i 
 

THE 
 
 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO 
 S. MARK, 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 (CHIEFLY IN THE DOCTRINAL AND MORAL SENSE) 
 
 FROM 
 
 Ancient antr JHotrern Slutfjors. 
 
 By JAMES EORD, M.A., 
 
 PREBENDARY OF EXETER CATHEDRAL. 
 
 ScconU lEtrition. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 JOSEPH MASTERS, ALDERSGATE STREET, 
 
 AND NEW BOND STREET. 
 
 OXFORD : J. H. PARKER. CAMBRIDGE : MACMILLAN AND CO. 
 
 EXETER : CLIFFORD ; ROBERTS. 
 
 MDCCCLXIV. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 FEINTED BY JOSEPH MASTERS AND SON, 
 
 ALDERSGATE STREET. 
 
OloUect of tf)e ariiwrci) for i^a(nt iBatfe's Bag. 
 
 O Almighty Gtod, who hast insteijcted Thy Holy 
 
 ChUECH with the HEAYENLY DOCTELPfE OP ThY EVANGELIST, 
 
 Saint Maek; giye rs geace, that, being not, like child- 
 
 EEN, CAEEIED AWAY WITH EYEEY BLAST OE YAIN DOCTEINE, 
 WE MAY BE ESTABLISHED IN THE TEUTH OF ThY HoLY GoS- 
 PEL ; THEOTJGU JesUS ChEIST, OUE LoED. AmEN. 
 
THE GOSPEL 
 ACCORDING TO S. MARK. 
 
 The Scriptures are the appointed means of " enliglitenmg" the 
 mind with true and saving knowledge. They shew us what 
 we were, what we are, and what we shall be ; they shew us what 
 God hath done for us, and what He expecteth us to do for 
 Him ; they shew us the adversaries we have to encounter, and 
 how to encounter them with success ; they shew us the mercy 
 and the justice of the Lord, the joys of heaven, and the pains 
 of hell. Thus will they " give to the simple," in a few days, an 
 "understanding" of those matters, which philosophy, for whole 
 centuries, sought in vain. Bp. Home. (Comm. on Ps. cxix. 
 130.) 
 
 Let me recommend to you the reading of " the Holy Scriptures," 
 as the Apostle termeth them (2 Tim. iii. 15) ; Holy in the 
 fountain, flowing from the Holt Spieit inditing them ; Holy 
 in the conduit-pipe, derived through Holy men (2 S. Pet. i. 21) 
 penning them ; Holy in the liquor, teaching, and directing to, 
 Holiness ; Holy in the cistern, working sanctity in such, as 
 worthily receive them, and making them "wise unto salva- 
 tion." Ps. xix. 7—15. Th. Fuller. (Church History, &c. 
 B. iii. Dedication.) 
 
 Before we put our hand to this Sacred Volume, it wiU be requisite 
 to elevate our hearts to that Gron, whose it is, both for His 
 leave and His Blessing. " Open mine eyes," saith the sweet 
 singer of Israel, " that I may behold the wondrous things of 
 Thy Law." (Ps. cxix. 18.) Lo, David's eyes were open be- 
 fore to other objects ; but, when he comes to God's Book, he 
 
2 S. MARK. 
 
 can see nothing without a new act of apertion : letters he might 
 see; "wonderw" he could not see, till G-od did unclose his 
 eyes and enlighten them. It is not, therefore, for us pre- 
 sumptuously to break in upon God, and to think by our 
 natural abilities to wrest open the precious casket of the Al- 
 mighty, and to fetch out all His hidden treasure thence at 
 pleasure : but we must come tremblingly before Him, and in 
 all humility crave His gracious admission. . . . Every clause 
 of that GoD-inspired Volume must be, as reverently received by 
 us, so seriously weighed and carefully laid up ; as knowing, that 
 there is no tittle without his use. What we read, we must 
 labour to understand ; what we cannot understand, we must 
 admire silently and modestly inquire of. (S. Matt. xiii. 36.) 
 There are plain truths, and there are deep mysteries. (S. John 
 iv. 11.) There is no Christian, that may not enjoy God's Book ; 
 but every Christian may not interpret it. . . . " How can I 
 without a guide?" said that Ethiopian Eunuch. (Acts viii. 31, 
 S4i ; Mai. ii. 7.) "Wherefore serves " the tongue of the learned," 
 but to direct the ignorant ? (Isa. 1. 4.) Their modesty is of 
 no less use, than the other's skill. It is a woeful condition of a 
 Church, where no man will be ignorant. (Ps. xii. 4 ; 3 S. John 
 9.) . . . Our diligent and frequent reading must be attended 
 with our holy meditation. We feed on what we read ; but we 
 digest only what we meditate upon. (S. Luke ii. 19, ix. 44.) 
 What is in our Bible is God's ; but that, which is in our hearts, 
 is our own. By all which our care must be not so much to be- 
 come wiser, as to become better, labouring still to reduce all 
 things to godly practice. Wisd. i. 1 — 5 ; Ps. xxv. 8 — 13 ; 
 S. John vii. 17. Bp. Hall. (The Devout Soul. Ch. iv. s. 2.) 
 
 Before the Christian Doctrine was collected into those Scriptures, 
 of which the New Testament now consists, it was all conveyed 
 by oral tradition from the mouths of the teachers to the ears of 
 the disciples ; but in a little time those men, who first preached 
 it, found an absolute necessity of committing it to writing, as a 
 much surer way of preserving it uncorrupted, and transmitting 
 it down to all succeeding generations ; for thus Eusebius tells 
 us: (Hist. Eccles. L. ii. c. 15,) "that the Eomans, not being 
 
S. MAEK. 3 
 
 satisfied with S. Peter's preaching of Cliristianity to them, ear- 
 nestly desired S. Mark his companion that he would leave 
 them in writing a standing monument of that doctrine, which 
 S. Peter had delivered to them by word of mouth, which was 
 the occasion (says he) of the writing of S. Mark's Gospel : which 
 thing S. Peter understanding by a revelation of the Spirit, 
 being highly pleased with their earnest desire, he confirmed it 
 by his own authority, that it might afterwards be read in the 
 Churches." xxiv. 46 ; S. John xx. 31 ; Eom. xv. 4 ; 1 S. Pet. 
 v. 13. Dr. J. Scott. (Discourse on S. John v. 39.) 
 
 S. Mark wrote a Grospel, but very concisely ; S. Luke wrote, but 
 with peculiar clearness. Each kept close to his Master's foot- 
 steps and exhibited his peculiar tone. S. Luke imitated S. 
 Paul ; S. Mark, S. Peter. The latter was a man of few words 
 and concise ; the former was more copious and full. Novarinus. 
 (on the Grospels.) 
 
 All the Evangelists writ one thing, yet all have some things par- 
 ticular. . . . Most congruously is that of S. Jerome appliable, 
 that the four Evangelists are Quadriga Divina ; that, as the four 
 chariot wheels, though they look to the four corners of the 
 world, yet they move to one end and one way, (Ezek. i.) so the 
 Evangelists have both one scope and one way. Yet not so pre- 
 cisely, but that they diifer in words. Eor, as their general in- 
 tention, common to them all, begat that consent, so a private 
 reason, peculiar to each of them for the writing of their his- 
 tories at that time, made those diversities, which seem to be : 
 for ^S*. Matthew, after he had preached to the Jews and was to 
 be transplanted into another vineyard (the Grentiles) left them 
 written in their own tongue, for permanency, that, which he had 
 preached transitorily by word. S. Mark, when the Gospel fruc- 
 tified in the West, and the Church enlarged herself, and grew a 
 great body, and therefore required more food, out of S. Peter's 
 dictates and by his approbation, published his Evangile \ not 
 an epitome of S. Matthew's, as S. Jerome imagines, but a just 
 and entire history of our Blessed Sayiotje. And, as S. Matthew's 
 reason was to supply a want in the Eastern Church, <S. Mark's 
 in the Western, so, on the other side, S. Luke's was to cut off 
 
 B 2 
 
4 S. MAEK. 
 
 an excess and superfluity ; for then many had undertaken this 
 story, (eh. i. 1,) and dangerously inserted and mingled uncer- 
 tainties and obnoxious improbabilities : and S. Luke was more 
 curious and more particular, than the rest, both because he was 
 more learned, and because he was so individual a companion of 
 the most learned S. Paul, and did so much write S. Paul's 
 words, that Eusebius thereupon mistaketh the words, (2 Tim. 
 ii. 8,) " Cheist is raised, according to my Gospel," to prove 
 that S. Paul was the author of this Gospel attributed to S. Luke. 
 S. John, the Minion of Christ upon earth, and survivor of the 
 Apostles, (whose books seem rather fallen from heaven, and 
 writ with the hand, which engraved the stone Tables, than a 
 man's work,) because the heresies of Ebion and Cerinthus were 
 rooted, who, upon tliis true ground then evident and fresh, that 
 Cheist had spoke many things, which none of the other three 
 Evangelists had recorded, (xxi. 25,) uttered many things as 
 His, which He never spoke ; ^S*. John, I say, more diligently 
 than the rest, handleth His Divinity and His Sermons ; things 
 brought specially into question by them. Dr. Domie, (Serm. 
 on S. Luke xxiii. 34.) 
 
 It will, I think, be allowed, that, if there is any characteristic of 
 S. Markka Gospel, it is that our Loed's Incarnation breathes 
 throughout. It is this, which is set before us, as it came before 
 S. Peter, in a manner best calculated to engage our affections 
 and most lively and awful interest respecting " the Son o/man,'^ 
 in wonderful condescensions and indications of human aifection. 
 Eor love of a human person is mostly formed, both from an ob- 
 servation of character and moral qualities, and from watching 
 the development of them in the outer man, until it becomes 
 familiar with the external expressions of them. This Gospel has 
 therefore the countenance of a man. JSTow these peculiarities 
 in S. Mark's Gospel are not confined to our Loed's own person 
 and actions ; but yet in all things the same characteristic is dis- 
 played. There prevails throughout the same casual insertion 
 of circumstances of apparently little moment, which tends to 
 give an accuracy to the description, and brings things and per- 
 sons before the eyes of the reader. . . . There is nothing in 
 these diiferences, which are of the lion, nor of the calf, nor of 
 
S. MARK. 
 
 the eagle ; but there is in them essentially " the likeness of a 
 many* Is. Williams. (Thoughts on the Study of the G-os- 
 pels. P. i. s. 5.) 
 
 Jam nunc per omne Lux refulget saeculum, 
 Lux ilia Patris quae lucet de solio : 
 Quae Eons, Origo, Splendor Lucis aureae, 
 Habensque semper lumen indeficiens, 
 Coelum serenat, arcens mundi tenebras. 
 
 Hujus Sacrati Lucis de vibramine 
 Suscepit almum radium sub pectore 
 Marcus, Beatus Doctor Evangelicus ; 
 Factus lucerna more tanti Luminis, 
 Ardens fugavit sseculi caliginem. . . . 
 
 Quantum, quod olim viderat Ezekiel 
 Propheta Sanctus, animal Isetissimum 
 Vidit Joannes, seu Christi recubitor, 
 Leonis hoc et typice sub specie 
 Clamore multo per deserta frendere. 
 Ezek. i. 10; Prov. vii. 1; Cant. iii. 10; Ecv. i. 12, 13; iv. 7. 
 Paulinus. (Hymn. v. De S. Marco Evang.) 
 
 Vitam Jesii stude imitari. 
 Caste, juste, pie disce conver- 
 
 sari. 
 De nato Jesu cane dulciter ; 
 De passo Jesu dole graviter. 
 LsDta misce tristibus tuis exer- 
 
 citiis : 
 Mala terge fletibus ; cave a de- 
 
 liciis. 
 Jesum quaere diligenter : 
 Clama, pulsa vehementer. 
 In devotis hymnis delectare. 
 Dulce est de Jesu cogitare ; 
 
 * The reader is referred to the ex- 
 tracts from Isidore of Seville and Se- 
 duhus, prefixed to the former volume 
 of the lUustration of the Gospel of S. 
 
 Dulcius cum Jesu jubilare ; 
 Dulcissimum coelos penetrare. 
 Jesu ob amorem, 
 Omnem fer laborem. 
 Sustine vim patiens. 
 Tace, ut sis sapiens. 
 Mores rege, aures tege ; 
 Ssepe ora, saepe lege. 
 Omni die, omni hora, 
 Te resigna sine mora. 
 
 Thorn, a Kempis. 
 (Enchiridium Monachorum. 
 cap. ix.) 
 
 Matthew. For instances of minute- 
 ness of detail, in the Gospel of S. 
 Mark, see Dr. Townson's works. 
 Vol. I. pp. 167—173. 
 
6 S. MAEK I. 1. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HHHE beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the 
 Son of God. 
 
 1 S. Mark termetli liis doctrine " the Gospel,^^ because it teacLeth 
 salvation; " the Gospel q/" Jesus Christ, tlie Son of GtOd," be- 
 cause it teachetli salvation by Him. This is then the founda- 
 tion, whereupon the frame of the Gospel is erected. That very 
 Jestjs, whom the Virgin conceived of the Holt G-host, whom 
 Simeon embraced in his arms, whom Pilate condemned, whom 
 the Jews crucified, whom the Apostles preached, He is Cheist, 
 the Lord, the only Sayioue of the world. " Other foundation 
 can no man lay." Gen. xxiii. 17, 18 ; S. Luke ii. 11 ; 1 Cor. 
 iii. 11. Hooker. (A Discourse of Justification, S. 23.) 
 
 S. Matthew describes "the Son of Man," S. Mark ''the Son of 
 God ;" for we must ascend by degrees from less to greater 
 things ; and from faith and the signs, as they regard His Hu- 
 manity, we must rise upwards to the confession of His Divinity. 
 Moreover, as about to set forth His human generation, S. 
 Matthew fitly begins vdth the " Son of Man ;" but, as about 
 to commence with the first preaching of the Gospel, S. Mark 
 styled Him the " Son of God ;" for to announce the Gospel 
 to the world was a work of Divine power. Eom. i. 17 ; Isa. 
 vi. 8, 9 ; Hii. 1 ; 1 Tim. iii. 16. Bede. 
 
 S. Mark at once boldly and emphatically proclaims the style of 
 the Lord — " Jesus Christ the Son of God." His manner may 
 seem to be abrupt ; but there was something in this com- 
 manding tone well fitted to arrest the attention of the Romans, 
 those mighty Lords of the universe ; something grand, some- 
 thing worthy of Eomans to consider. Conf. xv. 39. J. F. 
 
 2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send 
 My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare 
 Thy way before Thee. 
 
S. MAEK I. 2. 7 
 
 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Pre- 
 pare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. 
 
 4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach 
 the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 
 
 5 And there went out unto him all the land of 
 Judsea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized 
 of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. 
 
 2 Every Evangelist hath his proper exordium. S. Matthew and 
 S. John begin with Christ ; S. Matthew, with His human 
 generation ; S. John, with the Divine generation : S. Mark and 
 S. Luke begin with John the Baptist ; S. Luke, with his na- 
 tivity ; S, Mark, with his preaching. Edward Leigh. (An- 
 notations, in loco.) 
 
 Beholdy I send, ^c. — " Let a man so account of us, as of the 
 Ministers of Christ, and Stewards of the mysteries of GrOD." 
 (1 Cor. iv. 1.) That is our classis, our rank, our station, what 
 names soever we brought into the world by our extraction from 
 this or that family, what name soever we took in our Baptism, 
 and contract between God and us ; that name, in which we 
 come to you, is that — " the ministers of Christ," the " stew- 
 ards of the mysteries of GrOD." And " so let men account of 
 us," says the Apostle. Invention, and disposition, and art, 
 and eloquence, and expression, and elocution, and reading, and 
 writing, and printing, are secondary things, accessory things, 
 auxiliary subsidiary things ; men may account us, and make 
 account of us, as of orators in the pulpit and of authors in the 
 shop; but, if they account of us, as of "ministers" and 
 " stewards," they give us our due ; that's our name to you. 
 All the Evangelists mention S. John Baptist and his preaching ; 
 but two of the four say never a word of his austerity of life, his 
 locusts, nor his camel's hair ; and those two that do, S. Matthew 
 and S. Mark, they insist first upon his calling, and then his actual 
 preaching, how he pursued that calling ; and then upon the doc- 
 trine, that he preached, repentance and sanctification ; and, after 
 that, they come to these secondary and subsidiary things, which 
 added to his estimation and assisted the passage of his doc- 
 
8 S. MAEK I. 2. 
 
 trine. (S. Mark xi. 32.) His good life, learning, and other 
 good parts, and an exemplar life, fall into second places — 
 (^''Moreover, it is required," &c. 1 Cor. iv. 4.) They have a 
 first place in their consideration, who are to call them ; but in 
 you, to whom they are sent, but a second : fix you, in the first 
 place, on the calling. Ex. iii. 9 — 14 ; Jer. i. 1 — 6 ; Isa. yi. 6 
 — 10 ; Amos vii. 14, 15 ; S. Matt. x. 41. Br. Bonne. (Serm. 
 on Psalm xxxiv. 11.) 
 
 Of all the law and the prophets, which delivered the holy Oracles 
 to us, Malachi was the last ; by whose prophecy, ending at S. 
 John the Baptist, under the title and type of Elias, there is a 
 manifest combination of the Old and New Testament together ; 
 the ending of that last prophecy being set forth and declared by 
 S. Mark to be the beginning of the Gospel : whereunto Christ 
 Himself also gave His own testimony, and said, that " all the 
 prophets and the law prophesied, until John;" which is as 
 much as to say, that, after the prophecy made of him, there 
 came no other prophets between them. Eor where Malachi 
 ends the Old Testament, all the Evangelists begin the New. 
 Bp. Cosin. Heb. i. 1 ; IS. Pet. i. 10, 11. (Schol. Hist, of the 
 Canon of Scripture.) 
 
 All the prophets went before our Sayioitb in their ministry, in 
 their divers generations ; but John in a more special manner 
 above them all. They, like Balaam (Numb, xxiv.) did behold 
 Him, but " not now ;" did foretell Him, but " not nigh ;" but 
 he beheld Him face to face, and he told of Him standing by. 
 And hence it is, that our Sayiotje. calls him " more than a pro- 
 phet," S. Matt. xi. 9 ; nay, as much or more than any mere 
 man, that was naturally born of a woman " more than a pro- 
 phet," because he went before Cheist, as His forerunner ; and 
 as great as any, that were ever born, because he was the be- 
 ginner of the Gospel. (Acts i. 21, 22 ; x. 37 ; S. Matt. xi. 13.) 
 So that what some of the Fathers say concerning Malachi, that 
 he was Limes Judaismi et Christianismi, we may not unfitly say 
 concerning John, that he was " the bounds of Judaism and 
 Christianity;" the limits, from whence "the law and the pro- 
 phets" took their conclusion, and "the Grospel and the King- 
 dom of Heaven" their beginning. Br. Lightfoot. (Serm. on 
 S. Luke i. 17.) 
 
S. MAEK I. 3, 4. y 
 
 3 The Advent of the Eedeemer was but the visible appearance 
 of the Divine light, with which the radiant cloud of prophecy 
 had long been ready to break forth. Isa. Ix. 1 — 3 ; S. Luke i. 
 76 — 78. Davison. (Discourses on Prophecy. P. ii. Disc. 3.) 
 
 Vox et clamor must go together : the voice preach faith ; the cry, 
 repentance : the voice^ comfort ; the cry, threaten : the voice 
 sing mercy ; the cry denounce judgment. Ps. ci. 1 ; Isa. Ixi. 
 1—3 ; S. Matt. xi. 28—30. S. Ambrose. (Serm. 64.) 
 
 Before His Son, that bringeth mercy, GrOD sent His servant, the 
 trumpeter of Eepentance, to level every high hill, to prepare the 
 way before Him, making it smooth and straight. And, as it is 
 in spiritual things, where Cheist never comes, before His way- 
 making hath laid even the heart with sorrow and repentance ; 
 since self- conceited and proud persons think themselves too 
 good and too wise to learn of their inferiors, and therefore 
 need not the physician ; so, in the rules of earthly wisdom, it 
 is not possible for nature to attain any mediocrity of perfec- 
 tion, before she be humbled by knowing herself and her ovni 
 ignorance. Not only knowledge, but every other gift, which 
 we call the gifts of fortune, have power to puff up earth. 
 Afflictions only level these molehills of pride, plough the heart, 
 and make it fit for "Wisdom to sow her seed, and for Grrace to 
 bring forth her increase. Happy is the man, therefore, both 
 in regard of heavenly and earthly wisdom, that is thus wounded, 
 to be cured ; thus broken, to be made straight ; thus made ac- 
 quainted with his own imperfections, that he may be perfected ! 
 1 Sam. ii. 3 — 9 ; Hosea vi. 1 ; Tobit xiii. 1, 2. Lord Bacon. 
 (Letter to Lord Chief Justice Coke.) 
 
 4 It was solitude and retirement, in which Jestjs kept His vigils. 
 The desert places heard Him pray : in a privacy He was born : 
 in the wilderness He fed His thousands : upon a mountain 
 apart He was Transfigured : upon a mountain He died ; and 
 from a mountain He ascended to His Pathee. Petrus Cel- 
 lensis. (Lib. iv. Ep. 12.) 
 
 In solitude pious persons might go to heaven, by the way of 
 prayers and devotion ; but in society they ought to go to 
 heaven, by the way of mercy, and charity, and dispensation to 
 others. . . . John the Baptist united both these lives ; and 
 our Blessed Savioue, who is the great Precedent of Sanctity 
 
10 S. MARK I. 5. 
 
 and Prudence, hath determined this question — (concerning the 
 comparative advantages of a social or a solitary life) — in this 
 one instance : for He lived a life common, sociable, humane, 
 charitable, and public ; and yet, for the opportunities of especial 
 devotion, retired to prayer and contemplation, but came forth 
 speedily : for the devil never set upon Him, but in the wilder- 
 ness, and by the advantage of retirement. Tor, as God hath 
 many, so the devil hath some opportunities of doing his work 
 in our solitariness: but Jestjs reconciled both; and so did 
 John the Baptist, in their several degrees and manners ; and 
 from both we are taught that solitude is a good school, and 
 the world is the best theatre ; the institution is best there, but 
 the practice here : the wilderness hath the advantage of dis- 
 cipline; and society, opportunities of perfection. Privacy is 
 the best for devotion ; and the public for charity. In both, 
 GrOD hath many saints and servants ; and from both the devil 
 hath had some. v. 19 ; ix. 2 ; xiv. 32 — 39 ; Josh. i. 9 ; Eccl. 
 iv. 9, 10 ; Eom. i. 11, 12. Bp. J. Taylor. (The Great Ex- 
 emplar. P. i. S. viii. 6, 7.) 
 5 Prom the root of Mount Libanus spring two rivers, Jor and 
 Ban ; and these two meeting together, joining their waters, join 
 their names too — and make that famous river Jordan ; a name 
 so composed as perchance our river is — Thamesis — of Thame 
 and Isis. Dr. Donne. (Serm. S. Matt. iv. 18—20.) 
 Adveniet tibi, Jordanes, properantibus annis, 
 Adveniet, mihi crede, inquit,* (certissima coelum 
 Signa dedit, nee me delusum oracula fallunt) 
 Qui te olim Nili supra septemplicis ortus, 
 Supra Indum, et Gangem, fontemque binominis Istri 
 AdtoUet fama ; qui te Tiberique Padoque 
 Prseferet, atque tuos astris aequabit honores. 
 
 Sannazarius. (De partu Virg. L. iii.) 
 Paith is a noble Duchess ; she hath ever her gentleman-usher 
 going before her — the Confessing of siris : she hath a train after 
 her — the fruit of good works, the walking in the Command- 
 ments of God. Eom. x. 9 ; Titus iii. 8. Bp. Latimer. (Serm. 
 4i on Eom. xv. 4.) 
 
 * Proteus. 
 
S. MARK I. 5, 6. 11 
 
 Their sins. — Our Confession must be humilis, et accusans nos ipsos, 
 acknowledging, not the fact only, but the guilt ; confessing, not 
 only the sin, but confessing it to be our own — nostra peccatay 
 non natures ; our sins, not laying tbe blame on nature — nostra 
 peccata, non diaboli ; not with Eve shifting them off to the 
 devil — nostra peccata, 7ion Dei ; our sins, not making Gron the 
 author. Gen. iii. 12, 13 ; 1 Sam. xv. 21 ; S. James i. 13 — 15 ; 
 Ex. xxxii. 22. Bp. Sparrow. (Serm. on the Confession of sins 
 and the Power of Absolution. 1 S. John i. 9.) 
 
 Quando homo detigit, Deus tegit. Cum homo celat, Deus nudat. 
 Cum homo agnoscit, Deus ignoscit. When man uncovers his sin, 
 God covers it. When man cloaks, God strips bare. When 
 man confesses, God pardons. Josh. vii. 19. S. Augustine. 
 
 6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and 
 with a girdle of a skin about his loins ; and he did eat 
 locusts and wild honey ; 
 
 7 And preached saying, There cometh One mightier 
 than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not 
 worthy to stoop down and unloose. 
 
 8 I indeed have baptized you with water ; but He 
 shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. 
 
 6 If you preach and neglect yourself to perform, you are as one, 
 proposing an impossibility. S. Luke xxii. 32. S. Chrysostom. 
 
 If we cannot, as S. Basil speaks, use an "unbroken fast," at 
 least we may keep penitentially the Easts of the Church ; we 
 may use food, as medicine, for the daily decays of nature ; we 
 may cut off self-indulgence, not "fare sumptuously every day," 
 but feed the poor of Cheist. If we cannot use intense watch- 
 ings, at least we may break off sloth and be beforehand with the 
 morning to cry unto the Lord our God ; or by night the image 
 of death may come over us with penitential words on our lips 
 and in our hearts. K the penitent cannot with Ahab and the 
 penitents of Holy Scripture gird haircloth around his loins, at 
 least he need not wear " soft clothing, and live delicately ;" he 
 can pray to God to gird him with continence, and " cut off 
 
12 S. MAEK I. 6—8. 
 
 from himself," (as S. Gregory says,) " things lawful, as lie re- 
 membereth that he committed things unlawful." xiv. 8 ; 2 Cor. 
 viii. 12 ; Heb. xii. 4. Dr. Pusey. (Serm. on 1 Cor. xi. 31.) 
 
 Antra deserti teneris sub annis 
 Civium turmas fugiens petisti ; 
 Ne levi posses maculare vitam 
 
 Crimine linguae. 
 Prsebuit durum tegumen came- 
 
 lus, 
 Artubus sacris, strophium bi- 
 
 dentes ; 
 Cui latex haustum, sociata 
 
 pastum 
 
 Mella locustis. 
 
 Cseteri tantum cecinere Yatum 
 
 Corde praesago jubar affuturum ; 
 
 Tu quidem mundi scelus aufe- 
 rentem 
 
 Indice prodis. 
 
 Non fuit vasti spatium per orbis 
 
 Sanctior quisquam genitus Jo- 
 anne, 
 
 Qui nefas ssecli meruit lavantem 
 Tingere lymphis, 
 
 Paulus, Diac. (in Nat. S. Joan.) 
 
 7 There cometh one, ^c. — Above all, have a care of vain and proud 
 thoughts of your own virtues. Por, as soon as ever people live 
 different from the common way of the world and despise its 
 vanities, the devil represents to their minds the height of their 
 own perfections ; and he is content they should excel in good 
 works, provided he can but make them proud of them. There- 
 fore watch over your virtues with a jealous eye, and reject 
 every vain thought, as you would reject the most wicked ima- 
 ginations ; and think what a loss it would be to you to have 
 the fruit of all your good works devoured by the vanity of 
 your own minds. Ezek. xviii. 24; S. Luke i. 51, 53 ; xviii. 11, 
 12 ; 2 Cor. xii. 7. Wm. Law. (A Serious Call to a devout and 
 holy Life, ch. 19.) 
 
 The latchet, ^c. — At Baptism, together with the clothes, it was 
 
 customary to take off the shoes. Bengel. 
 He did not merely say His shoes, but not even the latchet ; which 
 
 kind of office was counted the last of all. Ps. cviii. 9. S. Chry- 
 
 sostom. (Hom. in S. Matt. iii. 11.) 
 
 8 The baptism enjoined by Moses made, in the first place, a dis- 
 tinction between sins ; for all sins were not indulged with for- 
 giveness : then it required different kinds of sacrifices ; it was 
 very exact on the subject of purification, casting out for a space 
 of time the person lying under the taint of impurity : it ob- 
 
S. MARK T. 8. 13 
 
 served also times and seasons : and then baptism, in those, who 
 received it, vras a certain sign of their being purified. But the 
 baptism of John multipliciter amplius habebat, varied in many 
 respects from this : for it held no distinction between sins, nor 
 did it demand a diversity of sacrifices, nor was it so particular 
 respecting purification, nor did it observe special times and 
 seasons. In no respect did any delay intervene between it and 
 the G-race of God and His Cheist ; but no sooner did any 
 one approach, confessing his sins, whatever these sins might be, 
 and was baptized in the river Jordan, then he forthwith 
 received the forgiveness of sins. The Baptism, however, of 
 Cheist, was altogether of a character, far above any baptism 
 of man ; it possessed a Glory, higher than we could look for, 
 or wish ; a Blessing more eminent, a vii'tue more powerful than 
 the Sun has over the stars. By this Baptism we " die unto sin, 
 and live unto righteousness ;" we are " crucified and buried 
 with Jesus Cheist;" we are "raised again together" with 
 Him: "sin hath no more dominion over us;" we are filled 
 with the Holy Spieit, and clothed with Jesus Cheist. Eom. 
 vi. 4; 1 Cor. vi. 11; Col. ii. 12, 13; Tit. iii. 4—7. S. Basil. 
 (Tr. on Baptism. B. i.) 
 The Baptism of Cheist had not only forgiveness of sins and 
 removal of punishment, but righteousness also, and sanctifica- 
 tion, and redemption, and adoption, and brotherhood, and par- 
 ticipation of the heritage, and abundant ministration of the 
 Holt Spieit ; for all these things he implied, when he said 
 He shall Baptize you with the Holt Ghost and with fire ; 
 at once by the very metaphor shovtdng the abundance of the 
 Grace. For he does not say, " He shall give you the Holt 
 Ghost," but, " He shall Baptize you with the Holt Ghost ;" 
 and by the addition of fire, he points out the vehemence and 
 efficacy of the Grace. S. Chrysostom. (Hom.inS.Matt.iii.il.) 
 Thou .hast, as the G-lory of Baptism, the Son of God Himself, the 
 Only-begotten. Por why should I henceforth speak of man ? 
 John was great ; but what was he to the Loed ? Loud was 
 that " voice ;" but what is it to " the Word ?" Most glorious 
 was the herald ; but what to the King ? Glorious was he, who 
 baptized with water ; but what to Him, who Baptizeth with the 
 
14 S. MARK I. 8, 9. 
 
 Holt G-host and with fire ? S. John iii. 26 — 36. S. Cyril. 
 (Catech. Lect. iii. 7—9.) 
 
 No other can be called perfect Baptism, than that, which is in 
 the Passion and E-esurrection of Cheist. Heb. ix. 22 ; Rom. 
 viii. 33, 34. ^S". Jerome. (Adv. Lucif. S. 7.) 
 
 Neither repentance avails without Grrace, nor Grrace without re- 
 pentance ; for repentance must first condemn sin, that Grrace 
 may blot it out. So then John, becoming a type of the Law, 
 baptized to repentance ; Cheist, to Grace. S. John i. 12 — 14, 
 17 ; S. Luke xxiv. 47. S. Ambrose. (Ep. 26.) 
 
 9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus 
 came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of 
 John in Jordan. 
 
 10 And straightway coming up out of the water, 
 He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a 
 dove descending upon Him : 
 
 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying^ 
 Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased. 
 
 9 Baptized of John. — Humility has three degrees ; the first is 
 to be subject to those above us, and not to prefer ourselves to 
 those, who are equal to us ; the second is to subject ourselves 
 to our equals, and not to prefer ourselves to our inferiors ; the 
 third and most perfect is to place ourselves beneath our in- 
 feriors. Here Cheist places Himself beneath His own ser- 
 vant. (S. Matt. iii. 14, 15 ; S. John xiii. 13—17.) He makes 
 Himself vile, and extols His servant. Hitherto He had humbly 
 conversed among men ; here He would appear, as a sinner. 
 For it was to sinners, that S. John preached repentance, and 
 baptized them ; and amongst them and in their presence, would 
 our LoED Jesus be baptized. S. Matt. xi. 29 ; Eph. iv. 1, 2 ; 
 Phil. ii. 3. Card. Bonaventura. (Life of Cheist. Ch. 13.) 
 
 What an arrest is it to my pride to see Thee, the Fountain of 
 Living water, the Refiner and Purifier of Thy people, and who 
 
S. MAEK I. 10. 15 
 
 " Baptizest them even with fire," humbly descending into the 
 waters, as if Thou neededst to be cleansed by them, and submit- 
 ting Thyself to be baptized, not by an Angel, but by a man and 
 a sinner ! But Thou wast willing to " fulfil all righteousness," 
 and to shew us how much it is fulfilled in Humility .... Thy 
 example shames and confounds ; but it is Thy grace, that must 
 cure my pride. Thy example teaches me ; but it is Thy grace, 
 that must dispose me to learn of Thee. O Thou, that givest 
 grace to the humble, give me grace, that I may be humble ! 
 2 Cor. X. 1 — 6 ; Ps. cxvii. 2. Norris. (A Practical Treatise, 
 concerning Humility. Ch. 9.) 
 
 10 When once a common shipwreck had overtaken the whole 
 world, and our race was in danger of perishing, the dove ap- 
 peared and indicated the deliverance from the tempest, and, 
 bearing an olive branch, published the good tidings of the com- 
 mon calm of the whole world ; (Gren. viii.) all which was a type 
 of the things to come .... Therefore the dove appears, not 
 bearing an olive branch, but pointing out to us our Deliverer 
 from all evils and suggesting the hopes of grace. Por, not 
 from out of an ark does she lead one man only ; but the whole 
 world she leads up to heaven at her appearing, (S. John i. 20) ; 
 and, instead of a branch of peace from an olive, she conveys the 
 adoption to all the world's ofl'spring in common .... Where 
 adoption is vouchsafed, then is also the removing of evils and 
 the giving of all good things. S. Luke xv. 31 ; Eom. viii. 15 — 
 18. S. Chrysostom. (Hom. in S. Matt. iii. 16.) 
 
 This was the inauguration and proclamation of the Messias, 
 when He began to be the Great Prophet of the New Covenant. 
 And this was the greatest meeting, that ever was upon the 
 earth, where the whole Cabinet of the mysterious Trinity was 
 opened and shewn, as much as the capacities of our present 
 imperfections will permit ; the Second Person in the veil of 
 humanity ; the Third in the shape, or with the motion, of a 
 dove : but the First kept His primitive state ; and, as to the 
 Israelites He gave notice by way of caution, " Te saw no 
 shape, but ye heard a voice ;'^ so now also G-on the Pather 
 gave testimony to His Holy SoK and appeared only in a voice, 
 without any visible representment. ix. 7 ; S. John v. 37 ; xii. 
 
16 S. MAEK I. 10, 11. 
 
 28 ; 1 Tim. vi. 15, 16. Bp. J, Taylor. (The Great Exemplar. 
 P. i. s. viii. 3.) 
 
 Jesus comes up out of the water, leading forth, as it were, and 
 lifting up with Himself, the drowned world, ^S*. Greg. Nazianzen. 
 (Orat. in Sancta Lumina.) 
 
 It was ordained that Jesus saw the heavens opened, for our sakes ; 
 to whom, by means of the laver of the water of Eegeneration, 
 the gate of the Kingdom of Heaven is opened — that gate, 
 which was once closed against the whole human race, through 
 the sin of our first parents, and guarded with the Cherubim 
 and flaming sword. Por that flame is extinguished, in regard 
 to every believer, as soon as he is immersed in the Life-giving 
 waters. S. John iii. 5 ; Acts viii. 36—39; 1 S. Pet. iii. 20, 21. 
 Bede. 
 
 11 When you look through a red glass, the whole heavens seem 
 bloody; but through pure uncoloured glass, you receive the 
 clear light, that is so refreshing and comforting to behold. 
 When sin unpardoned is betwixt, and we look on God through 
 that, we can perceive nothing but anger and enmity in His 
 countenance; but make Cheist once the medium, our pure 
 E-edeemer, and through Him, as a clear transparent glass, the 
 beams of God's favourable countenance shine in upon the soul. 
 The Pathee cannot look upon His wellbeloved Soisr, but gra- 
 ciously and pleasingly. God looks on us, out of Cheist, sees 
 us rebels, and flt to be condemned ; we look on God, as being 
 just and powerful, to punish us ; but when Cheist is betwixt, 
 God looks on us in Him, as justified ; and we look on God in 
 Him, as pacified, and see the smiles of His favourable coun- 
 tenance. Take Cheist out, all is terrible ; interpose Him, all 
 is full of peace. Therefore set Him always betwixt ; and by 
 Him we shall believe in God. Ps. Ixxxiv. 9 ; S. John xiv. 6 ; 
 Eph. i. 3, &c. Abp. Leighton, (Comm. S. Pet. ch. i. 21.) 
 
 God "repented that He made man," (Gen. vi. 7,) but never that 
 He Eedeemed him. Isa. liii. 10 ; Eph. v. 2. Br. Bates. 
 (Harm, of the Divine Attributes, &c., ch. ix.) 
 
 By this place we learn that Cheist appeared and quenched the 
 wrath of His Pathee, not in that He was only the Son of 
 Man, but much more in that He was the Son of God. Heb. i. 
 3 ; x. 7. Homilies. (On the Nativity.) 
 
S. MAEK I. 12, 13. 17 
 
 12 And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into 
 the wilderness. 
 
 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, 
 tempted of Satan : and was with the wild beasts ; and 
 the angels ministered unto Him. 
 
 12 Into the wilderness, as into a field of battle. Judg. xiii. 25. 
 Eph. vi. 10 — 17. S. Augustine. 
 
 See, whither the Spirit led Him up, when He had taken Him ; 
 not into a city and forum, but into a wilderness. That is. He, 
 being minded to attract the devil, gives him a handle not 
 only by His hunger, but also by the place. For then most 
 especially doth the devil assail, when he sees men left alone 
 and by themselves. Thus did he also set upon the woman in 
 the beginning, having caught her alone and found her apart 
 from her husband. . . We have the greatest need, on this 
 account, to be assembling together continually, that we may 
 not be open to the devil's attacks, vi. 7 ; xiv. 66 ; Eccl. iv. 9 ; 
 Heb. X. 25. ^S*. Chrysostom. (Hom. in S. Matt. iv. 1.) 
 
 When God vouchsafes His servants extraordinary measures of 
 grace, they are to look for employment, that will exercise it, or 
 temptations, that will try it. . . That wise and merciful 
 Disposer of all things, who " will not sufier His children to be 
 tempted, above what they are able," (1 Cor. x. 13,) seasonably 
 fortifies them by these preparatory provisions and consolations 
 for the labours and difficulties they are exposed to. , . . Ad- 
 vantageous and welcome as His preparatory vouchsafements 
 can be, the pious soul may well think them less favours upon 
 their own account, than as they enable the receiver to do the 
 more service to the Giver, v. 19 ; Ecclus. ii. 1 ; 1 Cor. xii. 7. 
 R. Boyle. (Occasional Eeflections. s, iii. 8.) 
 
 13 Here we see the second Adam, in the Son of man, the com- 
 panion of the wild beasts of the field and reconciled to them, 
 xvi. 17, 18 ; Job V. 23 ; Isa. xi. 6 — 9. Is. Williams. 
 
 We do not read that any wild beast or noisome creature, of 
 which the wilderness had plenty, did either annoy our Sa- 
 VIOUE, or attempt any violence against Him, whilst He was 
 
 c 
 
18 S. MAEK I. 13. 
 
 with them. We do not read that Satan ever tempted Him to 
 encounter with a lion or a bear, as His father David had done, 
 or to tread on serpents or scorpions, to see whether they 
 would sting Him, or no ; because he saw by experience that 
 this Jesus of Nazareth had power over all these, and what- 
 soever other creature was at Satan's command. He had seen 
 that of the Psalmist fulfilled in Him (xci. 13) ; " Thou shalt 
 tread upon the lien and adder : the young lion and the dragon 
 Thou shalt trample under feet." Yet he hoped our Sayiotjr's 
 confidence in the authority and power, which He exercised 
 over wild beasts and venomous creatures in the wilderness, 
 might animate Him to try another conclusion, which he 
 thought had as fair and plausible premisses in the Scriptures to 
 infer it. Then the devil taJceth Him up into the holy city, and 
 setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, 
 If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down : for it is written, 
 He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee : and in their 
 hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy 
 foot against a stone. S. Matt. iv. 5, 6. Where was it written 
 that the angels should take charge of Him, lest He should dash 
 His foot against a stone ? In the very same place (and in the 
 words immediately going before), wherein it was said that He 
 should tread upon the lion and adder. These would ever and 
 anon be in His way, whilst His way was in the wilderness ; 
 and to tread on them was no tempting of GrOD. The angels 
 of GrOD, in this case, were to protect Him ; but to cast Himself 
 headlong from the pinnacle of the Temple was no part of His 
 way» (Ps. xci. 11.) The Prophet had foretold no such mira- 
 culous protection of Him, or His followers. Por Him to have 
 tried this conclusion had been a tempting of God. xvi. 17, 
 18 ; Isa. xi. 6 ; S. Luke x. 18, 19. Dean Jackson. (On the 
 Creed, b. vii. p. ii. s. 58.) 
 Learn from His conversing with the wild beasts to behave your- 
 self humbly towards all and to bear patiently with them, even 
 with those, who seem to you, at times, to conduct themselves 
 like creatures devoid of reason, ii. 15, 16; S. Luke xv. 2 ; 
 Bom. xii. 16 ; xv. 1 — 3 ; 1 Cor. xv. 32. Card. Bonaventura. 
 (Life of CjjRisT, ch. 14.) 
 
S. MAEK I. 13. 19 
 
 Oh, the great Mystery of godliness I " God manifested in the 
 flesh, and seen of Angels^'* (1 Tim. iii. 16.) Those Heavenly 
 spirits had, ever since they were made, seen His most glorious 
 Deity and adored Him, as their Omnipotent Creator ; but to 
 see that GrOD of spirits invested with flesh was such a wonder, 
 as had been enough, if their nature could have been capable of 
 it, to have astonished even glory itself: and whether to see 
 Him, that was their God, so humbled below themselves, or to 
 see Humanity thus advanced above themselves, were the 
 greater wonder to them, they only know. Job xxxviii. 7 ; 1 S. 
 Pet. i. 12 ; Heb. ii. 16. Bp. Hall. (Meditation on the Love 
 of Cheist, S. 4.) 
 
 There is no man, nor no place, free from spirits, although they 
 testify their presence by visible efiects, but in few. Every 
 man is a host to entertain Angels, though not in visible shapes, 
 
 as Abraham and Lot I have ever with me invisible 
 
 friends and enemies. The consideration of mine enemies shal] 
 keep me from security and make me fearful of doing aught to 
 advantage them. The consideration of my spiritual friends 
 shall comfort me against the terror of the other, shall remedy 
 my solitariness, shall make me wary of doing aught indecently; 
 grieving me rather that I have ever heretofore made them 
 turn away their eyes for shame of that, whereof I have not 
 been ashamed; that I have no more enjoyed their society; 
 that I have been no more affected mth their presence. What, 
 though I see them not ? I believe them. I were no Christian, 
 if my faith were not as sure, as my sense. Ps. xxxiv. 7 ; 2 
 Kings vi. 17 ; 1 Cor. xi. 10 ; Heb. i. 14. Bp. Hall. (Medi- 
 tations and Vows. Cent. iii. 96.) 
 
 14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus 
 came into GaUlee, preaching the Gospel of the king- 
 dom of God, 
 
 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the king- 
 dom of God is at hand : repent ye, and believe the 
 
 Gospel. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 S. MAEK I. 14, 15. 
 
 14 After that John was put into prison, Jestjs came. — John in 
 prison is, as it were, the Law in Jewry. Jesus in Galilee is, 
 as it were. Salvation among the Grentiles. Isa. Ixi. 1 ; Gral. iii. 
 23—29. S. Jerome. 
 
 How great was the Humility of the Incarnate Son of God in all 
 His gracious and condescending dealings with the Baptist His 
 forerunner ! He came to him, as a sinner and among a throng 
 of sinners, when He submitted to his baptism. He suffered 
 John first to preach the Grospel ; and, when He Himself preached 
 it. He used none other, than the Baptist's tone and words ; 
 neither would He open His Blessed mouth at all in preaching, 
 till the fore-runner was silenced by being put in prison. Then, 
 how beautiful is the reflection of this Divine grace ! How in- 
 structive is the counterpart, when we mark the corresponding 
 humility of the Baptist in all his relations and intercourse with 
 the great Exemplar of us all ! See S. Luke xi. 1 ; S. John i. 
 19—28 ; iii. 25—36. J. F. 
 
 All the successive generations of God's children amount to one 
 general agency in His cause ; so that, as one generation passes 
 away, another is found to have taken its place to carry on the 
 work of God. Thus there is a never-ceasing growth proceeding 
 in the field of the Church of God, and He is always repairing 
 its seeming losses ; whereas the persons, whom He will have to 
 be thus disposed of, are meanwhile gathered in and saved. 
 Whenever therefore any of Wisdom's more valuable children 
 are taken away, this is no real harm, or loss to the Church 
 Universal ; for such persons, having answered the purpose of 
 God thus far by having finished the work assigned them, others 
 come forward and tread in their steps. Moreover, people are 
 often not sensible what a treasure their worthy teacher was, 
 till he be gone, and an unworthy one succeeds him. They then 
 begin to amend of their own accord and to edify one another ; 
 which they had neglected to do while they had God's faithful 
 Commissioner among them and were quarrelling and disputing 
 with him. S. Matt, xxviii. 20 ; S. John iv. 36—38 ; xi. 4 ; 
 Heb. vii. 23 ; xiii. 7, 8 ; 2 Tim. ii. 2. Bengel. (Maxims for 
 Pastoral conduct.) 
 
 15 The Kingdom of God. — The land of Israel was His dominion; 
 
S. MAEK I. 15. 21 
 
 " in Salem was His tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion." 
 Jerusalem was His E,oyal seat, " the city of the Great King ;'* 
 the temple there His palace. He governed more immediately 
 by oracles, from time to time put into the mouth of His priests 
 and prophets, consulting Him for orders and directions; He 
 received more visible services and homages from His subjects ; 
 He granted earthly conveniences and privileges to them ; He 
 encouraged them to the obedience of His law by promises of 
 temporal reward ; deterred them from disobedience and dis- 
 loyalty by threatening temporal pains and damages : but under 
 the Evangelical dispensation, as God's Kingdom is more capa- 
 cious and unlimited in extension, so He hath assumed no 
 peculiar residence upon earth, nor is worshipped otherwise 
 than as being in heaven, the natural seat of His special Ma- 
 jesty and Glory. He rules by a law perpetual and immutable, 
 revealed from thence ; the sacrifices and adorations He requires 
 are spiritual and invisible for the most part, and addressed thi- 
 ther ; the privileges appertaining to the subjects of this king- 
 dom chiefly refer thither ; they are allured to obedience by re- 
 wards to be conferred there ; are withdrawn from disobedience 
 by penalties referring to a future State : this state therefore of 
 things is called the Kingdom of Heaven, of God, of Cheist ; 
 that, which was coming and approaching in the time of our 
 Saviour's humble sojourning upon earth, is now present. He 
 reigning in heaven ; into which they are said to be " trans- 
 lated," to have " access unto the heavenly Jerusalem," to be 
 " made fellow- citizens and co-heirs with the saints in light," to 
 have " their conversation in heaven," to partake a " heavenly- 
 calling," to be "seated together with Cheist in heavenly 
 places," who with sincere persuasion of mind embrace the doc- 
 trine of Cheist, with firm resolution submit to His law, be- 
 coming thereby subjects of this heavenly kingdom, undertaking 
 the obligations, and partaking the privileges belonging thereto. 
 S. Luke xvi. 16 ; Dan. ii. 44; ; iv. 3 ; Ps. ii. 6 ; S. John iv. 19 — 
 24; Eom. xiv. 17. Dr. Barrow. (Exposition of the Creed.) 
 Tu praeclaris nova fsedera pactis, 
 Magne Creator, inis, hominemque affaris amicum 
 Municipemque poll. Tu vasta palatia coeli 
 
22 S. MARK I. 15. 
 
 Nee visas promittis opes. Tu mortis et omne 
 Parcarum proscribis opus ; sine finibus annos 
 Perpetuosque dies, seternaque ssecula donas. 
 
 C. BarlcBUs. (Hymn, in Christum.) 
 In every age, since the fall, the Voice of GtOD has called mankind 
 to repentance : but it is the Meritorious Sacrifice of the Death 
 of His dear Son which alone renders our repentance acceptable, 
 and availing unto the forgiveness of Sin : and that Death is ap- 
 . prehended by our faith. For this reason, the Baptist directed 
 the people beyond himself, and bade them, " Behold the Lamb 
 of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." S. John i. 
 29 ; S. Luke xxiv. 47 ; Acts v. 31 ; xi. 18. J. F, 
 The repentance, which precedes faith, consists chiefly of a sense 
 of danger, and a fear of punishment ; but, when we come to 
 have a lively apprehension of pardoning love and our adoption 
 in Cheist, it is genuine filial sorrow for having ofiended GrOD. 
 Legal repentance is before the Cross of Christ, and brings us 
 up to it ; Evangelical is after, and begins from it. The latter 
 only is genuine, effectual, and lasting. Jer. xxxi. 19 ; Zech. 
 xii. 10 ; 2 Cor. vii. 9—12. Adam. (Private Thoughts. Ch. 5.) 
 And believe.— Whsit should it avail and profit us to be sorry for 
 our sins, to lament and bewail that we have offended our most 
 bounteous and merciful Pather, or to confess and acknowledge 
 our offences and trespasses, though it be done never so earnestly, 
 unless we do steadfastly believe and be fully persuaded that 
 GrOD, for His dear Son Jestjs Christ's sake, will forgive us all 
 our sins, put them out of His remembrance and from His sight ? 
 Therefore, they, that teach repentance without Christ and a 
 lively faith in the mercy of Gron, do only teach Cain's and 
 Judas's repentance. Isa. i. 16 — 18 ; S. Luke xxiv. 47 ; Acts 
 XX. 21 ; Heb. ix. 22. Homilies. (On Eepentance. Part 2.) 
 Whensoever this worm this apprehension of Gron's future indig- 
 nation, reserved for the judgment, bites upon thee, be sure to 
 present to it the Blood of thy Saviour. Never consider the 
 judgment of GrOD for sin alone, but in the company of the mer- 
 cies of Christ. It is but the hissing of the serpent and the 
 whispering of Satan. When he surprises thee in a melancholy 
 midnight of dejection of spirit and lays thy sins before thee, 
 
S. MAEK I. 15. 23 
 
 then look not upon thy sins so inseparably, that thou canst not 
 see Christ too. Come not to a confession to Con without 
 consideration of the promises of His Gospel. Even the sense 
 and remorse of sin is a dangerous consideration, but when " the 
 cup of Salvation" stands by me to keep me from fainting. 
 Num. xxi. 7—9 ; Ps. xxvii. 14 ; S. Matt. xi. 28 ; 2 Cor. ii. 7. 
 Dr. Bonne. (Serm. on Ps. vi. 6, 7.) 
 
 A cross without a Christ never did any man good. S. Matt. xi. 
 28. Flavel. 
 
 The Gospel signifies those glad tidings, revealed in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, concerning the gracious purpose of Cod the Pather to 
 recover lost sinners from the ruin of the fiill by the death and 
 obedience of Con the Son, "manifest in the flesh;" together 
 with the operations of Cod the Holt Chost, to work repent- 
 ance and faith in the heart, to renew and sanctify our corrupt 
 nature unto holiness, so making us capable of enjoying His fa- 
 vours on earth and Hi^ Presence in Heaven. (Refer to Hooker, 
 V. 1.) S. Matt, xxviii. 19 ; S. John iii. 16, 5 ; Eph. ii. 18 ; Titus 
 iii. 4 — 7. Dr. Thomas Ford.^ (Visit. Serm. at Melton Mow- 
 bray, 1775.) 
 
 16 Now as He walked by the sea of Galilee, He 
 saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into 
 the sea : for they were fishers. 
 
 17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after Me, 
 and I will make you to become fishers of men. 
 
 18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and 
 followed Him. 
 
 19 And when He had gone a little farther thence. 
 He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his bro- 
 ther, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 
 
 20 And straightway He called them : and they left 
 
 1 This learned and excellent man la- 
 boured for upwards of forty-six years, 
 
 He was uncle to the author of these 
 Illustrations, who is glad to record in 
 
 as Yicar of Melton Mowbray, and was ] these pages a passing tribute of re-* 
 also Chaplain to Archbishop Seeker. | spect and affection to his memory. 
 
24 S. MARK I. 16, 17. 
 
 their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired ser- 
 vants, and went after Him. 
 
 16 He saw Simon and Andreu), Sfc. — The actual constant con- 
 sideration of GtOd's Presence would be tlie readiest way in the 
 world to make sin to cease from among the children of men, 
 and for men to approach the blessed state of the Saints in 
 heaven, who cannot sin ; for they always walk in the presence 
 and "behold the face of GtOd." Gen. xvi. 13 ; Ps. xvi. 9; ciii. 
 20 ; S. John i. 48. Bp. J. Taylor. (Holy Living, c. i. s. 3.) 
 
 Casting a net into the sea. — The same consideration (of GtOd's 
 omnipresence) which should restrain us from sin, should en- 
 courage us to work righteousness, and comfort us under all our 
 sorrows ; namely the thought, that we are never out of the 
 sight and protection of our Maker. The piety and the charity, 
 which are practised in cottages ; the labour and pain, which are 
 perpetually endured in the field and. on the bed of sickness ; 
 the misery and torment, inflicted by persecution, in the mines, 
 the galleys, and the dungeons — all are under the inspection of 
 Jehovah and are noted down by Him against the Day of re- 
 membrance. He sees and He will reward all we do and all we 
 suffer, as becometh Christians, vi. 48 ; Ex. iii. 7 ; Eccl. iii. 10 ; 
 Ps. Ivi. 8 ; S. John xvi. 32 ; S. James v. 4. Bp. Home. (Comm. 
 on Ps. cxxxix.) 
 
 They were fishers. — It is observable that GrOD has often called 
 men to places of dignity and honour, when they have been busy 
 in the honest employment of their vocation. Saul was seeking 
 his father's asses and David keeping his father's sheep, when 
 called to the kingdom. The shepherds were feeding their 
 flocks, when they had their glorious revelation. GrOD called 
 four Apostles from their fishery and Matthew from the receipt 
 of custom ; Amos from among the herdsmen of Tekoah, Moses 
 from keeping Jethro's sheep, and Gideon from the threshing- 
 floor. God never encourages idleness, and despises not persons 
 in the meanest employments. Gen. ii. 15 ; iii. 19 ; Acts ix. 
 43 ; xvi. 14, 15 ; 1 Cor. vii. 21 ; 1 Thess. iv. 11. Palmer. 
 (Aphorisms. 898.) 
 
 17 Cheist calls them by a name of labour and humiliation. But 
 
S. MAEK I. 17, 18. 25 
 
 why by that name of labour and humiliation— ^^s^ers ? Be- 
 cause it was nomen primitivum, their own their former name. 
 The Holt G-host pursues His own way, and does here in 
 Cheist, as He does often in other places. He speaks in such 
 forms and such phrases, as may most work upon them, to whom 
 He speaks. Of David, that was a shepherd before, God says, 
 " He took him to feed His people." To those Magi of the East, 
 who were given to the study of the stars, G-od gave a star to 
 be their guide to Cheist at Bethlehem. (S. Matt, ii.) To 
 those, which followed Him to Capernaum for meat, Cheist 
 took occasion by that to preach to them of the spiritual food 
 of their souls. (S. John vi.) To the Samaritan woman, whom 
 He found at the well. He preached of the water of life. (S. 
 John iv.) To these men in our text, accustomed to a joy and 
 gladness, when they took great store of fish. He presents His 
 comforts agreeably to their taste ; they should be fishers still. 
 Beloved, Cheist puts no man out of his way (for sinful courses 
 are no ways, but continual deviations), to go to heaven. 
 Cheist makes heaven " all things to all men," that He might 
 "gain" all. To the mirthful man He presents heaven, as all 
 joy ; and to the ambitious man, as all glory. To the merchant, 
 it is a pearl ; and to the husbandman, it is a rich field. Cheist 
 hath made heaven " all things to all men," that He might 
 "gain" all, and He puts no man out of his way to come 
 thither, iv. 33 ; S. Matt. xi. 17 ; 1 Cor. vii. 20. Br. Donne. 
 (Serm. on S. Matt. iv. 18—20.) 
 
 This title of fisher sets forth more the work of the ingathering of 
 souls, the missionary activity ; that title of shepherd more the 
 tending and nourishing of souls, that have been thus in- 
 gathered. This therefore fitly comes first ; it was said to S. 
 Peter, "Thou shalt catch men" (S. Luke v. 10), before it was 
 said to him "Feed My sheep" (S. John xxi. 16); and each 
 time a different commission, or, at least, a different side of the 
 commission is expressed; he shall be both evangelist and 
 pastor. S. John iv. 37, 38 ; Acts viii. 5 ; Eph. iv. 11, 12 ; Col. 
 i. 7 ; iv. 12. Dean Trench. (On the Miracles.) 
 
 18 The stress must here be laid on straightway, or immediately ; 
 which is indeed a favourite adverb with S. Mark. (Verses 10, 
 
26 
 
 S. MAEK I. 19, 20. 
 
 12, 18, 20, 29, 30, 42, 43.) This was a simple and most noble 
 venture of faith. Gren. xxii. 3 ; G-al. i. 15, 16. J. F. 
 (Conf X. 28. We have left all, ^c.) A profession this, well 
 worthy of the faith and devotedness of Apostles. " Already, 
 Peter, hast thou left all ; already hast thou followed the Lord ; 
 and now, at last, thou comest to ask, ' What wilt thou have ?' 
 Tou were shown to be a true Simon by your hearing the Loed 
 and obeying Him without stipulating on terms, siiie pacti con- 
 verdione.'^ At the simple word of Christ, S. Peter and S. An- 
 drew, having left all they had, followed the Lord. Heb. xi. 
 25, 26 ; 2 Cor. viii, 5. S. Bernard. (Deelam. super Evangel.) 
 
 19 Mending their nets, ^'C. (Washing them. S. Luke v. 2.) — 
 It has been ingeniously and usefully remarked by a mystic 
 writer of the middle ages, that this their washing and repair- 
 ing of their nets, after they had used them, ought ever to be 
 imitated by all " fishers of men," after they have cast in their 
 nets for a draught ; meaning by this, that they should seek 
 carefully to purify and cleanse themselves from aught, which 
 in that very act they may have gathered of sin, impurities of 
 vanity, of self-elation, or of any other kind ; and that this they 
 must do, if they would use their nets effectually for a future 
 draught. Hab. i. 16 ; Isa. x. 13 ; Ps. cxv. 1. Bean Trench. 
 (On the Miracles.) 
 
 They left their father. — There is a nearer conjunction between 
 Christ and the faithful, than there is with father and mother. 
 Of them we have esse natures, a being in nature ; but of Christ, 
 esse Gratice, a being in Grrace : of them our being, of Christ 
 our well being. To "honour father and mother" is the fifth 
 Commandment ; but to honour GrOD is the First Command- 
 ment of the Law, to shew that to honour God is above all. 
 " The father in earth," saith S. Augustine, " should have honour, 
 but the Father in heaven more." Gen. xii. 1 ; 1 Kings xix. 
 20 ; Ps. xlv. 11 ; S. Luke ix. 59 ; xiv. 26. Chr. Sutton. (Disce 
 vivere. Ch. 23.) 
 
 20 The two accounts, that of S. Matthew and S. Mark on one 
 side, and that of S. Luke on the other, concurring in the place 
 and situations, in which S. Peter was called, in the promise 
 made to him, and the time, when he was called, speak evidently 
 
S. MAEK I. 20. 37 
 
 of the same vocations .... Only one circumstance is peculiar 
 to S. Mark, tliat John and James left their father Zebedee in 
 the ship with the hired servants; which shews that Christ, 
 in calling them, and they in obeying the call, did not leave 
 their father destitute of assistance to carry on his business, 
 vii. 10 — 12 ; Eph. vi. 2, 3. Dr, Townson. (Discourse iii. S. 
 
 ii-i.) 
 
 Discipulos Christus non urbe foroque petivit, 
 
 Non Academeise spatiis, superive Lycei. 
 
 Delegit bis sex comites, qui mystica Sacra 
 
 Grentibus eiferrent, prius ignorata, profanis. 
 
 Piscatu tenuem quaerebant aequore victum, 
 
 Nulla sub urbanis docti prsecepta magistris. 
 
 Hi tamen effusi per vicos, oppida, et urbes, 
 
 Omne genus paucis hominum cepere diebus ; 
 
 Leges, et populos, et summa atque infima quaeque 
 
 Eetibus inclusere suis. Ea retia captos 
 
 Eripuere malis, praedseque fuere saluti. 
 
 Ipse Deo genitus grates egisse Parenti 
 
 Dicitur, et magnum vivens testatus amorem ; 
 
 Pro quo res longa penitus caligine mersas, 
 
 Magni arcana Dei, rudibus patefecerat atque 
 
 Indoctis hominum, despecta obscuraque vulgi 
 
 Ingenia anteferens sapientibus atque superbis. 
 
 S. Matt. xi. 25. Mich. Hospitalius. (Epist. lib. vi.) 
 
 21 And they went into Capernaum ; and straight- 
 way on the Sabbath day He entered into the syna- 
 gogue, and taught. 
 
 22 And they were astonished at His doctrine : for 
 He taught them as one that had authority, and not as 
 the scribes. 
 
 23 And there was in their synagogue a man with 
 an unclean spirit ; and he cried out, 
 
 24 Saying, Let us alone ; what have we to do with 
 Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth ? art Thou come to 
 
2» S. MARK I. 21, 22. 
 
 destroy us ? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy 
 One of God. 
 
 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying. Hold thy 
 peace, and come out of him. 
 
 26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and 
 cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 
 
 27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they 
 questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is 
 this ? what new doctrine is this ? for with authority 
 commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they do 
 obey Him. 
 
 21 Straightway, It beautifully expresses in Ch. i. ii., the rapid pro- 
 gress of Christ hastening towards the goal, and the occasions 
 quickly meeting Him, and their prompt success. Our Sayioijr 
 was not slow to act. The particle again, another favourite ex- 
 pression with S. Mark, has a like force. Ps. xix. 5, 6 ; xl. 
 10. Bengel. 
 
 22 It is true the Ministers of the G-ospel are " servants" to the 
 Church, (2 Cor. iv. 5) . . . . but we are servants only for the 
 Church's good, to serve their souls, not to serve their humours. 
 And therefore we are such servants, as may command too. . . . 
 Christ taught men, as one, that had power and authority, or 
 privilege to speak ; as one, that " cared not for the persons of 
 men." And, wherever His Spirit is, there will this power 
 and liberty of Christ appear : for He hath given it to His 
 Ministers, that they may " commend themselves to the con- 
 sciences of them, that hear them," that they may "harden 
 their faces" against the pride and scorn of men, that they may 
 go out in armies against the enemies of His kingdom, that they 
 may " speak boldly, as they ought to speak," that they may not 
 suffer His word to be " bound," or His Spirit to be straightened, 
 by the humours of men. (See Illustr. Acts xiii. 5. J. Mede.) 
 1 Tim. iv. 11, 12 ; Heb. xiii. 17 ; 1 Cor. vii. 23. Bp. Reynolds. 
 (Expos, of Ps. ex.) 
 
 That is spoken with authority, which is carried into practice, be- 
 
S. MARK I. 22—24. 29 
 
 fore it is spoken ; for, when the conscience ties up the tongue, 
 credit is withdrawn from the doctrine delivered. Chkist, in a 
 singular and exclusive sense, spake all good things with power, 
 because He did no evil through weakness, xi. 32 ; S. Matt. vii. 
 3—6, 29 ; Eom. ii. 17—23. S. Gregorij. 
 There be three means to fortify belief: the first experience; the 
 second, reason ; the third, authority. And that of these, which 
 is far the most potent, is authority ; for belief upon reason, or 
 upon experience, will stagger. S. Luke i. 1, 2; xxiv. 24; S. 
 John iii. 4 ; Tit. ii. 15. Lord Bacon. 
 
 23 An unclean spirit. — It was befitting, since death first entered 
 into the world through the devil's envy, that the healing medi- 
 cine of Salvation should first operate against him. xvi. 17 ; 
 Gen. iii. 15. Bede. 
 
 If any desire to know more concerning the devil, he may learn it 
 easily by the titles attributed to him ; as, in regard of his ex- 
 cellent knowledge, " Daemon ;" in regard of his enmity, " Sa- 
 tan ;" in regard of his power, " a strong man ;" in regard of 
 his pollution, an unclean spirit : but " Devil" is his most usual 
 name, being a continual " accuser of the brethren." Eev. xii. 
 10. Dean Boys. (On the Dominical Ep., &c. 3 S. Lent.) 
 
 24 They cunningly call Him Jesus of Nazareth, to nourish the 
 error of the multitude, that thought He was born there ; and so, 
 not the Christ, xiv. 67 ; Acts vi. 14. Edw. Leigh. (In loc.) 
 
 The Blessed Angels, they rejoice and sing at the good of others, 
 at the conversion of but one poor sinner, (S. Luke xv. 7). Hoc 
 Angelicum est. On the other side, the devil's manner is to howl 
 and grieve at others' good : if Cheist come to save men, to 
 cry " He is come to torment them." Hoc est Diabolicum. Bp. 
 Andrewes. (Serm. on S. Luke ii. 12, 13.) 
 
 To destroy us ? — Our Lord had not uttered a word, respecting 
 judgment or punishment. But guilt accuses and condemns 
 itself. Tear of destruction is the spontaneous offspring of sin ; 
 and, whether the Lord reproves, or keeps silence, " there is no 
 peace unto the wicked." Conscientia mille testes. Compare 
 the case of Herod, vi. 14, 16. Gen. iv. 23 ; S. Matt. xiv. 1, 2 ; 
 Acts xxiv. 25. J. F. 
 
 Here let us consider the rages and tempests of a troubled mind 
 
30 S. MABK I. 24, 25. 
 
 and of an unquiet conscience, which knoweth that GrOD is the 
 avenger of all wickedness, and that death is the due reward of 
 sin, which acknowledgeth himself to be a sinner, and findeth 
 no way how he shall escape Hell-fire. This man, when he 
 thinketh with himself of these things, he cannot but be amazed 
 and disquieted above measure. The sound of the trumpet is 
 ever in his ears ; he heareth the voice of the Judge, saying, 
 " Stand forth, sinner ; now declare, how thou hast used thy 
 body ; give a reckoning of thy whole life." Then his conscience 
 beginneth to quake and tremble. Then he needeth no witness 
 to accuse him, nor Judge to condemn him. He is both wit- 
 ness and Judge against himself .... GrOD keep us far from 
 such agonies, and give us pure hearts and clear consciences ! 
 Gen. iii. 8 ; iv. 14 ; 1. 15 ; Heb. x. 27 ; Eev. vi. 16. Bp. Jewel. 
 (Expos. 1 Thess. iii. 11—13.) 
 
 I know Thee, ^c. — The Holt Spirit is here meant, whom the 
 magicians in Egypt called "the finger of God," when, con- 
 vinced by the evidence of the third miracle, they confessed 
 their own magical powers to be unavailing. Ex. viii. 19. S. 
 Luke xi. 20. S. Cyprian. (De Spir. Sancto.) 
 
 " The Holy One of God." — He came in the appearance only of 
 sinful flesh, (Eom. viii. 3,) as the brazen serpent had the figure, 
 and not the poison, of the fiery serpent. He was without the 
 least tincture of original or actual sin. He foiled the tempter 
 in all his arts and methods, wherewith he tried Him. He 
 resisted "the lust of the flesh," by refusing to make the stones 
 bread to assuage His hunger; and "the lust of the eyes," in 
 despising the kingdoms of the world with all their treasures ; 
 and " the pride of life," when He would not throw Himself 
 down, that by the interposing of angels for His rescue there 
 might be a visible proof that He was " the Son of God." The 
 accuser himself confessed Him to be " the Holy One of God;" 
 he found no corruption in Him, and could draw nothing out of 
 Him. S. John xiv. 30 ; Heb. vii. 26 ; 1 S. Pet. i. 19. Dr. 
 Bates. (Harm, of Divine Attributes, &c. Ch. 12.) 
 
 25 He silences the devils, even when they spake the truth, lest 
 He should seem to approve of witnesses, who were liars by 
 nature. S. John viii. 44 ; Rom. xiv. 16 ; Eph. v. 15. Novarinus. 
 
S. MARK I. 25, 27. 31 
 
 Jesus rebuked him, being planb invidiosum, an evident detractor, 
 in his very confession mischievous, and guilty of wicked flat- 
 tery ; male adulantem^ as if he wished to make it appear that 
 this was Christ's chief glory in coming to "destroy" devils, 
 rather than to save men. S. John iii. 17. Tertullian. (Adv. 
 Marc. L. iv. c. 7.) 
 
 27 The Jewish exorcists were wont by invocation of the I^ame 
 of God to drive away the devils. But no man, before this 
 time, did that pro itnperio, as Cheist here. He needed nothing 
 to overcome the devil, but only His bare word. S. Matt. iv. 
 10; S. Mark ix. 25; xvi. 18; Acts ix. 34; xix. 13. JEdw. 
 Leigh. (In loco.) 
 
 His authority in teaching was thus early recognized. (S. John iii. 
 2.) Truly His miracles were amazing ; but what He taught still 
 more so. The Jews were no strangers to the fact of miracles, 
 "Moses being read in their synagogues every Sabbath day." 
 (Acts XV. 21.) But what new Doctrine is this ? What most 
 wonderful and astounding Truths are these, such as we have 
 never heard before, (1 Cor. ii. 9 ; Acts xvii. 20,) and which 
 the performance of the miracle so undeniably attests ? Miracles 
 are wonders in nature : the Gospel is a mystery from Heaven. 
 Christ is first and above all named " The Wonderful ;'' neither 
 hath eye seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the 
 heart of man to conceive the unsearchable riches of His grace. 
 In beautiful accordance with what is here recorded, we read of 
 a similar effect, produced on the mind of a distinguished 
 convert to the faith, " Sergius Paulus, a prudent man." " Then 
 the deputy, when he saw what was done, (the miracle, wrought 
 by the Apostle) believed, being astonished (not so much at the 
 miracle, as) at the Doctrine of the Lord." Acts xiii. 1 — 12 ; 
 S. Matt. vii. 28, 29 ; Eph. iii. 8. J. F. 
 
 28 And immediately His fame spread abroad 
 throughout all the region round about Galilee. 
 
 29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the 
 synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and 
 Andrew, with James and John. 
 
32 S. MAEK I. 30. 
 
 30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, 
 and anon they tell Him of her. 
 
 31 And He came and took her by the hand, and 
 lifted her up ; and immediately the fever left her, and 
 she ministered unto them. 
 
 32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought 
 unto Him all that were diseased, and them that w^ere 
 possessed with devils. 
 
 33 And all the city was gathered together at the 
 door. 
 
 34 And He healed many that were sick of divers 
 diseases, and cast out many devils ; and suffered not 
 the devils to speak, because they knew Him. 
 
 35 And in the morning, rising up a great while be- 
 fore day, He went out, and departed into a solitary 
 place, and there prayed. 
 
 36 And Simon and they that were with him fol- 
 lowed after Him. 
 
 37 And when they had found Him, they said unto 
 Him, All men seek for Thee. 
 
 38 And He said unto them, Let us go into the next 
 towns, that I may preach there also : for therefore 
 came I forth. 
 
 39 And He preached in their synagogues through- 
 out all Galilee, and cast out devils. 
 
 30 Mark, I pray thee, S. Peter's reverence towards Him. Por, 
 though he had his wife's mother at home lying ill and very 
 sick of a fever, he drew Him not into his house, but waited 
 first for the teaching to be finished ; then, for all the others to 
 be healed ; and then, when He had come in, besought Him. 
 Thus from the beginning was he instructed to prefer the 
 
S. MAKK I. 30—34. 33 
 
 things of all others to his own. ii. 2, 3 ; iii. 31, 32 ; Phil. ii. 
 21. S. Chrysostom. (Horn, in S. Matt. viii. 14.) 
 
 How willing He was to do good we may see in that, when the 
 sick were not able to come unto Him, He went Himself to visit 
 them. V. 38 ; xiv. 37 ; Isa. Ixiii. 5 ; Ezek. xxxiv. 11 ; S. Matt, 
 ix. 25 ; Titus ii. 11. Chr. Sutton. (Disce vivere, ch. 12.) 
 
 SimorCs wife's mother. — If you regard the necessity of Marriage, 
 God found it good to give man a vtdfe ; if the antiquity, it was 
 ordained in the beginning of the world ; if the place, in Para- 
 dise ; if the time, in the innocency of man. If you regard any 
 thing the rather, because of Him, that ordained it, Gron was 
 the Author of marriage. ... If you seek the allowance, Christ 
 approved it by His birth in marriage and by His presence at 
 marriage ; if the dignity, it is honourable ; if among whom, in 
 all men of all estates of all callings, in prince, in subject, in 
 minister, in priest, and in people. It is honourable in prophets, 
 honourable in Apostles, in martyrs, in bishops. Acts xi. 9 ; 
 1 Cor. vii. 2 ; ix. 5 ; Heb. xiii. 4. Bp. Jewel. (Treatise of the 
 Sacraments.) 
 
 In like manner do avarice, incontinence, hatred, last, self-will, 
 nugacitas spectaculorum, the silly love of amusements, create a 
 fever in the soul. Est medicus febris persecutor ut sit hominis 
 liberator. The fever is our physician, urging us on, to the end 
 we may obtain deliverance. S. Matt. xi. 28 ; Rom. vii. 23 — 
 25. S. Augustine. (De Decachord, c. 8.) 
 
 32 At even, when the sun did set. — When thou lookest upon the 
 heavens and beholdest the beauty of the stars, adore Him, 
 that in His Wisdom made them all for thee. When the day is 
 ended and the night approacheth, fall down and worship Him, 
 who made both the day and the night to give thee joy and 
 rest. Ps. xix. 1 ; Iv. 18. S. Basil. 
 
 34 It would seem that on this occasion our Lord poured forth 
 His healing virtues in rich abundance. . . . He " healed all 
 that were sick," in a free, spontaneous, unlimited exercise of 
 Divine charity and compassion (S. Matt. iv. 23 — 25) ; as when, 
 on another occasion, it is said, that " multitudes sought to touch 
 Him ; for there went virtue out of Him and healed them all.'' 
 (S. Luke vi. 19.) Here too was combined the case of demoniacal 
 
 D 
 
34 S. MARK I. 34, 35. 
 
 possession, so strongly and typically expressive of moral and 
 spiritual disease, with that of ordinary sickness ; as if the great 
 Physician were willing to exhibit the power of His healing 
 touch both on souls and bodies, and to shadow forth that per- 
 fect restoration of "body, soul, and spirit," (1 Thess. v. 23,) 
 hereafter to take place, through the grace and efficacy of the 
 great Atonement. Ps. cxlv. 14—21 ; 2 Cor. vi. 12. C. C. Bar- 
 tholomew. (Sermon in behalf of the Devon and Exeter Hos- 
 pital.) 
 All the city, ^c. — Oh, when shall I feel the plague of sin, and 
 long for a deliverance from it, as I would from a sore disease 
 of my body ? I am in danger of losing two of the most precious 
 things in the world; GtOd's favour and my own soul: and yet 
 I am at ease. It is the desperateness of my distemper, that I 
 am at ease. S. Matt. xxiv. 89 ; Acts xxviii. 9 ; Eph. v. 14 ; 
 Eev. iii. 17. Adam. (Private Thoughts. Ch. i.) 
 
 35 Here, in this first chapter of S. Mark, we have, as it were, 
 the morning and the eveni7ig of the Loed's first day. "We see 
 how He began the day with retirement, in communion with 
 GrOD ; then how He closed it, with deeds of mercy, in com- 
 munion with man. (verse 32.) This Sun of Eighteousness 
 " came forth as a bridegroom out of His chamber," His secret 
 place; and then openly before the world ^'rejoiced, as a giant, 
 to run His course," and to scatter mercies and blessings 
 wherever He went. (Ps. xix. 6.) So will the day pass and 
 close with ourselves, when begun in morning retirement, in 
 prayer for " grace to help in time of need." And here we may 
 observe that, after this record of our Loed's early devotion, it 
 is immediately added that Simon, and they that were with him, 
 followed after Him. Thus let us also follow Him, resolving with 
 the Psalmist, " O Gron, Thou art my Gron ; early will I seek 
 Thee!" "My voice shalt Thou hear, O Lord, betimes in the 
 morning. Early in the morning will I direct my prayer unto 
 Thee, and will look up." Ps. v. 3 ; cxxxii. 2 — 5 ; Isa. ii. 11, 
 12. J. F. 
 
 There is something very precious in the morning hours. If at 
 such seasons we leave the company of our very best relatives 
 and friends and retire awhile for silent prayer, we shall find 
 
S. MARK I. 35, 38. 35 
 
 our spirits refreshed, as the fields with the dew of the morning. 
 xvi. 2 ; Acts V. 21. Bengel. 
 
 A solitary place. — This voice of GrOD, perceived within, is not 
 heard in the forum and sounds not in the streets. It requires 
 that your eye be in secret and that your hearing be in secret. 
 Secretum vult oculum, secretum vult auditum. Ps. iv. 3, 4 • Hos. 
 ii. 14 ; S. John i. 48. S. Bernard. (Ep. 107.) 
 
 38 Came I forth. — Our Lord's first expressions concerning Him- 
 self are somewhat mysterious ; but He gradually speaks more 
 plainly, "I came forth from the Fathee." S. Luke ii. 49; S. 
 John xi. 14 ; xvi. 27—30. Bengel. 
 
 At the parallel passage, S. Luke iv. 43, the words are therefore 
 am I sent. Hence, as in many other incidental places, we 
 gather the Catholic doctrine of the twofold nature of Cheist. 
 He "■came forth^' as God ; He was ^^ senf^ as a servant — GrOD 
 and man ; Lord and Cheist ; Jesus and Messiah, in One 
 mysterious and inseparable person; both able to sufier, and 
 also by suffering able to satisfy for our sins. xv. 39. (See 
 Illustr. of S. Matt, xxvii. 54. Bp. Beveridge.) J. F. 
 
 40 And there came a leper to Him, beseeching 
 Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto 
 Him, If Thou wilt. Thou canst make me clean. 
 
 41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth 
 His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will ; 
 be thou clean. 
 
 42 And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the 
 leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 
 
 43 And He straitly charged him, and forthwith sent 
 him aw^ay ; 
 
 44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to 
 any man ; but go thy way, shew^ thyself to the priest, 
 and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses 
 commanded, for a testimony unto them. 
 
 45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, 
 
 d2 
 
36 S. MAEK I. 40, 41. 
 
 and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus 
 could no more openly enter into the city, but was 
 without in desert places ; and they came to Him from 
 every quarter. 
 
 40 Kneeling. — There is no contrivance of our body, but some good 
 man in Scripture hath hanselled it with prayer. The publican 
 standing, Job sitting, (Job ii. 8,) Hezekiah lying on his bed, 
 (2 Kings XX. 2,) Elijah with his face between his legs. (1 Kings 
 xviii. 42.) But of all gestures give me S. Paul's ; " Tor this 
 cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 2 Sam. vii. 18 ; Eph. iii. 12 ; Acts vii. 60. Th. Fuller. 
 (Good Thoughts in worse times. Ch. 6.) 
 
 In the will of the Lord, he acknowledges the Divine power. He 
 entertained no doubt, as to the will of the Lord, as if distrust- 
 ing His tender compassion ; but deeply conscious of his own 
 vileness he would not presume. S. Luke xviii. 13. Bede. 
 
 41 As before His Incarnation He felt not any pain, so must He 
 needs have been experimentally unacquainted with compassion ; 
 ita nee misericordiam experimento novit. Heb. ii. 9 — 18. S. 
 Hilary. 
 
 The glory of Christ was represented and made known, under the 
 Old Testament, in His personal appearances unto several emi- 
 nent persons, leaders of the Church in their generations. This 
 He did, as a prceludium to His Incarnation. He was as yet 
 God only; but appeared in the assumed shape of man to sig- 
 nify what He would be. He did not create a human nature 
 and unite it unto Himself for such a season ; only by His 
 Divine power He acted the shape of a man, composed of what 
 ethereal substance He pleased, immediately to be dissolved. 
 So He appeared to Abraham, to Jacob, to Moses, to Joshua, 
 and others. And herein also, because He was the Divine Per- 
 son, who dwelt in and with the Church under the Old Testa- 
 ment from first to last, in so doing He constantly assumed to 
 Himself human affections^ to intimate that a season would 
 come, when He would immediately act in that nature. And 
 indeed, after the fall, there is nothing spoken of God in the 
 
S. MAKK I. 41. 37 
 
 Old Testament, nothing of His institutions, nothing of the way 
 and manner of His dealing with the Church, but what hath 
 respect unto the future Incarnation of Cheist : and it had 
 been absurd to bring in GtOD under perpetual anthropopathies, 
 as grieving, repenting, being angry, well pleased, and the like, 
 were it not but that the Divine Person intended was to take 
 on Him the nature, wherein such affections do dwell. Acts 
 vii. 30, 37, 38 ; Heb. x. 5. Dr. Owen. (On the Person of 
 Cheist.) 
 
 What is spoken of God ai'9piv7ro~adw^, after the manner of men, 
 must yet be understood QeoTrpeTrw^, so as befitteth the Majesty 
 and perfections of His Divine nature. S. John i. 14. Bp. San- 
 derson. (Serm. on 1 Kings xxi. 29.) 
 
 Tut forth His hand and touched him. — Three ways we read our 
 Sayioue, healed diseases ; with means, as the leper, (S. Matt, 
 viii.) without means, as the ten lepers, (S. Luke xvii.) against 
 means, as the blind man. (S. John ix.) His working hy means 
 is the more ordinary, and suits better with the weakness of our 
 faith and the dimness of our understanding ; where we see it 
 not, we are apt to sink and fail. Nor is the other, without 
 means, to God of greater difficulty. A miracle, when He 
 pleases, is as easy to Him, as a natural cause. For it was at 
 first by a miracle that that cause was natural ; and all the 
 miracles, that we have heard of in the world, are less a miracle, 
 than the world itself. ... It is as easy to God to work with- 
 out means, as with them. It is the same " Be clean'' and " Go 
 wash.'' And against means is equal to either; nay, to Him 
 these latter are the nearer ways. To go by His power and 
 omniscience is far a quicker way, than by the circumflections 
 of nature and second causes. . . . We ought never so to de- 
 pend upon His will and power hidden, as to neglect His de- 
 clared pleasure. He, that neglects what he finds commanded, 
 hath little reason to expect what he finds not promised. Upon 
 means it is fit we should depend; without means we may 
 hope ; against means, we should not despair. S. John xi. 39 ; 
 Acts xii. 8 ; xxvii. 31. O. Feltham. (Eesolves. Cent. ii. 33.) 
 
 By touching the leper. He signified that He is not subject to the 
 Law, but is set over it ; and that to the clean henceforth no- 
 
38 S. MARK I. 41—44. 
 
 thing is unclean. He heals not, as a servant, (referring to 
 Elisha's healing Naaman,) but as absolute Master; for His 
 hand became not unclean from the leprosy, but the leprous 
 body was made clean by His holy hand. Yerse 27 ; Ex. iv. 6. 
 S. Chrysostom. (In loco, ad S. Matt.) 
 
 " Iwill ; be thou clean.'*^ This reply, like an instant echo, meets 
 the strong faith of the leper, whose very petition furnished the 
 orderly form of the wished- for answer. Ps. cxxxix. 2. Bengel. 
 
 42 Justly may we admire the force and speed, with which prayer 
 flies up to heaven, and brings down answers from thence — a^tia 
 6Vo9, a/xa epr^ov ; no sooner said, than done. . . . There is no- 
 thing, that cuts the air so swiftly ; nothing, that takes so sub- 
 lime, so happy, and so auspicious a flight, as prayer; which 
 bears the souls on its pinions and leaves far behind all the 
 dangers and even the delights of this low world of ours. Gen. 
 xxiv. 15 ; Isa. Ixv. 24 ; Dan. ix. 20, 21, 23 ; Acts xii. 5, 12, 14. 
 Abp. Leighton. (Med. on Ps. 4.) 
 
 44 Shew thyself to the priest. — If the sick person has been so 
 dealt with, as to be truly sensible of his condition, he should 
 then be instructed in the nature and benefit of Confession (at 
 least, of such sins, as do trouble his conscience) and of Absolu- 
 tion. Eor instance, he should be told, that, as under the law 
 of Moses GrOD made His priests the judges of leprosy (Lev. 
 xiii.) and gave them rules, by which they were to determine 
 who were clean, and fit to enter into the congregation, which 
 was the type of heaven, and who were not clean ; even so, under 
 the Gospel, He has given His priests authority to pronounce 
 their pardon, if they find them qualified ; for this is their com- 
 mission from Cheist's own mouth, " Whosesoever sins ye remit, 
 they are remitted unto them." . . . While we are bound to 
 encourage penitents earnestly to desire Absolution, and to ex- 
 hort them to receive the Lord's Supper, as a pledge to assure 
 them of pardon, we must sincerely admonish them not to hope 
 for any benefit, either from the one, or the other, but upon con- 
 dition of their sincere repentance. S. Matt. xvi. 19 : S. John 
 XX. 22, 23. Bp. Wilson. (Parochialia. On Visiting the sick.) 
 
 By preaching, and catechizing, and private intercourse (with the 
 Minister in spiritual things) all the needs of the soul can best 
 
S. MARK I. 44. 39 
 
 be served ; but by preacbing alone tbey cannot. Bp. J. Taylor. 
 (Advice to bis Clergy, S. v. 68.) 
 Is tbere not some reason to fear, that, tbrougb various unhappy 
 causes, less pastoral intercourse exists among Christians, than 
 was found among the Jev^s ? This certainly was not the design 
 of our LoED, that spiritual helps and advantages should be less 
 under the Gospel, than they were under the Law. Nor is it the 
 intent of the Church. Her system of parochial communion, 
 each fold having its own proper shepherd, is wisely adapted 
 to the purpose of promoting the utmost mutual sympathy, con- 
 fidence, and co-operation. The tone of her Services throughout 
 is loving and soothing. How tenderly, for instance, before the 
 administration of the Lord's Supper, does she invite her chil- 
 dren, when in doubt and distress of conscience, to her maternal 
 bosom, that she may place them in perfect peace in the bosom 
 of the LoED ! Her feeling in this respect has been forcibly and 
 beautifully expressed in the following manner. " Confess your 
 sins to GrOD ;" such is our counsel, — (the author is engaged in 
 vindicating from misrepresentation that part of the Order for 
 the Visitation of the Sick, which supposes the sick person's 
 conscience "to be troubled with any weighty matter.") — " Con- 
 " fess your sins to Gron ; we wish not, we seek not to know 
 " them : but if you cannot otherwise apply what you have been 
 "taught of God's general promises to your own case, unbosom 
 " yourself freely to us : tell us in that sacred confidence, which 
 " ought to subsist between a Christian minister and him, who 
 " is about to stand before his Judge ; tell us what it is, that 
 " thus shakes your soul with dread, and renders you incapable of 
 " the holy consolations of the Gospel of Peace. Your very terrors 
 " prove, at least, that you are not hardened ; that your state is 
 " better than that of the unhappy soul, which is ready to wing its 
 " flight into an eternal world in stupid and reckless insensibility 
 " to its danger. We are Ordained to preach the glad tidings of 
 " great joy, to minister the Word of God, to pronounce the 
 " pardon of God over all, who with true faith turn unto Him. 
 " And weak though we be, — sinners, miserable sinners, though 
 " we be, — we have yet the promise of Him, who cannot lie, that 
 " He ' will be with us alway even unto the end of the world,' 
 
40 S. MARK I. 44, 45. 
 
 " that He will Bless His own Ordinances, and make them, when 
 " duly ministered and devoutly received, effectual to the Salva- 
 "tion of men." (Letter 9 to C. Butler, Esq., on Confession 
 and Absolution, by the Eev. H. Phillpotts, D.D., now Lord 
 Bishop of Exeter.) Isa. 1. 4 ; 2 Thess. ii. 7. J. F. 
 
 Magno errore magna dementia in eas res^ quibus male utuntur ho- 
 mines, crimen male utentium transfertur. It is a great mistake 
 and great infatuation, when we transfer the blame of men's 
 abuses to the objects, which they abuse ; and when, because of 
 the abuse, we condemn the thing itself. S. Augustine. 
 
 45 In the performance of this miracle He enjoined silence, and 
 yet it was not concealed in silence ; that so His elect, while 
 following His precepts and example, may desire secresy in their 
 good actions ; and yet, ut prosint aliis prodantur inviti, for the 
 benefit of others may, contrary to their own wishes, allow them 
 to be publicly made known. S. Matt. vi. 1 — 4 ; v. 14 — 16. 
 Bede. 
 
 The man kept not Cheist's injunction, wherein he was to be 
 blamed ; yet there is some excuse in part from the ardent af- 
 fection and overcoming joy, that he could not well conceal. 
 (S. John iv. 29 ; Acts iv. 20.) Nor are we sharply to inveigh 
 against all the impertinences and imprudence of new converts 
 in their speeches, and carriages in religious things, though they 
 are admonished to study prudence. It is no wonder that so 
 high a change does a little transport them beyond their bounds. 
 S. Matt. xii. 34. Abp. Leighton. (Lectures on S. Matt, viii.) 
 
 It was a rare cure, that had been, to heal a leper, (2 Kings v. 
 7,) and Cheist had not healed any, till this present time. 
 Therefore, when this was published abroad, it would not only 
 gather people under other diseases to Cueist for their recovery, 
 (for they would conclude He could heal any, when He could 
 do this,) but it would cause lepers to break into the city, where 
 He was ; which was contrary to their law and custom, and so 
 would breed trouble and confusion; so that Jesus could no 
 more openly enter the city. 2 Kings v. 7 j S. Matt. x. 8 ; xi. 5. 
 Br. Lightfoot. (Harm. Evang. s. 22.) 
 
S. MAEK II. 1. 41 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 A ND again He entered into Capernaum after some 
 days ; and it was noised that He was in the 
 house. 
 
 2 And straightway many were gathered together, 
 insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, 
 not so much as about the door : and He preached the 
 word unto them. 
 
 3 And they come unto Him, bringing one sick of 
 the palsy, which was borne of four. 
 
 4 And when they could not come nigh unto Him 
 for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was : 
 and when they had broken it up, they let down the 
 bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 
 
 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the 
 sick of the palsy. Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 
 
 1 Our Lord vouchsafed to accept tKe hospitalities of Andrew 
 and Peter at Capernaum ; of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary at 
 Bethany ; for He had no house of His own, neither does He 
 appear to have ever sojourned in Jerusalem, which was the 
 city of blood. (S. Matt, xxiii. 35, 37.) Wliile under their 
 roof He instructed them, explaining more especially what He 
 had taught in public. He furnished them with a more per- 
 fect knowledge of His own life and conversation, and thus in 
 the most effectual manner confirmed His instructions. He 
 prayed for them, if not with them ; and thus He shared all 
 things with them, as their guest, condescending to their low 
 estate. How composed must have been their thoughts — how 
 blessed their sense of security, when they retired to rest at 
 night ! How must they have hailed with adoring admiration 
 
42 S. MAKE II. 3, 4. 
 
 the Sun of Righteousness, shining upon them on the return of 
 day, as He gladdened and refreshed their souls for its cares 
 and duties ! If we would invite the Lord to our house and 
 enjoy His spiritual Presence with us in the midst of our fami- 
 lies, we must study to " do such things, as please Him ;" we 
 must "put away the evil of our doings before His sight." He, 
 who is " a jealous GrOD," will not bear a divided service. (S. 
 Matt. vi. 24.) He, who is a holy Gtod, will not " go to be a 
 guest with a man, that is a sinner." (Ps. xv. ; S. John ix. 81.) 
 The G-OD of peace will not dwell in the house of contention. 
 (Eph. iv. 30 — 32.) He, whose Presence is heaven, cannot 
 abide in the midst of that corrupt conversation, which is " of 
 the earth earthy," (2 Cor. vi. 15 ;) neither will He bless those 
 families, that refuse to honour Him not before the world, that 
 "call not on His Name." Let then every Christian house- 
 holder embrace Joshua's resolution, (xxiv. 15). "With David 
 let him say unto the Lord, " When wilt Thou come unto me ? 
 I will walk in my house with a perfect heart." Ps. ci, ; 1 Sam. 
 V. 2, 3 ; Isa. xliii. 24 ; Jer. x. 25. J. F. 
 
 3 I am paralytic, since the powers of my soul are without motion, 
 or operation towards anything, that is good ; but if I shall be 
 carried by the/bwr Evangelists, and brought by them unto the 
 Lord, then shall I hear Him say, " Thy sins be forgiven thee." 
 E/Om. V. 6. Theophylact. (in loco.) 
 
 Glory be to Thee, O tenderest Jesu, who, when, by reason of my 
 infancy, I could not promise to repent and believe for myself, 
 didst mercifully accept of the promise of my sureties, who 
 promised both for me ; as Thou didst accept, for good to the 
 paralytic, the charitable intentions of those, that brought him 
 to Thee, and of the faith of the woman of Canaan, for the cure 
 of her daughter: for which merciful acceptance all love, all 
 glory be to Thee ! vii. 26 ; x. 13. Bp, Ken. (Practice of 
 Divine Love.) 
 
 4 Here then we have a reason, as one has observed, why it was 
 " expedient that our Lord should depart," and that "the Com- 
 forter should come." The throng of multitudes, crowding after 
 the bodily presence of Christ was a hindi'ance to the Gospel, 
 while many could not get at Him by reason of the press, and 
 
S. MAEK n. 4, 5, 43 
 
 even some, on this account, might for a season, go " empty- 
 away." His body was necessarily limited by space ; but the 
 Spirit of the Loed is in all places, reaching to every corner of 
 the earth, penetrating into every corner of the human heart ; 
 so that " nothing is hid from the heat thereof." xvi. 6 ; 1 Cor. 
 ii. 10. J. F. 
 
 They uncovered^ 8(C. — Difficulty of achievement stupifies the slug- 
 gard, advises the prudent, terrifies the fearful, animates the 
 courageous, x. 48 ; xvi. 2, 3. Lord Capet. (Contemplations. 
 101.) 
 
 ("Your effectual faith." 1 Theas. i. 3.) Faith is not idle, it 
 worketh and is forcible ; it break eth out, like fire ; it is always 
 fruitful through love. Faith without work is no faith ; it is 
 dead and bringeth death. ("And diligent love.") Love is 
 painful and full of travail ; it thinketh not evil ; it seeketh not 
 her own things ; it is bountiful. Charity cannot dissemble, 
 nor despise the tears of her brother. It sheweth forth, as the 
 morning light ; it taketh from herself to relieve them, which 
 are in need. It dealeth bread to the hungiy, and bringeth the 
 poor, that wander, unto her house, and covereth the naked, and 
 " hideth not her face from her own flesh." Unto them, that 
 have this love, the Loed giveth His blessing. Ps. xli. 1 ; S. 
 Matt. V. 7 ; 2 Cor. v. 14. Bp. Jewel. (Expos, of 1 Thess. i. 
 2—5.) 
 
 5 "Saw their faiW — (not the charity of the men, nor the 
 patience of the paralytic.) — S. Paul declareth here (Rom. iii. 
 21 — 28,) nothing upon the behalf of man concerning his justifi- 
 cation, but only a true and lively /azYA .... and yet that faith 
 doth not shut out repentance, hope, love, dread, and the fear of 
 GrOD to be joined with faith in every man, that is justified ; but 
 it shutteth them out from the office of justifying. So that, 
 although they be all present in him, that is justified, yet they 
 justify not altogether ; neither doth faith shut out the justice 
 of our good works, necessarily to be done afterwards of duty 
 towards God .... but it excludeth them, so that we may 
 not do them to this extent, to be made just by doing of them. 
 S. Matt. XXV. 37 ; S. Luke xvii. 10 ; 2 Tim. i, 16—18. Homilies. 
 (Serm. of Salvation, Part i.) 
 
44 S. MAKK II. 5. 
 
 "WTiy hath Gtod appointed the eye to see, and not the ear ? "Why 
 the hand to take our food, rather than the foot ? It is easily 
 answered : because these members have a particular fitness for 
 these functions ; and not the other. Thus faith hath a fitness 
 for the work of justification peculiar to itself. We are justi- 
 fied, not by giving anything to GrOD — what we do — but by re- 
 ceiving from GrOD, what Christ hath done for us. Now Paith 
 is the only receiving grace, and therefore only fit for this office. 
 Ps. Ixxxi. 11 ; S. John i. 12, 16 ; 1 Cor. xii. 18 ; Eom. iii. 25. 
 Gurnall. (The Christian in complete Armour, &c. Eph. vi. 
 16; Chap. i. S. 3.) 
 
 He said, ^c. — God is more forward to give, than man to ask. It 
 is not said, that the sick man, or his company in his behalf, said 
 anything to Cheist ; but Christ speaks first to them. If GtOd 
 have touched thee here, didst thou ask that at His hands ? 
 Didst thou pray, before thou camest hither, that He would 
 touch thy heart here ? Perchance thou didst ; but when thou 
 wast brought to thy Baptism, didst thou ask anything at Gon's 
 hands then ? But those, that brought thee, that presented 
 thee, did. They did in thy Baptism ; but at thine Election, 
 then, when God was writing down the names of all the elect 
 in the Book of Life, how camest thou in ? Who brought thee 
 in then? Didst thou ask anything at God's hands then, when 
 thou thyself wast not at all ? Bat prius. God gives, " before 
 we ask :" and then, Dat meliora rogatis, God gives better 
 things, than we ask. They intended to ask but bodily health, 
 
 and Christ gave spiritual ; He gave remission of sins 
 
 The farthest, that Christ goes, in the expressing of the affec- 
 tions of a natural father here, is, that " if his son ask bread, he 
 will not give him a stone ; and if he ask a fish, he will not give 
 him a scorpion." He will not give him worse, than he asked ; 
 but it is the peculiar bounty of this Pather, who adopted this 
 son, to give more and better, spiritual for temporal. Job xxxv. 
 7 ; Eom. xi. 35 ; 1 Cor. iv. 7 ; Eph. i. 3—6 ; iii. 20. Br. Bonne. 
 (Serm. on S. Matt. ix. 2.) 
 
 Son. — By thus addressing him. He manifests His readiness of 
 disposition to help the afflicted, even " as a father pitieth his 
 own children." Ps. ciii. 13 ; IS. John iii. 1. Chemnitius. 
 
S. MARK II. 7, 8. 45 
 
 6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, 
 and reasoning in their hearts, 
 
 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies ? 
 who can forgive sins but God only ? 
 
 8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in His 
 spirit that they so reasoned within themselves. He said 
 unto them. Why reason ye these things in your hearts ? 
 
 9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, 
 Thy sins be forgiven thee ; or to say. Arise, and take 
 up thy bed, and walk ? 
 
 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath 
 power on earth to forgive sins, (He saith to the sick 
 of the palsy,) 
 
 111 say unto thee. Arise, and take up thy bed, and 
 go thy way into thine house. 
 
 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and 
 went forth before them all ; insomuch that they were 
 all amazed, and glorified God, saying. We never saw 
 it on this fashion. 
 
 1 3 And He went forth again by the sea side ; and 
 all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught 
 them. 
 
 7 How can sins be rigBtly remitted, unless He, tlie person, 
 against whom we have sinned, grant the pardon ? 1 Sam. ii. 25. 
 S. Irenceus. (De Haer. Lib. v. c. 17.) 
 
 The sin of blasphemy is committed, when what is unworthy of 
 God is ascribed to Him ; when what is due to Him is with- 
 holden ; and when what exclusively belongs to Gron is applied 
 to those, who have no right to it. xiv. 64. Bengel. 
 
 8 Perceived in His spirit. — Jesus therefore, by thus revealing 
 to the Pharisees that, which they kept secret in the deep 
 recesses of their hearts, shews Himself to be more than man, 
 and proves by the very power, which He possessed, as GrOD, of 
 
46 S. MAKK II. 8, 9. 
 
 tracing the secrets of the heart, that He was able also to for- 
 give sins. Ps. xliv. 21 ; Jer. xvii. 10; S. John ii. 25. Gerhard. 
 (Harm. Evang.) 
 
 To suppose a creature to have reason given to direct him, and yet 
 that he ought not to be directed by it, is a contradiction. S. 
 Luke xii. 57 ; Kom. xii. 1 ; 1 Cor. x. 15. Bp. Sherlock. (Serm. 
 before the Society for Propagating the Grospel.) 
 
 We must distinguish between reason corrupted and right reason. 
 .... If any Divine Mystery seems incredible, it is from the 
 corruption of our reason, not from reason itself ; from its dark- 
 ness, not its light. And, as reason is obliged to correct the 
 errors of sense, when it is deceived either by some vicious 
 quality in the organ, or by the distance of the object, or by the 
 falseness of the medium, that corrupts the image in conveying 
 of it ; so it is the office of Paith to reform the judgment of rea- 
 son, when either from its own weakness, or the height of things 
 spiritual, it is mistaken about them. Por this end supernatural 
 Bevelation was given, not to extinguish reason, but to redress 
 it and enrich it with the discovery of heavenly things. Paith is 
 called wisdom and knowledge ; it doth not quench the vigour 
 of the faculty, wherein it is seated, but elevates it and gives 
 it a spiritual perception of those things, that are most distant 
 from its commerce. It doth not lead us through a mist to 
 " the inheritance of the saints in light." Paith is a rational 
 light. S. Luke xii. 57 ; 1 Cor. x. 15 ; xi. 13 ; Eph. i. 18 ; 1 
 Thess. V. 21. Br. Bates. (Harmony of the Divine Attri- 
 butes, &c. Ch. 7.) 
 
 So reasoned. — We ought not to find fault with the use of human 
 reason, in matters of Divine Revelation, but rather with the 
 abuse of it, when it becomes human reasoning. S. Luke xxiv. 
 15, 25 ; 2 Cor. x. 5. /. F. 
 
 9 Here was an act of great mercy shewn to a poor miserable 
 man ; but it is plain, that Christ's design was now to shew 
 the Jews the truth of that doctrine, that the Son of Man had 
 power to forgive sins. This was the thing the Jews stumbled 
 at ; and this was the way Christ took to set them right : the 
 miracle was to procure attention and belief. The visible effect 
 of a Divine power was to convince them, that what He said 
 
S. MAEK II. 9, 10. 47 
 
 was true, althougli the effect (namely tlie forgiveness of sins) 
 was, and must be, invisible. This inference is of our Satioue's 
 own making, and is a lively demonstration that true miracles are 
 designed by GrOD to bear testimony to the mission of His mes- 
 sengers and prophets, and to establish and to confirm the truth 
 of what they deliver, by virtue of such mission. Tou see, by 
 this instance, how our Loed Himself appeals to His own mi- 
 racles ; and sure you will believe He knew the true use, that 
 was to be made of them. S. John v. 36 ; x. 24, 25, 37, 38 ; xi. 
 15 ; xiv. 11 ; XV. 24 ; XX. 30, 31. -B^j. Fleetwood. (An Essay 
 upon Miracles. P. 2.) 
 
 It is the high prerogative of GtOD alone to forgive sins. He 
 assumes this particularly to Himself and seems to triumph in 
 the glory of this attribute. " I, even I, am He, that blotteth 
 out thy transgressions." . . . This charge of blasphetmj, which 
 they laid against Christ, had He not been the true GtOd, had 
 been unanswerable. And, therefore, our Savioue, denies not 
 their principle, which is most certain and infallible ; but, to 
 convince them that they themselves were blasphemers, in apply- 
 ing it to Him, proves His Deity by a miracle ; and demon- 
 strates His authority to forgive sins by His power in healing 
 diseases. Isa. xliii. 25 ; Ps. cxxx. 4 ; S. Luke xxiv. 47. Bp, 
 Hopkins. (Expos, of the Loed's Prayer.) 
 
 Whether is it, ^"c. — I think it is impossible not to be struck with 
 this narrative. He not only shews His power here, but He 
 shews an unrivalled an infinite ease in the exertion of it. For 
 He lets His enemies themselves, as it were, choose the way, in 
 which it should be manifested; signifying that with Him it 
 made no difference. Deut. xxxii. 31. J. Miller. (Bampt. 
 Lectures. 6.) 
 
 10 The Propitiation for our sins was the great work, for which He 
 came ; as Isaiah speaks (xxvii. 9) ; " This is aU the fruit, to take 
 away sin." That was His errand, on which He came; this He 
 published and made known to the world. It was the end of 
 all His miracles to seal up this truth to us. Heb. ix. 26. Bp. 
 Brownrigg. (Serm. on 1 S. John iv. 10.) 
 
 Though all the Persons in the HYinitj forgive sins, yet not in the 
 same manner. The Eathee bestows, the Son merits, the Holt 
 
48 S. MARK II. 11, 12. 
 
 Ghost sealeth up and applietli, remission of sins. Edw. 
 Leigh, 
 
 11 Sanatis jam mandahat officium. It was our Lord's custom to 
 require of those, wliom He healed, some work, or duty, to be 
 done. i. 44 ; v. 19 ; S. John v. 8; viii. 11. S. Ambrose. (De 
 ride, lib. iv. c. 3.) 
 
 So to every sick soul, whose cure He undertakes, He says so too ; 
 Surge, tolle, ambula. Our beds are our natural affections. 
 These He does not bid us cast away, nor burn, nor destroy. 
 Since Christ vouchsafed induere hominem, we must not exnere 
 hominem. Since Christ invested the nature of man and be- 
 came man, we must not pretend to divest it and become Angels, 
 or flatter ourselves in the merit of mortifications, not enjoined, 
 or of a retiredness, and departing out of the world, in the 
 world, by the withdrawing of ourselves from the offices of 
 mutual society, or an extinguishing of natural affections. But 
 " Surge" says our Savioitr ; Arise from this bed, sleep not 
 lazily in an over-indulgence to these affections ; but " Ambula,'^ 
 "Walk sincerely in thy calling ; and thou shalt hear thy Sa- 
 viour say, " Non est infirmitas hcec ad mortem ;" these affec- 
 tions — nay, these concupiscences — shall not destroy thee. S. 
 Matt. xxi. 8 ; Titus ii. 14. Dr. Donne. (Serm. on Ps. vi. 
 2,3.) 
 
 12 Glorified God.— 
 
 O ter Beatus, cui bonus arbiter 
 
 Non imputavit lubrica devise 
 
 Errata vitse, nee reperit dolum 
 
 Caeco in recessu pectoris abditum .... 
 
 Eecti tenaces simplicis, et quibus 
 Est grata fraudum nescia Veritas, 
 Eavente coeli Numine, gestibus 
 Et voce vestrum pandite gaudium ! 
 
 Buchanan. (Ps. 32.) 
 
 14 And as He passed by, He saw Levi, the son of 
 Alphseus, sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto 
 him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him. 
 
 15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat 
 
S. MARK II. 14. 49 
 
 in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also to- 
 gether with Jesus and His disciples ; for there were 
 many, and they followed Him. 
 
 16 And when the Scribes and Pharisees saw Him 
 eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto His 
 disciples, How is it that He eateth and drinketh with 
 publicans and sinners ? 
 
 17 When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them. They 
 that are whole have no need of a physician, but they 
 that are sick : I came not to call the righteous, but 
 sinners to repentance, 
 
 14 Sitting J ^c. — Well iniglit lie sit down here ; for he had a great 
 weight upon him, the burden of his covetousness, and the 
 desires of gold, bred in him by the often traffic he had with it. 
 Gold is heaviest of all metals ; but it is made more heavy by 
 covetousness. For it more oppresses the heart of him, that 
 
 loves it, than the back of him, that bears it And where 
 
 was he sitting ? At the receipt of custom. K it be " a more 
 blessed thing to give, than to receive," (Acts xx. 35,) certainly 
 to be a receiver of extorted oppression from the grudging people 
 must be no happy, nor blessed thing. This Custom-house was 
 such. For S. Chrysostom calls it rapinam permissam, rapine 
 with a privilege. The receiving of custom breeds a custom 
 of receiving ; and that, a desire still to receive more ; which 
 desire worldly men will ever seek to satisfy, though with the 
 oppression of their poor brethren. This made this place and 
 office hateful to the people. " Publicans and sinners" went 
 
 ever together in their mouths Christ found him, as he 
 
 was Levif the publican ; but looked on him, as he was Matthew, 
 the Apostle He called him to an office much more gain- 
 ful . . where he should still be a receiver, and a gainer too ; 
 but not, as here, 10 or 15 per centum ; but where one should 
 "bring forth thirty, one sixty, one an hundred-fold." i. 17; 
 Hab. ii. 6 ; Job xx. 15—23 ; 1 Tim. vi. 6. Wm. Austin. (A 
 Meditation for S. Matthew's day.) 
 
 £ 
 
50 S. MAEK II. 15, 16. 
 
 15 I do not find where Jestjs was ever bidden to any table, and 
 refused. . . If He sate with sinners, He converted them ; if 
 with converts. He confirmed and instructed them ; if with the 
 poor, He fed them ; if with the rich in substance, He made 
 them richer in grace. S. Matt. xi. 19 ; 1 Cor. x. 27. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Dr. Hammond knew well how much the application at the table 
 enforced the doctrines of the pulpit ; how subservient the 
 endearing of his person was to the recommending his instruc- 
 tions ; how far upon these motives our Savioue thought fit to 
 eat " with publicans and sinners ;" and how effectual the loaves 
 were to the procuring of disciples. Prov. xi. 30 j 1 Cor. ix. 
 19—22. Br. Fell. (Life of Dr. Hammond.) 
 
 16 They said unto His Disciples. — I know it is a preposterous 
 solecism to preach to the people the duty of Kings ; and then 
 to Kings, the duty of the people. It was the Pharisees' 
 method, and fieOoSeta too. (Eph. iv. 14.) When they find 
 fault with Christ, they complain to His disciples of Him ; 
 and then anon (ver. 18) they accuse the disciples to Cheist. 
 Just the spirit of a Pharisee, to beget jealousies and sow 
 dissension — tell the King that his subjects are false to him, 
 and then tell the people the King usurps upon them. (2 
 Sam. XV. 4.) Sure this is not opOojofieiv, to give every one his 
 due portion. Alia medicina curat calcaneum ; alia medicina 
 curat oculum, saith Grerson. Every truth is not for every 
 person. S. Luke xii. 42; 2 Tim. ii. 15. Bp. Brownrig. 
 (Serm. on Hag. ii. 23.) 
 
 Ac si consentiens in culpd qui consentiens in ccend. Supposing, 
 that, because He s^te down with them at their meals. He must 
 needs have fellowship also with them in their sins. 1 Cor. vii. 
 31. Ardens. 
 
 "What can we hope to do, or say, that shall escape the censure 
 and misinterpretations of men, when we see the Son of God 
 could not avoid it ? Let a man profess himself honestly 
 conscionable ; he is a scrupulous hypocrite : let him take but 
 a just liberty in things merely indifferent; he is loosely 
 profane : let him be charitably affected to both parts, though 
 in a quarrel not fundamental ; he is an odious neuter, a luke- 
 warm Laodicean. It concerns every wise Christian to settle 
 
S. MAEK II. 17. 51 
 
 his heart in a resolved confidence of his holy and just grounds ; 
 and then to go on in a constant course of his well- warranted 
 judgment and practice, with a careless disregard of those fools- 
 bolts, which will be sure to be shot at him, which way soever 
 he goes. Numb. xvi. 3 ; 2 Sam. vi. 20 ; S. Matt. xi. 18, 19 ; 2 
 Cor. v. 13 ; 2 Thess. i. 6, 7 ; 1 S. Pet. ii. 10—15. Bp. Hall. 
 (Select Thoughts. 81.) 
 
 17 Quid tarn dignum inisericordid, quam miser ? AYho so justly 
 challenges our pity, as the beggar? Et quid tarn indignum 
 miser atione, quhm superbus miser ? And yet, who less deserves 
 it, than the proud beggar ? Mai. iii. 13. S. Augustine. 
 
 " Son, be of good cheer ; thy sins be forgiven thee." (v. 5.) 
 This was the G-race, softer than oil, sweeter than roses, which 
 " flowed from His lips " into the sinner's wounds, and which 
 being poured into the contrite heart not only heals, but 
 blesses it, yea, and marks it for Eternal Blessedness. But alas! 
 the greater part of sinners sleep in their misery, and, though 
 
 their distempers are mortal, feel them not Oh, how 
 
 sweet is the voice of pardon to a soul groaning under the 
 burden of sin ! But, as S. Bernard well expresses it, Quisquis 
 desolationem 7ion novit, nee consolationem agnoscere potest. Men 
 of this world, entangled in the cares of life and in its crimes, 
 dum miseriam non sentiunt, misericordiam non attendunt, while 
 insensible of their misery have no regard to Gron's mercy. Ps. 
 X. 4 ; Prov. xxx. 12, 13 ; IIos. vii. 10 ; xiv. 1 — 4 ; Eev. iii. 17. 
 Abp. Leighton. (Med. on Ps. cxxx.) 
 
 The disease of sin is of a lethargic nature and stupifies the 
 unhappy creatures, so that they are not sensible of it. It 
 renders them delirious, so that they think themselves well, 
 
 when the symptoms of death are strong upon them 
 
 We can weep and lament over the sick bed of a dying friend, 
 and we even drop our tears after him into the grave: but 
 shall we drop no tears over dying souls ? Ps. cxix. 53 ; Hos. 
 vii. 9 ; Jer. ix. 1 ; xiii. 17 ; S. Luke xix. 41. Davies. (Serm. 
 on S. Matt. ix. 12.) 
 
 18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees 
 used to fast : and they come and say unto Him, Why 
 
 E 2 
 
52 S. MARK II. 18. 
 
 do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but 
 Thy disciples fast not ? 
 
 19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of 
 the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with 
 them ? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, 
 they cannot fast. 
 
 20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom 
 shall be taken away from them, and then shall they 
 fast in those days. 
 
 2 1 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an 
 old garment : else the new piece that filled it up taketh 
 away from the old, and the rent is made worse. 
 
 22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles : 
 else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine 
 is spilled, and the bottles will be marred : but new 
 wine must be put into new bottles. 
 
 18 The Pharisees used to fast. — Our fasting should be accom- 
 panied with abstinence from evil ; we must fast from our pas- 
 sions and vices: without this, bodily fasting is unprofitable. 
 Take heed that you make not your fasting to consist only in 
 abstinence from meats. True fasting is to refrain from vice. 
 Tear in pieces all your unjust obligations. Pardon your 
 neighbour. Porgive him his trespasses. Fast not to stir up 
 strife and contention. You eat indeed no flesh; but you 
 devour your brother. (S. Matt, xxiii. 14.) Tou drink no 
 wine ; but you cannot refrain from doing injury to others. 
 Tou wait till night to take your repast ; but you spend all the 
 day at the tribunal of the judges. Woe be to you, who drink 
 without wine. Anger is a kind of inebriation, which does no 
 less trouble the mind, than real drunkenness. Isa. Iviii. 4 — 
 11 ; Jer. xiv. 12. S. Basil. (Hom. on Fasting.) 
 
 The disciples of Christ in all points so exactly fulfilled the Law, 
 that the scribes could find no fault in them, as touching the 
 same ; and therefore they controlled them for breaking their 
 
S. MARK II. 19, 22. 53 
 
 own traditions, and the traditions of their forefathers. Dan. 
 vi. 5 ; 1 Tim. v. 14 ; Tit. ii. 8 ; Phil. ii. 15. S. Chrysostom. 
 
 19 With great beauty does He advert to the Bridegroom in 
 addressing the disciples of John ; since John himself had so 
 called the Cheist. S. John iii. 29. Isid. Clai-ius. 
 
 The Country- Parson knows, that there is a double state of a 
 Christian, even in this life — the one, military ; the other, 
 peaceable. The military is, when we are assaulted with 
 temptations from within or without. The peaceable is, when 
 the devil for a time leaves us, as he did our Sayioije, and the 
 Angels minister to us their own food, even joy, and peace, 
 and comfort of the Holt Ghost. These two states were in 
 our SAYiorE, not only in the beginning of His preaching, but 
 afterwards also ; (as S. Matt. xxii. 35, He was "tempted"; 
 and S. Luke x. 21, He " rejoiced in spirit ") : and they must 
 be likewise in all that are His. Now the Parson having a 
 spiritual judgment, according as he discovers any of his flock 
 to be in one or the other state, so he applies himself to them. 
 G. Herbert (Priest to the Temple. Ch. 34.) 
 
 His presence was a supersedeas to their fasting for that short 
 time ; and that, for three reasons. For three kinds of fasts 
 there were anciently among the Jews : first, jejunium expecta- 
 tionis; and that they needed not to fast, having the expectation 
 of Israel, the long looked for Messiah, here with them. Se- 
 condly, jejunium refrcenationis^ that tends to amendment of 
 life ; and this they needed not neither, having such a Master 
 ever with them, as on all occasions was a bridle to their 
 extravagancy, (S. John xvii. 12,) whose only eye, or word, 
 could do more in them at the present, than austerity and 
 strict discipline in others. Thirdly, ji'e;wmw»2 contemplationis; 
 when, like Moses in the mount, one cannot mind meat for the 
 sweetness of those raptures ; but this they were not yet 
 capable of, being unlearned, rude, and ignorant, till the Holt 
 GrHOST came on them ; which would not be, till His departure. 
 (S. John xvi. 7.) Therefore, till the Bridegroom were gone, 
 they could not fast. Eccl. iii. 1. Wm. Austin. (Medit. for 
 Lent and Grood Friday.) 
 
 22 By wine we are refreshed inwardly ; but a garment is a 
 
54 S. MAKK II. 22, 23. 
 
 covering without. Both relate to the illustration of our spi- 
 ritual life, the garment indicating those good works done 
 before men, which shine in the face of the world ; whereas by 
 wine and new wine may be expressed that fervour of faith, 
 hope, and charity, by means of which, in the sight of our 
 Maker, our souls are recovered inwardly to newness of spirit. 
 1 S. Pet. iii. 15, 16. Bede. 
 Be not too rash in the breaking of an inconvenient custom : as 
 it was gotten, so leave it — by degrees. Danger attends upon 
 too sudden alterations. He, that pulls down a bad building 
 by the great, may be ruined by the fall ; but he, that takes it 
 down brick by brick, may live to build a better. 2 Kings v. 
 18, 19 ; Phn. iii. 15, 16. F. Quarles. (Enchir. Cent. ii. 65.) 
 
 23 And it came to pass, that He went through the 
 corn fields on the Sabbath day ; and His disciple s 
 began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. 
 
 24 And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why- 
 do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful ? 
 
 25 And He said unto them. Have ye never read 
 what David did, when he had need, and was an hun- 
 gered, he, and they that were with him ? 
 
 26 How he went into the house of God in the days 
 of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, 
 which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave 
 also to them which were with him ? 
 
 27 And He said unto them. The Sabbath was made 
 for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 
 
 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the 
 Sabbath. 
 
 23 I walk many times in the pleasant fields of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, where I pluck up the goodlisome herbs of sentences by 
 pruning, eat them by reading, digest them by musing, and lay 
 them up at length in the high seat of memory by gathering 
 
S. MARK II. 23—27. 55 
 
 them together ; that so, having tasted their sweetness, I may- 
 less perceive the bitterness of life. Jer. xv. 16 ; Ps. cxix. 103. 
 Q. Elizabeth. 
 
 If one single promise of the Grospel, like an ear of corn, rubbed iu 
 the hand of faith, and applied by the Spirit of Cueist, can give 
 such a full satisfying meal of joy to the hunger-bitten pining 
 soul, Oh, what price can we set upon the whole field of Scrip- 
 ture, which "stands so thick" with promises, every way as 
 cordial as this? Jer. xv. 16; Ps. Ixv. 14; 2 S. Pet. i. 4. 
 Gurnall. 
 
 25 Have ye never read, 8(C. — All our wisdom consisteth either in 
 experience or in memory ; experience of our own, or memory of 
 others. Our days are so short, that our experience can be but 
 slender. Tanquam hesterni sumus, saith Job, (viii. 9,) and our 
 own time cannot afford us observations enough for so many 
 cases, as we need direction in. Needs must we, then, " ask the 
 former age," what they did in like case, search the records of 
 former times, wherein our cases we shall be able to match, and 
 to pattern them all. Deut. xxxii. 7 ; Isa. xlvi. 9 ; Ps. Ixxviii. 
 1—8 ; S. Luke xvii. 32. Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. on S. Luke 
 xvii. 32.) 
 
 That the common people of the Jews did ordinarily read the 
 . Scriptures in our Saviottr's time, is evident from those ques- 
 tions, which He frequently asked them in His conferences with 
 them ; Have ye not read ? Have ye never read in the Scripture P 
 and. Hath not the Scripture said so and so ? ... In all these 
 passages, we have not the least intimation of His dislike of this 
 practice ; which we should certainly have had, had He appre- 
 hended it to be either dangerous, or unwarrantable. Dr. J. 
 Scott. (Serm. on S. John v. 39.) 
 
 27 The fourth Commandment doth not bind Christian people so 
 straitly, as it did the Jews, touching the forbearing of work 
 and labour in time of great necessity. Homilies. (Of the Place 
 and Time of Prayer.) 
 
 Secluding and abstracting the Divine positive Law, there was no 
 real holiness in the Sabbath day more than in all the rest. 
 Every day in the week had one and the same efficient cause, 
 namely, Divine Creation ; and all times and things created by 
 
56 S. MARK II. 27, 28. 
 
 God were "very good." (G-en. i. 31 ; Ps. Ixxiv. 16 ; 1 Tim. iv. 
 4.) So likewise all days and times, and all other creatures are 
 subject to His providence and dominion. God's positive pre- 
 cept only, either immediate, as in the old Law, or mediate by 
 His Church, as in the time of the Gospel, makes one day more 
 holy than another ; not by infusing any real sanctity into the 
 same, but by applying it to a Sacred and religious use. Bp. 
 White, (A Treatise of the Sabbath Day. Part, i.) 
 
 For the Sabbath, Sfc. — Moses, who had to provide for the wants 
 of a particular people, at a time, when religion was only in its 
 childhood, was instructed to teach them, as we treat children, 
 and to give them rules, "Touch not, taste not, handle not." 
 . . . Jesus Cheist, who spake for all men, for all nations, for 
 all ages, did not lay down rules, like Moses ; did not say, 
 " Touch not, taste not, handle not." No; by an exertion of 
 His power and wisdom, more marvellous to a thinking mind, 
 than any, even the greatest miracle He ever wrought. He 
 at once by a few plain words set religion free from all her for- 
 mer swaddling clothes and leading strings. ... In the room 
 of burdensome rites and former rules. He gave us the Law of 
 Paith and Love ; and thereby made His doctrine a doctrine of 
 principles — living, active, pure, universal, and eternal, S. Matt. 
 v. 1—13 ; Eom. xiv. 17, 18 ; Gal. v. 15 ; 1 Tim. i. 5 ; iv. 3— 
 5. A. W. Hare. (Serm. on Col. ii. 20.) 
 
 Our Sayioue takes all occasions to insinuate to the Jews that 
 He was more than man. He does it here in two instances. 
 " If T, who am * greater than the Temple,' and * Loed of the 
 Sabbath,^ do not reprove them, why do ye?" But He withal 
 justifies their act and pronounces them guiltless, even accord- 
 ing to the Law ; which being only made for man's good in 
 general, gives way to works of necessity and mercy, as his 
 greater good in particular cases. S. Matt. xii. ; S. Luke vi. 
 Bonnell. (Note to Mr. Austin's Meditation, 68 ; in the " Gos- 
 pels Harmonized.") 
 
 28 Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, tells us that the primitive 
 Christians assembled on Saturdays ; not that they were in- 
 fected with Judaism, but only to worship Jesus Cheist, the 
 Lord of the Sabbath. Dr. Cave. (Prim. Christianity. Ch. 
 vii. p. 1.) 
 
S. MAEK III. 1—4. 57 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A ND He entered again into the synagogue ; and 
 there was a man there which had a withered 
 hand. 
 
 2 And they watched Him, whether He would heal 
 him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse 
 him. 
 
 3 And He saith unto the man which had the 
 withered hand, Stand forth. 
 
 4 And He saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good 
 on the Sabbath days, or to do evil ? to save life, or to 
 kill ? But they held their peace. 
 
 5 And when He had looked round about on them 
 with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their 
 hearts. He saith unto the man. Stretch forth thine 
 hand. And he stretched it out : and his hand was 
 restored whole as the other. 
 
 1 The withered hand is properly found in the synagogue; for 
 where the gifts of Divine knowledge abound, there the greater 
 danger attends the blame, which is without excuse. Amos iii. 
 2 ; S. Matt. xi. 20—23 ; S. Luke xii. 48 ; xiii. 7 ; S. John ix. 
 40, 41. Bede. 
 
 2 And they watched Him. — There is no public action, which the 
 world is not ready to scan ; there is no action so private, which 
 the evil spirits are not witnesses of. I will endeavour so to 
 live, as knowing that I am ever in the eyes of mine enemies, 
 xii. 13 ; Ps. Ivi. 5, 6 ; Prov. iv. 25—27 ; Jer. xx. 10. Bp. HalL 
 (Meditations and Vows. Cent. iii. 73.) 
 
 4 Or to do evil. — In this question of our Loed, that sentence of 
 S. James may find its authority, proof, and illustration ; " To 
 him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is 
 sin." When we see our neighbour in a state of urgent and 
 
58 -S. MARK III. 5. 
 
 helpless necessity, so that certain danger must be the conse- 
 quence of our omitting to relieve him, it being in our power to 
 do so, our omission becomes a sin. Not to " do good" is the 
 same as to do evil. Commentators quote here a saying of S. 
 Augustine ; " If you have refused to feed the hungry man, 
 you have killed him; for you have allowed him to die of 
 hunger." S. James iv. 17 ; S. John iii. 17. J. F. 
 5 Some modern Stoicks are wont, with more eloquence than 
 reason, to declaim against the passions . . as being sometimes 
 
 mutinous . . and to wish an apathy When I consider 
 
 that of the immaculate and Divine Lamb Himself it is recorded 
 in the Gospel, that He looked round about with anffer, being 
 grieved^ &c. — so that two passions are ascribed to Cheist in 
 one verse — and, when I consider too the indifferency, and con- 
 sequently the innocence, of passions in their own nature, and 
 the use, that wise and virtuous persons may make of them, I 
 cannot think we ought to throw away, or so much as wish 
 away, those instruments of piety, which Gron and nature has 
 put into our hands : but I am very well content that we should 
 retain them upon such conditions, as Abraham did those do- 
 mestics he bought with his money, whom the Scripture tells 
 us, he both circumcised, and kept as servants. G-en. xvii. 23 ; 
 S. Luke xi. 22. J?. Boyle. (Occasional Reflections. S. iv. 
 
 Disc, viii.) 
 The anger ^ here mentioned, was no uneasy passion, but an excess 
 of generous grief, occasioned by their obstinate stupidity and 
 blindness. From this passage the following conclusions may 
 be drawn : — 1. It is the duty of a Christian to sorrow not only 
 for his own sins, but also to be grieved for the sins of others. 
 2. All anger is not to be considered sinful. 3. He does not 
 bear the image of Christ, but rather that of Satan, who can 
 either behold with indiff"erence the wickedness of others, or 
 rejoice in it. 4. Nothing is more wretched, than an obdurate 
 heart ; since it caused Him, who is the source of all true joy, 
 to be filled with grief in beholding it. 5. Our indignation 
 against wickedness must be tempered by compassion for the 
 persons of the wicked. T. H. Home. (Introd. to the Study 
 of the Scriptures. Ps. ii. c. viii. s. 1.) 
 
S. MAEK III. 5. 59 
 
 Anger. — Exprimit in Se, ut exprimat in te ; He shows tliis passion 
 in Himself, that He may have it shewn (as rightly exercised) 
 in thee. S. Augustine. 
 
 The difficulty, arising from the fact of human passions being 
 ascribed to the Almighty in Holy Scripture, is well explained 
 by T. Aquinas. These expressions are used, in regard to the 
 Deity, secundum efectum^ and not secundum affectum. Gren. vi. 
 6; 1 Sam. XV. 11; Jonah iii. 10. (Summa, P. 1, Qusest. 21, 
 Art. 3.) J. F. 
 
 It is matter of great self-abasement and full proof of our de- 
 pravity, that sin — the only thing which GrOD hates — we should 
 hate so little. Ps. cxxxix. 21, 22; 1 Cor. v. 1, 2. Adam. 
 (Private Thoughts. Ch. 4.) 
 
 Begin not to ask, what is meant by hardyiess of heart. K you 
 fear it not, you are already under its power. That is a hard 
 heart, which dreads not itself; for it is destitute of feeling. 
 "Why do you ask me, what it is ? Ask Pharaoh. No man was 
 ever saved from this curse, but through that Divine compas- 
 sion, which, according to the prophet, " takes away the stone 
 and gives a heart of flesh." Heb. iii. 13 ; Zech. vii. 12 ; Ez. 
 xi. 19. 8. Bernard. (De Consideratione, lib. i.) 
 
 Stretch forth thine hand. — I exhort you that ye should neither 
 negligently slumber, leaving every thing to GrOD ; nor, when 
 diligent in your endeavours, imagine that by your own exer- 
 tions the whole work is achieved. GrOD willeth not that we 
 should be supine, inasmuch as He worketh not the whole Him- 
 self ; nor is it His will that we should be proud, inasmuch as 
 He commits not the whole to us : but, subtracting from each 
 the injurious tendency. He bestows on us what is for our ad- 
 vantage, xvi. 20; S. John vi. 27 (Labour — give f) Phil. ii. 12, 
 13. S. Chrysostom. (Hom. 82 on S. Matt.) 
 
