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A

HOLY BllfLE,
- , \
AS CONTAINED IN THE
OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS,
INCLVVING ALSO THE OCCURRENCES OF FOUR HUNDRED YEARS, FROM THE LAST OF THE
PROPHETS TO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.
AND
The LIFE of our BLESSED SAVIOUR, and his APOSTLES, &c.

COPIOUS NOTES,
critical and explanatory, practical and devotional.
From the text ofthe Rev. LAURENCE HOWELL, A. M. with considerable
additions and improvements.
By the Rev. GEORGE BURDER,
AUTHOR OF VILLAGE SERMONS, £c. $c.
embeltifjiicfl tottlj "Beautiful <£ngrat)lng&
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. IJI.

LONDON:
• PRINTED BY S. HOLLINOSWOllTH, CRANE-COURT, FLEET-STREET,
AND SOLD BY-.
WILLIAMS AND SMITH, STATIONERS* COURT, LU»GATE-ST REET.
1807.

. \

COMPLETE

HISTORY

OF THE

l>ol£ MUt.

BOOK THE EIGHTH.
Of the Birth and Infancy of our Lord and Saviour
3fe0u0 €bxm.

The wars and conquests of Alexander the Great, and
the subsequent division of his extensive empire among
his captains and generals, served to diffuse the knowledge
of the Greek language universally among the numerous
nations which composed his dominions. All who af
fected superior civilization and refinement, were proud
to patronize, and ambitious to possess Grecian lite
rature, and a taste for the fine arts of that ele
gant but corrupt people, Greece, during the struggle
for power which disgraced the immediate successors
VOL. III. b r>

2 A Complete History
of the first Roman emperor, fell beneath the Roman
yoke, and her arts of voluptuousness and refinement
contributed in no small degree to enervate the capital
of the world. Idolatry was every where triumphant,
and licentious manners carried to an extent hardly cre
dible in modern times. But the eye of Providence was
not closed during this awful period of general depravity ;
darkness had literally covered the earthy and gross dark
ness the people, and the absolute necessity of a refor
mation by some great teacher, or by an immediate Re
velation from heaven was so necessary, that even the
wisest philosophers of Greece and Rome were fully per
suaded, that nothing short of supernatural means were
sufficient for the reformation of mankind.
A knowledge of the Greek language, and of the Sa
cred Scriptures of the Old Testament, were generally
diffused, through the munificent liberality of the Pto-
lemys, kings of Egypt, who had caused them to be
translated into Greek, which, in a short time, greatly
contributed to spread the knowledge of Christianity when
preached to the different nations and people, who, at this
time, composed the Roman empire. The period was fast
approaching when the great Creator ofthe world, intend
ing to recover mankind from that fallen and miserable
state in which the sin of their first parents had in
volved them, was about to perform the covenant of his
promise made with Adam, that the " Seed of the woman
"should bruise the serpent's head", by sending his
Son into the world, that he, by the offering up of himself
once for transgressors, might thereby make a full, per
fect, complete sacrifice, oblation, and atonement for
the sins of the whole world, and bring- in an ever-
. lasting righteousness. Such was the end and design for
which the, glorious redeemer became flesh and dwelt
among us ; that while countless millions of the human
race, A great multitude which no man could number,
should be born again to holiness of life, to happiness
here, and eternal felicity in the world to come, they
should owe all their salvation to God alone through

Of the Holy Bible. 3
Christ, and that he, as the author and bestower of ever
lasting life should receive all the glory.*
In taking a retrospective view of the various empires,
nations, and kingdoms, which have appeared for a while
upon the great theatre of this world, and have then
sunk into oblivion to rise no more, their progress, and
decline, forcibly arrest our attention, excite our cu
riosity, and call forth our compassion. The causes of
their ' dissolution are easily traced both in profane
history and the sacred pages of inspiration. They
are all connected with a disregard to God : neglect of
his laws ; gross idolatry ; and corruption of manners.
Rome having swallowed up all that part, or the
greater portion of it which, had constituted the three
first great empires, the Assyrian or Babylonian, the
Medo-Persian, and the Grecian, was, in the midst of
all her conquests, wholly incapable of reforming the
morals or purifying the manners of her subjects, but on ,
the contrary, rather gave a sanction to all those cor
ruptions which had already brought destruction upon
the nations of antiquity !
Many of those nations and kingdoms once so great
and flourishing, have not only disappeared, but even
their names, and all remembrance of them must have
perished, had they not been preserved in the historical
records of scripture. In them we behold, however, the
fading splendor of all human glory, and an abridged

* Glory. " Its blest effects low reaching to the earth;
Its tow'ring summit lost beyond the thought
Of man or angel !  .

The ransom was paid down  o —
All price beyond : tho' curious to compute,
Archangels fail'd to cast the mighty sum !
Its value vast, ungrasp'd by minds create,
For ever hides, and, glows in the Supreme." Young.
B2

4 A Complete History
picture of every thing which the world calls great.* —
Brilliancy of taste, eminence of genius, the glory of arms,
extent of dominion, the perfection of arts and sciences,
ability to govern; the powers of eloquence ; and in those
who possessed all these ; what powerful and glorious
kings ! what renowned statesmen ! what sage philoso
phers ! what wise magistrates ! what admirable legisla
tors. In many of them, how much have we been led to
admire tlieir ardent zeal for justice ; their passionate
lf>ve of their country ; their generous contempt of
riches ; and not unfrequently their esteem of poverty !
Such virtues astonish us not a little, so much do they
appear above the level of human nature. In this man
ner we think and judge ; but while we thus gaze and
admire, the Supreme ruler weighs in his righteous and
unerring balance these supposed brilliant virtues, gives
them their due degree of estimation, sees nothing in
them but what is trifling, mean, and unsubstantial, full
of pride and ostentation, and with the finger of truth
and justice writes vanity upon them all !
Whilst mankind are continually busied in perpetu
ating the power of their families ; in heaping up riches ;
founding kingdoms ; or, by unjust wars and conquests,
endeavouring to eternize their names to future ages,
God, who sees from everlasting to everlasting, overthrows
' their vain and impious projects, and from the heighth of
his eternal throne, makes even their ambitious designs
subservient to his own all-wise purposes, even contrary
to their wishes, and the powers of their own understand
ings. As all ages past and to come are equally present
to his view, and as the rise, progress, fate, and duration
of all empires depend upon what he has assigned them,
so we may be assured that nothing ever has happened, or
can happen by chance; and as the great purpose which
„he had in view when he created all worlds, was a moral
end ; and in respect to man, his own glory and the final
happiness of the human race, so we may be assured, that
however clouds and darkness are round about the dispen-
* Great. See Rollin, vol, 1Q.

Of the Holy Bible. . 5
sations of his providence, righteousness and justice ever
have been, and will be the habitation of his throne.
The coming of the Messiah was predicted in the writ
ings ofthe Jewish prophets, and the nature ofhis peace
able kingdom and extensive conquests plainly pointed
out. Among others, Daniel in his prophetic and ex
pressive vision saw a great image, the emblem of earthly
power and dominion, with a head of gold, but of a ter
rible aspect: its breast and arms of silver; the belly
and thighs of brass, and the legs and feet composed of
heterogeneous materials so descriptive of the instability
of all earthly power, iron and potters clay ! God thus
thought fit to represent the four great empires of the
world which had severally their rise, progress, decline
and fall, previous to the coming of Christ, uniting in
this great and terrible image, all that was glorious,
grand, powerful, and unstable.
Let us next mark with attention the means by which
this colossus was overthrown ! — " I saw and beheld,
" and lo ! a small stone was cut' out without hands,
" which smote the image upon his feet that were of
" iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then were
" the irbn, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold
" broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff
" of the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried
"them away, that no place was found for them ; and
" the stone that smote the image became a great moun-
** tain and filled the whole earth."
The world has already seen in part the accomplish
ment of this wonderful prophecy. Christ, the long
predicted Messiah, in whom all the nations of the earth
should be blessed, descending by the flesh from the seed
of David, rises like a plant out of the dry ground, undis
tinguished by earthly pomp, and coming in the gracious
fulfilment of Heaven's designs, to establish a kingdom,
not of this world, but one that shall stand for ever. His
work and mission are to establish a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed. " He came to his own;," — the proud
and foolish Jews, "but his own received him not."
Despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and

6 A Complete History
acquainted with grief, heliath seen ofthe travail ofhis
soul which was poured out unto death, and justified
many. The everlasting gospel goes forth conquering and
to conquer, fulfilling the prophecy of the royal Psalm
ist, " The heathen shall be given him for his inherit-
," ance, and the uttermost parts ofthe earth for his pos-
" session" till his kingdom shall, by bringing the hearts
of men to a conformity with the Divine image, prevail
universally, and ,all nations fall down and worship him.
Clothed with human nature, Jesus Christ has esta
blished a kingdom over the minds of millions of the
human race, which from the smallest beginnings, and
founded in apparent weakness, continues to enlarge it
self on every side. After overturning Pagan idolatry
enthroned in the Capital by the side of the Caesars ; de
fying the rage of persecution, and the arguments of phi
losophy, all combined, but in vain, to destroy it in its
birth, it effects a revolution in the Roman empire the
most singular recorded in history. Wholly unaided Iby,
and in direct opposition to the civil power, the banner
of the cross, in the short space of three hundred years,
flies triumphant from the shores of Africa to the Baltic
Sea, and from Asia Minor to the British Isles., An
cient prophecies are fully and literally accomplished ;
and while states and empires pass away with incredible
celerity, and the human race, intent only upon the pre
sent scene, are drawn, one generation after another, into
the vortex of eternity without perceiving it, God is
establishing an order and disposition of things in the
world, and setting up a kingdom diverse from all other
kingdoms, and that shall stand for ever.
The historical part ofthe New Testament is contained
in the four gospels, and deservedly claims our high
esteem, as conveying to us the Messed tidings of our re
covering that happy state forfeited by our first parents
in Paradise. All those excellencies which in general
belong to the Old Testament, may in a more peculiar
manner be claimed by the New ; for as St. Augustine
says, 1. 1. de Consens. Evang. c. 1. " What the law and
" the prophets only foretold, the gospel plainly demon-

Of the Holy Bible. 7
" strates to have been completed." If therefore good
and holy men under the dispensation of the law, which
was but a shadow of what hath since come to pass, were
encouraged to undergo the severest persecutions, in hopes
of a reward to come, what greater encouragement had
the saints under the gospel to suffer, when the reward
was gone before them ? From hence the church in all
ages has derived advantage ; and hence the martyrs
in the midst of their agonies took courage, looking up
to the author of their hope. Thus the protomartyr,
St. Stephen, when stoned to death, was comforted with
a sight of the Son of God. Hence the holy apostles,
and the rest of our Saviour's followers, enforced the doc
trines of their Lord, not from the distant relations of
others, but from the more immediate dictates of his
mouth, whence by a sacnaL and certain tradition 'they
have been handed down t^these times. Prom hence in
times of persecution and infidelity, we are secure iii the
establishment of our faith, and completely furnished with
arguments and instructions against the most plausible
errors. From our Saviour's more immediate example,
we learn humility and meekness, who, though the Son
of God, condescended to the low condition of humanitv.
From him we learn patience in adversity, and equani
mity in the most elevated state of life : and whatever
blemishes by the corruptions of nature may stain our
profession, his word is our rule and guide to set us right
again, and restore religion to its primitive purity. For
this reason our blessed Lord expressly calls himself the
Light of the World ; of which his holy gospel is the
happy vehicle to convey it to mankind, which, till ' his
incarnation, sat in darkness. And hence the royal
prophet Isaiah, foretelling his coming, says, " The
" people that walked in darkness have seen a great
" light, and they that dwelt in the land of the shadow
" of death, upon them hath the light shined, Isa. ix. 2."
Which is literally • completed in the deliverance of
the world i)y Christ, through the preaching of the
gospel. From the superior excellence, therefore, of this light
which the gospel conveys to us, the Scriptures of the

8 A Complete History
New Testament have acquired such reverence and vene
ration, that the masters of the world, in the earliest ages
of the chuich, thought them worthy their highest care
and esteem. Constantine the Great, had the gospels
bound up in a cover of gold, set with most valuable
jewels. Theodosius the emperor, transcribed the gospels
with his own hand, and spent great part of every night in
reading them. The general councils of Nice, Ephesus,
and Chalcedon, placed the book of the gospels in the
midst of their assemblies, as Nicephorus tells us, 1.4.
c. 3, and Cyril of Alexandria, who lived in the begin
ning of the fifth century, tells us, It was by synodical
sanction ordained, that in all solemn attestations they
were to lay their hand on the book of the gospels, and
invoke the help of God ; which solemnity is continued
to this day, when any one ij^obliged to take an oath.
Nor was this only observeawmong the orthodox, but
when through neglect of discipline and the depravity
of morals, error crept into the church, even heretics
paid the same respect to the gospels, who, though they
expunged some books out of the canon of scripture, and
mutilated others, never offered by any sacrilegious at
tempt to touch or violate the gospels ; nay, in so great
an esteem were they among the heathens, that St. Au
gustin affirms de Civitate Dei, 1. 10, c. 29, that he had
seen the beginning of St. John's gospel among the writ
ings of the Platonists. Hence theologians of all ages
have deservedly, and with a general consent, stiled this
part of the Holy Scripture most necessary and useful ;
and truly, if we have respect to the subject-matter,
authors, and method or manner of them, we shall see
those epithets justly appropriated to the writings of the
New Testament, and to the gospels particularly.
As to the subject-matter, it is from God himself;
for the Evangelists fully relate to us the discourses and
actions of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath clearly di
rected us what man to believe, and what we are to
practise; who hath set before us eternal life, and
shewn us how we may certainly obtain it; who hath
instructed us into the nature of faith, hope and love ; the
mysterious doctrine ofthe Trinity, and the observation of

Of the Holy Bible. 9
the holy sacraments ; painting virtue to us in its most
amiable ^aspect, and describing vice in its most horrid
appearances and consequences ; so that St. Jerom very
aptly calls the gospels, the Compendium of theology,
and of christian life and learning.
The author is no other than the Divine Wisdom who
chiefly speaks and acts in all the grand occurrences of
the gospel : for before, as the apostle to the Hebrews
says, ch. i. ver. 1,2, " God, who spake to our fathers by
" the prophets, hath in these latter days spoken unto us
" by his Son, whom he hath made heir of all things,
" and by whom he made the world." So that not Moses
or the prophets, but the only begotten Son of God, hath
by the divine mind of the Father discovered to us the^
secrets of the eternal, wisdom, and communicated them
to us in the holy gospels ; in which those sacred mys
teries, concealed from ancient times, and barely sha
dowed out in the typical expressions of the law and the
•prophets, are plainly manifested.
The method or manner of speaking and reasoning in
the Holy Gospels is truly admirable ; for the elegance of
the metaphors, the aptness of the similitudes, and sig
nificancy of the parables are such, as evince their su
periority to every human writer, and are worthy of the
Son of God. At one time he compares himself to a king,
celebrating the nuptials of his son ; at another time to
a great man calling his servants to an account ; now to
a general waging war, then to a master of a family, a
husbandman, a shepherd, a fisherman, or a merchant.
.In all which the comparisons are so proper, that in the
gospel we may be said to be instructed as much by the
acts, as by the words of Christ : and St. Gregory observes,
that every action of Christ is far our instruction ; but
the Evangelical History claims another excellency :
for it is so disposed .by the Holy Ghost, that the
most simple and ignorant are not destitute of advantage
in reading it; and at the same time there are depths
and mysteries sufficient to exercise the powers of the
greatest mind. It is indeed plain and easy to the sin
cere, humble, and teachable; but to the confident,
vol. in. c

10 A Complete History
proud, and indolent, difficult and obscure. " I thank
" thee, says our blessed Lord to the Father, because thou
" hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and
" hast revealed them to babes, Matt. xi. 25." But the
excellence of the gospel will yet appear more conspi
cuously, if we draw a parallel between it and the law.
I. The promulgator of the law was Moses, a mere
man ; but the author ofthe gospel was Jesus Christ, both
God and man. The law indeed was ordained by the mi
nistry of angels in the hand of a mediator, who was Mo
ses^ the mediator between God and the Israelites ; but
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, first promulged the gospel
with his own mouth. The apostle to the Hebrews, ch. i.
ver. 2, &c. shews the disparity between Christ and Moses :
" Christ being the brightness of his glory, and the ex-
" press image of God's person, and sustaining all things
" by the word of his power, sitteth at the right hand of
" the majesty on high ; and is imade so mnch more ex-
" cellent than they : for unto which of the angels said
" he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I be-
" gotten thee ?" And to shew how much inferior Moses
was to Christ; ch. iii. ver. 3, " He is counted worthy of
" greater glory than Moses, as the builder of a house is
" more honoured than the house." And ver. 5, 6, " Mo-
" ses truly was faithful in all his house as a servant, far a
" witness of those things which should be done hereafter;
" but Christ as the Son of God in his own house." The
angels indeed, as ministering spirits, were the first pub
lishers of the gospel, in the messages of Gabriel the
archangel to the Virgin Mary, and to Zacharias, the far
ther of John Baptist ; but Christ himself was the founder
af it i wherefore he clothed his divinity with our flesh,
through which he dictated to us the words of his gos
pel. " The law, says St. John, " ch. i. ver. 17, was
" given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus
" Christ." So that all authorities both of the Old and
New Testament do agree, that Christ being the author
of the gaspel, it is justly entitled his gospel, and may
not be improperly called the Book of Ghiast, in which

Of the Holy Bible. 11
with his own mouth he declared more noble and sublime
truths than Moses and the prophets. Wherefore when
we read or hear the holy gospel, we nlay be said to read
or hear the very express word of the Son of God him
self; which thought, in the most early ages of Christi
anity, created such an awe and reverence in all the faith
ful, that when the gospel was read in the church,
the whole congregation rose up in profound respect
to it.
But to carry the parallel yet higher, the doctrine of the
fospel far exceeds what we find in Moses and the law.
he law proposes one God to be believed and worshipped
by us ; but the gospel, one God in essence, and three in
person to be loved and adored : * " Go, says our Lord,
" and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
" the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Mat. xxviii. 19."
The prophets foretold the birth, life, passion, and ascen
sion of Christ ; the mission of the Holy Ghost, the reco
very and conversion of the Gentiles : but the gospel far
more clearly declares the prescience, providence, omni
potence, and infinite love of God. " No man hath seen
" God at anytime, but the only begotten Son, who is in
" the bosom of the father, he hath declared him," saith
St. John, ch. i. ver. 18. That is, Christ leaving his im
mortal state for awhile, condescended to the condition of
mortality, that he might discover to us the secrets of the
Father, which were known to him alone. For which
cause, St. Paul in his instructions to Timothy, Epist. i.
c. 3, ver. 16, says, " Great is the mystery of godliness ;
" God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit,
" seen of angels, preached to the world, and received
" up into glory."
Moreover the law is as the shadow ; but the gospel,
the body, and very truth itself. Thus the acts of the pa
triarchs, the oracles, and all the visions of the prophets ;

* Adored. We must nevertheless admit that the doctrine of the Holy
Trinity was not unknown to the ancient believers.
C 2

12 A Complete History
the sacrifices, ceremonies and decrees ofthe law, which
received their sanction, by the blood of animals, were
types and preludes, which emblematically represented
Christ to the people : but the gospel manifestly and
clearly exhibits to us Christ, his doctrines, and sacra
ments. This St. Paul, 2 Cor. iii. 18, positively affirms,
" We behold the glory of the Lortr with an open face,
" and are changed into the same image, from glory to
" glory, "as by the Spirit of the Lord." And in confir
mation of this, the same apostle begins his epistle to the
Romans thus : " Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called
" to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
" which he had promised before by his prophets in the
" Holy Scriptures concerning his Son Jesus Christ."
II. The law was a messenger of fear and terror; but
the gospel of peace and love. The one threatening
death to the transgressors, the other promising rewards
to believers. By the law all were servants, but by the
gospel all are freemen and children. So St. Paul, 2 Cor.
iii. 6, " God hath made us able ministers of the New
" Testament, not ofthe letter, but ofthe Spirit, for the
" letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. For if the
" ministration of death, (that is, the law threatening
" death) written with letters, and in stones, was glorious,
" how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be more
" glorious ?" From whence we may justly define the
gospel a law of liberty, a law of the Spirit, a law of
beneficence and charity.: for Christ " went about doing
" good, and healing all that were oppressed ofthe devil,
" for God was with him," Acts x. 38.
III. The promises of the law were temporary ; but
the gospel-promises are celestial and eternal. In the
law were promised the good things of the earth, as plenty
of oil, wine, honey, and cattle ; but in the gospel the
vision and enjoyment of God, and everlasting happiness.
Joshua conducted the Israelites to a land flowing with
milk and honey, but it was to the land of the dying ;
Christ hath brought us into the land ofthe living, a

Of the Holy Bible. 13
land abounding with grace and glory. Besides, the law
was more burdensome than the gospel in respect of
its threefold division into moral, ceremonial, and ju
dicial, many parts of which decreed death to the trans
gressors of them: but the obligations which the gos
pel lays upon the professors of it are easy and pleasant;
" Come to me, says our blessed Saviour, all ye that are
" weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest ; take
" my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek
" and lowly in heart ; for my yoke is easy, and my
" burden is light, Mat. xi. 28, 29, 30, &c."
IV. The law was an introduction to Christ and the
fospel ; but the gospel is the end of the law ; as St.
'aul tells us, Rom. x. 4, " Christ is the end" of the law
" for righteousness, to every one that believeth ." Where
fore St. Bernard very aptly calls Christ, The fruit of
the promises of the law, alluding to the seminal virtue
of plants ; for fruit, says he, Hom. i. is the end to which
seeds tend, and in which they terminate. '
V. But the superior excellence of the gospel will yet
appear much greater, if we consider the imperfection of
the law, as it was limited to the Jews ; while the
gospel is to be diffused over all the world, see Isaiah,
ch. xlix. v. 6, " Behold I have given thee for a light
" to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation to
" the ends of the earth." The law was likewise imper
fect in respect of its duration ; for it was only temporary,
being intended to continue no longer than till the in
troduction of the gospel, which the- apostle to the He^
brews, ch. vii. ver. 18, affirms, " For there is verily a dis-
" annulling of the commandment going before for thq
" weakness and unprofitableness thereof; for the law
" made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a
" better hope did, by which we draw nigh unto God ;
" but this is made with an oath by him that said,
" Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Mel-
" chisedec." Indeed, if we consider the whole texture

14 A Complete History
and plan of the gospel, we shall find it contrived, and
adapted to all ages and sexes, to all degrees and condi
tions, and it may justly be called an universal library of
wisdom and knowledge, wherein every one may see his
duty, and learn to put it in practice. If we examine our
Saviour's conduct while on earth, we shall plainly see
that his whole life was a continued series of moral ex
cellence ; and that what he taught to others, he himself
practised, enforcing his precepts by his own example;
While the world greedily sought after wealth, he studi
ously avoided it. While others ambitiously aspired to
honour and empire, he declined a kingdom. Impatient
man could brook no affront, but he sustained the vilest
reproach. Corporal pains were terrible to human na
ture, yet he bore whipping and scourging. Nothing so
shocking to mortality as the bare apprehension of dis
solution, yet he submitted to the most ignominious and
painful death, even that ofthe cross.
But besides tbe imperfections ofthe law already men
tioned, St. Paul in his epistle to the Galatians, ch. iv.
ver. 3, shews us farther, '"'That when we were children,
we were under the elements of the world ; but when
'the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son
made of a woman, and made under the law, that he
might redeem them that were under the law, that we
' might receive the adoption of sons." And St. Cyril,
9, in Joan, says, " It was necessary that Moses
should instruct Israel as a child in their state of igno
rant infancy ; but by Christ, who is the sacred re
pository of wisdom, we arrive at the most true and
consummate knowledge."
The perfection of Christ's character is another con
sideration which stamps a peculiar excellence on the
New Testament. A representation is given of one en
tirely free from every error and every sin,— of one who
is perfectly wise and perfectly good. This character is
not pourtrayed in a few brilliant passages at the end of
the gospels: it rises out of the whole of the history of
his life aiid death. Jesus is presented in many, and in

Of the Holy Bible. 1 5
different situations. He is introduced speaking on an
infinite variety of subjects ; he converses familiarly with
his friends ; he discourses to the multitude ; he replies
to the cavils of his enemies. He is displayed both in ac
tive employments and in sufferings : hut not one word
is contraiy to the dictates of wisdom ; not one action
contrary to the rules of rectitude. He is often thrown
into the most trying circumstances ; and sudden and
ensnaring questions are frequently put to him : but his
consummate prudence shines forth in his answers, and
in his conduct ; and none can accuse him of folly or of
sin. In his most bitter sufferings, from the hands of his
Father, and of the Jews, there is neither murmuring
against God, nor hatred and revenge, nor reviling of
man. — But he does not rest in negative virtue : he is all
resignation to the will of God. His treatment of Judas,
when betrayed, and about to be delivered up ; his be
haviour before, Pilate ; his words to the daughters of Je
rusalem, when they wept at his sufferings ; and his prayer
on the cross for his enemies,, all manifest the highest
and purest efforts of goodness. Not one evil passion
shews itself in the slightest degree; even in an unbe
coming ward. No ignorance, no error, no imprudence ;
all is truth, and all is wisdom. Enthusiasm and super
stition have no place in this wondrous personage.
There is from first to last a full display of perfect rec
titude and perfect goodness.
He is not only called, the Son of Man, but, the Son of
God ; and there is added, to the perfection of a man,
the elevation becoming " the word, who was in the be-
" ginning with God, and who was God, by whom all
" things were made :" nor do we search for it in vain.
Along- with tbe most amiable condescension that ever
adorned human nature, there is united an uniform dig
nity of sentiment and conduct becoming his exalted
rank, as the Son of God. Jesus speaks with authority;
he promises with a consciousness of his power ; he con
fers blessings as one who has a right to bestow. In
every thing, and place, and time, he preserves, without

16 A Complete History
the remotest semblance of pride or assuming arrogance,
the tone of a master, and the dignified deportment of
one who " came down from heaven 'to give life unto
" the world ; and who was the only begotten of the
" Father, full of grace and truth."
After all these" excellencies of the gospels, there can
be no motive so pressing to incite us to the study of
them, as their own intrinsic worth ; and next to that,
our interest, which we cannot be said more truly to
pursue, than by a firm belief of their testimony, and a
religious observance oftheir precepts.
And here it will not be improper to give some ac
count of the writers of this history ; which, though
penned by four several persons, and at four different
times and places, preserve such a harmony throughout
the whole narration, as plainly evinces, that none but
men inspired by the Holy Ghost could so punctually
agree in their writings. We will begin with St. Mat
thew, who is first in order, and whose gospel* stands
first in the New Testament.
St. Matthew, called also Levi, was born at Nazareth/a
city in the tribe of Zebulun, and was the son of Alpheus
andMary; thelatterwas sister orkinswonlan to theblessed
Virgin, and both were originally descended of the tribe of
Issachar. His employment or way of life, was that of a
publican, or tax-gatherer to the Romans, an office of bad
report among the Jews, though among the Romans it
was accounted a place of power and credit, not ordi
narily conferred upon any but Roman knights. This
office was rendered very odious to the Jews, by" the co
vetousness and extortion of the collectors, who having

* Gospel, Gospel is a Saxon word; Gos with them signifying Good, as
well as God, and Spel means a Word : so that this term agrees exactly with
the Greek word Euangelion, which signifies good news or a good message.
In this place it denotes the history of the birth, life, actions, precepts and
promises, death and resurrection of Christ, which all Christians should con
template with infinite joy and thankfulness.

Of the Holy Bible. 1?
farmed the customs of the Romans,, they must use all
manner of extortion, to pay their rent, and gain some
advantage to themselves: of which, doubtless, Zacheus,'
the chief of these farmers, was sensible, when, after his
conversion, he offered a four-fold restitution to any
man, from whom he had taken any thing by fraud or
evil arts.
Of this occupation was St. Matthew, which, it seems,
more particularly consisted in gathering the customs
on commodities that came by the sea of Galilee, and
fhe tribute which passengers were obliged to pay who
went by water. For this purpose they kept their office,
or custom-house, by the sea-side, that they might be
always near at hand. And here it was, as St. Mark inti
mates, that Matthew had his station, where he sat at
the receipt of custom, when our Lord saw, and called
him to follow him. He had a lucrative business, was
wise and prudent, and understood, no doubt, what
it would cost him to comply with this new employment,
that he must exchange wealth for poverty, a custom
house for a prison, and gainful masters for a poor and
despised Saviour. But he disregarded all these consi
derations, and forsook his interests and relations to be
come Christ's disciple, and to embrace a more spiritual
employment. *
After his call to be an apostle, he continued with the
rest of the disciples, till our Lord's ascension ; and then,
for the first eight years afterward, preached in and about
Judea. Little certainty can be had what journies he

* Employment. St. Gregory observes, that St. Matthew did not return to
his former lucrative occupation, though some of the other apostles resumed
their business as fishermen before our Saviour's ascension. See John, ch. xxi.
ver. 8. Some callings, he adds, are in themselves innocent, pthers which can
•scarcely be exercised without sin. The corrupt, insolent, and covetous prac
tices of the publicans or tax-gatherers, had brought their characters into uni
versal detestation ; and had Matthew returned to his former profession, he
would have been in danger of yielding to those temptations to which he must
have been perpetually exposed.

18 A Complete History
undertook, for the, advancement of the Christian faith,
so irrecoverably is truth lost in a crowd of legendary
Stories. ^Ethiopia is generally assigned as the province
of his apostolical ministry, where, it is most probable,
that he suffered martyrdom in a city called Naddabar,
but by what kind of death is uncertain.
St. Matthew wrote his gospel, as is commonly sup
posed, at the intreaty of the Jewish converts, and of
the 'apostles, while he was yet in Palestine, about eight
years after the death of Christ: which, notwithstanding
the opinion of/Nicephorus and Irenaeus, to the contrary,
carries a great appearance of probability, from its being
written before the dispersion ofthe apostles ; for St. Bar
tholomew' took it with him when he travelled into In
dia, where it was afterwards found by Pantseus, amongst
some that yet retained the knowledge of Christ. As to
the language, he undoubtedly wrote it in Hebrew, as pri
marily designing it for the use of his countrymen. It
was very likely soon after translated into Greek, though
by whom, is not certainly known ; some say by St. John,
others by St. James the less. But it matters not much by
which of them it was done, since the apostles approved
the version, and the ehurch has ever since received the
Greek copy as authentic.
There is no certainty as to what became of the origi
nal Hebrew, or whether the copy of it which Pantaeus
brought from India, was deposited in the city of Alex
andria, and there kept till the time of St. Jerom, who
says that he had seen it.
Saint Mark was of the tribe of Levi, and descended
from Jewish ancestors. By the ancients he was generally
esteemed to be one of the seventy disciples of our
blessed Saviour; and Eusebius says, that he was sent by
St. Peter to preach the gospel in Egypt ; and in Alex
andria, the metropolis of the country, he established a
Christian chnrch. He converted great multitudes of
both sexes ; and, his preaching was attended with such
remarkable success that the people not only embraced
the Christian faith, but also conformed more strictly to
a holy life and conduct.

Of the Holy Bible. 19
Having preached in several of the eastern parts of
Egypt, he travelled westward to Lybia, passing through
Marmarica, Pentapolis, and other neighbouring coun
tries, inhabited by barbarous and idolatrous people; but
by his preaching and. miracles he prevailed upon them
to embrace Christianity, and confirmed them in the
faith. Returning to Alexandria, he preached the gospel with
great freedom and boldness, arid constituted suitable
officers of tbe church; but while industriously labour
ing iri the vineyard of his great Master, his progress
in his holy avocation was interrupted by the idolatrous
people. About, Easter, when they were celebrating the solem
nities of Serapis, their -principal idol, the multitude tu-
multriously entering the church, seized St. Mark, and
having bound his feet with cords, cruelly dragged him
through the streets, and over the most craggy places, to
the Bucelus, a precipice near the sea, where they con
fined him in a lonesome prison. Tradition says, during
the night, his great and beloved Master appeared to
him in a vision, and comforted him under his afflic
tions, encouraging him tp submit to his fate with chris
tian magnanimity and fortitude.
On the following morning the populace renewed their
barbarity, dragging him about the streets till he expired.
After this horrid murder, they wantonly mangled, and
then btirnt the body of .the deceased. This abominable
act of cruelty being perpetrated, the Christians care-
folly collected his bones and ashes, and buried them
near the place where he had been accustomed to preach.
The remains of this evangelist were afterwards removed
from Alexandria with great funeral pomp, and conveyed
to Venice, where they were superstitiously honoured.
He suffered martyrdom on the fifteenth of April, but in
what year is uncertain; though from circumstance's if
appears probable that it happened towards the conclu
sion of the feign of Nero.
His gospel was written, it is said at the eatnesf intreat y

20 A Complete History
of the converts at Rome. Not content with having
heard the discourses of St. Peter, they solicited St, Mark,
his disciple, to commit to writing a narrative of what
that apostle had delivered to them. This task was un
dertaken with cheerfulness, and executed with remark
able success. The work being approved by St. Peter,
it was commanded to be publicly read in the Christian
assemblies. The original Greek copy of St. Mark'* gospel was re
ported to have been in the possession of the Venetians,
but is now most probably in Paris, and is pretended to
have been written by the evangelist at Aquileia, and
thence removed to Venice, after many ages ; but the
letters are so worn out that they cannot be read, and
the whole story appears to be a forgery : but that his
gospel was composed at Rome, and at the intreaty of the
Christians there, is the unanimous tradition of the an
cients, such as Papias, Irenaeus, Clemens, Tertullian, and
others ; as also that it was perused by St. Peter, and
, ratified by his authority. Only Irenaeus intimates, that
it was written after St. Peter's death ; and Dr. Cave
seems to believe, that in his life-time he only furnished
the evangelist with materials,' and gave him directions
for putting them together as we now have them ; but
that the work was not actually composed till after the
apostle's death. Clemens Alexandrinus is of opinion,
that he composed it out of those discourses which St.
Peter usually delivered to his auditors. It was anciently
styled St. Peter's.' gospel ; and St. Chrysostom observes^
that the style and manner of expression is like that in
his epistles, containing much in a few words.
Antioch, the metropolis of Syria, was the birth-place
of St. Luke, a city eminent above all others in Syria, for
its pleasant situation, and fertile soil; riches, wisdom, and
learning, and for the politeness of its inhabitants ; above
' all these, renowned for. the peculiar honour, that here
the disciples were first called Christians. Being an
university abounding with learned professors of all
arts and sciences, St, Luke could not fail of a liberal

Of the Holy Bible. 21
education, his natural parts meeting with the advan
tage -of great improvements. Nor did he only study
at Antioch, but in all the schools of Greece and Egypt,
whereby he became accomplished in all, parts, of
learning. He applied himself particularly to the study
of physic, for which the Greek academies were most
famous. But it does not hence follow that he was a
man distinguished either for his birth or fortune ; for,
in the early ages, the healing art was generally prac
tised by domestics, or persons in a dependent situation ;
Grotius is therefore of opinion that St. Luke went to
Rome, and lived there in quality of a physician to some
noble family ; and that, after obtaining his freedom,
he returned to his own country, and there continued to
pursue the practice of physic.
He is also said to have acquired great reputation by
his skill in painting ; and an ancient inscription found
in a vault near the church of St. Maria de Via lata at
Rome, supposed to be the place where St. Luke resided,
a~ picture of the blessed Virgin is mentioned, being one
ofthe seven painted by St. Luke...
The Acts were written, no doubt, at Rome. In the
dedication of this Book to Theophilus, it appears that it
was composed after his gospel ; and from the conclusion
\ve may gather, that he finished it at the end of St.
Paul's two years imprisonment : though we may well
take it for granted, that he committed to writing the
several facts all along at the times when they happened,
having himself been an eye-witness of them. In this
history, he not only relates the actions, but also the suf
ferings, of some of the chief apostles, and of St. Paul
especially ; df whose trials arid most intimate trans
actions, he was best able to give a true account, having
been his constant attendant ; and, among other things,
he enlarges particularly upon the great miracles wrought
by the apostles, as being the grand confirmation of the
truth of Christ's resurrection.
It is most probable that he was converted by St. Paul,
during his abode at Antioch; after which he became his
inseparable companion and fellow-labourer in the mi-

22 A Complete History
nistry ofthe gospel, especially after his going into Ma
cedonia, from which time in recording the history of St.
Paul's travels he always speaks of himself in his own per
son, Acts xvi. 10. He followed him in all his dangers,
was with him at several arraignments at Jerusalem, ac
companied him iri his desperate voyage to Rome, where
be still attended on him to serve his necessities, and sup
ply those offices which the apostle's confinement would
not suffer him to undertake, and especially in carrying
messages to the churches wherein he had planted Chris
tianity. This infinitely endeared him to St. Paul, who
owned him for his fellow-labourer, and calls him tbe
beloved physician, and the brother whose praise is in
the gospel, throughout all the churches.
St. Luke wrote two books for the use of the church ;
his gospel and history of the apostles acts, both which
he dedicated to Theophilus. The ancients differ much
about this Theophilus, some supposing it to be a feigned
name, denoting no more than a Lover of God, a title
common to every real Christian, while others, with
better reason, conclude it was the proper name of a
particular peTSori, especially since the title of Most Ex
cellent is attributed to him, the usual form of address to
princes and great men : but even they that agree in this,
cannot determine positively who he was. It is inost
probable he was some magistrate, whom St. Luke bad
converted and baptized, to whom he now dedicated these
books, not only as a testimony of honourable respect,
but as a means of giving him farther Certainty and as*
surance of those things wherein he had been instructed
by him. St. Jerom supposes his gospel to have beeri
written in Achaia, durh% his travels* with St. Paul in
Greece, of whose help he is generally said to have made
use in composing it. But whatever assistance St. Paul
might contribute towards it, we are sure, as this evan
gelist himself informs os, That he derived bis intelligence
from those who from the beginning had been eye-wit
nesses of the facts, and ministers af the word, Luke i. 2.
Nor doeskin the least detract front tbe authority of hfe
history, that be himself was not a spectator of ali the-

Of the Holy Bible. 23
everits; for, if we consider who they were from whom he
derived his information, he had a stock both of credit arid
intelligence sufficiently authentic to proceed upon, de
livering nothing in his whole history, but what he had
immediately received from persons present at, and con
cerned in the things which he has left upon record.
The ancients are not very well agreed either about
the time or manner of his death. Nazianzen and others
expressly assert his martyrdom, of which Nicephorus
gives a particular account ; that coining into Greece he
successfully preached the gospel, and baptized many
converts into the Christian faith, till a party of infidels
seizing upon him, drew him to execution, and for want
of a cross whereon to dispatch him immediately, hanged
him upon an olive-tree, in the eightieth year of his age.
His body afterwards, by the command of Constantine,
or his son Constantius, was solemnly removed to Con
stantinople, and buried in the great church erected to
the memory of the apostles.
St. John, though the last in order, yet first in reputa
tion, of the evangelists, was by birth a Galilean, the son
of Zebedee and Salome, younger brother to St. James,
with whom he was brought up in the business of fishing.
The nobility of his family, which some attribute to him,
seems not Teconcileable with the meanness of his father's
trade, and the smallness of hjis fortunes. Before his
coming to Christ, be seems for some time to have been
a disciple to John the Baptist, being probably that other
disciple that wras with Andrew, when they left the Bap
tist to follow our Saviour ; so particularly does he relate
all circumstances of that transaction, though modestly,
as in -other parts of his gospel, concealing his own
name. He was at the same time with his brother called
by our Lord to be both disciple and apastle ; and was
by much the youngest of all the apostles, which his
great age seems to eiince, having lived near seventy
years after our Saviour's ascension.
The sacred story says little more than what is re
corded of him in conjunction with his brother James.
He was peculiarly dear to hia Lord and Master, being

24 A Complete History
treated by htm with more familiarity and indulgence
than the rest ; and he was not only one ofthe three, to
whom our Saviour communicated the private passages
of his life, but had some instances of a more particular
kindness and favour conferred upon him. At the last
supper he lay on our Lord's bosom, it being the custom
of those early times to lie along at meals upon couches,
so that the second lay with his head in the bosom of
him that was before him ; which honour was not given
to any of the aged, but reserved for this young apostle.
And besides other marks of distinction, during the mi
nistry of our blessed Lord, he made hirn, when on the
cross, guardian of his mother, the blessed Virgin, com
mitting her to his particular care, John xix. 26, 27.
Upon the division of provinces, which the apostles
made among themselves, Asia fell to St. John, though
it is not probable that he immediately entered upon his
charge, but dwelt in his own house at Jerusalem, at least
till the death of the blessed Virgin, which was about fif
teen years after our Lord's ascension. Some time after
her death he took his journey into Asia, and industri
ously applied himself to propagate Christianity, preach
ing where the gospel had not yet been introduced, and
confirming it where it was already planted; St. Paul hav-
ingbefore made several journeys irito, arid resided in those
parts. Many churches of note were of his founding,
Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Lao
dicea, and others ; but his chief place of residence was
Ephesus, where St. Paul had many years before settled
a church, and constituted Timothy its first pastqr.
After sef eral years spent in this employment, he was
at length accused to Domitian, who had begun a perse
cution against the Christians, as an eminent asserter of
atheism and impiety, and' a public subverter of the reli
gion ofthe empire. Byhis command the,proconsul of Asia
sent him bound to Rome, where,it is said, he was cast into
a caldron of oil set on fire. But Divine Providence pre
served him from this seemingly unavoidable destruction.'
The cruel emperor not convinced or satisfied, ordered
him to be banished to Patmos, a desolate island in the

Of the Holy Bible. 25
Archipelago, where he remained several years, and
there wrote his book of the Revelations.
Domitian, whose prodigious wickedness had rendered
him burdensome to the world, being taken out of the
way, Cocceius Nerva succeeded to the empire, a pru
dent man, and Of a mild and sedate temper. He re
scinded the odious acts of his predecessor, and by a pub
lic edict recalled those whom the fury of Domitian had
banished. St. John taking advantage of this general in
dulgence, leftPatmos; and returned tohis ancient charge
in Asia, but chiefly fixed his seat at Ephesus, the care
and presidency of which (Timothy their bishop having
been lately martyred by the people) he took upon him,
and by the assistance of seven bishops he regulated that
large diocese, erecting oratories (not large and splendid
churches) and ordering and disposing their affairs as
circumstances required. He lived till the time of Tra*-
jan, about the beginning of whose reign he departed
this, life, very aged, being in the ninety-eighth or ninety-
ninth year ofhis life. There are many improbable opi
nions and conjectures about the manner of his death,
most of which, relating to his dying a violent death,
are very frivolous and trifling : the most probable is,
that he died a natural death, in a good old age.
He was indefatigable in the discharge of his important
duty, which he expressed in his care to the souls of men,
unweariedly spending himself in the service ofthe gos
pel, travelling from east to west to instruct the world in
the principles of that holy religion which he was.sent to
propagate, shunning no difficulties or dangers to convert
mankind from error and idolatry, and sate them from a
vicious life. He was a vigilant and courageous champion
against heretics, countermining their artifices, and con
firming Christians against their poisonous errors.
St. John wrote his gospel after his return from Pat-
mos to Ephesus, and, as it is said, at the intreaty and so
licitation of the Asian bishops, and ambassadors from
Several churches. In order to which he caused them to
proclaim a fast, to seek the blessing of heaven on so
vol. in. . E

26 A Complete History
great and solemn an undertaking ; which being done he
commenced the work. Two things chiefly occasioned
its being written ; the one was to obviate the heresies of
those times, especially those of Ebion and Cerinthus,
who denied Christ's divinity ; tbe other, that be might
supply those passages of the Evangelical History which
the rest of the sacred writers had omitted. Besides these
he wrote three epistles ; the first of which is cathoUc,
or general, calculated for all times and places, containing
most excellent rules for the conduct of Christian life,
pressing to holiness ami purity of manners, and arming
men against the insinuations of seducers, especially the
Gnosticks, to whom St. John had a particular respect in
this epistle. It was universally received, and never ques
tioned by any. The other two epistles are but short, and
directed to particular persons ; the one to a lady of ho
nourable quality ; the other to the charitable and hos
pitable Gaius, the kind friend and courteous entertainer
of indigent Christians. These epistles were not of old
admitted into the canon, nor are they owned by the
church in Syria to this, day, being by many ascribed to
the younger John, disciple to our apostle. But there is
no just cause to question who was the authar, since
both the doctrine, phrase, and design of them suffi
ciently challenge our apostle for theh author.
St. John wrote his works in Greek : but his gospel
was afterwards translated into Hebrew, and kept by the
Jews among their secret archives and records in their
treasury at Tiberias, where a copy of it was found by "*
one Joseph a Jew, afterwards, converted, and whom
Constantine the Great advanced to the honour of a
count of the empire ; who breaking open the treasury,
though he missed of money, found books beyond all
treasure, St. Matthew's and St. John's Gospels, and the
Acts of the Apostles in Hebrew, the reading of which
greatly contributed to his conversion.
Thus muchof eachjevangelist in particular: that which
is. generally observable of the writings of these four ex
cellent persons is this ; That the three first of Vhem wrote

Of the Holy Bible. 2?
the whole story from the birth of Christ, till after the
Iresurrection ; but two of them more largely, St, Matthew
and St. Luke ; the third (St. Mark) more succinctly re
lating the series of the actions rather than the sermons
and passages delivered by him. And though none of
them agree throughout in observing the order and suc
cession of the matters which they record, yet two of them
agree much more constantly than the third with either of
them, viz. St, Matthew an apostle and eye-witness, and
St. Mark from St. Peter, who also was aii apostle and eye
witness: but the third, St. Luke, who compiled his story
from collections that he made from others, hath not so ex
actly observed the order wherein the facfetook plape,
but only set down the facts themselves. And though
he sometimes varied from the others in some words or
circumstances, (as when St. Matthew and St. Mark say
it was a Maid that spake to St. Peter, he reads another
Man, and the like) they are so inconsiderable, and of so
little importance to the main matters of faith, and doc
trines of the gospel, that they are rather arguments to
demonstrate that these writings were not contrived by
any compact or agreement of one with another, but' that
each of them separately, without consulting or knowing
what the other had done ; which is a circumstance that
was necessary to make their testimonies distinct, and so
to give them the greater authority from their number.
As to the fourth evangelist, St. John, his writings seem
to have been designed to these two ends : l . To de
monstrate and declare the divinity and eternal pre-ex- ¦'¦
istence of Christ, his creation of the world, with other
sublime and mysterious truths; as the other three had
described his humanity1, and cleared the matter of his
conception arid birth of the blessed Virgin. 2. To add
out of his own knowledge some remarkable things (es
pecially those which tended most to the divinity of
Christ) which had been omitted by the other three : to
which purpose he saw it necessary to set down the
story of Christ's -passion and resurrection as the others
had done, that so he miglit affix those other circum
stances which he designed to add to them.
E 2

28 A Complete History
There are some that find fault with his style, as
being often mixed with barbarisms, and phrases used in
an uncommon sense, making his writings less grateful
to the critical and curious. But whatever was wanting
in the politeness and, elegance of his style, was abun
dantly supplied in the zeal of his temper, and the ex
cellency and sublimity of his matter ; so that as St.
Basil and Epiphanius assert of him, he spake and wrote
like " a son of thunder."

The appointed time was now approaching, when the
great Creator of the World, intending to restore man
kind from that wretched state, into which they were
plunged by the apostacy of our first parents, resolved
to perform the promises made to the fathers, by send
ing his Son * to redeem them.
In pursuance of this grand design, he first sent his mes
senger -j- to prepare the way before the Saviour of the
World, who was now about to make his public entry into
it ; and to render the fulfilment ofthe prophesies concern
ing him the more illustrious, and worthy of an Almighty
hand, the conception and birth of John Baptist, the fore
runner of Christ, was introduced with a stupendous mi
racle : God hereby not only denoting his omnipotence,
which is not circumscribed within the scanty bounds of

* Son. Jesus was the proper name of the word made Flesh, and given
by God himself, Mat. i. 21. Luke i. 31, and ii. 21. Not that it was a
name strange or unusual at that time, but- more emphatically given him as
Saviour of the World ; the reason of which is by the heavenly ambassador
subjoined, in Matthew j. 21, "For he shall save bis people from their
sins." Christ is a name of dignity, signifying his office as Messiah, or the
anointed ; for under the old law, kings, priests, and prophets, were anointed,
1 Sam. x. 1. 1 Kings i. 39. Levit. viii. 12. 1 Kings, xix. 16, And that
this was a name peculiar to" the expected Messiah of the Jews, is evident
from the High-priest's calling him the Christ, Mat. xxvi. 63. Mark xiv. 61.
Luke xxii. 67.
t Messenger. See Isaiah xl. 3. Mal. iii. 1. ••

Of the Holy Bible. 29
Nature, but at the same time exciting the minds of men
to the expectation of something extraordinary from such
preternatural means.
In the reign of Herod, king of Judea, lived a certain
priest named Zacharias, and his, wife Elizabeth ; both of
the tribe of Levi, but by a peculiar descent ; he being of
the lot of Abiah,* which was the eighth according to
the division of David, and she lineally descended from
the daughters of Aaron. Nor was their character infe
rior to the excellency of their extraction, being justf
before God, and unblameable in their conversation.
Yet hitherto God had favoured them with no issue, and
being both far advanced in years, they had now no rea
son to expect any. God, contrary to all the seeming
improbabilities of Nature, had determined to make them
instruments of his glory, by manifesting on them his
omnipotent power in an extraordinary manner.
At the time when Zacharias was to officiate in his
course, and to burn incense in the temple, the angel
Gabriel appeared to him, standing on the right-side of
the altar. + The peculiarity ofthe sight struck Zacha
rias with surprise and fear, which the angel soon dis
pelled, by assuring him of the. favour which he and bis'
wife had found with God ; who, notwithstanding .their
great age, intended to bless thein with a son, whose birth
should be the occasion of great joy not only to them
selves but to many others ; foretelling at the same time the
dignity of his office. — That beiiig from his birth inspired
with the Holy Ghost, he should go before the Lord in
* Abiah. 1 Chron. xxiv. 10.
f Just. Luke i. 6.
\ Altar. As the daily sacrifice represented the sacrifice of Christ, and the
incense the prayers of the saints, Rev. viii. 1, 4, the incense was ordered to be
burnt while the sacrifice was offering, to teach.mankind that it was through
the sacrifice of Christ they had access to the Deity. Accordingly the sacrifices
and incense, both morning and evening, were fitly accompanied with the prayers
of the people, and that not in the temple only, but every where else, pious men
choosing to put up their supplications at the hours of sacrifice, while the minis
ters of religion interceded for the nation. Hence these hours were called the
hours of prayer, Acts iii. 1.

30 A Complete History
the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the
children of Israel, and make ready a people prepared
for the Lord. 'Zacharias, by reason of his own and his
wife's great age, questions the truth of the divine mes
sage: but the angel, to confirm the authority ofhis em
bassy, tells the diffident priest, that he should be dumb
till these things were fulfilled ; which immediately hap
pened, for when he came out of the temple he
was speechless, and continued so till the time of his wife's
delivery. Zachariah's time of waiting being expired, he returns
home, where, soon after, his wife Elizabeth conceived,
which for five months she concealed, not that she doubted
of the promise God had made to her by the angel, for
she well knew her husband's incredulity was punished
with loss of speech, but to aVoid the rumours * that her
being with child might occasion, whom the, world, by
reason of her great age, might naturally suppose to be
barren. God having thus miraculously removed from Eliza-
i beth the reproach of barrenness in her old age, by her
conception of the Baptist, the Birth of the Messiah is
ushered into the world by no less wonderful, but rather
more extraordinary means. For a woman generally
esteemed barren, and in years, to bear a child was within
the verge of possibility. Sacred History affords instances
in the birth of Isaac and Sampson : but that a virgin, who
had never known man, should conceive and bear a child,
exceeded all natural reason, and could be nothing but
the product of divine power. This the Almighty had
promised, f and now most punctually performed ; for,
within six months after Elizabeth had conceived, the
angel Gabriel, who to her had been the happy messenger
of glad tidings, is sent by God on the same errand to a
virgin named Mary a cousin of Elizabeth in Nazareth, a

* Rumours. Grot. Luc. Brug. Marlorat, &c.
t Promised. Isa. vii, 14.

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t2>£^//, SAor/ f/'/,/ />>C //////¦////',/-<w/r,/
_f/J/ir/.>r,<'// >f C/r/>rf /¦/////'//// '//o/tlr-lt . /.//Ar I"/.!'?

_

Of the Iloly Bible. 3 1
city of Galilee, who not long before was espoused to
Joseph ; and both of them were of the house of David.
t The angel entering the bouse where she theh was, (for
as yet she was not brought home to her espoused hus
band Joseph) salutes her with the heavenly benediction :
" Hail* thou that art highly in favour with God, the
" Lord is with thee ; blessed art thou among women."
This glorious vision affected her with amazement and
surprise; whieh Gabriel soon removes by assuring her of
the favour that she had found with God who had ap
pointed her to be the mother of the Saviour of the
world. The holy Virgin, in confidence of her own virtue, ob
jects to the celestial messenger the impossibility of the
event which he predicted ; but he removes her doubts
by assuring her that the Holy Ghost, by his' Almighty in
fluence, should cause her to conceive; and by her cou
sin Elizabeth's miraculously being pregnant in her old ;
agej he convinces her of the omnipotence of God, with
whom nothing"!" is impossible. The blessed Virgin
humbly acquiesces in the reasons of the divine visitor:
upon which he leaves her,, and she with eager haste
repaired to Hebron, where her cousin Elizabeth dwelt,
not out of any distrust of the angel's report, but that she
might not neglect the opportunity of strengthening her
faith in that prediction which she had thus received from „
God by the angel. Being arrived at the house of Za
chariah, she had no sooner saluted Elizabeth, than the
babe in her womb sprang as it were with joy — a motion
which is to be ascribed, not to a common, but a super
natural cause.
In this visit of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth, we may

* Hail. Lukei. 28.
t Nothing. The vulgar Latin translates it Word, because the Greek term
Logos does often so signify ; but since it answers to the Hebrew word Debhar,
which is very equivocal, and signifies sometimes a word,' sometimes a thing,
sometimes a reason, &c.' we must necessarily determine its signification ac
cording to the matter which is spoken of.

32 A Complete History t
observe a most exact harmony, and which can no where
be found or expected, but in such extraordinary transac
tions. Elizabeth had no sooner received the blessed
Virgin's compliment, but, being influenced by the Holy
Ghost, in return she accosted her with the very wards in
which the angel Gabriel hail before saluted her " Blessed
art thou among women ;" and as if she had been ac
quainted with the whole conversation between the angel
and her virgin cousin, she declares her being with child
of the Messiah, and calls her the " Mother of the Lord."
This was a most complete and demonstrable confir
mation of all that the angel had foretold her, and to
the knowledge of which Ehzabeth could no way come
but by divine inspiration: which so transported the
blessed Virgin, that in a heavenly ecstasy she glorified
God, by recollecting his mercies, and the promises he
had made to his people Israel, and which by making
her the blessed instrument, he was now about to fulfil.
Having trarried about three months with her cousin,
she returned home ; soon after which, Elizabeth, accord
ing to the time foretold, was delivered of a son, whom,
on the eighth day, at his circumcision, to the amaze
ment of their friends and kindred, the father named
John, * though none of their family had borne that
name before. Hereupon good old Zachariah, seeing
the finger of God so manifestly appear according to the
predictions relating to his family, burst into a holy rap
ture ; the same power that at first had miraculously
bound his tongue, did now as wonderfully loosen it, to
give praise to the Almighty God who had wrought §uch
prodigies among them.
And now the time was at hand, when the great joy
that the birth of the Baptist had occasioned, should be
augmented by the more miraculous birth of the Saviour
of the world, which was to be the perfect completion of
what the angel Gabriel had promised to both their mo-
* John. In the Hebrew language this name signifies The grace of God ;
and it was fitly given the fore-runner of the Messiah, who came to establish
the kingdom of righteousness.

% Of the Holy Bible. 33
thers. The Holy Virgin therefore having returned from
Hebron to Nazareth, Joseph prepares to consummate
his marriage with his espoused wife ; when, to his great
amazement, she was observed to be advanced in a state of
pregnancy. Though the seeming disappointment deeply
affected him, yet being of a gentle * disposition, he was
unwilling to expose the honour of the family, which he
conceived she had stained, or her to inevitable death ac
cording to the sentence of the law : and therefore the
better to conceal the disgrace ofthe familv, as he thongbt,
he resolves to divorce her privately. But while he la
boured under these anxious deliberations, an angel of
God appeared to him in a dream, and with this com
fortable message dispels his uneasy cares : Fear not, Jo
seph, thou son of David, to take Mary thy wife ; for
she is innocent, and that which she has conceived is of
the Holy Ghost, by the virtue and power of the most
High : aud she shall bring forth a son, whose name
by the heavenly decree is to be called Jesus, who
shall _free mankind from the slavery of sin and
death. Joseph awaking, acknowledges the heavenly
vision ; and in obedience to the divine command, takes
the sacred Virgin home, with whom to outward appear-
arice he lived in conjugal love, though he knew ber not
till she was delivered of her .first-born son f ; which soon

* Gentle or merciful, &c. This in onr translation is rendered just, Matt.
i. 19;- but words which signify Just and Justice in the Hebrew, frequently
signify also Merciful and Mercy. The design therefore of the author who
employs them, determines their signification. It cannot then be said, that
St. Matthew designed to represent Joseph as a man who observed the most
exact rules of justice, since, according to the law, instead of putting the
blessed Virgin away, he should have made her a public example, and had ber
stoned to death, Deut. xxii. 23. The word therefore should have been, ren
dered Humane or Merciful, as St. Chrysostom has remarked.
* Knt-iom Son. The word First-born is ambiguous : for 1st. Sometimes
it signifies one that is first-boru, without respect to any foUowing children, as
when Christ is called the first-born of Mary, in Matt. i. 25. 2dly, Sometimes
it signifies the eldest of two or more brethren, as when, the Scripture calls
Eliab. the first-born of Jesse, 1 Sam. xvii. 13. Sdly. This word is taken
VOL. III. F

34 A Complete History
after came to pass in as wonderful manner as had beeri
predicted. *

figuratively to signify those we dearly love, because parents frequently love
their first born best ; as in the example of Isaac with respect to Esau, and of
Joseph to Manasseh : and God himself calls the Israelites the first-born,
which, to avoid ambiguity, might have been translated, " That God gave td
the Israelites marks of the most tender affection.'1 4thly. The first-boni ¦
signifies that which is most remarkable either for greatness, and excellency,
or meanness and want ; as when God calls the Ephraimites his first-born, and
when Moses prophecies of, the tribe of Joseph, that his glory should be like
the firstlings of his bullocks ; that is, equal in strength to the strongest of
those animals. So God promises to David, or Solomon, to make him the
first-born of the kings of the earth ; whereas, in respect to their birth, both
were younger brothers of their family. Ou the contrary, when the Scripture
speaks of extreme misery or want, it expresses them by the first-born of the
dead, and the first-born of the poor; that is to say, persons exposed 'to the
most cruel death, and to the deepest poverty.
Therefore when this, expression is used in the New Testament, it ought to
be reduced to its proper signification. Thus, if instead of calliug our Saviour
the first-born Son of Mary, they had called him her Son,' St. Jerom had not
to answer Helvidius, who from this phrase took occasion to maintain that the
Virgin had other children besides our Saviour; and Helvidius had had no fol
lowers. If instead of calling bur Saviour the first-born of many brethren,
Rom. viii. 29, the first-born of ali the creatures, Col. r. 15, and the first-born
of God, Heb. i. 6, they had- translated, That he is the most august or most
glorious of many brethren, the most excellent or the most favoured of all crea
tures, the most dearly belovea'' Son oT&o'fi: Arius ancf liis fOTowers hact never
imagined that Christ was the first of all the creatures. If when he is called in
the original the first-begotten of the dead, Ilev. i. 15, they had rendered, that
he is tlie Sovereign or most illustrious of the dead, there would be no need, of
such long commentaries upon this expression, as the most learned divines do
acknpwledge. * Predicted. The adversaries of Christianity may cavil as they jilease,
and invent many objections to the scheme of the incarnation, and decry the
whole as absurd and impossible; but surely, admitting the omnipotence of
God, who originally " formed man of the dust of the grpunrf," we must also
admit that it was easy far him, by this method, or any other which he miglit
choose, to prepare a spotless body for the residence c€ his own son. " Is any
thing too hard for Jehovah?" " Great is the mystery of godliness, God was
manifest in the flesh," 1 Tim. iii. 16.
Thjs most, stupendous- subject is to be sliudied, not is the spirieof eold

Of the Holy Bible. 35
- In the time of Augustus Caesar a decree* was issued
to take an account of the estates of all the countries and
people subject to the Roman empire ; and Cyrenius be
ing governor of Syria, (in which province Palestine was
included) he was to enrol f that part of the empire. In
consequence of which, every one repairs to 'his own city
to have his name registered, and his goods rated, that
the emperor might know the wealth of every country,
city, and family. In this critical juncture it was that
Mary, the espoused wife of Joseph, though very near
ber time,!was obliged to accompany her husband Joseph
to JBethlehem to be enrolled ; where, by tbe singular
appointment of God, she brought forth her first-horn
in a stable, the vilest part of the inn, and most remote
from help at such a time: which undoubtedly did Very
much enhance the miracle, her delivery being as won
derful as her conception^
Though the birth of our Saviour, in all outward ap
pearance, was in the riaost mean and abject manner, and
seemingly unbecoming the majesty of heaven ; yet there
were several extraordinary circumstances which attended
it, and plainly intimated that he was the Son of God.

indifference, or of daring speculation, but with humble and devout affeotabas,
till the fire of divine, love burn within us, and constrain us'to stag aloud wiftfa
the holy mother- — " My soul doth, magnify thp Lord, auld jnyspirit hath re-
jpiced in God mv Saviour," "Lukje i. 46. f
• * Decree. Luke ii. 1. '¦ 'w'lr - •
t Enrol. This was not an exacting af . tribute, or taxation, but a setting-
down or enrolling every person according to his family and estate : accord
ing; to which the vulgar Latin eXpreSses:iSfl'o^l4^6a'&«» by Profited, Luke i. 2,
fhey went to tien" what they were worth, which was in order to be
taxied. ,
X Conception; It was always the •opinion of the church' (saitfo b&fagp
Taylor) that as there was no sia. in the conception, so neither, had the Virgin
any pains in the production : for to her alone the. punishment of. Eve did not
extend, That in sorrow she should bring forth. And therefore where nothing
of sin was an ingredient, there misery could not enter.
F 2

36 A Complete History
* He was no sooner bom but a messenger from heaven
proclaimed his birth to the world, and in the field Of
Bethlehem astonished and rejoiced the shepherds* with
the happy news of the nativity of Christf the Lord, born
in the city of David, directing them, to the place where
he was laid ; and immediately after the celestial choir
welcome him into the world with this harmonious
chorus, " Glory to God on the highest, peace on earth,
and good-will towards men."
The shepherds filled with joy and wonder at this
strange and glorious sight, hasten to Bethlehem to prove
the truth of these things ; where they no sooner arrive
but they see the Virgin-Mother, and Joseph the supposed
father, attending the god-like babe in the manger, whom
in humble reverence they adore, and in awful silence
admire the goodness of God : and, when they had gra
tified their delighted eyes with these miraculous trans
actions, joyfully disperse the astonishing news among
their neighbours, which alike affected all that heard
them. ..'-.„
Seven days being expired after the birth of our Sa
viour, he is circumcised on the eighth day, as the law
appointed, and named Jesus, which name was foretold
his mother before he was conceived ; and therefore it
was not to be considered as a name given him by human
opinion or intention, or the will of his parents, but by
divine authority, he being long before decreed to be the
Saviour, which this his name implies.
Though the people in the place of his birth seetned
to take little notice of him, and hitherto none, but poor

* Shepherds. The angel's moral in the circumstance of his address t6 tlie
poor shepherds of Bethlehem is, That none are fit to come to Christ but
those who are poor in spirit, despisers of the world, and simple in their
hearts, without secular design or craft; and therefore the angel did not
apply to Herod,1 nor to the Scribes and Pharisees, whose ambition had ends
contrary to the simplicity and poverty of the birth of Jesus.
f Christ. Luke ii. 11, and 14. See the note above on the word nothing,
page 91.

