CHAPTER XXIII.
I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.—Psalm xl. 9.
It is said, to the immortal honour of Noah, that he was a preacher of righteousness to the Old World:[52] but as the glory of the latter dispensation far exceeds that of the former,[53] so is its founder greatly distinguished from all the prophets and teachers under the Jewish economy. We find Jesus actively engaged in preaching his own gospel, whenever opportunity offered, free from the trammels of form, and the circumscribed rules of human order. We see him in the temple, and the field; in the synagogue, and on a mountain; in the crowded street, and the wilderness; in the house, and by the sea shore: at one time to the crowded throng, and then to the little troop of disciples; now to learned rabbies and rulers, and then to a few fishermen of Galilee; but in every place and company he was a preacher of righteousness. He did not refrain his lips from fear of man. He did not hesitate to publish doctrines necessary to be known, because they were of a kind likely to be ungraciously received. He shunned not to proclaim the whole truth; whether men would hear, or whether they would forbear. Again, look at him as a preacher of righteousness. All he taught was pure and undefiled as the light of heaven. He did not flatter one vice, or countenance one folly. He described sin as hateful to God, whether in the priest or people, the ruler or the ruled. He taught the Jews, who rested in the mere letter of the law, that it is of a spiritual nature, "extending not only to the outward actions," but to the "thoughts and intents of the heart." He inculcated obedience, not on the narrow principle of self love, or to gain the praise of man; but he insisted, that it can only be acceptable to God when springing from a principle of love to God and man. He did not instruct his hearers to keep a fair exterior only, but he went at once to the seat of iniquity, the human heart; and declared that the fountain must be first cleansed before the streams can be made pure. Again, we behold him as a preacher of righteousness, declaring that "except our righteousness exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." He taught that we must be clothed with a better righteousness than our tattered rags, ere we can be allowed to sit down at the "marriage supper of the Lamb," where all the guests are arrayed in "fine linen, clean and white," which fine linen is the "righteousness of the saints." This wedding garment is provided by the Lord of the feast, and is the spotless robe of Jesus's perfect and complete righteousness.
CHAPTER XXIV.
I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old.—Psalm lxxviii. 2.
We hear Balaam, the son of Beor, from the heights of Moab, attended by an idolatrous king and prince, taking up his parable on the multitudes of Israel. We also find many of the prophets of the Lord in the different ages of the Church, presenting their Master's message in the dress of parable. The sweet singer of Israel is here said to open his mouth in a parable, and utter dark sayings, which have been kept secret since the foundation of the world. But we are compelled to pass by this son of Jesse, to direct our attention to one who may not unaptly be styled 'the man of parables.' Jesus so frequently used them in his discourse to the multitude, that it is said "that without a parable spake he not unto them;" and who can read his parables without exclaiming, "surely never man spake like this man." His discourses are adorned with the striking force and luxuriant imagery of the East. He made use of the most beautiful language and elegant ideas, to impress on the mind a knowledge of things which are not seen and spiritual, by similies drawn from things which are seen and temporal. Who can read the affecting representation of the pity and forgiveness God manifests towards the ungrateful, rebellious, but afterwards penitent sinner, so forcibly displayed in the parable of the Prodigal Son, without being charmed at the happy simplicity that pervades the whole. Unlike the productions of men, the words of Jesus, like the works of creation, display new beauties on every attentive examination. They lose nothing by a minute inspection—they are not mere empty words: at every perusal they are increasingly attractive, and we discover that the most sublime truths are taught, where, perhaps, at the first reading, we beheld nothing particularly instructive or engaging.