 The precepts were given us to remind us of the absolute neces- 
 sity of having the whole wrought for, and in us, by the infinite 
 grace and power of God ; and consequently to excite in us the 
 most ardent desires after, and earnest solicitations for, such in- 
 estimable blessings. ... In the Scriptures, you first see God 
 commanding ; secondly, the creature, conscious of his own in- 
 ability, returning the commands to heaven changed ivXo prayers ; 
 
60 S. MAEK III. 5. 
 
 and thirdly, tlie Lord mercifully sending down both precepts 
 and prayers, converted into gracious promises. 
 
 rEzek. xviii. 31. CI Cor. v. 7. (2 S. Pet. iii. 18. 
 
 < Ps. H. 10. < Ps. li. 7. <j Hab. iii. 2. 
 
 L Ezek. xxxvi. 26. ^ Isa. i. 25. 1^ Hos. xiv. 7. 
 
 pEzek. xxxiii. 11. f Acts ii. 40. rPs. xlvii. 6. 
 
 tJer. xxxi. 18. s Jer. xvii. 14. < Ps. li. 15. 
 
 Rom. xi. 20. Lisa. xlv. 17. I Isa. xliii. 21. 
 
 (Conf. Acts xxvi. Verse 18 with Verse 20.) Matt. Wilks. 
 (Script. Harmony.) 
 Agnovit pcena Judicem; opus Deum; indulgentia prodidit Condi- 
 torem. The punishment declared the uprightness of the Judge, 
 who inflicted it ; the manner of the cure evinced the Grodhead ; 
 the kind indulgence shewn betrayed the Maker's tenderness 
 towards His own work. Brethren, pray GrOi) that the shame 
 of such weakness be found in the Synagogue only. Let none 
 in the Church be found with a hand dried up through self-love, 
 contracted through avarice, weakened through plunder, and 
 through a grasping tenacity diseased : but, should this happen, 
 let it hear the Loed speak, and be forthwith stretched out in 
 good works, and made soft by the influence of mercy. Eph. iv. 
 28. Pet. Chrysologus. (Serm. 32.) 
 
 6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway 
 took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how 
 they might destroy Him. 
 
 7 But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples 
 to the sea : and a great multitude from Galilee followed 
 Him, and from Judaea, 
 
 8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and 
 from beyond Jordan ; and they about Tyre and Sidon, 
 a great multitude, when they had heard what great 
 things He did, came unto Him. 
 
 9 And He spake to His disciples, that a small ship 
 should wait on Him because of the multitude, lest 
 they should throng Him. 
 
S. MAEK III. 6—10. 61 
 
 10 For He had healed many; insomuch that they 
 pressed upon Him for to touch Him, as many as had 
 plagues. 
 
 1 1 And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell 
 down before Him, and cried, saying. Thou art the Son 
 of God. 
 
 12 And He straitly charged them that they should 
 not make Him known. 
 
 6 These hypocrites, who, in their superstitious zeal for the Sab- 
 bath, were unwilling that our Loed should work a cure on 
 that day, scrupled not at all themselves to take counsel for the 
 murder of the innocent, and, with that view, to form a league 
 with the declared enemies of G-od's people. Thus, as we ob- 
 served at S. Matt, xxvii. 6, the chief priests made a conscience 
 of putting into their treasury " the thirty pieces of silver, be- 
 cause it was the price of blood:" yet they did not hesitate 
 soon after to apply their money to the worst of purposes, 
 namely, in buying up the truth of Cheist's Resurrection. 
 2 Sam. XV. 1—11 ; Job xxvii. 8 ; Tit. i. 16. J. F. 
 
 The dominion of Christianity being in the very essence of it the 
 dominion of virtue, we need look no further for the sources of 
 hostility in any, who oppose it, than their attachment to vice 
 and disorder, vi. 18, 19 ; Acts xvii. 5 ; 1 S. Pet. iv. 4. Robert 
 Hall. 
 
 9 He, who "measures the waters in the hollow of His hand" and 
 " commands" them, is ferried over in some boat or small vessel. 
 And was it not richly laden with this inestimable Pearl, " all 
 the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," "all fulness" dwell- 
 ing in Him ? All the rich ships from both the Indies were not 
 to be compared to this. S. Matt. viii. 26; Ps. Ixxvii. 19. 
 Abp. Leighton. (Lectures on S. Matt. Ch. ix. 1.) 
 
 10 It is by faith, that we touch Jesus ; and far better is it not to 
 touch Him with the hand and to touch Him by faith, than to 
 handle Him with our hands and with faith not to touch Him. 
 It was no great thing to touch Him manually. The Jews did 
 
62 S. MAEK III. 11, 12, 
 
 so, when they apprehended Him, and when they bound Him, 
 and when they crucified Him ; they touched Him, and by their 
 evil touch lost what they laid hold of. Catholic Church ! 
 by touching Him faithfully, thy "faith hath made thee whole." 
 Isa. i. 10 — 18 ; S. Matt. xv. 8 ; S. John xx. 29. ^S*. Augustine. 
 (Serm. 148 in Dieb. Pasch.) 
 
 11 In the New Testament, when any circumstances are added 
 concerning the demoniacs, they are generally such as shew, 
 that there was something preternatural in the distemper : for 
 these disordered persons agreed in one story, and paid homage 
 to Christ and His Apostles ; which is not to be expected from 
 madmen, of whom some would have worshipped, and others 
 would have reviled Christ, according to the various humour 
 and behaviour observable in such persons. One reason, for 
 which the Divine Providence should suffer evil spirits to exert 
 their malignant powers so much at that time, might be to give 
 a check to Sadduceeism amongst the Jews, and to Epicurean 
 atheism amongst the Gentiles, and to remove, in some measure, 
 these two great impediments to the reception of the Gospel. 
 i. 24 ; Acts xix. 15 ; xxiii. 8. Jortin. (Eemarks on Eccl. His- 
 tory, p. 14. Edit. 1751.) 
 
 12 Neither was the time come ; nor were these the proper wit- 
 nesses. Bengel. 
 
 13 And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth 
 unto Him whom He would : and they came unto Him. 
 
 14 And He ordained twelve, that they should be 
 with Him, and that He might send them forth to 
 preach, 
 
 15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to 
 cast out devils : 
 
 16 And Simon He surnamed Peter; 
 
 17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the 
 brother of James ; and He surnamed them Boanerges, 
 which is. The sons of thunder ; 
 
 18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 
 
S. MARK ni. 13. 63 
 
 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of 
 Alphseus, and Thaddseus, and Simon the Canaanite, 
 
 19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him : 
 and they went into an house. 
 
 13 He goeth up into a mountain, not so mucli for tlie purpose of 
 calling the Twelve, as for special retirement and prayer, in 
 order to that calling. In this prayer He " continued all night." 
 (S. Luke yi. 12.) We should notice the times and seasons, 
 hallowed by the record of Christ's prayers ; as, at His Bap- 
 tism (S. Luke iii. 21 ;) as here, before He chose His Apostles ; 
 as when He was in danger of being made a king (i. 35 ; vi. 46 ; 
 S. Luke V. 15, 16 ; S. John vi. 15 :) and as on the eve of His 
 last suiferings. (xiv. 32.) The Christian, like his Divine pat- 
 tern, will have special seasons of retirement and prayer, for his 
 own good, and also for the good of others ; and to this end the 
 Church has marked out certain times, when, as " members one 
 of another" in her communion, and in dutiful answer to her 
 call, we should go up into the mountain, and join in extraor- 
 dinary supplication before the Loed. What indeed are the 
 quatuor Tempora, the Ember weeks, but set times of imploring 
 God's blessing on the Calling and Ordination of Ministers in 
 His Church? The spirit of Christ's prayer passed into the 
 hearts of His Apostles, who in conformity with His example 
 prayed, and to their prayer added fasting, before they " laid on 
 their hands." (Acts xiii. 3.) The same spirit is now in the 
 Church. She calls us to this peculiar duty at the Ember sea- 
 sons ; she provides us with an appropriate form of words ; she 
 asks for our help in this time of her urgent need. We are, all 
 of us, most vitally interested in the wise choice of proper per- 
 sons, inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon them the 
 Ministerial office. Oh, let our united prayers assail and be- 
 siege the throne of grace, at every such season, that "the 
 Loed of the harvest may send forth labourers into His har- 
 vest." Jer. iii. 15 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 37 ; Acts i. 24. J. F. 
 
 He calleth unto Him, 8(C. — The true meaning of it — (the first Ques- 
 tion put to Deacons in the Office for their Ordination) —must 
 
64 S. MAEK m. 14 
 
 be resolved thus. The motives, that ought to determine a man 
 to dedicate himself to the ministering in the Church, are a zeal 
 for promoting the glory of G-od, for raising the honour of the 
 Christian religion, for the making it to be better understood 
 and more submitted to. He, that loves it and feels the excel- 
 lency of it in himself, that has a due sense of GtOd's goodness 
 in it to mankind, and that is entirely possessed with that, will 
 feel a zeal within himself for communicating that to others ; 
 that so " the only true GtOd and Jesus Christ, whom He has 
 sent," may be more universally glorified and served by His 
 creatures. And when to this he has added a concern for the 
 souls of men, a tenderness for them, a zeal to rescue them from 
 endless misery, and a desire to put them in the way to ever- 
 lasting happiness, and from these motives feels in himself a 
 desire to dedicate his life and labour to those ends ; and, in 
 order to them, studies to understand the Scriptures and, more 
 particularly, the New Testament, that from thence he may form 
 a true notion of this holy religion, and so be an able Minister 
 of it : — this man, and only this man, so moved and so qualified, 
 can in truth and with a good conscience answer, that he trusts 
 he is inwardly moved by the Holt Ghost. 1 Sam. ii. 36 ; 
 1 Kings xiii. 34 ; S. John x. 1 ; S. James iii. 1. Bp. Burnet. 
 (Of the Pastoral Care. Ch. 6.) 
 
 14 Twelve. — I find a type of this very number, apud Creatorem, 
 in the Book of the Creator (the Old Testament) ; for the foun- 
 tains at Elim were twelve ; (Ex. xv. 27 ;) the stones at Jordan, 
 chosen by Joshua, and afterwards placed in the Ark of the 
 covenant, were twelve. (Josh. iv. 3.) This was an omen of a 
 like number of Apostles ; who, moreover, like fountains, were 
 destined to water the dry world of nations — a desert, in regard 
 to knowledge. Acts i. 26. Tertidlian. (apud Maldonatam.) 
 
 "When our Loed was upon earth, foreseeing that all the Mosaic 
 orders would cease in course upon His death, and knowing that 
 His Church could never subsist without some such orders of 
 men set apart for the administration of His Word and Sacra- 
 ments, before He died, He took care to lay the platform of 
 others, suitable to His own religion. For which purpose, out 
 of the many disciples, that followed Him, He first chose twelve 
 
S. MAEK III. 14. 65 
 
 Apostles, to whom He gave commission to Baptize, to preach 
 the Grospel, and to work miracles in confirmation of it. (S. Matt. 
 X.) And afterwards He sent out seventy other disciples, and 
 gave them power also to preach the Gospel, and cast out devils 
 in His Name. (S. Luke x.) So that He still kept up the same 
 number of Orders in His Church, whilst Himself lived, that was 
 in the Jewish Church: for He Himself was truly the High 
 Priest, of whom they, under the law, were only types. Then 
 there were the twelve Apostles, answerable to the priests of the 
 second order, and the seventy disciples, resembling the great 
 number of Levites. But all this while, we do not read that 
 the Apostles had any solemn Consecration to their office, dur- 
 ing our Saviour's life. It is said indeed, S. JMa^-k iii. 14, that 
 He ordained twelve ; but the words are cwoiriae civ^eKa, He made 
 or appointed twelve to be His Apostles, or messengers. But 
 we do not find that He Ordained them, so as to confer any 
 Sacerdotal power upon them. He promised indeed S. Peter, 
 and the rest of the Apostles with him, that He would " give 
 them the keys of the kingdom of heaven." (S. Matt. xvi. 19.) 
 But they were yet in the hands of the Levitical priesthood ; 
 and He would not take them thence to give to His Apostles, 
 so long as that priesthood continued in force. But He was no 
 sooner dead and risen again, but He presently performed His 
 promise. (S, John xx. 21 — 23. Conf. Lev. viii. 12, 30; Isa. 
 Ixi. 1; S.Luke iv. 18.) Por then the Levitical priesthood 
 being expired, and by consequence the keys, which He had 
 before committed to it by His servant Moses, returning on 
 course into His own hands. He then, according to His promise, 
 gave them to His Apostles. Bp. Beveridge. (On the Institu- 
 tion of Ministers, Serm. 2.) 
 What does Jerome say, (Ep. ad Evagrium) ? Does he not say 
 that the Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons in the Christian 
 Church have a right to claim grades, similar to those, which 
 Aaron, his sons, and the Levites held in the Jewish Church ? 
 Had not these officers in the temple- service a Divine appoint- 
 ment ? And does not Jerome say that what they had the Chris- 
 tian officers had a right to claim ? Does not Jerome give it as 
 his opinion in language, that cannot easily be mistaken, that 
 
66 S. MARK III. 16, 17. 
 
 the Apostles made the Old Testament their exemplar, and not 
 the Jewish synagogue ? Does he not assert, by necessary im- 
 plication at least, that, as there were three Orders or grades 
 under the Mosaic economy, so there are three Orders or grades 
 under the Christian economy ? And does he not affirm that this 
 was by Apostolical tradition or appointment ? Dr. Bowden. 
 (The Apostolical origin of Episcopacy asserted, &c. Letter i. 
 Edit. New York. 1808.) 
 
 16 For as Cheist, " the true Light," gave such grace to the 
 Apostles, that they should be called " the light of the world ;" 
 (S. Matt. V. 14,) so to Simon, on his believing in Chbist, " the 
 Rock," the name oi Peter, or rock, was condescendingly given. 
 Bede. 
 
 17 Boanerges. — When the mother of James and John desired 
 a place for one of them on Christ's right hand, and for the 
 other on His left, she took the confidence of such a request 
 probably from this, that Christ had set so honourable a name 
 upon them, above the other disciples. S. Matt. xx. 20 ; S. 
 Luke ix. 54. — How prone we are to receive spiritual promises 
 in a carnal sense. S. John iv. 15 ; viii. 32, 33 ; 1 Tim. vi. 5. 
 (See S. John xxi. 20. J. F.)—Dr. Lightfoot. (Exercitat. in 
 loco.) 
 
 S. Basil thundered in his doctrine, and lightened in his practice. 
 E-ev. iv. 5. S. Greg. Nazianzen. 
 
 Cujus vita fulgor, ejus verba tonitrua. Whose life lightens — his 
 words thunder. (A Latin Proverb used in the Middle Ages.) 
 
 Though men be but simple, yet the word they deliver, is 
 mighty ; though they be mortal, the Word of the Lord endur- 
 eth forever. Where this word is received, it is "fire" and 
 bumeth ; it is " a hammer" and break eth the hardness of the 
 heart. It is mighty in operation ; it cleanseth the inner man ; 
 it openeth the conscience ; it is " a savour of life unto life ;" it 
 is the means of salvation. This is " the word of reconciliation." 
 God hath " committed it" unto us. S. Luke xxi. 15 ; Eom. i. 
 16 ; 2 Cor. X. 4, 5. Bp. Jewel. (A Treatise of the Sacraments.) 
 
 He, who is enrolled among " the Ministers of Christ and Stew- 
 ards of the mysteries of God," must be a man " sound in the 
 faith," "fervent in spirit," and also "a son of consolation." 
 
S. MARK III. 19. 67 
 
 In this sense, lie must combine what is found in a Cephas y 
 a Boanerges, and a Barnabas. (S. John 1. 42 ; Acts iv. 36.) 
 Soundness in the faith is the first requisite ; but what will this 
 avail without zeal and boldness ? And are not these latter, in 
 their turn, useless and even dangerous, unless " the most ex- 
 cellent gift of Charity" be superadded to direct, to controul, to 
 sweeten their exercise ? This was the lesson, impressed upon 
 the " very zealous" prophet, to whom the Loed was manifested 
 in "the still small voice." (1 Kings xix. 10—12.) The spirit 
 of "power, and of love, and of a sound mind," (2 Tim. i. 7,) is 
 that threefold cord, not quickly broken, which must bind every 
 Priest of GrOD to the horns of the Altar. J. F. 
 
 19 The wickedness of the Minister doth hinder himself from re- 
 ceiving benefit by the Sacrament ; but not the persons, to 
 whom it is given. . . The sons of Eli the high priest are called 
 " sons of Belial," and such as " knew not the Lord," (1 Sam. 
 ii. 12 ;) yet it is not to be doubted, but that their administra- 
 tion of the holy things was profitable to God's people. Yet 
 this we must say ; that, though the sinfulness and profaneness 
 of Ministers cannot directe and per se make the Sacrament in- 
 valid, it may indirectly and per accidens occasion the Sacra- 
 ments not doing the people so much good, as might otherwise 
 have happened. And thus the sons of Eli are said to have 
 made some " abhor the offerings of the Loed," and to " make 
 the Loed's people transgress.'* S. Matt, xviii. 7 ; 2 Cor. vi. 3. 
 Bp. Barlow. (Grenuine Remains, p. 630.) 
 
 I will consider sermons, more than preachers. . . . The wise men 
 did not the less find Cheist at Bethlehem, though the Priests 
 and Pharisees sent them without accompanying them thither. 
 .... And what the Book of Kings relates of Elisha's bones, 
 contains a far greater miracle in the historical, than in the 
 allegorical sense ; in which it is no wonder to see a man raised 
 to life by a dead prophet. S. Matt, xxiii. 1 — 3 ; 2 Kings xiii. 
 21. R. Boyle. (Occasional Reflections. S. vi. 8.) 
 
 The preceding remark of the excellent E,. Boyle is illustrated by 
 Elijah's ravens, as well as by Elisha's bones. Those voracious 
 birds were the means of sustaining the life of the prophet with 
 " the bread and flesh," of which they themselves ate not. The 
 
 F 2 
 
68 S. MAEK III. 21. 
 
 support of life came from God only ; they were tlie mere in- 
 struments of conveyance. So the Lord may use the ministry 
 of an unworthy person, even of the Judas Iscariot, who betrays 
 Him. But this fact furnishes a most serious subject of re- 
 flection to all such, as feed others " by the ministry of GtOd's 
 Holy Word" and yet neglect and starve themselves ; who bear 
 the Satiour on their lips, but neither know Him in their 
 hearts, nor serve Him in their lives ; and who thereby incur a 
 greater condemnation. Cant. i. 6 ; 1 Cor. iii. 5. J. F. 
 
 20 And the multitude cometh together again, so 
 that they could not so much as eat bread. 
 
 21 And when His friends heard of it, they went 
 out to lay hold on Him : for they said, He is beside 
 Himself. 
 
 22 And the scribes which came down from Jeru- 
 salem said. He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of 
 the devils casteth He out devils. 
 
 23 And He called them unto Him, and said unto 
 them in parables. How can Satan cast out Satan ? 
 
 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that 
 kingdom cannot stand. 
 
 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that 
 house cannot stand. 
 
 26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be 
 divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 
 
 27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, 
 and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong 
 man ; and then he will spoil his house. 
 
 21 We see in this, and in the next verse, from what opposite 
 quarters obstacles may come in the way of those, who have 
 succeeded in the Apostolic Ministry, and who shew anything 
 of Apostolic zeal in the same. On one side, there may be the 
 well meant but mistaken interference of friends, cooling their 
 
S. MARK III. 21, 23. 69 
 
 ardour by pronouncing it enthusiasm ; on the other, the open 
 attacks of downright hostility to the Grospel — Scribes, smd such 
 like, misrepresenting their conduct, so to put them to silence. 
 But, "forasmuch as Cheist hath" thus "suffered for ua in the 
 flesh, let us arm ourselves likewise with the same mind." And 
 Blessed are we, if, under these trials, we can say with S. Paul, 
 "whether we be beside oiwselves, it is to God ;" and with the 
 Psalmist, " I am, as a wonder, unto many ; but Thou art mv 
 strong refuge." Deut. xxx. 9 ; Isa. viii. 18 ; Zech. iii. 8 ; 
 2 Cor. V. 13 ; Ps. Ixxi. 7. J. F. 
 Nemo aliorum sensu miser est, sed suo. A man is to be deemed 
 unhappy by his reflections on himself, and not by the reflections 
 made by the world upon him : hence they, who are really happy 
 in the testimony of their own consciences, cannot possibly be 
 harmed by the wrong estimate of other people. For I am of 
 opinion, that none are more happy than those, who act accord- 
 ing to their own judgment and wishes . . . The religious are 
 far more happy than others, because what they desire they 
 have, and better things they cannot have ; they enjoy at this 
 present the consolations of faith, and hereafter they will obtain 
 the rewards of Heaven. Salvian. (On GtOd's Government, 
 B. i. s. 2.) 
 
 Fly the company of those, who are given to detraction. To hear 
 them patiently is criminal ; and to shew the least countenance 
 of encouragement is to partake of their guilt, and to promote 
 them to a continuance of it. Ps. xv. 1 — 3 ; Prov. xvii. 4, 9. 
 Palmer. (Aphorisms. 784.) 
 
 Two things are carefully to be conserved of a Christian — consci- 
 entia et fama, his conscience and his report; his conscience to 
 God, and his report to men. It is not sufficient, saith S. Je- . 
 rome, to say, Sujfficit mihi conscientia ; " I care not for report, 
 so I have a good conscience." The Apostle gives another rule ; 
 " Provide things honest in the sight of all men." E-om. xii. 17 ; 
 Acts XX. 33, 31; 2 Cor. i. 12, 17, 18. Chr. Sutton. (Disce 
 vivere. Ch. 2.) 
 
 23 Can we suppose these wicked and malignant spirits, whose 
 business it is to seduce men to sin and ruin, would be willing 
 to exert their power to work miracles, to confirm so Holy 
 
70 S. MARK III. 23. 
 
 a Eeligion — a Eeligion so contrary to their design, and so 
 subversive of their kingdom and interest? This would be 
 v^rretched policy indeed. Or, if we should suppose them will- 
 ing, yet, can we think that GrOD, who has them all at His 
 controul, would suffer them to counterfeit the great Seal of 
 Heaven, and annex it to an imposture ? Would He permit 
 them to impose upon mankind in a manner, that could not be 
 detected ? This would be to deliver the world to their manage- 
 ment, and to suffer them to lead men blindfold to hell in un- 
 avoidable delusion. Ex. viii. 18, 19 ; 2 Thess. ii. 7—12 ; Eev. 
 XX. 2, 3. Davies. (Serm. on S. Luke xvi. 27 — 31.) 
 Oh, who could be the Author of this Blessed Book, but the 
 Blessed God? If any creature made it, he was either a 
 wicked creature, or one that was holy. Eirst, no wicked crea- 
 ture could do it ; neither angel, nor man. Surely, they would 
 never have taken so much pains to pull down their own king- 
 dom of darkness ; the great plot, which runs through the 
 Bible from one end to the other (1 S. John iii. 8) . . . Neither 
 can any holy creature be the Author of it ; be he angel or man. 
 Can we think that any, having the least spark of love to GrOD 
 or fear of His Majesty, durst counterfeit His dreadful Name, 
 by setting it to their work, saying, " Thus saith the Lord ?" 
 Gurnall. (On the Christian's Armour, Eph. vi. 17. Ch. vii. S. 2.) 
 The Gentile comes and says, " I wish to be a Christian, but I 
 cannot tell to whom to join myself; there are so many quarrels, 
 and so much sedition and strife among you. I know not which 
 doctrine to choose and to give the preference to ; for each sect 
 professes exclusively to hold the Truth." This is the reason 
 why deridiculb sumus, we are made a sport and laughing-stock 
 to both Gentiles and Jews, the Church being thus split into a 
 thousand parts. S. John xvii. 21 ; Ps. cxxii. 6 ; Eom. xv. 5, 6. 
 S. Chrysostom. 
 
 Quod mundus stabili fide 
 Concordes variat vices ; 
 Qu6d pugnantia semina 
 Eoedus perpetuum tenent ; 
 Quod Phoebus roseum diem, 
 
 Ut quas duxerit Hesperus, 
 Phoebe noctibus imperet ; 
 Ut fluctus avidum mare 
 Certo fine coerceat, 
 Ne terris liceat vagis 
 
 Curro provehit aureo ; i Latos tundere terminos ;- 
 
S. MAKE III. 28, 29. 71 
 
 Hanc rerum seriem ligat, 
 Terras ac pelagus regens, 
 Et coelo imperitans, Amor . 
 Hie saneto populos quoque 
 Junetos foedere eontinet ; 
 Hie et conjugii Sacrum 
 
 Castis nectit amoribus : 
 Hie fidis etiam sua 
 Diet at jura sodalibus. 
 
 ! felix bominum genus, 
 Si vestros animos Amor, 
 Quo coelum regitur, regat ' 
 
 Boetius. (Consol. Philos. Lib. ii. Metr. 8.) 
 
 J 28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven 
 unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith so- 
 ever they shall blaspheme : 
 
 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy 
 Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eter- 
 nal damnation : 
 
 30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. 
 
 28 Sons of men. — Sins generally are such, as are common to man, 
 humana sunt ; but blasphemy against the Holt Gthost is such, 
 as belongeth to Satan, peccatum Satanicum. Bengel. 
 
 29 S. Ambrose saith, Sicut Una Divinitas, una offen&a ; as there is 
 but One Godhead, so there is no sin against God (and all sin is 
 so,) but it is against the whole Trinity ; and that is true : but as 
 there are certain attributes proper to every several Person of 
 the Trinity, so there are certain sins, more directly against the 
 several properties and attributes of those Persons, and in such 
 a consideration against the Persons themselves. Of which 
 there are divers sins : against power ; and they are principally 
 against the Father ; for to the Father we attribute power : 
 and divers sins against wisdom ; and wisdom we attribute to 
 the Son : and divers against goodness and love ; and these we 
 attribute to the Holt Ghost. S. Luke xxii. 69 ; Col. ii. 3 ; 
 Eom. XV. 30. Br. Bonne. (Serm. on S, Matt. xii. 31.) 
 
 Not that we can sin against one Person, and not offend another ; 
 for their Essence is but One : but this sin is singled out, for 
 a special obstruction of forgiveness ; for that it is done against 
 the illumination and influence of that Grace, whereof the 
 Holt Ghost is the immediate giver and worker in the soul. 
 
72 S. MARK III. 29, 30. 
 
 who is therefore called the Spirit of Grace. Hereupon is 
 Stephen's challenge to the stiff-necked Jews, Acts vii. 51, " Ye 
 do always resist the Holy GtHOST ;" and S. Peter's charge to 
 Ananias. "Why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the 
 Holt Ghost ?" Acts v. 3. Bp. Hall. (Serm. on Eph. iv. 30.) 
 
 The devil, the father of lies, hath added this lie to those, which he 
 hath told before, in persuading thee that thou hast committed 
 the sin against the Holt Ghost. Por that sin is ever attended 
 with these two symptoms, (absence of all contrition and of all 
 desire of forgiveness.) . . . ISTow if thou canst truly say that 
 thy sins are a burden to thee, that thou dost desire forgiveness, 
 and wouldst give anything to compass and attain it, be of good 
 comfort ; thou hast not yet, and by God's grace never shall, 
 commit that unpardonable offence. I will not define how near 
 thou hast been unto it. As David said to Jonathan, " there is 
 not a hair's breadth betwixt death and me ;" so, may be, thou 
 hast missed it very narrowly ; but assure thyself thou art not 
 as yet guilty thereof 1 Sam. xx. 8 ; Heb. vi. 9. Th. Fuller. 
 (Cause and Cure of a wounded Conscience. Dial. 8.) 
 
 In danger of eternal damnation. — Dreadful truths are not to be 
 forborne, for fear of casting men into despair. They are rather 
 to be often inculcated, to force sinners by the sight of their 
 dangers to throw themselves into His arms, who is the only 
 refuge of all sinners. Jer. vi. 14 ; 2 Cor. v. 11; Phil. iii. 18, 
 19. (See at xii. 40.) Bp. Wilson. (Maxims.) 
 
 30 Because they said, ^c. — It is not sufficiently considered how 
 atrocious must be the crime, when persons not only studiously 
 profane the sacred Name of God, but actually spit in His very 
 face, while it shines in their presence. Acts vi. 15 ; vii. 54 — 
 57. Calvin. 
 
 Sin attaches to itself a peculiar aggravation, when it is such a 
 sin, as can be committed only against God. S. Augustine. 
 
 These words of Cheist are a call to repentance, — a last call, per- 
 haps ; and as of one hoping against hoj)e : but still, a warning ; 
 not a peremptory condemnation. ... As it was not until the 
 Day of Pentecost, that God vouchsafed to reveal (as fully as 
 our imperfect capacities admit) His whole Essence and His 
 complete work, so the full measure of the iniquity of the Jews, 
 
S. MARK III. 31. 73 
 
 wlio would not repent, was only then filled up, when the com- 
 plete Revelation had been made, and the final gift (of the 
 Spirit) had been given ; when those, who had ascribed Christ's 
 miracles to Beelzebub, and had accused His disciples of steal- 
 ing His Body, went on to mock the utterances of the Holy 
 GrHOST, as the babblings of drunkenness. Surely we are not 
 unwarranted in characterizing the scofi" of the Day of Pen- 
 tecost — "These men are full of new wine" — as the key-note 
 of the blasphemy ; as the type and embodiment of the new 
 "mystery of iniquity" working "in these last days" with the 
 fury of a last struggle in a time, that is short. No sooner was 
 the Holy Gthost revealed to the world, than by the world He 
 was blasphemed. Scarcely was He given to the Church, when 
 Avithin the bosom of the Church He was sinned against. And 
 the death of Ananias and Sapphira, and the curse (scarcely less 
 awful) of Simon the sorcerer seem to inaugurate the Dispensa- 
 tion, wherein the sin against the Holy Ghost became a reality ; 
 and its punishment, a fact. Heb. vi. 4 — 6 ; x. 26 ; S. Luke 
 xxiii. 34 ; xix. 12, 27 ; IS. John v. 16. Br. Robert Scott. 
 (Serm. on S. Matt. xii. 31, 32.) 
 
 31 There came then His brethren and His mother, 
 and, standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him. 
 
 32 And the multitude sat about Him, and they said 
 unto Him, Behold Thy mother and Thy brethren with- 
 out seek for Thee. 
 
 33 And He answered them, saying. Who is My 
 mother, or My brethren ? 
 
 34 And He looked round about on them which sat 
 about Him, and said. Behold My mother and My bre- 
 thren ! 
 
 35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the 
 same is My brother, and My sister, and mother. 
 
 31 His brethren and His mother. — The mother, in regard to 
 her honour, should be mentioned before the brethren. But S. 
 
74 S. MAEK III. 31, 34. 
 
 Mark, with a different design in view, placed the brethren first. 
 The brethren were the first, on this occasion, to seek for the 
 Lord ; and them the mother followed. She, who was " Blessed 
 among women," was more free from human infirmities than 
 others ; and yet not totally exempt from them. Numb. xii. 1, 
 2. Bengel. 
 
 "Within is the Word, within is the Light ; wherefore it is said 
 elsewhere, that "entering in they may see the light." There- 
 fore, if not even near relatives are owned, while they stand 
 without, and this as an example to us, how can we hope for 
 acceptance, while in the same position ? S. John xx. 24 ; Acts 
 ii. 47. Bede. 
 
 34 What else does He here teach us, than to prefer to kindred 
 " after the flesh" our descent " after the Spirit ;" and that men 
 are not blessed for this reason, that they are united by near- 
 ness of flesh unto just and holy men, but that by obeying and 
 following they cleave unto their doctrine and conduct. There- 
 fore Mary is more blessed in receiving the faith of Christ, 
 than in conceiving the flesh of Christ. For to a certain one 
 who said, " Blessed is the womb, which bare Thee !" He Him- 
 self made answer, " Tea, rather, blessed are they who hear the 
 Word of GrOD and keep it." Lastly, to His brethren, that is, 
 His kindred after the flesh, who " believed not in Him," (S. 
 John vii. 4,) what profit was there in their being of kin ? Thus 
 also her nearness, as a mother, would have been no profit to 
 Mary, had she not borne Christ in her heart, after a more 
 blessed manner than in her flesh. S. Luke xi. 27, 28 ; S. Matt, 
 iii. 8 — 10; Bom. ix. 1 — 7. S. Augustine. (Tr. de Yirginitate, 
 s. 3.) 
 
 It is the honour of Levi that, when he was about the employ- 
 ment of the Lord, he was so zealous in it, that he forgot all 
 civil relations, " and said unto his father, and to his mother, I 
 have not seen him ; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, 
 nor knew his own children." (Deut. xxxiii. 9.) And so our 
 Sayioub was so zealous in the work in hand, that He would 
 not own His mother and kindred, who would have taken Him 
 off from preaching, v. 21 ; G-al. iv. 18 ; and i. 16 ; Ps. xlv. 10. 
 Dr. Lightfoot. (Serm. on S. Luke i. 17.) 
 
S. MARK III. 34. 75 
 
 To make and begin a society, love is more effectual than nature. 
 (Prov. xviii. 24.) There were, even among the Apostles them- 
 selves, three pair of natural brethren, and some of them of kin 
 to Cheist Himself, according to the flesh ; yet it was not this, 
 that made them a society, but virtus cognatio prima. It was 
 virtue (love) that chiefly made them all of kin. For Christ, 
 whose love called them all at first, and thereby made them all 
 alike near unto Him, did after call them all indifferently His 
 "brethren," and His "friends;" and we shall as often read 
 S. Peter and S. John together, that were " friends," as S. Peter 
 and S, Andrew, that were " brethren." Nay, when the love of 
 God had brought in S. Paul the persecutor, that was neither 
 of kin in blood or manners, to be one of that society, S. Peter 
 calls him " brother" as lovingly, as any of the rest. This power 
 hath love to make a society. 2 S. Pet. iii. 15 ; Acts ix. 17 • 
 2 Cor. V. 14; Eph. iii. 17 ; 1 S. John v. 1. Wm. Austin. 
 (Medit. on the Day of S. Bartholomew.) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A ND He began again to teach by the sea side : and 
 there was gathered unto Him a great multitude, 
 so that He entered into a ship, and sat in the sea ; 
 and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 
 
 2 And He taught them many things by parables, 
 and said unto them in His doctrine, 
 
 3 Hearken ; Behold, there went out a sower to sow : 
 
 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by 
 the way side, and the fowls of the air came and de- 
 voured it up. 
 
 5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had 
 not much earth ; and immediately it sprang up, be- 
 cause it had no depth of earth : 
 
76 S. MAEK lY. 1, 2. 
 
 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched ; and 
 because it had no root, it withered away. 
 
 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew 
 up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 
 
 8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield 
 fruit that sprang up and increased ; and brought forth, 
 some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 
 
 9 And He said unto them. He that hath ears to 
 hear, let him hear. 
 
 1 Sat in the sea, 8fC. — It has been ingeniously remarked of this 
 verse that it gives us a picture of the Church, which consists 
 of the people united to their Pastor — plebs Sacei^doti adunnta, 
 et pastori suo grex adhcerens. (S.Cyprian. Ep. ad Papianum.) 
 It has been noted, moreover, that the position of our Loed, as 
 seated in the ship on the water, represents those peculiar 
 tossings and trials, to which Ministers are exposed ; while it is 
 the more safe and easy lot of others to sit, comparatively, at 
 ease on the shore. S. Matt. xxvi. 36 ; 1 Cor. iv. 9. J. F. 
 
 2 By parables. — How great and how acceptable a part of wit 
 that is, which has the advantage to be expressed by apt simili- 
 tudes, every man's own experience, if he please to consult it, 
 may in some measure inform him. And certainly there is no 
 part of wit, that is so generally applicable to all kinds of per- 
 sons ; for good comparisons serve equally to illustrate and to 
 persuade: the greatest wits disdain them not, and even or- 
 dinary wits are capable to understand them and to be affected 
 by them ; and if a sermon, or a long discourse, be enriched with 
 one apt comparison, what part soever else be forgotten, that 
 will be sure to be remembered. Eccl. xii. 9 — 11. R. Boyle. 
 (Occasional Eeflections, s. iii. c. 4.) 
 
 Loed, in the parable of the four sorts of ground, whereon the 
 seed was sown, the last alone proved faithful : there the bad 
 were more than the good ; but amongst the servants two im- 
 proved their talents, or pounds, and one only buried them 
 (S. Matt. XXV. 18 ; S. Luke xix. 20) ; there the good were 
 
S. MAKK IV. 9. n 
 
 more than the bad. Again, amongst the ten virgins five were 
 wise and five were foolish (S. Matt. xxv. 2) ; there the good 
 and the bad were equal. I see that, concerning the number of 
 the saints, in comparison to the reprobates, no certainty can 
 be collected from these parables : good reason ; for it is not 
 their principal purpose to meddle with that point. Grant that 
 I may never rack a Scripture simile beyond the true intent 
 thereof; lest, instead of sucking milk, I squeeze blood out of 
 it. Eom. xiv. 4, 10 ; 2 S. Pet. iii. 16. Th. Fuller. (Scrip- 
 ture Observations, 1.) 
 
 We must not omit to notice the fact, observable in no other 
 discourse of our Lord, that this parable both begins and ends 
 with a distinct call to hear, to hearken. This warning coin- 
 cides with the main practical lesson of the parable itself; and 
 also reveals our Lord's great love towards us, in that He so 
 earnestly renews His endeavours to obtain a hearing from us, 
 whereby we may be saved. Hence the repeated solemn affirma- 
 tion, " Verily, verily, I say unto you ;" which is, as it were, the 
 Selah of the Gospels. Job xxxiv. 14 ; Rev. iii. 20. J. F. 
 
 Upon those words of David, Conturhata sunt ossa mea, S. Basil 
 well saith, Habet et anima ossa sua, the soul hath bones, as well 
 as the body. And, in this anatomy and dissection of the soul, 
 as the bones of the soul are the constant and strong resolutions 
 thereof, and as the seeing of the soul is understanding, (Eph. i. 
 18 ;) so the hearing of the soul is hearkening. In these reli- 
 gious exercises we do not hear, except we hearken. " Faith 
 comes by hearing ;" but it is by that hearing of the soul, heark- 
 ening, considering. And then, as the soul is infused by God, 
 but diffused over the whole body, and so there is a man ; so 
 faith is infused from God, but diffused into our works, and so 
 there is a saint. Practice is the incarnation of faith ; faith is 
 incorporated and manifested, in a body, by works ; and the way 
 to both is that hearing, which amounts to this hearkening, to a 
 diligent, to a considerate, to a profitable hearing. Prov. ii. 1 — 5 ; 
 Isa. Iv. 3 ; Acts xvi. 14 ; Eph. iv. 24 ; Eom. vi. 13. Dr. Donne. 
 (Serm. on Ps. xxxiv. 11.) 
 
 The first Parable of the Sower gives us the foundation, on 
 which all the sequel of efficacious mercy to man must depend. 
 
78 S. MARK IV. 11, 12. 
 
 Therefore, most fitly, in S. Mark's Grospel, our Loed says to 
 His disciples, Know ye not this parable ? And how then will 
 ye know all parables? Alex. Knox. (Eemains. Y. i. p. 408.) 
 
 10 And when He was alone, they that were about 
 Him with the twelve asked of Him the parable. 
 
 1 1 And He said unto them, Unto you it is given to 
 know the mystery of the kingdom of God : but unto 
 them that are without, all these things are done in 
 parables: 
 
 12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive ; 
 and hearing they may hear, and not understand ; lest 
 at any time they should be converted, and their sins 
 should be forgiven them. 
 
 13 And He said unto them, Know ye not this para- 
 ble ? and how then will ye know all parables ? 
 
 11 Parables were devised and used for a double purpose, and, 
 whicb. is more strange, even for an opposite purpose. For 
 parables serve, as a cloak and covering ; and tbey moreover 
 serve, as a light and illustration. Ex. xiv. 20 ; Hosea xiv. 9. 
 Lord Bacon. (The Wisdom of the Ancients.) 
 
 12 Man is fallen into a deplorable state of blindness, impotence, 
 and corruption ; will not believe it in good earnest ; prides 
 himself in his own abilities ; will stand or fall by the light of 
 what he calls his reason, and rejects his only remedy, which is 
 dying to his state and nature, his own works, will, and wisdom, 
 that Christ may " live in him," and be " all in all" to him — 
 wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification, and, by these, Be- 
 demption. Hos. xiv. 3, 8 ; 1 Cor. i. 30 ; Eev. iii. Adam. 
 (Private Thoughts. Ch. 4.) 
 
 Theodoret calls the reprobate sense (Eom. i. 28,) vovi a^-T/rvTro?, a 
 heart, that will not reverberate any judgment or terror ; receiv- 
 ing no more impression from it, than the anvil from the ham- 
 mer, which violently returns it again ; smoothed perhaps some- 
 
 . what over by often beating, but nothing softened. S. Luke 
 
S. MARK IV. 13. 79 
 
 xi. 25 ; E-om. i. 28. Dr. Hammond. (Serm. on S. Matt. 
 X. 15.) 
 
 13 This parable, all parables. — The second order of Christian 
 truths has such dependence on the first, that they can never 
 be well learned, until the first are learned. Heb. v. 12. R. 
 Baxter. 
 
 The Church Catechism is a short, but sufficient institution of the 
 principles of the Christian Beligion, set forth by authority and 
 required to be learned of every person, (who is Baptized,) in 
 order to his being Confirmed by the Bishop, and prepared both 
 for the profitable reading and hearing of God's Word, and for 
 the worthy receiving of the Loed's Supper. S. Luke i. 4 ; 
 Acts xviii. 25 ; Eom. ii. 18 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 19 ; Q-al. vi. 6. Abp. 
 Wake. (Comment, on the Church Catechism, p. i. s. 1.) 
 
 If people (for want of early Catechizing), be unskilful in the 
 foundations of Religion, whatever is taught beside is like a 
 house built upon the sand. Bp. J. Taylor. (Advice to his 
 Clergy, S. v. QQ) 
 
 Through the want of Catechizing many, which are well skilled in 
 some out-comers of Divinity, have lost themselves in the 
 beaten road thereof. T. Fuller. (Holy Estate. P. i.) 
 
 Great scholars may possibly think that it standeth not so well 
 with their credit to stoop thus low, and to spend so much of 
 their time, in teaching these rudiments (the Church Catechism) 
 and "first principles of the doctrine of Christ." But they 
 should consider that the laying of the foundation skilfully, as 
 it is the matter of the greatest importance to the whole build- 
 ing, so it is the very masterpiece of the wise builder. " Ac- 
 cording to the grace given me, I have laid the foundation," 
 (1 Cor. iii. 10,) saith the great Apostle. And let the learnedst 
 of us all try it, whenever we please, we shall find that to lay 
 this groundwork rightly, (that is, to apply ourselves unto the 
 capacity of the common auditory, and to make an ignorant 
 man to understand these mysteries in some good measure,) 
 will put us to the trial of our skill, and troubles us a great deal 
 more, than if we were to discuss a controversy, or handle a 
 subtle point of learning in the Schools. . . . The neglecting of 
 this is the frustrating of the whole work of the Ministry: for 
 
80 S. MARK lY. 15, 16. 
 
 let us preach never so many sermons unto the people, our 
 labour is but lost, as long as the foundation is unlaid, and the 
 first principles untaught, upon which all other doctrine must 
 be builded. Isa. xxviii. 10; 2 S. Pet. iii. 18. Abp. Usher. 
 (Serm. preached before the King, on Eph. iv. 13.) 
 
 14 The sower soweth the word. 
 
 15 And these are they by the way side, where the 
 word is sown ; but when they have heard, Satan com- 
 eth immediately, and taketh away the word that was 
 sown in their hearts. 
 
 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on 
 stony ground ; who, when they have heard the word, 
 immediately receive it with gladness ; 
 
 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure 
 but for a time : afterward, when affliction or perse- 
 cution ariseth for the word*s sake, immediately they 
 are offended. 
 
 18 And these are they which are sown among- 
 thorns ; such as hear the word, 
 
 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitful- 
 ness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering 
 in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 
 
 20 And these are they which are sown on good 
 ground ; such as hear the word, and receive it, and 
 bring forth fruit, some thirty fold, some sixty, and 
 some an hundred. 
 
 15 They, who walk by the way side, must needs suffer from a mul- 
 titude of distractions. Their minds must wander in proportion 
 to the numerous and various objects, which pass before them. 
 Stapleton. 
 
 16 The marked antithesis between the immediate reception and 
 the immediate rejection is to be much observed. Quod violentum 
 
S. MARK IV. 16, 17. 81 
 
 non est diutiirnum. Grrace, in almost every case, is slow and 
 progressive : for, in the human heart, it has much to contend 
 against ; and God treats us, as free-agents, putting no force 
 on any man's will. xi. 8 — 10. J. F. 
 
 The second kind of temporary faith hath in it five degrees. For by 
 it, first, a man knows the Word. Secondly, he assenteth unto 
 it. Thirdly, he professeth it. Fourthly, he rejoiceth inwardly 
 in it. Fifthly, he bringeth forth some kind of fruit : and yet, 
 for all this, hath no more fruit in him, than a faith, that will 
 fail ill the end ; because he wanteth the effectual application of 
 the promise of the Grospel, and is without all manner of sound 
 conversation. This faith is like corn on the house-top, (Ps. 
 cxxix. 6,) which groweth for a while ; but, when the heat of 
 summer cometh, it withereth. vi. 20 ; Ps. Ixxviii. 10 ; 1 Cor. 
 X. 12, 13. Wm. Perkhis. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 
 Immediately. — Multi ad sapientiam pervenissent, <Src. Many had 
 come to learning enough, had they not believed too soon they 
 had attained it. No such hindrance to proficiency, as too 
 timely a conceit of knowledge. S. John ix. 39 — 41. Dr. Ham- 
 mond. (Serm. on Ezek. xvi. 30.) 
 
 Receive it with gladness. — The first physic to recover our souls 
 are not cordials, but corrosives ; not an immediate stepping, 
 into heaven by a present assurance, but mourning, and la- 
 mentation, and a bitter bewailing of our former transgressions. 
 With Mary Magdalene we must wash Christ's feet with our 
 tears of sorrow, before we may anoint His head with " the oil 
 oi gladness.'' When the Grrace of God comes to dwell within 
 us, it is fear and sorrow makes the forcible entry ; though it be 
 faith and love, that keep the after-possession. S. Matt. vii. 13, 
 14 ; xi. 28—30 ; Acts ii. 37 ; Mai. iv. 2. Bp. Brownrig. (Serm. 
 on Acts ii. 37.) 
 
 17 All temptation is a trial, and every trial yields its proper 
 fruit. For man, for the most part, knows not his own self; he 
 is ignorant of what he can bear, or not bear. Sometimes he 
 presumes beyond his strength ; sometimes he faints and des- 
 pairs, when he really possesses ability. Temptation then 
 comes, quasi interrogation as a question put to us ; and man 
 makes the discovery of his own character, which before was 
 
82 S. MARK lY. 17—20. 
 
 hidden from him, albeit not hidden from his Maker. Job xlii. 
 5, 6 ; Deut. viii. 2, 16 ; 2 Cor. xii. 5. S. Augustine. (In Ps. 
 
 Iv. 1.) 
 O rocky hearts ! How shallow shallow are the impressions of 
 Divine things upon you ! Eeligion goes never further than 
 the upper surface of your hearts. You have but few deep 
 thoughts of G-OD, and of Jestjs Cheist, and the things of the 
 world to come ; all are but slight and transient glances. Hos. 
 vii. 8 ; S. James i. 22—25. Abp. Leighton. (Serm. on S. Matt, 
 xiii. 3.) 
 
 19 Beceitfulness of riches. — Consider avarice in itself, and no- 
 thing appears more base and contemptible ; yet, dragging along 
 with it the ideas of power, place, and security, it changes its 
 nature and becomes a provident provision. . . . This is one 
 species of that deceit, which sin obtrudes upon its votaries ; in 
 which it is assisted by the very nature of sin itself. (See at 
 xiv. 4.) Bp, Warburton. (Serm. on Heb. iii. 12, 13.) 
 
 Every care must be considered as worldly, which has not some 
 tendency to piety and the worship of Gron, even though it be 
 not mixed up with what is positively prohibited. S. Luke xiv. 
 19, 20, 30. S. Basil. 
 
 20 Christianity supposes many imperfections and infirmities in 
 those, whom it yet allows to be righteous men ; and indeed, if 
 it did not, it could admit no man in the world to be righteous. . . 
 It distinguishes between " babes " and " men," allowing both 
 to be " in Cheist ;" between the weak, and the strong, and 
 confirmed, allowing both to be in the faith : and our Sayioue 
 Himself speaking of some, who upon receiving the seed of the 
 Grospel brought forth sixty and others a hundred-fold, yet 
 doth allow them all to be good ground. He as well allows him 
 to be a " good and faithful servant," who had improved his 
 talents into five, as he, who had improved his into ten. From 
 all which it is evident that the Grospel doth not judge of our 
 main state by the degrees, but by the reality, of our righ- 
 teousness. Job xix. 28. Br. J. Scott. (Serm. on 1 S. John 
 iii. 7.) 
 
 The fruit thirty-fold seems to represent the case of those, who 
 fear ; sixty-fold the case of those, who hope ; the hundred-fold 
 
S. MAKK IV. 20. 83 
 
 those, who love. R. P. F. Hermannus. (Cibus solidus Perfec- 
 torum. Lib. i. c. 22.) 
 
 Mark the rain, that falls from above ; for the same shower, that 
 dropped out of one cloud, increaseth sundry plants in a gar- 
 den ; and, severally, according to the condition of each plant. 
 In one stalk, it renders a rose ; in another, a violet ; divers, in 
 a third ; and sweet in all. So the Spirit works its multiformous 
 effects in several complexions ; and all, according to the increase 
 of doD. Eom. xii. 3 ; 1 Cor. xii. 4—12. Bp. J. Taylor. 
 
 "We may observe, in general, that of the three unprofitable hearers 
 the first heard the Word, but did not mind it ; the second 
 minded it for a time, but did not keep it ; the third kept it, 
 but did no good with it. But the fruitful hearers do all, that 
 those did, and more ; they hear, so as to mind it ; they mind, so 
 as to keep it ; and they keep it, so as to use and improve it to 
 GtOd's glory and their own good . . . a good and honest heart 
 being the proper soil for good works to grow in. Bp. Beveridge. 
 (Serm. on S. Matt. xiii. 18.) 
 
 Change the soil, while you may. Break up your fallow with the 
 plough ; from your field cast forth the stones and pluck out 
 the thorns. Be unwilling to have a hard heart, such as makes 
 the Word of God of no effect. Be unwilling to have a thin 
 layer of soil, in which the root of Divine Love can find no 
 depth of entrance. Be unwilling to choke the good seed, by the 
 cares and the lusts of this life, when by our labour it is scat- 
 tered for your good. For Gron sows, while we are His work- 
 men; but be the good ground. Isa. i. 19, 20; Hos. x. 12. 
 S. Luke vi. 47, 48. 5. Augustine. (Serm. 73. c. 3.) 
 
 21 And He said unto them, Is a candle brought 
 to be put under a bushel, or under a bed ? and not to 
 be set on a candlestick ? 
 
 22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be 
 manifested ; neither was anything kept secret, but that 
 it should come abroad. 
 
 23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 S. MARK lY. 21—24 
 
 24 And He said unto them, Take heed what ye 
 hear : with what measure ye mete, it shall he mea- 
 sured to you : and unto you that hear shall more he 
 given. 
 
 25 For he that hath, to him shall be given : and 
 he that hath not, from him shall he taken even that 
 which he hath. 
 
 21 The eartli for a long season covers the seed confided to it; 
 but as for you, you must show forth at once the power of the 
 Word, which you have received. S. Matt. v. 13 — 10. Bengel. 
 
 When Christ speaks in parables, a light is put under a bushel ; 
 but the light, saith He, is not come for this end, that it 
 should be so hidden ; nor, indeed, were it fit so to hide it, but 
 that the Divine Justice would have it so ; that they, who will 
 not see the light, should not enjoy the light. . . . He justly 
 preached in clouds and covered expressions to them, who would 
 not see the Sun and the open light. S. Matt. xi. 25 ; S. John 
 xii. 35, 36 ; Eom. x. 18 — 21. Br. Lightfoot. (Exercitat. in 
 loco.) 
 
 23 For this reason we have two ears, and one tongue ; that we 
 should hear much, and speak little. S. James i. 19. Zeno. 
 
 24 In which He layeth a double obligation upon them : first, all 
 that you hear from Me, you are to preach to the world ; and 
 therefore take heed what you hear : forget none of that. And 
 then you are to preach no more, than you hear from Me ; and 
 therefore, take heed what you hear : add nothing to that. Be 
 not over-timorous, so as to prevaricate and forbear to preach 
 that, which you have heard from Me ; but be not over-venturous 
 neither to pretend a commission, when you have none, and to 
 preach that for My "Word, which is your own passion, or their 
 purpose, that set you up. Eom. xii. 6; Eev. xxii. 18, 19. Br, 
 Bonne. (Serm. on text.) 
 
 Unto you that hear shall more be given. — It is Gron, who turns the 
 human will from evil, and converts it to good, and also causes 
 it to persevere in the same. Nevertheless man's free-will ope- 
 rates in this matter, as the grain shoots by an external germi- 
 
S. MAEK ly. 24, 25. 85 
 
 native power, and by the heat of the sun and moisture of the 
 earth. For, if it were impossible that we should turn from the 
 evil and be converted to the good, we should not be commend- 
 able in so doing ; nor should we be ordered in Scripture to do 
 so. And, again, if we could do this without the grace of GrOD, 
 there would be no propriety in praying to GrOD for it, nor 
 would our success depend upon His will. ... A will to do 
 good, by which a man becomes conformed to the will of God, 
 is grace freely given. The Divine will is grace ; and grace 
 is then said to be infused, when the Divine will begins to ope- 
 rate upon our will. Acts xxvi. 18, 20 ; 1 Cor. xv. 10 ; IS. 
 John iii. 9. Bp. Grosseteste. (Milner's Church Hist. Cent, 
 xiii. Ch. 8.) 
 
 God vouchsafeth man a double grace, an habitual and an actual ; 
 a grace, that giveth him ability, and a grace, that setteth his 
 ability on work. Touching habitual grace, that is true, which 
 S. Basil hath, (De Spir. Sancto, c. 26,) it is semper prcBsenSj sed 
 non semper operans ; it may be in us, and yet be idle. He ex- 
 presseth it by the similitude of the eyesight, wherewith a man 
 may see oftener than he doth see. S. Augustine useth that 
 simile more fully to our purpose, (De natur. et grat. c. 26 :) 
 " As the sharpest eyesight can discern nothing, except it have 
 the help of outward light, no more can a man, perfectly justi- 
 fied, live well, except he be holpen from above with the light of 
 eternal justice." Phil. ii. 12, 13; 2 Tim. i. 6, 7. Bp. Lake. 
 (Serm. on 1 Cor. xv. 10.) 
 
 25 God therefore gives, because He has given; making His 
 former favours arguments for more. Man therefore shuts his 
 hand, because He hath opened it. There is no such way to 
 procure more from God, as to urge Him with what He hath 
 done. All God's blessings are profitable and excellent ; not 
 so much in themselves, as that they are inducements to greater. 
 
 - Ps. cxvii. 2 ; S. Luke xix. 24, 25 ; Eom. viii. 32. Bp. Hall, 
 (Holy Observations. 57.) 
 
 God does not give them consolation all at once ; the more to em- 
 ploy their prayers and exercise their patience. One may admire 
 why Boaz did not give to Euth a quantity of corn, more or less, 
 so sending her home to her mother, (Euth ii. 8;) but that 
 
86 S. MAEK IV. 25, 26. 
 
 rather he kept her still to glean : but this was the reason ; 
 because that is the best charity, which so relieves another's 
 poverty, as still to continue their industry. God, in like man- 
 ner, will not give some all at once consolation ; He will not 
 spoil their (painful, but) pious profession of gleaning: still 
 they must pray and gather, and pray and glean ; here an ear 
 and there a handful of comfort, which GrOD scatters in favour 
 unto them. Prov. xiv. 23 ; S. Luke xi. 3 ; 2 S. Pet. i. 5—9 ; 
 iii. 18. Th. Fuller. (Cause and Cure of a Wounded Con- 
 science. Dial. 18.) 
 By neglecting to use your faculties, you will in time lose the very 
 power of using them. Judg. xvi. 20 ; S. Matt. vi. 22, 23. Jer, 
 Seed. (Serm. on Prov. xviii. 1.) 
 
 26 And He said, So is the kingdom of God, as if 
 a man should cast seed into the ground ; 
 
 27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and 
 the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not 
 how. 
 
 28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; 
 first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in 
 the ear. 
 
 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately 
 he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 
 
 26 By this parable our Lord meant to describe the manner, in 
 which His Church should have its beginning and progress. 
 The Lord Christ is here the Man, who by Himself and His 
 Apostles first scattered the seeds of the Gospel in the hearts of 
 men ; then in His Passion and His Death causing, as it were, 
 a kind of night, He slept ; after these things and on the third 
 day, He arose from the sleep of death. In the meantime, the 
 seed sprung and grew, nor ceased to grow, and this by night 
 and day continually, both under prosperous and adverse cir- 
 cumstances, although it might sometimes appear to men to be 
 well-nigh lost and forsaken of God. S. Luke xvii. 20. Zeger. 
 (From S. Jerome, S. Gregory, and Theophylact.) 
 
S. MARK IV. 27. 87 
 
 27 He knoweth not how. — We may conclude from the uniformity 
 of GtOd's proceedings that His Eevealed will must bear some 
 analogy and correspondence to the constitution of Nature, as 
 settled by Him. And, when everything can be accounted for, 
 and is easy to be understood in the conduct of His Providence, 
 then, and not till then, we ought to expect, that everything 
 should be so in a Divine Kevelation. Job xxxviii. ; xxxix. ; 
 Eom. xi. 33—36. Jer. Seed. (Serm. on 1 Thess. ii. 13.) 
 
 As Mary was called by an ancient, so may the soul without an 
 hyperbole by us be styled " the shop of Miracles," and " the 
 work-house of the Holy Gthost ;" in which every operation is 
 a miracle of nature, and no tools are used, but what the Spirit 
 forges and moves. Mary conceived Cheist ; but it was above 
 her own reach to apprehend the manner how, (S. Luke i. 34 ;) 
 so doth the soul of man conceive, and grow big, and bring forth 
 Cheist, and yet not itself fully perceive how this work is 
 wrought ; Cheist being for the most part insensibly begotten 
 in us, and to be discerned only spiritually, not at His entrance, 
 but in His fruits. S. John iii. 8 ; Acts xii. 9. Dr. Hammond. 
 (Serm. on S. Matt. i. 13.) 
 
 Wherever any thing depends, for its effect, on Gron and man in 
 conjunction and co-operation together, we may be sure that 
 God is never wanting to perform His part, if man will but do 
 his ; and, though it may be difficult (in many cases utterly im- 
 possible) for any one to know or to describe the methods and 
 the measures of G-od's grace, in working on the hearts and 
 minds of people to conversion, yet of this we may be sure, that 
 work it does, unless we ourselves put some hindrance or im- 
 pediment in its way : and of this we may be also full as sure, 
 that the operations of His grace and Holy Spieit do not at 
 all depend upon our knowledge, or our understanding, how and 
 when they operate. And that, therefore, there is no expecting 
 or attending, till they operate, that we may ourselves begin ; 
 for grace, like the kingdom of God, " cometh not by observa- 
 tion;" but we must do our duty — all that we possibly can of 
 ourselves — and God will not be wanting. Bp. Fleetwood, 
 (Serm. on Ezek. xxxiii. 31.) 
 
 I am far from saying that it is necessary to the well grounded 
 
88 S. MARK lY. 28. 
 
 hope of all, that they should be able to discern the time, when 
 this change (conversion) began to be made ; or that they can 
 remember the time, when the contrary to this renewed temper 
 acted in its full force in them. There is a great difference 
 in this matter between those, who, like Samuel, " grew up be- 
 fore the Lord," under the advantageous and successful in- 
 fluence of a pious education, and those converted from gross 
 ignorance and a vicious course. . . . The grand inquiry there- 
 fore, which lies upon all, is, whether we can discern in our- 
 selves the change itself, or that temper of mind, which the 
 Scripture describes as a "new spirit," and which we cannot 
 but see to be a spirit very different from that, which " works 
 in the children of disobedience." . . Does our governing tem- 
 per answer the Grospel description of a " new creature ?" Gral. 
 V. 16 — 25. Dr. Evans. (On the Christian Temper. Serm. 2.) 
 
 28 Of herself, — avTofia-rrf. A self-moving machine. This gives 
 the true sense of that remarkable passage in the Mosaic history 
 of the Creation (G-en. iii. 3) "which GrOD created and made i^ 
 this should rather be interpreted, " which GrOD created, in order 
 to make ;" to make by them prolific principles and reproducing 
 instruments, a continual succession of animals, vegetables, and 
 creatures. Acts xvii. 28. Dr. Dodd. (On the Parables.) 
 
 First, the blade. — Men are impatient and for precipitating 
 things ; but the Author of nature appears deliberate through- 
 out His operations, accomplishing His natural ends by slow 
 successive steps. Isa. Iv. 8 ; Hab. ii. 3. Bp. Butler. (Anal. 
 B. ii. 4.) 
 
 God, being a G-od of order, doth not work ordinarily, but in 
 order, and by degrees, bringing men from one extreme to the 
 other by middle courses ; and therefore seldom bringeth a man 
 from the wretchedness of forlorn nature to the blessed estate 
 of saving grace, but where first He doth by His restraining 
 grace, in some good measure, coiTect nature, and moralize it. 
 viii. 24 ; S. Luke iii. 4 — 6 ; Ps. 1. 23. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 The first step in this way is a right will ; the second a strong 
 will ; the third a devoted ; the fourth a full will. In the first 
 degree, the soul consenteth in mind to the Law of God ; but, 
 the flesh rebelling, both not find how to perform the good it 
 
S. MARK IV. 28. 89 
 
 loveth, but, througli infirmity, often dotli tlie ill it hateth. 
 (Kom. vii. 19 — 24.) Yet in this its will is right, that, " agree- 
 ing with its adversary," it hateth, in itself, what he censureth. 
 In the second degree, the soul doth not only not do the ill it 
 hateth, but even performeth the good it loveth, although hea- 
 vily, yet firmly ; saying with the prophet, " Through the words 
 of Thy lips I have kept me from the ways of the destroyer." 
 (Ps. xvii. 4.) In the third degree, it now with expanded heart 
 "runneth the way of Gron's commandments," and "is delighted 
 in them, as in all manner of riches," (Ps. cxix. 32 ;) because, 
 being anointed with the oil of spiritual grace, and knowing 
 that " God loveth a cheerful giver," stretching forth with glad- 
 ness to all good, it crieth with the prophet David, " I will run 
 the way of Thy commandments, when Thou hast set my heart 
 at liberty." In the fourth degree are the Angels, who with 
 that ease, wherewith they ever will what is good, fully per- 
 form it. This degree the soul can indeed long for, but cannot 
 mount up to, while in the body ; because it is weighed down 
 by the body. Ps. ciii. 20, 21 ; S. Matt. vi. 10. S. Bernard. 
 (Serm. de diversis, 124, s. 2.) 
 The three stages of spiritual growth implied in the blade, the ear, 
 and the full coj'ti in the ear, suggest a comparison of this 
 passage with such as 1 S. John ii. 12 — 14; where the Apostle 
 in like manner divides the faithful into " little children," 
 "young men," and "fathers;" evidently according to the dif- 
 ferent degrees of progress, which they have made in the spi- 
 ritual life. Dean Trench. (On the Parables.) 
 
 30 And He said, Whereunto shall we liken the 
 kingdom of God ? or with w^hat comparison shall we 
 compare it ? 
 
 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when 
 it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that 
 be in the earth : 
 
 32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and be- 
 cometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great 
 
90 
 
 S. MAEK IV. 31, 32. 
 
 branches ; so that the fowls of the air may lodge un- 
 der the shadow of it. 
 
 33 And with many such parables spake He the 
 word unto them, as they were able to hear it, 
 
 34 But without a parable spake He not unto them : 
 and when they were alone, He expounded all things 
 to His disciples. 
 
 31 If the Christian E-eligion, containing doctrines unpalatable to 
 flesh and blood, void of every advantage, besides its own in- 
 ternal excellency, to recommend it, and clogged with a great 
 many incumbrances, could carry conviction with it from east 
 to west by such incompetent instruments, in so short a time, 
 in spite of the most resolved opposition ; if this plant, from a 
 slender appearance at first, grew and waxed a great tree, when 
 no kindly sunshine of worldly power yet smiled upon it — nay, 
 when the inclemency of the season beat hard against it — the 
 growth of it was undoubtedly marvellous. Isa. liii. 2 ; Acts iv. 
 18—21 ; xix. 20. Jer. Seed. (Serm. on S. John iii. 2.) 
 
 32 The three grand arguments, that conjointly evince the truth 
 of the Christian Eeligion in general, are (at least in my 
 opinion) the excellency of the Doctrine, which makes it worthy 
 to have proceeded from G-od; the testimony of the Divine 
 Miracles,* that were wrought to recommend it ; the Grreat 
 effects, produced in the world by it. Two of these three 
 arguments (for the first is of a mere speculative nature) are 
 grounded upon matters of fact, and consequently are likely to 
 be most prevalent upon them, that have a great veneration for 
 experience, and are duly disposed to frame such pious reflec- 
 tions, as it warrants and leads them to make. Acts xiii. 12. 
 JR. Boyle. (The Christian Virtuoso. Part 1.) 
 
 There are especially two prophecies on this subject (the future 
 
 * Under miracles Mr. Boyle in- 
 cludes prophecies. " True prophe- 
 cies," he afterwards remarks, "of 
 unhkely events, fulfilled by unlikely 
 means, are supernatural things ^ and as 
 
 such (especially their Author and de- 
 sign considered) may properly enough 
 be reckoned among miracles." .... 
 " Accomplished predictions may be 
 styled permanent miracles." 
 
S. MAEK IV. 34. 91 
 
 conversion of the G-entile world), whicli merit our attentive 
 consideration. One of them asserts that this conversion shall 
 take its rise from small and very unpromising beginnings, and 
 yet shall prevail speedily and to a vast extent ; the other, that 
 it shall prevail by pacific means only, without the intervention 
 of any force or violence whatsoever. Isa. Ix. 22 ; S. Matt. xiii. 
 32 ; xii. 18—21. Bp. Kurd. (Introd. to the study of the 
 Prophecies, Serm. 6.) 
 
 34 It seems to have been throughout the method of the Deity to 
 offer persuasions to His thinking creatures by little and little ; 
 in no case ever withholding that, which was suflScient, according 
 to the proportion expected in return ; but neither exhibiting at 
 any time more than was sufficient, nor exerting a power, sub- 
 versive of the essential freedom of man's choice between good 
 and evil. S. Matt. xxv. 14, 15, 29 ; S. John xvi. 12 ; 1 Cor. iii. 
 1, 2; Heb. V. 11—14. J. Miller. (Bampt. Lectures. 2.) 
 
 "When we wish to get some fluid into a phial with a very narrow 
 neck, we must not pour, but only drop it. Isa. xxviii. 10 — 13. 
 B. Overherg. 
 
 35 And the same day, when the even was come, 
 He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 
 
 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, 
 they took Him even as He was in the ship. And 
 there were also with Him other little ships. 
 
 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the 
 waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 
 
 38 And He was in the hinder part of the ship, 
 asleep on a pillow : and they awake Him, and say 
 unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish ? 
 
 39 And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said 
 unto the sea. Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, 
 and there was a great calm. 
 
 40 And He said unto them. Why are ye so fearful ? 
 how is it that ye have no faith ? 
 
93 S. MAEK IV. 35, 36. 
 
 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to 
 another, What manner of man is this, that even the 
 wind and the sea obey Him ? 
 
 35 "When He passes over the sea, the Psalm is fulfilled, " The 
 LoED is upon many waters." (Ps. xxix. 3.) When He scatters 
 the waves before Him, Habakkuk is accomplished : " Thou 
 didst walk through the sea, through the heap of great waters." 
 (Hab. iii. 15.) When the sea is cut off, at His threatening 
 voice, Nahum also is found true : " He rebuketh the sea, and 
 maketh it dry." (Nah. i. 4.) Tertullian. (Adv. Marc. 1. iv. 
 c. 20.) 
 
 The Apostles of our Sayioub Christ, being willed to launch 
 forth and to pass unto the other side of the lake, stood not 
 casting timorous doubts, as this : " This G-enezareth is a 
 dangerous passage ; the evening draweth on : we ourselves 
 plain fishermen, none of the skilfullest pilots :" but, when 
 Christ commanded them, without more ado away they go. 
 Now Christ bids us to put off from the shore of our earthly 
 estate. What should we, but obediently set forward ? At 
 the other side is heaven, the haven of our hope. i. 17, 18 ; S. 
 Luke xxiv. 29 ; S. John xx. 15 ; Heb. xi. 8 ; 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
 Chr. Sutton. (Disce mori. Ch. 15.) 
 
 36 They took Him as He was in the ship. — A different view is 
 taken between Christ in Heaven, and Christ in the ship ; 
 He is far otherwise seen in the Majesty of the Father, than 
 in the lowliness of man. . . . The law of faith is so to receive 
 Him, as He is, and is found in the ship, that is, in His 
 Church ; where He was born, where He grew up, where He 
 suffered, where He was crucified ; in which we confess Him, 
 to our great gain, to have ascended into heaven, to have sat 
 down at the right hand of the Pather, and that He will come 
 again, as the Judge of the dead. He, who so confesses 
 Christ, and takes hold of Him in the ship, although he may be 
 beaten by the insulting waves, yet escapes shipwreck amid the 
 perils of the deep. Acts xxvii. 24, 81, 44. Pet. Chrysologus. 
 (Serm. 21.) . 
 
 When our Lord was in that ship in the tempest, which aU ages 
 
S. MAEK IV. 37, 38. 93 
 
 have agreed in employing as a type of His Cliurcli, S. Mark 
 alone of the Evangelists, as it were, incidentally observes, And 
 there were also with Him other little ships. Yet they, doubtless, 
 enjoyed a share in the blessing of calm, obtained by the ship, 
 that bare Jesfs. I have sometimes thought that they picture 
 vividly the fortunes of these societies, that, in these later ages, 
 have moved in the wake of the ancient Apostolic Church ; that 
 with it are forced to endure the storms of a world impartially 
 hostile to every form of religious effort, and that are not 
 without participating in the Blessings of the Holy Presence, 
 abiding in that Church, as long as in sincerity of heart they 
 endeavour to keep up with the Master in His course, ix. 38 ; 
 Ex. xii. 38 ; 1 Cor. i. 2 ; Eph. vi. 24. W. A. Butler. (Serm. 
 on 2 Cor. iii. 6 : entitled " Primitive Church Principles not in- 
 consistent with universal Christian sympathy.") 
 
 37 There arose a great storm, ^c. — If the Loed were always to 
 indulge us with prosperity and abundance of the good things 
 of this life, and if we were, in this mortal state, to suffer no 
 tribulations, no straits and difficulties, would you not be ready 
 to pronounce temporal advantages your chief good, so as to 
 desire nothing better at the hands of GrOD ? Ideb autem huic 
 vitce male-dulci miscet amaritudines tribulationumy ut alia, quce 
 salubriter dulcis est, requiratur. Wherefore Gron infuses the 
 bitterness of afflictions into this life, the joys of which are 
 intermixed with evil, that He might put us upon seeking 
 after another life, which has joys free from all danger. Deut. 
 xxxii. 11 ; Job ii. 10 ; Eccl. vii. 14 ; 2 Thess. i. 5—7. S. Augus- 
 tine, (in Ps. xliii.) 
 
 Si in navi pericula sunt, sine navi certus interitus. If there be 
 dangers on board the ship, to have no ship at all is certain 
 destruction. We need therefore a ship to save us from being 
 drowned in this present world. Acts ii. 47 ; 1 S. Pet. iii. 20, 
 21. S. Augustine. (Serm. de diversis, 22.) 
 
 38 No men sleep so soundly, as they, who lay their heads on 
 nature's lap. Ps. cxxvii. 3 ; Eccl. v. 12. Bp. J. Taylor. 
 
 The breast is filling for the child, while the mother is sleeping. 
 GrOD sometimes seems to sleep, and to forget His poor chil- 
 dren, that cry to Him ; but He is preparing the fuller mercies 
 
94 S. MARK IV. 38. 
 
 for them. Hab. ii. 3 ; S. Matt. xv. 23 ; Gal. vi. 9 ; S. John ii. 
 3, 4 ; xi. 6. Gurnall. (On the Christian's Armour. Eph. vi. 
 18. Ch. xvii. S. 2.) 
 
 When true knowledge faileth in the Church of God, it cannot 
 be, but the souls of the people shall perish. If, in the little 
 time of Moses' absence the people forgat GrOD, (Ex. xxxii. 1,) 
 and fell to idolatry ; if, when Christ slumbered and took but 
 a little nap in the ship, the ship began to drown ; how shall it 
 be with them, that receive not Moses at all, and give no place 
 to our SAViom Christ, who only is able to save the ship from 
 drowning ? Eor, as Hilary saith, " Those Churches are in 
 danger of drowning, wherein the Word of GrOD waketh not ; 
 not for that Christ is in any slumber, but because His Word 
 is heavy in us through our heaviness, somno nostra consopiatur 
 in nohisy 1 S. Pet. iv. 18. Bp. Jewel. (Serm. on Hagg. i. 
 2—4.) 
 
 It is not enough to shut ourselves in a cloister, in a monastery, 
 to sleep out the temptations of the world; but since the 
 ladder is placed, the Church established, since GrOD and the 
 Angels are awake in this business of advancing the Church, 
 we also must labour in our several vocations and not content 
 ourselves with our own spiritual sleep, the peace of conscience 
 in ourselves ; for we cannot have that long, if we do not some 
 good to others. When the storm had almost drowned the 
 ship, Christ was at His ease in that storm, asleep upon a 
 pillow. Now Christ was in no danger Himself: all the 
 water of Noah's flood, multiplied over again by every drop, 
 could not have drowned Him ; all the swords of an army 
 could not have killed Him, till the hour was come, when He 
 was pleased to lay down His soul. But though He were safe, 
 yet they awaked Him, and said, " Master, carest Thou not, 
 though we perish .'"' So, though a man may be in a good state, 
 in a good peace of conscience, and sleep confidently in it, yet 
 other men's necessities must awaken him; and though per- 
 chance he might pass more safely, if he might live a retired 
 life, yet upon this ladder some Angels ascended, some de- 
 scended, but none stood still, but Gron Himself Till we 
 come to Him to sleep an eternal Sabbath in heaven, though 
 
S. MAKE lY. 39, 41. 95 
 
 this religious sleep of enjoying, or retiring, and contemplation 
 of God be a heavenly thing, yet we must awake, even out of 
 this sleep, and contribute our pains to the building, or fur- 
 nishing, or serving of GrOD in His Church, xiv. 37, 40 ; E/om. 
 xiv. 7 — 9. Br. Do7me. (Serm. on Gen. xx^iii. 16, 17.) 
 
 39 The grandest and most majestic figures in Longinus come 
 nothing near to the sublimity of that awful address of the 
 Blessed Jestjs, when He chides the sea and hushes its bois- 
 terous waves into an immediate calm — ^itovra, Trecptjuwao ! The 
 waters heard that Voice, which commanded universal nature 
 into being. They sunk at His command, who has the sole 
 privilege of saying to that unruly element, " Hitherto shalt 
 thou go, and no further : here shall thy proud waves be stayed." 
 S. Matt. viii. 3 ; Ps, Ixxvii. 6 ; xxix. 4 ; cxlviii. 5 ; Kev. xxi. 5. 
 A. Blackmail. (On the Sacred Classics. P. ii. Ch. 3.) 
 
 When He had rebuked the wind and the sea, then He rebuked 
 them likewise. He had another storm of fear and unbelief 
 to calm in their hearts, who could not see Him in His pro- 
 vidence watching over them, when His body slept. Isa. xl. 
 27 ; Ps. cxxi. 4. Bp. Reynolds. (Expos, of Ps. ex.) 
 
 There was a great calm. — Tliis adds to the completeness and 
 wonder of the miracle ; for such a calm never happens in 
 nature : the sea always retains for a season its unquiet, 
 motion, more or less, when the tempest has ceased. The mo- 
 ther of Peter's wife immediately recovered her strength, with- 
 out any experience of the naturally debilitating effects of fever. 
 This offers a beautiful parallel to the sudden stilling of the 
 storm, i. 31 ; Deut. xxxii. 4. /. F. 
 
 41 Mutare naturam, nisi qui Dominus naturce est, non potest. 
 (Epiphanius.) "Whosoever is able to change the course of 
 nature is the Lord of nature ; and He, that is so, made it ; 
 and He, that made it, that created it, is God. Nay ; plus est, 
 it is more to change the course of nature, than to make it : for 
 in the creation there was no reluctation of the creature ; for 
 there was no creature ; but to divert nature out of her settled 
 course is a conquest upon a resisting adversary, and powerful 
 in a prescription. The Recedat mare, " let the sea go back," 
 and the Sistat sol, " let the sun stand still," met with some 
 
96 S. MARK IV. 41. 
 
 kind of opposition in nature ; but in the Fiat mare and Fiat 
 sol, "let there be a sea and a sun," Gron met with no oppo- 
 sition, no nature ; He met with nothing. And therefore 
 Interrogemus miracula, quid nobis de Christo loquuntur. {Augus- 
 tine.) Let us ask His miracles, and they will make us under- 
 stand Christ. Ps. Ixxii. 18 ; civ. 6—9. Br. Bonne. (Serm. 
 on 1 Cor. xvi. 22.) 
 If you ask what that glory (S. John i. 14) might be ? — with a 
 word to say to the wind and storm, Ohmutesce; and to diseases, 
 Volo; mundare; and to death itself, Tibi dico, Surge. His 
 miracles, they showed His glory, is expressly said. (S. John 
 ii. 11.) The star at His birth, the eclipse at His death, the 
 glory of His changing in the mount ; but, above all. His 
 glorious ascension and receiving up into heaven. All which 
 the Apostles saw, as being in the theatre all the while, from 
 the epitasis to the very catastrophe. S. John i. 14 ; xii. 41 ; 
 2 S. Pet. i. 16, 17. Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. on S. John i. 14.) 
 
 Sedet interea Conditor altus 
 
 Eerumque regens flectit habenas, 
 
 Rex et Dominus, Pons et Origo, 
 
 Lex et sapiens Arbiter sequi, 
 
 Et quae motu concitat ire, 
 
 Sistit retrahens, ac vaga firmat. 
 
 Nam nisi rectos revocans itus 
 
 Plexos iterum cogat in orbes, 
 
 Quse nunc stabilis continet ordo, 
 
 Dissepta suo fonte fatiscant. 
 
 Hie est cunctis communis Amor, 
 
 Hepetuntque boni fine teneri. 
 
 Quia non alitor durare queant, 
 
 Nisi converse rursiis Amore 
 
 E-efluant causse, quae dedit esse. 
 
 Boefius. (Consol. Philos. Lib. iv. Metr. 6.) 
 
S. MARK y. 2 3. 97 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A ND they came over unto the other side of the 
 sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 
 
 2 And when He was come out of the ship, imme- 
 diately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an 
 unclean spirit, 
 
 3 Who had Ms dwelling among the tombs ; and no 
 man could bind him, no, not with chains : 
 
 4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters 
 and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder 
 by him, and the fetters broken in pieces : neither could 
 any man tame him. 
 
 5 And always, night and day, he was in the moun- 
 tains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself 
 with stones. 
 
 2 Before the fall, the unclean Spirit was incorporated with the 
 serpent, but now with man himself. He seizes on the external 
 organs and internal faculties, and rules them at his pleasure. 
 ... It is the true anticipation of hell ; for the possessed 
 person is not exempted from suffering, the privilege of death : 
 nor enjoys the free power of doing, the effect of life. S. Matt, 
 xii. 44. Br. Bates. (Harmony of the Divine Attributes. 
 Ch. 20.) 
 
 3 Devil, what meaneth this ? The same person, whom you thrice 
 tempted to a fall, whom you insidiously accosted, promising 
 Him a Kingdom, if He would worship you, now you adore, 
 falling down, trembling and wretched before Him ? Behold 
 where he, who promised all the glories of this world, is found to 
 dwell ; in the tomhs, compassed about with the putrid rotten- 
 ness of dead bodies ! Thus then does he delude, when he pro- 
 mises. He aims to drag in his own company down to hell those, 
 who go to consult him about the things of this world. Prov. 
 
 H 
 
98 S. MAEK V. 3—5. 
 
 xxiii. 31, 32 ; S. Luke iv. 6 ; Eom. vi. 21. Pet. Chrysologus. 
 (Serm. 17.) 
 
 A proud man hath no God ; for he hath put God down, and set 
 himself up. An unpeaceable man hath no neighbour ; for he 
 hath driven them all away. A distrustful man hath no friend ; 
 for he hath disobliged all. "Who will be friendly to him, who 
 hath no good opinion of another ? A discontented man hath 
 not himself; he hath lost himself, because things are not, 
 as he would. Eph. ii. 12. Br. Whichcote. (Cent. ix. Aphor. 
 801.) 
 
 No man could bind him. — Heligion can win its way to hearts barred 
 against every other influence ; it can soften and conquer dis- 
 positions, which would else remain intractable and savage; 
 and thereby, in addition to all its other and higher merits, it 
 establishes a title to be considered the great Humanizer of 
 mankind. Yerse 26 ; Isa. xi. 6 — 10 ; 2 Cor. x. 4, 5 ; Tit. iii. 3 
 — 6. A. W. Rare. (Serm. on S. Luke viii. 35.) 
 
 4 Neither could any man tame him. — Give me a man, who shall 
 be passionate, maledicus, effrcenatus, foul-mouthed and over- 
 bearing ; with a very few words I will render him as gentle, as 
 a lamb. Give me one, who is covetous, avaricious, grasping ; 
 I will restore him to you made bountiful, disposing his money 
 liberally with his own hand. Give me one, who trembles at the 
 idea of pain and of death ; soon will he learn to despise crosses, 
 and flames, and the bull of Phalaris. Give me one, who is sen- 
 sual, adulterous, gluttonous ; soon will you see him made sober, 
 chaste, and abstinent. Isa. Iv. 13 ; 1 Cor. vi. 9 — 12. Lac- 
 tantius. (De falsa Sap. Lib. iii. c. 26.) 
 
 5 John Chrysostom ingeniously remarks that the animals, which 
 went out of Noah's ark, went out the same, as they came in. 
 The crow went out a crow ; the wolf, a wolf; the fox, a fox ; 
 the porcupine, all armed with its living arrows, was a porcu- 
 pine still. Just as the ark received the animals, so it retained 
 them. " But," the holy man proceeds to observe, "the Church 
 transforms the animals she receives into her bosom ; not by 
 any change in their substance, but by the extirpation of their 
 sin." . . . The magic wand of a Circe formerly metamorphised 
 men into brutes : but such is not the effect of the gracious 
 
S. MAEK V. 6. 99 
 
 food of the Divine Word. It rather changes the brutes into 
 true men : yea, more than this ; it changes them into Angels. 
 Isa. xi. 6 — 9 ; 1 Cor. vi. 9 — 11. Segneri. (Quaresimale. Pred. 
 iv. 8. 10.) 
 
 5 Cutting himself. — There is no enemy can hurt us, but by our 
 own hands. Satan could not hurt us, if our own corruption 
 betrayed us not : afflictions cannot hurt us, without our own 
 impatience; temptations cannot hurt us, without our own 
 yieldance : death could not hurt us, without the sting of our 
 own sins : sin could not hurt us, without our own impenitence. 
 How might I defy all things, if I could obtain not to be my 
 own enemy ! I love myself too much ; and yet, not enough. 
 O God, teach me to wish myself but so well, as Thou wish- 
 est me; and I am safe. (See S. Chrysostom and O. Fel- 
 tham. Illustr. S. Matt. iv. 6.) Bp. Hall, (Meditations and 
 Vows. 92.) 
 
 After all, nothing can work me mischief, except myself. The harm, 
 that I sustain, I carry about with me, and never am a real suf- 
 ferer, but by my own fault. Acts xvi. 28. (See Dr. Hammond. 
 Illustr. Rom. viii. 38, 39.) S. Bernard. 
 
 To allegorize whatever we do not understand, is a method, which, 
 as far as concerns the theory of our religion, will silence no 
 objector, and only deceive ourselves. As far as relates to its 
 spirit and practice, surely it is most unwise, by doubting the 
 personal reality of an enemy, 'whose effects at least (as at- 
 tributed in the same record, which describes himself) we feel 
 to be real, to cast away the only sword and shield, with which 
 we may prevail against him. 2 Cor. ii. 11. /. Miller. (Bampt. 
 Lectures, iii.) 
 
 The weakest enemy may, through our neglect of him, be made 
 strong. How shall we then hope with impunity to neglect 
 and disregard the strongest, the most malicious, the most subtle 
 of all our enemies ? "We know how he hates us ; we know his 
 very devices and weapons against us. We know, moreover, 
 and we possess the means of our deliverance. Whose fault 
 must it be, if the unclean Spirit drives us among the tombs^ in 
 the valley of darkness, and of death ? S. James iv. 7 ; Eph. 
 vi. 16 ; IS. Pet. V. 8—11. J. F. 
 
 n2 
 
100 S. MAEK V. 6, 7. 
 
 6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and wor- 
 shipped Him ; 
 
 7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What 
 have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the Most 
 High God ? I adjure Thee by God, that Thou torment 
 me not. 
 
 8 For He said unto him. Come out of the man, 
 thou unclean spirit. 
 
 9 And He asked him. What is thy name ? And he 
 answered, saying, My name is Legion : for we are 
 many. 
 
 6 He ran. — A proof of Cheist's power ; the devils, as we may 
 readily conceive, being of another mind. Ps. xxix. 6. Bengel. 
 
 Eemember thy latter end, and thou shalt not do amiss. . . . The 
 frequent calling of death to mind stops the current of sin ; 
 for if the wicked cannot endure to think of death, he, that 
 does think on it, cannot well go on to be wicked. . . . The 
 man, that lived among the tombs, though he had a Legion of 
 devils in him, yet, when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and wor- 
 shipped Him. The sight of graves and conversation with monu- 
 ments will make even demoniacs religious. (See at S, John xix. 
 41.) Ecclus. xli. 3 ; Job xvii. 14. Dr. Allestree. (Serm. on 1 
 Cor. XV. 57.) 
 
 7 Thou torment me not. — This doubtless adds to the eternal an- 
 guish of those proud spirits, that they should be hurled out of 
 heaven for one sin, and condemned to everlasting torments, 
 though they were the light, the^ beauty, and flower of the 
 creation ; that they should be so undervalued by GrOD, as not 
 to be worth the redeeming ; when yet vile man, the scum and 
 dregs of the earth, (Ps. cxiii. 6,) guilty of innumerable sins 
 against God, is again restored, not only to the same estate, 
 from whence he fell, but to the hopes and assurances of an in- 
 finitely better. S. Matt. viii. 11, 12; S. Luke xvi. 23; Heb. 
 ii. 16 ; S. Jude 6. Bp. Hopkins. (Serm, on Gal. iii. 13,) 
 
 Man's case was more to be pitied, than their's ; because man was 
 
S. MARK V. 9. 101 
 
 tempted by anotlier, had a tempter: the angels had none. 
 None tempted them ; none, but themselves. Et levius aliend 
 mente peccdsse, quhm propriety saith S. Augustine. The offence 
 is the less, if it grow from another, than if it breed in our- 
 selves ; and the less the offence, the more pardonable. Again, 
 of the angels, when some fell, other some stood ; and so they 
 all did not perish. But, in the first man, all men fell ; and so 
 every mother's child had died, and no flesh been saved ; and so 
 in and with Adam, all had come to naught. (Eom. v. 12 — 14.) 
 Then cometh the Psalmist's question, Nunquid in vanum, ^c. 
 " What ! hast Thou made all men for naught ?" (Ps. Ixxxix. 
 47.) That cannot be ; so great wisdom cannot do so great a 
 work in vain. But in vain it had been, if GtOD had not showed 
 mercy; and therefore was man's case, rather of the twain, 
 matter of commiseration. This is Leo. vii. 37 ; Deut. ix. 26 
 — 29. Bp. Andreives. (Serm. on Heb. ii. 16.) 
 
 9 Did you ever hear of any mutiny in the devil's army ? Or, that 
 any of those apostate spirits did freely yield up one soul to 
 Christ ? They are many ; and yet but one spirit of wicked- 
 ness among them all. ^^ My name (not our name), is Legion.''^ 
 The devil is called the Leviathan, (Isa. xxvii. 1,) from this cleav- 
 ing together, compact, or joined together, (Job xli. 15 — 17,) 
 whose strength lieth in his scales, which are so knit that he is, 
 as it were, covered with armour. Gurnall. (On the Christian's 
 Armour. Eph. vi. 12. Ch. iv. s. 1.) 
 
 If so many could meet in a single nest, what myriads must be in 
 the world ! Eph. ii. 2 ; 1 S. John v. 19 (eV rtp Trot/rjptf). Bengal. 
 
 Legion. — Every man may find in himself peccatum complicatumt 
 sin wrapped up in sin, "a body of sin." (Rom. vi. 6; vii. 8.) 
 We bring elements of our own ; earth, of covetousness ; water, 
 of unsteadfastness ; air, of putrefaction ; and fire, of licentious- 
 ness ; and of the elements we make " a body of sin." As the 
 Apostle says of the natural body, " there are many members, 
 but one body," (1 Cor. xii. 20,) so we may say of our sin, it 
 hath a wanton eye, a griping hand, an itching ear, an insatiable 
 heart, and feet swift to shed blood ; and yet, it is but " one 
 body" of sin. It is all; and yet it is but one. vii. 20 — 23 ; 
 Gral. V. 19 — 22. Br. Donne. (Serm. on Ps. xxxviii. 3.) 
 
102 S. MARK V. 9, 13. 
 
 Our enemies come upon us, like a torrent. How mucli does it 
 concern us to band our hearts together in a Communion of 
 Saints ! The number of our enemies adds to the praise of our 
 victory. To overcome single temptations is commendable ; but 
 to subdue troops of temptations is glorious. S. Matt. xii. 45 ; 
 Isa. Hx. 19 ; Phil. i. 27. Bp. Hall (Balm of ailead. P. iii. 
 S. 2.) 
 
 10 And he besought Him much that He would not 
 send them away out of the country. 
 
 1 1 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a 
 great herd of swine feeding. 
 
 12 And all the devils besought Him, saying, Send 
 us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 
 
 13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And 
 the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the 
 swine : and the herd ran violently down a steep place 
 into the sea, (they were about two thousand ;) and 
 were choked in the sea. 
 
 14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in 
 the city, and in the country. And they went out to 
 see what it was that was done. 
 
 15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was 
 possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, 
 and clothed, and in his right mind : and they were 
 afraid. 
 
 16 And they that saw it told them how it befel to 
 him that was possessed with the devil, and also con- 
 cerning the swine. 
 
 17 And they began to pray Him to depart out of 
 their coasts. 
 
 13 Gave them leave. — The devil, who from a prince in Heaven is 
 become a tyrant in hell, is continued in being, not for the evil, 
 
S. MAI^K V. 13, 15. 103 
 
 that lie is permitted, but for the good he is forced, to do. 1 Cor. 
 xi. 19 ; Eom. ix. 17. P. Skelton. (Serm. S. Matt. xxv. 46.) 
 
 The prophets in the Old Testament are frequently represented, 
 as instructing those, to whom they are sent, not in figurative 
 expressions only, but in the way of action, and by sensible signs, 
 (1 Kings xxii. 11 ; Jer. xix. 1, 11 ; Hos. xii. 10,) and this mode 
 of information has been shown by learned men to arise from 
 the very nature of language in its rude and imperfect state. . . 
 We find that sometimes even a miracle was wrought to furnish 
 a convenient sign .... as when Jesus permitted the unclean 
 spirit to enter into a herd of swine, which, therefore, ran 
 violently down a steep place, and perished in the waters ; an 
 exertion of His miraculous power, which among other purposes 
 might be intended to express, in the way of representation, the 
 tyranny of evil spirits, and their attendants, evil habits, over 
 sensual and voluptuous men, (of whom swine are the acknow- 
 ledged emblems,) and the consequent perdition, in which they 
 drown them. S. Luke v. 6 ; S. Mark xi. 14 ; S. John ii. 13 — 
 17. Bp. Hurd. (Serm. on S. John ii. 13—17.) 
 
 We may consider those miracles of our Blessed Loed, the de- 
 struction of the herd of swine, and the cursing of the barren 
 fig-tree, as acts of plenary power, exercised absolutely, but not 
 wantonly, by One, who felt all nature to be at His command, 
 and who knew what diversities of proof man needed, to his 
 full conviction, for his greatest and eternal good. Isa. xxviii. 
 21; Ps. xxv. 10; S. Mark xi. 21; Eom. ix. 17. J. Miller, 
 (Bampt. Lectures, 6.) 
 
 15 In his right mind. — The glory of our Eeligion lies in the 
 power it hath to soften, and to sanctify the spirit. S. James 
 iii. 17. Dr. Manton, 
 
 As much as liberty is more agreeable than slavery ; as much as 
 unity is better than division ; as much as peace, content, and 
 ease are more delightful than perpetual disturbance, discontent, 
 and pain ; so much the pleasure, which attends the love of 
 God, is greater than the pleasures of this world. Eom. vi. 
 21—23 ; viii. 5, 6. A Contrite Heart. (P. i. s. 3.) 
 
 The devil would seem to enter into the hearts of the G-adarenes, 
 as well as into the bodies of the swine. (S. John xiii. 27.) The 
 
104 S. MAEK V. 15, 17. 
 
 Gadarenes, moreover, now take the place of the demonaic, 
 only with this wretched aggravation of their misery ; that, 
 whereas he avoided the company of man, they shun and de- 
 precate the presence of the Loed. Oh, the accursed power of 
 covetousness, in making men mad ; so that even Divine love 
 itself cannot tame them, nor can Divine strength break their 
 chains I Job xxi. 14 ; S. Matt. xiii. 58 ; S. John iii. 18 — 22 ; 
 1 Tim. vi. 6—12. J. F. 
 What are the things of this world, that they should turn our 
 eyes aside from that awful Throne, from whence we are to be 
 carried, either to the eternal enjoyment of Gron, or sent away 
 to the endless torture of fire ? What are the pleasures and 
 honours of this life, when compared with the joys and glories 
 of Heaven ? What are the sufferings of the righteous here, 
 when set against the miseries of the damned hereafter ? What 
 is reason, if she cannot apprehend a difierence so immensely 
 wide ? And what is the will or heart of man, if, when his 
 reason rightly apprehends the difference, it cannot be brought 
 to submit itself to reason, and act accordingly ? Josh. xxiv. 
 14, 15 ; Eom. viii. 13 ; Heb. xi. 25, 26. P. Skelton. (Serm. 
 on Acts X. 40, 41.) 
 17 This is the odiousness of sin, that it is an abuse of an Infinite 
 Good. Bom. ii. 4. R, Baxter. (The Divine Life. P. i. ch. 9.) 
 
 O mersa limo caecitas Gentilium ! 
 
 O carnulenta nationum pectora ! 
 
 O spissus error ! O tenebrosum genus, 
 
 Terris amicum, deditum cadaveri, 
 
 Subjecta semper intuens, nunquam supra ! 
 
 Prudentius. (Peristephanon.) 
 
 18 And when He was come into the ship, he that 
 had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he 
 might be with Him. 
 
 19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto 
 him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great 
 things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had 
 compassion on thee. 
 
S. MAEK V. 18, 19. 105 
 
 20 And he departed, and began to publish in Deca- 
 poHs how great things Jesus had done for him : and 
 all men did marvel. 
 
 18 Prayed Him. — The degradation and depravity of man, his 
 moral impotence, the remedies of these corruptions, prayer^ the 
 love and imitation of GtOD — all these Christianity, and Chris- 
 tianity alone, has taught. Eom. yiii. 26. Pascal, (Thoughts. 
 Ch. 2.) 
 
 What a contrast does his desire to be with Cheist, and Cheist 
 wHIol him, offer to the stupid and swinish prayer of the 
 Gradarenes, that He should depart out of their coasts. Like 
 Mary, he chose "the good part." Here was proof indeed of 
 his restoration to a right mind. (Ps. cxi. 10 ; cvii. 43.) For 
 to be with Cheist is the sum and substance of Happiness, in 
 this life, in the intermediate state, and in Heavenly glory. 
 "While Cheist is with us, in this life, He " keeps us from evil," 
 (S. John xvii. 12,) and "gives us peace." (S. Matt. xi. 28.) 
 After death, "to be with Him in Paradise" is Paradise. (S. 
 Luke xxiii. 43.) In Heaven, we shall "ever be with the 
 LoED." (1 Thess. iv. 17, 18.) " Path ee, I will that they 
 also, whom Thou hast given Me, may be with Me, where I am, 
 that they may see My Grlory !" (S. John xvii. 24.) Who does 
 not desire and pray^ that he might be with Jesus ? Ps. Ixxiii. 
 21—25 ; Euth i. 16, 17 ; Acts iii. 11 ; Phil. i. 23. J. F. 
 
 It is a vain thing to think we can take any delight in being with 
 Christ hereafter, if we care not how little we are in His com- 
 pany here. xiv. 37 ; S. Matt. v. 8 ; S. Luke xxiv. 29. Adam. 
 (Private Thoughts. Ch. 15.) 
 
 19 Go home, Sfc. — The first act God requires of a convert is, " Be 
 fruitful." The good man's goodness lies not hidden in himself 
 alone ; he is still strengthening his weaker brother. How soon 
 would the world and Christianity fail, if there were not propa- 
 gation both of it and man ? Good works and good instructions 
 are the generative acts of the soul ; out of which spring new 
 prosperity to the Church and Gospel. S. Luke xxii. 32 ; S. 
 John i. 40, 41, 45 ; xv. 16 ; Eom. i. 11 ; S. James v. 19, 20. 
 O. Feltham. (Eesolves, cent. i. 24.) 
 
106 S. MARK V. 19. 
 
 Aug. IStli, 1765—1 had for many hours a strong, lightsome, and 
 overpowering sense of joy, without any preceding cause of 
 reading, thought, meditation, or action of any kind, to be the 
 ground of it : but found myself all on a sudden drawn to GrOD, 
 laid at the Eedeemer's feet in faith, admiration, and thankful- 
 ness, desiring to be led by the Spirit, and making professions 
 of love and obedience. I know such comforts are not to be 
 lived upon, nor proofs of a high state of spirituality. Sup- 
 posing them to be real influxes of the Spirit, they are to be 
 considered, as calls to greater sincerity, circumspection, and 
 faithfulness, if not forerunners of trials and sufferings. 1 Cor. 
 xii. 7.* Adam. (Private Thoughts. Ch. 1.) 
 Do you ever find, among all the persons, whom He miraculously 
 cured, a single one, whom He retained, to be afterwards near 
 Him, as His disciple, His attendant. His votary ? ... So true 
 it is, that our Loed, in His conduct here, resembled the sun ; 
 which imparting, as it does, light to the stars, does not exact 
 from them any remuneration, by making them follow in his 
 track, or add to his beams ; but rather, that they should forth- 
 with fly away, as soon as he appears. . . . Where now is 
 your worldly friend, who will behave himself towards you in 
 this fashion ? So far from it, no sooner has he done you any 
 service, however trifling, than he immediately lays a claim 
 upon you for your daily attendance upon him. He requires 
 you to be henceforth always at his elbow, and to be giving 
 him continually every possible proof of your gratitude, of your 
 devoted and even slavish attachment to his person, vii. 29 ; 
 X. 52 ; S. Matt. ix. 6 ; S. Luke xiv. 4 ; S. John viii. 50. 
 Segneri. (Quaresimale, Pred. ii. S. 5.) 
 Hath had compassion on thee. — And now, being made up of the 
 same mould and temper, having taken from man what makes 
 and constitutes man — being the same wax, as it were — why 
 may He not receive the same impressions of love and joy, 
 grief and fear, anger and compassion^ affectus sensualitatist even 
 those affections, which are seated in the sensitive part ? Be- 
 
 * The reader is referred to the 
 beautiful sermon of the Rev. J. H. 
 Newman, entitled "The Eehgious 
 
 use of excited feelings." Serm. ix. 
 vol. i. si sic omnia ! 
 
S. MAEK V. 21—23. 107 
 
 hold Him in the temple with a scourge in His hands ; and you 
 will say, He is angry. Go with Him to Lazarus his grave ; 
 and you will see His sorrow dropping from His eyes. Mark 
 His eye upon Jerusalem ; and you shall see the very bowels of 
 compassion. Ecce / tota hcec trinitas (i.e. rationale, indigna- 
 tivum, et concupiscentivum) in Domino ; saith Tertullian. (De 
 Anima, c. i.) Heb. ii. 16 — 18. Farindon. (Serm. on Heb. 
 ii. 17.) 
 
 21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship 
 unto the other side, much people gathered unto Him, 
 and He was nigh unto the sea. 
 
 22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of 
 the synagogue, Jairus by name ; and when he saw 
 Him, he fell at His feet, 
 
 23 And besought Him greatly, saying, My little 
 daughter lieth at the point of death : I pray Thee, 
 come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be 
 healed ; and she shall live. 
 
 24 And Jesus went with him ; and much people 
 followed Him, and thronged Him. 
 
 21 Passed over unto the other side. — Though Christ, despised by 
 the Gergesenes, did, in His justice, depart from them ; yet, as 
 the sea gains in one place what it loses in another. His abun- 
 dant mercy builds up more in Capernaum, than His justice 
 throws down amongst the Grergesenes. Because they drave 
 Him away, in judgment He went from them ; but in mercy 
 He went to others, who had not intreated Him to come. Isa. 
 Ixv. 1 ; Acts xiii. 46 ; Eom. xi. 19 — 29. Dr. Donne. (Serm. 
 on S. Matt. ix. 2.) 
 
 22 Jairus. — The insertion of proper names in the Grospel history 
 is a great proof of its veracity. Acts xxvi. 26. Bengel. 
 
 23 My little daughter^ ^c. — We do not regret the fall of the 
 sweet and delightful blossoms of our plants and trees, though 
 they soon drop off in such multitudes ; because the fruit, 
 
108 S. MARK V, 23. 
 
 which succeeds, is attended with more substantial enjoyment. 
 2 Sam. xii. 23 ; "Wisd. iv. 11 — 14. Bengel. (Letter on the 
 Death of his infant daughter.) 
 
 This descending to the grave is the lot of all men ; neither doth 
 GrOD respect the person of any man. (2 Sam. xiv. 14.) The 
 rich is not protected for favour, nor the poor for pity ; the old 
 man is not reverenced for his age, nor the infant regarded for 
 his tenderness. Youth and beauty, learning and prudence, wit 
 and strength, lie down equally in the dishonours of the grave. 
 . . . Let us not think to be excepted, or deferred. If beauty, 
 or wit, or youth, or nobleness, or wealth, or virtue, could have 
 been a defence and an excuse from the grave, we had not met 
 here to-day to mourn upon the hearse of an excellent Lady. 
 Isa. Ivii. 1, 2 ; Eom. v. 12—21 ; Heb. ix. 27. Bp. J. Taylor. 
 (A Funeral Sermon, preached at the Obsequies of the Countess 
 of Carbery.) 
 
 At the point of death. — O most dreadful point, which art the 
 end of time, and beginning of Eternity ! O most fearful 
 instant, which shuttest up the prefixed term of this life, and 
 determinest the business of Salvation ! How many things are 
 to pass in thee ! In the same instant life is finished, all our 
 works to be examined, and that sentence given, which is to be 
 executed to all eternity ; O last moment of life ! O first of 
 eternity ! How terrible is the thought of thee, since not only 
 life is to be lost in thee, but to be accounted for! . . . O 
 fearful moment, upon which so much depends ! Admirable is 
 the high Wisdom of God, which hath placed a point, in the 
 midst, betwixt time and eternity, unto which all the time of 
 this life is to relate, and upon which the whole eternity of the 
 other is to depend ! O moment, which art neither time, nor 
 eternity ; but art the horizon of both, and dividest things 
 temporal from eternal! . . . O moment, in which the just 
 shall forget all his labours, and shall rest assured of all his 
 virtues. O moment, which art certain to be ; uncertain, when 
 to be ; and most certain, never to be again ! I will, therefore, 
 now fix thee in my memory, that I may not hereafter meet 
 thee in my eternal ruin and perdition ! Bp. J. Taylor. (Con- 
 templations of the State of man, c. 8.) 
 
S. MAEK V. 25. 109 
 
 25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of 
 blood twelve years, 
 
 26 And had suffered many things of many physi- 
 cians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing 
 bettered, but rather grew w^orse, 
 
 27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press 
 behind, and touched His garment. 
 
 28 For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I 
 shall be whole. 
 
 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was 
 dried up ; and she felt in her body that she was healed 
 of that plague. 
 
 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself 
 that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about 
 in the press, and said, Who touched My clothes ? 
 
 31 And His disciples said unto Him, Thou seest 
 the multitude thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, Who 
 touched Me ? 
 
 32 And He looked round about to see her that had 
 done this thing. 
 
 33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing 
 what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, 
 and told Him all the truth. 
 
 34 And He said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath 
 made thee whole ; go in peace, and be whole of thy 
 plague. 
 
 25 This woman doth aptly represent the Jewish synagogue, 
 vexed a long time with many mischiefs and miseries, esj^ecially 
 tortured with unconscionable princes and unskilful priests, or 
 physicians of the soul, the Pharisees and Sadducees, on whom 
 she had wasted all her strength and goods, and yet she was 
 
110 S. MAEK V. 26, 28. 
 
 not a whit the better, but rather much worse; till the Blessed 
 LoED of Israel in His own Person came to " visit and redeem 
 her." Isa. i. 5, 6. Melancthon. (Postil. in loco.) 
 
 26 Twelve years — suffered many things. — Can God, wlio loves us, 
 take pleasure in our sufferings ? Could not He shew us a 
 way to be good, without afflicting us ? "We are to judge of 
 what is best, and what is necessary, by what He does, and by 
 what He requires. . . . Self-love wishes to be made perfect at 
 once ; but self-love is what GrOD will destroy, by a course of 
 irksome trials. Our disease is an excessive love of ourselves 
 and of the world. Gron orders, or permits, a train of events 
 to cure us of this love. The cure is painful ; but it is necessary. 
 "We suffer not from His cruelty, but from His love and care. 
 Gren. xxii. 1 ; Lam. iii. 33 ; Heb. xii. ; S. James i. 2 — 4. Bp. 
 Wilson. (Maxims.) 
 
 Nothing bettered, — The sciences produce no consolation in the 
 times of affliction : but the knowledge of Christianity is a com- 
 fort, both in adversity, and in the defect of all other knowledge. 
 Job xvi. 2 ; S. John vi. 68. Pascal. (Thoughts. Ch. 29.) 
 
 Rather worse. — The diseases of the body are better discovered, 
 when they increase ; but the diseases of the soul grow more 
 obscure, and the most sick are the least sensible. Judg. xvi. 
 20; Hos. vii. 9. Seneca. 
 
 Though indirectly, yet how repeatedly and forcibly are we re- 
 minded of our own spiritual helplessness, and of the vanity of 
 trusting in others ! The demoniac — none could bind him, none 
 could tame him. This Hsemorrhousa — none could cure her. 
 Man's treatment rather made her worse ; and so she came to 
 feel her need of a Divine Physician, the simple touch of whose 
 clothes could at once " make her whole.'''' ii. 17 ; Phil. iii. 7 — 
 12. J. F. 
 
 28 Let nothing keep you back from the throne of Grace. If you 
 doubt whether the work is yet begun in you, pray that it may 
 be begun. If you cannot go to God with a broken heart, go to 
 Him /or a broken heart. Gen. xxxii. 26 ; Job xv. 4. /. Thorn- 
 ton. (On Eepentance.) 
 
 If I may touchy S^c. — If 1 am afflicted, or sick, or weak, or in pain, 
 let mo not comfort myself chiefly with thinking, that it will 
 
S. MABK V. 29, 30. Ill 
 
 quickly be over, or that I shall soon be well ; but rather with 
 thinking and knowing, that it is the appointment of IHvine 
 wisdom, for reasons of infinite concernment to myself, and for 
 the end, which Gron has chiefly in view for His people in all 
 His inflictions ; namely, the glory of His Name in their spiritual 
 health and recovery. And a blessed support it will be to know 
 and feel, that I do not so much desire ease and deliverance 
 from present trouble, as grace and strength to undergo more 
 and greater, and even death itself, quietly, obediently, in the 
 spirit of faith, and with full acceptance of the will of Gron. 
 Ex. X. 17 ; Job X. 2 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 1 ; S. John xv. 2. Adam. 
 (Private Thoughts, ch. xi.) 
 
 29 For, as some " seeing see not, and hearing do not hear," so 
 also they, who touch, touch not, when they approach not the 
 Lord in simplicity of soul, but in doubt, or in duplicity. Bede. 
 
 Tangit Eum paucorum fides ; premit turba multorum. — Few are 
 they, who by faith touch Him ; multitudes are they, who thi'ong 
 about Him. Isa. i. 11. S. Augustine. (Serm. 62. c. 4.) 
 
 30 How true is the Apostle's word, when he calls Christ the 
 believer's "All things." That radical grace of faith, because 
 it apprehends Christ, hath a kind of universality ; and it is 
 reasonable too, it alone being to the soul what all the five 
 senses are to the body. It is the eye and the mouth : a won- 
 derful eye, it " sees Him, who is invisible :" the mouth, it 
 " tastes that the Lord is gracious." Yea, take those two both 
 together in one place, " O ! taste and see, that the Lord is 
 gracious." Ps. xxxiv. 8. It is the soul's ear; for what else is 
 meant, when it is said, " He, that hath ears to hear, let him 
 hear" ? And was it not that touch, which Christ took special 
 notice of, and with good reason distinguished it from the com- 
 mon touch of the multitude, that was crowding around Him ? 
 " Some one hath touched Me ; for there is virtue gone out of Me." 
 And, lastly, as it is in all those other senses, and Christ is 
 its object in reference to them all, so, in its smelling, it finds 
 the savour of His fragrant graces, and by that works love. 1 
 Cor. iii. 21 ; Heb. xi. 27 ; IS. Pet. ii. 3 ; 2 Cor. ii. 15 ; Ps. xlv. 
 8. Abp. Leighton. (Serm. on Cant. i. 3.) 
 
 The knowledge of Christ (Isa. liii. 11) is first fiducial (Verse 
 
112 S. MARK V. 33, 84. 
 
 28), and then, expemnental. The woman, in the Grospel, knew 
 what was done in her, when virtue had gone out of Chkist to 
 her. Then we know Cheist indeed, when we feel (Verse 29) 
 virtue coming from Him, and find that we have " fellowship 
 with Him ;" when whatsoever was in Him — done or suffered 
 by Him — is really proved, yea, and exemplified by something 
 in us, or done by us, as the fruit or stamp of something, that 
 was first in Him. Thus we " know the power of His Eesur- 
 rection" in point of justification (Rom. iv. 25) ; and, in point 
 of sanctification (Col. iii. 1) ; our dead hearts being raised up 
 to a life of G-race and to " seek those things which are above." 
 Eph. ii. 5, 6 ; Col. ii. 11, 12. Dr. Tuckney. (Serm. i. on Phil, 
 iii. 8.) 
 
 33 Tremhling. — As if she had stolen her recovery. Isid. Clarius. 
 Fell down before Him. — Afflictions are intended to humble us. 
 
 All is humility in that kingdom, wherein Gron dwells. Here, 
 in this fallen world, the meanest sinner lifts up himself against 
 Him ; but there the loftiest Archangels cast down their crowns, 
 and prostrate themselves before His footstool. Ex. x. 3 ; Job 
 xlii. 5, 6; Isa. ii. 10, 11, 17. Bradley. 
 
 GrOD loves to have His children come near to Him in a holy con- 
 fidence, that He is their Fatheb ; but yet to keep their dis- 
 tance by humble reverence. S. Matt. vi. 9 ; Heb. xii. 28, 29. 
 Chr. Love. 
 
 To tremble at the sight of thy sin makes thy faith the less apt 
 to tremble. "The devils believe, and tremble" because they 
 tremble at what they believe : their belief brings trembling ; 
 thy trembling brings belief. Mai. iv. 2. F. Quarles. (Enchir. 
 Cent. ii. 34.) 
 
 34 Thy faith hath made thee whole. — In this miracle you have 
 our Lord's commendation of /afM ; you see also that our Lord 
 would have His miracles made known for the good of others, 
 and yet He is so humble, as to conceal the part. He had in them ; 
 for, what He wrought by His own Divine power. He attributed 
 to her faith. Card. Bonaventura, (Life of Cheist, c. xxiv.) 
 
 What were all these repeated commendations, and illustrations of 
 faith, and exhortations to it, (verse 36,) but so many gradual 
 approaches to the grand Doctrine of our Justification, as that 
 
S. MAKE V. 34. 113 
 
 Doctrine was to be finally developed and fully stated by the 
 chosen Apostle, as in all his Epistles, so more especially at 
 Eom. iii. 20 — 31 ? The phrase " hath made thee whole," as fol- 
 lowed by " Be whole of thy plague," may point to the continued 
 effect of faith and justification, as witnessed in the sanctifica- 
 tion of the hearts and lives of GtOd's people. Something like 
 this may be gathered from the 43rd verse of this Ch., and from 
 i. 42. (Eom. viii. 30; Ps. li. 9, 10; ciii. 3.) J. F. 
 Go in peace. — Eenounce all kind of peace, till thou hast found 
 peace of conscience. Discard all joy, till thou feelest the joy 
 of the Holt G-host. Do this ; and there is no calamity so 
 great, but thou mayest undergo ; no burden so heavy, but thou 
 mayest easily bear it. Do this ; and thou shalt live in the 
 fear, die in the favour, and rise in the power, of Gron the Fa- 
 THEE ; and help to make up the heavenly concert, singing with 
 the saints and angels, " Hallelujah, Hallelujah ;" "all glory, 
 and honour, and praise, to the Lamb, and to Him, that sitteth 
 upon the throne for evermore!" Job xxii. 21 — 29; S. John 
 xiv. 27 ; Phil. iii. 7—11. J. Mede. (Works, Vol. I. p. 398.) 
 
 35 While He yet spake, there came from the ruler 
 of the synagogue's hoiise certain which said, Thy 
 daughter is dead ; why troublest thou the Master any 
 further ? 
 
 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was 
 spoken, He saith unto the ruler of the synagogue. Be 
 not afraid, only believe. 
 
 37 And He suffered no man to follow Him, save 
 Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. 
 
 38 And He cometh to the house of the ruler of the 
 synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept 
 and wailed greatly. 
 
 39 And when He was come in, He saith unto them, 
 Why make ye this ado, and weep ? the damsel is not 
 dead, but sleepeth. 
 
114 S. MAEK V. 36. 
 
 40 And they laughed Him to scorn. But when He 
 had put them all out, He taketh the father and the 
 mother of the damsel, and them that were with Him, 
 and entereth in where the damsel was lying. 
 
 41 And He took the damsel by the hand, and said 
 unto her, Talitha cumi ; which is, being interpreted, 
 Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. 
 
 42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked ; 
 for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were 
 astonished with a great astonishment. 
 
 43 And He charged them straitly that no man 
 should know it; and commanded that something 
 should be given her to eat. 
 
 36 Only believe. — It is a childish cavil, wherewith, in the matter 
 of Justification, our adversaries do so greatly please themselves, 
 exclaiming, that we tread all Christian virtues under our feet, 
 and require nothing in Christians, but faith, because we teach 
 that faith alone justifieth ; whereas we, by this speech, never 
 meant to exclude either hope, or charity, from being always 
 joined, as inseparable mates with faith, in the man, that is 
 justified ; or works from being added, as necessary duties, re- 
 quired at the hands of every justified man j but to show that 
 faith is the only hand, which putteth on Cheist unto justifica- 
 tion ; and Cheist the only garment, which, being so put on, 
 covereth the shame of our defiled natures, hideth the imperfec- 
 tion of our works, preserveth us blameless in the sight of GrOD, 
 before whom otherwise the very weakness of our faith were 
 cause sufficient to make us culpable, yea, to shut us out from 
 the Kingdom of Heaven, where nothing, that is not absolute, 
 can enter. Eom. i. 17 ; iii. 22, 25 ; iv. 5, 6, 13 ; G-al. v. 6 ; 
 Titus iii. 8. Hooker. (A Learned Discourse of Justification, 
 &c. S. 31.) 
 
 Faith is a gift supernatural, not only, because it is above that 
 corrupt nature, in which we were born, but also, because it is 
 above that pure nature, in which our first parents were created ; 
 
S. MARK Y. 37, 88. 115 
 
 for in the state of innocency they wanted this faith, neither had 
 they any need of faith in the same GrOD, as He is Messias : 
 but this faith is a new grace of God, added to regeneration 
 after the fall, and first prescribed and taught in the Covenant 
 of grace. G-al. iii. 5 — 14 ; Eph. ii. 8. Wm. Perkins. (Expos, 
 of the Creed.) 
 
 37 John the brother of James. — S. Mark wrote his Grospel not 
 long after our Lord's Ascension, at a time, when the remem- 
 brance of the martyrdom of S. James was fresh in men's minds, 
 so as to render S. James more generally known than S. John, 
 vi. 3 ; Acts xii. 2. Bengel. 
 
 Whatsoever is confirmed by the mouth of two or three witnesses, 
 it passeth for truth by the Law of GtOD and man ; and good 
 reason for it. Now the Old Testament was confirmed under 
 the name of the three Patriarchs ; " I am the God of Abraham, 
 the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'' In the New Tes- 
 tament, whether it were at the Transfiguration of Christ, 
 Peter, James, and John, three attendants, did bear Him com- 
 pany to Mount Tabor ; in the like manner, at the raising up of 
 Jairus' daughter, and in the Mount of Olives, when He sweat 
 and prayed, so many were with Him, as before, and the self- 
 same three disciples, all was confirmed, under the mouth of 
 three witnesses. S. Matt. iii. 16, 17 ; xxviii. 19 ; 1 S. John v. 
 7, 8. Bp. Racket. (Serm. on Prov. iii. 3.) 
 
 38 Them that wept and wailed greatly. — Death at hand should be 
 death in view. Let us consider our prospects from this house 
 of sorrow, as the inhabitants of a present and future world. 
 Many suj^pose that they can best contemplate the present 
 world by crowding the house of mirth : their whole conduct 
 however shews that it makes them too giddy for serious obser- 
 vation. But look at the deceased, and contemplate present 
 things ; his day, a hand-breadth ; his beauty, " consumed like 
 a moth-eaten garment;" his cares and pleasures, "a dream;" 
 his years, "a tale;" his strength, "labour and sorrow." So 
 soon is the whole cut off and fled, that we cannot help repeat- 
 ing with the Psalmist the 39th and 90th Psalms, and with the 
 Apostle S. James ; "What is your life, &c." iv. 14 ; Eccl. ii. 
 4 ; xii. 1— -9. R. Cecil. (Visit to a house of Mourning.) 
 
 i2 
 
116 S. MAEZ V. 38—40. 
 
 Though death sets all men free, it pleases but few. Yet this 
 arises from no fault in death, but from our own weakness, who 
 are enthralled by the pleasures of the body and the charms of 
 this life, and who shrink from the thought of finishing our 
 earthly course, abounding, as it does, with grief, rather than 
 joy. Job ii. 4; Heb.ii. 14, 15 ; 1 Cor. xv. 55 — 57. S. Ambrose. 
 
 39 When He was come in, — Christ co7nes in, by His preventing 
 grace ; He lays on His hand, by His accompanying grace : and 
 then the soul lives, through His grace co-operating. Lu- 
 dolphus. (Vita Christi, in loco.) 
 
 " She is not dead ;" for all the dead " live unto GrOD." The damsel, 
 too, by reason of her approaching resuscitation, was to be num- 
 bered among those, who sleep, xii. 27 ; S. John xi. 11. Bengel. 
 
 40 It is here to be observed, that, whereas public offences de- 
 mand a remedy to be applied to them publicly, smaller ones 
 may be removed by a less severe repentance, done more se- 
 cretly. The damsel lying in the house, rises in the presence of 
 few witnesses, to whom it is earnestly given in charge not to 
 divulge it. (S. Luke viii. 56.) The young man, carried beyond 
 the gate, is raised in the presence of a large company of per- 
 sons looking on. (S. Luke vii. 12.) Lazarus called out of his 
 grave, appeared to such vast multitudes, that on account of the 
 report of those, who had seen him, many went to meet the 
 Lord with palms in their hands, and, because of Lazarus, be- 
 lieved on Him. Acts x. 40, 41. Bede. 
 
 Quasi moriens, et Ecce vivo ! — Some show of death I shall have 
 (Eev. i. 18 ;) still, the Lord of Life will keep me alive, and that 
 with an Ecce, " Behold, I live ;" that is. He will declare, and 
 manifest my blessed state to me ... I shall not sit in the 
 shadow of death. ... If I be dead within doors (if I have 
 sinned in my heart) why, suscitavit in domo, Christ gave a re- 
 surrection to the ruler's daughter within doors, in the house ; if 
 I be dead in the gate (if I have sinned in the gates of my soul) 
 in mine eyes, or ears, or hands, in actual sins, why, suscitavit in 
 porta, Christ gave a resurrection to the young man at the 
 gate of Nain, (S. Luke vii. 11 ;) if I be dead in the grave (in 
 customary and habitual sins), why, suscitavit in sepulchro, 
 Christ gave a resurrection to Lazarus in the grave too. (S. 
 
S. MAEK V. 40. 117 
 
 John xi.) Ps. ciii. 3 ; Isa. i. 18. Dr. Donne. (Serin, on Ps. 
 Ixxxix. 48.) 
 These three examples (1 Kings xvii. 22 ; 2 Kings iv. 35 ; xiii. 21) 
 were so many confirmations, under the^ Law, of a resurrection 
 to life after death ; and we have three to equal them, under 
 the Gospel. (S. Luke vii. ; S. John xi.) . . . But the three 
 former, and these also, came far short of the Eesurrection of 
 Him, who raised these. Bp. Pearson. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 They laughed — Non est major confusio, quam serii et joci. There 
 is no greater confusion, than the intermixing of jest with 
 earnest. The Majesty of E/eligion, and the contempt and de- 
 formity of things ridiculous, are things as distant, as things 
 may be. Two principal causes have I ever known of atheism ; 
 curious controversies, and profane scoffing, xv. 29 ; Acts xvii. 
 18. Lord Bacon. (Church Controversies.) 
 He put them all out. — If the want of holiness excluded the mass 
 of the Jewish people from that sight of GrOD, in the Person of 
 our Lord, which was granted to the Apostles and other be- 
 lievers here on earth, and from the benefits, which that sight 
 might have conveyed to them — the testimony of their own 
 senses to the truth of our Loed's pretensions, and the cer- 
 tainty therein arising of the salvation of the faithful — much 
 more shall the want of holiness finally exclude from the sight 
 of GrOD in heaven, and from that fulness of joy, which shall be 
 the portion of those, who shall be admitted to His presence. 
 S. Luke viii. 53, 54. (See S. John xxi. 1. Dean Lowe.) Bp. 
 Horsley. (Serm. on Acts x. 40, 41.) 
 Enter eth in, ^c. — 
 
 Die, ubi nunc tristis victoria ? Die, ubi nunc sit, 
 Mors, stimulus horrenda tuus, quae semper opimis 
 Instaurata malis cunctas invadere gentes 
 Poenali ditione soles ? En ! pessima, non tu 
 Pervenis ad Christum, sed Ckristus pervenit ad te ; 
 Cui licuit sine morte mori, quique omnia gignens 
 Omnia constituens te non formavit, ut esses : 
 Semine viper eo, culpa genitrice, crearis, 
 Et venia regnante peris. 
 
 Sedulius. (Carm. lib. v.) 
 
118 S. MARK y. 41, 43. 
 
 41 Dr. Lightfoot tells us, that it was customary with the Jews, 
 when they give physic to one, that was sick, to say, " Arise 
 from thy disease ;" meaning, " We wish that thou mayest arise." 
 In adopting this common form of speech, our Loed shews His 
 humility and condescension— how far He was from all osten- 
 tatious display, even in His miracles ; how little He courted 
 admiration by any needless singularities. At the parallel pas- 
 sage in S. Matthew, His veracity has been noticed, as it may be 
 inferred from His remarkable declaration, that the damsel was 
 "not dead, but asleep." An impostor would not have made 
 this declaration. (See Ulustr. of S. Matt. ix. 24. Segneri.) 
 J.F. 
 
 43 He not only raises her up, but also commands to give her 
 meat, that the event might not seem to be an illusion ; and He 
 doth not give it Himself, but commands them ; as also, with 
 regard to Lazarus, He said, "Loose him, and let him go," and 
 afterwards makes him partaker of His table. (S. John xi. 44 ; 
 xii. 2.) Eor so is He wont always to establish both points ; 
 making out with all completeness the demonstration alike of 
 the death and of the Eesurrection. S. Luke xxiv. 38 — 43 ; 
 S. John ii. 7, 8. S. Chtysostom. (Hom. xxxi. in S. Matt.) 
 
 Por as in Baptism God regenerates, and grafts us into the Body 
 of His Church, and makes us His children by adoption, so we 
 have described Him, as performing the part of a watchful 
 Father of a family, in that He promptly supplies food to us, 
 whereby He may support and preserve us in that state of Life, 
 unto which He hatb begotten us by His "Word. Ps. cxvii. 2 ; 
 Eom. viii. 30 ; S. Jude 1. Calvin, (in loco.) 
 
 Faith itself and the new Birth conduct us to eternal life, not 
 merely, as once received, but as preserved. S. Luke xxii. 32 ; 
 Acts xiii. 43 ; Heb. iii. 14. J. Milner. 
 
S. MARK VI. 1, 2. 119 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A ND He went out from thence, and came into His 
 own country, and His disciples follow Him. 
 
 2 And when the Sabbath day was come, He began 
 to teach in the synagogue : and many hearing Him 
 were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man 
 these things ? and what wisdom is this which is given 
 unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought 
 by His hands ? 
 
 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the 
 brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon ? 
 and are not His sisters here with us ? And they were 
 offended at Him. 
 
 4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not with- 
 out honour, but in his own country, and among his 
 own kin, and in his own house. 
 
 5 And He could there do no mighty work, save 
 that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and 
 healed them. 
 
 6 And He marvelled because of their unbelief. And 
 He went round about the villages, teaching. 
 
 1 Came into His own country. — How can He be said to go out 
 and to come in, whom no space can comprehend ? What coun- 
 try can be His, who made, and who possesses, the whole Uni- 
 verse ? But, in truth, Christ goes out and comes in, not of 
 Himself, nor for Himself, but in thee, and for thee ; until He 
 have recovered thee from thy banishment, and called thee home 
 from thy captivity. Gren. iii. 8 ; Ps. xxiv. 1 ; S. Matt. ix. 13 ; 
 xviii. 11 ; S. Luke xv. 4. Pet. Chrysoloffus. (Serm. 49.) 
 
 2 From whence hath this man, SfC. — In the Scriptures there are 
 
120 S. MAEK VI. 3. 
 
 two entire senses ; a literal and a mystical. The Jews, resting 
 in the former, never so much as think, that there is another, 
 nor apply themselves to search after it. In the same manner 
 wicked and impious persons, beholding the variety of natural 
 effects, referred them to nature only, without confessing the 
 Author of both. So likewise the Jews, observing only the 
 human nature of Cheist, did not seek for another. "We 
 thought not, that it was He," says Isaiah in their name. S. 
 Matt. xi. U ; 2 Cor. iii. 14. Pascal (Thoughts, &c. S. 28.) 
 
 3 This contempt of His personage, condition, doctrine, and works, 
 was by degrees raised to hatred, detestation, and persecution 
 to a cruel and ignominious death. All which, if we look upon 
 in the gross, we must acknowledge it fulfilled in Him to the 
 highest degree imaginable, that He was " a man of sorrows, and 
 acquainted with grief." Isa. liii. 1 — 4. J5j). Pearson. (Expos, 
 of the Creed.) 
 
 Heretofore, there was required splendour of parentage to re- 
 commend any one to the Priesthood, as Josephus witnesses in 
 a treatise, which he wrote, of his own life ; when he says, " To 
 have right to deal in things Sacred was amongst them ac- 
 counted an argument of a noble and illustrious descent." 
 God would not accept the offals of other professions. Doubt- 
 less, many rejected Cheist upon this thought, that He was 
 the carpenter's son, who would have embraced Him, had they 
 known Him to have been the Son of David. 1 Sam. ii. 36. Dr. 
 South. (Serm. on 1 Kings xiii. 33, 34.) 
 
 jEsrs passed for the son of a carpenter, and appeared to be of no 
 outward comeliness, as the prophets predicted of Him. He 
 passed Himself for a carpenter, making ploughs and yokes, 
 and instructing us by these symbols of righteousness to 
 avoid an inactive life. S. Justin. M. (Dial. Tryph. Ed. Jebb. 
 p. 270.) 
 
 Whereas this is cast, as a curse, on our first parents and their 
 seed, that, " in the sweat of their brows they should eat their 
 bread," (Gen. iii. 49,) our Sayioue must undergo this curse 
 too ; He must work hard for His living. With His own hands 
 must He get a living for Himself and His poor mother, by a 
 laborious trade. Abp. Usher. (Serm. on Phil. ii. 8.) 
 