Of the Holy Bible. 37
shepherds by a revelation from heaven had paid any ac
knowledgement to him ; yet to denote his high birth,
and to witness his divinity, a star * appeared in the East,
which moved the curiosity of three wise men -f- to travel
to Jerusalem to worship him. This alarmed Herod, X
and immediately affected him with jealousy, and put him
upon enquiring ihtathe matter. To be farther satisfied,

* Star. This, word signifies an extraordinary star appearing in the hea*
ven, observed by the Magi to differ from the ordinary stars, and , some way
interpreted to them to be the index or finger to point out this miraculous
birth. f Wise Men. The Greek, word May0t, signifies ,not only those we com
monly call magicians, that is, sorcerers, but also philosophers, learned men,
students of the liberal sciences, especially of astronomy. These were then
famous among the Persians, and were both tlieir kings and, priests, as well as
among pther nations. The time of their, coming is not distinctly known. St.,
Matthew ii. 13, says, That after the wise men's. departure, the angel appeared
to Joseph, and dispatched' him into Egypt, which could not be before Mary's
purification; for then St. Luke says, ii. 22, they went up to Jerusalem, which
cannot be supposed after their going into Egypt,- nor between the departure
pf the Magi and their going thither, for that had been to throw themselves
into Herod's hands at Jerusalem, which they were commanded to avoid by
going into Egypt. From Jerusaletn therefore they returned to Bethlehem,
and dwelt there tUL the cpming and departure of the Magi: and therefore the
tradition, which ilrakes the Epiphany the twelfth day from the' nativity, may
mean it of that time twelve-month; according to which it is, that, upon exact
enquiring the time of the star's appearing, Herod, Matt. ii. 16, appoints the
killing'Of all the children from two years old and under; which probably he
would not have done, if they had informed him that the star appeared but a
few days before. - - i','
X Herod having by fraud usurped the kingdom of Judea, endeavours to
maintain his ill-gotten title by the, murder of the lawful heirs. The first of
whom, as we have seen in the. preceding volume, was Hircanus the. High-,
Priest. Secondly, Aristobulus, nephew of Hircanus, and High-Priest. Thirdly,
Mariamne, his wife, and daughter of, Hircarius. Fourthly, Alexandra,, the
mother of Mariamne. Fifthly, Alexander and Aristobulus, his sons by Ma
riamne. Sixthly, Antipatety his son by another wife. These were his reasons
for murdering -the innocents, jamong whom he toped Christ would have fallen,
who now seemed, his onjy surviving competitor. i i

38 A Complete History
he called a synod of the Chief-Priests and Scribes, and
demanded of them where Christ should be born : they
tell him at Bethlehem in Judea, according to what the
prophet Micah, ch- v. ver. 2, had foretold, " But thou
Bethlehem, though thou be little among the thousands
of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto
me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have
been from of old, from everlasting." »
This was so far from affording any satisfaction to
Herod, that it rather inflariied and increased his jealousy,
which craftily he concealed'. Calling for the wise men
privately, he examines them about the appearance ofthe
star, and pretended he would send them to Bethle
hem, in quest ofthe child, that when they had discovered
where he was, they should intimate the same to him,
that he also might come and worship him. But God
disappointed Herod's treachery. The wise men went to
Bethlehem, the star which they had before seen in the
East being their guide, which went before them till they
came to the place where the. Son of God was. Tnto
whose presence being, admitted, they paid him the most
solemn adoration, and presented him with the richest
productions of their countryy gold, ¦< frankincense, and
myrrh. Having performed their congratulatory em
bassy in this solemn manner, they prepared to return to
Jerusalem, to acquaint Herod with the' discovery they
had made ; but God, whose infiriite wisdom and all-
searching eye beheld the wickedness and insincerity of
Herod, who had no other design by sending these three
wise men to find out the babe but to destroy him, ad
monishes them in a vision not to acquaint Herod with
what they had seen, but to return honie to their country
another way.
After the circumcision of the holy infant, the next
cerettionies to be performed, according to the custom
of the law, were the purification. of the Virgin-mother,
and the preseritation of her first-born ; which solemnities,
were to he performed forty days after the nativity, pub
licly in the temple, by reason of tbe offering to be made
there : which in pursuance of the law was done, the Hoi y

Of the Holy Bible. 39
Virgin humbly submitting to the law, which injoiried
women to purify themselves, though she had no need of
it, her blessed Son, who was purity itself, having sub
mitted to the rite of circumcision. After so divine and
miraculous a birth, she repaired to the temple with the
sacred infant to present him to the Lord, who continued
to evince to the world his having sent his Son to redeem
it : for in ^he great concourse of people that attended
on this solemn occasion, there appeared two persons
eminent for piety, who, being urged by the divine im
pulse of the Spirit, came to give an illustrious testimony
to their Saviour. Simeon, a man just before God, ana
who waited for the consolation of Israel, having God's
promise that he should not depart this life before he had
seen the Lord's Anointed, when through the light of his
faith he had discovered God thus hidden under the
meanness of human infancy, and the promise which God
bad made him, thus accomplished, transported with an
holy joy, he took the blessed infant in his arms, and in
an ecstasy sung, " Lord now lettest thou thy servant de
part, in peace according to thy word: for mine eyes
have seen thy salvation. A light to lighten the Gentiles
and the glory of thy people Israel." And whilst the
~H^>ly Virgin and the rest of this pious assembly rejoiced
at what this good man uttered, an holy and venerable
widow, named Anna, came likewise into the temple, and
added her public praises and acknowledgments to those
which Simeon had already given of the Saviour. Her
exemplary life gave authority to what she said ; for after
seven years marriage she had passed all tbe rest of her
life to her eighty-fourth year in acts of piety and devo
tion, praying and fasting continually, and constantly
frequenting the teniple at the accustomed hours of per
forming those duties;, while the eminency of her cha
racter made a deep impression on all who heard her af
firming that this infant was the Messiah sent into the
world for the redemption of Israel.
These ceremonies being performed in tbe temple at
Jerusalem, they returned home to Bethlehem, where
they dwelt till after the coming and departure of the wise

40 A Complete History
men in all apparent security, nursing the holy babe, and
not in the least suspecting the wicked designs or attempts
of any enemy- But the eye of providence was more
watchful : God, who knew the insincerity of Herod's
heart, resolved to disappoint him, and sent an angel to
Joseph, to warn him of the approaching danger that
threatened the holy child ; informing him of Herod's
cruel design to destroy the infant, and commanding
him to retire into Egypt with him and his mother, and
there to remain till he should direct him, farther. Joseph,
who before this had been acquainted with the divine vi
sitation, disputed not the celestial message ; but in a du
tiful obedience to God, and fear for his sacred charge,
immediately prepared for theh escape ; and taking the
advantage of the night to prevent a discovery, travelled
to Egypt, where these holy pilgrims remained secure,
under the protection of heaven.
Herod having long and impatiently expected the re
turn of the wise men, and finding himself deluded by
them, impiously resolved to gratify and secure himself
another way, intending such a scene of blood as he vainly
thought must inevitably determine this young king's
reign, whom his^jealousy suggested was come to supplant
him in his ill-gotten dominion. Nothing less than a ge
neral massacre-* of all the male-children in Bethlehem,
and the country around to two years old, could glut this ,
monster's cruelty, and thinking it impossible in so uni
versal a slaughter that any could escape him. Thus he
resolved, but heaven had otherwise decreed ; for by this
time the intended prey, was out of his reach ; and safe
under the wings of providence.
Herod is not tardy in putting his bloody resolution
into execution. Guilt. and malice soon furnishing him
with instruments suitable to his cruel purpose, whom

* Massacre. This execution was in the beginning of the second year
after Christ's nativity, and not at the two years end, as some suppose. The
number of children slain at this time is said to have been fourteen thou
sand.

Of the Holy Bible. 41
he disperses in all parts to execute his bloody com
mands, and without pity or distinction murder all the
male children in Bethlehem, and in all the confines of
it, who were not above two years old. Then was woe
fully verified the prophecy of Jeremiah, ch. xxxi. ver. 15,
" Rachael* weeping for her children; and would not be
comforted." Tne shrieks of tender mothers for their
mangled babes, and the groans of expiring infants fill
the skies : death and remediless despair raging in every
place, and the surface of the earth crimsoned with in
nocent blood.
Daring these cruel transactions God had provided a
sanctuary in Egypt for the holy child Jesus, a chain of
propheciesf exactly concurring in every minute parti-

* Rachael. This part of Jeremiah's* prophecy was spoken figuratively of
the captivity of Babylon, and the slaughter at Jerusalem, long after Ra-
chael's death, who is here, though long before dead, said to lament; and
so also it hath here a second completion in this slaughter of the infants:
and Rachael, tbe mother of Benjamin, of which tribe, with that of Judah,
the Jews were chiefly composed, is likewise here figuratively introduced,
lamenting the slaughter, as of her children.
t Prophecies. St. Matt. ch. ii. ver. S5, alludes to that text in Hosea, xi. 1,
" Out of Egypt have I called my, son:" which had one accomplishment
when the people of Israel were carried into, and delivered out of Egypt,
and was now again fulfilled in this true promised seed of Abraham, that
is, in Christ, (of whom Israel, called God's first-born, was a type) and
in him, now that he was a child, as it was said in Hosea. And to this pur
pose it may be considered, how fitly Joseph was a type of Christ, as he is
represented, to us in the History of his flight into, and return from Egypt :
for as Joseph was by his brethren sold into Egypt, so is Christ by the per
secution of Herod driven thither: as Joseph was separated from his brethren,
and cast out from among them, so was Christ for fear of Archelaus sepa
rated from his own tribe of Judah, and constrained to dwell in Nazareth of
Galilee, whose name may denote that flight or separation ; and may likewise
signify an afflicted or humbled person, which may be applicable to Christ's
being brought up in 'Nazareth; a poor place (can any good come out of
Nazareth f) and so a special part of Christ's humiliation to reside there.
Dr. Doddridge is of opinion, with Grotius, Huinsius, and other critics,
that the reference made to Hosea xi. 1, is merely in the way of allusion, ae
also the passage which refers to Jeremiah's prophecy.
VOL. III. G

42 A Complete History
cula'r, as had been foretold some centuries before, and-
most agreeably and properly accommodated to the per
son of our Saviour, of whom several persons in the Ola
Testament had been types.
Theholy pilgrims having tarried nearly seven years (as
it is commonly believed) in Egypt, Joseph was assured
by an angel of the death of Herod, and commanded to
return into the land of Israel with his holy charge. He
readily obeys the heavenly vision, and returns : but
hearing that Archelaus succeeded his father in Judea,
and fearing that the cruelty and ambition of Herod
might be entailed upon the son, * and being also warned
of God in a dream to turn aside into the parts of Galilee,
(which was a distinct jurisdiction,) governed indeed by
one of Herod's sons, but not by Archelaus, he withdrew
thither: and there this holy family remained in the
city of Nazareth, f
From their return out of Egypt to Judea, and their
habitation in Nazareth, till the blessed child Jesus was
twelve years of age, we have nothing transmitted to us
out of any authentic record, but that they went to Jeru
salem every year at the feast of the passover, which op
portunities of religion, and public address to God in the
rites and solemnities of the temple, they had been denied
during their peregrination in Egypt. But being returned
to their own country, they again enjoyed the blessings of
those holy societies and employments, of which they had
been so long deprived. At the feast therefore of the
passover, when Jesus was twelve years old, and in the
holy city, attending upon the pascal rites and solemn .
sacrifices of the law, his parents having fulfilled their

* Son. Archelaus, in the very beginning of his reign, massacred three
thousand Jews at one time in the temple.
t Nazareth. It was said, in effect at least, by many of the prophets, " He
shall be called a Nazareen," that is, be shall appear in despicable circum
stances, and be treated contemptuously. But, as we do not find the above
sentence literally in any ofthe prophets, we must-conclude, with Chrysostom,
that if such a sentence originally existed, it has been lost.

* Of the Holy Bible. 43
days of festivity, went homeward, supposing the child
had been in the caravan among his friends, and thus
tliey travelled for the space of a whole day's journey;
but when they sought him among their kindred and ac
quaintance, and found him not, tney returned to Jerusa
lem full of fear and sorrow. Who can express the
painful apprehensions of heart whieh then thronged
about the lloly mother, who trembled not only for the
loss ofthe joy of her family, but the hopes of the whole
world ? What did not her foreboding mind at that time
suggest to her upon the apprehension of a loss so incal
culably great. Possibly an angel might have carried
him she knew not wh'ither; or it may be the son of
Ilerod might have seized the prey which his cruel father
had missed. Whilst she had spent some time under
these anxieties of mind, in her sad and holy pursuit of
her lost, jewel, despairing of the prosperous event of any
human diligence, she made her address to God, the only
relief and succour of distressed minds ; and entering into
the temple to pray, God who knew her desires, prevented
her with the blessings of his goodness, and her sorrow
was turned into joy and wonder: for there she found
her Holy Son sitting in the midst of the doctors, both
hearing and asking them questions. ,
The hare sight of him soon effaced their care and
grief: but the glad parents receive this addition to their
joy, they find him illustrated with a miracle ; for when
they saw him, they were amazed, and so were all that
heard him, at his understanding and answers, beyond his
education and experience, -beyond his years, and even/
the common abilities and capaejl ies ofthe best men, dis
coursing und disputing with the learned, with the power
of u prophet, with the brightness of an angel, and the
infallibility of inspiration itself.
The Virgin-mother, though overjoyed at the sight of
her holy child, could not foihoar expressing a gentle ad
monition to him for the great alarm he had excited, say
ing, "Son, why hast thon dealt thus with us?" Which
he modestly excused by giving this account of himself;
" Why should ye seeek me ? Knew ye not that I must be
G 2

44 A Complete History
about my fathers business ?"* These things Joseph and
the rest understood not, but Mary laid them up in her
heart, well knowing it was part of his employment,
and his lather's business to be in his house, where she
had found him.
Being thus happily recovered by his parents, he re
turned with them to Nazareth, and was subject to them
in all things, lived in holiness and humility, submitting
to an ordinary employment, which ho undertook in obe
dience to his supposed father, and for the support of that
holy family, whieh was dear in the eyes of God, though
not splendid in the estimation of the world. He is said
to have wrought, with his own hands in the business of
a carpenter ; and when Joseph died, whieh happened be
fore the manifestation of Jesus unto Israel, he wrought
alone, and was no more called " the carpenter's son,"
but "• the carpenter." "Is not. this the carpenter, the son
of Mary?" said his offended countrymen, Mark vi. 3.
And in this condition did the blessed Jesus abide till he
was thirty years of age ; for he that came to fulfil the
law would not suffer one tittle of it to pass unaccom
plished -. for by the law of tho nation, and custom of its
religion, no priest was to officiate, or prophet to teach,
before he was thirty years of age.
What a pleasing example do the character and con
duct of Jesus present to young persons. At the early
age of twelve years he discovers tho most affectionate
attachment to the house and serviee of (rod, so that
after an attendance to religions duties for several days
successively, he seems unwilling to leave the sucred
spot ! What a contrast to this is the reluctance which
many young persons discover to all religious exercises,
however short; and who arc far more warmly addicted
to every childish ainuscmont than to the Sabbath, the
Bible, and the worship of God!

* Father's business. The Greek render* this il) Si. Luke, ch. ii. ver. 4U,
t> T»r< tuv w«Tji« in his father's houso; so that it hvwm to refer io theplac*
whew thoy found him, that is, In the temple.

Of the Holy Bible. Ah
At twelve years of age he was deeply versed in the
knowledge of the law, and all were astonished^ at his
understanding. Surely this may reproach many pro
fessed Christians, who at twice or thrice that age, remain
totally ignorant ofthe grand subjects of revelation !
Notwithstanding, however, this uncommon superiority
of sacred attainments, "he was subject to his parents,"
he did not renounce his obedience to Joseph and Mary,
but with due regard to their authority, he returned with
them to dwell at the mean city of Nazareth. No talents,
no learning, no religious zeal, will justify young per
sons in the neglect. of that plain and universal precept,
" Honour thy father and thy mother."
Most of all we may admire the submission of this
incomparable person to a state of obscurity, in a despi
cable country town," till he was thirty years of age, little
known or regarded. What astonishing condescension is
this, and what a lesson to us all ! " He made himself of,
no reputation'," shall we then be impatient, if a state of
poverty, obscurity, and labour, be allotted to us ? Or
shall we be transported, by an indiscreet zeal, to push
ourselves forward to public notice or public functions ?
" Let the mind that was in Christ be also in us," so
shall we best deserve the name of Christians.
State qf Judea in our Saviour's time, and before.
Judea had been as we have already seen, brought into
subjection to the Romans by Pompey, who, after a siege
of three months, took Jerusalem in the year sixty-three,
before the Christian sera, about the time of our Mid- ¦
summer. Josephus always dates the loss of their liberty
from that time. The same is said by Tacitus. But though
the Jewish people then became subject to the Romans,
and it may be said, that from that day forward the rod
of heaven hung over them, they enjoyed many privi
leges, and the freedom of their worship, under the mild
government of those masters, as appears both from Jo
sephus, and from the historical books of the New Tes
tament ; for when Pompey became master of Jerusalem,

46 A Complete History
he and some of his officers entered into the tempfo and
the most holy places of it , but took nothing away.
There were then in it the table-, the candlestick with its
lamps, the pouring vessels, and the censers, all of gold,
and great quantities of spices, and two thousand talents in
money; all which he left untouched, and the day after he
gave orders, that they who had the charge of the temple
should cleanse it, and perform the accustomed sacrifices ;
and he also restored the high priesthood to Hyrcanus.
And that after this the Jewish people were, sometimes
at least, in a flourishing condition, appears from many
circumstances. It was during this period, that Herod
repaired the temple. Excepting the cloud of glory with
which the first templerhad been favoured, that erected
by Herod may be reckoned to have been equal to it in
the splendor and magnificence of the building, and in
rich and costly presents, and other ornaments. "
When the Jewish people, after their return from the
Babylonish captivity, laid the foundation of the new
house, " many of the priests, the Levites, and chief of
the fathers, who were ancient men, wept with a loud
voice." Ezr. iii. 12. But God encouraged them by the
prophet Haggai, in this manner; ch. ii. 3. " Who is left
among you, that saw this house in its first glory ? and
how do ye see it now ? Is it not in your eyes, in compa
rison of it, as nothing ? Yet now be strong, O Zerub
babel, saith the Lord — arid be strong, all ye people of
the land, and work : for I am with you, saith the Lord
of Hosts — for thus saith the Lord of Hosts,- 1 will shake
all nations. And the desire of all nations shall come.
And I wjjl fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of
Hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith
the Lord of Hosts. The glory of this latter house shall
be greater than that of the former, saith the Lord of
Hosts. And in thts place will i give peace, saith
the Lord of Hosts."
Notwithstanding the innocent blood which Herod had
caused to be shed in Bethlehem, his soul was not yet sa
tiated, but sought for more in the adjacent parts : be

Of the Holy Bible. 47
hunted the country around to glut his cruelty ; but di
vine providence, still watching over its own, timely with
drew John, the forerunner of our Saviour, from his rapa
cious fury. Elizabeth hearing, it is said, of the sad ha-
vock Herod's barbarity had made among the infants of
Bethlehem, thought her son not secure among the hills,
but fled with him into the wilderness, where she attended
him with care and tenderness. John was about eighteen
months old when his mother first fled with him ; and his
father Zacharias, at the time ofhis ministration,* which
happened about this time, was killed, it is supposed, in
the court of the temple, Herod resolving to revenge the
disappointment of murdering the son upon the father ;
so .that the child was exposed to all the dangers of an or
phan, while a bloody tyrant endeavoured his destruction.
But when his father and mother were removed, the Lord
took him up, as be had formerly done to Ishmael who
dwelt in the wilderness, and to Elias when be flecf from
the rage of Ahab ; so to this child, who came in the spi
rit and power of Elias, to demonstrate that there can,
be no want where God undertakes to make a provision.
The entertainment that St. John met with in the wil
derness, was such as might dispose him t° an austere

* Ministration. Every rank or course of priests served weekly in ths
temple by turns; which course falling out by lot, they determined also by
lot, the particular service of the priest's, who should burn incense, slay
the beasts, lay them on the altar, dress the lamps, &c. Zacharias was of
the course of Abia, Luke i. 5, that is, of the (jighth course, and his lot
was to burn incense, Luke i. 9. As to the death of Zachariah, the father
of John Baptist, it is the opinion of St. Chrysostom, Peter Martyr, Ter
tullian, and others, that it was he that Herod slew between the temple and
the altar, because he refused to betray his son to him ; especially Tertul
lian, who reports it with this ' circumstance, which, however, has too much
the air of fiction ; that the blood of Zachariah had so besmeared the stones
of the pavement where he was murdered, that no art or industry could
wash it out, the tincture being indelible; as if, because God intended to
exact of that nation all the blood of the righteous from Abel to Zachariah,
-who was the last of the martyrs of the synagogue, he would leave a character
of their guilt in. their eyes to upbraid their infidelity and cruelty.

48 A Complete History
life ; for he spent his time in contemplation and prayer,
feeding on locusts * and wild honey, and clothed with a
rough garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle,
till the time of his public appearance, which was in the
fifteenth year of the emperor Tiberius ; Pontius Pilate
being then governor of Judea, when the word of God
came to John in the wilderness, from whence he departed,
and went into all the country round about, preaching
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
St. John, according to the prophecies of him, and the
designation ofhis person by the Holy Ghost, was the fore
runner of Christ, sent to prepare the way for him, and to
dispose the people for the reception of him ; and there
fore it was necessary he should in his person appear emi
nent for sanctity, and extraordinarily great in all the oc
currences and circumstances of his life, so as he might
gain credit to the testimony he was to give concerning
the Lord the Saviour of the world. And this the Baptist's
character most exactly answered ; for at his quitting the
solitary desert he seemed what indeed he was, an excel
lent person. The contempt ofthe world, which he bore,
with his mortified deportment, his austere life, and his
admirable zeal in preaching,' created so high an opinion
of him among the people, that all held him for a pro
phet, especially when by his baptism he added a greater
solemnity to his office. By this he so prevailed, that he
made a suitable preparation for the Lord's appearing.
And now it was, that multitudes thronged from all parts
of the country, to her the joyful news of salvation from
the mouth of the Baptist : cities and towns were de
serted, whilst the spacious fields were crowded with their
inhabitants. Jerusalem, Judea, and all the country about
Jordan, which hear his doctrine, which he delivered with

* Locusts. Commentators diner respecting these locusts. The insect
properly so called is yet however used for food by many of the natives of
Arabia, and the coasts ofthe Red Sea: and Judea, produced so much ho
ney, that in several places of scripture, if is said, " to flow with honey,"
which was frequently found fu the trunks of trees, and in the clefts of the
rocks.

Of the Holy Bible. 49
force and power, severely reprehending the Pharisees
and Sadducees, exhorting the people to works of mercy,
the publicans to decline oppression, and to do justice ;
the soldiers to abstain from plunder and violence ; de
claring he was not the Christ, that he only baptized
with water, but that the Messiah should baptize with
the Holy Ghost, and with fire; and this was the joyful
dawn of the gospel, to which St. John Baptist was like
the morning star, foretelling the approach of the sun of
righteousness, who was just about to enlighten the
world wifh his presence.
The full time being come, Jesus took leave of his mo
ther and his kindred, to commence his public ministry,
and take upon him the prophetical office which he was
to sustain*. Now whilst St. John was baptizing the peo
ple at the river Jordan, Jesus himself came to him to
be baptized of him : but the Baptist, who, it should seem,
had never before seen his face, being by the Holy Ghost
inspired with a discerning spirit, at his first arrival knew
him, and paid him reverence ; forwhen Jesus desired to be
baptized, John declined it, saying, " I have need to be
baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" John was
astonished that the Messiah, the Lamb of God, pure and
wTithout spot, who needed not the cleansing of repentance,
or the washing of baptism, should demand it, and of him
a sinner, and his servant. But though he was no sinner
himself, yet was he " made sin for us ;" and therefore it
was proper for him to submit to an ordinance, denoting
the impurity of the subject, for he was designed to bear
the punishment of sin, in behalf of his people. Accord
ingly therefore the holy Jesus who came, as he declares
in his answer to the Baptist's question, to fulfil all righ
teousness, would receive that rite which his father had
appointed in order to the manifestation of his Son.
John, having by the impulse of the Holy Spirit already
descried the Saviour of the World, who offered himself

* Sustain. Acts iii.
VOL. III. H

50 A Complete History
to be baptized, among the vast crowds of people who
came to the banks of Jordan for that purpose, after a
short expostulation with him of his own unworthiness,
who ought rather to receive the honour and blessing of
baptism from his Saviour, than his Saviour from him, no
longer disputes his Lord's commands, but baptizes him.
The Baptist having performed his ministry, the heavens
were opened, and being filled with an unusual and glo
rious light,, the. Holy Ghost in the manner of a dove*
alighted upon his sacred head, and God the Father gave
a voice from heaven, saying, " Thou art my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.'* This was the inaugu
ration and proclamation of the Messiah, when he was
¦about to begin to take upon him the office of the great
prophet of the new covenant. And this was the greatest
•meeting that ever was upon earth, where the whole mys=
tery of the Trinity was opened, and shewn as fully as hu->
man apprehension was capable of receiving it. The first
Person, God the Father, kept his state in heaven, giving
testimony to his holy Son, and was manifested only by a
voice, without any visible representation : the second
Person appeared in the veil of humanity : and the third,
descending in a glorious body of light with the motion
of a dove. Thus was manifested to Israel the blessed
Redeemer of the world by baptism, to which, by his
submission, he gave the most honourable sanction.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, had opened the heavens,
which hitherto had never been opened to man, and was
declared to be the Son of God, that he might give some
evidence of his piety and constancy before he entered on
* Dove. As soon as Jesus was baptized, and come out of the water, he
fell down on his knees in prayer to his Father, Luke iii. 21, and while he '
was praying, the heavens in a very remarkable manner parted asunder vi
sibly before Christ, and the Spirit of God descended upon him as a dove
descends or alights upon any thing; not in the shape of a dove, but a body
of light came down, and alighted upon him. And though St. Luke says
in a bodily shape, yet he does not say the bodily shape of a dove; but that
this body of light, which fell on our Saviour as he was praying, fell after
the hovering manner and motion of a doye*.

Of ihe Holy Bible. 5 1
his prophetic office, it was thottght fit that some trial
should he endnrejd by him, and to that end, by the im
pulse of the Spirit of God (of which he was foil, Luke iv.
1,) he went from Jordan further into the desert, not vo
luntarily putting himself upon temptation, but submitting
to it according to the appointment of God ; being led
into the wilderness by the good Spirit, to be tempted by
the evil one. Being there, he was enabled by the mira
culous power of Deity to continue forty days and nights
without food or drink : during which time he was as
saulted with a variety of temptations, but that of hunger
seemed to be the most pungent ; for at the expiration of
the forty days, the devil himself taking advantage of
that opportunity, attacks him, inviting him to eat bread
of his own providing, which might refresh his human
nature, and at the same time prove his divinity ; hopfhg
that his hunger, and the desire of convincing the adver
sary, might tempt him to eat before the time appointed :
" If thou art the Son of God," says he, " make use new
of that power to thine own relief, and turn these stones
into bread ;" but Jesus answered, " It is written, man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word * that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Meaning, that in
the word of God a promise is expressed or implied of
the supply of all things necessary for him that is doing
the work of God.
The devil failing in this attempt, tries him again, re-
guiring only a demonstration of his being the Son of
rod. He taketh him up into the holy city, that is, he
carried bim in the air, without doing him any hurt, to
Jerusalem, being permitted by God so to do, and set
him on the battlement f of the temple ; and urging Psalm

* Word. Bread or ordinary means of sustaining nature is not absolutely
necesshry to the life of man : God can feed and uphold him other waysr, by .
whatever he pleaseth to make use of to that purpose ; his bare word or ap
pointment, Deut. viii. 3.
f Battlement. The Greek word Pterugion signifies literally a little wing;
but it here denotes the exterior circuit of the top of an house, which coin-
H 2

52 A Complete History
xci. 1 1, to him, he proposed to him to cast himself down
from thence, by that means to testify himself to be the
Son of God ; for if it were so, he might do this securely.
Jesus understood his design ; and though he was secure
of God's protection, yet he would not tempt God, nor
vainly solicit his providence, by tempting him to an un
necessary conservation. This assault also, proving as in
effectual as the former, the devil unites all his force of
art and stratagem ; places the holy Jesus upon an ex
ceedingly high mountain, and by a supernatural* power
draws into one view an admirable map of all the beauties
and glory of the world, in as splendid and inviting man
ner as possible, and represents it to the eyes of Jesus,
saying, " All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt
fall down and worship me." The devjl growing thus
violent in his temptations, and so impudent and blas-

passeth it in to keep.men from danger of falling from the roof, and is there
fore in the law enjoined in their buildings, Deut. xxii. 8, so that the Greek
ought to be rendered Battlement.
Parkhurst thinks it was the King's Portico, built by Herod, of which Jo
sephus says, " It was one of the most memorable works that was ever seen .
under the sun; for whereas the valley itself , was here so deep, that one
could not bear to look down into it; on the edge of this, Herod raised the
immense height of the portico, so that if any one from the roof of this portico
should look through both these depths at .once, his head would grow dizzy."
Somewhere then on the roof of this portico, it is probable that the devil placed
our Saviour.
' Supernatural. Mr. Maundrell in his travels, visited the scene, (as gener
ally supposed) of our Lord's temptation, of which he says, " It is -a miserable
dry place, consisting of high rocky mountains, so toru and disordered, as if
the earth here had suffered some great convulsion. From the top of these,
hills of desolation, we had, -how ever, a delightful prospect of the mountains of
Arabia, the Dead Sea, and the plains of Jericho, into which last we descended,
after about five hours march from Jerusalem. As soon as we entered the
plaid, we turned upon the left hand, and going about one hour that way, came
to the foot of the Quarantania, (so called from our Lord's forty days fast)
which, they say, is the mountain, where the devil tempted him with the vision
ary scene of all the kingdoms and glories of the world. It is very steep and
high, and its assent not only difficult, but dangerous."

Of the Holy Bible. 53
phemous in his demands, provoked the blessed Jesus to
assert his authority, and with holy indignation to dis
miss him, repeating the words ofthe law (Deut. vi. 13,)
" Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only*
shalt thou serve." Then for a season Satan ceased to
tempt him, (afterwards setting himself more industri
ously to use every stratagem to take away his life) and
the angels came and ministered to him, being messen
gers ot comfort sent from his Father to support his hu
manity, and to congratulate him on this illustrious vic
tory over the prince of darkness : a victory in which
every Christian must rejoice ; for thus, our Redeemer,
" having himself suffered, being tempted," obtained an
experimental fitness,, " to succour us when we are
tempted," and became also an illustrious example for
our imitation, that we should learn to " resist Satan,"
that he may " flee from us."
While our blessed Lord was in the desert, struggling
against, and overcoming, all the temptations and allure
ments of the devil, St. John, as became the office of a
forerunner, ceased not to give public testimony concern
ing Christ, now manifested : for after that by a sign
from heaven the Baptist was confirmed in spirit, and un
derstood Jesus to be the Messiah, he immediately pub-

* Only. St. Augustin, and the Romanists after him, to defend their saint
and image-worship, observe that our Saviour in Matt. iv. 10, does not say,
"Thou shalt only worship the Lord thy God," though lu: says, "Him only shalt-
thou serve :'' inferring from hence, That because the word Only is not used be
fore or with tho word Worship, that therefore we may worship saints and
images as they do. But this to be more, subtle than the devil himself, who
having only required of our Saviour to fall down and worship him, went off
baffled at his answer, which yet would have been. imperfect and impertinent,
if St. Aogustin'a fancy were true; and on which the devil, no doubt, who is
not wont to neglect any advantage, would have taken hold. But if this father,
and those who blindly, followed his authority, had applied themselves more
closely to study the style of the Scriptures, they would have been ashamed to
use such kind of arguments : for it isv evident that the word only, which is ex
pressed in the command of serving tlie God, is also understood in that of wor
shipping him.

54 A Complete History
lished to the Jews what God had manifested to him :
and first to the priests and Levites7 sent from the San
hedrim or council, he declared that he himself was not;
the Christ, nor Elias, nor that prophet whom they by a
special tradition expected to be revealed, they knew not
when. As concerning himself, he said, " That he was
the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight
the way of the Lord:" but there was one amongst them,
as yet unknown, a person of great dignity, to whom the
Baptist was, not worthy to perform the meanest office;
who coming after John, was preferred before him ; who
was to increase, while the Baptist should decrease, and
who should baptize with the holy Ghost and with fire.*
This was the illustrious character of our blessed Lord;
but as yet no demonstration was made of his person, till
after the descent of the Holy Ghost upon him : and then,
when and wherever the Baptist saw him, he points him
out with his finger, saying, " Behold the Lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the world." But more
particularly after the return of our blessed Lord from tbe
wilderness : for John having declared to the priests and
Levites that he himself was not the Christ, the next day
he seeth Jesus coming to him, and by the power of the
Holy Ghost,, he exclaims, " Behold the Lamb of God
.that taketh away the sin of the world !" and confirming
his former testimony of him, he adds, " This is be of
whom I said, After me cometh one that is preferred
before me, for he was before me. And though I knew
him not, yet I knew that he should be made manifest to
Israel ; therefore am I come baptizing with water." And

* Fire. Fire here, according, to St. Chrysostomy signifies the efficacy
of the Holy Ghost ; whose operation is so mighty where it is felt, that like
fire it consumes the impurities 'of sin. This is a reference, no doubt, to
the miraculous appearance of tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost, em
blematical of the gift of languages, and the heavenly animation withwhich-
the first- preachers declared the word of life, as weU as of die wonderful
effects of their doctrine.

Of the Holy Bible. 55
John bare farther record of the Me§siah, saying, " I
saw the Spirit descending from heaven, as a dove de
scends, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not;
but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said
to me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descenduig,
and remaining upon him, the same is he which bap
tizeth with the Holy Ghost." "This," says he, " 1 saw;
and bear record, that this is the Son of God."
The day after the Baptist appeared again ; and besides
the multitudes that promiscuously flocked to hear his
discourses, he had, according to the manner of the Jew
ish masters, some peculiar and select disciples, who
more constantly attended upon his lectures, and for the
most part waited upon his person. Amongst these was
Andrew, who was then with him about Jordan, when
our Saviour, who some time since had been baptized,
came that way -. upon whose approach the Baptist as
sured them that this was the Messiah, the Divine person
of whom he had so often spoken ; and, to usher in whose
appearance, his whole ministry was but subservient ;
that this was the Lamb of God, — the true sacrifice,
which was to expiate the sins of mankind. Upon this
testimony, Andrew * and another disciple (probably St.
John) followed oUr Saviour to the place of his abode, -
and after some converse with him, Andrew went to ac
quaint his brother Simon, and both together came to
Christ ; who, as soon as he beheld Simon, said, " Thou
art Simon the Son of Jonas, thou shalt be called Ce-.
phas,-f- which signifies a stone."
The day following, Jesus going into Galilee finds out

* Andrew. Upon this account St. Andrew is generally by the fathers and
ancient writers styled the Protocletos, or first-called disciple ; but iu a strict
sense he was not so : for though he was the first of the disciples that came to
Christ, yet he was not called till afterwards.
t Cephas. Anaclete and other Roman writers derive Cephas (the Syriac
name of Peter, which signifies a stone) from the Greek word Kephale, which
signifies a head, and by this silly mistake endeavour to prove St. Peter's
supremacy.

56 A Complete History
Philip * of Bethsaida, and bids bim follow him ; which
was the constant form he used in making choice of his
disciples, and those that inseparably attended upon him,
Philip being thus honourably distinguished by his Lord
and Saviour, he soon found Nathaniel -f- a man of note,
and acquainted him with the tidings that the Messiah
was come. Nathaniel could not easily be induced to give
credit to Philip's account ; for the title of Nazarene was
both by Jews and Gentiles reckoned the greatest reproach
that could be fixed on any one ; therefore Nathaniel
questioned with Philip, Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth? But Philip insisting on what he bad seen and
heard, urges him to go along with him and see ; which
he did, and was speedily convinced. Nathaniel no sooner
. had approache'd his Saviour, but he received from him a
most ample testimony of his holy simplicity and sin
cerity in these words, " Beholdj an Israelite indeed, in
whom is no guile !" Nathaniel perfectly surprised at such
an unexpected evidence of our Lord's omniscience,
immediately says, with all the natural frankness of his
temper, "Whence dost thou know me?" Jesus re--
plied, that before Philip called him, when he was alone,
under the fig-tree, he saw him. % Upon which, in an

* Philip. The prerogative of being first called evidently belongs to
Philip} he being one of the first of our Lord's disciples.- For ¦ though An
dre^ and Peter were the first that came to and conversed with Christ, yet
did they immediately return to their trades again, and were not called to
their discipleship till above a whole year after, when John was cast into
prison. t Nathaniel. Here is room for a very probable conjecture of St. Augus
tin on Nathaniel; it may be wondered ai, that our Saviour bestowing such
particular marks of esteem on this good man, did not take him into the
college of the apostles : to which St. Augustin gives this for answer, because
he was a doctor of the law ; which profession at that time was become very
scandalous, by reason of the many and vile corruptions crept into it;
which soon after was the occasion of so many woes proclaimed against the
professors of it by our Saviour.
% Him. That is, Jesus had in spirit observed what passed in his secret re
tirement for devout meditation and prayer, probably in his own garden.

Of the Holy Bible. 57
ecstasy of joy, Nathaniel, acknowledged his Saviour,
saying, " Thou art the Son of God,* thou art the King
of Israel ! Thou art the promised Messiah, described to
us as a King:" and Jesus took this affection of Nathaniel
in so good part, that he promised him greater things ;
which gave occasion to the first prophecy made by our
Saviour. For, he said unto him, " Because I said I saw
thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see
greater things than these. And then he prophesied, *f-
that he should see heaven opened, and the angels of
God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."};
Mueh„ about the same time there happened to be a
marria'ge at Cana of Galilee, in the neighbourhood of his
dwelling, to which Jesus and his mother being invited,
he went to oblige the persons espoused, and do ho
nour to the holy rite of marriage. The persons then
married were but of indifferent fortunes, richer in the
love of their neighbours, than in the fulness of their
large possessions. They had more company than wine :
for the master of the feast § complained to the bride-

Nathaniel was so struck with this express reference to what none but God and
his own conscience had witnessed, that all his prejudices were at once re-
nvoveri, and he acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah, the sent of God.
* Son of God. The ancient Jews universally expected that the Son of God
would appear on earth, and be that great king whom they had for so many
ages expected ; this appears from the expression of Nathaniel in the present
instance, and from the following scriptures, Matt. xxvi. 16. John vi. 69.
John xi. 2T. Matt. viii. 29. [See Dr. Macknight's Harmony, Sect. 18.]
t Prophesied. John i. 51.
X Man. Probably the meaning may be such a train of miracles in his
ministry, that it should seem as if heaven was opened, and the angels of God
(as in Jacob's vision, Gen. xxviii. 12.) ascending and descending to wait on the
Son of Man, to receive and execute bis orders. But some think this predic
tion refers to the ascension of our Lord, of which Nathaniel might be a wit
ness ; for he is supposed to have been the same person, who, in the catalogue
of the apostles, is called Bartholomew.
§ Master of the Feast. According to the piety and order of the Jewish
nation, they chose the Architriclmos, or Master of the Feast, from the. order
VOL. III. I

5g A Complete History
groom, that the guests wanted wine. As soon as the holy
mother had notice of this want of wine, she mentioned it to
her son, thereby affording him an opportunity of displaying
his power, by shewing a miracle in supplying the guests.
But Christ answered, " Woman, what have I to-do with
thee ? Mine hour is not yet come." * By this answer in
tending her no denial, to whom he always bare a reli
gious respect, but telling her, that this part of his office,
to which he was sent by God, was a thing, wherein she,
though his earthly parent, was not to interpose ; adding
moreover, that it was not, yet seasonable for him to shew
his power to all, intimating his design, that be would do it
more privately, than by her words she seemed to wish.
Whereupon, that none but the servants might take no
tice of it (who knowing the wine was alL spent, must of
course know if any supply "were provided) she gave ex
press charge to them to do whatsoever he commanded.
There were there six water-pots -f- of stone, cisterns of a
sufficient size, out of which they were wont to draw water
for every man's use. The servants filled them to the brim,
and, as they were commanded, drew out, and presented
to the governor of the feast, who knew not of it, till the
miracle became public : for while the guests wondered at

of priests to be the president of it, that by the reverence of his person
he might restrain all intemperance, by his discretion govern and order the
circumstances, by his religious knowledge direct the solemnities of mar
riage, and by his power keep the guests within the bounds of modesty and
prudence. • Come. No rudeness or disrespect was intended by our Lord's using the
word " Woman," in speaking to his mother. Blackwell, in his Sacred Classics,
refers to several instances in Greek writers, where the same appellation is
given to persons of distinction, even by their inferiors.
i
t Water-pots. These were set there to wash in, after the manner of the
Jews, who constantly washed with a superstitious nicety before meat ; espe
cially in all public meetings, for fear of contracting pollution or illegal impu
rities, which they did with a particularity next to superstition, washing even
the teats and tables at their feasts.

Of the Holy Bible. 59
the management of this feast in keeping the best wine
till the last,* it being the custom of the Jews to give
their guests the strongest and richest wines at first, it
grew apparent that he who was the Lord of the creatures,
which have all a capacity of receiving the impression of
what forms he pleases to imprint, could give new natures,
and produce new qualities in any subject in which he
thinks proper to glorify his Son.
This was the beginning of miracles which Jesus did in
Cana of Galilee -, by which he was pleased to grace a nup
tial solemnity, and thus bear a testimony to the honour of
the marriage state, and at the same time afford a glorious
evidence of the presence of his divinity, and accordingly
his disciples believed on him more stedfastly than before,
as the fact was so certain and so remarkable .-j-
Immediately after this miracle, Jesus went down to
Capernaum, and abode there a few days ; but the great
feast of the passover being at hand, he went up to Jeru
salem, where tlie first public act that he performed, was
one of holy zeal in behalf of the honour of God and his
temple : for divers merchants and exchangers of money
made that sacred place a mere market and bank, and
brought heasts thither to be sold for sacrifice against the
great pascal solemnity, just approaching. At tlie sight
of which, the blessed Jesus, being moved with zeal and
indignation, made a whip of cords, and drove the beasts

* Last. John x. 7, says, " When men have well drunk." There is no
reason to suppose that the guests at this feast had drank to excess, even if it
be allowed that it is un allusion to the too frequent custom of doing so at
feasts. It is almost blasphemous to suppose that our Holy Saviour would
" display his glory" by miraculously furnishing the company with the means of
keeping up a drunken revel.
t BAMarkable. By this miracle a favour was conferred on the newly
married couple, as a considerable expence wns saved, and an ample equi*
valent given for the additional charge of entertaining so many of his dis
ciples. I 2

60 A Complete History
out of the temple, overthrew the bankers tables, * and
commanded them that sold doves to take them from
thence. His holy zeal was heightenad at the profanation
of the edifice, which was peculiarly set apart for God's
service. " Take these things hence," said he, " and make
not my father's house a house of merchandize, for it
shall be called a house of prayer to all nations."- This
action appearing to some persons like the religious bi
gotry of the zealots among the Jews, if it were not at
tested by something extraordinary, they thought might
be abused into an excess of liberty ; and therefore they
requhed a sign of him, to shew by what authority he did
these things. But he gratified their curiosity only by
foretelling the resurrection of his body after three days
death, which he expressed in the metaphor of the tem
ple ; " Destroy this temple, and I will build it up in
three days." But he spake of the temple of his body,
and they understood him ofthe temple at Jerusalem ; and
it was never rightly construed till it was accomplished;
for after he was risen from the dead, his disciples recol
lected that he had formerly spoken this to them. This
miracle may justly be considered as one of the most re
markable performed by our Lord ; it discovers his power
no less than his zeal, for how extraordinary was it, that a
number of interested persons should at once submit to
the dictates of a man unknown, and unarmed with any

*, Tables. The Greek word Trapeza, table, here is that from which those
that dealt in returning money, or in bills of exchange, and made advantage or
gain by so ddiug, are called Trapezitae -ordinarily among authors. But here
the Trapezitae seems to signify that sort of men, who (as merchants among us)
return money for, others to some other place, by which they received some
advantage themselves. Hence it was that the Israelites being obliged by the
law to come up to Jerusalem (how far soever they dwelt from it) and there to
sacrifice and to offer the half shekel for the use ofthe temple, Exod. xxx. IS,
(which, by reason of the length of their journey, sometimes they could not
do,) these Trapezitse set up their tables in tlie very temple, that so they might
traffic with all that had need of them, in like manner as others brought oxen,
and sheep, and doves, to sell there to those who had not brought their sacri
fices with them.

Of the Holy Bible. 6\
temporal or ecclesiastical authority. Surely it must be
ascribed to the effect of a supernatural impression on
their minds.
Christians, at all times, should remember that " God
is a spirit," and accepts of no other worship than that
which is spiritual. Too often, however, crowds of vain
and worldly thoughts intrude themselves, like those
buyers and sellers into our minds, while we are in the
house of God. Let us then call to mind this miracle,
and consider the Saviour as still saying, " Take these
things hence."
At this public convention of the Jewish nation in Je
rusalem, Jesus performed many miracles, giving sight to
the blind, and feet to the lame, declaring himself to be
the Messiah, and persuading many to be his disciples ;
among whom was Nicodemus, a doctor of the law, and
one of the Jewish Sanhedrim, wbo fearing to come
openly in the day time, came by night to Jesus, acknow
ledging himself to be convinced by the miracles which
he had seen : for he admitted that no man could perform
those miracles, unless God were with him ; which plainly
testified that he was sent by God to teach and instruct
mankind.* When Jesus perceived his inclination and understand
ing to be so far advanced, he began to instruct him in
the great doctrine of regeneration, observing, that every
production is of the same nature aud condition with its
parent ; from flesh comes flesh and corruption ; from
the spirit, comes spirit, and life, and immortality ; and
nothing could from a principle of nature arrive to a su
pematural end; and therefore the only door to enter
into the kingdom of God, was by regeneration, or that
influence- of the Holy Spirit on the heart, whereby an
inward change is affected, and the man becomes " a new
creature;" and of which change, baptism by water is
* Mankind. This unspeakably precious gift our blessed Saviour assured
Nicodemus was the effect of God the Father's infinite love, who sent his only
begotteii Son into the world ; that they who believe on him should not perish,
but inherit eternal life.

62 A Complete History
the instituted symbol. Without this change, or renewal
of mind, a person remains in a state of alienation from
God, and therefore can have no part, in the Messiah's
kingdom of grace ; for that being a kingdom of righte
ousness, those only who are changed into the divine
likeness, can relish its holy and spiritual precepts.
Neither can an unrenewed person enter into the kingdom
of glory, being unfit to maintain any communion with
God, or relish the enjoyments of that sacred state.
This was strange philosophy to Nicodemus; who at
tending only to the sound, not to the sense of our Sa
viour's words, asked him how a man advanced in years,
can be born again ? * But Jesus bid him not to wonder,

* Born again. " We are aware, that much pains are taken, not to deny
our Lord's assertion, for that is express, but by subtilty and refinement to
explain away its meaning. " To be born again," it is said, is only a strong
eastern metaphor, which implies a renunciation of some errors, whether
Jewish, or Pagan, and » profession of Christianity. Let us try this, inter
pretation by other passages. " Whatsoever is born of God overcometh tbe
world," 1 John, ver. 4. And can such a conquest be ascribed to every one,
who is called a Christian ? We have continual and lamentable proof to the
contrary. Equally absurd is the notion, that baptism constitutes regeneration.
This, indeed, is the outward symbol of it ; the water, wliich is applied to
the body, fitly representing the operation of the spirit in cleansing and purify
ing the soul. _ But " whosoever ^s born of God sinneth not," 1 John, ver. 18,
And is this to be afiirmed of every baptized person r Alas ! how different is
the case !^ -
" It is said, then, that " to be born again" is to reform the life, and
pay an exact regard to the duties of morality. This we grant, is highly
expedient and necessary, and is an effect which will flow from regenera
tion, but it may be produced without it. For do not many " make the
outside clean, whose inward part is full of wickedness ?" Luke xi. 39. But
the change, of which we speak, originates within, and is properly a reno
vation of the heart, in which corrupt and carnal affections are subdued,
and holy and spiritual desires and tempers are implanted. It is, therefore,
" a new creation," so that the man is, as it were, made over again, not as
to his body, which suffers no alteration, but as to the dispositions of the
mind : the depravity of his nature is rectified. The language is metapho
rical, we allow ; and who ever denied ? But some meaning was intended to
be conveyed in the figure; and certain modern explanations have subti
lized it into nothing. If Jesus designed only to inculcate an external refor-

Of the Holy Bible. 63
for this was riot the work of human reason, but the opera
tion of God's spirit. For the spirit bloweth where it list-
eth, and is as the wind, certain and obvious in the effects,
but secret in the principle and manner of production ;
and therefore this doctrine was not to be taken according
to the proportions of natural principles or experiments
of sense, but to the declarations of heaven.
Our Lord then * proceeds in his discourse, assuring
him that there are yet higher things for him to apprehend
and believe; for this, in respect of some other mysteries
of his gospel, was but as earth in comparison of heaven.
Then he informed him of his descent from heaven, foretels
his death and ascension, and the blessing of redemption,
which he came to procure for mankind : he preaches the
love of the father, the mission of the Son, the rewoi'ds of
faith, and the glories of eternity ; he upbraids the unbe
lieving and impenitent, and declares the differences of a
holy and corrupt conscience ; the shame and fears of the
one, ana the confidence and serenity of the other.
From Jerusalem the holy Jesus went irito the country
of Judea, attended by many disciples who were con
vinced of his divine mission by the evidence of his mi
racles : and there he tarried with them and baptized ; at
which time John also was baptizing in iEnon, near to
Salem, a place chosen by him as commodious to that
Surpose hy reason of the pools or rivulets of water. But
ohn's disciples bearing that Jesus baptized, came to in
form him, that the person to whom he bare witness, re
ceived proselytes with the same ceremony of baptism as
himself, and that there was a great number of persons

mation of conduct, and a regularity of morals, he used a most dark and
intricate manner of expression, which perplexes rather than instructs. On
this interpretation the metaphor is absurd, and all the solemnity of our
Lard's address is mere trifling; for he has rendered that obscure, which in
plain words would have been easily understood. Had this been the sense,
Nicodemus would not have wondered; nor would Jesus have spoken of it as a
mysterious doctrine."
* See John iii. to ver, 88.

64 A Complete History
who resorted to him. In answer to whom John says ; I
can do no more than I have commission from God to do,
and that commission doth not equal me to him ; and '
therefore yon cannot but remember, that I always said of
myself, I am not the Messiah, but only his herald. John
therefore acquitting himself thus in public by renewing
his former testimony of Christ, that he was the Messiah,
foretells that his own ministry was near a close; that the
Messiah should daily increase* in splendor, but that he
should proportionably decrease, for Christ came from
above, and was above all ; and that the sum of his doc
trine was that which he had heard and seen from the fa
ther, whom God had sent to that purpose ; to whom
God had set his seal, that he was true ; who spake the
words of God ; whom the father loved ; to whom he
gave the Spirit without measure, and into whose hands
He had delivered all things ; this was He whose testimony
the world received not. And that they might know not
only what a glorious person they slighted, but how great
salvation they also neglected, he sums up all his sermons,
and finishes his mission with this solemn declaration,
" He THAT BELIEVETH ON THE SON HATH EVERLASTING
life ; and he that believeth not on the Son shall not
SEE LIFE, BUT THE WRATH OF GoD ABIDETH ON HIM."
And nowthat theBaptist had fulfilled his office of bear
ing witness to the Saviour of the world, God was pleased.
to grant him his dismission, which was effected in the fol
lowing manner : John, who had learned to despise the
world and all its vanities, performed his duty so justly
and without respect of persons, that as he reproved the
common people for their transgressions, so he spared not
Herod himself, though he knew him to be a, powerful'
and a sanguinary prince ;" but frankly and honestly told
him, that it was utterly unlawful for him to live with
Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. Herodias being
touched with this reproof from John to Herod,1 designed
him mischief, and would have removed him Out of the

*Jncvease. See John iii. ver. 30, 31, 9& 33, 34, 35, 36.

Of the Holy Bible. 65
way by some death or other, but could not easily ac
complish it : for Herod,* because of the influence John
had over the people, was afraid to meddle with him,
Matt. xiv. 5, and therefore shut him up in prison ;
where, whether he heard him oft and gladly, as some
versions have it, I shall refer to the note : but it is cer
tain that this offensive rebuke was never forgotten,
though it did not prevail on him to separate from her ;
and on this account it was that about a vear afterwards,
he felt the, effect of this wicked woman's revenge in
prison : where, for the present, we leave him, and re
turn to the history.
The blessed Jesus hearing that John was cast into pri
son, and that his own popularity had excited the envy
of the Pharisees, because such multitudes resorted to his
baptism, (which, however, he administered, not in per
son, but by the deputation f of his disciples, he left Ju
dea, and came again into Galilee ; and in his passage he
tonched at Sychar, a city of Samaria ; where in the heat

* Herod. Our translation and that of Geneva seem to represent Herod
as a prince who respected John Baptist, and had a great esteem for all that
he said, Mark vi. 20, though in St. Matthew and St. Luke, he is repre
sented as a wicked wretch, whom nothing but the fear of the people who
looked on John as .a prophet, restrained from putting to death, Matt.
xiv. 5, Luke iii. 19, 20. But we are to consider, diat the Greek word,
which tlie Geneva version translates to reverence, and ours to observe, sig
nifies to keep prisoner, or to observe with an ill design. We must con
sider farther, that R. Stephanus, and Beza, had some Greek copies wherein
instead of the words which we render, " He did many tilings," there are
words wliich signify. " He was much vexed or troubled:" which indeed
much better represent the temper of that dissolute and wicked prince.
Josephus observes, that Herod had put the Baptist to death, because he
thought the people led by him; which is an argument that he did neither
respect him, nor hear him gladly, nor do many things for love Of him.
Though this text is otherwise explained by Dr. Hammond, and many ancient
commentators. f Deputation. Fuodius, bishop of Antioch reports, that Jesus baptked the
blessed Virgin his mother and Peter only, and Peter baptized Andrew, James..
and John, and they others, Niceph. 1. C, c. 3, Hist.
VOL. III. K

66 A Complete History
of the day and weariness of his journey, he sat down in a
place where Jacob had once digged a well ; whither, when
his disciples were gone to buy meat, a Samaritan woman
came to draw water, of whom Jesus asked a draught.
The woman little knew the excellency of the Person who
requested so small a favour; but prosecuting the spite
of her nation, and the interest and quarrel * of the
schism, demanded why he, who was a Jew, should ask
water of her who was a Samaritan, the Jews having
no commerce or familiar communication with the
Samaritans. The quarrel so implanted, for though
the woman perceived Jesus to be a prophet, yet
she undertook this question with him : " Our fathers
" worshipped in this mountain ; and ye say that Jeru-
" salem is the place where men ought to worship."
Jesus knew the schism was great enough already, and
he was unwilling to make it wider ; and though he
gave testimony to the truth by saying, " Salvation f
" is ofthe Jews," and " we know what we worship, ye
" do not ;" yet because the subject of the question was
shortly to be taken away, Jesus takes occasion to preach
the gospel, to hasten an expedient by way of anticipation

* Quarrel. The ground of the quarrel was this. In the sixth year of
Hezekiah, Salmanassar, king of Assyria sacked Samaria, transported the
Israelites to Assyria, and planted an Assyrian colony in Samaria : which
colony being destroyed by divine vengeance, the king thought the cause
was their not, serving the God of Israel, and therefore sent a Jewish cap
tive priest to instruct the remaining Assyrians in the Jewish religion, not
withstanding they still retained the Gentile superstitions, till Manassesj the
•brother of Jaddi the High-Priest at Jerusalem, married the daughter ^of
Sanballat. Manasses being reproved for marrying the daughter of an uncir
cumcised Gentile, and admonished to dismiss her, flies to Samaria, persuades
his father-in-law to build a temple in mount Gerizim, introduces the rites of
daily sacrifice, and makes himself High-Priest, pretends to be tlie true suc
cessor of Aaron, and commences a schism in the time of Alexander the Great.
Hence the question of religion grew so high, that wherever a Jew and Sama-
- ritan met, it occasioned great animosities, which often terminated in blood
shed or murder.
f Salvation'. John iv. 22.

i  huh Hniilii mi' H!liil| H!||j

•iW'WM/lili'l'-'V-l >'/ltii/!-rM ,/')¦//,¦

Of the Holy Bible. 67
to reconcile the disagreeing interests, and settle a reve
lation to be verified for ever.
Our Lord, who always improved external circum
stances for spiritual edification, takes occasion, from the
water of that well, to discourse of living water, or ofthe
Holy Spirit under that figure, which he would give to
every one who asked that blessing of him. He also re
fers to that abandoned course of life * which she unhap
pily led, and at length, declares to her, that he was the
long-expected Messiah. Upon which he is interrupted
by his disciples, who had returned from the city, and
wondered to see him alone talking with the woman,
contrary to his usual custom and reservation.
The woman full of joy and wonder left her water-pot,
and ran to the city to publish the Messiah ; and imme
diately the people of the city came out to see, and many
believed him upon the testimony of the woman, and
more when they heard his own discourses. Then they in
vited him to the town ; and though, Matt. x. 5, he forbad
his disciples at that time to go into any city of the Sa
maritans, that they might convince the Jews that they
were the objects of his peculiar care ; yet to shew that the
gospel was not their inclosure, he himself now stay's two
days with the Samaritans, who received him hospitably ;
after which he returned to Galilee, where he was re
ceived with great reverence and respect, by reason of
the many miracles which the Galileans saw him perform
at the feast ; for they also went to the feast. Being at
Cana, where he wrought the. first miracle, a certain

• Life. When our Saviour directed the woman of Samaria to call her
husband, she answered, I have no husband ; and the translations make our
Saviour approve her answer, by replying, Thou hast well said, I have no
husband. But Erasmus and others have very judiciously observed, that
this is an ironical .way of speaking, which is so far from approving what
one says, that, on the contrary, it represents it absurd and ridiculous. The
words then ought to ' be rendered, " Finely answered, indeed ! I have no
" husband, &c."
K2

68 A Complete History
noble * person came and addressed himself to Jesus with
great humility, desiring him that he would come to his
house, and cure his son, now at the point of death :
this request he repeated with much importunity, fearing
his son should be dead before he could reach hirn. The
Holy Jesus, to display the excellency of his powerj and
that he did not perform his miracles by any natural ope
rations, cured the child at a distance, and dismissed the
believing parent, who joyfully returning home, was by
the way congratulated with the welcome news of his
son's recovery ; and enquiring of his servants the hour
when the child began to amend, perceived, by the ac
count they gave him, that he recovered at the exact time
when Jesus pronounced those salutary and healing words,
" Thy Son liveth." Upon this happy miracle the pious
courtier was convinced of our Saviour's divinity, and be
lieved on him ; and not only he, but his whole family
was converted, and became the disciples of Christ.
This was the second miracle that Jesus wrought in
Cana, he having in the mean time, performed many
others in various places at Jerusalem and other parts of
Judea. After this, Jesus left Nazareth, and came to Caper
naum, a maritime town, and of great resort, choosing
that for the scene of his preaching, and place of
residence: for now the time was. fulfilled that the
office of John Baptist should expire, and the king
dom of God was at hand. Our blessed Saviour there
fore preached the sum of the gospel, faith, and re
pentance. And what they were, all his future sermons
fully declared.

* Noble. The Greek word Bafilicos in this place undoubtedly signifies
an officer of the king ; one that had some place at the court of Herod An-
tipas, who was then tetrarch of Galilee. St. Jerom renders it Palatin. But
the great mistake of all about tjhis word is in the Latin version, which he
reads Regulus, by mistake reading the Greek word Basiliscos for Basi-
licos.

Of the Holy Bible. 6g
While he dwelt in this town of Capernaum,* the work
of the gospel becoming great and extensive, the Holy
Jesus thought it convenient to choose disciples to his
ministry and service in the work of preaching, and to
be witnesses of all that he should say and do, for ends
which were afterwards made public. In order to which
he walked by the sea-side, where he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, cast
ing a net into the sea, for they were fishermen; While
he was preaching there, the people so thronged about
him, that he was obliged to enter into Simon's ship ; and
desiring bim to put off a little way from the land, he sat
down and taught the people from the ship : which ser
mon of his he confirms immediately with a miracle : for
as soon as he had done speaking to the people, he or
dered Simon to launch out into the deep, and let down
the nets ; who despairing of success from the want of it
during the preceding night, told Jesus it would be to
no purpose ; however, in obedience to him he would let
the nets down, which he had no sooner done, but he in
closed such a multitude of fishes, that the net broke, and
they were forced to call to their partners for help ; who
coming, filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

* Capernaum. This place is no where mentioned in the Old Testament.
Probably it was one of those towns which the Jews built upon their return
from Babylon. It is conjectured, that it stood somewhere on the nor,th-west
shore of the lake of Genesareth. This lake, according to Josephus, was a
hundred furlongs in length, or twelve miles and' a half, and its breadth forty
furlongs, or five miles.
Formerly it was called the Sea qf Chinneroth, Numb, xxxiv. 11, but in
later times the Sea qf Galilee, and the Sea qf Tiberias. The river Jordan
runs through the middle of it, and stocks it with a great vai'iety of excellent
fish. The countries round about this lake enjoyed a large share of our Lord's
company and instructions. And thus " Galilee of the Gentiles," or, ra
ther, .the boundary qf the Gentiles (Galil Hagogim), or those parts of Pa
lestine which bordered on the heathen countries, " saw a great, light, and
" to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light sprung up,"
Matt. iv. 16.

