He foretells the persecutions CHAPTER X. 17 But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the Councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 194 But when they deliver you up, take ne thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak: 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and 9 Mark 13.9 Luke 12 11. & 21. 12.-b Acts 5. 40-e Acts 12. 1. & 10 & 57, 2 Tim 416 Mark 13, 11, 12, 13, Luke 12 11. & 21. 14, 15. E412 Jer 1 7-12 Sam. 3. 2. Adin 4. 5. 6. 10. 2 Tim. 4. 17. to stupidity; Hos. vii. 11. but Jesus Christ corrects here the cunning of the serpent, by the simplicity of the doce; and the great simplicity of the dove by the cunning of the serpent. For a fine illustration of this text, see the account if the Boiga: of the first (hristians. the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: i but he that endureth to the end, shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and g Mic 7.6 Ver. 33, 26. Luke 21. 16.-b Luke 21. 17.-1 Dan. 12 12, 13. Ch. 24. 13′′, Mark 13 13-kh. 2 13 & 4 12, & 12. 15. Acts 81 & 9. 25. & 14 6.-1 Or end, or finished.-m Ch. 16. 29-n Lake 6. 40. John 13. 16. & 15. 20. Councils] Evvcopia, sanhedrims, and synagogues. See on chap. v. 22. "By synagogues we may understand here, not the places of public worship, but assemblies where three magistrates, chosen out of the principal members of the synagogue, presided to adjust differences among the people: these had power, in certain cases, to condemn to the scourge, but not to death. See Acts xxii. 19. 2 Cor. xi. 24. compared with Luke xii. 11." See Lightfoot. 16. Ye shall be brought before governors, &c.] "This affords a striking proof of the prescience of Christ. Who could have thought at that time, that these despised and illiterate men could excite so much attention, and be called upon to apologize for the profession of their faith, before the tribunals of the most illustrious personages of the earth?"-Wakefield. By governors and kings we may understand, the Roman proconsuls, governors of provinces, and the kings who were tributary to the Roman government, and the emperors themselves, before whom many of the primitive Christians were brought. For a testimony against them and the Gentiles.] That is, to render testimony, both to Jews and Gentiles, of the truth and power of my Gospel. усе 19. Take no thought how or what shall speak.] Μη μεριμ vere-Be not anriously careful, because such anxiety argues distrust in God, and infallibly produces a confused mind. In such a state, no person is fit to proclaim or vindicate the truth. This promise, It shall be given you, &c. banishes all distrust and inquietude on dangerous occasions: but without encouraging sloth and negligence, and without dispensing with the obligation we are under to prepare ourselves by the meditation of sacred truths, by the study of the Holy Scriptures, and by prayer. "This species is remarkably beautiful, combining the rich est colours of the finest gems, with the splendour of burnished gold, mingled with dark brown shades, which contrast and heighten its brilliant ornaments. The whole under surface of the head and body is of a silver white, separated from the changing blue of the back by a golden cham on each side, the whole length of the body. This fine blue and silver, ornament ed with gold, by no means give a full idea of the beautiful embroidery of the Boiga. We must take in all the reflected tints of silver colour, golden yellow, red, blue, green, and black mingled, and changing in the most extraordinary and beautiful manner possible; so that, when about to change its skin, it seems studded with a mixt assemblage of diamonds, emeralds, topazes, sapphires, and rubies, under a thin transpa. rent veil of bluish crystal. Thus, in the rich and torrid plains of India, where the most splendid gems abound, nature seems to have chosen to reunite them all, together with the noble metals, to adorn the brilliant robe of the Boiga. This is one of the most slender of serpents in proportion to its length. The specimens in the royal collection, which exceed three feet in length, are hardly a few lines in diameter. The tail is almost as long as the body, and at the end is like a needle for fineness; yet it is sometimes flattened above, below, and on the two sides, rendering it in some measure square. From the delicacy of its form, its movements are necessarily extremely agde: so that, doubling itself up several times, it can spring to a considerable distance with great swiftness. It can twine and twist itself, most readily, and nimbly, around trees or other such bodies; climbing, or descending, or suspending itself, with the utmost facility. The Boiga feeds on small brds, which it swallows very easily, notwithstanding the small diameter of its body, in consequence of the great dis. tensibility of its jaws, throat, and stomach, common to it with other serpents. It conceals itself under the foliage of trees, on purpose to surprise the small birds; and is said to attract them by a peculiar kind of whistling, to which the term of song has been applied: but we must consider this as an ex-fully opened by their extraordinary inspiration. In a certain aggeration; as its long divided tongue, and the conformation of its other organs of sound, are only adapted for producing a hiss, or species of simple whistle, instead of formning a me lodious assemblage of tones. Yet, if nature has not reckoned the Boiga among the songsters of the woods, it seems to posa more perfect instinct than other serpents, joined to more agile movements, and more magnificent ornament. In the isle of Borneo, the children play with the Boiga, without the smallest dread. They carry it in their hands, as innocent as theruselves, and twist it about their necks, arms, and bodies, in a thousand directions. This circumstance brings to recol lection that fine emblem of Candour and Confidence imagined by the genius of the ancients; a child smiling on a snake, which holds him fast in his convolutions. But, in that beautiful allegory, the snake is supposed to conceal a deadly poison; while the Boiga returns caress for caress, to the Indian chil dren who fondle it, and seems pleased to be twisted about their delicate hands. As the appearance of such nimble and tangent animals in the forests must be extremely beautiful, displaying their splendid colours, and gliding swiftly from branch