S. MAEK VI. 3—5. 121 
 
 Anna solet dici tres concepisse Marias ; 
 
 Quas genuere yiri JoacMm, Cleoplias, Salomasque ; 
 
 Has duxere viri Joseph, Alphaeus, Zebedaeus : 
 
 Prima parit Cliristum ; Jacobumque secunda minorem, 
 
 Atque Joseph peperit justum, et cum Simone Judam ; 
 
 Tertia majorem Jacobum, volucremque* Joannem. 
 
 S. John vi. 42 ; xix. 25. (Quidam poeta citatus 
 a Lorino, in loco.) 
 Calvin here reminds us that proverbs are to be understood with 
 considerable latitude, as describing only what is generally the 
 case. For instance, the universal honour, in which the Baptist 
 was held in his own country, and the great success, which at- 
 tended his Ministry, shews that this rule must admit of excep- 
 tions. Nowhere, however, was it more generally veriiGled, than 
 in Judaea. The rejection of her prophets was one of those chief 
 national sins, by which Israel " treasured up against herself 
 wrath against the Day of wrath." (Conf. xii. 1 — 9 ; S. Matt, 
 xxiii. 34, 35 ; Acts vii. 52, 53.) In the case of our Blessed 
 LoED and His Apostles, it served to justify one of the most 
 important dispensations of the Gospel, that of the calling of 
 the G-entiles into the Church. (S. Matt. xxi. 43 ; Acts xiii. 45 
 — 49.) The fact itself of our least honouring those, whom we 
 have had the longest time and the best means to know and ap- 
 preciate, arises from the blind, which our bad passions place 
 on our better judgment. Nearness of kin is apt to induce 
 comparisons, such as our pride and self-love would not have to 
 be unfavourable to ourselves ; hence envy, if not malice. The 
 best way to overcome that " spirit, that dwelleth in us, lusting 
 to envy," is to "know no man, after the flesh," but to learn to 
 honour all, for the Lord's sake, and to love all, as brethren in 
 Cheist Jestjs. This is to " receive a prophet in the name of 
 a prophet," (S. Matt. x. 41,) whether he be a stranger, or of 
 our own country, and among our own kin, and in our own 
 house. 1 Sam. xvii. 28 ; IS. John iii. 1, 2. J. F. 
 But haply ye will say, the greater their unbelief was, the more 
 need they had of His mighty works to make them believe ; and 
 what work can we imagine so mighty, that Cheist, who was truly 
 
 * The eagle. 
 
122 S. MARK VI. 5. 
 
 G-OD could not really effect, so He were willing ? And willing, it 
 seemeth, He was to have made His countrymen, and neighbours 
 of Nazareth, true believers. He read His Commission and Char- 
 ter of Foundation for establishing the Kingdom of Heaven here 
 on earth in their audience. (S. Luke iv. 16 — 19.) . . . But ye 
 must again consider that many things which are very possible 
 and very easy in respect of His power are altogether impos- 
 sible to be done, because they imply a contradiction or con- 
 trariety to the Eternal Eule or Law of His Groodness, Justice, 
 or Majesty. Now it is an express branch of His eternal Law 
 or equity not to "cast pearls before swine;" not to save such 
 men by miracles, or mighty hand, as contemn and spurn at 
 the ordinary means of Salvation or despise the riches of His 
 bounty. Dean Jackson. (On the Creed. B. vii. P. ii. S. 88.) 
 
 "Want of faith weakens GrOD : pardon the word. GrOD is Omni- 
 potent ; there is no weakness in Him : but want of faith doth 
 ponere obicem, is a bolt and bar against GtOd's grace. S. 
 Matthew saith only, Christ " did not ;" but S. Mark saith, 
 Christ could not do many works, for the people's unbelief. 
 The non posse is from man's incredulity, not from Gron's imbe- 
 cility. The father of the demoniac said to Christ, " If Thou 
 canst c?o" ; but Christ answered him, " If thou canst be- 
 lieve.''^ It is faith, that enables; but whom? not God to give 
 grace, but man to receive grace. Omnia credenti possibilia, 
 Christ's self said, " All things are possible," but " to him, that 
 believeth." . . . God's love is the fountain ; grace doth flow 
 from it ; but man's faith is the conduit ; it must run through 
 it. It is " grace that brings salvation :" faith must lay hold on 
 grace. Christ hath four times said, " Thy faith hath saved 
 thee." Christ meant but of the body; but it is true, more 
 true, of the soul. v. 36 ; Isa. vii. 9 ; S, Matt, xxiii. 37 ; Acts 
 xiv. 9 ; Titus ii. 11 ; Ephes. ii. 8. Dr. Richard Gierke. (Serm. 
 on the last Question in the Church Catechism.) 
 
 Save that He laid, ^c. — Our Lord's wondrous Miracles are re- 
 corded with an ease and noble simplicity of style, such as 
 beautifully harmonizes with the unpretending manner, in 
 which those Miracles were performed. The Miracles are Di- 
 vine; the Book, in which they are written, i-s Divine; both 
 
S. MARK VI. 5, 6. 123 
 
 bear witness to the same Heavenly origin ; both " declare the 
 glory of GrOD, and show forth His handywork." This remark, 
 moreover, applies to the Old Testament. What more stu- 
 pendous than the starry firmament ? Yet what more concise, 
 brief, and superhumanly simple, than the record ; " He made 
 the stars also ?" Gren. i. 3 — 16 ; Ps. xxxiii. 6, 9. J. F. 
 
 The Old Testament afibrds us the same historical evidence of the 
 miracles of Moses and of the prophets, as of the common civil 
 history of Moses and the kings of Israel, or, as of the affairs of 
 the Jewish nation. And the Gospel and the Acts afford us 
 the same historical evidence of the miracles of Christ, and 
 His Apostles, as of the common matters, related in them. 
 The facts, both natural and miraculous in Scripture, are 
 related in plain unadorned narratives ; and both of them 
 appear, in all respects, to stand upon the same footing of 
 historical evidence. Bp. Butler. (Analogy, p. ii. c. 7.) 
 
 6 These verses contain two remarkable instances in a short 
 space of the manner, in which the feelings and circumstances 
 of men are ascribed to God in the Scriptures. (Conf. iii. 5.) 
 It is said of Him, who is Almighty, that He " could do there 
 no mighty work ;" it is said of Him, to whom all things were 
 known, that He marvelled, because of their unbelief. Dr. Arnold. 
 (Serm. on S. Mark v. 6.) 
 
 So far is the power of these unhappy men to paralyse the out- 
 stretched arm of our Sayiotjr by their unbelief, from furnishing 
 any misgivings, that in a Dispensation, in which faith is the 
 condition of salvation, there would have been reason for mis- 
 giving, had it been otherwise. If we had seen the Sayioue of 
 the world dispensing His mercies without requiring the fulfil- 
 ment of the condition, there would have been a temptation to 
 think, that Christ was removing the consequences of sin 
 without removing the sin itself; that the punishment of sin, 
 and not sin itself, was the curse, from which we needed deli- 
 verance ; that death could be destroyed, while sin continued 
 to reign. Whereas, a juster view of His work exhibits Him 
 struggling throughout His life with the evil. He came on 
 earth to remedy ; tracking it through all the ramifications of 
 its influence; pursuing it to its most remotest results, tern- 
 
 1 
 
124 S. MAEK VI. 7. 
 
 poral, as well as spiritual ; day by day, hour by hour, for us 
 men and for our salvation, living the agony of Gethsemane, 
 and dying the death of Calvary. S. Matt. i. 21 ; S. John v. 
 14 ; 1 S. John iii. 8 ; Eom. vi. 6. Dr. Robert Scott. (Serm. 
 on text.) 
 
 7 And He called unto Him the twelve, and began 
 to send them forth by two and two : and gave them 
 power over unclean spmts ; 
 
 8 And commanded them that they should take no- 
 thing for their journey, save a staff only : no scrip, no 
 bread, no money in their purse : 
 
 9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two 
 coats. 
 
 10 And He said unto them, In what place soever ye 
 enter into an house, there ^abide till ye depart from 
 that place. 
 
 11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear 
 you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under 
 your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say 
 unto you. It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and 
 Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. 
 
 12 And they went out, and preached that men 
 should repent. 
 
 13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed 
 with oil many that were sick, and healed them. 
 
 7 Mark, I pray thee, how well timed was the Mission. For not 
 at the beginning did He send them ; but, when they had 
 enjoyed sufficiently the advantage of following Him, and had 
 seen a dead person raised, and the sea rebuked, and devils 
 expelled, and a paralytic new-strung, and sins remitted, and <a 
 leper cleaused, and had received a sufficient proof of His 
 power, both by deeds and words, then He sends them forth ; 
 and not to dangerous acts, for, as yet, there was no danger in 
 
S. MAEK VI. 7. 125 
 
 Palestine, but they had only to stand against evil speakings. 
 However, even of this He forewarns them ; I mean, of their 
 perils ; preparing them even before the time, and making them 
 feel, as in conflict, by His continual predictions of that sort* 
 ii. 21, 22. S. Chrysostom, (Horn, xxxii. in S. Matt.) 
 By two and two. — He sent them to preach by couples, and 
 peradventure so coupled, as S. Matthew named them. (x. 2, 
 3.) The same order He took with the seventy also, (S. Luke 
 X. 1 ;) that, if the whole seventy, or the whole twelve, could 
 not alway go together, yet, at least, there might be two of 
 either, that should, for unity, represent the whole body of the 
 rest. But what was the reason, why they were thus coupled ? 
 Some will pick a mystery out of it, and say ; they were sent 
 by twos, first, to be able to justify the Grospel, they were to 
 preach ; for it is written in the Law, that " the testimony of 
 two is true :" next, to signify, they were to preach unto two 
 (the Jew and the G-entile) ; out of two (the Law and the 
 Gospel) ; the love of two (God and our neighbour) ; con- 
 tained in two, the first and second table ; by two works 
 (doctrine and good life) ; to save two (the body and soul) ; 
 and so, lastly, to join the great two . (heaven and earth, God 
 and man) together. But, certainly, the chief cause of sending 
 them, then, in couples and societies, is best rendered by Lu- 
 dolphus, (Vita Christi, p. 1. c. 58,) which is the main cause 
 of all good societies; viz., that they might have the mutual 
 help and comfort of one another's fellowship, in this resisting 
 
 . and rebellious world ; because they were yet like us, poor 
 weak men, not filled with the " mighty rushing of the Holy 
 Ghost," which after came on them (Acts ii. 2) and enabled 
 them to go, (sive binos, sive solos, in pairs, or singly) as the 
 Spirit should best direct them. xi. 1 ; Eccl. iv. 9 ; Acts viii. 
 5, 26, 40 ; 2 Tim. iv. 10. Wm. Austin. (Medit. for the Day 
 of S. Bartholomew.) 
 
 I cannot be angry at my kinsmen, or hate them. "We were 
 formed by nature for mutual assistance, as the two feet, the 
 hands, the eyelids, the upper and lower rows of teeth. Oppo- 
 sition to each other is contrary to nature. All anger and 
 aversion is an opposition. M. Antonimis. (Medit. B. ii. 1.) 
 
126 S. MAEK VI. 7—10. 
 
 Gave them power, ^c. — If Jestjs had not been perfectly sure, that 
 He could communicate such power in the free and ample 
 manner, in which His disciples were commanded to use it, He 
 must have been lost to common sense and all His own designs, 
 to send them on such an errand ; for in case they should fail 
 in their attempts to "heal the sick," or "raise the dead," the 
 whole world must have treated them, as villains, or madmen ; 
 nor could they help bestowing the same appellations on their 
 Master ; which must have been attended with the immediate 
 disappointment of all His schemes. Surely no impostor in 
 the world ever acted a part, such as this ; nor is it in the wit 
 of man to contrive a more certain method of ruining his own 
 credit, and proving himself a cheat to all mankind. S. John 
 ii. 18, 19. P. Skelton. (Serm. on S. Mark xiv. 43, 45.) 
 
 8 In another Gospel (S. Matt. x. 10) He enjoined them to take 
 neither shoes, nor staff. The reconciliation is easy. They 
 might have a staff, to speak them travellers, not soldiers ; one 
 to walk with, not to war with ; a staff, which was a wand, not 
 a weapon. S. Matt. v. 39 ; 1 Tim. iii. 3. T. Fuller. 
 
 Let us always, from a feeling of sacred respect, maintain what 
 Justin Martyr declared, when he expressed himself perfectly 
 convinced, that no one Scripture could contradict another. 
 For such a thing, he said, he dared not assert, nor even 
 imagine. But, if some texts should appear contradictory, he 
 would rather confess his own ignorance of their meaning ; and 
 he would strive hard to bring objectors to this view of the 
 matter. Kom. iii. 4; Eph. iv. 5, 6. Camerarius. (in loco.) 
 
 10 Ye enter into a house. — Families may be considered, as lesser 
 Churches, of which the National one is the aggregate; and 
 the introducing religion into the parts seems the most effec- 
 tual way of making it flourish in the whole. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 There abide. — The Clergy must not hope long to enjoy that 
 credit and reverence (due to their Order), which is founded 
 upon the gravity, abstinence, sobriety, and reservation of their 
 persons, if they license themselves a secular freedom. I have 
 observed a numerous Clergy in the Boman, and not a few in 
 our own Church, though of no greater parts or virtues than 
 others, to have secured to themselves a great share of venera- 
 
S. MAKK VI. 11, 13. 127 
 
 tion, chiefly on account of a cautious retreat from the usages 
 and liberties of the many. Numb. xvi. 9, 10 ; S. John iv. 27 ; 
 1 Tim. iv. 12 ; Titus ii. 15. Bean Hickes. (A modest Plea 
 for the Clergy. Ch. xi.) 
 
 11 It is a dictate of natural reason to testify our reverence to 
 the Deity and our affection to religion, by honouring those, 
 who are the chief Ministers of it. It is an argument of a very 
 profane temper to contemn those, that are owned of God, as 
 His domestics and immediate attendants, as His agents and 
 ambassadors ; because " he that despiseth them, despiseth 
 Him, that sent them ;" and the afiront, put upon them, will 
 be interpreted, as done to Him, from whom they derive their 
 commission. Acts xiv. 13 ; xxviii. 10 ; ix. 4. Nelson. (Com- 
 panion for the Fasts and Festivals, ch. 8.) 
 
 The Person of God is far exalted above the attempts of angels, as 
 well as men ; and to invade His Person, is a thought too foolish 
 for a man, much more for an angel of heaven. There is no 
 other way of rebelling against God, but by opposing His In- 
 stitutions. Numb. xvi. 3, 14 ; 3 S. John 9. Leslie. 
 
 13 Anointed with oil. — They did not carry oil about with them, 
 (verse 8,) but used it, as they found it at the sick man's 
 house : hence the miracle was more evident. Bengel. 
 
 14 And king Herod heard of Him ; (for His name 
 was spread abroad :) and he said, That John the Bap- 
 tist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty 
 works do shew forth themselves in him. 
 
 15 Others said, That it is EHas. And others said, 
 That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 
 
 16 But when Herod heard thereof ^ he said. It is 
 John, whom I beheaded : he is risen from the dead. 
 
 17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold 
 upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' 
 sake, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married 
 her. 
 
128 S. MARK VI. 14, 16. 
 
 18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful 
 for thee to have thy brother's wife. 
 
 19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, 
 and would have killed him, but she could not : 
 
 20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a 
 just man and an holy, and observed him ; and when 
 he heard him, he did many things, and heard him 
 gladly. 
 
 14 For His name was spread abroad. — Heavenly tidings tardily 
 
 reach kings' palaces. 1 Cor. ii. 6— 8 ; Acts xxi. 38. Bengel. 
 Therefore mighty works, ^c. — This well expressed the prevailing 
 notion of the power of a Eesurrection ; for the saints will be 
 endued with far greater might, when risen, than they had, when 
 they were burdened with the weakness of the flesh. Bom. i. 
 3, 4 ; viii. 21—23. Bede. 
 16 Observe the mighty power of conscience, how it speaks aloud, 
 how it has the mastery in the sinner's heart. It rules over 
 kings and princes ; it makes a Sadducee (xii. 18) believe in a 
 Resurrection ; it hearkens not to the voice of friends and cour- 
 tiers, who say. This is EliaSj or this is that prophet ; it silences 
 every note of peace and comfort ; it fixes this on the wretched 
 man's innermost soul — " It is John, whom I beheaded : he is 
 risen, eyenfrom the dead, to confront me, and to pronounce my 
 doom." "Such a conscience," writes Elavel, "is the devil's 
 anvil, on which he fabricates all those swords and spears, on 
 which the guilty sinner pierces and wounds himself." Gen. iv. 
 14 ; Job XV. 20—25 ; 1 Sam. xxviii. 14 ; 1 Kings xxi. 20. J. F. 
 
 Begem non faciunt opes. 
 
 Rex est, qui posuit metus 
 
 Et diri mala pectoris. 
 
 Mens regnum bona possidet, 
 
 Bex est, qui metuit nihil ; 
 
 Bex est, quique cupit nihil. 
 
 Seneca. 
 Thy sin wiU sue thee every day, pursue thee every where, inter- 
 rupt all thy business, disturb all thy delights. Even when 
 
S. MARE VI. 16, 17. 129 
 
 thou sittest feasting with thy friends, thou shalt see, or seem 
 to see, the fingers of a hand on the wall before thee, writing 
 the sentence of thy sin. Etiam, saith Seneca, in solitudine ; be 
 the sinner, where he will, he carries his controller with him. 
 Peccatrici conscientice nullus locus tectus. (S. Ambrose ; Serm. 46.) 
 He is uTOTTo^, so Philo calls a wicked man ; he hath no place of 
 rest ; but, like Cain, shifts from place to place, but finds no 
 ease any where. The light he loathes ; he thinks his sins in it, 
 not before him only, but others too. Every eye looks at him ; 
 every mouth speaks of him. The darkness he endures not ; 
 that infests him more. Ipsas nequitia tenebras timet ; darkness 
 is a horror to a sinner. Is he to go forth ? — " a lion is with- 
 out." (Prov. xxii. 18.) Is he to come home ? — " sin lieth at 
 the door." (G-en. iv. 7.) Especially the man of blood, at bed 
 and board, and every where, seems to see his sin. In sleep, he 
 sees his ghost, whom he murdered ; and at meat, a fish's head* 
 shews him his countenance. If Herod heard of Cheist, he 
 will cry certainly " It is John the Baptist, whom I beheaded,*^ 
 (Eefer to Notes at i. 24.) Glen. xHv. 16; Isa. xxxiii. 14 — 16. 
 Dr. Richard Gierke. (Serm. Ps. li. 3.) 
 
 The only remedy against fear is the result of virtuous actions ; 
 for those, who do no evil, fear none. Prov. i. 33 ; 1 S. Pet. iii. 
 10—13. Palmer. (Aphorisms. 992.) 
 
 17 Away with the name of a prison ! Let us call it a retirement. 
 Though the body be shut up, though the flesh be confined, all 
 is open to the spirit. Walk to and fro, thou spirit, not setting 
 before thee shady walks, or long cloisters, but that way, which 
 leadeth unto GtOd. As often, as thou shalt walk therein in the 
 spirit, so oft shalt thou not be in prison. The leg sufiereth 
 nothing in the stocks, while the mind is in heaven. The mind 
 carrieth about with it the whole man, and removeth him whither 
 he listeth. xvi. 17, 18; Dan. iii. 25; vi. 23; Gen. xxxix. 21 ; 
 Acts xvi. 25 ; Kev. i. 9, 10. Tertullian. (Ad Martyr, c. ii.) 
 
 * If this curious idea is to be taken 
 in connection witb. what foUows, it is 
 probable that there existed some le- 
 gend of this kind, that Herod, in his 
 guilty fears, traced in the fish's head 
 
 on his table the head of the Baptisty 
 which he had once really seen on the 
 charger. Such a legend, however, 
 the author has in vain endeavoured 
 to discover. 
 
130 S. MAEK VI. 17—19. 
 
 Suppose the adulterer to have safely attained his end, the stings 
 and remorse of conscience, if he has any remaining, will inces- 
 santly torment him ; for the most outrageous injustice, that 
 man in society can commit against his neighbour, is polluting 
 the marriage-bed, destroying the comforts and happiness of 
 domestic life, and violating the rights of families by introducing 
 into them a polluted and a spurious issue. Jer. v. 7 — 9 ; Gral. 
 V. 19. Bp. Warbui'ton. (Serm. E,om. vi. 21.) 
 
 18 It is difficult to rebuke well ; that is, at a right time, in a right 
 spirit, and in a right manner. The holy Baptist rebuked 
 Herod, without making him angry : therefore, he must have 
 rebuked him with gravity, temper, sincerity, and an evident 
 good-will towards him. On the other hand, he spoke so firmly, 
 sharply, and faithfully, that his rebuke cost him his life. . . He 
 reproved him, under the prospect of suffering for his faithful- 
 ness ; and we should never use a strong word, however true it 
 be, without being willing to acquiesce in some penalty, or other, 
 should it so happen, as the seal of our earnestness. Acts xxiv. 
 25 ; 2 Tim. iv. 1 — G. J. H. Newman. (Serm, on text.) 
 
 It is not enough for a prophet to " cry aloud and to lift up his 
 voice, like a trumpet," and to tell Judah and Israel " of sins 
 and of transgressions" at large, (Isa. Iviii, 1;) but, if he would 
 whet them to the battle, he must give a more " certain sound," 
 (1 Cor. xiv. 8 ;) he must tell Judah of her sins, and Israel of 
 her transgressions. If there be in Damascus, or Moab, or 
 Amnion, or Tyrus, or Judah, or Israel, three transgressions, or 
 four, more eminent than the rest, (Amos i.) it is fit, they, that 
 are sent to Damascus, and Moab, and Amnion, and Tyrus, and 
 Judah, and Israel, should make them hear of those three, or 
 four, more than all the rest. Silence in such a case] is a kind 
 of flattery; and it is almost all one, when sins grow out- 
 rageous, to hold our peace at them, and to cry " peace, peace" 
 unto them. Isa. Ivi. 10 ; 1 Thess. ii. 4. Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. 
 !Rom. iii. 8.) 
 
 19 Would have killed him. — Here is the reason of all the malice, 
 the world raises against Heligion. $0)5, it is e\e<^K7iKov ; it is 
 still finding fault with us. Tollamus justum, quia contrarius est 
 nobis. (Wisd. ii. 12.) S. Augustine interprets it of Cheist, 
 
S. MAEK YI. 19, 20. 131 
 
 and the rage of the world against Him. The light of His doc- 
 trine discovers, or the holiness of it reproves and condemns us. 
 (S. John iii. 18 — 21.) Did religion only consist in some general 
 truths, the world could away with it ; but it meddles with our 
 lives, molests and haunts our consciences : that makes us abhor 
 it. Amant veritatem lucentem, oderunt redarguentem, saith S. 
 Augustine. Like Jonah, when the sun grows hot, (S. Matt, 
 xiii. 6,) and beats upon his head, then he falls a-chafing. Quid 
 igne lucente pulchrius ? Quid urente molestius P saith S. Au- 
 gustine. 2 Chron. xviii. 7 ; Gral. iv. 16. Bp. Brownrig. (Serm. 
 S. John iii. 19.) 
 
 The pleasures, which chiefly affect or rather bewitch the body, 
 and by so doing become the pest and poison of the nobler and 
 intellectual part of man, are those false and fallacious pleasures 
 of lust and intemperance .... Nothing does or can darken 
 the mind or conscience of man more .... Could Herod have 
 ever thought himself obliged by the religion of an oath to mur- 
 der the Baptist, had not his lust and his Herodias i?nprisoned 
 and murdered his conscience first ? ... It seems his besotted 
 conscience, having broken through the seventh Commandment, 
 the sixth stood too near it, to be safe long ... So that it was 
 his lust obstinately continued in, which thus darkened and de- 
 luded his conscience : and the same will no doubt darken, and 
 delude, and in the end extinguish the conscience of any man 
 breathing, who shall surrender himself up to it. S. James i. 
 14, 15 ; 2 S. Pet. iii. 3 ; S. Jude 16, 18. Br. South. (Serm. 
 S. Luke xi. 35.) 
 
 20 The secret remorse and anxieties of the wicked, together with 
 their real respect for persons truly pious, are so many attesta- 
 tions to the truth and reality of Eeligion. Deut. xxxi. 31 ; 1 
 Sam. iv. 8 ; S. John xix. 4, 12. Bengal. 
 
 Observed him. — Holiness maketh men's persons and presence 
 dreadful to the wicked, by reason of that grace and majesty, 
 which GrOD hath put into it . . . which majesty hath some- 
 times shone so brightly, even under torments and persecutions, 
 that it hath forced from heathen Emperors a desire of the 
 Christian's prayers ; sometimes not astonished only, but con- 
 verted the adversaries. Jer. xxxvii. 16, 17; xxxviii. 15, 16; 
 
 K 2 
 
133 S. MARK VI. 20. 
 
 Acts vi. 15; 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25. Bp. Reynolds. (Expos, of 
 Ps. ex.) 
 
 See Herod turned disciple to John Baptist. What ! " Saul 
 among the prophets ?" Herod among the disciples ? Surely 
 BO ; for he hears him. Tush, hears him ? What's that ? There 
 are those, that hear and would not ; forced to hear by compul- 
 sion of laws, who may say to authority, as the Psalmist says to 
 GrOD, aureyn perforasti tnihi ; " mine ear hast Thou bored." . . 
 There are those, that hear and hear not, that come fashionably 
 and hear perfunctorily, whose ears are like the Psalmist's idols, 
 for form only, not for use. (Ps. cxv. 6.) There are those, that 
 hear, and care not. WTio is so deaf, as the wilful ? There is 
 auris aggravata, heavy ear, (Isa. lix. 1 ;) there is auris surda, 
 deaf ear, (Mic. vii. 16.) But Herod hears gladly : he heard, 
 because he loved to hear. Tea, so doth many a hollow heart 
 still ; ye shall have such a one listen, as if he were totus auris, 
 
 . all ear : perhaps the word from the preacher's mouth is new, 
 perhaps witty, perhaps elegant, or some way pleasing. (Acts 
 xvii. 19; Ezek. xxxiii. 32.) Tea, there are some, not only 
 willing, but greedy hearers ; they have aures bibulas ; they hear 
 hungrily and thirstily ; but it is to catch advantages ; some- 
 what they hope may fall to pay the preacher, (xii. 13 ; Jer. xx. 
 10.) Herod is better than so : he observed, he respected, he 
 countenanced his rough-hewn chaplain. Tea, so doth many a 
 lewd patron for his own turn . . . but here is no good action 
 the while. Herod is better than so ; He did too, and did many 
 things. Lo here, he doth not hear, but do; and not some 
 things, but many. It may be this camel-haired monitor told 
 him of some outrageous disorders in his court ; those he was 
 willing to amend : perhaps he told him of some bribery of his 
 officers, unjust, or hard measures, offered by oppressive minis- 
 ters to his poor subjects, (S. Luke iii. 13, 14 ;) those he was 
 ready to reform. He did many things. . . There was a form 
 of godliness . . . yet he was a gross hypocrite still, because 
 he did, but many things. "Either all, or none at all;" is 
 Gtgd's rule. S. Matt. v. 20 ; S. James ii. 10. Bp. Hall. (Serm. 
 on 2 Tim. ii. 5.) 
 
 When he heard him. — Let us learn the absolute vanity of that 
 
S. MAEK VI. 20. 133 
 
 religion, whicli spares a single wicked passion ; and consider 
 how sad a fact it is, that there is a great number of persons, 
 calling themselves Christians, whose reKgion only amounts to 
 this ; that, like Herod, they are convinced the preacher tells 
 them the truth, and that he is in earnest. Numb. xiv. 24 ; 
 Exod. X. 8—11 ; Eev. ii. 4, 14, 20. E. Cecil. (Serm. on S. 
 Mark vi. 26.) 
 
 Did mani/, (not all) things. — The chains of love are stronger than 
 the chains of fear. Herod's love of Herodias was too hard for 
 his fear of John. . . The heart can unbind the hands. . . He, 
 that is only prisoner to the command, and bound to his good 
 behaviour by the chains of terror, which the threatening claps 
 upon his conscience, may have these knocked off ; and then he 
 will shake off his obedience also : but he, that loves the "Word 
 and the purity of its precepts, cannot turn traitor. (Ps. cxix. 
 119.) That is the blessed fear, which is the daughter of love. 
 Gurnall. (On the Christian's Armour. Eph. vi, 17. Ch. 
 xxvii. s. 1.) 
 
 As certain venial sins (sins of infirmity) do not hinder the Sal- 
 vation of the righteous ; for without such sins we cannot live ; 
 so, in like manner, certain good works avail nothing to the 
 Salvation of the wicked ; for the worst men are seldom found 
 to be wholly destitute of them. 1 Cor. xiii. 1 — 3 ; Heb. xi. 6. 
 S. Augustine. (Ep. 46.) 
 
 21 And when a convenient day was come, that 
 Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, 
 high captains, and chief estates of Galilee ; 
 
 22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias 
 came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that 
 sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of 
 me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 
 
 23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt 
 ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my 
 kingdom. 
 
 24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, 
 
134 S. MAEK VI. 21, 22. 
 
 What shall I ask ? And she said, The head of John 
 the Baptist. 
 
 25 And she came in straightway with haste unto 
 the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me 
 by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. 
 
 2 1 Herod and Pharaoh alone among men are recorded, as having 
 kept their birthdays with festive rejoicings ; but each of them, 
 as a sad omen of evil, besmeared his festival with blood. We 
 see, in the example of each, how much more advantage is to be 
 often derived from observing the day of our approaching death, 
 with holy fear and in all temperance, than from celebrating 
 our birthday with carnal revelry. Gren. xl. 20 ; Eccl. vii. 2. 
 
 ■ Bede. 
 
 S. John is born on the day of his death. Herod dies on the day 
 of his birth. Pet. Chrysologus. 
 
 22 The daughter, ^c. — 
 
 Quid pulchram medicas faciem, coUumque lapillis 
 '■ Cingis, et effuso spargis odore comam ? 
 
 Non minio malas, animum virtutibus orna, 
 Quae cupis, O virgo, nupta placere viro. 
 Aspice nativo rutilant ut poma rubore ! 
 
 An rosa pingentis pollicis optat opus ? 
 Mitte supervacuos cultos, fucumque genarum ; 
 Acrior est illex, qui caret arte, decor. 
 
 Card. Barberini. (Poem, ex G-rseco.) 
 It were highly to be wished that, in the midst of our caresses and 
 levities of society, in our festivities and triumphant merri- 
 ments, when we laugh at folly, and rejoice in sin, we would 
 remember, that for those very merriments, our Blessed Lord 
 felt a bitter sorrow ; and not one vain and sinful laughter, but 
 cost the Holy Jesus a sharp pang and throe of passion, xiv. 
 34 ; Job i. 5 ; 2 Sam. xiii. 27, 28 ; Isa. v. 12. Bp. J. Taylor. 
 (The Grreat Exemplar. P. iii. s. 15.) 
 When the carnal mind sees nothing within, but what torments, 
 and finds an intolerable pain in conversing with itself, it runs 
 abroad, and uses all the arts of oblivion to lose the remembrance 
 
S. MAEK VI. 22, 25. 135 
 
 of its true state. As Cain, to drown the voice of conscience, 
 fell a-building cities ; and Saul, to dispel his melancholy, called 
 for music. The business and pleasures of this life are dan- 
 gerous amusements, to divert the soul by the representation 
 of what is profitable, or pleasant, from considering the moral 
 qualities of good and evil. Thus conscience, like an inter- 
 mitting pulse, ceases for a while. Miserable consolation! 
 which doth not remove, but conceal the evil, till it be past 
 remedy. Gren. iv. 16, 17;. 1 Sam. xix. 9; Ps. Ivii. 8; 2 Cor. 
 vii. 10. Dr. Bates. (Harm, of the Divine Attributes. Ch. 4.) 
 
 When the idea of any pleasure strikes your imagination, make a 
 just computation between the duration of the pleasure, and 
 that of the repentance sure to follow it. S. Luke xv. 14 
 17; Eom. vi. 21; 2 Cor. iv. 18. Palmer. (Aphorisms. 
 1714.) 
 
 Deliver us, Lord, from the assaults of violent temptations ; 
 deliver us from increasing them by our rashness. Never let 
 Thy grace abandon us so far, as to hate our reprover, or medi- 
 tate revenge on the charity, that crosses our humour ; never let 
 our wickedness prevail so far, as to lay snares for others, nor 
 take advantage of their weakness to plunge them deeper into 
 guilt. Deliver us, O Lord, from ruining ourselves and others, 
 both at once. Ps. xix. 13. W. Austin. (Medit. 104.) 
 
 Half of my kingdom. — 
 
 Promissis majora dedit mihi praemia Herodes : 
 Majus enim toto est hoc caput Imjjerio. 
 
 Anonym, 
 25 Straightway with haste. — Her coming back thus immediately 
 with haste and eagerness, with the bloody demand, so contrary 
 to the tenderness of the sex, and unseasonable to the festivity of 
 the day, beautifully shows what an agreement there was be- 
 tween the barbarous temper of the mother and of the daughter. 
 It strongly paints the fierceness of their malice, and the im- 
 patience of their thirst for the blood of the righteous Baptist. 
 Acts vii. 57, 58. Blackwall. (Sacred Classics. Ch. 7.) 
 Quid peteret luxui'ia, nisi castitatis interitum ? "What else would 
 lust ask, but the death of chastity ? Wisd. ii. 12 — 17 ; Eom. 
 viii. 7 ; Gal. iv. 29. Pet. Chrysologus. (Serm. 174.) 
 
136 S. MARK VI. 26. 
 
 26 And the king was exceeding sorry ; yet for his 
 oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he 
 would not reject her. 
 
 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, 
 and commanded his head to be brought : and he went 
 and beheaded him in the prison, 
 
 28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it 
 to the damsel : and the damsel gave it to her mother. 
 
 29 And when his disciples heard of it, they came 
 and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. 
 
 26 Exceeding sorry. — Souls commit sin, by an exercise of free 
 volition ; but, if they sin, they must suffer. Eor if, on their 
 ceasing to sin, they still suffered ; or, if they suffered, before 
 they sinned, recte deformari dicitur ordo atque administratio 
 universitatis, GtOd's moral order, in governing the world, would 
 justly be regarded, as disturbed. Again, let there be sin and 
 no suffering thereupon, the misconduct of man (dehonestai) 
 spoils and scandalizes the ordinances of GrOD. But when hap- 
 piness attends innocence, the moral order is preserved ; and 
 when suffering waits upon crime, it is preserved also. Ps. Iviii. 
 10 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 33. S. Augustine. (Lib. iii. de Libero Arbitr.) 
 We are not only told by the Master of the Sentences (T. Aquinas) 
 that " our later sins do execute judgment on our former ;" but 
 a great deal better, even by Seneca himself; Prima et maxima 
 peccantium poena est peccdsse ; " the first and greatest punish- 
 ment of any sin is the sin itself, which is committed." In so 
 much, that, although there were no hell, yet, 'twere a kind of 
 damnation, to be a sinner. Gen. v. 13 ; Ezek. xxiv. 13 ; E-ev. 
 xxii. 11. Dean Pierce. (The Sinner Impleaded.) 
 
 Habet omnis hoc voluptas ; 
 
 Stimulis agit fruentes, 
 
 Apiumque par volantum, 
 
 Ubi grata mella fudit, 
 
 Fugit, et nimis tenaci 
 
 Eerit icta corda morsu. 
 
 Boetius. (Consol. Philos. Lib. 3. Metr. 7.) 
 
S. MARK VI. 26. 137 
 
 For his oath's sake. — K any extraordinary wickedness is to be 
 transacted, Religion must be made a cover to it ; as if wrong 
 became right, when acted in the Name of GrOD, and it were 
 more acceptable in His sight to massacre a prophet, than to 
 repent of a rash oath, made to a foolish girl at a drunken en- 
 tertainment. 1 Kings xxi. 10; S. John xvi. 2. Bp. Home. 
 (Considerations on the life and death of S. John the Baptist.) 
 
 Nemo angustiatur ad peccandum. The case cannot be supposed, 
 wherein a man should be so straitened, as he could not come 
 off fairly without sinning. A man by rashness, or fear, or 
 frailty may foully entangle himself, and througb the powerful 
 engagements of sin drive himself into very narrow straits, or be 
 so driven by the fault or injury of others ; yet these cannot be 
 any sucb straits, as should enforce a necessity of sinning ; but 
 that there is still one path, or other, out of them, without sin. 
 ^' The perplexity, that seemeth to be in the things, is rather in 
 the men, who puzzle and lose themselves in the labyrinths of 
 sin, because they care not to heed the clue, that would lead 
 them out, if it were well followed." Say, a man through beat 
 of blood made a wicked vow to kill bis brother: here he hath, 
 by his own rashness, brought himself into a seeming strait, that 
 either he must commit a murder, or break a vow ; either of 
 whicb seemeth to be a great sin, the one against the sixth, the 
 other against the third Commandment. But here is, in very 
 deed, no strait, nor perplexity, at all. Here is a fair open 
 course to him without sin. He may break his vow, and there 
 is an end. Neither is this the choice of the lesser sin ; but 
 only the loosening of the lesser bond ; the bond of charity being 
 greater than the bond of a promise, and there being good 
 reason that (in terms of inconsistency, when both cannot 
 stand), the lesser bond should yield to the greater. But is it 
 not a sin for a man to break a vow ? Yes, where it may be 
 kept salvis charitate et justitid ; then the breach is a sin; but 
 in the case proposed it is no sin. Ex. i. 16, &c. ; Judges xi. 
 30, 81 ; Acts xxiii. 12. Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. on Rom. iii. 8.) 
 Oppose against all thy rash promises and vows that "solemn 
 promise and vow," thou madest unto G-od in the face of the 
 Congregation, and tookest the Holy Sacrament upon it in thy 
 
138 S. MAEK VI. 26, 28. 
 
 Baptism, " to keep His holy Commandments and to continue 
 His faithful soldier and servant unto thy life's end." Let 
 equity teach thee, that the first bond should be first discharged ; 
 and reason, that, if an oath or vow must stand, the first should 
 rather. Ps. cxix. 115, 106. Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. on Ps. 
 
 - xix. 13.) 
 
 For their sa/ces, which sat with him. — Law and religion have given 
 one standard measure of honour ; but the worldly man wil- 
 fully follows another, a shifting phantom raised by his lusts 
 and passions. 1 Sam. ii. 30. Bp. Warburton. (Serm. on S. 
 James iv. 1.) 
 
 Pardon me, if, in a case of this nature, I deal a little plainly. 
 Drinking, gaming, and bad women, these are those rotten bones, 
 that lie hid under this painted sepulchre and title of honour. 
 Isa. V. 20. John Hales. (Serm. on Duels. Numb. xxxv. 33.) 
 
 Oh ! when ye depart from this assembly, and mix again in the 
 business of the world, think that ye behold the Baptist's head, 
 weltering in the charger, that fixes on you its expiring eyes, 
 and that its quivering lips address you thus : " Ply and abjure 
 swearing ; for it robbed me of my life, and leads to the blackest 
 crimes." That, which no reproaches could efiect, an oath 
 effected. That, which the exasperated tyrant dared not do, 
 that was he compelled to do, by the necessity of an oath. 
 When the venerable Saint reproached him, meekly he endured 
 reproof; but, when he was bound by an irrevocable oath, he 
 severed from its body the holy head. Jer. xxiii. 10 ; Mai. iii. 
 5 ; S. James v. 12. S. Chrysostom. (Hom. ad Antioch. 14. 
 Transl. Boyd.) 
 
 28 Morsus Biaboli — a dish for the devil. Tunc enim avidus draco, 
 in sei'vi capite, Bomini gustahat sitiens Passionem ; for then did 
 the old greedy dragon taste, in the head of the servant, what he 
 so thirsted after — the Passion of the Master. Pet. Chryso- 
 logus. (Serm. 174.) 
 
 Extincta sensus spirat adhuc pios. (sub. cervix.) 
 - Ut sic ore silenti 
 
 Infandos magis increpat 
 
 Amoris ignes ! Quilibet 
 
 Dolet perempti funus, et impiam 
 
8. MAEK VI. 29. 13^ 
 
 Efferse causam necis execratur. 
 
 Proh ! foeminae mentem trucem, 
 
 Cum fervet ira et sestuat libidine. 
 
 Tarn fera monstra fretum, 
 
 Nee tellus generat. Leo, 
 
 Te viso, Daniel, saevitiam exuit ; 
 
 Illaesum maris horrida 
 
 Bellua Jonam 
 
 Littoribus reddit. Ferro par foemina Isedit 
 
 Magisque flammis. 
 
 Card. Barberini. (De Joan. Bapt. Ode.) 
 29 Laid it in a tomb. — We deposit our departed friends calmly 
 and thoughtfully in faith ; not ceasing to love and remember 
 that, which once lived among us, but marking the place, where 
 it lies, as believing that God has set His seal upon it, and that 
 His Angels guard it. S. John xi. 24; S. Jude 9. /. H. 
 NewiYian. (Serm. on S. Luke xx. 37, 38.) 
 Surely, when the door of Paradise is opened to let in any of our 
 departed friends, delicious breezes blow through it upon us 
 from that abode of Blessedness, (xvi. 1.) And we ought to 
 avail ourselves of such refreshing influence ; we ought to let it 
 quicken us in following after those, that have gone before us, 
 rather than wish those friends back again to a world like this. 
 2 Sam. xii. 23 ; Heb. xi. 4 ; xiii. 7, 8. Bengel. (Letter on the 
 Death of his daughter.) 
 We see that riches, honour, pleasure, and whatsoever the foolish 
 world calls good, they are, for the most part and in the greatest 
 measure, the portion of the worst of men ; whereas poverty, 
 pain, and shame, and whatever else we usually term evil, are, 
 for the most part and in the highest degree, the lot of the righ- 
 teous. There must therefore, in all reason and equity, be an- 
 other audit, or time of account, after this life . . . wherein all 
 good men shall be finally and fully rewarded, and all wicked 
 men finally and fully punished. Ps. Ixxiii. ; S. Luke xvi. 25 ; 
 1 Cor. XV. 19. Dr. South. (Serm. on 2 Cor. v. 10.) 
 saevam ! tetram ! Eabies quo te impulit atra ? 
 Tune virum decus eximium, tu, pessima, gentis 
 Foeminese, ignavi mercedem poscere lusus. 
 
140 S. MARK VI. 81. 
 
 Elammantisque animi fluctus, caecumque furorem 
 Ilia anima potuisti, illaque extinguere csede ? . . . 
 
 Ilium per nemora, in lustrisqiie horrentibus sevuni 
 Degentem, mutum genus atque immite animantum 
 Liquit inoffensum, seinperque per alta vagantem 
 Avia, et in solo carpentem gramine somnos 
 Securum, baud unquam Isesit vis ssBva ferarum ; 
 At tibi, saevitia O ! rabidos truculenta leones 
 Et tigres superans, dirisque immanior hydris, 
 Nulla fuit pietas ; flexit dementia pectus 
 Nulla tuum, ut Yatis posses miserescere tanti, 
 Et scelere insigni crudelem avertere mentem. 
 
 Scipio Capicius. (De Yate Maximo, Lib. iii.) 
 
 30 And the Apostles gathered themselves together 
 unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they 
 had done, and what they had taught. 
 
 31 And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves 
 apart into a desert place, and rest awhile : for there 
 were many coming and going, and they had no leisure 
 so much as to eat. 
 
 32 And they departed into a desert place by ship 
 privately. 
 
 33 And the people saw them departing, and many 
 knew Him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and 
 outwent them, and came together unto Him. 
 
 34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw much 
 people, and was moved with compassion toward them, 
 because they were as sheep not having a shepherd : 
 and He began to teach them many things. 
 
 31 Come ye yourselves apart, S^c. — Under all troubles, public and 
 private, it is an unspeakable relief to the hearts of men to see 
 the Church, where they live, in a state of tranquillity. The 
 mind of man chiefly finds repose in prayer to GrOD, which is 
 
S. MARK VI. 31. 141 
 
 greatly hindered and interrupted, where discord is even within 
 view. Now, since public calamities at the present time greatly 
 afflict numbers, it behoves every pastor to keep his Church, as 
 much as possible, like a safe harbour, in which the distressed 
 people may take refuge, and be refreshed by communion with 
 G-OD. Acts iv. 23 ; Isa. xxv. 4 ; Ps. cxxii. 6. Melancthon. 
 (Letters on the Peace of the Church, in 1548.) 
 Mmiy coming and going — much people. — If S. John was once dead, 
 no man would ever take him to be the Messiah any longer. 
 Every man would then flock after Cheist Himself, whom S. 
 John had preached, and to whom already he had sent his dis- 
 ciples; which when S. John considered, and how much his 
 death would prepare the way for Cheist' s glory, he cried out, 
 *' This my joy is therefore full," that " He must increase ; I 
 must decrease." (S. John iii. 30.) As soon, therefore, as S. 
 John was gone, there was such running after Cheist on all 
 sides. ... So gloriously did Cheist shine, and so suddenly 
 w^as His fame increased, after S. John's death. Acts x. 36 — 
 38. Wm. Austin. (Medit. for the Day of S. John Baptist.) 
 Oh, how few " commune with their own heart." Men live abroad, 
 and are indeed strangers at home — the great mark of human 
 madness, to delight in speaking and hearing of what concerns 
 others, while no individual will attempt to descend into him- 
 self S. John xi. 56 ; Acts xvii. 21. Abp. Leighton. (Medit. 
 on Ps. iv. 4.) 
 Rest awhile. — This lesson is gladly learnt and too much practised. 
 Requiescite {rest ye) pleaseth every man. The truth is, that 
 the body and mind of man must after labour be refreshed with 
 rest. But he, which laboureth not, is altogether as unworthy 
 to rest, as to eat. (2 Thess. iii. 6 — 12.) Again, such, as will 
 take rest and ease after labours, must learn of Cheist, as well 
 to measure their ease, as their pains. He permitteth His 
 disciples to take their rest; but He limiteth and restraineth 
 His permission, saying, " Best awhile.''^ For by too much rest 
 men are not made the more fit, but the less willing, to take 
 pain. There is no fault, from which the wise man doth so 
 endeavour to withdraw men, as from sloth. (Prov. xii. 24 ; 
 xxviii. 19 ; xxxi. 18, 27 ; xxiv. 30—34 ; xxvi. 13—15.) . . . 
 
142 S. MARK VI. 31—34. 
 
 Wherefore, though weariness, though labour and travail do 
 cause thee to desire necessary rest, yet beware that the sweet- 
 ness of rest do not cause thee to think that labour is unneces- 
 sary. Eest, but rest a little. 1 Tim. v. 23. Abp. Sandys. 
 (Serm. on S. John vi. 1, 2.) 
 They had no leisure, ^c. — Cheist's service is a yoke, wherein 
 both soul and body must be coupled and draw together ; the 
 soul indispensably, the body with a dispensation : but that 
 dispensation granted only in case of mercy, or necessity. 
 Col. ii. 16, 20—23. Bp, Hopkins. (On Glorifying God in 
 His Attributes.) 
 
 33 Outwent them, — Neither care of things at home, nor fear of 
 danger abroad, neither the length of the way thither, nor the 
 lack of lodging and food there, neither the fear of the priests, 
 the Scribes and Pharisees, the known and professed enemies of 
 Cheist, nor any other by-respect in the world, was able to 
 stay them. Shall not this people rise up in judgment, think 
 you, against us, whom God hath by so many blessings allured, 
 and, as it were, enticed to come unto Him, and notwithstanding 
 findeth us so far from the cheerful and gladsome following of 
 Him, that, when He doth follow and seek after us, we turn 
 our backs and fly from Him ? Could we do thus, if indeed we 
 did believe that " He hath the words of Eternal Life," (S. 
 John vi. 68,) and that as many, as " continue with Him unto 
 the end, they shall be saved?" (S. Matt. x. 22.) Abp. Sandys. 
 (Serm. on S. John vi. 1, 2.) 
 
 34 As man. He was fit for passion and compassion. The human 
 nature is the proper subject for feeling pity ; especially, when 
 it hath felt misery. God is capable of love ; not, in strictness, 
 of comj^assion. Eor sympathy proceeds from an experimental 
 sense of what one hath suffered, and the sight of the like 
 affliction in others revives the affections, which were felt in 
 that state, and inclines to pity. . . It is the great support of 
 our faith that we have " access to the Pather by the Son," 
 (Rom. V. 2 ; Eph. ii. 18 ;) and present all our requests by a 
 Mediator, so worthy and dear to Him, and by One, who left 
 the joys of Heaven, that, by enduring affliction on earth, His 
 lieart might be made tuneable to the hearts of the afflicted. 
 
S.'MAEK YI. 34. 143 
 
 Exod. xxiii. 9; Heb. iv. 15. Br. Bates. (Harmony of the 
 Divine Attributes, eh. 5.) 
 
 Eespice peccantem, Frater sine erimine, fratrem ; 
 
 Nee pigeat sorti condoluisse meae. 
 Eespice, meque Tui consortem sanguinis audi, 
 
 Nee pudeat carni condoluisse Tuse. 
 Quas Tibi tendo manus, quae supplex lingua preeatur, 
 
 Quod tibi flecto genu, sanguinis omne Tui est. 
 Sic Tibi quae vitam, mihi lux feret ista salutem, 
 Mixtaque erunt cunis gaudia tanta meis ! 
 
 ■ C. BarlcBus. (In C. J. Nativ. Eleg. 17.) 
 
 35 And when the day was now far spent, His disci- 
 ples came unto Him, and said, This is a desert place, 
 and now the time is far passed : 
 
 36 Send them away, that they may go into the 
 country round about, and into the villages, and buy 
 themselves bread : for they have nothing to eat. 
 
 37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them 
 to eat. And they say unto Him, Shall we go and 
 buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them 
 to eat ? 
 
 38 He saith unto them, How manv loaves have 
 ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say. 
 Five, and two fishes. 
 
 39 And He commanded them to make all sit down 
 by companies upon the green grass. 
 
 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and 
 by fifties. 
 
 41 And when He had taken the five loaves and the 
 two fishes. He looked up to heaven, and blessed, and 
 brake the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to 
 set before them ; and the two fishes divided He among 
 them all. 
 
144 S. MAKE VI. 33—38. 
 
 42 And they did all eat, and were filled. 
 
 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the 
 fragments, and of the fishes. 
 
 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about 
 five thousand men. 
 
 45 And straightway He constrained His disciples 
 to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before 
 unto Bethsaida, while He sent away the people. 
 
 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed 
 into a mountain to pray. 
 
 35 The bread of Life is not for the idle, nor for those, who live 
 in cities, encompassed with the honours of the world; hut it is 
 for those, who seek Christ iti a desert place. Cant. iii. 1, 2 ; 
 Heb. xiii. 13, 14. S. Ambrose. 
 
 36 (Conf. viii. 3.) And therefore, though miracles be a kind of 
 non obstante to the law of nature and a suspension of the 
 ordinary course of Proyidence, yet we often find God working 
 a miracle to supply these wants of His people; whereas, it 
 had been alike easy, by another miracle, to have caused them 
 not to want. For it had been no more difficult for GrOD to 
 have kept Elijah from hungering, than it was to make the 
 ravens his purveyors, or to make a barrel of meal become a 
 whole harvest, or to open a spring and fountain in the cruse of 
 oil: but He chooseth rather to supply these wants, than to 
 cease them ; to keep us in a continual dependence upon Him, 
 that the sense of our necessities might engage us to have 
 continual recourse unto God for relief. Deut. xxxiii. 25 ; 
 Lam. iii. 25, 26 ; S. Matt. vi. 32 ; Phil. iv. 19. Bp. Hopkim. 
 (Expos, of the Lord's Prayer.) 
 
 38 Quinque panes sunt necessarii; quatuor in via, quintus in patrid. 
 There be ^ve manner of loaves very necessary for us ; four, 
 whilst we travel here on our way ; and the fifth, at the jour- 
 ney's end in our country; four, in this wilderness of the world, 
 and the fifth, in that celestial Canaan — our corporal bread to 
 sustain us, our Spiritual to inform us, our Doctrinal to 
 
S. MAEK YI. 39, 41. 145 
 
 instruct us, our Sacramental to purge and cleanse us, and the 
 Eternal Bread of Life, which the Father will give us, to make 
 us happy : TrdvTa iiexo/aai, as S. Chrysostom used to speak, " I 
 embrace all senses." Phil. iv. 19. Fai'indon. (Serm. on S. 
 Matt. vi. 11.) 
 
 39 The literal meaning is plain. Let us open the signs of the 
 spiritual interpretation. They are ordered to lie down upon 
 the green grass, and, according to the other Evangelist, upon 
 the ground, and by fifties, and by hundreds ; that so, having 
 kept under the flesh, and placed beneath them all its flowers 
 with the pleasures of the world, as so much straw, they may, 
 by the exercise of repentance, as represented by fifty, ascend 
 to the very point of perfection, as symbolizing with a hundred. 
 1 S. Pet. i. 24; Col. iii. 1—6; 2 Tim. ii. 11, 12. S. Jerome. 
 
 41 The Divine incomprehensible nature was the origin of this 
 miracle; and therefore Cheist used that ceremony, when He 
 took the loaves into His hands, to look up to Heaven. Our 
 Saviour's human nature was the next vessel, into which the 
 grace of the Almighty was poured ; " for the Eathee had 
 given all things into His hand" (S. John xiii. 3.) The next, 
 and underneath His feet, were the Apostles: they had their 
 power and commission from Him : " As the Eather sent Me, 
 so send I you" (S. John xx. 21.) The last of all, to whom 
 the Apostles do communicate their gift, are the people ; and 
 there the gift abides. The Dove, that is, the Holy Spirit, 
 doth use to fetch this compass about, before He lights. O 
 glorious Hierarchy ! most beautiful degrees of Strength 
 and Majesty ! O golden chain, whose uttermost link is fas- 
 tened to the highest Heaven, and the nethermost part toucheth 
 the lowest earth ! Thus does our Blessedness descend step by 
 step from the Eather to the Son, from the Soif to the dis- 
 ciples, and from the disciples to all those, that are " nourished 
 with the words of truth and of good doctrine" (1 Tim. iv. 6.) 
 So then, we hold of GtOD, as the Author of all grace ; of 
 Christ, as the Head of the Body — which is His Church — of 
 the Apostles and their successors, as His subordinate Ministers. 
 And aptly do the Eathers make that of David comprehend 
 this whole mystery ; " He vvatereth the hills from above, and 
 
 L 
 
146 S. MARK VI. 41—45. 
 
 the earth is filled with the fruit of Thy works." (Ps. civ. 13.) 
 Bp. Racket. (Serm. on S. John vi. 11.) 
 
 He looked up to heaven. — Even the most necessary actions of thy 
 life, though lawful, yet must be offered up with a true intention 
 unto GrOD, in union with the most Holy works and Blessed 
 merits of Christ. Col. iii. 17. Abp, Leighton. (Rules of a 
 Holy Life. S. ii. 4.) 
 
 Gave them to the disciples to set before them. — All things, which 
 are of GrOD, He hath by wonderful wisdom sodered, as it were, 
 together with the glue of mutual assistance, appointing the 
 lowest to receive from the nearest, what the influence of the 
 highest yieldeth. And therefore the Church, being the most 
 absolute of all His works, was in reason to be ordered also 
 with like harmony ; that what He worketh might, no less in 
 grace than in nature, be effected by hands and instruments 
 duly subordinated to the power of His Spirit : a thing both 
 needful for the humiliation of man, which would not willingly 
 be debtor to any but himself, and of no small effect to nourish 
 that Divine love, which now maketh each embrace other, not 
 as men, but as Angels of God. S. Matt. xvi. 19 ; xxvi. 26 ; 
 xxviii. 19, 20. Hooker. (Eccl. Pol. b. v. § 76.) 
 
 43 God loveth a bountiful, but not a wasteful, hand. 2 Cor. ix. 
 7. Abp. Sandys. (Serm. S. John vi. 1, 2.) 
 
 45 Sent them away. — We are told that the Greek word here 
 {iiTTOTaaoopiai) means more than simply to dismiss : that it im- 
 plies a singular good- will, as in taking leave of our friends and 
 bidding them a kind adieu. (S. Luke ix. 61 ; Acts xviii. 21 ; 
 2 Cor. ii. 13.) Now this is the third requisite in true religious 
 hospitality ; namely, the comiter dimittere, as following and 
 completing the alacriter invitare, and the liberaliter tractare. 
 Even here, then, our Lord's example is perfect; and there 
 are some instances in Scripture to the same effect. Witness 
 the hospitality of the princely Patriarch. But much more 
 carefully should we observe, how the same good Lord calls and 
 invites us to His spiritual entertainment, the Blessed Commu- 
 nion of His own Body and Blood ; how richly He there feasts 
 us ; how lovingly He sends us away with the fulness of His 
 Grace and parting Benediction ! Gen. xviii. J. F. 
 
S. MARK VI. 46. 147 
 
 46 He departed. — Even whilst we are in this body, there may be 
 frequent joy at the presence of the Spouse, but never fulness of 
 satisfaction ; for, though His visits impart joy, yet the frequent 
 vicissitudes of absence bring equal pain, (S. Luke xxiv. 28 ; 
 S. Mark xiv. 7 ; S. John xvi. 17 — 19.) And such sufferings 
 must the beloved continue to endure, until, once for all, laying 
 aside the heavy burden of the body, she flee away, and, borne 
 aloft on the wings of her desires, and freely soaring through 
 the fields of contemplation, she follow her Beloved, " whither- 
 soever He goeth." 1 Thess. iv. 17. S. Bernard. (Serm. 32, 
 in Cant.) 
 
 Oh, how salutary it is, how pleasant, how delightful, to sit alone 
 and in silence, to converse with GrOD, and so to enjoy the only 
 chief Grood, in whom all good things are found. Ps. Ixxiii. 24. 
 Hos. ii. 14. Kempis. (In Solit. Animae, c. 9.) 
 
 Miscendce et alternandce sunt solitudo et frequentia. — Solitude and 
 society are to have their turns, and to be intermixed. Ps. xix. 
 5 ; Col. iii. 16, 17. Seneca. 
 
 47 And when even was come, the ship was in the 
 midst of the sea, and He alone on the land. 
 
 48 And He saw them toiling in rowing ; for the 
 wind was contrary unto them : and about the fourth 
 watch of the night He cometh unto them, walking 
 upon the sea, and would have passed by them. 
 
 49 But when they saw Him walking upon the sea, 
 they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out : 
 
 50 For they all saw Him, and were troubled. And 
 immediately He talked with them, and saith unto 
 them. Be of good cheer : it is I ; be not afraid. 
 
 5 1 And He went up unto them into the ship ; and 
 the wind ceased : and they were sore amazed in them- 
 selves beyond measure, and wondered. 
 
 52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves : 
 for their heart was hardened. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 S. MAEK VI. 48. 
 
 48 He saw them. — And yet He came not to them, till the fitting 
 time ; priusquam maturum esset. Hab. ii. 3 ; S. John ii. 4 ; 
 xi. 6, 7. Bengel. 
 
 !Pancy yourself withdrawn to the top of a high mountain : thence 
 inspect the appearance of things below you. Observe the fluc- 
 tuating tempests of the world : you will then pity mankind ; 
 you will understand and be sensible of your own happiness ; 
 you will be more thankful to God, and with more joy you will 
 congratulate yourself on your escape . . . The only placid and 
 sound tranquillity, the only solid, firm, and perpetual security is, 
 to be delivered from the tempests of this restless scene, to be 
 stationed in the port of Salvation, to lift up the eyes from earth 
 to Heaven, and to be admitted into the favour of the Loed. 
 Such a man approaches in his thoughts near to his God, and 
 justly glories, that, whatever others may deem sublime and great 
 in human affairs, is absolutely beneath his notice. He, who is 
 greater than the world, can desire nothing, can want nothing 
 from the world .... This complete dignity, or power of man, 
 is not to be acquired by elaborate efforts. The gift of God is 
 gratuitous and easy. As the sun shines freely, as the fountain 
 bubbles, as the rain bedews, so the celestial Spirit diff'uses Him- 
 self. The soul looks up to heaven, and becomes conscious of 
 its Author. It then begins actually to be, what it believes itself 
 to be. It is higher than the firmament, and sublimer than all 
 earthly power. Ps. Ixxxix. 28 ; cvi. 5 ; Eph. i. 15 — 23. S. 
 Cyprian. (Ep. ad Donatum.) 
 
 Ihilinff in rowing. — And such is our success, when Jesus is not 
 with us : we labour against the stream of our corruptions, we 
 row against the wind of a thousand temptations. Save us, O 
 Jesu, or else we perish ! Come Thou into the ship, and imme- 
 diately we arrive at the haven of our wishes, (S. John vi. 21.) 
 Thou hast called us out of this world, to follow Thee on the 
 waves of difficulties and temptations. In obedience to Thy call, 
 in confidence on Thy encouragement, we come towards Thee, 
 as our feeble strength will give us leave. Thou canst not fail 
 those, whom Thou hast warranted to rely on Thee. Oh, stretch 
 forth Thy right hand and save us, or we perish. W. Austin. 
 (Med. 115.) 
 
S. MAEK VI. 48, 49. 149 
 
 How could He wish to pass by those persons, whose fears He 
 was so ready to remove, had not His wish been instrumental to 
 the calling forth of those very cries, in answer to which He 
 would help them ? Gen. 1. 20 ; Isa. xlv. 15 ; S. Luke xxiv. 
 28 ; Philem. 15. S. Augustine. (De Cons. Evang. lib. ii. 
 c. 47.) 
 
 Felix qui, late turbantibus sequora ventis, 
 Civiles tuta prospectat ab arce tumultus, 
 Immunis culpas simul immunisque pericli ! 
 Caetera securus sancto vacat usque labori, 
 Sedulus et populo prodesse, Deoque placers. 
 Hanc olim in terris vitam Gilpinus agebat, 
 Hanc Hookerus, et hanc Divino carmine Pastor 
 Herbertus. 
 
 Joan. Burton. (Sacerdos Paroecialis Eusticus.) 
 49 The Scriptures, speaking of the Supreme Being, say ; " He 
 walketh upon the waves of the sea" — to denote His uncoD- 
 trollable Power, Job ix. 8 : " He walketh in the circuit of 
 heaven" — to express the immensity of His Presence, Job xxii. 
 14 : " He walketh upon the wings of the wind" — to denote the 
 amazing swiftness of His operations, Ps. civ. 3. In which last 
 phrase there is, I think, an elegance and emphasis, not taken 
 notice of by our Commentators, yet unequalled in any writer — 
 not He " flieth ;" He "swimmethj" but He "waZ^e^A"— and 
 that, on the very " wings" of the wind : on the most impetuous 
 of elements, roused into its utmost rage and sweeping along 
 with inconceivable rapidity, a tumult in nature, not to be de- 
 scribed, is the composed and sedate work (? walk) of the Deity. 
 A speed, not to be measured, is (with reverence I use the ex- 
 pression, and to comport with our low methods of conception) 
 the solemn and majestic foot-pace of Jehovah. How flat are 
 the following lines even in the great master of Lyric song, 
 Ocyor cervis, et agent e nimbos 
 Ocyor Euro, 
 when compared with this inimitable stroke of Divine poetry — 
 " He walketh upon the icings of the wind !" J. Hervey. (Medit. 
 among the Tombs, foot note.) 
 Lovest thou God ? — Thou dost walk upon the sea. Lovest thou 
 
150 S. MAEK VI. 49, 50. 
 
 the world? — It will swallow thee up. The world knows how 
 to devour its votaries ; how to bear them up, it knows not. S. 
 John xvi. 33 ; 1 Tim. vi. 9. >S'. Augustine. 
 
 Do not wonder, that our Lord should permit His disciples, whom 
 He loved so tenderly, to be harassed with tempests, knowing 
 how greatly they would be benefited by them. Por we read on 
 many occasions of their ship being violently tossed by waves 
 and contrary winds, but never of its being sunk by them. 
 Isa. liv. 7, 8 ; 2 Cor. iv. 7 — 11. Card. Bonaventure. (Life of 
 Christ, Ch. 33.) 
 
 A Christian is often tossed and shaken, yet is as mount Sion, 
 (Ps. X. 6, 7) : he is a serpent, and a dove ; a lamb, and a lion ; 
 a reed, and a cedar. He is sometimes so troubled, that he 
 thinks nothing to be true in religion ; yet, if he did think so, 
 he could not at all be troubled. He thinks sometimes that 
 Q-OD hath no mercy for him ; yet resolves to die in the pur- 
 suit of it. Judges viii. 4. Lord Bacon. (Christian Para- 
 doxes.) 
 
 50 Were troubled — Be of good cheer. — Know, that, if any trouble 
 happens to thee, it is what thou hast deserved ; and therefore 
 brought upon thyself : but, if any comfort come to thee, it is a 
 gift from God, and what thou didst not deserve. And, re- 
 member, that oftentimes, when thy body complains of trouble, 
 it is not so much the greatness of trouble, as the littleness of 
 thy spirit, that makes thee to complain. Lam. iii. 22. Bp. J. 
 Taylor. (The Q-olden Grrove. Via pacis.) 
 
 The Jews, during thunder and lightning, were accustomed to 
 open their windows ; for at such seasons, according to their 
 traditions, was the Messiah expected. Nostra extremitas Deo 
 opportunitas est. That, which prevents our working, furnishes 
 GrOD with an occasion. He appeared in the Mount to Abra- 
 ham ; under the vault of heaven to the sleeping Jacob ; in the 
 burning bush to Moses ; in the dead of the night to the terri- 
 fied disciples ; to them, when nearly overwhelmed with the 
 waves, did Christ draw near. Let us not, therefore, in this 
 cutting off of our Monarch, give way to despair, as if we and 
 our posterity were utterly undone ; but with the open window 
 of our faith let us look forward unto Christ, bounding, {salien- 
 
S. MARK VI. 50—55. 151 
 
 temfi), over the mountainous waves of our difficulties ; and let 
 us welcome His coming to be our deliverer ! Ps. xlvi. Gurnall. 
 (Latin letter to Sir Symonds D'Ewes. a.d. 1647.) 
 
 When the soul is already favoured with a sound constitution, any 
 temporary disorder in it may easily be rectified by a single 
 saying of Christ. It is with faith, as with a kindled brand, 
 which, when it is only in a sleeping glow, may be put into a 
 flame by a single breath. S. Luke xxii. 61 ; S. John xviii. 6. 
 Bengel. 
 
 52 For they considered not, ^c. — They did not recognize the power 
 of Cheist in the multiplying of the bread : it seems that He 
 therefore caused the tempest that, by this further means, they 
 might be brought to know Him. So it happens now, that 
 many persons in a time of prosperity fail to notice Gron's 
 bounty towards them, who, afterwards and at length, when 
 worn down with suffering, confess His Name. Ps. ci. 1 ; Jer. 
 xxii. 21 ; Isa. xlviii. 10. Isid. Clarius. (in loco.) 
 
 53 And when they had passed over, they came into 
 the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. 
 
 54 And when they were come out of the ship, 
 straightway they knew Him, 
 
 55 And ran through that whole region round about, 
 and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, 
 where they heard He was. 
 
 56 And whithersoever He entered, into villages, or 
 cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and 
 besought Him that they might touch if it were but the 
 border of His garment : and as many as touched Him 
 were made whole. 
 
 55 Ran, 8^c. — Afflictions, like goads in our side, as troublesome 
 as they are, yet serve to quicken us in our work, and make us 
 mend our pace to heaven. . . . And therefore, Christian, 
 whatsoever thy present troubles be, know, that GrOD brings 
 them upon thee, only to breathe thy graces, and make them 
 
152 S. MARK VI. 55, 56. 
 
 the more healtliful and vigorous. Deut. iv. 29, 30 ; Hos. v. 15 ; 
 Isa. xxvi. 8, 9. Bp. Hopkins. (Serm. on S. James i. 4.) 
 
 55, 56 Oil, tliat we could excite others, and be with them our- 
 selves excited, to be vitales amatores, as earnestly in love, with 
 that life, which is permanent, as we are with that, which is 
 transitory ! Acts xxviii. 9 ; Hev. xxii. 20. S. Augustine. (De 
 Doctrina Christ.) 
 
 The border of His garment. — The High priest of the Jews was not 
 sprinkled with a few scanty drops of the perfume of the Sanc- 
 tuary ; but his person was so bedewed with it, that it literally 
 ran down from his beard to the skirts of his garment. (Ex. 
 XXX. 25 — 30 ; Ps. cxxxiii. 2.) The High priest was in this, as 
 in every circumstance, the living type of our great High Priest. 
 . . . The perfumed garments were typical, first of the graces 
 and virtues of the Redeemer Himself in His human character ; 
 secondly, of whatever is refreshing, encouraging, consoling, and 
 cheering in the external administration of His Word ; and 
 thirdly, of the internal comforts of the Holt Spirit, v. 30 ; 
 Cant. V. 10, 16 ; Ps. xlv. 9 ; 1 S. Pet. ii. 7—9. Bp. Horsley. 
 (Serm. on Ps. xlv. 1.) 
 
 The fame of the singular cure of the woman, which had an issue 
 of blood (v. 27, 28) had now probably reached them. It had 
 spread through that entire neighbourhood. Acts xxviii. 8, 9. 
 J. F. 
 
 Observe His Divine power and goodness shining forth in the 
 miraculous cure of all diseases. But these bodily cures were 
 but preludes of the main work ; but signs hung out to shew, 
 where the Physician of souls dwelt. And, whatsoever be thy 
 spiritual maladies, though never so many and desperate, yet 
 come. Never any came to Him, and went away uncured. 
 i. 32—35. Abp. Leighton. (Lectures on S. Matthew, c. iv. 23.) 
 
 Christi mir acuta secundum Mar cum. 
 Marcus ut Ausonise Christi miracula genti 
 Hsec memorat, Petri nexus sermone, fideque. 
 Yiribus ejicitur Christi cum dsemone febris ; (i. 30.) 
 Lepra cadit ; paralysis abit ; manus arida tensa est ; (i. 30 ; 
 
 ii. 3 ; iii. 1.) 
 Et furor sequoreus cum tempestate quiescit. (iv. 39.) 
 
S. MARK YI. 56. 153 
 
 Yicta fugit Legio. Siccatur vena cruenta. (v. 9, 29.) 
 
 Turn Jairi natam mediis a faucibus orci 
 
 Extrahit, et luci reddit charoque parenti. (v. 42.) 
 
 Post pelagi rabiem vinxit, ssevasque per undas (vi. 48, 51.) 
 
 Incedifc siccis pedibus. Turn deinde fugato 
 
 Daemone sanatur mulier Phoenissa ; deditque (vii. 26.) 
 
 Sidoniis grande hoc facinus Tyriisque propbanis, 
 
 Cum surdo et muto linguamque auresque recludit. (vii. 35.) 
 
 Septenis rursus turbas explevit inanes (viii. 9.) 
 
 Panibus ; et caeco cbarissima lumina reddit ; (viii. 25.) 
 
 Augustoque Suo radios e corpore mittit ; (ix. 2.) 
 
 Et Sataua ejecto depellit vincula linguae, (ix. 25.) 
 
 Bartimiusque etiam csecus Jerichuntis ab urbe (x. 46.) 
 
 Amissam lucem reperit ; fruetuque carentem 
 
 Omnipotens ficum Christus sterilescere jussit : (xi. 13.) 
 
 Turn juxta templum caecis claudisque medetur.* 
 
 S. Greg. Nazianzen. (Carmina varia. xHv. Transl. 
 Lat. Billii.) 
 
 T 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HEN came together unto Him the Pharisees, and 
 certain of the scribes which came from Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 2 And when they saw some of His disciples eat 
 bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, 
 hands, they found fault. 
 
 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they 
 wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of 
 the elders. 
 
 4 And when they come from the market, except they 
 
 * This miracle is not recorded in the Gospel according to S. Mark j we find 
 it in S. Matt. xxi. 14. 
 
154 S. MARK VII. 2, 3. 
 
 wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, 
 which they have received to hold, as the washing of 
 cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables. 
 
 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, Why 
 walk not Thy disciples according to the tradition of 
 the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands ? 
 
 2 The^ found fault. — The greatest evil lies in tlie want of charity, 
 and in that contentious eagerness, with which singularity in 
 little things is apt to be attended. Rom. xiv. 17 — 21. J. 
 Milner. 
 
 Avoid those things in thyself, which in others do most displease 
 thee ; and remember, that as thine eye observes others, so thou 
 art observed by GrOD, by angels, and by men. S. Matt. vii. 1 — 
 6 ; aal. vi. 1. Bp, J. Taylor. (The Oolden G-rove.) 
 
 3 The religion of many is something to save appearances, a kind 
 of beauty- wash to colour over, and give a finer tincture to, the 
 surface of their actions, without going deeper, or mingling with 
 the vitals, without promoting the health of the soul. iv. 5 ; 
 Prov. XXX. 20 ; Jer. iii. 10 ; S. Matt, xxiii. 27 ; 2 Tim. iii. 5, 8. 
 Jer. Seed. (Serm. S. James ii. 10, 11.) 
 
 There is nothing, that can be a higher gratification to the am- 
 bition of the devil, than to behold himself served in Cheist's 
 own livery, and worshipped in " a form of godliness ;" by which 
 he hath the pleasure of dividing empires with GtOD, and ravish- 
 ing the better share from Him, of beholding his hated Creator 
 mociied with the shell and outside of a worshipper, whilst him- 
 self is treated with the kernel and inside. For whilst we con- 
 tinue wicked under an outward form of religion, we do in eftect 
 sacrifice our beast to Gron, and ourselves to the devil ; who, 
 above all things, loves those unnatural commixtures of hearer 
 and slanderer, worshipper and deceiver. Communicant and 
 drunkard, sacrificer and oppressor ; by which we only exalt and 
 sublimate impiety, which never looks so glorious, as when it is 
 gilded with fasts and long prayers. S. Matt. vi. 24 ; Eom. i. 
 17—23 ; Gal. i. 10. Dr. J. Scott. (Christian Life, p. 2, c. i.) 
 
 Shall I wash my hands, ere I touch that, which shall go into my 
 
S. MAEK Vn. 5. 155 
 
 body ; and not clean my heart, when I take that, which shall go 
 into my soul ? S. Matt, xxvii. 59. Dr. Rd. Gierke. (Serm. 
 on the last Question in the Church Catechism.) 
 
 5 It was always about mere questions that the Pharisees were so 
 busy. 1 Tim. i. 4 ; Tit. i. 10 ; iii. 9. Bengel. 
 
 Then do we ensnare men's consciences by human constitutions, 
 when we thrust them upon men, as if they were Divine, and 
 bind men's consciences to them immediately, as if they were 
 immediate parts of Gron's "Worship, or of absolute necessity 
 unto Salvation. This tyranny and usurpation over men's con- 
 sciences the Pharisees did. . . . But our Church (God be 
 thanked) is far from any such impious presumption, and hath 
 sufficiently declared herself by solemn protestation, enough to 
 satisfy any ingenuous impartial judgment, that, by requiring 
 obedience to the ceremonial constitutions, she hath no other pur- 
 pose, than to reduce all her children to an orderly uniformity 
 in the outward Worship of Gron ; so far is she from seeking to 
 draw any opinion, either of Divine necessity upon the consti- 
 tution, or of effectual holiness upon the ceremony. Acts xv. 
 1, 19, 20 ; Eom. xiv. ; 2 Cor. vii. 35 ; Gal. ii. 4, 5. Bp. San- 
 derson. (Serm. on E-om. xiv. 3.) 
 
 That traditions of men should be obtruded unto us for Articles of 
 Eeligion, and admitted for parts of God's Worship ; or that 
 any traditions should be accepted for parcels of God's Word, 
 beside the Holy Scriptures, and such doctrines, as are either 
 expressly therein contained, or by sound inference may be de- 
 duced from thence — I think we have reason to gainsay; as 
 long as, for the first, we have this direct sentence from God 
 Himself, In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the 
 commandments of men ; and for the second, the express warrant 
 of the Apostle, (2 Tim. iii. 16,) testifying of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, not only that they are " able to make us wise unto sal- 
 vation," (which they should not be able to do, if they did not 
 contain all things necessary to salvation ;) but also that by 
 them "the man of God," that is, the Minister of God's Word, 
 unto whom it appertaineth to declare " all the counsel of God," 
 may be "perfectly instructed to every good work;" which 
 could not be, if the Scriptures did not contain " all the counsel 
 
156 S. MARK YII. 7. 
 
 of GrOD," which was fit for him to learn ; or, if there were any 
 other Word of God, which he were bound to teach, that should 
 not be contained within the limits of the Book of Gron. Ps. 
 xix. 7—10 ; S. John xx. 31 ; Eev. xxii. 18, 19. Abp. Usher. 
 (Answer to a Jesuit, Ch. 2.) 
 
 6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath 
 Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, 
 This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their 
 heart is far from Me. 
 
 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching/or 
 doctrines the commandments of men. 
 
 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye 
 hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and 
 cups : and many other such like things ye do. 
 
 9 And He said unto them. Full well ye reject the 
 commandment of God, that ye may keep your own 
 tradition. 
 
 10 For Moses said. Honour thy father and thy 
 mother ; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let 
 him die the death : 
 
 1 1 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or 
 mother. It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by what- 
 soever thou mightest be profited by me ; he shall be 
 free, 
 
 12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his 
 father or his mother ; 
 
 13 Making the word of God of none effect through 
 your tradition, which ye have delivered : and many 
 such like things do ye. 
 
 7 In vain do they worship Me. — It is idolatry, when any thing, 
 which is not God, is represented as GrOD, and worshipped in 
 
S. MARK VII. 8. 157 
 
 that character ; or, when the true GtOD is worshipped other- 
 wise, than according to His will. S. John iv. 24. Parceus. 
 
 8 I have ever noted it a true sign of a false heart, to be scrupu- 
 lous and nice in small matters, negligent in the main ; whereas, 
 the good soul is still curious in substantial points, and not care- 
 less in things of an inferior nature ; accounting no duty so 
 small, as to be neglected, and no care great enough for princi- 
 pal duties ; not so " ty thing mint and cummin," that he should 
 forget "justice and judgment;" nor yet so regarding "judg- 
 ment and justice," that he should contemn " mint and cum- 
 min." He, that thus misplaces his conscience, will be found 
 either hypocritical, or superstitious. Eccl. iii. 1 ; S. Luke i. 6 ; 
 S. John xviii. 28. Bp. Hall. (Holy Observations. 70.) 
 
 If you are really renewed in the image of your Father, your 
 religion will no longer be equivocal. It will need neither a 
 long, nor ostentatious profession, nor an affectation of petty 
 and useless singularities, to reveal it to the world : on the con- 
 trary, every action will have a voice ; and your alliance to GrOD 
 will be seen and felt in the thousand incidents of daily life, in 
 every circumstance, by which GrOD may be honoured, and a fel- 
 low-creature comforted and saved. Isa. xxxii. 8 ; S. Matt. v. 
 14, 16 ; Eora. xiv. 17, 18. J. W. Cunningham. (The Velvet 
 Cushion.) 
 
 There be many, that do, but trifle in religion, and play about the 
 skirts and borders of it. Exod. xii. 38. Flavel. 
 
 Many other such like things ye do. — The last way (of preserving 
 and propagating doctrine) is by continued tradition, by oral 
 instruction, successively from time to time, which is of all ways 
 most liable to defect and corruption. Eor the teacher may 
 unaptly express his meaning, and the hearer may not rightly 
 understand him : the memory of both in some material matter 
 may falter. Men love to be curious in their speech, to vary in 
 expression, to make explications, to draw consequences, to mix 
 their own conceits and inventions, to shew the acuteness of 
 their wit and the fruitfulness of their fancy, to display all 
 their faculties of ratiocination and eloquence ; especially, they 
 are apt to accommodate doctrines to their own prejudices, in- 
 clinations, and designs : whence error and difference may in- 
 
158 S. MAKE yil. 10, 11. 
 
 sensibly creep through this conduit; and the farther such 
 tradition departs from the original spring, the more subject it 
 is to contract such alterations and impurities. Every doctrine, 
 thus propagated, is like a stream ; at the head it is small and 
 narrow, clear and pure; proceeding on, it grows larger and 
 fouler. So tradition swells by taking in what oblique channels 
 of private fancy and pragmatical invention discharge into it ; 
 and by receiving tincture from particular inclination, or poli- 
 tical design, it grows muddy and feculent. Deut. iv. 2 ; S. 
 John xxi. 23 ; Gal. v. 7, 8 ; 1 S. John iv. 1. Dr. Barrow. 
 (Expos, of the Creed. Art. 1.) 
 
 10 For Moses said. — It is most safe to make an appeal to the 
 fountain-head, the first origin, which is the Divine Institution. 
 Then will every mistake of man find its remedy. S. Matt. xix. 
 4; Acts xi. 4; 1 Cor. xi. 23; xv. 1 — 3. S. Cyprian. (Ep. 
 contr. Steph.) 
 
 Eor death primarily signifies the dissolution of the vital union 
 between the soul and body, and, consequently, all the prepara- 
 tory dispositions thereunto, diseases, pains, and all the affec- 
 tions of mortality, which terminate in death, as their centre. 
 This is the extremest of temporal evils, which innocent nature 
 shrunk fi.'om, it being a deprivation of that excellent state, 
 which man enjoyed. But principally it signifieth the separa- 
 tion of the soul from GtOd's reviving presence, who is the only 
 fountain of felicity. Gen. ii. 17 ; Ps. xxx. 5 ; Eev. xx. 14 ; S. 
 Jude 12. Br. Bates. (Harmony of the Divine Attributes. 
 Ch. 1.) 
 
 Die the death. — The law is " the ministration of condemnation" 
 — death and death ; but the Gospel is " the ministration of the 
 Spirit." (2 Cor. iii. 8.) "The law of the Spirit of life in 
 Cheist Jestjs." (Eom. viii. 2.) Eor die the death, we have 
 "grace for grace." S. John i. 16. J. F. 
 
 11 But ye say. If a man, 8fc. — A deep stain will not vanish at one 
 superficial rubbing. In former days, men wrote more against 
 special vices, than they do at present. The notion now too 
 much prevails, that if the general depravity of our nature be 
 directly taught and learnt, particular sins will fall away of 
 course. But surely we may sometimes eradicate the whole of 
 
S. MAEK VII. 11. 159 
 
 a noxious shrub by pulling at one of its tougb branches. Be- 
 sides, there are persons, with whom all else would be right, if 
 they did not but "lack one thing." Therefore be not weary, 
 ye Ministers of souls, in "rightly dividing" and dispensing the 
 word of truth. The atheism of the present day, which shows 
 itself to be on the increase, not only in private profligacy, but 
 in open and avowed repugnance to every serious thought and 
 reflection concerning the living God, can only be properly en- 
 countered and overcome by unremittingly " holding forth the 
 word of life" in all its bearings. Amos i. 3, 6, 9, 11 ; Acts 
 xxiv. 25 ; Phil. iii. 18. Bengel. (Maxims for Pastoral Con- 
 duct.) 
 
 If the language of sermons be vague and general, if it do not 
 apply clearly and directly to our own times, our own ways of 
 life, and habits of thought and action, men elude its hold upon 
 their consciences with a wonderful dexterity; and, keeping 
 their common practices safe out of the reach of its influence, 
 they deceive themselves by their williugness to hear it, (vi. 20,) 
 and by their acquiescence and even delight in it. Ezek. 
 xxxiii. 3 — 6 ; E,om. vii. 22. Dr. Arnold. (Preface to Ser- 
 mons.) 
 
 There are people, who say, " See, why it is, that nobody gives 
 any thing to the Church of Hippo : see, why no dying person 
 makes that Church his heir : simply, because Bishop Augustine 
 out of his kindness gives all away and accepts nothing." — I 
 accept, he replies, I professedly accept oblations, that is. Holy 
 Oblations. But, if any father, being incensed against his son, 
 at his death disinherits him, ought I not during his life to have 
 appeased his anger ? Is it not my duty to have reconciled his 
 son to him ? How then can I with any truth desire him to 
 be at peace with his son, when I receive the inheritance of that 
 son ? But, let him only do that, which I have often strongly 
 urged upon you — if, having one son, he will suppose Cheist a 
 second ; having two, suppose Cheist a third ; having ten, sup- 
 pose Him the eleventh and bequeath to Him such a portion 
 of his estate, then I receive it. I accepted the inheritance of 
 Julianus : why ? because he died without children. I accepted 
 not that of Boniface : and, when I restored to the son what 
 
160 S, MAEK YII. 11—13. 
 
 his angry fatter had alienated from him, I did well. S. Augus- 
 tine. (Serm. 49, de Diversis.) 
 
 Motions to good come from the devil, in case our motions of duty 
 to GrOD make us neglect our duty to man. The Spirit of GrOD 
 moves us with an equal motion, duties of the Second as well as 
 duties of the First table, duties of charity and equity, as well 
 as of piety towards GtOD. 2 Cor. xi. 14. Chr. Love. (Serm. 
 on Gal. V. 16.) 
 
 GrOD is not honoured with the expense of that money, which is 
 bedewed with the tears of the oppressed. Isa. i. 10 — 19. S. 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 It is a gift. — Conf. S. Matt. v. 24 ; observing, that in that case 
 the Pharisaic Jews sought to compound by their gift for a sin : 
 whereas, in the passage before us they contrived to evade a 
 known duty. J. F. 
 
 12 This form of speech did neither argue that he, who thus 
 spake, devoted his goods to Sacred uses, nor obliged him, ac- 
 cording to the doctrine of the Scribes) to devote them ; but 
 only restrained him by an obligation from that thing, for the 
 denying of which he used such a form. . . . He was not at all 
 bound by these words to dedicate his estate to Sacred uses ; 
 but not to help his father he was inviolably bound. Dr. Light- 
 foot. (Exercitat. S. Matt. xv. 5.) 
 
 13 Many such like things do ye. — Three times does our Lord ob- 
 ject this to them. Principiis obsta. " Wide is the gate and 
 broad the way" of superstition and will- worship, when once 
 admitted. Like the demoniac in the fifth chapter, it speaks at 
 first in the singular number, but is afterwards found in its 
 plurality to be a " Legion." Accordingly, in the Preface to 
 the Book of Common Prayer we read, " Some ceremonies are 
 put away, because the great excess and multitude of them 
 hath so increased, in these latter days, that the burden of them 
 was intolerable ; whereof S. Augustine in his time complained, 
 that they were grown to such a number, that the estate of 
 Christian people was in worse case, concerning that matter, 
 than were the Jews." (Eefer to S. Matt, xxiii. 23. Overberg.) 
 Acts XV. 10; Gal. v. 1. J. F. 
 
 It much grieves me to see the most wholesome precepts of Scrip- 
 
S. MAEK VII. 13. 161 
 
 ture so neglected, and all places so abounding with the pre- 
 sumptions of men, that the man, who during the Octave shall 
 touch the ground with his bare foot — (and so foul them after 
 he had washed them at Easter) — shall be more bitterly cen- 
 sured, than he, who at the same time defiles his soul with 
 drunkenness. All such things therefore, neither contained in 
 the authority of Holy Scripture nor confirmed by the practice 
 of the Universal Church, but by the different customs of dif- 
 ferent places so multiplied and varied beyond bounds, that it 
 rarely happens we can discover any reason for their institution, 
 ought, unquestionably, in my judgment, to be here cut off 
 by those in authority. For, although it cannot be shown how 
 they are contrary to Faith, yet they so load our Eeligion with 
 their servile burdens — a Eeligion, which in the celebration of 
 a very few and most manifest Sacraments GrOD would merci- 
 fully have to be most free to us — that the condition of the 
 Jews is more tolerable ; who, albeit strangers to our time of 
 liberty, are yet subject only to the imposition of the Law of 
 GrOD, and not of the presumptions of men. Acts xv. 28 ; Heb. 
 viii. 11 ; Col. ii. 20—23. >S'. Augustine, (Ep. 119, c. 18.) 
 
 14 And when He had called all the people unto 
 Hirrif He said unto them, Hearken unto Me every one 
 of you, and understand : 
 
 15 There is nothing from without a man, that en- 
 tering into him can defile him : but the things which 
 come out of him, those are they that defile the man. 
 
 16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 
 
 17 And when He was entered into the house from 
 the people. His disciples asked Him concerning the 
 parable. 
 
 18 And He saith unto them. Are ye so without un- 
 derstanding also ? Do ye not perceive, that what- 
 soever thing from without entereth into the man, it 
 cannot defile him ; 
 
 M 
 
162 S. MAEK VIL 15, 20. 
 
 19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into 
 the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all 
 meats ? 
 
 20 And He said, That which cometh out of the 
 man, that defileth the man. 
 
 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, pro- 
 ceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 
 
 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasci- 
 viousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, fooUshness : 
 
 23 All these evil things come from within, and 
 defile the man. 
 
 15 Corpus instrumentum ; Anima ars ipsa. The body is the mere 
 tool ; it is the Soul, that informs and acts. Eom. vi. 12, 13. 
 S. Basil. 
 Let nothing be esteemed of greater consequence and concern- 
 ment to thee, than what thou doest and actest, how thou 
 livest. Nothing without us can make us either happy, or 
 miserable ; nothing can either defile, or hurt us, but what 
 goeth out from us, what springeth and bubbleth up, out of our 
 own hearts. "We have dreadful apprehensions of the flames of 
 Hell without us ; we tremble and are afraid, when we hear of 
 " fire and brimstone ;" whilst, in the mean time, we securely 
 nourish, within our own hearts, a true and a living Hell — et 
 cceco carpimur igni : the dark fire of our lusts consumeth our 
 bowels within, and miserably scorcheth our souls ; and we are 
 not troubled at it. "We do not perceive how Hell steals upon 
 us, whilst we live here. (Eefer to Illustr. S. Matt. xxii. 46. 
 Br. Whichcote.) Prov. iv. 23—27 ; 1 S. Pet. iii. 10—13. Dr. 
 Cudworth. (Serm. on 1 S. John ii. 3, 4.) 
 20 The heart, although sometimes it be put for the appetitive 
 part of the soul only, as being the proper seat of the desires 
 and aff'ections, as the head, or brain, is of the conceptions, or 
 thoughts ; yet is it very often in Scripture, and so it is here, 
 taken more largely, so as to comprehend the whole soul, in all 
 its faculties, as well the apprehensive, as the appetitive, and 
 
S. MARK VII. 20, 21. 163 
 
 consequently taketh in the thoughts, as well as the desires of 
 the soul. Ps. xxxiii. 15. Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. on Prov. 
 xix. 21.) 
 
 This is an answer to those, who consider that bad thoughts are 
 injected by the devil, and that they do not spring from our 
 own will. He can add strength to our bad thoughts, and 
 inflame them; but he cannot originate them. Eph. vi. 16. 
 2 S. Pet. V. 8. Bede. 
 
 Satan was the main agent in our depravation ; but, being once 
 depraved, we can act evil of ourselves. And, if Satan be the 
 father of our sins, our will is the mother ; and sin is the 
 cursed issue of both. He could not make our sin without 
 ourselves ; we concur to our own undoing. It was the charge 
 of the Apostle, that we should not "give place to the devil." 
 Lo, he could not take it, unless we gave it ; our will betrays 
 us to his tyranny : in vain shall we cry out of the malice and 
 fraud of wicked spirits, while we nourish their accomplices in 
 our bosoms. S. Matt. iv. 6; S. James i. 14, 15. Bp. Hall. 
 (Select Thoughts. 35.) 
 
 21 He puts evil thoughts in the front, as the leader of all this 
 black regiment ; for " out of this evil treasure of the heart men 
 bring forth evil things ;" and all the fruits of the flesh, the 
 grapes of Sodom and the clusters of Gromorrah, receive their 
 sap and nourishment from this root of bitterness. Gen. vi. 5 ; 
 Jer. iv. 14. Bp. Hopkins. (Expos, of the 10th Commandment.) 
 
 Eespecting the order, in this catalogue of sins, streaming, as it 
 were, from the corrupt fountain of the human heart, it has 
 been well remarked, that ill thinking {evil thoughts) is put 
 first, as that, which is the spring of all our commissions ; and 
 unthinking {foolishness) put last, as that, which is the spring 
 of all our omissions. J. F. 
 
 Of aU evils, we account evil thoughts the least. This we think 
 strange. What ! thoughts defile a man ? What so light a 
 matter, as thoughts ? Can they make any impression ? Yes, 
 and defile a man too, leaving such a spot behind him, as 
 nothing, but the hot Blood of Cheist, can wash away. . . . 
 There is a double filthiness, " a filthiness of the flesh, and a 
 filthiness of the spirit." (2 Cor. vi. 15—18 ; vii. 1.) Cor- 
 
 M 2 
 
164 S. MARK VTI. 22, 23. 
 
 ruptio optimi pessima, the corruption, wliicli cleaves to tte 
 best thing, is worst : the soul is the best thing, the most noble 
 thing. Eph. vi. 12 ; S. James i. 21 ; Eev. i. 14. Abp. Usher. 
 (Serm. on Lam. v. 16.) 
 
 22 Covetousness is either an unlawful desire of what is none of 
 our own, or a too greedy delight in what is so. Palmer. 
 (Aphorisms. 738.) 
 
 An evil eye. — Oh, how can we hope with Job to "see our 
 [Redeemer," with these eyes so vain, so proud, so wanton, 
 so polluted, so prostitute? They had need be well washed 
 with the eye- water of penitent tears, and then with the 
 Blood of Christ. S. Matt. v. 8 ; Ps. cxix. 37 ; IS. John iii. 
 3 ; Job xxxi. 1. Bp. Gauden. (Sermon preached at the 
 Puneral of Bp. Brownrig.) 
 
 Foolishness. — Because this renders all the other evils less curable, 
 it stands last. Human corruption does not subsist exclusively 
 in the will. S. Luke xi. 40. Bengel. 
 
 23 All these evil things. — Pride and foolishness are against the 
 first Commandment ; blasphemies against the second and third ; 
 of sins against the fifth Commandment He spake before, (v. 
 10,) and here are murders against the sixth ; adultery and 
 
 fornication against the seventh ; thefts and covetousness against 
 the eighth ; guile against the ninth ; evil thoughts against the 
 tenth. 1 S. John iii. 4. Edw. Leigh, (in loco ; from Grotius.) 
 " We ought so to chasten our bodies," says Maximus Taurinensis, 
 " as, at the same time, to feed our souls with all the virtues." 
 Let therefore detraction, luxury, and odious contention, and 
 cruel oppression, fast. Let the poor be fed, provided it be not 
 with the spoils of the poor. To what purpose is it to abstain 
 from meat, when that, which is more filthy than the vilest 
 kind of meat, reproach, detraction, lies, and oaths, are all the 
 time issuing from our mouths? Are we not sensible, that 
 " not that, which goeth into the mouth, defileth the man, but 
 that, which cometh out of the mouth ?" 1 Kings xxi. 9 ; Isa. 
 Iviii. 4; S. Matt. vi. 16. P. Skelton. (Serm. on Qal. v. 17.) 
 
 24 And from thence He arose, and went into the 
 borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, 
 
S. MAEK VII. 24. 165 
 
 and would have no man know it : but He could not 
 be hid. 
 
 25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter 
 had an unclean spirit, heard of Him, and came and 
 fell at His feet : 
 
 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by 
 nation ; and she besought Him that He would cast 
 forth the devil out of her daughter. 
 
 27 But Jesus said unto her. Let the children first 
 be filled : for it is not meet to take the children's 
 bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. 
 
 28 And she answered and said unto Him, Yes, 
 Lord, yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's 
 crumbs. 
 
 29 And He said unto her, For this saying go thy 
 way, the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 
 
 30 And when she was come to her house, she 
 found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon 
 the bed. 
 
 24 (Conf. S. John viii. 59.) He could not be hid. — 
 
 Omnia cum videat, nuUi Deus ipse videtur ; 
 Solus ubique^a^e^, solus ubique latet. 
 
 Joan. Audcenus {John Owen.) (Epigr.) 
 Conf. S. Matt. xv. 21, 22. We might not perhaps refine over- 
 much, if we ventured to say, that these two remarkable cases 
 (the Centurion, S. Matt. viii. 8 ; and the Canaanite), con- 
 sidered as recorded fruits of the revelation of Cheist to the Gren- 
 tiles, in and adjacent to the immediate scene of His labours, may 
 stand as fitting types of the two great divisions of the Grentile 
 world, as designated from the sons of Noah — the Eoman 
 Centurion, a child of Japhet ; the Canaanite mother, a daughter 
 of Ham ; while the Jews themselves, the Loed's direct sub- 
 jects, " the lost sheep of the house of Israel," to whom He was 
 
166 S. MARK yil. 25. 
 
 sent, "the seed of Abraham, in whom the whole earth was to 
 be blessed," form ample representatives of the race of Shem, 
 who are only wanted to complete the universal Supremacy of 
 Him, to whom it was promised that " all the ends of the 
 world should turn unto Him, and all kindreds of the nations 
 worship before Him." Thus, even during the earthly life and 
 pilgrimage of Christ, had the great branches, African, Eastern, 
 and Western, of His Catholic Church, their seminal represen- 
 tatives — single, and isolated, and obscure, it may be — but the 
 more answerable, in the feebleness of their infancy, to that 
 kingdom of heaven, which is " like a grain of mustard seed, 
 which is less than all the seeds, that be in the earth, but, when 
 it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, 
 and shooteth out great branches, so that the fowls of the air 
 may lodge under the shadow of it." Archer Butler. (Serm. 
 on S. Matt. vi. 21.) 
 
 25 A certain woman. — The antiquity of oblivion blindly scatter- 
 eth her poppy, and deals with the memory of men without 
 distinction to merit of perpetuity. . . . But to be nameless in 
 worthy deeds exceeds an infamous history. The Canaanitish 
 woman lives more happily without a name, than Herodias, 
 with one. And who had not rather have been the good thief, 
 than Pilate? 2 Cor. vi. 9. (See S. Matt. xxvi. 7. J. F.) 
 Sir Thomas Browne. (Hydriotaphia, page 44. Edit. London. 
 1736.) 
 
 Whose young daughter had an unclean spirit. — Youth enters upon 
 the journey of life headstrong and inexperienced, with a bias 
 of original corruption, and all the passions awake. In such 
 circumstances, how shall a young man direct his steps, so as 
 to "escape the corruption, that is in the world through lust?" 
 (2 S. Pet. i. 4.) He must, for this purpose, take with him the 
 directions, to be found in the Scriptures of truth. " I have 
 written unto you, young men," says the beloved disciple, 
 " because ye are strong, and the Word of GrOD abideth in you, 
 and ye have overcome the wicked one." He, who became 
 man for our salvation, passed through this state of youth 
 undefiled, that He might, as it were, reclaim and consecrate it 
 anew to God. Let every young man often meditate on this. 
 
S. MARK VII. 25, 26. 167 
 
 Eccl. xi. 9, 10 ; xii. 1 ; Ps. cxix. 9. Bp. Home. (Comment, 
 on Ps. cxix. 9.) 
 
 Youth is the time of life, wherein we are in greatest danger to 
 run into wild and extravagant courses ; our blood is hot, and 
 our spirits unstaid and giddy ; we have too much pride to be 
 governed by others, and too little wisdom to govern ourselves. 
 The yoke is tlien especially needful to tame our wildness, and 
 reduce us to a due staidness and composure of mind. 1 Kings 
 xii. 8 ; Job xxxii. 7 ; Titus ii. 6. Scougal. (Serm. on Lam. 
 iii. 27, 28.) 
 
 26 In this woman we have an example of Baptizing children ; for 
 she saith not, "Help my daughter," but ''Help me T or, 
 " Have mercy upon me ;" (S. Matt. xv. 22 ;) the sins of chil- 
 dren being forgiven, through the faith of their parents, when 
 they are little ones. Hence hath grown the custom in the 
 Church that the faithful promise for their children unto God, 
 when they, by reason of their age, cannot promise for them- 
 selves. Remigius. 
 
 " Have mercy on wze;" as if she were afraid lest her own sins 
 were the cause of her daughter's sickness. Ex. xx. 5 ; 1 Kings 
 xvii. 18 ; S. John ix. 2. Chr. Sutton. (Disce Yivere, c. 12.) 
 
 He answered her not a word. (S. Matt. xxv. 23.)— How many 
 courtiers go, a hundred times a year, into the Prince's presence- 
 chamber, without hopes of speaking to him, but only to be seen 
 by him, and to pay him their duty. So ought we to come to 
 holy prayer, purely and merely to pay our duty, and testify 
 our fidelity to God. And, should it please His Divine Ma- 
 jesty to speak, and entertain Himself with us by His holy in- 
 spirations and interior consolations, it would doubtless be to 
 us a great honour and most delightful pleasure ; but, should it 
 not please Him to do us this favour, but leave us, without 
 taking any more notice of us, than if we were not in His Pre- 
 sence, we must not therefore depart, but remain before His 
 Sovereign goodness with a devout and reverential carriage: 
 and then, observing our diligence, our patience, and persever« 
 ance, He will, when we again come before Him, favour us with 
 His consolations and make us experience the sweetness of holy 
 prayer. Yet, if He should not do so, let us rest content that 
 
168 g. MAEK VII. 27, 28. 
 
 it is an exceeding great honour for us to come before Him, 
 and to be admitted into His Presence. Ps. cxxiii. 1, 2 ; Gen. 
 xlix. 18; Lam. iii. 22 — 26; Jer. xlv. 5. Francois de Sales. 
 (Introd. to a Devout life, p. ii. c. 9.) 
 
 27 If GrOD invariably listened to every supplicant, He might ap- 
 pear to us to act, rather from some necessity, than from His 
 own free-will. Ps. cxxxv. 6 ; E,om. ix. 15, 16. S. Ambrose. 
 
 The mother makes a pretence of casting to the ground the dear 
 child in her arms, so that the child may cling more closely to 
 her. Gen. 1. 20 ; S. Luke xxiv. 28. Simon Cassianus. (Li 
 Evang. Ixiv.) 
 
 28 Yes, LoED. — Oh, rare example, in a heathen, of resignation to 
 the will of God, of complacency and satisfaction in the general 
 arrangements of His Providence, which he is the best Chris- 
 tian, who imitates ! . . . Would God, that men would imitate 
 the humility of this pious Canaanite ; that they would consider 
 the scanty measures of the human intellect ; rest satisfied in 
 the general belief of the Divine goodness and wisdom ; and 
 wait for the event of things to clear up the things, " hard to 
 be understood," in the present constitution of the moral world, 
 as well as in the Bible ! Ezek. xviii. 25 ; 1 Sam. iii. 18 ; Ps. 
 cxxxi. 3. Bp. Horsley. (Serm. on S. Mark vii. 26.) 
 
 It is the peculiar business of faith's eye to see in the dark. E,om. 
 iv. 19—21 ; Heb. xi. 27. Toplady. 
 
 Nothing can be more engaging, than the patient, humble, de- 
 vout, fiducial behaviour of a good Christian under the pressure 
 of a long afl9.iction ; and our holy E-eligion never appeared 
 more charming, than when the Church was in tears and 
 under a cloud of sorrow. Eev. ii. 3. Dr. Bragge. (On the 
 Miracles.) 
 
 Thus, for reasons, which, though we know not yet, our knowing 
 of God may assure us to be both wise and just, a pious soul 
 may sometimes be reduced to so sad a condition, that the face 
 of heaven does to her appear perpetually overcast, and the 
 tokens of God's displeasure do so closely follow one another, 
 that to borrow Solomon's phrase, " the clouds return after the 
 rain :" but if, notwithstanding all this, the seemingly deserted 
 soul, do, like the good ground mentioned in the Gospel, bring 
 
S. MAEK VII. 29. 169 
 
 forth fruit with perseverance ; if prayer, charity, resignation, 
 and those other Divine graces, that are wont to be the proper 
 and genuine productions of God's Spirit, do flourish and pros- 
 per in the soul, we may safely conclude that soul, though never 
 so disconsolate, to be in the state of grace, and that she really 
 receives the blest assistances of Him, who can alone give the 
 increase (to the seeds of piety and virtue), though not in the 
 glad and conspicuous way of an unclouded heaven, yet in the 
 effectual, though secret, method of fructifying influences ; and 
 we may reasonably hope, that He who has not only begun a 
 good work, but carried it on through such impediments and 
 disadvantages, will perfect it, by bringing the slow, but yet 
 gradually, ripening fruit to the due perfection. . . . "We must 
 not hastily conclude it winter with the soul, though the heaven 
 be lowering, provided the earth be fruitful ; but remember that 
 the saving influence of God's Spirit may be, where His com- 
 fortable presence is not perceived. The living in sensible com- 
 forts and joys, is rather a part of our reward, than of our duty ; 
 and that (consequently) it may save many modest and pious 
 persons a great deal of disquiet, if they would learn to judge 
 of their spiritual condition, rather by the duties and services 
 they pay God, than by the present consolations He vouchsafes 
 them ; or, in a word, rather by what they do, than by what 
 they feel. Eccl. viii. 12 ; Job xiii. 15 ; Ps. Ixix. 3 ; Isa. 1. 10. 
 B. Boyle. (Occasional Keflections, s. iii. 5.) 
 
 29 The Gentiles were once doffs, and the Jews God's children, 
 and the Gentiles glad to lick up their crumbs : but now we are 
 the children, and they the dogs ; we sit at Christ's table, 
 and they are glad to glean that, which falleth from us. The 
 dew was first only on the fleece, and not on the ground ; but 
 after on the ground, and not on the fleece. (Judg. vi.) The 
 Jews are the fleece, the Gentiles the ground, and the dew is 
 Grace, saith Theodoret. The wheel of the world (S. James iii. 
 6) is turned quite contrary. The Sun long since is set in the 
 east, and is risen in the west. x. 21 ; Eom, ix. 12, 13 ; S. Jude 
 6. Dr. Richard Gierke. (Serm. on S. Luke ii. 32.) 
 
 For this sayiiig. — Est qucedam prcBvaricatrix modestia ; est qucedam 
 sancta hnpudentia ; there is a kind of modesty, that betrays us ; 
 
170 S. MAKE VII. 29. 
 
 and there is a holy and sanctified impudence, when with the 
 woman here we will not be answered, neither with silence, nor 
 with a denial, nor with a reproach. " Though He kill me," 
 says Job ; " Though He call me a dog," says the woman here, 
 yet will I pray and double my cry. Hcbc est ilia Deo grata vis. 
 This is that welcome " violence," with which "the kingdom of 
 heaven is taken by force." This is the way, by which G-od 
 delights to be wooed and won. Gen. xxxii. 26; Heb. v. 7. 
 Farindon. (Serm. on S. Matt. xv. 25.) 
 
 Oh, let the Loed's remembrancers give Him no rest! There is 
 a kind of Omnipotency in prayer, as having an interest and 
 prevalence with G-od's Omnipotency. It hath loosed iron 
 chains (Acts xvi. 25, 26) : it hath opened iron gates (Acts xii. 
 5, 10) : it hath unlocked the windows of heaven (1 Eangs xviii. 
 41) : it hath broken the bars of death (S. John xi. 40 --43) . . 
 How should this encourage us to treasure up our prayers ? to 
 besiege the throne of grace with armies of supplications ? to 
 refuse a denial ? to break through a repulse ? He hath blessed 
 those, whom He did cripple. (G-en. xxxii. 25, 28.) He hath 
 answered those, whom He did reproach. He hath delivered 
 those, whom He did deny. (Judg. x. 13, 16.) In all the afflic- 
 tions of Cheist, when prayers are strongest, mercies are nearest. 
 Acts xii. 5, 12. Bp. Reynolds. (Serm. on Hos. xiv. 2.) 
 
 The strange and repulsive conduct of our Blessed Loed towards 
 this Gentile woman seems to have almost been a literal fulfil- 
 ment of the prophecy of Isaiah, spoken of God's general deal- 
 ings, so mysterious and apparently harsh, toward all the Gen- 
 tile race, left, as they were, for a season, as outcasts, (Eph. ii. 
 12;) G-od's mercies being limited to His "family," His fa- 
 voured Israel. This woman saw " the end of the Loed, that 
 the Loed is very pitiful and of tender mercy." (S. James v. 
 11.) And so it is written, " Rejoice, ye G-entiles, with His 
 people." (Rom. xv. 10.) The words of the prophet are at 
 Ch. liv. ver. 6 — 11. " The Loed hath called thee, as a woman 
 forsaken," &c., &c. Nor should we omit to observe that, as it 
 was the affliction of her daughter, that brought the Sjrophoe- 
 nician in accepted prayer to the Redeemer, so the parallel 
 holds good, and finds its completion in the subjoined promise, 
 
S. MARK VII. 33. 171 
 
 (verse 13,) "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord ; and 
 great shall be the peace of thy children.^'' Acts ii. 39. J. F. 
 
 31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre 
 and Sidon, He came unto the sea of Galilee, through 
 the midst of the coasts of DecapoHs. 
 
 32 And tiiey bring unto Him one that was deaf, and 
 had an impediment in his speech : and they beseech 
 Him to put His hand upon him. 
 
 33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and 
 put His fingers into his ears, and He spit, and touched 
 his tongue ; 
 
 34 And looking up to heaven, He sighed, and saith 
 unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 
 
 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the 
 string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 
 
 36 And He charged them that they should tell no 
 man : but the more He charged them, so much the 
 more a great deal they published it ; 
 
 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, 
 He hath done all things well : He maketh both the 
 deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. 
 
 33 Surely, He, at the word of whose mouth the Heavens were 
 made, was submitting Himself as " the Son of Man," and with- 
 holding Almighty power in apparent difficulty, and under the 
 bands of human infirmity. And both of these instances, (viii. 
 22 — 27 ; miracles, only recorded by S. Mark,) are followed by 
 the strait charge not to divulge them ; a still further indi- 
 cation of the withholding and restraining the greatness of His 
 Divine power on these occasions. Isaac Williams. (Thoughts 
 on the Study of the Grospel. P. i. s. 5.) 
 
 When GrOD, in healing one and the same kind of human infirmity, 
 at all departs from His usual mode of operation, He leads us 
 to examine more closely the causes of His so doing. The place 
 
172 S. MARK VII. 34, 35. 
 
 was Bethsaida (viii. 22), reproved by tbe Lord for its unbelief. 
 (S. Matt, xi.) Taking the blind by the band, He conducts bim 
 safe out of the dwellings of tbe infidel ; He raises bim from 
 tbe seat of tbe scornful ; tbat He migbt give faitb to bis soul, 
 before sigbt to bis eye ; beal bis mind, before bis body ; ante 
 prceberet humani ducatus obsequium, quam Divince virtutis ope- 
 raretur insigne — migbt draw bim witb tbe " cords of a man" 
 in tbus gently leading bim, before He wrougbt on him the 
 wonders of Divine power, ii. 5. Pet. Chrysologus. (Serm. 176.) 
 
 34 Looking up to heaven He sighed. — Not tbat He, who Himself 
 gave, what He asked, did this from any necessity; but He 
 would rather teach us to direct our sighs to Him, who reigneth 
 in heaven, imploring Him to open our ears by tbe grace of His 
 Holy Spirit, and to loosen our tongues by tbe unction (salivam) 
 of His mouth, which is tbe knowledge of tbe Divine art of 
 ordering our speech, tbat we may preach His Grospel. Exod. 
 iv. 10—12 ; Acts ii. 4 ; Eph. vi. 19. S. Gregory. 
 
 Quasi homo, ingemuit ; quasi Deus, curavit. As a man, He sighed; 
 but, as God, He wrought the cure. viii. 12 ; S. Matt. u. 2. 
 Bede. 
 
 In our endeavours to do good, we may well look up to heaven and 
 sigh ; not so much grieving at those objects of misery, which 
 we desire to relieve, as sighing under a deep sense of our own 
 misery, imperfection, and unworthiness, in the discbarge of our 
 duty. Our sigh will speak to this effect ; " When we have 
 done all, we are unprofitable servants. Pardon, Lord, the 
 iniquity of our holy things !" 2 Chron. xxx. 19 ; Ps. cxxx. 3 ; 
 S. Jude 21. J. F. 
 
 Tbe Evangelist retained tbe Syriac word ; that he migbt shew 
 how easy it was for Christ to beal this wretched man, as He, 
 who using a familiar and ordinary word, perfectly restored him. 
 V. 41. Edw. Leigh. 
 
 35 Christ first opened his ears, then untied bis tongue ; because 
 we must hear well, before we can speak well. Job xxxii. 6, 
 7 ; Prov. XV. 2 ; S. James i. 19. Po7itanus. 
 
 Two things illustrate Christ's omnipotent power, in acting this 
 miracle — celerity, for tbat He did it so suddenly ; perfection, 
 for that He did it so soundly. Ps. cxi. 2. Maldonate. 
 
S. MAEK VII. 35, 37. 173 
 
 He, whose tongue was loosed, and whose ears were opened, first 
 made use of these recovered faculties in discoursing with Je- 
 sus ; he whose eye was restored, first employed his sight in 
 gazing on Jesus. What an accession to the grace . of each 
 miracle ! What a means of sanctifying the ear, the tongue, and 
 the eye, and of training them to their proper ofl&ce, the glory of 
 God ! viii. 25 ; Job xxix. 11 ; Acts i. 11 ; iii, 8 ; x. 46. J. F. 
 
 37 He hath done all things well. — Verus plausus, d^, ^vl'^ acclaim! 
 GrOD, at the Creation, saw that each and every one of the crea- 
 tures made was "very good," (Gren. i. 31;) all His mighty 
 works, as they regard the human body, and His doctrine, as it 
 concerns the souls of man. Our bodies want food, a covering 
 from without, and tender care. He convened the multitude 
 of fishes in the net, that He might provide abundantly food for 
 man. He converted the aliment of water into the more worthy 
 aliment of wine, to cheer man's heart. He commanded the fig 
 tree to wither away, because it failed in its appointed office 
 of yielding food for man. He distended the scanty supply 
 {penuriam dilafavit) of loaves and fishes, so as to fill a host of 
 people. He reproved the winds for threatening the voyagers. 
 None of His miracles were for judgment ; all were for kindness, 
 all for the body of man. Ps. civ. Lord Bacon. (Med. Sacrae.) 
 
 Be not satisfied when you have done a good work, unless you 
 have also done it well ; and when you have, then be careful 
 that vain-glory, partiality, self-conceit, or any other folly or 
 indiscretion, snatch it not out of your hand, and cheat you of 
 the reward, (v. 38. He charged them, ^c.) E.om. xiv. 16 ; 
 Hab. i. 16 ; S. Matt. xxv. 37. Bp. J. Taylor. (Advice to his 
 Clergy, s. ii. 23.) 
 
 Take this, as a rule in Divinity, that, when God commands a 
 duty, all the circumstances, included in the duty, must be ob- 
 served ; or else that duty is not done aright. 2 Chron. xxv. 2 ; 
 2 Cor. vii. 11 ; Eev. iii. 2. Chr. Love. (Serm. on 1 S. Pet. ii. 10.) 
 
 An instrument is not in tune, except it have all the strings ; and 
 those will not make good music, if the musician have not wis- 
 dom to make every string speak in its due time. The Chris- 
 tian is not in tune, if he takes not in all the duties of his place 
 ' and calling ; neither will the performance of them be harmo- 
 
174 S. MARK VII. 37. 
 
 nious in GtOd's ears, if every one be not done in its proper 
 season. O ! my friends, labour not only to do the duty of your 
 place, but that duty in its own place also. Eccl. iii. 11 ; Eph. 
 vi. 11, 13 ; Eev. ii. 19, 20. Gurnall. (On the Christian's Ar- 
 mour, Epis. Dedic.) 
 
 Omnia rite potes, facis et Deus omnia rite ; 
 
 Nee modus est operis, meta nee uUa, Tuis. . . 
 Daedala Te loquitur tellus, Teque aura fatetur, 
 
 Te sonat immensum fluctus et unda Patrem, . . 
 Tu pueris solvis lactentibus ora tenellis ; 
 
 Magna Tibi quorum nomina voce paras. 
 Surdis auditum praebes, mutisque loquelam ; 
 PrsBdicet hie laudes, audiat ille Tuas. . . 
 At mihi Tu labia hsec, Tu lingusB vincula solve, 
 
 Et mea facundis imbuito ora sonis. 
 "Vox Tua purgatos, Grenitor, mihi personet aures, 
 Et penetret summos cordis ad usque sinus. 
 
 Pantaleon Candidus. (Levit^r immutatum. 
 Precat. Dominic. 1. iv.) 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TN those days the multitude being very great, and 
 having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples 
 unto Him, and saith unto them, 
 
 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they 
 have now been with Me three days, and have nothing 
 to eat : 
 
 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own 
 houses, they will faint by the way : for divers of them 
 came from far. 
 
 4 And His disciples answered Him, From whence 
 can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the 
 wilderness ? 
 
S. MARK yni. 1—4. 175 
 
 5 And He asked them, How manj?^ loaves have ye ? 
 And they said, Seven. 
 
 6 And He commanded the people to sit down on 
 the ground : and He took the seven loaves, and gave 
 thanks, and brake, and gave to His disciples to set 
 before them ; and they did set them before the people. 
 
 7 And they had a few small fishes : and He blessed, 
 and commanded to set them also before them. 
 
 8 So they did eat, and were filled : and they took 
 up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 
 
 9 And they that had eaten were about four thou- 
 sand : and He sent them away. 
 
 1 It is very observable that our Saviotje had a continual care, 
 that none, who followed Him, should want. Isa. xxxiii. 16; 
 S. Matt. vi. 25, 34 ; Deut. viii. 15, 16 ; S. Luke xxii. 35. Edw. 
 "■Leigh. 
 
 2 Thou, who hadst such pity on the bodies of men, that Thou 
 wouldst not send them away fasting, Oh, let not our souls be 
 unfed, when with humble faith we wait upon Thee for our 
 spiritual nourishment, lest we faint in the way of our pilgrim- 
 age here. Ps. xxiii, 5 ; S. John vi. 34. Austin. (Medit. 126.) 
 
 If Thou art so kind to such, as seek for Thee, what wilt Thou be 
 to those, who find and obtain Thee ? S. Matt. vii. 8. S. 
 Bernard. 
 
 He hath very little of his Lord's compassion in him, and holy 
 zeal for the kingdom of God, and love to those, who have the 
 same hopes and fears with himself, who thinks much to sufier 
 repeated inconveniences, and debar himself of what otherwise 
 he might enjoy not only with innocence, but great advantage ; 
 when he may be the happy instrument of relieving the greatest 
 necessities, and promoting the salvation of those, for whom 
 Cheist died. vi. 34 ; IS. John iii. 17—19 ; 2 Tim. ii. 10. 
 Br. Bragge. (On the Miracles.) 
 
 4 From whence can a man, Sfc. (vi. 52.) — Because a like dulness of 
 soul is likely every day to creep upon us, we must be the more 
 
176 S. MAEK VIII. 6. 
 
 on our guard, lest aught should so distract our minds, as to 
 make us forget GtOd's benefits. The experience of the past 
 should rather lead us to hope for a repetition of those favours, 
 which once, or often-times, GrOD hath vouchsafed to us. Ps. 
 Ixxviii. 20 ; ciii. 1—6 ; 2 S. Pet. i. 9. Calvin. 
 
 6 In dividing the bread He used the Ministry of His disciples, 
 as the stewards and disposers of His riches. Be it therefore 
 corporal, or Spiritual, sustenance we receive, although it be at 
 the hands of men, yet it is unto us, as if Christ Himself, in 
 His own person, did reach out His hand from heaven to feed 
 us. They are therefore too nice, which refuse their meat, 
 because they like not the man, by whom it is brought and set 
 before them. They, by whose means we are made partakers 
 of good things, are unto us the Angels of GrOD, and ought 
 accordingly to be honoured, of what quality soever they be in 
 themselves. The food, which they gave to the people, did 
 miraculously grow by diminishing, and by consuming increase. 
 So it was with the meal and oil of that poor widow of Sarepta. 
 (1 Kings xvii. 16.) It was in sight, too little to suffice one ; 
 in use, it proved more than sufficient for many. So it is with 
 all the graces and gifts of GrOD ; they grow in the hands of 
 him, that spendethj and in the coffers of him, that saveth, 
 they waste. S. Matt, xxiii. 2, 3 ; S. Luke vi. 38 ; Prov. xi. 
 24 ; S. James v. 1 — 4. Jbp. Sandys. (Serm. on S. John vi. 
 1,2.) 
 
 Gave to His disciples, 8fC. — As the loaves and fishes, though they 
 increased and multiplied in the hands of the Apostles, were 
 made effectual to the sustenance of the multitude, and derived 
 all their efficacy from the power of Cheist's working in them, 
 so it is in the administration of His Sacraments ; for, though 
 they must needs be received from the hands of His ministers, 
 they are made effectual instruments of grace, solely through 
 the operation of His Spirit, working by them and in them. xvi. 
 20 ; 2 Cor. iv. 7 ; x. 4. Dean Lowe. (Serm. on S. John vi. 14.) 
 
 " Man shall not live by bread alone." (Deut. viii. 3 :) that is, his 
 meat would not keep him alive, but by the Word, spoken to 
 Adam and to Noah; "Every moving thing that liveth, shall 
 be meat for you." (Eph. v. 26 ; 1 S. Pet. i. 23.) By this 
 
S. MARK VIII. 7. 177 
 
 general blessing heathens are nourished ; but, not being sanc- 
 tified by prayer, that is, by the prayer (or grace) of every 
 particular person at every meal, it preserves their lives to no 
 other purpose, than that of beasts ; whereas the meals of 
 Christians are sanctified by prayer, as well as by Gtod's 
 general blessing. What a scandalous thing is it to take our 
 food, without being mindful, who bestows it on us. S. Paul 
 "gave thanks" in the presence of the heathens; yet Christians 
 are ashamed to do it before Christians. S. Matt. x. 33 ; Acts 
 xxvii. 35 ; 1 Tim. iv. 4, 5. Bp. Wilson. (Maxims.) 
 7 The Omnipotence of the Lord was quasi fons panis, a foun- 
 tain, casting forth bread. Ps. civ. 27, 28. *S. Augustine. (In 
 Joan. tr. ix.) 
 
 Hue nitido, precor, intuitu Te sine dulce nihil, Domine ; 
 
 riecte salutiferam faciem, Nee juvat ore quid appetere, 
 
 Fronte serenus ; et inradia, Pocula ni prius, atque cibos, 
 
 Nominis ut sub honore Tui Christe, Tuus favor imbuerit, 
 
 Has epulas liceat capere. Omnia sanctificante fide. 
 
 Fercula nostra Deum sapiant ; 
 Christus et influat in pateras : 
 Seria, ludicra, verba, jocos, 
 Denique quod sumus, aut agimus, 
 Trina Superne regat pietas ! 
 
 Prudentius. (Cathemerinon ; Hymn, iii.) 
 
 10 And straightway He entered into a ship with 
 His disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. 
 
 11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to 
 question with Him, seeking of Him a sign from hea- 
 ven, tempting Him. 
 
 12 And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, 
 Why doth this generation seek after a sign ? verily I 
 say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this 
 generation. 
 
 13 And He left them, and entering into the ship 
 again departed to the other side. 
 
178 S. MAKK VIII. 11, 12. 
 
 ] 4 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, 
 neither had they in the ship with them more than one 
 loaf. 
 
 15 And He charged them, saying, Take heed, be- 
 ware of the leaven of the Pliarisees, and of the leaven 
 of Herod. 
 
 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying. 
 It is because we have no bread. 
 
 17 And when Jesus knew ity He saith unto them, 
 Why reason ye, because ye have no bread ? perceive 
 ye not yet, neither understand ? have ye your heart 
 yet hardened ? 
 
 18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear 
 ye not ? and do ye not remember ? 
 
 ] 9 When I brake the five loaves among five thou- 
 sand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up ? 
 They say unto Him, Twelve. 
 
 20 And when the seven among four thousand, how 
 many baskets full of fragments took ye up ? And 
 they said, Seven. 
 
 21 And He said unto them. How is it that ye do 
 not understand ? 
 
 11 Such a sign, as Joshua gave, when he stopped the sun ; 
 Samuel, when he called down thunder ; Isaiah, when he made 
 the shade on the sun-dial go back. xvi. 17, 18 ; S. John ii. 
 18 ; xiv. 8. Beza. 
 
 12 In the last chapter our Lord taught us to weep over the 
 suiFerings of our brethren ; for, before He opened the eyes of 
 the blind man, He sighed, (vii. 34.) Here He would have us 
 bewail their sins and wickedness, and to express a far greater 
 depth of sorrow ; for it is now recorded of Him, that He 
 "sighed deeply in His spirit.^' So much worse is the evil of 
 
S. MAEK VIII. 12—15. 179 
 
 sin, than any harm, that can befal the body. Of this mind 
 was the Psalmist. (Ps. cxix. 53, 136.) Suffering calls forth 
 the spontaneous tear of natural sympathy : but the sight of 
 sin sinks deep into the spiritual man inflicting a wound on 
 his innermost soul. Jer. ix. 1 ; Phil. iii. 18. J. F. 
 
 Our LoED sighed, in order to demonstrate the greatness and 
 grievousness of sin, which is not cured, but by the sighing and 
 suffering of the Son of GrOD. Jacob de Voragine. (Serm. i.) 
 
 He gives no sign to those, who had already signs enough, to 
 those, whose obstinate minds nothing would convince. But 
 in the next chapter He does give a sign, in His own Transfigu- 
 ration, and the appearance of Moses and Elias ; for the 
 persons, to whom He gave that sign, were such, as needed it, 
 and were also fit in the singleness and docility of their minds 
 to receive and entertain it. This is GtOd's rule; thus we see 
 what we have to expect, iv. 25 ; S. Luke xvi. 31 ; S, Matt. vi. 
 22, 23. J. F. 
 
 13 The sea must be passed : on the sea you cannot walk ; there- 
 fore pass in a ship. Save yourself by all means from drowning : 
 if you cannot swim, catch hold of a plank ; float on the wood ; 
 let the Cross bear you over safe. Acts ii. 40 ; xxvii. 44. S. 
 Augustine, (in Ps. li.) 
 
 15 He charged them, ^c. — Certainly there is no chemistry, like 
 that of Grrace ; for the brass is turned into gold, and actions 
 of temporal intercourse into worship. A Christian is always 
 doing his great work, obeying God and glorifying God, in 
 his intercourse and relations with men. vii. 87 ; Acts x. 38 ; 
 1 Cor. XV. 58. Dr. Manton. 
 
 Of leaven, in the Gospel, I find three sorts interpreted to our 
 hands, that we cannot mistake. Christ willed His disciples, 
 to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. It is 
 after said. He meant it of their doctrine, that was full of cor- 
 rupt leaven. 1. The Pharisees ; of the leaven of superstition, 
 consisting in phylacteries, phrases, and observances, and Little 
 else. 2. The Sadducees; of a leaven, that smelt strong of 
 profaneness, in their liberty of prophesying, calling in question 
 angels, and spirits, and the Eesurrection itself 3. And a 
 third leaven Christ names, the leaven of Herod: ware that 
 
 N 2 
 
180 S. MARK VIII. 15, 16. 
 
 too ; many times, it is the bane of true religion, whea GtOd's 
 truth and worship must be moulded up with Jeroboam's and 
 with Herod's ends, squared to them, just as it is fittest to do 
 their turns ; that Jeroboam may be safe. — No superfluous 
 caveat — many times, this marreth all. Let all be abandoned 
 — Pharisees, Sadducees, Herods ; and the Truth take place. 
 1 Thess. ii. 3 — 6 ; 2 Cor. xi. 3 ; Itev. xxii. 15. Bp. Andrewes. 
 (Serm. on 1 Cor. v. 7, 8.) 
 
 Erroneous corrupt doctrine is like leaven. 1. In regard of the 
 commonness. 2. In regard of the quantity, little. (1 Cor. v. 6.) 
 3. In regard to the quality, like — (resembling in appearance, 
 S. Matt. xiii. 29,) — as that to dough. 4. In regard of its 
 spreading property, (vii. 4, 8, 13 ; Acts xx. 30.) 5. In regard 
 of its effects ; leaven soureth, heateth, swelleth. S. Matt. vi. 
 16; Col. ii. 21; Acts vii. 54,57; Col. ii. 18. Edw. Leigh. 
 
 16 Some may ask, how they had no bread, when they had just 
 filled the seven baskets ? But Scripture relates that they had 
 forgotten to take them with them, a proof how little care they 
 had for the flesh in other things ; since, in their eagerness to 
 follow the Lord, even the necessity of refreshing their bodies 
 had escaped from their minds. S. John iv. 28. Bede. 
 
 22 And He cometh to Bethsaida ; and they bring 
 a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch 
 him. 
 
 23 And He took the blind man by the hand, and 
 led him out of the town : and when He had spit on 
 his eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him 
 if he saw ought. 
 
 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, 
 walking. 
 
 25 After that He put His hands again upon his 
 eyes, and made him look up : and he was restored, 
 and saw every man clearly. 
 
 26 And He sent him away to his house, saying. 
 
S. MARK VIII. 23. 181 
 
 Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the 
 town. 
 
 23 This was the same guilty Bethsaida, within whose walls those 
 " mighty works" of the Lord had been done, which failed in 
 producing any good effect ; the city, which therefore drew 
 upon itself His just denunciation ; " Woe unto thee, Beth- 
 saida." (S. Matt. xi. 21.) For this reason our Lord took 
 this blind man out of the city of the blind, a city so unworthy 
 to behold the miracle ; and, after He had healed him, for the 
 same reason, forbade his returning thither, and his telling any 
 of the people there his miraculous cure. (ver. 26.) " To him, 
 that hath not, shall be taken away even that he hath." Blind 
 Bethsaida, that would not see, when the light of heaven shone 
 within its walls, is justly abandoned, consigned to irremediable 
 darkness ; hence to none of her city is the Lord sent, but to this 
 blind man. (S. Luke iv. 25 — 27.) In the mean time, what a 
 beautiful picture is placed before us of the loving and conde- 
 scending grace of the Sayioiir, " the good shepherd," stooping 
 so far, as to take the blind by the hand, and to lead him. Here, 
 moreover, as on many other occasions, we have to observe that 
 God " does exceeding abundantly above all, we ask or think." 
 They brought the blind man to Him, only for a touch. See 
 like instances of super-abounding grace, vi. 42, 43 ; vii. 32, 
 35 ; X. 13, 16. J. F. 
 