70 A Complete History
This prodigious draught of fish struck Simon Peter and
his partners with amazement and fear ; insomuch that
Peter, under a sense of his own unworthiness, fell down
at the feet of Jesus, and desired him to depart from him,
for he was a sinful man. But Jesus speaks comfort to
Peter, bids him not fear ; for by that miracle he had
consigned him and his partners to become fishers of men,
who by their prudence, holiness, and evangelical doc
trine, should gain souls to God. And as soon as they
had brought their ships to land, and secured them, Jesus
commanded Simon and his brother Andrew to follow
him ; who in dutiful obedience to the call of their blessed
Lord, left their nets and all their connexions, and fol
lowed him. When Jesus had proceeded a little farther,
he saw two other persons, James the son of Zebedee,
and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their fa
ther^ mending their nets. And immediately he called
them:, whose' early faith and cheerful obedience to the
commands of the Lord caused them to enter into the serT
vice of him, who alone was able to emancipate them from'
the slavery of sin, and of this wicked world. They there
fore, leaving their father Zebedee in the ship with the
hired servants, immediately followed him.* With this
little family, Jesus went up and down Galilee, preach
ing the gospel of the kingdom, heaHng all manner of
diseases, curing demoniacs, cleansing lepers, and admi
nistering strength and comfort to all diseased and af
flicted persons that were brought to him.
Among the many instances of remarkable cures which
Jesus wrought, one was very conspicuous ; for while he
was teaching in a synagogue at Capernaum, and the peo
ple stood astonished . at his doctrine (for the authority
and power with which he expressed himself, proved him

* Him. Our Lord was pleased to call his first disciples, not from the
palaces of kings, or the schools of philosophers, but from among the poor
and unlearned, that the success of his gospel, " the excellency of the
" power," might the more evidently appear to be " of God and not of
" man."

Of the Holy Bible. 7 1
to be more than mortal) to add to their admiration, one
of the congregation that was possessed with an unclean
spirit, cried with a loud voice, " Let us alone, what have
'" we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth, art thou
" come to destroy us ? I know thee who thou art, the Holy
" one of God." Thus the devils themselves confessed him
to be the yery Christ, the Son of God : but Jesus re
buked the devils, not suffering them farther to proclaim
him to the world ; choosing rather to implant faith in
the hearts of his disciples by suitable arguments, and the
holy influence of his Spirit, than to be manifested bv
the conviction and forced testimonies of accursed and
unwilling spirits. These wonders spread his fame abroad
universally, which daily increased by the additiori of
new miracles ; for going from the synagogue to Simon's
house, by a touch of his sacred hand, he cured the mo
ther of Simon's wife of a fever. These repeated in
stances- of his divine power and authority invite all peo
ple either through curiosity or necessity to come to him,
but especially the latter ; for whoever had any diseased
persons among. their relations and friends, or such as
were possessed by devils, brought them to him, in an
assured expectation of speedy cure and relief ; of which
none who ever addressed themselves to him failed, for
his compassion was as great as his power. These mira
culous cures rendered him the subject of general con
versation and admiration ; insomuch, that by the con
tinual application of the distressed to him, he was, as it
were, besieged by an army of invalids in Simon's house,
who flocked thither for relief, and whom he expedi
tiously dismissed with cure and comfort.
After he had healed those multitudes which came to Si
mon's house, he retired into a desert place very early in
the morning, that he might have an opportunity to pray,
free from the importunities and noise of the multitude.
But he could not be so hid, being soon discovered even
in his very solitude ; for the multitude found him out,
thronging him with their constant attendance. To pre
vent their more importunate addresses, Jesus plainly told
them, he must preach the gospel to other cities also, re-

72 A Complete History
solving to pass to the other side of the lake of Gene-
sareth, so to avoid the throng ; whither, as he was pas
sing, a scribe offered himself as a disciple, till Jesus can
didly informed him that his condition was worse than
that of foxes and birds, for whom an habitation was
provided, but none for him, no not a place to lay his head,
and find rest. What afterward became of this forward
professor we find not. Others who were probationers
of this fellowship, Jesus bound to a speedy profession,
not suffering one to go home to bid his friends farewel,
nor another so much as to bury his dead.
By the time that Jesus reached the ship it was late,
and he, heavy to sleep, slept as soundly as weariness and
innocence could make him, insomuch that a violent
storm which then happened could not awake him ; till
the ship almost covered with the impetuous fury and
dashing of the waves, the men already sunk in their
spirits, and the ship ready to sink too, the disciples
awaked him, and called for help, saying, " Master, carest
" not thou that we perish ?" Jesus arising, reproved
their unbelief, and commanding the winds to be still, arid
the sea peaceable, immediately there was a great calm.
This excited fresh surprise in all the people in the ship,
who, seeing with what authority he restrained the raging
winds and waves, could not forbear asking who he was,
though his actions plainly denoted him a person sent
from God, and endued with divine power.
The storm thus appeased, they presently arrived in
the land of the Gerasens,* or Gadarenes. . Near to the
 :  •  I 

* Gerasens. St. Matthew, ch. viii. v. 28, calls them so; but St. Mark
ch. v. ver. 1, and St. Luke, ch. viii. ver, 26, calls them Gaderenes-; the
reason of which is their lying near together. The word Gergesenes or
Gerasens was the remaining name of an extinct people, being one of the
nations whom the sons of 'Jacob drove from their inheritance. In this Jand
there were two cities ; Gadara from the tribe of Gad, to whom it fell by
lot in the division of the land, which having been destroyed by the Jews,
was rebuilt by Pompey at the request of Demetrius Gadarensis, Pompey's
freed-man ; and near it was Gerasa, as Josephus reports: Which diversity
of towns and names is the cause of the various recitation of this story by
the evangelists.

Of the Holy Bible. 73
city of Gadara, there were many sepulchres in the caves
of the rocks, * where the dead were buried, and where
many superstitious persons used theMemphitic andThes-
salic rites, iri voking evil spirits. At the very instant of
our Saviour's arrival in the country there met him twof
possessed with devils from these tombs, exceedingly
fierce, as they had been for a long time, and so infested
those parts that no man durst pass that way. As soon as
they saw the holy Jesus approach, they cried out, " Je
sus, thou Son of God, what have we to do with thee, art
thou come to torment us before our time^?" But Jesus
immediately displays his. power over them, by command
ing the devils out ofthe possessed persons. There was
no room to dispute his authority ; they must forsake the
poor wretches, whom they had so long possessed and
tortured, and seek another habitation.
At that, time there were certain men feeding swine, §
which, though extremely, abhorred by the Jewish reli-

* Rocks. The sepulchres of the Jews were frequently, hollowed out of
rocks, and the melancholy disposition of 'madmen naturally led them to such
places. t Two. St. Mark, ch. v. ver. 1. and St. Luke, ch. viii. ver. 27, mentions
but one man ; St. Matthew, ch. viii. ver. 28, mentions two; which difference
bas little weight in it, if any i for St. Matthew naming two says the truth, and
the others, which name but one, do not deny that there were more. Besides,
St. John, ch. xxi. ver. 25, says, the evangelists do not pretend to write all that
was done_by Christ, for the world then could not contain all the books of his
acts. Augustin thinks that one of these demoniacs was more remarkable than
the other, perhaps for his birth, or parts, or interest in the country, and that
his cure made more noise, and for that reason was mentioned by Mark and-
Luke, wh^le they omitted the cure ofthe other.
[De Consensu Evang. lib. ii. No. 56.]
X Time. That is, before the time of the last judgment, when they are to be
eternally punished; till then they remain in the airy region. Thus St. Augus
tin de civitate Dei.
§ Swine. Though it was contrary to the custom of the Jews to keep
swine ; yet the city of Gadara being a Greek city, and inhabited chiefly
by Greks and Syrians, and for the necessities of the Roman soldiers, it is
VOL. III. L

74 A Complete History
gion, yet for the use of the Roman armies, and quarter
ing of soldiers, they were permitted, and divers privi
leges granted to the masters of such herds. The devils
therefore besought Jesus that he would not send them
into the eternal abyss, but permit them to enter into the?
swine; which he allowed, and the swine immediately ran
down a steep place into tbe lake of Genesareth, and pe
rished in the waters : revenging hereby, as they in their
diabolical cunning and malice thought, their being dis
possessed of man, whom they delight to torment and
destroy, and so exasperate the inhabitants against our
Lord for the loss of their swine, that they should neither
entertain him nor his gospel ; which at that time, was
the effect actually produced ; for this event so offended
the inhabitants, that they came and intreated Jesus to
leave their country.*
These Gaderenes certainly proved themselves unwor- '
thy ofthe distinguished houour of enjoying the presence,,
discourses,and miracles of the Son of God : he was there
fore pleased to take them at their word, and iriimediately
leave their country, from whence we find him bending
his course to the lesser Galilee, and so again to the city
of Capernaum, where he was met by several Scribes and
Pharisees, who came from Galilee. And while they were
sitting ina house, which was so encompassed with the
multitude) tha't no business or necessities could be ad
mitted at the door, a poor paralytic was brought by four

no way strange, that swine were kept there. Besides, this city of Gadara
is by Josephus reckoned among the Greek cities which Pompey took from
the Jews, and^consequently but few, if any Jews, at that time inhabited
there. ' ,
* Country. Though several difficulties attend the explanation of this story,.
and relates to evil spirits, and to the abyss ; yet we are plainly taught a very
useful lesson, namely, That it was not in the power of a vast number of
evil spirits, to do the least mischief even to so contemptible a, creature as
a. swine, without divine permission. This should encourage all Christians
to- rely on the providence of God, and never to give way to the fear of evil
spi ri ts ,

Of the Holy Bible. .75
men to the house, where being denied entrance by the
vast crowds that-thronged about the dOor, their earnest
zeal and hope soon furnished them with means to ap
proach the heavenly physician ; for they uncovered the
roof of the house,* and let the sick man down in his bed
with cords in the midst before Jesus, as he was conferring
with the doctors. He knew the cause of this extraordi
nary manner of conveying this poor diseased wretch to
him, and being pleased with their faith, he saith to the
sick man, " Son, be comforted, thy sins are forgiven
thee." This expression offended the Scribes and Pha
risees, thinking it to be blasphemy, and that none but
God could forgive sins ; wherefore the blessed Jesus, to
verify his absolution in proportion to their understand
ings (for the Jews believed 'that all afflictions were pu
nishments for sin, arid that removing 'the punishment
was forgiving the sin) to prove that his sins were for-
giveri him, removed that which they supposed to be the
effect of his sin, and by curing the palsy prevented their
farther murmur about the pardon : " That ye might
know," says he, " that the Son of Man hath power on
earth to forgive sins, he saith to the sick of the palsy,"
Arise, -f» take up thy bed and walk." Immediately, the
man aiose up among them, and took up the bed or
mattress on which he lay, and went forth before them
all, insomuch that they were all amazed : and being fully
convinced by ocular demonstration, and satisfied accord-

* House. Great houses in the east, had commonly a court yard in the
midst. This court was surrounded with cloisters, and chambers, the roof
of which was always flat, and furnished a balustrade, or parapet wall. The
entrance to the roof was hy a stair-case from the porch, so that access
mjght be had to it by the friends of the paralytic, who let him down by
cords, having first removed part of the parapet into the court, or the midst,
which was properly called " the house." See Luke v. 19. Thus Dr. Shaw
and other -travellers describe the houses of the east. See also Doddridge and
Calmet. f Arise. Matt. ix. 1. Mark ii. 1. Luke v. 18.
L 2 ' *

76 A Complete History
ing to their own principles, they could no longer deny-
or disown that power which God had so visibly bestowed
on his blessed Son Jesus ; which struck them with fear
and amazement, and inspired them all with the spirit of
praise to thank and glorify God : which none did more
joyfully than the restored paralytic, who, all the way
he returned to his habitation, praised God for his
mercy. It was not long after the performance of this mighty
cure, that Jesus again walked towards the sea, and as he
passed on his way thithfer, seeing Matthew the publican *
sitting at the receipt "j- of custom, he ordered him to fol
low him. Matthew no sooner hears the divine summons
but he obeys, and readily quits his office, and all those
dazzling heaps of gold, which command all things else,
but have not power enough to bribe his longer stay with
them,. Matthew being thus called, invites his master to
a feast, to which he had also invited many of his bre
thren publicans, and others. But the Pharisees, when
they saw that he eat with publicans and sinners (for so
they called all besides themselves) hiurmured and whis
pered against Christ, and expostulated with his disciples,
why their master and themselves would do that which
was so contrary to the Jewish law, namely, to eat and
drink with heathens, and those that conversed with them ?
But Jesus undertaking the argument, gave so fair an
account of his intercourse with those persons, that the
objection turned to his praise; for he conversed with
them, because they were sinners : and it was as if a phy
sician should be reproved for his communication with

* Publican. Though the office of publican among the Romans was very
honourable ; yet among both Jews and Greeks, the name and persons were
odious, not only because they were strangers, but because the Jews stood upon
the charter of their nation and privilege of their religion, that none of them
should pay tribute ; and also because they exercised great injustice and oppres
sion, having a power unlimited.
f Receipt. The Greek word Tdonicm, signifies a publican's stall.

Of the Holy Bible. , ?7 «
sick persons: therefore was he sent, notto call the righ
teous, but sinners to repentance, to advance the repu
tation of mercy above the rites of sacrifice. They far
ther urged the practice of John's disciples^ who fasted
often ; but that the disciples of Jesus did not fast. In
answer to which Jesus tells them, that the case of his
disciples was the same with those to whom the bride-
, groom was come in person to espouse the church ; but
that the days should come when the bridegroom should be
taken from them, and that in those days they should fast.
During this interview and argument between the
blessed Jesus and the proud Pharisees, Jairus, a ruler*
of the synagogue, came to him, desiring hihi that he
would help his daughter, who then lay at the point of
death. He questioned not the ability1 of the holy Jesus,
but was confident that if he laid his hand upon her, she
would recover. The forwardness of Jairus's faith.claimed
our Saviour's compassion, who was always more ready to
grant than the people were to ask : therefore he imme
diately went with him to his house ; to which, as he was
walking, a woman met him that had been diseased with a
bloody flux for twelve years, without any hope of remedy
from art or nature, and had consumed her fortune in ex
pectation of a cure, but to no purpose. This woman
having heard pf the many miracles which Jesus had
wrought upon all diseased and demoniac persons, and in
the confident persuasion of a holy and strong faith, said^
" If I might but touch his clothes, I shall be whole."
The poor woman carne trembling, full of hope and re
verence ; and thinking that in the crowd she might not
be perceived, she gently touched his garment, and im
mediately her disease was healed. Jesus being .sensible

* Ruler. There was among the Jews the less and greater Sanhedrim, or
consistory, Matt, v, 22. The former consisting of twenty-three judges in
every city; the latter of seventy-two in Jerusalem, The greater Sanhedrim
was made up ofthe chief priests and elders, or presbyters ofthe people, called;
often the elders of Israel, and the scribes of the people, Judg. v. 11, They of
theless consistory were called rulers, as here.

78 A Complete' History
"of that divine emanation, which was the cause of this
cure, turned about in the press, and asked who touched
him ? Every one that was near, treated this question
with indifference, it being altogether impossible but that
in such a crown1 many must touch him': but the poor
woman who had received the benefit, was most sensibly
affected ; for fearing her presumption had carried her
too far, in thus clandestinely stealing a cure, as she
thought, in great disorder and concern came to Jesus,
and at his feet declared the whole truth of what had
happened to her. Jesus, with joy and compassion, at
once relieved her from her fears, assuring her that her
cure was the effect of her faith, and so dismissed her
with the blessing of peace, and a confirmation of her
being perfectly healed, " Be whole of thy plague :" and
the woman was made whole from that very hour.
After the performance of this miracle Jesus hastened
to the house of Jairus, from whence a servant came, and
met them with the news of his daughter's death, desiring
him to give Jesus no farther trouble ; who, over-hearing
what the servant said, comforted Jairus, bid him not fear,
but believe, and he should find the blessed effects ofhis
faith in the recovery of his daughter. Jairus joyfully at
tends our Saviour to his house, where they find the min
strels* and other people busily preparing for the inter
ment of the ruler's daughter, with music and other so
lemnities for the funeral. For which Jesus reproves them,
saying, " Why make ye this ado ? Weep not, but give
place ; for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth." Then en
tering with the parents into her chamber, he approached
her as to one that was asleep, and taking her by the
hand, he called, and awakened her from her sleep of
death ; which struck her parents with such astonishment,
that they could scarce believe their own eyes: but Jesus,

* Minstrels. This custom of having musical instruments in funerals crept
in among the Jews but of later days, and from the rites and ceremonies of the
Gentiles: for in the Old Testament there is no mention mads of any such so
lemnity and custom,

. jS  gi^^l

Of the Holy Bible. 79
to confirm this miracle, ordered them to give her- some
thing to eat, to convince them she was alive.
This miracle thus happily performed to the admira
tion and joy of the afflicted parents, he leaves them to
the enjoyment of the comfortable fruits of it, strictly
charging them to conceal it; hereby intending to make
the noise and report of him less popular. But it is too
natural to humanity to desire most earnestly that from
which we are most strictly restrained. The glad parents,
and other witnesses of this miracle, cannot conceal their
joy, which in gratitude for so great a mercy they thought
themselves obliged to divulge.
And here it is to be observed, that, as if tinie^was to
be one continued series of wonders of the holy'Sesus, not
a : day passed without some eminent performances and
exertions of his divinity : a single instance in one day
or place will not complete^ his' fame, but each moment
of time, and every place where he went, must give testi
mony of his divine power and virtue. He had no sooner
departed from Jairus, than two blind men addressed
themselves to him for help; first recognizing his family,
" Thou son of David," and then imploring his aid,
" Have mercy upon us," Jesus commanding the blind
men to be brought to him, demanded of them whether
they bad faith enough to expect a cure of their blind
ness from him. To which they joyfully replied, they
believed : and as a testimony of his power, and their
faith, he, touched their eyes, proposing the cure con
ditionally to them, " According to your faith be it unto
you." The blessed effects followed both; for imme
diately their eyes were opened, and they who had long
been deprived ofthe blessing and comfort of light, now
gladly beheld it : but with infinitely greater satisfaction,
when they saw " the true light, that came to enlighten.
the world."
This miraculous cure was succeeded by another
as great as the preceding, but of a different nature ;
for as the holy Jesus passed along, the people seeing
the mighty power whereby he had healed others, ques
tioning not in the least his omnipotent gift, brought to

80 A Complete History
him a dumb man possessed with a devil, whom he imme
diately dislodged, so much to the astonishment of the
spectators, that they all unanimously confessed that the
like was never before seen in Israel ; but the spiteful
pharisees, who being ready to burst with envy, could
forbear no longer, said that he cast out these devils by
the help ofthe prince of the devils. This malicious and
groundless calumny our blessed Lord wisely refuted, by
turning their own argument upon them : for, said he,
" How can Satan drive out Satan t Or if the whole com
munity of, devils make an insurrection and schism against
one another, will they not soon be destroyed?" By this
the malice of the pharisees became a contradiction, be
ing in itself unreasonable; nothing being more ridi
culous than for the devil to divide his kingdom, and
consequently destroy his own power. But this was but
an eruption of their malice : all the last year, which
was the first of Jesus preaching, every thing was quiet,'
neither Jews, Samaritans, or Galileans, openly opposed
his doctrine or person, but he preached freely, and with
out any external molestation.
The first and peaceable year after our blessed Lord's
preaching being expired, there was a feast of the Jews,
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. This feast was the
second passover he kept after he began to preach. Being
arrived at Jerusalem, he finds an impotent person
lying at the Sheep-Pool* of Bethesda, waiting till an

* Sheep-Pool. This Sheep-pool was the place where the sacrifices used to
be washed; and Bethesda, a house of mercy, so called in Hebrew, or
an hospital, where the sick lay to be cured. As to the Sheep-pool,' there .
are many conjectures about its medicinal virtue. The use of it in relation to
sheep was not for the washing oriive sheep there by such as brought them
to be sacrificed, but the carcasses or entrails of them when they were
slain: and this was done by the Nethinim (or. inferior officers) who de
livered them to the priests to.be offered in the temple: which supposes
this washing to be intermediate between the slaying and offering the sacri
fices, and to belong to all the sacrifices, not the sheep only. Such was the
opinion of some, who gave this as the commonly assigned reason of the

Of the Holy Bible. 81
angel * at a certain season should move the waters, after
which, whosoever stepped first in was cured of his infir-

divine healing power that these waters had, because the sacrifices were
washed there.
Dr. Maclane is of opinion that this was\ a public bath, as the -word
B'oJkn/tjSySja signifies, as is plain from the sense of its primitive miHoplBCu
to swim, Acts xxvii. 43, and from Josephus, Ant. xv. 3, who uses it to denote
the baths at Jericho. Wherefore, their opinion who affirm that this pool
served for washing the sheep designed for sacrifice before they were driven
into the temple, and the entrails, also of the beasts sacrificed there, seems to
be without foundation. Besides, it is inconsistent with the situation of Be
thesda, near the Sheep-gate in the South-east wall of the city, or, according to
the compilers of the Universal History, in that which was on the North
east, a great way from the temple.
The ingenious editor of Calmet's Dictionary, in his Fragments, No. G6,
proposes another method of solving the difficulties which attend this re
lation :
He supposes that there were, in fact, two distinct waters ; first, the con
stant' body of water in the pool, wherein the sheep were washed, before
they were sacrificed; and, secondly, an occasional issue of water, falling
from a crevice of the rock whereinto this bason was sunk, from the height
of several feet ; he conceives that this was the medicinal water which " was
troubled at the season;" and falling perhaps in no great quantity, the per
son who could first get to it, received its full benefit, because he received
it fresh from the rock, and before it was mingled with the waters of the
pool. The account given of the spot by travellers partly agrees with this,
for it seems that the ' spring issues from between tlie stones of a wall; above
the bath.
Dr. . Doddridge thinks that in consequence of the Jews making so un
grateful a retnrii to Christ for this miracle, the healing virtue of Bethesda
was lost, aud he observes, that though the Evangelist speaks of the pool as
still at Jerusalem, when he wrote, yet he mentions " the descent of the
angel" as a thing which had been, but not still continuing. See John v. ii. ,
and iv. and this may account for the silence of Josephus concerning the
pool of Bethesda, who in several cases seems to have been afraid of dis
gusting his pagan readers by relating any thing supernatural or marvellous.
* Angel. 'The sick person was to go into the pool immediately upon the
moving or troubling the waters; which must signify, that just upon the
moving they had a force, which soon cooled or decayed again by the sinking
VOL. III. M

82 A Complete History
mity. This poor man had laboured thirty-eight years
under his distemper, and waited every season for an op
portunity of getting first into the pool, but still was pre
vented by some or other of the hospital, who got in be
fore him. Jesus seeing him lying under so many years
disappointment, had compassion on him, and asked him,
Wilt thou be made whole $ The poor cripple supposing
he worild have offered him his assistance to get into the
pool, told him he had no one to help him into the wa
ter. But Jesus meant him a more immediate cure, for
he commanded him to rise, take up his bed, and walk.
The man was immediately made whole, and, as his hea
venly physician commanded, took up his bed, and pre
pared to- walk to his house. This cure happened to be
wrought upon the Sabbath ; and therefore the Jews took
occasion from thence to quarrel with the man that was
cured, telling him that it being the Sabbath be could not
answer for carrying his bed. But he, greatly delighted
with, and entirely depending on the power and autho
rity of the person who had cured him, tells the malicious
Jews, that he that had cured him gave him authority to
carry his bed. They asked him who that was : but the man
knew not; for Jesus had withdrawn himself. Soon after,
seeing the man in the temple, and suspecting, or perhaps
seeing something irregular in his demeanor, he gives
him this preventive admonition, " Behold, thou art
whole now ; sin no more, lest a worse evil happen unto
thee." The man now well knowing his physician, told
the Jews he met, that it was Jesus who had healed him ;
which so enraged them that they sought to slay him: for
this offence seemed double to the Jews, both working a

of that which was stirred up, or by the evaporation of it. All wliich, if it be
a natural, and no miraculous way of curing, it will be the more unlikely that
the word Angel should here signify an Angel of God. For it may easily be
supposed that there was an officer or servant sent down by them that had any
skill in it, to trouble the waters at a fit time ; and being a messenger sent be
fore, as it it were, to prepare for the sick man's coming after bim, might well
be called Angelos, not an angel, but a messenger, which the word in Greek
properly signifies.

Ofthe'Holy Bible. 83
cure, which they thought unlawful on the- Sabbath, and
also commanding the man to'carry his bed. To this ex
ception of theirs against him, because he cured on the
Sabbath, Jesus made this reply: "God* my Father,
from whose rest you take the celebration of the Sabbath,
did not so rest from all workon the Sabbath; but that
ever since he hath done works of providence, of pre
servation and mercy every day : and why may not I Lis
£>on do so without exception, my Father's actions and
mine being the same ?" This the Jews, that knew the Son
of God must be of the divine nature, and therefore equal
with God, interpreted to be blasphemy in him, whom
they believed not to be the Messiah, and therefore ought
to be punished with death. To this exception of theirs
against Christ, he answered, "Although I affirm myself
to be the Son of God, and so am rigbtly concluded by
you to be equal with my Father, yet this is far from be
ing impiety in me, far from opposing myself against
God, for I do nothing but what is the express will of my
Father ; and therefore hvwas reasonable for me to sayf
what I did, that my Father's actions will justify me in
doing the same. For out ofthe infinite love my Father
bears to me, he communicates all things to me, and by
that means you are likely to have greater matter of won
der than the ^curing of this sick man on the Sabbath can
amount to ; for even to the raising of the dead, (which
is far greater than that of curing the sick) my Father -
hath communicated his power to me ; and as my Father
raiseth, so will I whomsoever I please ; and for the office
of judging angels or men, my Father doth it not himself,
but hath put all power into the Son's hand. According
to this you must be hypocrites, to pretend that you zea
lously honour the Father, wheri you despise and disho
nour ine, who am sent with this power on purpose to
be honoured by all men, in the same manner as my Fa-

* God. See John v. fropi ver. If j to the end of the chapter.
t Say.' Johrrv.lT.
M 2

84 , A Complete History
ther is honoured, that so I may work -a reformation
among yon. This is so perfectly the will of my Father,
that I must tell you that on your hearkening at this time
to me, and believing and entertaining my doctrine as
the message of God, depends your eternal welfare. I
assure you, this power, which. God my Father hath given
me at this time, extendeth to the greatest things, even
to raising the dead out of their graves, which ye shall
shortly see exercised by me : for as God hath of himself
power to give life, so hath he given this power to me,
and I possess it. And as I am God, my Father hath given
me all power and authority both now and hereafter.
Wonder not at what I say; for there shall certainly be a
time of general resurrection for the dead, a Specimen of
which shall shortly be seen among you. The righteous
shall have their bodies and souls united in bliss, and the
wicked have also a restitution of their bodies to receive
their punishment and sentence. My judgment is righ
teous and agreeable to the method and decree of my Fa
ther, that they who believe on me shall be saved, and
they that reject me shall be condemned. This my Fa
ther hath declared ; and therefore it is riot seeking ho
nour or revenge to myself that I say or do this, but go
ing according to the will of my Father. Ye know there
is another that beareth witness of me ; and for a proof
thereof ye sent to John, who baptized me, when the
Spirit descended on me ; and he saw it, and testified to
you the truth of it. He was Elias, being like fire, and
his word like a burning lamp, and for a while ye re
joiced to hear him; but as soon as he testified of me,
then ye presently rejected him. Ye look into and exa-
nline the Old Testament, whereon ye depend, and be
lieve, through the performance of the Mosaical law, ye
shall have eternal life ; but on examination ye will find
all thOse prophecies are types, and fulfilled in me, and
that all the promises of life therein have an aspect to
the giver of life. But though ye look on these as the
repository of your present and future bliss/ and though'
they direct you to me as the only means to attain it, yet
ye wilfully reject me, and consequently that happiness.

Of the Holy Bible. 85
Alas ! It is not your good opinion or approbation that
I contend for, while I thus speak : ye have not the love
of God in you, and therefore ye reject me. Consider the
unreasonableness of your actions : I bring my commission
from God, and ye regard it not ; yet if another, with
out any commission from God, a mere counterfeit in his
own name come and undertake to seduce you,* what
multitudes of you Jews will follow him ? 'Tis not pos
sible you should believe aright, that are so much in love
with the praise of men, as to take him for a prophet who
hath no other testimony of himself that he is so, but his
own, or the voice of other men, and dare not believe on
me ; the rulers for fear of the people, and the people
for fear of the rulers ; and in the mean while both con
temn the favour and approbation of God, and set his tes
timony at nought, and reject me who come authorised
with it: 'Tis not so much I, to, whom you have done
this affront, and therefore I shall not bring any com
plaint against you before the Father ; but it is your own
prophet Moses, on whom you pretend so much to de
pend, that will rise up in judgment, and testify against
you. Had you believed Moses, that prophet whom you
seem so much to value, his predictions and typical re
presentations would have led you to believe on me, in
whom they are all completed. But if your own Moses
cannot prevail with you, I can expect to carry no weight
or authority with you."
Here was an excellent admonition, mixed with We
and reproach, terror and tenderness ; and though the
Very worst that the Jews could make of it, must needs
/terminate in their own good, yet the plainer he spake
the more stupid and unintelligible they are ; and the
* Seduce you. Alluding probably to Simon Magus, or Judas, of Galilee;
the former deceiving the Jews with his pretended miracles : the latter, under
pretence of patriotically delivering his countrymen from the Roman yoke, and
that it was unlawful to pay tribute to Caesar, led 4000 of them into the wil
derness, where they were all slain by the Romans. In all this admirable dis
course', our blessed Lord shews the Jews, that he came to establish a kingdom
not of this world.

86 A Complete History
more affectionately he invites them, the more stubbornly
they reject him.
Upon the first second-day sabbath, thatis, the ordi
nary sabbath happening in the passover week, probably
the very sabbath that was honoured with the cure ofthe
paralytic who lay in Bethesda, Jesus and his disciples
passed through the corn fields near Jerusalem, attended
by some of the Pharisees. But the latter, seeing the
disciples pluck the ears, and eat as they walked, reproved
them, and complained of them to their master, not for
hayirig taken what they had no right to, the law autho
rising them to do this (Deut. xxiii. 25,) but for having
broken the sabbath by servile work, such as they sup
posed plucking and nibbing the ears to be. Luke vi. 1,
" And it cariie to pass on the second sabbath after the
first, that he went through the corn fields : and his dis
ciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing
thern in their hands." This accusation was levelled
chiefly against Jesus himself for having as they imagined
neglected to instil a due reverence of the sabbath into the
minds of his disciples. But he easily repelled it by put
ting the Pharisees in mind of David," who, • though a
prophet as well as a king, in a case of necessity, ate the
sacred shew-bread contrary to the law, Lev. xxiv. 9, and
of the priests in the temple, who killed the sacrifices
on the sabbath-day, and by desiring them to consider a
passage, in Hosea, where God declares that he has greater
pleasure in mercy than in sacrifice ; and by explaining
unto them the end of the sabbath itself, which was in
stituted for the benefit, and not for the detriment of
mankind. — He began with David's action in the matter
of the shew-bread, which the High-Priest himself was
accessary to, which the Scriptures record with no mark
of disapprobation, arid which it seems the doctors never
had condemned, and for that reason was a proper vindi
cation of the disciples in the like circumstances, Mark
ii. 25, " And he said unto them, Have ye never read
what David did, when he had need and was anhungred,
he, and they that were with him ? How he went into the

, Of the Holy Bible. 87
house of God in the days of Abiathar * the High-Priest,
and did eat the sheW-bread, which is not lawful to eat,
but for the priests, and gave also to them which were
with him ? The house of God, into which David went
for the shew bread, was not the tabernacle, for none
but priests could go in thither. But it was the house of
the High-Priest, situated beside the court of the taber
nacle, and called the house of God on that account.
Thus the apartment in which the High-Priest Eli and his
servant Samuel slept, is called " the house of the Lord,"
1 Sam. iii. 15. — Matt. xii. 5, " Or have ye not read in
the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the
temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless ?" He
did not mean that these words are to be found in the
law, but that they might read in the law how that the
priests were obliged on the sabbath days to perforin
such servile work in the temple, as considered separately
from the end of it, was a profanation of the sabbath, and
yet were guiltless, because it was necessary to the public
worship, on account of which the sabbath was instituted.
From Numb, xxviii. 9, it appears, that besides the con
tinual burnt-offering, the priests were obliged on the sab
baths to sacrifice two lanibs extraordinary, by which their
servile work was that day doable of what it was on the
Other days of the week. This, though really no pro
fanation of the sabbath, might according to the common,
notion of the Jews be so termed ; and therefore in speak
ing of it our Lord calls it so.— r" But I say unto you,
that iri this place is one greater than the temple."
" And he said unto them, the sabbath was made for

* Abiathar. In tlie history, the priest from whom David received the
shew-bread is called Ahimelech: and it is generally agreed that he was
the High-Priest, because Doeg accused him of enquiring of the Lord for
(.David, 1 Sam. xxii. 10,) a thing which none but the High-Priest having on the
ephod could do. If that be true, Ahimelech must have been the High-Priest,
because he himself confessed that he had often enquired of the Lord
formerly without blame, ver. 15. Accordingly Josephus calls him flie High-
Priest several times.

88 A Complete History ,
man, and not man for the sabbath,", Mark ii. 27, The
sabbath was contrived for the benefit and relief of man,
being instituted in commemoration of the creation of
the world finished in six days, and to perpetuate unto
latest ages the knowledge of this grand truth, that the
world was made by God, in opposition both to atheism
and idolatry, the sins which mankind have ever been
apt to run into. It was instituted also that men abstain
ing from all sorts of labour but such as are necessary
to the exercises of piety and charity might have leisure
for meditating on the works of creation, wherein the
perfections of God are fairly delineated; and that by
these meditations they might acquire, not only the
knowledge of God, but a relish of spiritual and divine
pleasures flowing from the contemplation of God's at
tributes, from the exercises of the love of God, and from
Obedience to his commandments. It is thus that men are
prepared for entering into the heavenly rest? of which
the earthly sabbath is an emblem. To conclude, among
the Israelites it was appointed to keep up the remem
brance of their deliverance from Egypt, and for the com
fort of their slaves and beasts, humanity to both being
especially incumbent upon a people, who had once
groaned under the heaviest bondage. From, all which
it is evident, that to burden men, much more to hurt
them, through the observation of the sabbath, which has
no intrinsic excellency in itself, is to act quite contrary
to the design of God in appointing it. " Therefore the
Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath,'s Mark ii. 28.
Since the sabbath was instituted for the benefit of man,
the observation of it in cases of necessity may be dis
pensed with by any man whatsoever, but especially by
me who am lawgiver of the Jewish commonwealth, and
can make what alterations in its institutions I think fit.
This argument, drawn from the consideration of his
own dignity,, our Lord largely insisted on when he was
prosecuted for a pretended profanation of the sabbath
by the oure which he performed at Bethesda, John v.
ver. 17, 30, 45.
But this was talking to the deaf winds ; neither reason

Of the Holy Bible. 89
nor religion will give thein satisfaction ; they are so en
raged that nothing buthis destruction will satisfy them.
Jesus therefore knowing the wickedness of their hearts,
withdrew from Jerusalem, and returned to Galilee, whi
ther the Scribes and Pharisees pursue him ; their keeh-
scented malice will not allow him to rest, but followed,
him wherever he went, observing every action, espe
cially whether he would do that which they called the
profanation of their sabbath, by performing acts of mercy
on that day. Their malice was soon gratified with an op
portunity: for entering into one of the synagogues of
Galilee upon the sabbath, he cast his eye upon a man *
whose right-hand was withered. Here was an object of
fered to his compassion, which never failed to exert it
self, especially on such. a deplorable occasion. The
quick-sighted malice of his enemies soon snatched at thp
opportunity ; and lest he should not answer their end,
they start the question first, asking him, whether it was
lawful to heal on the sabbath-day ? Jesus knew their
thoughts, and; had an answer ready for them : but first
confrorited them with the object, bidding the man with
the withered hand stand forth in the midst ofthe assem
bly, that every one might see him. This object was suf
ficient to move pity in any but a Jewish breast, and ra
ther put the whole congregation upon an address and
petition of imploring help from the heavenly physician
' upon this poor man, than to make him an occasion of
ensnaring and accusing him. Jesus therefore put the
question to them, making the case partly their own:
"Is it lawful," says he, " on the sabbath-day to do
good, or to do evil ? To save life, or to destroy it ?"
This was so apposite to the present circumstance, and so
convictive of their malicious design upon him, that they
had nothing to say for themselves. But Jesus pursued
bis argument with a closer and more immediate applica
tion to themselves. " Which of you," says he,, " shall

* Man. St. Jerom reports this man to have been a mason.
VOL. III. N

90 A Complete History
have a sheep fallen into a pit on the sabbath-day, and
will not lift it out ? How much better then is a man than
a sheep ?" From whence he draws this plain conclusion,
" Wherefore is it lawful to do good on the sabbath-day ?"
And knowing the hardness of their hearts, he waited not
for an answer, but hastens to the relief of the poor suf
ferer, commanding him to stretch forth his hand; which
he did, and it was restored whole as the other. Upon
this act, being confirmed in their malice, the Pharisees
went forth, and with the Herodians, * conspired the
death of him who came to offer them eternal life. ¦»
As the Jews never doubted but the Messiah would by
the sword bear down all that opposed him, it must
have been very mortifying to the disciples, now that
they saw their master flee before such an handful of ene
mies. But the evangelist observes, that this gentleness
of disposition was a necessary part of the Messiah's cha
racter, having been predicted by Isaiah, " But when
Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence and great
multitudes followed him, and he healed them all ; and
charged them that they should not make him known.
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the
prophet," saying, (ch. xlii. 1,) " Behold, my servant
whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is
well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he
shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. -f* He shall not

• Herodians. Tertullian, Chrysostom, Jerom, and others, erroneously
affirm, that the Herodians were a sect of people who said Herod was the
Messiah, because, by a decree of the Roman senate, when the sceptre de
parted from Judah, he was declared king. But it is very improbable that
thirty years after Herod's death, there should be any,, who believed that
Herod was the Messiah. The Herodians therefore here mentioned, were
followers of Herod, in opposition to those that acknowledged and adhered
to the Cesarean or Roman authority, which the Pharisees generally looked
upon as an usurpation. And yet the Herodians were not a distinct sect from
the Pharisees and Sadducees, as appears by comparing Matt. xvi. 16, with
Mark viii. 15.
t Gentiles. The word ufwit in this and the following verse may signify
" holiness," fitly called "judgment," because it is the most genuine effect

Of the Holy Bible. 91
strive, nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in
the streets." Though the Messiah might easily bear
down his enemies by force of aims, he shall not strive
with martial violence, nor sound the alarm of war in the
field of battle, neither shall his voice be heard in the
streets, as of an enraged general sacking a conquered
town. Agreeably to this prophecy, though Jesus, by
the assistance of the wondering crowds that attendedhim
wherever he went, in constant readiness to support him,
could have crushed all his adversaries at once, he never
made use either of them or of his miraculous power for
such purposes, but discharged the duties of his mission
with all meekness, gathering in his subjects, and over
coming his enemies, not with arms, but the force of
truth. And when his enemies attacked him, instead Of
making resistance he silently withdrew, being utterly
averse to popular commotions. This latter branch of
the prophecy relates evidently to after ages. " And in
hisname shall the Gentiles trust." The original prophecy
runs thus : " And the isles shall hope in his law." But
the meaning of both passages is the same. For the evan
gelist uses the name of God here with that latitude of
signification which it has in the Hebrew language, where
jt denotes the Deity himself, his perfections, his worship,
his laws, and in one word every thing relating to reli
gion. ThuSjthe Lord says of Saul, newly converted," He
is a chosen vessel unto me, to hear 'my name before the
Gentiles," Aots.ix. 15. Farther, in the language ofthe
Old Testament, the Isles commonly denote the idolatrous
nations to the west of Judea, inhabiting the islands of
Greece and Italy. The prophet's meaning therefore is,
that the heathen nations, charmed with the humanity and
gentleness of the Messiah's disposition, the equity of his
government, and the beauty and rectitude of his laws,

of reasoning or judgment. This sense the word ngwi; or judgment has
evidently, Ps. xxxvii. 6, " He will bring forth thy righteousness as the light,
and thy judgment (holiness) as the noon-day."
N2

g2 A Complete History
shall trust in him, or obtain for themselves protection
and safety by becoming his subjects.
But hitherto their malice could not reach him, he had
not yet finished the work his Father sent him to do: he,
therefore, knowing their impious designs on his life, de
parted from thence again, and went toward the sea-coast,
the number of people increasing wherever he went, as
his. fame did; for he was now followed by new multi
tudes from Galilee, from Judea, from Jerusalem, from
Idumea, from beyond Jordan, from about Tyre and
Sidon ; who, in all quarters, hearing the report of his
rniraculous power to cure all diseases by the- word ofhis
mouth, the touch of his hand, or merely ofhis garment,
came with their sick and possessed for help, who pressed
hard on him but to touch him, and they were all imme
diately cured of their distempers. Nay, his fame so in
creased, that the very devils and unclean spirits pub
licly confessed that he was the Son of God, till they
were upon all occasions restrained, and compelled to
silence. The multitude thronging from all parts, and daily in
creasing, he commanded a ship to be in readiness against
ariy inconvenience or troublesome pressures of the peo
ple : after which he went up into a mountain to pray,
and continued in prayer all night, intending to make
the first ordination of apostles ; which the next day he
did, choosing out of the number of his disciples these
twelve to be apostles,* Simon Peter and Andrew, James
and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Tho-

* Apostles. The word Apostle in general signifies Messenger, or sent;
in which sense the Jews are,said to have apostles, whom they deputed to act
as their proxies or deputies: whence the Jewish proverb, " Every marl's
apostle is as himself;" that is, is his vicar or proxy, and what he doth as valid
as if the person had done it himself. And in this sense the twelve after
Christ's departure had others, whom they sent to act for them in their charge,
and whom they called their apostles. • ¦¦>.-'
In an evangelical sense the word Apostle signifies primarily that office
whereunto tbe twelve were set apart hy Christ immediately ; as also that of

Of the Holy Bible. 93
Mas, James the son of Alpheus, and Simori the zealot,
Judas the brOthfef of Jairies, and Judas IscariOt. Having
thus chosen, he instructed them in the mysterious parts
of his holy doctrine ; and seeing a great multitude of
people who were his constant followers, lie went up into
a mountain, wherein a more eminent manner he entered
upon his prophetic office, and addressed himself in ge-
•neralt to the apostles and the multitude ; pronouncing
the blessing of the kingdom of heaven on the humble
and lowly ; comfort to those that mourn for their
sins l protection and security of life to those that live
quietly and meekly ; complete and perfect satiety to those
appetites that spiritually hunger and thirst after righte
ousness ; compassion and mercy to those that are ten-'
derly and pitifully affected towards the miseries and
wants' of the distressed ; the beatifick vision (or sight of
God) to those that have not defiled their souls with fleshly
lusts and worldly impurities ; the portion and blessing
ofthe children of God to those that love and labour for
peace ; the martyr's glorious crown to those that suffer
for the discharge of a good conscience, and everlasting
praises to those that patiently bear the calumnies and
reproaches of the wicked for Christ's sake.
'¦¦¦ Afterwards giving particular instructions to his apos
tles and disciples, together with .their commissions, be
ing riow about to Send them abroad, he says, " You my
'disciples, and all real christian's'', are the salt ofthe earth ;
ye are those that by your doctrine, exemplary piety, and
charity, are to keep the world from putrifying : but if
your lives grow unsavoury by corrupt living, ye will be
the most unprofitable and contemptible creatures in the
world ; will be the refuse of the earth, and dealt with
accordingly. Ye are the light of the world, like a city
set on a hill, which is seeri by all that travel near it, and
by them inquired after what it is : so the cburch of Christ

St. Paul and Barnabas, sent' by the special appointment of the Holy. Ghost,
Acts xiii; 2 ; secondarily, it belonged to' some others after, that received the
. like commission1 from tlie twelve, or St. Paul.

94 A Complete History
which is a most conspicuous society, cannot fail being
taken notice of by the rest of the world, and either at
tract them by their good, or discourage them by their"
bad examples. It is my design in you to set up a torch
or luminary, that by the doctrine which ye shall preach,
and the exemplary lives ye are to lead, shall direct all
others in the actions of their lives. Let your light there
fore so shine before men, that you may recommend to
all others the practice of your honest, honourable and
pious actions. I coriie not to take any thing away from
the moral duties prescribed in the law, or by the pror
phets, but to repair and make up whatsoever is wanting;
to restore what hath been taken from it by false inter
pretations. Whosoever by his practice or doctrine went
about to diminish the obligation of one of the least com
mands of the law, he shall bethought unworthy of hav
ing his name registered in the catalogue of Christians
here, 'or saints hereafter/ But whosoever shall practise
and teach others the duties of it, shall be advanced to
the dignity of judging others, and to the glory attending
it in heaven. Except your righteousness shall exceed
that of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter the
kingdom of heaven. Moses delivered to the Jews, that
they should commit no murder, and that' he who did
should be obnoxious to capital punishment : but I say,
the law is short in this, for whoever is angry with his
brother without a cause,* or calls him racha, or fool, shall

* Without a cause. The prophets and apostles, and Jesus Christ Him
self, in citing the writings of Moses, do seldom or never express his very
words, thinking it sufficient to give the true sense or meaning of them.
Thys Moses commands, " to serve the Lord," but our Saviour makes no
scruple to add the word " only," which is likewise to be extended to the
precept of worshipping him, as the devil himself did acknowledge. Nay,
it is sometimes absolutely necessary, for making up a complete sense, to
supply some words which have gone before, or follow after. As when our
Saviour in this place says, " Be not angry with thy brother without a
cause," and afterwards in the same verse forbids to call him, " cursed
wretch, or racha," that is, to give him ill or reproachful names, it is plain
that we are to add " without a cause.'' Por our Saviour himself, whose

Of the Holy Bible. 95
be in danger of judgment, or of the council, or of hell-
fire. Presume not therefore to approach the altar with
thy peace-offering, unreconciled to thy brother. Be not
litigious,. lest thy adversary accuse thee before the judge,
and thou be cast into prison., The law forbids adultery*
but I say, he that looks lustfully on a woman, that gazes
intemperately on a beautiful face, hath for his part made
himself guilty of adultery. Thou hadst better be without
thy hand or thy eye (though never so useful instruments
of nature) than to be ensnared by them. Thou shalt
not put away thy wife but for fornication, otherwise thou
makest her commit adultery. All voluntary swearing,
though by the meanest thing or creature, is interdicted
thee : and in thy common conversation thou shalt use no
more than a bare affirmative or negative, yea, or no.*

life was a comment upon his doctrine, was often angry, and treated the Pha
risees and Saddiieees more than once with the worst of names, calling them
blind, fools, wfeted sepulchres, hypocrites, and children ofthe devil; which he
Cannot be supposed to do without a cause.
* No. The particular forms of swearing here mentioned, were usual
among the Jews in their ordinary conversation, but they did not look upon
them as binding: (See Whitby in Lop.) Hence they allowed their use, pre
tending there was no evil in them, because the law which forbade them to for
swear themselves^ and enjoined them to perform their errors, meant such solemn
oaths only, as were of an obligatory nature. It is this detestable morality
which Jesus condemns, ver. S4, " But I say unto you, Swear not at all." Never
use any oath on the supposition that it does not bind you, for all oaths what
ever, those by the lowest ofthe creatures not excepted, are obligatory. If these
oaths have any meaning at all, they are an appeal to the great Creator, and
imply a solemn invocation of his wrath : whoever, therefore, breaks his oath,
is guilty of perjury.
But our Lord's design appears to be, not to forbjd the use of an oath, in a
grave and solemn manner before a. magistrate, for the Scripture allows this
to be the best method of ending controversies, Heb. vi. 16, and a high act of
religious worship, Deut. vi. 13, Isa. lxv. 16, " But let your communication be
Yea, yea, Nay, nay :" that is, in your common conversation with each other,
maintain such a regard to truth, as to make any invocation of the name of
God needless; " for whatsoever is more than these cometh sof evil," or,
" cometh from the evil one." [See Dr. Macknighfs Harmony.']

96 A Complete History
Oppose -not violence to the injurious man, but whoever
shall use thee contumelionsly, hour* it. patiently: par
tience for the present, and dependance on God's provi-
dence for the future, best become a christian. If any
one by suit at law shall endeavour to rob thee of thy
meaner or inner garment, do thou rather than oppose
violence to his injustice, suffer the loss of thy upper
better garment : and whoever shall' make thee go "J- and
carry his burden a little way, do thou again, rather than
fiennit thy passion to oppose violence to this injury, or
ight invasion of thy liberty, Miller as much more. Do
not proudly or disdainfully, turn away from him that asks
a favour of thee. Moses's precept indeed concerning the
kind dealing ofthe Jews with other men, extended not
universally to all, but peculiarly to their own country
men und fellow Jews (called the sons of thy people) but
to aliens J and enemies they were not hound to be
kind; but I say unto you, love your enemies, return
blessings and prayers for curses and reproaches ; for if
you have ordinary charity for thein that have the same to
you, what reward can ye expect from God for so doing?
The worst sort of men in the world will do so ; and ye
do not distinguish yourselves from the common people.
Therefore I require of you that will be my disciples, that
you exercise your charity, whether of the lowest or
highest sort, and extend it as far as tne mercy of God is
extended, to enemies as well as friends, that in so doing

* Bear. To turn tin- check is u proverbial saying, und signifies bearing u
wrong or injury patiently.
f Oo. What we render "go n mile," is a tVrsiim «ord mid custom,
which signifies " to take up mon,'' us we lake up horses lo curry our burdens
from stage to stage ; which when one hutli performed, another is tuken up in
his stead for the next stage.
\ Aliens. The Jews wore obliged by tho law of Mosos to he kind and
friendly to foreigners, though they were commanded to treat tin; Seven
Nations in nn hostile manner.

Of the Holy Bible. 97
you may be perfect,* as your Father in heaven is
perfect. Be not charitable for the sake of applause, for there
by you will lose the reward which God in heaven hath
laid up for the almsgiver. But when thou dost any act
of mercy, do it not vain-gloriously but privately, and
thou wilt certainly enjoy the reward of thy secret piety,
which God will openly bestow on thee in the sight of
men and angels.
When thou addressest thyself to God in prayer, affect
not popular hypocrisy, in exposing thyself to the view
of the multitude, that thou mayest be admired of them ;
but retire from worldly company into thy closet, and
with thy door shut to thee, pray thus in secret to thy
heavenly Father who, though he be invisible, yet seeth
thee, and will publicly reward thy private devotiqp.f
Avoid vain repetitions, and lengthen not thy prayers
with idle tautologies, after the manner of the heathen,
Who think they shall have their prayers granted for the
multiplicity of words used by them in their devotions.
Be not therefore like them, for your Father hath no need
of information concerning your wants, and is .not likely
to be wrought on by the length of your prayers. I will
therefore set you a pattern, after which you shall form
your prayers. When ye pray, say, Our Father % which
art in heaven ; ha-Mowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

* Perfect. To imitate or equal God in all things is impossible, and in
some things presumptuous ; but in acts of mercy, charity, and the like, we
are expressly commanded to imitate him, as far as human nature will
permit. t Devotion. Our Lord certainly did not mean to discountenance public
worship, for he frequently sanctioned it by his own example: but he cautions
his disciples against the practice of the hypocrites, who, at the hours of public
prayer, took care to shew themselves in the market, or some other place of
general concourse, that others might witness their devotions; this was a vanity
extremely offensive to God.
X Our Father. This prayer is distinct from that in St. Luke xi. 2, for this
in St. Matt. vi. 9, is part of Christ's admirable Sermon on the Mountj but
VOL. III. O

Q8 A Complete History
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our
debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil ; for thine is the
kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Imitate not ' the hypocrites in fasting,* who put on
mournful looks, and appear in foul garments, that they
may be thought to be in earnest ; but behave thyself as
upon another day, that thou appear not unto men to
fast, but unto God.
Lay not up any worldly treasure, which is liable either
to rust, vermin, or thieves ; but lay up treasure in hea
ven, where it will be for ever safe. Where covetousness
hath taken possession, there is nothing but darkness ;
for liberality and charity are extinguished by it ; and
that which tends to the inordinate increase of riches,
cannot be reconcileable with the service of God.
Be not anxious or solicitous for the future ; it is
doubting of the providence of God, who will not fail to
supply our necessities, if we trust in him. The fowls of
the air are a great instance of his care, who provide no
thing, and yet enjoy every thing.
Be not hasty in judging others, lest thou fall under
their more severe censure. Why shouldst thou reflect
so sharply on the faults of others, who art more liable to
their censure for thine own follies? Be cautious in re
proving the incorrigible, who will be apt to reproach
thee for thy charitable love, as swine f undervalue pre
cious jewels, and dogs bite those that feed them. Apply
yourselves to God in prayer for what you want, which
will be a sure way of obtaining it. Enter in at the strait

that in St. Luke] upon a special motion of the disciples, at a time when be had
done praying ; who seeing him often retire to pray, desired him to give them a
Form of Prayer, which they might constantly use, as John Baptist had given
to his disciples. This prayer in St. Matthew was in the second year after
Christ's baptism"; that in St. Luke in the third.
* Fasting. The' Jews anointed and washed themselves every day, except
in time of mourning.
i Swine. Matt. vii. 0.

Of the Holy Bible. 99
gate ; let all your care be to set yourselves upon the
Christian course, be it ever so strict (for it is easy to
enter on a vicious course, and go through with it, and
there are multitudes that pass that way to eternal de
struction). But the gate that leadeth to life being strait,
there will be need of all your care, because the entrance
and whole course of a Christian's life is made up of
perfect strictness, in opposition to the looseness of the
world ; and that makes so few to choose it.
Beware of false prophets and teachers, who pretend
the greatest innocence and meekness, but design the
contrary. Ye will discover them by their practices : for
when they have gained some esteem with you, they will
endeavour to corrupt you ; for it is not every one who
acknowledgeth me as his Lord and master, that shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven. At the day of judg
ment many will say to me, Lord, we are the men whom
thou by thy power hast enabled to cast out devils, and
to do all kinds of miracles. But I shall tell- such, I
never knew tbem. .
Whosoever believeth and entertaineth all these
things, and practiseth them, is like a prudent builder,
who laid the foundation of his house upon a rock,
which wind and weather could no way affect with in
jury or damage. But he that heareth these things, and
practiseth them not, shall by all men be reputed to be
like the man who built his house upon the sand, which
was soon blown down by the stormy winds, and washed
away by the floods."
Our blessed Lord having finished his sermon * on the
Mount, the people were astonished at him, for he de-

* Sermon. Tlie contents of this discourse deserve our most serious: regard.
Our Lord begins it, like the great High-Priest, blessing his people : bat he-
strikes at the rootof that error which generally prevailed among the Jews con
cerning the expected kingdom of Messiah, describing its blessings as all of a
spiritual nature, and tlie subjects of it as possessing those holy dispositions to
which the several blessings mentioned are annexed.
In the next place he declares, that he did not come to destroy the law or
O 2

100 A Complete History
livered his doctrine with extraordinary authority and
Sower, (prophetic at least, which Since the prophet
I alachi's time had been interrupted) and not with that
indifference which was practised by the doctors of the
law among the Jews.
Nor did the multitudes resort to him only for the sake
of his doctrine, but also of the miraculous cures which
he daily wrought among them; w^ich had so spread and
increased his fame, that all that were afflicted with any
disease or malady, if they could but approach him,
doubted not of a cure. Among the admiring crowds
which continually flocked about him, a poor leprous
wretch all over crusted with ulcers, threw himself at the
feet of the divine physician, imploring his help, and with
a faithful assurance depending on his ability to restore
him to bis health, if he would be pleased to make use of
his power. Our Saviour looking on the poor leper with
pity, confirms his faith by an instant cure; at the same
time cohimanding him to make an acknowledgment of
the great blessing he had received, by addressing himself
to the priest, as the law prescribed, and to present the
offering required of all such as are thus cleansed of le
prosy. This our Saviour said to him with design, that it
might by this means be a testimony to assure them that
he was the true Messiah, and that he did not oppose the
law given by Moses, but came to fulfil it. The joyful
leper, with cheerful obedience retires, and our blessed
Lord enters Capernaum, which he makes a fresh scene qf

the prophets, but to fulfil them, not to contradict the revelation already made,
but to unfold the grand scheme and perfect the whole. Accordingly he an
swered the types of the ceremonial law. He explained and enforced the
moral law; he completed the design of all former dispensations, and' supplied
their defects. Our Lord also guards his disciples against vain glory and love
of the world, and concludes with a variety of practical directions and exhort
ations. Such was the import of this most instructive and awakening dis
course. We, as well as those who heard it, may justly be astonished at his
doctrine; but it is incumbent upon us, not only to admire it, but to apply it
to ourselves, remembering that every precept is obligatory on all who call
themselves Christ's disciples.

Of the Holy Bible. 101
his miraculous performances : for he is no sooner dis
covered to be in any place, but immediate application is
made to him for his divine assistance and the farther
demonstration of his power.
In Capernaum, the Holy Jesus received the address
of a faithful centurion, * or captain, in behalf of his fa
vourite servant, who was grievously afflicted with the
palsv. Our blessed ±-.ord, always as ready to afford re
lief, as the sick were to receive it, proposeth to the cen
turion the honour ofhis immediate presence to visit and
heal his servant; which the faithful commander, with
much humility, declines ; for, being unwilling to give
him the trouble of coming in person, he desires only his
sacred fiat, the word of command, firmly believing that
the cure would be performed. For through the strength
of his faith he was fully assured of the excellency and di
vinity of his Saviour; and therefore, though himself
was a man of authority, he thought it too great an ho
nour for his earthly habitation to be visited by the great
Saviour of the world. Jesus,f with pleasure and admi
ration observing the believing captain, turns to his dis
ciples, to whom he with much earnestness of asseveration
expresses himself, assuring them, that he had not found
any Jew so fully persuaded of his power as this Gentile
centurion. But this which "is now so very admirable,
will within a short time be frequently' exemplified ; for
multitudes shall come from all . parts of the world, and
believe in Christ, and shall sit down with Abraham, and
the rest of the patriarchs ofthe Jewish nation ; % but the

* Centurion. He was a captain of the Iron Legion, which was usually
quartered in- Judea.
t Jesus. See Matt. viii. 10, 11, 12, &c.
X Nation. " To sit down (at table) with Abraham, &c." denotes, ac
cording to the phraseology of Scripture, the joys of heaven, under the idea
of a sumptuous entertainment. For, though the felicity of the redeemed will
•certainly be of a spiritual nature, yet it is necessary to explain the nature of
the Ufe to come, by allusions to the affairs of the present life. The- Greek
poets represented divine pleasure under the notion of a feast ; and feigned that
Ixion was permitted to eat zcitK the gods.

102 A Complete History i
Jews themselves, to whom the Messiah was primarily
sent, will disbelieve, and be punished accordingly; tbey
will be shut out of the church here, and heaven here
after. Then, turning to the centurion, who with joy and
patience heard the discourse of Jesus, he pronounces
the servant cured, and dismisses the master, to the enjoy
ment of that satisfaction which his faith had procured.
The miraculous cure was in proportion to his faith ; for
returning, he found upon inquiry, that his servant, re
covered at the very same time that Jesus had declared
it. Thus the servant received the blessing of health, as
the reward and honour of his master's faith.
From Capernaum Jesus passing through Galilee at
tended with a great multitude of people, and as he came
near tbe gates of Nain, was met by a crowd, mourn
fully attending the corpse of an only son of a widow, by
which loss the mother was deprived of all her worldly
comfort. Here was a proper object of divinity to exer
cise itself upon, and to which our blessed Saviour's com
passion readily prompted him. To comfort the weeping
parent, he approached the bier, bidding the widow for
bear weeping, and commanding the bearers to stop ;
when, with his powerful word and touch, he raised the
young man to life ; who sitting up on the bier spake to
the company, to convince them that he was indeed alive.
So restore decayed health, and dispossess devils and im
pure spirits, were acts of wonder to all who beheld
them ; but to recover defunct nature, and to recall it
from the hands of death, was so stupendous a prodigy,
as struck the beholders not only with amazement, but
fear : for they glorified God for visiting his people, by
sending a great prophet among them ; justly concluding
from the grandeur of the action, that nothing but an
Almighty power could effect such wonders.
Upon the fame of this and other miracles, which soon
spread through all Judea, John the baptist, who was still
in prison, sent two of his disciples to him, to give the
greater publicity to his mission by inquiring if he were
indeed the Messiah, or whether they were to expect an
other ? At the very time of their asking this question, for

Of the Holy Bible.. 103
their clearer conviction and proof of .his being so, Jesus*
performed many miracles in their presence, curing se
veral persons of their infirmities' and plagues, and of evil
spirits, and unto many who were blind he gave sight.
To these messengers therefore of John he returned
answer, by a demonstration of the nature of the thing,
and the glory of the miracles, saying, " Return to John
and tell him what you see ; for the deaf hear, the blind
see, the lame walk, the dead are raised, the lepers are
cleansed, and to the poor the gospel is preached." All
which were the grand characteristic notes of the Mes
siah, according to the predictions of the holy pro
phets. -f-
Our blessed Saviour having dismissed John's disciples
with this answer, began to speak concerning John, be
stowing encomiums on the austerity and holiness of his
person, the greatness of his function, and the divinity
of his commission: saying that he was greater than a
prophet, a burning apd shining light — the Elias who was
to come, and the consummation and ending of the old
prophets : adding withal, that the perverseness of that
age was most notorious in the treatment of himself
and the Baptist : for neither could the Baptist, who came
neither eating nor drinking (that by his austerity and
mortified deportment he might invite the judgment and
affections of the people) nor Jesus, who came both eat
ing and drinking (that by a moderate and affable life,
framed to the common use and compliance of men, he
might sweetly insinuate himself into the affections ofthe
multitude) obtain belief amongst them. The obstinate
Jews objected against every thing, and nothing could

* Jesus. See Luke vii. 31, 22, &c.
t Prophets. See Isa. xxxv. 5, 6, " Then shall the eyes of the blind be
opened, &c.
It was also predicted that he should instruct the poor ; and it is plain that
our Lord did not court the favour of the rich, like the heathen philoso
phers and Jewish doctors, but shewed a marked attention to the despised
poor.