to branch, without possessing the smallest noxious quality; we might regret that this species should require a de e of heat greatly superior to that of our regions, and that it can only subsist near the tropics in Asia, Africa, and Ame. r-a. It has usually a hundred and sixty-six large plates, and a hundred and twenty-eight pairs of small plates, but is subet to considerable variation. "According to this representation, the Boiga is not merely to be praised for its beauty, but may be said to fulfil the old arim of combining the wisdom of the serpent with the harm lear as of the dove." Cepede's Hist. of oviparous Quadrupeds and Serpents. Instead of actpatot, harmless, or as the Etymol. Mag. defines it, without mixture of evil, the Cod. Beza reads anλoverarot, eimple-uncompounded, so all the copies of the old Itala, the Vulite, and the Latin fathers; but this curious and explanatory reading is found in no other Greek MS. It shall be given you in that same hour what] This clause is wanting in the MSS. D. and L. and several others, some Versions, and several of the Fathers; but it is found in Mark xiii. 11. without any various reading: and in substance in Luke xi. 13. 20. For it is the Spirit of your Father, &c.] This was an extraordinary promise, and was literally fulfilled to those first preachers of the Gospel; and to them it was essentially necessary; because the New Testament dispensation was to be measure, it may be truly said, that the Holy Spirit animates the true disciples of Christ, and enables them to speak. The Head speaks in his members, by his Spirit: and it is the province of the Spirit of God to speak for God.--Neither surprise, defect of talents, nor even ignorance itself, could hurt the cause of God, in the primitive times, when the hearts and minds of those divine men were influenced by the Holy Spirit. Your Father) This is added to excite and increase their confidence in God. 21. And the brother shall deliver up the brother, &c.] What an astonishing enmity is there in the soul of man against God and goodness; that men should think they did God service, in putting to death those who differ from them in their political or religious creed, is a thing that cannot be accounted for, but on the principle of an indescribable depravity. O shame to men! devil with devil damn'd Firm concord holds, men only disagree Of creatures rational; though under hope Of heavenly grace: and God proclaiming peace, Yet live in hatred, enmity and strife Among themselves, and levy cruel wars, Wasting the earth, each other to destroy! PAR LOST, b. ii. l. 496. 22. Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake) Be. cause ye are attached to me, and saved from the corruption that is in the world; therefore the world will hate you. laws of Christ condemn a vicious world, and gall it to revenge." He that endureth to the end shall be saved.] He who holds fast faith and a good conscience to the end, till the punishment threatened against this wicked people be poured out, he shall be saved, preserved from the destruction that shall fall upon the workers of iniquity. This verse is commonly understood to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. It is also true, that they who do not hold fast faith and a good conscience till death, have no room to hope for an admission into the kingdom of God. The 23. But when they persecute you] It is prudence and humi17. But beware of men] Or, be on your guard against men, lity (when charity or righteousness obliges us not to the conTUV FOWTOY, THESE men; i. e. your countrymen; those from trary) to avoid persecution. To deprive those who are diswhom you might have reasonably expected comfort and supposed to do evil, of the opportunities of doing it: to convey the port; and especially those in power, who will abuse that power to oppress you. grace which they despise to others; to accomplish God's de signs of justice on the former, and of mercy on the latter, are e servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the douse Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and Ch 12 21 Mark 322. Luke 11. 15. John 8. 48, 2-b Gr. Beelzebul,—e Mark 4 2: Luke 8 7 & 12. 2, 3-4 Isa. 3 12, 13. Luke 12 4. 1 Pet 3. 14 consequences of the flight of a persecuted preacher. This fight is a precept to those who are highly necessary to the church of Christ, and advice to those who might imprudently draw upon themselves persecution, and of indulgence for those who are weak. But this fight is highly criminal in those Inercenary preachers, who, through love to their flesh and their property, abandon the flock of Christ to the wolf. See Quesnel. In this city, fiee ye into another] There is a remarkable repetition of this clause found in the MSS. DL. and eight others; the Armenian, Saron, all the Itala except three; Athan. Theodor. Tertul. August. Ambr. Hilar, and Juvencus. Bengel, in his Gnomon, approves of this reading. On the above authorities, Griesbach has inserted it in the text. It probably made a portion of this Gospel as written by Matthew. Ye shall not have gone over (ended or finished, margin) the cities, &c. The word reλconre here is generally understood as implying to go over or through, intimating that there should not be time for the disciples to travel over the cities of Judea, before the destruction predicted by Christ should take place. But this is very far from being the truth, as there were not less than 40 years after this was spoken, before Jerusalem was destroyed, TEAɛov kaι pavlavavтwv are used by the Septuagint, 1 Chr. xxv. 8. for those who teach, and those who learn. And THIS TEXɛis is used by the apostle, 1 Cor. ii. 6. for those who are perfectly instructed in the things of God. Ovid has used the Latin perficio, which answers to the Greek Teλcow, in exactly the same sense. Phillyrides puerum citharâ perfecit Achillem. "Chiron TAUGHT the young Achilles to play on the harp." For these reasons some contend that the passage should be translated, ye shall not have INSTRUCTED, i. e. preached the Gospel in the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. The Greek divines call baptism reλetwors or initiation. See Leigh. Crit. sacr. Edit. Amst. p. 326. 