The Parable of the Ten Virgins Opened, Parable · Verse 13 · Question 7
Queſt. 7. But is it not then unſafe, (at leaſt Imprudent) for any man to hint the poſſible Nearneſs of this Time, which is Deſigned for ſo great a ſecret?
Anſw. 1. VVe are not Ordinarily ſo apt to Antedate, as to put far away the Evil-day, Am. 6. 3. ſuch as this is: and the Delaying whereof is that which men are commonly moſt ſubject unto, Mat. 24. 48. and is therefore ſaid to be the Character of Evil Servants. And if I muſt Needs fall, let me fall rather forwards, (in a Doubtfull Caſe at leaſt) which is leſs Dangerous of the Two, as in the Letter, ſo in the Myſtery. And as to Prudence, Chriſt witneſſed on her behalf (and to her Praiſe) who came Afore-hand with a Memorial of his Reſurrection, ſuch as the Anoynting (or Embalming) of his Body was, Mark 14. 8. Nor doth it ſo much ſavour of worldly Wiſdom, to be too forward in a Witneſs of this Nature, (which is ſo croſs to carnal Intereſt,) as to hang Back, till Providence hath put the matter out of all Diſpute.
2. I ſee no Danger at all in Early Apprehenſions of this kind, when they are Duely bounded. Thoſe were Preſumptuous, who would Goe up and Fight (at ſuch a time,) directly Croſs to an Expreſs Command, Deut. 1. 43. but when the Scripture doth not forbid it, we then may ſafely Hope unto the End of Plauſible grounds: eſpecially, if matters of Practice (urged unto) are mainly founded on more ſubſtanſtantial bottoms. Let any man evince the Interfering of my ſober Expectations with the Scripture, and I ſhall then ceaſe therefrom: but elſe, the Lord takes pleaſure in his Peoples Hope, Pſal. 147. 11. Nor have I exhorted unto any Preſent Practice, ſave what doth ſeem to be a Duty, how far ſoever we may be from the Bridegrooms coming.
3. Yet is it Therefore meet we ſhould be very ſober in our Conjectures of this Nature: ſince No man Certainly doth Know how long (at leaſt) the Bridegroom may yet Tarry. And this may partly be intended here; eſpecially ſince being Sober, is elſewhere joyned with being Watchfull; and in relation to This Coming of our Lord, 1 Theſſ 5. 4, 6. 1 Pet. 4. 7. The Nearer he is at Hand, the more ſhould all men Know our Moderation, Phil. 4. 5. and more eſpecially with reference unto that Time, which he hath locked up in his own Cabinet. This I doe here declare to be the Rule by which my former Application (of this Parable unto our Preſent time) is to be judged of; and that I have not pretended to Infallibility.
4. Enquiries (with Sobriety) into this Hidden Myſtery, are no where Blamed, but Encouraged, as being of uſe, with reference unto theſe latter dayes. Indeed the Primitive Chriſtians were forbid to think, Chriſt's Proper Coming was Then at Hand, before the Man of Sin was up, 2 Theſſ. 2. 2, 3. but Now the Reaſon of that Prohibition is Removed. Yea we are bid to Argue from ſuch evident Signs, as to the Drawing Near of our Redemption, Luke 21. 8. and there is an Increaſe of Knowledge Promiſed unto the Runners to and fro, at ſuch a Time, Dan. 12. 4. nor is there any Danger hinted, ſave with reſpect to men's Delaying it, Mat. 24. 48. Nor will it Repent us, if kept Awake, though by Diſcourſing as Men, or with Miſtakes.
5. Chriſt's chief Deſign, in bidding us to VVatch, (becauſe No man doth know that Day and Hour,) is to Provoke our being in a Preſent Readineſs, and to prevent our putting that Time off, or at ſome further Diſtance. This is Apparent, both from his Explanation of it Otherwhere, Luke 12. 40. and from the Reaſon of this Preſent Exhortation, viz. the fooliſh (unprepared) Virgins ſad Experience here, who therefore Periſh, becauſe of their Preſuming upon longer time. So that Chriſt's Principal Meaning is, Ye know not [how ſoon] that Day will come, and therefore ye have need to Watch. From whence it followeth, that ſuch do utterly miſtake Chriſt's Drift and their own Intereſt, who are more fearful of being Haſty, than of Lingring, as to their Sober Expectations of this kind.