104 A Complete History
please them : but wisdom and righteousness had its
friends in its own family, and is justified of all her chil
dren. Then he proceeded to a more direct reprehension of
Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum ; declaring to the
two first, that if -the mighty works which were done in
them by him, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, (two
heathen cities) they would long ago have repented; and
therefore that the judgment or punishment which befals
mere heathen cities, shall be lighter than what they could
expect. And thou Capernaum, said he, the place of my
abode, which hast been so honoured and favoured by
me, beyond all other places, and hast received such spi
ritual advantages, shalt be brought to destruction sud
denly, humbled as low as thou wert highly advanced ;
for if the miracles done in thee with design to reform
thee, had been done in Lot's time, for the reforming
Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have prevented their
destruction by a speedy repentance.
Having thus severely reprehended the three cities for
their pertinacious continuance in their sins and infidelity,
in defiance and reproof of all the mighty works which
had been wrought in them, he takes occasion at the same
time (probably from that of his being received by the
meaner, and refused by the higher sort) to break out
into an affectionate expression of thanks to God, that
those mysteries of the gospel, which the wise men of
the world despised (and were thereupon given up by
God to their own wilful blindness) were yet by him re
vealed to the most ignorant and mean : by this denoting,
that God had so disposed the way to heaven, that the
most ignorant and humble, not the proud and elated,
were most ready to receive and embrace it. This, said
the blessed Jesus, is an act of thy free and undeserved
mercy to some, O Lord, and of thy just deserving to
others ; and then he concluded this sermon with an invi
tation to all people wearied and disconsolate, loaden
with sin and misery, to come to him, promising ease to
their burdens and refreshment to their weariness, and to

Of the Holy Bible. 105
to exchange their heavy pressures, " for my yoke is
easy and my burden is light."
The holy Jesus having concluded this sermon, a certain
wealthy Pharisee, named Simon, invited him to dine with
him: into whose house having entered, a woman* that
had lived a sinful and scandalous course of life, abiding
there in the city, heard of it. She came to Jesus in the
Pharisee's honse ; not to feast her eyes with the sight
of a miraculous and glorious person, but in remorse and
regret for her sins. She came to tbe blessed Jesus to
lay her burden at his feet ; and as he lay along, she
came behind him that lay next to Jesus, and standing
there, let fall drops of tears upon his. feet, the effects of
sorrow and contrition ; and stooping down, wiped them
with her hair: she then fell down and kissed his feet,
and poured a box of ointment upon them. This action
was done in an ecstasy of love, sorrow, and adoration ;
a festival ceremony, becoming the majesty of the great
est earthly monarch.
Whilst this poor sinner thus was busy in the ex
pressions of her love and veneration to Jesus, Simon,
in whom something of the perverse and peevish Pharisee
still appeared, thought with himself, that Jesus could
not be a prophet ; otherwise he would have known this
woman to be a sinner, -J- and not have suffered her to
touch him. Which Jesus knowing, (for he understood
his thoughts as well as his words) immediately made

* Woman. There is good reason to believe that the woman here spoken of,
was not Mary Magdalen, who was a person of eminent station and opulent
fortune, being mentioned by St. Luke, ch. viii. even before Joanna, the wife
of Herod's steward. It is not likely that such a person should have been a
prostitute. t Sinner. Though the Jewish religion did permit harlots of their own
nation to live nnd enjoy the privileges, of their nation, except that tlieir
oblations were refused ; yet the Pharisees, who pretended to a greater degree
of sanctity than others, would not admit them to civil usages, or the be
nefits of ordinary society; and therefore Simon the Pharisee made this objec
tion within himfelf.
VOL. III. r-

10fS A Complete History
an apology for the woman and himself, in a question ex
pressed in the parable of two debtors, to whom a greater
and a less debt respectively were forgiven ; both of them
teaching that they would love their creditor in propor
tion to his mercy in forgiving their debts. In this pa
rable, Jesus gave the reason of this woman's extraor
dinary expression of love and grief, and his reasons for
not rejecting her. Then applying it to the woman, he
reproved his host by distinguishing between his and the
woman's entertainment; and concluding the parable
with forgiveness of her sins ; for she, who loved much,
had much forgiven. This was so home and plain upon
the proud Pharisee, that he might therein read his own,
when it stood confronted with the magnificence of the
woman's penitence and love ; and dinner being over,
Jesus dismissed the penitent with this blessing : " This
great and affectionate expression of thy faith is rewarded
with a free pardon of all thy sins : Go, and live as thou
oughtst to- do for the rest of thy life, and God's favour
and all happiness be with thee."
After this, Jesus attended by the twelve, with Mary
Magdalen, Joanna, Susanna, and many others, who sup
plied him with necessaries out of their own possessions,
went through the whole country, preaching the glad
tidings of the kingdom of God : and coming into a
house with a design to eat, he was so crowded by the
people that he could not; and therefore he disposed
himself to dispense his time to the necessities of those
that stood in need of his help. Of which there were
many and daily instances ; and with one of which he was
presented in the person of a poor demoniac, possessed
with a blind and dumb devil ; in whose behalf his friends
intreated Jesus, that he would cast out the devil : which
he immediately did, and the blind man saw, and the
dumb spake ; so much to the amazement of the people,
that they ran in such immense numbers after him, and
so offended the Pharisees, who thought that by means of
this prophet, their reputation would be diminished, and
their schools deserted, that first a rumour was industri
ously circulated among the people that Jesus was beside

Of thh Holy Bible. io;
hirnself. On which report, his friends and kindred came
together to see, and to make some provisions accord
ingly. When the mother and other relations of our
Lord arrived, they found him in a house, incircled with
a multitude of attentive hearers, who were filled with
admiration. And there the holy Virgin Mother might
hear part of her own prophecy literally verified, " That
the generations ofthe earth should call her blessed :" for
a woman worshipping Jesus, cried, Blessed is the womb
that bare thee, and the paps that gave thee suck." To
this Jesus replied, not denying her to be blessed, who
'had received the honour of being the mother of the
Messiah, but rather advancing the dignity of spiritual
' blessings far above the greatest temporal honour in the
world, he says; "Yea, rather blessed are they that hear
the word of God and perform it."
Our blessed Saviour being still in the house, they in
formed him that his mother and his brethren were Wait
ing for him without,, upon which he told them that
those relations were fai" inferior to the ties of duty arid
religion : for the dear names of mother and brother,
which are sanctified by the laws of God and nature, are
made 'far more sacred when a spiritual kindred super
venes. And therefore Christ, to signify this office of
his to declare the will of his Father, to be dearer to him
than all relations, and at the same time to shew that
obedience to God was above all things most wel
come to him, he tells them, that natural and secular
considerations weighed nothing with him in comparison
of the gaining proselytes to heaven. And turning to his
disciples, he said, "Behold my mother and my brethren ;"
subjoining for a reason, " Whosoever doth the will of my
Father which is in heaven proves thereby that he is a
child of God, and consequently brother of Christ ; on
whom he setteth a greater value, than paying a civility
to those who are," in carnal respects, nearer to him.
The Pharisees, who were always seeking for occasions
of finding fault with our blessed Lord, observing that he
still persisted in performing miracles, and particularly in
casting out demons, renewed the old accusation; — "He
p 2

108 A Complete History
casteth out devils by Beelzebub." Which senseless objec
tion Christ having already confuted, arraigned them
solemnly with the guilt of an unpardonable crime ; as
suring them that their so charging those actions, which
he performed by the energy of the divine spirit, was a
sin against the Holy Ghost. And however they might
make bold with the Son of Man,* and though prevarica
tions against his words, or injuries to his person might,
upon repentance, find pardon ; yet it was a matter of
greater consideration to sin against the Holy Ghost, for
that would obtain no pardon here, or hereafter : and
taking this occasion of reprehending the Jews for their
obstinacy and ingratitude, he, by a mysterious, and in
genious parable, gives the world a solemn caution against
relapsing and backsliding after repentance : " To you,"
says he, " that having received such means of conversion
and repentance, such miracles, and particularly casting
out devils, have not yet duly improved by them, I shall
now apply this parable, Matt. xii. 43, &c. the meaning
of which is, that this nation (out of which I came to cast

* Son qf Man. The phrase Sou of Man, in Matt xii. 32, belongs to
Christ as he appeared in the weakness of human nature, the son of Mary
abstracted from the great power of his doctrine and miracles. The sin
therefore against the Son of Man was. pardonable;, but the resisting and op
posing (which is often expressed by speaking) the Holy Ghost was unpar
donable. The quality of the Son of Man is ofteu very ambiguous; and therefore we
must take these words, " Son of Man,'' in their proper signification,
and retain them still where our Saviour is evidently understood, who has been
pleased to take this title particularly to himself. Sometimes it signifies
Jesus, Christ, sometimes a man of low degree ; as in Matt, viii 10, and in
Matt. xii. 32. This is likewise the sense of it, as many of the learned allow,
in 1 Sam. ii. 25. But that which renders this interpretation more pro
bable is this; that St. Mark makes no mention of the blasphemy against the
Son of Man, saying only that " all sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven
unto the Sons of men, Mark iii. 28, which shews that there is no question
here of a particular sin against^the Son of God, which St. Mark had' not
failed to have mentioned if any such thing liao been designed by that ex
pression.

Of the Holy Bible. 109
the power of Satan, to bind the strong man, and to take
from him his usurped possessions) doth appear so resolute
to resist all my methods, as to blaspheme that Holy Spirit
by whom I work* and then what is to be expected, but
that the devils ejected by me, in my Father's name, find
ing no where among the heathen such desirable habita
tions of rest and contentment as among you, shall endea
vour to re-enter here, with others worse than themselves,
and take a lasting possession? So the last estate of this
people is likely to be more desperate than it was at first."
On the same day our blessed Lord went to the sea-side,*
where being again encompassed with a vast concourse of
people, he went on board a vessel, from whence he
taught the people on the shore : but he taught them by
parables, under which were hidden the mysteries of the
kingdom of life. By the parable of the sower, scatter
ing the seed by the way-side, and some on stony, some
on thorny, and some on good ground, he intimated
the several dispositions qf men's hearts, the careless
ness of some, the frowardness and levity of others,
the easiness and softness of a third, and how they are di
verted from a believing reception of the word by world
liness and care; how many ways there are to miscarry,
and that but one sort of men, out of several, receive the
word, and bring forth the fruits of a holy life. But his
disciples, wondering that he should speak so mystically
and obscurely to the people, asked him, why he did so?
To whom he gave this answer: "To understand the
deeper and more obscure parts of the gospel is a privi
lege only belonging to you disciples who are believers
already, and have given up yourselves to my direction ;
but/ these have not done so. Whosoever hath made use
of the advantages given him by God, shall have more
given him, as in the seed that fell on good ground, he
shall have an abundant increase ; but whosoever shall not

* Sea-side.- This was the lake of Genesareth, otherwise called the sea
of Tiberias, from a town of that name, which stood on the banks of the
lake.

110 A Complete History
make use of what he hath, and so by his own fault falleth
into poverty, shall not only be denied more, but
shall be deprived of what he hath ; the means of grace
shall be taken from him upon his wilful continuance in
sin." This was tbe reason our Saviour gave his disciples
for his speaking in parables, to which he subjoins another:
" I spake, says he, to them in parables, because * seeing
they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they
understand. By which was fulfilled what Isaiah the pro
phet foretold of God's dealing with an obstinate people,
who would not receh e or entertain the truth, though
never so plainly represented to them. And this was a
just judgment of God upon them for their former ob
stinacy, who shut their eyes, and stopped their ears, that
they might not be converted ; wherefore God, on his
part, would, in his just judgment, withdraw such pre
cious knowledge from them, that it might not be ex
posed to farther contempt."

* Because, fyc. Though our blessed Lord spake to the people in the most
plain and intelligible manner, yet they were so stupid, as not to perceive
and understand him. These texts of St. Matt. xiii. 13, St. Mark iv. 12, and
St. Luke viii. 10, do in. the Greek all agree; but are differently and wrOngly
translated in the English, and seem to make our Saviour speak to the mul
titude in parables, that is, in a plain and familiar way, that they may not per
ceive or understand them ; which is contrary to the design of Christ's coming
into the world, and continuing so long in it; which was to reform mankind, and,
by his holy life, and heavenly doctrine, to turn men from their wicked ways,
and put them in the way that leads to eternal happiness. The mistake in the
translation must proceed from the false rendering the word in-a in St. Murk,
and St. Luke, which St. Matthew expresses by hoti, both which words signify in
this place because. That of St. Mark therefore ought literally to run thus:
" because seeing they do see, and not perceive, and so on." That of St.
Luke thus; " because seeing they see not, and hearing they understand not."
But St. Matthew is positively most expressive ; " because they seeing see
not, and so on." The natural import of which is, That, the Jews, by reason
of their prejudices, not being jcapable to understand high things, our Saviour,
out of love to their souls, accommodates himself to their capacities, by speak
ing to them in parables ; that is, in metaphors and similitudes borrowed from
temporal and bodily things, to bring them to the understanding of his
doctrine.

Of the Holy Bible. HI
By the three parables of the seed growing together
with the tares ; of the mustard-seed swelling to a great
tree ; and of a little leaven qualifying the whole lump,
our blessed Saviour signified the increase of the gospel
under persecution and difficulties, and his blessing upon
the apostolic word. By the kingdom of heaven he means
the state of the gospel, which he likens to a man that
sowed good seed, among which an enemy scattered tares,
and which the servants offered to weed up ; but the good
man forbad it, because the tares! are so mixed with
the wheat, that one cannot be pulled up without en
dangering the other, especially when they are not per
fectly discernible. Let them therefore both grow up
together till harvest, that is, till the day of judgment,
when I will send the reapers, that is, will appoint angels
as officers to separate the wheat from the tares, meaning
the good from the wicked.
The state of the gospel is of such an increasing nature,
both in the world, and in the heart of man, where it is
received, that it is fitly compared to a grain of mustard
seed ; * which being one of the least seeds, yet when it
grows up prosperously, it becomes larger than any thing
that comes from a seed, and among the Jews grows into
a tree with boughs large enough for birds to roost and
lodge in.
Again, the gospel hath such a secret invisible influence
on the hearts of men, to change and affect them and all
their actions, that it is properly compared to leaveii,
which is so thoroughly mixed with the whole, that al-

* Mustard. That a mustard-seed grows into a tree, is affirmed by St.
Matt. xiii. 32, and St. Luke xiii. 19. Which must not be measured by what
we see of this seed among us, but by considering the Hebrew soil and clime,
of which this is ordinarily affirmed among their authors, who mention a bough
of a mustard-tree that yielded wood enough to cover a little house. And
whereas in St. Matthew it is said to be the least of all seeds, though. among us
Other seeds may be found less than that, as rue and poppy, yet it does not ne
cessarily follow it should be so there. However, it is apparent, that the small-
ness of it was proverbial among the Jews.

112 A Complete History
though it appeareth not in any part of it visibly, yet
every part hath a tincture from it.
By speaking thus in parables, our blessed Saviour ful
filled what was before spoken by the prophetic Psalmist.*
" I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things
which have been kept secret from the foundation of the
world." After this, he dismissed the multitude, and re
tired into a house; where his disciples, taking the op
portunity of priyacy there, desire him to explain -f- the
former parables to them, which he accordingly did, ren
dering them into their proper meanings, adding to them
two parables more, concerning the dignity ofthe gospel :
in the first of which he compares it to a treasure hid in a
field, which a man finding casually, hid it again, and con
cealed it till he could get it into his possession by buy
ing the field, for which he accounts no price too dear.
In the second parable, he compares the gospel to a
jewel of vast price; for to those who have followed the
study of wisdom and the practice of holiness, tbe gospel

* Psalmist. See Psalm lxxviii. 2.
t Explain. By our Saviour's explaining all things to his disciples, when
he was alone with them, we may understand that he instructed them in
'private in his doctrine, enlarged on the meaning of the parables, and like
wise informed them of several other things which were neither necessary
nor proper to be known by the multitude at that time: so tHat this ex
pression of St. Matt. xiii. 11. " To you it is given to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not," does not in the least im
ply, that our Saviour's parables were dark or obscure, and that by speaking
to the multitude in them, he had a design to conceal any truth which
was necessary to be known by them, but only that he made a fuller disco
very of his doctrine to his disciples, than to the multitude; because his dis
ciples were more disposed to receive it, and were afterwards to be the
preachers of it, and to seal the truth of it with their blood. Nor is it any
proof of the obscurity of our Saviour's parables, that the disciples did not
understand some of them: for though ithey were honest and sincere,
yet they were often at a loss in ordinary things, of which their not under--
standing the parable of the sower seems to be an instance, for which ouf
Saviour upbraids them, saying, " Know ye not this parable? How then will
ye know all parables ?"

Of the Holy Bible. 113
of Christ, is as welcome as a prize to a merchant, who
being in pursuit of rich merchandize, and meeting with
an inestimable jewel, disputes not tbe price, but imme
diately sells all that he hath in the world, and purchaseth
it ; telling his disciples withal, that although purity and
spiritual perfection were intended by the gospel, yet
they would not be acquired by every person ; but that
the public professors of Christianity should be a mixed
multitude, like a net inclosing fishes good and bad ;
which should finally be distinguished, the good to be
preserved, and the bad to be cast away. Likewise the
same distinction would be observed, not only at the time
wherein Christ should come to take revenge on his
enemies at the destruction of the Jewish state, but es
pecially at the final day of every man's doom, at the
conclusion ofthe world.
After these discourses, he retired into his own city of
Nazareth, where he was bred, and taught the people
publicly in their synagogues, which he did in an extra
ordinary manner, expressing such knowledge, and per
forming such miracles, that they who saw and heard him,
were amazed at them; and they that knew his birth and
education amongst them could not but admire, saying,
" Whence can he be imagined to derive the power of
doing such miracles? Do we not know him, his parents,
and relations?" The people of Nazareth did him no ho
nour as a prophet : they regarded his birth here below,
but not his commission from heaven ; though he evinced
plainly by his miraculous acts from whom he came: they
would know him in nothing but the disadvantages of hi
youth, kindred, trade, and poverty ; still retaining i i
their minds the infirmities and humility of his first years
and keeping the same apprehensions of him noAV a man
and a prophet, which they had of him whilst a child in
the shop of a carpenter. But when Jesus in his sermon
had reproved their infidelity, at which he wondered, and
therefore did but few miracles there compared with what
he had done at Capernaum, and had intimated the pre
ference that Capernaum should have before Nazareth,
they were so incensed at his just reproaches, that they
vol. ni. ft

1 14 A Complete History
resolved to destroy him ; in order to which they thrust
him out ofthe city, and led him to the brow of the hill
on which it was built, intending his execution by
throwing him down head-long. But the great work for
which he was sent, was not yet finished ; and therefore
to preserve himself for the performance of his father's
will, he miraculously saved himself by departing through
the midst of them, who had not power, though malice
enough, to seize him.
Jesus having miraculously escaped the fury of his own
countrymen,, withdrew from ungrateful Nazareth, and
travelled into Galilee, teaching in most of the towns and
villages thereof, attended by his disciples, and certain
women, out of whom he had cast unclean spirits, such as
were Mary Magdalene, Johanna wife to Chuza, Herod's
steward, Susanna, and some others, who attended him,
and ministered to him out of their own substance, and
became part of that holy society, which about this time
began to be full; because now. the apOstles, whom our
Saviour had sent out by two and two, were returned from
their preaching, full of joy that the devils were made
subject to the words of their mouth, and could no longer
stand at the invocation of the holy name of Jesus. Hav
ing thus wrought miracles, and taught the people where-
ever tbey came, they began to be a little puffed up with
their successful itinerancy, which their holy master per
ceiving, suppresses the rising vanity of their minds ;
and to destroy the vain conceits to which these mira
culous actions of theirs had given birth, he intimated to
them, that such privileges were not the solid foundation
of a holy joy, any farther than as they co-operated toward
the great end of God's glory, and their own salvation ;
to which they were chosen, their names being written in
the book of life, on which account the highest degree
of joy is reasonable, holy, and unchangeable.
It was now about a year since Herod* had committed

* Herod. Our translation and that of Geneva seem to represent Herod
as a prince who respected John the Baptist, and had a great esteem for all

Of the Holy Bible. ' 115
John the Baptist close prisoner to the castle of MaChe-
runs, lying all the while exposed to the fury and resent
ment of a malicious woman, who could not forgive the
rebuke the Baptist gave to Herod, in telling him it was
unlawful for him to have his brother's wife. In vain had
Herodias racked her brain for an opportunity to destroy.
him for it, for Herod had not yet filled up the measure of
his iniquity. But, after a year's waiting, a favourable
occasion presented itself to complete her revenge. He
rod's birth-day being solemnized with much mirth and
gaiety, among other joyful entertainments nothing con
tributed so much to Herod's pleasure and satisfaction as
the performance of Herodias's daughter in a dance :
insomuch that Herod rashly promised her whatever she
would ask, and confirming his promise with an oath. The
damsel, not wicked enough of herself, consulted her im
pious mother, who as readily as maliciously instructed her
daughter to demand the head of John Baptist: to obtain
this she addresses herself to Herod, and demands the
performance of his promise. Herod was now troubled *

he said, Mark vi. 20. Though by St. Matthew and St. John he is repre
sented as a very wicked man, whom nothiug but the fear of the people,
that looked on John as a prophet, prevented putting him to death, Matt.
xiv. 5, Luke iii. 19, 20. But we are to consider, that the Greek word
Synetarei, which the Geneva version translates to reverence, and ours to
observe, signifies " to keep prisoner," or " to observe or watch with an ill
design." We must consider farther, that Robert Stephens, and Beza, had
some Greek copies, where, instead of the words which we render " He did
many things," there are words which signify " He was much vexed or
troubled :" Which indeed much better represent the temper of that disso
lute prince. Josephus the historian, observes, that Herod had put John
Baptist to death, because he thought tlie people were altogether led by
him; which is an argument that he did neither respect him, nor hear
him gladly, nor do many things for love of him. The text then should be
thus translated, " for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man,
and holy, and kept him prisoner, or kept a watchful eye over him, and
having heard him he was much perplexed, though he heard him peace
ably." t Troubled. The ancients were wont on their birth-day feasts to forbear
all secular employments, to have no. quarrels nor contentions, no pleadings
a3

116 A Complete History
indeed ; variety of thoughts disturbed him ; not so much
from the fear of doing an evil action in murdering a
good man, but of the people's resentment, who had a
high opinion of John's mission. However, because he
had sworn, and that it might not appear from levity or
inconsistency to those that were at the feast with him,
he would not retract his promise, but sacrificed the Bap
tist to a rash vow, made in the gaiety of his riotous
entertainment. John being beheaded, his head* was
brought in a dish, and presented to the young girl, f
who gave it to her mother. John's disciples hearing
of this, took care ofhis burial,;}; which being done they
came to Jesus, whose forerunner John was, and told
him all that had befallen John, staying (it is probable)
with Jesus as his disciples.
The miraculous cures which the apostles wrought, were
soon spread around the country; but when those of

in their courts, but especially no shedding of blood, no executions ; counting
it unfit to deprive any of life on the day they received their own. This there
fore might be one of the occasions of Herod's sorrow or trouble for this de
mand of the girl.
* Head. It has been said, that when Herodias bad the head presented to
her by her daughter Salome, she thrust the tongue through with a needle, and
afterwards buried the head in her own palace, thinking, perhaps, to secure it
against a re-union, lest it should disturb her unlawful lusts, and disquiet He
rod's conscience.
t Girl. There is an antient tradition, that this girl, who danced off the
Baptist's head, passing over a frozen lake, the ice breaking, she fell in up
to the neck, and that her head was parted from her body by the violence
of tbe fragments of ice shaken by the water, and its own fall. ±Vor was :t
long before God's judgment reached the incestuous couple : for Aretas, a'kini
in Arabia Pt trea (whose daughter Herod had divorced, or put away for Hero-:
dias) making war with Herod for the affront offered to his daughter, defeated
him : soon after which the adulterous pair were banished to Lyons, in France
by decree of the Roman senate, where tbey lived ingloriously, and died
miserably. J Burial. John was buried in Sebaste, in the confines of Samaria, havinu
his grave between the bodies of Elizeus and Abdias the prophets.

Of the Holy Bible. 1,17
our Saviour came .to be divulged, the fame of them
echoed through the palaces of princes ; insomuch that
cruel Herod, in all his greatness, was alarmed with anxious
thoughts as soon as ever he heard the mighty character of
Jesus, and the wonders he performed. His lethargic soul
was roused from its sinful security, and his jealous- ap
prehensions were such as arose from his guilt : he
thought it was John the Baptist who was risen from the
dead, and that these mighty works were demonstrations
of his power, increased by the super-additions of immor
tality, and more divine influences, proportioned to the
honour of a martyr, and a state of separation.
When Jesus heard of the barbarous treatment of John>
that the same might not befal him before he had fulfilled
the office, for which he was sent, he departed by ship
from thence, taking none but his disciples with him, and
went to a place not inhabited. But he could not be long
concealed any where ; for the people hearing where he
was, though in an inhospitable desert, flocked to him in
vast numbers, taking a great circuit by land before they
could reach him. The holy Jesus, seeing their faith and
zeal, though he came to this desert to avoid being
thronged, would not conceal himself any longer from
them ; but being moved with compassion he came to
them, and healed their sick. But considering afterwards
that they Avere not within reach of any entertainment,
there being no house or village near, lest the multitude
should faint in their return to their houses, he resolved
by a miraculous supply to make provision for them : and
demanding what store of food they had, the disciples
told him they had only five loaves and two fishes. Upon
which commanding the company to sit down on the
grass, he took the ioaves and fishes, and looking up to
heaven, blessed and brake them, giving them to the dis
ciples to divide among the multitude. Here was a mi
racle beyond the expectation or desire of the people :
they obtained their object in attending him, by having
their sick healed ; but when they saw that with five loaves
of barley, and two small fishes, he had satisfied five thou-

118 , ' A Complete History
sand men, besides women and children, and that the
fragments which remained filled twelve baskets, the mi
racle so happily met their wants, that they no longer
doubted of his being the Messiah, who was to come into
the world, and therefore they designed to take him back
with them by force, and proclaim him king. * But Jesus
presently sent his disciples before him to tbe wilderness
by sea, which was on the same side with Bethsaida and
Capernaum: for he that left his father's kingdom to take
upon him the miseries and infelicities of this world, de
clined the tumultuary election of an earthly crown.
Therefore, when he had sent away his disciples to Beth
saida by water, he went into the mountains to secrete
himself till the multitude should separate to their several
habitations ; he, in the mean time, taking the oppor
tunity of that retirement for a season of prayer, -f-
But when the apostles were engaged in the sea far
from land, on a sudden a great and violent storm arose,
with which they were pressed to the extremity of danger,
labouring almost in hopelessness and despair till the
fourth watch of the night ; when in the midst of their
fears and labours, Jesus comes walking on the. sea, and
appeared to them, which occasioned the utmost conster
nation. They had lost their pilot who used to conduct
them safely through all difficulties of sea and land ; and
being now left to themselves, they had nothing hut de
spair and death before their eyes ; and seeing a shape of
they knew not what walking ori'the water, they supposed
it had been a spirit : but in tendernesss to their frailty be
soon dispelled their fears, by informing them who he
was, which yet they desired to have confirmed to them
by demonstration ; for when Jesus bid them not to be
afraid, telling them who he was, Simon Peter said unto
him, " Master, if it be thou, command me to come to
thee on the waters." The Lord did so ; and Peter throw
ing himself upon the confidence of his master's power

* King. See John vi. 15. f Prayer. See Matt. xiv. SS.

€m03TiY*tttm§ Wm SlEi

/j//,,,,, yV,///,-^,,/// . ,,¦/,,-</¦/„,¦/¦ ,//,/„,

//is,'/ '//¦///¦{ if , Ha//-. /v./^.-7/.

Of the Holy Bible. 11 9
and providence, came out of the ship ; but his fears be7
ginning to weigh him down, he cried out, saying, " Lord^
save me !" Jesus taking him by the hand, reproved his
tiriiorousness, and the weakness of his faith, " Why didst
thou doubt ? Why was thy heart divided between faith
and diffidence? Why didst thou distrust my power, who
bid thee come to me ?" When they were come into the
ship, the rest of the disciples seeing Peter safe, and the
storm appeased, came and adored Jesus, acknowledging
his omnipotence, and admiring the divinity of his power
and person. From hence they went over to the land of
Genesareth, whither, when the inhabitants heard that he
was come (for they knew him, as having been there be
fore,) they sent unto him all the diseased people in the
place, with so firm a confidence believirig his power,
that they only desired a touch of his garment for the
curing their most stubborn and inveterate maladies : and
as many as touched his clothes were healed.
The day following, the people that stood on the other
side ofthe sea considering that there was no other boat
there, but that wherein the disciples had embarked, and
that they had put off without Jesus, coming nigh the
place where they had eaten bread, when by blessing the
five loaves he so multiplied them, that they were suffi
cient to feed five thousand; and found' that he was
gorie from thence as well as his disciples, they concluded
that Jesus, though he went not with them, was gone
after them to Capernaum, his usual habitation: andhav-
ving opportunity of other vessels for passage, they took
ship, and went to Capernaum to seek for him. Where
when they found him, and not knowing which way he
came thither, they in a surprise as'ked him how he came
there. But Jesus, instead of gratifying their curiosity
• with a direct answer, takes occasion from this anxious in
quiry of theirs to observe to them, " That which induces
you to follow me is not the acknowledgment of my di
vine power evidenced by my miracles ; nor is it to em
brace my doctrine, nor a desire to learn of me, but a
gross and Carnal complacency of gratifying your appe-

120 A Complete History
tites, and such advantages, as you obtained by my multi
plying the loaves to feed you. Set not your hearts on
these poor external advantages, desire not to acquire
this corporal food in order to your worldly ends ; but
labour earnestly to obtain that food which is imperishable,
and will make all that feed on it immortal.", Hereupon
they said to him, " What course wilt thou prescribe to
us, that we may be always employed in the works of
God, so as to be acceptable to him ?'' Jesus tells them,
" That which God requires of them is to believe on him,
the Messiah, whom God hath sent." Then they, though
they had before believed, and concluded that he must be
the Messiah * and were therefore resolved to make him
their king, now retract their former resolution, ,and de
manded farther demonstration ; tellinghim they had great
reason to adhere to Moses, who wrought such miracles, and
brought down bread from heaven ready prepared ; and
unless he would produce some such testimony as might
equal that of the Manna, they would not believe on
him. Jesus replied, " That Manna came not from
heaven, but out of the airy region ; and it was the
, work of God, not of Moses : and now the same God gives
you far more durable food than that was ; — he^gives
you his Son, who came really from heaven, and who is
bread and food to your souls, as Manna was to your fa
thers: for that fed but the body, and presently perished ;
but that which God gives you now is for your souls, and
feeds them to eternity. I am that durable life-giving
bread of God, whose excellency is infinitely above that
of Manna. You have seen hie, and tasted of my miracles,
yet ye do not believe in me, and consequently feed not
on this true bread which came down from heaven, f This
is an evidence of great obstinacy in you ; for had God's
preventing grace any influence on you, you would
certainly come and obey my call, and I should not af
terwards reject you, for this lies upon me, as the office

Messiah. See John v. 14, &c. t Heaven. See John vi. S7, &c

Of ihe MMy Bible. 1521
for which my Father hath sent me, the fulfilling of which
is rfry care, that I should preserve every one that shall
thus coine and believfe on me, arid give to every Ofte that
perseveres, besides lflariy excellent privileges here, eter
nal life of body and 90nl hereafter. There is also ario-
ther part of my Fathers commission to me, that whoso
ever believeth in his Son should not perish, but inherit
everlasting life In the Other world." When the Jews
heard him say he was the bread which came dowri from
heavetf 5 they, regarding his birth here on earth, arid his
parentage, could riot forbear murmuring. To which Je
sus replies, " I have Said nothing to catise this murmur
ing ; * it is true, there is Soriie pretence for these vulgar
prejudices against me; but it is an effect of my Father's
preventing* grace to fit and prepare inch's hearts to be
ready a'nd Willing to coirie fo me: and for every one that
doth thtlS come, and therein obey my call, On him will
I Certainly bestow everlasting life. The sum therefore
of what I thus £ay hath beeri obscurely delivered to you
of old by the prOpbets: for they, f speaking of these
time's foretold that God Would dispose the hearts of men
tO receive Christ ; and therefore it was that I said, that
eyety disciple of riry Fafiher who hath been truly taught
of him^ doth Cdrtainly comfe to tne, and believe in me.
The Mariha given iri the' desert did not inake those im-
mortal that did eat it : but, the bread which is now sent
you down from heaven, will give iriiniOrtality to them
that feed on it. And this bread of life is not only pre
pared for you JewS, but fof all others who receive arid
digest it into the food and nourishment of their souls."
Hereupon the Jews taking every thing he spake in aJ
.Bteral senses dispirited aiftOng themselves how he could
' give bis flesh to eat, arid his blood to drink . Jesus know-

* MSritiatring. See John vi. 44, &c.
t They. See John vi. 56,57, &c.
X A. See Isaiah liv. 13.
VOL. III. R

122 A Complete History
ing their perplexity, tells them in the same metaphorical
way, " Except you feed on this celestial food, that is,
believe on me as a Saviour, you have no part ofthe true
immortal life in you. For 1 that am sent in the flesh to
die for the world, and am the food which will nourish
you to everlasting life : so that he that believeth in me
must necessarily derive life from me. The Manna which
your fathers did eat could not preserve them for ever, for
they are idead ; but the bread that I shall give you shall
be to you everlasting food." In this metaphorical ,way
of speaking, Jesus continued some time; upon which
divers of bis disciples* forsook him, being offended by
their literal and carnal understanding of those words
which heintended in a spiritual sense: for the words which
he spake were not profitable in the sense of flesh arid
blood ; but they are spirit, and they are life, himself being
the expounder, who best knew his own meaning.
Jesus seeing this great desertion of his disciples, began
to suspect the rest, not excepting the twelve apostles ;
and therefore turning to them, he, asked them, if they
also would, forsake him ? To whom Simon Peter an
swered, " Lord, whither shall we go ? Thou hast the
words of eternal life ; and we believe, and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." But
although this public confession was made by St. Peter in
the name and confidence ofthe other apostles, yet Jesus,
who knew the hearts of them all, answered Peter, " Have
not I of all the followers that have professed to believe
¦ in me, chosen but twelve to be my constant attendants,
and one of them is a traitor?" meaning Judas Iscariot,
who afterwards betrayed him. This he spake to them
prophetically, that they might perceive that the events
.which afterward took place, particularly in the treachery

* Disciples. John vi. 66. Among those disciples which St. John says de
serted our Saviour upon the misunderstanding of this Sermon, St. Mark the
Evangelist is by Epiphanius, Herses. xv. said to be one, but that he was after
wards recalled by Simon Peter.

Of the Holy Bible. 123
of Judas, who conspired with the Jews to destroy him,
did not surprise him that he could not prevent them,
but that they came by his own knowledge and permis
sion : and though Judas as yet had made no offer or
attempt that way, yet Our Saviour knew he would deli
ver him to the Jews, notwithstanding he was so near
him as to be one of the apostles, whom he intended
should preach the gospel -to all people.

R 2

COMPLETE

HISTORY

^OF THE

2|olj> Sible*

BOOK THE NI NTH.

The third Year of Christ's public Ministry, beginning .
about the time qf the third Passover after his
Baptism.
Our blessed Saviour thought proper to decline a jour
ney to Jerusalem to observe the third passover after his
baptism, but wsent about preaching among the cities of
Galilee, where he rather chose to do it than in Judea,
because the rulers of the Jews, especially those of the
Sanhedrim at Jerusalem, were lying in wait for some ad
vantage or occasion to put him to death. The Pharisees, -
therefore, and some Scribes who came from Jerusalem,
knowing this, quarrelled with him, about certain imper
tinent and unnecessary rites, derived to them not by divine
sanction, but the mere ordinances of men, such as that of

Of the Holy BMh. 125
Tubing* their hands often when tbey eat, and several
other ceremonies, which the apostles of Jesus did not
observe, but attended diligently to the simplicity and
spiritual holiness of their masters doctrine. But in re
turn to these and many other their vain demands, Jesus
gave them a sharp reproof for observing these and other
traditions, to the neglect of divine precepts ; and in parti
cular the respect tbey taught men tq give to theCorban,f
and refused to supply the necessity of others, thinking ifc
to, be religion, though they neglected piety and charity,
and that to so great- objects as even necessitous pa
rents. Here was an example plain enough to demon-*
strate, that they who insisted so strictly upon the obser-
vatipn of traditions, made no scruple to annul tbe obli
gations of God's commands. Then- charging them with
downright hypocrisy, he reproaches them with what
Isaiah prophesied of them : " Ye draw near me in QSfa
ward, professions of devotion, but youd- hearts are fur
from me- The service which ye perform, to me is vain,
and likjejy to, receive a slender rejward, since my com-
mjandiS are not regarded by you, but instead thereof ye

* Washing. This was a mere superstition among the Jews, and so strictly
enjoined, that the transgressor was esteemed guilty of a capital crime : inso
much that some of their rabbiea thought it wonhy; of death.
f Corban. There was a solemn form of devpting among the Jews, though
contrary to charity, yet very -frequent among them, such as to bind a man's
self' by vow or execration, that he will in nothing be beneficial to, his neighr
tour, his parent, &o. confirming- by oath the cruelty of his disposition, says
Philo. And this by them was called Corban, Mark vii. 11, and Matt. xv. 5,
a gift. What is thus passed under their vow,, is, say they, utterly forbidden
or unlawful, which being, consecrated must not be touched, or emplqyed to
any other u,se. So that the. plain meaning of the place is, a father, being
in vfant, complains to his son ;. the. son answers, that he. hath vowed, hp
will not, and therefore it is unlawful for him to relieve his father: and'.the
Pharisees approved of this practice, that he- may thus avoid his duty to
his parents; and though quite contrary to the precept of honouring and
reKeving them, yet it wa» thought obligatory by them to the frustrating this
commandment.

136 A Complete History
set up the constitutions of men." Then leaving the Pha
risees with some displeasure* he calls the multitude, Who,
while he talked with the Pharisees, stood at some distance,
and spoke move hopefully of, and cbearfully to them,
saying, " As to this matter of washing before meat, so
much insisted on by the Pharisees, do you consider what
I now say, Not that which is eaten, but that which is
spoken polluteth man." His disciples knowing the ma
lice of the Pharisees, feared that by any farther re-1-
proaches he might aggravate and provoke them to do
, hiiri some mischief, but he gives them no other reply than
this: " All that come with such prejudices as the Pha
risees do, and that prefer their own ordinances before the
commands of God, it is to be expected, that telling them
the truth will not please them. All seed, but that which
is of my Father, and which is radicated in humility and
piety, shall come to nothing; and consequently so must
all faith in these conceited men; and therefore it is not
strange if they be hurt at my words, and depart from
them upon my reproving their errors. If this hath
touched and discouraged them, let them go ; they are
stupidly and perversely ignorant themselves ; they take
pleasure in being called doctors and instructors of the
ignorant: and what can be the effect of this, but that the
leaders, "and they that are led by them, shall together
ingulpfi themselves in destruction?"
After this he thundered out woes and miseries against
their impieties, for being curious of times, and punctual
in rites and ceremonies, but at the same time most neg
ligent and thoughtless of judgment, and the love of God ;
upbraids them for their pride and hypocrisy, for im
posing heavy burdens upon others which themselves
helped not to support; for taking away the key of know
ledge from the people, obstructing the passage to hea
ven, and approving the acts of their fathers in persecut
ing the prophets. But for the question of washings, at
the importunity of Peter he explains it to them, shewing
that 'all pollution is from within, from the corruption of
the heart, such as impure thoughts, unchaste desires, un-

Of the Holy Bible. 127
holy purposes, immodest and indecent speech ; these are
the things that leave a lasting stain upon the soul, and
defile it; but omitting to wash before meat, cannot be
supposed to defile a man.
From hence Jesus departed into the coasts of Tyre and
Sidon, and entered into an house with design to conceal
himself. But the fame of his miracles discovered him
wheresoever he went ; especially in cases of distress. The
diligence of a mother's love and sorrow for her child in
torment soon found him out in his retirement; for a Sy-
rophoenician woman, hearing of his miraculous power
which he exercised over devils and unclean spirits, and
. recognizing his dignity, thus addresses herself to him,
" Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou sou of David, my
daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." Jesus, at first,
received her with apparent coldness and indifference ; but
his disciples, to be rid of her importunity, desired him
to grant her request and dismiss her. Jesus tells them
he was sent only to the Jews, to bring them to repentance,
and to shew his miracles among them. The poor woirian
impatient of delay, continues her importunate addresses
to him, and prostrating herself at his feet, implores his
help on her child. Jesus told her, " It was not meet*
to work those miracles on an heathen, which were des
tined to God's people the Jews." The afflicted mother
finding his discourse tend only to discomfort and reject her
for her nation's sake, renews her petition ; humbly ac
knowledging the truth of what, he urged, but in all sub
mission hoping a poor distressed heathen might be ad
mitted to partake of the mercies promised to the Jews.
She desired but one instance of favour on her. daughter.

* Meet. -Compare this explication with the text of St. Matt. xv.
26, 37. Our blessed Lord came to establish a kiugdom of holiness and peace
in the hearts and lives of all his followers, but the Jews had ' long before ren
dered many of the precepts of the law of no effect, and explained away the
rest into a childish system of rites and ceremonies, and have so continued to
act down to the present day.

1 SS A Complete Histdry
which he poured forth without measures upOfl the sons
arid daughters of Israel* Jesus being pleased With hfer
zeal and discretion, and pityiflg her daughter's infelicityj
dismisses her with this applause of her faithy and Comfort
to her child, " O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto
thee as thou desirest!" and her daughter was made wholS
in that instant of time. The joyful mother retires with
infinite pleasure and satisfaction, and finds hfer daughter
perfectly cured.
Jesus* after the performance of this miracle, continued
riot long there, but returning to the coast Of «Galileft
through the midst of Decapolis, they preterit ririto biffi
an unhappy youth, deprived 6f the benefit of speech and
hearing. Our Saviour surveying this object with pity,
'takeshiril aside* from the gazing crowd, and iri a riiOre
than usually soleriin posture of devotion, fixing his eyes
on heaven, where the father of light dwefieth, pro
nounced the young man cured. The string which so
lotig had held his tongue was broken, arid the organs of
his ears Were sensible Of every joyful sdurid urifOri theiii.
Offir SaviOdr returning him to his glad friends, enjoins
them silence ; but tbey cannot contain their joy ; arid
joiftirig both with Jews arid Getitiles in adsrih-afidfi of
Such wonderful acts, acknowledge that none but the God
of Israel could do such things.
These miraculous acts ofhis echoed through all places
Wherever he passed, attractirig multitude's of diseased

* Aside. The fathers differ very much in their opinions about thfc reason
of Christ's taking the young man aside; for since he designed to work a mi
racle on him, it miglit be thought expedient to do it in public. But after
various Conjectures, the context in St. Mark vii. S6, seems most clearly to ex
plain this text in the 33d verse, of " taking him aside." For in ver. 36, our
Saviour" commands that this miracle be iept secret; for which reason he may
be supposed to do it in secret. Ai to the perforhWnce of this and many
ctflier mii-acfe irt secret, the general opinion is, that onr Saviour in the mam
did it to denote -liis humility; tmtt fte performed not many niir'ae'les in public
for ostentation slfie, tlttt rof t»e necessity df convittfciiig tlie Jews, as well as
healing their infirmities.

Of the Holy Bible. 129
people, who apply to him for relief ; which none fail to
receive, for he healed them all. The people could riot
forbear following him ; each day and hour furnishing
them with something rare and strange, insomuch that
they followed him three days successively, and at lost
had nothing of sustenance to support them till they could
return to tbeir own homes. Jesus seeing such crowds of
people fainting about him, in pity to their necessities,
resolved to feed them once more by a stupendous mi
racle- Jn order thereunto he first tried the apostles' faith,
by commanding them to provide for his poor and hungry
guests. They answered in surprise, " Whence should
we find provision for such a multitude in so barren and
inhospitable a place ?" However he demanded an account
of their scanty store, which they producing, amounted
to no more than seven loaves and a few small fishes.
With this poor pittance of food he begins the banquet,
ordering the multitude to seat themselves on the grassy
plain, while he multiplied this small store of bread and
fish to a quantity amply sufficient to supply all their wants .
Then taking the loaves into his sacred hands, he blessed
them, and giving to his disciples, bid them distribute to
the people of them and the fish, which they did, whilst the
astonished croivd knew notwhichmost to admire, the gra
tifying their hungry appetites, or what so astonished tbeir
senses. But the whole life of the blessed Jesus was a con
tinued series of wonders, each miraculous hour being
succeeded by another : for no sooner had he fed and sa
tisfied this multitude, that consisted of above four thou
sand, but the seven loaves and small fishes, which one
small basket could perhaps contain, did at the end Of
the feast, when all the gue*sts were satisfied, produce
seven baskets full of fragments.
From hence Jesus departed by ship to the coasts of
Mageddon and Dalmanutha, whither the Pharisees and
Sadducees came, seeking a sign of him. But Jesus re
jected their captious and impertinent demand, knowing
they did it to an ill purpose, and with disaffection ; re
proving them in that they discerned the face of the sky,
and the prognostics of fair or foul weather, but not the
vol. in. s

130 A Complete History
signs of the time of the Son of man. However, since
they had neglected so great demonstrations of miracles,
gracious discourses, holy laws and prophecies, they must
expect no other sign but the sign of the prophet Jonas.*
And thus he dismissed these impertinent inquisitors.
Jesus again taking ship, passed over the lake, and by
the way, as his disciples were solicitous because they had
forgotten to take bread, he gave them a caution to be*
ware of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the leaven of
Herod ; meaning the hypocrisy and vanities of the one,
and the heresy of the other. For Herod's leaven was an
absurd notion that he was the Messiah, which the sect of
the Herodians earnestly and maliciously promoted. But
the disciples understanding their Lord in a literal sense,
about taking care to bring bread with them, he re
proached -them Avith ingratitude and forgetfulness, in
their distrust of God's providence, and his care of them.
" Why should you think, said he, that my speech should
relate to your neglect of bringing bread with you? as if
I were not able to supply that. want. Will you never
understand nor consider what has been before your eyes ?
Do you not reinember the two miraculous feasts ? the
one of feeding five thousand with five loaves, the other
of four thousand with seven loaves ? How stupidly in
considerate, are you to forget these things ?" After this
manner, entertaining themselves by the way, they came
together to Bethsaida, where Jesus cured a blind man ;
for spitting on his eyes, and putting his hands upon him,
it was to the poor dark wretch a salutary balsam, when
his divine benediction had once consecrated it.
Our blessed Lord soon departed thence into the coasts
of Csesarea Philippi, out of Herod's power, (for it was in
Philip's jurisdiction) and after he had prayed with his
disciples, he enquired what opinion the world entertained

* Jonas. Meaning the resurrection of his body after three days burial! fof
as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so must the Soii
of man be three days and three nights in the bowels of the earth.

Of the Holy Bible* 131
of bim ; and whom* tbey thought him to be. TJhey an
swered, Some say thou art John the Baptist, some Elias,
others Jeremias, or one of- the prophets." But Jesus
asked the apostles 4heir own opinion ; when Peter, in
the name of allf the rest, made an open and confident
confession, "Thou art the CHRIST, the Son of the living
God." This confession Jesus not only confirmed as true,
but as revealed by God ; tliis faith of thine, saith Jesus
to Pete'rj is not built upon human testimony, but upon
the miracles and doctrines which thou hast seen and
heard, which are the testimonies of God himself, whereby
he hath revealed me to thee." And immediately after the
blessing of Peter's person, with an allusion to his name,
which signifies "a stone," Jesus said, " Thou art Peter^
and upon, this rock (the article of Peter's confession) I
will build my church ;" promising assistances even to
all ages, insomuch that the gates of hell, that is, per
secution, death, and the grave, should never prevail
against it ; adding withal, a promise to Peter, in behalf
of all the rest, as he made confession for and in the name

* Whom. In Galilee especially the sect of the Pharisees was mightily di
vided, whose opinion.was, That the souls of dead men according to their several
merits did transmigrate into other bodies of very perfect and excellent persons.
And therefore in all this variety none hit upon the right, or fancied him to be
a distinct person from the antients : but although they differed in the assign
ation ofhis name, yet generally they agreed it was the soul of a departed pro
phet, which had passed into another body.
f AJ.I. When our blessed Lord put the question to his disciples, Matt. xv.
16, concerning himself, who he v/as, he did not apply^himself in particular to
Peter, for he there says, " But whom say ye that I am?" Upon which Peter,
as the eldest apostle, answers in the name of the rest, " Thou art Christ, &c."
and consequently the reply of our Saviour, and the blessing subsequent there
upon, was not only applicable'or pronounced singly to Peter, but to the rest
of the twelve ; and the power of binding and loosing was not only given by
him to Peter, as the Romanists fondly presume, but also to aU, the rest. This
is plain from Matt, xviii. 18, where ou^Saviour in general says, " Whatsoever
ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, &c.'' Not whatsoever thou
thalt bind, &c.
9 2

132 A Complete History
of them all, that he would give to him the keys * of the
kingdom of heaven, so that whatsoever he should bind
on earth should be bound in heaven.
The disciples thus knowing and acknowledging him
to be the Messiah, and himself having confirmed it so to
them, he commanded them not to publish it till after his
resurrection, at which time in his wisdom he thought it
most seasonable. And now the days from hence forward
to the death of Jesus, we must reckon to be like vigils or
eves of his passion : for now he began and often did re
peat those predictions of ihe barbarous usage he should
shortly receive from the Jewish Sanhedrim ; that he
should be rejected of the elders and chief Priests and
Scribes, and suffer many things at Jerusalem, and be
killed and raised up the third day. Peter, hearing this
discourse, so contrary to his hopes, which built too much
upon temporal expectancies, (for he had hitherto only '
learnt the doctrine of Christ's coming, but not the mys
tery of the cross) in great but mistaken zeal, took Jesus
aside and began to rebuke him, saying, " Be it far from
thee, Lord, this shall not befal thee." But Jesus not ap
proving of such an admonition, that savoured not of God,
but the world, reproved Peter severely ; saying, " Get
thee behind me Satan,f thou art an offence to me ; a
snare, moving me to that which were a sin, if I should
yield to it, and contrary to the will and command of
God my Father." And calling his disciples to him, he
told tbem the second part of a sad doctrine, which not
only himself, but they also must suffer. For when he the
head was to be crowned with thorns, it would be a great

* Keys. The doctrine and discipline of the Christian church may be in
tended by these keys, as these express the mind of Christ concerning the state
of men's souls. '
t Satan. The word Satan here signifies according to the use of the Hebrew
phrase, 2 Sam. xix. 22, where David rejecting the counsel of Abishai, saith,
" Why art thou to me this day, in Satanam, for an adversary ?" That is, Why
dost thou give me this evil and pernicious counsel, and so suppliest the real
snemy's, or even the devil's place to me?

Of the Holy Bible. 133
indecency for them the members to he indulged in soft
ness. And therefore to prepare them for what would
hereafter happen to him and them, he tells them ; that
whoever will be his disciple, must deny himself, take up
his cross, forego his appetites, and trace his master's foot
steps, marked out with his blood that he shed for their
redemption. And to let them farther see that there was
no escaping from the participation of Christ's sufferings,
he adds this, " He that will save his life shall lose it, and
he that will lose it shall save it to eternity." Which part
soever we choose, there is a life to be lost : but as the
first are foolish to the extremest misery, that will lose
their souls to gain the world, so they are most wise and
fortunate, that will give their lives for him, because, when
the Son of man shall come in his glory, and in the glory
of his father, and of his angels, he shall reward every
man according to his works. This discourse Jesus con
cluded with a prophecy, that some* standing there
should not die till they saw the Son of man coming in
his kingdom.
About six days, if we reckon exclusively, and about
eight days, if we reckon inclusively, after our Lord had
accepted the title of Messiah, happening to be with his
disciples and the multitude in the county of Caesarea
Philippi, he left them in the plain, and went up into an
exceeding high mountain, with Peter the most zealous,
James the most active, and John the most beloved dis
ciple, f In this solitude, while Jesus was praying with the

* Some. This was meant of St. John, that he should not die, till that
remarkable coming of Christ in judgment upon his crucifiers, tbe visible
destruction of the Jewish state. And that we find was fulfilled in St. John's
seeing the destruction of the Jews, which was to fall out in that generation,
Matt. xxiv. that is, in the life-time of some there present, and is called the
" Kingdom of God, and the coming of Christ," and by ^consequence here
most probably the " Son of man's coming in his kingdom," that is, hist
coming in the exercise of his kingly office, to take vengeance on his enemies,
and to discriminate the faithful believers from them ; which was as literally
fulfilled as it had been positively foretold. i
t Disciple. Macknight's Harmony.

134 A Complete History
three, he was transfigured, Luke ix. 28, " And it came
to pass, about eight days after these sayings, he took
Peter, and Johri, and James, and went up into a moun
tain to pray ; and as he prayed, the fashion of his coun
tenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glis
tering. Matthew says, xvii. 2, " he was transfigured *
before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his
raiment was white as the light." In the transfiguration,
the face of Jesus became radiant and dazzling, for it
shone like the sun in its unclouded meridian brightness,
and so was incomparably more glorious than the face of
Moses at the giving of tbe law. At the same time his
garments acquired a snowy whiteness, far beyond any
thing that human art could produce, a whiteness, bright
as light, and sweetly refulgent, but in a degree inferior
to the radiancy of his countenance. Thus, for a little
while, during his state of humiliation, the Son of God
permitted the glory of his divinity to break forth, as it
were, and shine through the veil ofhis human nature with
which it was covered. — Moreover, to heighten the gran
deur and solemnity of the scene, Moses, the great law
giver of the Jews, and Elijah, who had been a most zea
lous defender of the law, appeared in the beauties of im
mortality, wherewith the blest above are adorned. " And
behold there talked with Jesus two men, which were-
Moses and Elias. Who appeared in glory, and spake of
his decease, which be should accomplish at Jerusalem.
But Peter, and they that were with him, were heavy with
sleep : and when they were awake, they saw his glory,
and they two men that sood with him," Luke ix. 30, 31,
32. It seems the three disciples were so unfortunate as
not to see the transfiguration begin : for happening to fall
asleep in the time of prayer, they lost that pleasure, tb-

* Transfigured. The Greek word used in Matthew, implies either that
there was a transformation made in the substance of his body, according to the
import ofthe word in Ovid, and other writers. See Philip, iii. 21. Or that
the outward appearance only ofhis body was altered, at seems most probable,
from the manner in 'which Luke has expressed it.

Of the Holy Bible. 135
gether with a great part of the conversation which the
wisest lawgiver, and most zealous prophet that ever lived,
had with the only begotten Son of God, during his resi
dence on earth. In general,, however, they heard as
much as made them understand, that the subject they
talked of was his meritorious .sufferings and death, bv
which he was to redeem the world, a subject that had
given great offence to the disciples, and above all to
Peter, a few days before this. Probably tbe streams of
light whieh issued, from Christ's body, especially his
countenance, and the voices of Moses and Elias talking
with him, made such an impression on the senses of the
disciples, though buried in sleep, that they awaked.
Lifting up their eyes therefore, the three must have been
amazed beyond measure, when they beheld their master
in the majesty ofhis transfigured state, and his illustrious
attendants, whom they might know to be Mpses and
Elias, by revelation, or by what they said, or by the ap
pellations which Jesus gave them in speaking to them.
Peter particularly, being both afraid and glad at the glo
rious sight, was in the utmost confusion. Nevertheless,
the forwardness of his disposition prompting him to say
something, he spoke, not knowing well what he said.
" And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is
good for us to be here, and let us make three taberna
cles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for EliaS.
For he wist not what to say, for they were sore afraid,"
Mark ix. 5, 6. The apostles, both before and after the
transfiguration, were with their master in many delight
ful spots of the country, heard many ravishing sermons,
and saw many wonderful miracles ; but in no place, and
on no occasion but this, were they ever heard to say, " It
is good for us to be here." Peter fancied, no doubt,
that Jesus had now assumed his proper dignity,that Elias
was come according to Malachi's prediction, and that
fhe kingdom was at length begun. Wherefore be pro
posed to provide some accommodation for Jesus and his
august assistants, intending perhaps to bring the rest of
the disciples, with the multitude from the plain below,
to behold his matchless glory. He thought this was bet-

136 A Complete History
ter for his master than to be killed at Jerusalem, con
cerning which Jesus had been talking with the messen
gers from heaven, and the design of which, Peter could
not comprehend. " While he yet spake, behold a bright
cloud * overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of
the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased ; hear ye him." Matt. xvii. 5. The
voice uttering these words, just as Moses and Elias disap
peared, intimated, that men were no longer to hearken
unto them speaking in the law, but for the future were
to obey Jesus ; because Moses and Elias, though both
eminent in their stations, were only servants, whereas this
was God's beloved Son. Besides, the thing uttered by
the voice, " Hear ye him," plainly alluding to Deut.
xviii. 15, signified, that Jesus was the prophet of whom
Moses spake in that passage : " The Lord thy God will
raise-up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of
thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken,
Deut. xviii. 15. When the three disciples heard the voice

* Cloud. This cloud which overshadowed Moses and Elias, is called by the
apostle Peter, who beheld it, " the excellent glory." 2 Pet. i. 17. Wherefore
it must have been the schechinah, or visible symbol of the divine presence, as
is evident likewise from the words that came out of the cloud, which were the
words of God himself: " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,
hear ye him."
The transfiguration was intended for several important purposes. About
six days before it happened, Jesus had predicted , his own sufferings and
death. At the same time, to prevent his disciples from beiug dejected by
the melancholy prospect, as well as from falling into despair when the '
dismal scene should open, he told them, that though in appearance he
was nothing but a man, and affliction was generally to be the lot of his dis
ciples, he would come hereafter in great glory as universal judge, and ren
der unto every man accordiug to his deeds. Matt. xvi. 27, 28. And for
proof of this, he declared that some of themselves should not taste of death
till they saw him coming in his kingdom, saw a lively representation the glory
which he spake of, and were witnesses to an exercise of his power as judge ;
he meant on his enemies, the unbelieving Jews, who were to be punished by
him with the most terrible destruction that ever befel any nation.
[See Macknight's Harmony.]

Of the Holy Bible. 137
coming from the cloud, loud as thunder (see John xii.
29,) and full of divine majesty, such as mortal ears were
unaccustomed to hear, they fell flat to the ground on
their faces, being in a great panic ; an effect which vi
sions of this kind commonly produced on the prophets
and other holy men to whom they were given. Gen. xv.
12. Isa.vi.5. Ezek.ii. 1. Dan. x. 8. Rev.i.17. It seems,
human nature could not well support such manifesta
tions ofthe divine presence. In this condition the dis
ciples continued till Jesus approached, and raising them
up, dispelled their fears. " And when the disciples heard
it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Je
sus came and touched them, and said, Arise^ and benot
afraid. And when they had lift up tlieir eyes, they saw
no mari, save Jesus only," Matt. xvii. 6, 7, 8.
Jesus and the disciples having been in the mountain all
night, (see Luke xxxvii.) the transfiguration may be sup
posed to have happened either in the day-time, or in the
night. That it happened in the night-time is probable,
from the disciples falling asleep while Jesus prayed, a
circumstance which could not happen by day to all the
three at once, and in the open air. Next morning, as
they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus
charged the apostles to conceal what they had seen, till
he should arise from the dead. "And as they came
down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying,
Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen
again from the dead," Matt. xvii. 9. He knew that the
world, and even his own disciples, were not yet capable
of comprehending the design ofhis transfiguration, and
that if it had been published before his resurrection, it
might have appeared incredible, because hitherto nothing
but afflictions and persecutions had attended him. The
disciples had never heard from the doctors that the Mes
siah was to die, far less that he was to be raised from the
dead. On the contrary, they thought he was to abide
for ever, (John xii. 34,) and that there was to be no end
of his kingdom. Wherefore they were utterly at a loss
to understand what their master meant, when he spoke
of his rising again from the dead ; and being afraid to
VOL. III. T

138 A Complete History
ask a particular explication of the matter, they disputed
much among themselves about it to no purpose. " And
they kept that saying with themselves, questioning or
debating one with another, what the rising from the
dead should mean," Mark ix. 10. Being also much sur
prised at the sudden departure of Elias, they turned to
Jesus, and proposed this doubt ; Since Elias has gone
away so soon, how came the Scribes to affirm that he
must appear before the Messiah erects his empire. " And
they asked him, saying, Why say the Scribes that Elias
must first corne ?" Mark xi, supposing, that Elias was to
have an active hand in modeling and settling the king
dom, they never doubted that he would have continued
a while on earth. " And Jesus answered and said unto
them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things,
Matt. xvii. 1 1 . Jesus not only acknowledged the neces
sity of Elijah's coming before the Messiah, according to
Malachi's prediction, but he assured his disciples that he
was already come, and described the treatment he had
met with from the nation, in such a manner as to make
them understand that he spake of John Baptist. At the -
same time he told them, that though the Baptist's mi
nistry was excellently calculated for producing all the
effects ascribed to it by the prophets, they needed not
be surprised to find that it bad not been crowned with all
the success which might have been expected, and that the
Baptist had met with much opposition and persecution.
For, said he, both the person, and the preaching of the
Messiah himself, shall meet with the same treatment.
" But I say unto you, that Elias is come already, and
they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever
they listed, likewise shall also the Son of man suffer
of thein. Then the disciples understood that he spake
nnto fhem of John the Baptist," Matt. xvii. 12, 13.
After these things, Jesus came to Capernaum, tbe
place of his ordinary residence. But he was no sooner
arrived* than the receivers of the tax called Didrachma,
a sum equal to half a shekel, or fifteen pence of our mo
ney, came to Peter, and asked him, whether his master
would pay that tribute. They demanded the tribute for

Of the Holy Bible* 139
Jesus from Peter, either because the house in which Je
sus lived was his, or because they observed him to be of
a more forward disposition than the rest. Peter told the
collectors that his master would pay the tribute ; and
consequently made a sort of promise to procure it for
them. Yet when he considered the matter more ma
turely, he was afraid to speak to the Messiah concerning
his paying taxes on any pretence whatsoever. In the
meantime, Jesus knowing both what had happened, and
what Peter was thinking, prevented him, saying, " What
thinkest thou, Simon ? of whom do the kings of the earth
take custom or tribute: of their own children, or of
strangers? Peter saith unto him, of strangers. Jesus
saith unto him, then are the children free ;" Matt. xvii.
25, 26, insinuating that, because he was himself the Son
ofthe great king, to whom heaven, earth, and sea, with
all things in them belong, he was not obliged to pay tri
bute, as holding any thing by a derived right from any
king whatever. Or if, as is more probable, the contri
bution was made for the service and reparation of the
temple, his meaning was, that being the Son of him to
whom the tribute was paid, he could justly have excused
himself. Nevertheless, that he might not give offence,
he sent Peter to the lake, with a line and a hook, telling
him, that in the mouth of the first fish that came up, he
should find a piece of money equal in value to the sum
required for them two.
On a former occasion, Simon Peter had gotten his par
ticular dignity secured to him ; Jesus having promised
him the keys of the kingdom, by which, without doubt,
they all understood the place of high steward. Probably,
therefore he was not engaged in this debate. But James
and John, the sons of Zebedee, might be principally con
cerned in it, contending with our Lord's blood relations,
James the less, and Judas sirnamedThaddeus,and Simon
Zelotes, who doubtless thought their consanguinity to
Christ, entitled them to the most honourable and pro
fitable offices in his kingdom, next to Peter. Whereas
the sons of Zebedee claimedr-them, on account of their
intimacy with Jesus, and the qualifications for which
T 2

140 A Complete History
they were named " Sons of thunder." Accordingly we
find the tWo brothers afterwards asking the favour of the
chief posts from Christ himself. This discourse there
fore concerning humility, would be considered by Ze-
bedee's, sons as particularly designed for them, which
probably was the reason that John, desiring to divert it,
told his master, they had seen one casting out devils in
his name, and had forbidden him, because he did not
follow with them, " And John answered arid said,
Master, we saw one casting out devils * in thy name,
and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us,"
Luke ix. 49. " 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," Mark ix. 39. Be the person
who he will, he must have an high notion of my power,
since he sees the devils go out at mentioning my name.
Besides, " He that is not against us is on our part:"
Mark ix. 40, you should consider, that in the present
circumstances, every one who does not oppose and perse
cute us, is a friend ; and that the ejection of demons in
my name, will advance my reputation and promote my
interest, although those who cast them out should have

* Devils.- The Doctors Whitby and Clarke are of opinion, that this was
one of the Baptist's disciples, who, though he did not follow Christ with the
rest, had been taught by his master to acknowledge him as the Messiah,
and entertained so great a veneration for him, that he attempted to cast
out, devils in his .name. Or if the character given of this person, " He
followeth not with us," and the apostles prohibited, " We forbade him,"
are thought inconsistent with the opinion of the doctors mentioned, we
may suppose that he was an exorcist like the seven sons of Sceva, (Acts
xix. 13.) who having seen the miracles which the apostles had performed
in their master's name while out on tlieir first mission, thought there might
be some great occult virtue in it, and so' made use of it in his exorcisms
as Sceva's sons did in theirs, but with better success; God permitting
him to cast out devils in Christ's name, to clothe his Son with the greater
honour. Or the devils may have obeyed the commands of persons, who
without Christ's commission made use of his name, out of malice to him,
and in hopes of bringing reproach on him through their misconduct.
Nor is Christ's answer to John, ver. 39. inconsistent with these suppo-i
sitions.