328. Dr. Lightfoot supposes the meaning to be, "ye shall not have travelled over the cities of Israel, preaching the Gospel, before the Son of man is revealed by his resurrection, Rom. i. 4. compare Acts iii. 19, 20. and v. 26. To you first God raising up his Son, sent him to bless you, &c. The epoch of the Messiah is dated from the resurrection of Christ." After all, the place may be understood literally; for τελειν τας πόλεις, το finish the cities, is only a concise mode of speech for TEλew odov dia ras modes, to complete the journey through the cities. To finish the survey, to preach in every one:-till the Son of man be come, may refer either to the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, or to the subversion of the Jewish state. See Rosenmuller. 24. The disciple is not above his master] Or in plainer terms, A scholar is not above his teacher. The saying itself requires no comment, its truth and reasonableness are selfevident, but the spirit and design of it should be carefully at tended to. Jesus is the great teacher, we profess to be his scholars. He who keeps the above saying in his heart, will never complain of what he suffers. How many irregular thoughts and affections is this maxim capable of restraining! A man is not a scholar of Christ unless he learn his doctrine; and he does not learn it as he ought, unless he put it in practice. 25. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master] Can any man who pretends to be a scholar or disciple of Je sus Christ, expect to be treated well by the world? Will not the world love its own, and them only? Why then so much impatience under sufferings, such an excessive sense of injuries, such delicacy: can you expect any thing from the world better than you receive? If you want the honour that comes from it, abandon Jesus Christ, and it will again receive you into its bosom. But you will, no doubt, count the cost before you do this. Take the converse, abandon the love of the world, &c. and God will receive you. Beelzebub] This name is variously written in the MSS. Beelzeboul, Beelzeboun, and Beelzebud, but there is a vast majority in favour of the reading Beelzebul, which should, by all means, be inserted in the text instead of Beelzebub. See the reasons below, and see the margin. It is supposed that this idol was the same with by Baal zebub, the god fly, worshipped at Ekron, 2 Kings i. 2, &c. who had his name changed afterward by the Jews to by Baal zebul, the dung god, a title expressive of the utmost contempt. It seems probable that the worship of this vile idol continued even to the time of our Lord; and the title being applied by the Jews to our blessed Lord, affords the strongest proof of the inveteracy of their malice. Dr. Lightfoot has some useful observations on this subject, which I shall take the liberty to subjoin. "For the searching out the sense of this horrid blasphemy, these things are worthy observing. "I. Among the Jews it was held, in a manner, for a matter of religion, to reproach idols, and to give them odious names. R. Akibar saith, idolatry pollutes, as it is said, Thou shalt cast away the (idol) as something that is abominable, and thou shall say to it, Get thee hence. (Isai. xxx. 22.) rather than man. what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the houseups. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. e It is in value half-penny farthing in the original, as being the tenth part of the Roman peony. See on Ch. 18. 23. R. Lazar saith, thou shalt say to it, Get thee hence; that which they call the face of God, let them call the face of a dog, That which they call my ein cos, the FOUNTAIN OF A CUP, let them call rip y ein kuts, the FOUNTAIN OF TOIL, (or of flails.), That which they call ged yah, FORTUNE, let them call geliyah, a STINK, &c. That town which sometimes was called Bethel, was afterwards call Bethaven.-See also the Tract Schabbath. "IL Among the ignominious names bestowed upon idols, the general and common one was Zebul, DUNG, or a DỰNG HILL Even to them that have stretched out their hands, bezebul, in a dunghill, (that is, in an idol temple, or in idolatry) there is hope. Thou canst not bring them (into the church) because they have stretched forth their hands, bezeoul, in a dunghill. But yet you cannot reject them, because they have repented." And a little after, He that sees them dunging, (that is, sacrificing) to an idol, let him say, cursed be he that sacrifices to a strange god. Let them, therefore, who dare, form this word in Matthew into Beelzebub. I am so far from doubting that the Pharisees pronounced the word BEELZEBUI, and that Matthew so wrote it, that I doubt not but the sense fails, if it be writ otherwise. "III. Very many names of evil spirits, or devils, occur in the Talmud, which it is needless here to mention. Among all the devils, they esteemed that devil the worst, the foulest, as it were, the prince of the rest, who ruled over the idols, and by whom oracles and miracles were given forth among the heathens and idolaters. And they were of this opinion for this reason, because they held idolatry above all other things. chiefly wicked and abominable, and to be the prince and head of evil. This demon they called by Baalzebul, not so much by a proper name, as by one more general and coumon; as much as to say, the lord of idolatry: the worst devil. and the worst thing: and they called him the prince of devils, because idolatry is the prince (or chief) of wickedness" 26. Fear them not] A general direction to all the perse. cuted followers of Christ. Fear them not, for they can make you suffer nothing worse than they have made Christ suffer, and under all trials he has promised the most ample support. For there is nothing covered, &c.] God sees every thing: this is consolation to the upright, and dismay to the wicked, and he will bring into judgment every work, and every secret thing, whether good or bad. Eccl. xii. 14. 