Luke 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will… I. THE LORD JEHOVAH IS OUR JUST AND LAWFUL MASTER, AND LEGITIMATELY CLAIMS OUR SUPREME AFFECTION FOR HIS EXCELLENCIES, AND OUR ENTIRE OBEDIENCE TO HIS LAWS. He makes His claims, and He has a right to them. 1. Has He not a right to our supreme affection, and our entire devotedness to His will, as our Creator? 2. The claim will increase when we consider that He is not merely our Father in giving us existence, so that we derive our being from Him, but that we receive our wellbeing from Him. 3. His claims are still higher, and we may say, resistless, on the ground of redemption. II. THE LORD JEHOVAH HAS AFFORDED YOU AND ME, AS HIS SERVANTS, THE CLEAREST KNOWLEDGE OF HIMSELF, AND OF HIS RIGHT OVER US, AND OF HIS WILL TOWARDS US, AND OF HIS EXPECTATIONS FROM US. 1. By a letter — a book. 2. By His servants — the persons who bear the letter. 3. By the unction of His Holy Spirit imparted to us. III. IT IS EVIDENT, FROM THE CHOICE AND CONDUCT OF MANY, THAT, THOUGH THEY MUST AND DO KNOW THEIR MASTER'S WILL, YET THEY DO NOT "PREPARE THEMSELVES NOR DO ACCORDING TO IT." IV. THE SIN OF SUCH MEN, THEREFORE, IS STAMPED WITH PECULIAR MALIGNITY, AND, WITHOUT PARDON, WILL BE FOLLOWED BY THE SEVEREST PUNISHMENT. You that know your Master's will, and do it not — remember, your sin is stamped with peculiar malignity. The malignity of a crime always bears proportion to the known dignity of the character insulted. To insult a constable, in the exercise of his official capacity, is a crime; to insult a magistrate on the bench is a greater; to insult a monarch on his throne is rebellion. Therefore, the gradation of crime always rises in proportion to the known dignity of the character offended. Then what must be — what must be the black aggravation of your crime, who know your Master's will, and know who that Master is, and yet do not "prepare yourselves nor do according to it"? You sin against God the Father in His laws — and you know Him to be so; you "trample under foot the blood of the Son of God" — and you know Him to be so; you "do despite unto the Spirit of Grace" — and you know who it is that you are doing despite unto. Remember, also, there is an aggravation in the case. It is not one sin committed once; it is the same sin committed again and again, under growing aggravations. Human laws say — for the first offence the penalty shall be light, for the second it shall be doubled, for the third it shall be trebled, and so on, so that punishment always bears proportion to the multitude of the offences. Very well; then, pray what sort of a sinner must you be? You know your Master's will, and do it not; and that is not in one instance — one sin once committed, or one duty once omitted, or one blessing once neglected — it is the same sin committed again, and again, and again, a thousand times repeated with increasing aggravations. Judge, then, "wicked and slothful servant," of such a Master! what must be the malignity of your sin. And then, again, it is not one sin committed a thousand times even, but a multitude of sins committed again and again with those magnifying aggravations. (W. Dawson.) Parallel Verses KJV: And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. |
    |