1 i

Of the Holy Bible. 141
no intention to do either, nay though the devils which
are cast out should intend the contrary. Farther, to shew
the apostles that they had been in the wrong to forbid
this person, who must have entertained a great vene
ration for their master, and was in a fair way to become
his follower, he told them that the lowest degree of re
spect which any one shewed him, though it were but the
giving a cup of cold water to his thirsty disciple, is ac
ceptable to him and shall not lose his reward. " For
whosoever shall give you a cup of Water to drink in my
name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto yoiij
he shall not lose his reward," Mark ix. 41. Whereas,
on the other hand, the least discouragement of his ser
vants in their duty, come from what quarter it will, shall
be severely punished. " And W'hosoever shall offend
one of these little ones, that believe in me, or tempt
them to sin, it is better for him that a mill-stone were
hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea,"
Mark ix. 42.* Hence he inferred, that it is better to
deny one's self the greatest earthly satisfactions, and to
part with every thing most precious, represented by the
figures of an hand, a foot, or an eye, than by these things
to cause the weakest of his friends to stumble, as some of
the disciples had lately done. The amputation of our
hands and feet, and the plucking out of our eyes when
they cause us to offend, import also that we should deny
ourselves such use of our senses and members as may
lead us into sin.
About this time the feast of tabernacles drawing near,
the blessed Jesus was ver}' much importuned by his kin-

* He threatens those that offend his little ones, that whosoever shall
grieve any true Christians, though they be of the weakest, shall oppose
their entrance into the ways of God, or discourage and obstruct their pro
gress in those ways, shall either restrain them from doing good, or draw
them in to commit sin, his punishment will be very great, , and the death and
ruin of his soul more terrible than such a death and ruin of his body would •
be. See Matt, xviii. <j. Matthew Henry,

142 A Complete History
dred to go to Judea to the feast, that the multitudes
which followed him might again see the miracles which he
did ; for they thought he acquired no fame by performing
his miracles privately. But these things were urged by
them through want of faith. However, Jesus, to set
them right, tells them, that it was not yet proper for
him to be so public, because the doctrine that he taught
Wras odious to the world ; for at that time the Jews
sought to kill him. He told them, they might appear
where they would, being not exposed to such hatred* as
he was from the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Upon this conference, his disciples went up to the
feast, to which Jesus designing to go in private, as he
passed through Samaria, he found the inhabitants of a
little village so inhospitable, -j- as to refuse to give him
entertainment ; which so provoked the intemperate zeal
of James and John, that they fain would have called for
fire to consume them, even as Elias did. • But JesuS, with
a sweetness natural to him, mildly restrained their re
vengeful heat, telling them they were quite mistaken in
the economy and conduct of the christian spirit, which

* Hatred. The text here implied in John vii. 7, is translated thus;
" The world cannot, hate you, but me it hateth." This translation is li
teral, indeed ; but all or most interpreters fail not to observe, that this ex
pression does not always denote an absolute impossibility to do any thing,
but only a design or will not to do it, upon the account of some difficulty
or uneasiness it may be attended with ; and this they prove from several
unquestionable examples. It is said, " That God could not do any thing
to Sodom till Lot had left it," Gen. xix. 22. " That Joseph's brethren
could not speak peaceably unto him," Gen. xxxvii. 4. " That the unkind
friend could not rise to lend his friend three loaves;" Luke xi. 7, with se
veral others. But it is certain, that God, if he had pleased, could have,
destroyed Sodom independently of Lot ; that Joseph's brethren, could have
spoken peaceably to him, &c. Therefore all this impotency, implied in the
word " cannot," is to be attributed to the want of will : and since people afe
so ready to take these places literally, it is proper they should be rendered,
" They would not," and not " They cannot."
f Inhospitable. See Luke ix. 51, and xvii. 11.

Of the Holy Bible. 143
he had prescribed, and which differed much from that of
a prophet in the Old Testament, moved by zeal against
the enemies of God : " The course," said he, " which in
such cases you must take is that of meekness and persua
sion, and not rashly and indiscreetly upon every little
umbrage, or displeasure, invoke the vengeance of heaven
to destroy a man, whose redemption was to cost the ef
fusion of their Saviour's blood. I came not to kill any,
but to preserve and rescue from death, and from all that
is evil." All the revenge that Jesus took, was quietly to
leave the place : but to demonstrate more plainly to those
disciples, whose mistaken conduct he had blamed, how
they ought to behave themselves upon such occasions, by
a miracle he shews them that they must recompense evil
with good. And immediately ten leprous persons, who
came out of the neighbourhood where he had been so in
hospitably treated, presented themselves with loud excla
mations for help, " Jesus! master! have mercy upon us."
His compassion was as ready to relieve, as their neces
sity to ask ; for at sight he pronounced the method of
their cure : " Go shew yourselves to the priest, as the law
requires, and before you come thither, you shall be
healed :" which accordingly took place ; for as they were
on their way, they were all cured. But see the innate
ingratitude of human nature ! Of the ten which received
this miraculous blessing, but one poor wretch returned
to give thanks, and he a stranger ; who, before he was
cured, by reason of the uncleanness of his disease,, was
forced to stand afar off, now joyfully approaches his di
vine physician, with a loud voice glorifying God, and
throwing himself at his feet, gives thanks to the holy
Jesus. The blessed Saviour being now arrived at Jerusalem,
for some days did not appear in the public meetings,
though at the same time he heard of the various opinions
of men concerning hirn ; some saying that he was a good
man ; others that he deceived the people ; while fhe
Pharisees sought for him to do him a mischief. But when
they despaired of finding him in the midst of the feast

144 A Complete History
among the people, they repaired to the temple, where
they found him jpreaching openly, to the great surprise
and amazement of those that knew his parentage and
education ;. for they marvelled, saying, " How comes
he to understand the law and scriptures so well, having
not been educated in the schools of the prophets ?"
But notwithstanding Jesus had convinced them by the
variety and divinity of his miracles and discourses ; yet
so perverse and obstinate were they, that they gave the
greatest testimony in the world of human weakness, and
how prevalent prejudice is above the convictions of de
monstration : for a proverb, a mistake, a mere error in
matter of circumstance, did in their understandings out
weigh multitudes of miracles and arguments of which
they had been witnesses, and which before had convinced
them ; for Christ being of Galilee, because of the pro
verb, " That out of Galilee comes no prophet," and be
cause the rulers did not believe in him, these out
weighed the demonstrations of his mercy, power, and
divinity. But notwithstanding these opinions of some,
yet very many believed on him, and no man durst lay
hands on him to take him, for as yet his time was not
come, in which he meant to give himself up to the
power of the Jews -. and therefore when the Pharisees
sent officers to seize him, they also became his disciples,
being surprized at the excellency of his doctrine. And
not only the inferior officers, but 'the rulers were sus
pected ; for Nicodemus, the same that by stealth and in
the night came before to Jesus, seeing with what pre
judice the Pharisees persecuted him, could not forbear
interposing, urging the unreasonableness of condemning
any person without a hearing. Upon which they re
proached him for taking a Galilean's part. " Art thou,
one of the Sanhedrim, a follower of thevGalilean ? Ex
amine all times, you shall never find that Galilee hath
produced a prophet."
In tbe evening Jesus went to the mount of Olives, on
tbe east of Jerusalem, and the next day returned again
into the temple ; where the Scribes and Pharisees brought

Of the Holy Bible. . 145
him a woman, taken in the act of adultery, temptirig him
to give sentence, that they might accuse hirn of severity
and intermeddling if he condemned her, or of remissness
and love of popularity if he acquitted her. But Jesus an
swered them by bidding the innocent person among them
cast the first stone at the adultress ; and then stooping
down to give them a fair occasion to withdraw, he wrote
upon the ground with his finger, whilst they left the
woman and her crime to a more private censure. None
remaining now but Jesus and the woriian, she standing
before bim in the posture of an accused criminal before
a judge; he lifting up himself, and finding none but the
woman, asked her what was become of her accusers ; or
whether any one had condemned her. She answered " No
man, Lord." "Neither do I," said he, " but call thee to
repentance and reformation: and then charging her to
sin no more,* he dismissed her.
Shortly after, Jesus began again to discourse to the
Jews of his mission f from God telling them that he was
the light ofthe world, and that whoever would follow him,
should receive that illumination which would infallibly
guide him to eternal life. The Jews refuse to believe him,
because of his own single testimony of himself: to which
he replied, " You that know not my divine extraction,
judge of me only according to my human original, and
in proportion to that give your opinion of me ; but yet
if I should do so, my judgment would be valid according
to law, because this is the judgment and testimony of my
Father, who by his Spirit and miracles, and his voice from
heaven requiring all to believe on me, must needs judge
them as obstinate unbelievers, who shall stand out against

* Sin no m»re. Several critics observe that the word a/*aglasmv to sin, is
used by the most elegant Greek classics (as the correspondent word peccare is
by the Latin) to signify the commission of adultery; which strongly intimates,
that even the light of nature taught many of the heathen the exceeding sinful
ness of it. See Doddridge on John viii. 1, &c.
f Mission. See John viii. 12, 13, 15, &c.
VOL. III. U ,

146 A Complete History
all this. It is the known custom of all laws, particu
larly of yours, (Deut. xvii. 6.) that the testimony of two
men is to be received in any cause whatever: and I and
my Father are those two ; for as I now witness of myself
in a cause that concerns you ; so my Father also, by a
voice from heaven, by descent of the Spirit, by miracles
and prophecies, testifies my commission from him." But
the Jews regarding only his human extraction, Jesus re
plied, " You will not receive any knowledge concerning
me or my Father : your acknowledgement of me is the
only way to bring you to the knowledge of my Father.
I shall depart from you, and then ye will seek me un
profitable ; and by not believing me now, bring judg
ments upon yourselves hereafter. After the Romans, at
your solicitation, shall crucify* me, there will be such
evidences of my being truly what ye will not now be
lieve me to berthat you shall have no excuse to deny it;
then shall you be convinced, either to the working of
your repentance or destruction, that I am the Messiah,
and came from God, and do nothing but according to
my commission from him." Upon this, many of the
Jews believed ; f to whom addressing himself, he said,
" If ye constantly practise my commands, ye are truly
and really nay disciples ; and those truths which I shall re
veal to you shall procure you a most valuable freedom."
Tbe other Jews then present, who were not believers,
taking this as a reflection on them, said, " We are heirs
of tbe promises made to Abraham, \ and were never yet
slaves to any man ; how then do we need freedom?"
Jesus answered them, " I do assure § you, you are mis
taken in thinking yourselves to be free, for there are no
such slaves as those that live indulging in sin; and being
such, you OTe far from having any right to be continued
in God's family, which belongs only to sons. || In the
* Crucify. See John viii. 28. f Believed. See John viii. 30.
X Abraham. See John viii. S3. § Assure. See John viii. 34.
|| Sons. See John viii. 15, and so on to the end of this sermon.

Of the Holy Bible. I47
common account of the world, a servant is so far from
being a son, or having any right to the inheritance of the
family, that he is at the mercy of the heir when he comes
to age, to cast him quite out of the family ; and unless
the Son make him free, he cannot be free. And this is
the case of all such as you. Christ must free him from
his spiritual bondage of sin, before he can be capable of
any benefit of being a Son, even of a son by adoption."
The Jews then valuing themselves upon their being the
children of Abraham and of God, he tells them, as to the
first, that if they were indeed Abraham's children, they
would be like him in his faith and obedience, as children
resemble their parents in their nature and form : and as to
their being the children of God, he tells them, that their
hatred to him is a certain proof- that God is not their
Father, " For, says he, I am sent immediately from
God, I came from heaven, and what I do is by commis
sion from God. Ye imitate the devil, who from the
beginning was malicious, proud, and bloody, and soon
apostatised from God and the right way ; for he is an
enemy to truth, and therefore for him to lie, and con
firm you in unbelief is natural to him. I am sure you
have no fault or imposture to lay to uiy charge, and yet
ye will not believe the truth when I speak it. If ye had
true piety in you, then certainly my doctrine, being from
God, would be acceptable to you, and ye would embrace
it. To this the Jews could make no reply, but fell into
reproachful language, calling him Samaritan * and mad
man ; f and misunderstanding on what grounds he gave

• Samaritan. This title of Samaritan is here-given to Christ by way of re
proach : Not that they thought him so, but because this was an-odious name
amontf tlie Jews : or else, because, he conversed with the Samaritan woman,
which was against the Jewish rule, John iv. 9, he is thought a deserter of .the
Jewish law, and so to be one of them.
f Madman. This is rendered, " thou hast a devil." All sorts of dis
eases were sometimes brought on men by the devil, and so generally they
that were brought to Christ for cure, are said to be possessed; but espe
cially those who were more strangely affected without any visible cause of
U 2

148 A Complete History
himself the preference before Abraham, and thinking
that he had spoken blasphemy, they resolved to confute
him to some purpose, for they took up stones to cast at
him : but he went out of the temple;, and miraculously
preserved himself, passing safely through the midst of
them. But in his passage he met a man who had been born
blind; and being asked by some ofhis followers whether
it was the man's own sin, or some sin of his parents, that
caused this blindness, he told them', that this misfortune
was not sent as a punishment of his own or his parents' '
sin, but as an occasion to make public the glbry of God :
and Jesus, to demonstrate that himself was the light of
the world in all senses, said it now, and proved it by a
miracle ; for sitting down, he made clay of his spittle,
and anointing the eyes of the blind man, bid him go and
wash in Siloam. * The blind man joyfully obeyed, and
went and washed as he was commanded, and returned
seeing; which so amazed his neighbours, that they ques
tioned whether this was the same man that used to beg.
He told them positively he was the same man, and grati
fied their curiosity by informing them who was his physi
cian, and the method of his cure. This miracle being per
formed on the sabbath-day, the Pharisees laid hold on the
circumstance to lessen Jcnuk, saying, " This man cannot
be of God, because he violateth the sabbath." But others
with less prejudice said, " Certainly such miracles can
not be wrought but by the finger ot God, and therefore

it, were generally thought to suffer this from the devil's obtaining power to
possess them ; and of this sort, especially mad-men, who being not dis-
cernibly sick, did,yet behave themselves as if they were under some strong
distemper, and therefore by them supposed to be possessed by some evil
spirit. So in Justin Martyr, Apol. 2, " They that are possessed are by all
men called mad."
* Siloam. There is a tradition, that this was a pool of limpid water, which
God sent at the prayer of Isaiah the prophet a little before his death, to satisfy
tbe necessities of his people oppressed with thirst and a close siege ; and it
stood ut the foot of the mount Sion.

Of the Holy Bible. 149
cannot be the work of an impostor, or a man of sin. The
incredulous Jews would not believe matter of fact in the
man that was blind ; and thinking to make the thing ap
pear intricate, and beyond the capacity ofthe vulgar, who
tbey feared might by these miracles be induced to be
lieve on Jesus, sent ibr the parents ofthe man who Was
restored to his sight, of whom they asked these three
questions, Whether he was their son ? Whether he was
born blind? And whether they knew how, or by whom
he was cured ? To the two first questions they answered
directly, " We know him to be our son, and that he
was born blind; but how, or by whom he recovered his
sight he himself best knows ; he is of age, let him answer
foi himself." The poor parents durst say no more; for
they had been before cautioned by an agreement among
the Jews, which was, that if any man did confess Christ,
he should be excluded from the synagogue ; and therefore
they referred them for a further answer to their son. Him
therefore they a second time examined, attempting to
draw him from that, opinion of Christ which he seemed
to entertain, by bidding him ascribe the praise of his cure
wholly to (rod, and not to look on Jesus with any vene
ration ; telling him, that if he did it on the day, and in
the manner beforementioned, it was thereby evident that
he had broken the sabbath, and so came not, from God,
hut was an impostor, who consequently- had no such
virtue or piety as could contribute any thing to this matter.
The poor blind man, however, would not recede from the
truth ; for he said, " Whether he be a sinner, or no, I
cannot tell ; but this 1 certainly know, that whereas I was
blind, 1 now, through him, enjoy the blessing of sight."
This recognition of Jesus very greatly incensed the Jews,
insomuch that they taxed him with being his disciple;
boasting that themselves were the disciples of Moses, but
as for Jesus, they knew not whence he was. The poor
man in the simplicity and zeal of his heart, willing to do
justice to his physician, says, " It is strange that one
should do such miracles as these, and you learned men
know not whether he he sent, from God or not. It is
allowed on all hands that an impostor or false teacher is

150 A Complete History
not enabled by God, to work such great miracles, but
only pious and faithful servants of God, that came to do
his will, not tbeir own. It is above all human power
to open the eyes of One born blind : if he were not sent
and empowered by God, he could never do such things
as these.1' This provoked them so much that thev first
stigmatized him with the greatest reproach imaginable,
that this being born blind was a .mark and character of
some extraordinary evil in him, whieh made him very un
fit to teach doctors and rabbies in matters of this moment;
and then they cast him out of the synagogue with dis
grace. But Jesus, meeting him, received him into the
chureh ; for he informed him that he was the Christ: the
man became enlightened; believed him, and paid the
acknowledgment and adoration to him, that was due to
the Messiah. But the Pharisees blasphemed: for such
was the dispensation of the divine mysteries, that the
blind should see; and they which think they see clearly
should become blind, because they had not the excuse of
ignorance to extenuate their sin ; but in the midst of
light they shut their eyes, and doted upon darkness,
therefore did their sin remain.
Notwithstanding the obstinacy of the Jews, and the
repeated instances of their malice and prejudice against
Jesus and his doctrine, he continued his sermon to the
Pharisees. For speaking ofthe properties of a good shep
herd, and the lawful way of admission ; he proved them
to be thieves and robbers, because they refused to enter
in by him, who is the door of the sheep. And upon the
same ground he reproved all those false Christs, who
after him, should usurp the title of Messiah ; and proved
his own office by an argument wliich no other shepherd
would use ; Because he laid down his life for his sheep.
Some would eat the flesh, others would take the fleece ;
but none but himself would die for his sheep : but he
should" die first, and then would he gather his sheep to
gether into one fold ; intimating thereby the calling of
the Gentiles. To which purpose he was enabled by his
Father to lay down bis life, and to take it up ; and bad
also endeared them to his Father, that they should be

Of the, Holy Bible. 151
preserved unto' eternal life; and no power should he able
to take them out of his hand, or the hand of his Father.
For because Jesus was united to the Father, the Father's
care preserved his Son's flock. But the Jews, tb requite'
him for these divine sermons ami excellent discourses,
resumed their old argument of taking up stones to cast at
him, pretending, he had blasphemed. But Jesus proved
it to be no blasphemy to call himself the. Son of God, be
cause tbey to whom the word of (rod came are in Scrip
ture called Gods. But nothing could satisfy them, whose
temporal interest was concerned not to consent to such
doctrine, which would save their souls by endangering
their worldly advantages.
After this, the Jews sought again to take him; but he
'escaped out of their hands, and went away beyond Jor-
tlon, where John at lirst baptized ; which gave the people
occasion to remember that John had done no miracle, but
Jesus had performed many; besides, John, whom all men
did revere and highly esteem for his office and sanctity,
gave testimony to Jesus. Thus, by comparing these
things, many were inclined to believe in him.
After this, Jesns knowing that the harvest was great,
and as yet'few labourers : and that there were many ready
to receive the gospel when it should be preached to them,
directed his disciples to pray the Lord ofthe harvest to in
cline men's hearts to undertake this office of going and
revealing it to thein ; for as yet there were very few for so
great a work . Beside the t wel ve apostles, he therefore chose
seventy others, to be to him as disciples were wont to be to
the prophets, that is, to go on his errands as he should ap
point them ; which they did by two together, as harbin
gers proclaiming his approach, whither he meant to
come. In the preamble* of their commission he tells
them thev must, expect to meet with dangers and ill treat
ment ; "Yet let not that deter you, or put you upon

* Preamble. See Luke x. 3, &c.

152 A Complete History
makings provision for your journey. Heal the sick,
preach that the kingdom of God is approaching. Where-
ever ye shall be ill treated, shake off the dust of your
shoes against that place as a testimony of their obstinacy
and inhospitality, and of their approaching ruin. He
that despiseth the warnings that you give them, despiseth
me that sent you; and he that despiseth me, despiseth
God that sent me; the affront offered to you is the same
as if offered to me." The seventy having executed
their commission, returned, and with great joy ad
dressed themselves to Jesus, telling him, that by the
power and virtue of his name the very devils were be
come subject to them. Jesus told them it was no won
der, for he had beheld Satan * as lightning fall from
heaven ; and that it was determined that the prince, of de
vils should be dethroned, and fall from his great power
in the world, as lightning when it vanisheth away.
Moreover Jesus, to shew the satisfaction he received, en
larged their commission, by an additional power over tbe
enemy in all manner of circumstances, together with an
immunity from all danger. Then it was that the blessed
Jesus rejoiced -f~ in spirit, giving glory to God, that he
had made his revelation to babes and sucklings: which
was an act of infinite wisdom, mercy, and condescen
sion to the weakness of man, mixed with all justice to
wards the contemners of his promises.
About this time, a certain lawyer (one of those who
studied and expounded the law of Moses) came forward
with much self-consequence and secret contempt of
Jesus, proposing a plausible question, but with a design
to involve him in a difficulty. He begged to be in
formed what he must do, for the attainment of eternal
life. Had the question been proposed with a humble
and teachable disposition, our Lord would doubtless have

* Satan. See Luke x. 18.
t Rejoiced. See Luke x. 17. Matt. xi. 25.

Of the Holy Bible. 153
given a direct and explicit answer ; but knowing the
proud and captious temper of the Scribe, he replied in a
way which might tend to humble or silence him. He
therefore referred him to the demands of the law, upon
obedience to which the Scribe placed his dependence,
assuring him a complete compliance with those claims,
oi perfect love to God and mari, would secure to him the
blessing desired. " This do, and thou shalt live ;" as if
he had said, " Perform, punctually and perpetually,
without interruption or imperfection, all the injunctions
of the holy and spiritual law of God, and eternal life
shall be thine ; but, remember, that the least deviation
or defect will rain thee for ever." *
The Scribe, willing to stand on his own defence, and
to evade conviction, proposed another question — " Who
is my neighbour? It should seem that he, like all others
who seek salvation by their own doings, was desirous of
narrowing the demands of the law as much as possible,
and reducing the number of those to whom the duties
of love were owing. Our Lord, wisely took this occa
sion of confuting the prevalent notion that neighbours
were only such persons as lived near each other, or
were connected by the ties of blood or religion. He
therefore shewed, by a parable, that we ought to extend
our kindness to all our fellow-creatures in distress, of
whatever nation or profession, even to those who have
been separated from us by party quarrels and distinc
tions. " A certain traveller," said our Lord, " going from Je
rusalem to Jericho, was set upon by thieves, who not
only rifled him of his clothes and money, but so dange
rously wounded himj that they left him almost expiring

* Ever. In this manner, St. Paul speaks, Gal. iii. 10, -" For as many as are,
of the works of the law," that is, who seek justification by it, " are under the ^
curse •" for it is written, " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book ofthe law ro do them."
VOL. III. x

154 A Complete History
on the ground. By chance a Priest came that way, and
saw the poor wretch weltering in his blood: but the
sight did not affect him, he passed along unconcerned.
Next came a Levite, as void of tenderness and humanity
as the priest. At last the groans of the poor wretch
stirred up the curiosity of a Samaritan to see the cause,
which he no sooner discovered, but, moved with com
passion, he went to him, raised his head, recalled his
fainting spirits, and closed his gapingwounds with healing
balsams ; then mounting him on his own beast he gently
conveyed the man to the first inn, where at his own cost
he entertained him whilst he staid with him, and at his de
parture promised the host to be at whatever further ex-
pence should be incurred." Our blessed Saviour applying
this parable to the lawyer, asked him, which he thought
was neighbour to the poor traveller ?" The lawyer replied,
" Undoubtedly he that was kind, and careful of him."
Then says he to the lawyer, " Go thou and do likewise."
. Hereby plainly intimating, that no distance of country
or religion destroyed the true notion of neighbourhood,
but every person with whom we converse in peace and
charity is that neighbour, whom we are to love as our
selves. The holy Jesus knowing, though not dreading the ma
lice of the Jews > who in many repeated instances had at
tempted his life, resolved at present to prevent any mis
chief by withdrawing from all populous places, and leav
ing Jerusalem, he came to a village called Bethany ;
where he was cheerfully, and generously received by
Martha, who making great preparation for his entertain
ment, to express her joy and affections to his person, de
sired Jesus to dismiss her sister Mary from his feet, who
sat there feasting herself with the s weetness ofhis doctrine,
and altogether inattentive to any provision for his
entertainment. But our Lord commended Mary's choice ;
and though he did not slight Martha's civility, yet he
preferred Mary's sanctity of affection to Martha's gene
rosity. " Thou takest a great deal of unnecessary
pains," says he to Martha: " but the one only thing

J*-$-^*\:< y'.ft $h f'i

Of the Holy Bible. 155
which is absolutely necessary, the hearing my word in
order to the keeping of, is a more acceptable thing to
me, than the entertaining me with so much solicitude and
diligence, and the advantage of this will continue with
Mary to all eternity."
Upon occasion of our blessed Lord's frequent retiring
to prayer, his disciples took into consideration how
needful it was for them to be directed in the right per
formance of that duty, and thereupon one of them, at
his coming to them, besought him to give them a form or
model of prayer for their direction, in like manner as
John the Baptist had instructed his disciples. Jesus
therefore gave them that excellent pattern of prayer
which we call the Lord's prayer. He encouraged them
to pray,* by the consideration of the divine good
ness and fatherly affection, far more indulgent to his
sons than natural fathers are to their dearest offspring,
and adds a gracious promise of success to them that pray ;
" Ask and it shall be given to you." Then he exhorts*
them to perseverance in prayer, -f- to be constant and di
ligent in the performance of the duty, not only in re
spect of God, to whom it is due, but of themselves,
whose petitions by assiduity are most likely to be ob
tained. After this, being invited to dine with a Pharisee,
he freely inveighed against the ridiculous superstition
and hypocritical ostentation of the Pharisees ; who af
fecting external purity in their manner of living, neg
lected to cleanse their souls from internal impurities.
Instead of which traditional formalities he advises them
to inward holiness and works of charity, which are far
more pleasing and acceptable to God than all the rites of
outward purification. " Ye Pharisees," said he," give tythe
ofthe meanest product of your gardens, but omit the prin
cipal duties to God and man. These are the main things
which God requires of you ; though the other perform
ances of paying tythes exactly according to the law and
custom amOng you ought not to be neglected." Then pro-

* Pray. Luke xi. 1. t Prayer. Luke xviii. 1.
X2

156 "A Complete History
nouncing a woe to the Scribes and Pharisees, he tells
them they are like graves overgrown with grass, and
they which see their specious outsides, know not that
within are dead men's bones and putrefaction, and
so are polluted by them. At this a member ofthe San
hedrim was so offended, that he told Jesus, " This
speech of thine seems to reflect on us, and the gravity
of our places and persons." To which the holy Jesus
replied, " Woe be to you for that hypocrisy of yours,
in appearing to bear such respect, as to rebuild the
tombs of those prophets whom your fathers killed, you
yourselves having as bloody thoughts against those that
are now sent to you."
About this time one of the company, seeing with what
authority he reproved and decided among the people,
addressed himself to our Lord, saying, " Sir, there is a
controversy between my brother and me about dividing
our patrimony, I desire to avoid the delays of a litigious
•suit at law, and refer the matter to you to conclude be
tween us." But Jesus declined the office of an arbitrator,
as not choosing to interfere in the temporal concerns
of men. Then he preached against covetousness, and
the placing our happiness in worldly possessions, ap
plying the parable of a rich man, whose store was too
copious for his barns; for projecting with himself to en
large his barns and lay up all in them, never thinking in
the* least of dispensing to the necessity of others, any
part of his superfluous possessions, he proposed to
indulge himself in voluptuousness, and stupidly enjoy
himself in his perishing goods : but he was soon
snatched from the possession of them, and his soul taken
from him in the violence of a rapid and hasty sickness in
the space of one night. This is directly the oase of any
one that makes no use of this increase and plenty, but
only to possess it, and provide for himself by it, not
thinking of employing a suitable proportion ofhis wealth
to the relief of the necessitous, and the service of God. Then
discoursing of the divine providence and care over us, he
descends to demonstrate it in the wild flowers and grass
of the field, those beautiful ornaments of nature, which

Of the Holy Bible. 1 57
the providence of God nourishes and preserves. '• En
tertain not therefore, said he, any solicitous thoughts
about your worldly affairs ; let no uneasy anxieties dis
turb your minds for such things ; for your heavenly Fa
ther which designed you to an everlasting kingdom, will
not fail to allow you your portion here of those things
that are 'useful for you." Then he again exhorted to
alms-deeds, to watchfulness and preparation against the
sudden- and unexpected coming of our Lord to judg
ment, or the arrest of death. And in answer to Peter's
question, whether Christ spoke particularly to his apos
tles and disciples, or to all, he described tbe offices of
his ministers, under the title of stewards and governors
of their Lord's houses ; teaching them gentleness and
sobriety, and not to do evil upon the confidence of their
Lord's absence and delay ; and instructing the people
even of themselves to judge what is right concerning
the signs of the coming of the Son of man. And the
end of all these discourses was, that all men should re
pent and be saved.
Whilst Jesus was pressing these discourses on the.peo-
ple, there were present some who told him of the Gali
leans, * whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacri
fices. Jesus replied, that these external accidents, though
they be sad and calamitous, are yet no arguments of
condemnation, against the persons ofthe men, to convict
them of greater guilt than others, upon whom uo such
visible signs have been inflicted.. The purpose of such
awful events is, that we should repent, lest we perish in
the like judgment, applying to this the parable of the

* Galileans. These were a faction of one Judas Gaulonita, a sort of people
that taught it to be unlawful to pay tribute to strangers, or to pray for the
Romans ; and because the Jews did both, they refused to communicate in their
i sacred rites, and would sacrifice apart : at which separate solemnity when
Pilate the Roman deputy had apprehended many of them, Nhe caused them to
be slain, causing them to perish on the same altars. These were of the pro
vince of Judea, but ofthe same opinion with those who tauglt in Galilee from
whence_j]ja sec(t had its appellation.

158 A Complete History
barren fig-tree, which after much care and expence bare
no fruit, intimating thereby, " This people hath been
long unprofitable, made no returns for God's husbandry
bestowed on them, and yet God hath given them space
to repent, and sent his Son to dress and manure them ;
and if this do not succeed, there is nothing to be ex
pected but destruction and ruin.
At the same time that Jesus was teaching in one of the
synagogues, he observed a woman that for the space of
eighteen years had laboured under a sOre disease inflicted
on her by the agency of an evil spirit.* Calling the woman
to him, he told her she was free from her infirmity, and
confirmed it by imposition of hands ; which finished the
cure, for the woman immediately became straight, and
glorified God. Upon this cure, a certain ruler of the sy
nagogue took occasion to renew the old question about
the observation of the sabbath ; for it was on the sabbath
that Jesus had healed the woman. The ruler therefore
told him there was time enough on the six days of the
week to do these offices, and not to violate the sabbath-
day by performing them. But Jesus made him ashamed
by an argument drawn from their own practice, who
loose an ox from the stall on the sabbath, arid lead him
away to watering. Ought not then this woman, on
whom Satan hath for so many years afflicted a sore dis
ease, to be healed of it ?
After this, intending to go to Jerusalem, he passed
through the towns and cities of Judea, preaching the
same doctrine he had formerly taught them, and daily
adding new precepts and cautions ; adverting to the mul
titudes f of them that perish, and the fewness of them
that shall be saved, that they should not be led away with
the example ofthe many that neglected thepresent oppor
tunity, and afterwards would not find admission when they
should desire it, either into the church here, or the king-

* Spirit. See Luke xiii. 16.
f Multitudes. See Luke xiii. 24, &c.

Of the Holy Bible. 159
dom of Godvat the day of judgment. That the gospel
should at length be removed from the obstinate Jews, and
heaven also; that care and industry was required to obtain
the end orour christian faith and hope; and that a faint
formal seeking of him, a desiring the reward upon no
farther pretences, than that the gospel hath been preached
among them, and that they have eat and drank in
Christ's presence, would not suffice without the per
formance of all that Christ requires of us. As for others,
be their pretences and confidences never so great, they
shall at the day of judgment be utterly rejected, and
tbeir wicked doings rewarded with everlasting fire. And
then what a restless torment will it be, to see the father's
of the old world, that never saw or heard Christ preached
among them, as you confess you have deceived by God
into his kingdom, and yourselves excluded? and that
though but few Jews should receive the faith, yet disci
ples should coriie from all quarters of the world, and
should be received and entertained in the kingdomi of
God : and the Gentiles, that are now afar off, shall be
admitted into Christ's favour, whilst the present Jews
through their obstinacy should be cast out.
Whilst Jesus was instructing the people and performing
miracles among them in this manner, some ofthe ph arisees,
who could not with any longer patience bear his power
and hear his doctrine, being desirous to get rid of him,
for a pretence, suggested the danger he was in from He
rod if he staid any longer there, saying, " Be gone out
of Galilee, Herod's jurisdiction ; for if thou stayest here,
he will put thee to death." But Jesus, who would not
in the least diminish his prophetic character and commis
sion by betraying any dread or fear, bids them, " Go
tell that fox, Herod, that I attend the decree of my Fa
ther, and in the mean time perform the office for which
I was sent, not fearing what he can do to me. Behold
I cast out devils, and cure diseases for the present; and
after a while, when my course is finished, I am to suffer
death." After this reprehension of Herod's subtilty and
design to kill him, he prophesied that he should die at
Jerusalem, and intimates great future woes and miseries-

l6ft A Complete History
to the Jews for neglecting this their day of visitation,
and for killing the prophets and messengers sent from
God. Being upon an invitation persuaded to go on a sabbath-
day, and dine with one of the Pharisees of great quality,
a ruler or member of one of theh* consistories, they that
had thus invited him treacherously, observed what he
would do, on purpose to take some advantage against
him, a thing contrary to all the laws of hospitality. But
he knowing their malice, byway of prevention, stopped
their mouths with the same argument he had used to those
that reprehended him for curing the infirm woman on
the sabbath-day.* The object which was before him, and
by which they proposed to ensnare him, was a persoti
afflicted with the dropsy. But Jesus to prevent their
malice asked thein this question : " Is the working a, cure
on a sick man a thing forbidden and unlawful to be
done on the sabbath-day?" The question was plain, and
so put, that his enemies were at that time disappointed ;
and Jesus taking no farther notice of them cured the
poor man of his dropsy, and dismissed him.
Whilst these things were transacting at this dinner, the
holy Jesus observed how fond the Scribes and Pharisees
were to take precedency of others at the feast ; and there
fore knowing their inclinations, he spake a parable to
them, which imported how much more honourable it is
for a man to set himself below, than above bis pl'ace, and
how certain a way it is for him to get honour: for hu
mility is tbe only thing that is valued or commended,
either by God or man. Then he reproached them for
want of charity in their entertainments, inviting none

* Sabbath-day. The holy Jesus, that he might draw off and separate
Christianity from the yoke of ceremonies, by abolishing and taking off the
strictest Mosaical rites, chose to do many of his miracles upon the sabbath,
that be might do the work of abrogation and institution both at once. For
though upon all days Christ wrought miracles, yet many reasons deter
mined him to a more frequent working upon days of public ceremony and
convention.

Of the Holy Bible. l6l
but those that were their equals or superiors, and con
sequently able to return their compliment ; but totally
neglecting the hungry and necessitous poor. Upon this
occasion, one repeated that known saying among the
Jewish rabbins, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the
kingdom of God ; that is, it is much happier to be feasted
by God in his kingdom than by any man on earth.1 To
this Christ replied by a similituoe,* confirming the truth
of what that person said; but observing, at the same time,
that this heavenly feast was what they had often been in
vited to, but still rejected the kind invitation, preferring
their own worldly'^designs and advantages before it, for
which they were rejected, and their room supplied by
strangers. Going from the Pharisee's house, where he had dined,
he was attended by a vast concourse of people, whom
he informed what they must expect, if they intended to be
his disciples. " He-f that doth not prefer me, says he,
before all that is nearest to him, nay and life too, is not
worthy to be my disciple. And whosoever doth not
come with a preparation of mind to suffer any thing ra
ther than part with aae, is not fit to engage with me. For
as he that begins to build, and hath not a stock to hold
out, leaves bis work imperfect; or as he that designs a
war, and hath not men and money enough to go through
witb it, bad better never engage in it ; so he that under
takes to be a Christian, must resolve to renounce all that
is precious to him in this world, or else he will not be
able to persevere to the end."
The" winter now approaching, and the Jews' feast of
dedication being at hand, Jesus went up to Jerusalem to
the feast, where he preached in Solomon's porch. J The
Jews, still jealous of the great influencehe bad over the

* Similitude. See Luke xiv. 16.
f He. Luke xi. 26. Matt. x. S7.
X Porch. Solomon's Porch was that part of the tenple which stood ntti*er
from tbe first ruins.
VOL. III. Y

l62 , A Complete History
people, attempted to seize him; but he was aware of their
design: for retiring from thence, he went beyond
Jordan, where he taught the people in an elegant and "
persuasive discourse concerning the mercy of God in ac
cepting penitents, in that admirable parable of the prodi
gal Son ; whose father having heaped up a fortune, at
the importunity of his youngest son, divided his sub
stance between his two children. The youngest took his
part, and immediately set out to visit distant countries,
where in a short time and in luxurious living he spent
that wealth his parent had given him. When he had
spent all, a dreadful famine afflicted that country; in
vain he applied to those that had shared in the consump
tion of his fortune ; they are as much strangers to him
now, as he was to grace in the midst of his prodigality.
Hunger, an excellent monitor, soon instructed him what
to dp ; he addressed himself to a person, from whom he
received no other comfort than an offer of tending his
swine. Want of bread compelled him, and he accepted
the offer, and would' gladly have shared with them in
their diet of husks and acoms. Whilst he meditated on
his sad condition, necessity reduced him to his reason,
and the only means left to redress his misery. He ac
knowledged his sin against his heavenly and earthly fa
thers, then his own unworthiness to be admitted to
mercy, and lastly to be restored to favour. Armed with
this resolution, he directed his steps towards his injured
father's house. The tender parent discovered the mise
rable object, and with eager fondness ran to him, em
braced and kissed him, and reinstated him in his pater
nal love ; proclaiming a' jubilee in his family for the
return of this prodigal, who having been dead and lost
in sin, was now alive again to repentance 'and holiness
of life.
Then he discourses of the design of the Messiah com
ing into tbe "world, to recover men from their sin and
danger, in tbe parables of tbe lost sheep and piece of
money, After this he taught them tp employ their pre
sent "opportunities and estates, by laying them out in acts
ef mercy and religion, that when their souls shall be dis-

Of the Holy' Bible. 163
ttiissedirom this life, they may be entertained in ever
lasting habitations. This he' inforced under the figure
of an unjust, but prudent steward, " who having abused
v his trust by wasting and embezzling his master's goods,
is called to make up his accounts, for he was no longer
to be retained under the character of steward. This
summons presented to his anxious thoughts the sad pros
pect of a misferable poverty. He thought it below the
dignity of his character to work, and he was ashamed to
beg. To provide therefore against the approaching
storm, he sends for his master's debtors, and asked them
what they, owed in goods or rent! The first tells him he
owed a hundred measures of oil. He bids him take his
bill with speed and make it only fifty ; and so in propor
tion he accounts with the rest. This the unjust steward
did in hopes of being relieved by his . master's debtors
when he was discarded his service." By which parable our
Saviour shews, how much more provident worldly men are
to secure something for the remainder of their life, than
the sons of light who are born to be injured and abused
here ; yet from hence, he teaches them how to secure
friends, which shall continue long beyond this transitory
world. Therefore he advises them to riiake provision *
for themselves, by so using the fading wealth, with
, which they are intrusted here, that when these transi
tory comforts shall forsake them, they may be received
into heaven.
Wherever the blessed Saviour of the world went, the
fame of his miracles and doctrine attracted to him a vast
retinue, some out of curiosity, others out of necessity
still following him, but none so diligently watched, or
rather pursued him, as the Pharisees, who most indus
triously laid hold On all opportunities to accuse him.
The most ensnaring question they could think of, was
that of divorces ; whether it was lawful for a man upon
every occasion to put away his wife. Jesus limiting the
permissions of these separations to the case of fornication

* Prevision. See Luke xvi. 9.
y 2

16*4 A Complete History
only, tells them, " Ye cannot hut remember the strict
union between man and wife, which was appointed by
God in the creation; where as soon as they were both
created, this was determined, that man was to forsake all
and cleave to his wife, continuing as inseparably with
her as if she were part of his own flesh. Arid therefore
since they, are thus directed by God, this divine institu
tion ought not to be altered by man." The Pharisees
thinking they now had the advantage of the argument,
object the precept * of Moses, wherein he allowed the
husband in some cases to give a bill of divorce to the
wife, in this manner permitting him to put her away. In

* Precept. Deut. xxiv. 1, 2, 3. The words in St. Matt. xix. 7, ture,
" Why then did Moses command to give a writing of divorce." In Deut.
xxiv. 1, they are somewhat different, " Let bim write her a bill of di
vorcement." These versions seem to' make Moses and our blessed Saviour
to authorize the giving of bills of divorce ; whence Libertines and Jews may
think they have a liberty to put away their wives, and look upon that
custom as an express command of God. But the translators have not been
exact enough in rendering the words of the original, which signifies some
times a command, sometimes a permission. As when Davfd says, 2 Sam.
xvi. 10, "What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? Let him
curse, &c." And as when God , says, Isai. xiii. S, "That.be commanded
his sanctified ones, and called his mighty ones for his anger.'' When it is
impossible they can signify command, since God so expressly forbids to
curse the king, and since he is not capable of commanding tyranny, as
some have well observed. These words also sometimes signify a promise,
as Psal. cxxxiii. 3, where, it is evident we must translate, " For God has
premised the "blessing,, and not God has commanded the blessing." The
same amendment] must be made, John x. 18, " This promise (not this com
mandment) I received of «oy Father." And John xii. and xv. " And I
know that his iprornise is everlasting life." For it was not a commandment
which 'the Son receivedj-ifiroriiL the Father, " That if he did lay down his
life Jie might take it up again," but a promise mentioned Ps. xvi. 10,
" Thou wilt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption; and life eternal is
also a promise and not a commandment. Therefore when these expressions,
which 'signify different things, do occur, we ought to have regard to the subject
treated on, and since our Saviour expressly calls what MoSes did in this
matter only a permission, Matt. xix. 8, and mentions the first marriage, which
was quit6 contrary to a divoree, we should translate, " Why then did Moses
suffer to give a bill of divorcement?"

Of the Holy Bible. \6b
answer to this Jesus replies thus; "God in the Mosaical
economy, knowing your obstinacy and perverse inclina
tions, lest you should run into greater sins, allowed a
dispensation in this point, by tolerating divorces. But
this you see was very different from the appointment of
God in the first institution of marriage. And accord
ingly I now determine, that whosoever shall use that
liberty so frequent among you, to put away his wife for
any lesser cause than that of fornication, and then
thinks himself free to marry a^ain, that man is guilty of
adultery in so doing, and so is he that marrieth her that
is divorced, for he marrieth another man's wife, which is
committing adultery."
After this, discoursing on God's wise dispensation of the
good things of this world, he shewed by way of parable
that we cannot easily enjoy a heaven here and hereafter;
and that the infelicities of our lives, if we are pious, shall
end in a blessed condition. This he exemplified in the
parable * of a rich man and a poor one. " The rich man
abounded in all the comforts the world could afford, which
he selfishly applied to the purposes of his own pride and
luxury, squandering away the worth of princes to gratify
his wanton appetite. Whilst on the eonr.rary,Lazafus,poor,
sick and afflicted, in vain begs the fragments of his extra
vagancies to support him. At length wearied with cares
and worn out with diseases, Lazarus dies, and is by a guard
of angels safely conveyed to Abraham's bosom, where he
receives the recompense of the reward. Nor can the rich
man's wealth bribe the impartial hand of Divine Justice;
all his earthly power cannot screen him from the all-
searching eye of that just Judge, who without (regard to
his superior station, summoned him to appear at his aw-

* Parable. Some will have this to be a true story,'- and not a similitude;
of which number is Euthymius, who from the tradition ofthe Hebrews intmeth
him Nymensis. But there are more of a contrary opinion, and wlio can prove
thatithe title of this passage of Luke am. ,19, is called, " a jaraible of a king^of
flesh and blood."

166 A Complete History
ful tribunal. He also dies, but a scene ensues far dif
ferent from that of Lazarus. Horrible fiends instantly
drag him down to the abyss of horror and eternal
pain ; where lifting up his eyes to heaven, he sees
Lazarus enfolded in the arms of Abraham, whilst him
self is afflicted with unintermitting torments. In vain
he "begs for water to cool his scorched tongue; his
doom is passed, which nothing can reverse. Abraham re
bukes his importunate request with a mild reply : Son, says
he, all- thy portion of abundance and prosperity, of un
interrupted ease and felicity, thou hast already enjoyed
in thy life-time, and spent upon thyself without commu
nicating them to any that wanted relief; and on the
other side, Lazarus has had all his portion of afflictions
already, and now it is but just that he should have his
bliss, and thou thy torment. But besides, there is an
irreversible decree passed upon thee, and it is im
possible for any to release thee." Finding no hopes
for himself, he interceded for his relations left behind
him, who by some seasonable admonition might he cau
tioned from coming into this place of torment. Abra
ham tells him, they have Moses and the prophets for their
guides and instructors ; besides, Lazarus could no more
have liberty to quit the joys of heaven to go on this er
rand to his kindred, than himself could be released from
his irremediable pains.
The conclusion of this affecting parable, besides the
moral of the wise distribution of our goods to fhe neces
sitous, declares also this important truth, that theordinary
means of salvation are the express revelation of Scrip
ture, and the ordinances of God's appointment; and
whosoever neglects these shall not be supplied with means
extraordinary ; or if he were indulged with them, they
would be totally ineffectual.
Among the many instances of human frailty which
daily came under his inspection, be took special no
tice of the pharisaical pride, which, through a con
ceited opinion of mistaken perfection, made men care
lessly overlook their own faults, and superciliously cen
sure and condemn others. This the blessed Jesus severely

Of the Holy Bible. 167
condemns in the following parabolical discourse; Two
men went up into the temple * to pray ; the one a Pha
risee, the other a publican. The Pharisee approaches
with praise to God, but contempt of his brother; and
boasting of his virtues, but forgetting his sins, he thus
presumptuously addressed himself : I thank thee, O God,
that I am not like other men, guilty of extortion, injus
tice, or adultery ; or like this vile publican, unworthy
to approach thee: I fast twice -j- every week, and pay
duly my- tithes of every thing which I possess. Such was
the detail of his goodness, such the only foundation of
his hope towards God. His devotions, if such they may
be called, contained not a single petition ; .and, though
he pretended to thank God, his object was only to com
pliment himself. But such a sacrifice as this is an abo-
. mfoation to the Lord, who has determined that " no flesh
shall glory in his presence."
The humble publican, standing at an awful distance in
" the court of the Gentiles, with a dejected heart and mo
dest penitence deploring his sins, not daring so much as
to lift up his guilty eyes to heaven, but laying his hand
upon his unworthy, yet Contrite heart, implores God's
mercy on him a sinful wretch. The mercy which he
asked, he obtained, for he went down to his house justi
fied, rather than the other; he returned to his habitation

* Temple. In the temple there were two courts, one for the Jews, and
another for the Gentile Proselytes that lived among them. Of these Gentile
Proselytes there were two sorts; the proselytes of righteousness, who were
those that had undertaken the whole law, and were circumcised; and the
Gentile proselytes of the gates. . The former of these were admitted with the
Jews into the inner dourt; but the latter, which were not circumcised, were
by the Jews so far accounted unclean, according to the law, that they were
not permitted to come into that court of the temple called Holy, where the
Jens were; and in that court, where these latter Gentiles worshipped the
Jews kept a market. ,
/
t Twice. That is, every Monday and Thursday, the second and fifth
days of the week, on which they were wont to hear the law read in their
synagogue.

16s A, Complete History
in peace, having obtained acceptance with God. To
such contrite, broken-hearted persons, the promises of
the gospel are peculiarly addressed : " Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ;
and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy
upon him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly par
don." Such was the encouraging design of our Saviour
in this parable, which he concluded by saying, " Every
one that exaiteth himself shall be abased ; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted."
The multitude, perceiving by daily experience, the
great benefit that persons of adult years received by the
bare touch of our blessed Lord,, desirous that their tendeT
babes might also share in the blessing, brought their in
fants to pfcrtake of his divine benediction. But the dis
ciples, thinking it below the dignity of their master to
take notice of such little children, at first refused admit
tance to those who brought them. But Jesus, calling
for the children, chides his disciples for their mistake in
refusing, them, charging them to introduce them for the
future, adding this encouraging observation, " That of
such was the kingdom of heaven ;" intimating by it, that
none but such as were endued with infant simplicity
could enjoy any share in the privileges of bis kingdom.
Then laying bis hands upon them, he gave them his
blessing. Happy infants ! who so early received their
Saviour's benediction in order to a larger share of his
grace for the future.,
As he was departing from the place, in which the last
occurrence happened, a Certain person came running to
him, evidently with much eagerness, and with profound
veneration, acknowledging him as a divine teacher; for
he kneeled down at his feet, and desired information
from him on a subject of all others the most important.*
" Good master," said he, " what good thing shall I do,
that I may inherit eternal life?" Here, then, was a can-

Important. Matt. xix. 16, &c. Mark x. 17, 31. Luke xviii. 18, 30.

Ill
pfc^t to CTO^

Of the Holy Bible. 169
didate for heaven, of a most promising appearance in
deed. He was young, yet not addicted to sensual plea
sures, for he attended with great exactness to the duties
of morality, and discovered a serious concern about his
future state. He was a ruler, a magistrate of some con
sequence, and possessed of considerable wealth. Yet,
very unlike the, generality of those in high life, he ap
plied to Jesus, not with a disposition to cavil, but, as it
should seem, with a desire of being instructed in the way
of salvation.
The case was hopeful: and, from such a view of it,
we might have been ready to conclude the man a real
convert. But a little experience will teach us, not to be
precipitate in our judgment, nor to rest with implicit
confidence in any favourable circumstances. Jesus, who
knew perfectly tne bent of his mind, dealt with him in
such a way as to shew his true character. He enquired,
therefore, why he had given him the title of " good,"
since it properly belonged only to God. He did not
thereby disclaim it, or in the least imply, that he pos
sessed not the attributes of Deity, hut examined on what
ground the amiable youth had so addressed him, and
whether he had done-it on a full conviction of his dig
nity. The ruler, probably, was elated with a conceit of
his own goodness, and his ability to do every thing re
quired: on which account, to detect his erroneous no
tions, and evince his deficiencies, Jesus referred him to
the law, assuring him that he must keep the command
ments in order to attain eternal life. We cannot so in
terpret this declaration, as to set aside the necessity of
believing in the Son of God for salvation, or to ascribe
to man a capacity, in himself, of yielding a complete
obedience to God. But there is a peculiar propriety in
putting tbose who boast of their own righteousness and
strength, upon considering the extent of their duty. We
exhort them to bring forth their best performances, that
they may compare them with the appointed rule, and to
try what their most vigorous exertions can effect. " Keep
the commandments;" but letone precept as well as ano
ther be regarded, and that in the utmost extent, so as to
vol. in. z

1/0 - A Complete History
regulate your inward affections, no less than your out
ward practice. Such an unfeigned and perfect compli
ance is required from you at all times and in all circum
stances, without weariness or interruption, even to your
latest hour. Upon the least failure, you are rendered in
capable of being justified by the works of the law ; and
you, who are most decent and orderly in -your conduct,
can obtain forgiveness no otherwise than by faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, through the blood of his cross.
This young person, not knowing himself and the de
fects of his obedience, presumptuously boasted that he
had, from his earliest years, performed every duty en
joined in the second table, to which particularly Jesus
referred bim: and, in the vain confidence ofhis ovvn suf
ficiency, he then asked, whether any thing further could
be demanded of him. Ah I how gross the darkriess, how
fatal the delusion, by which men are so exalted in them*
selves, as to say, " I am innocent," or, " What lack I
yet !" Jesus, hdwever, looked with compassionate regard
on the ruler, whose manners and disposition, in some
respects, might be peculiarly engaging. But as he re
sisted conviction, in one way, he proved him in another,
requiring him to give a special testimony of his entire
submission to him. " One thing," said he, ." thou
lackest : go, and sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to
the poor ; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven ; and
come, take up the cross, and follow me." The strict in
junction was more than the youth could bear, but not
more than Jesus had a right to ordain : nor would those
refuse to comply with it, who are truly sensible of their
own demerit and the worth ofthe Saviour. The merchant,
who finds. " the one pearl of great price," will sell all
that he has, and buy it:* for he will say, " I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
.Christ Jesus my Lord." "I" Not so this man of fortune.
He was disappointed, grieved, confounded; anti in
stantly he betrayed the secret insincerity of his heart,

* It. Matt. xiii. 46. + Lord. Phil. iii. 8,

Of the Holy Bible. 1/1
which Jesus meant to detect by the trial here proposed.
He gave up all further enquiries about the religion of
tbe gospel; "he went away" sorrowful," for this reason
chiefly, that he was attached to the world, under all his
promising appearances ; and he foolishly preferred the
enjoyment of his large possessions to the grace and sal
vation of Jesus.
When the apostles heard their master commanding the
voung man to sell all, and give to the poor, and follow
him, Peter, in the name of the rest, began to think it was
their own case, and the promise also might concern them,
and asking him this question, " What shall we have, who
have forsaken all, and followed thee?" Jesus answered,
" That they should sit upon twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel." And extending this blessing .to
every disciple that should forsake either house, wife, or
children, or any advantage and possession in this life, for
his Or tbe gospel's sake, he promises them the reward of
an hundred-fold hy way of present comfort, and in the
world to come glories and possessions in fruition and re
dundancy : " For they that are last shall be first, and
the first shall be last." The despised people of this world
shall reign like kings, and their contempt of it shall swell
up to an endless glory, and their poverty to an eterrial
satisfaction. And these rewards shall not be accounted
according to the privileges of nations, or priority of vo
cation, but readiness of mind and obedience, and sedu
lity of operation after being called.
But lest the disciples should not perfectly understand
what he said ofthe " last beiiig first, and the first last,"
he explains himself in the following parable : ' " A cer
tain landlord, whose care was as early as the rising-sun,
went out betimes to the market-place, where day-la
bourers kept their stand in expectation of employment,
to hire labourers to work in his vineyard, and having
agreed with a certain number of them for a penny * a

* Penny. Our seven-pence halfpenny.
Z 2

172 *A Complete History
day, he set them to work. Wanting still more help,
he went out about the third hour,* and in the usual
place he found several standing there to be hired, with
whom he also agreed in proportion to the time. Again
about the sixth and ninth hourf he went ont, and hired
more : and about the eleventh hour* he did the same.
At night he bid his steward call the labourers, and pay
them ; and beginning with them that were last hired, he
paid them the whole day's wages : but when they came
who were first hired, and had laboured from the morn
ing, they expected to receive more than those who came
late into the vineyard ; but they were disappointed, for
they received no more than what they were hired for.
Upon which they murmur, saying, Thou hast given to
them as much wages as to us who have laboured all the day
long. The owner of the vineyard tells them he paid them
according to their agreement ; and as for those who came
later to work, it was an act of generosity in himself to
reward them as he pleased, it being tbeir misfortune that
they were not sooner employed, and that being master
of bis own substance he might dispense it as he thought
fit, and give as much to them that came at the eleventh
hour as to those that came first, and who laboured as
honestly for the time as they did. Thus the last shall be
first, and first last. §
Whilst the blessed Jesus was in Galilee, be receives a
message from tbe two female disciples and sisters, Martha
and Mary, intreating him to hasten into Bethany, to re-

* Third Hour. About our nine of the clock in the morning.
t Sixth and ninth hour. Twelve of the clock at noon, and three in the
afternoon. t Eleventh hour. About five in the evening.
§ Last. This parable relates literally to the case of the Jews, who mur
mured that the same church privileges should be extended to the Gentiles as
to themselves. It displays*lso the sovereignty of God in tlie bestowment of
all his favqi)rs.

Of the Holy Bible. 173
lieve their sick brother Lazarus, who was in imminent
danger. But he deferred* his going till Lazarus was
dead ; purposing to make an uncommon displayof his
divine power and goodness in a glorious 'miracle, which
shouldproducemuch honour to God. Therefore, after two
days delay, he called his disciples to accompany him
into Judea. When Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus,
who had been dead four days, was buried, and in a state
of putrefaction. Martha and Maryhearing of their Lord's
approach, go out to meet him ; and pouring out a flood
of pious tears for their dear brother, throw themselves
at his feet, wishing he had arrived sooner, for then they
were assured their brother would not have died. Af
the sight of these mourning sisters, Jesus suffered the
passions of pity and humanity, which after some pertu-
bation of mind broke into tears. After this melancholy
salutation, Jesus having, by his words of comfort,
strengthened the faith ofthe two sisters, he desired to be
conducted to the the place where Lazarus was buried,
and comriiandingthe stone to be removed from the grave,
making an address of adoration and thanksgiving to his
Father for his continual readiness to hear him, he says,
with a loud voice, " Lazarus, come forth !" and he that
was dead, came forth from his bed of darkness, with his
grave-clothes on, who, being loosed by some of the nu
merous spectators, at the command of Jesus, went to
his habitation at Bethany.
The performance of this miracle affected the multitude
very differently ; some were convinced, and believed on
him ; others were filled with wonder, yet maliciously went
and informed the Pharisees ; who, upon that advice, sum
moned their great council, whose solemn cognizance was
for the greater causes of prophets, kings, and of the holy
law: where one breaking silence, says, "It is not a time
for us to sit still, and permit this man to proceed in the
performance of these miracles without interruption: for if
we suffer him, all men will believe on him, and the Ro-

* Deferred. See John xi. 4, 5, 6f &c.

J 7 4 A Complete History
mans* will destroy both our temple and nation, our re
ligion and government, and wholly enslave us." At titis
great assembly itwas that Caiphas the High-Priestprophe-
sied-f- that one should die for the people, and that the
whole nation perish not. And from that time they en
tered into a combination, resolving to put him to death.
But Jesus knowing they had passed a decretory sentence
against him, did not perform any public miracles among
the people of Judea, but retired to the city of Ephraim,
in the tribe of Judah, near the desart, where he con
tinued a few days till the time of the passover.
Now when the feast of the passover was nigh at hand,
as Jesus with his disciples was going to Jerusalem, he
informed them what the event of his journey would be,
that the Jews should deliver him to the Gentiles; that
they should scOurge him, and mock him, and crucify him,
and the third day he should rise again. Upon this men
tion of his resurrection, which they vainly presumed
would be the time of his taking all his greatness upon
him, the mother;}: of James and John came to Jesus, and
prostrating herself at his feet, desired that her sons might
have the first places in his kingdom : for all the discourses
ofhis passion, or intimations of the spiritual nature of his

* Romans. The Jewish council, seeing the miracles which Jesus did,
this especially of raising Lazarus, did very much fear that professing him
self to be the Messiah, he would soon attempt to make himself king, and by
. the reputation which he had gained among the people, be quickly assisted
in it, if he were not timely hindered. If this were done, the consequence
would be that the flomans, to. whom they were already subject, looking
upon thi? as a rebellion, would come with an army, and utterly destroy
them- f Prophesied. See John xi. 50,51. Caiphas spake in words that' were
a direct prophesy of what Go8 had now designed should coma to pass : not
t|hat he meant it in that sense, or thought at all of prophesying; but being
in a place of authority among the Jews at thai time, he was a fit person for
God to make use of as his minister to foretell the purpose of God, that Christ
should die for the Jews.
X Mother. See M«t xx, SO, &c. :

Of the Holy Bible. . 175
kirigdorii had not yet corrected their false apprehensions of
it, as a state of temporal grandeur. But Jesus, who knew
the weakness of their understandings on this head, gave
them an answer adapted to their present conceptions, and
future condition, telling them, "That if they desired the
first post of honour in his kingdom, and to be nearest his
person^ they must take the greatest share of the bitter cup
of his sufferings, and then sit in his kingdom, if his hea
venly Father had prepared it for them : but as to any pri
vilege of honour or dignity above others, they to whom
his Father had designed it should certainly enjoy it."
This exeited the displeasure of the other apostles, who
were offended with the ambition "of the two brothers.
But Jesus, the true peace^maker, to prevent any misun
derstanding between them, dissuades them from all
thoughts of supremacy, by telling them, " That though
the rulers or kings ofthe nations were served and bene
fited by their subjects, and received secular advantages
by their pre-eminences, and that the emperors in like
manner were over them,,yet preference among them was
to be attended with all the offices of servile humility, and
that they must riot expect to live after the manner ofthe
heatheii princes : for he among them that affected to be
supreme, must be the servant of all the rest ; and that
Christ's kingdom here is not to be administered in a
way from which they might derive splendor or profit,
but in a way of charity ; serving relieving, providing,
and dying, for his people, instead of requiring any such
offices from them." *

* Them. Gh\ a similar occasion, .our -Lord Teproved the ambition of the
disciples, by taking a little child; and placing him in the midst of them,
he said, I declare it to you as a.most isolemn and important truth, "That
except ye be converted and turned from these ambitious and carnal views,
and become like little children in lowliness and meekness, you will be so
far from having any distinguished, rank among my subjects, that ye shall by
no means so much as enter at all into my kingdom, or enjoy any of its
blessings." It is but justice to the Apostles to observe, that after the ascension of

1 j6 A Complete History
The blessed Jesus proceeding from hence to Jericho,
with the usual attendance ofthe multitude, a fresh object
of misery presents itself on which he might exercise his
compassion and power. Poor Bartimaeus,* the son of
Timseus, who had long sat on the road, an humble sup
plicant to all charitable passengers for relief, hearing the
noise of the vast crowd that passed by, asked the mean
ing of that numerous concourse; and being informed that
Jesus of Nazareth was among them, with strong and im
patient faith he cried, " Jesus, thou Son of David, have
mercy upon me ?" The standers-by bid him forbear bis
clamorous noise, supposing he begged an alms : but the
gift he desired was of greater moment, and therefore he
repeats his importunity, and cries, " O Son of David
have mercy upon me ?" Upon this Jesus stopped, and
ordering the blind man to be brought to him, demands
of him the reason ofhis importunate cries ; who in a hum
ble manner replied, " Lord, restore my long-lost sight?"
He had no sooner spoken, than the compassionate Jesus
answered his request ; for straightway his eyes receive
the welcome light, and he with joy makes one ofthe ad
miring crowd that followed their Saviour.
As the holy Jesus passed through Jericho,f a certain
man named Zaccheus, a person of wealth and figure among
the publicans, being desirous of seeing Jesus, could not
gratify his curiosity in the crowd because he was low of
stature, and therefore he climbs up a tree, from whence
he might take a full view and survey of his sacred per
son. Jesus, observing the eager zeal of this curious pub
lican, calls to him to descend, and- invites himself to his
house. The overjoyed Zaccheus, proud of this honour,

Christ, and their reception of the Holy Spirit, they were entirely cured of
the disease of ambition, and gladly took up their cross, following their humble
leader. * Bartimaus. See Mark x. 46, &c.
f Jericho. See Luke xix. 1, &c.