 More gladsome to the eye of the man, whose sight was recovered, 
 was the view of nature, displayed in the heavens and the works 
 of GrOD, than of the work of man in the town. Ps. civ. 10—24. 
 Bengel. 
 
 Alms, which have almost always had a secret channel, flow purer 
 into the bosom of God, than when unavoidably sullied and 
 troubled in their course by the praises of the spectators and 
 the inevitable complacency of self-love : they resemble rivers, 
 which have chiefly pursued their way under ground, and carry 
 their bright and clear waters into the sea ; while those, which 
 have openly traversed the plains and countries, usually drag 
 with their muddy stream the wrecks, carcasses, and filth, they 
 have collected in their course. S. Matt. vi. 1 — 5. Massillon. 
 (Serm. 3rd Sunday after Easter.) 
 
182 S. MAEK YIII. 24, 25. 
 
 24 I find but one example, in all Scripture, of any bodily cure, 
 which our Saviour wrought by degrees : only the blind man, 
 whose weak faith craved help by others, not by himself, saw 
 men first like trees ; then in their true shape : all other miracu- 
 lous cures of Chbist were done at once and perfect at first. 
 Contrarily, I find but one example of a soul fully healed, that 
 is, sanctified and glorified, both in a day : all other, by degrees 
 and leisure. The steps of grace are soft and short. Those 
 external miracles. He wrought immediately by Himself; and 
 therefore, no marvel, if they were absolute, like their Author. 
 The miraculous work of our regeneration He works together 
 with us : He giveth it efiicacy ; we give it imperfection, iv. 
 28 ; Phil. ii. 12, 13 ; Eph. iv. 30. Bp. Hall. (Holy observa- 
 tions, 88.) 
 The gradual and partial process of the recovery seems to intimate 
 weakness of faith in the man cured. Ps. xviii. 26. hid. 
 Clarius. 
 He restored sight to this blind man by degrees ; and He probably 
 did so, that He might give a standing proof, in this man, of 
 His own perfect freedom in dispensing His benefits, and that 
 He was not so tied down to a fixed rule, as not to be able to 
 exert His power this way, or that. . . . Thus the grace of the 
 Lord, which before was suddenly poured out on many, quasi 
 guttatim defiuxit, gently descended, as it were, drop by drop on 
 this man. S. John iii. 8 ; Eom. xii. 3 ; 1 Cor. xii. 11. Calvin. 
 God is to us, according to our capacity. Objects affect, as sub- 
 jects are capable. Ps. Ixxxi. 11. Dr. Whichcote. (Cent. ix. 
 Aphor. 856.) 
 
 Fasciculus viridis, simul ut jactatur in ignem, 
 
 Non ardet ; manat fumus at inde gravis. 
 Post coctis sensim lux qusedam humoribus exit : 
 
 Ac demum exiliens maxima flamma micat. 
 Sic animo caecus qui multis extitit annis 
 
 Non pulsa ex oculis omnia nocte (?) videt : 
 Palpat enim primiim, atque alios videt, arboris instar, 
 Pergere ; tum claro lumine cuncta notat, 
 
 S. Matt. xii. 20. Billius. (Anthol. Sacra. Ixii.) 
 25 In the plainest text there is a world of holiness and spirit- 
 
S. MARK VIII. 25. 183 
 
 uality ; and if in prayer and dependance upon GrOD we did sit 
 down and consider it, we should behold much more, than 
 appears to us. It may be, at once reading and looking we see 
 little, or nothing, as Elijah's servant. (1 Kings xviii. 43.) He 
 went out once ; he saw nothing ; therefore he was commanded 
 to look seven times. What now ? says the prophet. " I see 
 a cloud rising, like a man's hand ;" and, by-and-by, the whole 
 surface of the heavens was covered with clouds. So you may 
 look lightly upon Scripture, and see nothing ; look again, and 
 you will see a little ; but look seven times upon it ; meditate 
 upon it ; and then you should see light, like the light of the 
 sun. Joshua vi. 11 — 16 ; 2 Kings v. 10; Hab. iii. 2. Caryl. 
 (On the Book of Job.) 
 
 I must bear witness to the rationalness of GtOd's way. . . . The 
 way, He dealt with me in, was not destructive to the nature of 
 my faculties, but improved them. He enlightened my eyes to 
 see, what He would have me do ; and He forced not my will, 
 but swayed it, in a way, suitable to its nature, to a compliance, 
 so far as I went. This was not to force, but gently to bend the 
 will to these things, that really were proper for it to incline to. 
 He always observed the true order of the faculties. He swayed 
 the will so far, as it went in compliance with His work, by 
 sending forth His light into the mind, that, in the true order 
 of things, should guide the understanding. He carried me on 
 to consideration. He did not seek, as it were to entangle the 
 affections, and by them carry my mind away in a hurry, as sin 
 and Satan are wont to do, who guide sinners, as the Philistines 
 did Samson; they first put out their eyes, and then make 
 them grind in their mill. S. Matt. xii. 20 ; Acts ix. 6, 8, 17 — 
 20. Halyhurton. (Memoirs of his own Life, p. ii. c. 4.) 
 
 Lead me, O Lord, from the noise of this world and place me 
 with Thee in Thy holy solitude. Then do Thou open mine 
 eyes, that I may clearly see the way, that leads to my eternal 
 home. And, wherever I go, I will sing Thy praises and pub- 
 lish over the world Thy miraculous mercies. Great, I confess, 
 is the blindness of my heart, and my vicious customs not sud- 
 denly to be cured. Oh, put Thy hands again upon me, dearest 
 Jesit, and leave me not, till Thou hast perfected my cure and 
 
184 S. MARK YIII. 27. 
 
 made me see clearly. Epli. i. 15 — 19; Ps. xxv. 4; xxvii. 11; 
 Phil. i. 6. Austin. (Medit. 129.) 
 
 27 And Jesus went out, and His disciples, into 
 the towns of Csesarea Philippi ; and by the way He 
 asked His disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men 
 say that I am ? 
 
 28 And they answered, John the Baptist : but some 
 say Elias ; and others. One of the prophets. 
 
 29 And He saith unto them. But whom say ye that 
 I am ? And Peter answereth and saith unto Him, 
 Thou art the Christ. 
 
 30 And He charged them that they should tell no 
 man of Him. 
 
 31 And He began to teach them, that the Son of 
 man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the 
 elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be 
 killed, and after three days rise again. 
 
 32 And He spake that saying openly. And Peter 
 took Him, and began to rebuke Him. 
 
 33 But when He had turned about and looked on 
 His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying. Get thee be- 
 hind Me, Satan : for thou savourest not the things 
 that be of God, but the things that be of men. 
 
 27 Sermo in vidpius. — An example of godly discourse in travelling 
 by the way. Mai. iii. 16, 17 ; S. Luke xxiv. 13, 14. Bengel. 
 
 The Country Parson, when a just occasion calleth him out of his 
 parish (which he diligently and strictly weigheth, his parish 
 being all his joy and thought) leaveth not his Ministry behind 
 him ; but is himself, wherever he is. Therefore, those he meets 
 on the way, he blesseth audibly, and with those, he overtakes, 
 or that overtake him, he begins good discourses, such as may 
 edify, interposing sometimes short and honest refreshments, 
 
S. MAEK Vin. 27—31. 185 
 
 which may make his other discourses more welcome, and less 
 tedious. Gen. xxiv. 27 ; Ps. cxxxix. 3 ; 2 Tim. iv. 2. G. 
 Herbert. (Priest to the Temple, ch. 17.) 
 Walton, in his life of the excellent Gr. Herbert, relates several 
 instructive anecdotes, tending to show how strictly that holy 
 man observed his own rule, in being careful to use good dis- 
 course by the way. (See Dr. Zouch's Edit, page 373 — 5.) 
 " Thus," he adds, " as our Blessed Sayioue, after His resur- 
 rection, did take occasion to interpret the Scripture to Cleopas 
 and that other disciple, which He met with and accompanied 
 in their journey to Emmaus, (S. Luke xxiv. 13 ;) so Mr. Her- 
 bert, in his path toward heaven, did daily take any fair 
 occasion to instruct the ignorant, or comfort any, that were in 
 affliction ; and did always confirm his precepts by showing 
 humility and mercy, and ministering grace to the hearers." 
 Eph. iv. 29 ; Col. iv. 6. J. F. 
 
 30 S. Mark passes over, what the Lord answered to Peter's con- 
 fession, and how the Loed blessed him, (S. Matt. xvi. 17,) 
 lest, by this way of relating, he might seem to be favouring his 
 master. Prov. xxvii. 2. Theophylact. 
 
 S. Matthew publishes his shame, when, in the list of the Apostles, 
 he records himself, as " the publican." S. Peter, dictating S. 
 Mark's Grospel, here conceals his own honour, by omitting all 
 mention of the Satioue's praise, bestowed on him. In the 
 same spirit of that genuine humility, which, like charity, 
 " seeketh not her own," he takes care to have recorded in this 
 Grospel what should be read in all ages to his discredit ; the 
 severe but just punishment of his folly and presumption, the 
 rebuke of his offended Master — Get thee behind Me, Satan. 
 Hence we understand, why S. Mark's Grospel is peculiarly 
 noted, as containing the fullest account of S. Peter's fall. S. 
 Luke xiv. 10 ; S. James v. 16. /. F. 
 
 31 Loed, I find that Ezekiel in his prophecies is styled ninety- 
 nine times, and more, by this appellation " Son of ?nan ;^' and 
 surely not once often er, than there was need for. Eor he had 
 more visions, than any one (not to say than all) of the pro- 
 phets of his time. It was necessary therefore that his mortal 
 extraction should be often sounded in his ears, " Son of man," 
 
186 S. MARK VIII. 31, 33. 
 
 lest his frequent conversing with visions might have made him 
 blind with spiritual pride. Lord, as Thou increasest Thy 
 graces in me and favours on me, so with them daily increase 
 in my soul the monitors and remembrances of my mortality : 
 so shall my soul be kept in a good temper and humble de- 
 portment towards Thee. S. Matt. xxi. 5; xxii. 11, 12 ; 2 Cor. 
 xii. 7. Th. Fuller. (Scripture Observations. 3.) 
 
 After three days. — At the first Passover Gron kept touch with 
 the Hebrews very punctually : at the end of the four hun- 
 dred and thirty years, in the self-same day it came to pass, 
 that all the hosts of the Loed went out of the land of Egypt. 
 (Ex. xii. 41.) But at the first Easter God was better than 
 His word. Having promised that Cheist should lie, but three 
 days in the grave, His fatherly afiection did run to relieve 
 Him. By a charitable Synecdoche, two pieces of days were 
 counted for whole ones. God did " cut short the work in 
 righteousness." Thus the measure of His mercy, under the 
 Law, was full ; but it ran over in the Gospel. S. Luke xii. 
 50 ; S. John xiii. 27 ; Eph. ii. 7. Th. Fuller. (Scripture Ob- 
 servations. 16.) 
 
 The Loed not only indulged His exceeding love towards us by 
 means of " the charitable Synecdoche," noticed by Euller, but 
 even by antedating the performance of another promise. His 
 promise was that, after His resurrection, His disciples should 
 see Him in Galilee. (S. Matt. xxvi. 32 ; S. Mark xiv. 28 ; xvi. 7.) 
 Nevertheless, He appeared to them before. Gen. xlv. 1 ; Dan. 
 ix. 21 ; S. Luke xv. 20. J. F. 
 
 38 And when He had turned about and looked, ^c. — The incidental 
 particulars, which characterize S. Mark . . . seem to indicate 
 that S. Peter — (under whose inspection and dictation this 
 Gospel was confessedly written) — was himself watching with 
 intense interest these circumstances, and especially our Loed's 
 own Person, bearing, demeanour, countenance, feelings — all, 
 that was human. And it would seem, that it was, but at a 
 late period of our Loed's ministry, that the full knowledge of 
 our Loed's unspeakable Godhead was revealed to him (S. 
 Matt, xvi.) . . . Up to this period, it was our Loed's human 
 Person, the Son of man, that he was watching ; while the radia- 
 
S. MARK VIII. 33. 187 
 
 tlons of our Lord's untold Divinity, as through His earthly 
 tabernacle, were by degrees breaking out upon him more fully 
 and perfectly; as GrOD the Father was revealing unto him 
 that, which flesh and blood had not told him. Prov. iv. 18 ; 
 Eom. i. 17. I. Williams. (Thoughts on the Study of the 
 Grospel, P. i. s. 5.) 
 
 It is evident that the temptations of the devil are most strong, 
 after GtOd's people have discharged some extraordinary duties 
 to God, or have received most discoveries from GrOD. You 
 find that, immediately after the celebration of the Lord's Sup- 
 per, the devil desired to winnow the disciples. (S. Luke xxii. 
 23.) So you find that, after Christ had "fasted forty days 
 and forty nights,'* He was tempted of the devil ; " no sooner," 
 as Bp. Hall observes, "was He out of the water of Baptism, 
 but He was in the fire of temptation." The Israel of God 
 can be no sooner out of Egypt, but this hellish Pharaoh pur- 
 sues them. (Exod. xiv. 5 — 8.) And Hezekiah had no sooner 
 kept the solemn Passover, but Sennacherib comes up against 
 him. (2 Chron. xxxi. ; xxxii.) Thus S. Peter, after he had 
 made such a glorious confession of his faith, (S. Matt. xvi. 16, 
 17, compared with xvi. 22, 23,) and had discovered more grace, 
 than all his lifetime before, is found suddenly by an instigation 
 from the devil beginning to rebuke Christ and counselKng 
 Him to spare Himself. . . . You may gather from that con- 
 nection between those two petitions in the Lord's Prayer, 
 " Eorgive us our trespasses, and lead us not into temptation," 
 that no sooner can we get the evidence of our pardon, but we 
 may expect to be tempted of the devil. 1 Cor. x. 12 ; 2 Cor. 
 xii. 7 ; 1 Tim. iii. 6. Chr. Love. (Serm. on 2 Tim. ii. 1.) 
 
 Get thee behind Me. — Petrus,prcBcedendo, Satanas erat ; sequendo, 
 discipulus erit. S. Peter, in going before the Lord, was like 
 unto Satan ; in following behind Him, he will approve himself, 
 as a true disciple. S. John xxi. 19. S. Augustine. (In Ps. 32.) 
 
 The intention, be it granted never so good, is insufficient to 
 warrant an action good, so long as it faileth, either in the ob- 
 ject, or manner, or any requisite circumstance whatsoever. 
 Saul pretended a good end, in sparing the fat things of Amalek, 
 that he might therewith do sacrifice unto the Lord ; but God 
 
188 S. MAEK VIII. 33, 34. 
 
 rejected both it and him. (1 Sam. xv. 20.) "We can think no 
 other, but that XJzzah intended the safety of God's ark, when 
 it tottered in the cart, and he stretched out his hand to stay it 
 from falling ; but Gron interpreted it a presumption, and pun- 
 ished it. 2 Sam. vi. 6, 7 ; Eom. xiv. 16. Bp. Sanderson. 
 (Serm. on Rom. iii. 8.) 
 The devil may move you to do good ; but then, it may be, it is 
 that he may hinder you in the doing of a greater good. S. 
 Peter's motion here was naturally good ; he showed it in his 
 love to Christ ; it was a very loving motion ; but yet the devil 
 was in it too, and therefore Christ calls him Satan. Now the 
 Spirit of God will so move you to the doing of one good thing, 
 that it shall not jostle out the performance of another. Chr. 
 Love. (Serm. on 2 Tim. ii. 1.) 
 
 34 And when He had called the people unto Him, 
 with His disciples also, He said unto them, Whosoever 
 will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up 
 his cross, and follow Me. 
 
 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it ; 
 but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the 
 Gospel's, the same shall save it. 
 
 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain 
 the whole world, and lose his own soul ? 
 
 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his 
 soul? 
 
 38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me 
 and of My words in this adulterous and sinful genera- 
 tion ; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, 
 when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the 
 holy angels. 
 
 34 To deny ourselves, and to take up our cross, are two expres- 
 sions, which each of them import the Christian's obligation to 
 suffer ; for, as a man may suffer two ways, viz., either by his 
 own act, when he inflicts anything uneasy upon himself, or by 
 
S. MAEK VIII. 34. 189 
 
 another's act, when any such thing is inflicted on him from 
 without ; so these two expressions have a direct regard to these 
 two kinds of sufiering. Self-denial, which is a man's own act, 
 requires no less, than that a man should sufier from himself by 
 voluntary inflictions, (Rom. viii. 13 ; Col. iii. 5 ;) and taking up 
 our cross, which is the submitting to another's act (for it was 
 part of the condemned man's sentence, to bear his cross to the 
 place of execution ;) this, I say, requires a submissive and 
 patient bearing of involuntary evils, (1 Sam. iii. 17, 18 ; Job ii. 
 10,) or such, as God's providence ordains to come upon us 
 from other hands. (2 Sam. xvi. 9 — 12.) And both these are 
 essential parts of the Christian's duty, both necessary to the 
 ends of virtue, and both obliging all those, that will follow 
 our Lord in " the way, that leadeth unto life." Dean Young. 
 (Serm. on S. Matt. xvi. 24.) 
 Those afflictions those contrarieties to our self-love and self-will, 
 which come upon us by the evident will and appointment of 
 GrOD, our Heavenly Father in Christ, are infinitely more 
 easy and sweet to bear, than those, which we may inflict upon 
 ourselves. The former are more defined in their character ; 
 there is less uncertainty about them ; we see at once our path ; 
 we are called to a cheerful and entire resignation, under the 
 fullest persuasion that the cross must be for our good. Where 
 it is left to our own choice to deny ourselves, though in essen- 
 tials our course must be plain, yet in the particular measures 
 of duty, the times and seasons, there may be cause for doubt 
 and perplexity, perhaps ensnaring the conscience, and even 
 bringing us into bondage. Here Pastoral advice and direction 
 are often most serviceable. JS^evertheless, since "through 
 much tribulation we must enter the kingdom of heaven," if we 
 timidly shrink from voluntary acts of self-denial, we must lay 
 our account to be corrected and chastened of our Heavenly 
 Father by crosses of greater number and severity, than would 
 otherwise be the case. It has been well remarked on this 
 text, that the cross is easier to the man, who ta/ces it up, than 
 to him, who drags it along ; and, again, that we read in Scrip- 
 ture of taking it up, but we never read of laying it down. Jer. 
 X. 19. /. F. 
 
190 S. MAEK VIII. 34—36. 
 
 I think I may truly say, that this self-denial is a duty never so 
 much as in kind required before by GrOD in the Old Testament, 
 nor by the laws of nature, or canons of any other religion ; and 
 
 so a peculiar Christian duty It is observable what a 
 
 character the Spirit of GrOD sets upon the cross, that is, tribu- 
 lation or afiQictionhere, that it is the happiest blessedest estate, 
 the most comfortable joyful condition, that a Christian can 
 meet with. This riddle and paradox, or prodigy to carnal 
 reason, is become the most ordinary, beaten, acknowledged 
 truth in the New Testament. S. Matt. v. 10 ; Col. i. 24 ; S. 
 James i. 2 ; 1 Thess. iii. 3, 4. Dr. Hammond. (Tract. Of 
 Taking up the Cross.) 
 
 35 Whosoever will save, ^c. — As if one should say to a husband- 
 man, " If you spare and keep your grain, you lose it ; if you 
 sow it, renovas, you give it life." For who is so ignorant, as 
 not to know, that the grain sown is lost to our sight, and 
 perishes in the earth ? Sed unde putrescit in pulvere, inde vires- 
 cit in renovatione. But, by the very means of rotting in the 
 dust, it springs forth to a renewal of life. S. John xii. 24, 25 ; 
 1 Cor. XV. 36, 37. Bede. 
 
 It is in our power at any time to escape your torments by deny- 
 ing the Faith, when you question us about it ; but we scorn to 
 purchase life at the expense of a lie ; for our souls are winged 
 with a desire of a Life of eternal duration and purity, and of 
 immediate conversation with God, the Father and Maker of 
 all things ; we are in haste to be confessing and finishing our 
 faith, being fully persuaded that we shall arrive at this Beatific 
 state, if we approve ourselves to God by our works, and ex- 
 press by our obedience our passion, for that Divine Life, which 
 is never interrupted by any clashing evil. Phil. i. 20-^24 ; 
 Heb. X. 34 ; xi. 35. Justin Martyr. (Apol. s. viii.) 
 
 36 The soul is all that, whereby we may be, and without which 
 we cannot be happy. Ezek. xviii. 27. Bp. J. Taylor. 
 
 Thou must leave thy rich land, and thy well-built house, and thy 
 pleasing wife ; and of all the trees of thy orchard or thy wood, 
 nothing shall attend thee to the grave, but oak for thy coffin, 
 and cypress for thy funeral. It shall not then be inquired, 
 how long thou hast lived, but how well. None below will be 
 concerned, whether thou wert rich or poor, but all the spirits 
 
S. MAEK VIII. 36. 191 
 
 of light and darkness shall be busy in the scrutiny of thy life ; 
 for the good Angels would faia carry thy soul to Christ, and, 
 if they do, the devils will follow and accuse thee there ; and, 
 when thou appearest before the righteous Judge, what will be- 
 come of thee, unless Christ be thy advocate, and GrOD be mer- 
 ciful and appeased, and the Angels be thy guards, and a holy 
 conscience be thy comfort ? There will to every one of us 
 come a time, when we shall with great passion and great in- 
 terest inquire, how have I spent my days ? how have I laid 
 out my money ? how have I employed my time ? how have I 
 served G-on ? and how repented me of my sins ? And upon 
 our answer to these questions depends a happy, or an unhappy 
 Eternity: and Blessed is he, who, concerning these things, 
 takes care in time. 2 Cor. v. 10, 11 ; Dent, xxxii. 29 ; Ps. xc. 
 12. Bp. J. Taylor. (Serm. preached at the Funeral of Sir 
 Greorge Dalston.) 
 
 Of all the riches that we hug, of aU the pleasures we enjoy, we 
 can carry no more out of this world, than out of a dream. Ps. 
 xlix. 16—20 ; Ixxiii. 18, 19. Bonnell. 
 
 And must I die? Will not all my riches save me? I could pur- 
 chase a Kingdom, if that would save my life ! What ! is there 
 no bribing death ? Ps. xlix. 8 ; 1 Thess. v. 3. Card. Beaufort. 
 (On his death-bed.) 
 
 As our souls were made of no part of the world, so 'tis in vain to 
 look for their proper satisfactions in it ... . The love of the 
 world must now needs be enmity with God (S. James iv. 4) ; 
 because to place our affection here is to vilify that better pro- 
 vision, which He has made for us ... . Our soul is chiefly 
 our self ; and who would engage that for a pitiful share in the 
 world, which our Saviour tells us is " more worth than the 
 whole?" S. Luke ix. 25; Heb. xi. 13—17. Dean Young. 
 (Serm. on S. John xv. 22.) 
 
 Oh, think, what great losers they must needs be, who lose their 
 souls, to gain the world ; and must at last lose the world too, 
 together with their souls ! Prov. iii. 13 — 18. Bp. Hopkins. 
 (Serm. on Eccl. i. 2.) 
 
 Who, when, and what thing shall be my comfort, when I shall be 
 included in these extreme straits, having on one side my sins 
 accusing me ; on the other, justice threatening me ; above, an 
 
192 S. MAKK VIII. 36. 
 
 angrj Judge condemning me, beneath, hell open and the boiling 
 furnace ready to devour me ; before, the devil with bitter scoffs 
 and upbraidings hailing me, behind, the saints and my nearest 
 friends, not only forsaking me, but rejoicing and praising God 
 for His justice in my damnation ; within, my conscience tear- 
 ing me ; without, the powers of heaven shaken and dissolved, 
 the elements shivered in pieces, the whole world flaming, and 
 all damned souls, crying and cursing round about me? O 
 indignation of the Almighty, fall not upon me ! For I have 
 neither power to resist Thee, nor patience to bear Thee, nor 
 place to avoid Thee ! Heb. x. 27 ; Eev. vi. 15 — 17. Sir John 
 Hayward. (The Sanctuary of a Troubled soul. 1607.) 
 
 Quid Crucem refugis, superbe, vilem P 
 
 Duram quid refugis, voluptuose ? 
 
 Prustra, ne dubitetis, estis ambo. 
 
 Non patet fuga nee tibi, nee illi. 
 
 Iter nam Crucis omnibus terendum ; 
 
 Pondus est Crucis omnibus ferendum. 
 
 Nee Crucis fuit ipse Christus expers, 
 
 Christi nee genitrix, nee hi, superna 
 
 Quos nunc indigetes recepit aula. 
 
 Ergo qua ratione, quove jure 
 
 Yobis eximiis licebit esse ? 
 
 Omni, credite, destinata ab sevo, 
 
 Cunctis stat sua Crux, manetque cunctos ; 
 
 Nee quisquam potis est, licet repugnet, 
 
 Declinare. Jugum fugisne Christi ? 
 
 Te Christi, Crucis, et salutis hostis 
 
 Confestim graviore degravabit. 
 An lubet magis abnegare temet, 
 
 Et pedes Domini sequi libenter ? 
 
 Jam jugum Crucis esse denegabis 
 
 Asperum, grave, triste, permolestum : 
 
 Nam, Christo duce, gratia juvante, 
 
 Senties leve pondus, et suave ; 
 
 Mortem quod faciat quietiorem, 
 
 Vitam quod tribuat beatiorem. 
 
 Haeftenus. (Regia Via Crucis. Argument. Lib. i.) 
 
S. MARK VIII. 38 ; IX. 1. 193 
 
 38 The Son of man. — This title has a peculiar connection with 
 His coming in visible glory, xiii. 26 ; xiv. 62. Bengel. 
 
 Talis in monte apparuit, qualis in die Judicii est venturus. As was 
 His appearance on the mount of Transfiguration, such will it 
 be at the day of Judgment. Acts i. 11. S. Jerome. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 AND He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, 
 That there be some of them that stand here, 
 which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the 
 kingdom of God come with power. 
 
 2 And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, 
 and James, and John, and leadeth them up into 
 an high mountain apart by themselves : and He was 
 transfigured before them. 
 
 3 And His raiment became shining, exceeding 
 white as snow : so as no fuller on earth can white 
 them. 
 
 1 Taste of death. — Death, the mighty tyrant (Rom. v. 17) who 
 held men in the bondage of fear all their life long (Heb. ii. 14) 
 is dethroned ; his charter is made null, his authority is brought 
 to naught, by the Death of the Son of Gron. A voice from 
 heaven now says ; "Blessed are the dead!" (Rev. xiv. 13.) To 
 those, who " die in the Lord," death is a shadow, a valley, a 
 sleep, a taste — a shadow, where the substance is gone ; a valley, 
 where souls rest in peace ; a sleep, from which they awake in 
 heaven; a taste, the body suffering only for a moment, the 
 soul feasted in all abundance for evermore. " As for the un- 
 godly, it is not so with them." Ps. xxiii. 4 ; Acts vii. 60 ; Ps. 
 Ixxiii. 15—19 ; 1 Cor. XV. 55—57. J. F. 
 
 o 
 
194 S. MAEK IX. 1, 2. 
 
 By the coming of GtOd's kingdom understand the manifestation of 
 the Heavenly Grlory, which Christ began from His Eesurrec- 
 tion. Acts iii. 13 ; 1 S. Pet. i. 11 ; iv. 13 ; v. 1 ; 2 S. Pet. i. 17, 
 18. Calvin. 
 
 2 S. Hilary hath delivered his opinion (Canon 17, in S. Matt.) that 
 the Transfiguration of our Loed — six days after He has spoken 
 of His coming in His kingdom — prefigured " the honour of the 
 celestial kingdom" (as his words are) after the world had con- 
 tinued six thousand years. But this and the current fancy 
 among many in ancient days that, because the world was six 
 days in making, it should last just six thousand years, had no 
 better foundation than those misapplied words of S. Peter 
 (2 Ep. iii. 8) that " one day is with the Loed as a thousand 
 years." And therefore it is deservedly censured by S. Augus- 
 tine, (upon Ps. xc. 4) as " a presumption reprehended by our 
 Loed Himself, when He told His Apostles, " It was not for 
 them," &c. (Acts i. 7) ; from which words S. Augustine hath 
 rightly pronounced in another place, that " it is better to pro- 
 fess our ignorance, than to profess a false knowledge." Bp. 
 Patrick, (Tlie Grlorious Epiphany. Ch. 4.) 
 
 Leadeth them up. — The Spirit of God leads the carnal man, to 
 make him spiritual. Erom the world He leads man to Himself 
 He did not lead Cain into the field ; it was a field of blood. 
 He led not Dinah to "see the daughters of the land;" she 
 went out, and was defiled. He led not David to the roof of 
 his house ; it was a fatal prospect. But He leads thee to thy 
 chamber, there to " commune with thine own heart." He 
 leads thee to the house of mourning, there to " learn the end 
 of all men." He leads thee to the Temple, there to "behold 
 the beauty of the Loed." He leads thee from Bethaven to 
 Bethel, from the world to " the place, where His honour dwell- 
 eth." These are the Spirit's leadings, i. 12, 13 ; Eom. viii. 
 14 ; G-al. V. 18 ; Phil. iv. 8, 9. Farindon. (Serm. on S. Matt. 
 iv. 1.) 
 
 By this we learn, saith one, that three sorts of men shall see 
 Cheist in Glory ; those, that love Cheist with S. Peter, who 
 said, " Thou knowest, Loed, that I love Thee," (S. John xxi. 
 15 ;) those, that with S. John are beloved of Cheist ; for so 
 
S. MARK IX, 3. 195 
 
 are all those, that keep His commandments, (S. John xiv. 24 ;) 
 those, that with S. James do suffer for the cause of Christ, 
 (Acts xii. 2 ;) so do all those, that endure the calamities of the 
 world for His Name's sake. Chr. Sutton. (Disce Yivere, 
 Ch. 17.) 
 
 3 So as no fuller, 8fc. — This is the description, which a man of 
 low rank would give ; and is exactly what you may expect 
 from a fisherman of Galilee. Bp. Sandford. (Life. Letters.) 
 
 His raiment shining, (as pierced through with the beams, that 
 darted from His Glorified body.) We may observe, that all 
 those glorious accessions and improvements, which the Scrip- 
 ture mentions, as accruing to good men at the Eesurrection, 
 belong simply to the body. It is said, that our bodies shall be 
 changed ; they shall be refined and sublimated, and so prepared 
 to sustain the joys of heaven, which otherwise they would not 
 do. But no such substantial improvements are mentioned of 
 the soul ; which we may take for an intimation, how noble and 
 excellent a being the soul is in its original nature. It is 
 breathed from God, and impressed with His image, and that 
 image imports no less than such perfections, as are Divine : and 
 accordingly the soul is in itself incorruptible, and immortal, and 
 of an immense capacity both to know and to enjoy. Indeed it 
 is constituted to see through the body, as through its glass ; 
 and that glass at present is very dark ; but when once that 
 glass shall come to be brightened, so soon as the soul shall be 
 discharged from the grossness of flesh, and the cloud of pas- 
 sions, and the stains of sin, it will need no other elevation to 
 behold the face of God, no other capacity to comprehend all 
 the treasures of Wisdom, no other strength to bear the weight 
 of eternal Glory. Job xix. 25—27 ; Wisd. ix. 14, 15 ; 1 Cor. 
 xiii. 9—12 ; xv. 36—54 ; Phil. iii. 20, 21. Bean Toung. (Serm. 
 on 1 Thess. iv. 18.) 
 
 The Spouse in the Canticles, asked of her Beloved's colours, saith 
 of Him, " My Beloved is white and red," (v. 10 ;) white, of His 
 own proper ; so He was, when He showed Himself in kind. 
 Transfigured in the mount; His apparel then so white, no fuller 
 in the earth could come near it ; — white of Himself. How comes 
 He red then ? Not of Himself that ; but for us. That is our 
 
 o 2 
 
196 S. MARK IX. 3, 4 
 
 natural colour; we are born "polluted in our own blood," 
 (Lam. iv. 14; Ezek. xvi. 6, 22.) It is sin's colour, that; for 
 sbame is the colour of sin, (Isa. i. 18.) ... stolam formosam ! 
 may we say of that colour ; Illi gloriosam, nobis fructuosam, 
 glorious to Him, no less fruitful to us. He, in mount Grol- 
 gotha, like to us ; that we, in mount Tabor, like to Him ! 
 This is the substance of our rejoicing in this colour. Isa. Ixiii. 
 1, 2 ; Eev. iii. 4 ; vii. 14 ; xix. 7, 8. Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. on 
 Isa. Ixiii. 1 — 3.) 
 Holiness is Transfiguration iipon earth. S. Matt. v. 16 ; Eom. 
 xii. 2 ; xiii. 12. Br. Allestree. (Serm. on 1 S. John iii. 3.) 
 
 4 And there appeared unto them EUas with Moses : 
 and they were talking with Jesus. 
 
 5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it 
 is good for us to be here : and let us make three taber- 
 nacles ; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for 
 Elias. 
 
 6 For he wist not what to say : for they were sore 
 afraid. 
 
 7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them : 
 and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My 
 beloved Son : hear Him. 
 
 8 And suddenly, when they had looked round 
 about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only 
 with themselves. 
 
 4 To the Apostles is given a sign, both from heaven and from be- 
 neath, for the increase of their faith ; for Elias descends from 
 heaven, and Moses rose from beneath, viii. 12 ; Isa. vii. 11. 
 S. Jerome. 
 
 Moses had a measure, a proportion of this irradiation ; but yet, 
 when Moses came down with his shining face, though they 
 were not able to look long upon him, they knew him to be 
 Moses. (Ex. xxiii. 29.) When Christ was transfigured in the 
 
S. MARK IX. 4, 5. 197 
 
 presence of S. Peter, S. James, and S. John, yet they knew 
 Him to be Christ. Transfiguration did not so change Him, 
 nor shall glorification so change us, as that we shall not be 
 known. There is nothing to convince a man of error, nothing 
 in nature, nothing in Scriptures, if he believe that he shall 
 know those persons in heaven, whom he knew upon earth ; and 
 if he conceive soberly, that it were a less degree of blessedness 
 not to know them, than to know them, he is bound to believe 
 that he shall know them ; for he is bound to believe, that all, 
 that conduces to blessedness, shall be given him. 2 Cor. iv. 
 14. Dr. Donne. (Serm. on 1 Cor. xv. 50.) 
 
 In the act of Inspiration — (as relating to the Scriptures) — the 
 Holy Spieit did not impair the human faculties; much less 
 did He destroy the personal identity of those, whom He in- 
 spired. On the mount of Transfiguration the disciples saw 
 two men talking with Jesus; which were Moses and Elias, 
 Moses was not changed into Elias, nor Elias into Moses, nor 
 were they transmuted into some third person diflerent from 
 either. But they "appeared in glory." They were trans- 
 figured. So in Inspiration, Peter is not changed into Paul, 
 nor Matthew into John. They retain their personal identity, 
 distinguishable by men. " They appear in glory," They are 
 transfigured. Dr. Chr. Wordsworth. (Pref. to Edit, of the 
 G-r. Testament.) 
 
 5 " Love will stammer rather than be dumb," says Abp. Leigh- 
 ton. (Comment. 1 S. Pet. i. 3, 4.) S. Peter knew not what 
 he ought to say, but he knew what he felt ; and out of the 
 abundance of the heart his mouth spake, " It is good for us to be 
 here.'''' He loved the presence of his Loed at all times; now 
 he specially desired it, when he saw it surrounded with honour 
 and glory; he wished to detain Him on the mount, and: there 
 to abide with Him, and so to return to the trials and tempta- 
 tions of the world no more. He desired, at the same time, 
 the Communion of the saints, in their union with the Loed of 
 life and glory — of saints departed, as Moses and Elias, of saints 
 still in the same mortal body with himself, as S. James and 
 S. John. "It is good for us to be here." Observe we also 
 that, though, in the trouble of his thoughts, he wist not what 
 
198 S. MARK IX. 5. 
 
 to say, or father spake inconsiderately, yet afterwards, enlight- 
 ened by the Holt G-host, he saw clear into the mystery 
 of Cheist's Transfiguration ; he recorded, for our benefit, the 
 glorious truth of the " Majesty, honour, and glory" of our 
 LoBD Jesfs Cheist, and of His "power and coming" here- 
 after in that glory, viii. 24, 25 ; 2 S. Pet. i. 16—18 ; S. John 
 xiii. 6, 7 ; xiv. 26. J. F. 
 
 How pleasant will it be to sit down with Enoch, ISToah, Abraham, 
 Moses, and Elias, and all the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, 
 Saints, and Martyrs, (S. Matt. viii. 11,) and to have their his- 
 tory from their own mouths, and to compare notes, sometimes 
 with one and sometimes with another of them ! (S. James v. 
 17.) And how delightful will it be to talk with the glorious 
 Angels, and learn from them all the messages and embassies, 
 they were employed in, in relation to men and one another, 
 and particularly to converse with those Angels, that were em- 
 ployed in messages, that related to ourselves, or friends ; though 
 perhaps we did little imagine at the time that we were preserved, 
 directed, encouraged, or had such or such a thing suggested, 
 by these visible intelligences and agents ! (Acts xii. 9 — 15.) 
 But, above all, how ravishing will it be to hear Cheist com- 
 ment upon the Divine attributes, and the works and dispensa- 
 tions, He Himself was concerned in ! Oh, abyss of thought, 
 contemplation, and admiration ! 2 Thess. i. 7—11 ; Heb. xii. 
 22—24 ; Eev. xxi. 3, 4 ; xxii. 20. Robert Fleming. (A Prac- 
 tical Discourse, occasioned by the death of King William, on 
 Eev. xiv. 13.) 
 
 It is good for us to be herS.—- 
 
 Qusenam stelligero labilis 8e- 
 there 
 Lux mi pectora corripit ? 
 
 Quae fax, siderese filia flammulaB, 
 Me Sacris cremat ignibus ? 
 
 Mens desiderii fertur ab sestibus 
 Supra blanda pericula, 
 
 Sirenumque modos, et Siculi 
 freti 
 Prsedones Acheloidas. 
 
 Uror conspicuis setheris orbibus 
 
 Ext orris patrio solo ; 
 Cceli sidereis uror amoribus. 
 
 O lucens facies poli ! 
 O flam m SB vigiles ! O Hyacin- 
 thina 
 
 Stellati domus setheris ! 
 Cur me Daedaleis, heu nimium 
 diu! 
 
 Mundi erroribus implicas ? 
 
S. MAEK IX. 6, 7. 199 
 
 Cur me sepositum terra tenes 
 polo, 
 Mendacique bono exulem 
 Irrides, solidis dum vacuus bonis 
 
 Uror Tantalea fame ? 
 Ah, sortis fluidse lubrica som- 
 nia! 
 
 Mentem solvite compede. 
 Jam coeli excubiae, jam vigiles 
 chori 
 Arcem pectoris occupant ; 
 Extremum valeas, terra ; mi- 
 cantibus 
 Coelorum infer or atriis. 
 
 Nicolas Avancini. (Odarum Lib. i. 30.) 
 
 6 A gentle /e«r; for otherwise S. Peter would not have wished 
 to stay there. Bengel. 
 
 7 It has been suggested that this cloud was emblematic of the 
 Third Person of the ever blessed Trinity. Certainly, as S. 
 Matthew describes it, this was " a bright cloud," radiant, it may 
 be, with the influx of the Deity. Supposing such an appear- 
 ance to have been vouchsafed, the whole scene beautifully 
 accords with that other glorious attestation to the Filial G-od- 
 head, which took place at the Baptism of Cheist ; when 
 apparuit manifestissima Trinitas, as S. Augustine declares, the 
 Ti'inity was most clearly made manifest, xiv. 62 ; S. Matt, 
 iii. 16, 17 ; Dan. vii. 13 ; Acts i. 9. J. F. 
 
 As, at the proceeding of a great Prince, before he himself cometh 
 in sight, many there be, that go before him, and those of 
 divers degrees, and at last himself doth appear, so this Prince, 
 that sits in the throne, should not start out at the first and 
 show Himself; but be allowed His train of Patriarchs and 
 Prophets to be His Anteambulones ; and, "in the fulness of 
 time" Himself should come, with " the fulness of grace and 
 truth," and establish one entire uniform way to continue for 
 ever. TVe must learn /em ac^^er/ec^iora. . . . Moses himself 
 pointeth us to one after him, by his Ipsum audite. (Dent, 
 xviii. 18.) Who is that? God Himself in the mount tells 
 us by His Ipsum audite ! And, when G-od said it, Moses and 
 Elias were there on the mount, and resigned up both their 
 several audiences ; Moses, for himself; and Elias, as well in 
 his own name, as in the name of all the Prophets, xi. 9 ; S. 
 Luke xxiv. 44. Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. on Heb. i. 1 — 3.) 
 
 There is no manner of absurdity in supposing a veil on purpose 
 drawn over some scenes of Infinite power, wisdom, and good- 
 
200 S. MAEK IX. 8. 
 
 ness, the sight of which might some way, or other, strike us 
 too strongly : or, that better ends are designed and served by 
 their being concealed, than could be by their being exposed to 
 our knowledge. The Almighty may cast clouds and darkness 
 round about Him for reasons and purposes, of which we have 
 not the least glimpse, or conception. E.om. xi. 33 ; Ecclus. 
 xvi. 21, 22 J S. John xx. 29. Bp. Butler. (Serm. on Eccl. vii. 
 16,17.) 
 
 8 Save Jestjs only. — When the eye gazes on the sun, it is more 
 tormented with the brightness, than pleased with the beauty 
 of it ; but when the beams are transmitted through a coloured 
 medium, they are more temperate, and sweetened to the sight. 
 The Eternal Word, shining in His full glory, the more bright, 
 the less visible is He to mortal eyes ; but the Incarnate Word 
 is eclipsed and allayed by a veil of flesh, (Heb. x. 20,) and so 
 made accessible to us. GtOd, out of a tender respect to our 
 frailty and fears, promised to raise up a Prophet, clothed in 
 our nature, (Exod. xx. 18, 19 ; Deut. xviii. 15 — 19,) that we 
 might comfortably and quietly receive His instructions. Job 
 xxxiii. 6, 7 ; S. John i. 18 ; S. Luke iv. 20—22. Br. Bates. 
 (Harmony of the Divine Attributes, c. 5.) 
 
 The Law was a shadow of good to come ; this good was Cheist. 
 When the sun is behind, the shadow is before ; when the sun 
 is before, the shadow is behind: so was it in Cheist to them 
 of old. This sun was behind, and therefore the Law or 
 shadow was before : to us, under Grrace, the sun is before, and 
 so now the ceremonies of the Law, these shadows are behind ; 
 yea, they are vanished away. Heb. viii. 13 ; 2 Cor. iii. 7 — 11. 
 Chr. Sutton. (Disce Yivere, c. i.) 
 
 9 And as they came down from the mountain, He 
 charged them that they should tell no man what 
 things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen 
 from the dead. 
 
 10 And they kept that saying with themselves, 
 questioning one with another what the rising from the 
 dead should mean. 
 
S. MAEK IX. 9, 10. 201 
 
 11 And they asked Him, saying, Why say the 
 scribes that EUas must first come ? 
 
 12 And He answered and told them, Elias verily 
 cometh first, and restoreth all things ; and how it is 
 written of the Son of man, that He must suffer many 
 things, and be set at nought. 
 
 13 But I say unto you. That Elias is indeed come, 
 and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, 
 as it is written of him. 
 
 9 That visible glory, with which He was Baptized from heaven, 
 first in the river Jordan and afterwards from mount Tabor 
 was an undoubted evidence that He was sent from above to 
 be His Father's Representative in the Church. By that 
 outward sign of the visible glory, in which the Holy GtHOST 
 descended upon Him, He had invested Him with Eegal power, 
 and deputed and declared Him to be King of the Church. 
 (Acts ii. 33.) And this, in all probability, was the reason, 
 why He forbade His disciples to declare His Transfiguration, 
 until after His Resurrection from the dead ; because He knew 
 that, if they did, the Jews would not believe it, but maliciously 
 interpret it to be a false pretence of His to the title of God's 
 immediate Representative and Yice-roy. (xv. 32.) . . . There- 
 fore, in all the history of His life, you find He did industriously 
 avoid openly to avow His Regal authority and only insinuates 
 it by consequences and obscure intimations . . . until by 
 more miraculous effects, and particularly by His Resurrection 
 from the dead, (Rom. i. 2,) He had sufficiently proved and 
 demonstrated it ; and then He openly declares without any 
 reserve that " all power was given Him in heaven and earth." 
 S. Matt, xxviii. 18. Dr. J. Scott. (Discourse on S. John 
 i. 14.) 
 
 10 They were ignorant of many things, though they conversed 
 with Christ in the flesh : S. Philip, ignorant of the Father 
 S. Thomas, of the way unto the Father ; S. Peter, of the 
 necessity of Christ's sufferings ; the two disciples, of His 
 
202 S. MAKK IX. 13. 
 
 Eesurrection ; all of them, of the q^uality of His Kingdom. 
 Bp. Reynolds. 
 
 13 The wisdom and goodness of GrOD are seen in His manner of 
 proportioning His aids to the exigencies of His people, and 
 raising up reformers, when religion most needs their help, to 
 reyive the true spirit of it among men. If we view the state 
 of things in Judea at two different periods, we shall soon 
 perceive how seasonably Elijah was sent at one time, and S. 
 John the Baptist, that second Elijah, at another. Each was 
 an era of distinguished corruption; but corruption of a dif- 
 ferent species. During the former, idolatry was the fashion- 
 able error, which had found its way into the Court and over- 
 spread the face of the Church. The characteristics of the 
 latter were, on the one hand, a Pharisaical hypocrisy, a boast 
 of moral rectitude, which existed only in theory, and a 
 vain confidence in a law, which nobody observed; on the 
 other, a Sadducean infidelity, opposed to the national faith 
 and hope, denying a resurrection and future state of retribu- 
 tion. Elijah reclaimed the people from the worship of Baal to 
 that of the true GrOD : S. John called his hearers from unbelief, 
 hypocrisy, and vice, to faith and holiness. Bp. Home. (Con- 
 siderations on the Life and Death of S. John the Baptist.) 
 
 Elias is indeed come. — A notable instance this of a literal pro- 
 phecy being spiritually fulfilled ; such, as may help to convince 
 the Chilianists of their fond error. Eev. xx. 6. J. F. 
 
 The Jews, as they do erroneously hold, that the Messiah is not 
 yet come, so do they hold also, that Elias shall personally come 
 before His coming; and it is no wonder, that they err that 
 error, mistaking the meaning of Malachi, when so many Chris- 
 tians do err the same error with them, though they have an 
 exposition by an angel and by our SAViom upon that pro- 
 phecy. Mai. iv. 5 ; S. Luke i. 17 ; S. Matt. xi. 14 ; xvii. 12. 
 Dr. Liyhtfoot. 
 
 14 And when He came to His disciples, He saw a 
 great multitude about them, and the scribes question- 
 ing with them. 
 
S. MAKK IX. 14, 15. 203 
 
 1 5 And straightway all the people, when they be^ 
 held Him, were greatly amazed, and running to Him 
 saluted Him. 
 
 16 And He asked the scribes. What question ye 
 with them ? 
 
 17 And one of the multitude answered and said, 
 Master, I have brought unto Thee my son, which hath 
 a dumb spirit ; 
 
 18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth 
 him ; and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, 
 and pineth away : and I spake to Thy disciples that 
 they should cast him out ; and they could not. 
 
 19 He answered him, and saith, O faithless gene- 
 ration, how long shall I be with you ? how long shall 
 I suffer you ? bring him unto Me. 
 
 20 And they brought him unto Him : and when 
 he saw Him, straightway the spirit tare him ; and he 
 fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 
 
 14 The scribes questioning. — The scribes now assume tlie insulting 
 air of conquerors ; and they not only deride the disciples, but 
 lash out against Christ, as if His power was become effete in 
 their inability, xv. 29 — 33 ; Ps. xxxv. 25. Calvin. 
 
 15 Look now, O Blessed Jestj, from Thy holy hill ; and see Thy 
 true believers with a multitude about them, that delight in 
 nothing but to question and contradict, and perpetually dis- 
 pute. Open their eyes, O Loed, that they may see Thee, 
 and amazed at the beauty of Thy truth come running to Thee 
 and adore Thee . . . . O Thou great Physician of souls, purge 
 all the errors and heresies out of Thy Church, and make lis to 
 be all of one heart and of one mind in Thy truth ! Mai. i. 11 ; 
 Eph. iy. 1—7. Austin. (Medit. 234.) 
 
 Tangebantur h gloria. They were sensibly affected by the glory, 
 albeit they knew not what was being done. ix. ^^Q\ x. 32 ; 
 S. Luke xix. 11 ; Exod. xxxiv. 29. Bengel. 
 
204 S. MARK IX. 18, 19. 
 
 18 These demons are impure and vagrant spirits, who have sullied 
 their original beauty, and from celestial purity are sunk down 
 into earthy and gross uncleannesses. These spirits therefore, 
 having lost the simplicity of their substance the primitive fine- 
 ness of their nature, and being now clogged and laden with 
 iniquity and utterly undone themselves, make it their whole 
 business to undo others, for companions in misery ; being de- 
 praved themselves they would infuse the same depravity into 
 others ; and being alienated themselves from Gron they would 
 estrange mankind from GrOD also, by introducing false religions. 
 .... Most of you know very well that the demons are forced 
 to confess these things of themselves, as often as we rack them 
 into confession with our bare words only, and force them out 
 of the bodies they possess, by such tormenting speeches, as 
 
 they cannot bear Take their word then, and believe 
 
 them to be devils, when you have it from their own mouths 
 and to their own ruin. Por, when we adjure them by the One 
 true GrOD, the wretches, sore against their will, fall into hor- 
 rible shiverings, and either spring forthwith from the bodies, 
 they possess, or vanish by degrees, according to the faith of 
 the patient, or the grace of the physician, xvi. 17 ; S. Luke 
 X. 17 — 21. M. Minucius Felix, a.d. 211. (Octavius, S. 27. 
 Transl. Keeves.) 
 
 As the life of the body is strangely disordered, when the blood 
 and the spirits do not run in their ordinary course, but make 
 convulsive and involuntary motions, which are nothing useful 
 to the body, nor guided by the will ; so the life of our souls is 
 so corrupted, as that we may be said to be dead, while we live, 
 when our judgment is blind and false, our will perverse and 
 crooked, our affections earthy and carnal, and we do not follow 
 the will of God. I)r. Gairden. (Serm. on Phil. i. 21, preached 
 at the Funeral of Eev. H. Scougal.) 
 
 19 How long shall 1 be with you ? ^c. — Bring him unto Me. — It is 
 no great matter to live lovingly with good-natured, with humble 
 and meek persons ; but he, that can do so with the froward, 
 with the wilful, and the ignorant, with the peevish and per- 
 verse, he only hath true charity ; always remembering that our 
 true solid peace, the peace of G-od, consists rather in compli- 
 
S. MARK IX. 20. 
 
 205 
 
 ance with others, than in being complied with ; in suffering 
 and forbearing rather than in contention and victory. Ps. cxx. 
 5—7; Acts xiii. 18; Eom. xv. 1—3; 1 Cor. xiii. 4—8; 1 S. 
 Pet. ii. 18 — 21. Kempis. (De Imitat. Christi.) 
 
 20 When he saio Him, ^-c. — Those, who are down already, he 
 passes by ; but, when thou beginnest to breathe in the land of 
 the living, then his fiery weapons fly about. 1 Sam. vii. 6, 7 ; 
 S. Luke ix. 42 ; Eph. vi. 16. Farindon. (Serm. on S. Matt. 
 iv. 1.) 
 
 The war, that is kindled by Satan against the sinner at his early 
 conversion, is illustrated by the conduct of Lab an, who, imme- 
 diately on Jacob's starting on his return to his father, sets out 
 in a furious rage to overtake him ; by the conduct of Pharaoh 
 (as S. Cyril remarks. Lib. de ador. in spir. et verit.) who, on 
 the first mention of the intention of the Israelites to leave his 
 country that they might sacrifice to God, suddenly flies into a 
 passion against them and cruelly persecutes them ; and by the 
 conduct of Saul who, observing the great liking Jonathan took 
 towards David, conceived such wrath and indignation against 
 him. Origen remarks on those words, (Exod. v. 23,) "Since I 
 came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy Name, he hath done evil to 
 this people," that " before the word of God is heard, there is 
 no trial nor temptation ; for, if the trumpet gives no sound, 
 there is no fight. But, when once, by preaching, this trumpet 
 gives the order to attack, conflicts immediately ensue, and 
 every kind of tribulation henceforth arises."* (See at S. Matt. 
 ii. 2, 3. lUustr.) Abbe de Billy. (Sonnets spirituels, &c., 38.) 
 
 The youth y^Z/ on the ground ; but it was the devil, who was racked 
 with pain : the possessed had trouble ; but the usurping spirit 
 was convicted by the awful Judge : the captive was detained. 
 
 * This passage is translated from 
 the original French of the Abbe de 
 Billy, entitled, " Sonnets spirituels re- 
 cueillis pour la pltis part des anciens 
 Theologiens, tant Grecs, que Latins.''^ 
 printed at Paris in 1573. The author, 
 under the name of Billius, translated 
 his work into Latin in 1575, calhng it 
 
 Anthologia Sacra ; and from it many 
 verses have been transferred to these 
 Illustrations. See the verses, con- 
 nected with this note, at S. Luke ix. 
 42, He also translated the Greek 
 verses of S. G-regory of Nazianzum into 
 Latin; a specimen of which version 
 is given in this volimie. Ch. vi. 56. 
 
206 S. mark: IX. 20—22. 
 
 but the captor was punished; through the suffering of the 
 human body, the punishment of the devil was made manifest. 
 Opus est Dei lumine, we need, brethren, the teaching of God, 
 lest, in contemplating the works of GrOD, our eyes deceive us. 
 Acts viii. 7, 8. Pet. Chrysologus. (Serm. li.) 
 Look not how the Christian begins, but how he ends. The Spirit 
 of God comes (at times) into the soul with some terror by 
 His convictions; but it closethwith peace and joy. Ps. xxxvii. 
 38 ; 1 Kings xix. 11—13 ; Acts xvi. 26—35. Gurnall. 
 
 2 1 And He asked his father, How long is it ago 
 since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 
 
 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and 
 into the waters, to destroy him : but if Thou canst do 
 any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 
 
 23 Jesus said unto him. If thou canst believe, all 
 things are possible to him that believeth. 
 
 24 And straightway the father of the child cried 
 out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe ; help Thou 
 mine unbelief. 
 
 21 How long is it, ^c. — The sick amuse their melancholy and 
 alleviate their illness by speaking of it. The attention we give 
 them comforts, and, in some sort, mitigates the acuteness of 
 their pain. Ps. cxlii, 2. Palmer. (Aphorisms. 924.) 
 
 It is some relief for a poor body to be but heard with patience. 
 S. John V. 7. J. Walton. (Life of G. Herbert.) 
 
 "What possible cause existed in this youth, why he should of a 
 child be vexed with this most fierce devil, had he not laboured 
 under original sin ? It is clear, that no actual sin of his own 
 could have cleaved to him. Let the Catholic confess that no 
 one is bom into this world free from the taint of the first trans- 
 gression ; and let him implore the Grace of God, whereby he 
 may be " delivered from the body of this death through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord." Ps. li. 5; Eom. v. 14, Bede. 
 
 22 To destroy him. — Either because he hoped to get possession 
 
S. aiAEK IX. 23, 24. 207 
 
 of tlie corpse, or to avoid expulsion by JEsrs ; for otherwise 
 he would most willingly hsLYe remained in a human body. He 
 could not destroy this person by his own power, without the 
 aid of fire or water. Ps. lii. 1 ; 1 S. Pet. v. 8. Bengel. 
 
 23 There is no possibility therefore for Christian hope to despair, 
 because all things are possible to GrOD. There is no horizon 
 under heaven, or above heaven, that hope cannot look beyond 
 it. For that comfort, which is commensurable with the 
 strength and power of God, is as large, as can be contained in 
 the heart of a creature. 2 Chron. xiii. 18 ; Ps. Ixxxi. 11 ; Eom. 
 XV. 5 ; Eph. iii. 20 ; S. Jude 24. Bp. J. Taylor. (Christian 
 Consolations, Ch. i.) 
 
 Paith is not only a grace of itself, but is steward and purveyor of 
 all other graces, and its office is to make provision for them, 
 while they are working ; and therefore as a man's faith grows 
 either stronger or weaker, so his work goes on more or less 
 
 vigorously There is no grace, nor supply, nor mercy, 
 
 laid up in the Loed Jesus Cheist, but it is all in the hands 
 of a believer's faith ; and he may take from thence whatsoever 
 he needs, to supply the present wants and necessities of his 
 soul. Eom. iv. 20 — 22 ; S. James ii. 5. Bp. Hoj)ki7is. (Prac- 
 tical Christianity ; Serm. on Phil. ii. 12, 13.) 
 
 Nothing more clearly proves the Omnipotence of the Word, 
 than its effect of rendering omnipotent all those, who place 
 their hopes in it. Phil. iv. 11 — 13. S. Bernard. (In Cant. 
 Serm. 58.) 
 
 24 Said with tears, Lord, I believe, 8fc. — It is no measuring 
 thyself by sense, especially in the time of temptation. Thou 
 couldst not so feelingly bemoan the want of faith, if thou 
 hadst it not. ... It is an unsafe and perilous path, which 
 those men have walked in, who have been wont to define all 
 faith by assurance. Bp. Hall. (Balm of Gilead, p. i. s. 7.) 
 
 Our justification does not depend upon the degree of our faith, 
 but ex veritatcy on the reality of it. S. Matt. xiii. 23 ; xxv. 
 22, 23. Bp. Bavenant. (On the Epis. to the Colossians.) 
 
 It is not said (Bom. xiii. 26) that "the Spirit helps us" with 
 comforts and with joys, but with sighs and "groans." He 
 helps us in sensible complaints of our wants, as well as in 
 
208 S. MAEK IX. 24, 25. 
 
 holy ravishments. Strength of grace is seen in holy joys ; but 
 truth of grace may be seen in sighs and groans. S. Matt. v. 3, 
 4 ; Eom. viii. 23 ; 1 S. Pet. i. 6. Chr. Love. (Serm. on 2 Tim. ii. 1.) 
 
 I do not say that a soul, under temptation, can assure itself 
 that God is already reconciled to it. And herein possibly 
 lies oftentimes the mistake; for this reflex act of assurance, 
 though it be our duty to seek after it, is itself rather a gift 
 and reward, than a duty. But the direct and proper act of 
 faith is of perpetual use and necessity, and then most, when 
 there is least of assurance : and it is no other than a recum- 
 bency, or reliance, a rolling over of the soul upon free mercy. 
 vii. 28 ; Job xiii. 15 ; Heb. vi. 11, 12, 18. Abp. Leighton. 
 (Serm. on Ps. xlii. 8.) 
 
 "When we have infallible assurance, no perplexity, or misgiving 
 at all, there, it would seem, can be no room for "hoping 
 against hope;" no opportunity of " patiently enduring " and 
 of so being "blessed with faithful Abraham." Rom. iv. 19 — 
 22 ; viii. 23—25 ; Gal. iii. 7—10. Keble. (Serm. on Eom. iv. 
 18.) 
 
 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running 
 together, He rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, 
 Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of 
 him, and enter no more into him. 
 
 26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and 
 came out of him : and he was as one dead ; insomuch 
 that many said. He is dead. 
 
 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and Hfted him 
 up ; and he arose. 
 
 28 And when He was come into the house, His 
 disciples asked Him privately, Why could not we cast 
 him out ? 
 
 29 And He said unto them. This kind can come 
 forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. 
 
 25 Dumb and deaf spirit. — The devil acts the part of a mur- 
 
S. MAEK IX. 25—29. 209 
 
 derous thief. A cunning thief, that robs a house, comes in a 
 blustering night, lest any should hear him ; and puts out all 
 the light, lest any should see him ; and then stops the mouth 
 of the good man, lest he call for help, and so some take him. 
 2 Cor. ii. 11 ; 1 Thess. v. 2, 4. Bean Boys. (On the Domi- 
 nical Ep. &c. 3 S. Lent.) 
 
 I charge thee, S^c. — The evil spirit had become more rabid, in 
 consequence of the failure of the disciples in their attempts to 
 cast him out. xv. 14. Bengel, 
 
 Lord, I read, that, when my Sayiotjr dispossessed the man's son 
 of a devil, He enjoined the evil spirit to come out of him, and 
 enter no more into him. But I find, that, when my Saviour 
 Himself was tempted of Satan, the devil " departed from Him 
 for a season." (S. Luke iv. 13.) . . .1 see my Sayiotje was 
 pleased to shew Himself a GrOD in other men's matters, and 
 but a man in such cases, wherein He Himself was concerned ; 
 being contented still to be tempted by Satan, that His suifer- 
 ings for us might cause our conquering through Him. x. 45 ; 
 Eom. XV. 3. Th. Fuller. (Scripture Observations. 24.) 
 
 26 The enemy of man's salvation deems it no small torment to 
 abandon his suffering victim ; and, the longer he has had 
 possession, (v. 21,) the more reluctant is he to quit. Bede. 
 
 27 Took him hy the hand. — This cure of the demoniac, although 
 it is found in the other two Grospels, yet comes out in S. Mark 
 with such an absorbing interest of detail, as to render the 
 description peculiarly his own. I. Williams. (Thoughts on 
 the Study of the Grospels.) 
 
 As He revealed Himself to him in the reality of His Grodhead, 
 by His power to save, so He further exhibited to him the 
 reality of His possessing the human nature, more tactus humani, 
 by taking him by the hand. Bede. 
 
 29 Nunquam fugatur, nisi cum fugitur ; nunquam mactatuVy nisi 
 cum maceratur. Lust is never put to flight but by our fleeing 
 from it ; it is never killed but by our dying to it. 2 Tim. ii. 
 22 ; IS. Pet. ii. 24. Innocentius. 
 
 Sin never dies a natural death. It must be put to death ; and 
 our own hand must be the " first against it." 43—47 ; Col. 
 iii. 5. J. F. 
 
 p 
 
210 S. MAEK IX. 29. 
 
 I do verily persuade myself, that one great cause, why men may 
 have sometimes thoughts to reform their lives, and do resolve 
 against their courses, yet repent of their repentance — their 
 resolutions untwist, and become frail, as threads of cobwebs — 
 the first assault of a temptation does break through them — is, 
 they do not use mortifications, to work their aversations high 
 and strong against their sins and fix their resolutions. The 
 universal sense of the whole Primitive Church does give me 
 confidence in this persuasion. . . . These had S. Paul for 
 their precedent. (1 Cor. ix. 24—27.) But now repentances 
 are but dislikes, little short unkindnesses at our sins, and 
 wouldings to do better. ... If we consider how it comes to 
 pass, that we go round, like men enchanted, in a circle of 
 repenting and of sinning, we shall find it is for want of 
 discipline upon ourselves ; for had we strove to make our 
 humiliations more low and full of pungent sorrow, the soul 
 would start and fly at the first glance of that, which cost it so 
 much anguish : but who would fear to act that sin, which puts 
 him to so little trouble to repent of, as a sad thought, a sigh, a 
 wish, and a loose purpose, a thin slight intention, and that's 
 all? S. Matt. xi. 12; 2 Cor. vii. 9—12; Heb. xii. 4. Dr. 
 Allestree. (Serm. on Lev. xvi. 31.) 
 
 Prayer is truly a virtue of inestimable price, and of singular 
 power towards obtaining everything, that is profitable, and 
 removing all, that is hurtful from us. Would you bear adver- 
 sity with patience, be a man of prayer. Would you overcome 
 temptations and trials, be a man of prayer. Would you tread 
 under foot all bad affections, be a man of prayer. Would you 
 detect the wiles of Satan and avoid his subtle deceits, be a 
 man of prayer. Would you live joyfully in the work of God 
 and tread the path of labour and affliction, be a man of prayer. 
 Would you exercise yourself in a spiritual life and renounce 
 all worldly cares and fleshly desires, be a man of prayer. 
 Would you get rid of the harassing swarms of vain and busy 
 thoughts, be a man of prayer. Would you enrich your soul 
 with good and holy reflections, with fervent and devout 
 desires, be a man of prayer. Would you stablish your heart 
 with a manly spirit and firm purpose, in union with the will 
 
S. MAEK IX. 29, 31. 211 
 
 of God, be a man of prayer. Would you root out vice from 
 your heart, and clothe it with virtue, be a man of prayer. For 
 in it is received the unction of the Holy Spirit, which teaches 
 all things to the soul. Would you rise to the heights of 
 contemplation and enjoy the embraces of your Spouse, be a 
 man of prayer. For it is by the exercise of prayer, that the 
 soul attains to the contemplation and relish of heavenly things. 
 2 Chron. xiv. 11 ; S. John xiv. 13 ; S. Luke xi. 1. Card. Bona- 
 ventura. (Life of Christ, ch. 33.) 
 
 Fasting, thus used with prayer, is of great efficacy and weigheth 
 much with Gron ; so the angel Raphael told Tobias. Tobit 
 xii. ; 1 Kings xxi. 27 — 29. Homilies. 
 
 I still neglected some means of God's appointment, under pre- 
 tence of inconveniences and difficulties, and sometimes, because 
 irksome to the flesh ; whereas these were ofttimes the only 
 proper means, that were omitted, or, at least, the principal in 
 that case. The omission of one thing ruins much, and our 
 apologies and excuses will not do. Some particular sins re- 
 quire particular remedies. When God has appointed the use 
 of these, and this is omitted, no wonder all others fail. 1 Sam. 
 xiii. 13, 15, 20, 22 ; Ps. Ixxxi. 14, 15 ; S. James iv. 3, 8 ; Eph. 
 vi. 11, 13. T. Halyhurton. (Memoirs of his Life, p. iii. c. 4.) 
 
 30 And they departed thence, and passed through 
 Galilee ; and He would not that any man should 
 know it. 
 
 31 For He taught His disciples, and said unto 
 them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of 
 men, and they shall kill Him ; and after that He is 
 killed, He shall rise the third day. 
 
 32 But they understood not that saying, and were 
 afraid to ask Him. 
 
 31 He taught His disciples. — Blessed, O my God, be Thy mer- 
 ciful wisdom, that in the day of prosperity forewarns us against 
 the night of trouble ; and blessed be the Almighty goodness, 
 that after a short affliction will raise us again to everlasting 
 
 p 2 
 
212 S. MAEK IX. 31, 32. 
 
 felicity. " Sorrow may endure for a night ; but joy shall re- 
 turn in the morning." Isa. xxvi. 20. Austin. (Medit. 137.) 
 
 Is delivered. — Using the present tense He signifies, that the thing 
 shall be shortly ; for He did so hasten to death and so seriously 
 think of it, that it might seem present to Him, which was to 
 come. S. Luke x. 18 ; xii. 50 ; S. John xiii. 27. Novarinus. 
 
 His Eesurrection was deferred until the third day^ to demonstrate 
 that He was very man ; for, if He should have presently risen, 
 His death would have been thought no true death, and so, 
 by consequence. His Eesurrection no true resurrection. 1 S. 
 John iv. 2, 3. T. Aquinas. 
 
 Jesus knew beforehand the whole amount of His suiferings, in all 
 their connections and bearings ; and therefore never foretold 
 them, without likewise foretelling His Eesurrection ; neither 
 did He foretell this, without foretelling His sufferings. Thus 
 does true faith apprehend the latter and the former, as one 
 entire matter, and makes very much of everything pertaining 
 to either. Here is something for exercising the heart ; some- 
 thing, which must never be lost sight of, in the darkest night 
 of affliction, or in the clearest blaze of the terrestrial noon ; for 
 it is to " guide our feet into the way of peace." As we hold a 
 candle to the flame, until it is fully lighted, so we must hold 
 ourselves to this subject with affecting meditation. S. Luke 
 xxiv. 26 ; IS. Pet. v. 1 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 4. Bengel. 
 
 32 They understood not. — Hence we may understand how it hap- 
 pened, that the first disciples of Christ, of whom we cannot 
 suppose that they were literally unacquainted with the con- 
 tents of prophecy applicable to this subject, yet experienced so 
 much embarrassment and offence of mind, when He spoke to 
 them of His sufferings and death. They had not yet come to 
 see, that the things, which they objected to, were the ordained 
 and foretold mode of His Eedemption. Hence also we per- 
 ceive the reason of those instructions in the sense of prophecy, 
 which yet remained to be given. (See S. Luke xxiv. 25 — 27.) 
 .... Between such indocility of mind, before the nature of 
 the Christian faith was fully unfolded, and the opposite belief 
 of subsequent heresy, there can be no comparison admitted. 
 The perfect illustration of the Sacrificial atonement, now spread 
 
S. MARK IX. 32, 33. 213 
 
 over the New Testament, forbids to the modern Socinian the 
 use of any of the extenuating pleas of earlier Jewish ignor- 
 ance. Yerse 10 ; Eom. x. 18— 21 ; Gal. iii. 1 ; 1 S. John v. 20. 
 Davison. (On Primitive Sacrifice; part 3.) 
 It is not to no purpose to speak things, that are not presently 
 understood. Seed, though it lies in the ground awhile unseen, 
 is not lost or thrown away, but will bring forth fruit. K you 
 confine your teacher, you hinder your learning ; if you limit 
 his discourses to your present apprehensions, how shall he 
 raise your understandings ? If he accommodate all things to 
 your present weakness, you will never be the wiser, than you 
 are now ; you will be always in swaddling clothes. S. John ii. 
 22 ; xiv. 26. Br. Whichcote. (Cent. iv. Aphor. 307.) 
 
 33 And He came to Capernaum : and being in the 
 house He asked them, What was it that ye disputed 
 among yourselves by the way ? 
 
 34 But they held their peace : for by the way they 
 had disputed among themselves, who should he the 
 greatest. 
 
 33 He asked them, What was it, ^c. — The country parson, wher- 
 ever he be, keeps God's watch; that is, there is nothing 
 spoken or done in the company, where he is, but comes under 
 his test and censure : if it be well spoken or done, he takes 
 occasion to commend and enlarge it ; if ill, he presently lays 
 hold of it, lest the poison steal into some young and unwary 
 spirits and possess them, even before they themselves heed it. 
 But this he doth discreetly with mollifying and suppling words. 
 
 This is called keeping God's watch, when the baits, 
 
 which the enemy lays in company, are discovered and avoided : 
 this is to be on God's side and to be true to His party. Ezek. 
 iii. 17 ; Isa. Ivi. 10; 2 Tim. iv. 5. G. Herbert. (Priest to the 
 Temple, c. 18.) 
 
 Disputing by the way is falling out by the way ; a thing, directly 
 contrary to the charge, which Joseph, as a type of Christ, 
 gave to his brethren ; " See that ye fall not out by the way.^^ 
 
214 S. MAKK IX. 33, 34. 
 
 And therefore we may expect to be reproved for it. (S. Luke 
 xxiv. 17. J. F.) M. Henri/. (Serm. on text.) 
 
 Bi/ the way — in the house. — What we too eagerly dispute by the 
 way, amid the stir and excitement of the world, is often recti- 
 fied in the house, in the calm second thoughts and self-examina- 
 tion of the closet. S. Matt. xxi. 29. /. F. 
 
 This is the method of the world at this day ; first, to dispute every 
 man in the way, in via sua, in his own way ; the covetous in the 
 way, that leads to wealth ; the ambitious in the way, that leads 
 to honour ; the sacrilegious person in the way, that leads to 
 atheism and profaneness ; and then, to ask Christ Himself a 
 question, and hope to strengthen their vain imaginations by 
 Scripture, and to have an answer, which shall fit their humour 
 and flatter their ungrounded resolutions, even from the mouth 
 of Christ Himself. Isa. liii. 6 ; Ezek. xiv. 7. Farindon. 
 
 In the house. — Where a man's vices only hurt himself and ter- 
 minate in his own person, there we have no right to publish 
 them ; because we can answer no good end thereby ; but where 
 they afiect or may afiect others, it is our duty to warn, as many 
 as we think proper. S. Matt. i. 19 ; xviii. 15 ; Gral. i. 14. J. 
 Seed. (Serm. on Eom. xii. 1.) 
 
 Among yourselves. — While His disciples were constantly about 
 Him, they went on pretty well ; but there was good reason for 
 His leaving them sometimes to themselves. (Deut. xxxii. 11.) 
 Observe what directions your thoughts and feelings most 
 readily take, when you are alone ; and you will then form a 
 tolerable correct opinion of your real state. Ps. cxxxix. 1 — 3 ; 
 Jer. XV. 17 ; Lam. iii. 26. Bengel. 
 
 34 This dispute seems to have arisen from their having seen S. 
 Peter, S. James, and S. John, taken up apart from the other 
 disciples to the Mount, and there entrusted with some special 
 mystery ; but, as for S. Peter, they knew that the Keys of the 
 Eangdom of heaven had already been committed to him, (S. 
 Matt, xvi.) and that the Church was to be erected on that rock 
 of Paith, whence he obtained his surname ; they disputed there- 
 fore, w^hether these three should take precedence of the rest, 
 or whether S. Peter should be supreme over them all. Bede. 
 
 That singular distinction, (iii. 17), bestowed on S. James and S. 
 
S. MAEK IX. 34. 215 
 
 John, may have served, together with what occurred at the 
 Transfiguration, to raise the inquiry, according to the above 
 comment of the Venerable Bede. J. F. 
 
 The greatest. — We are fond of rising, and all men desire to be 
 exalted ; for we are by nature noble creatures and of a certain 
 greatness of soul, and therefore naturally aspire to be elevated. 
 But woe be to us, if we would follow him, who says, *'I will sit 
 upon the Mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north." 
 (Isa. xiv. 13.) .... Is not this the Mount, that the Angel as- 
 cended, and came down a devil ? Know you not that, after his 
 fall, tortured with envy and anxious in his malice to ruin man, 
 he pointed out to him such another mountain, and said, " Te 
 shall be as Grods, knowing good and evil?" 1 Sam. ii. 1 — 10; 
 Wisd. vi. 1—8 ; S. Luke x. 18, 20 ; S. James iii. 1. S. Bernard. 
 (Serm. iv. in Asc. Dom.) 
 
 Observe a tree, how it first tends downwards, that it may shoot 
 forth upwards. It fastens its root low in the ground, that it 
 may send forth its top towards Heaven. Numquid nititur, nisi 
 humilitate ? Is it not from humility, that it endeavours to rise ? 
 But you without humility would attain to higher things. You 
 are for growing up into the air without a root. Ruina est ista, 
 non incrementum ; this is not growth, but a downfall. S. Matt. 
 V. 3 ; S. Luke vi. 48 ; Prov. xvi. 18 ; Eev. xviii. 7. S. Augustine. 
 (De Verb. Dom. in Joan. Serm. xxxviii.) 
 
 Hseres peccati, natura filius ii'ae, 
 
 Exiliique reus nascitur omnis homo. 
 TJnde superbis, homo, cujus conceptio culpa, 
 
 Nasci poena, labor vita, necesse mori ? 
 Vana salus hominis, vanus decor, omnia vana ; 
 
 Inter vana nihil vanius est homine. 
 Dum magis alludunt prsesentis gaudia vitae, 
 
 Prseterit ; im6 fugit : non fugit, im6 perit. 
 Post hominem vermis ; post vermem fit cinis, heu ! heu ! 
 
 Sic redit ad cinerem gloria nostra suum. 
 
 Adam, (of the Priory of S. Victor, a.d. 1130.) 
 
 35 And He sat down, and called the twelve, and 
 
216 S. MAKK IX. 35, 36. 
 
 saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the 
 same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 
 
 36 And He took a child, and set him in the midst 
 of them : and when He had taken him in His arms. 
 He said unto them, 
 
 37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in 
 My Name, receiveth Me : and whosoever shall receive 
 Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me. 
 
 35 This was a serious matter : the sin of the Apostles was great ; 
 for the LoED had constantly instructed them in the duty of 
 self-denial and humility. The previous question (v. 28) " "Why 
 could not lye cast him out?" seems also to savour of pride. 
 Our LoED, therefore, sits down and calls them. This shows at 
 the same time the heinousness of their offence and the thought- 
 fulness, calmness, and meekness of His Divine reproof. Gen. 
 iii. 8. (See Illustr. of S. Matt, xviii. 32.) J. F. 
 
 Servant. — Episcopatus nomen est operis, non honoris; ut intelli- 
 gat se non esse Episcopum, qui vult prceesse, non prodesse. A 
 Bishop's office is a name of labour rather than of honour ; that 
 he, who coveteth the place of pre-eminence without any desire 
 to do good, may know thereby he is not a Bishop. Rom. ii. 28, 
 29 ; 2 Cor. vi. 1 ; 2 Tim. iv. 5. S. Augustine. (De civit. Dei. 
 1. xix. c. 19.) 
 
 36 Observe the spontaneous overflow of His condescending and 
 benign nature. He took the child in His arms ; an act, not at 
 all called for by the circumstances of the case, as it was at the 
 time, when He " figured thereby His Holy Baptism." (Conf. 
 X. 13—16 ;) V. 41 ; viii. 23. J. F. 
 
 There is in most men's minds a secret instinct of reverence and 
 affection towards the days of their childhood. They cannot 
 help sighing with regret and tenderness, when they think of it ; 
 and it is graciously done by our Loed and Savioiie to avail 
 Himself, so to say, of this principle of our nature, and, as He 
 employs all that belongs to it, so to turn this also to the real 
 health of the soul. And it is dutifully done, on the part of 
 
S. MARK IX. 36, 37. 217 
 
 the Church, to follow the intimation, given her by her He- 
 deemer, and to hallow one day every year, as if for the con- 
 templation of His w^ord and deed. . . . She takes advantage of 
 the massacre of the Innocents (S. Matt. iii. 16) to bring before 
 us a truth, which else we might little think of; to sober our 
 washes and hopes of this world, our high ambitious thoughts 
 or our anxious fears, jealousies, and cares, by the picture of the 
 purity, peace, and contentment, which are the characteristics 
 of little children. Ps. cxxxi. J. H. Newman. (Sermon on 
 the Feast of the Holy Innocents.) 
 
 There is no greater sign of your own perfection, than when you 
 find yourself all love and compassion towards them, that are 
 very defective and weak. Eom. xv. 1, 2 ; G-al. vi. 1. Wm. Law. 
 
 37 If honours of the highest degree await the man, who trains 
 even the common wrestlers for the civic spectacles, or who 
 practises the soldiers in their duty to the King, how large 
 rewards and how many crowns shall we obtain, who educate 
 persons of so great stamp and dignity. Angels I should rather 
 call them ; and that, for the service of GrOD ! Ex. ii. 9. S. 
 Chi'ysostom. (Lib. iii. Contr. vitup. vitas Monast.) 
 
 In My Najne, S^c. — All our good offices to mankind should pro- 
 ceed, not only from benevolence to them, but from a regard to 
 the Divine authority, which obliges us to these duties. We 
 should do these things, not only as they are commanded, but 
 because they are commanded. We cannot expect, that GrOD 
 will accept of that, as obedience to Him, which we do not in- 
 tend in that view. Let us apply that rule to every social duty, 
 which the Apostle particularly applies to the duty of servants 
 to their Masters : " Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the 
 Lord, and not to men." Col. iii. 17, 23. Bavies. (Serm. on 
 S. Matt. vii. 12.) 
 
 David's love to Jonathan made him inquire for some of his race, 
 that he might show kindness to for his sake. Love to God will 
 make the soul inquisitive to find out what is near and dear to 
 GrOD ; that by showing kindness to it he may express his love 
 to Him. 2 Sam. ix. 1 ; 1 S. John v. 1. Gurnall. (On the 
 Christian's Armour. Eph. vi. 14. Ch. v.) 
 
 He falls short in love to Thee, who loves aught beside Thee, or 
 
218 S. MAEK IX. 38. 
 
 not for Thy sake. Let a man begin with fixing his love on 
 GrOD, and he will find in man nothing to love, but Gron. S. 
 Augustine. 
 
 38 And John answered Him, saying, Master, we 
 saw one casting out devils in Thy Name, and he 
 foUoweth not us : and we forbad him, because he fol- 
 loweth not us. 
 
 39 But Jesus said. Forbid him not : for there is no 
 man which shall do a miracle in My Name, that can 
 lightly speak evil of Me. 
 
 40 For he that is not against us is on our part. 
 
 41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to 
 drink in My Name, because ye belong to Christ, 
 verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. 
 
 42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little 
 ones that believe in Me, it is better for him that a 
 millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were 
 cast into the sea. 
 
 38 The disciples had before " disputed among themselves, which 
 of them should be the greatest:" they are now instructed by 
 the LoED, so that they see clearly, that none should be rejected 
 by them. If Cheist and a faith in Him could exist in these 
 children, it could be found also in the man, whom they had 
 " forbidden." The retiring and candid spirit of S. John is here 
 evinced. He seems to have long harboured doubts on this 
 point, and only waited for a fit occasion to state them. Numb, 
 xi. 29 ; Acts X. 28, 34, 35 ; Eom. xiv. 3, 4. Bengel 
 
 Our fallibility and the shortness of our knowledge should make us 
 peaceable and gentle. Because I may be mistaken, I must not 
 be dogmatical and confident, peremptory and imperious. I will 
 not break the certain laws of Charity for a doubtful doctrine, 
 or of uncertain truth. Job xxxii. 6, 7 ; S. Matt. vii. 3 ; G-al. 
 vi. 1. Br. Whichcote. (Cent. ii. Aphor. 130.) 
 
S. MAEK IX. 38, 39. 219 
 
 He loved no practice tliat seemed to lessen that, — (the purifying 
 effect of our holy Eeligion,) —nor any nicety, that occasioned 
 divisions among Christians. He thought pure and disinterested 
 Christianity was so bright and glorious a thing, that he was 
 much troubled at the disputes and divisions, which had arisen 
 about some lesser matter; while the great and most important, 
 as well as the most universally acknowledged, truths were by 
 all sides almost as generally neglected, as they were confessed. 
 . . . He was constant to the Church, and went to no sepa- 
 rated assemblies, how charitably soever he might think of their 
 persons, and how plentifully soever he might have relieved their 
 necessities. He loved no narrow thoughts, nor low or super- 
 stitious opinions in Eeligion ; and therefore as he did not shut 
 himself up within a party, so neither did he shut out any party 
 from him. He had brought his mind to such freedom, that he 
 was not apt to be imposed upon ; and his modesty was such, 
 that he did not dictate to others ; but he proposed his own 
 sense with a due and decent distrust, and was ever very 
 ready to hearken to what was suggested to him by others. 
 Acts XV. 1 ; 2 Cor. vi. 11 ; Phil. ii. 3 ; iii. 15, 16. Bp. Burnet. 
 (A Sermon preached at the Funeral of the Hon. Eobert Boyle.) 
 
 We forbad him, ^c. — Glory be to Thee, O Lord my GtOD, for Thy 
 great and unspeakable mercy, in making me a member of Thy 
 Catholic Church : glory be to Thee, who hast caused me to be 
 educated in, and profess myself a member of, the purer part of 
 Thy Church established in this land ; where faith, and govern- 
 ment, and worship are Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic ; free from 
 the extremes of irreverence and superstition ; which I firmly 
 believe to be a sound part of the Church Universal, and which 
 teaches me Charity* towards those, who differ from me. . . . O 
 my God, amidst the deplorable divisions of Thy Church, let me 
 never widen its breaches ; but give me grace to pray daily for 
 the peace of Thy Church, and earnestly to seek it, and excite 
 all I can to praise and love Thee. Ps. cxxxii. 7 ; Eph. iv. 1 — 6. 
 Bp. Ken. (Paraphrase of the Creed.) 
 
 39 Were there no miracles ever joined to falsehood and error, 
 
 * This Charity is particularly to be traced in the Preface to the Book of 
 Common Prayer. 
 
220 S. MAEK IX. 40. 
 
 they would be immediately convictive, without search or trial. 
 But, as the case is otherwise, had we no rule to search and try 
 them by, they would be utterly ineffectual ; and we should lose 
 the chief ground and motive of our faith. Moses has esta- 
 blished one rule (Deut. xiii. 1 — 3), when the miracle shall lead 
 men to idolatry ; and our Lord has established another. There 
 is no man, says He, which shall do a miracle in My Name^ that 
 can lightly speak evil of Me. Whence it follows that whoever 
 declares openly agaiust Jesus Christ cannot perform miracles 
 in His Name ; and miracles, not performed in the Name of 
 Christ, are to be rejected without credit or dependence. We 
 see then the two only just exceptions against miracles ; that in 
 the Old Testament, when they turn us from GrOD ; and that in 
 the New, when they turn us from Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. xii. 
 3 ; 1 S. John iv. 1 — 3. Pascal. (Thoughts on Heligion. 
 s. 27.) 
 40 There are in the Gospel two proverbial sayings, each of them 
 twice used : He, that is not with us, is against us ; and He, that 
 is not against us, is with us. Tlie sayings are of contrary pur- 
 pose and effect. For as the first enjoins us to a labour of love, 
 and an active will, and an effective zeal, and a religion produc- 
 tive of permanent effects, so the latter seems to be content with 
 negative measures, to approve of an indifferent will, to allow a 
 neutrality ; and that not only many single actions, but that a 
 whole state of life, may have a negative indifference and inde- 
 termination. Now, because both propositions must needs be 
 true, they must have distinct measures and proper significa- 
 tions. When Christ said, " He, that is not against us, is with 
 us," He meant it principally of strangers and aliens, persons 
 not admitted into the strictures of the covenant Evangelical. 
 (S. John iii. 1, 2 ; Acts v. 34.) ..." He, that is not against 
 Christ, is with Him," is true in the preparations and disposi- 
 tions to conversion. . . . But when we are entered into the 
 Covenant of grace, when we have declared, when the question 
 is concerning final pardon and hope of glory, then only the 
 other proverb is true. It is not enough, that we are not against 
 Christ, but we must be ivith Him and for Him, earnest and 
 zealous, passionate and obedient, diligent and true, illustrious 
 
S. MARK IX. 40, 41. 221 
 
 and inquisitive. 2 Kings ix. 32 ; Acts xxi. 13 ; S. Jude 1 — 3. 
 Bp. J. Taylor. (The Rule of Conscience, b. iv. c. i. s. i.) 
 
 Conf. S. Matt. xii. 30. Moses, when he saw the Israelite and 
 the Egyptian fight did not say, "Why strive you?" but drew 
 his sword, and slew the Egyptian ; but when he saw the two 
 Israelites fight, he said, " You are brethren ; why strive you ?" 
 If the point of doctrine be an Egyptian (i. e. fundamentally 
 opposed to the faith) it must be slain " by the sword of the 
 Spirit," and not reconciled ; but, if it be an Israelite, (i. e. if 
 it concerns points not fundamental) though in the wrong, then, 
 " Why strive you ?" Glal. ii. 5 ; Rom. xiv. (Eefer to a remark 
 of the same noble Author; Illustr. S. Matt. xii. 30.) Lord 
 Bacon. (Advancement of Learning. B. iii. Ch. xxv. s. 7.) 
 
 41 Because ye belong to Christ. — A serious reflection upon the 
 Priest's office and the dignity and powers thereof would oblige 
 the noble and rich to treat the poorest and lowest of the 
 Clergy with the same respect, as they are apt to treat the 
 richest and highest of the same Order. . . . Would they con- 
 sider that the poor undignified, as well as the most dignified 
 Clergyman in the Church, are servants of the same Lord of 
 Griory, who ought to be equally honoured in them all without 
 "respect of persons," they would not make such distinctions. 
 . . . Methinks, this theory of the Priesthood should make them 
 more careful to give that religious respect, we call veneration, 
 to a poor Priest, rather than to one, who is rich ; because, in 
 that case, it is purely given to him for his character, and for his 
 Master's sake, who will reward it. S. Matt. x. 40 — 42 ; S. Jas. 
 ii. 1 — 5. Dr. G. Hickes. (Preface to The three short Trea- 
 tises.) 
 
 God will not be the reward of any of those actions, of which He 
 is not the end. Col. iii. 23, 24. Tauler. 
 
 K you wish that I should feel under an obligation to you for any 
 service you render me, you must not only perform the service, 
 but you must convince me that you perform it for my sake — 
 non tantum mihiy sed tanquam mihi. S. Matt. xx. 40, 42. Se- 
 neca. 
 
 His reward. — It is in the power of man apud Beum aliquid mereri, 
 to claim some reward of God, by no means on the score of 
 
323 S. MARK IX. 42, 43. 
 
 strict justice, but according to a certain pre-understanding of 
 the Divine economy ordinationis prcesuppositionem. S. Matt. 
 V. 4, 6, 18 ; X. 40 ; xix. 29. T. Aquinas. 
 
 42 The child is said to believe, because he receives the Sacrament 
 of faith and conversion, which entitles him to the name of a be- 
 liever ; for the Sacraments, because of the resemblance between 
 them and the things represented by them, do carry the names 
 of the things represented. The Sacrament of Cheist's Body, 
 after a certain manner, is called His Body ; and the Sacrament 
 of His Blood is called His Blood : so the Sacrament of faith is 
 faith. The infant has faith, because of the Sacrament of faith, 
 and is converted to GtOD, because of the Sacrament of conver- 
 sion. tS*. Augustine. (De Bap. lib. v. c. 21.) 
 
 {Little, in themselves ; great, as belonging to Me.) Let no fault 
 whatever seem trivial to any one, by which the Grreat GrOD of 
 heaven is offended. . . . For the fault does always rise, in pro- 
 portion to the quality of the party, who bears the abuse : be- 
 cause it is necessary, by how much the greater the person is, 
 who suffers the injury, by so much the greater is his fault, who 
 offers it. Heb. x. 28, 29. Salvian. (On GtOd's Government. 
 B. iv. c. 12.) 
 
 43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is 
 better for thee to enter into Hfe maimed, than having 
 two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall 
 be quenched : 
 
 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
 quenched. 
 
 43 Vinee teipsum frequenter. Conquer thyself by means of fre- 
 quent acts, and so will you form the habit of being your own 
 Master. The eyes, the ears, the tongue, the hand, the feet, the 
 throat, — love, anger, desire, fear, sorrow, joy — often will take 
 you by force, that they may drag you below : but all they, who 
 are thus carried down, are nothing but dead trees and dead 
 bodies. A living man struggles against the stream. Gen. xxxix. 
 9 ; S. James iv. 7. Newmayr. (Enchir. Juvenile.) 
 
 foreseeing that certain persons would have a great capacity for 
 
S. MAKK IX. 43, 44. 223 
 
 sinning, Gtod, to prevent them from sinning, chastens them 
 with bodily infirmity ; that it may prove more beneficial to 
 them to be thus subdued and brought low in order to their 
 salvation, than to abide unchastened in order to their destruc- 
 tion. Hos. ii. 6 ; S. Matt. xix. 12 ; xii. 9 — 11. Card. Hugo. 
 (De Anima, c. 2.) 
 
 God spares not (in reference to the severity of His denuncia- 
 tions) that He may spare ; He pities not, that He may pity. 
 See ! antequam vulneramur, monemur. Before we are wounded, 
 we are warned. Ps. 1. 22 ; Micah vi. 9 ; Eev. ii. 5, 16. Origen. 
 
 God denies us nothing, but with a design to give us something 
 better. If He forbids a lust, it is to give us Himself. O 
 wretched man ! that ever the heart should be so blind, so hard, 
 so long in choosing. Acts vii. 5 ; Heb. x. 34. Adam, /Pri- 
 vate Thoughts, c. 3.) 
 
 44 Our Saviour expressed the state of the Blessed by sensible 
 images, such as Paradise, Abraham's bosom, or, which is the 
 same thing, a place to recline next to Abraham in the kingdom 
 of heaven (S. Matt. viii. 11 ; S. John xiii. 23) . . for we could 
 not possibly have any conception of it, but by analogy from 
 worldly objects. In like manner He expressed the place of 
 torment under the image of Gehenna (see 2 Kings xxiii. 10, 
 14), and the punishment of the wicked by the worm, that there 
 preyed on the carcases, and the fire, which consumed the 
 wretched victim ; marking, however, in the strongest manner 
 the difference between Gehenna and the invisible place of tor- 
 ment ; namely, that in the former the suffering is transient — 
 the worm itself, that preys upon the body, dies ; and the fire, 
 that totally consumes it, is soon extinguished — whereas, in the 
 figurative Gehenna, the instruments of punishment will be 
 everlasting, and the suffering without end ; for there the worm 
 dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Ecclus. vii. 17 ; Judith 
 xvi. 17. Bp. Lowth. (Note on Isaiah Ixvi. 24.) 
 
 The worm and the fire are severally twofold, each internal and 
 external : the internal both burns and gnaws the heart ; the 
 external both gnaws and burns the body. Ps. xxxix. 11. 
 Innocentius. 
 
 The men of " Sodom and Gomorrah are set forth for an example, 
 
224 S. MARK IX. 45. 
 
 suffering the vengeance of eternal fire," (S. Jude 7,) tliat is, of 
 a fire, which burned, till they were quite destroyed, and the 
 cities and the country, with an irreparable ruin, never to be 
 rebuilt and reinhabited, as long as the world continues. The 
 effect of which observation is this ; that these words, " for ever, 
 everlasting — eternal — the never-dying worm — the fire unquench- 
 able,'' being words, borrowed by our blessed Savioite and His 
 Apostles from the style of the Old Testament, must have a sig- 
 nification just proportionate to the sta^te, in which they signify : 
 so that, as this worm, when it signifies a temporal infliction, 
 means a worm, that never ceases giving torment, till the body 
 is consumed ; so, when it is translated to an immortal state, it 
 must signify as much in that proportion : that eternal, that 
 everlasting hath no end at all; because the soul cannot be 
 killed in its natural sense, but is made miserable and perishing 
 for ever ; that is, the worm shall not die, as long as the soul 
 shall be unconsumed ; the fire shall not be quenched, till the 
 period of an immortal nature comes : and that this shall be 
 absolutely " for ever," without any restriction, appears un- 
 answerable in this ; because the same " for ever," that is for 
 the Blessed souls, the same "for ever" is for the accursed 
 souls : but the Blessed souls, that " die in the Lord," shall 
 henceforth die no more ; death hath no power over them. 
 Eom. vi. 9 ; 1 Cor. xv. 53 ; Eev. xxi. 4. Bp. J. Taylor. (Serm. 
 on S. Matt. xvi. 26.) 
 
 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is 
 better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two 
 feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall 
 be quenched : 
 
 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
 quenched. 
 
 45 It is better, ^c. — Hcec quam dulcia flammas meditanti ! Think 
 on hell-fire ; and how delightful will all such acts of self-denial 
 at once become ! Isa. xxxiii. 14. S. Bernard. 
 
 Hlc ure, hic ccede ; modb ibi parcas. Burn me here ; scourge me 
 here : only spare me there. Isa. xxxiii. 14. S. Augustine. 
 
S. MARK IX. 45. 225 
 
 Be not troubled, nor faint in the labours of mortification, and tbe 
 austerities of repentance ; for in hell one hour is more intolera- 
 ble, than a hundred years in the house of repentance ; and try, 
 for if thou canst not endure Gron, punishing thy follies gently 
 for a while to amend thee, how wilt thou endure His ven- 
 geance for ever to undo thee ? xiv. 37 ; Jer. xii. 5 ; S. Luke 
 xxiii. 31. Bp. J. Taylor, (The Glolden drove.) 
 
 How can their punishment be " everlasting," unless we suppose 
 them to subsist everlastingly in it ? If you say, it is everlast- 
 ing, only as it is an everlasting destruction, or privation of 
 their being ; I answer, that in other places of Scripture it is 
 expressly asserted, that this everlasting punishment is a posi- 
 tive thing .... Those, that are " cast into the lake of fire 
 and brimstone" are said to be " tormented there, day and night, 
 for ever," (Eev. xx. 10,) where the Greek word, jSaauuiaOi^aopTat, 
 doth plainly denote positive torment, and, referring peculiarly 
 to a rack, denotes the kind of this positive torment to be such, 
 as is not designed to put an end to our lives, but to continue 
 them with inexpressible pains. S. Matt. xxv. 41, 46 ; Bev. xiv. 
 11. Dr. J. Scott. (Discourse on S. Matt. xvi. 26.) 
 
 (Isa. xxxiii. 14 ; Dan. xii. 2 ; S. Matt, xviii. 8 ; S. Mark iii. 29 ; 
 Heb. vi. 2 ; 2 Thess. i. 8, 9 ; S. Jude 13.) Why an immortal 
 worm and an inextinguishable Jtre, so often reiterated and so 
 alarmingly inculcated, if the thing to be tormented were, after 
 some time, to be delivered from them ? . . . . Were these ex- 
 pressions thrown out, only to frighten us into our duty with 
 false terrors ? Doth GrOD, who forbids us to " do evil, that 
 good may come" of it, use equivocal words and pious frauds, in 
 order to make us honest men and lovers of truth ? No ; but 
 God is just, say the objectors to this doctrine, and therefore will 
 not punish a temporary offence with eternal misery. But, I say, 
 God is just in having set eternal happiness and misery before 
 free and rational beings, and left them to choose, which they 
 will. If they choose the latter, who is it makes them eternally 
 miserable ? Not God surely, who " willeth not the death of a 
 sinner;" but themselves, who, for the pleasure of sin, trample 
 on all His goodness, violate all His laws, proclaim open war 
 with Him, associate with the devil, and so debase and pollute 
 
 Q 
 
226 S. MARK IX. 46. 
 
 their own nature, as to render it for ever incapable of glory 
 and happiness. S. John iii. 18, 19; Kom. ix. 22. P. Skelton. 
 (Serm. on S. Matt. xxv. 46.) 
 
 46 Why so ? Is that God's mercy, to award perpetual pain to 
 temporary sin ? Nay, is that Gron's justice, that the censure 
 shall exceed the sin ? . . . . Peace, atheist ; Gron, for all this, 
 is not unjust. Tax not His mercy neither. Time of mercy is 
 past. GrOD proffered that in this world, and it was despised. 
 Cheist is now come to judge. " Judgment," S. James saith, 
 " is merciless" — the last Judgment. Gron's judgments here are 
 mixed with mercy. Look for none there, but mere justice. 
 .... Yet challenge not His justice. It is no wrong to the 
 sinner, that his pain is everlasting, a " never-dying worm," and 
 "fire unquenchable:" for it is for never-dying sin and for lust 
 unquenchable. Man's sin had his ceternum, as well as Gron's 
 fire. Had the sinner lived world without end, his sin too would 
 have lasted world without end. Nay, though he died, sin died 
 not with him : he sins still, even in hell, hates Gron, blasphemes 
 Him, curses, despairs . . . Gron is not unjust, if He punish eter- 
 nally those, that trespass eternally. Poets show that heathens 
 held this — hell-pains eternal. Sedet, ceternumque sedebit infelix 
 Theseus .... It is strange, what heathens believed. Christians 
 should question .... To conclude, as the promise of the 
 Gospel is eternal life, so the Law threatens everlasting death. 
 If it be false, quod minatus est, that God threatens, then it is 
 false too, quod pollicitus est, that He promises, saith S. Gregory. 
 Jisupplicia reproborum shall have an end, then gaudia Beatorum 
 shall end also. 2 Cor. vi. 2 ; Gen. vi. 3 ; S. Luke xvi. 31 ; Eom. 
 ix. 22. Dr. Richard Clerke. (Serm. on S. Matt. xxv. 46.) 
 
 The Preacher said, " As the mercy of God is great, so is His con- 
 rection" (Ecclus. xvi. 12) ; insomuch, that, as when He would 
 shew forth His mercy, He acted seemingly like one, devoid of 
 all sense of justice ; so, when He would shew forth His justice. 
 He acted seemingly like one, devoid of all sense of mercy. 
 Segneri. (Quaresimale. Pred. xiv. S. 2.) 
 
 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out : it 
 is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God 
 
S. MARK IX. 47. 227 
 
 with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into 
 hell fire : 
 
 48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
 quenched. 
 
 47 Thine eye. — Knowing, that the lights of the eyes are a sort of 
 windows to our hearts, and that all wicked desires enter us 
 through the eyes, as through a natural crevice, our Lord would 
 altogether extinguish them, whilst without us ; lest, when they 
 are entered, they should — letaliter crescentibus Jibris — in the 
 spreading of their deadly fibres, come to take firm root in our 
 
 hearts, having first budded at the eye Our Satioue 
 
 would likewise have all His followers to have unspotted holi- 
 ness, and therefore commands them to avoid the least thing, 
 that has but a tendency to sin. A Christian's life should be 
 as clean, as the clearest part of the brightest eye ; and, as the 
 eye, without injury to the sight, cannot endure the smallest 
 dust within it, so a Christian's Kfe should not have the most 
 diminutive spot of uncleanness in it. G-en. i. 6 ; Josh. viii. 
 21; S. Matt. V. 29 ; Phil. i. 10. Salvian. (Of God's Govern- 
 ment. B. iii. s. 8.) 
 
 Melius est frangi laboribus et doloribus ad saluteniy qiiam reinanere 
 incolumem ad damnationem. It is better for us to be worn out 
 with toils and pains unto salvation, than to abide unharmed 
 unto perdition, ix. 43 — 47 ; Heb. xi. 25, 26. S. Bernard. 
 (De Inter. Domo. c. 46.) 
 
 Nulli parcas, ut soli parcas animce. Spare nothing you have, that 
 you may only spare your soul. S. Jerome. (Ep. ad Rus- 
 ticum.) 
 
 " Make not provision for the flesh" with the loss of your soul. 
 Better were it for us to enter into life with weary arms and 
 thin cheeks, than with lovely countenances and lusty limbs to 
 be cast into hell. S. Luke xvi. 19 — 25, Lawrence Saunders, M. 
 (Letters from his Prison.) 
 
 Their worm and the fire seem to be significantly marked ; the first, 
 as appropriate to the individuals ; the second, as common to 
 all. It is their worm, because the subjective misery of each, 
 
 q2 
 
228 S. MAEK IX. 47. 
 
 depending on his own capacities and habitudes, must be infi- 
 nitely varied: it is the fire, because the objective misery of all, 
 will be one and the same, namely, " enmity against God" (Bom. 
 viii. 7) ; which disposition in man, without supposing any 
 punitive act on the part of God, will render God to the un- 
 happy victims " an unquenchable fire." In the like manner, 
 may we not venture to say, as the same material sun, without 
 the slightest alteration of the beams, but merely ^'wa^^a modum 
 recipientis, exhilarates the living animal and putrifies the dead. 
 Alex. Knox. (Correspondence with Bp. Jebb. Letter 152.) 
 What that fire may be, whether spiritual or material, matters 
 not ; if it be fire, it must be painful beyond the power of words 
 to utter. Can sinners trifle with a holy God, and sin on with 
 a high hand, and yet not sufier pain ? Is there no pain in 
 wicked passions felt, but not gratified, in burning lusts, filthy 
 covetousness, gnawing envy, disappointed pride? When do 
 sinners ever meet together, as sinners, that they do not hate, 
 revile, and torment one another ? And, if to this be added the 
 presence of the Evil one himself, the author of all mischief, 
 there is enough in this to make the greatest misery. So that 
 despise not the notion of fire ; here is enough of torment ; for 
 the same Sayiotjr adds, " there shall be wailing and gnashing 
 of teeth ;" the bitterest self-reproach and unceasing anguish at 
 the thought of Paradise lost, through pride, self-will, and un- 
 belief, by rejecting what was so freely offered, so deeply pur- 
 chased, so abundantly given. Bp. Medley. (Serm. on S. Matt, 
 xiii. 39—43.) 
 These eternal torments are spoken of, not only by way of threaten- 
 ing — (to the execution of which a Sovereign Euler is not of 
 necessity obliged) — but also by way of narrative and declara- 
 tion : and we may be sure, that all things in the other world 
 are such, as our Blessed Loed, who came from thence, and His 
 holy Apostles and pen-men report and represent them to be 
 .... These pains are endless pains ; or else these Scriptures 
 would not speak true, or be verified, as an historical account 
 thereof. S. John iii. 9 — 11; Rev. xiv. 11. J. Kettlewell. 
 (The Practical Believer, p. ii. c. 8.) 
 There is nothing, but a life of great piety, or a death of great 
 
S. MARK IX. 49. 229 
 
 stupidity, that can keep off these apprehensions. Eph. v. 14? ; 
 S. Jude 23. Wm. Law. (Serious Call. Ch. 3.) 
 
 49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and 
 every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 
 
 50 Salt is good : but if the salt have lost his salt- 
 ness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in 
 yourselves, and have peace one with another. 
 
 49 And how is the body, it may be said, to become a sacrifice ? 
 Let the eye look upon no evil thing ; and it hath become a 
 sacrifice : let thy tongue speak nothing filthy ; and it hath be- 
 come an offering : let thy hand do no lawless deed ; and it hath 
 become a whole burnt-offering. Or, rather, this is not enough, 
 but we must have good works also. Let the hands do alms ; 
 the mouth bless them, that cross one ; and the hearing find 
 leisure evermore for the lections of Scripture. For sacrifice 
 allows of no unclean thing. Sacrifice is a first fruit of the 
 other actions. Let us then from our hands, and feet^ and 
 mouth, and all other members yield a first fruit unto Groo. »S. 
 Chrysostom. (Expos. Eom. xii. 1, 2.) 
 
 The offenders, spoken of, shall be preserved entire, to suffer the 
 punishment threatened ; though it might seem, that they would, 
 in no long time, be totally destroyed by it : as if our Loed had 
 expressed Himself thus : — " I have repeated this woe three 
 times, to show you the degree and duration of it, as well as the 
 certainty of its execution : the worm shall not die, that is, the 
 sense of suffering shall continue, even in circumstances, which 
 may seem proper and likely to put an end to it ; for such, as 
 are worthy to be cast into this fire, shall be salted, or preserved 
 from wasting (salt being the known emblem of incorruption, 
 and thence of perpetuity) by the very fire itself. And you 
 may easily conceive how this shall be ; for every sacrifice, the 
 flesh of every animal to be offered up to Gron in your Jewish 
 sacrifices, is kept sound and fit for use, by being (as the law 
 directs in that case) salted with salt. Just so, the fire itself 
 shall act on these victims of the Divine justice: like salt, 
 sprinkled on your legal victims, it shall preserve these offenders 
 
230 S. MAEK IX. 49, 50. 
 
 entire, and in a perpetual capacity of subsisting to that use, to 
 which they are destined." Ex. iii. 2. Bp. Hurd. (Serm. on 
 text.) 
 
 Thou art a corrupted creature, abominable in the eyes of a holy 
 GrOD ; receive then the salt of Divine grace, to make thee a 
 sacrifice acceptable to Him. Else, if all this kindness, in the 
 unspeakable gift of the Soisr of GrOD, be lost upon thee, thou 
 must be salted with fire. And now, count the cost, and make 
 thy choice. Wilt thou still follow thy sins and prefer the gra- 
 tification of thy lust before Cheist Jesus ? Is the pleasure 
 of Eternal Communion with Him, who spared not Himself, 
 but ofi'ered Himself a sacrifice for thy sins, to be thrown away 
 for the sake of the short-lived pleasures of time and sense ? 
 How wilt thou endure " everlasting burnings ?" Eom. vi. 16 ; 
 viii. 13. J. Mibier. (Serm, on S. Mark ix. 49.) 
 
 50 If the salt have lost his saltness, ^c. — (Conf. S. Matt. v. 13.) 
 The wicked teacher is, of all men living, in the most hopeless 
 and desperate condition .... "What remedy is likely to work 
 this man's cure and repentance ? Will the dreadful menaces 
 and threats of God's Word aflfright him? No; these are 
 daily thundered out of his own mouth ; and yet to him they are 
 but hruta fulmina. Will the gracious promises of Gron allure 
 him ? No ; he daily charms his hearers with these, but re- 
 mains himself, "as a deaf adder." Will those excellent books 
 of pious and learned men, that he reads in his study, work any 
 good to him? No; he, that slights Gron's Word, will little 
 regard the words of men. Will the Public Prayers make him 
 serious ? No ; he daily reads them, and his daily practice is 
 contrary to his daily prayers. Will a medicine, compounded 
 of the flesh and blood of the Son of Gron (I mean the Holy Eu- 
 charist) do the miserable man any good? No; he hath fre- 
 quently received those dear pledges of his Sayioue's love, and 
 yet is still, as bad as ever, and so hath '' trodden under foot the 
 blood of the Covenant," wherewith he should have been sanc- 
 tified. The LoED look upon this man ; for there is no hope 
 of him, without a miracle of Divine mercy ! Ps. 1. 16 — 23 ; 
 Eom. ii. 21, 22. Bp. Bull. (Visitation Sermon; S. James 
 iii. 1.) 
 
S. MARK IX. 50. 231 
 
 Vos estis Catholicae Legis portatores, 
 
 Sal terrae, lux hominum, ovium pastores, 
 
 Muri domus Israel, morum correctores, 
 
 Judices Ecclesise, gentium doctores. 
 
 Si desit protectio Legis, Lex labetur : 
 
 Si sal evanuerit, in quo salietur ? 
 
 Nisi lux appareat, via non scietur : 
 
 Nisi pastor vigilet, ovile frangetur. 
 
 Valterus Mapes. (Ad Christi Sacerdotes.) 
 We must consider which is true unity ; for every agreement is 
 not that concord, whereunto we are in this place exhorted. 
 Lucifer and other angels consented together. Eve, and Adam, 
 and the serpent were all of one mind ; so were the builders of 
 the tower of Babel ; so were they of Sodom, a puero usque ad 
 senem (Gren. xix. 4) from the child to the man of grey hairs ; so 
 were Dathan, and Abiram, and their complices ; so were the 
 worshippers of the golden calf ; so were the sacrificers in Dan 
 and Bethel ; so were Pilate and Herod ; so were the Jews, that 
 cried with one voice, " Let Him be crucified." . . . But it is 
 unity of the Spirit, unity in the Truth, unity in Cheist and 
 His Gospel, whereunto His Apostle here exhorteth us. Ps. ii. 
 2 ; Acts ii. 1 ; E/om. xv. 5 — 7. Abj). Sandys. (Serm. on Phil, 
 ii. 2—5.) 
 The Church of Cheist hath not two more choice things, than the 
 simplicity of her faith, and the sincerity of her love. 2 Cor. 
 xi. 3 ; Ps. cxxxiii. 1. Dr. Whichcote. (Cent. iv. Aphor. 357.) 
 Let us "follow Truth in Love," (Eph. iv. 15) and, of the two, 
 indeed be contented rather to miss of the conveyance of a 
 speculative truth, than to part with love. (Verse 39.) When 
 we would convince men of any error by the strength of truth, 
 let us withal pour the sweet balm of love upon their heads. 
 Truth and love are two the most powerful things in the world, 
 and, when they both go together, they cannot easily be with- 
 stood. The golden beams of truth, and the silken cords of 
 love, twisted together, will draw men on with a sweet violence, 
 whether they will or no. Eph. iv. 1 — 7 ; Phil. iv. 8 — 9. Dr. 
 R. Cudworth. (Serm. preached before the House of Commons. 
 1 S. John ii. 3, 1.) 
 
232 S. MAEK IX. 50; X. 1. 
 
 JIftve peace one with another.— 
 
 Si pede inoffenso quaeris producere vitam, 
 
 H?BC sapiens animo percipe verba tuo. 
 Quid de quoque viro, et cui dicas singula, necnon 
 
 Quando, et quo pacto, quaque loquare, vide. 
 Haud temere offendas vultu gestuve propinquum ; 
 
 Nee mentem Isedat culpa aliena tuam. 
 In melius, quicquid fas sit mutare, novate ; 
 
 Quseque emendari res neget ipsa, feras. 
 
 F. Kilvert. (MS. Autori hujusce libri largitum.) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 AND He arose from thence, and cometb into the 
 coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan : 
 and the people resort unto Him again ; and, as He 
 was wont, He taught them again. 
 
 2 And the Pharisees came to Him, and asked Him, 
 Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife ? tempting 
 Him. 
 
 3 And He answered and said unto them. What did 
 Moses command you ? 
 
 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of 
 divorcement, and to put her away. 
 
 1 As He was wont. — "We should pay particular attention to what 
 was the usual custom of our Loed. S. Luke iv. 16 ; xxii. 39 ; 
 S. John xviii. 2. Bengel. 
 
 He taught them again. — How thick and close does this Heavenly 
 Sower scatter His seed ! Every line is a new lesson, and every 
 lesson a rule of perfection. Oh, the magnificent bounty of 
 our God ! He gives not barely the measure, we give others ; 
 but "pressed down, and shaken together, and running over 
 
S. MAEK X. 1, 3. 233 
 
 into our bosoms." Why are we then so slow, and dull to 
 learn these Divine instructions ? "Why so remiss to practise 
 them ? Are they not sweet and excellent in themselves ? Are 
 they not infinitely profitable to us ? Oh, make us greedy to learn, 
 what Thy love makes Thee so earnest to teach ! Job xxxiii. 14i ; 
 Phil. iii. 1, 18 ; 1 Sam. iii. 9. Austin. (Medit. 80.) 
 
 Let every Minister be diligent in preaching the Word of GrOD, 
 according to the ability, that God gives him ; ever remember- 
 ing, that to minister GtOd's Word unto the people is the one 
 half of his great office and employment. 2 Tim. iv. 1, 2 ; 
 1 S. Pet. Y. 1 — 4. B]). J. Taylor. (Advice to his Clergy, s. 
 iv. 40.) 
 
 3 (He refers to the primitive institution.) — Verum quod primum ; 
 adulterum quod post erius. The doctrine, which the first ages 
 delivered pure, the latter will sophisticate, vii. 10 ; 1 Cor. xi. 
 28. Tertullian. (De Prsescr.) 
 
 What did Moses command you ? — It is said that, when Aristotle 
 saw the books of Moses, he commended them for such a ma- 
 jestic style, as might well become a God, but withal said, that 
 way of writing was not fit for a philosopher ; because there 
 was nothing proved, but matters were delivered, as if they 
 would rather command, than persuade, belief. S. Matt. vii. 28. 
 Falmer. (Aphorisms. 134.) 
 
 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the 
 hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 
 
 6 But from the beginning of the creation God made 
 them male and female. 
 
 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and 
 mother, and cleave to his wife ; 
 
 8 And they tw^ain shall be one flesh : so then they 
 are no more twain, but one flesh. 
 
 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not 
 man put asunder. 
 
 10 And in the house His disciples asked Him again 
 of the same matter. 
 
234 S. MAEK X. 5. 
 
 1 1 And He saith unto them, Whosoever shall put 
 away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery 
 against her. 
 
 1 2 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and 
 be married to another, she committeth adultery. 
 
 5 He wrote you. — Our Lord did not say, that GrOD permitted it 
 " for the hardness of their hearts," but Moses ; that, according 
 to the Apostle (1 Cor. vii. 6, 12,) it might be rather the counsel 
 of man, than the Commandment of God. Bede. 
 
 The straitness of the Mosaic Revelation wanted proper efficacy to 
 work men's hearts to greater softness. But " when the fulness 
 of time was come," to which GrOD designed the fulness of His 
 Eevelation ; when Cheist had " brought immortality to light," 
 whose issues depend upon a future judgment ; and when He 
 had thereby given such a full employ to human hopes and fears, 
 as that nothing ought reasonably to engage them beside ; then 
 was the season of extending His commands to their just pro- 
 portion ; of requiring all our affections, because He had given 
 sufficient springs to move them ; of demanding all, we can do, 
 because He had given us sufficient reason to do all, that we 
 can. Eom. iii. 31 ; viii. 1 — 5 ; 2 S. Pet. i. 3, 4. Dean Young. 
 (Serm. on S. John xv. 22.) 
 
 The very blemish and imperfection of our natures may be a mean 
 to save us. God is sometimes content to give us leave to 
 enjoy it. When God saw the Jews' exorbitant lusts would 
 not be bounded within these limits, which Himself in Paradise 
 " at the beginning" did ordain. He gave them leave, when they 
 were weary of their wives, even upon slight occasions, to put 
 them away. (Deut. xxiv. 1.) Again, when He saw the desire 
 of gain would not suffer them to live within the compass of 
 charity, but that the custom of the world would draw them on 
 to the practice of usury, forbidding them the use of it to their 
 brethren. He gave them leave to practise it on strangers and 
 Canaanites. (Lev. xxv. 45 — 47 ; Deut. xxiii. 20.) These tole- 
 rations are no warrants to us, that their actions were good. . . 
 Lest too strict charge and prohibition might peradvcnture the 
 
S; MARK X. 5—7. 235 
 
 more kindle their lusts, He permitted them some vent. ii. 21, 
 22 ; iv. 33 ; Eom. vii. 7. J. Hales. (Serm. on 1 Tim. iv. 8.) 
 Without doubt it is impossible to remove, all at once, from minds 
 in their hard carnal state everything, that offends ; for even he 
 who aspires to perfection, is raised by degrees, and not at a 
 single bound. S. John xvi. 12. S. Gregory. 
 
 6 From the beginning. — I will call your attention to the law of 
 monogamy. The very origin of the human race sanctions it ; 
 it being clear that God so ordained it at the beginning, as to 
 be a pattern for posterity to copy after. Por after He had 
 made man, and had foreseen the necessity of providing a help- 
 mate for him. He borroM^ed from his loins one alone ; one 
 woman only did He frame for man. Now Adam had more 
 loins, than one ; nor were the hands of Omnipotence tired. 
 Tertullian. (Exhort, ad Cast. c. v.) 
 
 7 Woman was not made of an outward, but of an inward part of 
 man, that she might be dear to him, even as his inwards ; not 
 of the hand of man, lest she should be proud, and look for su- 
 periority ; not of the foot of man, lest she should be contemned, 
 as far his inferior ; but of his side, that she might be used as 
 his fellow, cleaving to his inside, as an inseparable companion 
 of all his haps, whilst they two live. And, as the rib receiveth 
 strength from the rest of man, so doth the woman from her 
 husband, from whom cometh all her strength, counsel, and 
 good comfort at all times. No creature had his mate made of 
 his own flesh ; and therefore no creature under heaven should 
 be like man in the love of his mate ; but man above them all. 
 1 S. Pet. iii. 7. Bp. Babington. (Comfortable Notes on Ge- 
 nesis ; ii. 21.) 
 
 Sed cum jure Deus, nullo prohibente, valeret 
 Demere particulam, de quo prius Ipse pararat : 
 Attamen, ablata juveni ne costa doleret, 
 Eedderet et tristem subito, quem Isedere nollet ; 
 Cur opifex vult esse suus ? Nam posset alumnam 
 Pulvere de simili Princeps formare puellam. 
 Sed quo plenus amor toto de corde veniret 
 Noscere in uxore voluit sua membra maritum . . . 
 Tunc Deus et Princeps ambos coujunxit in unum ; 
 
236 S. MAEK X. 7. 
 
 Et remeat sua costa viro, sua membra recepit : 
 Accipit et foenus, cum non sit debitor ullus. 
 
 Dracontius. (Hexaemeron ; seu de opcre 
 sex dierum, et Creatione mundi.) 
 
 Wedlock is not onlj such a covenant, as springeth from reason 
 and policy, but also it is pactum Dei ; it is founded in religion. 
 Man and woman were at first matched by God Himself, and 
 He matched them, as His children bearing His image ; finally, 
 He matched them, that they might " bring forth an holy seed," 
 (Mai. ii. 15,) such as might be of His Church, and, as the 
 parents, consorts with angels. So much did religion add unto 
 wedlock before the fall. But, after the fall. Christian religion 
 added much more ; whence ariseth another principle. By rege- 
 neration even our bodies are made " members of Christ," and 
 so become "temples of the Holt Ghost;" and therefore there 
 is great reason we should keep these vessels of ours in honour, 
 and, in their conjunction, have a due regard of this their hea- 
 venly condition. 1 Cor. vi. 15 — 20 ; 1 Thess. iv. 9. Bp. Lake. 
 (Serm. on 1 Cor. v. 1 — 5.) 
 
 Shall leave them. — 'Tis not shall forsake them. The word in the 
 original indifferently sounds both ; but the Church's discretion 
 weighing both words, made choice of this. . . . Forsake thy 
 parents, yea, thy wife, thou mayest, thou must, for Christ's 
 sake and the Gospel's. Dr. Richard Gierke.*^ (Serm. on Gen. 
 ii. 24.) 
 
 It is known to all men that it is lawful for the man to put away 
 his wife "for fornication :" for such a fault break eth the knot 
 of Matrimony. The same is also lawful to the wife. ... In 
 the cause of divorcement " for fornication" (S. Matt. v. 32 ; 
 xix. 9), Christ equalleth, and maketh like, the man and the 
 
 like one of the chief of David's wov- 
 
 * This learned Divine was well qua- 
 lified to give an opinion on the cor- 
 rectness of our authorized Version. 
 In the dedicatory Epistle, prefixed to 
 his admirable Sermons, it is stated — 
 "When his Majesty, of blessed me- 
 mory, called many to the great work 
 of the last Translation of the Enghsh 
 Bible, Dr. Gierke was, in that number, 
 
 tbies ; not amongst the thirty, but 
 amongst the first three." These were 
 Bp. Andrewes, Bp. Overall, and Dr. 
 Saravia. From the Pentateuch to 
 1 Chron. was assigned to Dr. Gierke 
 together with Dr. Saravia. Sermons. 
 1 Vol. foUo. London. 1637. 
 
S. MARK X. 13. 237 
 
 woman's cause, in the respect of " adultery." (S. Mark x.) 
 Read tlie place, and note it. Por there He giveth the same 
 authority to the woman " for fornication," that He giveth unto 
 the man. . . . S. Paul (1 Cor. vii. 10 — 15) sheweth another 
 cause of divorcement, when the one of the persons, being 
 married, is an infidel, and of a contrary faith. . . . But, for the 
 frowardness of conditions, or tediousness of manners, men 
 should not separate their wives, neither from bed, neither from 
 board; much less, marry another. He, or she, that cannot 
 with wisdom amend the displeasant and crooked manners of 
 his, or her mate, must patiently bear them ; remembering, if 
 Cheist command us to be of such a tolerancy and patience to 
 endure the obloquy and injuries of all men, though they be our 
 enemies ; how much more the morosity and injuries of a do- 
 mestical companion ! A hard cross ! But patience must 
 lighten it, till Gron send a redress. Bp. Hooper. (A De- 
 claration of the Ten Commandments. Seventh Command- 
 ment.) 
 
 13 And they brought young children to Him, that 
 He should touch them : and His disciples rebuked 
 those that brought them. 
 
 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was much dis- 
 pleased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children 
 to come unto Me, and forbid them not : for of such is 
 the kingdom of God. 
 
 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not re- 
 ceive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall 
 not enter therein. 
 
 16 And He took them up in His arms, put His 
 hands upon them, and blessed them. 
 
 13 They brought. — Only infants, when they come to Baptism, 
 are exempt from the work of repentance. Por they have not 
 yet the use of free-will : nevertheless, for their consecration to 
 Gron and the remission of original sin, the faith of those per- 
 
238 S. MARK X. 13, 14. 
 
 sons, who bring them to the Eont, is availing for them ; that 
 so, whatsoever stains of sin they have contracted from their 
 parents may be done away by the interrogation and answer of 
 other persons. . . . That, which is observed and practised by 
 so firm a strength of Ecclesiastical Authority through the 
 whole world, is piously believed to help forward the salvation 
 and welfare of their souls. S. Augustine. (Homil. 50.) 
 The suckling infant is brought to Baptism : the Priest exacts of 
 that infant-age covenants, contracts, and agreements ; and ac- 
 cepting the G-odfather in the infant's stead he asks, whether he 
 does "renounce the devil,'* &c. 1 S. Pet. iii. 21. (Eefer to 
 the beautiful remark of S. Augustine, lUustr. S. Matt. xix. 13.) 
 8. Chrysostom, (in Ps. xiv.) 
 ("That He should put His hands on them, and pray." S. Matt, 
 xix. 13.) Let the instructor often pray to Gron for his scholars. 
 " Lord Jestjs, who wast content for these young persons to 
 " endure a most painful death, who dost greatly love them, who 
 " didst order the children to be brought to Thee, who dost con- 
 " sider that done to Thyself, which is done to ' one of the least 
 " ' of them,' I beseech and implore Thee, ' keep them in Thy 
 "'JSTame!' They are Thine. Thou hast given them to me. 
 " Put Thy words into my mouth, and open their hearts to Thy 
 " love and fear. Turn Thy face from my sins, lest Thy kindness 
 " towards them be slackened on my account. Give me grace, 
 " that T may wisely, devoutly, and with a good courage per- 
 " form that office of instructor, which Thou hast committed to 
 " me, to Thy Glory, which I set before me, as my principal aim, 
 "with the glory of the Pather and of the Holt (>host." 
 Jouvency. (De Eat. Discendi et Docendi : leviter immutatum.) 
 14 Of late years there is a sect sprung up among us, who, con- 
 trary to Christ's command, "/orSzc? little children to be brought 
 unto Him," by Baptism, the only way, whereby it is possible for 
 them to come to Him ; and so make the children of Christian 
 parents in a worse condition than the Jewish were, and the 
 Law more favourable than the Gospel. 2 Sam. xxiv. 14 ; Gen. 
 xvii. 7 ; Ps. Ixxxvii. 7 ; Acts ii. 39. Bp. Beveridge. (Serm. on 
 S. John iii. 5.) 
 If the Lord says in His G-ospel, " The Son of man is not come to 
 
S. MARK X. 14. 
 
 239 
 
 destroy men's lives, but to save them,"* how ought we to do 
 our utmost, as far as in us lies, that no soul be lost ! . . If even 
 to the foulest offenders, when they afterwards believe, remis- 
 sion of sin is granted, and none is prohibited from Baptism and 
 Grrace, how much more should an infant be admitted; who, just 
 born, hath not sinned in any respect, ?iisi quod, secundum Adam 
 carnaliter natus, contagium mortis antiquce prima nativitate con- 
 traxit, except that, being born of the flesh, according to Adam, 
 he hath, in his first birth, contracted the contagion of the 
 ancient deadly nature ; and who obtains remission of sins with 
 the less difficulty, because not his own actual guilt, but that of 
 another, is to be remitted ? Our sentence, therefore, dearest 
 brother, in the Councilf was, that none by us should be 
 prohibited from Baptism and the G-race of Gron, who is 
 merciful and kind to all. Acts ii. 38, 39. S. Cyprian. (Ep. 
 ad Fidum.) 
 To come unto Me. — ^It is particularly to be observed here, that 
 our Lord imputes to the child's benefit the faith of those, who 
 bear him. He accounts their bringing to be virtually the 
 chiWs coming. What an economy is this, not of superstition, as 
 some most vainly talk, but of love ! The general grounds and 
 advantages of the use of Sponsors are well stated by Wheatley. 
 " Since the laws of all nations (because infants cannot speak 
 for themselves) have allowed them guardians to contract for 
 them in secular matters ; which contracts, if they be fair and 
 beneficial, the infants must make good, when they come to 
 age ; it cannot, one would think, be unreasonable for the 
 Church to allow them spiritual guardia)is, to promise those 
 things in their name, without which they cannot obtain salva- 
 tion. And this too at the same time gives security to the 
 Church, that the children shall not apostatize ; from whence 
 
 * The argument here derives great 
 force from the fact of our Loed's 
 having employed words to the same 
 gracious effect, in distinct reference 
 to children. (Conf. S. Matt, xviii. 
 10, 11.) 
 
 t The Council, alluded to, was that 
 
 held m Africa, a.d. 254, during the 
 reign of the Emperor Yalerian ; it was 
 attended by sixty-six Bishops, "men 
 of approved fidehty and gravity," as 
 J. Milner describes them in his Church 
 History, with the excellent S. Cyprian 
 at their head. 
 
240 S. MARK X. 16. 
 
 they are called sureties ; provides monitors to every Christian 
 to remind them of the vow, which they made in their presence ; 
 from whence they are called witnesses ; and better represents 
 the New Birth, by giving the infants new and spiritual relations; 
 whence they are termed Godfathers and Godmothers.''^ Isa. 
 viii. 2 ; S. Luke ii. 21, 22. (Illustr. of the Book of Common 
 Prayer, c. vii. ; ii. s. 2.) J. F. 
 
 16 He took them up in His arms. — An action, good in itself, is 
 greatly recommended by an agreeable manner of doing it ; an 
 agreeable manner being to action what a lively manner of 
 . expression is to our sense ; it beautifies and adorns it, and 
 gives it all the advantage, whereof it is capable. There is the 
 same difference between a beneficial deed, when endeared by 
 an £asy affable deportment, and when destitute of that cir- 
 cumstance, as between a beautiful object, when enlivened by 
 the cheerful light of the sun, and when exhibited in a dim 
 sickly light. S. Luke vii. 15 ; Acts ix. 41 ; 2 Cor. ix. 7. /. 
 Seed. (Serm. on Prov. iii. 27.) 
 
 And Blessed them. — The Country Parson wonders that Blessing 
 the people is of so little use with his brethren ; whereas he 
 thinks it not only a grave and reverent thing, but a beneficial 
 also. (Num. vi. 23 ; 1 Sam. i. 17, 18 ; 2 Cor. iii. 7, 8.) Now 
 blessing differs from prayer in assurance, because it is not 
 performed by way of request, but of confidence and power, 
 effectually applying GtOd's favour to the blessed, by the inter- 
 esting of that dignity, wherewith God hath invested the 
 Priest, and engaging of GtOd's own power and institution for 
 a blessing. If all men are to bless upon occasion, as appears, 
 Bom. xii. 14, how much more those, who are spiritual Fathers ? 
 G. Herbert. (Priest to the Temple, c. 36.) 
 
 The Ecclesiastical Blessing is that, which appertaineth to the 
 Public Ministers of the Church, and is, of all others, the most 
 effectual and available with GrOD. This Prayer of the Priests 
 was both oratio Benedicens and oratio Benedicta, a Blessing- 
 prayer and a Blessed Prayer ; for it drew a Blessing from the 
 LoED upon His people. ... I have heard an Honourable 
 person say of Ministers — " GrOD Bless them, by whom God 
 Blesseth us." Euth ii. 20, 23 ; S. Matt. v. 44 ; 1 Chron. xvi. 
 
