the leaving is the unfavourable alternative. (4) The connexion of the parables which follow. Thus alone are the thief and the
theft explained. (5) Thus the leaving stands
explained as seen in the virgins suffered to stand without. (6) Thus the connexion with the Presence
is discerned. (7) This accounts for
the passivity of the favoured one.
From the same view we learn that the
taking is the sign of the Presence. (1)
The eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, are not the sign
of the Presence, being in fact only the ordinary course of this present evil
age. (2) Nor is the escape into the
ark the sign of the Presence, but the sign of the flood, or of the destruction
at hand. (3) Nor is the destruction,
which follows hard on that escape, the sign of the Saviours Presence, but only
the effect of the day of the Lord (1 Thess.
5:
2,
3).
The day of the Lord is so coming as a thief
in the night ... then sudden destruction cometh upon them.
I conclude, then, that nothing but the rapture will satisfy
the conditions of the parable, and that the two are [regenerate] believers. To unbelievers it would be neither loss nor shame
to be left. The two are suited companions of each
other, but not equally ready to be
companions of Messiah. Friend is severed from friend, and the loss is both more
startling than that of the stranger, and answers so nearly to the separation
between the wicked and the just, as to be deeply painful to the one left
behind.
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