Of the Holy Bible. \77
hastens to receive hisheavenly guest with the highest
expressions of love and respect; and sucb was the power
of divine grace upon his heart, that be instantly became
a remarkable penitent, and thus expresses the feelings of
his mind: " Lord, the half of my estate I give to the
Iioor; and whomsoever I have defrauded, or as a publ
ican, exacted from, more than was due, I am ready to
make, according to the law, a four-fold restitution." This
confession and repentance was the greatest entertainment-
any mortal man could afford to our blessed Lord, who
id return gives him this gracious reward, "This day are
the mercies of the gospel dispensed to thee, Zaccheus,
as being a believer, who, though a publican, art one to
whom the promises made to Abraham appertain."
About this time, our Saviour being not far* from Jeriv-
salem,upon occasion of his disciples apprehending that he
would shortly take upon him the regal authority there,
he spake this parable to them : " A certain man, heir to
a, great kingdom, took a long journey to possess f him
self of it, and then to return again to the country where
he was born, and over wliich he was to reign. And
having many servants, he entrusted each of them with a
sum % of money to be employed in trade during his ab
sence, commanding them to improve it to the best ad
vantage against his return. The reason of his journey to
this distant country was, because, his countrymen, over

* Fur. See Luke xix. 11, 12, &C
f l'imrs». Hy this the blessed Jesus intimated that he was tp suffer and
rise, and go to heaven to be installed in his kingdom there.
X Sum. Dy this lie intimated that the apostles were, after his depar
ture, to preiu-h to tiie Jews, in order Co guin them to Christ; and to visit
all their cities before lie should himself appear in his regal dignity ¦¦ mid
thus ulso were nil inferior christiani), as well as the apostles, to employ their
diligence and industry, and according to their talents to bring in some increase
to God. VOL. III. A A

1^8 A Complete History
whom he was to reign, opposed themselves contuma
ciously against him, and disclaimed * him for their king.
At his return, he first examined his servants with whom
he had entrusted his talents; he rewarded those who had
improved their stock, and had been faithful in their trust,
with gifts proportioned to their capacities and improve
ments"; but the negligent servant, who had slothfully
spent his time without any advantage, was condemned
to perpetual confinement and darkness, and his talent
transferred to him who had most advanced the interest of
his prince during his absence. From whence arose that
christian axiom, "To him that hath shall be given, arid
from him,' that hath not, shall be taken away even what
he hath." His servants having thus accounted with him,
he proceeds to take cognizance of those rebellious coun
trymen (whose king he was by right) who, when he
went to be enthroned in another kingdom, refused obe
dience to him. These therefore he called to a severe
account, and commanding them to be put to the sword, f
they were executed as so many rebels.
After this, going from Jericho, he cured two blind
men on the way. And six days before the passover, he
proceeded to Bethany, where he was liberally entertained
by Simon the leper, J being accompanied by Martha,
Mary, and Lazarus, who sat at the table with Jesus.
Mary, § to add to the grandeur of the entertainment, hav-

* Disclaimed. This intimates the Jews standing out against the faith, as it
was preached to them by the apostles after the resurrection.
f Sword. This was the fate that soon befel the Jews after our blessed
Saviour's inauguration in his kingdom in heaven,
X Leper. It is npt prcbalile that Simon was a leper at this time, but
having been so at a former period, retained the name, by which he was
distinguished from many others who bore the name of Simon, wliich was
common among the Jews.
§ Mary. This was Mary the sister of Lazarus, not Mary Magdaleu.

Of the Holy Bible. 179
ing a vial or vase of very costly ointment,* poured ¦jf it
on Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. The X odour
of the perfume soon diffused itself through-every part of
the house, which denoted its great worth. But malice,
which never long wants an opportunity of shewing itself,
instructs the thief and traitor Judas how to lay hold on
any occasion, who repines at the vanity of this expense,
(as he pretended,) because it might have been sold for
three hundred pence, § and have been given to the poor.
But Jesus who knew the malice of Judas, and the wicked
ness he was afterwards to perpetrate, in a very mild re
ply, tells them all, that this was an act of religion in
Mary, who performed this as a fit ceremony to solemnize
his approaching death, after which men used to be em
balmed with perfumes and spices : This therefore, as an
act of- religion was at this time more seasonable than an
act of charity ; for of the poor, said he, you have many
and daily objects : bi.t this is the last opportunity she
could have of expressing her love to me, who am sud
denly to be taken from you.

* Ointment. This is by the best interpreters called " Nard-pistick," or
genuine Nard, free from all mixture, or adulteration, which was a very great
rarity, by reason of the nine sorts of herbs which (according to Pliny) imitate
the true Nard.
f Poured. The word in St. Mark, ch. xiv. v. 3, which in our translation
is rendered " brake the box," is improperly applied, and remote from the
meaning of the original' Syntripsasa; as also is the word Alabastron unjustly
rendered a Box : for it is very improbable that Mary should break a box, or
vessel of alabaster or marble, which all know to be hard; nor is it likely it was
in the form o"f a box, but rather of a vial, which Mary shaking (for that is the
proper signification of the word Syntripsasa) in order to break the coagulated
parts of the rich balsam, and bring it into aliquid state ; she then poured it-out,
and so anointed 'Jesus's feet with it. This I take to be the most proper way
of rendering to these words, both according to the present occasion, and the
genuine sense of them.
X The. See Matt. xxvi. 6. Mark xiv. 3. John xii. 4.
§ Three Hundred Pence. That is about Ten Pounds.
A A 2

.180 A Complete History
Jt being presently known that Lazarus, whom Jesus
had lately raised fromthe dead, was one of the company
that was treated by Simon the leper, the Jews flocked in
great numbers to see him on whom the miracle was
wrought, as well as the illustrious person who ^performed
it. This excited much uneasiness in the jealous San
hedrim, who having heard that the resurrection of La
zarus, gave occasion to a number of the Jews to believe
on Jesus, tbey immediately consult upon the destruction *
of Lazarus, as they had previously done concerning that
of Christ. -f~
The next day, being the fifth before the passover, Je
sus came to the foot of the mount of Olives, and sent his
disciples to Bethphage, a little village in the neighbour
hood, commanding them to unloose an ass J and a colt,
and to bring them to him, and to tell the owners it was
done for the Master's service ; and they did so. And

* Destruction. The Jews, enraged to perceive many converts made to
Christ by the miracle of his raising Lazarus, determined to put him to death :
but Epipharius reports that God, in his providence, was pleased to preserve
him as :i monument of his glories, and a testimony of the miracle which
Jesus performed on him, thirty years after the death of Jesus, Epipham.
contra Manich.
f Christ. What a mixture of cruelty and folly was the conspiracy of
the Pharisees to kill Lazarus ? What was his crime ? or what could their
hope be ? From what death could not Christ have delivered him ? or from
what tomb could he not have recalled him? Yet something like this is the
madness of all who hate and persecute others, for being the trophies of the
Redeemer's victory and grace. Doddridge on John xii. 10.
t Ass. See Matt. xxi. 2. Mark xi. 2. Luke xix. 30, 31. The asses used
in the east are far superior to ours, so that there was nothing mean or ridi
culous in his riding on that animal. We read of Abraham, the family of Jair,
and magistrates riding upon them. Gen. xxii. 3. Judges v. 10. and x. 4, &c.
We should also recollect that God, to keep the people of Israel in a more
se. sible dependance on himself forbade the use of horses ; our Lord, there
fore, with a propriety worthy of himself, chose to make his humble, though
public triumph, riding on an ass.

Of the Holy Bible. 181
when they brought the ass to Jesus, he rides * on him to
Jerusalem ; and the people having notice all the way he
passed of his approach, took palm-branches in their
bands, and went out to meet him, strewing boughs of
trees and their garments in the road, crying out, " Ho-
sannah -f- to the Son of David :" which was a form of ex
clamation used to the honour of God in great assemblies
and solemnities, and signifies adoration to the Son of
David by the right of carrying branches. But this honour
was so great and unusual to be rendered even to kings,
that the .Pharisees, knowing this to be an appropriate
manner of address to God, said one to another, " Hear
ye what these men say;" For they were troubled to hear
the people pay such reverence to Jesus, being alarmed
at this appearance ofhis growing reputation. •
When the Holy Jesus bad thus entered Jerusalem in
triumph, he went up to the mount of Olives, and from
thence beholding Jerusalem, and foreseeing the dreadful
and unparalleled calamities which were to befal it, he
wept over it, saying, " O that thou also wouldst yet
consider, and lay to heart, before it be too late, even in
this critical juncture, those things which concern thy
future tranquillity ! but now thou shuttest thine eyes
against them, and wilt not consider. But thy punish
ment for this shall be, that shortly thine enemies shall

* Rides. Jesus rode npt on account of any weariness, having formerly
travelled through all Palestine on foot; but thereby, using that privilege which
belonged to Judges, " Speak you that ride on white Asses/' to signify his ap
probation of those due acclamations which he knew would that day be given
him, v. 8, as to the Messiah; that so the prophecy, Isai. lxii. 11, and Zach.
ix. 9, might be accomplished, wherein it is said, " That the kiiig of the Jews,
the. Messiah, should come riding on an ass's foal, which though it were a meek,
was yet also a royal gesture and ceremony.
t Hosannah. The1 Hebrew word, signifies, " Save, we beteech thee ;" by
their application of the terra to Jesus, they meant to say, 5' May God save
and prosper liim !"

1.82 A Complete History
closely besiege * thee, and famish thee : they shall take
thy city, destroy all that are in it, and utterly de
molish the temple ; and all this shall befal thee for not
considering what I have, by"way of message, delivered
from God to thee." All which literally came to pass,
apd was verified in the most minute circumstances and
particulars. Jesus descending from the mount of Olives to the city,
(which was still but part of his cavalcade) he went into
the temple, purifying it from all uncleanness and profa
nation, and. not suffering so much as the least vessel to
be carried through or into it which did not appertain to
the service of God. Thither also the acclamations ofthe
people followed him, Which was no small mortification
to the Pharisees, who, with the noises abroad, and the
restless tumults of envy and hatred within their own
breasts, are ready to burst: and that which adds to their
vexation the more is, that notwithstanding all their en
deavours to suppress his glories, in despite of all their
stratagems, the whole nation was become, as it were, one
disciple to the glorious Nazarene. To confirm them in
which opinion, he continues to cure the blind and lame,
and others of infirmities under which they laboured.
But notwithstanding the Pharisees and other grandees
among the Jews were so malevolent to the Holy Jesus,
who had done so much good among them; yet there
were others of as much consideration, and who were
far better disposed : for while Jesus abode at Jeru
salem, certain Greeks, -f~ who came to the feast to wor
ship, made an application to Philip that they migbt be

* Besiege thee. In the Mount of Olives, where Jesus shed tears over
perishing Jerusalem, the Romans first pitched their tents, when they came to
its final overthrow. i i
f Greeks. See John xii. 20. Matt. xvi. 15. Luke xix. 39. These Greeks
were Gentile w-orshippers, Proselytes of the gate ; who being not permitted, to
celebrate the feast wi,th the Jews, were yet come upj to pray in the outward
courts of the temple.

Of the Holy Bible. 183
introduced to Jesus. Philip acquaints Andrew1 with it,
and they both inform Jesus; who, having .admitted
them, discourses before them of many things relating to
his passion ; tells them, that his death * would be a
means of bringing more to the faith than his life had
been, in like manner as a corn of wheat sown in the
earth, which by that means dies, but arises with abun
dance and increase.
After this, his human nature beginning to dread the
approaching hour, he confesses the frailty of it, and
would by prayer endeavour to avert the bitter cup ; but
recollects, it was to suffer that he came into the world,
and therefore would not pray against it; but rather de
sires his Father to finish the grand purpose of glorifying
his name. To which he was answered by a voice from
heaveri; " I have both glorified it, and will glorify it
again." But neither this, nor the whole series of miracles
that he performed, the mercies, the cures, nor the divine
discourses he uttered, produced their genuirie effect on
the minds ofthe Jews in general; for many ofthe rulers
among theiri, though they were convinced that he was
the true Messiah, and were disposed to believe on him,
yet could not assume sufficient courage to confess him,
for, alas ! " they loved the praise of men more than the
praise of God."
Then Jesus again exhorted them all to believe on
him, that so they might, by the same act, believe on
God ; that they might approach unto the light, and not
abide in darkness ; that they might obey the command
ments of the Father, whose express charge it was, that
Jesus should preach this gospel ; and that they might
not be condemned at the last day by the word that they
had rejected, which word, to all who observe it, is ever
lasting life.
After this sermon, Jesus retiring to Bethany, he abode
there all night ; and on the morrow returning to Jeru
salem, on the way being hungry, he perceived at a con
siderable distance a single fig-tree, which had a fine shew
* Death. See John xii. 24, &c.

184 A Complete History
of leaves upon it, and therefore appeared to be one of
the earlier kind. Having come up to the tree', he found
nothing but leaves, there was not so much as a bud ; from
which it appeared, that though it looked so beautiful, it
was a barren tree. Now it is to be observed, that our Lord
turned out ofthe way towards this tree, because as yet it
was early in the summer, and tbe time of gathering figs
was not yet arrived ; so that if this tree had produced any,
it might have been expected they would still be growing
upon it. Jesus, intending to intimate that the curse of
God should ere long wither and destroy the Jewish na
tion, which he had before compared to an unfruitful fig-
tree, (Luke xiii. 6, 9,)- was pleased to say to this tree,
" Let no man from henceforth ever eat fruit of thee,
nor any fruit hereafter grow upon thee." The fig-tree
began immediately to wither ; and shortly after, when
the disciples passed by the same spot, they were struck
with its appearance, saying, " How soon is the fig-tree
withered away !" *
Jesus took this occasion of exhorting them to con
fidence in the power and fidelity of God, especially
when they were conscious that he was secretly moving
them to perform a miraculous work ; assuring them that
they should be enabled, for the confirmation of their
mission, to produce greater changes than that which they
had just witnessed, even such as the removal of a hill into

* Withered away. The enemies of revelation have caviled at the conduct
of our Lord on this occasion. Some pretend that he behaved improperly in
cursing the fig-tree, for, say they, it is written, The time of figs was not yet ;
he therefore cursed the tree for not having fruit, though the time" for fruit was
not yet arrived.
In answer to this, it is not necessary to dwell on- the circumstances men
tioned by some, writers — that the climate of Judea was much warmer than
ours, and that a most delicate kind of figs was ripe there as early as April,
&c. &c. The true solution of the apparent difficulty is perfectly easy. By
the sentence, The time qf figs was not yet come, we are to understand that the
time of gathering figs was not yet come, and therefore if the tree bore any
fruit, the passenger might expect to find it on the tree, which he would not, if
the season for gathering the fully ripe fruit had arrived.

Of the Holy Bible, 185
the sea, if they should be called to perform such a mi
racle . ?
Jesus having returned to the city, entered into the tem
ple, and preached the gospel; wbereupon the Scribes
and Elders knowing he had no authority from the San
hedrim, questioned his commission, asking him, who
gave him authority to do these things ? This question
Jesus thought fit to answer by asking another, which he
knew would silence them : and therefore he desired to
know their opinion of John, whether he derived his com
mission from God or from man ? The Jews soon per
ceived that they were ensnared in their own net, being
unable to make any reply: for they considered that if
they should say John received his power of men, they
would be in danger of being stoned by the multitude,
who esteemed John as a prophet: and if they should say
fi-om heaven,* they well knew he might justly reproach
them for not believing him. Unable, then, to extricate
themselves out of this difficult dilemma, they concluded
ignorance to be the best snswer, and declared they could
not tell whence he derived his power. To which tbe holy
Jesus replies ; " Neither is it necessary for me to give
you any account of my commission or authority, since
you grant, that a man may lawfully preach and baptize,
and receive disciples as John did, without the appro
bation or permission ofthe Sanhedrim. Is it not a strange
thing, that you who pretend so much to be God's in-
formedand obedient servants, should yet stand out, the
most obstinately of all others, against his commands,
and the messengers sent from him, when the meanest
publicans and the multitude forsake their former ways,
repent and believe the gospel." Then he proceeded to
reprove the Pharisees and rulers by the parable of two
sons ; the first of whom, bluntly said to his father, when
be ordered him to go and work in the vineyard, " I will
not ;" but being soon sensible of his disobedience, re-

* Heaven. See Matthew xxi. 25, &c. Luke xx. 6, &c.
VOL. III. B B

186 A Complete History
pented, and obeyed his commands. The second gave
his father good words, promising obedience, but not
performing. Jesus asking the Jews which of these they
thought the most dutiful son ? They answer, the first.
Then immediately applying the parable to them, he ob
served, that the publicans and harlots, the worst of sin
ners in their opinion, by receiving the gospel, which
they rejected, should enter heaven before them : mean
ing by this parable, that persons who appeared the most
unlikely, were more readily converted than they, whose
religion was altogether external, who were proud of
their own righteousness, and whose whole lives were a
series of hypocrisy and disobedience.
To this he added the parable of the vineyard, " which
the owner let out to husbandmen, who killed the ser
vants sent to demand the fruits, and at last the S'>n also,
that they might seize the inheritance. And asking the
Pharisees, what they thought the owner would do to
those husbandmen ? They expressed great indignation
against those false and bloody servants, affirming them
worthy of utter destruction ; that tbe Lord of the vine
yard might provide him better officers, which should
pay him, his rent duly." Though when Jesus upon this
answer of theirs, approved* the reasonableness of it, and
affirmed it should thus befal them indeed, (by which
they began to perceive that he spake this parable against
them) they with indignation deprecate the sentence, say
ing, " Gocl-f- forbid." Then pronouncing a sad woe
against all such as should stumble at him the re
jected, though chief or corner stone, or on whom this
Stone should fall ; he positively declares to the Jews, that
the gospel and the privilege of being the only church
and people of God, should be taken from them, and
given to such as shall readily and cordially receive his
gospel. After these, and some other reprehensions, which be

* Approved. See Luke xx. 19. Matthew xxi. 45.
t God. See Luke xx. 16.

Of the Holy Bible. 187
so veiled in parable, that it might not be expounded to
be calumny, (although shch sharp sermons had been
Spoken in tbe people's hearing ; but yet so clearly that
themselves might see their own iniquity in those modest
and just representations) the Pharisees would fdin have
seized him ; but they durst not for fear of the people \
therefore they resolved, if they could, to entangle * him
in his talk, and accordingly sent out spies, who should
pretend sanctity and veneration for his person ; who,
with a goodly insinuating preface, that Jesus was impar
tial in his thoughts and words, regarded no man's per
son, but spake the word of God with much simplicity
and justice, would seem to colour their mischievous de
signs against him. The spies they sent were of two
contrary parties, some Pharisees, others Herodians ; -j-'
that whatsoever answer he should make to any of their
questioris, one party might be offended with him.
They come to him therefore with this flattering, but
insidious prologue; we know, that without all fear of
men or partiality, thou wilt tell us truly what is our duty
toward God : % tell us therefore, is ft just, according to
the law of God, to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" Jesus
knowing their treacherous design, said ; " Ye hypocrites,
why endeavour ye, under the pretence of reverencing me,
to ensnare me? Shew me the tribute-money." § And

* Entangle. See Matt. xxii. 15, &c.
f Herodians. The Herodians were not a distinct sect from the Pharisees
and Sadducees; but some of them Sadducees, as appears by comparing
Matt. xvi. 16, with MaTk viii. 15. '
X God. Matt. xxii. 16, &c.
§ Triiute^Money. The question about the tribute was the cause of a
great dispute, because of the numerous sect of the Galileans, who denied
it, and because of the affections of the peopley who. torod 'heir money and
their liberty, arid the privileges of their nation. The head, of this sect Of
the Galileans was one Judas Gaujonita or Galilams, according to Josephus,
Hist. L 18, c. 2, who being joined by one Saddock, a priest, solicited the
B B 2

188 A Complete History
they brought him a penny. Then he demands of them,
whose image was inscribed* upon it? They confess it to
be the signature of the Roman emperor : whence Christ
concluded, that they which acknowledge Caesar's supre
macy over them, ought to pay the tribute due to him as
supreme ; for the law of God, requiring that every one
should possess that which belongs to him, he particu
larizes the duties of paying acknowledgment to kings
in their just dues, as acts of piety are due to God. This
was a great disappointment to them, who thought, that,
upon answering this question, he would unavoidable in
cur the displeasure of Csesar, or of the people ; but find
ing that by his incomparable wisdom he had broken their
snare, f they departed, admiring J his prudence, and des
pairing of being able to gain any advantage over him.
But though they were disappointed in their crafty stra
tagem, yet from thence this general good accrued to
mankind, that our blessed Saviour, by means of their in
tended treachery, established a rule of the utmost im-

people to a defection, telling them that God was to be their only master
and prince, and no mortal to be acknowledged as such; that the requiring
a tax from them, if they should pay it, was a manifest profession of ser
vitude, and that it was their duty to vindicate their liberty : by which
means he raised a great sedition among the Jews, and was the cause, under
pretence of defending the public liberty, of innumerable mischiefs to the
nation. i
* Inscribed. This plainly denoted their right Of submission, and conse
quently of paying tribute to the Romans : for the coining of money is part of
the supreme power or regal prerogative ; and they being a conquered people,
and their coin bearing Caesar's inscription, the tribute must be supposed due
to him.
t Snare. The notion entertained by the bulk of the Jews was, that the
Messiah would deliver them from foreigu servitude. If therefore he who
called himself the Messiah, recommended paying taxes to the Romans, they
would consider it as inconsistent with his pretensions, nay, a renouncing them
altogether. . X Admiring. See Matt. xxii. 22.

Of the Holy Bible. I89
portance, and of perpetual obligation, saying, "Give
unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God
the things that are God's."
The blessed Jesus having so excellently, and so much
to their admiration answered the Pharisees, the Saddu
cees bring their objection to him against the resurrec
tion,* by proposing the case of a woman successively
married ±0 seven husbands, and requiring whose wife
should she be in the resurrection ; for they weakly con
cluded that future state of things to be impossible, which
would be liable to so great an absurdity as that a woman
should be at once the wife of seven men. But Jesus
first answered their objection, by telling them, that all
those relations, whose foundation is laid in the imper
fections and passions of flesh and blood, shall cease in
that state ; which is so spiritual, that it resembles the con
dition of angels, aniong whom there is no difference of
sex, no genealogies or derivations from one to another :
and then, by a new argument, he proves the resurrection
by one of God's condescending titles, for he had fre
quently called himself the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For since God is not. the
God of the dead, but of the living, unto him even these
men are alive : and if so, then either they now exercise
,acts of life, and therefore shall be restored to their bo
dies, that their actions may be complete, and they remain
not in a state of imperfection to all eternity ; or if they
be alive, and yet cease from among men, they shall be
much rather raised to a condition which 6hall actuate
and make perfect their present capacities and disposi
tions, lest a power arid inclination should for ever be in
the root, and never grow up to fruit or perfection, and
thus discredit the works of God an eternal vanity.
Though the Pharisees and Sadducees were no great
friends to one another ; yet in the cause against the Sa
viour of the world they united their forces : but notwith
standing this partial union, they were glad upon any

Resurrection. See Mark xii. 19, &c.

1 90 A .Complete flistory
occasion to see each other foiled. Of which an instance
occured, when the Sadducees proposed the question
relating to the resurrection ; for the Pharisees were well
pleased, not that Jesus spake so excellently, but that the
Sadducees were confuted ; and therefore hoping for bet
ter success, they attack him with another question, more
out of curiosity, than any pious desire of satisfaction.
But at last, after all their disputes, Jesus was pleased
to ask them a question concerning CHRIST, whose Son
he was? they answered, "The Son of David." But he,
in reply, proposed another question ? " How then doth
David call him Lord?" saying, " The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, &c." To which
they could give no answer.
After this, Jesus gave his disciples a solemn caution
against the pride, hypocrisy, and oppression ofthe Scribes
and Pharisees ; and commended the poor widow's obla
tion of her two mites into the treasury, preferring her
pious intentions, who thew in her all, before the great
and mighty superfluities ofthe rich, who had still so much
to spare. All this was spoken in the temple ; the goodly
stones* and ornaments of which when the apostles be
held with wonder, they being so firm and beautiful, Jesus
at the same time prophecies the destruction -j" of that holy
place. Concerning which prediction, when the apostles,
being with him at the mount of Olives, asked him pri
vately of the time and signs of such sad events, he tells
them one prognostic of that destruction shall be, that

* Stones. Josephus says that some of them were forty five cubits long,
five high, and six broad; that is, in English measure, sixty-seven feet
long, seven and a half high, and nine broad. Tacitus also speaks of the i
immense opulence of the temple at Jerusalem. (Hist. lib. v.)
Josephus likewise asserts, that the marble of the temple was so white, \
that it appeared to a spectator at a distance, like a niounta'hi of snow ; and
the gilding of its several external parts, which he also mentions, must
when the sun shone upon it, have rendered it a most splendid and beautiful
spectacle. See Josephus Bell. Jud. lib. v. u. 5, &c.
f Destruction. See Matt. xxiv. 3. Mark xiii. 3. Luke xxi: 7.

Of the Holy Bible. 191
many deceivers shall arise, pretending to he the Messiah.
Another forerunner of it is, that great commotions and tu
mults shall take place in Judea, before the Romans come
to destroy them utterly. Then he discoursed largely of
his coming to judgirient against the city of Jerusalem,
and from thence interweaved predictions of the. universal
judgment ofthe world, of which this, though very awful
Avas but a small presage ; adding precepts of watchful
ness, and of due preparation, with hearts filled with
grace : all which he enforced with the pathetic parable of
the "Ten Virgins, who* at that point of time spoken of,
the heavy visitation of this people, took their lamps and
went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were
prudent and watchful ; the other vain and improvident.
The five wise had provided themselves with a stock of oil
sufficient to furnish their lamps during their expectation
of the bridegroom's coming ; but the five foolish took
no more with them than for their present occasion. After
long waiting, heavy sleep sealed their weary eyes ; but
at midnight they are alarmed with the cry of the bride
groom's coming. The five wise, who had trimmed their
lamps before they went to rest, are not surprised with
the sudden summons, but joyfully prepare to meet the
bridegroom ; while the five foolish and careless virgins,
roused at the noise, find their lamps extinct. In vain they
implore a supply of the others ; they are forced to seek for
more oil elsewhere ; in which time the bridegroom ar
rives, who receives the five wise, and takes them with
him to the place of the nuptial entertainment, and or
ders the door to be shut. The five foolish damsels having
long loitered about for oil to recruit their exhausted
lamps, come to the bridegroom's gate, demanding en
trance with as much assurance as those that had paid the
most strict attendance. Their importunate cries reach
the bridegroom's ear, who tells them there was no room
for such loiterers, whose sloth and improvidence had be
trayed them to the loss of any entertainment with him."
By this parable, the blessed Jesus hinted to his disciples
the necessity of watchfulness, that not knowing the day

192 A Complete History
or hour of the Son of man's coming, they might be al
ways ready to receive him. *
This parable of diligence and watchfulness he enforces
With another of the talents entrusted with the faithful and
slothful servants, thereby pressing the observance of
those duties more earnestly to them. And then for the
encouragement ofthe diligent, and terror ofthe slothful,
he proceeds to tell them, that when Christ shall come to
judgment, whether to execute judgment on this people, or
to doom every man for his future and eternal existence,
then shall his appearance be glorious and full of majesty.
All the people of the Jews, believers and unbelievers, and
all that ever lived in this world, every one with whom

* , Him. The excellent Doddridge expresses the general use which Chris
tians should make of this parable in the following manner :
Let us apply our hearts to the obvious instructions which this well-known
parable so naturally suggests. We are under a ¦ religious profession : our
lamps are in our hands; a'nd we go forth as those that expect to meet
Christ 1 as those that desire and hope to be admitted to the marriage sup
per of the Lamb. But, alas, how few are there, that are truly prepared for
such a blessedness! Would to God there were reason to hope that the
Christian church were so equally divided, that five of ten in it had the oil
of Divine grace in their hearts,, to render them " burning and shining
lights!" Let even such as have it, be upon their guard; for our Lord intimates
that the wise, as well as the foolish' virgins, are too apt to slumber and
sleep, and carelessly to intermit that watch which they ought constantly to
maintain. There maybe at an, unexpected time, a midnight cry. Happy
the souls that can, hear it with pleasure ; being not only habitually, but ac
tually ready to obey the summons! Happy they, that have their loins
girded, and tbeir lamps burning ! Luke xii. 35.
Tlie foolish virgins saw their error too late: they applied tb the wise;
but their application was vain. And as vain will the hope of those be who
trust to the intercession of departed saints, or any supposed redundancy of
merit in them, while they are themselves strangers to a holy temper and
life. In vain will they cry, " Lord, Lord, open to us. The door of
mercy will be shut for ever, and the workers of iniquity utterly disowned.''
The day of grace has its limits ; and for those that have trifled it away,
there remaineth nothing " but the blackness of darkness for ever.'' Jude,
v. 13.

Of the H6ly Bible. 193
God had entrusted any talent, shall by the angels be ga
thered before him : and all his obedient followers and dis
ciples shall be placed in a state of the greatest dignity ;
but the unfaithful and disobedient shall be liable to judg
ment. Then shall he, as king and judge, distribute the
joys and Comforts of the kingdom of heaven, which be
fore all eternity were designed to be the portion of all the
faithful servants of God, according to the evidence of
true faith expressed by every man's works of piety and
charity performed in this life, particularized * in St. Mat
thew's gospel, by feeding and entertaining' Christ, by
cloathing his naked body, attending him when he was
sick, relieving, assisting, providing for, and visiting him
in restraint. Then shall his humble arid faithful disciples,
as not conscious of any such acts of service or charity
shewed to Christ, declirie the praise of such actions. To
which the Blessed Jesus will reply, " Inasmuch as they
had performed those good offices to the least of all his '
genuine disciples, and from a principle of love to him,
he considered it as done to himself. But as to the sloth
ful and unfaithful, he shall pronounce them accursed,
and adjudge them to those eternal woes, designed for
the devil, and those angels that sinned and fell with him,
for the want of that true faith which always worketh by
lovej and which radical defect was awfully evinced by
their uncharitableness, in refusing to assist him when he
was famished with hunger, starved with cold, sick, and
in prison. And when, as not conscious of this cruelty
and impiety, they shall begin to expostulate that they
never acted in this unfriendly manner to Christ — ^never
saw him in any distress without relieving him : then shall
he answer them ; " Inasmuch as ye did not succour
and comfort the meanest of my disciples, ye refused
those good offices to my person. He then concludes his
sermon with a prediction of his approaching passion,
foretelling, that within two days f he should be betrayed

* Particularized. See Matt. xxy. 35, 36, &c.
t Two days. See Matt. xxvi. 2.
VOL. HI. C C

194 A Complete History
and delivered by the Jews into the hands of the Romans,
to die after their manner, which was to be fastened to a
cros'. Tbe Jews, whohad long and impatiently Avaited for an
opportunity of destroying Jesus by the formalities of
law, had hitherto been frustrated in all their at
tempts, though laid with all the insidious treachery that
malice could invent ; for they durst not attack him by
open force, because of the great opinion the multitude
entertained of him, and who might revenge any harm
done to him upon the administration : however, they
resolve to leave no means untried to get him into their
power, and in order hereunto they call a great council to
consult how to ensnare him : but while the Scribes and
Pharisees were anxiously contriving how to betray him,
a wicked officious man, at the instigation of the devil,
furnishes them with an instrument : Judas Iscariot, one
ofthe twelve, hearing of this meeting of the Jews, and
knowing that they of the Sanhedrim were desirous of
apprehending Jesus privately, goes from Bethany in
baste, and offered to betray his master to them, if they
would give him a considerable reward. The council
overjoyed at this opportunity, were as ready to offer as
his avarice was to crave, and they agreed with him for
thirty pieces of silver. A poor price for the Saviour of
the world to be valued at by his undiscerning, unworthy
countrymen. The bargain thus made, Judas retires
from the council, watching such an opportunity* such
as they desired ; that is, an opportunity of taking him
privately, when the people should not be aware.
¦The next day -J- was the first day of unleavened bread,

* Qppqrtunity. See Matt. xxvi. 4, 16.
f Next Day. The Thursday evening, wherein the thirteenth day of the
month Nisan was concluded, and the fourteenth day begun, the day/ of
preparation to the feast of unleavened bread, whereon they put all leaven
out of their houses, that is, on the evening which began the paschal-
day.

Of the Holy Bible. lgfi
on which it was necessary they should kill* fhe pass-
over; therefore Jesus sent Peter and John to the city
to a certain man, whom they should find carrying a
pitcher *f* of water to his house, % bi™ they were to fol
low, and there to prepare tbe passover. These two
disciples went, and accordingly found the man in the
same circumstances, and prepared lor Jesus and his
family, who at the evening came to celebrate the pass-
over. All things being provided, and the time appointed
drawing near, the Holy Jesus,, who was now about to
finish the great work of redemption, came with his apos
tles to Jerusalem,. there to eat the passover with them be
fore his passion. Having eaten tbe paschal lamb, with
his disciples, and knowing that his hour§ was come that
he should depart out of this world to the Father, and
therefore that what he had to say or do to his disciples
must be done presently, he thus expressed the con
stancy of his affection to them. Rising from supper,
after the manner of a servant, he puts off his upper gar
ment, girds his under garment with a napkin, and pour
ing water into a bason, puts himself in the humble pos
ture of the meanest attendant to wash his disciples feet,
and afterwards wipes them with the napkin ; intending,
by this condescending action, accompanied with an ad
mirable discourse^ to teach them humility, and kindness
to each other. But Simon Peter, thinking he ought
in good manners to decline this- act of condescension,
which he thought beneath the dignity of his master, was

* Kill. Sea Luke xxii. 7.
f Pitcher. See Mark xiv. 73, &c.
t House: This is supposed to be the house of John surnamed Mark,
whieh had always been open to this blessed family, where Jesus was pleased
Co finish his last supper, and the oiysteriousness of Uie vesper* of his
passion. § Hour. See John xiii. 1, &c.
C C 2

196 A Complete History
unwilling to be washed by him, till Jesus assured him,
he must renounce his part in him, unless he were washed.
Upon which he cried out, " Lord, not only my hands,
but my feet and iriy head." Jesus tells him he that is
washed* before, needs no further washing, save only
for the feet, which by daily conversing and walking on
earth, will be apt to contract defilement, and need con
tinual cleansing.
After the eating ofthe paschal lanih, the blessed Jesus
knowing that his time was short, and thatjie had much
to do in it, hastens to the second supper, f at which hein-

* Washed. That is, He that has been bathing — as the room in which per
sons dressed themselves was different from that in which they bathed, the feet
might be so soiled in walking from the one to the other, as to make it neces
sary immediately tri wash them again. Thus, though true believers in Christ
are already clean, being washed from their sins in his blood, yet is it neces
sary, even for them, daily to renew their application to him, that they may
be freed form those pollutions which they are daily contracting in tlieir walk
through this defiled and defiling world.
Some Christians have imagined that our Lord intended by washing his
disciples feet, to establish a continued rite in his church, and some still re
tain it as such. But as no such right ever obtained generally in the christian
world, and as it would be, in some countries an,d circumstances, an incon
venience, rather than a kindness, to do it for our friends, it is very pro
perly considered by Christians in general, as an example of humility and
attention to our brethren, to be imitated not in the letter, but in the spirit
of it.
t Second Supper. It was the custom of the Jewish nation after the eating
of the paschal lamb to sit down to a second supper, in which they ate herbs
and unleavened bread, the Major-Domo first dipping his morsel, and then
the fami/y; after which the father of the family brake bread into pieces,
and distributed a part to every guest, and first drinking himself; gave to'
the rest the chalice filled with wine according to the age and dignity of the
person, adding to each distribution a form of benediction proper to the
mystery, which was eucharistieal and commemorative of their deliverance
from Egypt. See Job xiii. 2.
Dr. Doddridge thus explains this circumstance. " As it is here asserted
that Christ rose from supper, we must allow, that, in some sense, supper
was begun; that is, I suppose, the anlepast had been taken, which' is men
tioned by the Jews, as preceding the paschal lamb. They tell us, that it

Of the Holy Bible. 197
tended to institute the perpetual memorial of that great
sacrifice, which he was about to offer up for the sin of
the world. Jesus therefore, took bread, and gave thanks,
and blessed it; thatis, having implored the divine bless-^
ing On it, and on the ordinance he then instituted, that
it might in all succeeding ages fend to the edification of
his people, he brake the bread into several pieces," and
gave some of it to each of his disciples present, and
said, " Take this bread, and eat it with reverence and
thankfulness; for this is my body;"* that is, it is the
sensible sign and representation of my body, which is
freely given, and is speedily to be broken, bruised,
wounded, and even slaughtered for you. Do this here
after in your assemblies for religious worship in a pious
and affectionate remembrance f of me, that you may keep

was then usual for the master of the family to wash his hands; and if I am
rightly infoimed, the Jews continue the custom still. This seems a more
natural manner of explaining the matter, than to suppose (according to the
note above) that after the paschal lamb they ate another distinct supper; and
that this washing happened in the interval between them."
* My Body. On the same foundation on which the Papists argue for tran
substantiation from these words, they might prove from Ezek. v. i. 5, that' the
prophet's hair was the city of Jerusalem ; from John x. 9, and xv. 1, that
Christ was literally a door, and a vine, and from 1 Cor. xi. 25, that the cup
was his blood, and that Christ commanded his disciples to drink and swallow
the cup. It is remarkable that a church which claims infallibility, should be
given up to a kind of infatuation, in maintaining one of the grossest errors
imaginable; and it seems to be' allowed by Providence as an antidote against
the rest of its poison.
f Remembrance of me. From our Lord's words, " This do in remem
brance of me,'' and from those in 1 Cor. xi. 26, " For as often as ye eat
this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
(KWTa.yysxa.re, ye preach, ye declare the Lord's death; ye assure the world
of the truth of it,) it . appears that the sacrament of the supper was insti
tuted, not only to bring Christ's sufferings and the happy consequences of
them, to the remembrance of his disciples, but to demonstrate the truth
of these things to the world in all ages. In this view the sacrament of the
supper is the strongest proof of our Lord's integrity, and of the truth of
his mission : for if he had been an impostor, and was to have suffered death

198 A Complete History
up the memory of my dying love, may openly profess
your dependance on my death, and impress your hearts
with a becoming sense of it.
And in like manner, he took the cup, and when he
had given thanks to his heavenly Father, and implored
his blessing upon it as a sacramental sign, he gave it to
them, and said, " Drink ye all, of it," and accordingly
they all drank some of it. For, said he to them, as he
delivered it into their hands, " This cup of wine is a re
presentation of my blood, which is the great basis, a
seal of the new dispensation of religion, which is to su
persede that of Moses, and which is shed for you, and
for myriads more, as the great ransom to be paid for the
remission of sins.*
Our Blessed Lord having instituted that sacred memo
rial, which the apostles and the church in all succeeding
ages were to continue, tells them that he should not long
continue with them; that this would be the last passover
he should celebrate with them till they should feast with

on account of his deluding the people, is it to be imagined that he would
have instituted any rite with a view to preserve the memory of his having
suffered punishment for the worst of crimes ? No ; this is beyond all human
belief. And, therefore, since by this institution he has perpetuated tbe
memory of his own sufferings, it affords a strong presumption that he was
conscious of his own innocence, that his character was really what the Evan
gelists have represented it to be, and that our faith in him, as the Son of God,
t is well-founded. This is the judicious remark of Dr. Macknight in bis Har
mony of the Gospels, sect. 129.
* Sins. This ordinance, as Dr. Doddridge observes, has so "plain a refe
rence to the atonement or satisfaction of Christ, and pays so solemn an ho
nour to that fundamental doctrine of the gospel, that while this sacred in
stitution continues in the church, it will be impossible to root that doctrine ont
of the minds of plain, humble Christians, by all the arts of criticism. Honest
simplicity will always see the analogy this ordinance has to eating the flesh qf
the Son of God, and drinking his blood ; and will be taught by it to feed ou
him as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin qf the world. The enemies
of this heart-reviving truth might as well hope to pierce through a coat of
mail with a straw, as to reach such a truth, defended by such an ordinance as
this, by any of their trifling sophistries.

Of the Holy Bible. 199
him in the kingdom of heaven ; and at last, labouring
under great agitation of mind, he informed his apos
tles that one of them would betray* him. This was a
very surprising arrest upon the reputation of each dis
ciple, except the guilty one -, every one but he looking
upon himself as innocent, yet liable to the imputation of
guilt under so general an accusation. The apostles, with
great perplexity of mind, survey each other, but cannot
guess at the guilty person ; Judas the traitor being the
furthest from their suspicion, because he was the Lord's
steward, and entrusted by him Avith tbe disposal of that
little temporal property possessed by the holy family.
While they were labouring under this anxiety, Simon
Peter thought of a method to come at the truth of this
matter ; and that was by hinting to John,, the favourite
apostle, who then sat next to Jesus, that he would pre
vail upon him to discover the guilty person, that the
rest might not labour under the suspicion of such infa
mous treachery. John being so near Jesus, could ask
him unperceived by the rest, whom he meant. He told
him, it was he to whom he should give the next piece of
bread, which he took out of the dish ; and having given
him that mark whereby to distinguish him, he presently
put his hand into the dish, and takes a piece of bread,
and gives it to Judas, f And notwithstanding Jesus had
warned J him before /bf the horrid danger of the sin,
telling him, it had been better for that man that he were

* Betray. See John xiii. 2. Jesus made this prediction, that they might
not be scandalized at the sadness of his passion, but be confirmed in, their be
lief, seeing a great demonstration of his wisdom and spirit of prophesy, in this
very instance of foretelling the treachery of Judas Iscariot.
f Judas. The Jews in eating the passover used a thick kind of sauce called
Haroseth, made of palm-tree branches, or of raisins, &c. which they mixed
with vinegar and other seasoning, to represent the clay whereof tlieir fathers
in Egypt made brick. Into this sauce, it is probable that Jesus dipped a
morsel of the meat he was eating, and gave it to Judas.
X Warned. See Mark xiv, 21. John xiii, 27.

200 A Complete History
sunk to the bottom of the sea, than be guilty of such
treacherous ingratitude, yet by his not relenting, the
devil entered more forcibly into him than before,* hur
rying him to a speedy execution of his wicke'd designs ;
which Jesus knowing, said to him accordingly, "What
thou dost, -do quickly." Nov/, none of the rest that
were at supper, understood the meaning of this, unless
perhaps John, to whom he had given the token; f they
apprehending, that because he was almdhter, Jesus had
ordered him to distribute something to the poor. How
ever, he hkd no sooner received the sop, but the devil
immediately took possession of him ; and taking the ad
vantage of the night, J the better to conceal his villainous
designs, he withdraws from his master and joins his ene
mies; who having bargained with him for a certain price,
to betray him, impatiently expected a performance of
his promise; which they were not long disappointed of;
for Jesus never after saw him as a disciple, § but as a
traitor, when he came with an armed, force to seize him
in the garden ; which was shortly after.
While these things passed, .the old topic of supre-
. macy || is again revived ; which Jesus suppresses, as he
had done before, to prevent any misunderstandings
among them, which are too apt to be the consequences of
emulation ; promising them a kingdom, upon the same
terms that his Father had promised him one ; adding,

* Before. Se.e John xiii. 2. Luke xxii. 3.
t Token. Ibid. v. 26. ' X Night. Ibid. v. 30.
§ Disciple. Luke xxii. 47. Judas is called, " He that was called Judas,
one of thp twelve."
|| .Supremacy. Some time before this, viz. before his departing from Jericho,
Matt. xx. 25, 29, nay, before he came hither, Mark x. 42, 46, there had been a
contention among the disciples (occasioned by the request of Zebedee's wife
for her two sous, Matt. xx. 20,) which of them should be looked upon as the
worthiest, and so be preferred before the rest.

Of the Holy Bible. 2Q1
that they should be next to him, and at his departure
have the government of the church.
Then Jesus began his farewel sermon, which wTas
mixed with sorrow and joy, and interwoven with mys
teries, as with rich jewels — the discourses of the glori
fication of God in his Son, and of those glories which
the Father had prepared for him ; he also mentions his
sudden departure, and his going to a place whither they
could not follqw him yet, but afterwards should ; mean
ing first to death, and then to glory ; commanding them
to love one another.
About this time, Christ addressed himself particularly
to Peter, saying, " I tell thee, Simon, that upon the
occasion of some sin committed by thee, Satan has ac
cused thee before God, and desired that he may have the
shaking of thee, to drive thee from the faith of Christ :
this is granted him, and the danger consequent upon
it is great ; but I have prayed for thee that thou mayest
not be conquered by him and his terrors, so as utterly to
forsake the faith; and for the sins thou shalt be guilty of
in this combat, let this use be made of them : when by
repentance thou art recovered out of them, be more
careful to strengthen and confirm others, that they fall
not in the like manner." Peter who thought himself
endued with strength of faith sufficient to resist any
temptation, and sustain any trial, however great, con
fidently protests his readiness to suffer the worst, even
death itself with his master. But the blessed Jesus,
who knew his weakness, foretells his denying him before
the second crowing* of the cock that, night. Then
foretelling the imminent dangers that threatened therri,
he admonishes them to provide spiritual armour against
them. " Formerly," says he, " I sent you out without
any provision, and ye wanted nothing ; but now dis
tresses are like to come upon you, and ye will first see
them fall most sharply on me."

* Crowing. See Matt. xxvi. 34. Luke xxii. 34.
VOL. III. D 0

202 A Complete History
But lest he should afflict them with too sad a repre
sentation of his present condition, he relieves tbeir
drooping spirits with the comforts of faith : tells them
their faith * in him would afford them effectual consola
tion and support under the troubles ofthe present world :
cheers them with the object of his removal to heaven,
where he was to become their harbinger, which office he
would in all parts execute, by returning again to receive
them, and to introduce them to mansions^of eternal bliss
in his Father's house. And to confirm their faith the
more, he tells them ; " You know the place to which I
go, aiy:l the way which will bring you thither ; I am the
true and living" way, sent by my Father to direct all men,
and to reveal his will to you, who have known him, as
he is revealed in me. Though ye have never seen my
Father, yet having seen and known me, who am his
image, ye have both seen and known him." Here Philip,
not considering in what sense his master spake, saith to
him, "Lord shew us the Father, and that will convince us
beyond any other argument." Jesus answers, " I tell thee
again, Philip, I am the image of my Father, and he that
hath seen me, and heard my doctrine, hath seen my Fa
ther; why then this unnecessary question? Do you not
believe that whatsoever I do or teach, I do by my Fa
ther's appointment t Take my word for it ; or if you will
not do so, let my miracles, which have been wrought be
fore your eyes, convince you ; and be assured, that you
who have been my disciples, shall be able to do the same
miracles f that I do, nay greater, upon my sending down
the Holy Ghost upon you." Then adding a promise,
in order to their present support and future felicity, he
assures them, that if they should ask of God any thing in
his name, they should receive it; and that he would pray
to his Father to send the Holy Ghost to them, to supply
his place, to furnish them with proportionable comforts ;

* Faith. See John xiv. 1, S, &c.
f Miracles. See John xiv. 12.

Of the Holy -Bible. 203
to qualify them with great gifts ; to lead them into all
truth ; and to abide with them for ever.
As he was going on the way * he continued his sermon,
exhorting them to perseverance in the faith, and to mu
tual love. " I am," says he, "the true, generous, fruit-
bearing-vine, and my Father is the husbandman, who
has planted this vine, and by whom it is cultivated for
his service. And every branch that is in me by an exter
nal profession, but yet is found to be barren, he cutteth
off; but every member that is fruitful he prnneth, and-
maketh more fruitful. You are already sanctified by the
operation of my doctrine and Spirit upon you ; though
you may need further pruning to render you more fruit
ful. Continue therefore in me, by the exercise of faith
and love, and Twill train you, to nourish and supply
you as from a living root ; for as, in the natural world,
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, but must presently
wither, unless it continue united with the vine, so nei
ther can you produce the fruits of acceptable obedience,
unless you continue in'me. As long as ye continue obe
dient to me and my doctrine, , all yOur prayers shall be
heard ; which will bring glory to my Father, and give
you a true title to my discipleship. I have very much
enlarged upon these things to you, that the comfort you
have taken in my presence, may in my absence continue
with you, and that by the addition of that comfort of the
Spirit, who will visit you when I am gone, your joy may
abound. I charge you to imitate my love to you in mu
tually loving one another ; a great instance of which I
shall shortly give you in laying down my life for you. I
have given you the greatest demonstrations of my loVe
and friendship ; for 1 have treated you as friends, far

* On the way. The author supposes that this discourse was delivered by
our Lord while walking to thegarden; but it is not at all probable that so
solemn and important an address should be given to eleven persons,' while
walking through the streets of Jerusalem. It is far more likely that after our
Lord had said, " Arise, let us go hence," some circumstance might occasion a
delay, which our Lord improved, by uttering this admirable sermon and
prayer. "
D D 2

204 A Complete History
above the condition of servants, who use not to know
their master's intentions or counsels, but only to do his
commands; but I have received you as friends and con
fidents into my bosom, and make known all my Father's
will to you. If ye shall meet with infidelity and perse
cutions, let this give you no discouragement, but arm
yourselves against it with this consideration, that they
thus treated me before you. The hatred of the world to
you will be a comfortable symptom, that you are a pe
culiar people of mine, dignified above and distinguished
from the rest of mankind. You must not think it strange
to be thus abused by the world ; for if they persecuted
me your Lord, you must expect no better, and all that
you shall suffer must be imputed to their not believing
that God hath sent me. If I had not personally appeared
and done these things among them, they might have
pleaded ignorance for their excuse, but now they are ut
terly inexcusable ; for I have said and done so much to
evidence my mission, that the opposing me is a malicious
resisting of my Father himself. By this they have ful
filled that of the Psalmist, They hated me wiihout a
cause. But when the Holy Ghost, the advocate of my
cause shall come, and whom I will send from the Father,
he shall maintain my cause against all opposers, and shall
constitute you witnesses of me to all, being the fittest to
testify of me, because ye have been always with' me.
All that I have hitherto said is to fortify you, that you
should not be deterred from my service by the hazards
that attend it. Ye shall be ill used, and excluded from
the synagogues ; and they that treat you thus will think
it an acceptable service to God, if they put you to death ;
the cause of all which is the great impiety of their hearts,
neither approving the commands of my Father, nor those
which I bring from him. I thought it not fit to tell you
these things till I was about to leave you, because while
I was here, all the malice of men was levelled against me
while you were suffered to escape : but when I am gone
from you, and you take the grand employment upon your
selves of revealing my Father's will, the opposition will fall
upon you. I know that the thoughts of my leaving you, fill

Of the Holy Bible. 205
your minds with anxiety; but let this comfort you, the
Holy Ghost is not to come till I have left you, and his
coming will be of more advantage to you than my con
tinuing with you ; and when he cometh, he will plead iny
cause against the world, and charge the Jews with three
sorts Of actions practised in their courts. 1. With the
crime of not believing me to be the Messiah. 2. He
will justify my mission and innocence, by my ascension
to heaven, taking me away out of the reach of human
malice. 3. He shall work revenge upon Satan and his
instruments who crucified me, and retaliate destruction
upon them.' Besides all that I have said, J have many
things more to communicate to you, but ye cannot bear
them now. However, when the Holy Ghost cometh,
whose title is the Spirit* of Truth, he will instruct you
what is to be done. What he doth shall tend to the il
lustration of me : for he being sent from my Father by
me, shall in all things accord with me, and thereby ap
pear to have his message from me, and to declare nothing
to you, but what he hath from me. But while I say this,
I mean not to appropriate to myself, so as to exclude
my Father, but because all things are common to me
and my Father, and that it is my work wholly to attend
my Father's will, therefore whatsoever of this nature the
Holy Ghost shall reveal to you, I call that mine, and the
revealing of this, his taking of mine and declaring it to
you. I shall shortly be taken from you for a time, and
soon after I shall be with you again before my ascen
sion, for it is not possible for me to be held bv death ;
I must arise and go to my Father."
This latter part of his discourse his disciples could not
comprehend : Jesus therefore, to remove the difficulty,
explains it, by saying, " You shall have a time of mourn
ing, and the world of joy ; but your sadness shall soon
be turned, to rejoicing, and their's ere long into hea
viness. Your sorrow at my death shall be like the pangs

* Spirit. See John xvi. 13 .

2o6 A Complete History
of a woman in travail ; but when it shall appear to ybu,
that my death doth but usher in my resurrection and
ascension, as the pangs of travail do the birth of a child,
then your sorrow shall vanish at the presence of this joy,
which shall be lasting. When that Spirit is come, he
shall teach you all things,- satisfy all your doubts and ig
norances, that you shall not need ask me any more ques
tions. After my departure you shall use a new form in
your prayers to God, which hitherto you have not used,
make your request to him in iriy name ; and upon the ac
count of your being my disciples, and my giving you
this authority, and whatsoever tends to the fulfilling of
your joy, or to your real good shall be granted you.
My discourses among you have hitherto been obscure ;
hut the Holy Ghost shall set all things plainly before you.
And one great advantage you will gain by my ascension
and the descent of the Spirit, that you shall not need my
offering up your prayers for you, but you may in my
name offer them up to God yourselves ; and God, out
ofhis love and regard to those that believe on me, shall
grant all that you ask. I came from the Father into the
world ; and now I leave the world and go to my Father."
This was such a plain demonstration of all that he had
spoken, that the disciples scruple no more ; their under
standings are enlightened ; and they no longer question
Christ or his mission, " Now," say they, " we perceive
that as thou knowest all things, so thou art pleased to
reveal all saving truth evidently to us of thine own ac
cord ; this convinces us that God sent thee, and that thou
camest to reveal his will." Jesus perceiving their for
wardness, and knowing the frailty of their nature, tells
them ; " You speak a little confidently now of your be
lief, while you are at a distance from danger : but the
time is just at hand, when ye shall all desert me ; and
though ye believe on me, ye will not then confess me,
but leave me alone. But though you shall all forsake
me, my Father will not ; for he will continue with me,
will acknowledge me in death itself, and raise me up
from the grave. This I have foretold you, that you may
depend on me for all kind of prosperity, by considering

Of the Holy Bible. 207
my conquest over all that is formidable in the world ;
therefore you ought not to fear, but take courage, and
hold out against all the threats and terrors ofthe world
and the sufferings in it." The Holy Jesus having ended
his sermon, offers up a solemn prayer to the Father, that
he himself might be glorified ; and that those who were
given him, might be kept through his name ; recom
mending his apostles, and succeeding Christians, in every
future age, to the favorirable regards of his Father, and
praying for their union on earth, and glory in heaven.
After which,* he sung an hymn f with his disciples ; and
then goes forth with them over the brook Cedron, to
the mount of Olives, to a village called Gethsemane,
where there was a garden, J into which he entered to.
pray with his disciples.

* After which. Our author fixes this at the time when our Lord sang a
hymn with his disciples, probably because it is said, Mark xiv. 26, " When
they had sung an hymn, they went out, &c." but most writers conceive
that tlie hymn was sung immediately after the institution of the Lord's
supper. f Hymn. This hymn was part of the great Allelujah, beginning at the
114th Psalm, " When Israel came out of Egypt," and ending at the 118th
inclusively. It was the custom of the Jews after supper to sing verses or
songs, especially over the paschal lamb ; at wliich time they sang the Psalms
abovementioned. And though it is generally thought that this was the hymn
which Christ sang with his disciples, yet it is possible, that it was some other
hymn more particularly adapted to this institution.
X Garden. It is probable that our Lord sought in this place that retirement
which the crowded city could scarcely afford at the passover ; and he might
also prefer it, lest the people, on the first alarm of his apprehension should rise
to rescue him.
Cedron or Kedron was', as its name signifies, a shady valley between Jeru
salem and the Mount of Olives, through which the brook ran, wliich took its
name from the place. The garden itself most probably appertained to one of
the country seats situated in the vicinity of the metropolis, belonging to some
friend of Jesus, who permitted him and his apostles occasionally to resort thither
for privacy.
The word Gethsemane signifies the valley -of fatness, a name derived, pro
bably, from its favorable situation and excellent soil.

208 A Complete History
Being in the garden with them, he selects his fa
vourite disciples Peter,* James and John, to be the
witnesses of his passion, as they had been of his trans
figuration ; the rest being left near the entrance of
the garden, to watch the approach of Judas and his
band. With these three disciples he proceeded further
into the garden. Then commenced his unparalleled
agony, and he retired from the rest, about the distance
of a stone's cast ; where he began to be sore amazed,
and to be very heavy. And saith unto them, " My soul
is exceeding sorrowful even unto death : tarry ye here,
and watch," Matt. xxvi. 34. For it was on this occasion
that he sustained those grievous sorrows in his soul,
by which, as well as by his dying on the cross, he
became a sin-offering, and accomplished the redemption
of men. "And he was withdrawn from them about a
stone's cast," Luke xxii. 41. His human nature being
now burdened beyond measure, he found it necessary to
retire, and pray that if it were possible, or consistent with
the salvation of the world, he might be delivered from
the sufferings which were then lying on him. For that
it was not the fear of dying on the cross which made him
speak and pray in the manner here related, is evident
from this, that to suppose it, would be to degrade our
Lord's character infinitely. Make his sufferings as ter
rible as possible ; clothe them with all the aggravating
circumstances imaginable ; yet if no more is included in
them but the pains of death, for Jesus, whose human
nature was strengthened far beyond the natural pitch, by
its union with the divine, to have shrunk at the prospect
of them, wrould shew a weakness which many ot his fol
lowers were strangers to, encoimtering more terrible
deaths, without the least emotion : and he kneeled down
and prayed, saying, " Father, if thou be willing, remove

* Peter. The kindness of our Saviour to Peter, in selecting him with the
other two to follow him on this occasion, deserves particular remark ; for it
was almost immediately after he had so solemnly declared that in the course
of the ensuing night he would thrice deny him.

Of the Holy Bible. 209
this cup from me," Luke xxiii. 42. rn the Greek it is,
f( O that thou wouldest remove this cup from me!" For
«s here is a particle of wishing. Matthew says, he fell on
his face, and prayed, saying, " O my Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me. He first kneeled and
prayed, as Luke tells us ; then, iri the vehemence of his
earnestness, he fell on his face, and spake the words re
corded by Matthew and Mark. In the mean time, his
prayer, though most fervent, was accompanied with due
expressions of resignation : for he immediately added,
" Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt,'* Matt.
xxvi. 39. Having thus prayed, he returned to his dis
ciples, and finding them asleep, he said to Peter, " Si
mon, sleepest thou ? couldst not thou watch one hour ?"
Mark xiv. 37. Thou who so lately boastedst of thy cou
rage and constancy in my service, "Watch ye and pray,
lest ye enter into temptation," Mark xiv. 38. In his
greatest distresses he never lost his concern for the wel
fare pf his disciples. Nor on those occasions was he cha
grined with the offences which they comrhitted through
frailty and human weakness : on the contraiy, he was
always ready to make excuses for them: "The spirit
truly is ready, but the flesh is weak." From the disciples
falling asleep while our Lord was away, as well as from
his retiring to pray, it would appear that he spent some
time in his addresses. The so/rows of our Lord's soul still
continuing, he went and prayed a second time to the
same purpose. " He went away again the second time,
and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not
pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done,"'
Matt. xxvi. 42. " And he came and found them asleep
again : for their eyes were heavy," Matt. xxvi. 43. He
returned thus frequently to his disciples, that by reading
his distress in his countenance and gesture, they might
be witnesses of his passion. Our Lord's pains on this
occasion were intense beyond expression ; for he went
away the third time to pray. And notwithstanding an
angel was sent from heaven, who strengthened him, they
threw him into an agony: upon which, he prayed more
earnestly. Yet the sense of his sufferings increased ; for
VOL. III. E E

210 A Complete History
they agitated his whole body to such a degree, that his
blood was pressed through the pores of his skin along
with his sweat, and fell down in great drops on the
ground. " And he left them, and went away again,"
Matt. xxvi. 44. " And there appeared an angel nnto him
from heaven, strengthening him," Luke 43. " And
being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly : and his
sweat * was as it were great drops of blood falling down
to the ground," Luke 44. Thus Jesus suffered unspeak
able sorrows in his soul, as long as the divine wisdom
;>aw fit. At length he obtained relief, being heard on
account of his perfect submission to the will of God.
" And v.hen he rose up from prayer, and was come to
his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow," Luke
45. This circumstance shews how much the disciples
were affected with their Master's sufferings. The sensa
tions of grief which thev felt at the sight of his distress so
overpowered them, that they sunk into sleep. " Then
cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on
now, and take your Test," Matt. xxvi. 45. This sentence
may be read interrogatively, " Do ye sleep still, and

* His Sweat, &c. Some expositors have .thought that this expression
implies that his drops qf sweat were large and clammy like clots qf gore ; and
others have taken it in a metaphorical sense; fancying that as those who
weep bitterly are said to weep blood, so they may be said to sweat blood,
¦who sweat excessively, by reason of hard labour, or acute pain. But tbe
greater part of good writers more jusUy affirm, that our Lord's sweat was
really mixed with blood to such a degree, that its colour and consistency
was as if it bad been wholly blood. For tbe Greek particle, in the above
sentence am (as it were, does not always denote similitude, but sometimes
reality, as John. i. 14, as the only begotten qf the Father.
Dr. Whitby observes that Aristotle, and Siculus mention bloody sweats as
attending some extraordinary agony of mind. Leti, in his Ufe of Pope
Sixtus, v. p. £00. Sir John Chardin, in his history of Persia; and Dr. Jack
son, in his works, vol. ii. p. 819, all mention instances of this phenomenon.
Voltaire also, in his Univers. Hist. ch. 142, says, " Charles IX, died in his
twenty-fifth year. Tbe malady he died of was verv extraordinary: the blood
gushed out of all his pores. This accident, of which there are some instances,
was owing either to excessive tear, to violent passion, or to a warm and
melancholy constitution."