S. MARK X. 16. 241 
 
 43 ; Josh. xxii. 6 ; Deut. x. 8 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 14. Dr. G. Hickes. 
 (Serm. on 2 Chron. xxx. 27.) 
 But let us look upon our children, as upon the great blessings of 
 G-OD. They are the Loed's vessels, ordained to honour ; let 
 us keep them clean: they are Cheist's lambs and sheep of 
 His flock ; let us lead them forth into wholesome pasture. 
 They are the seed-plot of heaven ; let us water them, that 
 G-OD may give tlie increase : " their angels behold the face of 
 God ;" let us not offend them : they are the temples and 
 tabernacles of the Holt Ghost, let us not suffer the foul 
 spirit to possess them, and dwell within them. God saith, 
 " Your children are My children." They are the sons of G-od. 
 They are born anew, and are well-shapen in beautiful propor- 
 tion ; make them not monsters. He is a monster, whosoever 
 knoweth not God. By you they are born into the world ; be 
 careful also that by your means they may be begotten unto 
 G-OD. Tou are careful to train them in nurture and comely 
 behaviour of the body ; seek also to fashion their minds unto 
 godliness. Tou have brought them to the fountain of Bap- 
 tism, to receive the mark of Cheist ; bring them up in 
 knowledge, and watch over them, that they be not lost. So 
 shall they be confirmed, and will keep the promise they have 
 made, and will grow unto perfect age in Cheist. Gen. xviii. 
 19; Deut. vi. 7, 20; Isa. liv. 13; Ps. cxliv. 12; Eph. vi. 4. 
 Bj). Jewel. (A Treatise of the Sacraments.) 
 
 Inde parens Sacro ducit de Fonte Sacerdos 
 Infantes niveos corpore, corde, habitu : 
 
 Fulgentes animas vestis quoque Candida signat, 
 Et grege de niveo gaudia Pastor habet. 
 
 Lactantius. (De Eesur. carnis.) 
 
 17 And when He was gone forth into the way, 
 there came one running, and kneeled to Him, and 
 asked Him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may 
 inherit eternal life ? 
 
 18 And Jesus said unto him. Why callest thou Me 
 good ? there is none good but one, that is God. 
 
 E 
 
242 S. MAEK X. 17, 18. 
 
 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not com- 
 mit adultery, Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear 
 false witness. Defraud not, Honour thy father and 
 mother. 
 
 20 And he answered and said unto Him, Master, 
 all these have I observed from my youth. 
 
 17 Some think lie came in an humble disposition of mind to 
 learn of Cheist, and others think he came in a Pharisaical 
 confidence in himself, with which Epiphanius first, and then S. 
 Jerome charge him. But in such doubtful cases, in other 
 men's actions, when it appears not evidently, whether it were 
 well, or ill done, where the balance is even, always put you in 
 your charity ; and that will turn the scale the best way. 
 Things, which are in themselves but misinterpretable, do not 
 you presently misinterpret: you allow some grains to your 
 gold, before you call it light ; allow some infirmities to any 
 man, before you call him ill. 1 Cor. xiii. 5 — 7 ; Bom. xiv. 10 
 — 12. Br. Donne. (Serm. on S. Matt. xix. 17.) 
 
 Running. — They, that will have Life, they must run for it ; 
 because the devil, the Law, sin, death, and hell follow them. . . 
 1 S. Pet. V. 8. The devil is nimble ; he can run apace ; he is 
 light of foot ; he hath overtaken many ; he hath turned up 
 their heels, and hath given them an everlasting fall. . . . And, 
 as the angel said to Lot, " Take heed, look not behind thee ; 
 neither tarry thou in all the plain" (that is, any where between 
 this and Heaven) ; so I say to thee ; Take heed ; tarry not, 
 lest either the devil, hell, death, or the fearful curses of the 
 Law of God do overtake thee, and throw thee down in the 
 midst of all thy sins, so as never to rise nor recover again. If 
 this were well considered, then thou, as well as I, wouldst ; .ly ; 
 "They, that would have Heaven, must run for it." ix. 15 ; S. 
 Matt. V. 25, 26 ; Heb. vi. 18. John Bunyan. (The Heavenly 
 Eootman, &c.) 
 
 18 If it should here be asked, for what reason Christ put this 
 question, "Why callest thou Me good 2''^ I answer, for the 
 same reason, that He asked the Pharisees, why " David, in 
 
S. MAEK X. 18. 243 
 
 Spirit, called Him Lobd ?" (S. Matt. xxii. 43 ;) and that was 
 to try, if they were able to account for it. This ruler, by 
 addressing our Savioue, under the name of " ^oor/ Master," 
 when the inspired Psalmist had affirmed long before, that 
 there is '*none, that doeth good; no, not one;" (Ps. xiv. 3;) 
 did, in effect, allow Him to be Gron ; no mere man, since the 
 fall of Adam, having any claim to that character. And when 
 he was called upon to explain his meaning, for that GrOD only 
 was good, he should have replied in the words of S. Thomas — 
 " My Lord and my Gron !" which would have been a noble 
 instance of faith, and have cleared up the whole difficulty. 
 Wm. Jones. (The Catholic Doctrine of a Trinity.) 
 
 Why callest thou Me good? — O man! why callest thou thyself 
 good ? Adam. (Private Thoughts, c. 4.) 
 
 This is He, whose Good is incomprehensible by the understand- 
 ing, and inexhaustible by the will and affections of man. This 
 is the celebrated AvrdpKrj^ of Aristotle, the ISda rod ^A'^aOov of 
 Plato, and the El Shaddai of the Hebrews. This is the great 
 Trau 7r\rjp(vfia, the universal plenitude (Eph. i. 23) whose hap- 
 piness is consummated in His own circle ; who supports Him- 
 self upon the basis of His own all-sufficiency, and is His own end 
 and centre. 1 Tim. vi. 15, 16. Norris. (Contemplations, s. 4.) 
 
 There are two ways of learning the excellent Goodness of the 
 great Creator ; that is to say, per viam negationis, and per viam 
 eminentice. Eirst, via negationis. Look, whatsoever thou findest 
 in the creature, which savoureth of defect, or imperfection ; 
 and know, that GrOD is not such. Are they limited ? subject 
 to change, composition, decay, &c. ? Eemove these from GrOD ; 
 and learn, that He is infinite, simple, unchangeable, eternal. 
 Then, via eminentice ; look, whatsoever perfection there is in the 
 creature in any degree, and know, that the same, but infinitely 
 and incomparably more eminently, is in Gron. Is there wisdom, 
 or knowledge, or power, or beauty, or greatness, or goodness, 
 in any kind, or in any measure, in any of the creatures? 
 Affii'm the same, but without measure, of God ; and learn that 
 He is infinitely wiser, and skilfuUer, and stronger, and fairer, 
 and greater, and better. . . . Look upon the workmanship, and 
 accordingly judge of the workinan : " every creature of God is 
 
 B 2 
 
244 S. MAEK X. 10. 
 
 good ;" surely then the Creator must needs excel in goodness. 
 Compared with Him, they deserve not the name of good. 
 None is good, as He ; simply, and absolutely, and essentially, 
 and of Himself such. Numb, xxiii. 19; Isa. xxvi. 12; Itom. i. 
 19, 20 ; xi. 36. Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. on 1 Tim. iv. 4.) 
 
 19 7%0M knowest the commandments. — There has not for these 
 thousand years, been started a more mischievous pestilential 
 notion, than that GrOD does not demand a perfect fulfilling of 
 all His Laws. This is directly to contradict Jesus Christ. 
 GrOD never alters His perfect Law; though He pardons us, 
 when we break it. Observe, however, He does not pardon 
 those, who are asleep, but those, who labour, those, who fear, 
 and who say with Job, " I know Thou wilt not hold me inno- 
 cent." Never suppose, that GrOD does not require an exact 
 regard to every tittle of His Law. Such a notion will soon en- 
 gender pride, and make you despise that Grace, through which 
 His holy Law, as " a schoolmaster," should compel you to seek 
 deliverance. S. Matt. v. 17 — 21. Luther. (Comment, on Gal.) 
 
 It is probable that our Lord here, when He said, Do not defraud, 
 referred to the tenth Commandment, Thou shalt not covet. He 
 sees the end from the beginning ; He looks through the letter 
 to the spirit ; He forbids fraud, as the consequence of unre- 
 strained coveting. Exactly in like manner, at the parallel place, 
 (S. Matt. xix. 19,) instead of the very words of the tenth Com- 
 mandment, He says, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour, as thy- 
 self;" thou shalt covet nothing, but his good; enjoining, in this 
 place, the doing good, as, before, the avoiding of doing evil. 
 At both passages we have, in this point of view, a recapitula- 
 tion of the whole second Table of the Moral Law, and from 
 the lips of the Divine Lawgiver Himself J. F. 
 
 DECALOGUS. 
 
 Me solum venerare Deum : nee sculpe, quod oras : 
 Impia nee vox sit : Luce quiesce Sacra : 
 
 Majores reverenter habe : nee sanguine dextram 
 Infice : nee sancti pollue jura tori : 
 
 Pura manus furti : sit falsi nescia lincfua : 
 Nullius optetur vema, marita, pecus. 
 
 Arthur Johnston. (Cantica Evang. &c. ix.) 
 
S. MARK X. 20. 245 
 
 20 If indeed we liave our fruit in holiness, notwithstanding, we 
 must note, that, the more we abound therein, the more need 
 we have to crave, that we may be strengthened and supported. 
 Our very virtues maybe snares to us. The enemy, that waiteth 
 on all occasions to work our ruin, hath found it harder to over- 
 throw an humble sinner, than a proud Saint. S. Luke xv. 29 ; 
 1 Cor. X. 12. Hooker. (Serm. on Hab. i. 4.) 
 
 It is as great a fault to talk of our own virtues, as to talk of the 
 faults of others. Prov. xxvii. 2. Oberlin. 
 
 All these things have I observed. — If you look into the New Tes- 
 tament, you will find there is a threefold, "Yet not I:" one 
 that relates to sin, in Eom. vii. 17; "I sin; yet not I:" one 
 that relates to spiritual life, in G-al. iii. 20 ; "I live ; yet not 
 I :" one, that relates to duties, 1 Cor. xv. 10; "I laboured more 
 abundantly than they all, yet not I." True saving faith hath 
 this, " Tet not I :" parts and gifts know not this, " Yet not I." 
 xiv. 19. Wm. Bridge. 
 
 Multi habent Legem in corde, sed non cor in Lege, saith Hugo de S. 
 Victore ; many treasure up the Law in their hearts, who do 
 not solace their hearts in the Law ; they only know it, these 
 (Ps. i. 2) also " delight in it." S. Augustine observes a dis- 
 tinction between in Lege and sub Lege. Qui est in Lege secundum 
 Legem agit ; he, whose heart is in the Law, follows the direction 
 of the Law. Qui est sub Lege a Lege agitur. He, whose heart 
 is under the Law, entertains it rather of constraint, than with 
 a willing mind. As ground is fruitful, not by receiving but by 
 liking of the seed, even so man becomes not religious by know- 
 ing, but by affecting of the Law. Amor est virtus uniens. 1 Cor. 
 ix. 21 ; 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. Bp. Lake. (Serm. on Ps. i.) 
 
 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said 
 unto him, One thing thou lackest : go thy way, sell 
 whatsoever thou hast, and give to the' poor, and thou 
 shall have treasure in heaven : and come, take up the 
 cross, and follow Me. 
 
 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away 
 grieved : for he had great possessions. 
 
246 S. MARK X. 21. 
 
 21 Loved him. — S. Mark is the only Evangelist, who records this 
 of our LoED — a fact, which singularly harmonizes with the 
 characteristic tone of his Gospel, the portraiture of human 
 feeling and of brotherly affection, in the Person of Cheist. 
 Bp. J. Taylor's construction of the words seems to be alien to 
 the perfection of our Loed's character, and not quite intelli- 
 gible — " He fancied him." The true sense appears to be, that, 
 whereas the young Euler's boast of his having kept the Law 
 might have justly exposed him to the Divine displeasure, our 
 LoED, contrarywise, treated him with singular forbearance and 
 gentleness ; fondly beholding him, as one more disposed to com- 
 mend his past observance of the Law, and to encourage him to 
 still greater zeal, than to reprove him for his ignorance and 
 presumption. Hence we learn what treatment self-righteous 
 persons, especially if young, should receive at the hands of 
 Cheist's Ministers, who walk in His Spirit. Credit should 
 be allowed them for their religion and morality, as far as it 
 goes. (1 Kings xxi. 29.) "We should never absolutely con- 
 demn it in itself; but use it, as a means for good, leading 
 them, as it were, tenderly by the hand, to deeper self-ex- 
 amination, to a higher standard of duty, and thus schooling 
 them by what they have already learnt, and are to learn ; so 
 that, at length, we may bring them unto Cheist. This, at 
 least, should be our primary course with them. We fear that 
 the hasty, positive, and severe condemnation of self-righteous- 
 ness has often proved a hindrance to the reception of the meek 
 and gracious Gospel : this may be done with the best motives, 
 but it arises from unskilfulness, and often from a mistaken 
 zeal for some particular doctrinal system. Let us study 
 Cheist's wisdom and love, in this particular. Eom. xv. 1 ; 
 Tit. iii. 2, 3 ; 1 Thess. ii. 7, 8. J. F. 
 
 The one thing is placed in antithesis to all these, (v. 20.) This one 
 thing is a heart h'ee from the love of the creature. The selling 
 of our goods is the proof. Something is wanting, this or that, 
 to almost all ; and one defect hinders them quite. Una defectu 
 detinentur. S. Luke x. 41, 42 ; Eev. ii. 4, 14, 20 ; iii. 2. Bengel. 
 
 If Israel turn their back upon their enemies, up, Joshua, and 
 make search for the troubler of Israel ; ferret out the thief, and 
 
S. MAEK X. 21, 22. 247 
 
 do execution upon him. One Achan, if suffered, is able to 
 undo the whole host of Israel. 2 Sam. xxiv. 15 ; Jonah i. ; S. 
 James ii. 10. JBp. Sanderso?i. (3 Serm. on 1 Kings xxi. 29.) 
 
 One leak in a ship will sink her, though she be tight every way 
 else. Eph. vi. 11, 13. 31. Mead. 
 
 Sell all that thou hast, 8{C. — K you be sick with pleasures, you 
 must cure your disease with fasting and abstinence ; if your 
 soul is sick with lust, you must use continence, as a remedy. 
 Covetousness is like a fever, that consumes us ; drive it away by 
 giving of alms and by liberality ; this is the remedy of a soul, 
 that loves riches immoderately. Have you taken the goods of 
 another? Make restitution. Are you ready to perish by 
 lying ? Avoid the danger, you are in, by the love of truth. 
 You are in error and heresy ; blot out this sin by embracing 
 the faith of the Church. Isa. i. 15—17 ; S. Luke xix. 2, 8 ; 
 Eph. iv. 28. S. Gregory Nyssen. (Tract, de Poenit.) 
 
 I believe no man is obliged to sell all that he has, ^c, because 
 Cheist gave such a command to one person, any more than 
 he is obliged to sacrifice his son, because GrOD commanded 
 Abraham to do so ; and yet, doubtless, these were written for 
 our instruction, that we might be ready always to obey the 
 severest calls of Providence ; a matter of no small difficulty, 
 and which we infinitely deceive ourselves and others in. It is 
 a common thing for people to say, " Gron's will be done," without 
 one grain of sincerity, or true resignation. Acts v. 4. Adam. 
 (Private Thoughts, c. 10.) 
 
 22 He was sad, ^'c. — Hoc enim sine amore aderat, quod sine dolore 
 discedit ; et non relinquitur sine dolore, quod cum delectatione 
 retinetur. "We forsake without sadness, what we possess with- 
 out love ; but we cannot part from that without pain, which we 
 cling to with pleasure. S. Matt. vi. 21. S. Augustine. (De 
 Serm. Dom. in Monte, L. i.) 
 
 Loss of goods is great, but loss of GtOd's grace and favour is 
 greater. He is blessed, that loseth this life, full of mortal 
 miseries, and findeth the Life, full of eternal joys. S. Matt. x. 
 39 ; Phil. iii. 8 ; Heb. x. 34. Bp. Hooper. 
 
 Such, O my soul, are the miseries, that attend on riches : they are 
 gained with toil, and kept with fear ; they are enjoyed with 
 
248 S. MARK X. 22. 
 
 danger, and lost with grief. 'Tis hard to be saved, if we have 
 them ; and impossible, if we love them : and scarce can we have 
 them, but we shall love them. Teach us, O Lord, this difficult 
 lesson, to manage with piety the goods we possess, and not 
 covetously desire more, than Thou givest us. Teach us to wean 
 our affections from this earth, and not to lay up our hearts in 
 our possessions ; since 'tis so hard to be saved, if we have 
 riches ; and impossible, if we love them. 1 Tim. vi. 6 — 12, 17 ; 
 Prov. XXX. 7—0. Austin. (Medit. 193.) 
 22 W^ent away grieved. — But who can say, that his heart did not 
 turn afterwards —that he was not one among those, whom the 
 Holy GtHOST at His first coming moved to lay all " at the 
 Apostles' feet ?" (apply Verse 31.) Acts iv. 37. J. Kehle. 
 (Serm. Prov. xxii. 2.) 
 
 O ! anime infelix, terrse quid munera quseris ? 
 
 Te Sibi, te coelo condidit ipse Deus. 
 Et potes insanos cordis prseferre tumultus 
 
 vEternse paci, laetitiseque poli ? 
 Hie te pugna manet ; victori debita solum 
 Palma ; coronatus, qui bene pugnat, ovat. 
 
 Card. Barberini. (Poemata.) 
 
 23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto 
 His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches 
 enter into the kingdom of God ! 
 
 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. 
 But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them. 
 Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches 
 to enter into the kingdom of God ! 
 
 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of 
 a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 26 And they were astonished out of measure, say- 
 ing among themselves, Who then can be saved ? 
 
 2/ And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men 
 
S. MARK X. 23, 24. 249 
 
 it is iQipossible, but not with God : for with God all 
 things are possible. 
 
 23 'Tis rare to see a rich mau religious ; for religion preaches 
 restraint, and riches prompt to liberty. "When wealth abounds, 
 men seldom come by suffering to be sober. . . . Besides the 
 danger of their flattering us to a reliance upon them, they 
 hinder us from the sense of charity ; not feeling the wants, 
 that others live in, we cannot be sensible of their endurances : 
 so we are not begotten into commiseration. . . . Kiches, be- 
 sides, are often as thorns, to choke the fruits of piety. They 
 are a kind of rank earth, which so fast puts out weeds, that 
 any fine seed of virtue becomes stifled and robbed, ere it get 
 root. . . . The rich man is open to flattery, but fenced against 
 admonition. Job xxxi. 24, 25 ; S. Luke xvi. 19 ; S. Matt. xiii. 
 22; S. James ii. 1-6; v. 1—5. 0. Feltham, (Eesolves. 
 
 Cent. ii. 21.) 
 
 The great disadvantage of riches is, that they tend to make us 
 think that our wants are many more, than they really are; and 
 so we refuse to give, because we fancy that we cannot aff'ord to 
 give ; whereas, the fact is, that we could well have aff'orded it, 
 had we not spent so much upon ourselves. Eccl. v. 11 ; Hagg. 
 i. 4. Bp. Medley. (Serm. on S. Matt. xix. 23—30.) 
 
 Cogitemus Crucem ; et divitias lutwn esse putabimus. Let us think 
 of the Cross ; and we shall come to regard riches, as mere dirt. 
 Gal. vi. 14; Phil. iii. 7, 8. S. Jerome. (Ad Nepotianum. 
 
 Ep. 2.) 
 24 That trust in riches. -Ii our riches possess us, instead of our 
 possessing them, we have changed our GrOD, and lost ourselves ; 
 but if we have learnt to use our wealth, and not enjoy it, we 
 may be no less gracious, than rich. If a rich man have a large, 
 and humble, and a just hand, he inherits the blessing of the 
 poor : if a poor man have a proud heart, and a thievish hand, 
 he carries away the woe from the rich. . . . Let me say with 
 Agur, " G-ive me neither poverty, nor riches," (Prov. xxx. 8 ;) 
 but, whethersoever Gron gives, I am both thankful and indiffer- 
 ent'; so as, while I am rich in estate, I may be poor in spirit ; 
 and while I am poor in estate, I may be rich in grace. Prov. 
 
250 S. MAEK X. 25, 27. 
 
 xiv. 24 ; S. Luke vi. 24 ; 1 Tim. vi. 17. Bp. Hall. (Select 
 Thoughts. 90.) 
 
 25 The distinguished and worldly-honoured company of Christian 
 Mammonists appear to the eye of my imagination, as a drove 
 of camels heavily laden, yet all at full speed, and each in the 
 confident expectation of passing through the eye of the needle 
 without stop or halt, both beast and burden. Hab. ii. 6 ; 
 Heb. xii. 1 ; 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. S. T. Coleridge. (Lay Sermon.) 
 
 27 {Took them in His arms, v. 16. Beholding him, loved him, v. 21. 
 Looked round about, v. 23. Looking upon them, v. 27.) — All 
 these and others of the kind seem especially human ; human in 
 the feeling of the writer, who notices them; human in the 
 affections, which they so deeply touch in us ; human in the 
 Person of our Blessed Lord, in His condescension to take upon 
 Him the infirmities of mankind. The character of all S. Mark's 
 own observations and of our Blessed Loed Himself, as seen 
 throughout this Grospel, seems so delineated, that, if we might 
 reverently apply it, we might characterize the Grospel by the 
 line of the Latin dramatic poet. Homo sum; humani nihil in 
 me alienum puto. Is. Williams. (Thoughts on the Study of 
 the Gospels, p. i. s. 5.) 
 
 Dei enim posse, velle est ; et non posse, nolle. The power of GrOD 
 is identified with His will ; what He cannot do, is what He 
 will not do. Ps. cxxxv. 6 ; Eom. ix. 15 — 19. Tertullian. 
 (Adv. Prax.) 
 
 Qucedam Deus non potest, quia est Omnipotens. There are some 
 things, which GrOD cannot do, because He is Omnipotent. Heb. 
 vi. 18. S. Augustine. (De Civ. Dei, L. v. c. 10.) 
 
 28 Then Peter began to say unto Him, Lo, we have 
 left all, and have followed Thee. 
 
 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily, I say unto 
 yoa, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, 
 or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or 
 lands, for My sake, and the Gospel's, 
 
 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this 
 time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, 
 
S. MARK X. 28—30. 251 
 
 and children, and lands, with persecutions ; and in the 
 world to come eternal life. 
 
 31 But many that are first shall be last; and the 
 last first. 
 
 28 We have forsaken all ; not possessions only, but desires ; and 
 desires, above all. Plus enim concupiscentia mundi, qiiam sub- 
 stantia, nocet. For worldly lusts do us more harm, than 
 worldly possessions. Now this consideration should chiefly 
 induce us to avoid riches, namely, that we can seldom, or 
 never, have them, without loving them. Phil. iv. 17 ; 1 S. 
 John ii. 16. S. Bernard. 
 
 Perhaps it may not be hard for a man to leave his goods, but 
 very hard it is for him to leave himself. Minus quippe est 
 ahnegare, quod habet ; valdb multum autem abnegare, quod est. 
 It is a small thing for him to forsake what he possesses, but 
 an extremely great thing for him to forsake his veiy self. ix. 
 43, 45, 47 ; S. Luke xiv. 26 ; 2 Cor. viii. 5. S, Gregory. (Hom. 
 xxxii. in Evang.) 
 
 29 " House or brethren." The things left are described with 
 the disjunctive particle ; those received with the copulative ; 
 " Houses and brethren." See the richness of the reward, the 
 goodness of GrOD ! . . . . By the law of nature we can have 
 but a single father and mother ; but, in regard to the grace 
 of the Gospel, Cheist's followers rejoice in a multitude of 
 blessings. Hom. xvi. 13 ; Eph. i. 3 ; iii. 20. Bengel. 
 
 30 Eminent er, non formaliter ; not a hundred fathers ; but he shall 
 have that in Gron, which all the creatures would be to him, if 
 they were multiplied a hundred times : wife here is left out in 
 the repetition. 1 Sam. i. 8; 1 Cor. iii. 21—23. Edio. Leigh. 
 
 Doth he not possess all, who hath " all things working together 
 for his good ?" (Eom. viii. 28.) Hath he not a hundred- 
 fold of all, who is fiUed with the Holt G-host, and beareth 
 Cheist in his breast ? Eather is this indwelling of the Spirit, 
 this presence of Christ far, far more, than "a hundredfold." 
 This "hundredfold" is the adoption of sons, the first fruits of 
 the Spirit, the delights of charity, the glories of experience, 
 
252 S. MARK X. 30. 
 
 " the kingdom of GrOD within us." Eev. ii. 17 ; Ps. xxxi. 21 ; 
 Eom. V. 3— 5 ; xiv. 17 ; xv. 29. S. Bernard. 
 
 With persecutions— which particular, though neither S. Matthew, 
 nor S. Luke records, yet S. Peter, (who had most reason punc- 
 tually to observe those words of Christ, being an answer, 
 directed to a question of his proposing, as all the three Evan- 
 gelists acknowledge,) remembered them ; and so we find them 
 in S. Mark's Gospel, which is resolved to have been dictated 
 by S. Peter. Dr. Hammond. (Tract. Of taking up the Cross.) 
 
 We need not limit that clause in the promise (with persecutions) 
 to be, that, in the midst of persecutions, Gron will give us 
 temporal blessings ; but that, in the midst of temporal bless- 
 ings, GrOD will give us persecutions ; that it shall be a part of 
 His mercy to be delivered from the danger of being pufied up 
 by those temporal abundances, by having a mixture of adver- 
 sity and persecutions ; and then what ill, what loss is there, in 
 laying down this life for Him ? Eccl. vii. 14 ; 2 Cor. xii. 7. 
 Dr. Donne. (Serm. on 1 Cor. xvi. 22.) 
 
 In that large promise, which our Blessed Sayioub maketh to all 
 those, that suffer loss in any kind /or His sake and the Gospel's, 
 Eternal life in the world to come is promised absolutely ; but 
 the hundredfold now in this present life not simply, but with 
 persecutions expressly annexed. Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. on 
 Prov. xix. 21.) 
 
 The afEictions and troubles, wherewith GrOD in His love chasteneth 
 His children for their good, are indeed part of His promise, and 
 that a gracious part too. At S. Mark x. 30, it is expressed ; 
 but, where it is not so, it must be ever understood in all the 
 promises, that concern this life. It is a received rule among 
 Divines, that all temporal promises are to be understood cum 
 exceptione crucis ; that is to say, not absolutely, but with this 
 reservation, unless the Lord in His holy 'w isdom shall see it 
 good for us to have it otherwise. . . . If we submit our wills 
 to His, both in doing and suffering, doubtless we cannot finally 
 miscarry. He will consult nothing but for our good; and 
 what He hath consulted must stand. S. John xv. 2 ; Kom. 
 viii. 17 ; 1 Thess. i. 6. Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. on Ps. cxix. 
 75, and Serm. on Prov. xix. 21.) 
 
S. MARK X. 31, 32. 253 
 
 31 Many that are first, 8(C. — When God comes to judgment, He 
 will, as Jacob by Joseph, lay the right hand of His glory upon 
 such, as were here on the left hand of adversity ; and His left 
 hand on those, which the world sets at her right hand of pros- 
 perity. G-en. xlviii. 16, 17 ; S. Matt. xxv. 33 ; Heb. xi. 25. 
 Franc. Stella. (De Contemptu Mundi.) 
 
 32 And they were in the way going up to Jeru- 
 salem ; and Jesus went before them : and they were 
 amazed ; and as they followed, they were afraid. And 
 He took again the twelve, and began to tell them what 
 things should happen unto Him. 
 
 33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem ; and 
 the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief 
 priests, and unto the scribes ; and they shall condemn 
 Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles ; 
 
 34 And they shall mock Him, and shall scourge 
 Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him: 
 and the third day He shall rise again. 
 
 32 Jesus went before them. — As on the former occasion our Lord 
 Jesus, for our instruction, showed forth His prudence in flee- 
 ing, teaching that, according to place and time, we ought also 
 to avoid with caution the fury of our persecutors ; so now He 
 shows forth His fortitude ; because, when the appointed time 
 draws near, He returns of His own accord to offer Himself to 
 suffering, and to deliver Himself up into the hands of those, 
 who seek for Him. So formerly He showed forth temperance, 
 when He fled from high station, what time the crowds wished 
 to make Him a King ; and justice, when He willed to receive 
 honour, as a King, what time the people went forth to meet 
 Him with branches of palms. Eccl. iii. 11; Isa. 1, 5 — 7; S. 
 John vi. 15. Card. Bonaventura. (Life of Christ. Ch. 55.) 
 
 Christianity is ennobled, not by the dignity of men's persons, but 
 by their faith. In other matters we are gentle, and yielding, 
 and the most disregarded of men ; but, when our God is con- 
 
254 S. MAEK X. 32, 34. 
 
 cerned and His honour at stake, then, despising every other 
 consideration, we are intent only upon Him. Tor then the 
 fire and the sword, the wild beast and the hoofs tearing the 
 flesh, are rather a pleasure and sport to us, than a cause of 
 alarm. Death will be a gain to me ; for it quickly conveys me 
 to G-OD, for whom I live. 1 Cor. iv. 12 ; Acts xx. 21 ; xxi. 13. 
 S. Greg. Nazianzen. (Orat. 20, de Laud. S. Basil.) 
 
 O quam grata Mihi, venias, asperrima quamvis, 
 
 Qu8e vitse venies hora suprema Mese ! 
 Ite, dies ; horseque, levi properate volatu, 
 
 Invisasque Mihi prsecipitate moras. 
 Ah ! propera, et tecum nullas non advehe poenas ; 
 
 Sola Mihi poenae poena levamen erit. 
 (Conf S. Luke xii. 50.) Sidronius Hosschius. (Eleg. 2.) 
 The chief priests — the Gentiles. — The Jews, out of envy and malice, 
 delivered Him up, accused and prosecuted Him, instigated and 
 importuned against Him ; the Gentiles, out of ignorance, pro- 
 faneness, and unjust partiality, condemned and executed Him : 
 whereby the ingratitude, iniquity, and impiety of all mankind 
 in some sort did appear, and was aptly represented ; and, in 
 consequence thereof. His infinite goodness is demonstrated. 
 Eom. iii. 9—19 ; xi. 32. Br. Barrow. (Serm. on 1 Cor. i. 23.) 
 34 Socrates foretold that he should die within three days ; and 
 the event followed. (Cic. de Divin. L. i. c. 25.) Jesus fore- 
 told that He should suff'er death by crucifixion. (S. John iii. 
 14 ; viii. 28 ; xii. 32.) He likewise foretold that He should 
 rise from the dead within three days after His crucifixion. (S. 
 John ii. 19.) The first of these predictions might be a sa- 
 gacious conjecture. Can it be said of such, as the two last ? 
 Ps. xxii. 18; Zech. xi. 12, 13. Bp. Hurd. (Introd. to the 
 Study of Prophecy. Serm. 4. Note.) 
 No one, who attempts to impose on others, gives warning, long 
 and beforehand, of what he intends to do .... Supposing that 
 Christ knew Himself to have no miraculous power, more than 
 other men, and that He was only a pretender, and a deceiver, 
 He must have deliberately schemed His own misery and un- 
 timely death. And for what ? Not for even the wild hope of 
 credit and success with the world, after He was dead; for 
 
S. MARK X. 35. 255 
 
 having put the reality of His Mission from God on His rising 
 from death the third day, being sure to fail in tkis decisive 
 proof, He must have schemed His own disgrace and infamy 
 with all mankind ; He must have courted misery and death for 
 no other end, but to make His memory scandalous and odious 
 to all ages. S. John ii. 18, 19 ; Isa. xli. 21 — 29 ; xlvi. 9, 10. 
 P. Skelton. (Serm. on Acts x. 40, 41.) 
 
 35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, 
 come unto Him, saying, Master, we would that Thou 
 shouldst do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 
 
 36 And He said unto them, What would ye that I 
 should do for you ? 
 
 37 They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we 
 may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy 
 left hand, in Thy glory. 
 
 38 But Jesus said unto them. Ye know not what 
 ye ask : can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and 
 be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with ? 
 
 39 And they said unto Him, We can. And Jesus 
 said unto them. Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that 
 I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized 
 withal shall ye be baptized. 
 
 40 But to sit on My right hand and on My left 
 hand is not Mine to give ; but it shall he given to them 
 for whom it is prepared. 
 
 35 Do for us. — Our Loed speaks of sufferings : the disciples dis- 
 pute for pre-eminency. (ix. 30 — 34.) Again, our Lord speaks 
 of sufferings ; and the disciples' hearts are still bent on self- 
 pleasing. How pointed is the juxtaposition of these incidents, 
 and the repetition of these facts ! How instructive the con- 
 trast ! How vast the difference between the mind of God, and 
 the mind of man ; the lust of the flesh, and the work of the 
 Spirit ; the opinions of the world, and the judgment of heaven ! 
 
256 S. MARK X. 37, 38. 
 
 Deut. XXX. 19 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 5. (See at S. John xxi. 20. J. F.) 
 J. F. 
 
 Blessed is he, that understands what it is to love Jesus, and con- 
 tends earnestly to be like Him. Nothing else can satisfy or 
 make us perfect. But be thou a bearer of His Cross, as well 
 as a lover of His Kingdom, (v. 5.) Suffer tribulation for Him, 
 or from Him, with the same spirit, that thou receivest consola- 
 tion. Follow Him, as well for the bitter cup of His Passion, 
 as for the loaves : and, remember, that, if it be a hard saying, 
 " Take up thy cross," it is a harder saying, " Gro, ye cursed, 
 into everlasting fire!" 1 S. Pet. v. 1. Bp. J. Taylor. (The 
 Grolden Grove. Via pacis.) 
 
 37 Avaritia nostra nobis non sufficit, nisi avarum quoque Christum 
 facimus, saith Petrarch in another case. It is not enough for 
 us to set our hearts upon riches, unless we make Cheist Him- 
 self covetous also. It is not enough for us to pursue honours 
 and dignities, unless we make Cheist ambitious, and so set up 
 a temporal Monarchy in the Church. "We crown Cheist ; but 
 it is not with the crown, wherewith His Fathee crowned Him 
 in the day of His espousals, when He made Him the Head of 
 the Church, xv. 17, 18 ; 1 Tim. vi. 5. Farindon. (Serm. on 
 S. Matt. vi. 10.) 
 
 Ah male Te placido qusesivi, Sponse, cubili ; 
 
 Qui crucis in thalamo reperiendus eras. 
 Pax mihi lectus erat ; Tibi crux erat aspera lectus ; 
 
 Hoc Te debueram quserere, Sponse, toro. 
 Tandem, sero licet, mens est mihi cognitus error ; 
 
 Si bene qusDsissem, Sponse, repertus eras ! 
 
 Herm. Hugo. (Pia Desideria. Lib. ii.) 
 
 38 And Jesus said, ^c. — A fault, opportunely rebuked, is like a 
 cure timely taken ; then both alike easily cured ; but, when time 
 hath given strength and growth, they both pass from dangerous 
 to deadly. S. Matt, xviii. 15. Lord Capet. (Contemplations. 
 229.) 
 
 Precatio est petitio decentiu7n. Prayer is the request for things 
 befitting for G-od to give, and for us to receive. S. Matt. vii. 11 ; 
 1 S. John V. 14, 15. J. Damascene. 
 
 LoED, grant me one suit, which is this. " Deny me all suits, 
 
S. MARK X. 38—40. 257 
 
 which are bad for me ; when I petition for what is unfitting, 
 Oh, let the King of heaven make use of His negative voice. 
 Bather let me fast, than have quails given, with intent that I 
 should be choked in eating them." Numb. xi. 33 ; Ps. cvi. 15 ; 
 Eom. viii. 27. Th. Fuller. (Good Thoughts in bad times. 18.) 
 Nothing more becomes us, than to know what we are. Ignor- 
 ance of one's self is the cause of pride ; and the strength of 
 confidence is the weakness of judgment. 2 Kings viii. 13 ; 
 Prov. xvi. 18. Dr. Whichcote. (Cent. viii. Aphor. 747.) 
 
 39 We can. — The Loed has often given me, when clouded by this 
 fear — (the fear of death) — a sweet discovery of the beauty of 
 this disposal, that vre have promises to live upon, until the 
 trials come, and that, when they come, we shall then get ac- 
 complishments to live on. " In the mount of the Loed it shall 
 be seen." .... I dare not say, "I am ready to die:" I dare 
 not say, " I have faith, or grace, suf&cient to carry me through 
 death:" I dare not say, "I have no fears of death ;" but this 
 I say, " There is grace enough for helping me, laid up in the 
 promise ;" there is " a throne of grace," to which in our straits 
 we may have recourse. He is " a GrOD of judgment," who has 
 the disposal, and who will not withhold " grace," when it is 
 really " the time of need." Deut. xxxiii. 25 ; S. Matt. vi. 34 ; 
 1 Cor. X. 13. T. Halyhurton. (Memoirs of his life, p.iii. c. 8.) 
 
 All have not the martyr's faith, nor all the martyr's fire. This 
 forlorn consists of a few files, picked out of the whole army of 
 Saints. Jud. vii. 3, 7 ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 19, 23 ; S. Matt. xx. 16. 
 Gurnall. (The Christian's Armour, c. xiv. s. 4.) 
 
 S. James drank of this cup in his death : S. John, by being perse- 
 cuted. Hev. i. 9. Remigius. 
 
 S. Stephen was stoned ; S. James beheaded ; S. Simon, one of the 
 seven deacons, burnt ; S. Thomas slain with a dart ; S. Simon 
 Zelotes crucified ; S. Jude slain in a tumult raised by the peo- 
 ple ; S. Mark, the Evangelist, burnt ; S. Bartholomew beaten 
 to death with staves ; S. Andrew crucified ; S. Matthew stoned 
 and beheaded ; S. Philip crucified and beheaded ; S. Peter cru- 
 cified with his head downward ; and S. Paul, after a thousand 
 sufferings, beheaded. Br.Horneck. (Serm. on S. Matt. v. 10.) 
 
 40 Our Sayiofe in these words disclaims not the authority, 
 
 s 
 
258 S. MAEK X. 40. 
 
 which the Holy Scriptures constantly ascribe to them, and 
 which, in the epistle to the Church of Laodicea, (Eev. iii. 21,) 
 He claims for Himself in the most peremptory terms. He dis- 
 dains not the authority of making the final distribution of 
 reward and punishment, and of appointing to situations of 
 distinction in His future Kingdom. But yet He speaks, as if 
 in the management of this business He were tied down to cer- 
 tain rules prescribed by the Almighty Father, from which He 
 would not be at liberty to depart. But in this manner of 
 speaking there is nothing, but what is conformable to the usual 
 language of Holy Writ. The Son is everywhere spoken of, as 
 giving effect to the original motions of the Paternal mind by 
 His immediate action on the external world, with which the 
 Father otherwise, than through the agency of the Son, holds, 
 as it were, no intercourse. Not that the purposes and counsels 
 of the Father are not equally the purposes and counsels of 
 the Son ; or, that the Son acts without original authority by a 
 mere delegated power; but that this notion of the Father's 
 purpose executed by His Son is the best idea, that can be con- 
 veyed to the human mind, of the manner, in which God governs 
 His creation. And beyond this it becomes us not to be curious 
 to inquire. Bp. Horsley. (Serm. on S. Matt. xx. 23.) 
 
 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be 
 much displeased with James and John. 
 
 42 But Jesus called them to Him, and saith unto 
 them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule 
 over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them ; and 
 their great ones exercise authority upon them. 
 
 43 But so shall it not be among you : but whoso- 
 ever will be great among you, shall be your minister : 
 
 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall 
 be servant of all. 
 
 45 For even the Son of man came not to be minis- 
 tered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ran- 
 som for many. 
 
S. MARK X. 42, 43. 259 
 
 42 Called them unto Him. — Refer to viii. 34; ix. 35. Men, that 
 are often angry and for every trifle, in a little time will be 
 little regarded ; and they, that reprove with passion, will be less 
 regarded, when they reprove with reason. G-al. vi. 1 ; v. 22, 23. 
 D7\ Whichcote. (Cent. viii. Aphor. 719.) 
 
 It remains for every one among us to deliver his opinion, judging 
 none, separating none from the right of Church Communion for 
 diversity of opinion. For no one among ourselves has set him- 
 self up above the rest, as the Bishop of Bishops, aut tyrannico 
 terrore ad ohsequendi necessitatem collegas suos adegit, or brought 
 any of his colleagues under a false submission by the fear of 
 despotic power ; inasmuch as every single Bishop is permitted 
 to exercise his own free judgment, without constraint and of 
 his own power, being exempt from the judgment of others, as 
 they are from his. For we expect the Universal judgment of 
 our LoED Jesus Christ, who possesses in Himself alone power 
 and authority to raise us to the government of His Church, 
 and then to take cognizance of what we do. 2 Cor. x. 16 ; 
 G-al. ii. 8, 9. 3 S. John 9. S. Cyprian. (Concio ad Episc. 
 Concil. Carthag.) 
 
 43 That venomous worm of all goodness, vain-glory. S. Matt, 
 vi. 1 ; S. John v. 44. Abp. Leighton. 
 
 Our Lord here admits that some in His Church will be great 
 among their brethren, and some, yet more, chief est ; so that 
 this passage cannot be wrested to the unhallowed purpose of 
 introducing a levelling system in regard to religion, as some 
 democrats would fain have it in regard to civil matters. Only 
 let the great in authority be the lowest and least in their own es- 
 timation ; and let the chief est in rank and station be of all men 
 the poorest in spirit, the most condescending and the most 
 helpful toward others. Acts xx. 34, 35 ; Phil. ii. 1—7. J. F. 
 
 Christ would have those, who for their greater dignities in the 
 Church are styled "Stars" and *' Angels," to imitate the one 
 by appearing less for their greater height ; and the other, who, 
 though Peers of heaven, yet approve themselves " ministering 
 spirits" to the poorest of GtOd's servants upon earth. Eom. 
 XV. 1—3 ; 1 Cor. xii. 7 ; xv. 9 ; Heb. i. 14. Br. G. Hickes. 
 (A modest Plea for the Clergy. Ch. xi.) 
 
 s 2 
 
260 S. MARK X. 45. 
 
 45 Christ came to take our infirmities, and to impart to us His 
 strength ; to seek wlaat is human, to supply what is Divine ; 
 to receive injuries, to recompense them with honours ; ferre 
 t(Bdia, referre sanitates, to bear men's ailments, and to give 
 them health in return. . . . He submitted to these necessities, 
 that He might declare Himself to be a man, by undergoing 
 what human flesh is heir to. S. John i. 14, 16. Pet. ChrysO' 
 logus. (Serm. 1.) 
 
 How am I ashamed, my Lord and my God, how am I ashamed 
 of my pride, when I think of Thy humility ! Never was there 
 any love like Thine, nor ever was there any humility like 
 Thine ; love in coming into the world to save sinners, and hu- 
 mility in stooping so low to do it. Which of these excellent 
 virtues was the greatest in Thee, Thou only, who hadst them 
 both in perfection, canst perfectly tell. One of these " deeps 
 calls upon the other ;" and they both call upon me for my de- 
 voutest wonder and gratitude. But Thy charity appeared 
 chiefly in dying for us ; whereas, 'twas Thy humility even to 
 live ! Ps. viii. 4 ; S. Matt. xi. 29. Norris. (Treatise on 
 Humility, ch. 9.) 
 
 Give His life a ransom for many. — Tlie Lord " in judgment re- 
 members mercy." Never does He lose sight of His office, as 
 a Satiotjr. In conveying even reproof. He mixes up the 
 sweet and most consoling doctrines of mercy. This was the 
 same Lord, who tempered the awful sentence of judgment in 
 the garden with the Gospel promise, " the Seed of the woman 
 shall bruise the serpent's head." Isa. xxviii. 21 ; S. John iii. 
 17 ; iv. 34. J. F. 
 
 All the good works, we can do, be imperfect, and therefore not 
 able to deserve our justification ; but our justification doth come 
 freely by the mere mercy of God, and of so great and free 
 mercy, that, whereas all the world was not able of themselves 
 to pay any part towards their ransom, it pleased our Heavenly 
 Eathee, of His infinite mercy, without any our desert, or de- 
 serving, to prepare for us the most precious jewels of Christ's 
 Body and Blood ; whereby our ransom might be fully paid, the 
 Law fulfilled, and His justice fully satisfied. Isa. lix. 16 ; E-om. 
 iii. 20 — 27. Homilies. (Serm. of Salvation, p. i.) 
 
S. MARK X. 47, 48. 261 
 
 46 And they came to Jericho : and as He went out 
 of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of 
 people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by 
 the highway side begging. 
 
 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Naza- 
 reth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, Thou Son 
 of David, have mercy on me. 
 
 48 And many charged him that he should hold his 
 peace ; but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son 
 of David, have mercy on me. 
 
 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to 
 be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto 
 him. Be of good comfort, rise ; He calleth thee. 
 
 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and 
 came to Jesus. 
 
 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him. What 
 wilt thou that I should do unto thee ? The blind man 
 said unto Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 
 
 52 And Jesus said unto him. Go thy way, thy faith 
 hath made thee whole. And immediately he received 
 his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. 
 
 47 Blind. He heard. — Sight is love's sense, not faith's sense. 
 " Faith coraes by hearing," saith the Apostle, not by seeing. . . 
 Faith disdains conference with reason ; much less endures to 
 consult with sense. Tides? Non est Jides, saith Hugo de 
 Yictore. Hab. i. 1 ; S. John xxi. 29. Dr. Richard Gierke. 
 (Serm. on S. John xx. 29.) 
 
 48 Cried out. — For GrOD loves to be entreated, He loves to be 
 compelled, He loves to be even vanquished by our persevering 
 importunity. Gren. xxxii. 26 ; Hos. xii. 4 ; S. Matt. xv. 28 ; 
 Heb. V. 7. S. Gregory. 
 
 Jesus of Nazareth. — We must expect not only to have our prayers 
 hindered, but our very faith itself endangered — the faith, in 
 
262 S. MARK X. 48, 49. 
 
 which alone we can pray — as we pass through this wicked 
 world. S. Luke xviii. 1, 8 ; xxii. 31, 32. J. F. 
 
 The Apostle (2 Tim. iii. 12) does not say "All that live," but all, 
 qui pie volunty who are " willing to live godly in Christ Jesus 
 shall suffer persecution ;" because it sometimes happens that, 
 in progress of time, good people are permitted to live in peace, 
 that they outlive malice, that they at last put to silence every 
 false tongue. But in the commencement of their Christian 
 course, the very time, when they are peculiarly " willing to live 
 godly," then there is no escape for them ; they must suffer the 
 contradictions of men ; all must so suffer without exception, 
 omnes, omnes. S. Luke ix. 42. Segneri. (Quaresimale. Pred. 
 viii. s. 3.) 
 
 If the wicked are so muzzled by providence that they cannot 
 bite, they will snarl at least ; but let not this discourage you. 
 Eegard it no more, than a traveller would mind a little dust on 
 his shoes. Imitate the blind man in the Grospel. Ps. cix. 3 ; 
 1 Cor. iv. 3 ; 3 S. John 10. Toplady. 
 
 49 They call the blind man, &;c. — When a Christian first enters 
 upon a religious life, and begins to be zealous in good works, 
 and to despise the world, he finds, i^i ipsa novitate operum 
 suorum, at this early stage of his amendment of life, many 
 lukewarm Christians, who are ready to blame and to oppose 
 him ; but should he persevere, and overcome them by continu- 
 ance in well doing, these same persons will take his part. As 
 long as they entertain the least hope of gaining their point, 
 they molest us and find fault ; but, when they are outdone by 
 our resolute determination, they change sides and exclaim : 
 " Magnus homo ! Felix, cui Deus concessit .'" " This is really a 
 great man ; a Blessed man, to receive such grace from God !" 
 Prov. xvi. 7 ; Acts xxviii. 4, 6. S. Augustine. (Serm. Ixxxviii. 
 De Verb. Dom. c. 17.) 
 
 Let me from my own experience, as well as from the reason of 
 the case, urge persons, from their first entrance upon a religious 
 life, when asked to do anything, which they disapprove, fairly to 
 state their disapprobation, as a point of conscience. For not 
 only is this most becoming those "in whom there is no guile," 
 but it is also by far the most prudent proceeding. If they 
 
S. MAKE X. 49—51. 2^3 
 
 assign reasons, drawn only from local and temporary circum- 
 stances, when those circumstances are changed, they will be 
 pressed again and again with redoubled earnestness ; whereas, 
 if they once fairly declare their refusal to be the result of de- 
 liberate consideration and the dictate of conscience, the hope 
 of prevaiHng upon them wiU be given up, and they will save 
 themselves great trouble and danger. Gen. xxxix. 9 ; Prov. i. 
 10-16; Neh. vi. 3; 1 S. Pet. iv. 4. Th. Scott. (Letters. 
 Life by Eev. J. Scott. Ch. 5.) 
 He calleth thee.— Quod hortatur, that's a great encouragement. 
 He is earnest in persuading and exhorting to this duty: nay, 
 He more than calleth thee ; He invites and persuades thee. 
 Hortatur, ut petas ; et negahit quodpetis? saith S. Augustine. 
 (Will He, who advises you to ask, refuse afterwards to give 
 what you ask?) " Let Me see thy countenance ; let Me hear 
 thy voice," saith Cheist to His Church; "for sweet is thy 
 voice, and thy countenance is comely." (Cant. ii. 14.) Surely 
 He will never deny thee, that doth so lovingly persuade thee 
 to seek unto Him. Ps. xxvii. 9; Eev. iii. 20. Bp. Brownrig. 
 (Serm. on S. Luke xi. 1.) 
 
 50 Casting aivay his garment.—\^0Vi\d. any one have thought ot 
 mentioning this circumstance, who had not seen it? Bp. 
 Sandford. (Life. Letters.) 
 
 Opera, quce non tarn ornant, qmm oner ant. All such works, as are 
 rather a burden to us, than a beauty. Heb. xii. 1 ; Phil. m. 
 7, 9. S. Gregory. 
 
 51 Thus did our LoED, in stooping to be informed of the wants 
 of this blind man, speedily give proof of the truth of His own 
 assertion, so recently made, " Even the Son of Man came not to 
 be ministered unto, but to minister." J. F. ^ , . 
 
 Where was there ever a master, that desired to be informed of 
 the will of his slave, in order to execute it ? 2 Sam. vn. 19 ; 
 Isa. Iv. 8. Rodriguez. (On Perfection. P. 3, ch. 5.) 
 
 " God " it is written, " is faithful," as promising to save ; He wiU 
 save assuredly ; yet so, as He has promised. But in what way 
 has He promised ? On our willing it, and on our hearing Him ; 
 for He does not make a promise to blocks of wood, and to inert 
 stones Isa.i.l9,20;S.Johnv.40. ^.CAr2/«o5^o;>^. (2Thess.iii.4.) 
 
264 S. MAEK X. 51, 52. 
 
 What wilt thou that I should do unto thee ? — The very question He 
 had so recently asked " James and John, the sons of Zebedee" 
 (ver. 36.) But how different the answer in each case ! The 
 blind man saw more clearly than the Apostles. His answer 
 expressed humility and a sense of helplessness ; theirs, pride 
 and vain glor}'-. Was not, in this, that dictum of the Loed, 
 also so recently delivered by Him, (ver. 31,) proved true ? He, 
 who was lastj as a poor, blind, way-faring beggar, was now 
 first, because he was humble ; by faith he was made whole ; He 
 received his sight; yea more, 1S.Q followed Jesus in the way : 
 whereas, the Apostles, who in every sense stood ^r*^, were now 
 through pride brought low, and made, in comparison, the last. 
 They were rebuked by the Loed, and had in displeasure of the 
 Teny who heard it. Prov. xvi. 18, 19. J. F. 
 
 I have often and attentively read the Gospel, and I have expe- 
 rienced difficulty in finding out one single favour, ever con- 
 ferred by Cheist, which was not graciously ascribed by Him 
 to some good quality in the person, who received that favour. 
 Thy faith hath made thee whole i this was the humble and un- 
 pretending rescript of His, which He usually attached, as a 
 signature, to the petitions brought to Him. ... In this. He 
 would put those persons to shame, who arrogate to themselves 
 so much praise, for the insignificant services they do us ; whereas 
 He lessened the vastness of His benefits by His modest way of 
 conferring them. S. Matt. xii. 19 ; ix. 22. Segneri. (Quare- 
 simale. Pred. ii. s. 5.) 
 
 52 It was a great act of faith in this blind man to call Him the 
 Son of David, whom the people pointed out to him, as being 
 Jesus of Nazareth. Bengel. 
 
 The faith of this man was great, because, being blind, he could 
 not see the miracles, which Jesus did. "Faith came" to him, 
 in the truest way, " by hearing." He believed on the testi- 
 mony and report of others ; and so he inherited, in a manner, 
 that emphatic promise of the Loed his Satioue, " Blessed are 
 they, who have not seen, and yet have believed." S. John xx. 
 29. J. F. 
 
 He followed Jesus in the way — going to Jerusalem, to bear His 
 cross. Hob. xii. 12 — 15. Edw. Leigh. 
 
S. MAEK X. 52. 265 
 
 We may easily think, that, if Cheist had asked him a second 
 question — "What wouldest thou see, when thou hast received 
 thy sight?" — he would have answered — " Loed, I would see 
 Thee." Eor, when he had his sight, and Cheist said to him. 
 Go thy way, he had no way to go from Cheist ; but he fol- 
 lowed Him. All, that he cared for, was seeing : all, that he 
 cared to see, was Cheist. S. John vi. QQ — 68. Br, Bonne. 
 (Serm. on 1 Cor. xiii. 12.) 
 
 Sequamur exemplum ; offeramus pretium ; sumamus viaticum; ex- 
 pectemus 'prcemiwn. Let us follow Him, as our pattern ; offer 
 Him for our price ; receive Him for our Sacramental food ; and 
 wait for Him, as our endless and exceeding great reward. S. 
 John X. 27, 28. S. Augustine. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 AND when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto 
 Bethpage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, 
 He sendeth forth two of His disciples, 
 
 2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the vil- 
 lage over against you : and as soon as ye be entered 
 into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man 
 sat ; loose him, and bring him. 
 
 3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this ? 
 say ye that the Lord hath need of him ; and straight- 
 way he will send him hither. 
 
 4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied 
 by the door without in a place where two ways met ; 
 and they loose him. 
 
 5 And certain of them that stood there said unto 
 them, What do ye, loosing the colt ? 
 
266 S. MAEK XI. 2. 
 
 6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had com- 
 manded ; and they let them go. 
 
 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast 
 their garments on him ; and He sat upon him. 
 
 8 And many spread their garments in the way : and 
 others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed 
 them in the way. 
 
 2 It is incumbent upon you to make diligent inquiry, how long 
 the Jews had a prince, or ruler, properly their own : and you 
 will find, until the appearance of Jestjs Christ our Master, 
 the great expositor of these prophecies, little understood before ; 
 and you will see it exactly verified, according to what the 
 Divine, Holy, and prophetic Spirit foretold by Moses, that " a 
 Law- giver should not depart from Judah, until Shiloh come;" 
 for Judah was the father of the Jewish nation, and from whom 
 they took the name of Jews. (Gren. xlix. 10, 11.) . . . More- 
 over, the binding his foal unto the vine, and washing His gar- 
 ments in the blood of grapes, was a significative symbol of 
 what Christ was to do and sufier ; for there stood the foal of 
 an ass, tied to a vine, at the entrance of a certain village ; which 
 He ordered His disciples to go and bring Him ; upon which 
 He got, and rode into Jerusalem, where the stately Temple of 
 the Jews then was, which you have razed to the ground. And, 
 to fulfil the sequel of the prophecy, He was afterwards cruci- 
 fied : for " washing His garments in the blood of grapes," pre- 
 figured the Passion He was to undergo, purifying by His blood 
 such, as should believe in Him ; for what, by the prophet, the 
 Divine Spirit calls " His garments," are the faithful, in whom 
 the LogoSj the Seed of GrOD, dwells. Eph. iii. 17; Isa. Ixiii, 
 2, 3 ; Eev. xix. 15. S. Justin Martyr. (Apology, s. xl. xli.) 
 
 (Zech. ix. 9, 10 ; S. Matt. xxi. 4.) You see here that the King 
 foretold was to save the people. Consider then what sort of 
 king was to be expected. Is it possible to imagine that God 
 would send a king to save them, who should be like the kings, 
 who had undone them ? Is it not more reasonable to imagine 
 he should resemble those, who had indeed been deliverers of 
 
S. MARK XI. 6. 267 
 
 their country ? Kings, who feared Gron, and therefore feared 
 no enemy ; who, though mounted on asses and colts, the foals 
 of asses, were able to put to flight the thousands and ten thou- 
 sands of chariots and horses, that came against them ? ( Judg. 
 V. 10, 11 ; 1 Kings i. 33, 34.) The King, foretold by the pro- 
 phet, was moreover to be "just, meek^, and lowly;" but how 
 could he have deserved this character, had He appeared in the 
 pomp and pride of war, surrounded with horses and chariots, 
 in direct opposition to the law of God ? Or, as He was to 
 "bring salvation to the people," could He make use of those 
 means, which Q-od had never prospered, and which He had 
 sufficiently declared He never would? You see then how 
 essential it was to the character of a King of Israel, who was 
 to be "just, and lowly, and to bring salvation" with Him, that 
 He should come "riding on an ass, and a colt the foal of an 
 ass." But if any doubt can yet remain, let the prophet him- 
 self explain it ; who, immediately after his description of the 
 promised King, adds, "and I will cut off the chariot from 
 Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem ;" plainly showing, that 
 the character, given of the Messiah, that He should " ride on 
 an ass," was in opposition to the pride of their warlike kings, 
 who by their great strength in chariots and horses had ruined 
 themselves and their people. Job xxxix. 19 — 25 ; Ex. xv. 1 ; 
 Josh. xi. 6 ; Deut. xvii. 16 ; xx. 1 — 4 ; Judg. v. 15 ; 2 Sam. 
 viii. 4 ; Isa. ii. 7 ; Hos. xiv. 3. Bp. Sherlock. (Dissertation 4, 
 appended to his Discourses on the use and intent of Pro- 
 phecy.) 
 6 Among many other circumstances, related by the Evangelists, 
 all worthy of our serious consideration, this one in my mind is 
 most remarkable ; that the owners of the ass and of the colt^ 
 or the neighbourhood then present, should suffer them to be 
 untied and carried away, before they saw the disciples' warrant 
 so to do, subscribed by their Master's hand. But warrant 
 they had none, save only Parroll {parole, word) — And, if any 
 man say unto you, Why do ye this ? say ye, that the Lord hath 
 need of him. Had not this Loed, whose authority they 
 avouched, been a greater King than His father David ; had not 
 His power and authority, not over their goods only, but over 
 
268 S. MAEK XI. 6, 8. 
 
 their minds and consciences, been more than monarchical ; He 
 could not so plainly and so peremptorily have fore-prophesied 
 de futuris contingentibus, or given His disciples full assurance 
 that the owners oi \hQ^e> juments (beasts) should do as He fore- 
 told they would do — And straightway he will send him hither. 
 This was an Oracle of the same Gron, of the same power and 
 authority, which informed David that the men of Keilah (1 Sam. 
 xxiii.) would betray him into Saul's hands, if he did commit 
 himself to their trust. The men of Keilah were prevented 
 from doing that, which the Searcher of all hearts saw they 
 were intended or bent to do. But these men did, as the Loed 
 foretold they should do, when they intended no such matter. 
 Gen. i. 3 ; S. Matt. viii. 8 ; Acts iv. 28. Dean Jackson. (On 
 the Creed. B. viii. ch. xviii. s. 1.) 
 
 They said unto them even as jEsrs had commanded. — The Divine 
 glory shone from time to time through the assumed Humanity : 
 the two natures in Christ gave illustration and testimony to 
 each other ; *' like the Sun," as Bp. J. Tajdor observes, " shin- 
 ing through a cloud, or a beauty with a thin veil drawn over it." 
 He, who thus cometh unto Jerusalem, " meek and sitting upon 
 an ass," shows Himself to be the Omniscient Gron, who " under- 
 standeth our thoughts long before," (Ps. cxxxix. 1 — 3 ;) the 
 Omnipotent God, in whose hand are the hearts of all men. He 
 could have summoned all the Angels in heaven, and all the 
 Kings of the earth to do Him service, if only " the Lord 
 had need of them ;" but His religion was far from asking any 
 such support ; it was begun, continued, and perfected in the 
 power of a Divine Humility, i. 13; S. Matt. iii. 13 — 17; 
 xxvi. 53; S. Luke ii. 13, 14; xxii. 51; S. John xviii. 6,36; 
 2 Cor. xiii. 4. (See Bp. Brownrig. Illustr. of S. Matt. xiii. 
 55.) J. F. 
 
 Hie* suum didicit quondam objurgare magistrum : 
 
 Et quid, ni discas tu celebrare tuum ? 
 Mirum non minus est te jam potuisse tacere, 
 Ilium quam fuerat tum potuisse loqui. 
 
 Ric. Crashaw. (Epigr. Sacra.) 
 
 8 Let us take warning from that fickle multitude, who cried, first, 
 
 * Balaami asinus. 
 
S. MAEK XI. 8. 269 
 
 . Hosanna, then, Crucify ! A miracle started them into a sudden 
 adoration of their Saviotje ; its effect upon them soon died 
 away. And thus the special mercies of God sometimes excite 
 us for a season. We feel Cheist speaking to us through our 
 consciences and hearts ; and we fancy He is assuring us we are 
 His true servants, when He is but calling us to receive Him. 
 Let us not be content with saying, "Loed, Loed," without 
 " doing the things, which He says." The husbandman's son, 
 who said, " I go, Sir," yet went not to the vineyard, gained 
 nothing by his fair words. One secret act of self-denial, one 
 sacrifice of inclination to duty is worth all the mere good 
 thoughts, warm feelings, passionate prayers, in which idle people 
 indulge themselves . . . By good actions we shall be judged at 
 the last day ; and, though they have no worth in themselves, 
 by reason of that infection of sin, which gives its character to 
 everything we do, yet they will be accepted for His sake, who 
 bore the agony in the garden, and suffered, as a sinner, on the 
 cross, iv. 16, 17 ; Ps. Ixviii. 10 ; S. Matt. vii. 21—26 ; S. John 
 XV. 8. J. H. Newman. (Serm. on S. Mark xiv. 31.) 
 Sternite fronde vias, et pictis compita velis, 
 Spargite serta manu, date thura, incendite odores : 
 Purpurea passim florentes luce fenestrse 
 Luxurient, vincantque suis funalia solem 
 Ignibus. In cantus et verba precantia voces 
 Effundant liquidas pueri innuptseque puellse 
 Certatim ; festi resonent toto sethere plausus : 
 Victor adest, Deus ! ecce Deus ! Non qualis opaca 
 Nube vehens olim Zephyros per inane jugales 
 Cum tonitru ciet, et tristes denunciat iras 
 Grentibus, inque reos coelo gravis ingruit ultor : 
 Sed felix placidusque Suis, et dignus amari ; 
 Ingreditur famulas populis laetantibus urbes, 
 His Secum referens pacalis munus olivse. 
 
 loan. Commirius. (Idyllia Sacra.) 
 
 We should meet Cheist by keeping innocency; bear olive by 
 
 doing works of mercy ; carry palms by conquering the devil and 
 
 our vices : green leaves and flowers we carry, if we be adorned 
 
 with virtues ; and we strew our garments in the way, when by 
 
270 S. MARK XI. 9. 
 
 mortification we put off the old man. S. Luke ii. 49 ; Isa. Ixiv. 
 5. S. Bernard. 
 
 9 And they that went before, and they that followed, 
 cried, saymg, Hosanna ; Blessed is He that cometh in 
 the Name of the Lord ; 
 
 10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, 
 that cometh in the Name of the Lord : Hosanna in 
 the highest. 
 
 1 1 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the 
 temple : and when He had looked round about upon 
 all things, and now the eventide was come, He went 
 out unto Bethany with the twelve. 
 
 9 All the Psalms of David are comprised in two words, Halle- 
 lujah and Hosanna ; that is, Blessed be GtOD, or GrOD Bless ! 
 Guenard. 
 
 Blessed is He, ^c. — What good can we wish Him, that He hath 
 not ? Bonormn nostrorum non eget, saith the Psalmist (xvi. 2) 
 nor benedictionwn neither. We can add nothing to Him by 
 our henedictus. (S. Luke i. 68.) Say we it, say we it not. He 
 is blessed alike. True, to Him we cannot wish, not to His 
 Person, but to His Name we can ; and He is blessed, when 
 His Name is blessed. (Ps. cxlviii. 12, 13 ; S. Matt. vi. 9.) We 
 can wish His Name more blessedly used, and not in cursing, 
 and cursing others, as daily we hear it. And to His Word we 
 can ; we can wish it more devoutly heard, and not, as a few 
 strains of wit, as our manner is. (Ezek. xxxiii. 32.) Yea, 
 even to His Person we can. There is a way to do that ; inas- 
 much as He and His Church are now grown into one, and 
 make but One Person : what is said, or done to it, is said or 
 done to Himself; bless it, and He will be blessed. (Ps. cxxii. 
 7 — 9.) In a word then ; to bless God, is to wish His Name 
 may be glorious ; to wish His Word may be prosperous, to 
 wish His Church may be happy. By wearing of which Name, 
 and by hearing of which Word, and by being in, and of which, 
 
S. MARK XI. 9—11. 271 
 
 Churcli, we receive the blessing here upon earth, that shall 
 make us for ever blessed in heaven. Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. 
 on 1 S. Pet. i. 3, 4.) 
 The faith of the holy Jews, under the Law, and of the holy G-en- 
 tiles, under the Gospel, was one and the same. They, that 
 went before Cheist, in the one, and they ihd^t followed Christ, 
 in the other, did both cry, " Hosanna to the Son of David;" 
 did both obtain salvation by the same Saviotjr, and by the 
 same way.* Eph. ii. 18. Br. Lightfoot. (Serm. on S. Luke 
 i. 17.) 
 
 10 He would enter Jerusalem with Hosannas, as if, when He 
 went to His death, He went to His triumph. Tobit xiii. 18 ; 
 S. Luke xii. 50 ; S. John xvii. 1 ; Col. ii. 14, 15. Charnock. 
 
 'Tis observable, that Christ is described by the prophet, not only 
 as coming in a way of humility, but also in the very terms, 
 which He Himself makes use of, when He exhorts us to learn 
 that virtue of Him. " Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, 
 thy King cometh unto thee lowly (meek) and riding upon an 
 ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass" — a poor procession for 
 a King, were not Humility a greater triumph than all the state 
 and magnificence of the world. S. Matt. xi. 29 ; S. John xviii. 
 36. Norris. (Practical Treatise on Humility, ch. 10.) 
 
 A King, not of this world, though over it ; ruling, not in external 
 pomp and state, but by secret Providence and power ; not so 
 much over the bodies and temporal estates, as in the hearts and 
 consciences of men ; not chiefly by outward compulsion and 
 violence, but by inward allurement and persuasion. Rev. v. 
 13 ; xix. 16. Dr. Barrow. 
 
 On the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, preceding His G-ood 
 Friday and Easter, our Lord went to the Temple, (xi. 11, 15, 
 27.) Learn from this, what is the best preparation for the 
 pains of death, and also for the joy and glory of the resurrec- 
 tion from the dead. Ps. Ixxiii. 15 — 17 ; Ixxxiv. 6, 7. J. F. 
 
 11 Looking round upon all things, as one, who was Lord of all. 
 Acts vii. 49, 50. (See /. F. Acts xvii. 23.) Isid. Clarius. 
 
 * See a like beautiful Illustration of this incident, by the Hon. E. Boyle, 
 at S. Matt. xxi. 9. 
 
272 S. MARK XI. 13, 14. 
 
 12 And on the morrow, when they were come from 
 Bethany, He was hungry : 
 
 1 3 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He 
 came, if haply He might find any thing thereon ; and 
 when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves ; 
 for the time of figs was not yet. 
 
 14 And Jesus answered and said unto it. No man 
 eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And His disciples 
 heard it. 
 
 13 Two usual faults doth GrOD find witli any vicious tree — no 
 fruit, ill fruit ; the one, in omission of good ; the other, in com- 
 mission of sin. The fig-tree in the way is cursed for the one; 
 Israel here taxed for the other. S. Matt. xxv. 35, 36 ; S. Luke 
 iii. 9 ; Heb. vi. 8. Bp. Hall. (Serm. on Isa. v. 4, 5.) 
 
 Trees have their seasons at certain times of the year, when they 
 bring forth fruit ; but a Christian is for all seasons ; like " the 
 tree of life," which " bringeth forth fruit every month." (Rev. 
 xxii. 2.) Christ looked for fruit on the fig-tree, when the time 
 of fruit was not yet. Why ? Did not Christ know the season 
 for fruit ? Christus nesciebat, quod rusticus sciebat ? Quod 
 noverit arboris cultor, non noverat arboris Creator P saith Augus- 
 tine. Did not Christ know that, which every one knows, when 
 fruit is in season ? or, did He it " altogether for our sakes ?" 
 (1 Cor. ix. 10.) For our sakes, no doubt, He did it, to teach us 
 that Christians must always be fruitful ; the whole time of our 
 life is the season for fruitfulness. 1 Cor. xv. 58, Bp. Brownrig, 
 (Serm. on 1 Cor. xv. 58.) 
 
 He was deceived in the fig-tree, which He went to for fruit, and 
 found none, and so showed the infirmity of a human ignorance ; 
 but withal immediately did manifest His Divine power in dry- 
 ing it up from the roots. S. Matt. iv. 2. Bp. Reynolds. 
 (Serm. on S. Matt. xvi. 24.) 
 
 14 It is observed that in the v/hole narrative of our Saviour's 
 life no passage is related of Him low or weak, but it is imme- 
 diately seconded, and, as it were, corrected by another high 
 
S. MAEK XI. 14. 273 
 
 and miraculous. No sooner was Cheist humbled to a manger, 
 but the contempt of the place was took off with the glory of 
 the attendance in the ministration of Angels. His submission 
 to that mean and coarse ceremony of circumcision was enno- 
 bled with the public attestation of Simeon concerning Him : 
 His fasting and temptation attended with another service of 
 Angels : His Baptism with a glorious recognition by a Voice 
 from Heaven. When He seemed to show weakness in seeking 
 fruit upon that fig-tree^ which had none, He manifested His 
 power by cursing it to deadness with a word : when He seemed 
 to be overpowered at His attachment — (or. His apprehension 
 in the garden) — He then exerted His mightiness in causing 
 His armed adversaries to fall backwards, and healing Malchus' 
 ear with a touch. When He underwent the lash, and violent 
 infamy of crucifixion and death, then did the Universal frame 
 of nature give testimony to His Divinity ; the Temple rending, 
 the Sun darkening, and the earth quaking, the whole Creation 
 seemed to sympathize with His Passion. And when afterwards 
 He seemed to be in the very kingdom and dominion of death, 
 by descending into the grave. He quickly confuted the disho- 
 nour of that, by an astonishing Eesurrection, and, by an argu- 
 ment ex abundanti, proved the Divinity of His person, over 
 and over, in an equally miraculous Ascension, xi. 7 — 10; Eom. 
 i. 3, 4 ; 2 Cor. xi. 30 ; xiii. 14 ; Heb. xi. 34. Br. South. (Serm. 
 on Eph. iv. 10.) 
 
 Our most merciful Loed, who expressed His everlasting bounties 
 towards us by numberless miracles, with one Miracle only,* 
 (and that, not in the case of a man, but of an insensible tree,) 
 denoted the severity of His judgment against unprofitable men ; 
 that we might be certain of this fact, that barrenness in good 
 works is punished by the withholding of that Grace, which 
 causes to fructify. Isa. xxviii. 1 ; Ps. cxlv. 8, 9 ; S. John xv. 6. 
 Grotius. 
 
 That, which does no service to Christ, is found unworthy to 
 render service to man. S. Luke iii. 9. Bengel. 
 
 * The excellent Grotius forgets 
 here the miraciilous destruction of the 
 herd of swine (v. 13). B\it, as the 
 
 fig-tree here was already barren, so 
 the traffic in swine was illegal. 
 
274 S. MARK XI. 15, 16. 
 
 1 5 And they come to Jerusalem : and Jesus went 
 into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold 
 and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of 
 the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold 
 doves : 
 
 1 6 And would not suffer that any man should carry 
 any vessel through the temple. 
 
 17 And He taught, saying unto them. Is it not 
 written. My house shall be called of all nations the 
 house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of 
 thieves. 
 
 1 8 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and 
 sought how they might destroy Him : for they feared 
 Him, because all the people was astonished at His 
 doctrine. 
 
 19 And when even was come. He went out of the 
 city. 
 
 15 Who are they, in the Temple of God, at the present time,* 
 who sell doves, if not those, who in the Church accept a bribe 
 for the " laying on of their hands ?" The dove then is sold, 
 when hands are laid on for a price in money ; for it is then that 
 the Spirit is conferred for the office of the Ministry. S. Matt. 
 iii. 16 ; Acts viii. 18—21 ; 1 Tim. iii. 3. Bede. 
 
 Can we hesitate in feeling, that the cleansing of a Temple, so soon 
 to be laid waste, was not the principal object, our Lord pro- 
 posed to Himself in thus acting P He meant to enunciate, and 
 mark strongly and emphatically, the germ of a great principle — 
 Beverence for Holy Places. Lev. x. 3 ; Ex. iii. 5 ; Ps. Ixxxix. 
 8. C. C. Bartholomew. (Consecr. Serm. on text.) 
 
 Who will venture to deny the exceeding enormity of that offence 
 which a Prince deems it right to punish with his own hand ? 
 God drove our guilty first parents from the garden ; but it 
 
 * A.D. 703. 
 
S. MARK XI. 15, 16. 275 
 
 was done by the intervention of an Angel. He chased the 
 Canaanites from their land; but He did it by an army of 
 hornets. . . . By the hand of an Angel He struck down the 
 army of the Assyrians ; and brought low the pride of Herod, 
 assuming to himself the honour, which belongeth unto Gron. 
 Only in the case of those, who profane Sacred places, do I see 
 Christ, Him, that is, who on all other occasions was so mild 
 and gentle, coming forth and taking the rod in His own hand. 
 What a monstrous, what an intolerable crime must this be — 
 the profanation of Holy places ! 2 Chron. vii. 12 ; Isa. xxvi. 
 21 ; Mai. iii. 1,2; Zeph. iii. 4 ; 1 Cor. xi. 22. Segneri. (Qua- 
 resimale. Pred. xxiii. s. 1.) 
 
 Our Savioijb overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and 
 would not suffer them to carry burdens through the Temple, 
 though for the use of those, that sacrificed; a thing, which 
 had some shew of religion in it. He whipt both out ; not only 
 those, that had residence there, but those, that passed through. 
 He would suffer none but those, who could justify what they 
 did by the Law. Now, as God would not have sin lodge and 
 make its abode in the soul, so He would not have it made a 
 thoroughfare for sin. He would not have vain thoughts come 
 up and down in the heart. Ab}^. Usher. (Serm. on Q-al. vi. 
 3,4.) 
 
 16 Would not suffer, ^c. — "We must know, that the least degree of 
 contempt weakens religion ; because it is absolutely contrary 
 to the nature of it ; religion properly consisting of reverential 
 esteem for things Sacred. Eccl. v. 1. Br. South. 
 
 Is it not written ? — Whensoever any order given by God is broken, 
 or abused, the best redress thereof is, to restore it again into 
 the state, that it was first in, at the beginning, vii. 10 ; x. 6 ; 
 1 Cor. xi. 2, 23. Bj). Jewel. (Serm. on 1 Cor. xi. 23.) 
 
 The Jewish temple was properly a house of sacrifice, and not a 
 house of prayer ; for which last purpose there is no express 
 precept in the Law. . . . The scope of the prophecy, Isaiah 
 Ivi. 3 — 8, and the Greek text itself, clearly shows that our 
 version of S. Mark xi. 17, ought to have been rendered thus — 
 My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the Gentiles. 
 The action oi casting out them that sold, ^c, is used, as expres- 
 
 T 2 
 
276 S. MAEK XI. 16. 
 
 sive of our Loed's design ; and His design is clearly ascertained 
 , by applying to Himself the express words of Isaiah. The whole 
 then is a prophetic information, by way of action, of the genius 
 of Christianity, which was to extend its benefits, even to the 
 Grentiles. Hos. xii. .10; 1 Kings xxii. 11 ; S. Matt. x. 14 ; S. 
 Luke V. 6 ; S, Mark xi. 14. Bp. Hurd. (Discourse, by way of 
 Commentary, on this action of our Lokd.) 
 Bitterly have I wept, on my reflecting, that, when your fellow 
 
 I mortal is preaching, how conspicuous is the zeal, resistless the 
 
 . j enthusiasm, of the crowds pressing against each other, and con- 
 tinuing to hear to the end ; but, when Cheist is to be exhi- 
 bited in the mysteries, when your God is to be revealed, the 
 Church is empty, forsaken, desolate ! Oh, how can this be 
 
 f pardoned ? . . . Ye will tell me ; I can pray at home, but at 
 home I cannot hear the Homily. My friend, thou hast de- 
 ceived thyself. To pray at home is possible ; but to pray, as in 
 the Church thou wouldst, where so many elders are assembled, 
 where, on devotion's wing ten thousand supplications ascend 
 together, this is not possible. Thou canst not by thyself in- 
 
 / voke thy Loed so fervently, as when in company with thy 
 brethren. Here there are superior incitements — the union of 
 voices, the unity of hearts, the bonds of love, the supplications 
 
 i of the priest. For this purpose the Ministers of heaven stand 
 foremost, that the prayers of the multitude, inefficient in them- 
 
 i selves, may be aided by their more powerful petitions, and be 
 
 ■ made acceptable to God. Ineffectual were the Homily, if un- 
 accompanied by prayer; first prayer, and then instruction. 
 
 f Thus the Apostles say, " Let us persevere in prayer, and in 
 the teaching of the word." (Acts vi. 4.) This is the conduct 
 of Paul, who prays in the beginning of the Epistles ; that so the 
 
 I light of prayer, like a lamp, may usher in his discourse. !Rom. 
 i. 7 ; 1 Cor. i. 3 ; 2 Cor. i. 2 ; 1 Tim. ii. 1—3. S. Chrysostom. 
 (Orat. v. On the Incomprehensible Nature of God. Transl. 
 Boyd.) 
 
 20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they 
 saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 
 
S. MAEK XI. 20—22. 277 
 
 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto 
 Him, Master, behold, the fig tree which Thou cursedst 
 is withered away. 
 
 22 And Jesus answering saith unto them. Have 
 faith in God. 
 
 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall 
 say unto this mountain. Be thou removed, and be thou 
 cast into the sea : and shall not doubt in his heart, but 
 shall believe that those things which he saith shall 
 come to pass ; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 
 
 24 Therefore I say unto you. What things soever ye 
 desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and 
 ye shall have them. 
 
 20 The creature cannot hold up itself ; much less contribute to 
 the subsistence of other things, unless God continue the 
 influence of His blessing upon it. As soon as Christ had 
 cursed the fig-tree, it presently withered and dried up from the 
 roots ; to show that it was not the root alone, but the blessing 
 of Cheist, which did support the fig-tree. Ps. civ. 27 — 30 ; 
 S. Matt. iv. 4; S. John x. 10. Bp. Reynolds. (Serm. on 
 Eccl. i. 14.) 
 
 21 Sterilitas nostra in Jicu vapulat. Christ whips our fruitless - 
 ness in the innocent fig-tree ; like as the manner was among 
 the Persians, when their great men had off'ended, to take their 
 garments and beat them. Ezek. xxiv. 24. John Hales. (Serm. 
 on Bom. xiv. 1.) 
 
 It may be truly and emphatically said, while we look upon it to- 
 day, the trees of the G-entiles have been long since clad with 
 verdure ; but the fig-tree of Jerusalem has remained, as our 
 Saviour left it, for a warning to them all. The hand of man 
 has been found all too powerless to cut it down. There it has 
 stood through all the changes of time, as though, but yester- 
 day, it had been visited by the curse of GrOD. Jer. xxiii. 40 ; 
 S. Luke xxi. 24. W. Adam. (Warnings of the Holy Week.) 
 
 22 The proper signification of the dried-up fig-tree was the 
 
278 S. MARK XI. 23, 24. 
 
 rejection of the Jews ; but this was a doctrine, which the 
 Apostles were not yet " able to bear :" our Lord therefore, in 
 His wisdom and grace, placed a secondary construction on the 
 incident, and enforced a lesson, such as we need always to 
 learn, on the power of Faith ; and that lesson is followed by 
 another of like importance, on the necessity of Love. Verse 
 25. S. John xvi. 12 ; Acts xiii. 40, 41, 46 ; Gal. v. 6. J. F. 
 
 23 (Conf.- ix. 23.) — Hyperboles, with which the Scriptures 
 abound, are not to be taken, according to the letter ; but the 
 thing intended is to be taken at the higher pitch. . . . When 
 the Jews would speak of the high parts and qualities of their 
 great ones, they used to say, " He is a remover of mountains." 
 . . . Christ useth this common phrase, to face that wretched 
 boasting of their's of their own parts and worth, and to set up 
 Faith in its proper dignity, as that, which is only able for all 
 things. S. Luke iii. 5 ; xi. 22. Dr. Lightfoot. (Harm, of 
 the New Test. P. i. s. 74.) 
 
 The mountain of sin shall fall flat at the feet of the faithful man, 
 and shall be removed into the sea — the sea of Christ's Blood, 
 and penitential waters. Zech. iv. 7 ; Micah vii. 19. Bp. J. 
 Taylor. 
 
 They, who trust in GrOD, put off their own weakness, and take, 
 in exchange, the strength of G-od. (Isa. xl. 31, "renew;" 
 change, marg.) Heb. xi. 34. S. Augustine, 
 
 Whatsoever thing, 8(c. — In praying, whatever words we employ, 
 either as bespeaking, and giving utterance to, the preconceived 
 affections of our minds, or as tending to enlarge the same, we 
 declare none other thing, than what is prescribed in the 
 Lord's Prayer, if we pray properly, and in due order. S. 
 Augustine. (Ep. ad Probam. 121.) 
 
 Te desire. — We are apt to acquiesce in the bare act of prayer, 
 and can be well enough content, all our lives, to go without 
 the spiritual good things we pray for. The case is plain ; we 
 do not desire them. S. Matt. v. 6. Adam. (Private Thoughts, 
 c. i.) 
 
 24 He doth not say, " believe that ye shall receive them," but 
 that you do receive them ; which plainly shows what kind of 
 faith it is, that Ho requires of us, even such a faith, as is the 
 
S. MARK XI. 24. 279 
 
 very "substance of the things, we hope for," (Heb. xi. 1), 
 and gives a present being and substance to them. . . . Paith 
 is also "the evidence of things not seen." As by it we enjoy 
 what God hath promised, so by it we behold what He hath 
 revealed to us, though never so much above our reason, or 
 beyond our sight. Whatsoever He hath recorded, as done 
 heretofore, whatsoever He hath foretold shall come to pass 
 hereafter, whatsoever He hath asserted, or propounded to us, 
 as a truth, in His holy Scriptures, how remote soever it may 
 seem to our sense, or sight, by faith we are as certain of it, as 
 if we saw it before our eyes ; for faith, like a prospective, 
 represents things afar off, as if they were just at hand ; it 
 regards not the distance of time, or place, nor the seeming 
 impossibility of the thing propounded, but it respecteth the 
 testimony of Him, "who cannot lie," therefore only believing 
 what He hath said, because He hath said it ; and therefore it 
 cannot but possess the soul with a fuller conviction, a greater 
 certainty, a deeper sense, a clearer evidence of what is so 
 attested, than all other arguments and demonstrations in the 
 world besides can do, whether they be drawTi from sense, or 
 reason : for our senses may deceive us, and so may our reason 
 too ; but God is of that infinite wisdom, that it is impossible 
 He should be deceived Himself, and of that infinite truth and 
 goodness, that it is impossible He should deceive us : and 
 therefore our faith, being grounded only on His infallible 
 testimony, cannot but create in us the highest evidence and 
 the strongest persuasion imaginable of what He hath so 
 attested ; so that what the eye is to the body, that is faith to 
 the soul — that, whereby it seeth, or perceiveth whatsoever is 
 presented to it in the word of God. S. Luke xviii. 1 — 8; 
 Heb. xi. 27; 2 Cor. v. 18; S. John viii. 56; Gal. iii. 1. Bp, 
 Beveridge. (Serm. on 2 Cor. v. 7.) 
 Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a 
 mine, which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a 
 haven unruffled by the storm ; it is the root, the fountain, and 
 the mother, of a thousand thousand blessings. It transcends 
 a monarch's power. ... I speak not of the prayer, which is 
 cold, and feeble, and devoid of energy ; I speak of that, which 
 
280 S. MAKK XI. 25. 
 
 proceeds from a mind out-stretched; the child of a contrite 
 spirit ; the offspring of a soul converted : this is the prayer, 
 
 which mounteth to the heavens The power of prayer 
 
 hath subdued the strength of fire ; it hath bridled the rage of 
 lions ; hushed anarchy to rest ; extinguished wars ; appeased 
 the elements ; expelled demons ; burst the chains of death ; 
 expanded the gates of heaven ; assuaged diseases ; repelled 
 frauds ; rescued cities from destruction ; it hath stayed the 
 sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunder- 
 bolt ; in a word, it hath destroyed whatever is an enemy to 
 man. I repeat, that I speak not of the prayer engendered by 
 the lips, but of that, which ascends from the recesses of the 
 heart. S. John iv. 24 ; S. Luke xi. 1 ; S. James v. 16. S. 
 Chrysostom. (Orat. iii. on the Incomprehensible Nature of 
 GrOD. Transl. Boyd.) 
 
 25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have 
 ought against any ; that your Father also which is in 
 heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 
 
 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your 
 Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. 
 
 25 Dr. Lightfoot states (Exercit. S. Matt. vi. 3, 5,) on the 
 authority of Maimonides, that it was required of the Jews at 
 their devotions, that he that prayeth, stand ; that he turn his 
 face towards Jerusalem ; that he cover his head ; and that he 
 fix his eyes downwards. Instead of this outward bodily service 
 Jesus simply commanded to pray in Faith and in Charity. 
 What a reformation was this ! S. Matt. vi. 1 — 8, 14. J. F. 
 
 Let us consider, what we do ; and consider, what we say. Do we 
 desire to be forgiven, no otherwise ? Do we exact every little 
 ignorance, and grow warm at every mistake ? And are we 
 angry at an unavoidable chance ? Would we have Gon to do 
 so to us, and forgive us in no other manner, than as we do ; 
 that is, turn His anger into every shape, and smite us in every 
 part ? . . . And yet it is certain, there is nothing in the 
 world easier, than to forgive an injury. It costs us nothing. 
 
S. MARK XL 25, 26. 281 
 
 after it is once suiFered; and, if our passions and foolish 
 principles would give us leave to understand it, tlie precise 
 duty of forgiveness is a perfect negative ; it is a letting things 
 alone, as they are, and making no more evils in the world, in 
 which already there was one too many, even that, which thou 
 didst suffer. And, indeed that forgiveness is the best, which 
 is the most perfect negative, that is, " in malice be ye children ;" 
 whose petty quarrels, though they be fierce, as a sudden spark, 
 yet they are as innocent, as the softest part of their own flesh, 
 and as soon out, as that sudden spark, and forgotten perfectly, 
 as their first dream : and that is true forgiveness ; and without 
 this we can never pray with just and perfect confidence and 
 expectations. S. Matt. v. 23, 24; xviii. 3. Bp. J. Taylor. 
 (The "Worthy Communicant. C. v. s. 4.) 
 
 Anger is a passion, which, if it be long cherished, excutit 
 Spiritum, drives away the Spirit. Por how canst thou think 
 that the dove-like Spirit of Gron will reside, where the heart 
 remains full of gall ? or, that the celestial flame of Divine love 
 should burn bright and clear, where there are so many thick 
 fumes and vapours rising up to damp and choke it ? Canst 
 thou, in faith, pray for forgiveness, who dost not thyself 
 forgive ? Eph. iv. 26 ; 1 Tim. ii. 8. Bp. Hopkins. (Expos, 
 of the 6th Commandment.) 
 
 Pax tibi sit, quicunque Dei penetralia Christi 
 Pectore pacifico candidus ingrederis. 
 
 (Conf. Illustr. Acts viii. 28. Paulinus.) Anonym. 
 (See Bingham. Eccl. Ant. viii. 8. 4.) 
 
 26 "What an inconsistency! to seek reconciliation with God, 
 while we ourselves are unreconciled to our neighbours ! — to 
 seek to have our own sins remitted, while we retain the sins of 
 others ! How can he, who is " angry with his brother," hope 
 to please Gron, since from the very beginning all such anger is 
 prohibited? G-en. iv. 6; Isa. i. 10—15. TertuUian. (See 
 Hare. Illustr. S. Matt. vi. 12.) 
 
 There is this difference found in the Scriptures between promises 
 called affirmative, such as that, " He that believeth and is bap- 
 tized shall be saved," and its negative, "He that believeth not 
 shall be damned," that the negative are to be understood inde- 
 
282 
 
 S. MARK XI. 26. 
 
 finitely. Hence it is certain, that not to believe is enongli in 
 itself to cause damnation : but the affirmative are always to be 
 understood with this qualification — provided other things ac- 
 company it. And so it is evident, that to believe and to be 
 baptized is not enough to cause Salvation ; but that, besides 
 this, we must act according to our belief and our baptismal 
 profession, should life be spared to us. In like manner, if you 
 don't forgive your debtors their debts, it is quite clear that 
 GrOD will not forgive you yours ; inasmuch as this is of the 
 nature of a negative statement ; and therefore it is understood 
 indefinitely. But it is not enough, to make God forgive you 
 your trespasses, that you should have forgiven those, who have 
 trespassed against you, inasmuch as this is an affirmative state- 
 ment ; and therefore to be received with the proviso of other 
 things accompanying it, that you are chaste, temperate, &c. 
 Segneri. (Manna of the Soul. Oct. 25.) 
 
 Si repetes, repetet ; si durus es, Ille rogantem 
 
 Abjiciet, fusas conteret atque preces. 
 In reliquis exempla tibi namque omnibus Ille 
 
 Prsebet ; at hic sequitur quod prior ipse facis. 
 Utque solet speculum, quas cepit, reddere formas, 
 
 ^qua ita lanx lanci Dia futura tua est. 
 
 Ecclus. xxviii. 1 — 3.* 
 
 27 And they come again to Jerusalem : and as He 
 was walking in the temple, there come to Him the 
 chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders. 
 
 28 And say unto Him, By what authority doest 
 Thou these things ? and who gave Thee this authority 
 to do these things ? 
 
 * These lines are quoted by Bp. J. 
 Taylor in His "Worthy Communi- 
 cant," with the vague reference, An- 
 tholog. Bill, appended to them. But 
 certainly they are not to be found in 
 
 the Anthologia Sacra of Jacobus 
 BillittSj though they bear strong and 
 evident marks of his poetical style, 
 and turn of thought. 
 
S. MAEK XI. 28. 283 
 
 29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will 
 also ask of you one question, and answer Me, and I 
 will tell you by what authority I do these things. 
 
 30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of 
 men ? answer Me. 
 
 31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying. If 
 we shall say. From heaven ; He will say. Why then 
 did ye not believe him ? 
 
 32 But if we shall say, Of men ; they feared the 
 people ; for all men counted John, that he was a pro- 
 phet indeed. 
 
 33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We 
 cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them. 
 Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these 
 things. 
 
 28 Bi/ what authority, ^c. — Had they been true to their office, or 
 to themselves, they needed not to have asked this question. 
 They had possessed long since abundant means of knowing the 
 Divine authority both of the Loed's Ministry and of S. John's 
 baptism. But their carnal passions prevented them from ac- 
 knowledging the first ; while their cowardly fears, the offspring 
 of a bad conscience, brought them into a dilemma, respecting 
 the last. Do we see nothing like this among ourselves ? Ee- 
 ceived truths are disputed ; things certain are treated, as un- 
 certainties ; old objections, often refuted, are revived ; questions 
 are raised, where the clearest light and evidence have long 
 supplied an answer, adequate to the conviction of every honest 
 mind : but men refuse to be convinced ; they harden them- 
 selves in error ; because of their lusts, they " love to have it 
 so ;" while some even venture to hope, that their supposed 
 inability to believe, which is their condemnation, will serve, as 
 an extenuation of their general guilt, at the last Day. How 
 awful, in these respects, are the warnings of the Loed ! " Yet 
 
284 S. MARK XI. 30, 32. 
 
 a little while is the light with you ; walk while ye have the 
 light, lest darkness come upon you." "Whosoever hath not, 
 from him shall be taken away even that he hath." " If the 
 light, that is in thee, be darkness, how great is that darkness !" 
 Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things ! Jer. 
 xiii. 16 ; Ezek. xiv. 1—5 ; S. Luke xxii. m, 67. J. F. 
 
 30 Concerning the baptism of John, the Pharisees could give no 
 certain answer, as persons, who could not understand, because 
 they would not believe. We, according to the scanty measure 
 of our understanding, proportioned to that of our faith, quantuld 
 fide sumus^ tantido et intellectu possumus estimare, account his 
 baptism to have been from heaven, not however in power, but 
 by command, (for we read that S. John was sent by God for 
 this same office) ; cceterum humanum conditioner being, neverthe- 
 less, in its nature, human. For it imparted nothing heavenly, 
 but fore-ministered to heavenly things, pcenitentice scilicet prcE- 
 posituSi as set over the work of repentance, which is in man's 
 power . . . But if repentance be of men, the baptism of repent- 
 ance must also be of the same nature ; otherwise, had it been 
 of heaven, it would give both the Holt Spieit and remission 
 of sins. But it is Gron alone, who can remit sins, or bestow 
 the Holy Spirit. (S. Mark ii. 7.) Now the Loed Himself 
 expressly declared, that the Holy Spieit would not descend, 
 until after His own Ascension. (S. John xvi. 17.) Shall the 
 servant, forsooth, be able to bestow, what the Loed did not, as 
 yet, give ? E?'ffo non erat cceleste, quod ccelestia non exhibebat. 
 Wherefore that was not " of heaven," which gave not heavenly 
 things. It was " a baptism of repentance," as it were, a can- 
 didate for remission and sanctification, which was to follow 
 in Cheist. S. John iii. 31 ; Acts x. 37 ; xix. 2. Tertullian. 
 (De Baptismo. c. 10.) 
 
 32 All men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. — The ap- 
 pearance of sanctity, put on by every impostor, is a proof of 
 the influence it hath, when genuine and unaffected, over the 
 minds of men. The preacher will always be attended, who 
 conforms to his own doctrine, and exemplifies it in his 
 life, be that doctrine ever so rigid. S. Matt. iii. 5, 6; vii. 
 
S. MAEK XI. 32, 33. 285 
 
 29 ; Acts xi. 24. Bp. Home. (On the Hfe of S. Jolin the 
 Baptist, s. 5.) 
 
 The virtue, which is not sustained by gravity, obtains no authority 
 among men. S. Matt. v. 2 ; vii. 29 ; Eph. v. 4 ; 1 Tim. iii. 4. 
 Confucius. 
 
 All men. — 
 
 Si quis in hoc mundo cunctis vult gratus haberi, 
 Det, capiat, quaerat — plurima, pauca, nihil. 
 
 Yerses written by Archbishojj Leighton on the 
 margin of his copy of "Thesaurus Biblicus." 
 
 83 We cannot tell. — Thus, O my gracious Loed, Thou bestowest 
 Thy time and labour on a froward generation, that study no- 
 thing but to escape Thy pressing arguments, and shuffle off the 
 truth, when they see it convinces them. They could no longer 
 object against Thy doctrine, and now they quarrel at Thy 
 authority, though they see Thy miracles, and none of them 
 could convince Thee of sin. Deliver us, O God, from debasing 
 our reason to serve our passion, and from abusing both to de- 
 fend our wickedness. S. John iii. 19 — 21 ; Acts vii. 51 ; 2 Tim. 
 iii. 1—9 ; S. Matt. xxv. 24—30. Austin. (Med. 219.) 
 
 A direct answer to this question apparently reasonable, and 
 urged by those, who had authority to exact it, must have im- 
 maturely revealed what the destined Ministry of Jesus made 
 necessary to be kept secret. And yet, to evade the question 
 in such a manner, as was sufficient to satisfy authority, needed 
 all that Divine prudence, with which the Author of our Salva- 
 tion was endowed. He therefore replies ; " First, answer Me 
 this question concerning John."" The question was reasonable, 
 considered in the view of an argument ad hominem : it was 
 reasonable from the force, it had in itself. For, if it should 
 appear, that that question had not been determined in the case 
 of John, it was evident from their own conduct that the juris- 
 diction of the Sanhedrim was not violated by any man's de- 
 clining to answer one of the same import. Further, the 
 question was reasonable and proper in itself. John publicly 
 professed himself the forerunner of Jesus ; so that, if it were 
 necessary for the Sanhedrim to come to the true knowledge of 
 
286 S. MARK XI. 33. 
 
 the general case, they should have begun with John. This the 
 natural order of a judicial proceeding required. Nor would 
 the Chief Priests have been backward to answer it in either 
 view. But here lay the difficulty: the people were of one 
 opinion concerning John; and the Sanhedrim, of another. 
 This embarras silenced them. And in our Saviotjb's taking 
 advantage of that circumstance consists the Divine dexterity 
 of His exemplary prudence. 1^ either do I tell you, says He, 
 by what authority I do these things. As much as to say, " Both 
 on My principles and your own a previous question is first to 
 be resolved ; namely, concerning the baptism of John. "When 
 you have answered this, then comes My time to answer yours : 
 but till then you have no right to insist upon it." Isa. Hi. 13 ; 
 Eph. i. 8; Acts xxiii. 6; S. John iii. 10; ix. 30. Bp. War- 
 burton. (A Discourse concerning the Holt Spibit, foot-note, 
 p. 176. Ed. 1763.) 
 
 As if He had said : " I will not tell you what I know, since ye 
 will not confess what ye know." Eurther, we must observe, 
 that knowledge is hidden from those, that seek it, principally 
 for two reasons ; namely, when he, who seeks it, has not suffi- 
 cient capacity to understand what he seeks for ; or, when, 
 through contempt for the truth, or some other reason, he is 
 unworthy of having the subject of his inquiry explained to 
 him. . . . These men were most justly put back; and they 
 retreated in disgrace. Here was fulfilled what Gron the Ea- 
 THEK spake to the Prophet: "I have ordained a lantern for 
 Mine anointed," meaning this very John ; " as for His enemies, 
 I will clothe them with shame." Dan. xii. 10; S. Matt. xi. 
 25—27; Ps. cxxxii. 17, 18. Bede. 
 
 He, that knows he is in the wrong, ought not to be argued with. 
 1 Tim. vi. 3—5 ; Titus i. 10, 11. Bp. Wilson. 
 
S. MAEK XII. 1, 2. 287 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 AND He began to speak unto them by parables. 
 
 A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an 
 
 hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and 
 
 built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went 
 
 into a far country. 
 
 2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a 
 servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen 
 of the fruit of the vineyard. 
 
 3 And they caught Aim, and beat him, and sent him 
 away empty. 
 
 4 And again he sent unto them another servant ; 
 and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the 
 head, and sent him away shamefully handled. 
 
 5 And again he sent another ; and him they killed, 
 and many others ; beating some, and killing some. 
 
 6 Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, 
 he sent him also last unto them, saying. They will 
 reverence my son. 
 
 1 The Church, planted by faith, strikes deep its roots in love ; it 
 is trenched at first through discipline, then manured with the 
 tears of penitents, and moistened with the doctrine of the 
 preachers. Hence indeed it overflows with that wine, in quo est 
 Icetitia^ sed non luxuria, which cheers, but does not inebriate ; 
 that wine, which is aU sweetness, but has no lust. This is the 
 wine, that " maketh glad the heart of man ;" of this the very- 
 Angels drink with delight. Isa. v. ; Judg. ix. 13 ; S. John iv. 
 10 ; Eph. iii. 17. S. Bernard. (In Cant. Serm. 30.) 
 
 2 Our Lord elsewhere clearly shows, that all the teachers under 
 the Law were figuratively comprised under these three orders 
 
288 S. MAKK XII. 5, 7. 
 
 oi servants; "All things," He says, "must be fulfilled, which 
 were written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in 
 the Psalms, concerning Me." S. Luke xxiv. 44. Bede. 
 
 5 I am convinced, that in this world the true heavenly doctrine 
 will ever have to maintain a conflict with errors and corrup- 
 tions, and that those, who uphold the cause of Divine truth, 
 will be under the cross and suffer for their principles. From 
 the beginning of the world it has been so ; and holy and en- 
 lightened men know, that these things must be borne. S. Luke 
 ii. 34 ; Acts xxviii, 22 ; Gal. iv. 28, 29. Melancthon. (On the 
 Peace of the Church, a.d. 1548.) 
 
 7 One son, his well beloved. — By GtOd's supremacy over man He 
 might have signified His will merely by the way of empire and 
 required obedience ; but He was pleased to condescend so far, 
 as to deal with man in a sweeter manner, as with a creature, 
 capable of His love, and to work upon him by rewards and 
 punishments, congruously to his reasonable nature. . . . 'Tis 
 true, the precept alone binds by virtue of the authority, that 
 imposes it ; but the consent of the creature increases the ob- 
 ligation; it twists the cords of the Law, and binds more 
 strongly to obedience. Hos. xi. 4 ; 2 Sam. vii. 14 ; IS. John 
 V. 3. Dr. Bales. (Harmony, &c. c. 1.) 
 
 I remember one of the poets hath an ingenious fancy to express 
 the passion, wherewith he found himself overcome, after a long 
 resistance ; that " the God of Love had shot all His golden 
 arrows at him, but could never pierce his heart ; till at length 
 He put Himself into the bow, and darted Himself straight into 
 his breast." Methinks, this doth some way adumbrate God's 
 method of dealing with men. He had long contended with a 
 stubborn world, and thrown down many a blessing upon them ; 
 and when all His other gifts could not prevail, He at last made 
 a gift of Himself to testify His affections and to engage their's. 
 Isa. V. 4 ; Eom. viii. 32 ; Heb. i. 3 ; Titus ii. 14. Scougal. (Life 
 of God in the Soul of man.) 
 
 The behaviour of a child is reverence. Eeverence is a virtue 
 composed ex timore et amore, of fear and love ; it is either an 
 awful love, or a loving awe. S. John xvi. 19 ; xiii. 25. Bp. 
 Lake. (Serm. on S. Mark xiv. 35, 36.) 
 
S. MAEK XII. 6. 289 
 
 Here full evidence mast strike every mind at first sight. Is there 
 not infinite reason, that infinite beauty and excellence should 
 be esteemed and loved, and that supreme authority should be 
 obeyed, and the highest character revered ? Is it not reasona- 
 ble, that the most amazing display of love and mercy should 
 meet with the most affectionate returns of gratitude from the 
 party obliged ? Shall the Creator die for His creatures, the 
 Sovereign for His rebellious subjects, the great Lawgiver trans- 
 fer the penalty of His own Law upon Himself, in order to re- 
 move it from obnoxious criminals ? Shall He die in extremities 
 of torture and write His love in characters of blood ? Oh, shall 
 He do this, and is it not infinitely reasonable, that His crea- 
 tures, that His rebellious subjects, that obnoxious criminals 
 should be transported with wonder, joy, and gratitude ; and that 
 such miracles of Love should engross their thoughts, their affec- 
 tions, and conversation? If we form our expectations from 
 what we find in fact among mankind in other cases, sure, we 
 may expect the Son of GtOD would meet with such a reception 
 in our world. The thousandth part of this kindness would excite 
 gratitude between man and man ; and he would be counted a 
 monster, that would not be moved with it. And shall kindness 
 from worm to worm, from sinner to sinner, excite love and 
 gratitude ; and shaU not the infinite mercy of God towards 
 rebellious creatures inflame their love and gratitude ? Is this 
 the only species of kindness, that must pass unnoticed? Is 
 Jesus the only Benefactor, that must be forgotten ? Zech. ix. 
 17 ; Lam. i. 12 ; Isa. i. 2, 3 ; Mai. i. 6 ; S. Matt. v. 46, 47. 
 Bavies. (Serm. on text.) 
 
 Jesxj, purpureo clarior Hespero, 
 
 Luna splendidior, Sole serenior, 
 Yernis gratior arvis, 
 Hiberna nive purior ! . . 
 
 Jestj, dulce Tuis ora natant sonis, 
 
 Infuso veluti pocula Csecubo, 
 Aut humecta caducis 
 Gemment lilia roribus. . . 
 
 Qui Te non amat est barbarior feris, 
 
 Pardis asperior, tigride ssevior, 
 u 
 
290 
 
 S. MAKE XII. 6. 
 
 Iinpacatior ursis, 
 Iracundior anguibus. 
 Qui Te non amat est marmore durior, 
 Saxis horridior, surdior aequore, 
 Inconstantior auris, 
 Immansuetior ignibus ! 
 
 Math. Casimir Sarbievius.^ (Lyric. Lib. 
 iv. Ode 25.) 
 
 7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, 
 This is the heir ; come, let us kill him, and the inheri- 
 tance shall be our's. 
 
 8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him 
 out of the vineyard. 
 
 9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do ? 
 he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will 
 give the vineyard unto others. 
 
 10 And have ye not read this Scripture; The stone 
 which the builders rejected is become the head of the 
 corner : 
 
 1 1 This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous 
 in our eyes ? 
 
 12 And they sought to lay hold on Him, but feared 
 the people : for they knew that He had spoken the 
 parable against them : and they left Him, and went 
 their wav. 
 
 * Mathias Casimirus Sarbievius 
 (Sarbiewski), a Pole, e Soc. Jesij. 
 Died at Warsaw, a.d. 1640, setatis 45. 
 " Et qui prof undo Sarbivius ruit 
 Immensus sestu." 
 
 N. S. Sanadon. (Carm. Lib. i.) 
 Grotius gives him still higher praise ; 
 almost, it will be thought, too high. 
 
 ^^ Horatium assecutus est, imo, aliquan- 
 do superavit.^' Dr. Watts, in the 
 Preface to liis Lyrical Poems, styles 
 him, " That noblest Latin poet of mo- 
 dern ages." He is chiefly known 
 among us by his name Casimir. He 
 is quoted frequently in these Illustra- 
 tions. 
 
S. MAEK XII. 7—10. 291 
 
 7 I could easily believe, that the fathers of the Sanhedrim had 
 either, a knowledge, or, at least, some suspicion, that Jesus 
 was the true Messiah .... The vine-dressers in the parable 
 knew well enough, He was the heir ; and it was come to this, 
 in the struggle betwixt them, either He will inherit with His 
 doctrine ; or, we will with ours ; Come, therefore, let us kill Him ; 
 and the inheritance shall be ours. xv. 10 ; S. Johtt xi. 48. 
 Dr. Lightfoot. (Exercit. S. John xi.) 
 
 "We, on the contrary, say : " This is the Soisr of the Eternal GtOD : 
 let us believe on Him, and the inheritance shall be ours.^' xv. 
 32 ; Rom. viii. 17. Chr. Sutton. (Disce Vivere, c. 25.) 
 
 9 Will give the vineyard unto others. — The rejection of the Jews 
 and the call of the Gentiles was one of the greatest mysteries 
 of the Grospel dispensation ; so obscure, so hard to receive, that 
 even S. Peter, though gifted with the Holt G-host at Pente- 
 cost, needed a repeated special vision from heaven, to convince 
 him of it. Accordingly, as a doctrine so repugnant to Jewish 
 prejudices, it was gradually taught and revealed by the Loed. 
 Here indeed it is intimated with sufficient clearness ; but our 
 Lord had recently prepared the way by two most remarkable 
 symbolical actions — the drying up of the fig tree, pointing to 
 the rejection of the Jew ; the assertion that the Temple was 
 God's house of Prayer " for all nations," equally expressing 
 the call of the Gentiles, xi. 17, 21 ; Acts x. 14 ; Eph. i. 9, 10 ; 
 iii. 1—12. J. F. 
 
 10 (Ps. cxviii. 22, 23.) Perhaps no text of the Old Testament is 
 quoted by the writers of the New so often, as this, which we 
 meet with in six difi'erent places ; namely, S. Matt. xxi. 42 ; S. 
 Mark xii. 10; S. Luke xx. 17; Acts iv. 11; Eph. ii. 20; IS. 
 Pet. ii. 4. The sum and substance of the New Testament ap- 
 plications and expositions is, that Jesus Christ is the stone 
 here mentioned; that He was "rejected and set at nought" 
 by the chief priests and Pharisees, the then builders of the 
 Church ; but that, being chosen of God and most precious to 
 Him, this most valuable stone, thus " despised and rejected of 
 men," thus thrown among the rubbish and buried in it, was, at 
 length, from such a state exalted to be the chief corner-stone 
 in the building, the main support of the edifice, and the centre 
 
 u2 
 
292 S. MAEK XII. 10. 
 
 of union for Jew and Grentile, the two parts, of which it con- 
 sisted ; that this was the work of GrOD, and the admiration of 
 man. And what can be more truly marvellous^ than that a 
 person, put to death, as a malefactor, and laid in the grave, 
 should from thence arise immortal, and become the Head of an 
 immortal society ; should ascend into Heaven, be invested with 
 pow^er, and crowned with Glory ; and should prepare a w^ay for 
 the sons of Adam to follow Him into those mansions of Eternal 
 bliss ? Isa. ix. 6 ; Acts xiii. 12 ; Ps. Ixviii. 13. Bp. Home. 
 (Comment. Ps. cxviii. 22.) 
 
 Christ, in His birth, was Daniel's stone., " cut forth without 
 hands." (Dan. ii. 34.) In His Passion, He was Zachary's 
 stone, "graven, and cut full of eyes, all over." (Zach. iii. 9.) 
 In His Besurrection, He was Isaiah's stone, "laid in Zion." 
 (Isa. xxviii. 16.) Qui crediderit non confundetur. " He, that 
 believeth in Him, shall not be confounded." He is " the stone 
 of our faith," saith S. Peter. (Acts iv. 11.) And Petra erat 
 Christus, "That stone was Cheist," saith S. Paul. (1 Cor. 
 X. 4.) He is the stone of our Sacraments ; the water of our 
 Baptism and our spiritual drink both issue from Him : a stone, 
 first, for His nature, of the earth, as stones are, out of Abra- 
 ham's quarry, (saith Esay, li. 1,) to show His humanity ; and, 
 " out of the very lowest part of the earth," saith the Apostle, 
 (Eph. iv. 9,) to show His humility. Indeed, nothing so subject 
 to contempt, to be trodden on, to be spurned aside, as it : and 
 such was His condition, Vermis, non homo, and lapis, non homo ; 
 a worm, and a stone, but no man. Ps. xxii. 6. Bp. Andrewes. 
 (Serm. on Ps. cxviii. 22.) 
 
 Christ is called in Scripture, " the Rock of ages ;" which is a 
 term of equivocal importance. He is a rock, and they, that 
 will, may save themselves upon Him ; but they, that wall not, 
 must necessarily split against Him. 'Tis by reason of Him 
 (says the Apostle) that there is now no " condemnation ;" but 
 'tis by reason of Him too (says my text) that there is now no 
 excuse — "K I had not come and spoken unto them, they had 
 not had sin ; but now they have no cloak for their sin." Isa. 
 i. 19, 20 ; S. Matt. xxi. 44 ; 2 Cor. ii. 10. Dean Young. (Serm. 
 on S. John xv. 22.) 
 
S. MAEK XII. 13. 293 
 
 13 And they send unto Him certain of the Piiari- 
 sees and of the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. 
 
 14 And when they were come, they say unto Him, 
 Master, we know that Thou art true, and carest for no 
 man : for Thou regardest not the person of men, but 
 teachest the way of God in truth : Is it lawful to give 
 tribute to Caesar, or not ? 
 
 15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But He, 
 knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them. Why tempt 
 ye Me ? bring Me a penny, that I may see it. 
 
 16 And they brought it. And He saith unto them. 
 Whose is this image and superscription ? And they 
 said unto Him, Csesar's. 
 
 17 And Jesus answering said unto them. Render 
 to Csesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the 
 things that are God's. And they marvelled at Him. 
 
 13 Pharisees and Herodians. — The great foes of B-eligion, which 
 have in all ages opposed its progress and undermined its glory, 
 are hypocrisy and profaneness. Between these two thieves 
 the jewel hangs, as its great Master on the cross ; and they 
 both revile it, the one under the character of a familiar friend, 
 the other under that of an open enemy : which of these does 
 the greatest harm, is sometimes difficult to determine, xiv. 45, 
 46. Dr. Horneck. (Grreat Law of Consideration. Preface.) 
 
 The children of this world " hold all together, and keep them- 
 selves close." (Ps. Ivi. 6.) They stick together, like burs, 
 close, as " the scales of Leviathan," (Job xli. 15, 17,) and, al- 
 though they be not always " all of one piece," but have their 
 several aims and act upon different particular principles, yet 
 Satan, well knowing that if " his kingdom" should be too much 
 " divided, it could not stand," (S. Luke xi. 18,) maketh a shift 
 to patch them up so, as to make them " hang together," to serve 
 his turn, and do mischief. . . . Conciliant inter se inimicissifnas 
 atnicitias, saith S. Bernard, ... To destroy the happy union, 
 
294 S. MARK XII. 13, 14. 
 
 that should be among brethren, they, that were strangers and 
 enemies to one another before, grow to an unhappy cursed 
 unity among themselves. Ps. Ixxxiii. 5 — 8 ; S. Matt. xvi. 2 ; 
 S. Luke xxiii. 12 ; Acts xvii. 18. Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. on S. 
 Luke xvi. 6.) 
 
 Catch Him in His wo)'ds. — By thy words and discourses men will 
 judge of thee; for, as Socrates saith, "Such as thy words are, 
 such will thy affections be esteemed ; and such will thy deeds, 
 as thy affections ; and such thy life, as thy deeds." Therefore 
 be advised, what thou dost discourse of, what thou maintainest, 
 whether touching Eeligion, State, or vanity : for, if thou err in 
 the first, thou shalt be accounted j)rofane ; if in the second, 
 dangerous ; if in the third, indiscreet and foolish. He, that 
 cannot refrain from much speaking, is like a city without walls ; 
 and less pains in the world a man cannot take, than to hold his 
 tongue. Therefore, if thou observest this rule in all assemblies, 
 thou shalt seldom err ; restrain thy choler ; hearken much, and 
 speak little ; for the tongue is the instrument of the greatest 
 good and greatest evil, that is done in the world. Job ii. 10 ; 
 S. James i. 19, 26. Sir W. Raleigh. (Instructions to his son 
 and to posterity, c. 4.) 
 
 14 Such as the fountain is, such is the river, that runneth from 
 it. A double heart maketh a double tongue. . . All flatterers 
 are double-tongued. Whom they praise excessively, being 
 present, of him their manner is, being out of sight, to speak 
 most slanderously and vilely. (S. Luke vii. 34.) So unlike 
 they are to our Savioue Christ, who would not praise S. John 
 to S. John's disciples, but, after their departure, commended 
 him to the people. It is S. Augustine's judgment, that " the 
 hand of no persecutor is more grievous, than is the tongue of 
 the flatterer." Ps. xii. 1—3; xli. 5—10; Eom. xvi. 17, 18. 
 Abp. Sandys. (Serm. on S. James iv. 8 — 10.) 
 
 The old word is, " Pull of courtesy, full of craft." When ye see 
 too glittering pretences in unapproved persons, suspect the 
 inside. Ps. xxviii. 3 ; Amos vii. 12, 13 ; 2 Cor. i. 12. Bp. Hall. 
 (Serm. on 2 Tim. iii. 5.) 
 
 Praise hath several operations, according to the mind it meets 
 with ; it makes a wise man modest, but a fool more arrogant. 
 
S. MARK XII. 14—17. 295 
 
 . . . Though another man's praise cannot in myself make me 
 better than I am ; yet with my help it may make me much 
 worse. The best is to labour an improvement. Prov. xxvii. 
 21 ; Phil. ii. 3. O. Feltham. (Eesolves. Cent. ii. 16.) 
 Eemember, that nothing is flattery, which the speaker believes : 
 and of the grossest flatteries there is this good use ; they tell 
 us what we should be. Br. Bonne. (Letter to Mrs. Magdalen 
 Herbert.) 
 
 16 The image of the Emperor est aliter in Jilio, aliter in nmnmOy 
 is not seen alike in a son and in a piece of coin. The coin has 
 no knowledge of its bearing the image of the Prince ; but thou 
 art the coin of Groi) ; and so far highly superior, as possessing 
 mind and even life, so as to know Him, whose image you bear. 
 Rom. vi. 17 ; 2 Cor. iii. 2, 3. S. Augustine. (De Decern 
 Chordis, c. 10.) 
 
 The Magistrate — what is he ? Behold the man, my fellow, dust 
 and ashes, as of near alliance to the worm and corruption, as 
 myself ; and yet he awes me, he bounds me, and keeps me in 
 on every side. One monosyllable of his tumeth rae about and 
 is my motion. If he say, " Go," I go ; if he say, " Come," I 
 come ; if he say, " Do this," I do it. Por he is sealed and 
 hath the image and supei'scription of the Deity. G-en. i. 26, 
 28. (See at Acts xx. 1. Bp. Hopkins.) Farindon. (Serm. 
 on E.om. xiii. 4.) 
 
 Among all the stratagems of the devil, tending to the under- 
 mining of Eeligion and the subversion of the souls of men, 
 though there cannot be any more unreasonable, yet there was 
 never any more unhappily successful, than the creating and 
 fomenting an opinion in the world, that Eeligion is an enemy 
 to G-overnment, and the bringing sincerity and zeal in Eeligion 
 into jealousy and disgrace with the Civil powers. S. Luke 
 xxiii. 2 ; Acts xvii. 6 ; xxiii. 4, 5. Bp. Seth Ward. (Serm. on 
 Eom. xiii. 2.) 
 
 17 "We pray for the safety of the Emperors to the eternal God, 
 the true, the living God, whom Emperors themselves would 
 desire to be propitious to them, "above all others, who are 
 called Gods." We, looking up to heaven with outstretched 
 hands, because they are harmless, with naked heads, because 
 
296 S. MARK XII. 17. 
 
 we are not ashamed, (I Cor. xi. 7,) without a prompter, 
 because we pray from the heart, constantly pray for all 
 Emperors, that they may have a long life, a secure empire, a 
 safe palace, strong armies, a faithful senate, a well-moralised 
 people, a quiet state of the world, — whatever Caesar would 
 wish for himself in his public and private capacity. Jer. xxix. 
 7 ; Dan. vi. 21 ; 1 Tim. ii. 2 ; 1 S. Pet. ii. 13—17. Tertullian. 
 (Apology.) 
 
 God's Anointed ever was, and will be, a phrase of deep and 
 sacred meaning to such, as have the fear of GrOD in their 
 hearts. In the commonest acts of submission to Royal autho- 
 rity they will endeavour to have something of the same devout 
 feeling, with which they serve Him in His Church, or listen 
 for His sake to the recommendations of His ministers ; a 
 feeling, which, beyond all others, when duly practised, becomes 
 by the blessing of God its own reward. Ps. cv. 15 ; 2 Sam. i. 
 14. Keble. (Serm. on Isa. xlix. 23.) 
 
 They, who should have believed, on the exhibition of such great 
 wisdom, marvelled only, quod calliditas eorum insidiandi locum 
 nan invenit, that their own cleverness should have failed in 
 catching Him. Verse 13 ; Acts xiii. 40, 41. S. Jerome. 
 
 Cuncta Deo debentur ; habet tamen et sua Caesar : 
 Nee minor inde Deo est, si sua Csesar habet. 
 
 Non minor inde Deo est, solio si csetera dantur 
 Caesareo, Caesar cum datur ipse Deo. 
 
 Ric. Crashmv. (Epigr. Sacra, in loco.) 
 
 18 Then come unto Him the Sadducees, which 
 say there is no resurrection ; and they asked Him, 
 saying, 
 
 19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, if a man's brother 
 die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no chil- 
 dren, that his brother should take his wife, and raise 
 up seed unto his brother. 
 
 20 Now there were seven brethren : and the first 
 took a wife, and dying left no seed. 
 
S. MARK XII. 18, 20—22. 297 
 
 21 And the second took her, and died, neither left 
 he any seed : and the third likewise. 
 
 22 And the seven had her, and left no seed : last 
 of all the woman died also. 
 
 23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall 
 rise, whose wife shall she be of them ? for the seven 
 had her to wife. 
 
 18 If you compare the Sadducee and the Pharisee, and observe 
 how one did pare from, and the other patch to, Gron's Word ; 
 how the one bent to atheism, the other to superstition ; you 
 will see how hardly men keep a mean either in knowledge or 
 conversation; some over-reach, some reach not home. Acts 
 xxiii. 7 — 9 ; Eev. xxii. 18, 19. Bp. Lake. (Serm. on S. Matt. 
 xxii. 34—40.) 
 
 Which say there is no resurrection. — Men do separate themselves 
 either by heresy, schism, or apostasy. If they loose the bond 
 of Faith, which then they are justly supposed to do, when 
 they frowardly oppugn any principal points of Christian 
 Doctrine ; this is to separate themselves by Heresy. If they 
 break the bond of Unity, whereby the Body of the Church is 
 coupled and knit in One, as they do, which wilfully forsake all 
 external communion with saints in holy exercises, purely and 
 orderly established in the Church ; this is to separate them- 
 selves by Schism. If they willingly — (that is, wilfully) — cast 
 off and utterly forsake both profession of Christ and com- 
 munion with Christians, taking their leave of all religion ; this 
 is to separate by plain Apostasy. Hooker. (Serm. on S. Jude 
 17—21.) 
 
 20 — 22 Dying. Died. Died also. — By the decree of nature we 
 were all dead, before we began to live. " It is appointed for 
 all men once to die ;" and then they must shift the scene, and 
 begin anew. None can plead exemption, either by privilege, 
 or example. For all, that have gone before us, have trodden 
 the same path — wise Solomon, rich Dives, long-lived Methu- 
 selah, righteous Job ; none ha^e been exempted, be they what 
 they will ; though their head have been of gold, their body of 
 
298 S. MAEK XII. 20—23. 
 
 iron, their arms of brass, yet their feet, like Nebuchadnezzar's 
 image, have been of clay, and they have gone into the dust. . . 
 Here fortune has no part; the manner of our death indeed 
 may be casual — (liable to a perhaps) — but the matter of it is 
 certain. Gren. v. 5, 8, 11 ; xiv. 17, 20 ; xxvii. 31 ; Josh, xxiii. 
 14 ; Zech. i. 5 ; 1 Kings xxii. 34. Thomas Ford. (Lusus 
 Fortunse, s. xi.) 
 
 Heu ! mortem invisam, quae sola ultricibus armis 
 Elatos fraenas animos, communia toti 
 Genti sceptra tenens, seternaque fsedera servans ; 
 Quae magnos parvosque teris ; quae fortibus sequas 
 Imbelles, populisque duces, seniumque juventae ! 
 
 MaphcBUs Vegius. 
 David's Epiphonema shall conclude my text, as a parallel to it, to 
 every word of it, (Ps. xxxix. 11,) " Certainly, every man is 
 vanity." The Lokd, of His great mercy, by His Holy 
 Spirit, humble our hearts with the remembrance of our 
 frailty ; pardon our sins, the only cause of it ; clothe us with 
 Christ's righteousness, the only. ease of it — (cure for it;) — 
 and hasten His Son's coming, the final end of it : to which 
 three Sacred Persons of the Blessed Grodhead be all honour 
 and glory, praise and thanksgiving ! Job xxx. 23 ; Ps. ix. 20. 
 Dr. Rd. Clerke. (A Funeral Sermon on Isa. xl. 6.) 
 It is a necessary tax, which all, who live long, must pay 
 for their longevity, to lose many, whom they would be glad to 
 detain, perhaps those, in whom all their happiness is centred, 
 and to see them step into the grave before them. Glen. xlii. 
 38. Cowper. (Letters.) 
 23 Whose wife shall she be of them ? — They supposed, that He 
 would have given a distinct answer to this question, and 
 expected that they had caught Him in a dilemma, from which 
 there was no escape. For had He said, " The wife of them 
 all," they would have charged Him with sanctioning polygamy, 
 with contradicting His own express doctrine on the subject of 
 marriage, (x. 2 — 10.) On the other hand, had He answered, 
 "The wife of the last husband," He would have countenanced 
 a seeming injustice; for the seven had her. It was by the 
 logical argument, called a dilemma, that the enemies of our 
 
S. MARK XII. 24. 299 
 
 Lord on many occasions sought to outwit and confound Him : 
 and it may be observed, that it was by the use of this same 
 form, as with a weapon triumphantly snatched out of their 
 hands, that He finally overcame and put them to silence. " I 
 will also ask of you one question ? The baptism of John, was 
 it from heaven, or of men ? Answer Me." xii. 14 ; S. John 
 viii. 5 ; S. Luke xi. 22. /. F. 
 
 24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not 
 therefore err, because ye know not the Scriptures, nei- 
 ther the power of God ? 
 
 25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they 
 neither marry, nor are given in marriage ; but are as 
 the angels which are in heaven. 
 
 26 And as touching the dead, that they rise : have 
 ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush 
 God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abra- 
 ham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? 
 
 27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of 
 the living : ye therefore do greatly err. 
 
 24 Our Saviour saith ; You err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor 
 the power of Gron ; laying before us two Books, or volumes, to 
 study, if we will be secured from error ; first, the volume of 
 Scriptures, which reveal the Will of GrOD ; and then the 
 volume of creatures, which express His Power : whereof the 
 latter is a key unto the former, not only opening our under- 
 standing to conceive the true sense of the Scriptures by the 
 general notions of reason and rules of speech ; but besides, 
 chiefly opening our belief, in drawing us into a due meditation 
 of the Omnipotency of Gron, the characters whereof are chiefly 
 signed and engraved upon His works. Ps. xix. 1, 7. Lord 
 Bacon. (Advancement of Learning. Book i. ch. 6.) 
 
 I have been at great pains, and often made it my particular busi- 
 ness, to consult many persons of celebrated piety and learning, 
 about some fixed, recognized, general itule, certd quddam^ et 
 
300 S. MAEK XII. 24. 
 
 quasi generali ac regulari via, whereby to distinguisli the true 
 Catholic faith from the false corruptions of heresy ; and, after 
 repeated inquiries, the sum of all their answers amounted to 
 this ; that if I, or any other Christian, would detect the cheats 
 and avoid the snares of fresh heretics, and continue safe and 
 sound in the true Faith, the way, by GtOd's grace, is to secure 
 it upon these two foundations ; the first, upon the authority of 
 Holy Scripture, and, after that, upon the tradition of the Ca- 
 tholic Church. 2 Tim. iii. 14—17; 1 Tim. iii. 15, 16. Fin- 
 centius Lirinensis. (Commonit. c. 1.) 
 
 There are many, that are unleavened and unstable, who (as the 
 Apostle saith) wrest the Scriptures unto their own destruction. 
 But this must not dissuade nor discourage us from reading and 
 searching into them. The bee must not refuse to suck sweet- 
 ness out of a flower, because a spider sucks poison out of it. 
 Non debet ovis pellem suam deponere^ quia lupus ed se aliquando 
 contegit. We must not cease from reading the Scriptures to 
 our own salvation, because some men abuse them to their 
 own destruction. We read that the devil brings Scripture 
 against Christ ; and yet, for all that, Cheist brings Scripture 
 against him. (S. Matt. iv. 6.) Christ did not refuse to use 
 it, because the devil abused it ; but He confutes him with his 
 own weapons. The reading of the Scriptures is not the cause 
 of error, but rather the not reading them. Christ doth not 
 say, " Ye err, because you know the Scriptures ;" but You err, 
 not knowing the Scriptures. Br, Calamy. (An Epistle to the 
 reader of Wilson's complete Christian Dictionary.) 
 
 Neither the power of God. — Supposing man to be just such a 
 nothing, after this life, as he was before it, yet, as he had his 
 being at first from nothing, so surely he may be restored to 
 that being again from such a nothing. For it seems to be a 
 work of greater difficulty to give a beginning to what is not, 
 than a restoration of being to what has been. Do you believe 
 that, which is vanished from our short sight, to be lost to God ? 
 For all bodies, whether dried to powder, or dissolved to water, 
 or crumbled to ashes, or attenuated to smoke, are lost to us 
 indeed ; but GrOD, the Almighty guardian of the elements, has 
 them still in reserve, as much as ever Behold, how all 
 
S. MARK XII. 24. 301 
 
 nature is at work to comfort us with images of our future 
 E-esurrection. The sun sets and rises again ; the stars glide 
 away and return ; the flowers die and revive ; the trees put 
 forth afresh, after the decays of age ; and " that which thou 
 sowest is not quickened, except it die ;" and just so may our 
 bodies lie in the grave, till the season of resurrection. Why 
 then so hasty for a resurrection in the dead of winter ? We 
 must wait with patience for the spring of human bodies. Isa. 
 xxvi. 19 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 12 ; xv. M. Minucius Felix. (Octavius, 
 s. 33.) 
 When man was not, what power what causes made him to be ? 
 Whatsoever it was, it did then as great a work, as to raise his 
 body to the same being again : and, because we know not the 
 method of nature's secret changes, and how we can be fash- 
 ioned beneath, in secreto terrce, (Ps. cxxxix. 15, 16,) and cannot 
 handle and discern the possibilities and seminal powers in the 
 ashes of dissolved bones, must our ignorance in philosophy be 
 put in balance against the Articles of Religion, the hopes of 
 mankind, the faith of nations, and the truth of God ? And 
 are our opinions of the power of GrOD so low, that our under- 
 standing must be His measure, and He shall be confessed to 
 do nothing, unless it be made plain in our philosophy ? Cer- 
 tainly we have a low opinion of GtOd, unless we believe He can 
 do more things, than we can understand. But let us hear S. 
 Paul's demonstration. (1 Cor. xv.) If the com dies and 
 lives again, if it lays its body down, suffers alteration, disso- 
 lution, and death, but at the spring rises again in the verdure 
 of a leaf, in the fulness of the ear, in the kidneys of wheat ; if 
 it proceeds from little to great, from nakedness to ornament, 
 from emptiness to plenty, from unity to multitude, from death 
 to life; — be a Sadducee no more : shame not thy understand- 
 ing, and reproach not the weakness of thy faith, by thinking 
 that corn can be restored to life, and man cannot ; especially, 
 since in every creature the obediential faculty is infinite, and 
 cannot admit degrees ; for every creature can be anything 
 under the power of Gron, which cannot be less than infinite. 
 S. John vi. 39, 40, 44, 54 ; xi. 25—27. Bp. J. Taylor. (Ser- 
 mon preached at the Euneral of Abp. Bramhall.) 
 