27. What I tell you in darkness] A man ought to preach that only, which he has learned from God's Spirit, and his testimonies, but let him not pretend to bring forth any thing new or mysterious. There is nothing that concerns our sal vation that is newer than the new covenant; and in that there is, properly speaking, no mysteries: what was secret before, is now made manifest in the Gospel of the ever-blessed God. See Ephes. iii. 1-12. What ye hear in the ear] The doctor who explained the law in Hebrew, had an interpreter always by him, in whose ears he softly whispered what he said; this interpreter spoke aloud what had been thus whispered to him. Lightfoot has clearly proved this in his Hora Talmudice, and to this custom our Lord here evidently alludes. The spirit of our Lord's direction appears to be this: whatever I speak to you is for the benefit of mankind,-keep nothing from them, declare explicitly the whole counsel of God, preach ye (knovare, proclaim) on the house tops. The houses in Judea were at roofed, with a balustrade round abont, which were used for the purpose of taking the air, prayer, meditation, and, it seems from this place, for announcing things in the most public manner. As there are no bells among the Turks, a crier proclaims all times of public worship from the housetops. Whoever will give himself the trouble to consult the following Scriptures, will find a variety of uses to which these housetops were assigned. Deut. xxii. 8. Josh. ii. 6. Judg. ix. 51. Neh. viii. 16. 2 Sam. xi. 2. 2 Kings xxiii. 12. Isa. xv. 3. Jer. xxxii. 29. and Acts x. 9. Lightfoot thinks that this may be an allusion to that custom, when the minister of the synagogue, on the Sabbath eve, sounded with a trumpet six times, upon the roof of a very high house, that from thence all might have notice of the coming in of the Sabbath. The first blast signified that they should leave off their work in the field; the second, that they should cease from theirs in the city; the third, that they should light the Sabbath candle, &c. 28. Fear them not which kill the body] ToY ATOKTELYOVT WE. Those who slay with acts of cruelty, alluding probably to the cruelties which persecutors should exercise on his followers in their martyrdom-But are not able to kill the soul. Hence we find that the body and the soul are distinct principles, for the body may be slain and the soul escape; and secondly, that the soul is immaterial, for the murderers of the body are not able, un dvvaperor, have it not in their power to injure it Fear him] It is not hell fire we are to fear, but it is God. without the stroke of whose justice, hell itself would be no 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. #parrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: 1 came not to send peace but a sword. a i Sam. 14. 45. 2 Sam. 14. 11. Luke 21. 19. Acts 27. 34.-b Luke 12. 8. Kom. 10, 9, 10 - Kev 3. 5.-- Mark 8. 38. Luke 9. 25. 2 Tim. 2. 12. punishment; and whose frown would render heaven itself insupportable. What strange blindness is it to expose our souls to endless ruin, which should enjoy God eternally; and to save and pamper the body, by which we enjoy nothing but the creatures, and them only for a moment! 29. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?] Araupiov. A Roman As was one tenth of a DENARIUS, which was about sevenpence halfpenny, and one tenth of sevenpence halfpenny makes just three farthings. The word accaptov, which we translate farthing, is found among the rabbins in the word by aisar, which, according to Maimonides, is equal to four grains of silver; but is used among them to express a thing of the lowest, or almost no value. Our Lord seems to have borrowed the expression, one of them shall not fall on the ground, &c. from his own Countrymen. In Bereshith Rabba, sect. 79. fol. 77. it is said, In the time in which the Jews were compelled to apostatize, Rab. Simeon Ben. Jochai, and Eliezer his son, hid themselves in a cave, and lived upon dry husks. After thirteen years they came out, and sitting at the mouth of the cave, they observed a fowler stretching his nets to catch birds; and, as of ten as the Bath Kol said po dimos, escape, the bird esca ped: but when it said No spicula, a dart, the bird was taken. Then the rabbin said, Even a bird is not taken with out heaven, i. e. without the will of God, how much less the life of man! The doctrine intended to be inculcated is this: The providence of God extends to the minutest things; every thing is continually under the government and care of God, and nothing occurs without his will or permission: if then he regards sparrows, how much more man, and how much more still the soul that trusts in him. Fall on the ground] Instead of en ny ynv, Origen, Cle ment, Chrysostom, Juvencus, and six MSS. of Mathai, read Eis Tay mayida, into a snare. Bengel conjectures that it might have been written at first, en ny ayny; that the first syllable ra, being lost out of the word, yny, the earth, instead of wayny, snare, became the common reading. in the cause of Christ. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance fagainst his fa 36 Anda man's foes shall be they of his own household. 38 And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, e Luke 12 49, 51, 52, 53–1 Mic. 7 5-g Ps. 41 9. & 53. 13. Mie 7. 6. John 13. 18-h Luke 14. 26-1 Ch. 16. 24 Mark & Luke 9 14. 27. earthly than on heavenly things; and prefers the friendship of men to the approbation of God. Let it be remembered, that to be renounced by Christ, is to have him neither for a Mediator nor Saviour. To appear be. fore the tribunal of God without having Christ for our aðvo. cate, and, on the contrary, to have him there as our judge, and a witness against us,-how can a man think of this and not die with horror! 34. Think not that I am come to send peace, &c.] The meaning of this difficult passage will be plain, when we con sider the import of the word peace, and the expectation of the Jews. I have already had occasion to remark (ver. 12) that the word shalom. rendered by the Greeks spyn, was used among the Hebrews to express all possible bless. ings, temporal and spiritual; but especially the former. The expectation of the Jews was, that when the Messiah should coine, all temporal prosperity should be accumulated on the land of Judea; therefore rny yn, in this verse, should not be translated the earth, but this land. The import of our Lord's teaching here, is this, Do not imagine, as the Jews in general vainly do that I am come to send forth (Baλew) by forcing out the Roman power, that temporal prosperity which they long for; I am not come for this purpose, but to send forth (Bar) the Roman sword, to cut off a disobedient and rebellious nation, the cup of whose iniquity is already full, and whose crimes cry aloud for speedy vengeance. See also on Luke xii. 49. From the time they rejected the Messiah, they were a prey to the most cruel and destructive factions; they employed their time in butchering one another, till the Roman sword was unsheathed against them, and desolated the land. 35. I am come to set a man at variance] The Spirit of Christ can have no union with the spirit of the world. Even a father, while unconverted, will oppose a godly child. Thus the spirit that is in those who sin against God, is opposed to that spirit which is in the followers of the Most High. It is the spirits then that are in opposition, and not the persons. 