Of the Holy Bible. 211
take your rest ? (see Mill on Mark xiv. 41,) Behold the
hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the
hands of sinners." Rise, let us be going: behold, he is
at hand that doth betray me," Matt. xxvi. 46.
While the blessed Jesus, with his disciples, continued
in the garden, Judus repaired to the priests with whom he
had agreed to betray him, and told them that this was the
proper moment for the execution of their enterprise,
for it Was night. This was the advantage they desired,
because they durst not seize him by day for fear of the
people. Coming thither with an armed multitude* arid
the traitor Judas at their head,-f- they enter the garden,
where they soon found the object of their malice : but the
Hol\ Jesus having by this time joined his disciples, and
standing among them, that the guards sent to apprehend
him; might not mistake him, Judas had given them the
hint, that he whom he should kiss was the person. But
Judas might have spared this part of his treason, for the
Divinity of his Master soon discovered him. However,
approaching him with an address of seeming civility, he
kissed him. Then Jesus,- seeing the soldiers coming to
wards him, demanded whom they sought ? They answered,
" Jesus of Nazareth ;" upon which, knowing his time
was now come, he tells them, " I am he :" thus inti
mating, that he was willing to put himself into their
hands. Then offering, with their profane hands, to
seize him, the impetuous rays of glory which issued from
his Divine countenance, affected them so powerfully, that
they fell to the ground. But these soldiers, true servants
of the persecuting Jews, recovering from their fall, and
raised by the permission of Jesus, still persisted in their

* Armed Multitude. This was composed partly of a band of Roman sol
diers, procured from the Governor by the Priests, and partly of a company
of the Pharisees, Elders, and principal Priests ; "and their servants, carrying
lanterns to shew the way;- for, though it was always full-moon at the pass-
over, the sky might probably be clouded, and the place to which they were
going shaded with trees.
t Head. See Luke xxii. 47. •
EE 2,

F

212 A Complete History
enquiry after him, who was ready and desirous to be sacri
ficed. But Jesus, as he had done before, begins the enquiry,
and informs them that he was Jesus of Nazareth, whom
they sought : upon which, one ofthe most bold and au
dacious advancing *o seize him, Peter, as if ready singly
to engage the whole band, drew his sword, and by a des-
erate blow at the head of Malchns, a servant of the High
riest, cut off his right ear. But Jesus rebuked the in
temperance of his passion, and commanded him to put
up his sword,* saying, "They that strike with the ^word
shall perish with the sword ;" intimating hereby, that we
ought to restrain all violent expressions of anger and re
venge. And then turning to Malchus, he touched his
wounded head and cured him ; adding to the former
instance of his power, in casting down to the ground
those who came to take him, an act of miraculous
mercy, in curing the wound of an enemy inflicted by
a friend. But further to convince Peter of the use-
lessness of human power in his defence, he tells him,
"If-}~ I would forcibly be relieved, I could pray to my Fa
ther, who would immediately furnish me with art army of
angels. But the prophets have foretold that I must suffer,
and their predictions must be accomplished." He there
fore permitted himself to be taken, but not his disciples ;+
for he it was that set them their bounds ; and he secured
his apostles to be witnesses of his sufferings and glory,

* Sword. There were two swords in Christ's family, nnd St, Peter bore
one: Eitlicr because he wns to kill the puschnl-lnmh; or, affording to the
custom of the country, to secure them from beasts of prey, which in those
parts, were frequent and dangerous in the niplit. But now St. Peter used
it in an unjustifiable manner; for as the kingdom of Christ is not of this
world, the defence of it is not of a secular nature. The weapons of the Chris
tian warfare, are not carnal but spiritual ; yet rendered invincible by his
mighty power.
t //. See Matt. xxvi. 5S, &c.
X Disciples. Set John xviii, ft

Of the Holy Bible. 213
after which thev were to have their share and fellowship
in affliction. ,
When our Blessed Lord, in humble resignation to his
Fathers will, and for the redemption ofthe world, had
yielded himself into the hands of his enemies, his disci
ples fled ; * among whom was a young man,f that had
"a linen cloth cast about his naked body, whom the sol
diers endeavoured to apprehend by laying hold on the
linen ; but he left it in their hands, and fled % from
them naked, though Peter followed his master at a dis
tance. After the soldiers had bound Jesus, they dragged him
iaway to the High-Priest's, but the house of Annas, which
stood on mount Sion, being in the way to the house of
Caiaphas the High-Priest, he was led thither, as to the
first stage of their triumph over him. When the band
of soldiers arrived at the High Priest's with Jesus, they
found many of the chief priests, and the Scribes, and
the elders, assembled there. Some persons of distinc
tion, however, may have been absent, whose coming
the rest would wait for. Wherefore, although the sol
diers brought Jesus to the High Priest's shortly after
midnight, his trial did not begin till about three in the
morning ; the intermediate time being spent in procuring

* Fled. See Matt. xxvi. 56. Mark xiv. 50, 51, &c.
f Young Man. This is by some supposed to be John the Evan.-elist,
who through grief had forgot to lay abide his upper garment, which in
festivals they used to put on, and began to make his escape; but being
arrested by this linen garment, he was forced to leave that behind him,
that himself might avoid his Master's, danger. But it is far more probable
that this young man was the proprietor of the garden, who being awakened by
the noise, came out of his adjacent apartment with the linen cloth in which
he had been lying, and having a friendship for Jesus followed him, forgetting
his dress.
X Fled. When John had conquered the first emotions of his terror,
he returned, and was shortly after in the High-Priest's hall. See John
xviii. 16. ,

214 A Complete History
witnesses, in sending for the absent members, and in ga
thering the clerks and officers of the court. For that Jesus
was tried by the council, not in the temple as many sup
pose, but in the High-Priest's palace, is evident from
John xviii. 28, where we are told, that they led Jesus
from Caiaphas' house to the Prastorium.* " And as
soon as it was day, the elders of the people, and tbe chief
priests, and the Scribes, came together, and led him into
their council." The court therefore being duly consti
tuted, and the prisoner placed at the bar, the trial began
about break of day.f " The High-Priest then asked Je
sus ofhis disciples, and of his doctrine:" he asked him
what his disciples were, for what end he had gathered
them, whether it was to make himself a king ; and what
the doctrine was which he taught them. In these ques
tions there was a great deal of art. For as the crime
laid to our Lord's charge was, that he had set himself up
for the Messiah and deluded the people, they expected he
would claim that dignity in their presence, and so with
out farther trouble they would have condemned him on
his own confession. But to oblige a prisoner to confess
what might take away his life, being an unjust method
of procedure, Jesus complained of it with reason, and
bade them prove what they laid to his charge by wit
nesses. \ " Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the
world ; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the tem
ple, whither the Jews always resort, and in secret have I
said nothing. Why askest thou me ? ask them which
heard me, what I have said unto them; behold, they
knOw what I said." It was greatly to the honour of our
Lord's, character, that all his actions were done in public,
under the eye even of his enemies ; because, had he been
carrying on an imposture, the lovers of truth and gOpd-
ness had thus abundant opportunities to have detected
him. With propriety, therefore, in this defence, he ap-

* Pretorium. Luke xxii. 66. f .Day. John xviii. 19.
X Witnesses. John xviii. 20.

Of the Holy Bible. 215
pealed to that part ofhis character; nevertheless his an
swer was thought disrespectful, for, ".When he had thus
spoken, one of the officers which stood by, struck Jesus
with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the
High-Priest so ?" He meekly replied, " If I have spoken
evil, bear witness of the evil ;" shew wherein it lies :
" but if well, why smitest thou me ?" Thus Jesus be
came an example of his own precept,* bearing the
greatest injuries with a patience that could Lnot be pro
voked. " Now Annas had sent him bound to Caiaphas,
the High-Priest." The evangelist mentions that Jesus
was sent to the High-Priest, because he had" before said,
that be was first sent to Annas, the High-Priest'.s father-
in-law. Moreover, he takes notice that he was sent bound
to the High-Priest, to shew the inhumanity ofthe officer
who struck him in that condition. When the council
found that Jesus declined answering the questions
whereby they would have drawn from him an acknow
ledgment of his being the Messiah, they examined many
witnesses to prove his having assumed that character.
For, by what afterwards happened, it appears that they
considered such a pretension as blasphemy in his .mouth,
who being nothing but a man, as they supposed, could
not, without affronting the majesty of God, take the
title of God's Son, which of right belonged to Messiah. f
" Now the chief priests and elders, and all the council,
sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death."
In examining the witnesses, they acted like interested
and enraged persecutors, rather than impartial judges.
For they formed their questions after such a manner, as,
if possible, to draw from them expressions which they
might pervert into suspicions of guilt, upon which they
might condemn Jesus. " But they found none. Yea,
though many false witnesses came, yet found they none:"
notwithstanding they were at the utmost pains to pro
cure such a proof as in tbe eye of the law would justify
the sentence they were resolved to pass upon Jesus, they

* Precept. Matt. v. 44. f Messiah. Matt. xxvi. 59.

21 6 A Complete History
exerted themselves to no purpose. Because, though
thev suborned many witnesses, these, in giving their tes
timony, contradicted one another; a circumstance which
the most illiterate person, in the court could nof but be
sensible invalidated their evidence. * " For many bare
false witness against him, but their witness agreed not
together." Matt. xxvi. " At the last came two false wit
nesses, and said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy
the temple of God, and to build it in three days. But
neither so did their witness agree together." As they
gave this testimony of their own accord, so it was most
false.' For Jesus never said he Would destroy and build
the temple of Jerusalem, as they affirmed. At the first
passover indeed, after he had banished the traders out of
the temple the Jews required him to shew by what au
thority he took upon him to make that reformation ; and
in answer he referred them to the miracle of his resur
rection : " Destroy," said he, " this temple," pointing
probably to his body, " and I will raise it up in three
days." The witnesses, it seems, either through igno
rance or malice, perverted his answer into an affirmation
that he was able to destroy and build the. temple in three
days. And the judges reckoned it blasphemy, because it
was an effect that could be accomplished by nothing less
than divine power. Wherefore these men are justly
branded through the world with the name of " false wit
nesses," and their testimony was deservedly disregarded
by our Lord. When the High-Priest found that Jesus
took little notice of the things which the witnesses said
against him, he fell into a passion, supposing that he in
tended to put an affront upon the council ; for he arose
from his seat, and spake to him, desiring him to give
the reason of his conduct.-f- " And the High-Priest
arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing ? What
is it which these witness against thee ? But Jesus held
his peace, and answered nothing."^ Upon this some,

* Evidence. Mark xiv. 56. f Conduct. Matt. xxvi. 62.
X Nothing. ' Mark xiv. 61.

Of the Holy Bible. 217
of the council spake to him, saying, " Art thou the
Christ? tell us." And he said unto them, " If I tell
you, you will not believe." And if I also ask you, that
is, propose the proofs of my mission, and require you
to give your opinion of them, " ye will not answer me,
nor let me go."
The High-Priest, therefore, to cut tbe trial short and
ensnare Jesus, obliged him upon oath to tell, whether
or no he was the Christ. " And the High-Priest an
swered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living
God, that thou tell us, Wbether thou be the Christ, the
Son of God?" The craft ofthe question lay in this, that
if Jesus answered it in the affirmative, they were ready to
condemn him as a blasphemer ; but if in tbe negative,
they proposed to punish hirn as an impostor, who, by
accepting the honours and titles of the Messiah from the
people, had deceived them. " And Jesus said, I am."*
Being put upon oath, or, according to Jewish customs^
being adjured by the magistrate, he could no longer de
cline answering, -f- He therefore confessed the charge,
and added, " Nevertheless, {irxw, moreover,^) I say
unto you, Hereafter, § ye shall see the Son of man sit
ting on the right hand of power, and coming in the
clouds of heaven : Ye shall see the sign from heaven,
which ye have so often demanded in confirmation of my
mission. " Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of
God ?"|| A number of them cried out together, feigning.
great astonishment at the blasphemy, as they were
pleased to call it, of his "answer, and desiring him to re
peat it, lest they might have mistaken him. " And he

* / am. Mark xxiv. 62. t Answering. Levit. v. 1.
I Moreover. See Blackwall's Sac. Class, vol. ii. p. 132.
§ Hereafter. Ait ajri. Heinsius would have these words joined toge
ther so as to make ewragTi the same with owr>ig'no-/i*iw?, vere plane.
\\ God. Luke xxii. 70.
, ; U VOL. III. F f

918 A CmphtA History
Wd unto them, Ye say that I am." This, according to
the Jewish manner of speaking, was a plain and Strang
affirmation of the thing expressed. Whetii the High*
Priest heard our Lord's second reply, he solemnly.rent
his clothes,* crying ont that he had spoken blasphemy?
and appealing to the council: "What need we any fur»
ther witnesses ? Ye have heard the blasphemy*" The
council replied, " As you have justly observed, what need
have we of witness now, seeing we ourselves have heard
in what manner he has blasphemed." And being asked
what punishment he' deserved, they answered, that he
deserved death. They condemned him unanimously,
excepting Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea, and a
few more, who being his disciples, (John xii. 43) would*
if they were present, remonstrate no doubt against the
iniquity of this sentence. " Then did they spit in his
face, and buffeted him, and others smote him with tho
palms of their hands," saying, "Prophecy unto us, thou
Christ, who is he that smote thee." It was hardly possible'
for those miscreants to invent any thing more expressisfO
of the contempt in which they held our Lord's preteu-
sions to be the Messiah.
Thus was the judge of the world placed at the bar of
his own creatures, falsely accused by the witnesses, un
justly condemned by his judges, and barbarously in
sulted by all. Yet because it was agreeable to the end

*, Clothes). Rending of clothe* wns an expression nmetimei of deep grief,
sometimes of holy Mid. 'J lie prerrpfs, Lev. x. 6", xxi. 10, forbidding the
Higk-Frieit tu rend his clothes, relates only to the pontiflonl garments, and to
private mourning, that is, mourning on account of the^ calamities tofolling
himself, or friends. Griefs of this kind the chief minister of religion wns not
to make publio by any oiitwiutl sign wIihUut, But it whs neither unlawful nor
unusual for hun lo rend his ordinary garment* on account! of publio calamities, '
or instances of gross wickedness, as a testimony ofhis grief for the one,alid
abhorrence ,of the other. See 1 Murcul). xi. T\. That the High-Priest was
clothed in ordinary apparel on this occasion, appears from Exod. xxix. 99, 30,
where the pontifical garments are orderbd to descend from father to ion;
and therefore were to be worn only at their consecration, and when they
ministered.

Of the Holy Bible. 219
ofhis coming, he patiently submitted, though ho could
with a frOAvn have made his judges, his accusers, and
those who hud him in custody, all to drop down dead
in a moment, or shrivel into nothing.
During the time that, this important event was de
pending, Peter, who hat! followed our Lord at a distance,
and had taken his pbtce in the. hall adjacent to the room
in which Jesus was examined, and hoped to have re
mained among the servants unsuspected, was wanning
himself at the fire, desiring to see the issue of this fatal
night. He had been admitted by a maid-servant, through
the interest of John, who went in with him, but ad
vanced it should seem into the hall of judgment.
The servant-maid, fixing ber eyes upon him, charged
hirn with being one of the disciples of Jesus. But Pe
ter, surprised at the unexpected discovery, confidently
denied him before them all, saying, " I do not so much
as know him, nor understand what you mean." Upon
which, turning away as one affronted, he went out into
the portico, and while he was there, the cock crew.*
Simon Peter, incommoded probably by the coldness
ofthe air, returned to the hall, and mingled with the
numerous servants there in waiting ; when another young
woman observing him, said u Surely this is one of them,

* Cock Crew. It is strange Unit this circumstaucc did not remind him of
our Lord's prediction ; perhaps h did; mid he might return resolved to he
more courageous should he be again attacked.
To thk> nnrt of the history it h«s been objected, that the Jews, os their
tradition goes, never kept uny cocks within the walls of Jerusalem, and con
sequently that I'etor could not hear them crow, while he was in the High-
Priest's palace. But the objection may be removed, either by calling the
tradition itself in question, because it contradicts the testimony of writers
whose veracity is indubitable, and who could not but know tlie customs ofthe
age in which they lived : also because many traditions of this kind were framed
by tho ttabhis, with a view to magnify the sanctity of Jerusalem. Or the ob
jection may be removed by supposing that, the Romans who lived in the city,
neglecting the institutions of the J«ws, miglit keep this kind of fowl about their
lisusos, perhaps for their table, or Sir tlie auspices, u sort of divination they
were peculiarly addicted to. F F 2

220 A Complete History
and perhaps he has come hither as a spy." This excited
a general attention to him, and he was asked, " Art thou
not one of his disciples ?" Another perceiving his con
fusion, charged it home upon him, saying, " It is cer
tainly so : thou art also one of them, and deservest to
suffer with thy master." Peter being now exceedingly
alarmed, and wishing to throw off all suspicion of his
belonging to Jesus, again denied in the strongest man
ner, even with an, oath, and said to his accuser, " Man,
why dost thou talk thus ? I solemnly declare, and call
God to witness that I am not one of them, and do not
so much as know the man."
This positive denial seemed to lull the suspicions of the
^company for the present; but, about an hour afterwards,
another man in the company detected him, and affirmed
that he was indeed a follower of Jesus, and that his dialect,
which was that of Galilee, betrayed him ; for it was un
derstood that our Lord's disciples were chiefly of that dis
trict. At this moment, one of the domestic servants of
the High-Priest, and a relation of Malchus, whose ear
had been cut off by Peter, pressed the charge home upon
him, and said, " How can you have the effrontery to
deny it ? Take care what, you say. Did not I myself see
you in the garden with him ?" Then Peter, terrified to
the last degree, denied it again more violently than ever;
and that he might no more be called in question, began
to curse and swear, solemnly imprecating the judgments
of God upon himself, if he knew any thing about Jesus.
And having thus repeatedly denied his master in this
shocking manner, he immediately went out; and at that
moment, according to the warning first given him, the
cock crew the second time. But just before he with
drew, our Lord having been examined, was brought back
through the hall, and probably was within hearing, when
Peter thus ungratefully and profanely denied hi in. He
turned about, and looked at Peter, with such a mixture
of earnestness and tenderness in his countenance, as,
through the energy of the Spirit that attended it, pierced
him to the heart; so that when Peter recollected what
our Lord had first said to him when he predicted his fall,

Of the Holy Bible. 22 1
he could no longer bear the place, or stand in the pre
sence of his injured Master, but, overwhelmed with grief
and shame> and covering his head with his mantle, -he
went out and wept bitterly, earnestly intreating the Di
vine pardon for so great and inexcusable a sin.*
The priests and elders having condemned Jesus for the
pretended crime of blasphemy, consulted together again,
and resolved to carry him before the governor, that he
likewise might give sentence against him. They could
not otherwise accomplish their purpose ; the power of
life and death being now taken out of their hands.
" Then led they Jesus, from Caiaphas unta the hall of
judgment, the praetorium, the governor's palace," John
xviii. 28. From the history ofthe Acts it appears, that
the Roman governors of Judea resided commonly at Ce-
sarea, and that there was only an inferior officer in Jeru
salem, with a single legion to keep the peace pf the
city. At the great festivals, however, they came up to
prevent or suppress tumults, and to administer justice.
Accordingly it is insinuated, John xviii. 3Q, that Pilate
was Wont to give judgment in Jerusalem at the passovers :
" Ye have a custom that I should release unto you one
at the passover." Being come, therefore, as usual, a
while before the feast, Pilate heard of the stir that was
among the rulers, and was informed of the character of
the person on whose account it was made. It seems Ni
codemus, or Joseph of Arimafhea, or some other friend,
had told him ofthe affair; for he entertained a just no-

* Sin. The admonition of St. Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor. \j 12,)
" Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall," is strongly en
forced by this affecting story. Self-confidence, cowardice, needless asso
ciation with the enemies of Christ, are evils which the example of Peter
should teach us to shun. Who can help saying, when such a champion
falls. "Lord, what is man!" What is our boasted strength but weakness !
and if we are left to ourselves, how do our most solemn resolutions melt
like snow before the sun. Let us then watch and pray, lest we enter into
temptation ; and if, at any time, temptation has prevailed, let us, like Peter,
retire from the snares and businesses of life, and weep bitterly for our
transgressions.

222 A Complete History
tion of it, " He knew that the chief priests had deli
vered him for envy." Having purified themselves in
order to eat the passover, they would not enter the
palace which was the honse of a heathen, for fear of
contracting defilement. They stood; therefore, before
the palace waiting for the governor, who on such oc
casions came out to them.
And now Judas Iscariot, who had delivered his Master
into the hands of the council, finding his project turn out
quite otherwise than he expected, was. pierced with the
deepest remorse. Therefore, to make some reparation
for the injury, he came and confessed his sin openly be
fore the chief priests, and offered them the money with
which they had hired him to commit it, earnestly wishing
that they would take it back. But they would not relax
their sentence in the least, nor abate the Violence of their
malicious prosecution ; affirming, that notwithstanding
he might think the prisoner innocent, and for that rea
son had sinned in bringing mischief upon him, they were
not to blame, because they knew him to be a blasphemer '
who deserved to die. And they said, " What is that to
us? see thou to that." When Judas found that he could
give his Master no help, his conscience being enraged,
lashed him more furiously than before, suggesting
thoughts which by turns made the deepest wounds in his
soul. Wherefore, unable to sustain the misery of those
agonizing reflections, he threw down tbe wages of his
iniquity in the temple, probably in the treasury before
the Levite porters and others who happened to be there,
with a confession ofhis sin and ofhis Master's innocence,
then went away in despair and hanged himself.* Thus

* Hanged himself. Peter seems to give a different account of the traitor's
death, Acts i. 18. " Falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all
his bowels gushed out." To reconcile tliese two passages, it is only necessary
to suppose that Judas hanged himself ou some tree growing out of a precipice ;
and that the branch breaking, or the knot of the handkerchief, or whatever
<;lse he hanged himself with, opening, he fell down headlong, and dashed him
self to pieces, so that his bowels gushed out.

Of the Holy Bible. 223
perished Judas Iscariot the traitor, a miserable example
of the fatal influence of covetousness, and a standing "
monument of the Divine vengeance. The thirty pieces
of silver which Judas threw down in the temple, were
gathered up and delivered to the priests ; for they con
sulted among themselves about the use they were to
make of the money, and at length agreed to buy the
potter's field with it, for burying strangers in, who hap
pening to die at Jerusalem had no burial place of their
own. " Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by .
Jeremy* the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty
pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom-
they of the children of Israel did value : and gave them
for the potter's field, a? the Lord appointed me." . The
historian's mentioning the purchasing of the potter's
field with the money for which Judas betrayed his
Master, being a public appeal to a very public transac
tion, puts the truth of this part of the history beyond
all manner of exception.
Jesus being carried into the palace, and the priests
with the multitude having taken their places round the
tribunal, the governor came out, and said, " What ac
cusation bring ye against this man ?" John xviii. 29.
They answered, haughtily, and said unto him, " If he
were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him
up unto thee." Then said Pilate unto them, " Take ye
him and judge him according to your law." But the
priests peremptorily refused this proposal, because it
condemned the whole of their procedure, and told him
that it was not lawful for them to put any man to death ;
by which they insinuated that the prisoner was guilty Of
a capital crime, that he deserved the highest punishment

* Jeremy. How this transaction comes to be connected with a prophecy
spoken by Jeremiah, is not easily accounted for, as the prophecy cited is
found in the writings of Zechariah only. The Syriac version indeed has
only, " which was spoken by. the prophet." If this be the genuine lection, it
proves that the name Jeremiah was inserted by some officious tran
scriber.

224 A Complete History
and that none but the governor himself could give judg
ment in the cause. " The Jews, therefore, said unto
him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death."
The Evangelist observes, that the Jews were directed thus
to speak and act; that there might be an accomplishment
of the divine counsels concerning the manner of our
Lord's death ; of which counsels Jesus himself had given
frequent intimations in the course of his ministry. , "That ¦
the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which he £pake,
signifying what death he should die." Thus was the
governor's first attempt to save Jesus frustrated.
Pilate being obliged to proceed to the trial, fhe Jews
began and accused Jesus of seditious practices, affirming
that he had used every method to dissuade'the people
from paying taxes to Csesar, whose revenue, Pilate was
particularly bound to take care of; also that he had af
fected regal power, under pretence of being their Mes
siah, in open contempt ofthe Emperor's majesty, and of
his governor's authority. But though they spake as if
they had tried him upon those articles and convicted him,
it was altogether false; neither offered they any proof in
support of what they alleged. " Then Pilate entered
into the judgment-hall again, and called Jesus, and asked
him, saying, Art thou the king ofthe Jews ? And Jesus
said unto him, Thou sayest;" that is, according to the
Hebrew idiom, " It is as thou sayest." St. John tells us
that our Lord added, Dost thou ask this question of thine
own accord, because thou thinkest that I have affected
regal power; or dost thou ask it according to the infor
mation of the priests, who affirm that I have acknow
ledged myself to be a king ? " Jesus answered him, say
est thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of
me?*" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Dost thou
think that I am acquainted with the religious opinions
and disputes of the Jews? Thine own nation, and the
chief priests have delivered thee unto me, as a seditious
person, one that assumes the title of king : what hast thou

Me. John xviii. 34, &c.

Of the Holy Bible. 225
done to merit the charge of sedition ? Jesus answered,
" Though I have acknowledged to you that I am a king,
I am no raiser of sedition, for my kingdom is not of
this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then
would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to
the Jews : I, would have endeavoured to establish my
self on the throne by force of arms." But as I have done
neither, it is evident, therefore, that the kingdom which I
claim is not of this world. Pilate therefore said unto
him, " Art thou a king, notwithstanding thy kingdom is
not of this world ?" Jesus answered, " I came into the
world for this end, that by explaining and proving the
truth, I might impress it upon men's consciences, and
make them obedient to its laws. In this consisteth my
kingdom, and all the lovers of truth obey me, and are
my subjects." This is what Paul calls " the good confes
sion," which he tells Timothy, Jesus witnessed before
Pontius Pilate.* And justly does the Apostle term it so.
For our Lord did not deny the truth to save his own
life, but gave all his followers an example highly worthy of
their imitation. It is remarkable that Christ's assuming
the title of king did not offend the governor in the least,
though it was the principal crime laid to his charge. Pro
bably the account he gave of his kingdom and subjects,
led Pilate to take him for some stoic philosopher, who
pleased himself with the chimerical royalty attributed' by
his sect to the sapiens or wise man. f Supposing, there
fore, that Jesus was a disciple of Zeno, when Pilate
heard him speak of truth, and affirm that ,his kingship
consisted ift bearing witness to truth, and that every one
that loved truth was his subject, he might think that he
was claiming the prerogative of the sapiens, though in
terms somewhat new. Accordingly he desired him to
explain what he meant by truth ? then going out to the
multitude, he told them that he found no fault in Jesus,

* Pontius Pilate. 1 Epist. vi. 13.
t Wise man. See Hor, lib. i. sat. Sfine.
VOL. III. G G

225 A Complete History
no opinion inconsistent with the good of society, neither
anv action nor pretension that was criminal in th« least
degree. The priests, it seems, were not disconcerted by the
public declaration which the governor, in obedience to
conscience and truth, made of the prisoner's innocence ;
for they persisted in their accusations with more vehe
mence than before, affirming that he had attempted to
raise a sedition in Galilee. They artfully mentioned Ga
lilee to inflame Pilate, who they knew was prejudiced
against the people of that country. To this heavy charge
Jesus made no answer at all. Nay, he continued mute,
notwithstanding the governor expressly required him to
speak in his own defence. A conduct so extraordinary,
in such circumstances, astonished Pilate exceedingly ; for
he had good reason to be persuaded of Christ's inno
cence. The truth is, he was altogether ignorant of the
divine counsel by which the whole affair was directed.
As for Jesus, he might justly decline making public de
fences, not from a consciousness of guilt, but lest the
common people, moved by what he must have said,
should have asked his release, and prevented his death ;
in which respect he hath shewed his followers a noble ex
ample of courage. Besides the gross falsehood of the
accusation, known to the chief priests themselves, and to
all the inhabitants of Galilee, rendered any reply need
less. In the mean time, because the priests spake of a
sedition in Galilee, Pilate asked if the prisoner came out
of that country ? and being informed that he did, he
ordered him to be carried away immediately to Herod,
who was then in Jerusalem.* Pilate supposed that the
prince in whose dominions the sedition was said to have
been raised, could be a better judge ofthe affair than he.
Moreover, as he was a Jew, expert in the religion and
customs of his country, the governor imagined that be
might'iiave had influence with the priests to desist. Or
if, at their solicitation, he should condemn Jesus, Pilate

* Jerusalem. Luke xxiii, 6<

Of the Holy Bible. 23?
thought to escape the guilt and infamy of putting an in
nocent person to death. He might also propose to re
gain Herod's friendship, formerly lost perhaps by en
croaching on his privileges. But whatever was his mo
tive, the king, who had of a long time desired to see Je
sus, rejoiced at this opportunity ; for he hoped to have
had the pleasure of seeing him work some miraple or
other. Nevertheless, Jesus did not think proper thus to
gratify the curiosity of a tyrant, nor so much as answer
one of his questions, though he proposed many to him.
Herod finding himself thus disappointed, ordered Christ
to be clothed with an old robe, in colour like those
which kings used to wear, and permitted his attendants
to insult him, perhaps with an intention to provoke him
to work a miracle, though it should have been of a hurt
ful kind. Our Lord's being dressed in this manner by
Herod's order, shews that here the priests had accused
bim of nothing but of having assumed the titles and ho
nours belonging to Messiah ; for the affront put upon
him was plainly in derision of that pretension. The
other head of accusation, his having attempted to raise
a sedition in Galilee on account of the tribute, they
durst not touch upon, because Herod could not fail to
know the gross falsehood of it. No crime being laid to
his charge, the king sent him hack to Pilate with an ac
count of his innocence. Before this Herod and Pilate
had been at enmity between themselves. Probably the
latter had encroached upon Herod's jurisdiction, by giv
ing judgment in causes" which concerned his subjects.
Herod, therefore, looking upon the sending of Jesus to
him to be judged, because he was a Galilean, as a repa
ration of former offences^ was forthwith reconciled to
Pilate. At former passovers the governor had courted the fa
vour of the populace, by gratifying them with the par
don of any one prisoner they pleased. Wherefore, when
the crawd was gathered, they begged him to do as he
had ever done to them. " And there was one named
Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made in
surrection with him, who had committed murder in the
g g 2

228 A Complete History
insurrection. And the multitude crying aloud, began
to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them."
Pilate, glad of this opportunity, told them it was very-
true that he had used to do so, and asked them whether
they would have Barabbas or Jesus released. But with-f
out waiting for an answer, he offered to release Jesus,
knowing that the chief priests had delivered him for
envy ; a sentiment in which he was greatly confirmed
by Herod, who- had not found him guilty of the things
whereof the priests had accused him.
While these things were doing, Pilate received a mes
sage from his wife, who happened to be with him in Je
rusalem, and who had had a dream that morning about
Jesus, tbat gave her the utmost uneasiness. Perhaps it
presaged the vengeance of God pursuing her husband
and family, on account of the injustice he was going to
commit. But whatever the dream was, it made such an
impression on this Roman lady, that she could not be
easy till she sent an account of it to her husband, who
was sitting on the tribunal in the pavement, and begged
him to have no hand in the death of the righteous per
son he was judging. The people had not yet said whe
ther they would have Jesus or Barabbas released to them.
Therefore when Pilate received his wife's message, he
called the chief priests and the rulers together, and, in
the hearing of the multitude, made a speech to them,
wherein he gave an account of the examination which
Jesus had undergone at his tribunal, and al Herod's, and
declared that in both courts the trial had turned out ho
nourably for his character. Wherefore he proposed to
them that he should be the object of the people's favour.
Pilate did the priests the honour of desiring to know
their inclinations in particular, perhaps with a design to
soften them. But he expected that however averse they
might be to his proposal, it would have been acceptable
to fhe populace, hot doubting but they would embrace
the first opportunity of declaring in his favour. Yet he
was disappointed. " But the chief priests and elders per
suaded the multitude, that they should ask Barabbas, and
destroy Jesus," Matt, xxvii. 20. And they cried , out all

. Of the Holy Bible. 22g
at once,* saying, " Away with this man, crucify this
fellow, and release unto us Barabbas," Luke xxiii. 18.
Thus the Jewish rulers demanded the release of Barabbas,
a notorious villain, who had really been guilty of sedi
tion-, the crime whereof they falsely accused Jesus ; had
made an insurrection with some accomplices, and com
mitted murder in the insurrection. For this infamous
creature the people likewise begged life, preferring him
to the Son of God, who had made it his whole* study to
do them good. " Pilate therefore willing to release Je
sus, spake again to them,"-f- saying, " Whether of the
twain will ye that I release unto you ?" He had asked
this question before, and repeated it now, not so much
for his own information, as to express his surprise at
their choice. They said, " Barabbas." Pilate saith unto
them, " What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called
Christ?" Is it possible that you desire me to crucify him
whom so many of you have acknowledged as your Mes
siah ? but they all cried, saying, " Crucify him, crucify
him," Luke xxiii. 21. Then Pilate said unto them the
third time, " Why, what evil hath he done ? I have found
no cause of death in him : I will therefore chastise him
and let him go." And thev cried out the more exceed
ingly, "Crucify him." &6 bent were they they to have him
killed, that though the'governor urged them again and
again to desire his release, declaring his innocence, and

* Once, &c. John says, xviii. 40, " Then they cried all again^" (itaXm)
¦ saying, &c. But the word itub.ni does not imply, that the people had refused
Jesus, and asked Barabbas before this. The proper meaning of the passage
is, that they cried out in opposition to Pilate, who proposed to release Jesus.
For ira.'Ktv signifies, not only repetition, but opposition ; contra, e diterso : thus,
Matt. iv. 7. " It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord ; that is, it
is written on the other hand, in opposition to the text which the tempter had
perverted. Tluhw signifies also addition, Matt. v. 33. nu'h.ui vnuso-a,rt, Moreover
ye have heard, &c. Wherefore the proper translation of John xviii, 40, is,
Then cried they all in return, saying, &c.
t Them. Luke xxiii. '20,

230 A Complete History
offered three several times to dismiss him, they wo\ild
not hear it, uttering their rage sometimes in hollow in
articulate murmurs, and sometimes in furious outcries :
to such a pitch were their passions raised by the craft of
the priests. Pilate, therefore, finding it in vain to strug
gle with them, called for a basin of water, and washed
his hands before the multitude, crying out at the same
time, that the prisoner was a good man, and that he was
innocent of his blood. Perhaps Pilate did this agreeably
to the rites of heathenism, which prescribed lustrations
for such as ignorantly or unwillingly had committed
murder. Or rather, as he intended thereby to make an
impression on a Jewish mob, he did it in compliance
with the institutions of Moses, which by this time he N
could not be altogether ignorant of. It would appear
that he thought to have terrified the mob ; for one of his
understanding and education could not but be. sensible,
that all the water in the universe was not able to wash *-
away the guilt of an unrighteous sentence. Neverthe
less, solemn as his declaration was, it had no effect ; for
the people continued inflexible, crying out with one
consent, that they were willing to take the guilt of his
death upon themselves. " His blood be on us and on
our children :" * an imprecation the weight of which lies
heavy on the nation to this day ! The governor finding
by the sound ofthe cry that it was general, and that the
people were fixed in their choice, passed the sentence
they desired. " Arid the voices of them and of the chief
priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it
should be as they required. And so Pilate willing to
content the people, released Barabbas unto them." -f-
The Romans usually scourged the criminals whom they
condemned to be crucified, t This was the reason that

* Children. Matt, xxvii. 25.
t Them. Mark xv. 15. Luke xxiii. 24, 25.
X Crucified. See Jos. Bell. ii. 25. Lucian Revivisc. p. 385, and Eisner
in loe.

Of the Holy Bible. ^ 231
Pilate ordered our Lord to be scourged, before he deli
vered him to the soldiers to be crucified. The soldiers
having received orders to crucify Jesus, carried him into
the Pnetorium after they had scourged him. Here they
added the shame of disgrace to the bitterness of his pu
nishment ; for, sore as he was by reason of the stripes
they had laid on him, they dressed him as a fool, in an
old purple robe, Jn derision of his being king of the
Jews. Then they put a reed into his hand instead of a
sceptre; and having made a wreath -of thorns, they put it
on his head for a crown, forcing it down in such a rude
manner, that his temples were torn, and his face be
smeared with blood. To the Son of God, in this condi
tion, the rude soldiers bowed the knee, pretending re-
-s/pect, but at the same time gave him severe blows, which
drove the prickles of the wreath afresh into his temples,
then spit upon him, to express the highest contempt of
him. They smote him, some with the reed, and others
with their hands. Those who smote him with the reed,
laid the blows upon the thorns with which his head was
crowned ; those who smote him with their hands aimed
at his cheeks, or some part of his body. The governor,
who according to custom was present all the while, found
his heart ready to burst with grief. The sight of an in
nocent and virtuous man treated with such barbarity,
raised in him the most painful feelings of pity. And
though he had given sentence that it should be as the
Jews desired^ and had delivered Jesus to the soldiers to
be crucified, he thought if he was shewed to the people
in that condition; they might yet relent and let him go.
With this view, therefore, he resolved to carry him out,
a spectacle which might have softened the most enve
nomed, obdurate, enraged enemies. And that the im
pression might be the stronger, he went out himself and
spake to them. " Pilate, therefore, went forth again, and
saith unto them, Behold I bring him forth to you, that
ye may know that I find no fault in him."* . Though I

* Him. John xix. 4.

232 A Complete History
have sentenced him to die, and have scourged him as
one that is to be crucified, I bring him forth to you this
once, that I may testify to you again, how fully I am
persuaded ofhis innocence; and that ye may yet have an
opportunity to save his life. Upon this Jesus appeared
on the pavement, having his face, hair, and shoulders
all clotted with blood. But that the sight of JesuS in this
distress might make the greater impression on the multi
tude, Pilate, while he was coming forward, cried, " Be
hold the man!" As if he had said, will nothing make
you relent? have you no bowels, no feelings of pity ?
can you bear to see tbe innocent thus injured. But all
was to no purpose. The priests whose rage and malice
had extinguished not only the sentiments of justice and
feelings of pity natural to the human heart, but that
love which countrymen hear to one another, no sooner
saw Jesus than they began to fear the- fickle populace
might relent. And therefore, laying decency aside, they
led the way to the mob, crying out with all their might,
" Crucify him ! crucify him !"
The governor having now laid aside all thoughts of
saving Jesus, gave him up to the will of his enemies, and
commanded the soldiers to prepare for his execution.
The soldiers obeyed, and led Jesus away, after they had
clothed him in his own garments . It is not said that they
took the crown of thorns off his head. Probably he
died wearing it, that the title which was written over him
might be the better understood. According to custom,
Jesus walked to the place of execution bearing his cross,
that is, the transverse beam to which he was to be nailed ;
the other being at the place already. But the fatigue of
the preceding night spent without sleep, the sufferings
he had undergone in the garden, his having been hurried
from place to place, and obliged to stand the whole time
of his trials, the want of food and loss of blood which
he had sustained, and not his want of courage on this oc
casion, concurred to make him so faint that he was not
long able to bear his cross. The soldiers therefore laid it
on one Simon, a native of Cyrene in Egypt, the father
of Alexander and Rufus, two noted men among the first

Of ihe Holy Bible. 233
Christians at the time Mark wrote his gospel, and forced
him to bear it after Jesus. They did this, however, not
_out of compassion to Jesus, but for fear he should
die with fatigue, and by that means elude his punish
ment. As Jesus went along, he was followed by a great crowd,
particularly of women, who sighed, shed tears, and bit
terly lamented the severity of his lot. Jesus, who ever
felt.the woes of others more than he did his own, forget
ting his distress *at the very time that it lay heaviest upon
him, turned about, and with a benevplenc'e and tender
ness truly divine, said to them, " Daughters of Jeru
salem, weep npt for me ; but weep for yourselves, and
for your children. For behold the days are coming, in
the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the
wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave
suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains,
Fall on us ; and to the hills, Cover us : * The calamities
about to fall on you and your children are most'terrible,
and call for the bitterest lamentations ; for in those days
of vengeance, you will vehemently wish that you had
riot given birth to a generation, whose wickedness has
rendered theiri objects of the divine wrath,, to a degree
that never was experienced in the world before. The
thoughts of those calamities afflict my soul far more than
the feeling of my own sufferings. " For if they do
these things in a green tree, what shall be done, in the
dry?" — If the Romans are permitted by heaven to in
flict such heavy punishments on me who am innocent,
how dreadful must the vengeance be which they shall
inflict on the nation, whose sins cry aloud to heaven,
hastening the pace of the divine judgments, and render
ing the perpetrators' as fit for punishment as dry wood
is forburning. " And there were also two other malefactors," or ra
ther, two " others who were malefactors, were led with

* Us. Luke xxiii. 27, &c.
VOL. III. H H

'234 A Complete History
him to be put to death. And he bearing his cross, went
forth to a pi ace, called the place of a skull, which is called
in tbe Hebrew Golgotha."* The place of execution
was called Golgotha, or the place of a skull, from the
criminals' bones which lay scattered there. Here some of
Christ's friends offered him a stupifying potion, to ren
der him insensible of the ignominy and pain of i his pu
nishment. But he refused it, because he would bear his
sufferings, however sharp, not by intoxicating and stu
pifying himself, but through the strength of patience,
fortitude, and faith. " And when they were come unto
a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
they gave him vinegar f to drink, mingled with gall,
(Mark xv. 23, they gave him to drink wine mingled with
myrrh : ) and when he had tasted thereof, he would not
drink," (Mark says he received it not.) When Jesus re
fused the potion, the soldiers, according to custom,
stripped him quite naked, and in that condition began
to fasten him to the tree. But while they were piercing
his hands and his feet with the nails, instead of crying
out through the acuteness ofhis pain, he calmly though
fervently prayed for them, and for all who had any hand in

* Golgotha. John xix. 17.
f Vinegar, &c. Mark says, " They gave him to drink wine mingled with
myrrh,'' layaipttiutot oun. But the two Evangelists speak of the same in
gredients. For though Mark terms that wine which Matthew calls vinegar,
he may really have meant vinegar, which was a common drink among the
ancients, and such as might very properly be called wine, in regard it was
usually made of wine, or of the j uice of grapes. Besides, it is well known that
the ancients gave the general name of wine to all fermented liquors whatsdever.
As to the other ingredient of this potion, mentioned by the sacred historians,
let it be observed, that the word yob* in the LXX. is often used as tbe trans
lation of the Hebrew word ZY1, which properly was the name of a poisonous
herb, common in those countries, and remarkable for its bitterness. Hence
an infusion of it is called utfoj wix^or, bitter water, Jer. xxiii. 15, and vSug
jjoXd;, Jer viii. 14, and ix. 14. Probably it was a weak' infusion of this "herb
in vinegar and water, which our Lord's friends offered him, to make him in
sensible, and shorten his life.

Of the Holy Bible. 235
his death, beseeching God to forgive them, and excusing
them by the only circumstance that could alleviate their
guilt — theirigriorance. " And when they were come to the
place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him,
that is, nailed him to his cross ; and the malefactors, one
on the right hand, and the other on the left." Then said
Jeshis, " Father, forgive them; for they know not what
they do." This was infinite meekness and goodness, truly
worthy of God's only begotten Son ; an example of for
giveness, which though it never can be equalled by any,
is fit to be imitated by all. Dr. Heylin * has well de
scribed our Lord's passion as follows : " 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 distills. He hangs upon his
wounds, naked, " a spectacle to heaven and earth."
Thus was the only begotten Son of God, who came down
to save the world, crucified by his own creatures. -|*
" Hear, O heavens ! O earth, earth, earth,, hear ! The
Lord hath nourished and brought up children, and they
have rebelled against him."
As usual, the governor put up a title or writing on
the cross, signifying the crime for which Jesus was con-

* Dr. Heylin. • Theolog. Lect; p, 103, at the end of the vol.
t Creatines. The ignominy of his punishment may be learned from a
heathen: Cic. pro Rabir. " Misera est ignominia' judiciorum publicorum,
misera multatio bonorum, miserum exiiiuni; sed tamen in omni calamitate,
retinetur aliquod vestigium libertatis ; mors denique si proponitur, in libertate
moriamur. Carnifex vero, et obductio capitis, et nomen ipsum crucis, absit
non modo a corpore civium Romanorum, sed etiam a cogitatione, occulis,
auribus. Harum enim omnium rerum non solum eventus atque perpessio, sed
etiam conditio, expecta tio, mentio denique indigna cive Romano, atque ho
mine libero est." In Verrem,. lib. 5. " Facinus est vincire civem Romanum,
scelus verberare, prope parricidium necare. Quid dicam in crucem tollere ?
crudelissimum teterrimumque supplicium : verbo satis digno tarn nefaria res
appellari nullomodo potest."
HH 2

236 A Complete History
demned. This writing was in black characters, on a
whitened board, and in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin
languages, that foreigners as well as natives might be
able to read it: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING
OF THE JEW§. When the priests read this title, they
were exceedingly displeased.: because, as it represented
the crime for which Jesus was condemned, it insinuated
that he had been acknowledged. for the Messiah. The
priests thought themselves, highly affronted, and came to
Pilate in great concern, begging that the writing might
be altered. But he would not hear them, having in
tended the affront, because they had constrained him to
crucify Jesus, contrary both to his judgment and incli
nation. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, that is,
erected his cross, they divided his garments, and cast lots
for the shares. His coat was excepted out of this divi
sion, because being without a seam, they agreed to cast
lots for it by itself. The Evangelists observe, that all this
was done agreeably to an antient prophecy, wherein these
circumstances ofthe Messiah's sufferings were mentioned,
to shew that he was to be crucified naked, and conse
quently, that he was to suffer a most ignominious as well
as a most painful death. " Then the soldiers, when
they had crucified Jesus, took his garments (and made
four parts, to every soldier a part) and also his coat :
now the coat was without seam, woven from the top
throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let
us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be : that
the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted
my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did
cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers didj ." Mark
xv. 25. " And it was the third hour,* and they craci-

* Third Hour. The third Jewish hour ended at our nine o'clock in the
morning. By Mark's account, therefore, the crucifixion and the lots may
have been finished at the striking of eight, when the third Jewish hour, an
swering to our ninth, began. This indeed seems inconsistent with John
>ix. 13, who tells us, that when Pilate sat on the judgment seat in the pave
ment, and brought Jesus out to, the people the last time, it was about £ he

6f the Holy Bible. 237
fied him :" or rather " it was the third hour, when they
crucified him." The Evangelist means that it was the
third Jewish hour when the cross was erected, and the
clothes divided; for he had mentioned our Lord's being
nailed to the cross in the preceding verse. " And sitting
down, they watched him there:" Matt. Xxxvii. 38.
" SThen were there two thieves crucified with him: one
-^rr-^^=.. ' = , , 4$' . . .
sixth hour, the sixth Roman hour, the 9ame with our 'six' o'clock in tbe
morning. But to reconcile these seemingly opposite accounts, the follow
ing series of transactions should be- considered. After the governor
brought Jesus out, he spake both to the people and to the priests, before
he finally condemned him. And though each speech is discussed by the
Evangelist in a single sentence, they may have been drawn out to some
' length, that, if possible, an impression might thereby be made on the peo
ple. When Jesus was delivered to the soldiers, they had to strip him of
the' purple robe, and to clothe him in his own garments ; the thieves were
to be brought out of prison : the necessary preparations for the crucifixion
of the three were to be made; in particular, crosses were to be provided;
the crimes laid to the charge pf the prisoners were to be written on whit
ened boards with black cbaracters; vinegar with a spunge and a reed was to
be got for refreshing the criminals, and keeping theirvfrom fainting under
their punishment; soldiers^vere to be appointed for watching the crosses;
and these had to provide themselves victuals, because persons sometimes
lived on their crosses several days. In travelling from the Pratorium, which
may have been situated in that quarter of the town which was farthest
from the place of execution, they could move but slowly, because Jesus
being very much fatigued, must have borne his cross with difficulty. When
he grew faint it would be some time before they could find one to assist
him in bearing it. And beiiig come to the place of execution, they had
the crosses to make ready, by fixing the transverse beams on tlieir proper
stalks, the prisoners were to be stripped and nailed, the titles were to be
affixed, the holes for the crosses to be dug, the crosses themselves were to
be erected and fixed, and, last of all, the prisoners clothes were to be divided
by lot. These, with other circumstances unknown to us, accompanying execu
tions of this kind, may be supposed to have filled up the whole space between
six in the morning, when the governor shewed Jesus the last time, and the
third Jewish hour, when Jesus was crucified ; that is to say, a space less than
two hours. For about the sixth hour, the expression in John, may signify a while
after the striking of six, when the sixth hour ends ; and the third hour, the ex
pression in Mark, answering to the ninth Roman hour, may signify at the be
ginning thereof, or at the striking of eight, when the eighth hour ends, and the
ninth begins.

238 A Complete History
on the right hand, and the other on the left." They
placed Jesus in the middle, by way of mock honour, be
cause he had called himself a king, and was now crowned
with thorns. Or if the priests had any hand in this, they
might design thereby to impress the spectators the more
strongly with the idea of his being an impostor, and
to make them look on him as tlie chief malefactor.
" And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And he was
numbered with the transgressors." In giving the history
of our Lord's, sufferings, the Evangelists are at great
pains to make their readers sensible that all the circum
stances of thejn were fore-ordained of God. Their de
sign in this was to prevent the offence which might
otherwise have been taken at Christ's sufferings.
The common people, whom the priests had incensed
against our Lord, by the malicious lies which they spread
concerning him, and which they pretended to found on
the evidence ofthe witnesses, seeing him hang infamously
on the cross, and reading the superscription that was
placed over his head, expressed their indignation against
him by railing on hirii. " 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,
Save thyself, and come down from the cross." The ru
lers having, as they imagined, wholly overturned his
pretensions as the Messiah, ridiculed him on that head,
and with a meanness of soul which many infamous
wretches would have scorned, mocked him while in the
agonies of death. " And the people stood beholding :
and the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He
saved others; himself he cannot save: if he be the king
of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and
we will believe him."* They scoffed at the miracles by
which he demonstrated himself the Messiah, and pro-'
mised faith, on condition he would prove his pretensions,
by coming down from the cross. In the mean time, no
thing could be more false and hypocritical: for they con-

* Him. Mark xv. 29. Luke xxiii. 35. Matt* xxvii. 43.

Of the Holy Bibk. 23g
tinued in their unbelief, notwithstanding Jesus raised
himself from the dead, which was a much greater miracle
than his coming down from the cross would have been ;
a miracle also that was attested by witnesses whose vera
city they could not call in question. It was told them by
the soldiers, whom they had themselves placed at the se
pulchre to watch the body. It is plain, therefore, that
the priests said they would believe if Jesus came down,
not because their incorrigible stubbornness would have
yielded to any. proof, however convincing, but to insult
Christ; fancying it impossible for him now to escape out
of their hands. " And the soldiers also mocked him,
coming to him, and offering him vinegar, and saying,
If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself."* The
insult did not lie. in their offering Our Lord vinegar; for
that Avas the soldiers' common drink, when mixed with
water. But it lay in what they said to him when they
offered it -, which shewed that they did him the office,
not out of compassion, but purely with a view to keep
him alive, that they might have the pleasure of seeing
him descend from the cross by miracle. " The thieves
also which were crucified with him, cast the same in his
teeth." f Luke says, that only one of them did so. J
The other exercised a most extraordinary faith at a time
when our Lord was deserted by God, -mocked by men.

* Thyself. Luke xxiii. 36, 37. . f Teeth. John xix. 19.
X So. Some commentators endeavour to remove this difficulty, by sup
posing that both the thieves might revile Jesus at first. But this solution is
not very probable. The phrase made use of by Matthew and Mark is an
hebraism : it being common in that language to express a single thing in the
plural number, especially when it is not in the speaker^ or writer's intention
to he more particular. Thus, Judges xii. 7. "Then died Jephtha the Gile
adite, and was buried in the cities of Gilead;" that is, in one ofthe cities of
Gilead, as is well supplied by our translators^. Thus also, Matt. xxi. 7. " And
brought tlie ass and the colt, and put on them their clothes : and they set him,
iitutu avrat, upon them,'' that is upon one of them. The phrase iu Matthew
and Mark, supplied after the same manner, will run more easily thus : " And
one ofthe thieves reviled him."

240 A Complete History
and hanged upon a cross, as the worst of malefactors.
" And one ofthe malefactors, which were hanged, railed
on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
But the other answering, rebuked him, saying, Dost thou
not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation ?"
The faith of the penitent thief has something very re
markable in it. For not to mention the just sentiments
he had conceived, both of his own conduct, and of
Christ's character : " And we indeed justly ; for we re
ceive the due reward of our deeds : but this man hath
done nothing amiss ;" he seems to have entertained a
more rational and exalted notion of the Messiah's king
dom than the disciples themselves. They expected no
thing but a secular empire ; he gave strong intimations
of his having an idea of Christ's spiritual dominion ; for
at the very time that Jesus was dying on the cross, he
begged to be remembered by him when he came to his
kingdom. " And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember
me when thou comest into thy kingdom." It maybe
said indeed, that the thief hoped Jesus would exert his
miraculous power in delivering himself from the cross,
and setting up his kingdom immediately. But even on
this supposition, his faith, though not clearer and more
extensive, must be praised as stronger than that of the
. disciples, Avho because their master had suffered himself
to be hanged on a tree, had almost universally despaired
of his being the Messiah. However, the thief's acqui
escing in the answer which Jesus made to his request,
ft Verily, I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me
in Paradise," must be acknowledged a presumption in
favour of the extensiveness of his faith also.
During the last three hours that our Lord hanged on
the cross, a darkness covered the face of the earth, to the
great terror and amazement of the people present at his
execution. This extraordinary alteration in the face of
nature was peculiarly proper, whilst the sun of righteous
ness was withdrawing his beams from the land of Israel,
and from the world, riot only because it was a miraculous
testimony borne by God himself to his innocence, but
also because it was a fit emblem of his departure and its

MllMilllill I'flffi ill

Of the Holy Bible. 241
effects, at least till his light shone out aneW with addi
tional splendor in the ministry of his apostles. The
darkness which now covered Judea, together with the
neighbouring countries, beginning about noon and con
tinuing till Jesus expired, was not the effect of an ordi
nary eclipse of the sun : for that can never happen, ex
cept wheft the moon is about, the change ; whereas now
it was full moon : not to mention that total darknesses
occasioned Nby eclipses of the sun, never continue above
twelve or fifteen minutes. Wherefore it must have been.
produced by the Divine power, in a manner we are not
able to explain. * Jesus was now in the depth of his
oAvn sufferings. Yet when he saw his mother and her
companions, their grief affected him to a great degree ;
particularly the distress of his mother. Wherefore,
though he was almost at the point of death, he spake a
few words, in which he expressed the most affectionate
regard both to her, and to them. For he told her, the
disciple whom he loved, would for the sake of that love, '
supply his place to her after he was gone, even the

* Explain. The Christian writers, in tlieir most ancient apologies to the
-heathens, affirm,, that as it was full moon at the passover when Christ was
crucified, no such eclipse could happen by the course of nature. They ob
serve also, that it was taken notice of as a prodigy by the heathens them
selves. To this purpose we have still remaining the words of Phlegon the
astronomer, and freed-man of Adrian, cited by Origen from his book, at a
time when it was in the hands of the public: Contr. Celsum, p. 8S. That
heathen author, in treating of the fourth year of the two hundred and se
cond Olympiad, which is the nineteenth of Tiberius, and supposed to be
the year in which our Lord was crucified, tells us, " That the greatest
eclipse of the sun that ever was known, happened then ; for the day was so
turned into night that the stars in the heavens -were seen." If Phlegon, as
Christians generally suppose, is speaking of the darkness which accompanied
our Lord's crucifixion, it was not circumscribed within the land of Judea, but
must have been universal. This .many learned men have believed, particu
larly Huet, Grotius, Gusset, Relahd, and Alphen. Josephus,' it is true, takes
no notice of this wonderful phenomenon. But the reason maybe, that he
was unwilling to mention any circumstance favourable to Christianity, 'of
which he was no friend.
VOL. III. I I

242 A Complete History
place of a son : for he desired her to consider him as
such, and expect from him all the duty of a son. " When
Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing
by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman,
behold thy son." But our Lord, besides expressing great
filial affection towards his mother, gave the beloved dis
ciple also a token of his high esteem. He singled him
out, the only one ofhis friends whom he could 'trust, as
fit to be in his stead to his mother. Accordingly he de-.
sired him expressly to reverence and love her, as if she
had been his own parent. This duty the favourite dis
ciple gladly undertook : for he carried her home with
him, and maintained her from that time forth, her hus
band Joseph it seems being dead. Thus, in the midst of
the heaviest sufferings that ever human nature sustained,
Jesus demonstrated a Divine strength of benevolence.
Even when his own distress was at the highest pitch,
his friends had such a share of his concern, that their
happiness for a while interrupted the sense ofhis pains,
and wholly ingrossed his thoughts.
A little before he expired, Jesus repeated the first
Arerse of the twenty-second Psalm. " And about the
.ninth hour," answering to our three in the afternoon,
" Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me ?" or as others will have it translated,
" My God, my God, to what a degree, or to what a
length of time hast thou forsaken me!" For lama in the
Hebrew hast his signification : " Some of them that stood
there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for
Elias." And though they misunderstood him, it might
have arisen from their not hearing him distinctly. " And
straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and
filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him
to drink.' ' St. John informs us, that they did this in con
sequence of our Lord's telling them, " He thirsted. ' ' He
says also, that they put the spunge upon hyssop^that is,
a stalk of hyssop, called by the other Evangelists a reed.
Mark observes, that the person who gave Jesus the vine
gar, said, xv. 36, " Let alone ; let us. see whether Elias

Of the Holy Bible. 243
will come to take him down." But Matthew attributes
that saying to the persons who stood by. It seems they
repeated the words of him who administered the vine
gar, expressing their desire likewise that Jesus should
be kept alive as long as possible, to see if Elias would
come and rescue him. " When Jesus therefore had re
ceived the vinegar, he said, It is finished ';" John xix. 30,
namely, the work of men's redemption, to accomplish
which he had come into the world. In speaking these
words, he cried with an exceeding loud voice, probably
to shew that his strength was not exhausted, but that he
was about to give up his life of his own accord. Having
thus shouted, he addressed his Father with a tone of
voice such as is proper in prayer, and said, " Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit : and he bowed his
head, and gave up the ghost;" leaving us the best
pattern of a commendatory prayer in the article of
death. While Jesus breathed his last, the vail of the temple
was miraculously rent from top to bottom, probably in
presence of the priest. who burnt the incense in the holy
place at the evening sacrifice, and who, no doubt, gave
an account of it when he came out : for the ninth hour,
at Avhich Jesus expired, was the hour of the evening sa
crifice. " Ahd the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.
And the graves in the rocks were opened, and many
bodies of saints which slept, arose, and came out of the
graves after his resurrection," Matt, xxvii. 51, 52, 53.,
These graves were opened by the earthquake at his
death ; but the dead in them did not come to life till his
resurrection : "¦ and went into the holy city, and ap
peared unto many." It would seem, that these saints
were disciples, who had died but lately. For when they
went into the city, they Avere" known to be saints by the
persons who saAV them; which could not well have hap
pened, had they not been their contemporaries. And as
the rending of the vail of the temple intimated, that
the entrance into the holy place, the type of heaven,
was now laid open to all nations, so the resurrection of a
number of saints from the dead demonstrated, that the
I i 2

244 A Complete History
power of death and the grave was broken: the sting
was taken from death, and the victory wrested from the
grave. In short, our Lord's conquests over the enemies
of mankind were shewed to be complete, and an earnest
was given of a general resurrection from the dead.
" And when the centurion which stood over against
him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost,"
Mark xv. 39. " He glorified God, by saying, Certainly
this was a righteous man," Luke xxiii. 47, the character
which Pilate's lady had given of him before he was con
demned. According to Mark, he said likewise, " Truly
this man was the Son of God," or Messiah. " And all
the people that came together to that sight, beholding
the things which were done, smote their breasts, and re
turned." The people who came to behold this melan
choly spectacle, were Ayonderfully affected when Jesus
gave up the ghost. They had been instant with loud
voices to have him crucified ; but now that they saw the
face of the creation darkened during his crucifixion, and
found his death accompanied with an earthquake, as if
nature had been in an agony when he died, they rightly
interpreted these prodigies to be so many testimonies
from God ofhis innocence; and their passions, Avhich
had been inflamed and exasperated against him, became
quite calm, or moved them in his behalf. Some could
not forgive themselves for neglecting to accept his life,
when the goArernor offered to release him. Others were
stung Avith remorse for having had an active hand in his
death, and in the insults that were offered to him.
Others felt the deepest grief at the thought of his lot,
which was undeservedly severe. And these various pas
sions appeared in their countenances. For they came
away from the cruel execution pensive and silent, Avith
downcast eyes, and hearts ready to burst: or groaning
deeply within themselves, they shed tears, smote their
breasts, and wailed greatly. Nor was this the temper
only of a few, who may be thought to have been Christ's
particular friends. It was the general condition of the
people, who had come in such numbers to look on, that
when they parted after the execution, they Covered the

Of the Holy Bible. 245
roads, and as it were darkened the whole fields around.
" And all his acquaintance, and the women that fol
lowed him from Galilee, stood afar off beholding these
things." Who these acquaintance were, Matthew' and
Mark inform us. " And many women were there (be
holding afar off) which folloAved Jesus from Galilee, mi
nistering unto him. Among whom were Mary Magda
lene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the
mother of Zebedee's children." The three Evangelists
agree ip affirming that these Avomen stood afar off, look
ing on. Yet this- is not inconsistent with John xix. 25,
where our Lord's mother, and her sister Mary the wife
of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene, are said to have stood
beside flie cross. They were kept at a distance a while,
perhaps by the guards -, or they were afraid to approach :
But when the greatest part of the soldiers Were drawn
off, and the eclipse was begun, they gathered courage,
and came so near, that Jesus had an opportunity to speak
to them a little before he expired.
The law expressly prohibited the bodies of those who
were hanged, to remain all night on a tree, Deut. xxi.
22^ For that reason, as well as because the sabbath was
at hand, the Jews begged the favour of Pilate, that the
legs of the three crucified persons might be broken to
hasten their death. Pilate consented, and gave the or
der they desired. But the soldiers appointed to execute
it, perceiving that Jesus was dead already, did not take
the trouble of breaking his legs ; one of them only thrust
a spear into his side. The spear thrust into our Lord's
side is thought to have reached his heart; for the water
issuing from the wound seems to shew, that the pericar
dium was pierced, and that Jesus was sohie time dead.
Or though he had not been dead, this wound was of such
& kind as must have killed him outright. And therefore,
as it was of the greatest importance to mankind to be
ascertained ofthe truth of Christ's death, Avhen the Evan:
gelist John relates the circumstance which demonstrates
it, namely, the issuing ofthe water out ofthe wound in
his side, he insists upon it particularly, and mentions it
as a thing which he himself saw. He adds, that his legs

246 A Complete History
were not broken, but his side pierced, that that scripture-
might be fulfilled which, saith, " A bone of him shall
not be broken :" and that Other, " They shall look on
him Avhom they have pierced."
Among the disciples of Jesus, who beheld his exe
cution, there was one named Joseph of Arimathea,
a man remarkable for his birth and fortune, and
office. Joseph had nothing to fear from the governor,
who in the course of the trial had shewed the greatest
inclination to release Jesus. But he had reason to fear
that this action might draw upon him abundance
of ill-will from the rulers, who had been at such pains
to get Jesus crucified. Nevertheless, the regard he had
for his master overcame all other considerations, and he
asked leave to take his body down ; because if no friend
had obtained it, it would have been ignominiously cast
out among the executed malefactors. In discharging
the last duty to his mater, Joseph was assisted by an
other disciple, named Nicodemus, the ruler who for
merly came to Jesus by night, for fear of the JeAvs. But
he was not afraid of them now ; for he shewed a courage
superior to that ofthe apostles, bringing such a quantity
af spices * along with him as Avas necessary to the funeral
of his master. The two therefore taking down the naked
body, wrapped it with the spices in the linen furnished

* Spices. Those who have written upon the manners and customs of the
Jews tell us, that they sometimes embalmed their dead with an aromatic mix
ture of myrrh, aloes, and other gums or spices, which they rubbed on the
body more or less profusely according to their circumstances, and their regard
to the dead. After anointing the body, they covered it with a shroud or
winding-sheet, then wrapped a napkin round its head and face; others say,
round the forehead only, because the Egyptian mummies are observed to have
it so : last of all, they swathed the shroud round the body as tightly as pos
sible with proper bandages made of linen. At other times they covered the
whole body in a heap of spices. Thus it is said of Asa, 2 Chron. xvi. 14.
" They buried him in the' bed which was filled with sweet odours, and divers
kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries art." From the quantity of
myrrh and aloes made use of by Joseph and Nicodemus, viz. an hundred
pound weight, it would appear, that the office performed by them to their
master was of this latter kind.