302 S. MARK XII. 25, 26. 
 
 25 From (among, eV) the dead. — He glances at the altered con- 
 dition of the saints, when they arise from the state of death, 
 and does not gainsay an universal resurrection. S. Matt. xiv. 
 2 ; 1 Cor. XV. 23, 27. Bengel. 
 
 Non erunt duce societates, Angelorum et hominum ; sed omnium 
 Beatitudo erit TJni adhcerere Deo. Men and Angels shall not 
 form two distinct companies ; but this shall be the Blessed- 
 ness of them both, to be united in One Head, Jesus Christ. 
 Eph. i. 10; Heb. xii. 22—24; Eev. vii. 9—11. S. Augus- 
 tine. 
 
 Jesus Christ speaks of the sublimest subjects in a manner, as 
 simple, as if He had never considered them ; but nevertheless 
 His expressions are so exact, as to show that He had thoroughly 
 weighed them. Such accuracy, with such simplicity, is admir- 
 able. S. Matt. xi. 27 ; S. John iii. 11. Pascal. (Thoughts. 
 Ch. 14.) 
 
 26 Have ye not read, ^c. — Let not the preacher make an Article 
 of faith to be a matter of dispute ; but teach it with plainness 
 and simplicity, and confirm it with easy arguments and plain 
 words of Scripture, but without objection. . . . The people will 
 much easier retain the objection, than understand the answer 
 . . . Let them be taught to believe, but not to argue ; lest, if 
 the arguments meet with a scrupulous person, it rather shake 
 the foundation by curious inquiry, than establish it by argu- 
 ments too hard. 1 Cor. xi. 16; Titus iii. 9. Bp. J. Taylor. 
 (E-ules and Advice to his Clergy, s. iv. 57, 58.) 
 
 The Sadducees only received the Pentateuch, the five Books of 
 Moses. Our Lord not only abstains here from all reproof of 
 their heterodoxy in this respect, but actually so far condescends 
 to them, almost favouring their error, as to confine His refer- 
 ence to a Book, which they allowed. Was not this forbearance 
 and mercy ? Nor was it less wisdom, the wisdom of meeting 
 and combating an opponent on his own admitted principles. 
 X. 21 ; S. Luke xix. 22 ; Acts xxiv. 15. J. F. 
 
 Tliese words of our Saviour show us, how much more there is in 
 Scripture, than at first sight appears. God spoke to Moses in 
 the burning bush, and called Himself the God of Abraham; 
 and Christ tells us, that in this simple announcement was 
 
S. MARK XII. 26, 27. 303 
 
 contained the promise, that Abraham should rise again from the 
 dead. In truth, if we may say it with reverence, the All-wise 
 All-knowing GrOD cannot speak, without meaning many things 
 at once. He " sees the end from the beginning ;" He under- 
 stands the numberless connections and relations of all thinirs, 
 one with another. Every word of His is full of instruction 
 looking many ways ; and, though it is not often given to us to 
 know these various senses, and we are not at liberty to attempt 
 lightly to imagine them, yet, as far as they are told us, and as 
 far as we may reasonably infer them, we must thankfully accept 
 them. Ps. cxix. 96. J. H. Newman. (Serm. on S. Luke xx. 
 37, 38.) 
 
 This passage seems to contain a sort of argument, exactly fitted 
 at once to prove the real existence of the doctrine of the resur- 
 rection, at the time referred to, and at the same time to account 
 for its obscurity. To us, with the Scriptures of the New Tes- 
 tament in our hands and with an assured knowledge of the great 
 truth of everlasting life, derived abundantly from later sources, 
 it is an easy thing to fill up the blanks of this defective form of 
 argument. To the Jews, however, it could not but be involved 
 in much obscurity ; and indeed it is even now a passage, that 
 is by no means plainly its own interpreter. I think it rather 
 one, which we ourselves should probably pass by, as proclaim- 
 ing merely a solemn appellation of the Deity, and not look to 
 it, as the vehicle of so chief a doctrine, had it not been ren- 
 dered so prominent to a Christian eye by our Loed's applica- 
 tion of it. 2 Tim. i. 10. J. Miller. (Note. Bampt. Lecture. 
 s. 2.) 
 
 27 Though it appears that a future state of rewards and punish- 
 ments made no part of the Mosaic dispensation, yet the Law 
 had certainly a spiritual meaning, to be understood, when the 
 fulness of time should come ; and hence it received the nature 
 and afforded the efficacy of prophecy. In the interim, the 
 mystery of the Grospel was occasionally revealed by GrOD to His 
 chosen servants, the fathers and leaders of the Jewish nation ; 
 and the dawning of it was gradually opened by the Prophets 
 to the people ; which is exactly agreeable to what our excellent 
 Church, in its seventh Article of religion, teacheth concerning 
 
304 S. MARK XII. 28, 29. 
 
 this matter. S. John viii. 56; Heb. xi. 10. Bp. Warburton. 
 (Div. Leg. B. vi. s. 5.) 
 
 28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard 
 them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had 
 answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first 
 commandment of all ? 
 
 29 And Jesus answered him. The first of all the 
 commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our 
 God is one Lord : 
 
 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
 thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
 mind, and with all thy strength ; this is the first com- 
 mandment. 
 
 31 And the second is like, namely this. Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other 
 commandment greater than these. 
 
 28 Perceiving that He had answered them well. — Many Catholic 
 truths, in consequence of their being assailed by the subtle 
 opposition of heretics, in order to our meeting their cavils, 
 come to be more thoroughly sifted by us, and more clearly un- 
 derstood, and more earnestly preached. Et ah adversaria mota 
 qucestio, discendi existit occasio. The enemy raises a question ; 
 hence we take occasion to learn. 1 Cor. xi. 19; xv. 12, &c. 
 S. Augustine. (De Civ. Dei. Lib. xvi. c. 2.) 
 
 The first (" the great,'' S. Matt. xxii. 36.) — A comparative in- 
 equality in the Commandments is taken from the inequality of 
 the objects, about which they are conversant. . . . Because 
 man is infinitely less than GrOD, those Commands, that relate to 
 our duty towards man, may be called less, than those com- 
 mands, that relate to our duty towards GrOD. S. Matt, v, 19. 
 Bp. Hopkins. (Serm. on S. Matt. v. 19.) 
 
 29 Their learned men disputed which was the great commandment 
 of the Law. Some contended for the laws, respecting phylac- 
 
S. MARK XII. 29. 305 
 
 teries ; others for those, which regarded Circumcision ; others 
 for those, which regarded sacrifices. "With this diifereuce of 
 opinions they came to Christ. Lightfoot remarks the judicious 
 management of the Lord in a;Voiding offence by giving a reply, 
 which, while it magnified the Moral Law, would seem to do 
 honour to one of their favourite Levitical Institutions ; " He 
 suits an answer to him from that very passage, which was the 
 first in the writing of the phylacteries — Heai', ! Israel ; He 
 directs the eyes and minds of those, who repeated them, to the 
 sense and marrow of the thing repeated ; and that they rest 
 not in the bare work of repeating them." The Evangelists, 
 who generally give a simple record of facts, leaving others to 
 draw their own inferences, in this instance notice the efi"ect 
 produced by our Lord's reply: No man after that durst ask 
 Him any questions, ii. 5, 8 ; xii. 34 ; S. Matt. xxii. 46 ; S. 
 John ii. 25 ; vii. 46. Bp. Sumner. (On the Ministerial Cha- 
 racter of Christ. Ch. 8.) 
 
 S. Mark reminded those, who had been educated in polytheism, 
 of the Oneness of the Godhead by a larger quotation of the 
 Divine Oracle (Conf. S. Matt. xxii. 36 -40) ; and, by shewing 
 among whom it originated, hinted_to the haughty Eomans that 
 the instruments of conveying the first of truths to them were a 
 people, whom they were apt to despise, but to whom " Hear, O 
 Israel,'' was addressed, long before Eome existed. By insinuat- 
 ing this lesson of humility, he co-operated with S. Paul, who 
 found it requisite to recommend specially to the E-oman Church, 
 "not to be highminded." Eom. xi. 20. (Eefer to i. 1. /. F.) 
 Dr. Townson. (Discourse v. Sect. iii. 4.) 
 
 A Commandment is the sooner admitted, if the reasonableness of 
 the ground thereof be first discovered. This is taken from the 
 preface. Hear, O Israel ; the Lord thy GrOD is One : but 
 One ; therefore the entire object of our love. He will not give 
 His glory to another ; neither ^will He suffer any co-rival 
 therein. The beginning, the middle, and the end of this object 
 is only He, that is Alpha and Omega, the first and last. Had 
 we "many Lords," then we might have many objects of our 
 love. The objects can no more be multiplied, than He can. 
 Take all the parts of His title asunder, and you will find One- 
 
306 s. make: xii. 29, so. 
 
 ness and entireness therein. Deut. vi. 4 ; 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6. 
 Bp. Lake. (Serm. ou S. Matt. xxii. 27.) 
 Hear, O Israel; the Loed our GrOD is One Lord.— The One G-od 
 is the One Loed, and the One Loed is the One God, both to 
 Jews and Christians. "Who is God, save the Loed?" (Ps. 
 xviii. 31.) This is perfectly consistent with 1 Cor. viii. 6, where 
 the Fathee is called the " One G-od," and the Son the " One 
 Loed," not in contradistinction to each other, as is evident 
 from the two texts just quoted, and from one hundred and 
 twelve passages of Scripture, wherein "the Loed G-od" is 
 jointly mentioned, as One only Being ; and Cheist Himself 
 saith, " My Fathee and I are One," One Being, "Ei/ iafiev. 
 
 1 S. John V. 7. P. Skelton. (Senilia. 44.) 
 
 It is the grand fundamental of all religion to profess and believe 
 the Unity of the Godhead. Yet the sacred mystery of a Trinity 
 of Persons in that Unity is also implied, as the object of our 
 faith, adoration, and love, especially if we render the words, 
 (Deut. vi. 4,) as our best critics do, " The Loed, our God, the 
 Loed is One;" or thus, "Jehovah, our God, Jehovah is 
 One." Wogan. (On the Lessons. Sunday iv. after Easter.) 
 
 Beus Unissimus. A G-OD of most simple and entire Unity. S. 
 Bernard. 
 
 Si non est Unus, non est. If not One, then not God. Tertullian. 
 
 30 Modus diligendi Deum est diligere sine modo. The measure of 
 our love to God is, that we love Him beyond all measure. 
 
 2 Cor. V. 14, 15. S. Bernard. (Tract, de Dilig. Deum.) 
 Minus Te amat, Domine, qui Tecum aliquid amat^ quod non propter 
 
 Te amat. Loed, he deducts from the love, which is Thy due, 
 who combines with this love aught, which is not loved for Thy 
 sake. Col. iii. 17. *S^. Augustine. (Confess. L. x. c. 29.) 
 
 What am I to Thee, that Thou shouldst command my love towards 
 Thee, and that, on my withholding it. Thou shouldst be angry, 
 so as to threaten me with heavy calamities ? Is it then, in 
 itself, a small calamity to live without loving Thee ? Ps. xci. 
 14 — 16 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 22. »S^. Augustine. (Confess. L. i. c. 5.) 
 
 It is no small prerogative, that is intimated in this word, " Thy 
 God." I understand now what an honour is done to the Pa- 
 triarchs, when God said, "I am the God of Abraham, the 
 
S. MARK XII. 30, 31. 307 
 
 Q-OD of Isaac, and tlie God of Jacob ;" what honour is done to 
 David's Son, when Gron said, "I will be His Father." This 
 appropriation of Gron is the greatest prerogative, vouchsafed 
 unto the Church. S. John xx. 28 ; Gral. ii. 20. Bp. Lake. 
 (Serm. on S. Matt. xxii. 34—40.) 
 
 Of all things God requireth this faith and persuasion of His 
 fatherly goodness, as the chiefest service ; for, before He asks 
 anything of us, He saith, " I am the Lord thy God ;" giving 
 Himself and all that He hath to be our own. /. Bradford. 
 
 " The Lord our God," as He is the Head of the Communion of 
 Saints ; " The Lord thy God" as He is the Head of every 
 particular member in the same mystical Body. That we may 
 love Him, and also, for His sake, love one another, we must 
 apprehend the Lord God, in both these relations. Ps. xlviii. 
 13 ; S. John xx. 28 ; IS. John v. 1, 2. J. F. 
 
 Our Saviotjr places the Love of God at the head of all morality, 
 telling us, that it is the first and great Commandment. And His 
 Apostle S. Paul places it at the rear of it, telling us (1 Tim. i. 
 5) that " the end of the Commandment is Charity.'" So then 
 from both these, put together, the result will be, that the love 
 of God is both the first and the last, the beginning and the 
 end, the foundation and the top-work, the principle and the 
 accomplishment of all moral perfection. And no doubt, but 
 the first devoir (duty), which in order of conception we can 
 suppose to result from the being of an intelligent creature will 
 be to love the Author of it ; and, if He, who is the Author of 
 our being, be also the Author of all the good, comfort, pleasure, 
 and happiness of our being, nay even of our very power and 
 force of loving, then, as we begin with Him, so we, must end 
 with Him too, and make Him the term and object of our whole 
 love, uniting ourselves to Him with all that we are, with all 
 our heart, and soul, and mind. Eom. xiii. 8 — 10 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 
 13. Norris. (Letters. Philos. and Divine.) 
 
 He emphatically calls it The first ; that the inference, as relating 
 to the second and inseparable from it, might more readily be 
 made. x. 9. Victor Antioch. 
 
 31 To such a Father, who overwhelms me with His inestimable 
 loving kindness, must I not liberally, cheerfully, and with my 
 
 X 2 
 
308 S. MARK XII. 31. 
 
 whole heart do everything, which T shall know to be pleasing 
 in H is sight ? I therefore, after the example of Christ, and 
 as far as I am capable of imitating Him, would give up my- 
 self to my neighbour, as Christ has given up Himself for me : 
 I am determined to do nothing in this life, except what I shall 
 see to be conducive to his good, since by faith I myself abound 
 in all blessings through Christ. Eom. xv. 1 — 3; 1 S. John 
 iii. 17. Luther. (Treatise on Christian Liberty.) 
 
 And for our behaviour towards each other, what better direc- 
 tions can we have, than these, which our Grospel affords us ; 
 that we cordially love one another, earnestly desire each other's 
 good, pity all the evils of our brethren, be ready to afford them 
 all the help and comfort we can ; not limiting this our charity, 
 but extending it to all, in imitation of GtOd's boundless benefi- 
 cence ; that we should mutually bear infirmities, and pardon 
 all injuries done us, not rendering evil for evil ; but requiting 
 evil with good ; that we be just and honest in all our dealings ; 
 observant of all duties concerning our relations ; diligent in our 
 callings ; peaceable and quiet in our stations, respective and 
 obedient to our superiors ; meek, and gentle, and courteous in 
 our behaviour towards all men ; rooting out all malice, wrath, 
 envy, strife, animosity, ill suspicion out of our hearts ; forbear- 
 ing to deride, slander, detract, or rashly to censure any man ? 
 Now what great benefits is it not evident that the practice of 
 such duties would bring forth ! What mischiefs would it pre- 
 vent ! How sociable, and pleasant, and secure a life should we 
 lead therein! What innumerable griefs and troubles, fears 
 and suspicions, discomposures and distractions of mind at home, 
 what dangers, tumults, confusions, and tragedies abroad, would 
 it remove ! This part therefore of our rule plainly deserves the 
 impression of Divine authority upon it. Deut. x. 13 ; Ps. 
 cxxxiii. 1 ; Acts ii. 41—47. Dr. Barrow. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 
 There is none other cotmnandmenty ^c. — It is a question proposed 
 by S. Augustine, why we are so often, in Scripture, enjoined to 
 love God and our neighbours, but have no precept anywhere, 
 commanding us to love ourselves? To which he gives this 
 answer, Fingi non potest major dilectio sui, quam dilectio Dei. 
 The highest and truest self-love is to love that, which alone can 
 make us hap])y. Men do not need any motive, or argument 
 
S. MAKK XII. 31. 309 
 
 to persuade them to love themselves. It is a natural principle, 
 rather than a moral duty ; they must do so, nor can they do 
 otherwise : only this is that, wherein they stand in greatest 
 need of direction, how to set this natural principle on work on 
 its due object. Felicity must be every man's chief end ; there 
 is no need of persuading any one to that ; all the difficulty is, 
 to convince men, wherein this happiness doth consist. And 
 there is no rational considering man, but must needs grant it 
 to be in the fruition of the First and Supreme Grood ; so that 
 to love God, as our happiness, is to love ourselves ; beyond 
 which there is nothing to be said, or fancied, by way of motive 
 or persuasion. Deut. vi. 3 — 5 ; x. 12, 13 ; Eph. v. 29 ; Ps. 
 xci. 14 — 16. Bp. Wilkins. (Of the principles and duties of 
 natural Iteligion. B. i. c. 14.) 
 
 None othevy ^c. — "Were the Bible not Divine, it would have 
 failed, through excess of precept. It would have attempted 
 too much. We should discover the weakness of a secondary 
 mind, through the very pains, that would be taken to prove 
 itself an all-sufficient one. Artis est celare artem : and we be- 
 lieve that none, except the first and great Artificer, He, who 
 fashioned man in the beginning and all the structure of the 
 universe, could have devised such a code, as that of Scripture, 
 containing with so much simplicity, in so very small a compass, 
 such treasure of wisdom, as appears the more inexhaustible, in 
 proportion as it is the more scrutinized. S. Matt, xxviii. 20 ; 
 Ps. xix. 7—11; Eom. x. 5—13. J. Miller. (Bampt. Lec- 
 tures. 4.) 
 
 The counsel of the Lord, at the Creation, in gathering the light 
 of the firmament into two great bodies, (or light-bearers,) the 
 sun and the moon, and in likewise gathering the waters on the 
 earth into one vast reservoir, the sea, (Gen. i. 10, 16,) seems 
 to have been the type of a corresponding order of things, in 
 His moral dealings with mankind. Thus, for instance, we find 
 all those precepts, which are dispersed in the Holy Scriptures, 
 virtually to be contained in the Ten Commandments. (S. Matt, 
 xxii. 41.) S. Augustine teaches (Ep. ad Probam, 121) that every 
 lawful request, we can ask of God, is comprised in the Lord's 
 Prayer. (Eef. xi. 23.) The two Sacraments of the Church are 
 God's summary conveyances to us of all the mercies of salva- 
 
310 S. MARK XII. 31. 
 
 tion, as far as in this life we are capable of receiving them. 
 And what is the Creed, but the contraction into a small com- 
 pass of that, which is expanded in the Scriptures? — the con- 
 centred light of all doctrines, necessarily to be believed, Avhere 
 known, unto man's everlasting salvation ? All the works of 
 GrOD tend to the most perfect oneness and simplicity : how un- 
 like the works of man ! Ps. cxlv. 10—12. J. F. 
 It is Love, that alone discriminates between the sons of GtOD, and 
 the sons of the devil. S. Augustine. (Tract, v. in Joan.) 
 
 Sum Deus omnipotens, cceli terrseque Creator : I. 
 
 Non erit omnino tibi, prseter Me, Deus alter. 
 
 JSTon simulacra coles, nee Me sub imagine pinges ; II. 
 
 Dedecorat Summum qui tentet pingere Numen. 
 
 JSTon frustra sumes Sanctum Dominique Deique III. 
 
 Nomen in ore tuo ; qui fecerit hand erit insons. 
 
 Sunt tibi, dum vivas, Mea Sabbata sacra colenda IV. 
 
 Si venerare Deum, fac ut venerere parentes, V. 
 
 Ut sis longsevus, vitam ducasque beatam. 
 
 Innocuo maculare tuam fuge sanguine dextram. YI. 
 
 Tu nee adulter eris ; tibi sint connubia sancta. YII. 
 
 Non furtum facies, nee censors furibus esto. YIII. 
 
 Mentiri noli ; non coram judice falsus IX. 
 
 Testis eris ; falsos testes Deus odit, et arcet. 
 
 Non te vicini fundi, nee conjugis unquam, X. 
 
 Nee famuli illius capiet malesuada cupido. 
 
 G. Nicols. (Ilepl apyuov. Lib. 4.) 
 
 32 And the scribe said unto Him, Well, Master, 
 Thou hast said the truth : for there is one God ; and 
 there is none other but He : 
 
 33 And to love Him with all the heart, and with 
 all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with 
 all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, 
 is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 
 
 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered dis- 
 creetly. He said unto him. Thou art not far from the 
 
S. MARK XII. 33, 34. 311 
 
 kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask 
 Him any question, 
 
 33 'Tis then, therefore, that we best honour G-od, when by the 
 practice of true godliness we conform our wills and affections 
 to Him, and derive into ourselves His nature and perfections ; 
 and should you erect to Him a temple, more magnificent than 
 Solomon's, and load His altars with hecatombs of sacrifices, and 
 make it perpetually ring with Psalms and resounding choirs of 
 Hallelujahs, it would not be comparably so great an honour to 
 Him, as to convert your own souls into living temples, and 
 make them the habitations of His glory and perfection. For 
 He values no sacrifices, like that of an obedient will, delights 
 in no choir, like that of pure and heavenly affections ; nor hath 
 He in all His creation an ensign of honour, so truly worthy 
 of Him, as that of a Divine and Grodlike soul, a soul, that re- 
 flects His Image, and shines back His own Glory upon Him. 
 Wherefore, since 'tis by the practice of moral goodness, that 
 we receive God, and copy His nature into our own, it is no 
 wonder He should make it the principal part of our duty. 
 Isa. i. 10—17 ; Kom. xii. 1, 2. Dr. J. Scott. (Christian Life. 
 P. ii. c. i.) 
 
 He, who studies innocence, is at his devotion ; he, who is doing 
 justice, is doing sacrifice : to abstain from injuries is to pro- 
 pitiate the Deity ; and to save a man is to slay the noblest 
 victim. Behold, there are our sacrifices ; there the Christian 
 rites of worship : thus, amongst us, the best worshipper is the 
 justest man. Ecclus. xxxv. 1, 2 ; Isa. Ixvi. 1 — 3 ; S. Luke xi. 
 41 ; Heb. xiii. 16. M. Minucius Felix. (Octavius, s. 32.) 
 
 In our obedience there is an offering made of our own will ; 
 but, in these sacrifices, caro aliena mactatur, another's flesh is 
 offered. 2 Sam. xv. 12 ; Eom. xii. 1. S. Gregory. 
 
 34 Persons, who are only imperfectly acquainted with Christian 
 truth, are, notwithstanding, vividly sensible sometimes of its 
 beauty, vi. 20 ; S. Luke iv. 22 ; S. John vii. 46 ; Eom. vii. 
 16, 22. Beiigel. 
 
 Discretion in speech is more than eloquence. Job vi. 25, 26 ; 
 Prov. XV. 1, 2, 4, 7, 23, 28. Lord Bacon. (Essays. 32.) 
 
312 S. MAKK XII. 34. 
 
 A person may be said to be not far from grace, because, if he did 
 proceed a little farther, he would possibly attain to true grace. 
 Had such but improved their natural power to such a degree 
 farther, God would have come in with power supernatural, and 
 have wrought that true and saving principle in their lives, 
 which would have been sure to have brought them to eternal 
 life. Grrace, indeed, hath such a kind of dependence upon 
 that, which is natural ; and that dependence is not so much of 
 causality, as of order and consequence ; which, though it be 
 not necessary, yet is commonly granted on all hands. Ps. xxv, 
 14; 1. 23; S. John xii. 20, 21, 26, and viii. 31. B]). Hopkins. 
 (Serm. on Acts xxvi. 28.) 
 
 We learn from S. Matt. xxii. 35, that this Scribe, or lawyer, asked 
 the question with an unfriendly and wicked design, " tempting 
 Him." Does it not, therefore, justly minister some cause of 
 surprise, that our Lord should, a moment after, say unto him, 
 " Thou art not far from the kingdom of God ?" But can we 
 limit God's mercy ? Who shall say, during this short inter- 
 view with " the God of all grace," what change, preparatory to 
 true faith and conversion, might have passed upon this man's 
 heart ? He came " tempting;" and behold, now he is not far 
 from the kingdom of GoD ! For our sakes may not this be 
 written, that *' he, that plougheth, should plough in hope?" 
 (I Cor. ix. 10.) While the Ministers of Cheist are engaged 
 in doing their part, in sowing, peradventure with a faint and 
 almost despairing heart, the seed of eternal life, may not their 
 Divine Master be nigh at hand, causing the seed at once to 
 quicken, and Blessing so immediately His own ordinance of 
 preaching, that some, who " came to scoff, may remain to 
 pray?" And do we not need such encouragement ? J. F. 
 
 Any more serpentine questions. — Christ, by answering them, got 
 honour amongst the people, who wondered at His readiness and 
 wisdom; they therefore gave over playing the serpents, and 
 turned lions. The next news we hear of them is, that they 
 contrive and compass the death of Christ, xiv. 2; xv. 10. 
 Bp. Lake. (Serm. on S. Matt. xxii. 34—40.) 
 
 They came to "catch Him in His words," (v. 13,) but "never 
 man spake like this man." (S. John vii. 46.) He reached the 
 
S. MAEK XII. 34, 35. 
 
 313 
 
 perfect standard of S. James, (iii. 2,) "If any man offend not 
 in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the 
 whole body." He had no unruly bad passions of His own to 
 restrain; but He "bridled the whole body" of the Satanic 
 host ; He was able to repel all the fiery darts of malicious 
 cavil and censure, and to return them with fatal aim against 
 the false tongue, speaking perverse things against Him. xi. 
 27—33. J. F. 
 To multiply questions is not the way to improve religion. The 
 zeal of men should be turned from curiosity of speculation to 
 honesty of practice. Eom. xiv. 17 — 19; 1 Tim. i. 3 — 7. Dr. 
 Whichcote. (Cent. xi. Aphor. 1036.) 
 
 35 And Jesus answered and said, while He taught 
 in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the 
 Son of David ? 
 
 36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, 
 The Lord said to my Lord, Sit Thou on My right 
 hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. 
 
 37 David therefore himself calleth Him Lord ; and 
 whence is He then his Son ? And the common people 
 heard Him gladly. 
 
 35 The obliging heretics and infidels to explain their opinions is 
 the surest way to put them to a shameful silence. S. Luke 
 xix. 23 ; Acts xix. 15. Bp. Wilson. (Maxims.) 
 
 " How say the Scribes," &c. — What would we have then ? Hath 
 not the Eoman Church* plainly enough expressed that peculiar 
 
 * The ancient Eoman Church is here 
 meant, whose Creed was the same with 
 that called the Apostles' Creed. Epis- 
 copius maintained that the Arians and 
 Socinians should be regarded, as bre- 
 thren, on the ground of their re- 
 ceiving this Creed. Bp. Bull proves 
 that the meaning of the words in that 
 Creed, " His only Son,'" unquestion- 
 ably was, according to the concui'rent 
 
 opinions of the Fathers of the three 
 first centimes, that the Son was be- 
 gotten of God, the Fathee, from all 
 eternity. By thus fixing the acknow- 
 ledged and true sense of the Creed, he 
 refuses to give the right hand of fellow- 
 ship to those, who reject the doctrme 
 of Christ's FiHation, as thus autho- 
 ritatively explained. 
 
314 S. MAEK XII. 35, 36. 
 
 manner of Jesus Cheist's riliation, concerning which Epis- 
 copius speaks, in this Creed ? Hath she not used the very 
 words, by which all persons confess, that this manner of Filia- 
 tion was denoted in that age and Church ? What, though 
 some modern heretics can coin a new exposition ? Surely the 
 Creeds of the Churches are to be expounded from the sense of 
 the Churches, and not the wild imagination of heretics. If 
 this were once admitted, there would be soon an end of every 
 article of our Eaith. He does not hold the Creed of any 
 Church, who does not understand it in the sense of the Church. 
 S. Luke i. 2 ; 1 Tim. i. 3 ; iii. 15. Bp. Bull. ( Jud. Eccles. 
 Cath. c. V. s. 10.) 
 
 "We affirm that the sense, as well as the letter of the Scripture, in 
 all matters, necessary either to be done or believed, hath been 
 the Depositum of the Church, and faithfully preserved under 
 its keeping ; that the whole Eaith, which, as the Apostle says, 
 was aira^, " Sit once delivered unto the Saints," had at the 
 same time its meaning delivered ; which, from them has been 
 derived by indubitable testimony, as the matter of our uniform 
 belief. 1 Tim. i. 18, 19 ; 2 Tim. i. 13, 14 ; ii. 2 ; 1 S. Pet. iii. 
 16. Dean Young. (Serm. on Rom. i. 22.) 
 
 36 The Law alone was the Sadducees' Scripture, (v. 19 ;) they 
 received no more : the Law and the Prophets were especially 
 the Scribes' Scripture ; they interpreted that : the Christian's 
 Scripture in the Old Testament is especially the Psalms ; for, 
 (except the Prophet Isaiah be admitted into the comparison,) 
 no Book of the Old Testament is so like a G-ospel, so particular 
 in all things concerning Christ, as the Psalms, xiv. 26 ; Acts 
 ii. 25 ; iv. 25 ; xiii. 33 — 5 ; Col. iii. 16. Dr. Donne. (Serm. 
 on Ps. Ixii. 9.) 
 
 It is not to be forgotten that the Prophetic Psalms are among 
 the earliest discoveries, made of the exalted nature and proper 
 dignity of Chbist. The promise of the blessing to come by 
 the seed of Abraham showed the magnitude of the benefit. (Gen. 
 xxii. 17, 18) ; but not the Personal Glory of the Benefactor. 
 In the Psalms, His Personal attributes and His Divine Sonship 
 invest the prophecy, and introduce the object of worship. 
 (Conf Ps. ii. xlv. ex.) Davison. (On Prophecy. P. ii. Disc. 5.) 
 
S. MAEK XII. 36, 37. 315 
 
 Although the sense of near fift}'" Psalms be fixed and settled by 
 Divine authors, yet our Loed and His Apostles did not under- 
 take to quote all the Psalms, they could quote ; but only gave 
 a key to their hearers, by which they might apply to the same 
 subjects the Psalms of the same composure and expression. 
 Dr. Allix. (Pref. to his Book of Psalms.) 
 
 It behoves Him to establish His Kingdom with such glorious 
 display of truth, that His very enemies shall by no means dare 
 to deny that " He reigneth." 2 Thess. i. 7—10; Eev. i. 7. 
 S. Augustine. 
 
 37 And the common people heard Hi?n gladly. — In good truth, the 
 more we know of Christianity and of the poor, the more deeply 
 shall we be impressed with the exact adaptation of the one to 
 the other, both in the substance of what it teaches, and in the 
 manner of teaching. And the poor, it is carefully to be re- 
 membered, must ever constitute the great majority of those, to 
 whom Christianity is addressed. Keble. (Serm. on Ps. cxix. 
 99, 100. 
 
 Discard, my Ileverend brethren, these injurious uncharitable sur- 
 mises of a want of capacity in your hearers. A want of capa- 
 city in these subjects is a want of faith ; and the surmise of a 
 want of faith in the common people, more than in their betters, 
 is in truth a distrust of God ; as if He would be wanting to 
 His own work, and fail to give all men faith to receive a dis- 
 covery, made by His express command, or rather by Himself, 
 to all, of a scheme of mercy, in which all are interested. Pray 
 earnestly to God to assist the ministration of the Word by the 
 secret influence of His Holy Spirit in the minds of your hear- 
 ers ; and, nothing doubting that your prayers are heard, how- 
 ever mean and illiterate the congregation may be, in which you 
 exercise your sacred function, fear not to set before them " the 
 whole counsel of God." S. Matt. xi. 5; Acts xiii. 42, 44; 
 1 Cor. i. 26—31 ; Isa. Iv. 8—10. Bp. Horsley. (Charge, a.d, 
 1790.) 
 
 Yse captiosis sycophantarum strophis ! 
 
 Vse versipelli astutisB ! 
 Nodos tenaces recta rumpit Kegula, 
 Infesta dissertantibus. 
 
316 S. MARK XII. 38. 
 
 Idcirco mundi stulta delegit Deus, 
 
 Ut concidant sophistica. 
 Deque imbeeillis subjugavit fortia, 
 
 Simplex ut esset credere. 
 
 Prudentius. (Apotheosis.) 
 
 38 And He said unto them in His doctrine, Beware 
 of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and 
 love salutations in the marketplaces, 
 
 39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the 
 uppermost rooms at feasts : 
 
 40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pre- 
 tence make long prayers ; these shall receive greater 
 damnation. 
 
 38 There was probably no sin in " the long clothing ;" but then 
 they loved to wear it. They loved to appear publicly with this 
 vain ostentation, to use it as a mark of some superior sanctity, 
 yea more, as a cloak of hypocrisy. Dolosi homines, dolosce vestes, 
 {Macrobius) the dissembling dress bespeaks the dissembling 
 mind. iv. 19 ; S. Matt. vi. 1 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 3. J. F. 
 
 Let thy apparel be decent, and suited to the quality of thy place 
 and purse. Too much punctuality and too much morosity are 
 the two poles of pride. F. Quarles. (Enchir. Cent. iii. 67.) 
 In vestimentis non est contritio mentis ; 
 Si mens sit pura, nil confert regula dura. 
 
 Illyricus. 
 
 Love salutations in the market places. — If I converse with politi- 
 cians and men of business, it makes me worldly ; if with men 
 of learning and wit, it makes me vain ; if with fair persons, I 
 am in danger of being sensual ; if with great ones, of being 
 proud. Oh, my God, how many snares are scattered in all my 
 ways ! What need have I to take care of myself within, since 
 it is impossible to prevent occasions of evil without ! All these 
 are the occasions of our warfare : but Thou hast made Thy 
 Grace sufficient for them all ! Ps. cxviii. 3 ; Eph. vi. 18 ; 1 Cor. 
 xvi. 13. Bonnell. (Life, p. 200.) 
 
S. MARK XII. 39, 40. 317 
 
 39 This inconsistency is monstrous. Sedes prima, vita ima ; the 
 first place, but the lowest \iie~-lingua magniloqua^ et manus 
 otiosa ; a tongue speaking great things, but a hand doing 
 nothing at all — sermo multus, et fructus nullus, much talk, but 
 no profit. Ps. Ixxviii. 10 ; S. Matt. vii. 21 ; S. James i. 22. 
 S. Bernard. (Lib. ii. Consid. ad Eugen.) 
 
 40 In what triumphant measures doth a Pharisee go from the 
 altar ! What a harmless thing is a cheat, after a sermon ! 
 What a sweet morsel is a widow's house, after long prayers ! 
 What a piece of justice is oppression, after a fast ! After so 
 much ceremony, the blood of Abel himself, of the justest man 
 alive, hath no voice. Prov. vii. 14. Farindon. (Serm. on 
 Micah vi. 8. Part 1.) 
 
 Right Pharisees, by their long-winded prayers winding them- 
 selves into the opinions of some, and the estates of others. Job 
 xxvii. 8, 9 ; Isa. Iviii. 1, 2, &c. ; Eom. xvi. 18 ; Gral. vi. 12. 
 Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. on S. Luke xvi. 8.) 
 
 Nothing is more provoking to GtOd, than the use of holy things 
 without the conversion of the heart. Mai. i. 14 ; Jer. ii. 4 — 
 11 ; Acts V. 5 — 10. Bp. Wilson. (Maxims.) 
 
 WTien our Sayioue rakes up the bottom of hell, who, do you find, 
 lies there ? Is it the drunkard, the unclean person, such sot- 
 tish and swinish sinners ? No ; but it is the hypocrite, the 
 spiritual and refined sinners. Pride, envy, unbelief, hypocrisy, 
 hardness of heart, slighting of Jesus Cheist, and the like, are 
 those sins, that are so inconsistent with the image of GtOD upon 
 the soul, that, of all other sins, they make men nearest to re- 
 semble the devil ; to be guilty of those sins is to be a sinner, 
 like him. Those brutish lusts, wherein sensualists wallow, are 
 not the proper sins of the devil ; no ; they are intellectual sins, 
 clarified from such dregs. Jer. ix. 25, 26; S. Matt. xxiv. 51 ; 
 S. Luke xvi. 15 ; 1 Tim. vi. 5 ; 2 Tim. iii. 8. Bp. Hopkins. 
 (Serm. on S. John iii. 5.) 
 
 Hear this, ye, that wear out the floor of God's house with your 
 frequent attendance ; ye, that have your ears open to Gron's 
 messengers, and yet shut to the cries of the poor, of the orphan, 
 of the labourer, of the distressed debtor ; ye, that can lift up 
 those hands to heaven in your fashionable prayers, which ye 
 
318 S. MARK XII. 40. 
 
 have not reached out to the relief of the needy members of 
 your Savioub ; ye, that have a fluent tongue to talk unto God, 
 and have no tongue to speak for GtOd, or to speak in the 
 cause of the dumb ; — ye have " a form of godliness, but deny 
 the power thereof." . . . This your very privative denial, shall, 
 without your repentance, damn your souls. Eemember, Oh, 
 remember, that there needs no other ground of your last and 
 heaviest doom, than " Te have not given. Ye have not visited." 
 (S. Matt. XXV. 40.) But the positive denial is yet more irre- 
 fragable : if very privations and silence speak, much more are 
 actions vocal. Isa. i. 10 — 16; S. Mark vi. 20; S. Luke x. 81, 
 32 ; S. James v. 4. Bp. Hall. (Serm. on 2 Tim. iii. 5.) 
 
 Let the preacher speak after Gron, and fear not, though the 
 wicked should wince, when he lances, and the affectedly nice 
 ascribe that shock to their delicacy, — (at the mention of hell) 
 — which is felt only in their guilt .... If avarice, or ambi- 
 tion, or pride, or oppression, or, if riot, sensuality, lust, and 
 villany show themselves triumphant in their actions, he ought 
 to show them the latitude of the road they are in, and the 
 " fire and brimstone," yes, I say, " fire and brimstone," in which 
 it ends. (S. Matt. vii. 13.) If they would have him delicate 
 in his preaching, let them be delicate in the morality of their 
 actions. But what right hath the stupid drunkard to soft 
 words ? or the hardened adulterer to delicate expressions ? or 
 the despicable trickster to honourable addresses ? or the in- 
 fernal perverter of justice, the cruel oppressor, the horrid mur- 
 derer, to tender, or distant admonitions from him, who delivers 
 a message of vengeance from the Lord of Hosts and the Judge 
 of heaven and earth? 2 Cor. v. 11; G-al. i. 10; Jer. i. 7, 8, 
 15—19. P. Skelton. (Serm. on S. Matt. xxv. 46.) 
 
 Numquid aliud Judex nunciaf, aliud prceco clamat ? Does then the 
 Judge ever announce one thing, and the officer in the Court 
 proclaim another? Numb, xxxii. 38; Isa. xl. 8 — 8; 1 S. Pet. 
 iv, 11. S. Gregory. (Hom. 27. in Evangel.) 
 
 41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and 
 beheld how the people cast money into the treasury : 
 and many that were rich cast in much. 
 
S. MAEK XII. 41. 319 
 
 42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she 
 threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 
 
 43 And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith 
 unto them. Verily I say unto you. That this poor 
 widow hath cast more in, than all they which have 
 cast into the treasury : 
 
 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance ; but 
 she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all 
 her living. 
 
 41 Our LoED has the spirit of a true reformer. He reforms 
 abuses with much zeal, but with as much moderation. He 
 casts out the abuses, but doth not forbid the duties of the 
 Temple. He whips out the merchants, but not the Ministers 
 from the House of God ; overthrows the tables of the money- 
 changers, but ransacks not the treasury of the Temple ; nay, 
 He countenances that, and gives encouragement to it. Mai. 
 iii. 1. Bp. Brownrig. Serm. S. John xii. 24. 
 
 Jesus sat over against the treasury. — This seems like a rehearsal 
 of the great Judgment Day, when the Loed shall " sit in judg- 
 ment," and when our works of charity done in this present life 
 shall pass before Him. Surely our conduct in the temple of 
 GrOD, and, more especially, during the reading at the Offertory, 
 will form special articles of inquiry at that dread Visitation, 
 xiii. 3 ; S. Matt. xxv. 31, 35. /. F. 
 
 The Offertory was designed to be a means of discharging one of 
 the most sacred duties, and of exercising, I had almost said, 
 the highest privilege of Christians, the duty and the privilege 
 of " giving to GrOD of His own." . . This is a duty, which is alike 
 bound on the conscience of all to perform, a privilege, which is 
 alike and equally within the ability of all to exercise, that the 
 poorest can give to GtOD, as much as the richest, if he give from 
 the heart. In truth, it is among the most obvious, as well as 
 greatest benefits of such an usage, that it tends largely to ex- 
 cite and invigorate the feelings, which most become a Chris- 
 tian. It makes every worshipper of Cheist feel that the love 
 
320 S. MARK XII. 41. 
 
 of man, eviuced in providing for the temporal, as well as spi- 
 ritual wants of man, is a necessary accompaniment of the wor- 
 ship of God, if that worship be " in spirit and in truth." It 
 gives an opportunity of strengthening this feeling, by at once 
 acting on it, free from the alloy of worldly motives, of vanity, 
 and ostentation; thus at once fulfilling S. Paul's direction, 
 "He, that giveth, let him do it with simplicity." It is, be- 
 sides, continually recurring ; continually therefore impressing 
 on us the lesson, "Freely have ye received; freely give." . . . 
 It enables almost every man among us to bear his part in the 
 common concerns of the Church, and thus to make him feel 
 that he is a Churchman, to feel that Church-membership is 
 not merely a profession, but a bond of union and a principle of 
 united action. Acts iv. 35 ; vi. 1 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2 ; Heb. x. 24, 
 25 ; xiii. 15, 16 ; vi. 10. Bp. Phillpotts. (Letter to the Clergy 
 of the Diocese of Exeter on the use of the Offertory.) 
 
 Be careful in all the public Ministrations of your parish that the 
 poor be provided for. Think it no shame to beg for Christ's 
 poor members ; stir up the people to liberal alms by your word 
 and by your example. Let a collection be made every Lord's 
 day, and upon all solemn meetings, and at every Communion ; 
 and let the collection be wisely and piously administered ; ever 
 remembering, that, at the day of Judgment, nothing shall pub- 
 licly be proclaimed, but the reward of alms and mercy. (See 
 Pet. Chrysol. Illustr. S. Matt. xxv. 35.) Bp. J. Taylor. (Ad- 
 vice to his Clergy, s. vii. 81.) 
 
 Many that were rich, 8iC. — Pride is the ape of charity ; in show, 
 not much unlike ; but somewhat fuller in action. On seeking 
 the one, take heed thou light not upon the other. They are 
 two parallels ; never, but asunder. Charity feeds the poor ; so 
 does pride. Charity builds a hospital; so does pride. In this 
 they differ : charity gives her glory to God ; pride takes her 
 glory from man. S. Matt. vi. I — 4 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 3. F. Quarles. 
 (Enchir. cent. ii. 9.) 
 
 What does it profit a man to impoverish himself by giving to the 
 poor, if he is more proud of his contempt of riches, than he was 
 of the possession of them ? Superbia botiis operibus insidiatur, 
 ut pereant. Pride lies in wait to destroy our good works. 
 
S. MARK XII. 42—44. 321 
 
 S. Luke xviii. 12. S. Augvstine. (In Eegula ad Servos 
 Dei.) 
 
 42 And there came a certain poor widow, ^c. — No stronger proof 
 could have been afforded us, that, in the midst of the greatest 
 national guilt, each individual is still an object of His peculiar 
 regard; and that even, after the judgment has been finally 
 decreed, no one prayer, no one act of obedience, no single mite, 
 which is, in truth, the offering of faith and love, can escape 
 the notice of our Sayioue. W. Adam. S. Luke iv. 25, 26. 
 (Warnings of the Holy Week.) 
 
 43 The Divine eye looks upon high and low, differently from that 
 of man. He looks upon those, as highest, who nearest approach 
 His Divinity, and upon those, as lowest, who are furthest from 
 it. 1 Sam. ii. 3—5 ; xvi. 7. Sir Th. Browne. (Eel. Med.) 
 
 There are of martyrdoms, without blood, three kinds ; largitas in 
 paupertate^ parcitas in ubertate, castitas in juventute, munifi- 
 cence in a state of poverty, parsimony in the midst of plenty, 
 and continence at the season of youth. 2 Cor. viii. 1 — 3 ; Dan. 
 i. 8, 12 ; Gen. xxxix. 7—10. S. Bernard. 
 
 Cum pectus gratum, tum sunt quoque munera grata ; 
 
 Yisus Abel primum est, postea dona, Deo. 
 O quam falluntur, sua qui jucunda Tonanti 
 
 Vota putant, cum sint pectore nata malo ! 
 Non satis est serti careant quod pulvere flores ; 
 
 Pura legentis enim debet et esse manus. 
 Sic quoque non satis est quod sint tua vota precesque, 
 
 W\ quoque sit pariter mens, sine labe mali. 
 
 Gen. iv. 4, 5. Billius. (Anthol. Sacra, xclii.) 
 
 44 God regards not how much we do, but from how much it 
 proceeds. He does much, that loves much. 1 Cor. xiii. 3. 
 Bp. J. Taylor. (The Golden Grove. Via pacis.) 
 
 God does not suffer Himself to be allured by men's gifts. He 
 does not esteem us for what we bring to Him, but for what we 
 ourselves are. " He loveth a cheerful giver." (2 Cor. ix. 7.) 
 He does not say, an open-handed, a liberal, a munificent, but a 
 cheerful giver ; a quality, appertaining, not to the hand, but to 
 the heart, not to the action, but to the motive. Heb. vi. 10 ; 
 
 T 
 
322 S. MARK XII. 44. 
 
 Rom. xii. 8 ; 2 Cor. viii. 5. Segneri. (Quaresimale. Pred. il. 
 s. 8.) 
 G-OD is pleased, in some ease, to accept even of this evBoKi'a, this 
 good will, at our hands ; and, though skill and power both fail 
 and be wanting, yet " a willing mind" if there be, if there be 
 but that, a man is " accepted, according to that he hath, not 
 according to that he hath not." (2 Cor. viii. 12.) Mary Mag- 
 dalene " did, what she could;" the poor widow gave, what she 
 had. GrOD placeth not acceptance, neither in evrfvwaia, deep 
 capacity of wit, nor in ev^waala, great ability of power ; but in 
 ev^oKi'a, readiness of good will, an honest true meaning, an un- 
 feigned hearty desire ; ut, si sit actionis injirmitas^ at si sit vo- 
 luntatis integritas, though there be weakness in the act, yet if 
 there be soundness in the will, out of His " good will towards 
 men," He will accept this good will in men. Nehemiah's 
 desire to fear Him ; (Neh. i. 11 ;) Hezekiah's setting his heart 
 to seek ; (2 Kings xx. 3 ;) the servant's but preparing to do his 
 Master's will, and even in David's secundiim cor meum, (S. Luke 
 xi. 42, 47 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 14,) his honest true heart was the 
 fairest flower in his garland. Ps. xxxii. 12 ; S. Matt. v. 6. 
 Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. on S. Luke ii. 14.) 
 
 A 
 
 CHAPTER XIIT. 
 
 ND as He went out of the temple, one of His dis- 
 ciples saith unto Him, Master, see what manner 
 of stones and what buildings are here ! 
 
 2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou 
 these great buildings ? there shall not be left one stone 
 upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 
 
 3 And as He sat upon the mount of OUves over 
 against the temple, Peter and James, and John and 
 Andrew asked Him privately, 
 
8. MAKK XIII. 1. 323 
 
 4 Tell us, when shall these things be ? and what 
 shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? 
 
 1 He went out of the Temple. . . . There shall not be left^ 8(C. — The 
 Kingdom of Cheist commenced on the total ceasing of the 
 Theocracy. For, as GtOd's reign over the Jews entirely ended 
 with the abolition of the Temple-service, so the reign of Christ 
 " in spirit and in truth," (S. John iv. 20 — 24,) had then its first 
 beginning. This was the true establishment of Christianity. 
 Till the Jewish Law was abolished, over which the Father 
 presided as King, the reign of the Son could not take place ; 
 because the Sovereignty of Christ over mankind was that very 
 Sovereignty of GrOD over the Jews transferred and more largely 
 extended. (S. Matt, xxviii. 18, 19.) This therefore being one 
 of the most important SBras in the economy of Grrace, and the 
 most awful revolution in all GtOd's religious dispensations, we 
 see the elegance and propriety of the terms in question, to 
 denote so great an event, together with the destruction of Je- 
 rusalem, by whicli it was effected. For in the old prophetic lan- 
 guage the change and fall of principalities and powers, whether 
 spiritual, or civil, are signified by the shaking heaven and 
 earth, the darkening the sun and moon, and the falling of the 
 stars ; as the rise and establishment of new ones are by pro- 
 cessions in the clouds of heaven, by the sound of trumpets, and 
 the assembling together of hosts and congregations. Bp. War- 
 burton. (Julian. B. i. c. 1, 2.) 
 
 See what manner, &;c. — God commanded the Jews at that time 
 and now us, who are placed in the Church, that we have no 
 trust in the goodliness of buildings, and of gilt roofs, and in 
 walls, covered with pannels of marble, and say, " The temple 
 of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we !" For that is the 
 Temple of the Lord, wherein dwelleth true faith, godly con- 
 versation, and the company of all virtues. Jer. vii. 4, 14 ; S. 
 Matt. iii. 9; Acts xxi. 28 ; IS. Pet. ii. 4, 5. S. Jerome. 
 
 The Jewish temple seems to be a resemblance of this Temple of 
 GrOD, man Grlorified; in which the body may be styled the 
 Sanctum; the soul, through the inhabitation of the Holy 
 Spirit, the Sanctum Sanctorum. Oh, if that earthly temple 
 
 y2 
 
324 g. MAEK XIII. 1—4. 
 
 transcended others and heaven be heaven, because of the more 
 special manifestation of God's glorious Presence there, shall 
 not each glorified saint be a heaven of heavens ? It being a 
 necessary and consequent truth, that the great GrOD will more 
 declare His excellency in His living members, than in His in- 
 animate works ; in His adopted sons, than in His inferior crea- 
 tures and mansions. Gen. i. 26, 27; S. John xiv. 23 ; 2 Cor. 
 V. 1 — 5. Sir J. Harington. (Divine Medit. on Faith.) 
 O Jerusalem, that art above, the Mother of us all ! Let me 
 behold thy glorious palaces ; let me admire thy buildings, " not 
 made with hands, eternal in the heavens." All we see here 
 are but as little hives of straw, and the petty inhabitants as 
 so many bees, busy about trifles : even the temples of our 
 God, those best employed magnificences, must fall at last and 
 be crumbled into dust. O Jerusalem, that art above, let me 
 behold thy beauty, and delight myself only in thy splendours ! 
 Eev. xxi. Austin. (Medit. 232.) 
 
 Ad perennis Yitse fontem 
 
 Mens sitivit arida : 
 Claustra carnis prsestb frangi 
 
 Clausa quaerit anima : 
 Gliscit, ambit, eluctatur 
 
 Exul frui patria. 
 
 Dum pressuris ac aerumnis 
 Gemens se obnoxium, 
 
 Quara amisit, cum deliquit, 
 Contemplatur gloriam : 
 
 Prsesens malum auget boni 
 Perditi memoriam . . . 
 
 Omni labe defaecati 
 Carnis bella nesciunt ; 
 
 Caro facta spiritalis 
 
 Et mens unum sentiunt ; 
 
 Pace multa perfruentes 
 Scandala non perferunt . . 
 
 Christe, palma bellatorum, 
 Hoc in municipium 
 
 Introduc me, post solutum 
 Militare cingulum : 
 
 Fac consortem donativi 
 Beatorum civium ! Amen. 
 S. Augustine. (Lib. Medit. c. xxvi.) 
 
 3 " Our Lord sits upon the Mount of Olives over against the 
 temple," when He denounces its destruction and the overthrow 
 of the nation ; that the very posture of His body may accord 
 with His speech, having a mystical meaning, according to Ps. 
 ii. 4. " He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh ; the Loed 
 shall have them in derision." Prov. i. 24—33. Bede. 
 
 4 When shall these things be ? — The time of Jeremiah's prophecy 
 
S. MARK XIII. 6. 325 
 
 was of long continuance, above the space of forty years 
 
 I observe tbis, to show the great patience of GrOD toward a 
 sinful nation. And this is much the same space of time, that 
 God gave warning by our blessed Savioue and His Apostles, 
 to the same people of the Jews, concerning their final destruc- 
 tion. Eor it was about forty years, after the prediction of our 
 Sayiotjr concerning it, just before His death, that the terrible 
 destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation was executed 
 upon them by the Eomans, or rather chiefly by themselves ; 
 of which dreadful desolation the first taking of Jerusalem by 
 Nebuchadnezzar and their captivity into Babylon was a kind 
 of type and forerunner. For, as Josephus observes, the taking 
 of Jerusalem by Titus Vespasian did happen in the very same 
 month, in which Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar ; that 
 is, upon our tenth of August. Gren. vi. 3 ; Jonah iii. 4 ; 2 S. 
 Pet. iii. 9; Eev. ii. 21. Abp. Tillotson. (Serm. on Jer. vi. 8.) 
 
 5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take 
 heed lest any man deceive you. 
 
 6 For many shall come in My Name, saying, I am 
 Christ ; and shall deceive many. 
 
 7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of 
 wars, be ye not troubled : for such things must needs 
 be ; but the end shall not he yet. 
 
 8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom 
 against kingdom : and there shall be earthquakes in 
 divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles : 
 these are the beginnings of sorrows. 
 
 6 As the capture of Jerusalem approached, many rose up, calling 
 themselves Christians, and deceived many ; such S. Paul calls 
 "false brethren," and S. John, '* Antichrists." S. Matt. xxiv. 
 5, 11. Remigius. 
 
 It is Satan's method to crush every revival of the Divine Word, 
 first by force, and, if that does not succeed, then by false spirits, 
 by artful and mischievous teachers. It was so in the first ages 
 
32G S. MARK XIII. 6, 8. 
 
 of the propagation of the Grospel ; he deluged Christendom 
 with the blood of the martyrs. But this did not answer his 
 purpose ; he therefore sent forth a tribe of false prophets, and 
 filled every corner of the world with heresies. He produces 
 lying spirits and abandoned sectaries to do his business. Acts 
 sx. 28—31 : 2 Cor. xi. 3 ; ii. 11. Luther. (Ep. to the Elector 
 of Saxony.) 
 / am Christ. — Imposture will alw;ays take its clue from ante- 
 cedent reality ; its work is that of distortion, not of invention. 
 Acts xix. 13; 2 Tim. ii. 18 ; 2 S. Pet. iii. 16. J. Miller. 
 (Bampton Lectures, iv.) 
 8 Erom war proceeds every kind of evil, which disturbs and de- 
 stroys the happiness of human life. . . . Where are there so 
 many and so sacred obligations to perfect concord, as in the 
 Christian religion ? One Law JEsrs Cheist claimed as His 
 own peculiar law ; and it was the law of Love, or Charity. 
 What practice among men violates this law so grossly, as war ? 
 Christ salutes His votaries with the happy omen of peace. 
 To His disciples He gives nothing, but peace. He leaves 
 them no other legacy, but peace. In His holy prayers, the 
 subject of His devout entreaty was principally, that as He 
 was " One with the Eatheb," so His disciples (that is to say, 
 all Christians,) might be " One with Him." This union is 
 something more than peace, more than friendship, more than 
 concord ; it is an intimate communion with the Divine nature. 
 . . . Whence then the tumults of war among the children of 
 peace ? S. James iv. 1. Erasmus. (Treatise on War.) 
 When GrOD said, " Nation shall not lift up sword against nation," 
 He did not mean to put any force upon the evil will of man, 
 but only to hold out to him such happy tidings of reconcilia- 
 tion with Himself, and such bright hopes of everlasting peace 
 and joy in heaven, that it might reasonably be supposed none 
 would scorn them, and none would neglect them ; but that, 
 being full of peace and hope towards God, they would be at 
 peace also with one another. Isa. xi. Br. Arnold. (Serm. on 
 S. Mark v. 6.) 
 
 9 But take heed to yourselves : for they shall de- 
 
S. MARK XIII. 9. 327 
 
 liver you up to councils ; and in the synagogues ye 
 shall be beaten : and ye shall be brought before rulers 
 and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them. 
 
 10 And the Gospel must first be published among 
 all nations. 
 
 1 1 But when they shall lead you^ and deliver you 
 up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, 
 neither do ye premeditate : but whatsoever shall be 
 given you in that hour, that speak ye : for it is not ye 
 that speak, but the Holy Ghost. 
 
 12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to 
 death, and the father the son ; and children shall rise 
 up against their parents, and shall cause them to be 
 put to death. 
 
 13 And ye shall be hated of all men for My Name's 
 sake : but he that shall endure unto the end, the same 
 shall be saved. 
 
 9 Before khigs, ^c. — (No authority here given by our Loed to 
 resist them. Rom. xiii. 1, 2.) — It is not to be doubted that, 
 even during the three first centuries, the Kings of the earth 
 had received their commission to be " nursing fathers of the 
 Church," although, as yet, they despised and rejected it. Ac- 
 cordiogly, they were even then to be owned, and they were 
 constantly owned, as Ministers (Xenovp^ol) of the great King 
 to Christian people for their good. No personal oppression, 
 no religious persecution, could then tempt Christian subjects 
 to mutiny. The high destinies of the Royal office being 
 known beforehand, it was held Sacred, as for other blessings, 
 to which GrOD made it instrumental, so, especially, for the 
 work's sake, which He had decreed it should one day perform. 
 Nor could any unworthiness of the person ever at all desecrate 
 the function, or take away its claim to something, like reli- 
 . True religious loyalty is independent of 
 
328 S. MARK Xlir. 9, 10. 
 
 the worthiness of Governors; and while the Church ceases 
 not in her collective character and by her ordained instruments 
 to "reprove, rebuke, exhort" even highest earthly Potentates, 
 as having a true indefeasible authority towards them, yet 
 Churchmen, individually, will not dare to meet the abuses of 
 legitimate power by anything, but firm remonstrance and pa- 
 tient suffering. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 13; Jer. xxix. 7; S. Matt. 
 X. 23. Kehle. (Serm. on Isa. xlix. 23.) 
 
 TertuUian (Apolog. s. 37) tells the Emperor, that his cities, his 
 lands, councils, armies, regiments, and companies, that the 
 palace, the senate, the courts of Judicature were filled with 
 Christians ; and yet they submitted to persecution. And we 
 read, that the Theban Legion consisted of 6066 persons, every 
 man Christian, when they submitted to the decimation of 
 Maximian for religion, S. Matt. xxvi. 52, 53- Bp. Seth 
 Ward. (Serm. on Bom. xiii. 2.) 
 
 Ye shall he beaten.— 1l\\qyq never was found any pretended con- 
 scientious zeal, but it was always most certainly attended with 
 a fierce sj^irit of implacable cruelty. S. John xvi. 2 ; xviii. 
 28 ; Acts vi. 11, 12. Palmer. (Aphor. 941.) 
 
 10 This prophecy was needlessly incumbered with another strange 
 event, if the whole were an imposture. It is said that the 
 Gospel should be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all 
 nations, before it should be fulfilled. Was it not enough to 
 say that the prophecy should be accomplished in the time of 
 that generation and in the lifetime of S. John, without adding 
 so unlikely a circumstance, as that a general promulgation of 
 the Gospel, by a few unlettered and unfriended fishermen, 
 should precede the accomplishment of it ? . . . Setting aside 
 such particulars in the prophecy, as sceptical men may think 
 themselves able to draw within the sphere of human con- 
 jecture, there are several things, expressed in it, so strange to 
 all apprehension, so unlikely to happen, so impossible for any 
 natural sagacity to foresee, (S. Luke xxi. 6, 18, 24,) and yet 
 so certainly and punctually fulfilled, that nothing, short of 
 Divine Inspiration, can possibly account for them. The pro- 
 phecy in all its parts is Divine ; but in these, its Divinity is 
 clear and incontestable. Conf. xiv. 6. Isa. xlvi. 10; S. John 
 
S. MAEK XTTI. 10, 11. 329 
 
 viii. 13. Bp. Hnrd. (Introd. to the Study of the Prophecies. 
 Serm. 6.) 
 
 The Divine Prescience, manifested in this instance, (the Pro- 
 phetic promises, concerning the prevalence of Christianity) is 
 more in the Eevelation of God's own work and design, than 
 of the actions of men. ... His Eevelation is expressive 
 simply, or chiefly, of His own purpose. . . . Whether the 
 sense of the prophecy really be, that the pale of the Christian 
 faith shall ever be, as wide as the whole world, is a point, 
 which I do not discuss. Unquestionably, a greater prevalence 
 of it is foretold, both in the Old Testament and the New, than 
 it has yet attained. But the conspicuous phenomenon and 
 the incontestable prophecy were exhibited in its foundation 
 and its triumphant settlement. And there the evidence of 
 Christianity and of prophecy is complete. . . . The first insti- 
 tution of Christianity was a far greater change, than its 
 extension would be: the difficulties the improbabilities in- 
 finitely exceeded, in the first instance, the force of any now 
 remaining. It conquered more, than remains to oppose it. S. 
 Matt. X. 34 ; Eom. iii. 3. Davison. (On Prophecy. Discourse 
 viii.) 
 
 11 Take no thought beforehand, ^c. — When people are injured, 
 and know themselves innocent, they are commonly negligent, 
 believing that Truth will bear out itself Dan. iii. 16, 17 ; 
 1 S. Pet. iv. 19. Palmer. (Aphorisms. 148.) 
 
 Christ chose poor fishermen, to show that, however insufficient 
 soever He received them, yet He received them into such a 
 school, such an University, as would deliver them back into 
 His Church, made fit by Him for the service thereof. Christ 
 needed not man's sufficiency ; He took insufficient men. 
 Christ excuses no man's insufficiency ; He made them suffi- 
 cient, xvi. 20; Acts iv. 13; Exod. iv. 10—12; 2 Cor. iv. 7. 
 Br. Bonne. (Serm. on S. Matt. iv. 18—20.) 
 
 If they were to be thus furnished with words by the Holt 
 Spirit for preaching the Gospel orally to a few persons in 
 particular times and places, shall we imagine, that they were 
 not equally qualified by the same Spirit for preaching the 
 same Gospel in writing to all ages and countries of the world ? 
 
330 S. MARK XIII. 12, 13. 
 
 1 Cor. ii. 13, 11, 16. Dr. Chr. Wordsworth. (Pref. to his 
 Edit, of the Greek Test.) 
 
 12 The brother shall betray, $*c. — The falsehood, then, of our 
 religion — the fraud, or enthusiasm of its Author — is the very- 
 last conclusion, to which a reasonable man would be led, upon 
 considering the abundance of iniquity in the Christian world. 
 On the contrary, things have been so ordered, that the very 
 degeneracy of the Church is bearing at this moment the 
 strongest possible testimony to the Divine authority of Jesus 
 Christ. For in it a prophecy is accomplishing before our 
 eyes so unlike what could have been expected, when it was first 
 delivered, that His own friends and apostles, as we have now 
 seen, could hardly bring themselves to receive it ; and do not 
 seem to have apprehended its full import, even when they 
 repeated it themselves. To find fault therefore with the 
 Grospel, as many do, for not having made men better, than 
 they are, is to find fault with it for not having done that, 
 which its Founder never expected it would do ; nay, that, in 
 which He expressly predicted its failure. Isa. Iv. 8, 9j S. 
 John xiii. 7. Keble. (Serm. on S. Matt. xxiv. 12.) 
 
 This has been often seen in time of persecution ; nor can there 
 be any firm afiection among men, who differ in their faith. 
 1 Cor. iii. 3 ; Gal. v. 15, 20, 21. Bede. 
 
 13 If we are loved by any, for God's sake, we are indebted to 
 God, for the honour thus conferred upon us ; but, if we incur 
 the hatred of men, for His sake, then He becomes a debtor to 
 us. Prov. xvi. 7 ; Gal. i. 2Ji ; 1 S. Pet. iv. 4, 5, 14. iS'. Chry- 
 sostom. 
 
 It is no trifling guilt, which men incur by precipitately giving 
 themselves up to the tvill of those, whose aim is strife, and the 
 advancement of a sect or party, not the interest of godliness. 
 . . . This evil prevails in our days to the great injury of real 
 piety ; and yet how little is it deplored ; rather, how much 
 encouraged and promoted by specious representations of 
 liberty, of the right of private judgment, of a just contempt of 
 implicit faith, and of pleas of conscience. ... A factious and 
 licentious spirit, under pretence of superior discernment and 
 regard for liberty of conscience, has often broken the bonds of 
 
S. MARK XIII. 14. 331 
 
 peace, and sometimes subjected the best of pastors to suffer 
 from a people, professing godliness, what might have been 
 expected only from persons altogether impious and profane. 
 Numb. XYi. 3, 12, 14, 26 ; 2 S. Pet. ii. 19; 3 S. John 9, 10. /. 
 Milner. (Church Hist. ch. 15.) 
 
 14 But when ye shall see the abomination of 
 desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing 
 where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) 
 then let them that be in Judeea flee to the mountains : 
 
 15 And let him that is on the housetop not go 
 down into the house, neither enter therein^ to take 
 any thing out of his house : 
 
 16 And let him that is in the field not turn back 
 again for to take up his garment. 
 
 17 But woe to them that are with child, and to 
 them that give suck in those days ! 
 
 18 And pray ye that your fliglit be not in the 
 winter. 
 
 19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was 
 not from the beginning of the creation which God 
 created unto this time, neither shall be. 
 
 20 And except that the Lord had shortened those 
 days, no flesh should be saved : but for the elect *s 
 sake, whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the 
 days. 
 
 14 When ye shall see, Sfc. — If Egypt knows a dearth is coming, 
 by the low ebbing of Nilus, surely we may see a judgment to 
 be coming, by the low ebbing of the power of godliness. Jer. 
 V. 9 ; Ps. cxix. 53. Gurnall. (On the Christian's Armour. 
 Eph. vi. 14. Ch. 5.) 
 
 Daniel, one of the few, who sought the Lord God of Israel, as 
 captive in a strange land, and chief among those few ; a man 
 
332 S. MARK XIII. 14. 
 
 Royally descended, yet a captive, and, though a captive, a 
 Jew ; a stranger, beloved by five succeeding Monarchs in three 
 successive universal empires ; a prime Minister in five corrupt 
 courts, yet alone untainted, uncorrupted ; himself surrounded 
 by sensual pleasures, yet a man of abstinence from his youth ; 
 having in his hands all the business of that vast Monarchy, 
 yet never omitting secret devotion three several times each 
 day ; remarkable for his loyalty to his King, and still more 
 signal for devotedness to his GrOD ; a man, who, to use Bishop 
 Ken's words, reconciled policy and religion, abstinence and 
 abundance, greatness and goodness, power and subjection, 
 heaven and the court, the favour of GtOB and the favour of the 
 king ; and was alike beloved by GrOD and man. Ezek. xiv. 14. 
 Bp. Medley. (Serm. on Gren. vi. 9.) 
 
 Daniel was the beloved prophet under the Old dispensation, as 
 S. John was the beloved disciple under the New : and, both 
 being animated by the same Divine Love, there was a won- 
 derful harmony between them. Both of them had miraculous 
 preservations ; one, from the lions ; another, from the cauldron : 
 both engaged young in the service of God, and consecrated 
 their lives by an early piety : and both lived to a great and 
 equal age, to about an hundred years : both had the like intimacy 
 with God, the like admittance into the most adorable Myste- 
 ries, and the like abundance of Heavenly Visions : both had 
 the like lofty flights and ecstatic E-evelations. Dan. ix. 3 ; 
 2 S. John xiii. 23. Bp. Ken. (Serm. Preached at Whitehall, 
 1685.) 
 
 In the parallel between Daniel and S. John, one of the most 
 remarkable points of resemblance is found in their joint gift of 
 prophecy ; of prophecy on the grandest scale, dwelling on the 
 rise and fall of nations, on the varying destinies of the Church, 
 and even extending to the end of the world, to the Resurrec- 
 tion, and to the Eternal Kingdom of the Son of God. J. F. 
 
 Standing where it ought not — ("in the holy place." S. Matt, 
 xxiv. 25) — "We have not only felt the evils of an intestine war, 
 but God hath smitten us in our spirit, and laid the scene of 
 His judgments, especially in religion. ... I shall only crave 
 leave, that I may remember Jerusalem, and call to mind the 
 
S. MARK XIII. 14, 15. 333 
 
 pleasures of tlie temple, the order of her services, the beauty 
 of her buildings, the sweetness of her songs, the decency of 
 her ministrations, the assiduity and economy of her priests 
 and Levites, the daily sacrifice, and that eternal fire of de- 
 votion, that went not out by day nor by night. These were 
 the pleasures of our peace ; and there is a remanent felicity in 
 the very memory of those spiritual delights, which we then 
 enjoyed, as antepasts of Heaven and consignations to immor- 
 tality of joy. Isa. Ixiv. 11 ; Lam. i. 6 ; S. Matt. ix. 15. Bp. 
 J. Taylor. (Preface to the Apology for Authorized and Set 
 Forms of Liturgy.) 
 
 Let him that readeth understand. — Besides the continual succes- 
 sion, since the Gospel, of holy men, who have borne witness to 
 the truth (there being no reason why any should distrust S. 
 Luke, or Tertullian, or Chrysostom, more than Tully, Virgil, or 
 Livy) ; there are two prophecies in the Gospel, which evidently 
 argue Christ's Divinity by their success: the one, concerning 
 the woman, that spent the ointment on our Sayioxje, for which 
 He told, that it should never be forgotten, but with the Gospel 
 itself be preached to all nations, S. Matt xxvi. 13 ; the other, 
 concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, of which our Sayiour 
 said, that " that generation should not pass, till all were ful- 
 filled," S. Luke xxi. 32 ; which Josephus's story confirm eth, 
 and the continuance of which verdict is yet evident . . . Now 
 a prophecy is a wonder, sent to posterity, lest they complain 
 of want of wonders. It is a letter sealed and sent, which to 
 the bearer is, but paper, but to the receiver and opener is full 
 of power. He, that saw Christ open a blind man's eyes, saw 
 not more Divinity, than he, that reads the woman's ointment in 
 the Gospel, or sees Jerusalem destroyed. Dan. ii. 29 ; S. John 
 xiii. 19. G. Herbert. (Priest to the Temple. Ch. M.) 
 
 15 If the world is falling to pieces, wherefore do you not make 
 your escape ? If an architect was to tell you, that your house 
 was coming down, you would rather migrate, than stand to 
 murmur, plus migrares, quhn murmurares. The architect of the 
 world tells you, that this world is near its end ; and do you 
 not believe? Gen. xix. 14; S. Matt. vii. 24—27; Heb. xiii. 
 14 ; 2 S. Pet. iii. 11, 12. S. Augustine. 
 
334 S. MARK XIII. 17—22. 
 
 17 Woe to them, ^c. — It seems to be in these words that Christ 
 foretells the eating of children ; for, when afflicted by famine 
 and pestilence, they laid their hands on their children. Deut. 
 xxviii. 57 ; Job ii. 4. Theophylact. 
 
 19 Many waves indeed and monstrous waters surround me ; but 
 I have no fear of drowning, because I stand on a rock. . . All, 
 that the world has to frighten me with, I despise it ; all it has 
 to allure me with I smile at it. Eiches I desire not ; poverty 
 I dread not ; death I fear not. I rely not on my own strength ; 
 I have the Word of GrOD ; I have it written in His own hand : 
 that is enough security for me ; that renders me secure and 
 fearless. Although the world were falling to pieces, I have 
 the "Word of my GrOD in pawn for me ; " Behold ! I am with 
 you alway, even unto the end of the world." Hab. iii. 17, 19 ; 
 Ps. xlvi. ; Eom. viii. 35 — 39 ; Heb. xiii. 5. S. Chrysostom. 
 (when persecuted by the Empress Eudoxia.) 
 
 21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here 
 is Christ ; or, lo, He is there ; believe him not : 
 
 22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, 
 and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it 
 were possible, even the elect. 
 
 23 But take ye heed : behold, I have foretold you 
 all things. 
 
 21 Lo ! here is Christ, ^e. — As a man, that is dying, hath many 
 fantasies, even so the world declining shall have manifold 
 errors. 1 S. John ii. 18. S. Ch?ysostom. 
 
 Words and diseases grow upon us with years. In age, we talk 
 much, because we have seen much, and soon after shall cease 
 talking for ever: we are most diseased, because nature is 
 weakest : and death, which is near, must have harbingers. Such 
 is the old age of the world : no marvel, if this last time be full 
 of writing and weak discourse, full of sects and heresies, which 
 are the sicknesses of this great and decayed body. 2 Esdras 
 xiv. 10 ; 1 Thess. ii. 1—12 ; 2 Tim. iii. 1—5. Bj). Hall. (Holy 
 Observations. 54.) 
 
 22 Sf(//)s anfl wonders. — T value not at all any extraordinary. 
 
S. MARK XIII. 22. 335 
 
 strange, and wonderful things, that come to pass, if I cannot 
 
 understand them to be properly Miracles A Centaur, 
 
 Hippogryph, and a Flying Dragon are things, that were never 
 seen ; but, if I should chance to see a dozen of them together, 
 I should reckon it no miracle : and yet no living man perhaps 
 could give an account of their generation. While I can see no 
 known and settled laws of nature changed, suspended, or sub- 
 verted, there I can see no miracle ; let the event be so strange, 
 new, and astonishing .... I may see a thousand events, that 
 amaze and confound me ; but they may not be miraculous to 
 me, properly speaking, unless they come within the rule before 
 set down, and thwart the established course of nature, that is 
 known to us.* If you had seen the Angel convey Habakkuk 
 through the air, and known he was an Angel, you would have 
 gazed and wondered mightily ; but would not have thought the 
 Angel wrought a Miracle, because, for ought you know, the 
 natural powers of Angels were such, as would suffice for that, 
 or a greater purpose. But, if you should see a man bear up 
 another man, and carry him through the air, you would, I be- 
 lieve, conclude the action to be miraculous ; because you know 
 (as well as you know anything) that man is not endued with 
 any such powers. We know more of true Miracles than of 
 strange accidents ; and can, I imagine, give a better account of 
 them. Bp. Fleetwood. (An Essay upon Miracles. Dial. 2.) 
 Mira, non miracula ; Wonders, not miracles. . . . There is a vast 
 difference between the miracles of a magician, and those of a 
 Saint ; diverso fine, diverso jure ; their aim is different, their 
 authority is different. Ex. vii. 11 ; 1 Thess. ii. 7 — 13. S. 
 Augustine. 
 
 * Consistently with this definition 
 of a miracle, Bishop Fleetwood regards 
 the "signs and wonders," wrought by 
 the Egyptian enchanters as being true 
 miracles ; and that God communi- 
 cated to them the power of working 
 such miracles as the best means of 
 
 when, in the miracle of the change of 
 dust into lice, they perceived the mi- 
 raculous power to be withdrawn from 
 themselves, but stUl exercised by the 
 outstretched rod of Aaron, they con- 
 fessed, " This is the finger of God." 
 Exod. viii. 17—19. See the Bishop's 
 
 convincing them of His own Divine elaborate arguments on the subject ; 
 Power, and, consequently, of the Di- Dial. i. 
 vine Mission of Moses. Accordingly, , 
 
336 S. MARK XIII. 22, 23. 
 
 To seduce. — Eeligion is a thing so Sacred, that even mendacium, a 
 counterfeit, as bearing some resemblance to it, gives us plea- 
 sure. Acts viii. 9— 11. Seneca. 
 
 23 Beware of new tenets ; they are like new wines : they fume 
 up to men's minds, and make them light and giddy. Acts ii. 
 13 ; Col. ii. 18. Bp. Thomas. (Apol. for the Church of Eng- 
 land.) 
 
 I confess an orthodox faith can never bring us to heaven without 
 a holy life ; but so neither can a holy life do it without an 
 orthodox faith ; for heresies are " damnable," as well as sins. 
 (2 S. Pet. ii. 1.) And the reason is, because heresies are as 
 much against the assertions, as sin is against the command of 
 God, revealed in Scripture. ... It is not so indifferent a thing, 
 as some would make it, what opinion a man is of For it seems 
 a man may be damned for his evil opinions, as well as his evil 
 practices; insomuch, that heresies are reckoned amongst the 
 grossest sins. (Gal. v. 20, 21) . . . . Have a care of new doc- 
 trines and opinions, started up in these "latter days;" but 
 keep close to the Articles and principles of religion, established 
 in our Church, which are all grounded upon Scripture, conso- 
 nant to reason, and agreeable to the doctrine of the primitive 
 Christians, as may be easily demonstrated. But whatever is 
 new, beware of it upon that very account, because it is new, 
 following the Apostle's advice to Timothy ; 1 Tim. vi. 20, 21. 
 Eom. xvi. 17, 18 ; Heb. xiii. 9 ; Eph. iv. 11—16 ; S. Jude 3. 
 Bp. Beveridge. (Serm. on Pro v. iv. 23.) 
 
 Eor us, who belong to the Catholic Church, it should be our chief 
 care to maintain quod uhique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus 
 creditum est, the Doctrine we find to have been believed in all 
 places, at all times, and by all the faithful. For there is 
 nothing truly and properly Catholic, (as the word sufficiently 
 declares) but what truly and fully comprehends all these : and 
 we are Catholic in this way, si sequamur Universalitatem, Anti- 
 quitatem, Consentionem, when we follow Universality, Antiquity, 
 and unanimous Consent. Now we follow Universality, when 
 we profess that only to be the true Faith, which is professed by 
 the Church throughout the world. We follow Antiquity, when 
 we religiously adhere to that sense of Scripture, which our holy 
 
S. MARK XIII. 24. 337 
 
 predecessors and fathers unquestionably displayed {celebrasse.) 
 And we also follow Consent, when we embrace the definitions 
 and opinions of almost all, if not all, the Bishops and teachers 
 in the ancient Church. 1 Cor. xi. 16 ; vii. 17 ; Eph. iv. 1 — 16. 
 Vincentius Lirinensis. (Commonit. c. iii.) 
 
 24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun 
 shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her 
 light. 
 
 25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the 
 powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. 
 
 26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming 
 in the clouds with great power and glory. 
 
 27 And then shall He send His angels, and shall 
 gather together His elect from the four winds, from 
 the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part 
 of heaven. 
 
 24 Let us consider the immediate forerunners and harbingers of 
 our Sayioub's second coming. Kings and princes have their 
 harbingers ; and so hath this King of kings too. S. Jerome 
 tells us of an ancient tradition of the Jewish doctors, namely, 
 that, for fifteen days together, before the great Day of Judg- 
 ment, there shall be transacted upon the stage of nature a con- 
 tinued scene of fearful signs and wonders. — "The sea shall lift 
 up its mountainous billows and make a fearful noise with its 
 rolling waves. The heavens shall crack, night and day, with 
 loud and roaring thunders. The earth shall groan under 
 hideous convulsions, and quotidian earthquakes. The air shall 
 blaze with portentous comets. The moon shall shed forth 
 purple streams of discoloured light. The sun shall shroud 
 himself in perpetual darkness ; and the rest of the stars shall 
 sufier themselves to be hid in dismal obscurity. Thus the whole 
 frame of nature shall be hung with mourning, a little before 
 the approach of the Day of Judgment." — Nor is this only a 
 tradition of the Jews ; but it is also the prediction of our Sa- 
 
338 
 
 S. MAEK Xin. 24—26. 
 
 viOTJE. Ps. 1. 1—6 ; 2 Thess. i. 7—10. March* (Serm. on 
 S. Matt. xxiv. 30.) 
 Eclipsed and overcome by the far greater light of Christ's 
 advent, ix. 8 ; 1 Cor. xv. 41 ; 2 Cor. iii. 10. Isid. Clarius. 
 
 25 The stars at the Day of Judgment will seem to be dark, not 
 by any failure in their own lustre, but in consequence of the 
 accession of the true Light, throwing them into the shade, (v. 
 26.) . . . After the Day of Judgment, at the dawning light of 
 future Grlory, when "the new heavens and the new earth" 
 shall appear, the words of the prophet will be fulfilled ; " The 
 light of the moon shall be, as the light of the sun, and the 
 light of the sun shall be seven-fold, as the light of seven days." 
 Isa. XXX. 26. Bede. 
 
 The finishing of the Church gives date to the world. When 
 that's accomplished, the world shall cease. Stars shall fall, 
 like leaves from a fig tree, saith our Saviouk. " When the 
 fruit is gathered," saith S. Chrysostom, " then the leaves fall : 
 when the Church is collected and fully finished, the creatures 
 shall fade and fall away presently." Eom. xi. ; G-en. xix. 22 ; 
 Bev. vii. 3. Bp. Brownrig. (Serm. on 2 Sam. vi. 12.) 
 
 26 Shall they see, 8(c. — The reprobate, at the Judgment-Day, 
 shall see the human form of Cheist, in which He was con- 
 demned, so as to make them mourn ; His Divinity they shall 
 not see, lest they should rejoice. Zech. xii. 10 ; Eev. i. 7. 
 Isidore of Seville. (Sent. B. i. c. 30.) 
 
 What wonder is it, that men should be troubled at this Judg- 
 ment, the sight of which makes the very Angelic powers to 
 tremble? What will the stories of the house do, when the 
 pillars shake? What does the shrub of the wilderness un- 
 dergo, when the cedar of Paradise is moved ? Hagg. ii. 7 ; 
 Numb. xxiv. 23 ; Jar. xii. 5 ; 1 S. Pet. iv. 17, 18. Bede. 
 
 Coming in the clouds. — Zachary foretold, that the Messiah, in His 
 first coming, should in meekness "ride upon an ass ;" and, as 
 S. Matthew reports, all that was done. Behold here a greater, 
 than Zachary, tells us that the Messiah, in His second coming, 
 
 * John March, B.D., Vicar of New- 
 castle-upon-Tyne, author of a small 
 volume of most excellent Sermons, 
 
 with a recommendatory preface by Dr. 
 John Scott. London, 1669. (Refer 
 to Illust. of S. Matt, xxviii. 20.) 
 
S. MAEK XIII. 27. 339 
 
 shall ride upon the clouds : and shall we doubt of His word, 
 who is that Eternal "Word ? Shall we believe Zachary, who 
 was one of the small prophets, and shall we distrust Him, who 
 is that "great Prophet?" S. John vi. 14; Heb. ii. i— 4. 
 Dean Boys. (Expos, of the Dominical Epistles, &c. 2nd S. 
 Advent.) 
 
 27 Observe that Cheist sends " His Angels," as doth the 
 Eathee. "Where then are they, who say, He is not " equal to 
 the Eathee ?" Eor the Angels go forth to gather the faith- 
 ful together, who are chosen, that they may be carried into 
 the air to meet Jesus Cheist. Acts xii. 11 ; 1 Tim. iii. 16 ; 
 1 Thess. iv. 17. Theophylact. 
 
 Gather together His elect, 8fC. — Who can possibly conceive the 
 joy and exultation of that Day, when good men shall see our 
 LoED coming in the clouds of heaven, clothed with a human 
 body, but bright and glorious, as the Sun, a body, which still 
 retains the marks of His sufferings and the tokens of His love ? 
 How will it transport us, to see Him, whom our soul loveth ! 
 to see Him, whom we have so passionately longed and desired 
 to see ! to see Him, whom we love, though we have not seen 
 Him ; to see Him, I say, not as the shepherds did, a poor 
 helpless infant, " wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a 
 manger ;" to see Him, not arraigned for a malefactor, nor 
 hanging in a shameful manner upon the cross ; but to see Him 
 in all His Majesty and Grlory, to see Him a triumphant Con- 
 queror and Judge, to see Him with crowns and laurels in His 
 hands, and in Him to see the certainty of our faith, the com- 
 pletion of our hopes, the reward of our patience and sufferings, 
 and our conquest over death and hell. Oh, joyful Day ! when 
 this Eoyal Bridegroom shall come in the Grlory of His Eathee 
 to meet His spouse, the Church, to conduct her to His Ea- 
 thee' s house, there to see, and there to partake in, His Glory, 
 and never to part more. Gen. xlix. 18 ; Isa. xxv. 8, 9 ; Ps. cxix. 
 166. Dean Sherlock. (Disc, on a Euture Judgment, c. 3.) 
 
 28 Now learn a parable of the fig-tree ; When her 
 
 branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know 
 
 that summer is near : 
 
 z 2 
 
340 S. MARK XIII. 28. 
 
 29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these 
 things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the 
 doors. 
 
 30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall 
 not pass, till all these things be done. 
 
 31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My 
 words shall not pass away. 
 
 28 Putteth forth leaves. — In sorting the prophecies of Scripture 
 with their events, we must allow for that latitude, which is 
 agreeable and familiar unto Divine prophecies, being of the 
 nature of the Author, with whom " a thousand years are but 
 as one day;" and therefore they are not fulfilled punctually 
 at once, but have springing and germinant accomplishment 
 throughout many ages, though the height, or fulness of them, 
 may refer to some one age. E-om. xi. 33 — 36. Lord Bacon, 
 (Adv. of Learning, B. 2.) 
 
 This is one great excellency of the evidence, drawn from Pro- 
 phecy, for the truth of lieligion, that it is a growing evidence ; 
 and the more the prophecies are fulfilled, the more testimonies 
 there are, and confirmations of the truth and certainty of 
 Divine Eevelation. And in this respect we have eminently 
 the advantage over those, who lived even in the days of Moses, 
 and the Prophets of Cheist and His Apostles. They were 
 happy indeed in hearing their discourses and seeing their 
 miracles (S. Matt. xiii. 17) ; but yet I say we have this 
 advantage over them, that several things, which were then 
 orAj foretold, are no"^ fulfilled ; and what were to them only 
 matters of faith are become matters of fact and certainty to 
 us, " upon whom the latter ages of the world are come." GrOD 
 in His goodness hath afforded to every age suflScient evidence 
 of the truth. Miracles may be said to have been the great 
 proof of Revelation to the first ages, who saw them performed : 
 Prophecies may be said to be the great proofs of Eevelation to 
 the last ages, who see them fulfilled. Eom. xvi. 25 — 27 ; S. 
 John XX. 29; 1 S. John i. 1 — 4. Bp. Newton. (Introd. to 
 Dissert, on the Prophecies.) 
 
S. MARK XIII. 28, 29. 341 
 
 Now because the doctrine of Salvation, to be looked for by faith 
 in Him, who was in outward appearance, as it had been a man 
 forsaken of God, in Him, who was numbered, judged, and 
 condemned with the wicked, &c. ... is a thing improbable to 
 a natural man, that, whether we preach it to the Gentile, or to 
 the Jew, the one condemneth our faith, as madness, the other, 
 as blasphemy ; therefore, to establish and confirm the certainty 
 of this saving truth in the hearts of men, the Lord together 
 with their preachings, whom He sent immediately from Him- 
 self to reveal these things unto the world, mingled prophecies 
 of things, both civil and ecclesiastical, which were to come in 
 every age from time to time, till the very last of the latter 
 days ; that by those things, wherein we see daily their words 
 fulfilled and done, we might have strong consolation in the 
 hope of things, which are not seen ; because they have revealed, 
 as well the one, as the other. For when many things are 
 spoken of before in Scripture, whereof we see first one thing 
 accomplished, and then another, and so a third, perceive we 
 not plainly, that God doth nothing else, but lead us along by 
 the hand, till He have settled us upon the rock of an assured 
 hope, that no one jot, or tittle of His Word shall pass, till all 
 be fulfilled? Dan. xii. 10—13; 2 S. Pet. i. 19. Hooker. 
 (The first Sermon on Jude 17—21.) 
 
 29 When ye see these things come to pass. — They, who are fond of 
 quoting Cheist's saying to His disciples, then aHve, " It is 
 not for you to know the times and seasons;" and again, 
 "That hour and day knoweth no man," as if a prohibition of 
 all calculation of prophetic times before their fulfilment; 
 should remember this saying of Cheist also, intended espe-* 
 cially for such of His servants, as might be living near the end 
 of the time. We are meant, it would seem, to know the 
 nearness of the Advent, when at hand, though not the exact 
 time; and, if negligent in marking the signs given, may 
 subject ourselves justly to the rebuke. ..." Are ye not able 
 to discern the signs of the times?" Dan. ix. 2. E. B. Elliott. 
 (Horse Apocal.) 
 
 " The signs of the times " are left to us ; the times themselves 
 are in the hands of God. We are permitted humbly to 
 
342 » S. MAEK XIII. 29, 30. 
 
 consider the remarkable events and great changes in the 
 history of the world around us, as they seem to bear, more or 
 less, on the fulfilment of prophecy ; but we must not expect 
 prophecies to be thoroughly understood, until they are tho- 
 roughly fulfilled. Now this obscurity in unfulfilled prophecy 
 falls in with the leading design of the Grospel, the promotion 
 of reverence and humility in all things, relating to GtOD. It 
 furthers the great moral end of baffling and keeping down the 
 pride of human intellect, in its aspiration to be, as GrOD. 
 Gren. iii. 5 ; Deut. xxix. 29 ; Eom. xii. 16. J. F. 
 
 The whole life is but a preparation and eve to this great sight of 
 Chbist's Second Coming. Verse 26. Farindon. (Serm. on 
 S. Luke xxi. 28.) 
 
 30 The true rendering of the original I take to be, " Know that 
 He is nigh, even at the doors" — He, that is, the Son of man, 
 spoken of in the verses immediately preceding, " as coming in 
 the clouds," &c. The approach of summer, says our Loed, is 
 not more surely indicated by the first appearances of spring, 
 than the final destruction of the wicked by the beginnings of 
 vengeance on this impenitent people. The opening of the 
 vernal bloom is the first step in a natural process, which 
 necessarily terminates in the ripening of the summer fruits ; 
 and the rejection of the Jews and the adoption of the believing 
 Grentiles is the first step in the execution of a settled plan of 
 Providence, which inevitably terminates in the general Judg- 
 ment. . . . This generation shall not pass, ^c. . . . All these 
 things, in this sentence, must unquestionably denote the same 
 things, which are denoted by the same verses just before — 
 
 • (the events attending the downfall of Jerusalem.) All those 
 signs, which answer to the fig-tree's budding leaves, the 
 Apostles and their contemporaries, at least some of that 
 generation, were to see. But, as the thing portended is not 
 included among the signs, it was not at all implied in this 
 declaration, that any of them were to live to see the harvest, 
 the coming of our Lord in Grlory. Hab. ii. 2, 3. Bp. Horsley. 
 (Serm. on S. James v. 8.) 
 
 The whole world being divided into three generations, a time 
 before the Law, a time under the Law, a time after the Law, 
 
S. MARK XIII. 30, 31. 343 
 
 the time of the Gospel is hora novissima^ "the last hour;" (1 S. 
 John ii. 18;) and we are they, "upon whom the ends of the 
 world are come" (1 Cor. x. 11) ; so that ye shall not look for 
 another Gospel, nor for another change : for the preaching of 
 this Gospel and the world shall end together. Gal. i. 8. Bean 
 Boys. (Expos, of the Dominical Ep. &c. 2nd S. Advent.) 
 Semen Sanctum statumen terrcBy the Holy seed, the subsistence, 
 or establishment of the earth. When their number is com- 
 pleted, time shall end, and this visible world shall be set on 
 fire. 1 Sam. ii. 8 — 10. Abp. Leighton* (Lecture on Isa. 
 
 vi.) 
 31 Heaven and earth, &tC. — This solemn declaration, following im- 
 mediately, as it does, upon the passing away of this generation 
 (the Jews then living), seems to carry on our thoughts to an- 
 other generation — " the generation of God's children" (Ps. Hii. 
 14), that was to abide for ever. Origen comments upon the 
 text, " The generation of the Church will survive the world ; but 
 all other generations, especially that of the tribes of the earth, 
 will pass away." Thus we are led from the contemplation of 
 the destruction of Jerusalem to the far more transcendent 
 vision of the final Judgment and end of the world — the two 
 subjects of this momentous prophecy ; and, from what has un- 
 questionably been already fulfilled, we are to believe and to 
 expect that, which is to come. S. Matt. xvi. 18 ; xxviii. 20 ; 
 Ps. xxiv. 16 ; Ixxii. 5. J. F. 
 
 32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, 
 no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the 
 Son, but the Father. 
 
 33 Take ye heed, watch and pray : for ye know not 
 when the time is. 
 
 34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far 
 journey, who left his house, and gave autliority to his 
 servants, and to every man his work, and commanded 
 the porter to watch. 
 
 35 Watch ye therefore : for ye know not when the 
 
344 S. MARK XIII. 32. 
 
 master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, 
 or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning : 
 
 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 
 
 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all. Watch. 
 
 32 This answer concerns only the second part of the former ques- 
 tion — to wit, the time, wherein the world shall end— is hence 
 evident ; for that the Angels, yea, and such, as understood the 
 Prophets, at least our SAViorR Christ, as man, did know the 
 time appointed for the destruction of the Temple, and the de- 
 solation of the Holy City and land : for thus much was punc- 
 tually and literally foretold by Daniel (x. 24) ; " Seventy weeks 
 are determined," &c. No question but Daniel himself, and the 
 Angel, which instructed him, did know the precise point of 
 time, when these "seventy weeks'* did commence; although 
 chronologers at this day vary a little upon this point ; and he, 
 that knew the time, when they began, might easily collect at 
 what time they were to end. Dean Jackson. (On the Creed. 
 B. vi. Serm. on S. Luke xxi. 25.) 
 
 Neither the Son. — S. Mark gives this expression, which was 
 omitted by S. Matthew ; for the faithful, as now more esta- 
 blished, could better bear it. . . . Admirable are the vicissi- 
 tudes in Christ's temper of soul. Sometimes His feeling was 
 so elated, that He scarcely seemed to remember Himself to be 
 a man on earth ; sometimes His feeling was so depressed, that 
 He almost seemed to have forgotten, that He was " The Lord 
 from heaven." And He always spake from His feeling at the 
 time ; now, for instance, as He, who was " One with the Fa- 
 ther ;" then, again, as a person, no otherwise circumstanced, 
 than are other good men in this world. These opposite feel- 
 ings are often made to temper each other, with an astonishing 
 variety. In this passage. He uses the most self-abasing lan- 
 guage, so as to moderate that high sense of His Glory, which 
 His discourse on the Judgment must give birth to. S. John 
 vii. 46. Bengel. 
 
 "VVe must distinguish between the excellences and perfections of 
 Christ, which flowed from the Hypostatical Union of the 
 natures, and those, which flowed from the donation and anoint- 
 
S. MARK XIII. 32, 33. 345 
 
 ing of the Holy Spirit. From the Hypostatical Union of the 
 natures flowed the infinite dignity of His Person, His impec- 
 cability, His infinite self-sufficiency to perform the Law and 
 to satisfy the Divine Justice. From the anointing of the Spirit 
 flowed His power of miracles, His foreknowledge of things to 
 come, and all kind of knowledge of Evangelic mysteries. Those 
 rendered Him a fit and perfect Eedeemer; these a fit and 
 perfect Minister of the Grospel. The Son — (in the sense of the 
 Messias) — knoweth not, 8(C., that is, it is not revealed to Him 
 from the Eatiiee, to reveal to the Church. Acts ii. 22 ; Eev. 
 i. 1 ; S. Matt. xi. 27 ; S. John xvi. 15. Dr. Lightfoot. (Ex- 
 ercit. in loco.) 
 
 It is declared of Cheist in another place, that He " increased in 
 wisdom." (S. Luke ii. 52.) "Why should it be incredible then, 
 that, during the whole term of His humiliation in the flesh, 
 something should still be left, which, as man upon earth, He 
 did not know ? If you suppose Him to be ignorant of this 
 matter, as God, how is it that Peter confesses Him to be Om- 
 niscient, without receiving any rebuke for it, or being reminded 
 of any particular exception ? — " Loed, Thou knowest all 
 things!" S. John xxi. 17. Jones. (On the Trinity.) 
 
 He knew it not, in persona Ecclesice, sed sua Persona ; not as the 
 Head and Teacher of His Church, but in His own Divine Es- 
 sence. S. Gregory. 
 
 83 This knowledge is kept from men, for two causes, as S. Augus- 
 tine well noteth ; the one, lest it should hinder and withdraw 
 us from performing our necessary duties, lest it should terrify, 
 and annoy us, and make us careless to provide for ourselves 
 and others : another reason, why the time, both of our own 
 particular end and of the general consummation of all things, 
 is left uncertain, is, that we might at all times make ready and 
 prepare for it ; seeing it might happen at any time, even at any 
 instant. S. Matt. xxiv. 42 — 51. Abp. Sandys. (Serm. on S. 
 Luke xxi. 25.) 
 
 That's true, in a great part, which Irenseus says, Prophetice, 
 antequam effectum habent, cenigmata sunt et ambiguitates ho- 
 minibus, that prophecies, till they come to be fulfilled, are but 
 clouds in the eyes and riddles in the understanding of men. 
 
346 S. MAEK XIII. 33, 35. 
 
 . . . But these clouds for the most part arise in us, out of our 
 curiosity, that we will needs know the time, when these pro- 
 phecies shall be fulfilled — when the Jews will be called, when 
 Antichrist shall be fully manifested, when the Day of Judg- 
 ment shall be — and so, for such questions as these, Christ en- 
 wraps not only His Apostles, but Himself, in a cloud : for that 
 cloud, which He casts upon them, Non est vestrum (Acts i.), 
 " It belongs not to you to know times and seasons ;" He spreads 
 upon Himself also ; Non est Meum, It belongs not to Me, as 
 the Son of Man, to know when the Day of Judgment shall be. 
 But for that use of a prophecy, that the prediction of future 
 Judgment should induce a present repentance, that was never 
 an enigmatical a cloudy doctrine ; but manifest to all in all 
 prophecies of that kind. 2 S. Pet. iii. 17. Br. Donne. (Serm. 
 on Isa. liii. 1.) 
 
 I puzzle myself about the prophecies, especially the Apocalypse, 
 and am often prying into futurity, but do not advert enough to 
 what I may certainly know without a prophecy ; what, and 
 where, I shall be within a few years at the most, if I suffer sin 
 to keep possession of me ; if I do not abhor and cast it from 
 me in the fear of God ; if I do not " pluck out the right eye, 
 and cut off the right hand ;" if I do not humble myself deeply 
 before God, cry earnestly for mercy, and yield myself to Him 
 unfeignedly and with the utmost sincerity of intention for 
 newness of heart and spirit. Phil. iii. 13 — 15. Adam, (Pri- 
 vate Thoughts, c. 1.) 
 
 It is remarkable that the Apocalypse, the great Volume of Pro- 
 phecy, should abound, perhaps beyond any other Book in 
 Scripture, with warnings and denunciations against sin, with 
 encouragements to duty, and with all kinds of practical instruc- 
 tion. Let the student give proper attention to the three first 
 Chapters and to the three last ; and what intervenes, concern- 
 ing mysteries, visions, and obscure prophecies, may be read 
 without any fear of withdrawing his mind from the " one thing 
 needful." Herein, at least, is a certain Blessing to be found in 
 reading this Book, according to the express promise at ch. i. 3. 
 Titus i. 1 ; 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. J. F. 
 
 35 Most of us have a general idea, what is meant by believing. 
 
S. MAEK XIII. 35, 36. 347 
 
 ^ 
 
 fearing, loving, and obeying ; but perhaps we do not contem- 
 plate, or apprehend, what is meant by watching. . . . He 
 watches for Cheist, who has a sensitive, eager, apprehensive 
 mind ; who is awake, alive, quicksighted, zealous in seeking and 
 honouring Him ; who looks out for Him in all that happens, 
 and who would not be surprised, who would not be over-agi- 
 
 . tated, or overwhelmed, if he found, that He was coming at once. 
 . . . Cheist is behind this heavenly framework; earth and 
 sky are, but a veil between Him and us : the Day will come, 
 when He will rend that veil, and show Himself to us. And 
 then, according as we have waited for Him, will He recom- 
 pense us. xiv. 37 ; S. Matt. xxiv. 13 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 13 j 2 S. 
 Pet. iii. /. H. Newman. (Serm. on text.) 
 
 Isaiah saw GrOD on His throne ; and the Seraphims stood upon 
 it, each of them covering his face with two wings, and his feet 
 with two wings ; his face, keeping us from the secrets of God's 
 Eternal predestination in the beginning ; his feet, not disclos- 
 ing, when He will come to judge the world in the end. Isa. 
 vi. 2; Ex. XXV. 20. Bean Boys. (Expos, of the Dominical 
 Ep. &c. 2nd S. Advent.) 
 
 Ut sem'per Diem observemus^ dum semper ignoramus. That so, being 
 always ignorant of the Day, we may always be on the look out 
 for it. Tertullian. (De Anima. ch. 33.) 
 
 There is nothing more certain than death ; nothing more uncer- 
 tain, than the time of dying. I will therefore be prepared for 
 that at all times, which may come at any time, must come at 
 one time, or another. I shall not hasten my death by being 
 still ready, but sweeten it. It makes me not die the sooner, 
 but the better. 2 S. Pet. iii. 10 — 14. Arthur Warwick, (Spare 
 Minutes.) 
 
 36 Coming suddenly. — This danger of sudden death is sufficient to 
 make us distaste all the delights of the earth. Death is there- 
 fore uncertain, that thou shouldest be ever certain to despise 
 this life, and dispose thyself for the other. Thou art every 
 hour in danger of death, to the end that thou shouldest be 
 every hour prepared to have life : what is death, but the way 
 unto Eternity ? Deut. xxxii. 29 ; Ps. xxxix. 5 ; xc. 12. Bp. J. 
 Taylor. (Contemplations of the State of man. c. 7.) 
 
348 S. MARK XIII. 36, 37. 
 
 V 
 
 Are not our true senses as much oppressed with the clog of this 
 " body of sin," as our vital senses are by sleep ? Prov. vi. 9, 
 10 ; Eom. vii. 24 ; Eph. v. 14. Bonnell. 
 
 37 Since our Lord said unto S. Peter, in the presence of the other 
 Apostles, " I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of 
 heaven," it might be supposed, and we know, it has been more 
 than supposed, that S. Peter was to be, by a personal prero- 
 gative, the porter, whose duty it was to watch over the Church. 
 But our LoED, in His foreseeing wisdom, anticipates and ob- 
 viates any such supposition by immediately delivering the same 
 charge and injunction to the eleven — "Watch 2/e therefore." 
 Now this exactly accords with the mode, in which the Power 
 and Ministry of Absolution was conferred by our Loed ; that 
 is, first on Peter, individually ; then on the other Apostles, 
 in common. Peter was then Primus ; but inter pares. Conf. 
 S. Matt. xvi. 19 with xviii. 19; and S. John xx. 22, 23. 
 J.F. 
 
 When GrOD speaks to thee by the preacher, say not, as the elders 
 said to Judas, *' What is that to us?" He speaks to all at 
 once. The Spirit speaks indifferently to all. Especially in 
 the doctrine of faith and repentance, without which is no Sal- 
 vation, thou, that hast a soul to save, as well as others, must 
 have an ear to hear, as well as others, and a tongue, as well as 
 they, to ask, et quid faciemus P " and what shall we do ?" 
 . . . Hath Isaac but one blessing ? and hath Jacob gotten 
 that ? Esau will not rest so, but will cry, mihi quoque ; " Bless 
 me, also. Oh, my Eather!" Acts xx. 31; Col. i. 28. Br. 
 Richard Gierke. (Serm. on S. Luke iii. 14.) 
 
 Men hear these as general discourses, and let them pass so ; they 
 apply them not ; or, if they do, it is readily to some other per- 
 son. But they are addressed to all, that each one may regu- 
 late himself by them : and so these Divine truths are like a 
 well drawn picture, which looks particularly upon every one, 
 amongst the great multitude, that look at it. xiv. 19 ; Acts 
 XX. 31 ; S. James i. 19. Abp. Leighton. (Comment. S. Peter. 
 Ch. iii. 8.) 
 
 It is great folly for a man to live in such a state, as he would not 
 dare to die in. S. Augustine. 
 
S. MARK XIII. 37 ; XIV. 3. 349 
 
 Fide Deo ; die Bsepe preces ; peccare caveto ; 
 
 Sis humilis ; pacem dilige ; magna fuge. 
 Multa audi ; die pauca ; taee abdita ; seito minori 
 
 Parcere, majori cedere, ferre parem. 
 Propria fac ; persolve fidem ; sis sequus egenis ; 
 
 Parta tuere ; pati disce ; memento mori. 
 
 (?) 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A FTER two days was the feast of the passover, and 
 of unleavened bread : and the chief priests and 
 the scribes sought how they might take Him by craft, 
 and put Him to death. 
 
 2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be 
 an uproar of the people. 
 
 3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the 
 leper, as He sat at meat, there came a woman having 
 an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very pre- 
 cious ; and she brake the box, and poured it on His 
 head. 
 
 4 And there were some that had indignation within 
 themselves, and said. Why was this waste of the oint- 
 ment made ? 
 
 5 For it might have been sold for more than three 
 hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And 
 they murmured against her. 
 
 3 In the house of Simon, the leper, $*c. — All assoeiation therefore 
 with wicked persons is not prohibited, but only all participation 
 
350 
 
 S. MAEZ XIV. 3, 4. 
 
 with them in their wicked deeds. S. John xviii. 15 ; 1 Cor. x. 
 27 ; 1 Tim. v. 22. Zanchius. 
 
 I have always thought there is great difference betwixt keeping 
 company with some men, and choosing to do so ; for, whilst we 
 live in this world, we must often have to do with the lovers of 
 the world. But, though to be cast by the exigencies of our 
 callings upon bad company, be an infelicity without being a 
 fault, yet certainly to choose such company and prefer it before 
 that of wise and good men, is in a high degree both the one 
 and the other. And, I confess, I cannot think that the proper 
 use of conversation is but to pass away our time, not to im- 
 prove it. Ps. i. 1 ; Prov. iii. 31 ; 1 Tim. v. 13. R. Boyle, 
 (Occasional Eeflections, s. iv. 15.) 
 
 Very precious. — In that they (our offerings) are testimonies of 
 our affection towards God, there is no doubt, that such they 
 should be, as beseemeth most His Glory, to whom we offer 
 them. In this respect, the fatness of Abel's sacrifice is com- 
 mended ; the flower of all man's increase, assigned to God by 
 Solomon ; (Heb. xi. 4 ; Prov. xxxii. 8 ;) the gifts and donations 
 of the people rejected, as oft as their affection to GoD-ward 
 made their presents to be little worth (i.e. induced them to 
 offer things of little worth). Deut. xx. 21 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 24. 
 Hooker. (Eccl. Pol. B. v. c. 79.) 
 
 Ejffice semper id, quod perfectius esse intelligis. Always do that, 
 which you consider to come nearest to perfection. Eccl. ix. 
 10 ; S. Matt. ii. 11 ; v. 48 ; 1 Cor. xii. 31. Theresa Sanchez. 
 
 4 This waste. — The things, which are the brightest ornaments of 
 human nature and which alone constitute its very glory, are 
 holiness, piety, and faith ; and these are treated, as if they 
 were the most despicable and ignominious things in the whole 
 world. . . "We have long since lost the true names of things : 
 candid simplicity of manners is despised, as rusticity ; lively 
 religion is called the delirious dream of superstitious notions ; 
 and gentleness, dulness and stupidity : while pride has usurped 
 the name of magnanimity ; and craft, that of wisdom. Thus 
 we turn true glory into shame, and shame into glory. Ps. xv. 
 4; Isa. V. 20; xxxii. 3 — 5; Phil. iii. 19. Abp, Leighton. 
 (Medit. on Isa. iv.) 
 
S. MARK XIV. 4-6. 351 
 
 What strange infatuation does sin bring upon men ! We may 
 observe of the Jews, that they repined not to sacrifice the 
 dearest of their children to Moloch ; and yet they thought a 
 lamb of their flock too much for God Almighty. Deut. xii. 
 31 ; Mai. i. 6, 7, 13, 14. Dean Young. (Serm. on S. John 
 XV. 22.) 
 
 5 The children of this world are marvellous cunning and close, to 
 carry things fair in outward show, so far as to hold up their 
 credit with the abused multitude, and to give a colour to the 
 cause, they manage, be it ever so bad . . . partly by wresting 
 the most innocent speeches and actions of those, that are 
 otherwise minded, than themselves are, to an evil construction 
 . . . gaining reputation to themselves and their own party with 
 fair speeches and specious pretences — the glory of G-od, the 
 reformation of abuses, and the like. 2 Sam. xv. 3, 6 ; Eom. 
 xvi. 18 ; Gral. vi. 12. Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. on S. Luke xvi. 8.) 
 
 6 And Jesus said, Let her alone ; why trouble ye 
 her ? she hath wrought a good work on Me. 
 
 7 For ye have the poor with you always, and when- 
 soever ye will ye may do them good : but Me ye 
 have not always. 
 
 8 She hath done what she could : she is come 
 aforehand to anoint My Body to the burying. 
 
 9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this Gospel 
 shall be preached throughout the w^hole world, this 
 also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a me- 
 morial of her. 
 
 6 We ought to look, not to Judas on earth, who disliketh, but to 
 Christ in heaven, who approveth ; to know, that that, which 
 in Judas* divinity is perditio, waste, in Christ's divinity is 
 bonum opus, a good work ; in regard therefore of our own duty, 
 to be resolute with the Apostle, Quod /acio, hoc et faciam, 
 " What I do, that I will do ;" in respect of misconstruction, 
 " It is to me a very small thing, that I should be judged of 
 
352 S. MARK XIV. 6, 7. 
 
 you ;" (1 Cor. iv. 3 ;) because we may truly say and in the 
 sight of GrOD, "as deceivers, and yet true;" or with Mary 
 Magdalene, as wasters, yet well-doers ; assuring ourselves that 
 it is well done and shall be both commended on earth and 
 rewarded in heaven ; on earth, for posterity shall better like of 
 the shedding, than of the sale, of this ointment ; in heaven, for 
 the day shall come, when all perverse judgments shall have 
 judgment against them ; and Mary Magdalene shall look cheer- 
 fully on Him, on whom she bestowed it, and Judas ruefully 
 behold Him, from whom he sold it. 1 Sam. ii. 2 — 9 ; 2 Cor. v. 
 12 — 16 ; vi. 8. Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. on S. Mark xiv. 4 — 6.) 
 
 A good work. — Affectus tuus operi tuo nomen imponit. It is thy 
 motive, which determines the character of thy work. 1 Cor. 
 xiii. 1 — 3. S. Ambrose. 
 
 7 The poor shall never cease out of the land. (Deut. xv. 11.) — 
 "Why? because the ceasing of poverty would be taking the 
 weight off the great (political) machine (necessary to keep it 
 in motion) ; and because the ceasing of the poor would be the 
 annihilation of all the instrumental agency, subserving to civil 
 comfort. Is not, then, such an appointment worthy of eternal 
 Wisdom ? "With what just and gracious fitness is the subse- 
 quent Command further given! How becoming the source 
 of goodness and happiness ; " Therefore I command thee,'* &c. 
 In no instance is the language more authoritative ; as if He 
 had said, " The existence of poverty is My direct and special 
 appointment, as being indispensable to your civil welfare. 
 Therefore, on the fairest principle I enjoin a just acknowledg- 
 ment of that benefit. You are to be the daily objects of My 
 bounty ; and the chief of that bounty shall be conveyed to 
 you through the instrumentality of the poor. You owe Me a 
 return for this bounty ; and they, who are My instruments in 
 giving, are My appointed agents for receiving.'' Prov. xiv. 31 ; 
 xxii. 2 ; Amos viii. 4. Alexander Knox. (Correspondence with 
 Bp. Jebb. Letter 10.) 
 
 God hath no need of you to feed the poor, no need of the widow 
 
 to feed Elias ; He could still have fed him with ravens 
 
 He could have created sufficient for all men ; or so few men, as 
 all should have been sufficient for them. He would not ; He 
 
S. MARK XIV. 7. 353 
 
 ordered there should be ever " poor in the land." (Deut. xv. 
 11.) Why? to prove them, and to prove you by them; that 
 He, which feedeth you, might feed them by you ; that your 
 superfluities might be their necessaries ; that they of their 
 patience in waiting, and you of your liberality in supporting, 
 might both together of Him, that made you both, receive a re- 
 ward — they with you, in your bosoms there, as here ; a good 
 sight in heaven, and a good sight in earth. (S. Luke xvi. 
 23.) For, sure, there shall never be a rich man in heaven, 
 without a Lazarus in his bosom. Therefore we have need of 
 them, as they have need of us ; yet, that, we make theirs, 
 remains ours still. 2 Cor. ix. 6 — 10 ; Heb. xiii. 1, 2. Bjp. 
 Andrewes. (Spital Serm. on 1 Tim. vi. 17 — 19.) 
 The love of gain, which is "the root of all evil," and which occasioned 
 the greatest sin, that was ever committed in the world, is here 
 (1 Tim. iv. 8) made to bring forth fruit unto godliness and be- 
 comes the occasion of the greatest good, that can betide us. 
 For, as Judas for love of gain sold Christ, so here by the love 
 of gain we are taught to redeem Christ again. Ps. cxii. 9 ; 
 S. Luke xvi. 9. J. Hales. (Serm. on 1 Tim. iv. 8.) 
 
 Cum cunctis elementa Deus donaverit seque, 
 Effigiem cunctis indideritque Suam ; 
 
 Cum cunctis seque vox sit data mensque ; Redempti 
 Cum fuerint pretio dives inopsque pari ; 
 
 Denique cum coeli sit spes aequalis utrique ; 
 Noluit hos opibus cur Deus esse pares ? 
 
 Scilicet ut coeli Eegnum lucretur uterque, 
 Dum patitur pauper, dives eumque juvat. 
 
 S. Luke xvi. 9. Billius. (Anthol. Sacra. 91.) 
 Me ye have not always. — Fear not, O ! Bride, nor despair ; think 
 not thyself contemned, if thy Bridegroom withdraw His face 
 awhile. All things co-operate for the best; both from His 
 absence and His Presence thou gainest light. He cometh to 
 thee, and He goeth from thee ; He cometh to make thee con- 
 solate ; He goeth to make thee cautious, lest thy abundant con- 
 solation puff thee up. He cometh, that thy languishing soul 
 may be comforted ; He goeth, lest His familiarity should be 
 contemned : and being absent to be more desired, and being 
 
 A A 
 
354 S. MARK XIV. 1—d. 
 
 desired to be more earnestly sought ; and being long sought to 
 be more acceptably found, vi. 48 ; S. Luke xxiv. 28, 29, 3 1 . 
 Autor Scalce Paradisi. 
 
 Our LoED said to His mother at the marriage feast in Cana of 
 Gralilee, " Mine hour is not yet come." His mother said unto 
 the servants, "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." (S. 
 John ii. 4, 5.) Our Lord's dealings with His Church may be 
 mysterious ; Me ye have not always. Nevertheless, our duty 
 towards Him is plain. Ye have the poor with you always. 
 Under all doubts and perplexities of mind the surest relief is 
 to be found by increasing our diligence in known and certain 
 matters of duty. Let us abound more in works of charity to 
 Cheist's poor ; and, " whatsoever He saith unto us," let us 
 give more earnest heed, that we " do it." Comfort, in this way, 
 is sure to come to our souls, sooner or later; and, supposing it 
 should never come, yet are we safe: for "by faith we stand." 
 Deut. xxix. 29 ; Ps. xcvii. 2. J. F. 
 
 The temper of thy soul will be, like its partner, subject to vicissi- 
 tudes. Ps. XXX. 6—8 ; Phil. iv. 12. Bp. Hall. 
 
 8 She hath done what she could. — Though charity consists of bene- 
 Jicentia, as well as benevoletitia, good deeds, as well as goodwill, 
 yet there is a dispensation allowed for want of good deeds, if a 
 man have a good will. So that, although God hath dispensed 
 His temporal blessings unequally, yet the spiritual He will 
 have common unto all. 2 Cor. viii. 12. Bp. Lake. (Serm. 
 on S. Matt. xxii. 34—40.) 
 
 9 Alas ! Eternal glory is far above the reach of our endeavours 
 and our deserts, and yet, if we aspire not to it, and strive not 
 for it, in vain do we expect it ; but, if we faithfully do what in 
 us lies, and our endeajvours strain themselves to their utmost, 
 God mercifully allows the will for the effect ; measures our 
 performances by what they aimed at, and favourably accepting 
 what we can do for what we should do. He supplies the imper- 
 fections of our faint, but yet aspiring, attempts, by stooping 
 condescensions ; and what our endeavours want of reaching up . 
 to. His grace and acceptation brings down. Piety is the con- 
 dition, though not the price, of heaven ; and, like the wedding 
 garment in the parable, though it give us not a riglit to the 
 
S. MARK XIV. 9. 355 
 
 Beatific feast, is yet that, without which none shall be admitted, 
 as a duly qualified guest. For though we cannot reach heaven 
 by our good works, we shall not obtain it without them. 
 1 Chron. xxix. 3—9 ; Ps. ciii. 14 ; S. Matt. xxvi. 37—40. R. 
 Boyle. (Occasional Eeflections. S. i.) 
 
 Come aforehand. — She has done now, what after My death would 
 not be in her power ; for I shall rise, before her anointing find 
 Me. Isid. Clai'ius. 
 
 Our Lord's Burial doth countenance and commend unto us those 
 seemly respects, those oflBces of humanity, which all civil people 
 have consented to perform towards the bodies of our brethren 
 departed from us ; in decently laying up their remainders ; se- 
 curing them from offence and disgrace ; showing by our best 
 regard to what is left of them the good-will we bare them liv- 
 ing ; the good hope we have of them dead ; as expecting to re- 
 cover that depositum, so carefully laid up by us. "VYe see our 
 Saviour was not unconcerned herein ; and did commend to the 
 everlasting esteem of posterity the pious respect of that good 
 woman, who spent the precious ointment upon Him, as having 
 reserved it for His Burial. Gren. xxiii. 3, 4, 6 ; 1. 25, 26 ; 
 1 Kings xiii. 31. Dr. Barrow. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 
 The Persians, the Indians, Scythians, Thracians, Sarmatians, the 
 race of the Moors, and the inhabitants of the British isles cele- 
 brate a deed, performed in a private family in Judea by a 
 woman, that had been a sinner. S. Chrysostom, (Homil. in 
 loco.) 
 
 It may bring no small authority to the predictions of the New 
 Testament that, when divers of them were made, there ap- 
 peared no likelihood that they should ever be made good. 
 When a poor Virgin, that was betrothed to a carpenter, con- 
 fidently pronounces that " all ages should call her Blessed," 
 what probabiKty was there, that what she said would ever come 
 to pass ? And when another private woman, then living in a 
 village, had it foretold her, that a censured action of hers should 
 be reported, through the whole world ^ to her praise, what sober 
 man, that were not a prophet, would venture to lose his credit, 
 by making such a promise ? And therefore since we see such 
 unlikely predictions actually accomplished, it may well con- 
 
 A a2 
 
356 S. MAEK XIV. 9. 
 
 vince an unbiassed man, that the authors of them were really 
 endowed with a true prophetic spirit ; and that the events, by 
 that foretold, were not effects of chance or policy, but of Di- 
 vine Providence. (Eefer to x. 33, P. Skelton ; xiii. 10, Bp. 
 Eurd.) R. Boyle. (The Christian Virtuoso. Part 1.) 
 Por since good men, while they are alive, have their " conversation 
 in heaven ;" when they are in heaven, it is also fit that they 
 should in their good names live upon earth. And, as their 
 great examples are an excellent sermon to the living, and the 
 praising them, when envy and flattery can have no interest to 
 interpose, as it is the best and most vigorous sermon and in- 
 centive to great things; so to conceal what good God has 
 wrought by them is great unthankfulness to GtOD and to good 
 men. Acts ix. 36, 39 ; Heb. xi. 2, 39 ; xiii. 7 ; Ecclus. xliv. 1 
 — 15 ; Ps. cxii. 6. Bp. J. Taylor. (Sermon preached at the 
 Puneral of Abp. Pramhall.) 
 
 10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went 
 unto the chief priests, to betray Him unto them. 
 
 1 1 And when they heard it, they were glad, and 
 promised to give him money. And he sought how he 
 might conveniently betray Him. 
 
 12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when 
 they killed the passover, His disciples said unto Him, 
 Where wilt Thou that we go and prepare that Thou 
 mayest eat the passover ? 
 
 13 And He sendeth forth two of His disciples, and 
 saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall 
 meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water : follow 
 
 him. 
 
 14 And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the 
 goodman of the house. The Master saith. Where is 
 the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with 
 My disciples ? 
 
S. MARK XIV. 10. 357 
 
 1 5 And he will show you a large upper room fur- 
 nished and prepared : there make ready for us. 
 
 16 And His disciples went forth, and came into the 
 city, and found as He had said unto them : and they 
 made ready the passover. 
 
 10 I know, that, at the very hearing of this your hearts rise up in 
 detestation of the cursed covetousness of Judas, that ever he 
 
 . should suffer himself to be tempted by so base a reward, as a 
 few shillings were, (Ex. xxi. 32 ; Zeeh. xi. 13) to betray Him 
 to death, who was infinitely more worth, than heaven and earth. 
 Why, the case is yours : nay, wonder not at it. Have you 
 not dealt very injuriously with GrOD and Cheist, and set 
 Him at nought for a little gain, for some vanishing delight, 
 for compliance' sake, for the fickle favour of men ? Tea, very 
 feathers and empty nothings have weighed down the scales with 
 you against God. 2 Kings viii. 13 ; Isa. Hi. 3. Bp. Hopkins. 
 (Serm. on Ps. xix. 3.) 
 
 2'Aey we7'e glad. — (Conf. S. Matt, xxvii. 4.) It is strange, we 
 should not see the folly of putting ourselves in the power of 
 others for much the greatest part of our happiness ; though we 
 cannot help knowing that naturally they are more disposed to 
 counteract it, and want to be pleased and humoured them- 
 selves, as much as we do. 2 Sam. xviii. 13 ; Isa. Ivi. 11. Adam, 
 (Private Thoughts, c. 4.) 
 
 Christian, rejoice ; for you have got the best in this bargain be- 
 tween your enemies. "What Judas sold and the Jew bought, 
 belongs to you. Por Christ is ours ; and not the property of 
 the Jews, who bought Him. S. Matt. xxi. 43; Rom. xi. 11. 
 Ludolphus. (Yita Christi. in loco.) 
 
 Of all the arguments, in favour of Christianity, none strikes me 
 with greater force than this, drawn from the history of Judas ; 
 especially when I consider that the Jewish priests and Eabbis, 
 might, on looking into the prophecies, so easily have seen that 
 the Messiah must have come at the time Christ appeared, and 
 must have been sold, betrayed, and put to death, precisely at 
 the time and in the manner He was. That these wise and 
 
358 g. MARK XIV. 12. 
 
 learned men should directly against their own intention have 
 been, by their plotting and bribing for His destruction, the 
 chief instruments to prove Cheist the Messiah hath something 
 in it very astonishing ; something, that cannot be rationally 
 traced up to any other cause, but that over-ruling Providence, 
 which dictated the prophecies, and was concerned to see them 
 fulfilled. Had not king Herod and Pontius Pilate, " with the 
 Gi-entiles and the people of Israel, taken counsel together 
 against the Loed and against His Cheist," and had He not 
 been sold to them exactly for " thirty pieces of silver," the pro- 
 phecies of David (Ps. ii. 1, 2) and Zechariah (xi. 12) must 
 have been false. . Had they paid Judas in gold, or given him 
 one piece more or less, they might afterwards have proved 
 Jesus not to be the Messiah. Ps. ix. 15. P. Skelton. (Serm. 
 on S. Mark xiv. 43—45.) 
 12 We go and prepare, 8(C. — This last week of Lent Christians 
 have been used to call the Holy and G-reat Week, or the Pas- 
 sion Week, and more solemnly to observe it, than any of the 
 rest before. For in it the Church doth commemorate and re- 
 present unto us for our greater humility and devotion, first, the 
 traitorous conspiracy of the Jews with Judas to betray Cheist 
 unto His death, as upon the Wednesday before Easter ; then, 
 the Institution of Cheist's Blessed Supper, and the washing 
 of His disciples' feet, as upon Maundy Thursday (h Mandato, 
 Command ; S. Matt. xxvi. 26 ; S. John xiii. 14.) Next, the 
 very Cross and Passion of our SAViorE, His precious Death 
 and Burial for us all, as upon Grood Friday ; and His rest 
 within the grave and His descent also into hell, as upon Easter 
 Even. And all these in tempore suo, in their own proper times 
 and seasons, upon the very days, when they were done and 
 became the great and high mysteries of our Christian religion : 
 which is the reason, why these days are here and elsewhere 
 ranked among the Holy-days of our Church, and a special 
 service appointed for them ; as also, why all the Wednesdays 
 of the year have been heretofore, (Const. Apost. L. 8,) and 
 why the Fridays and Saturdays of every week besides are now 
 continued and made common days of abstinence and prayer. 
 It must ever be remembered that the intent of the Church in 
 
S. MARK XIV. 12, 13. 
 
 359 
 
 the celebration of these, her holy solemnities, is not only to 
 inform us in the mysteries, which are commemorated, but also, 
 and that chiefly, to conform us thereby unto Him, who is our 
 Head and the substance of all our solemnities whatsoever ; 
 and that, if we be not thus affected with them, we can neither 
 approve ourselves to be His followers and servants, nor any 
 lively members of His Church. B]^. Cosi?i. (Private Devo- 
 tions on the Collects throughout the year.) 
 
 If we look into Holy Scripture, we may find God Himself a 
 pattern of deliberate preparations. . . He would not have so 
 much, as the room unprovided, teaching us that in Sacred 
 things there should be first a preparation, before a celebration. 
 Ex. xii. 3—11 ; Josh. iii. 5 ; v. 15 ; Eccl. v. 1 ; 1 Kings vi. 7. 
 Bp. Reynolds. (Medit. on the Holy Sacrament, &c. Ch. 18.) 
 
 The Passover. — Many ways was Cheist our blessed Sayiotje, 
 a "corner-stone;" among others, especially in this, saith S. 
 Jerome, Quando Agniim cum Pane conjunxit, finiens unum, 
 inchoans alteruin, utrumque perfciens in Semet-ipso. Our chief 
 corner-point was this, when He joined the Lamb of the Pass- 
 over with the Bread of the Eucharist, ending the one and 
 beginning the other, recapitulating both Lamb and Bread in 
 Himself; making that Sacrament (by the very institution of 
 it) to be, as it were, the very corner-stone of both the Testa- 
 
 . ments. No act then more fit for this feast (the feast of the 
 Passover) than that act, which is itself the passage over from 
 the Old Testament to the New : no way better to express our 
 thanks for this corner-stone than by the Holy Eucharist, which 
 is itself the corner-stone of the Law and the Gospel. 1 Cor. 
 V. 7. Bpi. Andrewes. (Serm. on Ps. cxviii. 22.) 
 
 13 Easter furnisheth the most solemn day for Baptism, at which 
 time likewise the Passion of the Lord, into which we are 
 baptized, was finished. Nor would any one interpret it un- 
 suitably, as a figure, that, when the Loed was about to keep 
 His last Passover, in sending His disciples to make ready, He 
 saith. Ye shall find a man hearing water. He showeth the 
 
 place for celebrating the Passover by the sign of water 
 
 But moreover when Jeremiah saith, " And I will gather them 
 from the uttermost parts of the earth on au Holy day,'* (xxxi. 
 
360 S. MAEK XIV. 13, 15. 
 
 8,) he signifieth the day of the Passover, and that of the Pen- 
 tecost, which is specially a Holy day. But every day is the 
 Loed's : every hour, every season, is meet for Baptism. Si de 
 solennitate interest, de gratia 7iihil refert ; if there be a diifer- 
 ence, as touching its solemnity, there is none, as touching its 
 grace. Eom. vi. 3 — 11. (See at S. John ii. 6.) Tertullian. 
 (De Baptismo, s. 19.) 
 Upi^er room. — The Priest prepares the souls of the brethren, 
 when he says Sursum cor da ; " Let us lift up our hearts." S. 
 Cyprian. 
 Certainly, at that hour, when we are to receive the most dreadful 
 Sacrament, it is necessary to lift up our hearts to Gron and not 
 to have them grovelling upon the earth. For this purpose the 
 Priest exhorts all to leave all cares of this life and domestic 
 thoughts, and to have our hearts and minds in heaven upon 
 the Lover of mankind. The people then answer, " We lift 
 them up unto the Lord," assenting to the Priest's admonition. 
 And it behoves us all to say it seriously ; for, as we ought al- 
 ways to have our minds in heaven, so especially at that hour 
 we should more earnestly endeavour it. S. John vi. 34 ; Eev. 
 xxii. 20. Bp. Sparrow. (Eationale on the Common Prayer.) 
 "Wheresoever is the carcase, there be the eagles." The carcase 
 is Cheist's Body ; us He calleth the eagles, to declare, that 
 whosoever will approach near to that Body must mount aloft. 
 Aquilarum enim, non graculorum^ hcec est mensa ; for this is a 
 banquet for eagles, that soar on high, not for jays, that keep 
 to the ground. Phil. iii. 20; Col. iii. 1 — 5. S. Chrysostom. 
 (Hom. 24, in 1 Cor. x.) 
 15 The word prepared is not superfluous. It alludes to the 
 manner of making the room ready for the celebration of the 
 Passover, which was examined in every hole and corner by the 
 light of wax candles, and cleared from the smallest crumb of 
 leaven with a scrupulous nicety. As the time perha,ps was 
 short, and the two disciples might better attend to other parts 
 of their office, the care of searching the room was providen- 
 tially superseded, as our Loed intimates by this word. The 
 room, into which they were conducted, was not only furnished 
 with necessary accommodations, but prepared according to the 
 
S. MARK XIV. 17. 361 
 
 ritual. And no wonder that S. Mark from the mouth of S. 
 Peter, who found it so, relates the circumstance. But the 
 obscurity of it to those, who were not versed in Jewish affairs, 
 (which probably made some copyists leave out the word 'pre- 
 jmred, as a gloss upon the preceding) would induce S. Luke 
 (xxii. 12) to pass it over. S. Mark, in turn, omits a particular 
 mentioned by S. Luke ; that is the names of the two disciples, 
 sent on this errand. This he did, because S. Peter was one of 
 them. The variations of the Evangelists carry a plain reason 
 generally with them. Dr. Townson. (Discourse iii. s. iv. 4.) 
 