36. A man's foes shall be they of his own household.] Our "A little before the coming of the Messiah, the son shall insult the father, the daughter rebel against her mother, the daughter. in-law against her mother-in-law; and each man shall have his own household for his enemies." Again, in sanhedrim, fol. 97. it is said, "In the age in which the Messiah shall come, the young men shall turn the elders into ridicule: the elders shall rise up against the youth, the daughter against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and the men of that age shall be excessively impudent; nor shall the son reverence his father." These are most remarkable sayings, and by them our Lord shows them that he was the Messiah, for all these things literally took place shortly after their final rejection of Christ. See the terrible account, given by Jose. phus, relative to the desolations of those times. Through the 30. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered)-Just judgment of God, they who rejected the Lord that bought Nothing is more astonishing than the care and concern of them, became abandoned to every species of iniquity; they God for his followers. The least circumstances of their life rejected the salvation of God, and fell into the condemnation are regulated, not merely by that general providence which of the devil. extends to all things; but by a particular providence, which fits and directs all things to the design of their salvation, caus. ing them all to co-operate for their present and eternal good. Rom. v. Without your Father.] Without the will of your Father: Tas Bovans, the will or counsel is added here by Origen, Cop.Lord refers here to their own traditions. So Sota, fol. 49. tic, all the Arabic, latter Persic, Gothic, all the Itala, except two; Tert. Iren. Cypr. Novatian, and other Latin fathers. If the evidence be considered as insufficient to entitle it to admission into the text, let it stand there as a supplementary Italic word, necessary to make the meaning of the place evident. All things are ordered by the counsel of God. This is a great consolation to those who are tried and afflicted. The belief of an all wise, all directing Providence, is a powerful support under the most grievous accidents of life. Nothing escapes his merciful regards, not even the smallest things, of which he may be said to be only the creator and preserver; how much less those of whom he is the father, saviour, and endless felicity? See on Luke xii. 7. 31. Fear ye not ye are of more value.] None can estimate the value of a soul, for which Christ has given his blood and life! Have confidence in his goodness, for he who so dearly purchased thee, will miraculously preserve and save thee. Did the poet intend to contradict Christ when he said, "He sees with equal eyes, as God of all, A HERO perish, or a SPARROW fall?" How cold and meagre is this shallow deistical saying! That is, a sparrow is of as much worth in the sight of God, who regards (if we may believe the poet) things only in general, as an immortal soul, purchased by the sacrifice of Christ! 32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men] That is, whosoever shall acknowledge me to be the Messiah, and have his heart and life regulated by my spirit and doctrine. It is not merely sufficient to have the heart right before God; there must be a firm, manly, and public profession of Christ before men. "I am no hypocrite," says one; neither should you. "I will keep my religion to myself." i. e. you will not confess Christ before men; then he will renounce you before God. We confess or own Christ when we own his doctrine, his ministers, his servants, and when no fear hinders us from supporting and assisting them in times of necessity. 33. Whosoever shall deny me] Whosoever prefers his worldly interest to his duty to God, sets a greater value on Father Quesnel's note on this place is worthy of deep at tention. "The father (says he) is the enemy of his son, when, through a bad education, an irregular love, and a cruel indulgence, he leaves him to take a wrong bias, instructs him not in his duty, and fills his mind with ambitious views. The son is the father's enemy when he is the occasion of his doing injustice, in order to heap up an estate for him, and to make his fortune. The mother is the daughter's enemy when she instructs her to please the world, breeds her up in excess and vanity, and suffers any thing scandalous or unseemly in her dress. The daughter is the mother's enemy when she becomes her idol, when she engages her to comply with her own irre. gular inclinations, and to permit her to frequent balls and plays. The master is the enemy of his servant, and the ser vant that of his master, when the one takes no care of the others salvation, and the later is subservient to his master's passions." 37. He that loveth father or mother more than me] He who we love the most, is he whom we study most to please, and whose will and interests we prefer in all cases. If, in order to please a father or mother who are opposed to vital godli. ness, we abandon God's ordinances and followers, we are un worthy of any thing but hell. 38. He that taketh not his cross] i. e. He who is not ready, after my example, to suffer death in the cause of my religion, is not worthy of me, does not deserve to be called my dis. ciple. This alludes to the custom of causing the criminal to bear his own cross to the place of execution, so Plutarch, Exasos 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth bis life for my sake shall find it. 40b Ile that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a Ch. 16. 23. Luke 17. 33. John 12. 25.-b Ch. 13. 5. Luke 9. 48. & 10. 16. John 1.20. Gal 4. 14. TOV Kakoupуlv ExpeрEL TOV AUтov 5avpov. Each of the malefac tors carries on his own cross. See John xix. 17. 