 17 And in the evening He cometh with the twelve. 
 
 18 And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily 
 I say unto you, One of you which eateth with Me 
 shall betray Me. 
 
 19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto 
 Him one by one, is it I ? and another said, /s it I ? 
 
 20 And He answered and said unto them, It is one 
 of the twelve, that dippeth with Me in the dish. 
 
 21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of 
 Him ; but woe to that man by whom the Son of man 
 is betrayed ! good were it for that man if he had never 
 been born. 
 
 17 In the evening, when the stillness of the night invites to 
 solemn thoughts, after we have collected our straggling ideas 
 and suffered not a reflection to stir, but what either looks up- 
 ward to GrOD, or inward upon ourselves, upon the state of our 
 minds ; then let us scan over each action of the day, fervently 
 entreat God's pardon for what we have done amiss, and the 
 gracious assistance of His Spirit for the future; and, after 
 having adjusted accounts between our Maker and ourselves, 
 commit ourselves to His care for the night. Gen. iii. 8 ; Ps. 
 iv. 9 ; cxxxii. 3. Jer. Seed. (Serm. on Eom. xii. 12.) 
 
 Our LoKD Jesus on that evening gave us the example of five 
 great virtues ; that is, of humility, in washing their feet ; of 
 
362 S. MAEK XIY. 17, 18. 
 
 love, in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, and in the dis- 
 course, which is filled with precepts of love ; of patience, in 
 bearing with His betrayer, and with those many revilings, when 
 He was taken and carried away as a thief; of obedience, in 
 going to sufi'ering and death at the command of His Father ; 
 of prayer, in praying three times in the garden. Let us strive 
 to imitate Him in these virtues. S. Matt. si. 29 ; IS. Pet. ii. 
 21 ; Bom. viii. 29. Card. Bonaventura. (Life of Chbist, 
 ch. 57.) 
 
 With the twelve. — The Angel fell; did he defile heaven? Adam 
 fell ; did he defile Paradise ? One of the sons of Noah fell ; 
 did he defile the habitation of the just ? Judas fell ; did he 
 defile the company of the Apostles ? v. 3 ; Obad. 7 ; 1 S. Pet. 
 ii. 8. S. Augustine. 
 
 IS As they sat. — "What need these nice disputes about our pos- 
 ture at the Holy Communion? "We sit at Gron's Table, though 
 we kneel in the Church? The favour and the privilege He 
 grants us is that of acceptable guests, who have leave to sit in 
 His Presence, and at meat with Him. It is our souls, that 
 sit ! Well may our bodies be " as they, that serve.'" The 
 Table, which we call the Holy Altar, is but a shelf of wood : 
 GtOd's Table is a spiritual thing; it implies privilege, and 
 favour, and honour, and freedom ; and those, that are admitted 
 to this Divine feast, sit at His Table, whatever postures their 
 bodies be in. . . . While we sit with the Church Triumphant, 
 well may we be content to kneel with the Church Militant. 
 Eph. ii. 6. Bonnell. (Life, p. 166.) 
 
 One of you, which eateth with Me, ^c. — 'Tis not so much a man's 
 outward condition, as his inward disposition and temper of 
 mind, that makes temptations either to sin, or discontent, pre- 
 valent, or unsuccessful. . . . Whilst young Joseph was chaste 
 in Egyptian Potiphar's house, his eldest brother Eeuben was 
 incestuous in good Jacob's, (Gen. xxxix. 35,) whose family was 
 then the visible Church of God ; and Lot, who was chaste and 
 temperate in Sodom itself, was drunk and committed incest in 
 a cave ; so much more does the success of temptations depend 
 upon the temper of man's mind, than upon the place he lives 
 in. R. Boyle. (Occasional Beflections. s. iv. disc. 3.) 
 
S. MAEK XIV. 19—21. 363 
 
 19 Sorrowful. — There is a tenderness of sense in conscience. It 
 is altogether as nice, delicate, and tender in feeling, as it can 
 be perspicacious and quick in seeing. For conscience is still 
 called and accounted the eye of the soul ; and how troublesome 
 is the least mote, or dust, falling into the eye ! and how 
 quickly does it weep and water, upon the least grievance 
 that afflicts it ! S. Matt. vi. 22. Br. South. (Serm. 2 on 1 S. 
 John iii. 21.) 
 
 And to say unto Him. — Eead not books alone, but men; and 
 amongst them chiefly thyself : if thou find anything question- 
 able there, use the commentary of a severe friend, rather than 
 the gloss of a sweet-lipped flatterer. There is more profit in 
 a distasteful truth, than deceitful sweetness. Prov. xxvii. 5, 6 ; 
 Ps. cxli. 5 ; 2 Cor. ii. 4. F. Quarles. (Enchir. Cent. ii. 43.) 
 
 " Communing with your own heart" is a sine qua non, a duty, or 
 a matter, without which we can neither bear any condition, as 
 we should, nor perform any duty, as we ought. As a golden 
 thread was to be twisted with every twine and thread of the 
 ephod and breastplate, or it was not rightly made ; so, if this 
 action of communing with our own hearts be not entwisted 
 with every one of our actions, we can neither undergo any- 
 thing, nor perform anything, as becomes us to do. Prov. iv. 
 20 — 27. Dr. Lightfoot. (Serm. before the House of Com- 
 mons, on Ps. iv. 44.) 
 
 When GrOD at the first day of judgment arraigned Eve, she trans- 
 ferred her fault on the serpent, which beguiled her. (Gren. iii. 
 13.) This was one of the first-fruits of our depraved nature. 
 But, ever after, regenerate men in Scripture, making the con- 
 fession of their sins (whereof many precedents) cast all the 
 faults on themselves alone. 1 Chron. xxi. 1, 17. (Eefer to i. 5. 
 Bp. Sparrow.) Th. Fuller. (Scripture Observations, p. ii. 6.) 
 
 20 Those injuries go nearest us, that we neither deserved, nor 
 expected. Ps. xli. 9 ; Iv. 22 ; Isa. i. 3. Palmer. (Aphor. 48.) 
 
 21 The G-reek word, rendered goeth (v7rd^/ei), signifies properly se 
 subducere, to withdraw himself. Christ used the same word 
 (S. John viii. 22), when He spake of His going to Heaven; as 
 if the Cross was as much desired by Christ, as Heaven itself. 
 S. Luke xii. 50, Edw. Leigh. 
 
364 S. MARK XIV. 21. 
 
 " As it is written of Him." " As it was determined.'* (S. Luke 
 xxii. 22.) Gron's "Word and God's Counsel always go toge- 
 ther. The Counsel was ; the Word is : the one, written in 
 time; the other, decreed from all eternity. Ps. Ixxxix. 34; 
 Isa. Iv. 10, 11. J. F. 
 
 GrOD can so use evil instruments, that the work, done by them, 
 being a sin, shall nevertheless be in Him a good work ; because 
 He knows how to use evil instruments well. If it be alleged, 
 that God willeth no wickedness (Ps. v. 5) we must know that 
 God's will is two-fold, general and special; general, whereby 
 God willeth and decreeth that a thing shall be, and by this 
 kind of will He may be said to will sin ; and that, without sin. 
 Por, though He decree it thus, He doth not instil wickedness 
 into the heart of any sinner, and His decree is only for a most 
 excellent end. Bonum est, ut sit malum, (S. Augustine. En- 
 chir. ad Laur. c. 101.) In regard of God, which decreeth it, 
 it is good that there should be evil. Now the special will of 
 God is that, whereby He willeth any thing in such manner, 
 that He approveth it and delighteth in it ; and thus indeed we 
 cannot say without blasphemy that God willeth sin. B,om. ix. 
 14 — 24. Wm. Perkins. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 
 He predicts the punishment ; if haply such a denunciation might 
 reclaim the man, who was lost to all sense of shame. Amos 
 iv. 6—12. Bede. 
 
 Woe to that man, ^c. — But as yet, it seems, he was not totally 
 abandoned to the devil, who had only permission to make that 
 black and dire proposal to him ; after which our Savioue at- 
 tempts by the most pathetic persuasions to prevent his com- 
 pliance (xiv. 21) : notwithstanding which, the wretch, being 
 still enticed by his own covetousness to listen to that horrid 
 suggestion, our SAViorE, having marked him out for a traitor 
 by giving him the sop, it is said again that " Satan entered 
 into him ;" and upon this second entrance our Saviour gives 
 him up, as desperate ; for " That, thou doest," saith He, " do 
 quickly." (S. John xiii. 27.) As much as if He had said ; 
 " Now I find, that the devil has the full possession of thee and 
 that henceforth there remains no more hope of reclaiming thee ; 
 go therefore and despatch thy wicked purpose as soon, as thou 
 
S. MAEK XIV. 21. 365 
 
 pleasest." So that now, it seems, he was entirely delivered up 
 to the devil ; who thereupon immediately hurries him to the 
 execution of his black design. S. Matt. xii. 45 ; S. James 
 i. 14, 15 ; Isa. i. 5. Dr. J. Scott. (Christian Life. P. ii. 
 c. 7.) 
 
 Good were it for that man, ^'c. — Although, perhaps, metaphysic- 
 ally considered, it is better to be wretched, than not to be at 
 all ; yet certainly in a natural and moral sense it is not so. . . . 
 Creation frees us not from so great an evil, neither confers upon 
 us so great and inestimable benefits, as E-edemption doth. 
 Alas ! what torture, or vexation, is it to mere nothing, that it 
 must eternally remain so ? Will not this be the hearty desire 
 and wish of all the damned wretches in hell ? Would they 
 not account it a kind of salvation to be annihilated ; that their 
 souls and bodies might fall asunder and flit away into nothing, 
 so that they might escape the everlasting residue of their tor- 
 ments ? Gren. iv. 13 ; Isa. xxxiii. 14 ; Rev. ix. 6. Bj). Hop- 
 kins. (Serm. on 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20.) 
 
 Oh, terrible, horrible Eternity ! Woe to us, and Eternal woe ! 
 Woe to us, that we are born ! Woe to us, that we are unable 
 to die! We live an Eternal death ! We faint, we languish, 
 and last for ever, in spite of it ; for our death terminates no 
 death ; our end has no end : it was only a moment that we felt 
 pleasure ; our torments last eternally ! ix. 43 — 49 ; Heb. xi. 
 25. S. Augustine. 
 
 22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and 
 blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said. 
 Take, eat : this is My Body. 
 
 23 And He took the cup, and when He had given 
 thanks. He gave it to them : and they all drank of it. 
 
 24 And He said unto them. This is My Blood of 
 the new testament, which is shed for many. 
 
 25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of 
 the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new 
 in the kingdom of God. 
 
366 S. MARK XIV. 22. 
 
 22 Sacraments should of all men be admired and honoured ; not 
 so mucli respecting the service, which we do unto GrOD in 
 receiving them, as the dignity of the sacred and secret gift we 
 thereby receive from God. They are the visible signs of 
 invisible graces, which indeed is the very end these heavenly 
 mysteries were instituted for ; they are the powerful instru- 
 ments of God to eternal life : for, as our natural life consist eth 
 of the union of the body and soul, so our life supernatural in 
 the union of the soul with God. His Elesh is meat, His Blood 
 is drink, not by surmised imagination, but truly; even so, 
 truly, through faith, we perceive in the Body and Blood, 
 Sacramentally presented, the very taste of eternal life. S. 
 John vi. 47 — 59. Dean Colet. (Order of a Christian life.) 
 
 Chuist hath ordained the Sacraments, that by them He might 
 set before our eyes the mysteries of our salvation, and might 
 more strongly confirm the faith, which we have in His Blood, 
 and might seal His grace in our hearts. As princes' seals 
 confirm and warrant their deeds and charters, so do the 
 Sacraments witness unto our conscience that God's promises 
 are true and shall continue for ever. Thus doth God make 
 known His secret purpose to His Church ; first, He declareth 
 His mercy by His Word ; then He sealeth it and assureth it 
 by His Sacraments : in the Word, we have His promises ; in 
 the Sacraments, we see them. . . . The signification and the 
 substance of the Sacrament is to show us, how we are washed 
 with the Passion of Christ, and how we are fed with the Body 
 of Christ. The holy Ministry of the Church standeth in 
 setting forth the mystery of our Salvation, both by preaching 
 of the Word of God, and by the due and reverend ministra- 
 tion of the Sacraments. . . . The value, or worthiness of the 
 Sacrament dependeth not of man — (i.e. who administers it) — 
 but of God. Man pronounceth the Word ; but God settleth 
 our hearts with grace. Gen. ix. 8 — 17 ; xvii. 10, 11 ; Ps. cxi. 
 9 ; Eph. i. 13, 14. Bp. Jewel. (A Treatise of the Sacraments.) 
 
 As they did eat. — All, or the greater part, of the institutions and 
 ceremonies, practised among Christians, as the whole frame of 
 government in their Churches, seem to have been drawn from, 
 or according to, the pattern of God's ancient Church ; Chris- 
 
S. MARK XIV. 22. 367 
 
 tianity not affecting novelty, or difference from that, but, so 
 far as it consisted with its main design of reforming men's 
 minds, and promoting the spiritual service of GrOD, and suited 
 with reason or expediency, endeavouring conformity to it and 
 resemblance thereof. S. Matt, xviii. 16; Heb. v. 1—4. Dr. 
 Barrow. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 The people of GtOd under the Law by His own appointment, had 
 Cheist and His death represented and typified to them every 
 day in the year, by having two lambs offered up for a burnt- 
 offering. (Ex. xxix. 38 ; Numb, xxviii. 3 ; S. John i. 29.) . . . 
 Upon the Sabbath day, there were two more added. (Numb, 
 xxviii. 9.) . . . Every one of those lambs had a meat and a 
 drink-offering to attend it ; a meat-offering, made of flour, and 
 a drink-offerinjr of wine : which are both the same elements, 
 which Christ Himself instituted to signify His Body and 
 Blood. And, besides these, the High Priest was to set the 
 Shew-bread upon the Holy table and to put frankincense 
 
 thereon, (Lev. ii. 4, 5, 9, &c. ; Ex. xxv. 30,) the bread 
 
 consisting of twelve loaves, or cakes (according to the number 
 of the tribes of Israel and of Christ's Apostles) was set upon 
 the table in two rows ; which might put us in mind of the two 
 natures in Christ, " the Bread of Life, which came down from 
 heaven." (S. John vi. 33, 35.) In Hebrew, this is called 
 " the bread of the face," because it was set before the face of 
 God continually, (Ex. xxv. 30,) as Christ " continually ap- 
 peareth in the presence of Gron for us." (Heb. ix. 24.) .... 
 Pure frankincense was laid upon the bread, to be to it for a 
 memorial, as the Hebrew words signify, to call to remembrance 
 the offering made by fire unto the Lord ; that is, the death of 
 Christ, typified by all such offerings, (Lev. ii. 4, 5, 9, &c.,) by 
 virtue whereof, GrOD smells a sweet savour and accepts of the 
 sacrifices and services, we offer and perform to Him. (1 S. 
 Pet. ii. 5.) And all this was to be done, the bread to be 
 eaten, the frankincense burnt, and new put in their places, 
 every Sabbath day throughout the year ; that upon that day 
 especially men might be put in mind of their Saviour and 
 accordingly act their faith on Him for their pardon and 
 acceptance with God. ... All these ways are now laid aside, 
 
368 S. MAEK XIV. 22. 
 
 and only this one Sacrament of His last Supper, instituted by 
 Himself, in tlic room of them. This is now our Christian 
 Shew-bread, whereby we " Show the Lord's Death, until He 
 come." (1 Cor. xi. 26.) This is our burnt-offering, our sin- 
 offering, our trespass- offering, our thank-offering, our meat- 
 offering, our drink-offering, and all the offerings, required of 
 us, whereby to commemorate our Blessed Savioue, and what 
 He hath done for us : and therefore, as the Jews were punctual 
 and constant in observing all things, prescribed to them, for 
 the same end we ought certainly to do this, as often, as we 
 can ; this one thing, which answers the end of all their 
 offerings, and yet hath neither the trouble, nor the charges, 
 nor the dif&culty of any one of them. S. Matt. xi. 29 ; Heb. 
 viii. 11, 12; Acts xx. 7; 1 Cor. x. 16. Bp. Beveridge. (Serm. 
 on 1 Cor. xi. 26.) 
 As under the Law a part of some sacrifices was burnt on the 
 altar, and a part was eaten by those, for whom they were of- 
 fered ; so our Blessed Saviotie, having offered up Himself on 
 the altar of the cross, as a propitiation for the sins of men, did 
 institute these holy symbols, in place of His Body and Blood ; 
 that we by feasting on them might get an interest in that Sa- 
 crifice, and be partakers of the atonement, that was made, and 
 the pardon, that was purchased by Him. Ex. xx. 21—23 ; 
 xxiv. 5, 6 — 8, 11 ; 1 Cor. x. 17, 18. Scougal. (Serm. on Josh, 
 iii. 5.) 
 It is worth the noting, that the elements, which we are invited to 
 take, are fruits, which grow out of the earth, to show, that the 
 earth, which was cursed for Adam's sake, is Blessed for Christ's 
 sake. As it brings forth thorns and thistles to bring to mind 
 our rebellion, so it brings forth " bread and wine" to call to 
 mind our Redemption. Bp. Hacket. (Serm. on S. John vi. 11.) 
 And not only is the entrance into the Church by a visible sign, 
 but that Body is visible also in the appointed means of sustain- 
 ing the new Life, especially in that most sacred and sublime 
 mystery of our religion, the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
 the Commemorative Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ ; 
 in which the action and suffering of our great High Priest are 
 re])resented and offered to God on earth, as they are continually 
 
S. MAEK XIV. 23. 
 
 369 
 
 by the same High Priest in heaven ; the Church on earth doing 
 after its measure the same thing, as its Head in heaven ; 
 Cheist in heaven presenting the Sacrifice and applying it to 
 its purposed end, properly and gloriously ; the Church on earth 
 commemoratively and humbly, yet really and effectually, by 
 praying to God (with thanksgiving) in the virtue and merit of 
 that Sacrifice, which it thus exhibits.* Heb. iv. 14 ; xiii. 15 ; 
 Ps. cxlv. 7. Bij. Phillpotts. (Charge, delivered to the Clergy 
 of the Diocese of Exeter, 1836.) 
 23 The shedding of His Blood on the cross was, primum et ante 
 omnia, of the nature of a price, first, of our ransom from death, 
 due to our sin, through that, His satisfaction ; a price, again, 
 of the purchase, He made for us, through the vale of His merit, 
 which by His Testament is by Him passed over to us. Now 
 then His Blood, after it had by the very pouring it out wrought 
 these two effects, it ran not waste, but divided into two streams 
 (S. John xix. 34,) one into the Laver of the New Birth (our 
 Baptism) applied to us, outwardly, to take away the spots of 
 our sin ; the other into the Cujo of the New Testament in His 
 Blood, which, inwardly administered, serveth, as to purge and 
 cleanse the conscience from dead works, that bo live works may 
 grow up in the place, so, to endue us with the Spirit, that shall 
 enable us with the power to bring them forth. Hcbc sunt Ec- 
 clesice gemina Sacramenta ; these are (not two of the Sacra- 
 ments, but) the two twin Sacraments of the Church, saith S. 
 Augustine. And with us there are two rules. 1. Quicquid 
 Sacrijicio offertuVy Sacramento confer tur ; what the Sacrifice 
 offereth, that the Sacrament obtaineth. 2. Quicquid Tesfamento 
 legatur, Sacramento dispensatur ; what the Testament bequeath- 
 
 * The Author, having at S. Matt. 
 xxvi. more especially directed the read- 
 er's attention to the nature of the holy 
 elements in the Loed's Supper, has 
 here left that important branch of the 
 general subject untouched, and has 
 dwelt rather on the design of the in- 
 stitution itself. " I wish," (writes 
 Hooker, Eccles. Pol. B. v. S. 67,) "that 
 
 men would more give themselves to 
 meditate with silence, what we have 
 by this Sacrament, and less to dispute 
 ofthe manner, Aot^j." . . . "This Hea- 
 venly food was given for the satisfying 
 of our empty souls, and not for the 
 exercising of oiu* curious and subtle 
 wits." 
 
 B B 
 
370 S. MAEK XIV. 23, 24. 
 
 eth, that is dispensed in the holy Mysteries. Titus iii. 5 ; 
 1 Cor. X. 16. Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. on Heb. xiii. 20, 21.) 
 
 They all drank of it. — Bishop Butler thinks (Analogy. P. ii. Ch. 
 3,) that it " possibly might be intended, that events, as they 
 come to pass, should open and ascertain the meaning of several 
 parts of Scripture." "We can understand, in this view, the em- 
 phasis laid on the term all (Conf. S. Matt. xxvi. 27), as a 
 timely protest against the denial of the Cup to the Laity. 
 The significant fact that the only one of the Twelve, of whose 
 marriage we are certified in Scripture, is S. Peter ^ bears upon 
 this point (i. 30 ; S. Matt. viii. 14 ; S. Luke iv. 40) ; and we 
 have already ventured a remark of similar import at xiii. 37. 
 (Eefer to S. Matt, xxvii. 27. R. Boyle.) 1 S. Peter v. 1—3. 
 J.F. 
 
 24 Think here. Christian, what a stock of obedience and righ- 
 teousness there is for thee, to answer and to satisfy for thy dis- 
 obedience and unrighteousness, if thou become a child of the 
 Covenant, as this Blood was the Blood of the Covenant. It is 
 said in Dan. ix. 26 that " Messiah should be cut off, but not 
 for Himself" This Blood of the New Testament was not shed 
 for Himself, but /or many. And here is enough for every soul, 
 that comes to Him, be they never so many : like the widow's 
 oil, in the Book of the Kings, there is enough, and enough 
 again, as long as any vessel is brought to receive it. Prov. ix. 
 1—5 ; Isa. i. 16—19 ; S. Matt. xi. 28. Br. Lightfoot. (Serm. 
 on Heb. x. 29.) 
 
 The Volume of the Christian Scriptures is entitled The New Tes- 
 tament. Use has long reconciled us to this title ; but it is to 
 be regretted that it was adopted, as it introduces a new idea, 
 which obscures the subject. For a testament, or will, is inap- 
 plicable to the Mosaic Covenant, in which no contracting party 
 died ; and though, with respect to the Christian Covenant, the 
 meritorious Death of our Saviour may seem to justify the 
 term, it is incorrect, and draws off the mind to a doctrine, 
 which, no doubt, is edifying, but is not that, on which He de- 
 signed to fix our thoughts, when instituting the Eucharist He 
 said. This is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for 
 many for the remission of sins. The word new shews that He 
 
S. MAEK XIV. 24. 371 
 
 designed to contrast, as the author of the Epistle to the He- 
 brews has done more at length, the blood of goats and calves 
 with His own ; by which He obtained Eternal Eedemption. 
 Br. Macbride. (Diatessaron, Introd. Dissert.) 
 
 Let us represent before God, the Eathee, the Sacrifice of Atone- 
 ment, that Cheist hath made ; let us commemorate the pains, 
 which He endured ; let us entreat Him, that we may enjoy all 
 the purchase of His Blood, that all people may reap the fruit 
 of His Passion. . . . Let us hold up, as it were, the Son of 
 GrOD in our hands, and represent to the Eathee the broken 
 Body and Blood of His only Begotten. Let us set this be- 
 tween the heat of Gron's anger and our souls ; let us desire He 
 would have regard to His dearly Beloved : and the Loed can- 
 not turn back our prayers, that press and importune Him with 
 such a mighty argument. (Ps. Ixxxiv. 9.) Say therefore to 
 Him, " Behold, O Loed, the Sacrifice of the everlasting Cove- 
 nant. (Lev. xxiv. 8.) Behold, we lay before Thee ' the Lamb, 
 that takes away the sins of the world.' Is not Thy soul in 
 Him 'well pleased?' Is not His Body as really in the hea- 
 vens, as the signs of it are here in our hands ? Hear, good 
 Loed, the cry of His wounds. Let us prevail with Thee, 
 through the virtue of His Sacrifice. Let us feel, yea, let all 
 the world feel the power of His Intercession. Deny us not, O 
 Loed, seeing we bring Thy Son with us. (G-en. xliii. 3.) 
 Hear Thy Son, Loed, though Thou wilt not hear us ; (Job 
 i. 5 ; xlii. 8 ;) and let us and all others know, that He lives, 
 and was dead, and that He is alive for evermore ! Amen." 
 Bp. Patrick. (Mensa Mystica, c. xiv. s. 4.) 
 
 In these three things consisted the whole of the Christian Sacri- 
 fice, as it was held by the primitive Eathers. They, first 
 oftered to God of their substance; then they offered their 
 prayers and their praises ; and, at the same time, they Com- 
 memorated to God the Death and Sacrifice of Cheist, by the 
 merits of which they hoped and they prayed, that both their 
 oblations and themselves might" be accepted. . . . This is the 
 whole of the Christian Sacrifice, as the ancients understood it. 
 . . . And these three things our Church observes at this day. . . . 
 We offer up our alms ; we offer up our prayers, our praises, 
 
 B B 2 
 
372 S. MARK XIV. 25, 26. 
 
 and ourselves ; and all these we offer up in the virtue and con- 
 sideration of Christ's Sacrifice, represented before us by way 
 of remembrance, or commemoration. Heb. xiii. 15, 16. Abp. 
 Sharpe. (Serm. xi. on the Sacrifice of the Mass.) 
 
 25 I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine. S. Matt, 
 xxvi. 29. Now welcome the bitter cup — the vinegar, and the 
 gall. He teaches us, after the Sacrament, to get more loose 
 than before to bodily delights, and to be better reconciled to 
 hardships and disappointments in them. Ex. xvi. 2, 3. M» 
 Henry. (The Communicant's Companion. Ch. xiii.) 
 
 He ascends into heaven, to prevent our carnal imaginations from 
 clinging to the earth. And truly, if this Mystery be of Hea- 
 ven, nothing is more absurd, than to bring down Cheist to 
 the earth (i.e. by the notion of a corporeal Presence in the 
 Eucharist) since He rather calls us up to Himself above. S. 
 John vi. 63 ; Gal. iii. 3 ; iv. 9. Calvin. 
 
 26 And when they had sung an hymn, they went 
 out into the mount of Olives. 
 
 27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be 
 offended because of Me this night : for it is written, I 
 will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scat- 
 tered. 
 
 28 But after that I am risen, I will go before you 
 into Galilee. 
 
 29 But Peter said unto Him, Although all shall be 
 offended, yet will not 1. 
 
 30 And Jesus saith unto him. Verily I say unto 
 thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock 
 crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice. 
 
 31 But he spake the more vehemently, If I should 
 die with Thee, I will not deny Thee in any wise. 
 Likewise also said they all. 
 
 2(3 That Hymn is called by the Eabbins the " Hallcl," and was 
 
S. MARK XIV. 26. 373 
 
 from the beginning of Ps. cxiii. to the end of Ps. cxviii., which 
 they cut into two parts ; and a part of it they repeated in the 
 very middle of the banquet and they reserved a part to the 
 end. . . . The Hymn, which Christ here sang with His dis- 
 ciples after meat, was the latter part ; in which, as the Masters 
 of the Tradition observe, these five things are mentioned ; the 
 going out of Egypt, as it is written, " When Israel went out of 
 Egypt j" the cutting in two of the Eed Sea, as it is written, 
 " The sea saw it, and fled ;" the delivery of the Law, as it is 
 written, " The mountains leaped like rams ;" the resurrection 
 of the dead, as it is written, " I will walk before the Lord in 
 the land of the living ;" and the sorrows of the Messias, as it is 
 written, " Not unto us, O Loed, not unto us." Eev. xv. 3. 
 Dr. Lightfoot. (Exercitat. in loco.) 
 
 As if many spouts should open into one cistern, so all comforts 
 conspire to meet in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. 
 Nothing less than the actual enjoying of Heaven is above it. 
 The Church, which dispenseth all the mysteries of salvation, 
 can bring forth no better. Ps. xxiii. 5, 6 ; S. Luke xxiv. 35 ; 
 Eom. XV. 29; Eph. i. 3. Bp. Racket. (Serm. on S. John 
 vi. 11.) 
 
 Though sadness does in some cases become a Christian, as being 
 an index of a pious mind, of compassion, of a wise proper re- 
 sentment of things ; yet it serves but one end, being useful in 
 the only instance of repentance, and hath done its greatest 
 works, not when it weeps and sighs, but when it hates, and 
 grows careful against, sin. But cheerfulness and a festival 
 spirit fill the soul full of harmony ; it composes music for 
 Churches and hearts ; it makes and publishes glorifications of 
 GrOD ; it produces thankfulness and serves the end of charity ; 
 and, when the oil of gladness runs over, it makes tall and 
 bright emissions of light and holy fires, reaching up to a cloud 
 and making joy round about ; and therefore, since it is so in- 
 nocent, and may be so pious, and full of holy advantage, what- 
 soever can innocently minister to this holy joy does set forward 
 the work of religion and charity. Eom. v. 11 ; xv. 9 — 13 ; 
 Phil. iv. 4 ; Eev. xiv. 3. Bp. J. Taylor. (Serm. on Eph. iv. 
 29. P. 2.) 
 
374 
 
 S. MAEK XIV. 26—30. 
 
 We offer our prayers at this Holy Sacrament, in union with the 
 Sacrifice, Merits, and Intercession of the Son of God ; we offer 
 our praises afterwards, when we sing the Gloria in excelsisy in 
 union with the Angels, who surround the throne. For, though 
 the Angels are not Blessed, as we, "through the redemption, 
 
 . that is in Cheist Jestjs," (Heb. ii. 16,) yet they are not with- 
 out a Blessing from that prolific source of mercy, which Lord 
 Bacon terms, " the perfect centre of all GtOd's ways with His 
 creatures." " Angeli, ardatv ; Sancti, avaaraaiv dehent Christo 
 Mediatori^^ says an old Father. J. F. 
 
 Verbum Supernum prodiens, 
 Nee Patris linquens dexteram, 
 Ad opus Suum exiens 
 Venit ad vitse vesperam. 
 
 In mortem a discipulo 
 Suis tradendus semulis, 
 Prius in vitse ferculo 
 Se tradidit discipulis ; 
 
 Quibus sub bina specie 
 Carnem dedit et Sanguinem ; 
 Ut duplicis substantise 
 Totum cibaret hominem. 
 
 Thomas 
 
 Se nascens dedit socium, 
 Convescens in edulium, 
 Se moriens in pretium, 
 Se regnans dat in prsemium. 
 
 O salutaris hostia. 
 Quae coeli pandis ostium : 
 Bella premunt hostilia ; 
 Da robur, fer auxilium ! 
 
 Uni Trinoque Domino 
 
 Sit s em pi tern a Gloria ; 
 
 Qui vitam sine termino 
 
 Nobis donet in p atria. 
 
 Aquinas. (In Off. Corp. Chris ti.) 
 
 27 The High Priest did not use to sleep in the night, preceding 
 the great day of Atonement ; so the true High Priest of the 
 New Testament was a stranger to sleep by the cruelty of His 
 enemies, the night, preceding the important day, on which the 
 sins of the whole human race were to be expiated ; that there 
 might be the more exact conformity between the type and the 
 great Antitype. Rambach. (Medit. on the Sufferings of 
 Christ. P. 1, c. 1.) 
 
 30 As the Jews in the enumeration of the times of the night, 
 took notice only of one cock-crowing, which comprehended the 
 third watch, so S. Matthew, to give them a clear information 
 that S. Peter would deny his Master thrice before three in the 
 morning, needed only to say that he would do it " before the 
 
S. MARK XIY. 31. 375 
 
 cock crew." But the Eomans — (for whose special benefit S. 
 Mark's Gospel was written) — reckoning by a double crowing 
 of the cock, the first of which was about midnight, and the se- 
 cond at three, stood in need of a more particular designation. 
 Therefore S. Mark, to denote the same hour to them, was 
 obliged to say; "before the cock crow twice.^^ (Conf. Juvenal, 
 Sat. ix. 107.) Dr. H. Oiven. (Observations on the Eour Gros- 
 pels, s. iv.) 
 
 31 The more vehemently. — As a general rule, the more religious 
 men become, the calmer they become ; and at all times the re- 
 ligious principle, as viewed by itself, is calm, sober, and deli- 
 berate. (Eom. viii. 18 ; 2 Cor. v. 14.) . . . Let us take warn- 
 ing from S. Peter's fall. Let us not promise much. Let us 
 not talk much of ourselves. Let us not be high-minded, nor 
 encourage ourselves in impetuous bold language in religion. 
 S. Matt. V. 37 ; S. James iii. 13. J. H. Newman. (Serm. on 
 text.) 
 
 There is nothing more easy than for a man to be courageous in a 
 time of safety, and to defy those dangers, which he neither 
 feels nor sees. . . . But, when the evil hour cometh, when our 
 enemy appears armed in the lists, ready to encounter us, then 
 to call up our spirits and to grapple resolutely with dangers 
 and death, it is the praise and proof of a true Christian valour. 
 Ps. Ixxviii. 10 ; 1 Kings xx. 11 ; Eph. vi. 13. Bp. Hall. (Se- 
 lect Thoughts. 74.) 
 
 Oh, remember, what a mere feather you are in the gusts of 
 temptation ! S. Luke xxii. 31. Flavel. 
 
 32 And they came to a place which was named 
 Gethsemane : and He saith to His disciples, Sit ye 
 here, while I shall pray. 
 
 33 And He taketh with Him Peter and James and 
 John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very 
 heavy ; 
 
 34 And saith unto them. My soul is exceeding sor- 
 rowful unto death ; tarry ye here, and watch. 
 
376 S. MARK XIV. 32, 33. 
 
 32 Collis erat ; collem felix umbrabat oliva, 
 
 Non procul a muris, urbs Solimsea, tuis. 
 Ulic corpus humi prosternere saepe solebat, 
 
 lUic flens tota ducere nocte preces. 
 Oscula mille dabat terrse, quia primus in illam 
 
 Omnibus e venis sanguis iturus erat. 
 Ssepe preces inter ; " Quando te sanguine tingam 
 Humida nunc lachrymis," dixit, "arena, Meis ?" 
 
 S. John xviii. 2. Sidronius Hosschius. (Eleg. 2.) 
 (Conf. S. Matt. xxvi. 36.) We must observe that Christ 
 prayed before He suffered : and why ? It was the accomplish- 
 ment of a ceremony. Tor the Levitical sacrifices were first 
 consecrated by prayer, before they were burnt on the altar ; 
 and Cheist, coming to be the truth of sacrifices, did first devote 
 Himself to God, before He was nailed unto the Cross. S. John 
 xiii. 1 ; Heb. v. 7. Bjj. Lake. (Serm. on S. Mark xiv. 35, 36.) 
 Nos ibi sedemus ; et Ille hic laborat. We here sit at ease; while 
 He toils and labours there. S. John xviii. 8. >S'. Augustine. 
 
 33 He taketh with Him Feter, 8^c. — The wisdom of Gron usually 
 proportions our temptations to our respective degrees of 
 strength. He gradually inures His weaker children to the 
 cross and frequently permits them to view for a time the con- 
 flicts of others, before they themselves are engaged in the battle. 
 The weakest He stations at a distance ; those, who are some- 
 what stronger. He takes along with Him, and in some measure 
 admits to a "fellowship of His suff"erings." Gen. xxxiii. 2, 3 ; 
 2 Kings ii. .10 ; Isa. xxvii. 8, Rambach. (Med. on the Suffer- 
 ings, &c., in loco.) 
 
 Began, 8(C. — As if all His former sorrows were, as nothing, in com- 
 parison of this fulness ; or, as if He was now only entering 
 upon a course of suffering for sin, such as man's continued un- 
 belief and ingratitude would prolong from age to age : and so 
 it is written of Him, (8. Matt. xi. 20,) " Then began He to up- 
 braid the cities, wherein most of His mighty works were done, 
 because they repented not." This sorrowing and this up- 
 braiding have begun ; but they have not yet ceased, xvi. 14 ; 
 Ps. xxii. 3 ; Acts ix. 4 ; Heb. vi. 6. J. F. 
 
 It is the comfort of our miseries (if they be only in this life) that 
 
S. MAEK XIV. 33. 377 
 
 we know they cannot last long ; but it is the great aggravation 
 of our Sayioue's sufferings, that the " contradiction of sinners" 
 continues against Him still. . . . Blessed Saviotjb ! was it not 
 enough for Thee to bear this upon earth, but Thou must suffer 
 so much at the hands of those, whom Thou Diedst for, that 
 Thou mightest bring them to heaven ? Was it not enough for 
 Thee to be betrayed on earth, but Thou must be defied in 
 heaven ? Was it not enough for Thee to stoop so low for our 
 sakes, but that Thou shouldst be trampled on, because Thou 
 didst it ? Was the ignominious death upon the Cross too small 
 a thing for Thee to suffer in Thy Person, unless Thy religion 
 be contemned and exposed to as much shame and mockery, as 
 Thy self was ? Unhappy we, if we live to hear of such things ! 
 But much more unhappy, if any of our sins have been the 
 occasion of them ! Acts vii. 54 — 56 ; ix. 4. Bp. Stilling fleet. 
 (Serm. on Heb. xii. 3.) 
 
 Sore amazed. — He grieved at present evils, even to a degree of ex- 
 cessive anguish, trouble, and agony. He feared future evils to 
 
 a degree of a horror and an amazement Such height of 
 
 passion did the sense of present pangs, tlie foresight of im- 
 pending evils, the apprehension of His own, the consideration 
 of our state raise Him to ; such a burden, all the sins of man- 
 kind, to lie upon His shoulders, no wonder, if He groaned 
 under it ; Gron's displeasure flaming out against sin, no won- 
 der it did terrify Him ; such a Fathee, (whom He so dearly 
 loved,) frowning upon, and hiding His face from. Him, it 
 might well trouble Him; such a pity, such a love contem- 
 plating man's sinfulness, feeling his misery, 'tis not strange, 
 that it should affect Him. Ps. xl. 14, 15 ; Isa. liii. 4 — 6 ; 
 Zech. xiii. 7. Dr. Barrow. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 
 Very heavy. — The Crucification of His Body on the Cross was 
 nothing near so painful to Him, as the crucification of His 
 mind in the garden ; and since His sufferings in His agony are 
 described with more tragical circumstances, than His sufferings 
 on the Cross, we have just reason to conclude they were in- 
 flicted on Him by more spiteful and powerful executioners, and 
 consequently that He endured the tortures of men only on the 
 Cross, but of devils in the garden ; where, being left all alone, 
 
378 S. MAUK XIV. 34. 
 
 naked, and abandoned of tlie ordinary supports of His God- 
 head, He was in all probability surrounded with a mighty host 
 of devils, who exercised all their power and malice to persecute 
 His innocent soul, to distract and fright it with horrid phan- 
 tasms, to afflict it with dismal suggestions, and vex and cruciate 
 it with dire imaginations and dreadful spectacles. Ps. xxii. ; 
 Ixix. 15—21. Br. J. Scott. (Christian Life. P. ii. c. 7.) 
 
 34) 3iy soul. — Totus homo in Christo, the whole manhood was. as- 
 sumed, saith Damascene, to the Divinity ; not one part only. 
 Omnia hominis, nostra omnia. (S. Cyril.) Si aliquid Ei defuit, 
 non totum redemit. (S. Ambrose.) Christ took all, that man 
 hath, saving sin. Heb. iv. 15. Br. Richard Gierke. (Serm. 
 on S. Luke xxiii. 46.) 
 
 The sufferings of the soul were the soul of His sufferings. The 
 Divine Nature did rest, that the human might suffer ; but it 
 upheld the human in its agonies, that it might overcome. 
 Acts ii. 24i ; 2 Cor. xiii. 4. P. Lombard. 
 
 Exceeding sorrowful. — I consider, that, although the two natures 
 of Cheist were knit by a mysterious union into One Person, 
 yet the natures still retain their incommunicable properties. 
 Cheist, as GtOD, is not subject to sufferings ; as a man. He is 
 the subject of miseries : as God, He is Eternal ; as man, mor- 
 tal and commensurable by time : as God, the supreme Law- 
 giver ; as man, most humble and obedient to the Law : and 
 therefore that the human nature was united to the Divine, it 
 does not infer that it must in all instances partake of the 
 Divine felicities, which in God are essential, to man commu- 
 nicated without necessity and by an arbitrary dispensation. 
 Add to this that some virtues and excellencies were in the soul 
 of Cheist, which could not consist with the state of glorified 
 and beatified persons ; such as are humility, poverty of spirit, 
 hope, holy desires ; all which, having their seat in the soul, 
 suppose even in the supremest faculty a state of pilgrimage, 
 that is, a condition, which is imperfect and in order to some- 
 thing beyond its present. Por therefore "Cheist ought to 
 suffer," saith our Blessed Loed Himself, " and so enter into 
 His Glory." (S. Luke xxiv. 28.) . . . Thus His present life 
 was a state of merit and work ; and, as a reward of it, He was 
 
S. MAEK xiy. 34. 379 
 
 crowned with Grlory and Immortality. . . . And because this 
 was His recompense and the fruits of His humility and obedi- 
 ence, it is certain it was not a necessary consequence and a 
 natural eiflux of the Personal union of the Godhead with the 
 Humanity. Phil. ii. 5—11 ; Acts ii. 34—36 ; iii. 13, 14. Bp. 
 J. Taylor. (Life of Cheist. S. xv. disc. 20.) 
 
 Oh, the bitterness of my sin, which could only be removed by 
 «o great bitterness of His suffering ! 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. S. 
 Augustine. 
 
 Tarry ye here, and watch. — I told you, out of Job, affliction did 
 discover better than Eevelation, and in the dimness of anguish 
 we might see more, than by vision. And truly of two visions, 
 which our Sayiour gave to His most intimate Apostles, S. 
 Peter, S. James, and S. John, the one of Grlory on Mount 
 Tabor, the other of sufferings in Gethsemane, showing, in the 
 one, heaven and Himself transfigured, a glimpse of Beatifical 
 vision, and, in the other. Hell transfigured, and a sad scene of 
 all its agonies, He thought this (latter) a more concerning 
 sight ; for when they fell asleep at both, (S. Luke ix. 32,) yet 
 does He not rouse them up to see His Glory — when they did 
 awake indeed, they saw a glimpse of it, but " straight a cloud 
 did overshadow it ;" but at His Passion, He bids them watch 
 with Him^ and when He finds them asleep, He says, " What ! 
 could ye not watch with Me one hour ?" and He bids them 
 watch again, and comes again *'the third time" and upbraids 
 their drowsiness. So much more necessary was it to behold 
 His agonies, than to see His felicities. Glory does not dis- 
 cover, or invite to heaven, so much as suffering drive to it ; 
 and we are more concerned to take a view of that garden in 
 Gethsemane, than that of Paradise ; and the going down of 
 the Mount of Olives does more advantage us in climbing the 
 eternal hills, than all Mount Tabor's height. S. Matt. v. 3, 4; 
 S. Luke V. 7, 8 ; Hos. ii. 14 j Eom. v. 3, 4. Dr. Allestree, 
 (Serm. on 1 S. Pet. iv. 1.) 
 
 35 And He went forward a little, and fell on the 
 ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour 
 might pass from Him. 
 
380 S. MARK XIV. 35, 36. 
 
 36 And He said, Abba, Father, all things are 
 possible unto Thee ; take away this cup from Me : 
 nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt. 
 
 35 He fell on the ground. — "When the flail of affliction is upon 
 me, let me not be tlie chaff, that flies in Thy face, but the corn, 
 that lies low at Thy feet. Ex. v. 22, 23 ; 1 Sam. iii. 18. P. 
 Henry. (Life, by M. Henry.) 
 
 36 Neither should this trouble us, as though Cheist, in praying 
 to the Father, should pray to Himself, because He is one and 
 the same- GrOD with Him. For though in Essence they admit 
 no distinction, yet in Persons and in the proper manner of sub- 
 sisting they do. The Eather is one Person, the Son another ; 
 therefore as the Eather saying from heaven, " This is My well 
 beloved Son," spake not to Himself, but to the Son ; so again 
 the Son, when He prayeth, He prays not to Himself, but to 
 the Eather. In Personis non est aliud et aliud ; est tamen 
 alius et alius. Wm. Perkins. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 
 "When Christ would pierce into His Eather and melt those 
 bowels of compassion, He enters with that word, " Abba^ 
 Eather, all things are possible to Thee ; take away this cup 
 from Me !" "When Christ apprehended an absence, a derelic- 
 tion on GtOd's part, He calls not upon Him by this name, not 
 " My Eather," but " My God, My aoD, why hast Thou for- 
 saken Me?" But when He would incline Him to mercy, 
 mercy to others, mercy to enemies, He comes in that name, 
 wherein He could be denied nothing, Eather; "Eather, 
 forgive them ; they know not what they do !" He is " the 
 Lord of Hosts ;" there He scatters us in thunder, transports 
 us in tempests, enwraps us in confusion, astonishes us with 
 stupefaction and consternation ; " the Lord of Hosts :" and yet 
 " the Eather of mercies ;" then He receives us into His own 
 bowels, fills our emptiness with the Blood of His own Son, and 
 incorporates us in Him : the Lord of Hosts, but the Eather 
 of mercy. Eom. viii. 15 ; Gral. iv. 6. Dr. Donne. (Serm. on 
 2 Cor. i. 3.) 
 
 This Paternity is the proper foundation of our Christian patience, 
 sweetening all afflictions with the name and nature of fatherly 
 
S. MAKK XIV. 36. 381 
 
 corrections. Wliat greater excitement unto the exercise of 
 
 . patience is imaginable unto a suffering soul, than to see, in 
 every stroke, the hand of a Father — in every affliction, a de- 
 monstration of His love? Deut. viii. 5; Ps. ciii. 13; Heb. 
 xii. 9, 10. Bp. Pearson. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 
 Take away this cup from Me. — So far from deeming any excuse 
 necessary, in no other incident do I so much admire His com- 
 passion and His grandeur of soul. For had He not shared my 
 feelings, He had been less my benefactor. He was grieved for 
 me, who had no cause of grief for Himself, and, losing the joy 
 of the Eternal Grodhead, He was affected with the weariness of 
 my iiesh. Of His sorrow then I speak confidently, because I 
 preach the Cross. For it was not the mere semblance, but the 
 very reality of an Incarnation, that He bare. It behoved 
 Him then to be capable of pain, not that He might exclude 
 suffering, but triumph over it ; for neither does the praise of 
 fortitude belong to those, who have to endure a stupor, but no 
 anguish in their wounds. ♦S'. Ambrose, (apud Calvin, in loco.) 
 
 S. Paul desires to die, that he may be with Chkist ; and Cheist 
 Himself fears to die. Gaudet coronandus ; contristatur coro- 
 naturus. He, who is to receive the crovni, rejoices ; He, who 
 is to give the crown, mourns. . . . Cheist bare our infirmity ; 
 and, clothed with a mortal body, He spake these words in be- 
 half of those, who are afraid to die. Caput pro memhris clama- 
 bat, et membra in Se Caput transjigurabat. The Head cried out 
 in pain for the members, and in the person of the members 
 became transfigured. Acts ix. 4. aS*. Augustine. (In Ps. xxxi.) 
 
 Some heretics of old taught, that, as there is in Cheist but one 
 Person, so but one Will ; but we find Cheist's will, as man, 
 distinguished from the will of God, in these words. Not My 
 will, but Thine be done. Nor is it possible that the Human na- 
 ture should be omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient ; or, that 
 the Divine should be impotent, ignorant, or limited. If when 
 " the Word was made flesh," it had been changed into flesh, 
 there had been "no beholding of His Griory," afterwards, "as 
 the only begotten of the Fathee;" or, if His Humanity had 
 been changed into Deity, He could not have been hungry, 
 thirsty, weary, sorrowful, or have sweat, and bled, and died. 
 
383 S. MARK XIV. 36. 
 
 The union of the natures therefore in Christ was without 
 changing the one into the other, or mixing the one with the 
 other ; but the essential properties of each nature were pre- 
 served distinct and entire. In Christ the Human nature is, 
 and does, what is proper to it ; and His Divine nature is, and 
 does, what is proper to it. (Eefer to Illustr. of S. Matt. xxiv. 
 36. Fulgentius.) Hurrion. (Of the Knowledge of Christ 
 Crucified. Serm. 4.) 
 
 " It is a principal effect of love," says one of old, " to unite the 
 wills of those, who love ; so as to make them but one and the 
 same will." .... He, who gives his will to God, gives Him 
 everything. He, who surrenders to Him his property in alms, 
 his time in Christian duties, his talents and faculties in the ser- 
 vice of Christ and in the benefiting others, gives Gron a part 
 of what he possesses, as received from Him ; but he, who gives 
 
 Him indeed his will, gives Him the whole To this state 
 
 we should be always aspiring, in all our actions, desires, medi- 
 tations, prayers, and sufferings. Ps. cxix. 112 ; Acts xiii. 22 ; 
 S. John vi. 38 ; S. Matt. xii. 50. Alphonso Liguori. (Treatise 
 on Conformity with the Will of GrOD.) 
 
 Happiness is nothing, but that inward sweet delight, which will 
 arise from the harmonious agreement between our wills and 
 the will of GrOD. S. Matt. v. 8 ; IS. John iv. 16 ; S. James iv. 
 7. Dr. Cudworth. 
 
 37 And He cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and 
 saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou ? couldest not 
 thou watch one hour ? 
 
 38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into tempta- 
 tion. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. 
 
 39 And again He went away, and prayed, and spake 
 the same words. 
 
 40 And when He returned, He found them asleep 
 again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they 
 what to answer Him. 
 
 41 And He cometh the third time, and saith unto 
 
S. MAKK XIV. 37, 38. 383 
 
 them, Sleep on now, and take your rest : it is enough, 
 the hour is come ; behold, the Son of man is betrayed 
 into the hands of sinners. 
 
 42 Rise up, let us go ; lo, he that betrayeth Me is 
 at hand. 
 
 87 S. Mark alone inserts the expostulatory address to S. Peter, 
 ^^ Simon, sleepest thou .^" This appears certainly as a touching 
 evidence of that Apostle being the writer. This kind warning 
 from his Lord he never could have forgotten. 2 S. Pet. iii. 14, 
 15. Is. Williams. (Thoughts on the Study of the Gospels. 
 S. 5.) 
 
 We must watch heedfully ; we must pray devoutly, lest we enter 
 into temptation ; for, if Cheist grant not His grace to us, 
 Judas betrays ; and, if He depart a little way from us, S. Peter 
 sleeps. S. Jude 20, 21, 24, 25. S. Jerome. 
 
 38 All war is to be carried on partly by our own strength, and 
 partly by that of allies and auxiliaries ; so, in our Christian 
 warfare against the temptations of the world, the things, which 
 properly answer these two, are watchfulness and prayer : by 
 watchfulness we employ and exert our own strength ; by prayer, 
 
 we engage God's Men divide between watching and 
 
 prayer ; and so use and rely upon the duties separately, which 
 can do nothing, but in conjunction. For watchfulness without 
 prayer is presumption, and prayer without watchfulness is a 
 mockery : by the first a man invades God's part in this great 
 work, and by the latter he neglects his own. Prayer not as- 
 sisted by practice is laziness, and contradicted by practice is 
 hypocrisy, x. 9 ; Phil. ii. 12, 13. Br. South. (Serm. on S. 
 Matt. xxvi. 41.) 
 
 S. Luke xxii. 4G. — What is temptation ? It is a trial made of us, 
 how firmly we will stand to Christ, how manfully we will 
 abide by His truth. Now, as the tempter is, such is his temp- 
 tation : sometimes God tempts us, and sometimes the devil. 
 God tempts us, only by calling upon us to do our duty, though 
 He is pleased sometimes to clothe that duty with difficulties, to 
 see, if we love anything in comparison of Him. The devil, he 
 
384 S. MAKE :^iy. 38—40. 
 
 tempts, endeavouring to withdraw us from our duties, and per- 
 suading us not to hazard our lives, or our livings, by standing 
 fast in the fear of GtOd. This is the temptation, that is here 
 meant ; and this is Temptatio ad malum cuJpce per malum pcence ; 
 solicitation unto sin by the terrors of troubles. Gren. xxii. 1 ; 
 S. Matt. vi. 13; S. James i. 13 ; S. Luke iv. 2, 13. Bp. Lake. 
 (Serm. on S. Matt. vi.40, 41.) 
 
 We read that the flesh is weak; and hence occasionally we flatter 
 ourselves. But we also read that the Spirit is strong ; one 
 being an earthy, the other an Heavenly quality. Why then, in 
 our proneness to excuse ourselves, do we object our weaknesses, 
 and disregard our means of strength ? Why must Heavenly 
 yield to earthy considerations ? Ex. iv. 10 ; Isa. xxiv. 16 ; Jer. 
 i. 6, 7 ; IS. John iv. 4. Tertullian. (Ad Uxorem. c. iv.) 
 
 Do not complain of the infirmity of the flesh for this, and say 
 thou wouldst live spiritually, but the frailty of thy sensual part 
 betrays thee ; its stings and incitations make thee start from 
 duty, and goad and force thee into actions, which otherwise 
 thou neither shouldst, nor wouldst commit. 'Tis thou thyself, 
 that arm'st thy flesh with all its stings ; thou givest it strength, 
 whereby it does subdue the Spirit ; thou waterest thy desires 
 with wines ; thou feedest them with strong meat and teachest 
 them to crave .... thou dost invite wickedness and nourish 
 the occasions of ruin : and then it is no wonder, if thy reso- 
 lutions be not strong enough. There is no way, but by auste- 
 rities to mortify all inclinations, that stir against the Spirit, 
 and by denying satisfactions to thy appetite to calm and mode- 
 rate thy afiections to everything below; and then temptations 
 will have neither aid, nor avenue. Deut. xxxii. 15 ; Jer. v. 7, 
 8 ; 1 Cor. ix. 24—27. Dr. Allestree. (Serm. on Lev. xvi. 31.) 
 
 39 Spake the same words. — Christ being " in the form of a ser- 
 vant" might have conceived this prayer in silence ; but His 
 will was so to present Himself before His Father in the cha- 
 racter of a sinner, as to be mindful at the same time that He 
 was our teacher ; ut meminisset Se esse nostrum doctorem. S. 
 Luke xviii. 1 ; S. John xi. 42 ; xii. 30. S. Augustine. (Tract. 
 104.) 
 
 40 When He returned. — Wherefore did the Loed so often break 
 
S. MARK XIV. 40—42. 385 
 
 off that prayer of His, which was of such mighty consequence ? 
 In my opinion, it was to teach us, that our prayers are most 
 perfect, when intermixed with an anxious concern for the wel- 
 fare of our neighbours. Heb. xiii. 15, 16 ; Isa. i. 15. Isid. 
 Clai'ius. 
 
 The dove went forth of the ark the first time, (Gen. viii. 9,) and 
 returned sorrowful, as she went out ; still the waters were up : 
 she goeth forth the second time ; then the flood is abated, and 
 she brings a branch of olive, a sign of quiet and peace. First, 
 a sorrowful prayer goeth forth ; still the waters of adversity 
 are up : the prayer goeth forth again ; Behold, the waters are 
 fallen : prayer brings a crop of olive, joy, and tranquillity of 
 mind. 1 Kings xviii. 42 — 44 ; Ps. cxxvi. 7 ; Lam. iii. 26. 
 Chr. Sutton. (Disce Yivere. Ch. 18.) 
 
 It was S. Peter, who communicated this incident to S. Mark ; 
 and can there be anything more natural than his saying, when 
 relating the scene, " Indeed our eyes were so heavy, we could 
 scarcely keep them open ?" S. Luke i. 2. Bp. Sandford. 
 
 It is a dangerous thing to give way to spiritual sloth. The 
 disciples, who had not roused themselves at Christ's first 
 exhortation, became the more drowsy and sunk into deeper 
 sleep. Sloth and a disinclination to good insinuate themselves, 
 like intoxicating poison, and gradually deprive the mind of all 
 thought and reflection, xiv. 68, 70, 71 ; Prov. vi. 9 — 11. 
 Ratnhach. (Med. in loco.) 
 
 42 They opened theii' eyes to see how much more vigilant he 
 was, who served the devil, than themselves, who were in the 
 service of Gron. S. Luke xvi. 8. P. Skelton. 
 
 Rise up, ^c. — Among all the dangers of this present life our wish 
 should be non tam declinando ista effugere, quam tolerando 
 swperare ; not so much by declining suffering to escape, as 
 by enduring it to overcome. Acts xxi. 10 — 14 ; Heb. xi. 35 ; 
 1 S. Pet. iv. 1. Leo. (Serm. xvi. de Passione.) 
 
 The power of faith is secure in dangers ; it is endangered by 
 security. Verse 67. S. Chrysostom (in Matt, xx.) 
 
 43 And immediately, while He yet spake, cometh 
 Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multi- 
 
 c c 
 
386 S. MARK XIV. 43, 44. 
 
 tude with swords and staves, from the chief priests 
 and the scribes and the elders. 
 
 44 And he that betrayed Him had given them a 
 token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is 
 He ; take Him, and lead Him away safely. 
 
 45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straight- 
 way to Him, and saith, Master, Master ; and kissed 
 Him. 
 
 43 One of the twelve, — The sufferings of the Church, like those 
 of her Eedeemer, generally begin at home ; her open enemies 
 can do her no harm, until her pretended friends have delivered 
 her into their hands : and, unnatural as it may seem, they, 
 who have waxed fat upon her bounty, are sometimes the jB.rst 
 to " lift up the heel " against her. S. John xiii. 29 ; Acts xx. 
 30 ; Eev. ii. 2. Bp. Home. (Comment. Ps. xli. 9.) 
 
 44 Dat signum osculi cum veneno Diaboli, saith S. Jerome. He 
 kisses with a biting kiss and conveys treason in a testimony of 
 love. It is an apothegm of Luther's, Mali tyranni ; hceretici 
 pejores ; falsi fratres pessimi ; a persecutor is ill ; but he, that 
 persuades me to any thing, which might submit me to the 
 persecutor's rage, is worse ; but he, that hath persuaded me 
 and then betrays me, is worst of all. 2 Sam. xx. 10 ; Mic. vii. 
 6. Br. Bonne, (Serm. on Ps. ii. 12.) 
 
 The cloak of dissimulation is a main part of the "garment, 
 spotted with the flesh;" a vice, thus covered, is worse than 
 a naked offence. There is no devil to the hypocrite. Ps. 
 xii. 2 ; Titus i. 16 ; Bev. iii. 9. Arthur Warwick. (Spare 
 Minutes.) 
 
 This is continually acted, over and over again, in the Church. 
 Those, who betray the religion of Christ, like their father 
 Judas, are always upon the watch and come upon Him " by 
 stealth," and "in the night," when works of darkness and 
 covert doings may be best carried on. They " bear its bag," 
 and with its profits, which they appropriate unto themselves, 
 they mix the wages of treachery. ... It is true, Chkist 
 might have been seized, and His religion may be attacked, by 
 
S. MAKK XIV. 4i. 387 
 
 open enemies only; but the most expeditious and eiFeetual 
 way in all such cases is that of treachery. Accordingly, those, 
 who betray our religion, "hail it" with a thousand encomiums; 
 they kiss it with a seeming aifection for it ; but point it at the 
 same time to its enemies, whom they lead forward to destroy 
 it. Where had the Deist borrowed his hints and materials, if 
 the Socinian, the Arian, and the preacher of new light had not 
 furnished him with them ? How could any man have strode 
 over the wide gulf between Christianity and absolute infi- 
 delity ? This was too great a stretch at once ; but the builders, 
 just now mentioned, have erected a very conyenient bridge, 
 consisting of several arches, that reach from one side to the 
 other. First, the Divinity of Cheist is to be disbelieved; 
 then it is an easy matter to destroy the authority of the 
 Scriptures, in which that doctrine is so copiously set forth : 
 after this, the eternal Law of Nature may for decency's sake 
 be adopted ; because, as that is a law of man's own dictating, 
 or at least explaining, it will leave him at full liberty to do, 
 whatsoever his head, or heart, or any other part of his nature, 
 more corrupt, if possible, prompts him to do ; that is, it will 
 leave him a libertine and Deist. These are the men, with 
 Judas at their head, against whom the woe in my text is 
 denounced. Job viii. 13 — 15 ; Isa. liv. 17 ; S. Matt. xvi. 18 ; 
 2 S. John 2. P. Skelton. (Serm. on S. Mark xiv. 21 ; entitled 
 " Christ's Crucifixion celebrated every day.") 
 
 Tune cruente, ferox, audax, insane, rebellis, 
 Perfide, crudelis, fallax, venalis, inique, 
 Traditor immitis, fere proditor, impie latro, 
 Prsevius horribiles comitaris signifer enses ? . . 
 Quid socium simulas, et amica fraude salutas ? 
 Nunquam terribiles aut pax conjurat in enses ? 
 Aut truculenta pio lupus oscula porrigit agno ? 
 
 Sedulius. (Carm. Lib. v.) 
 
 46 And they laid their hands on Him, and took 
 Him. 
 
 47 And one of them that stood by drew a sword, 
 
 c c 2 
 
388 
 
 S. MAEK XIV. 47, 48. 
 
 and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off 
 his ear. 
 
 48 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are 
 ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with 
 staves to take Me ? 
 
 49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, 
 and ye took Me not : but the scriptures must be ful- 
 filled. 
 
 50 And they all forsook Him, and fled. 
 
 51 And there followed Him a certain young man, 
 having a linen cloth cast about his naked hody ; and 
 the young men laid hold on him. 
 
 52 And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them 
 naked. 
 
 47 Brew a sword. — How common is the conduct, even in good 
 men, to run, before they are called, to be very forward to set 
 themselves on work in the greatest matters, but to be backward 
 and diffident, when GrOD commands : so preposterously strong 
 are we in our own weakness, so cowardly and weak in our only 
 strength, the grace and assistance of GrOD. Exod. ii. 12 ; iii. 11 ; 
 Dent. i. 26, 41 ; Ps. Ixxviii. 10. Wogan. (On the Lessons.) 
 
 If a man be zealous for Cheist, he must be zealous within the 
 compass of his calling ; and not be zealous first, and then look 
 for a calling ; but first look for a calling, and then be zealous. 
 (See at i. 2. Br. Bonne.) Jer. xxiii. 21 ; Acts xiii. 2 ; xxiv. 
 10. Wm, Perkins. 
 
 48 S. Matt. xxvi. 55 ; S. Luke xxii. 52. — These wretches had 
 observed, that, throughout His prolonged sufierings, He had 
 complained of no other injury, done to Him, than this ; namely, 
 that, when they came to apprehend Him, as a criminal, in the 
 garden, He remonstrated with them thus ; " Are ye come out 
 as against a thief ^ ^c." " Yes !" they said among themselves, 
 " this is the sure way to grieve Him ; this is the shame, which 
 He most resents ; as a thief then let us treat Him." Hence, 
 
S. MARK XIV. 48. 389 
 
 not satisfied with having first ranked Him beneath Barabbas, a 
 thief of the worst description, they made thieves His com- 
 panions to Calvary, and between thieves they lifted Him to the 
 cross. So great was their desire to wound Him to the quick ; 
 so earnestly did they hope, that by means of such a death as 
 this He would not fail to be regarded by all men, as indeed a 
 King, but a King of thieves. S. Matt. xvii. 12. Segneri. 
 (Quaresimale. Pred. xxxv. s. 13.) 
 
 1 was daily loith you in the temple. — Besides the daily private de- 
 votions of every pious soul and the more solemn sacrifices upon 
 the three great Feasts of the year, Almighty GrOD requires a 
 daily public worship, a continual burnt- ofiering, every day, 
 morning and evening. . . . Thus it was commanded under the 
 Law ; (Exod. xxix. 38 ;) and certainly we Christians are as 
 much at least obliged to GrOD, as the Jews were. Our grace is 
 greater ; our promises clearer ; and therefore our righteousness 
 should every way exceed theirs. (S. Luke xii. 48.) . . . What- 
 soever the world think, thus to be "the Lord's remem- 
 brancers," putting Him in mind of the people's wants, being, 
 as it were, "the Angels of the Loed," interceding for the 
 people and carrying up the Daily prayers of the Church in 
 their behalf, is one of the most useful and principal parts of 
 the Priest's office. Exod. xxix. 38—46; S. Matt, xviii. 19; 
 Acts ii. 42 ; vi. 4 ; 1 Tim. ii. 1 — 5. Bp. Sparrow. (Eationale 
 on the Common Prayer ; in init.) 
 
 The House of Prayer, whether attended by many or few wor- 
 shippers, is still the perpetual Temple of the Holt G-host, 
 the altar of morning and evening sacrifice. It is still the 
 Oratory of daily and unceasing prayer, even if no worshippers 
 were present, but those, by whom its solemn Service is per- 
 formed. Not a day passes, in which their Ministers do not 
 make intercession, and implore the mercies of G-od for this 
 great and sinful nation, not less for the common-wealth than 
 for all orders and conditions of men. The sun never sets upon 
 any national or private sin, for which prayer has not that very 
 day been offered up to Almighty G-od. Mai. i. II ; 1 Tim. ii. 
 1 — 8 ; Heb. xiii. 15 ; x. 25. Dr. Hook. (Serm. preached 
 before the University of Oxford.) 
 
390 S. MARK XIV. 48—52. 
 
 Ministers have reason to be more choice of their time than others, 
 because it is less their own : there is none in the parish, but 
 have a share in it. 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22 ; 2 Cor. iv. 5. Gurnall. 
 (On the Christian's Armour. Eph. vi. 17. Ch. xxx. s. 1.) 
 
 50 Christ in His severest suiferings was left without help, or 
 comfort from His friends, perhaps to expiate the excessive con- 
 fidence, which we in our distress place in men, and especially 
 in near relatives. Hos. v. 13 ; xiv. 1 — 3, 8. Rambach, (Me- 
 dit. in loco.) 
 
 No man could share in those sufferings, by which all other men 
 were to be Eedeemed. Isa. Ixiii. 3 ; Ps. Ixxxix. 20. Bp. Home. 
 (Comment on Ps. Ixxxviii. 18.) 
 
 51 Calvin is of opinion that this short narrative was introduced, 
 in order to show in the most striking manner the riotous and 
 lawless nature of the scene ; no sense of shame deterring these 
 reckless offenders from roughly seizing an innocent youth, who 
 had probably been roused from his bed by the tumult. Clarius 
 regards it, as exhibiting the utter desertion of our Loed ; for 
 " this young man," he observes, " would rather escape in a state 
 of nudity, than be apprehended, as one of the followers of 
 Christ." Bp. J. Taylor adheres to the old tradition, that the 
 person in question was S. John the Evangelist; but we are 
 told that all the Apostles had left the ground; Verse 50. 
 Townson and Grresswell suppose him to have been S. Mark. 
 J. F. 
 
 It is not without some probabilities of reason, that the ancients 
 conceive S. John to have been this young man. . . . The linen 
 cloth, in all likelihood, was that garment he had cast about him 
 at Supper (for they had their peculiar vestments for that pur- 
 pose), and, being extremely affected with the treason and our 
 Lord's approaching Passion, had forgot to put on his other 
 garments, but followed Him into the garden in the same habit, 
 wherewith he arose from the table ; it being then night, and 
 so less liable to be taken notice of either by himself or others. 
 Dr. Cave. (Antiquitates Apostolicse. The Life of S. John. 
 s. 2.) 
 
 52 He fled from those enemies, whose presence and whose acts he 
 detested ; he fled not from the. Lord his Saviour and Master ; 
 
S. MARK XIV. 54. 391 
 
 but, though absent from Him in body, still cherished an invio- 
 late love towards Him in his heart. Ps. cxxxix. 21 — 24. 
 Bede. 
 
 53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest : 
 and with him were assembled all the chief priests and 
 the elders and the scribes. 
 
 54 And Peter followed Him afar off, even into the 
 palace of the high priest ; and he sat with the ser- 
 vants, and warmed himself at the fire. 
 
 55 And the chief priests and all the council sought 
 for witness against Jesus to put Him to death ; and 
 found none. 
 
 56 For many bare false witness against Him, but 
 their witness agreed not together. 
 
 57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness 
 against Him, saying, 
 
 58 We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple 
 that is made with hands, and within three days I will 
 build another made without hands. 
 
 59 But neither so did their witness agree together. 
 
 54 He sat with the servants, S(c. — 'Tis not safe travelling upon 
 the confines of what is lawful and what is sinful, no more than 
 upon the borders of two hostile nations. . . . He, that to-day- 
 will go towards sin, as far as he thinks he may, is in danger of 
 going to-morrow further, than he should : and it is far more 
 easy for him to be secure, than to be safe, that walks upon the 
 brink of a precipice. He was a wise man, that, as soon as he 
 had forbidden his son to " enter into the path of the wicked," 
 and to " go into the way of evil men," subjoins, as the best 
 course to conform to the prescription, " avoid it, pass not by it, 
 turn from it, and pass away." GtOd's indulgence leaves us a 
 latitude to comply with our infirmities and necessities, and to 
 give us opportunities of exercising a pious jealousy over our- 
 
393 S. mark: XIV. 54—58. 
 
 selves, and of showing how much we fear to offend Him. But 
 a wary Christian will say in this case, as S. Paul did in almost 
 a like ; " All things are lawful for me ; but all things are not 
 expedient ;" and he must often go further, than he can with 
 prudence, that will always go as far, as he thinks he can with 
 innocence. Prov. iv. 14, 15 ; xix. 16 ; Gren. xxxix. 10 ; 2 Sam. 
 xi. 2. R. Boyle. (Occasional Eeflections, s. iv. disc. 7.) 
 
 Warming himself. — Non decet sub capite spinoso membrum esse de- 
 licatum. A soft and effeminate limb ill accords with a head 
 crowned with thorns. 2 Tim. iii. 3, 11 — 13 ; 1 S. Pet. iv. 1. 
 S. Bernard. 
 
 At the light (0a) s.) — This is fitly put for the fire. It was by 
 the light, that S. Peter was discovered, who otherwise would 
 have been less exposed .... While we care for the body, we 
 often neglect the soul. S. Jude 12. Bengel. 
 
 55 It is in the power of every man to preserve his probity ; but 
 no man living has it in his power to say, that he can preserve 
 his reputation, while there are so many evil tongues in the 
 world, ready to blast the fairest character, and so many open 
 ears, ready to receive their reports. Ex. xxiii. 1 ; Prov. xxvi. 
 20—22 ; 1 S. Pet. iv. 8. Palmer. (Aphorisms. 1398.) 
 
 56 ^\aai at juapTvpiai ovk ^aav. — A wilful falsehood told is a cripple, 
 not able to stand of itself without some to support it : it is easy 
 to tell a lie ; hard to tell, but a lie. Acts v. 1 — 4 ; Eev. xxii. 
 15. Th. Fuller. (Scripture Observations. Part. ii. 7.) 
 
 Truth, 'tis a plain, straight, open road ; falsehood, 'tis a dark, deep, 
 devious, winding labyrinth, where it is very hard for its accom- 
 plices not to lose the one the other ; nay, not to lose themselves 
 in it. 'Tis impossible for falsehood to be so consistent, so true 
 to itself, as not in something to give itself the lie. Job xxvii. 
 4 ; S. Matt. xii. 34—37. Ch. Herle. (Serm. Pari. 1642.) 
 
 58 " I will build another. ^^ He doth not say, (S. John ii. 19,) 
 " Pull down this temple, and I will build another ;" but " I will 
 rear up the same again. Hew down the pillars, scatter the 
 stones ; and I will put them together again. Not a pin, or a 
 peg of this temple shall be missing." Indeed, this is properly 
 a resurrection, when the same thing, that fell, is set up again, 
 not another in the stead of it. Otherwise, the assuming of a 
 
S. MARK XIV. 58, 59. 393 
 
 new body had been another Incarnation, not a Eesurrection. 
 That body, which was a temple for God's grace to dwell in, 
 that same body, must be the temple and habitation of His 
 glory ; that bodyj'the sanctified instrument of so many good 
 works, the same body must be raised into the fellowship of re- 
 ward ; that body, that sufiered those pains and tortures, must 
 be repaired with beauty and glory ; that body, that was pierced 
 and wounded, that same thuribulum perforatum^ must appear 
 before God in heaven, representing the glorious price of our 
 redemption. Tertullian's comment on this text is very forcible, 
 Non potest enim expressius loqui^ nisi cutem suam manibus tereret. 
 Jer. XXX. 18. (" This— this— this,'' &c. See 1 Cor. xv. 53, 54.) 
 Bp. Brownrig. (Serm. on S. John ii. 19.) 
 
 The Personal union of God and man in Christ — His death dis- 
 solved it not. God had conjoined the manhood with the Deity. 
 Quce Deus junxit, homo ne separet ; what God knits, man cannot 
 loose. The Jews might kill Cheist ; but they could not sever 
 Him. In Cheist's Humanity, there was indeed a loose ; 
 body and soul were sundered ; that was all ; the Jews could go 
 no further. Satan's self could not. Cheist was whole still ; 
 somewhat parted in the Person, but nought departed from the 
 Person. Though soul were severed from the body, yet both 
 remained fast to the Deity. The Godhead was both with the 
 Spirit in Paradise, and with the corpse in the sepulchre, at 
 once. The knot of the "Word's Incarnation is indissoluble. 
 2 Cor. xiii. 4 ; Rev. i. 18. Dr. Richard Gierke. (Serm. on 
 S. Luke xxiii. 46.) 
 
 59 Neither so, 8fc. — Sinners are made up of contradictions, con- 
 tradictions to truth and reason, to God, to themselves, and to 
 one another. Virtue is uniform, regular, constant and certain. 
 Deut. xxxii. 5 ; S. Matt. xxv. 26, 27 ; Isa. xxvi. 7 ; Heb. xii. 3. 
 Br. W?dchcote. (Cent. iii. Aphor. 281.) 
 
 Oh, what blindness ! Oh, what madness ! How much toil does 
 it cost you, wretched men, to procure your eternal misery ! 
 "With how much less trouble and less contrivance might you 
 secure your everlasting happiness! Isa. v. 18 ; Wisd. v. 7. 
 Salvian. 
 
 The deeds of the wicked hurt themselves ; they do not contravene 
 
394 S. MARK XIV. 60—62. 
 
 GtOd's merciful designs. GrOD turns a sinner to some good 
 account, bene utitur ; for He would not permit him to sin, 
 were it otherwise. Prov. xi. 8 ; Amos iii. 6. S. Augustine, 
 
 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and 
 asked Jesus, saying, Answerest Thou nothing ? what 
 is it which these witness against Thee ? 
 
 61 But He held His peace, and answered nothing. 
 Again the high priest asked Him, and said unto Him, 
 Art Thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed ? 
 
 62 And Jesus said, I am : and ye shall see the Son 
 of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming 
 in the clouds of heaven. 
 
 60 When He answered not, He was silent, as the sheep ; when 
 He answered, He taught, as the Shepherd. 1 Tim. vi. 13. S. 
 Augustine. 
 
 61 Truth is never mute, for want of arguments of defence ; but 
 sometimes silent, out of holy wisdom. Eccl. iii. 7 ; Ps. xxxix. 
 2, 3 ; 2 Kings xviii. 36. Bp. Lake. 
 
 I accustomed myself to observe total silence, in order to learn 
 moderation in my speech. Job xxxii. 6, 7; S. James i. 19. 
 S. Gregory Nazianzen. 
 
 62 The Holy Jesus, being adjured by so Sacred a Name, would 
 not now refuse an answer, lest it might not consist with that 
 honour, which is due to it, and which He always paid, and that 
 He might neither despise the authority of the High Priest, nor 
 upon so solemn occasion be wanting to that great truth, which 
 He came down to earth to persuade to the world. And, when 
 three such circumstances concur, it is enough to open our 
 mouths, though we let in death. And so did our Lord ; He 
 confessed Himself to be the Christ the Son of the Living God. 
 And this the High Priest was pleased, as the design was laid, to 
 call blasphemy ; and there they voted Him to die. Then it was 
 the High Priest rent his clothes. The veil of the temple was 
 rent, when the Passion was finished ; the clothes of the priests 
 at the beginning of it : and, as that signified the departing of 
 the Synagogue and laying religion open, so did the rending the 
 
S. MAEK XIV. 62. 395 
 
 garments of Caiaphas prophetically signify, that the Priesthood 
 should be rent from him and from the nation. Acts v. 29 ; 
 1 Sam. XV. 27, 28. Bp. J. Taylor. (The Great Exemplar, s. 
 XV. disc. 19.) 
 
 Never did any creature take this title and honour upon him, to be 
 called G-OD, but the fearful judgments of God were on him for 
 it ... . And so, if Cheist had been a mere man and not very 
 God, as He avouched, undoubtedly the hand of God would 
 have been likewise upon Him for His confusion : but, when He 
 suffered for us, and bare the punishment, due to our sins. He 
 most triumphed. And the judgments of God were upon 
 Herod, Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas, and upon all those, that were 
 enemies to Him, and to His Church afterwards ; and that, 
 partly in life, partly in death. Gen. iii. 5 ; Acts xii. 22, 23 ; 
 Isa. xlii. 8 ; 2 Thess. ii. 4 — 8. Wm. Perkins. (Expos, of the 
 Creed.) 
 
 Te shall see the Son of Man, ^c. — It was a low and vile submission 
 for the Son of God to be arraigned, as a malefactor, to be 
 falsely accused, unjustly condemned, made a mock king, buf- 
 feted, scourged, reviled with the most bitter and insulting scorn, 
 and nailed upon the cross betwixt two thieves. But the scene 
 will be changed, when He comes to judge the world ; when His 
 crown of thorns shall be bright rays of Glory ; when the wound 
 in His side, and the print of the nails in His hands and feet 
 shall be springs and fountains of Light ; when His Cross shall 
 be turned into a triumphant chariot and throne of Judgment ; 
 and His judge, and accusers, and all the enemies and despisers 
 of His Cross shall stand trembling before Him. This is the 
 triumph of the Crucified Jesus, this is the reward of His in- 
 famy and death ; and a proper reward it is, to make Him the 
 Judge of the world, who was judged and condemned Himself 
 by sinners. Wisd. v. 1 — 6 ; Rev. i. 7. Dean Sherlock. (Disc, 
 on a Euture Judgment, c. 3.) 
 
 The eyes of the wicked, though Christ comes in His Glory, shall 
 see nothing of His Glory. The Son of man they shall behold — 
 His humanity, but not His Deity. They shall see the wounds 
 their sins have made, the hands and feet they have nailed, the 
 side they have pierced, the head they have planted with thorns : 
 all these to their grief and woe— to see Him their Judge, whom 
 
396 S. MARK XIV. 62. 
 
 they have so abused and wronged, so trampled and scorned, 
 that He yet bears the marks of their malice and cruelty, even 
 in His Throne of Griory. But the eyes of the good man — they 
 shall see His Glory too : they shall behold His Grlorious face, 
 which the eyes of sinners and the ungodly are not able to per- 
 ceive, by reason of that veil of sin and darkness, that covers 
 them. Both then shall see Him: these, only the Son of man; 
 those, the Soisr both of Gtod and man — in His cloud, and in His 
 glory. Acts xxii. 9 ; Eev. i. 7 ; Numb. xxiv. 17 ; Job xix. 25 
 —27. Br. Mark Frank. (Serm. on S. Luke xxi. 27, 28.) 
 Though the Christian may, as well as any other, be traduced by 
 calumny, which often serves good men, as the heathen per- 
 secutors did the Martyrs, (when they exposed them to the 
 people's view, clothed in the skins of beasts, to make them 
 hideous and hateful,) yet he is justly cheered by the assurance 
 he has, that there will come a time, when oppressed and dis- 
 figured innocency shall shine forth and triumph, and his good 
 name, as well as his body, shall have a glorious Besurrection, 
 even in the sight of his accusers, and enemies, and of all those, 
 whom their slanders did either prevail with, or startle. For, at 
 that great and general Assize, to which there shall be a far 
 greater confluence, than the Assyrian monarch drew to the 
 plains of Babylon (Dan. iii.) the heroic disciples of the Apostles 
 will be able to say upon happier terms, than the Apostles them- 
 selves did here below, that they are made " a spectacle to God, 
 to Angels, and to men." Ps. xxxvii. ; 1 Cor. iv. 9. R. Boyle. 
 (Greatness of mind, promoted by Christianity. Ch. 2.) 
 
 Quam facies mutata fori est ! Quem fecerat ant^ 
 Terra reum, partes Judicis Hie tenet. 
 
 Fitque reus Judex ; testesque coarguit ipsos, 
 Qui mod5 mendaci pressus ab hoste silet. 
 
 Occupat augustum cum Majestate tribunal, 
 Quseque prius latuit Eegia forma patet. 
 
 Stat Caiaphas, tantosque stupet perculsus honores, 
 Jamque suas discit nil valuisse minas. . . . 
 
 Omnis in adversas secessit machina partes, 
 Totaque stat facto terra dirempta suo. 
 
 C. Barlceus. (Elcg. 20.) 
 
S. MARK XTV. 63—65. 397 
 
 63 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, 
 What need we any further witnesses ? 
 
 64 Ye have heard the blasphemy : what think ye ? 
 And they all condemned Him to be guilty of death. 
 
 65 And some began to spit on Him, and to cover 
 His face, and to buffet Him, and to say unto Him, 
 Prophesy : and the servants did strike Him with the 
 palms of their hands. 
 
 63 Rent his clothes. — Not that the Jews were such ill husbands 
 in their grief, as to tear their clothes inconveniently ; but at 
 the bosom of their garments was a seam, slightly sewed, which 
 they easily rent in sunder and mended afterwards again. Bp. 
 Gauden. 
 
 64 Ye have heard the blasphemy : what think ye P — In this ar- 
 raignment of our LoED before the Jewish council, we see, as it 
 were, the jury unjustly influenced by the judges ; and then, 
 contrary wise, at the Civil court of Pontius Pilate, we see the 
 judge, yielding to the influence of the people, xv. 14, 15 ; 
 Acts xxiv. 27 ; XXV. 9. J. F. 
 
 Man sought by the instigation of the devil to rob GrOD of His 
 honour and to arrogate it to himself. He would fain be like 
 God and obtain a knowledge of good and evil, equal to that of 
 Omniscience itself. Now for the atonement of that blasphe- 
 mous sin and to discharge us from the sentence of death, 
 annexed to it, the Son of God suffered Himself to be sen- 
 tenced, as one who would rob God of His honour, by "making 
 Himself equal with God." Gen. iii. 5, 8. Rambach. (Medit. 
 in loco.) 
 
 65 In having His countenance thus defiled with their spitting 
 and buffeting. He restored to us that image, which, through 
 sin, was decayed ; yea, which was destroyed. Isa. 1. 6. Calvin. 
 
 Quanta pro me vilior, tanto mihi carior, the more degraded for me, 
 
 the more endeared to me. S. Bernard. 
 The covering of the face was a mark of a condemned man, held as 
 
 unworthy to behold and enjoy the light of the sun, or of the 
 
398 S. MAEK XIV. 65. 
 
 Prince's countenance. Esther vii. 8 ; Ezek. xii. 6, 12. Edw. 
 Leigh. 
 
 Prophesy. — That word, which we condemn and tread under our 
 feet, shall rise up again and rise up against us. That word^ 
 which we laughed at, is still in being and shall appear again 
 to make us cry and howl. That word^ for which we stoned 
 the prophets and killed those that brought it, shall be quick, 
 and active, and vocal to condemn us. That word, for which 
 Micaiah was smitten in the face, shall make that face, as bright, 
 as an Angel. Acts vi. 15. That word, which brought S. Paul 
 to the block, shall return, and bring him into heaven, and put 
 a crown upon his head. S. John xii. 48 ; Heb. iv. 12, 13 ; xii. 
 25 — 29. Farindon. (Serm. on S. Luke x. 5, 6.) 
 
 With the palms of their hands. — It was the sin of our polluted 
 hands, that pierced His hands ; the swiftness of our feet to do 
 evil, that nailed His feet ; the wicked devices of our heads, 
 that gored His head ; and the wretched desires of our hearts, 
 that pierced His heart. Isa. i. 15 ; Eom. iii. 15 ; Gen. vi. 5 ; 
 S. Mark vii. 21, 22. Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. on Zech. xii. 10.) 
 
 My LoED and my GrOD, when my meditations follow Thee from 
 the garden to Mount Calvary, I grieve and love all the way. 
 I grieve and love, when I see Thee, O incarnate GtOD, betrayed 
 by the treacherous kiss of Judas, denied by S. Peter, spit 
 upon and buffeted, mocked and scourged, and for my sake 
 made the extreme scorn, contempt, and sport of Thy insolent 
 and insulting enemies. I love and adore with all my heart, O 
 dearest Saviour, Thy infinite Love and benignity to sinners ; 
 with all my heart I lament and detest the hatred and outrage 
 of sinners to Thee, most merciful Jestj. Bp. Ken. (Para- 
 phrase of the Creed.) 
 
 66 And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there 
 Cometh one of the maids of the high priest : 
 
 67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she 
 looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with 
 Jesus of Nazareth. 
 
 68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither un- 
 
S. MARK XIV. 66. 
 
 399 
 
 derstand I what thou sayest. And he went out into 
 the porch ': and the cock crew. 
 
 69 And a maid saw him again, and began to say to 
 them that stood by, This is one of them. 
 
 70 And he denied it again. And a little after, they 
 that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one 
 of them : for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech 
 agreeth thereto. 
 
 71 And he began to curse and to swear, saying, I 
 know not this man of whom ye speak. 
 
 72 And the second time the cock crew. And Peter 
 called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, 
 Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice. 
 And w^hen he thought thereon, he wept. 
 
 66 Sometimes G-od hath made the Saints themselves the pro- 
 claimers of their own shame. So He makes Moses to register 
 his own infidelity ; so David, in the 51st Psalm, by the instinct 
 of GtOd's Spirit, leaves unto the Church, under his own hand, 
 an evidence against himself for his adultery and murder. 
 Sometimes He makes their dearest friends the most exact 
 chroniclers of their faults ; for so S. Chrysostom observes of 
 S. Mark, the companion and scholar of S. Peter, who hath 
 more particularly registered the fall of his master, than any of 
 the other Evangelists. " Who would not marvel," saith he, 
 " that S. Mark not only concealed not the gross escape of his 
 master, but hath more accurately, than any of the rest, 
 recorded the particulars of it, even because he was his dis- 
 ciple ?" as if he could have done his master no better service, 
 than to deliver a most exact relation of his fault.* 1 S. Pet. 
 V. 13. John Hales. (Serm. on S. Matt. xxvi. 75.) 
 
 * The following may be noted, as 
 places in the Glospels, recording inci- 
 dents to the honour of S. Peter, all 
 mention of which is omitted by S. 
 
 Mark. 1. S. Matt. xvi. 16—20 com- 
 pared with S. Mark viii. 29, 30. 2. 
 S, Matt. xyii. 24—27, compared with 
 S. Mark ix. 30—33. 3. S. Lnke xxii. 
 
400 
 
 S. MARK XIV. 66. 
 
 It may be asked . . . why did not S. Peter himself write a Q-ospel ? 
 Eusebius states, as a reason for the latter, that he was too 
 humble and modest to do so ; and the same answer may be 
 given to the former question. Increasing holiness is ever ac- 
 companied with increasing humility : nor is it to be wondered 
 at, if the very chief of Apostles should have been so humbled 
 from his near approach to Cheist, as to shrink from doing 
 that, which ordinary men would have done ; and that he, who 
 was so signally himself " an eye witness of His Majesty," 
 should have come more and more to this feeling ; " Now mine 
 eye seeth Thee ; wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust 
 and ashes." Nor need we be surprised if under this feeling 
 he should have left it to others to hand down to the Church 
 the written memorials of his Lord, and should have afforded 
 us no notices of himself, but such, as indicate his humilia- 
 tion and lowly affection, as of one, who wished to be " hid 
 with GrOD." Job xlii. 5, 6; 2 Cor. xii. 1, 5. Is. Williams. 
 (Thoughts on the Study of the Grospels, s. 6.) 
 
 S. Peter, when he would prepare to eat the Passover, was in the 
 " upper room ;" when he was preparing himself by inconside- 
 ration and want of sedulity to deny his Master, he was beneath 
 in the palace. Holiness lifts us to heaven. Sin lowers us to 
 hell. Prov. xv. 24 ; S. James iii. 15—17. J. F. 
 
 The point between lawful pleasure and vice is like a boundary 
 between two kingdoms, at war with each other. It is there- 
 fore most prudent, weak and defenceless as we are, not to 
 venture to the very edge of our side, but to leave some space 
 between, lest an insidious enemy surprise and take us captive 
 unawares. Gen. iii. 3 ; xxxix. 10 ; Ps. xxvi. 5 ; 1 Cor. ix. 25. 
 Dr. Townson. 
 
 As soon as we cease to fear what is evil, there is only one step, 
 before we shall do it. As soon as we cease either to fight, or 
 
 31—34; S. John xiii. 6, &c. 4. S. 
 John xviii. 10, compared with S. Mark 
 xiy. 47. 5. S. John xxi. 7 ; S. Matt, 
 xiv. 28—31. 6. S. John xxi. 15—19. 
 On the other hand, it is fair to ob- 
 
 serve that S. Mark records some few 
 matters, honom-able to S. Peter, not 
 mentioned by the other Evangelists. 
 See i. 36 j xiv. 31 ; xvi. 7. 
 
S. MARK XIV. 68—72. ^0] 
 
 flee, we are nearly under the yoke. Prov. xiv. 26, 27 ; xxiii. 
 17. F. Nef. 
 68 Without the Spirit, S. Peter trembled at the voice of a maid 
 servant ; with the Spirit, he withstood princes and kings. Acts 
 V. 29, 41, 42 ; Eph. vi. 10—18. S. Jerome. 
 
 Quid trepidas ? Vox est. G-enerosa quid ora residunt ? 
 
 Nuper erant Domini ferre parata necem. 
 Una animos potuit sic faemina frangere tantos ? 
 O ! tua sit melius, Petre, probata fides ! 
 
 (Verses under an engraving on the subject by Bols- 
 wert, after a painting by Gerard Sogers.) 
 
 71 Yet, Oh, ye saints, divulge not these things to wicked men ; 
 whisper them softly one to another with fear and trembling, 
 lest some profane wretch, or other, overhear you and take that 
 for encouragement, that was only meant for caution. "What 
 is more common, than for the vilest sinners to plead for their 
 excuse, or warrant rather, the foul miscarriages of God's 
 dearest Saints ? . . . . But let such know, that, though G-od 
 hath set up these in His Church to be monuments of His 
 mercy, to declare to humble and penitent sinners how great 
 sins He can pardon ; yet, if any hereupon embolden them- 
 selves in sin, instead of being set up, as monuments of mercy, 
 G-OD will set them up, as ** pillars of salt." Eom. iii. 5, 6 ; vi. 
 1,2; 2 S. Pet. iii. 16. Bp. Hopkins. (Serm. on Ps. xix. 13.) 
 
 Qui secutus es errantem^ sequere poenitentem. You have followed 
 him in his sin ; now go and follow him in his repentance. S. 
 Ambrose. (To the Emperor Theodosius, on his excusing his 
 sin by David's example.) 
 
 72 As in the moon we see a threefold condition, that gives her 
 an alternate face — her wane, her increase, her full — so I see 
 the same in a Christian ; three efficient causes working them 
 — sin, repentance, faith. . . . While he sins, he wanes himself 
 to darkness and obscurity ; when he repents, he begins to 
 recover light ; and, when his faith shines clear, he then appears 
 at full : yet, in all these, while he lives here, he is not only 
 charged with some spots, but is subject to the vicissitudes of 
 change. . . . He, that expects constancy here, does look for 
 
 D D 
 
402 S. MAEK XIV. V2. 
 
 that, which the world cannot give. 'Tia only above the sun 
 that there is no moon to change. Eph. v. 8 ; Horn. xiii. 12. 
 O. Feltham. (Resolves, c. ii. 24.) 
 The sacred tears of those, who never weep about matters of this 
 life, nobly attest the truth and power of the Christian religion. 
 Acts XX. 19, 31 ; Phil. iii. 18. Bengel. 
 " The glory of the Loed" appears in that cloud, too, that is upon 
 the penitent sad heart ; when he is drenched in tears, the Holt 
 GrHOST, the Comforter, does " move upon those waters," (G-en. 
 i. 2,) and breathes life and salvation into them ; and He, who 
 is the Unction, pours oil into those wounds of the Spirit ; and 
 we are never nearer heaven, than when we are thus prostrate 
 in the lowest dust ; and, when *' our belly cleaveth unto the 
 ground" in humble penitence, then we are at the very throne 
 of grace. G-en. vii. 17 ; Ps. cxiii. 4 — 8 ; Isa. Ixvi. 2 ; S. Matt. 
 v. 3. Dr. Allestree. (Serm. on Lev. xvi. 31.) 
 As unruly children, with whom wholesome admonition prevaileth 
 little, are notwithstanding brought to fear that ever after, 
 which they have once well smarted for ; so the mind which 
 falleth not — (is not humbled) — with instruction, yet under the 
 rod of Divine chastisement ceaseth to swell. . . . What is 
 virtue, but a medicine ? And vice, but a wound ? Yet we 
 have so often deeply wounded ourselves with medicines, that 
 G-OD hath been fain to make wounds medicinable, to cure by 
 vice, where virtue hath stricken ; to suffer the just man to fall, 
 that, being raised, he may be taught what power it was, which 
 upheld him standing. Job xxxiii. 8, 9, 17, 27 ; 2 Cor. i. 8 — 10. 
 Hooker. (A Learned Sermon of the nature of Pride.) 
 As the children of God receive the beginnings of grace freely, so 
 all the advances and increases of it ; life from their Loed still 
 flowing and causing them to grow, abating the power of sin, 
 strengthening a faint heart, quickening a languishing love, 
 teaching the soul the ways of wounding strong corruptions and 
 fortifying its weak graces ; yea, in wonderful ways advancing 
 the good of His children by things, not only harsh to them, as 
 afflictions and temptations, but by that, which is directly op- 
 posite in its nature, sin itself ; raising them by their falls, and 
 strengthening them by their very troubles ; working them to 
 
S. MARK XIV, 72. 403 
 
 humility and vigilance, and sending them to Cheist for 
 strength by the experience of their weaknesses and failings. 
 Ps. Ixxiii. 20—25 ; 2 Cor. xii. 7—10. Abp. Leighton. (Com- 
 mentary on 1 S. Pet. V. 10.) 
 LoED, give us in the first place Thy sustaining grace, which may 
 preserve us from the danger of great and scandalous offences : 
 but, if Thy wisdom find it otherwise requisite to punish our 
 presumptions with a temporary desertion, and by withdrawing 
 Thy power to let us be foiled with the assault of carnal tempta- 
 tions, yet never deny us that restoring grace, which may re- 
 establish us in Thy favour. Grive us, if not the grace of 
 standing, yet the grace of weeping ; that, though we cannot be 
 innocent, we may be repentant. Ps. xxvii. 11; Rev. iii. 19. 
 Bp. Reynolds. (Medit. on the fall and rise of S. Peter, s. 30.) 
 Eors ego si titubans gressu collabar inerti, 
 
 Incircumspecto fort^ cadamque pede ; 
 Erige porrecta me iterum, Pater, erige dextrS, ; 
 
 Nee sine me vitiis interiisse meis. 
 Da mentem cupidamque Tui, et Te, Christe, vocantem, 
 
 Quseque Tuam toto pectore anhelet opem. . . • 
 Sic verear tristes iterum committere labes, 
 
 Sic timeam vitiis me maculare no vis. 
 Sit mihi conversus pia consolatio Petrus ; 
 Ulius exemplo poenituisse juvet. 
 
 Pantaleon Candidus. (Precat. Dominic. Xib. ii.) 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 AND straightway in the morning the chief priests 
 held a consultation with the elders and scribes 
 and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried 
 Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. 
 
 2 And Pilate asked Him, Art Thou the King of 
 
 D d2 
 
404 S. MARK XV. 1, 2. 
 
 the Jews? And He answering said unto him, Thou 
 say est it. 
 
 3 And the chief priests accused Him of many 
 things : but He answered nothing. 
 
 4 And Pilate asked Him again, saying, Answerest 
 Thou nothing ? behold how many things they witness 
 against Thee. 
 
 5 But Jesus yet answered nothing ; so that Pilate 
 marvelled. 
 
 1 Straightway in the morning. — While honest men lay them down 
 in peace and take their rest, suspecting no harm, because they 
 mean none, thieves and robbers are up and abroad, spreading 
 their nets for the prey and watching to do mischievously. . . . 
 Martyres Diaboli, saith S. Bernard, alacrius currunt ad Vitam, 
 quhm nos ad mortem. (The devil's martyrs are more swift in 
 running to hell, than we to heaven.) How slack are we to do 
 GrOD any service, how backward to suffer anything for Him ! 
 And how they, on the other side, can bestir them to serve the 
 devil, and be content to suffer a kind of Martyrdom in his ser- 
 vice ! The way, sure, is broad enough and easy enough, that 
 leadeth to destruction ; yet so much pains is there taken to 
 find it, that, I verily believe, half the pains, many a man taketh 
 to go to hell, if it had been well bestowed, would have brought 
 him to heaven. (See S. Matt. vii. 23. Arnold. Dean Young.) 
 Bp. Sanderson. (Serm. on S. Luke xvi. 8.) 
 
 Delivered Him to Pilate. — We must observe the wonderful Provi- 
 dence of GloD, in that not only the Jews, but the G-en tiles also, 
 had a stroke in the arraignment of Christ ; that that might 
 be true, which the Apostle saith, " GrOD shut up all under sin, 
 that He might have mercy upon «W." Eom. xi. 32 j S. Luke 
 ii. 32. Wm. Perkins. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 
 2 No one in my opinion has a higher esteem for virtue, nor is 
 more thoroughly devoted to its service, than he, qui boni viri 
 famam perdidit, ne conscientiam perderet, who has lost the credit 
 
 of being thought by others a good man, in order to preserve, 
 
S. MARK XV. 5, 10. 405 
 
 within his own bosom, the consciousness of his really being 
 one. 1 Cor. iv. 12, 13 ; 2 Cor. vi. 8. Seneca. (Ep. 72.) 
 5 Let your words be well weighed — if the thing itself should be 
 spoken ; or, if it should be spoken against this person, and then, 
 if this be the proper time for such a speech. Prov. xv. 28 ; 
 Eccl. iii. 7 ; Amos v. 13. S. Ambrose. 
 
 6 Now at that feast he released unto them one pri- 
 soner, whomsoever they desired. 
 
 7 And there was one named Barabbas, which lay 
 bound with them that had made insurrection with 
 him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. 
 
 8 And the multitude crying aloud began to desire 
 him to do as he had ever done unto them. 
 
 9 But Pilate answered them, saying. Will ye that I 
 release unto you the King of the Jews ? 
 
 10 For he knew that the chief priests had delivered 
 Him for envy. 
 
 11 But the chief priests moved the people, that he 
 should rather release Barabbas unto them. 
 
 12 And Pilate answered and said again unto them. 
 What will ye then that I shall do unto Him whom ye 
 call the King of the Jews ? 
 
 13 And they cried out again, Crucify Him. 
 
 14 Then Pilate said unto them. Why, what evil 
 hath He done ? And they cried out the more exceed- 
 ingly, Crucify Him. 
 
 10 Jacob said of Joseph, besHa pessima devoravit filium meum ; 
 "an evil beast hath devoured him;" for envy was that cruel 
 beast, that devoured Joseph. The greatness of this sin, one 
 saith, InvidicB, propter magnitudinem sceleris, futura poena non 
 snfficit ; ergo et htc plectitur ; so heinous is the sin of envy, that 
 hell alone is not sufficient torment for it ; therefore it is punished 
 
406 S, MAEK XV. 11, 14. 
 
 here also ; and consequently it is (Prov. xiv. 30) putrido ossium^ 
 "the rottenness of the bones." He, that wished himself 
 wholly an eye, that wished himself an Argus, cannot wish him- 
 self a worse evil and torment. 1 Sam. xviii. 6 — 11; Prov. xiv. 
 30 ; xxvii. 4 ; Acts xiii. 45. Bp. Andrewes. (On the Moral 
 Law. Commandment vi.) 
 
 11 Some desire a change. Others not only desire it, but con- 
 spire for it too. . . . What gained they, who desired the change 
 of Samuel for Saul, of Cheist for Barabbas ? They procured 
 God's wrath, their own confusion, and perpetual slavery. So 
 it fareth with discontented minds. Their own desires plague 
 them. Prov. xxiv. 21 ; Ps. xvii. 4, Ahp. Sandys. (Serm. on 
 S. Luke xxi. 25.) 
 
 No marvel to see murderers desire a murderer. Acts iii. 14. 
 Edm, Leigh. 
 
 "We hear it said, that, " If Yirtue were personified, all men would 
 love her." Men and brethren, Virtue was personified ; she was 
 " in the world, and the world knew her not ;" she " came unto 
 her own, and her own received her not ;" but took her, and 
 buffeted her, and bound her, and scourged her, and crowned 
 her with thorns, and crucified her. Virtue was personified ; 
 and the world neither knew, nor loved her. xii. 6, 7 ; Isa. liii. 
 2 ; S. John iii. 19— 2 L Walker. 
 
 14 By this it is plain, that a very Pagan, or infidel, may in some 
 things go beyond such, as be in Gron's Church, having better 
 conscience and dealing more justly, than they. . . . This must 
 admonish all such, as profess the Gospel, to look into their 
 proceedings that they do all things with upright conscience : 
 for, if we deal unjustly in our proceedings, we may have neigh- 
 bours, men of no religion, that will look through us and see 
 the gross hypocrisy of our profession, who also would be loth 
 to do those things, that we do. Rom. ii. 23, 24 j 1 Cor. v. 1. 
 Wm. Perkins. (Expos, of the Creed.) 
 
 The cry of all the proud and ambitious is, "Away with this 
 Jestjs, who would have us sacrifice our honour to His !" The 
 cry of the voluptuous is, " Away with this Jesus, who would 
 have us renounce the pleasures of this world, take up our cross, 
 and mortify the flesh." The cry of the whole multitude of the 
 
S. MARK XV. 14. 407 
 
 covetous is, " Away with this Jesus, who would have us re- 
 nounce our Mammon and devote our substance to His service : 
 we will follow no such leader." 1 Kings xxii. 8 ; xxi. 20 ; Gal. 
 iv. 16 ; vi. 22. (See Illus. S. Matt. vii. 28. Farindon.) Ram- 
 bach. (Medit. in loco.) 
 
 As when the Apostles failed in their endeavours to cast out the 
 evil spirit, he became more furious and violent, so here the 
 chief priests, fearing to lose their prey and to be thwarted in 
 their wicked designs against the Loed, became more exas- 
 perated, and C7'y out the more exceedingly ^ " Crucify Him." 
 Hence we discover whose agents they were, the agents of the 
 evil spirit; "for their speech betrayeth them." Eefer to ix. 
 26 ; Eev. xii. 12. J. F. 
 
 At the siege of Jerusalem, Titus, in hope to reduce the Jews the 
 sooner by terror, ordered all those, who came out of the city — 
 (that they might escape the famine) — to be crucified before the 
 walls. This order was so severely executed, that for several 
 days five hundred a day were crucified, till there was neither 
 room left to place crosses in, nor wood whereof to make them. 
 So that they, who once cried out so vehemently, " Crucify Him, 
 Crucify Him !" had enough of it at last, and by the just and 
 most remarkable judgment of God were paid home in their 
 own kind. Prov. xi. 8 ; Judg. i. 6, 7 ; 1 Sam. xv. 33 ; Esther 
 vii. 10 ; Dan. vi. 24i. Abp. Tillotson. (Serm. on Jer. vi. 8.) 
 
 15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, 
 released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, 
 when he had scourged Him, to be crucified. 
 
 16 And the soldiers led Him away into the hall, 
 called Prsetorium ; and they called together the whole 
 band. 
 
 17 And they clothed Him with purple, and platted 
 a crown of thorns, and put it about His head, 
 
 18 And began to salute Him, Hail, King of the 
 Jews ! 
 
 19 And they smote Him on the head with a reed, 
 
408 S. MARK XV. 15. 
 
 and did spit upon Him, and bowing their knees wor- 
 shipped Him. 
 
 20 And when they had mocked Him, they took off 
 the purple from Him, and put His own clothes on 
 Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. 
 
 15 Observe the pitiful vacillation of a man, devoid of all prin- 
 ciple, or conscience of duty. Pilate is willing to release Jesus, 
 (S. Luke xxiii. 20,) and Pilate is also willing to content the 
 jjeople. Heaven and hell strive in his bosom for the mastery. 
 Thus we observed of another ruler, Herod, that he "feared 
 S. John," both living and dead ; and that he also " feared the 
 multitude," and " them, which sat at meat with him," his own 
 courtiers and friends. Nor was the case of Felix diverse from 
 these. He was willing to befriend and protect S. Paul, (Acts 
 xxiv. 23 — 26,) but he was also " willing to show the Jews a 
 pleasure." (Acts xxiv. 27.) Pestus, too, was much of the 
 
 , same mind with Felix. (Acts xxv. 9.) "With such warnings 
 before us, how earnestly should we pray G-od to strengthen 
 the hearts and hands of our Rulers, " men of like passions with 
 ourselves ;" and to set over us " men, such as fear Gron, men 
 of truth, hating covetousness ;" that "righteousness and truth 
 may dwell in our land." Prov. xxix. 25 ; 1 Sam. xv. 24 \ Ex. 
 xviii. 21. (See lUustr. of S. Matt. xiv. 9.) /. F. 
 
 Unhappy is that man, that steers the comfort of his life by the 
 pleasing of others. But let us make honesty the mark, we 
 sail by; and so steadily let it be, that we neither advance 
 forwarder for vain applause, nor retire for fear of detraction : 
 but let our course be like the sun, that neither hastens, nor 
 slacks, for all our entreaties. But most men live according to 
 opinion, or fashion, which is full of variety and therefore of 
 perturbation, leaving the direct rule of wisdom, which renders 
 UB tranquil. Prov. iv. 23—27 ; 2 Cor. i. 12 ; 1 Thess. ii. 4. 
 Lord Capel, (Contemplations. 31.) 
 
 When a nation once loses its regard to justice ; when they do 
 not look upon it, as something venerable, holy, and inviolable ; 
 when any of them dare presume to lessen, affront, or terrify 
 
S. MARK XV. 15, 17. 409 
 
 those, who have the distribution of it in their hands ; when a 
 Judge is capable of being influenced by anything, but Law, or 
 a cause may be recommended by anything, that is foreign to 
 its own merits, we may venture to pronounce, that such a 
 nation is hastening to its ruin. Gren. vi. 11 — 13 ; Isa. lix. 1 — 
 15. Addison. (Gruardian. 99.) 
 
 Nee mirum, si jura Dei gens perfida vitet, 
 Imperiumque negefc, lucos quae semper amavit, 
 Idola dilexit ; simili nam more furentes 
 Tunc coluere Baal, nunc eligere Barabbam. . . 
 Autor mortis erat, jussus qui sumere lucem ; 
 Autor lucis erat, jussus qui sumere mortem. 
 Credite jam Christum, pro cunctis credite passum ; 
 Quid dubitatis adhuc ? En sectus terga flagellis, 
 Subditus opprobriis, poenas amplectitur omnes ; 
 Ne dignus sentire necem, ceu latro, periret. 
 
 Sedulius. (Carm. Lib. v.) 
 
 Scourged Him. — It is observed to have been the opinion of the 
 ancient Fathers, that the sufferings, which our Blessed Sa- 
 viour underwent in His Body, were more afflictive to Him, 
 than the same would have been to another man, upon the ac- 
 count of the excellency and quickness of His sense of feeling ; 
 and this opinion I take to be as reasonable, as 'tis pious .... 
 Upon the account of this noble union (the Divine with the 
 human nature) He had given Him a Body of a most admirable 
 complexion and harmonious temperature, and consequently of 
 a flesh exceeding tender and most exquisitely perceptive of the 
 least impressions. Norris. (Notes to his Pindarique Ode on 
 the Passion.) 
 
 17 O Lord Jestjs, who was he, so bold, so daring, that stripped 
 Thee ? Who those, even more daring, that bound Thee ? Who 
 those, most daring of all, who scourged Thee with such exceed- 
 ing severity ? But Thou, O Sun of Eighteousness, didst with- 
 draw Thy rays ; and therefore darkness came on and the power 
 of darkness. All have now power over Thee. Thy love it was 
 and our sinfulness, which made Thee thus powerless. Accursed 
 be that so great sinfulness of ours, for which Thou art so 
 
410 S. MARK XV. 17, 19. 
 
 punished. Jer. ii. 19; Ezek. xvi. 63. Card. Bonaventura. 
 (Life of Christ, Ch. 59.) 
 
 They would needs be ingenious in their scoffings, and mock Him 
 in all His offices. He was a Prophet ; and they desire Him to 
 " prophesy, who it was, that did smite Him." He was a Priest ; 
 and they bid Him, " save Himself, as He did others." He was 
 a King ; and they crown Him with thorns, and array Him with 
 scarlet, and put a reed in His hand, and in scorn salute Him, 
 " King of the Jews." Add unto this the violence, done to His 
 virgin modesty, when He was stript naked in the view of the 
 
 rude multitude But the Holy Jesus, who refused no 
 
 shame, endured also this, of nakedness, that we might be clothed 
 with His righteousness. Ps. xii. 7 ; xxii. ; Ixiv. Scougal. (Serm. 
 on Lam. i. 12.) 
 
 " His form," says the Prophet, " was marred more, than any 
 man's, and His visage, more, than the sons of men." The 
 ground colours are a deep sable, which are afterwards laid on 
 with all the splendour and glory of Heaven. Phil. ii. 6 — 11 ; 
 Eev. i. 13—18. Flavel. 
 
 Woe had it been for men, if Cheist had not in His Body on the 
 tree carried, as well the guilt of our idle words, our vain 
 thoughts, our loose and impertinent actions, as of our oaths, 
 imprecations, and blasphemies. If great sins were, as the spear 
 and the nails, certainly small sins were, as the thorns, which 
 pierced His head. Col. ii. 13. Bp. Reynolds. 
 
 "Do men gather grapes of thorns?" Christian men do. Tlie 
 Blood of Christ's thorns is the blood of our grapes, our wine 
 in the Sacrament. Judg. xiv. 14. Dr. Richard Gierke. (Serm. 
 1 S. Pet. ii. 24.) 
 
 19 Smote Him on the head. — Thou, who didst submit Thy glorious 
 Head to be wounded, pardon thereby whatever by the wilful- 
 ness of my head I have done amiss. Thou, who didst suffer 
 Thy Hands to be perforated, pardon thereby whatsoever I have 
 done amiss by unlawful touch, by unlawful execution. Thou, 
 who didst allow Thy precious Side to be pierced, pardon there- 
 by whatsoever I have done amiss in the heat of passion by un- 
 lawful imaginations. Thou, who didst permit Thy blessed Feet 
 to be nailed down, pardon thereby whatsoever I have done 
 
S. MARK XV. 19, 20. 411 
 
 amiss in the progress of my footsteps, ever swift to evil. Thou, 
 who didst give Thy whole Body to be stretched upon the cross, 
 pardon thereby whatsoever sins I have committed by the co- 
 operation of all my members. Micah v. 1. Bp. Andrewes. 
 (Private Devotions, part 2.) 
 
 Sanguine sudasti ; rivi fluxere cruenti ; 
 Ora, sinus, vestes, ipsa madebat humus. 
 
 Camifices duris oneratum colla catenis 
 Saxa per et duras Te rapuere vias. 
 
 Csesus es, et rapta passus tot verbera veste, 
 Quot pulsat Tyriam fluctibus sequor humum. 
 
 Eorsan et auxisti fessis in verbera vires, 
 Ut votis esset par Tua poena suis. 
 
 Sidronius Eosschius. (Eleg. 5.) 
 20 Led Him out. — He suffered " without the gate," in order to 
 show us that we are not to expect sanctification by the sacrifices, 
 offered within that city ; and that He died, not for the Jews 
 only, but for all mankind, xiii. 1 ; Heb. xiii. 11 — 14. Quesnel. 
 It is very important to remark, that there were two grand divisions 
 of Sacrifice, typifying different aspects of the work of Cheist. 
 The sweet savour offerings (or offerings for acceptance) consti- 
 tuted the first class. They, or part of them, were burned upon 
 the altar, or table of God, and regarded as Jehovah's portion. 
 They typified Cheist, the Gon-man, yielding to God the de- 
 votion of a pure heart and an unsullied life, meeting the re- 
 quirements of the Law in every particular, and so yielding to 
 God that, which humanity had never yet yielded — a perfect 
 Eighteousness. No thought of sin enters here : it is humanity, 
 giving to God His portion and His due. The second class are 
 the offerings, not of sweet savour ; of which the sin and trespass 
 offerings are the two varieties. They were not offered for the 
 acceptance of the worshipper ; but for the expiation of his sin. 
 Accordingly, the body of the victim was not burned upon the 
 altar, but cast forth " without the camp," as an accursed thing, 
 and then burnt upon the earth. These emblematized Cheist 
 in His Cross and Passion, visited both in body and soul by the 
 curse ; Cheist between the malefactors, led without the gate, 
 and with His face, turned away from the city of God's solem- 
 
412 S. MARK XV. 20. 
 
 nities; as if His very presence had been a pollution to it; 
 Christ, the sin-bearer, identified for the time with sin, and 
 enduring sin's malediction ; Cheist, the brazen serpent, iden- 
 tified for a time with the principle of evil, and therefore sus- 
 pended on the tree. Br. Goulburn. (Serm. before the Uni- 
 versity of Oxford. Eom. xi. 22.) 
 
 They, who saw David ascending Mount Olivet in tears, when 
 Absalom had driven him from Jerusalem, and they, who be- 
 held Jesus led forth out of the same Jerusalem, to be crucified 
 on Mount Calvary, were tempted to regard both the one and the 
 other, as finally deserted by GtOD. They, who view the Church, 
 or any member thereof, under affliction and persecution, are too 
 frequently tempted to think the same and to act accordingly ; 
 though they are so plainly taught the contrary by the restora- 
 tion of the King of Israel, and by the Eesurrection of the Son 
 of God. Wisd. v. 1 — 5 ; Ps. cxxvi. 7 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 4 ; Eev. i. 
 18. Bp. Home. (On Psalm Ixxi. 10.) 
 
 My soul, follow thy Eedeemer, and see (if thy tears can be allowed 
 to give thee leave) how cruelly the soldiers treat Him, how 
 inhumanly the Jews abuse Him. And when thy little crosses 
 trouble thy little patience, remember thy Loed ; think on thy 
 Savtotje. Oh, what a throng of sorrows are crowded into 
 these few lines ! sorrows heaped up, and pressed down, and 
 shaken together, and running over into the bosom, into the very 
 soul of Jesus : and then think of thine own little crosses and 
 lesser patience. Eom. xv. 2, 3 ; IS. Pet. ii. 20 — 24. Austin. 
 (Medit. 285.) 
 
 21 And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who 
 passed by, coming out of the country, the father of 
 Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross. 
 
 22 And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, 
 which is, being interpreted, The place of a scull. 
 
 23 And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with 
 myrrh : but He received it not. 
 
 24 And when they had crucified Him, they parted 
 
S. MARK XV. 21-23. 413 
 
 His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man 
 should take. 
 
 25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified 
 Him. 
 
 21 Brethren, take heed you be not deceived about faith, by which 
 you must stand, or fall, to all eternity. It is more than fancy, 
 or thinking, or hoping, you shall be saved by Cheist. It is 
 more than taking on you to pray in the Name'of Christ. It is 
 working and labouring in the way of God's Commandments, 
 until you be " weary and heavy laden ;" and then resting your- 
 selves in Christ for safety and refreshing As Simon 
 
 of Cyrene was laid hold upon to bear the cross of Christ 
 after Him, when it was too heavy for Him ; so on the con- 
 trary lay hold on Christ and get Him to bear your burden 
 for you, when you yourselves are not able to bear it. S. 
 Matt. xi. 28 ; IS. Pet. v. 7. Br. Lightfoot. (Serm. on Heb. 
 xiii. 10.) 
 
 22 They bring Him, &,c. — Not only does S. Mark delight to de- 
 scribe the Son of Man in all, that indicated human demeanour 
 and affections, but his brief insertions seem to be replete with 
 all the love and tenderness towards his Master of one, like the 
 good S. Peter. Thus we have casual introductions, descriptive 
 of bodily weakness and oppression in our Blessed Lord, such 
 as a disciple so deeply attached and watchful would have 
 noticed. Thus, in speaking of His going to Golgotha, he inci- 
 dentally changes the expression of His being led, and says they 
 bear Him to the place of execution, iv. 36. Isaac Williams. 
 (Thoughts on the Study of the Gospels. S. 5.) 
 
 23 Some have ascribed this infusion of myrrh to the malice of 
 His enemies, and some to the pity and love of His friends. In 
 regard to the former opinion, ancient authorities are produced 
 to show that the Jews mingled myrrh with the wine at their 
 feasts, as strengthening and refreshing to the spirits ; and so 
 this myrrh, like the vinegar, would help to prolong our Lord's 
 sufferings by supporting nature under them. They, who sup- 
 pose it to have been proffered by His friends, advert to its 
 stupifying qualities, "the slumb'rous potion bland," mitigating 
 
414 S. MARK XV. 23, 25. 
 
 the sense of pain. Under either view, the practical question is 
 most deeply affecting and important. Do we by our daily 
 lives alleviate, or do we embitter, our Lord's agonies ? Do we 
 add to " the travail of His soul" by our sins ? Or, by our loving 
 obedience do we infuse into His Passion-cup the balm of con- 
 solation ? How shall " we answer Him for this," at the last 
 Day ? Prov. xxxi. 6 ; Heb. vi. 6 ; Job xxxi. 14. J. F. 
 
 This morning I have grounded my prayer, such as it is, on those 
 words in the Psalm, in their application to me ; They parted 
 My garments among them. GrOD enlightened my mind to see 
 in them this truth, that we wish for the things of Cheist ; 
 but not for Cheist Himself. If He has any thing, that 
 makes for our worldly interest and advantage, there are many 
 to rush forward to share it among themselves : but who will 
 have Him, as He hangs naked upon a cross ? Are you and I 
 so anxious in this sense to divide Him between us ? But why 
 
 . should I say divide Him, when it is in our power to have the 
 whole of Him equally to our share ? Oh, my God, how I 
 speak, and yet am myself unable to act ? It is true, I care 
 not for those garments of Cheist, which serve the body : I 
 rather deem it a small thing to renounce for His sake friends, 
 honours, pleasures, and all such things : but those garments^ 
 which serve the soul, which adorn, which enrich, which fortify 
 the soul — (he means spiritual consolations) — these I find it 
 hard to renounce. And yet, he, who would fix upon God 
 alone, must be prepared to do without these ; or, at least, 
 without the desire of them. Segneri. (Life by Massei. S. 56.) 
 
 25 The appointed soldiers dig the hole, in which the cross was to 
 be erected. The nails and the hammer are ready. The cross 
 is placed on the ground, and Jesus lies down upon the bed of 
 sorrows. They nail Him to it. They erect it. His nerves 
 crack. His blood distils. He hangs upon His wounds, naked, 
 a spectacle to heaven and earth. Isa. i. 2, 3. (Illust. S. Matt, 
 xxvii. 35. Abp. Usher.) Dr. Heylin. (Theol. Lect. p. 103.) 
 
 Such a kind of suffering did our Sayiotje choose to undergo, 
 declaring the excess of His love, (in being ready to endure the 
 saddest afllictions and smarts for us) ; signifying the heinous- 
 ness of our sins, (deserving so extreme punishment) ; exempli- 
 
S. MARK XV. 25. 415 
 
 fying the hardest duties of obedience and patience to us. . . . 
 " I have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious 
 people." (Isa. Ixv. 2.) G-od did so, of old, mediately and 
 figuratively; He did so, in our Sayioue, immediately and 
 properly by Himself The Cross was, as it were, His pulpit, 
 from which our Sayioijr did exhort to repentance, and preach 
 Divine grace, and offer remission of sins unto us with action 
 most affecting and pathetical. Dr. Barrow. (Exposition of 
 the Creed.) 
 
 Divine S. Augustine, in his Epistle, or rather Book, to Honoratus, 
 (Ep. 120,) gives us all the dimensions of the cross of Cheist. 
 The latitude he makes in the transverse ; this, he saith, per- 
 tains to good works ; because on this His hands were stretched. 
 The length was from the ground to the transverse: this is 
 attributed to His longanimity and persistance ; for on that 
 His Body was stayed and fixed. The height was in the head 
 of the cross above the transverse ; signifying the expectation 
 of supernal things. The depth of it was in that part, which 
 was pitched below within the earth, importing the profound- 
 ness of His grace, which is the ground of all His beneficence. 
 In all these we must have our part with Cheist. In the 
 transverse of His cross, by the ready extension of our hands to 
 all good works of piety, justice, charity ; in the arrectary, or 
 beam of His cross, by continuance and uninterrupted perse- 
 verance in good ; in the head of His cross, by a high elevated 
 hope and looking for of glory ; in the foot of His cross, by a 
 lively and firm faith, fastening our souls upon the affiance of 
 His free grace and mercy. And thus shall we be crucified 
 with Cheist, upon His own cross. Eph. iii. 18. Bp. Hall. 
 (Serm. on G-al. ii. 20.) 
 
 As the extension of the first hand brought death, so the exten- 
 sion of the second brought life. Gren. iii. 16 ; Horn. x. 21. 
 S. Jerome. 
 
 By dying in the air. He expiates the air from evil spirits, and 
 prepares for us an ascent to heaven. Eph. vi. 12 ; 1 Thess. iv. 
 17. S. Chrysostom. 
 
 That Lamb, when He bore man's sin upon the cross, suffered in 
 the east ; but whither did He look ? Whither did He point ? 
 
416 S. MARK XV. 25. 
 
 " His face was to the sea ;" and His fingers pointed north and 
 south : and the Blood of His Body, in which He bare our sins, 
 flowing every way, was an emblem of salvation, showing every 
 way ; His back behind, His face and feet before, His hands 
 on either side, shed forth a ransom for nations round about, 
 and washed away the sins of all quarters under heaven. So 
 saith S. Augustine, Passio Domini pretium est orbis ; the Passion 
 of the LoED is the ransom of the earth. S. John iii. 14, 15 ; 
 E,ev. vii. 9. Dr. Richard Gierke. (Serm. on S. John i. 29.) 
 O good and gracious JEsrs ! Being come to Mount Calvary 
 Thou wast again stripped naked, and Thy wounds were re- 
 newed by the violent pulling off Thy cloaths, which stuck to 
 them. What bitter pains didst Thou suffer, when Thou wert 
 fastened to the cross with hard and rough nails, and the joints 
 of Thy body were stretched, as on a rack ! Oh, with what love 
 and sweetness of charity didst Thou offer Thy hands and feet 
 to be bored through, that new fountains of Thy precious Blood 
 might issue forth. ... I most humbly thank Thee for those 
 Sacred Wounds, which Thou receivest for my sake. . . . Hide 
 me in them, and print them deeply in my heart ; that I may 
 continually carry with me the remembrance of my Saviour, 
 and every day increase in love towards Thee, and in com- 
 passion for Thy sufferings ! Manual of Prayers, (Printed in 
 the year 1714.) 
 
 Tu fidei. Crux, summa mesB es, tu sola labantis 
 Prsesidium, tu certa meis solatia fatis 
 Sufficis, una mesB requies placidissima mentis. 
 Tu, veteris medicina mali, tot crimina sospes 
 Abluis, et rigidae damnas suffragia Legis, 
 Et formidatas infemi Principis iras, 
 Cocytumque, Erebumque domas. O funus amicum ! 
 O lethum vitale piis ; O grata dolorum 
 Commoda, speratseque neces ; O apta medelae 
 Vulnera, quique ferent magni nova gaudia luctus, 
 Exhilaret qui corda dolor, miserosque relaxet 
 Poena reos ; in qua Superum dementia victrix, 
 Justitiaeque rigor coit, et sapientia Summi 
 Eegis adorandos aperit consulta recessus ! 
 
 C. BarlcBus. (Hymn, in Christum.) 
 
S. MARK XV. 26. 417 
 
 26 And the superscription of His accusation was 
 written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 
 
 27 And with Him they crucify two thieves ; the 
 one on His right hand, and the other on His left. 
 
 28 And the Scripture was fulfilled, which saith, 
 And He was numbered with the transgressors. 
 
 2G Thougli Herod did exercise E/oyal Jurisdiction over Judsea, 
 as well as over other neiglibouring provinces, yet was lie not 
 created King of Judasa : this was no part of his Eoyal title, 
 bestowed upon him by Antonius. The first solemn autho- 
 rized title of King of Judah from the captivity of King 
 Jeconiah and Zedekiah was that inscription, written upon our 
 Sayioue's cross ; written by Pilate's command so perempto- 
 rily, that the Jews could not get a change, or reversion of it, in 
 any of the three languages, wherein it was written — Jesus 
 Nazarenus Rex Judceorum. Pilate, I take it, did not in this 
 inscription intend the scoff or scorn of our Sayioue, or of the 
 Jewish nation ; but only the style or title of the crime, for 
 which our Sayiour was endited. He neither affirmed, nor 
 denied Him, to be the King of the Jews : but that, which the 
 world might conceive was written in jest or in scoif, " the Gron 
 of Israel" made good in earnest, by making this JEsrs, whom 
 Pilate and the Jews had crucified, " both Lord and Christ " 
 (Acts ii. 36 ; iv. 10) ; that is, a far greater King, than Csesar 
 himself, whom they acknowledge their only king. Dean Jack- 
 son. (On the Creed. B. vii. Ch. xxxii. S. 4.) 
 
 Such was the honourable nature of the title, saith Bucer, that in 
 the midst of death Christ began to triumph by it. The cross 
 began to change its own nature, and instead of an engine of 
 torture it became a throne of Majesty ; yea, it might be called 
 now, as the Church itself, " the pillar and ground of the 
 Truth ;" for it held out much of the glory of Christ, as that 
 pillar doth, to which a E-oyal Proclamation is fixed. S. John 
 i. 29 ; iii. 14 ; Col. ii. 14, 15. Flavel. 
 
 This triumphant superscription is written in His death, to shew 
 that, for all His sufiering death, He lost not His kingdom. S. 
 John xix. 22. Chr. Sutton. (Disce vivere. Ch. 28.) 
 
 E E 
 
418 S. MARK XV. 27, 28. 
 
 Ille tamen vero scrip sit Te nomine Eegem : 
 
 Majestas sed enim pompaque Regis ubi est ? 
 An crux infamis solium Tibi ? Purpura sanguis ? 
 
 An clavi manibus debita sceptra Tuis ? 
 Carnifices, populusque furens, geminique latrones 
 
 Sunt Tibi, quse stipet Eegia turba latus ? 
 Voxque salutantum, dirse ? Convitia, plausus ? 
 
 Omnia paupertas quse Tibi dempsit, opes ? 
 Nudus, et irrisus, fixusque in stipite pendes : 
 
 Majestas Regi convenit ilia Deo ? 
 Crede tamen, Solyme, Begum Bex Maximus Ille est, 
 
 Quem tibi venturum ssecula prisca canunt ! 
 Sit reus ; invidiae moriens sit victima vestrse ; . 
 
 Ille reus Judex vester et orbis erit. 
 
 Sidronius Hosschius. (Eleg. 10.) 
 
 27 In the midst of the robbers, tanquam immanissimus, as the 
 greatest monster amongst them. Luther. 
 
 28 Whatever right our Sayiour had to be treated, as an innocent 
 person, antecedently to His offering Himself, as a ransom, yet, 
 when He had offered Himself, as a substitute. He voluntarily 
 vraived and relinquished that right ; and therefore might be 
 treated, not according to the right, which He had foregone 
 and made a cession of, but according to the capacity, which 
 He had assumed. Heb. x. 7 ; Isa. liii. 10. J. Seed. (Serm. 
 on 1 S. Pet. iii. 18.) 
 
 Falsb de Judceis querimur. Why complain we of the Jews' 
 malice ? or Judas's treason ? or Pilate's injustice ? We, we 
 alone, are they, who crucified the Lord of Life. Our treachery 
 was the Judas, that betrayed Him ; our malice the Jew, which 
 accused Him ; our perjury the false witness against Him ; our 
 injustice the Pilate, that condemned Him. Our pride scorned 
 Him ; our envy grinned at Him ; our luxury spit upon Him ; 
 our covetousness sold Him ; our corrupt blood was drawn out 
 of His wounds ; our swellings were pricked with His thorns ; 
 our sores lanced with His spear ; and the whole body of sin 
 stretched out and crucified with the Lord of Life. Isa. liii. 
 4 — 6. Farindon. (Serm. on Bom. viii. 32.) 
 
 We, who profess the name of Christ, are easily warmed with a 
 
S. MARK XV. 28. 419 
 
 holy zeal against that rebellious people, who offered so many 
 and so great indignities to our Lord and Sayiour. We 
 cannot reflect on Christ's love to them without the deepest 
 wonder ; nor think on their enmity to Him without the keenest 
 resentment. There is none of us, who condemns not the 
 malice and obstinacy of the Jews ; none of us, who thinks not 
 those, who rejected their Saviour, unworthy of Salvation. 
 All the tears, which S. Peter on his repentance shed, will 
 scarcely excuse him to us for denying his Master ; and, as for 
 Judas, who betrayed his Lord, we without relenting condemn 
 him to the deepest abyss of torment. "We are persuaded, that, 
 had we been in the place of the Jews, had Christ come to us, 
 as He did to them, we should willingly have received Him. 
 What profound reverence would we have shown to His Holy 
 person ! With what cheerfulness would we have received 
 "the glad tidings of His Salvation!" Had we then lived, 
 Christ should have had no reason for that bitter complaint, 
 that " the foxes had holes and the birds of the air had nests, 
 but the Son of man had not where to lay His head !" Had 
 we been in their stead, we would have gladly received Him 
 into our houses, into our arms, yea, into our very hearts. 
 These are the fond imaginations, with which we flatter our- 
 selves, concerning our love to Christ : but, as we cannot 
 mock Him, so neither should we deceive ourselves. There are 
 surer ways of examining our love and regard to Him ; for 
 Christ doth come to us as truly and eflectually, though not 
 exactly in the same way and manner, as He did to the Jews : 
 and it will want but little reflection, provided we are serious 
 and sincere in our enquiry, to know how we have received 
 Him. S. Matt, xxiii. 30; S. Luke xviii. 11; Kom. ii. 21. 
 Bp. Smalridge. (Serm. on S. John i. 11.) 
 
 29 And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging 
 their heads, and saying, Ah, Thou that destroyest the 
 temple, and buildest it in three days, 
 
 30 Save Thyself, and come down from the cross. 
 
 31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said 
 
 E E 2 
 
420 S, MAEK XV. 29. 
 
 among themselves with the scribes. He saved others ; 
 Himself He cannot save. 
 
 32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now 
 from the cross, that we may see and believe. And 
 they that were crucified with Him reviled Him. 
 
 29 It is not good to live in jest, since we must die in earnest. 
 Eccl. xi. 9, 10 ; 1 S. Pet. iv. 4, 5. Br. Whichcote. (Cent. xii. 
 Aphor. 1186.) 
 
 Nowhere is Satan's work more evidently manifest, than in turn- 
 ing holy things to ridicule. Br. Arnold. (Life by Stanley. 
 eh. 3.) 
 
 Coram ccelo et terra rationem reddes ; et tu rides ? Tou will have 
 to render an account before an assembled universe ; and can 
 you laugh ? Eccl. xi. 9; Acts xvii. 32. iS. Jerome. 
 
 What fear, what horror, what agony will possess thee, O sinful 
 soul, when thou shalt be brought into a perfect apprehension of 
 thy Judge, and of thyself; and He shall begin to order out 
 before thee the things, which He hath done ; when the whole 
 Trinity shall begin to unfold its common work, and that Sacred 
 Person, "Blessed for ever," (E-om. ix. 5,) upon "whose 
 shoulders the judgment is laid," shall unfold to thee His pe- 
 culiar, and thou must render a severe account of thy returns ? 
 . . . When GrOD, the Son, shall display to thee what He hath 
 done and suffered for thee, and shall set before thine eyes the 
 great mystery of thy Redemption ; when He shall bring thee 
 to apprehend the price, that He has paid, that ransom, which 
 thou hast not regarded ; when it will not be in thy power to 
 
 ■ pass over these considerations, as now thou dost, but they shall 
 be forced into the essential centre of thy soul ; when thou 
 shalt have a clear sight of the abasement of a God Incarnate ; 
 when thou shalt know, how to be moved at the sight of a de- 
 spised and abused Grodhead ; when He shall charge thee with 
 the blueness of those stripes and the ghastliness of those 
 wounds, which thou hast made ; when He shall rehearse to 
 thee the miseries of His life and the circumstances of His 
 death; when He shall recount to thee the woundings of the 
 
S. MARK XV. 31, 32. 421 
 
 taunts and reproaches, the smart of the whip, the terror of 
 the agony, which made Him ''sweat great drops of blood," 
 the pricks of the thorns, the piercing of the nails, the lancing 
 of the spear, and the ineffable horror of the dereliction, when 
 He cried out in the bitterness of His soul, " My Gron, My 
 GrOD, why hast Thou forsaken Me ?" and when He shall call 
 fiercely upon thee to answer for the wounds, that thou hast 
 made, to render Him His Blood, that thou hast spilt, to ac- 
 count to Him for that life, which thou hast bereft, to show 
 Him the fruit of all His pains and sufferings, to present Him 
 thy returns for all those benefits and favours. Then tell me, 
 what thou wilt answer, O stupid soul ? How art thou pro- 
 vided to reply ? . . . What wilt thou plead, when thou art 
 called ? The time is coming ; thy judgment hastening ; thine 
 account is unavoidable ; thy Judge inexorable. Prov. i. 24 — 33. 
 Bp. Seth Ward. (A Sermon, preached before the House of 
 Peers, on Eccl. xi. 9.) 
 
 31 He saved others, ^c. — Oh, hidden fortitude ! that a man, 
 hanging on the cross, should suspend eternal death, which 
 oppressed mankind ! That a man, nailed to the cross should 
 overcome the world, and punish its wicked powers with ever- 
 
 ' lasting destruction. Oh, secret powers ! that a man, con- 
 demned with robbers, should save men condemned with devils ; 
 that a man, extended on a cross, should draw all things to 
 Himself! Oh, secret virtue! that one, expiring in agony, 
 should draw innumerable souls from hell ; that man should 
 undertake the death of the body, and destroy the death of 
 souls I 1 Cor. i. 18—29. S. Jnselm. 
 
 32 The most incredulous of His enemies desired Him only to 
 come down from the cross, and they would believe Him ; but 
 how much better reason had they to believe Him, when He 
 came not from the cross, but from the grave ; which was by so 
 much the surer hold, and from which before no mortal had 
 ever escaped? S. Luke xvii. 30, 31. Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 Christ was unwilling to descend from the cross, until He was 
 dead. And so, says S. Bernard, let us, who conform to our 
 Head, never cease, to exercise repentance, throughout this 
 whole time of our creation and redemption j let us not give 
 
422 Sv MAEK XV. 32, 33. 
 
 up bearing the cross ; let us persevere with it, as He endured, 
 until the Spirit shall call us hence, to "rest from our la- 
 bours." Let us turn a deaf ear to flesh and blood, to any 
 false spirit, inviting us to descend from the cross. Let us 
 cling to it ; let us die upon it ; let other hands take us down, 
 and not our own folly. Acts xx. 24 ; Gral. vi. 9 ; E-ev. ii. 10. 
 Haef terms. (Schola Cordis, 1. iii. s. 4.) 
 Blind wretches ! Is not His martyrdom a strong motive of cre- 
 dibility, as well as His miracles ? These, indeed, declared His 
 authority and mission ; but by that likewise He declared the 
 verity and certainty of His doctrine ; and by both we have 
 obtained an infallible assurance, GrOD setting His seal by the 
 miracles He wrought, and Christ setting His seal by the death 
 He suffered, to the undoubted truth of those doctrines, which 
 He taught : for, had they been false, neither would God, who 
 is truth itself, have testified for them, nor Chuist have died 
 for them ; since the one is contrary to the Divine goodness, 
 and the other to common and human prudence. S. John v. 
 36 ; xiv. 11 ; S. Luke xxiv. 26 ; Acts xvii. 3 ; xiii. 40, 41. Bp, 
 Hopkins. (Serm. on Gal. iii. 13.) 
 
 33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was 
 darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 
 
 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud 
 voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ? which is, 
 being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou 
 forsaken Me ? 
 
 35 And some of them that stood by, when they 
 heard it, said, Behold, He calleth Elias. 
 
 36 And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, 
 and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, 
 Let alone ; let us see whether Elias will come to take 
 Him down. 
 
 33 We observe the sixth hour, not only for that we find holy men 
 before us to have done the like — both in the Old Testament, 
 
S. MAEK XV. 33. 423 
 
 as Daniel in his chamber ; and in the New, as Peter upon his 
 house — but also for that our Loed Jestjs Cheist was at this 
 hour exalted upon the cross, like the serpent in the wilderness, 
 that whosoever turneth to Him might be healed. S. Cyprian. 
 (De Orat. Dom.) 
 
 Let your prayers be made at " the third hour ;" for then it was 
 that Pilate gave sentence upon our Loed and Sayioue to 
 have Him crucified. . . . Let your prayers be made also at 
 the sixth hour ; for at that time He was crucified. . . . We 
 observe also "the ninth hour" of prayer; for at that time the 
 sun was darkened and the earth shaken with horror, as being 
 not able to suffer, or look upon, those bitter cruelties of the 
 Jews, wherewith the God of heaven and earth w^as despised. 
 Acts iii. 1 ; X. 3, 9, 31 ; Ps. iv. 17 ; Iv. 18. Apostolical Consti- 
 tutions. (Lib. viii. c. 34.) 
 
 "What the infinite sins of almost infinite men, committed against 
 an infinite Majesty, deserved in infinite continuance, that did 
 our Loed in the short time of His Passion sustain. Tsa. liii. 6. 
 Bp. Hall. (The Passion Sermon.) 
 
 The heavens knew Him, and forthwith sent forth a star and a 
 company of Angels to sing His birth ; the sea knew Him, and 
 made itself a way to be trodden by His feet ; the earth knew 
 Him, and trembled at His dying ; the sun knew Him, and hid 
 the rays of its light ; the rocks and walls knew Him, for they 
 were rent in twain at the time of His death ; hell knew Him, 
 and gave up the dead, it had received : but, though the sense- 
 less elements perceived Him to be their Loed, the hearts of 
 the unbelieving Jews knew Him not to be their God, and 
 more hard than the rocks themselves were not rent by repent- 
 ance. Josh. xxiv. 26, 27; S. Luke xix. 40; 2 S. Pet. ii. 16. 
 S, Gregory. 
 
 Supposing the Apostles had asserted without any foundation 
 that at the death of our SAViorE, when the moon was at the 
 full, and consequently there could be no natural eclipse, yet 
 there was a supernatural one, and a darkness of three hours' 
 continuance. . . . Could they have made one man believe he 
 saw, what he never did ? . . . Their story would have been an 
 empty bubble, which must have sunk and vanished, almost as 
 
424 S. MARK XV. 33, 34. 
 
 soon, as it rose. That single fact of the miraculous eclipse, if 
 false, must have proved a millstone about the neck of it and 
 sunk it irretrievably. . . . They could not have imposed upon 
 the age, in which they lived. Deut. iv. 8, 34 ; Josh. iv. 20 — 
 24 ; Acts iv. 20 ; 2 S. Pet. i. 17. Jer. Seed. (Serm. on S. 
 John iii. 2.) 
 Speak Thou, sweet Loed, aloud, and thunder in the ears of my 
 heart : break through my deafness, that I may hear Thy voice, 
 and fear Thy power, that I may repent me of my sins, and con- 
 fess Thy infinite mercies. O glorious Jesu, if such prodigious 
 signs attended Thy death, when Thou camest to save us, what 
 shall we expect at that dreadful Day, when Thou comest to 
 Judge us ? Let not my soul be duller than the earth, that 
 trembled ; nor harder than the rocks, that were rent asunder : 
 let not my soul be sleepier than the dead, that rose from their 
 graves ; nor more senseless than all Thy creatures : and then, 
 by being duly affected with Thy terrors now, I shall prevent 
 those insupportable ones hereafter. 1 Sam. iii. 10 ; S. John 
 V. 25; Eph. ii. 1—5. Austin. (Med. 295.) 
 Interea horrendse subit6 venere latebrae, 
 Et totum tenuere polum, maestisque nigrantem 
 Exequiis texere diem ; sol nube coruscos 
 Abscondens radios, tetro velatus amictu 
 Delituit, tristemque infecit luctibus orbem. 
 Hunc elementa sibi meruerunt cernere vultum, 
 Auxiliis orbata Patris, Isetata per ortum, 
 Msesta per occasum. Nam lux ut tempore fulsit 
 ISTascentis Domini, sic. Hoc moriente, recessit : 
 Non absens mansura diu, sed mystica signans 
 Per spatium secreta suum ; quippe ut tribus horis 
 Caeca tenebrosi latuerunt sidera coeli, 
 Sic Dominus clausi triduo tulit antra sepulchri. 
 
 Sedulius. (Carm. Lib. v.) 
 84 The doubling of the voice showeth His double nature. His 
 Deity spake not this, which was impossible (impassible?). 
 Like as the sun, shining upon the wood ; the axe cutteth the 
 wood, but the sun remaineth inviolable. His Humanity spake 
 this, which suffered and spake at this time, as human nature 
 
S. MAEK XV. 34. 425 
 
 is wont to speak — to show how truly He bare upon Him man's 
 infirmity (sin only excepted), which thinks itself forsaken in 
 times of grief Acts ii. 24 ; S. John v. 21 ; vi. 57. Chr. Sutton. 
 (Disce vivere. c. 28.) 
 
 The Passion of Christ Jesus is rather an amazement, an asto- 
 nishment, an ecstasy, a consternation, than an instruction. . . . 
 That question will never receive answer, which Cheist asks, 
 "Is there any sorrow, like unto My sorrow?" IN'ever was 
 there, never will there be any sorrow, like unto His sorrow ; 
 because there can never be such a person to suffer sorrow. . . 
 The height of Gon's anger is dereliction ; and He was brought 
 to His " Quid dereliquisti?'^ . . . And thus the cause of this 
 anger, sin, was so upon Him, as that, though in one considera- 
 tion the rain was upon all the world, and only this fleece of 
 Gideon dry — all the world surrounded with sin, and He only 
 innocent — yet in another line we find all the world dry, and 
 only Gideon's fleece wet ; all the world innocent, and Cheist 
 
 ■ only guilty. . . . The Apostle carries it to a very high expres- 
 sion ; " God made Him to be sin for our sakes." (2 Cor. v. 
 21.) Not only sinful, but sin itself. . . . He gathered the 
 whole nature of sin into one Cheist, that by one action, one 
 passion, sin, all sin, the whole nature of sin might be overcome. 
 It was sin, that was upon Cheist ; else God could not have 
 been angry with Him, nor pleased with us. Lam. i. 12, 13 ; 
 Isa. liii. 4 ; S. John i. 29. Br. Bonne. (Serm. Ps. xxxviii. 4.) 
 
 Great truly was that cry, heard even in hell. Ps. xxix. 4 — 8. 
 Card. Bonaventura. (Life of Cheist. c. 62.) 
 
 37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up 
 the ghost. 
 
 38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain 
 from the top to the bottom. 
 
 39 And when the centurion, which stood over 
 against Him, saw that He so cried out, and gave up 
 the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of 
 God. 
 
426 S. MARK XV. 37, 38. 
 
 37 Cried with a loud voice, and gave up the Ghost. — The things, 
 wonderfully observable in the death of our SAYiom, are many ; 
 first, that it was a voluntary delivering up of His Spirit : this 
 is that, He said. And truly this voluntary delivering up of 
 His soul was well nigh as great an evidence of His Divinity, as 
 His resuming it again. Eccl. viii. 8 ; S. John x. 18 ; Gal. ii. 
 20; Tit. ii. 14. Sir M, Hale. (Of the knowledge of Cheist 
 crucified.) 
 
 Quod emittitur voluntarium est ; quod amittitur necessarium. What 
 we give up is a voluntary act ; what is taken from us is com- 
 pulsory. Lev. i. 3 ; Gral. i. 4 ; IS. John iii. 16. S. Ambrose. 
 
 Whatsoever is predicated either of the soul or body of a man is 
 attributed to the whole person, though some functions are 
 peculiar to the soul, and others to the body ; so, whatsoever is 
 predicated of one nature in Christ, though some functions 
 are peculiar to the human and others to the Divine nature, are 
 attributed to the whole person of Christ. Thus, for instance, 
 it is the peculiar function of the soul of man to think, to reason, 
 and to meditate ; and we cannot attribute these faculties to 
 the body of a man ; for to say, that the soul of a man eats, 
 drinks, walks, is improper : and yet, when we speak of the 
 whole man, we may properly say such a person thinks, reasons, 
 meditates ; or, that such a person eats, drinks, walks, or may 
 be seen or felt. Thus what is peculiar either to the soul or 
 body is attributed to the whole man, by reason of the personal 
 union of those two different natures, the soul and body ; and 
 yet, each have their distinct properties, and what is peculiar to 
 one nature cannot properly and strictly be predicated of the 
 other. And, in this manner, we profess to believe the Personal 
 Union of the Divine and human nature in Christ. (See 
 Hlustr. S. John iii. 13; Acts xx. 28.) Br. Th. Brett. (A re- 
 view of the Lutheran principles, &c.) 
 
 38 This adds to the greatness of His torment, that He had His 
 full and perfect sense ; that He was six full hours thus on the 
 rack, and the extremity of pain took not away His sense. He 
 was as strong at the last, as at the first. . . . Mark, when He 
 comes to deliver up his life and to give up the ghost, " the 
 veil of the Temple rent in twain ;" and that was the ninth hour, 
 
S. MARK XV. 38, 39. 427 
 
 "the hour of prayer." (Acts iii. 1.) It was three o'clock in 
 the afternoon. Hence it is said, " Let the lifting up of my 
 .hands be, as the evening sacrifice." The Priest was killing 
 the Lamb at that time ; there was a veil, that severed the Holy 
 of Holies ; it was between the place of oblations and the Holy 
 of Holies, which signifies the kingdom of heaven. As soon as 
 Christ died, the veil rent, and Heaven was open : the Priest 
 saw that, which was before hidden. Heb. ix. 1 — 13 ; 2 Tim. i. 
 10. Abp. Usher. (Serm. on Phil. ii. 8.) 
 
 Hereby, in this act. He becomes the sacrificing Priest and also 
 the Sacrifice itself, in one person. Ipse offerens^ Ipse et ohlatio. 
 Heb. i. 3 ; ix. 26. S. Augustine. 
 
 39 So cried out. — This may refer, either to the words themselves 
 spoken by our dying Lord, or to the "loud voice," with which 
 He uttered them : for both attested His Divinity ; both attested 
 His innocency, in regard to that charge of blasphemy, for which 
 He was condemned in the Jewish court. His addressing Gron 
 twice on the Cross, as His Father (S. Luke xxiii. 34), shewed 
 that He maintained to the last the justice of His claim to be 
 " the Soisr of God ;" — and then the full-toned loudness of voice, 
 with which He cried out, gave evidence of His being the Lord 
 of Life, having " life in Himself," having " power to lay it 
 down ;" of His being, in other words, " the Son of God." S. 
 John vi. 69 ; Acts ix. 20. J. F. 
 
 This man — Son of God. — He united man to God; for if man 
 had not overcome the adversary of men, the enemy could not, 
 according to the plan of God's justice, have been effectually 
 overcome. And, again, if God had not granted salvation, we 
 should not have been put into firm possession of it ; and, if man 
 had not been united to God, he could not have been a partaker 
 of immortality. It behoved then the Mediator between God 
 and man, by His affinity to both, to bring both into agreement 
 with each other. (Eefer to S. Matt, xxvii. 54. Bp» Beveridge.) 
 S. IrencBus, (De Haer. L. iii. c. 20.) 
 
 "Whoever would come to Christ in purpose must come in the 
 right style, apprehending a true God and a true man : either 
 of these, severed from the other, makes Christ an idol, and our 
 prayers a sin. Bp. Hall. 
 
428 S. MAEK XV. 39, 40. 
 
 This man. — I see that the man, whom we seek, as qualified to be 
 our Mediator, must be of this description ; He must not die of 
 necessity, because He must be omnipotent ; nor of debt, be- 
 cause He must not be a sinner ; and yet He must die volun- 
 tarily, because it was necessary, that He should do so, as Me- 
 diator. ... As it is necessary that man should satisfy for the 
 sin of man, therefore none could make satisfaction, but He, who 
 was properly man, Adam himself, or one of his race : that Adam 
 himself could satisfy, was impossible, xv. 39. S. Ansehn. 
 (Medit. Cur Deus homo, L. ii. c. 11.) 
 
 40 There were also women looking on afar off: 
 among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the 
 mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome ; 
 
 41 (Who also, when He was in Galilee, followed 
 Him, and ministered unto Him ;) and many other 
 women which came up with Him unto Jerusalem. 
 
 40 Looking on. — Inspice vulnera pendentis, sanguinem morientis, 
 pretium redimentis, cicatrices resurgentis. Gaze on His wounds, 
 as He hangs ; on His Blood, as He dies : see the price offered by 
 the Eedeemer, and the scars of His resurrection. Caput Tiahet 
 inclinatum ad osculandum^ cor apertum ad diligendum, brachia 
 extensa ad amplexandum, totum corpus expositum ad redimendum. 
 He bows His head, as if to kiss you ; His heart is bared open, 
 as it were, in love to you ; His arms are extended, that He may 
 embrace you ; His whole Body is displayed for your redemp- 
 tion. HceCi quanta sint, cogitate; hoc in staterd vestri cordis 
 appendite ; ut totus vohis figatur in corde, qui pro vobis totus 
 fixus est in Cruce. Think, how great these things are ; let all 
 this be well weighed in your mind ; that, as He was once fixed 
 to the cross in every part of His body for you, so He may now 
 be fixed in every part of your soul. Gral. ii. 20 ; vi. 17 ; Phil, 
 iii. 10. S. Augustine. (Tract, de Virgin.) 
 
 We may well look into Him. Cancellis plenum est corpus. His 
 body is full of stripes ; and they are, as lattices. Patent viscera 
 per vulnera. His wounds, they are, as windows, through which 
 
S. IUlRK XV. 40. 429 
 
 we may well see all, that is within Him. Clavus penetrans 
 /actus est mihi clavis reseranSy saith S. Bernard. The nails and 
 spear-head serve, as keys, to let us in. We may look into " the 
 palms of His hands," wherein, saith the prophet, " He hath 
 graven us," (Isa. xlix. 16,) that He might never forget us. 
 We may look into His side (S. John used the word) opened. 
 Vigilanti verbo, saith S. Augustine, a word well chosen, upon 
 good advice ; we may through that opening look into His very 
 bowels, the bowels of kindness and compassion, that would en- 
 dure to be so treated ; yea, that very heart of His, wherein we 
 may behold the love of our salvation to be the very heart's joy 
 of our Saviour. Zech. xiii. 1 ; S. John xi. 36 ; xix. 34; ; S. 
 Luke XV. 6. Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. on Heb. xii. 2.) 
 
 The best defensative against sin at any time is the remembrance 
 of Christ's sufferings. Not only at the Sacrament, but, where- 
 ever we are, this remembrance is an excellent shield in the day 
 of battle. Art thou walking, art thou standing, art thou 
 sitting, art thou going out, or coming in? Set a bleeding 
 Saviour before thee: when " sinners entice thee," think of thy 
 Saviour's wounds : when thou art tempted to over-reach, or 
 defraud, thy neighbour in any matter, think of the bitter cup, 
 thy Master drank off: when any lust, any vain desire rises in 
 thy mind, think of thy dear Redeemer's groans : when thy flesh 
 grows weary of a duty, remember, who suffered on the cross : 
 when thou art tempted to be indifferent in religion and faint 
 in thy mind, look upon Him, who made His soul an offering 
 for sin, for thy sin : when thou art loth to overcome, think of 
 Him, who " by His death overcame him, that had the power 
 of death :" when impatient thoughts assault thy mind, think of 
 "the Lamb, that before His shearers was dumb;" and, sure, 
 under this sad scene, thou wilt not dare to sin. 1 S. Pet. iv. 
 1, 2 ; Heb. xii. 1 — 4. Br, Horneck. (The Crucified Jesus, 
 c. 12.) 
 
 Every instrument, every material, used for the crucifixion of 
 Christ, teaches us a lesson. The thirty silverlings are em- 
 blems of the mean price, for which the sinner casts away his 
 prospects of eternal life. The lantern, with which Judas led 
 the bands to Christ, is emblematical of the false light, spread 
 
430 S. MAEK XV. 40. 
 
 by modern civilization. The bonds, with which Cheist was 
 bound, are emblems of the bonds of love, with which He loved 
 us, in opposition to the bonds of sin, which enslave us. The 
 scourges are emblems of eternal chastening ; the purple robe, 
 of the punishment of blood-guiltiness ; the crown of thorns, 
 of the difficulty, with which one obtains a crown of glory; the 
 sceptre of reeds, of the vacillation of the will ; gall and myrrh, 
 of bitterness of heart. The basin, in which Pilate washed his 
 hands, is an emblem of hypocrisy, of self-righteousness, by 
 which the inquietude of conscience seeks pretext and excuse. 
 The casting of lots is an emblem of man's folly, in exposing 
 eternal salvation to risk and uncertainty. The superscription 
 on the cross and with the cross shows Him, against whom the 
 heart of man is rebellious, and how far the enmity of man 
 against GrOD can be carried. Nierses, Abp. of Tiflis. (See 
 Dr. Wolff's mission to Bokhara, c. xxvii.) 
 Mortales, si vestra dolor praecordia tangit, 
 Adspicite, et plenos lachrymarum fundite rivos. 
 Heu ! scelus, heu crudele nefas ! jacet altus Olympi 
 Hector ; et amisso torpent elementa Magistro. 
 Quin etiam vacuum adsueto sine pondere cojlum 
 Nutat, et ipsa suum quserunt solia aurea Eegem .... 
 
 Heu ! caput indignum spinis, venerandaque coelo 
 Et toties clara stellarum implexa corona 
 Caesaries ; heu ! pectus hians, convulsaque dira 
 Barba manu, tunsique artus, et frigida membra. 
 Yosne, pedes, coelum premere et vaga sidera sueti, 
 Fulgentesque domos Superum, sublimia tecta, 
 Tam ssevsG immanes perpessi cuspidis ictus, 
 Et terram et duras sparsisti sanguine cautes ? 
 Nee trepidat mens cseca hominum ? Quae tanta tenaci 
 Durities in corde riget ? Num nigra videtis 
 Tartara, tot claris hominum viduata trophaeis, 
 Desertasque in nocte domos, et tristia regna ; 
 Eelicesque animas laetum Pseana canentes 
 Pone sequi Eegem, et coelo insedisse sereno ? 
 
 Sannazarius. (De Morte Christi Domini.) 
 
S. MARK .XV. 40. 431 
 
 Hinc ut recedam, non trucis ferri minaB, 
 
 Non nudus ensium tinior, 
 Unquam revellent a Tua, Jestj, Cruce 
 
 Hoc multa fleturum caput. 
 Me Teque tellus inter et coelum ruat, 
 
 Yersique tempestas maris, 
 Mixtusque flainmis nimbus, et ter igneis 
 
 Caducus aer imbribus ; 
 Jacebo fixum pondus, et certum mori, 
 
 Suique non usquam ferens ; 
 Tuosque clavos, et Tuas amantibus 
 
 Ligabo plantas bracbiis. 
 At Tu sereno, nam potes, vultu Tuum 
 
 Tuere, Jesf, supplicem ; 
 Et hoc, Patri quern reddis, baud evanido 
 
 Me stringe paulliim spiritu. 
 
 Math. Casim. Sa?'bievius. (Lyric. Lib. Epod. 5.) 
 
 42 And now when the even was come, because it 
 was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sab- 
 bath, 
 
 43 Joseph of Arimathsea, an honourable counsellor, 
 which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and 
 went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of 
 Jesus. 
 
 44 And Pilate marvelled if He were already dead : 
 and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whe- 
 ther He had been any while dead. 
 
 45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave 
 the body to Joseph. 
 
 46 And he bought fine linen, and took Him down, 
 and wrapped Him in the linen, and laid Him in a 
 sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a 
 stone unto the door of the sepulchre. 
 
43^ S. MAEK XV. 42—44. 
 
 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of 
 Joses beheld where He was laid. 
 
 42 The Preparation. — "What is proper, fit, or necessary to be done, 
 in order to the sanctification of this Day, I will set down parti- 
 cularly ; for generals seldom produce any great efiect, because 
 every man is apt to construe them, according to his own mind 
 and liking. I would not have you meddle with any recreations, 
 pastimes, or ordinary work of your calling, from Saturday night, 
 at eight of the clock, until Monday morning. For, though I 
 am not apt to think that Saturday night is part of the Christian 
 Sabbath, yet it is fit then to prepare the heart for it. Ex. xix. 
 10, 11 ; Numb. xi. 18 ; Josh. iii. 5. Sir M. Hale. (Directions, 
 touching the Keeping of the Loed's Day, to his children.) 
 
 43 GrOD sees fit to do honour sometimes to the places, that have 
 produced, or belong to, good men. So Magdala and Arima- 
 
 thsea are rendered famous to all ages Oh, the love of 
 
 God to His dear children ! He loves every thing, that be- 
 longs to them, and embalms the very memory of the just. 
 Have patience then, my soul; be contented to wait for 
 honour, till after this body is dead. Be thou patient also, O 
 my body, to bear indignity and want, until thou art become 
 insensible of both .... As it is said, Joseph " waited for the 
 kingdom of God," no doubt but he understood that the Mes- 
 siah was to die for the sins of the world ; that He was also to 
 be buried in the manner, foretold by Isaiah ; (liii. 9 ;) and 
 that this Jesus was the Cheist. This faith and these reasons 
 solve the reason of his whole conduct. S. Luke ii. 25 — 28. 
 Wogan. (Lessons. Easter Even.) 
 
 Honourable, as a Counsellor ; how much more, as a Christian, who 
 thus gave his honour unto the Loed, in " a day of rebuke and 
 blasphemy," (2 Kings xix. 1 — 3,) is he worthy to be had in 
 everlasting remembrance. 1 Sam. ii. 30. J. F. 
 
 44 Pilate marvelled. — There never was such a death, as this, before ; 
 a death, that had so much curse in it to the sufierer, so much 
 comfort in it to the believer, and so much wonder in it to the 
 beholders. Actsxiii. 41. Hun-ion. (Serm. on the Knowledge 
 of Cheist Crucified. Serm. 7.) 
 
S. MARK XV. 44, 46. 433 
 
 Head already . — Sanh crux non eripuit vitam Jesti. Iii truth, it was 
 
 not the cross, that deprived Jesus of His life. Bengel. 
 It is delightful to trace, in minor instances, the exceeding love to 
 mankind of our Lord and Savioue, Jesus Christ, and to 
 mark how such instances confirm and illustrate the more full 
 and evident assurances of His mercy, recorded in Scripture. 
 Here we see what speed He made to die, how His longing zeal 
 for the accomplishment of our salvation suffered Him not to 
 w^ait for the natural period of the extinction of life. (S. John 
 xix. 33.) He was dead already ; and Pilate marvelled. We 
 marvel too ; but at the greatness of His redeeming love. "We 
 remember His words, " I have a Baptism to be baptized with, 
 and how am I straitened — (checked and thwarted in the fondest 
 wish of My soul) — until it be accomplished?" We remember 
 how He said to Judas, " Wliat thou doest, do quickly;" and, 
 soon after, how He twice presented Himself to His murderers, 
 (S. John xviii. 1 — 8) and how He spake on the cross, " I thirst." 
 We consider, moreover, that, as He anticipated the hour of His 
 death, so did He pre-vent the hour of His resurrection, remain- 
 ing in the grave, only so long, as prophecy required ; the shortest 
 possible time ; in order that He might outstrip the wings of the 
 morning, as the harbinger of our completed redemption. It 
 has been well said, and not irreverently, of our Blessed Lord, 
 that " man's Salvation was His ruling passion." Shall we not, 
 in return, " early seek Him ?" Shall we not be zealous in pro- 
 moting His Grlory, as He was in "making speed" to finish our 
 Salvation ? Judg. xvi. 15 ; S. John iv. 34 ; 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. 
 J.F. 
 
 46 Tlhejine linen cloth, which is stretched over the Holy Grifts 
 [what remaineth of the Consecrated Elements in the Supper of 
 the Lord, after administration], represents the good office of 
 Joseph of ArimathsDa. Isidore Pelusiota. 
 
 Rolled a stone, ^"c. — He, who has well interred {bene huinaverit) 
 Christ in his heart, takes good care, not to lose Him. S. 
 Ambrose. 
 
 The Sayiour is placed in the sepulchre of another, because He 
 died for the salvation of others. Por what could He have to do 
 with a sepulchre, to whom death did not properly belong 
 
 r F 
 
434 S. MAEK XV. 46. 
 
 What has He to do with a tomb upon earth, whose seat was in 
 heaven ? "What had He to do with a sepulchre, who was only 
 in the grave three days, not so much like one, lying in death, as 
 like one, resting in a bed ? Isa. liii. 9. S. Augustine. 
 The vain-glory of the rich, who even in their graves cannot do 
 without their riches, receives its condemnation from the simple 
 and unassuming interment of the Lord. Hence indeed the 
 custom of the Church was derived, that the sacrifice of the 
 altar should not be commemorated by wrapping the elements 
 in silk, or any coloured cloth, but in linen; as the Body 
 of the LoED was buried in clean fine linen. Kev. xv. 6. 
 Bede. 
 Laid Him in a sepulchre, 8^c. — Dwell, Loed, in the midst of 
 my heart, the object of Thy eternal love ; there recline, there 
 repose, until the day of Thy Eesurrection dawn. Tet, lest 
 thieves steal away my treasure, shut, as with a great stone, the 
 door of my heart, and close up my senses against plunder and 
 violence. Place also there Thy holy Angels, as keepers, ever 
 on the watch, such, as will drive far away every insidious foe, 
 and preserve Thy sepulchre in peace. Cant. iv. 12 ; Eom. 
 vi. 4; 1 S. Pet. i. 3 — 5. Haeftenus. (Schola Cordis. L. iv. 
 s. 16.) 
 
 Jam moesta quiesce querela : 
 
 Lacrymas suspendite, matres : 
 
 Nullus sua pignora plangat : 
 
 Mors hsec reparatio vitse est. 
 
 Quidnam tibi saxa cavata. 
 
 Quid pulchra volunt monumenta, 
 
 Bes quod nisi creditur illis, 
 
 Non raortua, sed data somno ? 
 
 Brev. Roman. (In exeq. defunctorum.) 
 
S. MARK XVI. 1. 435 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A ND when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, 
 and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, 
 had bought sweet spices, that they might come and 
 anoint Him. 
 
 2 And very early in the morning the first day of 
 the week, they came unto the sepulchre, at the rising 
 of the sun. 
 
 3 And they said among themselves. Who shall roll 
 us the stone from the door of the sepulchre ? 
 
 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone 
 was rolled away : for it was very great. 
 
 1 The Sabbath was jiast.—Aitev that Cheist by resting in His 
 grave had fulfilled the type of the Jewish Sabbath day, its 
 observance ceased. G-al. v. 1 ; Col. ii. 16. Isidore of Seville. 
 (Orig. L. vi. c. 18.) 
 
 When we Christians assemble, or come to Church, on the Sab- 
 bath day, we do not thus, because we are any way infected 
 with Judaism (ov voaovvje^ 'lovtiaiafiou) but to honour the Loed 
 Jesus, who is "the Lord of the Sabbath." In the old time 
 of the Jews the Sabbath w^as highly esteemed ; but now under 
 
 the Gospel (^eTe^/y/ce*/ o Kvpco^ eh Ttjv K^vpiaicrjv) the LORD hath 
 
 changed, or translated it, into the Lord's Day. Eor the old 
 Sabbath appertained to the pedagogie and rudiments of the 
 Law ; and therefore, when the great Master came and fulfilled 
 all, that was prefigured by it, it then ceased ; even as a candle 
 is put forth at the rising and appearing of the sun. S. John 
 XX. 26; Heb. viii. 13 ; Eev. i. 10. S. Athanasius. (Hom. de 
 Sement.) 
 Among all the ten precepts of the Law, that only, which is 
 enjoined concerning the Sabbath, is to be kept in a figu- 
 
 F F 2 
 
436 S. MARK XVI. 1, 2. 
 
 rative sense. Heb. iv. 3 — 9. *S. Augustine. (De Util. Cred. 
 c. iii.) 
 
 We are going to spend a Sabbath in Eternity. The Christian 
 will acquire as much of the Sabbath spirit (Eev. i. 10,) as he 
 can. And, in proportion to a man's real piety in every age of 
 the Church, he will be found to have been a reverent observer 
 of the Sabbath Day. Cecil, (Remains. On the Christian 
 Sabbath.) 
 
 We may know by our affection to the Sabbath, whether Eternity 
 will be forced upon us. Adam. (Private Thoughts. Ch. 9.) 
 
 The order here is not misplaced, but mystical ; nor do the Apos- 
 tles yield the precedence to the women, but they are reserved 
 for things greater. The women do honour to Cheist, the Apos- 
 tles suffer for Him ; the former bring spices, these scourges ; 
 they enter the tomb, these the dungeon. The women hasten 
 to express their homage, these to embrace chains for His sake ; 
 they pour the oil, the others shed their blood ; they are as- 
 tounded at the abode of death, the others willingly endure 
 deaths manifold ; and why more words ? The women tarry at 
 home ; the Apostles march to the front of the battle array. 
 1 Cor. iv. 9—13. Pet. Chrysologus. (Serm. 79.) 
 
 Anoint Him. — Christ did not will, that this ointment should be 
 used for His dead Body, which in truth He reserved for His 
 living Body. He has indeed two Bodies ; one, received from 
 the Virgin ; the other, as identified with His Church, dearer in 
 the esteem of Him, who redeemed it. In short, He delivered 
 unto death one Body for the sake of the other. Eph. i. 22 ; 
 V. 25—30. ^. Bernard. (Serm. de B. Magdal.) 
 
 2 Very early. — This sedulity admitted no intermission, no inter- 
 ruption, no discontinuance, no tepidity, no indifferency in re- 
 ligious offices. . . . From Eriday evening till Sunday morning 
 they were sedulous, busy upon this service ; so sedulous, as 
 that Athanasius thinks these women came four several times 
 to the sepulchre, and that the four Evangelists have relation 
 to their four comings ; and S. Jerome argues upon this seeming 
 variety in the Evangelists thus ; non mendacii signum,, sed sedulce 
 visitationis officium, this variety argues no uncertainty in the 
 Evangelists, but testifies the sedulity of those women, they 
 
S. MAEK XVI. 2, 3. 437 
 
 speak of; dum crebrb abeunt et reeurrunty says he, whilst they 
 make many accesses and returns; nee patiuntur h sepulchro 
 diu^ aut longius abesse, and they cannot endure to be far dis- 
 tant, or long absent from their devout exercise. Beloved, true 
 devotion is a serious, a sedulous, an impatient thing. He that 
 said in the Grospel, " I fast twice a week," was but a Pharisee : 
 he, that can reckon his devout actions, is no better : he, that 
 can tell how often he hath thought upon GrOD to-day, hath 
 not thought upon Him often enough. . . . Howsoever the 
 Evangelists may seem to vary in the point of time, when these 
 women came, they all agree " they came early ;" which is an- 
 other exaltation of devotion. Cant. i. 7 ; Ps. Ixiii. 1 — 9. Dr. 
 Donne. (Serm. on S. Matt, xxviii. 6.) 
 
 Love is a passion, imprinted in us, saith Gregory Nyssen, eV 
 (h/aOic, to this good end, to be levelled and fixed on the work 
 of our salvation, where, when it is once fastened, it is restless 
 and unquiet. It will into the wilderness, though it meet with 
 the devil. ... It will do anything for those, whom it looks and 
 stays upon. Gen. xxix. 20; Judg. xvi. 15 ; S. John xxi. 15 — 
 17. Farindon. (Serm. S. Matt. iv. 1.) 
 
 Besides the hours, which were anciently used, the times of 
 prayer and the mysteries of religion are now much increased. 
 We are up betimes in the morning, that by our daily devotions 
 the memory of our Lord's Eesurrection may be preserved and 
 celebrated among us. S. Cyprian. (De Orat. Dom. in fine.) 
 
 Lucis largitor splendide, 
 Cujus sereno lumine. 
 Post lapsa noctis tempera. 
 Dies refusus panditur ; 
 Tu verus mundi Lucifer ; 
 Non is, qui parvi sideris 
 Yenturse lucis nuntius 
 
 Angusto fulget lumine. 
 Sed toto sole clarior, 
 Interna nostri pectoris 
 lUuminans praecordia, 
 Adeste, rerum Conditor, 
 PaternsB lucis gloria ! 
 S. Hilarius. (Hymn. Matut.) 
 
 3 No stone so heavy, as to stay them, or turn them back. And 
 this is S. John's sign ; love, if it be perfect, " casteth out fear," 
 et erubescit nomen difficultatis, shames to confess auythino* too 
 hard for it. . . . (Prov. xxvi. 13.) Ye may be bold to say, 
 dilexerunt tnultum, their love was great. . . . Tell them the 
 
438 S. MARK XVI. 3, 4. 
 
 party is dead : they go to, it skills not ; their love is not 
 dead ; that will go on. Tell them He is embalmed already ; 
 they may save their cost : it is not enough for them, except 
 they do it too ; they will do it, nevertheless, for all that. Tell 
 them, they may take time then, and do it ; nay, unless it he 
 done the first day, hour, and minute, it contents them not. 
 Tell them there is a stone, more than they can remember, and 
 more than they can remove : no matter, they will try their 
 strength, and lift at it, though they take their foil. Of these, 
 thus qualified, we may truly say ; they, that are at all this cost, 
 labour, pains, to anoint Him dead, show plainly, if it lay in 
 them to raise Him again, they would not fail, but do it ; conse- 
 quently, would be glad to hear, He were risen ; and so, are fit 
 hearers of this Grospel, hearers well disposed, and every way 
 meet, to receive this messenger and this message, ii. 3, 4 ; 
 Gen. xxxii. 3 ; 1 Thess. i. 3. Bp. Atidreives. (Serm. on S. Mark 
 xvi. 1—7.) 
 
 Who shall roll us aivay, 8fc. — Erom the door of the sepulchre, or of 
 your own hearts ? From the tomb, or from your own eyes ? 
 Te women, your heart is shut ; your eyes are closed ; hence it 
 arises, that you discover not the glory of yon open grave. 
 Pour then your oil, if you wish to see that glory, not on the 
 Body of the Lord, but on the visual organs of your hearts : 
 and so by the light of Eaith shall that be seen of you, which 
 through the want of it now lies hidden in darkness. Rev. iii. 
 18. Pet. Chrysologus. (Serm. 82.) 
 
 Wouldst thou sincerely repent ? Thou dost repent. . . . When a 
 soul is truly troubled about the mighty burden of his stony 
 heart interposed, hindering him from coming to Christ ; I say, 
 when he is seriously and sincerely solicitous about that impe- 
 diment, such desiring is a doing ; such wishing is a working. 
 Do thou but take care it may be removed ; and Gron will take 
 order it shall be removed. Nehem. i. 11 ; S. Matt. v. 6 ; S. 
 John xi. 38, 39. Th. Fuller. (Cause and cure of a wounded 
 conscience. Dial, ix.) 
 
 4 It was very great. — S. Matt, xxvii. 60. It is very observable, 
 how the Almighty council of God made use of the very malice 
 and jealousy of these people, for the confirming of His own 
 
S. MAEK XVI. 4, 5. 439 
 
 truth, Cheist's Eesurrection, and our faith; their malice and 
 curious industry, to prevent the possibility of a fictitious 
 resurrection, abundantly and uncontrollably convincing the 
 reality of our Saviour's Death and true Eesurrection. Ps. ix. 
 16 ; Acts ii. 23. Sir M. Hale. (Of the knowledge of Cheist 
 crucified.) 
 To raise any one from the dead is a mighty, an Almighty work ; 
 but to raise Cheist from the dead carries more wonder with 
 it, than to raise any other. (S. John ii. 18, 19.) He had a 
 heavier grave-stone to keep Him down, than any besides. 
 The weight of a world's sin lay upon Him : yet, notwithstand- 
 ing this. He is raised with power by the Spirit, not only out 
 of the grave, but into Glory. Eph. i. 19, 20 ; Ps. xxxviii. 4 ; 
 xl. 12 ; Isa. liii. 6. GurnalL (On Eph. vi. 16. c. iv. s. 2.) 
 
 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young 
 man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white 
 garment ; and they were affrighted. 
 
 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted ; Ye 
 seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified : He is 
 risen ; He is not here : behold the place where they 
 laid Him. 
 
 7 But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that 
 He goeth before you into Galilee : there shall ye see 
 Him, as He said unto you. 
 
 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the 
 sepulchre ; for they trembled and were amazed : nei- 
 ther said they any thing to any man; for they were 
 afraid. 
 
 5 A young man. — The resurrection of the dead, as the Apostle 
 declares (Eph. iv.) will be " unto the fulness of the measure of 
 the stature of Cueist ;" that is, in the season of youth, which 
 needs no further development, and which is free from all 
 defect, complete in every respect, having fulness of strength. 
 llev. xxi. 1. Isidore of Seville. (Sentent. Lib. i. c. 29.) 
 
440 S. MAKE XVI. 5, 6. 
 
 White garments in Holy Services were anciently used. (S. Chry- 
 sostom, Horn. 60, ad pop. Antiocli.) " And they suit so fitly 
 with that lightsome affection of joy, wherein God delights, 
 when the saints praise Him, (Ps. cxlix. 2,) and so lively resemble 
 the glory of the saints in heaven, together with the beauty, 
 wherein Angels have appeared to men, (Acts i. 10 ; Eev. xv. 
 6,) that they, which are to appear for men in the Presence of 
 God, as Angels, if they were left to their choice and would 
 choose, could not easily devise a garment of more decency, for 
 such a service;" says excellent Master Hooker. (Eccl. Pol. 
 B. V. 29.) Ex. xxviii. 2 ; xxxix. 27 ; Eev. iii. 5 ; xix. 8. Bp. 
 Sparrow. (Rationale. Of the Ornaments to be used in Divine 
 Service.) 
 
 In a long white garment. — To exalt our conceptions of the Re- 
 deemer, the Scripture speaks of the invisible world, as being 
 in subjection to Him ; of all its inhabitants, the highest in 
 place and dignity, as serving in His retinue, and paying 
 homage to His Person. They accordingly ministered to Him 
 in this capacity, when they celebrated His Birth in the fields 
 of Bethlehem ; when they took part with Him in His triumph 
 over the adversary in the desert ; when they flew to strengthen 
 Him in His last agonies ; when they attended in their robes of 
 state to grace His Resurrection ; (S, Matt, xxviii. 3 ; S. Luke 
 xxiv. 4 ; Acts i. 10 ;) and when they ranked themselves with all 
 observance about Him, as He went up into heaven. 1 S. Pet. 
 i. 10 — 12. Bp. Hurd. (Serm. on 1 Tim. iii. 16.) 
 
 By the admirable grace of the E-edeemer, of the most shunned 
 foe, death is made a kind friend ; of a grisly worm, a familiar 
 confidant ; an amiable ruddiness is put into death's pale cheeks, 
 since the efl'usion of Christ's Blood. By His being " made a 
 curse," death becomes a blessing. That, which was the punish- 
 ment of vice, proves the security of virtue ; that, which was 
 the instrument of justice, the token of mercy ; that, which was 
 the dissolution of nature, the completion of grace. Judg. xiv. 
 14; Hev. xiv. 13. B. Riveley. (Sermon preached at the Pu- 
 neral of Bp. Reynolds.) 
 
 6 Which teas crucified. — To these Angels belongs the glory of 
 having first named the Cross of the Lord, and of so commending 
 
S. MARK XYI. 6. 441 
 
 it to our admiring gratitude and adoring praise. 1 Tim. iii. 16 ; 
 Eom. i. 16 ; aal. vi. 14. J. F, 
 
 Infelix olim fueras feral eque lignum, 
 
 Supplicii genus, informis trabs hospita lethi, 
 
 Nunc prope Numen habes, sancta et venerabilis arbor ; 
 
 Coelo mixta comas caput inter sidera condis, 
 
 Hospitis ingentis pulcherrima reddita tactu . . . 
 
 Fortunata arbos, in te ille unicus Ales 
 
 Deposuit senium, moribundosque exuit artus, 
 
 Ut novus exsurgens rursus, nitidusque juventa, 
 
 ^thereas pennis cobH remearet ad auras, 
 
 Omnigenum volucrum cantu, et plaudentibus alis. 
 
 Fortunata arbos, in te fceta ilia volucris 
 
 Molle sibi rostro pectus terebravit acute, 
 
 Atque suo implumes saturavit sanguine natos ! 
 
 M. H. Vida. (Hymn, in Christi Crucem.) 
 He is risen. — The Law was engraven on a stone ; tlie door of this 
 stone being once removed, the evident glory of a Resurrection, 
 the destruction of the original death, and the hope of everlast- 
 ing Life began to be preached throughout the world. Acts 
 xvii. 18 ; Rom. viii. 33, 34 ; x. 1—9. Bede, 
 In His Resurrection behold we Him, as a champion returning 
 from the spoils after so many labours and travails. Now meet 
 we Him with gratulation. (1 Sam. xviii. 7.) Our David hath 
 slain His ten thousands ; our Eagle is renewed ; our Phoenix 
 is revived ; our Jonas is come safe and sound from the belly of 
 the whale ; our Sun, that went down in a ruddy cloud, is risen 
 again with glorious beams of light (Ps. xxx. 5) ; our grain of 
 corn, that was cast into the earth, is sprung up and flourisheth ; 
 our Joseph is delivered out of prison ; our Samson hath car- 
 ried away the gates of His enemies ; our Spouse is come ; " the 
 voice of the turtle is heard in our land." Christ, our Re- 
 deemer, is risen from the dead. He is risen early, that was late 
 in the evening laid in the sepulchre after His doleful Passion. 
 ... A little before, the stone is refused of the builders ; " De- 
 liver unto us Barabbas:" now, is this Stone the Head of the 
 corner. (Yerse 15.) A little before, " we have no other king, 
 but Csesar :" now, He is a King above all Caesars. A little 
 
412 S. MARK XVI. 7. 
 
 before, " He trusted in Q-od ; let Him deliver Him, if He will 
 have Him :" now. He is delivered, and God is with Him, and 
 He with God. A little before, He is the " lamb led unto the 
 slaughter :" but now, a " Lion of the tribe of Judah." A little 
 before. He was in humility, and judged of others : now, is He 
 risen to appear " The Judge both of quick and dead," at the 
 right hand of God above in glory. Eom. i. 3, 4 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 4 ; 
 Eev. V. 5. Chr. Sutton. (Disce Yivere. c. 29.) 
 
 7 He dismisseth them with Jte et Dicite, with a Commission and 
 Precept ; (Conf. verse 15 ;) by virtue whereof He maketh these 
 women Apostolos Apostolorum^ Apostles to the Apostles them- 
 selves ; (for this Article of the Resurrection did they first learn 
 of these women, and they were the first of all, that preached 
 this Gospel ;) giving them in charge, that, seeing this Day is a 
 day of glad tidings, they would not conceal it, but impart it to 
 others ; even to so many, as then were, or would ever after be, 
 Cheist's disciples. They came to embalm Christ's natural 
 Body : that needs it not ; it is past embalming now. (Rom. 
 vi, 9, 10.) But another Body He hath, a mystical Body ; a 
 company of those, that had believed in Him, though weakly. 
 (S. Luke xxiv. 17, 21.) , . . They need to have some oil and 
 balm. . . . Thus we see these, that were at cost to anoint 
 Christ, were fully recompensed for the costs they had been at ; 
 themselves anointed with oil and odours of a higher nature and 
 far more precious, than those they brought with them — Oleum 
 lestitics, saith the Psalm ; (xlv. 7 ;) Odor vitce, saith the Apostle ; 
 (2 Cor. ii. 16 ;) and that, so plenteously, as there is enough for 
 themselves, enough too for others, for His disciples, for S. 
 Peter, for all. Prov. xi. 25 ; 1 Sam. ii. 30 ; Heb. vi. 10 ; xiii. 2. 
 Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. on S. Mark xvi. 1 — 7.) 
 
 Woman, go back to the man, since you are now healed ; and per- 
 suade him to belief, since you once persuaded him to unbelief 
 Convey to the man the certain proof of the Lord's Resurrec- 
 tion, since to the man you formerly were an instrument of 
 temptation and of death. 1 Tim. ii. 14. Peter Chrysologus. 
 (Serm. 77.) 
 
 And Peter. — Petrus vacatur ex nomine^ ne desperaret ex negatione. 
 S. Peter is expressly called by name, lest his denial should make 
 
S. MAEK XVI. 7, 8. 443 
 
 him despair. Pe. cxviii. 3 ; S. Luke xxiv. 47 ; 1 Tim. xv. IG. 
 S. Gregory. 
 
 Here is solicitudo Atiffeli ; the Angel pities S. Peter and hath care 
 and compassion on him. S. Peter's tears were the wine of 
 Angels ; they were a banquet in heaven ; there was joy in hea- 
 ven among the Angels for his repentance. See now the Angel 
 requites him, speeds messages of joy and comfort to him, and 
 reaches out to him the cup of consolation. Oh 'tis the work of 
 an Angel to comfort the afflicted. Could we " speak with the 
 tongues of Angels," if we want this charity to poor sorrowful 
 Christians, we were worth nothing, messengers of no value. 
 (S. Luke iv. 18, 22 ; Isa. xl. 1, 2.) . . . This personal message 
 to S. Peter shall not only comfort his conscience, but cure his 
 credit too. It plainly signifies, he must not be cut ofi", but be 
 mercifully dealt withal, and accounted, as a brother. Nay, it 
 restores him, not only to his discipleship, but to his office of an 
 Apostle. The tidings are sent to him under the name of 
 S. Peter, his Apostolical name. S. Matt. xvi. 18 ; Isa. xliii. 2 ; 
 Acts i. 17, 25. Bjo. Brownrig. (Serm. on text.) 
 
 These women followed Christ out of Galilee : therefore the 
 Angel foretells them that, before they returned into Gralilee, 
 Christ should go before them there, and manifest Himself unto 
 them (S. Matt. xxvi. 32; S. Mark xiv. 28). But wherefore 
 doth the Angel foretell that Christ should specially go before 
 them into Galilee, and they should see Him there, when He was 
 seen there neither only, nor the first ? Both Christ and the 
 Angel speak of the solemn and public apparition, in which 
 Christ revealed Himself to all the disciples together in a 
 mountain of Galilee. See 1 Cor. xv. 6. Gerhard. 
 
 8 They trembled and were amazed. — (" They departed with fear 
 and great joy." S. Matt, xxviii. 8.) Great joys, as well as 
 great fears, cause a kind of trembling and fluttering in the 
 heart ; as it was with the women, whom the Angel assured of 
 Christ's B-esurrection ; so it is with those Christians, who by 
 the eye of faith looking upon the death and into the sepulchre 
 of Jesus Christ, are assured, that He is risen " for their justi- 
 fication," cannot but have their hearts filled with a quaking 
 and a fearful joy. Even a Christian's strong praises are 
 
444 S. MARK XVI. 9. 
 
 breathed out with a shaking and a trembling voice ; so that 
 "godly fear" is no impediment to a holy and a severe "re- 
 joicing in GrOD," as our Saviour. Gen. xlv. 26 ; Isa. Ix. 5 ; 
 Ps. ii. 11 ; cxxx. 4 ; S. Luke i. 29, 47. JBp. Hopkins. (Serm. 
 on Heb. xii. 28, 29.) 
 
 9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of 
 the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out 
 of whom He had cast seven devils. 
 
 10 And she went and told them that had been with 
 Him, as they mourned and wept. 
 
 11 And they, when they had heard that He was 
 alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 
 
 12 After that He appeared in another form unto 
 two of them, as they walked, and went into the 
 country. 
 
 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: 
 neither believed they them. 
 
 9 Early. — Our dearest Lord abbreviates the days of our sorrow, 
 and lengthens the years of our consolation ; for He knows that 
 a day of sorrow seems a year, and a year of joy passes like a 
 day: and therefore GrOD lessens the one and lengthens the 
 other, to make this perceived, and that supportable. Ps. 
 ciii. 13, 14. Bp. J. Taylor. (Life of Christ. S. xv. Disc. 
 20.) 
 
 The Sacredness of the Lord's Day appears from the Holy Scrip- 
 ture. This was the first Day of the world. On this, the ele- 
 ments of the Creation were formed. On this, the Angels were 
 created. On this, Christ rose from the dead. On this, the 
 Holt Ghost came down from heaven on the Apostles. On 
 this same Day, the Manna in the wilderness was first given ; for 
 so spake the Lord : " On the six days thou shalt gather it, but 
 on the sixth day gather a double quantity." For the sixth day 
 is the preparation, which comes before the Sabbath : but the 
 Sabbath is the seventh day, followed by the Lord's Day, when 
 
S. MARK XVI. 9, 10. 445 
 
 the manna from heaven was first given. Hence let the Jews 
 understand, that, even then, our Lord's Day was preferred 
 before their Sabbath; even then it was intimated, that no 
 Grace from heaven was vouchsafed on their Sabbath, but was 
 reserved for that sacred Day of the Loed, when first He rained 
 it down from above. Isidore of Seville. (De Off. Eccl. L. i. 
 c. 24.) 
 Mary Magdalene— she went and told, ^c. — 
 Die nobis, age, Magdala ; 
 Solis nam rutilum prseveniens jubar, 
 
 Sponsi reliquias tui 
 Ardebas liquidis ungere odoribus, 
 
 Qua3 miracula cernere 
 Vadentem attonito lumine contigit ? — 
 
 Yidi, rupe sub avia, 
 Urnam, virginei corporis hospitam, 
 
 Nunc partse nece gloriaa 
 -Sternum monumentum, et nihil aureis 
 
 Eegum molibus invidens. 
 Tractavique manu lintea, fascia) 
 
 Et textum revolubilis : 
 Lucem hausique novam, non sine coelituin 
 
 Grrato cum citharis choro, 
 Plaudentum meritis Regis honoribus. 
 
 Fidse credite nuntise : 
 Expertis oculis credite Magdalae : 
 
 Spes et dulcis amor mens, 
 Debellato Erebo, Christus ovans redit ! 
 
 Joan. Comtnirius. (Carm. Lib. iii.) 
 10 As they mourned and wept. — To Christ, the Incarnate God, 
 our relations are wholly personal. He is not a notional ab- 
 straction, nor an idea of the mind, enthroned in a logical va- 
 cuum. We are bound to Him by all our deepest, strongest, 
 most personal feelings, by our personal consciousness of sin, 
 by our personal need of Eedemption, by gratitude for personal 
 forgiveness, by love, on account of love, shown directly, per- 
 sonally, to ourselves. Gal. ii. 20; 2 Cor. v. 14; 1 S. Pet. ii. 
 3, 7. J. Hare. 
 
446 S. MAEK XVI. 10, 12. 
 
 Our sins did slay Him, It must be our repentance, that reviv- 
 eth Him to us ; our obedience, that maketh Him live in our 
 behalf. Dr. Barroiv. 
 
 Believed not. — That is ever best known, which is most doubted of; 
 and never was matter carried with more scruple and slowness 
 of belief, with more doubts and difficulties, than was this of 
 Cheist's rising. (S. Luke xxiv. 11, 13, 36 ; S. John xx. 25, 
 27, 28.) "All this doubting," S. Augustine saith well, "was 
 by them made, that we might be out of doubt." .... By tes- 
 tifying that " Cheist is risen" they got nothing in the earth. 
 Got nothing ? nay, they lost by it their living, their life, all 
 they had to lose. They might have saved all, and said nothing. 
 So certain they were, so certain they did account of their know- 
 ing, they could not be got from it ; but to their very last breath, 
 to the very last drop of their blood, bare witness to the truth 
 of this Article, and chose rather to lay down their lives, than to 
 deny, nay, than not to affirm His rising from the dead. S. 
 Luke i. 1 ; Acts iv. 20 ; 1 Cor. xv. 19. Bp. Andrewes. (Serm. 
 on Eom. vi. 9 — 11.) 
 
 12 In another form. — We find in the four Evangelists ten occa- 
 sions mentioned, on which our Loed was seen after His Eesur- 
 rection — one at the sepulchre, by the women ; a second, by the 
 women returning from the sepulchre ; a third, by S. Peter ; a 
 fourth, by the two going to Emmaus ; a fifth, in Jerusalem, 
 when S. Thomas was not present ; a sixth, when S. Thomas saw 
 Him ; a seventh, at the sea of Tiberias ; an eighth, by all the 
 eleven on a mountain of Gralilee, mentioned by S. Matthew ; a 
 ninth, when for the last time He sat at meat with the disciples ; 
 a tenth, when He was seen no longer upon earth, but high up 
 on a cloud. Acts i. 3 ; 1 Cor. xv. 12 — 20. S. Augustine. (De 
 Consens. Evang. iii. 84.) 
 
 There is no capacity of mankind, no time, no place, but had an 
 ocular demonstration of His Kesurrection. He appeared to 
 men and women, to the Clergy and the laity, to sinners of both 
 sexes ; to weak men and to criminals ; to doubters and de- 
 niers ; at home and abroad ; in public and in private ; in their 
 houses and their journeys; unexpected and by appointment; 
 betimes in the morning, and late at night ; to them in conjunc- 
 
S. MARK XYI. 14. 447 
 
 tion, and to them in dispersion ; when they did look for Him, 
 and when they did not. He appeared upon earth to many, and 
 to S. Paul and S. Stephen from heaven. So that we can require 
 no greater testimony, than all these are able to give us ; and 
 they saw for themselves, and for us too, that the faith and cer- 
 tainty of the E-esurrection of Jesus might be conveyed to all 
 that shall die, and follow Cheist " in their own order." Acts 
 xxvi. 26 ; IS. Pet. i. 21. Bp. J. Taylor. (Sermon preached 
 at the Puneral of Abp. Bramhall.) 
 
 14 Afterwards He appeared unto the eleven as they 
 sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief 
 and hardness of heart, because they believed not them 
 which had seen Him after He was risen. 
 
 If He condescended so far, as to appear to them, when they 
 sat at meat ; much more reason have we to expect His gracious 
 Presence, when we are prostrated in prayer. Hag. ii. 9 ; S. 
 Matt, xviii. 20. S. Bernard. 
 
 Our Lokd's first miracle, that He wrought in Cana of Gralilee, 
 was at a feast ; and three of His manifestations of Himself 
 after His Eesurrection to His disciples, were on occasions of a 
 like social character ; so that, in this sense also, " He came eating 
 and drinking." (S. Luke xxiv. 35 ; S. John xxi. 12 — 14. We 
 may see, in this, the generous and gladsome nature of His Ee- 
 ligion, so far from all gloom and unsocial morosity. He came 
 to them, not as they fasted and prayed, but " as they sat at 
 meat;" for "His ways are ways of pleasantness;" and ours is 
 a cup, that overfloweth with the loving kindness and tender 
 mercy of the Loud. Ps. xxiii. 5, 6 ; Col. ii. 20 — 23 ; 1 Tim. 
 iv. 1-5. J. F. 
 
 Upbraided them, ^c. — If the testimony of credible witnesses be 
 not a sufficient ground of faith, it could have been no sin in the 
 disciples, not to believe those, who had seen Cheist risen from 
 the dead. Acts xiii. 40, 41 ; Eom. x. 16 — 21. Abp. Tillotson. 
 (Serm. on 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.) 
 
 A man, rising from the grave, is an object of sense, and can give 
 the same evidence of his being alive, as any other man in the 
 
448 S. MARK XVI. 14, 15. 
 
 world can give. So that a resurrection, considered only as a 
 fact to be proved by evidence, is a plain case ; it requires no 
 greater ability in the witnesses, than that they be able to dis- 
 tinguish between a man dead and a man alive — a point, in 
 which, I believe, every man living thinks himself a judge . . . . 
 It is very true, that men do not so easily believe, upon testi- 
 mony of others, things, which to them seem improbable or im- 
 possible ; but the reason is not, because the thing itself admits 
 of no evidence, but because the hearer's preconceived opinion 
 outweighs the credit of the reporter, and makes his veracity to 
 be called into question. Acts x. 41 ; S. John xx. 25 ; IS. John 
 i. 1—3. Bp. Sherlock. (The Trial of the Witnesses of the 
 Eesurrection of Jesus.) 
 Believed not. — It is the highest act of reason to submit our assent 
 to that testimony, that cannot deceive us. It is the next act 
 of reason to receive that testimony in the most natural sense 
 of the words, wherein it is delivered. And it is equally an act 
 of reason to believe, that whatever is revealed, relating to GtOd, 
 the more incredible it seems, the more credible it is ; because, 
 if what is revealed concerning Gron were always adapted to 
 our comprehension, how could it reach, or with any fitness 
 represent that Nature, which we allow to be incomprehensible ? 
 S. John XX. 29; Eom. xi. 33—36. Bean Young. (Serm. on 
 Eom. i. 22.) 
 
 1 5 And He said unto them. Go ye into all the world, 
 and preach the Gospel to every creature. 
 
 15 The world is much troubled now about Universal G-race. The 
 resolution, in short, may be this ; that, (forbearing to be over- 
 busy with God's Predestination, who is not pleased to acquaint 
 us with His counsel in distinguishing persons) in a Minister's 
 Commission Grace is Universal. We should labour the con- 
 version of all and every one ; neither should any Minister 
 except himself, but labour to be in the number of that all, to 
 whom God sendeth. . . . The power of Orders, in the succes- 
 sors of S. Peter and S. Paul, is not limited in itself actually ; 
 all, that are Ordered, are enabled to exercise their function in 
 
S. MARK XVI. 15. 449 
 
 any part of the world, and they may be sent to convert any 
 nation ; and it is, but for the more orderly government and 
 edification of the Church, that the exercise of every man's 
 Order is restrained to a certain charge ; and without leave, 
 or a case of great necessity, those, that break these Canons, 
 offend grievously : and there be not a few, that offend that 
 way. I hope that you, which are now to be Ordered, will not 
 prove such. Eom. xv. 20 ; 1 Tim. ii. 4 — 8 ; Gal. ii. 9 ; 2 Cor. 
 X. 13 — 16. Bp. Lake. (Ordin. Serm. on S. Matt, xxviii. 
 18—20.) 
 
 What greater disorder than, without Orders, to usurp the Priestly 
 function? one to intrude himself into the Loed's vineyard, 
 and not called? to thrust his sickle into GtOd's harvest, and 
 not hired ? . . . S. Paul saith, no man assumed the honour of 
 the Levitical Priesthood, except he were called. The Evan- 
 gelical is more honourable. (2 Cor. iii. 7, 8.) It is great 
 boldness to be, as S. Basil terms it, avToxeipordi^rjTOf, his own 
 Ordainer. Beware, bold Bethshemite ; look not in GtOd's 
 Ark ; nor let IJzzah handle it, if he love his life. . . . The 
 Church is God's building, and God's husbandry. But who 
 called thee to be a carpenter ? Wlio hired thee to be a hus- 
 bandman? " How shall they preach," says S. Paul, "except 
 they be sent i"' Ite, prcedicate ; to preach is lawful ; but 
 Christ's Ite goes before. . . . Nay, though the Bishop bid 
 thee Go ; be not hasty yet. As man must call thee, besides 
 God ; so God must call thee, besides man. He should have 
 called thee first. . . . Christ said to His disciples, Ite, go : 
 but yet He said too, Sedete, tarry ; stay, till the Holt Ghost 
 should furnish them with gifts fit. The first gave them autho- 
 rity ; but the latter bids them expect ability. (E/cfer to ch. i. 
 2. Dr. Bonne.) Acts ii. 2, 4 ; vi. 3 ; viii. 14 ; xiii. 2 — 14 ; xiv. 
 26. Br. Richard Gierke. (Serm. on 1 Cor. xiv. 28.) 
 
 All the world. Every creature. — Let every man consider with 
 himself what it is to proselyte the whole race of mankind to 
 one Paith and to one Eeligion ; let him resolve in his mind this 
 great this magnificent idea : let him next turn his thoughts on 
 what history and experience may suggest to him on the sub- 
 ject : and then let him tell us, whether there be not something 
 
 G G 
 
45Q S. MAEK XYI. 15, 16. 
 
 extraordinary in this project ; whether indeed there be any other 
 example of this sort in the annals of mankind. ... I think it 
 certain, except in the scheme of Christianity, or such other 
 schemes of Revelation, as haye been copied from it, (as in the 
 case of Mahomet anism, for instance,) we shall no where find 
 the idea of Universality to have taken place in any religious, or 
 philosophical sect whatever. Isa. Iv. 8—13 ; Eom. xi. 32 — 86 ; 
 xvi. 26. Bp. Hurd. (Introd. to the Study of the Prophecies. 
 Serm. vi.) 
 " Giving thanks to Him, through Thee, together with Him and 
 " the Holt G-host, we present this reasonable and unbloody 
 " Worship, which is offered to Thee, Loed, by all nations, 
 " from the rising to the setting of the sun, from the north to 
 " the south. For Thy Name is great among all nations, and in 
 " every place incense, and sacrifice, and oblations are offered to 
 "it." (Mai. i. 11.) This Doxology possesses a peculiar in- 
 terest, as forming a part of the Alexandrian Liturgy, ascribed 
 to *S^. Mark. (See Bp. Taylor. Episcopacy asserted, s. 16.) 
 Supposing it to be genuine, we see before us the aged Evan- 
 gelist, not only living to attest the fulfilment of Christ's com- 
 mand, in " the Gospel preached to every creature," but himself 
 permitted to record the fact, in the Liturgical services of his 
 Church at Alexandria, praising the Lord " for His faithfulness 
 and truth." S. Luke ii. 29—32. J, F. 
 
 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; 
 but he that believeth not shall be damned. 
 
 16 The Catholic Faith is taught in the Creed and committed to 
 memory in a Form of the utmost possible brevity ; ut paucis 
 verbis credendum constitueretiir, quod multis verbis exponendum 
 esset proficientibus, et ad doctrinam Divinam surgentibus ; so as 
 to frame an expression in few words of that, which was in- 
 tended to be explained at large, afterwards, to persons in a state 
 of progress and advancement in Divine knowledge. Acts viii. 
 37 ; Eom. X. 9, 10 ; 2 Tim. ii. 2. S. Augustine. (Lib. de Fide 
 et Symbolo. c. i.) 
 
 The Scriptures, and the Creed are not two different Eules of 
 
S. MABK XVI. 16. 451 
 
 Paith, but one and tlie same Rule ; dilated in the Scripture, 
 contracted in the Creed. Eom. xvi. 25, 26 ; 1 Cor. xv. 1 — 5. 
 Abp. Bramhall. (Schism guarded. P. i. Disc. 4.) 
 
 STMBOLUM APOSTOLICUM. 
 
 Fido Deo Patri, rerum cui summa potestas ; 
 
 Qui terram b nihilo finxit et astra poli. 
 Fido Deo Nato, populum qui servat ; olivae 
 
 Tempera cui sacro rore peruncta nitent. 
 Unica qui Patris est proles ; quem poplite flexo, 
 
 Pectore devote quem veneramur Herum ; 
 Quem, gravis arcana Divini flaminis aura, 
 
 Enixa est socii nescia Virgo tori ; 
 Judice sub Latio qui passus in arbore vitam 
 
 Exuit ; et, tractus de cruce, mersus humo est. 
 Tartara mox subiit ; lux tertia redditus orbi ; 
 
 Morte triumphata, carpsit in astra viam : 
 Assidet Hie dextrsB magni Patris ; inde redibit, 
 
 Judicet ut vivos quosque recondit humus. 
 Fido Deo, cwn prole Pater quem spirat ; ubique 
 
 Esse pios credo quos regit una Eides ^ 
 Et fore delictis veniam, redivivaque credo 
 
 Corpora, perpetuis perfruitura bonis. 
 
 Arthur Johnston. (Cantica Evang. vii.) 
 
 Baptism itself, as to the external part, is not necessary, necessitate 
 medii, or indispensably ; but Baptismal Faith, for the remission 
 of sins in persons capable, that indeed is necessary : for Cheist 
 does not say, that the want of Baptism damns, as the want of 
 faith does ; and yet both Baptism and faith are .the ordinary 
 way of salvation, and both necessary ; Baptism, because it is 
 so by the Divine commandment ; and faith, as a necessary 
 means of salvation in the very economy and dispensation of 
 the Gospel. Thus it is also in the other Sacrament ; " Unless 
 we eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, we 
 have no life in us ;'* (S. John vi. 53 ;) and yet Gron forbid 
 that every man, that is not Communicated, should die eter- 
 nally. But it means plainly, that, without receiving Cheist, 
 as He is, by God's intention, intended we should receive Him 
 
 G G 2 
 
452 S. MAKE XVI. 16. 
 
 in tlie Communion, we have no life in us. Plainly thus, with- 
 out the internal grace we cannot live; and the external 
 Ministry is the usual and appointed means of conveying to us 
 the internal : and therefore, although without the external it is 
 possible to be saved, when it is impossible to be had ; yet with 
 the wilful neglect of it we cannot. S. John iii. 14—18; viii. 
 21; Eph. i. 13; ii. 8, 9 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 22. Bp. J. Taylor. (Of 
 the Divine Origin and Institution of the Holy Kite of Confir- 
 mation, c. 1.) 
 
 I take God, the Father, to be my chiefest good and highest 
 end : I take G-od, the Soif, to be my Prince and Satioue, : I 
 take Gob, the Holt Ghost, to be my Sanctifier, teacher, 
 guide, and comforter : I take the Word of God, to be my rule 
 in all my actions : I take the people of God, to be my people 
 in all conditions : I do likewise devote and dedicate myself 
 unto the Lord, my whole self, all I am, all I have, and all I 
 can do. And this I do deliberately, sincerely, freely, and for 
 ever. Deut. xxvi. 16 — 19 ; Isa. xliv. 1 — 5. Philip Henry. 
 (Form of Baptismal Covenant, for the use of his children.) 
 
 He that believeth not^ ^c. — That wretched and horrid opinion, 
 that denieth the Godhead of Christ and the Godhead of the 
 Holt Ghost, little observeth, or, at least, will not see, why 
 the administration of Baptism among the Gentiles — (here 
 intended under the term eve?y creature, S. Matt, xxviii. 19 ; 
 E,om. viii. 22 ; Col. i. 23,) — must be " in the Name of the 
 Father, Son, and Holt Ghost," whereas among the Jews it 
 was only "in the Name of Jesus ;" (Acts ii. 38 ; viii. 16; xix. 
 5 ;) namely for this reason ; that as, by that, among the Jews, 
 Jesus was to be professed for the true Messias against all 
 other; so, by this, among the Gentiles, who had worshipped 
 false Gods, "the Father, Son, and Holt Ghost," should be 
 professed the only true God. And it would be but a wild, as 
 well as an irreligious paraphrase, that that opinion would 
 make of this passage ; " Go, preach the Gospel to every 
 creature; and Baptize them in the Name of the Son, a 
 creature, and of the Holt Ghost a creature." (Eefer to 
 S. Matt, xxviii. 19. Bp. Burnet.) Br. Liyhtfoot. (Harm, of 
 the New Testament, p. i. s. 92.) 
 
S. MARK XVT. 16. 453 
 
 He never modifies, He never mollifies their instructions with any- 
 milder phrase, than this ; ^^ shall be damned y It is not, that 
 he shall be "in danger of the council;" no, nor "in danger 
 of hell-fire:" it is not, that "it were better for him that a 
 mill-stone were tied about his neck, and he cast into the sea:" 
 it is not, that " it will go hard with him at the last day ;" it is 
 not, that "it shall be easier to Tyre and Sidon, than to him ;" 
 for he is not bound to believe, but that Tyre, and Sidon, and 
 he too, may do well enough : here is no reservation ; (S. John 
 iii. 18 — 21, 36 ;) roundly and irrevocably Christ Jesus Him- 
 self, after His Eesurrection, says. Qui non crediderit, ^c. Dr. 
 Bonne. (Serm. on S. Matt. ix. 2.) 
 
 As to the allowances, to be made for invincible ignorance, preju- 
 dice, or other unavoidable infirmities, as they will be pleadable 
 in the case of any other sin, so may they, and will they also, be 
 pleadable in this ; but it was foreign to the purpose of the 
 Creed to take notice of it, in this case particularly, when it is 
 common to all cases of like nature, and is always supposed 
 and understood, though not specifically mentioned, 1 Cor. v. 
 12; Acts xvii. 30; Eom. x. 18, 19. Br. Waterlarid. (A 
 Commentary on the Athanasian Creed, c. 10.) 
 
 While we thus pronounce the Anathema of Christ on such, as 
 disbelieve this, and the other fundamental Articles of Eeligion, 
 it must be remembered, that we presume not to condemn any 
 man ; for, as to this matter, we know no man. We know not 
 the capacities of men; what judgment this, or the other 
 person, hath to discern the evidence of truth ; what passions, 
 or prejudices to cope with ; what strength of resolution to 
 combat them. These things are known only to the Judge of 
 all men. He, therefore, alone hath a right to punish the 
 crime of infidelity, inasmuch as He only knows, when and how 
 far it is a crime. All we mean, by repeating His Anathema, 
 is, to affirm what He affirms, in a matter of so great concern- 
 ment ; to inculcate in our own and other men's minds, the 
 great duty of candour and diligence in our inquiries about 
 Eeligion ; and to say, in short, what is most true, that every 
 one, who hath sufficient means of faith in the fundamental 
 Articles of Christianity, and yet disbelieves them, is in a state 
 
454 S. MAEK XVI. 16, 17. 
 
 of damnation. 1 Cor. iv. 1—5 ; Eom. xiv. 10 — 12 ; S. Luke 
 xiii. 23, 24 ; Phil. ii. 12. Skelton. (Serm. on Heb. x. 38, 39.) 
 He that believeth not, ^c. — This sentence stands true at the Day 
 and at the Judgment of the Loed ; not at the judgment, or 
 day, of man. Bp. J. Tai/lor. 
 
 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; 
 In My Name shall they cast out devils ; they shall 
 speak with new tongues ; 
 
 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink 
 any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them ; they shall 
 lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 
 
 17 In My Name. — His miraculous Name is above all the powers of 
 magical enchantments, the nightly rites of sorcerers, the secrets 
 of Memphis, the drugs of Thessaly, the silent and the myste- 
 rious murmurs of the wise Chaldees, and the spells of Zoroas- 
 tres. . . . This is the Name, which we should engrave in our 
 hearts, and write upon our foreheads, and pronounce with our 
 most harmonious accents, and rest our faith upon, and place 
 our hopes in, and love with the overflowing of charity, and 
 joy, and adoration. Acts xix. 17 — 20; Cant. i. 3. Bp. J. 
 Taylor. (Life of Christ. P. i. S. 5.) 
 
 Now that this was made good, and that these signs (so long as 
 there was need) were continued among believers, we have as 
 good assurance, as we can have of anything beyond our own 
 memory, or experience. They have been delivered to us by a 
 cloud of witnesses, by men of the greatest wisdom and learning 
 in their generations, by persons of such integrity, that they 
 laid down their lives in testimony of their veracity ; delivered 
 not by hear-say, but upon their certain knowledge ; delivered 
 in their disputations with, and apologies to, the adversaries of 
 Christianity with a challenge to the examination of the truth, 
 or the conviction of the falsehood, of them. — (Justin Martyr, 
 Irenseus, Tertullian, and Origen are here adduced.) — Not to 
 mention others, S. Augustine in his book De Civitate Del, (begun 
 about 410, but many years in writing,) Lib. xxii. c. 8, gives an 
 account of very many miracles done at Hippo, Carthage, and 
 
S. MAEK XYI. 17. 455 
 
 other places, of no great distance, noting times, places, per- 
 sons, occasions, appealing to the country, delivering them under 
 terms of the greatest assurance ; Scio ego ; cognosco ego ; nos 
 interfuimusy et oculis nostris aspeximus ; and in his Retractations, 
 JEdf quce cognoscimus^ neque referre neque enumerare possimus. 
 
 . Other histories and writings, and the authors and believers of 
 them can pretend no higher, than to the testimony of men ; 
 these have the testimony of Gron also : if we believe the testi- 
 mony of men, the testimony of Groi) is greater. I conclude, 
 therefore, that there is greater reason to believe the History 
 of the New Testament than any other history in the world. 
 Bp. Seth Ward. (Serm. on 2 Tim. iii. 16.) 
 
 There is an undesigned, but very clear and remarkable, fulfil- 
 ment of this prophecy, in its literal sense, to be found in the 
 Epistle of S. Ignatius to the Eomans (sect, v.) where the martyr 
 writes thus : " For that end I will encourage the wild beasts, 
 that they may be sure to devour me, and not serve me, as they 
 have done some, whom out of fear they have not touched^ J. F. 
 
 There is something to be said of these signs and powers of a more 
 recondite nature. The Holy Church doth spiritually, every day, 
 what she then did through the Apostles corporally. For when 
 the priests, by the grace of exorcism, lay hands on believers 
 and forbid evil spirits to inhabit their minds, what do they, but 
 cast out devils ? And any believers whatever, who henceforth 
 abandon the secular words of the old life, and utter holy 
 mysteries, and rehearse, as best they can, the praise and power 
 of their Maker, what do they, but speak with new tongues ? 
 Moreover, while by their good exhortations they remove evil 
 from the hearts of others, they are taking up serpents: which 
 miracles are the greater, because they are the more spiritual ; 
 the greater, because they are the means of raising not bodies, 
 but souls. These signs then, dearest brethren, ye do, if ye will. 
 Ps. xci. 13 ; S. John xiv. 12 ; 1 Cor. xiii. ^S*. Gregory. (In 
 loco.) 
 
 These Ministerial effects, wrought upon others, were but emblems 
 of those internal Miracles, which faith, once rooted in the 
 heart, and set upon its more proper and principal objects, 
 always works upon the believers themselves. Job v. 23 ; Isa. 
 
456 S. MARK XVI. 17, 19. 
 
 xi. 6—9; 1 Cor. x. 31; Gral. vi. 14. Dean Jackson, (On the 
 Creed. B. iv. ch. xi. s. 5.) 
 The result of my own meditations is, that the evidence of the 
 Grospel, taken as a total, is as great for the Christians of the 
 nineteenth century, as for those of the Apostolic age. I should 
 not be startled, if I were told it were greater. But it does not 
 follow that this holds equally good of each component part. An 
 evidence of the most cogent clearness, unknown to the primitive 
 Christians, may compensate for the evanescence of some evi- 
 dence, which they enjoyed. Evidences comparatively dim have 
 waxed into noon-day splendour ; and the comparative wane of 
 others, once effulgent, is more than indemnified by the synopsis 
 Tov iravTo^, which we enjoy, and by the standing miracle of a 
 Christendom, commensurate with, and almost synonymous 
 with, the civilized world. Col. i. 6. <S. T. Coleridge. (Lite- 
 rary Kemains.) 
 
 19 So thea after the Lord had spoken unto them, 
 He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right 
 hand of God. 
 
 19 Our LoKD (after His Resurrection) seems to have done nothing, 
 like a common man. Whatever was natural to Him before, 
 seems now miraculous ; what was before miraculous, is now 
 natural. . . . On earth He had no longer any local residence ; 
 His body required neither food for its subsistence, nor a lodging 
 for its shelter and repose : He was become the inhabitant of 
 another region, from which He came occasionally to converse 
 with His disciples ; His visible Ascension, at the expiration of 
 the forty days, being not the necessary means of His removal, 
 but a token to His disciples, that this was the last visit ; an 
 evidence to them, that "the heavens had now received Him," 
 and that He was to be seen no more on earth with the cor- 
 poreal eye, "till the restitution of all things." Bp. Horsley. 
 (Sermons on the Resurrection, iv.) 
 
 This solemnity of our Lord's Ascension is truly glorious. It is 
 the sum and fulfilment of the other solemnities ; felix clausula 
 totius itinerariit the blessed end of the whole journeying of the 
 
S. MARK XYI. 19. 457 
 
 Son of G-OD. (Ps. xix. 5, 6.) Worthily do we keep with joy 
 and festivity the Day, on which the Sun above the heavens, 
 the Sun of Righteousness, first presented Himself to our gaze. 
 Grreat joy too it is, yea, gladness above measure, when, putting 
 off the garment of sackcloth and girding Himself with glad- 
 ness, (Ps. XXX. II,) He consecrated the first fruits of our re- 
 surrection. Yet what have I to do with these solemnities, if 
 I am still compelled to have my conversation on earth ? (Rom. 
 viii. 24; 2 Cor. v. 6; Phil. i. 23.) ... Do you observe how the 
 solemnity of the Ascension, which we celebrate to-day, forms 
 the climax of all the rest, displays their spirit, and crowns their 
 grace? S. Bernard. (Serm. ii. iv. in Ascens.) 
 
 Christ so put on our nature, when He was made flesh, as never 
 to desert it again : He carried it through the agonies of death, 
 and delivered it from the power of the grave, and dwells in it 
 for ever upon His throne of Glory ; " Angels, and authorities, 
 and powers being made subject unto Him." What words can 
 declare, what mind can conceive, the honour and dignity this 
 way conferred upon our nature ? What Angel, what Arch- 
 angel can explain it ? None in heaven, none upon earth, none 
 but that Word, who " was with G-od, and was God, and was 
 made flesh, and dwelt among us full of grace and truth." (S. 
 John i. 1—5, 14 ; S. Matt. xi. 27 ; IS. Pet. i. 12.) " God ! 
 what more glorious ? Plesh ! what more vile ? God, dwelling 
 in flesh ! what more wonderful ?" saith Augustine. 1 S. Pet. 
 iii. 22 ; S. John xvii. 20 — 24. Hurrion. (On the Knowledge 
 of Cheist Crucified. Serm. 3.) 
 
 Oh, what a sight it was, to behold the Loed, thus gloriously as- 
 cending ! And what, if any could have seen and heard the 
 blessed spirits and holy souls, as they went into heaven with 
 Him ! Perchance, such a soul would have burst the bonds of 
 flesh and ascended with Him ! Ps. xxiv. Card. Bonaventura. 
 (Life of Cheist, Ch. 80.) 
 
 In His Glorified humanity — the body, being necessarily limited 
 to place — (ver. 6,) He sits on the right hand of God. In His 
 own Infinite Omnipresent Godhead, He works with them and 
 confirms the word : and this working with them seems to cor- 
 respond with His express promise, at the parallel place in S. 
 
458 S. MARK XVI. 19, 20. 
 
 Matthew, " Lo ! I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
 the world." Thus, moreover, do the beginning and close of S. 
 Mark's G-ospel meet and combine, in settling the great foun- 
 dation stone laid in Zion, on which is inscribed, " Jesus Christ, 
 the Son of God:' See Heb. i. 3—5 ; i. 1, 11, 24 ; xv. 39. J.F. 
 
 Cheist is my Head; and in Him I can do, whatsoever He hath 
 done, by applying His merits to my soul. Eor all my sins are 
 His, and all His merit is mine : and all my sins shall no more 
 hinder my ascending into heaven, nor my sitting at the right 
 hand of GrOD, in mine own person, than they hindered Him, 
 who bore them all, in His person, mine only Lord and Savioije, 
 Cheist Jesus, Blessed for ever ! Phil. iv. 13 ; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; Eph. 
 i. 3, 7, 11 ; ii. 4 — 8. Dr. Donne. (Serm. iii. on Ps. xxxviii. 4.) 
 
 God in the second Psalm is described as sitting in the heavens ; 
 this posture, while it indicates victory, also denotes a composed 
 and quiet dignity ; and, as truly as He sitteth in the heavens, 
 so He dwells in the lowly, quiet, humble, tranquil heart. Isa. 
 XXX. 15 ; Ps. xlvi. 10. Dr. Manton. 
 
 Incipit in sseculo Pactor sseculorum : 
 Yitse panis esurit ; sitit fons hortorum ; 
 Mortis somno clauditur oculus csecorum ; 
 Plebis fit abjectio Deus Angelorum. 
 
 Sol in nube tegitur ; dies obscuratur ; 
 Trepidat securitas ; virtus infirmatur ; 
 Disciplina cseditur ; salus execratur ; 
 Vita crucifigitur ; ordo conturbatur. 
 
 Parum nobis proderet Redemptorem mori, 
 Ni rediret iterum vita Eedemptori : 
 " Liber inter mortuos" redditur honori ; 
 Et ^ dextris assidet Natus Grenitori. 
 
 Valterus Mapes. (Prsedicatio Golise.) 
 
 20 And they went forth and preached every where, 
 the Lord working with them, and confirming the word 
 with signs following. Amen. 
 
 20. Preached everywhere. — S. Mark concludes with an intimation, 
 
S. MAEK XVI. 20. 459 
 
 that he did not write, till after the Apostles had quitted their 
 residence in Judea, and had preached the Gospel with success 
 in various parts of the earth. Dr. Townson. (Discourse iv. 
 S. V. 7.) 
 
 Confirming the word. — This Article of the Eesun-ection was so 
 clearly proved, that presently it came to pass, that men were no 
 longer "ashamed" of the Cross; but it was worn upon breasts, 
 printed in the air, drawn upon foreheads, carried upon banners, 
 put upon crowns Imperial ; presently it came to pass, that the 
 religion of the despised Jesus did infinitely prevail ; a religion, 
 that taught men to be meek and humble, apt to receive inju- 
 ries, but unapt to do any ; a religion, that gave countenance 
 to the poor and pitiful, in a time, when riches were adored, and 
 ambition and pleasure had possessed the heart of all mankind • 
 a religion, that would change the face of things, and the hearts 
 of men, and break vile habits into gentleness and counsel. 
 That such a religion, in such a time, by the sermons and con- 
 duct of fishermen, men of mean breeding and illiberal arts, 
 should so speedily triumph over the philosophy of the world, 
 and the arguments of the subtle, and the sermons of the elo- 
 quent, the power of Princes and the interests of State, the in- 
 clinations of nature and the blindness of zeal, the force of 
 custom and the solicitation of passions, the pleasures of sin and 
 the busy arts of the devil ; that is, against wit and power, su- 
 perstition and wilfulness, fame and money, nature and empire, 
 which are all the causes in this world that can make a thing 
 impossible ; this, this is to be ascribed to the Power of Gron, 
 and is the great demonstration of the Eesurrection of Jesus. 
 S. Matt. xvi. 18 ; Acts v. 38, 39 ; 2 S. John 2. Bp. J, Taylor. 
 (Sermon preached at the Puneral of Abp. Bramhall.) 
 
 He doth honour the Minister with the name of coadjutor and 
 fellow-labourer in the whole course of man's conversion. 
 Ministers beget us to Cheist ; they nourish us in Cheist ; 
 they bind and loose our souls ; they open and shut heaven ; and, 
 in a word, they save. All these things Cheist does, by them. 
 2 Cor. vi. 1 ; Acts xiv. 27 ; 1 Tim. iv. 16. Bp. Lake. (Serm. 
 on Eph. iv. 11.) 
 
 The Lord working with them. — My being a " worker together with 
 
460 S. MARK XVI. 20. 
 
 GtOd" is a small thing : but, if G-od will vouchsafe to be a 
 worker together with me, then I shall have glorious success. In 
 that hope I'll try. Phil. i. 6 ; ii. 13 ; iii. 10. Sam. Lavington. 
 (Serm. 2 Cor. vi. 1.) 
 
 Unus 
 Quod fecit, reficit. Percurrat Apostolus orbem 
 PraBdicet, hortetur, plantet, riget, increpet, instet, 
 Quaque viam verbo reseratam invenerit, in tret : 
 Ut tamen his etudiis auditor promoveatur, 
 Non doctor, neque discipulus, sed Gratia sola 
 Eificit, inque graves adolet plantaria fructus. 
 
 1 Cor. iii. 7. Prosper. (Carm. de Ingratis. p. ii.) 
 
 Amen. — In Nomine Jesu, must be the beginning ; in Auxilio Jesu, 
 must be the prosecution ; in Laudem Jesu^ must be the con- 
 cluding. Col. iii. 17. Chr. Sutton. (Disce Yivere. c. 15.) 
 
 Da honum Jinem ; da felicem ex hoc mundo exitum ! Grrant, O 
 LoED, a propitious end ! May our exit from this world be in 
 peace ! Ps. xxxvii. 37. T. Kempis. 
 
 THE END OP THE GOSPEL 
 
 ACCOEDING TO 
 
 S. MAEE. 
 
INDEX I. 
 
 OF THE PKINCIPAL MATTERS CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME. 
 
 Afflictions. — The gracious design of God in them. I \ 0, Bp. Wilson. Ill, 
 Adam. 112, Bradley. 151, Clarius. 16"8, Cassianus. 
 
 Their benefit. 93, S. Augustine. 
 
 The lessons they teach. 150, Bp. J. Taylor. 152, Bp. Hopkins. 379, 
 Dr. Allestree. 
 
 Comfort under them. 169, R. Boyle. 
 Adultery. — Heinousness of the sin. 130, Bp. Warburton, 
 Angels. — Their ministry. 19, Bp. Hall. 443, Bp. Brownrig. 
 Antiquity. — Why to be consulted. 55, Bp. Andrewes. 336, Bp. Thomas, &c. 
 Apostles. — Their number typified in the Old Testament. 64, Tertullian. 
 
 Why sent by two and two. 125, Austin. 
 
 Their equal authority. 259, S. Cyprian. 348, J, F. 
 
 Fishers and shepherds. 25, Dr. Donne, &c. 
 
 Their martyrdoms. 257, Dr. Horneck. 
 Atheism. — Its two chief causes. 117, Lord Bacon, 
 
 Baptism, the Sacrament of. — Its special pre-eminence. 13, S. Basil, &c. 
 284, Tertullian. 
 
 A form of self-dedication to God. 452, P. Henry. 
 
 A difference in its mode of administration, as to Jew or Gentile. 452, Dr. 
 Lightfoot. 
 
 How infants become proper recipients. 222, 237, S. Augustine. 239, S, 
 Cyprian, &c. 
 
 Sponsors in. 42, Bp. Ken. 
 
 Why Easter is the most proper time for it. 360, Tertullian. 
 Blasphemy. — When committed. 45, Bengel. 
 
 Baptist, John the. — His peculiar standing. 8, Dr. Lightfoot. 9, Lord 
 Bacon. 
 
 How his mode of life resembled that of our Lord. 10, Bp. J. Taylor. 
 Catechizing. — Its object and great necessity. 79, Abp. Wake, &c. 
 Charity. — The duties of. 308, Dr. Barrow. 
 
 Calls us out of ourselves. 95, Dr. Donne. 
 
 Its treatment of doubtful cases. 242, Dr. Donne. 
 
462 INDEX I. 
 
 Charity — continued. 
 
 And of our neighbour's faults. 214, /. Seed. 
 Reminds us of our fallibility. 218, Dr. Whichcote. 
 Shews itself in our manner of doing good. 240, J. Seed. 
 Christ, our Lord Jesus. — His Incarnation. 19, Bp. Hall. 35, Bp. Beve- 
 
 ridge. 209, Fuller. 260, P. Chrysologus. 428, S. Anselm. 427, S. 
 
 Irenceus, &c. 
 His sympathising humanity. 107, Farindon. 143, Dr. Bates. 381, S*. 
 
 Ambrose^ &c. 
 How both abased and also exalted. 273, Dr. South. 339, Dean Boys. 
 
 344, Bengel. 395, Dean Sherlock. 417, Flavel, &c. 421, S. Anselm. 
 His sinlessness and perfection. 30, Dr. Bates. 313, J. F. 
 His Loving kindness. 152. Bp. Horsley. 186, Fuller. 260, Norris, &c. 
 
 263, Bp. Brownrig. 273, Grotius. 
 His humility. 20, 118, J. F. 26i, Segneri. Ill, I. Williams. 
 His disinterestedness. 106, Segneri. 112, Card. Bonaventura. 
 How He spent a day. 34, J. F. 
 
 The Medium between God and sinners. 16, Abp. Leighton. 
 The agent and representative of His Father. 258, Bp. Horsley. 201, 
 
 Dr. J. Scott. 
 The ransom of the world. 416, Dr. R. Clerke. 
 The Jewish Prince predicted. 266, S. Justin M., &c. 271, Norris. 
 Proclaimed ** the King of the Jews" on His Cross. 417, Dean Jackson. 
 When He established His kingdom. 323, Bp. War burton. 324, Bede. 
 The nature of it. 27 1 , Dr. Barrow. 
 A Corner stone. 292, Bp. Home. 359, Bp. Andrewes. 
 The one great Prophet. 199, Bp. Andrewes. 
 A true Reformer. 319, Bp. Brownrig. 124, Dr. R. Scott. 
 Our Exemplar. 362, Card. Bonaventtira. 384, S. Augustine. 
 The believer's " all things." Ill, Abp. Leighton. 252, S. Bernard. 460, 
 
 Sutton. 
 His diligence and wisdom in teaching. 223, Austin. 305, Bp. Sumner. 
 
 227, Salvian. 278, 291, 299, 302, /. F. 286, Bp. Warburton. 
 His doctrine — how wonderful. 31, /. F. 
 Whence His occasional apparent ignorance. 272, Bp. Brownrig, &c. 345, 
 
 Dr. Lightfoot, &c. 47, Bp. Fleetwood. 
 Reasons for His Miracles. 103, Bp. Hurd, &c. 
 Their completeness. 118, S*. Chrysostom. 
 Their moral lessons and typical import. 34, Bartholomew. 144, Bp. 
 
 Hopkins. 172, S. Gregory, &c. 
 His different modes of healing. 37, O. Feltham. 172, P. Chrysologus. 
 
 179, J.F. 182, Calvin. 
 His Rule over man and the invisible world. 440, Bp. Hurd. 268, Dean 
 
 Jackson. 
 Works slow, in spiritual ; quick, in external miracles. 182, Bp. Hall. 
 
INDEX I. 463 
 
 Christ, our Lokd Jesus — continued. 
 
 The pr a liidiums of His Incarnation. 36, D?\ Owen. 
 
 Now seen at Mount Tabor and then at Mount Golgotha. 196, Bp. An- 
 
 drewes. 115, Bp. Racket. 
 The sense in which He prayed to His Father. 380, W. Perkins. 
 A man of sorrows. 120, Bp. Pearson. 143, Dr. Bates. 
 His longing wish to suffer, 363, E. Leigh. 433, /. F. 
 His objects in suffering, 397, Rambach, &c. 
 His beginning of sorrow. 376, /. F., &c. 
 Though innocent, yet justly made to suffer. 418, /. Seed. 
 The nature of His last sufferings. 377, Dr. Barrow, &c. 389, Segneri. 
 
 390, Rambach. 409, Norris. 410, Scougal. Hi, J. F., Dr. Heylin. 
 
 422, Haeftenus. 428, S. Augustine, &c. 423, Dr. Barrow. 
 Thoughts upon them. 398, Bp. Ken. 410, Card, Bonaventura. 411, 
 
 Bp. Andrew es. 4X2, A ustin. 
 His Death severed not His two Natures. 393, Dr. R. Gierke. 
 His Divinity shewn in it. 427, /. F. 
 It appeals to our hearts. 289, Davies. 
 How we part His garments among us. 414, Segneri. 
 And are His crucifiers. 398, Bp. Andrewes. 418, Farindon. &c. 
 Was Virtue personified and rejected. 407, Farindon. 406, Walker. 120, 
 
 Dr. South. 
 His sufferings the condemnation of the impenitent. 421, Bp. S. Ward. 
 
 423, >S'. Gregory. 
 
 Reason for His predicting His Resurrection. 212, Bengel. 
 
 Necessity of His Resurrection in the same Body. 393, Bp. Brownrig. 
 
 His state of existence, as affected by the Resurrection. 456, Bp. Horsley. 
 
 Glory of His Resurrection. 442, 195, C. Sutton. 
 
 The crowning glory of His Ascension. 457, S*. Bernard, &c. 
 
 His second coming, 338, iWarcA, &c. 181, J. F, Z^^, Dean Sherlock. 
 396, Dr. M. Frank. 
 
 Mistake, as to the time of it. 194, Bp. Patrick. 202, Dr. Lightfoot. 
 
 Where to be found, and how to be followed. 92, P. Chrysologus. 256, 
 Bp. J. Taylor. 265, -S*. Augustine. 269, S. Bernard. 
 Christianity. — Compared with Judaism. 21, Dr. Barrow. 
 
 Submits to Civil government. 328, Keble, &c. 295, Bp. S. Ward, &c. 
 Christians. — A Paradox to themselves, 150, Lord Bacon. 
 
 Their double state in this life. 53, G. Herbert. 
 
 Their falls and recoveries. 401, Bp. Hopkins. 402, 0. Feltham, Hooker. 
 
 Their posthumous praise. 356, Bp. J. Taylor. 432, Wogan. 
 
 Their Duties. Fruitfulness in good works, 105, 0. Feltham. 
 
 Circumspection. 57, Bp. Hall. 
 
 Humility. 245, Hooker. 
 
 Diligence. 242, Bunyan. 142, Abp. Sandys. 
 
464 INDEX I. 
 
 Christians — continued. 
 
 Conformity to God's Will. 382, A. Liffuori, &c. 347, Adam. 380, P. 
 
 Henri/. 
 Love to God. 306, -S*. Bernard, &c. 304, Bp. Hopkins. 307, Norris. 
 Trust in Him. 150, GurnalL 180, Bede. 
 Communion with their own hearts. 363, Dr. Lightfoot. 
 Their good name. 69, Sutton. 1 QQ, Sir T. Browne. 
 Their habitual cheerfulness. 373, Bp. J. Taylor. 113, /. Mede. 
 Their Family Religion. A\, J. F. 
 Church, The. — Took its pattern from the Jewish. 367, Dr. Barrow, &c. 
 How represented in the Gospel, as to its main Catholic branches. 166, A. 
 
 Butler. 
 The Body of Christ. 436, -S*. Bernard. 442, Bp. Andrewes. 
 Its beginning and progress seen in the parable of the Sower. 86, Zeger. 
 Possesses the true sense, as well as the letter, of the Scriptures. 314 
 
 Dean Young. 
 Includes angels with men. 302, S. Augustine. 
 Its Holy seasons, and design in them. 359, Bp. Cosin. 
 Its transforming power. 99, Segneri. 
 Its dangers. 94, Bp. Jewel. 386, 412, Bp. Home. 
 Its Reformers sent in due season. 202, Bp. Home. 
 
 Must not ensnare, nor oppress, the consciences of men. 155, Bp. San- 
 derson, &c. 161, S. Augustine. 
 Not to be enriched in a way of injustice. 160, S. Augustine. 
 Why to be kept in peace. 141 , Melancthon. 
 May benefit those out of it. 93, A. Butler. 
 Conscience. — Its mighty power. 29, 128, J. F., &c. 
 
 Its tenderness. 151, Bengel. 363, Dr. South. 
 Creeds, The. — Their relation to Holy Scripture. 451, Abp. Bramhall. 
 To be understood in the sense of the Church. 314, Bp. Bull. 
 How damnatory clauses are to be understood. 458, Dr. Waterland, &c. 
 Their designed conciseness. 450, S. Augustine. 
 Cross, The. — Remarks on taking it up. 189, Dean Young, &c. 
 Daniel. — Remarks on his character. 332, Bp. Medley, &c. 
 Day, The Lord's. — Supersedes the Jewish Sabbath. 56, Bp. White. 435, 
 S'. Athanasius. 445, Isidore. 
 Its observance. 432, Sir M. Hale. 436, Cecil, &c. 
 Death. — What it signifies. 158, Dr. Bates. 
 
 What to the true Christian. 193, /. F. 440, B. Riveley. 
 
 Viewed in contrast with our birth. 134, Bede. 
 
 Spares none. 188, Bp. Taylor. 298, T. Ford, &c. 
 
 Timely preparation for it. 115, Cecil. 347, A. Warwick, &c. 348, S. 
 
 Augustine. 
 Thoughts concerning it. 108, 191, Bp. J. Taylor, &c. 100, Dr. Allestree. 
 139, Newman, &c. 186, Fuller. 355, Dr. Barrow. 
 
INDEX I. 465 
 
 Disputations. — A method of them. 214, Farindon. 316, J. F. 
 Divisions. — Conduct in regard to them. 219, Bp. Burnet, &c. 
 Education. — A great work. 217, -S*. Chri/sostom. 238, Jouvency. 241, Bp. 
 
 Jeivel. 
 Envy. — Its greatness, as a sin. 406, Bp. Andrewes. 
 
 Evidences of Christianity. — From our Loan's assertion of His Godhead, 
 395, W. Perkins. 
 
 From the Power of the Name of Christ. 454, Bp. J. Taylor. 
 
 From Christ's grant of Power. 126, SJcelton. 
 
 From our Lord's Miracles. 96, Dr. Donne. 
 
 From the sufferings of our Lord. 422, Bp. Hopkins. 424, /. Seed. 
 
 From the history of Judas Iscariot. 357, Skelton. 
 
 From the Resurrection. 446, Bp. Andrewes. 439, Sir M. Hale. 448, 
 Bp. Sherlock. 447, 459, Bp. J. Taylor. 
 
 From the Apostolic commission. 450, Bp. Hard. 
 
 From the choice of poor fishermen. 329, Dr. Donne. 
 
 From its early triumphs over opposition. 90, Jer. Seed. 
 
 From the early Miracles. 455, Bp. S. Ward, &c. 
 
 From Prophecy. 255, Skelton. 
 
 From particular prophecies. 328, Bp. Hurd. 333, G. Herbert. >356, 
 Skelton. 
 
 From the structure of the Holy Scriptures. 309, Miller. 
 
 From the nature of our Religion. 70, Davies. 
 
 From disparities among men in this life. 139, Dr. South. 
 
 From the predicted degeneracy of the Church. 330, Keble. 
 
 Furnished by the Demoniacs. 62, Jortin. 
 
 The three chief arguments. 90, R. Boyle. 
 
 Those of our lime contrasted with the time Apostolic. 456, ,S'. T. Cole- 
 ridge. 213, Davison. 
 Faith. — Supernatural in two senses. 115, Perkins. 
 
 Grounded on reason, &c. 448, Dean Young. 46, Dr. Bates. 
 
 Strengthened by three things. 29, Lord Bacon. 
 
 Shewn in implicit trust. 168, Bp. Horsley, &c. 
 
 Assurance no necessary part of it. 207, Bp. Hall, &c. 
 
 Its exercises. 112, Dr. Tuckney. 43, Bp. Jewel. 
 
 Its inseparable mates. 114, Hooker. 
 
 Its office in Justification. 43, Homilies, &c. 113, /. F. 
 
 Touches Christ spiritually. 62, S. Augustine. 
 
 Its exercise under afflictions and dangers. 380, M. Henry. 58 1, Bp. 
 Pearson. 385, Leo. 354, Autor Scalce Paradisi, &c. 
 
 And in bearing the Cross. 413, Dr. Lightfoot. 
 
 A purveying grace. 207, Bp. Hopkins. 
 
 A temporary. 81, Perkins. 
 
 Saith, in three regards, " Yet not I." 245, W. Bridge. 
 Fasting. — Engages us to abstinence from sin. 52, S. Basil. 164, Skelton. 
 
 H H 
 
466 INDEX I. 
 
 Flattery. — Remarks on it. 294, Abp. Sandys. 363, Quarles. 
 God, The Lorb. — His oneness. 306, Bp. Lake, &c. 
 
 Seen in His works. 310, /. F. 
 
 Passions ascribed to Him. 123, Dr. Arnold. 
 
 The order of His communications with man. 145, Bp. Hacket. 
 
 His moral order, in regard to sin. 136, S. Augmtine. 
 
 His gracious ways with man. 173, Lord Bacon. 288, 243, Norris, &c. 
 94, Gurnall. 260, Homilies. 
 
 No respecter of persons. 321, Sir T. Browne. 
 
 Swift in working. 149, Harvey. 
 
 What constrains His Power. 122, Dean Jackson, &c. 
 
 How He uses, for good, evil instruments. 364, W. Perkins. 394, S. 
 Augustine. 
 
 Looks to our hearts. 322, Segneri, &c. 323, S. Jerome. 350, Hooker. 
 
 Accepts the willing mind. 82, Dr. J. Scott. 354, Bp. Lake. 438, 
 Fuller. 
 
 His chastisements. 189, /. F. 223, Origen, &c. 376, Rambach. 
 
 Our personal relation with Him. 445, J. Hare. 
 
 Our Love towards Him involves the love of ourselves. 309, Bp. Wilkins. 
 
 The consideration of His Presence. 24, Bp. J. Taylor, &c. 
 
 What is meant by our Blessing Him. 271, Bp. Andrewes. 
 
 How we tempt Him. 18, Dr. Jackson. 
 Gospel, The.— Its definition. 23, Dr. Th. Ford. 
 
 Why sent to man, and not to fallen angels. 101, Bp. Andrewes. 
 
 Not a religion for children, as was the Law. 56, A. W. Hare. 
 
 Largeness of its benefits and motives. 234, Dean Young. 370, Dr. 
 Lightfoot. 
 
 Its humanizing power. 98, Hare, &c. 
 
 Its sweetness to penitent souls. 51, Abp. Leighton. 
 
 Specially adapted to the poor. 315, Keble. 
 Gospels, The Four. — Where, why, and by whom written. 3, Dr. J. Scott, &c. 
 
 Why one not written by S. Peter. 400, /. Williams. 
 Grace.— How needful. 148, Austin. 
 
 Gratuitous. 44, Dr. Donne. 
 
 Given according to our wants. 257, Halyburton. 
 
 The preparations to receive it. 312, Bp. Hopkins. 
 
 Works in us rationally. 183, Halyburton. 
 
 Its effects illustrated. 116, Ludolphus. 
 
 Demands our co-operation. 59, S. Chrysostom, &c. 
 Grace.— At meals. 177, Bp. Wilson. 
 Happiness. — Consists in being with the Lord. 105, /. F. 
 
 Not dependent on other men's opinions of us. 69, Salvian, &c. 
 Heaven. — Why to be desired. 147, S. Bernard. 
 
 The joys of its society. 198, Fleming. 
 
 A longing for the sight of it. 324, Austin. 
 
INDEX I. 467 
 
 Hell. — Why so terribly set forth in Holy Scripture. 226, Skelton. 
 
 Its Eternity of punishment. 224, Bp. J. Taylor, &c. 228, Knox. 230, 
 
 Bp. Hurd, &c. 
 Described by our Lord from worldly things. 223, Bp. Lowth. 228, Bp, 
 
 Medley. 
 Worse than annihilation. 365, Bp. Hopkins, &c. 
 Holiness. — Necessary to our sight of God. 117, Bp. Horsley. 
 
 To be striven for. 355, R. Boyle. 
 Hospitality. — Its three parts exemplified by our Lord. 146, /. F. 
 Humility. — The root of excellence. 215, /S. Augustine, &c. 
 
 Should be most seen in the highest ranks. 259, /. F., &c. 
 Hypocrisy. — Exposed. 132, 157, Bp. Hall, &c. 
 
 As expressed by the Pharisees, and by others. 317, S. Bernard, &c. 
 351, Bp. Sanderson. 386, A. Warwick. 
 Industry. — How rewarded in Holy Scripture. 24, Palmer. 
 Jews. — The means they had of knowing the Gospel under the Law. 304, Bp. 
 
 Warburton. 29\, Dr. Lightfoot. 
 Jews and Gentiles. — 169, Dr. R. Gierke. 171, J. F. 
 Their mode of praying. 280, /. F. 
 Their present state. 277, Adam. 
 Judgment, The Last. — Why th© time is kept secret from us. 345, Abp. 
 
 Sandys, &c. 347, Tertullian. 
 Law, The. — A shadow before Christ. 200, Love. 
 
 How its sacrifices are completed under the Gospel. 368, Bp. Beveridge, 
 &c. 374, Rambach. 376, Bp. Lake. 395, Bp.J. Taylor. 411, Dr. 
 Goulburn. 427, Abp. Usher. 
 Why in some things indulgent to the Jew, 235, J. Hales. 
 Still demands of us an entire obedience. 244, Luther. 
 Difference between in Lege and sub Lege. 245, Bp. Lake. 
 Love. — The cement of Society. 75, Austin. 
 Taught us by nature. 125, M. Antoninus. 
 To God. 133, 217, Gurnall. 437, Farindon, &c. 
 Marriage.— Its institution, sanctity, &c. 235, Tertullian, &c. 33, Bp. 
 
 Jeivel. 
 Martyrdom. — Three kinds without blood. 321, S'. Bernard. 
 Mark, S.— Remarks on his Gospel. 5. 187, 209, 250, 383, 413. I. Williams. 
 6, Bede. 6, 185, 390, 450, 458, /. F. 263, 385, Bp. Sandford. 305, 
 361, Dr. Townson. 375, Dr. H. Owen. 399, /. Hales. 
 Mary, The Virgin.— Why specially blessed. 74, S. Augustine. 
 Ministry.— Reason for its institution. 146, Hooker. 176, Dean Lowe. 
 
 Its Orders framed after the pattern of the Jewish Church. 65, Bp. 
 
 Beveridge. 
 Importance of being rightly called to it. 4, Dr. Donne. 388, W. 
 
 Perkins. 
 What meant by its first requirement of Deacons. 64, Bp. Burnet. 
 
468 INDEX I. 
 
 Ministry — continued. 
 
 Calls for our special prayers in its behalf, G3, /. F. 
 
 Not dependent on the worthiness of the minister. 67, Bp. Barlow, &c. 
 176, Ahp. Sandys. 
 Ministers. — Their joint-work with God. 459, Bp. Lake, &c. 
 God to be honoured in them. 127, Nelson, &c. 
 Their authority. 28, Bp. Reynolds. 
 Their holiness and character. 132, Bp. Reynolds. 67, J. F. 2Q, Dean 
 
 Trench. 127, Dean Hickes. 
 Their white garments. 440, Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 Their preaching, &c. 38, Bp. Wilson. 84, Dr. Donne. 130, J. H. 
 Newman. 185, G. Herbert. 246, /. F. 302, 320, Bp. J. Taylor. 
 313, Dr. Whichcote. 318, Skelton. 
 Their restriction to their proper charge. 449, Bp. Lake, &c. 
 Their duty to be on the watch for God. 213, G. Herbert. 
 Their friends and enemies. 69, 16, J. F. 
 
 How their blessing differs from their prayer. 240, G. Herbert, &c. 
 God's Providence seen in their death. 20, Bengel. 
 When evil, how sad their state. 230, Bp. Bull. 
 Import of the name of Bishop. 216, S. Augustine. 
 The poorest to be the rather honoured. 22 1 , Dr. Hickes. 
 Miracles. — Rules for testing them. 220, Pascal, &c. 
 
 How distinguished from strange accidents. 335, Bp. Fleetwood, &c. 
 Wrought within us. 455, S. Gregory, &c. 152, Abp. Leiyhton. 
 Obedience. — The paramount consideration. 162, Dr. Whichcote. 269, J. H. 
 Newman. 
 To be rendered, because of God's commandment. 217, Davies, 223, 
 
 Palmer. 221, Tauler, &c. 306, Bp. Lake. 
 The best sacrifice. 311, Dr. J. Scott, &c. 
 Requires more than good intention. 188, Bp. Satiderson. 
 Must be universal. 211, Halyburton. 
 Uniform. 188, Love. 174, Gurnall. 
 Uncompromising. 160, Chr. Love. 
 Seasonable. 253, Card. Bonaventura, &c. 
 Shewn two ways in suffering. 189, Dean Young. 
 Offertory. — Its advantages. 320, Bp. Phillpotts. 181, Massillon. 
 Parables. — Their advantage. 76, Boyle. 
 Their double purpose. 78, Lord Bacon. 
 Spoken in judgment. 84, Dr. Lightfoot. 
 Persecutions. — Necessary. 252, Dr. Hammond, &c. 288, Melancthon. 
 Consolation under them. 396, R. Boyle. 
 When most to be expected. 262, Segneri, &c. 
 Poverty. — Wisely ordered of God. 352, A. Knox, ike. 
 
 Prayer. — Its excellencies. 211, Card. Bonaventura.^ 38, Abp. Leighton, 
 168, Fr, De Sales. 
 
INDEX I. 469 
 
 Prayer — continued. 
 
 Its power, when offered in faith and charity. 279, Bp. Beveridge^ &c. 
 385, /. aarius. 281, Bp. J. Taylor. 
 
 Must be for things befitting. 257, Fuller. 26'!, /. F. 
 
 Must be importunate. 1Q\, S. Gregory. 110, Thornton. \10,Farindon, &ic. 
 
 Must be combined with watchfulness. 383, Dr. South. 
 
 Admits of different positions of body. 36, Th. Fuller. 
 
 Its Canonical hours. 423, S. Cyprian, &c. 
 
 On the sufferings of Christ. 416, Manual. 424, Austin. 
 
 On His Burial. 434, Haeftenus. 
 
 At the Holy Communion. 371, Bp. Patrick. 374, J. F. 
 
 Before reading the Scriptures. 1, Bp. Hall. 
 
 Against temptations. 135, Austin. 
 
 In behalf of the Clergy. 63, /. F. 
 
 For different gifts of Grace. 403, Bp. Reynolds. 184, Austin. 
 
 In affliction. 385, C. Sutton. 
 
 In the morning. 34, /. F, &c. 
 
 At evening. 361, J. Seed. 
 Prayer, House of. — Reverence due to it. 274, Bartholomew, &c. 
 Prayer, The Lord's. — Comprehends all prayer. 278, -S*. Augustine. 
 Preaching. — That of repentance and faith. 9, S. Ambrose. 
 
 Must be a word in season. 50, Bp. Brownrig. 53, G, Herbert. 
 
 Must attack sins in detail. 130, Bp. Sanderson. 159, Bengel, &c. 
 
 Of universal application. 348, Dr. R. Gierke, &c. 
 
 Encouragement in it. 312, /. F. 
 
 Remarks on the capacity of the hearers. 213, Dr. Whichcote. 315, Bp. 
 Horsley. 
 
 Remarks on hearing. 83, Bp. Beveridge, &c. 
 Pride. — In doing good. 173, Bp. J. Taylor. 
 
 Apes charity. 320, F. Quarles, &c. 
 Prophecy. — As distinguished from conjecture. 254, Bp. Hurd. 
 
 That of the final spread of Christianity, &c. 329, Davison. 341, E. B. 
 Elliott, &c. 
 
 Not of limited fulfilment. 340, Lord Bacon, &c. 
 
 Its connection with predictions fulfilled. 341, Hooker. 
 
 Caution, as to the study of it. 346, Adam, &c. 
 Proverbs. — To be understood with a latitude. 121 , /. F. 
 Psalms, The. — The Christian's peculiar in the Old Testament. 314, Dr. Donne. 
 
 How they spake of Christ. 314, Davison, &c. 
 Religion. — Its praises. 103, A Contrite Heart. 148, S. Cyprian. 285, Bp. 
 Home. 447, J. F. 
 
 Novelties in it to be avoided. 336, Bp. Thomas, &c. 
 
 Its two great foes. 293, Dr. Horneck. 
 
 Why hated in the world. 131, Bp. Brownrig. 
 
 How betrayed by heretics. 387, Skelton. 
 
 H H 2 
 
470 INDEX I. 
 
 Religion — continued. 
 
 How aided by its opponents. 304, ^S*. Augustine. 
 
 Its external sham. 154, Jer. Seed, &c. 
 Repentance. — Prepares us for Grace. 402, Dr. Allesfree. 
 
 Precedes faith. 81, Bp. Brownrig. 
 
 And unavailing without it. 22, /. F.., &c. 
 
 Must not be superficial. 210, Dr. Alledree. 
 Resurrection. — Will affect our bodies, more than our minds. 125, Dean 
 Young. 
 
 Less difficult than creation. 301, M. Felioc, &c. 
 
 Our personal identity. 197, Dr. Donne. 
 Revelation. — Analogy it bears to nature. 87, Jer. Seed. 
 
 Its obscurities. 200, Bp. Butler. 
 
 Its great discoveries. 105, Pascal. 
 Riches. — Their disastrous effects. 248, Austin. 249, 0. Felt ham, SiC. 251, 
 
 S. Barnard. 
 Sacraments. — The design of God in them. 366, Bp. Jewel. 369, Bp. 
 Phillpotts, &c. 
 
 How generally necessary to salvation. 452, Bp. J. Taylor. 
 
 To be honoured for the gifts they convey. 366, Dean Colet. 
 Satan. — His titles in Holy Scripture. 29, Dean Boys. 
 
 His personality. 99, Miller. 
 
 His temptations, in their difference from those of God. 384, Bp. Lake. 
 
 His attacks on Christianity. 326, Luther. 
 
 His aggravated punishment. 100, Bp. Hopkins, &c. 
 
 His possession of man. 97, Dr. Bates, &c. 
 
 Cannot, of himself, harm us. 99, /. F. 163, Bp. Hall. 
 
 Remarks on evil spirits. 20-^, M. Felix. 205, Billy. 
 Schism. — The sin of being misled by it. 331, J. Milner. 
 
 Prevents the progress of the Gospel. 70, S. Chrysostom. 
 Scriptures, The Holy. — Their inspiration, design, and excellent properties. 
 70, Gurnall. 330, Dr. Wordsworth. 1, 167, Bp. Home. Q6, Bp. 
 Jewell. 123, /. F, &c. 95, Blackmail. 120, Pascal. 303, /. H. 
 Newman. 103, Bp. Hurd. 334, >S'. Chrysostom. 
 
 To be read, and how. 300, Dr. Calamy. 55, Dr. J. Scott. 2, Bp. Hall. 
 183, Caryl. 77, Fuller. 126, Camerarius. 
 
 Difference between certain affirmative and negative propositions. 282, 
 Segneri. 
 
 Their use of hyperboles. 278, Dr. Lightfoot. 
 
 A key to them found in the Book of the Creation. 299, Lord Bacon. 
 
 Some parts may await the coming of time for the right understanding of 
 their meaning. 370, R. Boyle. 
 
 Co-ordinate with the Divine counsel. 364, /. F. 
 
 The New Testament a misnomer. 371, Dr. Machride. 
 
 Exposed to two special dangers. 297, Bp. Lake. 
 
INDEX I. 471 
 
 Scriptures, The Holy — continued. 
 
 Their condemning witness at the last Day. 398, Farindon. 
 Selp-denial. — How necessary and blessed. 227, Salvian, &c. 175, Dr. 
 
 Bragge. 256, Bp. J. Taylor. 
 Sin. — Its kinds and its effects. 206, Bede. 163, Bp. Hopkins, &c. 58, 408, 
 
 J.F. 101, Dr. Donne. 222, Salvian. 98, Dr. Whichcote. 34, Adams. 
 
 51, Davies. 33, S. Augustine. 204, Dr. Gairden. 439, Gurnall. 
 
 365, Dr. J. Scott, 131, Dr. South. 136, Dean Pierce. 
 How it was all placed on Christ. 425, Dr. Donne. 
 Its forgiveness by each several Person in the Godhead. 48, Leigh. 
 To be struggled against. 222, Newmayr. 99, Bp. Hall. 
 Its temptations — how they affect us, and when most to be expected. 82, 
 
 S. Augicstine. 187, Love. 
 Costs us more than obedience to God. 393, Salvian. 
 What in ourselves gives it power. 362, R. Boyle. 384, Tertullian, &c. 
 
 385, Rambach. 392, R. Boyle, &c. 400, /. F. 
 Obligatory on no man. 137, Bp. Sanderson. 
 Its cures and remedies. 116, Bede. 247, -S". Greg. Nyssen. 54, F. 
 
 Quarles. 
 Must be reproved early. 256, Lord Capel, 
 Its votaries more active than the servants of God. 385, Skelton. 404, 
 
 Bp. Sanderson. 
 How the sight of it should affect us. 58, T. H Home. 179, /. F. 
 Solitude. — A blessing. 147, Kempis. 
 
 Yet a time of temptation. 17,5*. Chrysostom. 
 Contrasted with a social life. 10, Bp. J. Taylor. 
 Soul. — Its independence. 129, Tertullian. 
 
 How it resembles the body. 77, Dr. Donne. 
 
 Synonymous in Holy Scripture with " the heart." 163, ^jt;. Sanderson. 
 Speech. — Rules and cautions in the use of it. 294, Sir W. Raleigh. 394, S. 
 
 Augustine, 8tc. 405, S. Ambrose. 
 Spirit, The Holy. — His coming expedient. 43, /. F. 
 
 Nature of His leadings and operations. 17, S. Chrysostom. 83, Bp. J. 
 
 Taylor. 85, Bp. Lake. 88, Bp. Sanderson. 89, S. Bernard. 194, 
 
 Farindon. 9), Miller. 
 Abundance of His gifts. 85, Bp. Hall. 
 Their mysteriousness. 87, Dr. Hammond. 88, Dr. Evans. 
 Co-operates with the will of man. 85, Bp. Grosscteste. 86, Fuller. 
 His design in special consolations. \1, R. Boyle. 
 The sin against Him. 72, Fuller, &c. 
 Supper, The Lord's. — In three senses our Christian Sacrifice. 372, Abp. 
 
 Sharp e. 
 Conduct before, and after it. 359, Bp. Reynolds. 360, S. Cyprian, ike. 
 
 372, M. Henry. 
 Our position at it. 362, Bonnell. 
 
472 INDEX II. 
 
 Trinity, The Holy. — External manifestation of the Godhead. 199, /. F. 
 
 How each Person severally is sinned against. 71, Dr. Donne. 
 Truth. — To be followed in love. 231, Dr. Cudworth, 
 
 Corrupted by human traditions, 158, Dr. Barrow, 180, Bp. Andrewes. 
 
 As opposed to falsehood. 392, Fuller, &c. 393, Dr. Whichcote. 
 
 How to be distinguished. 300, 307, V. Lirinensis. 
 Unity. — When true. 231, Aljp. Sandys. 
 
 Observed by evil spirits. 101, Gurnall. 294, Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 A prayer for it. 203, Austin. 
 Vows. — When illegal, not obligatory. 137, Bp. Sanderson, &c. 
 War. — Its contrariety to the Gospel. 326, Erasmus, &c. 
 Watchfulness. — In what it consists, &c. 141, Abp. Sandys. 347, 375, 
 
 /. H. Newman. 383, Dr. South. 
 World, The. — Not absolutely to be forsaken, but used with caution. 48, Dr. 
 Donne. 50, Bp. Hall, &c. 350, ZancMus, &c. 400, Dr. Townson. 
 
 Its code of honour. 138, Bp, Warburton, &c. 
 
 Misjudges good Christians, &c. 51, Bp. Hall. 350, Abp. Leighton. 352, 
 Bp. Andrewes. 
 
 Why many fly to its pleasures. 135, Dr. Bates. 
 
 A thought in the midst of its merriment. 134, Bp. J. Taylor. 
 
 Viewed with reference to Eternity. 104, Skelton. 
 
 Sign of its decrepitude. 334, S. Chrysostom, &c. 
 Worship, Public. — Uses and delights of. 276, *S. Chrysostom. 333, Bp. J. 
 Taylor. 
 
 Must be Daily. 389, Bp. Sparrow, &c. 
 
 Best preparation for Heaven. 271, J. i^. 
 
 INDEX 11. 
 
 OF THE LATIN VERSES. 
 
 Apostles, The. — Choice of fishermen. 27, M. Hospitalius. 316, Prudentius. 
 Baptist, John the. — His praises. 10, Sannazarius. 12, Paultis. 
 
 On his death. 135, Anonymous. 139, Card. Barberini. 140, S. Capicius. 
 Baptism. — Its white garment. 241, Lactantius. 
 Christ, The Lord Jesus. — Study of His Life. 5, T. a Kempis. 
 
 His longing to suffer death. 254, 376, S. Hosschius. 
 
 His victory over death. 117, Sedulius. 
 
INDEX II. 473 
 
 Christ, The Lord Jesus — continued. 
 
 Praises of His cross, 441, M. H. Vida. 
 
 His triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. 269, J. Commiritts. 
 
 Before Caiaphas. 396, C. Barlceics. 
 
 Rejected, for Barabbas. 409, SeduHus. 
 
 His last sufferings. 411, 418, S. Hosschius. 41G, C. Barlceus. 431, 
 Sannazarius, M. C. Sarbievius. 
 
 His Resurrection. 424, SeduHus. 445, /. Commirius. 
 
 His Burial. 434, Brev. Roman. 
 
 His Ascension. 458, V. Mapes. 
 
 His praises. 290, M. C. Sarbievius. 
 
 Prayer to Him on his sympathizing humanity. 143, C. Barlaus. 
 Clergy, The. — Their responsibility. 231, V. Mapes. 
 Conversion. — Gradual. 182, Billius. 
 Covenant, The New. — 22, C. Barlceus. 
 Creed, The. — A version of it. 451, A. Johnston. 
 Cross, The. — To be borne, &c. 192, Haeftenus. 256, H. Hugo. 
 Death. — Its universal power. 298, M. Vegius, 
 God, The Lord. — Governor of the universe. 96, Boetius. 
 
 His praises. 174, Candidus. 
 Grace. — Needful to the propagation of the Gospel. 460, S. Prosper. 
 
 At meals. 177, Prudentius. 
 Happiness. — Consists in what. 48, Buchanan. 149, /. Burton. 
 Heaven. — Longing for it. 199, N. Avancini. 324, >S'. Augustine. 
 Judas Iscariot. — Denounced. 387, SeduHus. 
 
 Law, The.— Of the Ten Commandments. ^i^A, A. Johnston. 310, G.Nicols. 
 Living, Godly. — Rules of. 232, F. Kilvert, 349, Anonym. 
 Love. — Rules the universe. 71, Boetius. 
 Man. — No subject for pride. 215, Adam. 
 Mark, S. — His Gospel. 5, Paulinus. 
 
 The miracles recorded by him. 153, S. Greg. Naz. 
 Marriage. — Its holy institution. 236, Dracontius. 
 Modesty. — Its praise in females. 134, Card. Barberini. 
 Peter, S. — On his betrayal. 401, Anonym. 403, P. Candidus. 
 Prayer. — From a pure heart. 321, Billius. 
 
 For illumination. 437, S. Hilary. 
 Riches. — Why unequally distributed in the world. 353, Billius, 
 Sin. — How degrading. 104, Prudentius. 
 
 No forgiveness for the unforgiving. 282, Billius. 
 Supper, The Lord's. — Its institution, &c. 374, T. Aquinas. 
 World, The. — To be renounced. 248, Card. Barberini. 
 Its pleasures deceitful. 186, Boetius. 
 
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