39. He that findeth his life, &c. i. e. He who, for the sake of his temporal interest, abandons his spiritual concerns, shall lose his soul; and he who, in order to avoid martyrdom, abjures the pure religion of Christ, shall lose his soul, and perhaps his life too. He that findeth his life shall lose it, was literally fulfilled in Archbishop Cranmer. He confessed Christ against the devil, and his eldest son, the pope. He was ordered to be burnt; to save his life he recanted, and was, notwithstanding, burnt. Whatever a man sacrifices to God is never lost, for he finds it again in God. There is a fine piece on this subject in Juvenal, Sat. viii. 1. 80. which deserves to be recorded here. Ambigua si quando citabere testis To give thy witness in a doubtful case, To which life owes its lustre and its worth.- Wakefield. 40. He that receiveth you] Treats you kindly, receiveth me; I will consider the kindness as shown to myself, for he who receiveth me as the true Messiah, receiveth that God by whose counsels and through whose love I am come. 41. He that receiveth a prophet] Пpopnrny, a teacher, not a foreteller of future events, for this is not always the meaning of the word: but one commissioned by God to teach the doctrines of eternal life. It is no sinal! honour to receive into one's house a minister of Jesus Christ. Every person is not admitted to exercise the sacred ministry: but none are excluded from partaking of its grace, its spirit, and its re ward. If the teacher should be weak, or even if he should be found afterward to have been worthless; yet the person who has received him in the name, under the sacred character of an evangelist, shall not lose his reward; because what he did, he did for the sake of Christ, and through love for his church. Many sayings of this kind are found among the rab. two of his disciples to Christ. righteous man, in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these lit tle ones, a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disci ple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his re ward. Hebrews 6. 10. 1 Kings 17. 10. & 18. 4. 2 Kings 4. 8-d Ch. 8. 5, 6. & 25. 40. Mark 9. 41 bins, and this one is common; "He who receives a learned man, or an elder, into his house, is the same as if he had received the Shecinah!" and again, "He who speaks against a faithful pastor, it is the same as if he had spoken against God himself." See Schoettgen. 42. A cup of cold water] Ydaros is not in the common text, but it is found in the Coder Beza, Coptic, Armenian, Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, Slavonic, all copies of the Itala, Vulgate, and Origen. It is necessarily understood, the ellipsis of the same substantive is frequent both in the Greek and Latin writers. See Wakefield. Little ones] My apparently mean, and generally despised disciples. But a cup of water in the eastern countries was not a matter of small worth. In India, the Hindoos go sometimes a great way to fetch it, and then boil it that it may do the less hurt to travellers when they are hot; and after that they stand from morning to tight in some great road, where there is nei ther pit nor rivulet, and offer it in honour of their god to be drunk by all passengers. This necessary work of charity, in these hot countries, seems to have been practised by the more pious and humane Jews; and our Lord'assures them that if they do this in his name, they shall not lose their reward. See the Asiatic Miscellany, vol. ii. p. 142. Verily he shall in no wise lose his reward.] The rabbins have a similar saying. "He that gives food to one that studies in the law, God will bless him in this world, and give him a lot in the world to come." Syn. Sohar. Love heightens the smallest actions, and gives a worth to them which they cannot possess without it. Under a just and merciful God, every sin is either punished or pardoned, and every good action rewarded. The most indigent may exer cise the works of mercy and charity; seeing even a cup of cold water given in the name of Jesus, shall not lose its reward. How astonishing is God's kindness! it is not the rich merely which he calls on to be charitable; but even the poor, and the most impoverished of the poor! God gives the power and inclination to be charitable, and then rewards the work which, it may be truly said, God himself hath wrought. It is the name of Jesus that sanctifies every thing, and renders services, in themselves comparatively contemptible, of high worth in the sight of God. See Quesnel. CHAPTER XI. Christ having finished his instructions to his disciples, departs to preach in different cities, 1. John sends two of his dis ciples to him to inquire whether he were the Christ, 2-6. Christ's testimony concerning John, 7-15. He upbraids the Jews with their capriciousness, 16-19. The condemnation of Chorazin, and Bethsaida, and Capernaum, for their un belief and impenitence, 20-24. Praises the divine wisdom for revealing the gospel to the simple-hearted, 25, 26. Shows that none can know God but by the revelation of the Son, 27. Invites the distressed to come unto him, and gives them the promise of rest for their souls, 28-30. [A. M. 4031. A. D. 27. An. Olymp. CCI. 3.] AND it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of con manding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. 2 Now when John had heard bin the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, a Lk. 7. 18, 19, &c.-b Ch. 14. 3.-c Gen. 49 10. Num. 24. 17. Dan. 9. 21. Jn 6.11. 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another 1 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: 54 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the le d Is 29. 18. & 35. 4, 5, 6. & 42 7. John 2. 25. & 3, 2. & 3. 36. & 10. 23, 38, & 14, 11. NOTES.-Verse 1. This verse properly belongs to the pre-probable that John now began, through the length of his con ceding chapter, from which it should on no account be sepa.finement, to entertain doubts relative to this kingdom, which rated; as with that it has the strictest connexion, but with perplexed and harrassed his mind; and he took the most reathis it has none. sonable way to get rid of them at once, viz. by applying to Christ himself. To teach and to preach] To teach, to give private instructions to as many as came unto him; and to preach, to proclaim publicly, that the kingdom of God is at hand; two grand parts of the duty of a Gospel minister. Their cities.] The cities of the Jews. 2. John had heard in the prison] John was cast into prison by order of Herod Antipas, chap. xiv. 3, &c. (where see the notes) a little after our Lord began his public ministry, chap. iv. 12. and after the first passover, John iii. 24. 3. Art thou he that should come] O epopevos, he that cometh, seems to have been a proper name of the Messiah; to save or deliver, are necessarily implied. See on Luke vii. 19. There is some difficulty in what is here spoken of John; some have thought he was utterly ignorant of our Lord's di vine mission, and that he sent merely for his own information; but this is certainly inconsistent with his own declarations, Luke iii. 15, &c. John i. 15, 26, 33. iii. 28, &c. Others suppose, he sent the message merely for the instruction of his disciples; that as he saw his end approaching, he wished them to have the fullest conviction that Jesus was the Messiah, that they might attach themselves to him. A third opinion takes a middle course between the two for mer, and states, that, though John was at first perfectly convinced that Jesus was the Christ; yet entertaining some hopes that he would erect a secular kingdom in Judea, wished to know whether this was likely to take speedy place. It is very Two of his disciples] Instead of dvo, two, several excellent MSS. with both the Syriac, Armenian, Gothic, and one copy of the Itala, have dia, by; he sent by his disciples. 4. Go and show John the things-ye do hear and ser] Christ would have men to judge only of him and of others by their works. This is the only safe way of judging. A man is not to be credited because he professes to know such and such things: but because he demonstrates by his conduct that his pretensions are not vain. 5. The blind receive their sight, &c.] Αναβλέπωσι, look upwards, contemplating the heavens which their Lord hath made. The lame walk] Пepirarwot, they walk about: to give the fullest proof to the multitude that their cure was real. These miracles were not only the most convincing proofs of the sn preme power of Christ; but were also emblematic of that work of salvation which he effects in the souls of men. 1. Sinners are blind; their understanding is so darkened by sin, that they see not the way of truth and salvation. 2. They are lame; not able to walk in the path of righteousness. 3. They are leprous; their souls are defiled with sin, the most loath some and inveterate disease; deepening in themselves, and infecting others. 4. They are deaf; to the voice of God, his word, and their own conscience. 5. They are dead; in trespasses and sing God, who is the life of the soul, being sepa pers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them: 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not b be offended in me. 7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the mul titudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see?d A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft rai. ment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet: 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way be fore thee. spirit and power of Elijah. withstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven ■ greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the 16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, 17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not la 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of wo- a Isa. 61 1, Lk. 4. 18. James 2 5.-b Ch. 13, 57. & 24. 10. & 26. 31. Rom. 9. 32, 331 Cor. 1. 23 Gal. 5 11. 1 Pet. 2. 8.- Luke 7. 21-d Eph. 4. 14.-e Ch. 14. 5. & 21. 25. Lake 1 76. & 7. 26.-f Mal, 3. 1. Mark 1. 2. Luke 1. 76. & 7. 27. g Luke 16. 16.-h Or, is gotten by force, and they that thrust men.-i Mal. 4. 6.k Mal. 4. 5. Ch. 17. 12. Luke 1. 17.-1 Ch. 13. 9. Luke 8. 8. Rev. 2. 7, 11, 17, 29. & 3. 6, 13, 22-m Luke 7. 31. rate from it by iniquity. Nothing less than the power of Christ sioned to prepare the way of the Lord. This was a fourth excan redeem from all this; and, from all this, that power of cellency; he was a prophet, a teacher, a man divinely comChrist actually does redeem every penitent, believing soul.-missioned to point out Jesus and his salvation: and more exGiving sight to the blind, and raising the dead; are allowed cellent than any of the old prophets; because he not only by the ancient rabbins, to be works which the Messiah should pointed out this Christ, but saw him, and had the honour of perform, when he should manifest himself in Israel. dying for that sacred truth which he steadily believed and boldly proclaimed. The poor have the Gospel preached to them] And what was this Gospel? Why, the glad tidings that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. That he opens the eyes of the blind; enables the lame to walk with an even, steady, and constant pace in the way of holiness; cleanses the lepers from all the defilement of their sins; opens the ears of the deaf, to hear his pardoning words; and raises those who were dead in trespasses and sins, to live in union with himself to all eternity. 6. Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.] Or, Happy is he who will not be stumbled at me: for the word GKavdada, in its root, signifies to hit against or stumble over a thing, which one may meet with in the way. The Jews, as was before remarked, expected a temporal deliverer. Many night be tempted to reject Christ, because of his mean appearance, &c. and so lose the benefit of salvation through him. To instruct and caution such our blessed Lord spoke these words. By his poverty and meanness he condemns the pride and pomp of this world. He who will not humble himself, and become base, and poor, and vile in his own eyes, cannot enter into the kingdom of God. It is the poor in general who hear the Gospel; the rich and the great are either too busy, or too much gratified with temporal things, to pay any attention to the voice of God. 7. What went ye out into the wilderness to see?] The purport of our Lord's design in this and the following verses, is to convince the scribes and Pharisees of the inconsistency of their conduct in acknowledging John Baptist for a divinely authorized teacher, and not believing in the very Christ which he pointed out to them. He also shows from the excellencies of John's character, that their confidence in him was not misplaced, and that this was a further argument why they should have believed in him whom the Baptist proclaimed, as being far superior to himself. A reed shaken with the wind?] An emblem of an irresolute, unsteady mind, which believes and speaks one thing to-day, and another to-morrow. Christ asks these Jews if they had ever found any thing in John like this; was he not ever steady and uniform in the testimony he bore to me? The first excellency which Christ notices in John was his steadiness; convinced once of the truth, he continued to believe and assert it. This is essentially necessary to every preacher, and to every private Christian. He who changes about from opinion to opinion, and from one sect or party to another, is never to be depended on: there is much reason to believe that such a person is either mentally weak, or has never been rationally and divinely convinced of the truth. 10. Behold, I send my messenger] A fifth excellency of the Baptist was, his preparing the way of the Lord; being the instrument, in God's hand, of preparing the people's hearts to receive the Lord Jesus; and it was probably through his preaching that so many thousands attached themselves to Christ, immediately on his appearing as a public teacher. 11. A greater than John the Baptist] A sixth excellency of the Baptist; he was greater than any prophet from the be. ginning of the world till that time-Ist. Because he was prophesied of by them, Isa. xl. 3. and Mal. iii. 1. where Jesus Christ himself seems to be the speaker. 2dly. Because he had the privilege of showing the fulfilment of their predictions, by pointing out that Christ as now come, which they foretold should come. And 3dly. Because he saw and enjoyed that salvation, which they could only foretell. See Quesnel. Notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven] By the kingdom of heaven in this verse, is meant the fulness of the blessings of the Gospel of peace; which fulness was not known till after Christ had been crucified, and hal risen from the dead. Now the least in this kingdon, the meanest preacher of a crucified, risen, and glorified Sa viour, was greater than John, who was not permitted to live to see the plenitude of Gospel grace, in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Let the reader observe, 1st. That the kingdom of heaven here does not mean the state of future glory-See chap. iii. 2. 2dly. That it is not in holiness or devotedness to God that the least in this kingdom is greater than John; bnt 3dly. That it is merely in the difference of the ministry. The prophets pointed out a Christ that was coming. Jolin showed that that Christ was then among them: and the preachers of the Gospel prove that this Christ has suffered; and entered into his glory, and that repentance and remission of sins are proclaimed through his blood. There is a saying similar to this among the Jews. "Even the servant maid that passed through the Red Sea, saw what neither Ezekiel nor any other of the prophets had seen." 12. The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence] The tax gatherers and heathens whom the scribes and Pharisees think have no right to the kingdom of the Messiah, filled with holy zeal and earnestness, seize at once on the proffered mercy of the Gospel, and so take the kingdom as by force from those learned doctors who claimed for themselves the chiefest places in that kingdom. Christ himself said, The tax-gatherers and harlots go before you into the kingdom of God. See the parallel place, Luke vii. 28, 29, 30. He that will take, get possession of the kingdom of righteousness, peace, and spi. 8. A man clothed in soft raiment ?] A second excellency in ritual joy, must be in earnest; all hell will oppose him in John was, his sober and mortified life. A preacher of the every step he takes; and if a man be not absolutely determi Gospel should have nothing about him which savours of efned to give up his sins and evil companions, and have his soul feminacy and worldly pomp: he is awfully mistaken, who saved at all hazards, and at every expense, he will surely pethinks to prevail on the world to hear him and receive the rish everlastingly. truth, by conforming himself to its fashions and manners. Excepting the mere colour of his clothes, we can scarcely now distinguish a preacher of the Gospel, whether in the establishment of the country, or out of it, from the merest worldly man. Ruffles, powder, and fribble, seem univer-dictions of the one, and the types and ceremonies of the other, sally to prevail. Thus the church and the world begin to were now about to be fully and finally accomplished; for shake hands, the latter still retaining its enmity to God. How Christ was now revealed. can those who profess to preach the doctrine of the cross act in this way? Is not a worldly-minded preacher, in the most peculiar sense, an abomination in the eyes of the Lord? Are in king's houses.] A third excellency in John was, he did not affect high things. He was contented to live in the desert, and to announce the solemn and severe truths of his doctrine to the simple inhabitants of the country. Let it be well observed, that the preacher who conforms to the world in his clothing, is never in his element but when he is frequenting the houses and tables of the rich and great. 9. A prophet? yea-and more than a prophet! That is, one more excellent (repiarorepov) than a prophet; one greatly be yond all who had come before him, being the immediate forerunner of Christ; (see below) and who was especially commis 13. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John.] 1 believe poconrevoar, means here, they taught, or wontinued to instruct. They were the instructers concerning the Christ who was to come, till John came and showed that all the pre 14. This is Elias, which was for to come.] This should always be written Elijah, that as strict a conformity as possi ble might be kept up between the names in the Old Testament and the New. The prophet Malachi, who predicted the coming of the Baptist in the spirit and power of Elijah, gave the three following distinct characteristics of him. First, That he should be the forerunner and messenger of the Mes siah: Behold, I send my messenger before me, Mal. iii. 1. Secondly, That he should appear before the destruction of the second temple. Even the Lord, whom ye seek, shall sudden. ly come to his temple, ibid. Thirdly, That he should preach repentance to the Jews, and that some time after, the great and terrible day of the Lord should come, and the Jewish land be smitten with a curse, chap. iv. 5, 6. Now these three cha |