Of the Holy Bible. 247
by Joseph. They received the,body from the cross in
the linen cloth, and covered it thereAvith, for the sake
of decency ; but in all probability they did not wrap it
in the spices till they carried it into the garden, then
laid it in Joseph's sepulchre, which happened to be nigh
to the place of execution. Tbe Galilean women who had
waitea on Jesus in his last moments, and accompanied
him to the sepulchre, observing that tbe funeral rites were
performed in a hurry, agreed among themselves to come
when the sabbath was passed, and embalm their dead
Lord, by anointing and swathing him in a proper manner.
Accordingly, when the burial was over, they returned to
the city, and bought what other spices were necessary
for that purpose : Nicodemus having furnished a mixture
only of myrrh and aloes. This is not inconsistent with
Mark xvi. 1, where we are told, that they bought spices
after the sabbath was ended. It seems the quantity which
according to Luke had been provided and prepared on
the night of the crucifixion, was, after the preparation,
judged too small : for which reason they went the first
day of the week, and bought more. Perhaps the money
wherewith they purchased these spices was furnished by
Mary Magdalene, one of their own number, who seems
to have been a person of distinction, and had often
supplied our Lord with money. Or it might be sup
plied by Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, if
it was her Avho in the history of Christ's resurrection is
mentioned by that name, Luke xxiv. 10.
The chief priests and Pharisees, remembering that Jesus
had predicted his own resurrection more than once, came
to the governor and informed him of it, begging that a
guard might be ordered to the sepulchre, lest the disciples
should carry his body away, and affirm that he Avas risen
from the dead. Pilate thinking their request reasonable,
allowed them to take as many soldiers as they pleased out
ofthe cohort which at the feast came from the castle An
tonia, and kept guard in the porticos of the temple. For
that they were not Jewish, but Roman soldiers, whom
the priests employed to watch the sepulchre, is evident
from their asking them of the governor. Besides, when

248

A Complete History

the soldiers returned with the neAvs of Christ's resurrec
tion, the priests desired them to report that his disciples
had stolen him away while they slept : and to encourage
them to tell the falsehood boldly, promised, that if their
neglect of duty came to the governor's ears, proper
means should be used to pacify him, and keep them
safe ; a promise which there was uo need of making to
their own servants. " So they Avent and made the se
pulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch."
The priests going along with the party, placed them in
their post, and sealed the stone that was rolled to the door
of the sepulchre, to hinder the guards from combining
with the disciples in carrying on any fraud.* Thus,
while the priests cautiously proposed to prevent our
Lord's resurrection from being palmed upon the world,
resolving no doubt to shew his body publicly after the
third day as an impostor, they put the truth of Christ's re
surrection beyond all question, by furnishing a number
of unexceptionable witnesses to it, whose testimony
they themselves could not refuse.

• Fraud. See Dan. vi. 17, where we find a precaution of the like kind
made' use of by Darius in the case of Daniel shut up in the lions' den.

Of the Holy Bible. 249
Now Mary Magdalene, with the other Mary and Sa
lome, were ready before it Avas day ; and setting out
very early in the morning, while it was yet dark, as it
began to dawn towards tbe first day of the week, they
went to. take a view of the sepulchre, to see if all things
were as they had left them : and not long after they were^
followed by Joanna arid the rest who were to meet them
there, who came at the appointed time, . bringing the
spices with them. As they were advancing towards the
sepulchre, they were not under any apprehension from
the soldiers that were set to guard it, who had been sta
tioned there Avithout their knowledge on the sabbath-
day, but remembering the stone that was placed at the
mouth "of it, they said among themselves, " Who shall
roll away the stone for us from the door of the sepul-,
chre, which all of us together have not strength, to re
move ?" For they had seen Nicodemus and Joseph stop
up the entrance with it ; and it Avas indeed very large
and heavy; but this perplexity was altogether needless;
for God had provided a very extraordinary Avay to re
move that obstruction : for a little before they arrived
there Avas a great earthquake, which would naturally
awaken the guards, if any of them had fallen asleep :
and very awful and astonishing were the circumstances
that -attended it ; " for an angel of the Lord descending
from heaven had approached in sight of the guards, and
rolled away the stone from the door, and sat down upon
it." And, at the very same time, Jesus, like a sleeping
conqueror awaking on a sudden, burst asunder the bands
of death, and sprung up to a neAV and immortal life.
But none ofthe guards saw him rise, being struck into
the utmost consternation at the sight of the angel, Avho
appeared to remove the stone : and well indeed they
might be so ; for his countenance was like the brightness
of lightning, and his long flowing garment was as white
as snow, glittering Avith extraordinary lustre beyond what
their eyes could bear. And the guards, though Romans
and soldiers, trembled for fear at the sight of him, and
became like so many dead men, falling down on their
faces in a most helpless condition. , But quickly after,
vol. in. K.K

250 A Complete History
presuming to lift up their eyes, and finding he had dis*
appeared, and had left the sepulchre open, they fled to
some distant place, to consult their own safety in so sur
prising an occurrence.
By this time the Avomen, who had set out as it began
to dawn, Avere near the place ; and Mary Magdalene,
transported with the distinguishing ardour of her affec
tion, advanced a little before the rest; and, it being
noAv light enough to discern objects, she looked forward,
and saw to her great surprise, that the stone was already
taken aAvay froin the sepulchre, and that the tomb was
open. And she was greatly astonished and alarmed at
the sight, and presently concluded that the body was re
moved. She therefore stepped back, and informed her
companions of this circumstance ; upon which they also
looked, and plainly found that it Avas as she represented,
and that the stone was indeed rolled away from the en
trance of the sepulchre. And not reflecting on the as
surance Jesus had given them ofhis rising again from the
dead, they knew not how to account for the removal of
the stone ; but Mary Magdalene and her companions
having consulted a little together, as well as the confu
sion they were in would admit, it was thought best that
some of the disciples should be immediately acquainted
with it : she therefore ran back to the city with all pos
sible dispatch, and knowing where they lodged, she comes
to Simon Peter, and to John, and finding them already
up, and full of solicitude about the event of this impor
tant day, she says to them, O my friends, the sepulchre
is broken open, and some or other must have been there,
Avho have removed the stone ; nor is there any room to
doubt but they have taken away the Lord out of the se
pulchre, and Ave knoAV not where they have laid him ;
so that I, and my companions, Avhom I have left behind
me, cannot find any method of performing that last of
fice of respeCt and affection which you know we in
tended. Upon hearing this, without so much as staying to make
any reply, Peter, whose heart was struck Avith such a
circumstance, arose in a transport of various passions,

Of the Holy Bible. 251
and that other disciple whom we mentioned before, and
went directly out, and never stopped till they came to
the sepulchre. And not contented Avith the swiftest pace
with which they could walk, they both ran together; and
as that other discipfe was the younger man, he out-ran
Peter who had the start of him at the beginning, and
came first to the sepulchre : and stooping doAvn to look
into it, he saw the linen clothes, o'r rollers, in which the
corpse had been wrapped up, lying'there by themselves;
but he did not at first enter into the sepulchre. Then
came Simon Peter, very quickly following him, and hav
ing stooped down to look into the sepulchre, as John
had done before, he was not satisfied Avith this : but that
he might examine this important affair Avith such exact
ness as it deserved, he went into the sepulchre, and
found the body was gone, but saw the linen clothes, with
which it had been covered, laid by themselves, as John
had observed from without. . And he discovered another
material circumstance, which had not been remarked be
fore, namely, that the napkin which Avas about his head,
was not laid with the linen clothes, but was folded up
in a place by itself, in such an orderly m anner, as plainly
shewed, that the body was not hastily hurried away,
either by friend or enemy ; but made the sepulchre ap
pear rather like a bed-chamber, which a person on his
awaking in the morning had leisurely quitted. Then
John who came first to the sepulchre, arid was less adven
turous than Peter, stood hitherto without, went in also
to view it; and when he saw the several parts ofthe fu
neral-dress in this situation, he was immediately con
vinced that his dear Master was indeed revived.' For hi
therto they did not know the full meaning of those va
rious intimations of scripture to which Jesus had so often
referred, to convince them that he must certainly rise
from the dead;* which if they had considered, they
would cheerfully have expected the sure accomplishment

* Dead. See Matt. xvi. 21, &c.
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252 A, Complete History
of them, and would not have been so much surprised at
the news Avhich Mary brought them.
Then both the disciples went away again to their com
panions in the city, Peter not being so thoroughly satis
fied as John was, yet greatly Avondering in himself at
what had happened, and very much concerned as to the
event of so surprising afcircumstance. But Mary who was
now returned, stood near the sepulchre after Peter and
John were gone from it, not indeed going into it as they
had done, but weeping without, in great perplexity at her
not knowing what was become of Jesus : and as she
wept, she also stooped down, and looked very wishfully
into the sepulchre ; and there she saAv with great surprise
two angels in the form of men, clothed in white habits,
sitting, one at the head, and the other at the feet, of
that niche in the sepulchre where the body of Jesus had
been laid. And they said to her with a tender regard,
" Woman, why dost thou Aveep thus ?" And she said to
them, " Alas, I have reason enough to weep ; it is be^
cause they have taken away the body of Jesus my dear
Lord, and I know not wliere they have laid him, or how
the sacred corpse may be neglected or abused." And
just as she had said this, hearing a sudden noise behind
her, she turned back, before the angels could give her
any answer; and she saAv Jesus himself standing near
her: and she knew not at first that it was Jesus, his habit
being changed, her eyes also overflowing with tears, and
her mind being so far fi-om any expectation of his ap
pearance, and so much distressed, that she did not so
much as look up to the face of the person who appeared.
Then Jesus said to her with a gentle voice, " Woman,
why dost thou weep thus ? and whom dost thou seek ?"
And she, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him,
" Sir, if thou hast for any unknovvn reason borne him
away from hence, >vhere the master of the sepulchre
saw fit so honourably to lay him but a few hours ago, I
earnestly beg thou wouldst immediately tell me where
thou hast put him, and I will remove him, and take ef
fectual care that his corpse shall be decently interred
elsewhere, Without giving any farther trouble here."

Of the Holy Bible. 253
, J esus on this, said to her, with a loud and distinct
voice, in his usual affectionate way, " Mary, dOst thou not
knoAv me ?" Mary thereupon turning directly towards
him, and eagerly fixing her eyes upon him, immediately
discoA^ered who it Avas ; and transported with a mixture
of unutterable passions, she said to nim " Rabboni!" that
is to say, "My great master, and teacher!" and so much
Avas her heart affected, that she could say no more ; but
immediately prostrated herself at his feet to embrace
them. But Jesus said to her, " Do not stay here to em
brace me now," either to pay thine homage to me, or
to confirm thy faith ; both which thou wilt ha*e other
opportunities of doing ; for I am not yet withdrawn from-
your Avorld, and ascended to the heavenly court of my
Father, as you may imagine, I should presently do; but
I shall yet continue for a little while upon the earth, and
give you further opportunities of seeing me again : let
nothing therefore now detain thee any longer, but go
immediately to 'my dear brethren, for whom Lhave still
the same affectionate regard as ever, and say unto them,
" I am risen from the dead," and after I have paid some
visits to you, am shortly indeed to ascend into heaven,
from Avhence I came; yet grieve not at that separation,
hut remember, that as I am going to him who is in a
very peculiar sense my Father, so I shall still be mindful
of your interest, and am also going to your Father, and
to my God, and your God ; for such he is now become,
through that covenant which he has established with you
in me : on the Avhole therefore, you have infinitely greater
reason to rejoice than to mourn. And upon saying this,
he immediately disappeared for the present; and the
other women, advancing to the sepulchre, where the an
gels continued, received the news of his resurrection
from them, and wrere directed, as Mary Magdalene also
was, to report it to the disciples.
The same day on which Jesus arose, one ofhis disci
ples named Cleophas or Alpheus, was travelling to Em
maus, a village about seven miles distant fi-om Jerusa
lem, in company with another disciple Avhose name is
not mentioned. The two were in the utmost dejection

254 A Complete History
on account of their Master's death, insomuch that their
grief appeared visible in their countenances.* Moreover
as they went along, they talked of the things that sat
heaviest on their spirits. " And while they communed
together, and reasoned, and Jesus himself dreAv near, and
went with them." — He overtook them as coming himself
from Jerusalem. " But their eyes were holden that they
should not know him : they were held by his miraculous
power ; or they mistook him by reason of his appearing
to them in an unusual dress. By the alteration which
Jesus could easily make in the tone of his voice, Avhile
speaking? and by his new dress he might be concealed
from them, especially as they still believed he was
dead, and had no expectation of his resurrection. Jesus
therefore spake to them in the character of a stranger,
making free, as travellers might do with one another, to
ask what the subject of their conversation was, and why
they looked so sad ? Cleophas was surprised that any one
who had come from Jerusalem should have been ignorant
of the extraordinary things which had lately happened
there. " And he said unto them, What things ? And
they said unto him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which
was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God, and
all the people : and how the chief priests and our rulers
delivered him to be condemned to death, and have cru
cified him." Having thus given an account of Christ's
character, miracles, and sufferings, Cleophas was so in
genuous as to acknoAvledge, that they once believed him
to be the deliverer of Israel, and in that faith had been
his disciples ; but that they began now to think them
selves mistaken, because he had been dead three days.
Cleophas added, that some women of their acquaintance,
who had been that morning at the sepulchre, astonished
them Avith the news of his resurrection, affirming that
they had seen a vision of angels, which told them he was
alive. " Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of
heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

* Countenances. Luke xxiv. 17, &c.

Of the Holy Bible. 255
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to
enter into his glory?" From this reproof it would ap-
fiear, that Cleophas and his companion were of the num-
)er of those who gave little credit to the tidings which the
Avomen had brought of their Master's resurrection. His
crucifixion and death, as they themselves acknowledged,
having almost convinced them that he Avas not the Mes
siah, they had little faith in his resurrection. Wherefore,
to shew them their error, Jesus reproved them sharply
for not understanding and believing the prophecies,
which, said he, declare it to be the decree of heaven,
that before Messiah enters into his glory, that is, before
he receives his kingdom, he must suffer such things as
you say your Master has suffered. Moreover, that his
reproof might appear well-founded, that their drooping
spirits might be supported, and that they might be pre
pared for the discovery he was about to make of himself,
he explained the types and prophecies of the Old Testa
ment which relate to Messiah's sufferings ; such as the
Mosaical sacrifices, and the lifting up ofthe brazen ser
pent, Psalm xxii. Isaiah Iiii. &c. Thus did Jesus demon
strate to his desponding disciples from the Scriptures, that
their despair was without cause, and the suspicion with
out foundation, which they had taken up of his being a
deceiver, because the priests had put him to death. His
discourse made a deep impression On them, ami engrossed
their attention to such a degree, that they neither thought
of the length of the journey, nor considered the coun
tenance of him who spake to them ; so that, ere they
were aAvare, they arrived at the village whither they
went. And now the disciples turned aside from the road,
to go to their lodging, Jesus in the mean time travelling
on. But they, loth to part with a person whose conver
sation charmed them so much, begged him to go no far
ther, but to abide with them, because the day was far
spent. By their hearty invitations, the disciples pre
vailed with their fellow-traveller. to turn in with them;
and their humanity met with an abundant recompence,
for Jesus made himself known to them at -table, in the
action of giving God thanks for their food. " And their

256 A Complete History
eyes were opened, and they knew him: and he vanished
out of their sight."
As soon as Jesus departed, the two disciples made all
the haste they could to Jerusalem, that they might have
the pleasure of acquainting their brethren Avith the
agreeable neAvs. But they were in some measure pre
vented. For immediately on their arrival, the eleven,
with the Avomen, accosted them, giA'ing them the news
of their Master's resurrection, immediately exclaiming,
" The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to
Simon !"
While the disciples from Emmaus were giving their
brethren an account of the Lord's appearing to them,*
and offering arguments to convince those who doubted
the truth of it, Jesus himself came in', and put an end to
their debate by sheAving them his hands and feet. " And
as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the fnidst of
them. The expression, es» » \t.wu <anm, signifies that he
stood among them, without intimating Whether they saw
him come forward, or did not observe him till he was near
them. John, however, mentions a circumstance, which,
compared with Luke's account, seems to prove that they
saw him enter the room and come forward. " Then the
same day at evening, being the first day of the week,
when the doors were shut where the disciples were
assembled, for fear of the JeAvs, came Jesus, and stood in
the midst, and saith unto them, " Peace be unto you,"
John xx. 19. " But they were terrified and affrighted,
and supposed that they had seen a spirit," Luke xxiv.
37. The disciples had secured the doors of the house by
locks and bolts, as Avell as they could, for fear of the
Jews. But Jesus, before he entered, opened the
locks and drew the bolts by his miraculous power,
without the knowledge of any in the house. Where
fore, as the whole company knew that the doors
had been secured, it was no wonder that they sup
posed they saw a spectre, and were exceedingly af
frighted, when something in a human form, whose fea
tures they could not easily discern by the evening light,
entered, the room. Thus the circumstance of the doors

Of the Holy Bible. 257
behig shut is very happily mentioned by John, because
it suggests the reason why the disciples took Jesus for a
spirit, as Luke tells us, notwithstanding the greatest part
of them believed he was risen, and were conversing about
his resurrection at that very instant. To dispel their fears
and doubts, Jesus came forward, spake to them, and
shewed them his hands and feet, desiring them to handle
him, and be convinced by the' united report of their
senses, that it was he. And he said unto them, " Why
are ' ye troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your
hearts?. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I my
self: handle me, and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and
bones as ye see me have. And When he had thus spoken",
he shewed them his hands and his feet, and his side.
Luke xxiv. 38, 39, 40. The disciples beholding these
infallible proofs of their Master's resurrection, received
him with exultation and rapture. But their joy and
wonder so wrought upon their minds, that some of
them, sensible of the commotiori they Avere in, sus
pended their belief till they had considered the matter
more calmly. Jesus, therefore, knowing their thoughts,
called for meat, and did eat with them, to prove more
fully the certain truth of his resurrection from the dead,
arid the reality of his presence Avith them on this occa
sion. " And while they yet believed not for joy,
and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any
meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and
of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before
them," Luke xxiv. 41, 42, 43. He tarried so long with
them, that they had time to make ready some fish for
supper, which he took a share of. " Then said Jesus
unto them again, Peace be unto you : as my Father hath
sent me, even soserid I you," John xx. 21. I send you
to preach the gospel, and teach men the way of salva
tion, for which purpose I honour you with an authority
and commission from God, and bestow on you power to
confirm your doctrine and mission by miracles. "And
when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith
unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Luke, ver. 35,
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258 A Complete History
informs us, that the disciples from Emmaus told their
brethren on this occasion what things Avere done in the
way. Among the rest, ho doubt they repeated the in
terpretations which Jesus gave of the prophecies con
cerning his own sufferings and death. But such a sense
of the, Scriptures being diametrically opposite to the no*
tions which the Jews in general entertained, a peculiar
illumination of the Spirit was necessary to enable- the
apostles to discern it. This illumination they now re
ceived from Jesus, who, in token that he bestowed it,
breathed upon them, and bacle them receive it. The ef
fect of this illumination was, that by perceiving the
agreeableness of the things Avhich had befallen him with
the ancient prophecies concerning Messiah, their minds
were quieted, and they were jitted to judge of the pre
sent appearance, and of the other appearances Avhich Je
sus was to make before his ascension. Farther, the ex
pression, " Receive ye, the Holy Ghost," may have a re
lation npt only to the illumination of the Spirit which
they hoav received, but to those which they were to re
ceive afterwards, and in greater measure. Accordingly
it is added, " Whose soever sins ye remit, they are re
mitted unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain, they
are retained." This may refer to the temporal pardon
and punishment of men's sins. Or the meaning maybe,
Ye are soon to receive the Holy Ghost in the fulness of
his communications, whereby you shall understand the
will of God for men's salvation in the most comprehen
sive manner, and so be qualified to declare the only terms
on Avhich men's sins are to be pardoned. Some indeed
carry the matter higher, supposing that this is the poAver
of what they call authoritative absolution. Yet the
only foundation on which the apostles themselves could
claim such a power, must either have been the gift of
discerning spirits, which they enjoyed after the effusion
of the Holy Ghost, 1 Cor. xii. 10, and by which they
knew the secret thoughts of men's hearts, consequently
the reality of their repentance ; or it must have been
some infallible communication of the will of God con-

„ Of the Holy Bible: 259
cerning men's future state that was made to them. For,
properly speaking, they neither forgave nor retained
sins, they only declared a matter of fact infallibly made
known to them by God. In the mean time, to render
this interpretation feasible, the general expressions,
" Whose soever sins ye remit," &c. must be very much
limited, since it was but a single individual here and
there; whose condition in the life to come can be sup
posed to have been made known to the apostles by rer
velation. " But Thomas,. one of the twelve, called Di-
dymus, that is, the twin, was not with them when Jesus ,
came," John xX. 24. It is said, Luke xxiv. 33, that tbe
disciples from Emmaus told their story to the eleven, and
to them that were AVith them. The eleven was the name
by Avhich the apostles went after the death of Judas, whe
ther they were precisely that number or fewer. Where
fore Ave are under no necessity, from this name, of sup
posing that Thomas was present when the disciples came
in. We are sure that he was not present in this meeting,
when' Jesus shewed himself. Yet, if Luke's expression
is thought to imply that Thomas was Avith his brethren at
the arrival ofthe disciples, we may suppose that he was
one of those who would not believe, (Mark xyi. 13.)
and that he went away before they had finished their
relation. The other disciples therefore said .unto him,
" We have seen the Lord." But he said unto them,
Except I Shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and
put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my
hand into his side, except I have the fullest evidence,
arising from the testimony of my own seeing and feeling
him, I will nOt believe that he is risen."
Thus ended the transactions ofthe day on which our
Lord arose from the dead ; a day much to b^ remem
bered by men throughout all generations, because it
brought fully into act. the conceptions-which had lodged
in the breast of infinite wisdom from eternity, even those
thoughts, of love and mercy on which the salvation of
the world depended. Christians therefore have the
highest reason to solemnize this day with gladness each
returning week, by ceasing from labour, and giving
Li 2

260 A Complete History
themselves up to holy meditations and other exercises of
deA^otion: The redemption of mankind, which they
commemorate thereon in its finishing stroke, affords
matter for eternal thought, being such a subject as no
other, how great soever, can equal ; and Avhose lustre
neither length of time nor frequent reviewing can ever
diminish. For as bv often beholding the sun, we do not
find him less glorious or luminous than before, so this
benefit Avhich we celebrate after so many ages, is as fresh
and beautiful as ever, and will continue to be so, flou
rishing in the memories of all reasonable beings through
the endless revolutions of eternity.
Eight days after his resurrection our Lord shewed him
self again to the eleven, while Thomas was with them.
" Afterward 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."* It was Thomas whom
Jesus now upbraided, as is evident from the more full
account which John has given us of this affair. For, con
descending to bear with thestubbornness of his unbeliev
ing apostles, he desired Thomas in particular to put his
finger into the print of the nails, and to thrust his hand
into his side, that he might convince himself by the only
proofs which he had declared should convince him. Thus
Jesus demonstrated, not only that he was risen, but that
he was possessed of divine knowledge, being conscious
of the thoughts and actions of men. Accordingly Tho
mas, exceedingly struck with the proof, cried out in
great amazement, f " My Lord, and my God!" Jesus said

* Risen. *Mark xvi. 14.
t Amazement. . 'O xvgtoj /xe, xai o Sso; /as, '< My Lord, and my God,"
Though the nominative often occurs for the vocative, it is the former- case
that is used here, the words o-u et being understood. To this the context
agrees, for we are told that these words were addressed to Jesus. "Tho
mas answered and said unto him, My Lord, and my God. Wherefore they
cinmft be taken merely as an exclamation of surprise, which is the Soci-

Of the Holy Bible. 261
unto him, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me thou hast
believed ; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet
have believed :" thou hast believed my resurrection, be
cause thou hast had it confirmed to thee by the united
testimony of all thy senses ; they are persons of a better
disposition, who, without the evidence of sense, are so
candid as to yield to the proofswhicH the divine wisdom
has thought sufficient for convincing the world.
Our Lord having,1 first by the angels, and then in per
son, ordered his disciples to go home to Galilee, with a
promise that they should see him there, it is reasonable
to think that they would depart as soon as possible.
Wherefore, when they were come to their respective
homes, they followed their occupations, as usual ; and
particularly the apostles, who pursued their old trade of
fishing on the lake. ' Here, as they were plying their nets
one morning early, Jesus shewed himself to them, but
the disciples knew not that it was Jesus, for it was some
what dark, and tney were at a distance from him.* He
called to them, and asked if they had caught anything?
They answered, they h ad got nothing. He desired them
to let down their nets on the right side of the boat. The
disciples, imagining that he might be acquainted with the
places proper for fishing, did as he directed them, and
caught a multitude of fishes. Such marvellous success,
after having toiled all the preceding night to no purpose,
could not fait to make them form various conjectures
about the stranger who had given them the happy ad
vice. Some could not tell who he Avas ; others said he
was the Lord. Simon Peter, who was of this latter opi
nion, entertaining no doubt of it, girt on his fishers coat,
and cast himself into the sea. Wherefore he leaped out

niau gloss; but their meaning is, Thou art really he whom I'lately followed
as my Lord, and I acknowledge thee to be possessed of infinite knowledge,
and worship thee as my God.
* Him. John xxi. 1, &c.

262 A Complete History
hastily, and walked as fast as he conld to the land,
which was only about sixty paces off
When the disciples came ashore, they found a fire
burning, on whieh there was a fish broiling. At hand
also was some bread. But neither being sufficient for
tbe company, or perhaps to shew them the reality of the
miracle, by' making them attend to the number and
largeness of the fish' which they had caught, and to the
nets not being broken, Jesus bade them bring some of
th.-ir own, they invited them to dine, that is, to eat with
him. * By this time they were all so fully convinced
that it was the Lord, that none of them durst ask Avho he
aviis. It is not said indeed that Jesus now ate with them ;
but his invitation to them implies it. Thus Jesus proved
to his disciples anew the reality Of his resurrection, not
only by eating with them, but by working a miracle like
that which, at the beginning of his ministry, had made
such an impression upon them as disposed them to be his
constant followers. So when they had dined, Jesus
saith to Simon Peter, " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me more than these ? — more than thy brethren apostles
love mc?" in allusion to the high professions of love and
fidelity which Peter had formerly made to him. He
saith unto him, " Yea, Lord ; thou knowest that I love
thee." Being taught modesty and diffidence by his late
fall, Peter would not now compare himself with others,
but humbly appealed to his Master's omniscience for the
sincerity ofhis regard to him. Upon this, Jesus first de
sired him to feed his lambs, that is, to exhort and com
fort the young and tender part of the flock, those who
were to he converted. Then, to give him an opportu
nity of renewing his professions, " he saith unto him
again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thon knowest that
I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He

* Him. For the Greek word frgicwwi, uignifiCB wnmliinva to tuko m«tit
in the morning, which it the meaning of it here.

Of the Holy Bible. 263
saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thon me ? Peter was grieved because he said unto him
the third time, Lovest thou me ? and he said unto him,
Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love
thee. Jesus saith unto him, " Feed my sheep."* From
our Lord's asking Peter if he loved him, before he gave
him commission to feed his lambs and his sheep, it is
justly inferred, that to render men duly qualified for the
ministerial function, they must prefer the interest and
honour of Christ to every other consideration whatever.
Moreover, the repetition of this commission three times,
may have been in allusion to Peter's three denials. In it
the Papists would have us to believe, that supreme domi
nion over the whole church, clergy as Avell as laity, was
granted to Peter. However it has a quite different
meaning; for Peter, by his late cowardice and perfidy,
having as it were abdicated the apostleship, Avas hereby
no more than formally restored to his office, through
the indulgence of his kind and merciful Master.
And now the time approached when Jesus was to shew
himself publicly in Galilee. This was the hiost remark
able of all his appearances. He promised it to the apos
tles before his death. f The angels who attended at his
resurrection spake of it to the Avomen who came to the
sepulchre, and represented it as promised to them also. J
Nay, Jesus himself, after his resurrection, desired the
company of women to tell his brethren to go into Ga
lilee, where they should see him ; as if the appearances
he was to make that day, and on the eighth day there
after, were of small importance in comparison. More
over, the place where he was to appeal' in Galilee was
mentioned by him.^ Whether there Avere more present

* Sheep. John xxi. 16. t Death. Matt.«xvi. S2.
X Also. Mark. xvi. 7.
§ Htm. So Matthew informs us, xxviii. 16. " Then the eleven dis
ciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed
them."

264 A Complete History
at this appearance than the eleven, the evangelist does
not say; neA'ertheless, the circumstances ofthe case di
rect us to believe that it had many Witnesses. This ap
pearance was knoAvn before-hand ; the place where it' was
to happen was pointed out by Jesus himself. The report
therefore ofhis being to appear must have spread abroad,
and brought many to the place at the appointed time.
In short, it is reasonable to think that most of the dis
ciples now enjoyed the happiness of beholding personally
their Master raised from the dead. What confirms this
supposition is, that St. Paul says expressly, Jesus, after
his resurrection, was seen of above five hundred brethren
at one time. " After that, he was seen of above five
hundred brethren at. once; of whom the greater part re
main unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."* For
the number of the witnesses mentioned by St. Paul agrees
better to the appearance on the mountain in Galilee
described by Matthew, than to any other. Galilee hav
ing been the principal scene of Christ's ministry,-j- the
greatest part of his followers lived there ; for which rea
son he chose to make what may be called his most so
lemn and public appearance after his resurrection, on a
mountain in that country ; an appearance to Avhich a ge
neral meeting of all his disciples was summoned, not
only by the angels Avho attended his resurrection, but by
our Lord himself the very day on Avhich he arose. Pro
bably at this apperance the apostles received orders to
return to Jerusalem.;}; Besides, he ascended from the

* Asleep. 1 Cor. xv,
f Ministry. The greatest part of his followers lived there. To this
agrees the particular, mentioned Acts i. 15, namely, that the number of
the disciples met at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, about a week after
our Lord's ascension, were only one hundred and twenty. In Jerusalem
and the country about he had few followers, his disciples being mostly Ga
lileans. X Jerusalem. For from Adts i. S — 12, compared with Luke xxiv. 50, it
is plain that our Lord's discourses, before his ascension, related Mark xvi. 15,
and Luke xxiv. 44, were delivered in or near to the city.

Of the Holy Bible.' 265
mount of Olives, as we shall see immediately. Where
fore, if the orders for the apostles to repair to Jerusa
lem were not given at this appearance, Jesus must have
shewed himself again, Avhich indeed is not impossible; as
it is evident from 1 Cor. xv. that he shewed himself
somewhere to the apostle James alone, though none
of the, evangelists have given the least hint of that ap
pearance. After that (viz. his appearance to the five
hundred brethren) he Avas seen of James. In the col
lege of the apostles there were two persons of this name :
one the brother of John, who was killed by Herod, anoT
ther the brother or cousin of Jesus. Perhaps it was to
James the brother of John that our Lord appeared after
his resurrection. His being to suffer martyrdom so early,
might make this special favour necessary.
Thus Jesus " shewed himself alive (to the apostles
whom he had chosen, and to his other disciples) after
his passion, by many infallible proofs, being seen of
them forty days, and speaking ofthe tbings pertaining
to the kingdom of God,"* It seems he continued on
earth forty days after he arose, and in the several inter
views which he had with his disciples during that period,
he gave them many infallible proofs of his resurrection,
and discoursed to them concerning the new dispensation
of religion which he was going to erect in the world by
their ministry ; and so having accomplished all tbe pur
poses of his coming, nothing remained but that he should
ascend into heaven in the presence of his apostles. These
men were now gone up to Jerusalem to prepare themselves
for the feast of Pentecost. Thither Jesus went, and
shewed himself to them for the last time. And because
they were still in deep dejection on account of the af
flictions ofhis life and the ignominy ofhis death, he on
this memorable occasion introduced that subject;, put
ting them in mind that during his abode Avith them in
Galilee, he had often told them that all the things writ-

* God. Acts i. S.
VOL. HI. M M

2G6" A Complete History
ten in the law, the prophets, and Psalms, concerning him,
were to be fulfilled. By the operation of his Spirit he
removed their prejudices, cleared their doubts, enlarged
their memories, strengthened their judgments, and ena
bled them to discern the true meaning ofthe Scriptures.
Having thus qualified them for receiving the truth, he
assured them that Moses andthe prophets had foretold the
Messiah Was to suffer in the very manner he had suffered ;
that he was to rise from the dead on the third day as he
had done ; that repentance and remission of sins were to
be preached in his name among all nations, begin
ning with the Jews, and that the first offers of these
blessings were to be made to such of them as dwelt in
Jerusalem. Then he told them, that in him they had be
held the exact accomplishment of all the prophecies con
cerning the sufferings and resurrection of the Messiah, and
that they were chosen by God as the witnesses of these
things, in order that they might certify them to the
world. Withal, to fit them for this great and important
work, he told them he would send upon them miraculous
gifts of the Spirit, which he called tc the promise of the
Father," because God had promised them by the pro
phets. At the same time he commanded them not to
depart from Jerusalem till they had received those
gifts. Having thus spoken, he led them out of the town to
the mount of Olives ; and being come to that part of
the mountain which was above Bethany, the apostles,
whose minds were still full of a temporal monarchy,
asked him if he would hoav restore the kingdom to Is
rael. His answer Avas, " It is not for you to know the
times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his
own power:" it will not be of any use to yOu in your
work, to know the times or the seasons ofthe restoration
of the kingdom to Israel. Besides, this is one of the
things which the Father has thought fit tp conceal from
mortals in the abyss of his own omniscience. This only
is of importance to you to know, that you shall receive
miraculous powers after that the Holy Ghost is come

Of the Holy Bible, 267
upon you ; and that by these powers you shall bear wit
ness unto me with great success, not only in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea, and in Samaria> but to the uttermost
parts ofthe earth. Moreover he told them, that he was
now raised to the government of heaven and earth ; for
• which reason they might go courageously through the
whole world, and preach the gospel to every reasonable
creature, well assured, that affairs in all countries should
be so ordered as to dispose the inhabitants for the recep
tion of the gospel. " All power is given me in heaven and
in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, (Mark,
xvi. 15, Preach the gospel to every creature.)" Withal,
those who believed in consequence of their preaching,
he appointed to' be received into his church by the rite
of baptism, and be taught to obey all the precepts he
had enjoined them: " Baptizing them in the name ofthe
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you."* Such baptized believers, he assured them,
should receive the pardon of their sins, together with
eternal life; but those who did not believe and obey the
gospel when preached to them, should be damned, f
And to encourage them in the great and difficult work
which he now assigned to them, he promised that while
they were employed in it, he would be with them and '
their successors in the ministry to the end of the world,
to guide them by his counsel, to assist them by his Spi
rit, and to protect them by his providence. Finally,
that those who through their preaching were induced to
believe, should themselves work most astonishing mira
cles ; a circumstance which should contribute greatly to
wards the spreading of the gospel. When he had spoken
these things, he lift up his hands and blessed them, and
in the action of blessing them, he was parted from them
in open day-light, perhaps about mid-day, a bright cloud

* You. Matt, xxviii. 18. -f- Damned. Mark xvi. 16.
MM 2

268 A Complete History
receiving him out of their sight, that is, covering him
about, and carrying him into heaven, not suddenly, but
at leisure, that they might behold him departing, and
see the proof of his having come down from heaven,
Which he had promised them. " And while they looked
etedfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold two men
stood by them in white apparel :" two angels stood by
them, Avho, though they had assumed the form and garb
of men, were, by the majesty and splendor of their ap
pearance, knoAvn of the apostles to be angels. For as
Christ's resurrection had been honoured with the appear- '
ance of angels, it Avas natural to think that his ascension
into heaven would be so likewise. Which also said,
" Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into hea
ven ?" (It seems they looked up stedfastly after he was
gone out of sight, expecting, perhaps, to see him, come
down again immediately.) " This same Jesus which is
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven :" he shall
come in the same glorious manner in Avhich you have
now seen him ascend. The angels spake of his coming
to judge the world at the last day, a description of which
Jesus in his life-time had given. It was on this occasion
probably, that our Lord's body was changed,* acquiring
the glories of immortality, perhaps in the view of the
disciples, who looked at their Master all the time he Avas
mounting. As he ascended up into the skies, the flaming
cloud Avhich surrounded him, leaving a track of light be
hind it, marked his passage through the air, but gradu-

* Changed. For flesh and blood, such as he arose with, cannot inherit
the kingdom of God. Accordingly the body which he now has, is called a
glorious, body, and declared to be of the same nature with that which the
saints shall have after their resurrection. Phil. iii. 21. " Who shall change
our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body." Where
fore, though the Scripture is silent as to the time when this change passed
upon Christ's body, we must suppose that it happened either immediately bo-
fore his ascension, or in the time of it, or soon after it.

Of the Holy Bible. 269
ally lost its magnitude in the eyes of them who stood be
low, till soaring high, he and it vanished out of their
sight ; for he Avas received up where the Deity manifests
himself in a peculiar manner. "And sat on the right
hand of God :"* that is, in his human nature Avas ad
vanced in dignity next to the Divine Majesty; all power
in heaven and earth being given him. And this univer
sal government he will hold, till he fully establishes the
dominion of righteousness, when he will deliver up the
kingdom to God, even the Father, that God may be all
in all. s~
In this illustrious manner did the Saviour depart, after
having finished the grand work which he came down
upon earth to execute ; a work which God himself, in
the remotest eternity, contemplated with pleasure ; which
angels anciently, and superior natures, with joy descried
as to happen, and which through all eternity to come
shall, at periods the most immensely distant from the
time of its execution, be looked back upon with inex
pressible delight! 'by every -inhabitant of heaven. For
though the little affairs of time may vanish altogether
and be lost, when they are removed fai- back by the end
less progression of duration, this object is such, that no
distance, however great, can lessen it.
The apostles having seen their Master ascend into
heaven, were fully convinced of his having come down
thence, and of his beingthe Messiah. This persuasion they
testified by paying him divine honours. " And they
worshipped him."f His ascension, therefore, gave the
apostles great joy, and the more so, that in all proba
bility they did not consider it as their Master's final part
ing with them. For we may reasonably suppose they
understood what the angels said unto them concerning
his return, not of his return to judge the world at the
last day, but ofhis return to restore and take upon him-

* God. Mark xvi. 19. f Him. Luke xxiv. 52.

270 A Complete History ,
self the kingdom of Israel, , an event which they would
expect to happen very soon.
After the apostles returned to the city, they spent the
greatest part of their time in the temple praising and
blessing God, as for all his benefits, so in particular
for the resurrection of their Master from the dead, for
his glorious ascension into heaven, and for the promise
that was made them concerning his return. The apos-
tleSi about eight days after this, received the Holy Ghost
according to their Master's promise.

Thus endeth the History of the life of Christ ; a life
the greatest and best that ever was led by man, or ever
was the subject of any history. The human character
of Jesus, as it results from the accounts Avhich the evan
gelists have given of him, for they have not formally
drawn it, is entirely different from that of all other men
whatsoever. For whereas they have the selfish passions
deeply rooted in their breasts, and are influenced by them
in almost every thing they do, Jesus was so entirely free
from them, that the narrowest scrutiny cannot furnish
one single action in the whole course of his life, wherein
he consulted his own interest only. The happiness of
others was what he had chiefly at heart. And while his
contemporaries followed, some one kind of occupation,
some another, Jesus had no other business but that of
promoting the welfare of men. " He Avent about doing
good." he did not wait till he was solicited, but sought
opportunities of conferring benefits on such as stood in
need of them, and always " reckoned it more blessed to
give than to receive ;" in which respect he differed ex
ceedingly from the rest of mankind, and was much more
like to God than to man. In the next place, whereas it
is common even for persons ofthe most exalted faculties,
on the one hand to be elated with success and applause,
and on the other to be dejected with great disappoint
ments, it was not so Avith Jesus. He was never more
courageous than when he met with the greatest opposi-

Of the Holy Bible. 27 1
tion and the worst treatment, nor more humble than
when men fell down and worshipped him. He came into
the Avorld inspired with the grandest purpose that ever
was formed, even that of saving, not a single nation, but
the whole world -, and in the execution of it went
through the longest and heaviest train of labours that
ever was sustained; and that with a constancy of resolu
tion, on which no disadvantageous impression could be
made by any accident whatsoever. Calumny,. threaten
ings, opposition, bad success, with the other evils be
falling him, served only to quicken his endeavours in
this glorious enterprize, which he pursued unweai iedly
till he finished it by his death. In the third place,
whereas most men are prone to retaliate the injuries that
are done them, and all seem to take a satisfaction in
complaining of the cruelties of those who oppress them,
the whole of Christ's behaviour breathed nothing but
meekness, patience, and forgiveness even to his bit
terest enemies, and in the midst of extreme sufferings.
The words, " Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do," uttered by him when his enemies were
nailing him to the cross, fitly expressed the temper which
he maintained through the course of his life, even when
assaulted with the heaviest 'provocations. The truth is,
on no occasion did he ever signify the least resentment
by speech or by action, nor indeed any emotion of mind
whatever, except such as flowed from pity and charity,
consequently such only as expressed the deepest concern
for the Avelfare of mankind. To conclude, the greatest
and best men have had failings which darken the lustre
of their virtues, and shew them to have been men. This
was the case with Noah, Abraham, Moses, Job, Solomon,
Paul, and the other heroes celebrated in history.' The
same thing may be said of all the greatest geniuses in the
heathen world, who undertook to instruct and reform
mankind ; for, omitting the narrowness of their knoiv-
ledge, and the obscurity with which they spake upon the
most important subjects, there was not one of them who
did not fall into some gross error or other, which disho-

2? 2 A Complete History
noured his character as a teacher. The accounts we havd
in history of the most renowned sages of antiquity, and
the writings of the philosophers still remaining, are
proofs of this. It was otherwise with Jesus in every re
spect. For he was superior to all the men that ever
lived, both in the sublimity of his doctrine, in the pu
rity ofhis manners, and in the perfection ofhis virtues.
He " was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from
sinners." . Whether you consider him as a teacher or a
man, " he did no sin, neither was guile found in his
mouth." His whole life was perfectly free from spot or
weakness, at the same time that it was remarkable for the
greatest and most extensive exercises of virtue. But ne
ver to have committed the least sin in word or in deed,
never to have uttered any sentiment that could be found
fault with, upou the various topics of religion and mo
rality which were the daily subjects of his discourse, and
that through the course of a life filled Avith action, and
. led under the observation of many enemies, who had al
ways access to converse with him, and who often came to
find fault, is a pitch of perfection plainly above the
reach of humanity; and therefore he who possessed it
must certainly have been divine. Accordingly, the evi-
dence of this proof being undeniable, both as an argu
ment and as a matter of fact, Jesus himself publicly ap
pealed to it, before all the people in the temple.
" Which of you convinceth (or rather convicteth) me of
sin ?" And if in affirming that I am perfectly free from
sin, " I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?"
Such was the person who is the subject of the evange
lical history. If the reader, by viewing his life, doctrine,
and miracles, as they are presented to him united in one
series, has obtained a clearer notion of these things than
before, or discerns a beauty in his actions thus linked to
gether, which taken separately does not so fully appear;
if he feels himself touched with the character of Jesus in
general, or Avith any of his sermons and actions in parti
cular, thus simply delineated in writings whose principal
charms are the beauties of truth ; above all, if his dying

Of the Holy Bible. 273
so generously for men strikes him with admiration, or
fills him with joy in the prospect of that pardon Avhich
is thereby purchased for the world-— let Jbim seriously
consider with himself what improvement he ought to
make ofthe divine goodness.
Jesus, by his death, has set open the gates of immor
tality to men, and by his word, Spirit, and example,
graciously offers to make them meet for, and con-'
duct them into the inheritance of the saints in light.
-Wherefore, being born under the dispensation of his
fospel, we have, from our earliest years, enjoyed the
est means of acquiring wisdom, virtue,* and happiness,
and the lineaments of the image of God. We have been
called to aspire after an exaltation to the nature and fe
licity of God, set before mortal eyes in Jesus Christ, to
fiWus with the noblest ambition. His gospel teaches us
that we are made for eternity, and that our present life
is to our after-existence, what childhood is to man's
estate. But as in childhood many things are to be
learned, many hardships to be endured, many habits to
be acquired, and that hy a tedious course of .exercises,
Avhich in themselves though painful, and it may be use
less to the child, yet are necessary to fit him for the bu
siness and enjoyments of manhood : just so, while we re
main in this infancy of human life,, things are to be
learned, hardships to be endured, and habits to be ac
quired ' by a laborious course of discipline, which, how
ever painful, must cheerfully be undergone, because ne-
qessaryto fit us for the employments and pleasures of our
riper existence above. Our heavenly Father, ever mind
ful of us, has sent down Jesus, the express image ofhis
oAvn person, to initiate us into, and carry us through
this course of education for eternity. Inflamed there
fore with the love of immortality and its joys, Let
us submit Ourselves to our heavenly Teacher, and
learn of him those graces which alone can make
life pleasant, death desirable, arid fill eternity with ec
static joys.
tS" These reflections, together with a part of the preceding account of
our Lord's sufferings and death, are extracted from Dr. Macknight'1 1
VOL. III. S N

C 274 ]

PARABLES OF JESUS,
ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER,
ACCORDING TO THE REV. T. SCOTT.

Of the Sower,  Capernaum. Matt. 13, 1- — 23
 . Tares,  • • • Capernaum. Matt. 13, 24 — 30,
36 — 43
 . Seed springing up imper
ceptibly,  Capernaum. Mark 4, 26 — 29 *
Of the Grain of mustard-seed, Capernaum. Matt. 13, 31, 32
 ¦ Leaven,  Capernaum. Matt. 13, 33
 F6und treasure,  Capernaum. Matt. 13, 44
'¦  Precious pearl,  Capernaum., Matt. 13, 45, 46
 Gospel net,  Capernaum. Matt. 13, 47^50
 Two debtors,  Capernaum. Luke 7, S6— 50
— -  — Unmerciful servant, •,¦¦-- Capernaum. Matt. 18, 23 — 35
 Good Samaritan,  Near Jericho. Luke 10, 25 — 37
 • Rich fool,  Galilee. Luke 12, 16 — 21
 — Servants who waited for
their lord,  Galilee. Luke 12, 35—4*
Of the Barren fig-tree,  Galilee. Luke 13, 6 — 9
 Lost sheep,  Galilee. Luke 15, 3 — 7
 ; — ¦ Lost piece of money, • • Galilee. Luke 15, 8 — 10
 Prodigal sou,  Galilee. Luke 15, 11 — 32
 ,  Dishonest steward, • • ¦ • Galilee. Luke 16, 1 — 12
 • Rich man and Lazarus • • Galilee. Luke 16, 19- — 31,
 Unjust judge,  Perea. Luke 18, 1 — 8
•  Pharisee and publican, Persea. Luke 18, 9 — 14
 . Labourers in the vineyard Pereea. Matt. 20, 1 — 16
 , Pounds,-;  Jericho. Luke 19, 12 — 27
 "¦ Two sons,  Jerusalem. Matt. 21, 28, 32
 Viueyard,  Jerusalem. Matt. 21, 33 — 46
 Marriage feast,  Jerusalem. Matt. 22, 1 — 14
 Ten virgins,  Jerusalem. Matt. 25, 1 — 13
 Talents,  Jerusalem. Matt.'25, 14 — 30
 Sheep and the goats, • • Jerusalem. Matt. 25, 31 — 46

Harmony ofthe Gospek; as it appeared to the editor to afford a more full and
circumstantial detail of the particulars qf those interesting events than that
which was penned by Mr. Howell.

-I 275 ]
THE
DISCOURSES OF JESUS,
ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER,
ACCORPING TO THE REV. T. SCOTT.
Conversation with Nicodemus, at Jerusalem. John 3, 1  21
Conversation with the woman of Sa
maria,  Sychar. John 4, 1 — 42
Discourse in the synagogue of Naza
reth,  Nazareth. Luke 4, 16 — 31
Sermon upon the Mount,  Nazareth. Matt, v — vii.
Instructions to the Apostles,  Galilee. Matt. .\.
Denunciations agaiht Chor.izin, &c. Galilee. Matt. 11,20— 24
Discourse on occasion of healing the
infirm mau at Bethesda,  • • Jerusalem. John v.
Discourse concerning the disciples
plucking ears of corn on the Sab
bath,  Judsea. Matt. 12, 1 — 3
Refutation of his working miracles
by the agency of Beelzebub,- •¦ • Capernaum. Matt. 12,20 — 37
Discourse on the bread of life,  Capernaum. John vi.
Discourse ahout internal purity,- • Capernaum. Matt. 15, 1 — 20
Discourse against giving or taking
offence, and concerning forgive
ness of injuries  Capernaum. Matt, xviii.
Discourse at the feast of tabernacles, Jerusalem. John vii.
Discourse on occasion of the womau
taken in adultery,  - Jerusalem. John 8, 1 — 11
Discourse concerning tlie sheep, •• Jerusalem. .John x.
Denunciations -against the Scribes
and Pharisees,  Persia. Luke 11, 29 — 36
Discourse concerning humility and
prudence,  Galilee. Luke 14, 7 — 14
Directions how to attain heaven,- • Persea. Matt. 19,16 — 30
Discourse concerning his sufferings, Jerusalem. Matt. 20, 17 — 19
Denunciations against the Pharisees, Jerusalem. Matt, xxiii.
Prediction of the destruction of Je
rusalem,  Jerusalem. Matt. xxiv.
The consolatory discourse,  Jerusalem. John xiv — xvii.
Discourse as he went to Gethsemane, Jerusalem. Matt,26,Sl — S6
Discourse to the disciples before his
ascension,  Jerusalem. Matt. 28, 16 — 20
N 2

COMPLETE

HISTORY

OF THE

Holj) MWt.

BOOK THE TENTH.

The History of the first planting of Christianity, taken
from the Acts of the Apostles.
"When it pleased God to visit the world with the light
of the glorious gospel, the nations in general were sunk
into an amazing degree of vice and wickedness ; and
that which contributed greatly to this, was their pro
found ignorance of the true God, and tlieir stupid and
abominable idolatries.
The nation of Israel also, which retained the most just
notions of the Deity, and had a standing revelation of
, his will, were fallen into great corruptions, relying
chiefly on their descent from pious ancestors, and upon
their observation of religious ceremonies, while the
spirit and design of the law were lost sight of, and the

278 A Complete History
scriptures rendered of little effect by their vain tra
ditions. The heathen sages and philosophers had in vain at
tempted universal reformation. The priests and poets
rather corrupted than reformed their religion. And the
Jewish doctors had, by their false glosses, obscured the
light of revelation, and taken away tbe key of know
ledge from the people. And notwithstanding all that
the ancient prophets had testified concerning the Mes
siah, the very things which their eyes beheld in the per
son and character of Jesus Christ, they rejected him
with disdain and embrued tbeir hands in his blood.
They had nearly filled up the measure of their iniquities,
and were soon to be dispersed among all the nations of
the earth.
This then Avas the season Avhich Divine wisdom chose
for the diffusion of the truth, the circumstances of which
are detailed in the following Book.
This history indeed, as Avritten by St. Luke, does not
extend to the journies and-actions of all the apostles, but
records chiefly those of St. Peter and St. Paul, and does
not profess to relate the planting of Christianity in other
parts of the world which were visited by tbe other apos
tles, who, no doubt, extended their evangelical labours
to very distant provinces. The Acts chiefly inform us
what was done in Judea and Samaria among the Jews
resident there, and in other cities of Syria, Asia, &c.
among the Jews in their dispersions. It affords us also
a delightful specimen of the extension ofthe gospel to
the Gentiles ; first to some single families, as to that of
Cornelius ; and, after the JeAvs had discovered their ob
stinate resolution to oppose the apostles, especially be
cause of their preaching to the Gentiles, then to whole
cities and countries, professedly " departing to the Gen
tiles," among Avhom tbey Avere assured of obtaining
greater success than they had found among the Jews.
We shall therefore find, in pursuing this part of the «
Sacred History, first, an account of the effusion of the
Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost, whereby the apos
tles were perfectly qualified to evangelize the nations ;

Of the Holy Bible. 279
immediately after which we have an account of the con
version of several thousand^ ofthe Jews. In this part of
the work, St. Peter was evidently the leading man ; and
though the other apostles were no doubt active and labo
rious, yet little is said of them; because, in telling us
what St. Peter said and did, we have a sufficient speci
men of the preaching and actions of the whole body.
The next period of this history relates to the conver
sion of the " devout Gentiles," who were probably
" Proselytes of the gate;" and here also St. Peter was
honoured to lead the way, as in the conversion of Cor
nelius and his company. But after the sacred historian
has informed us that believers were admitted into the
Christian church without being first circumcised ; and
that, after St. Peter had led the way, other Christians imi
tated his example, and made numerous converts among
the Gentiles also, then the history of St. Peter is natu
rally dropped, because it does not appear that he ever
preached to the idolatrous heathen.
As therefore, the third grand period contains a brief
account of the conversion of idolatrous Gentiles, in
which St. Paul appears as eminent an instrument, as St.
Peter had been among the Jews, the history of that great
apostle of the Gentiles is pursued, whose convert, very
probably, St. Luke was, and certainly his fellow-labourer
in the great undertaking, and concerned in many of the
transactions which he himself has recorded.
As the greater part of the world consisted of idolatrous
heathen, and the greatest number of Christians, ever
since that time have been of that description, this part of
the history was very properly most enlarged upon ; for the
doctrine which is .suited to their circumstances, is of the
greatest and most extensive advantage.
Bat, after we have a fall account of the great numbers
ofthe Gentiles being converted from heathenism and re
ceived into the professing church, without submitting to
the law of Moses ; together with the general behaviour
of the Jews on that occasion ; and a sufficient specimen
given of the doctrines preached, and their powerful ef
fects on men's hearts, as also of the persecutions of St.

280 A Complete History
Paul and his companions, St. Luke closes his history,
though it appears that he himself accompanied St. Paul
long after, and could probabbjj have brought down the
history to the martyrdom of that great apostle.'
That St. Luke was the author of the book called the
Acts of the Apostles, is sufficiently evident. It com
mences thus : " The former Treatise I have made, O
Theophilus, of all things that Jesus began to do, and to
teach," &c. This " former treatise", is undoubtedly the
gospel Avhich was written by St. Luke, and dedicated by
Trim to Theophilus; and that the "Acts" was written by
the same person is allowed by all antiquity. . St. Paul
calls him " the beloved physician," (Col. iv. 14,) and
speaks of him as " his fellow-labourer," (Philem. v. 24.)
He appears to have been with him at Rome, when he
Avrote his Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon ;
and when he wrote his second Epistle to Timothy, (2
Tim. iv. 11.) and so continued an associate with the
apostle in several of his journies, and in his clangerous
voyage to Rome.
Dr. 'Benson, in his Appendix to his " History of the
Plantation of Christianity," has cited a number of pas
sages from Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement, Origen, Euse
bius, &c. which prove the genuineness of this book, and
ascribe it to the pen of St. Luke. Mr. Briscoe, at Boyle's
Lecture, has also shewn in a convincing manner, how
capable these early Avriters were of judging in this matter,
and hoAV universally it was admitted by Christians of the
first ages as a sacred book. How incontestibly it demon
strates, the Truth of Christianity, will appear to every
attentive and unprejudiced reader.
This history affords a strong confirmation of the truths
contained in the Gospels. The promises there recorded,
are here accomplished, particularly the great promise of
the Holy Spirit. The commission which was granted to
the apostles is here executed, and the powers" with which
they were invested is exerted in numerous miracles. The
proofs of Christ's resurrection, with which the Gospels
concluded, are in this history abundantly corroborateifc"
not only by the undaunted testimony of those who con-

Of the Holy Bible. 281
versed with him after he rose, but by the supernatural
operations of the Holy Spirit with that- testimony, for
the conversion of multitudes to the faith of Christ.
Our Saviour had assured them that they should be
" Witnesses" for him, and here Ave find them continually
bearing witness to their Divine Master. They Avere as
sured that they should become " Fishers of Men ;" and
here we perceive them inclosing multitudes in the gos
pel net ; they Avere to be made " Lights of the Avorld ;"
accordingly we find whole nations enlightened by them.
Our Lord had honestly informed them that they Avould
meet Avith bitter persecution in their Avork ; here we
find his predictions punctually accomplished. Thus the
latter part of the Sacred History exactly accords with
the Avord of Christ in the former ; and thus they mu
tually illustrate and confirm each other.
This history is exceedingly important in another point
of vieAV. We are Christians. Here then Ave see what
Christianity is, and Avhat it requires. We clearly per
ceive Avhat are the essential truths of our holy religion
in what the apostles chiefly insisted upon in their preach
ing. We see also AA'hat is the genuine effect of the truth
on the hearts of those Avho truly receive it by faith. We
find the Christian church subsisting in a visible profession
of Christ as the Son of God and the Saviour of the world,
made by his baptized disciples ; incorporated into volun
tary religious societies, statedly meeting for the wor
ship of (iod ; attending diligently on the apostle's doc
trine -, uniting in public prayer, and in the frequent re
ception of the Lord's Supper, under the conduct and
presidency of men devoted to the ministry of the word,
and in a spiritual communion with " all in every place"
who were like-minded. Such a body has ever since been
preserved in the Avorld, notwithstanding the most violent
opposition ; to this body we now belong, and are to
endeavour, as far as possible, to conform ourselves to
those rules which were laid down by inspired men of
God when this body was first formed.
In a word, we have every inducement, as Christians,
to study this history with attention and delight. Men of
vol. hi. o o

282 A Complete History
taste are naturally curious to trace the origin of nations,
and mark how they rose to refinement, wealth and power ;
but the history of the church of Christ must appear to
every Christian far more worthy of notice than the, rise
or fall of empires. " A society, about which Providence
has, in all ages, exercised a particular care, presents an
interesting object of inquiry. Its history is the history
of religion ; of the accomplishment of a Jong series of
prophecies ; ofthe execution of a scheme, to which all
other parts of the Divine administration are subservient.
The history of the first age of the Christian church is
more instructive and engaging than that of any subse
quent period. It is splendid because it is miraculous ;
jt is edifying, as it records many noble examples of faith,
charity, patience, and zeal; and it arrests the attention
and touches the heart, by displaying the triumph of the
gospel over the combined malice and wisdom of the
world."

The blessed Saviour of the world having punctually
accomplished all things predicted concerning his mission
upon earth ; and having, in a most solemn and affec
tionate manner taken leave of his disciples, visibly re
tires to ' eternal rest and glory, in the heavenly Avorld.
With hearts full of grief and admiration, they lament the
loss of the presence of their beloved Lord ; and follo'tv
him with longing eyes till he totally disappeared. But
while they thus fondly looked up towards the place where
their Lord was gone, his tender care was immediately
displayed by dispatching two of his celestial retinue with
a message of consolation. Behold two angels, adorned
with the glories of heaven, appeared to them, with this
comfortable assurance, " Forbear, O Galileans, your fur
ther admiration : your gracious Lord, whom even now
you beheld ascending to heaven, shall one day descend
again to judge the world in as glorious a manner as he
now departed from you. He hath not absolutely for
saken you, but is gone to take possession of that king
dom which he will govern to the end of the world.

Of the Holy Bible. 283
Highly satisfied with this assurance, and the confir
mation of their hopes, the glad disciples return from
mount Olivet to Jerusalem ; where the eleven apostles,
with the women avIio used to attend on Christ} repaired
to the temple,* spending their time in a constant per
formance of devotions. And, about a week after, when
there was a large company, to the number of an hundred
and tAventy, assembled together for the worship of God,
Peter addressed himself to the disciples in the following
manner :
"Ye know brethren, what the royal prophet f David
foretold concerning Judas, who betrayed our Lord, which
being from the Spirit of God, must necessarily be ful*
filled, and has accordingly been punctually accomplished
in Judas, who was of our society, a fellow-disciple, and
an apostle in designation as truly as any of us. But for
a sum of money he betrayed his master to his enemies ;
after which, being troubled for what he had done, he re
turned the money to the priests (who durst not put it
into the treasury, but bought a field to bury strangers in ;)j
and the sense of this detestable action issuing in black
despair, he hanged himself on a tree, but falling down
on the ground, his body burst and his bowels fell out.
[This fact, and the fate of Judas, is notoriously known
to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thereupon the
field that was hough t with that money is vulgarly known
by the name of the field of blood. J] To him therefore
i. i . —
• Temple. The apostles met to perform their devotions in an upper
room of the temple, Acts i. 13. For the temple had many chambers or
upper rooms in its circuit, which served not only for the use of the priests,
and for the keeping of holy things, but some of them stood open for religious
meetings. f Prophet. Psalm xii. 9.
X Blood, If the passage, inclosed in brackets, [] be read as a paren
thesis, it may be considered as containing, not the words of St. Peter in his
speech but those of St. Luke the historian ; for indeed it is not likely that
the field should have been purchased so very soon after the death of Judas;
much less that this fact was then known to all the inhabitants of Jeru
salem,
¦' It has been conjectured that the potter's field was the place in which
O O 2

284

A Complete History

belongs that Avhich is said by the holy Psalmist,* not by
Avay of execration, but of prediction, that as he should
come toa desperate and miserable end, so that office which
Christ had given to him, with the rest of the tAvelve,
shall be bestowed on another. It is then our duty, ac
cording to this prophecy, to make choice of one of these
persons who are present, and Avho have continued with
us ever since our Lord undertook the charge and care of
us, till his assumption to heaven, that he may succeed
Judas in the apostleship."
The whole assembly were pleased with this motion,
and unanimously proposed two candidates, leaving it to
be decided by lot which of them should be appointed.
the persons nominated" Avere Joseph called Barsabas,
sirnamed Justus, and Matthias. Then the apostles so
lemnly invoked the direction of God on this occasion in
this prayer: " O Lord, that knowest the secrets of all
hearts, be pleased to direct the lot to him, whom of
these two thou hast chosen, that he may take possession
of this ministry and apostleship, (from which Judas by
transgression fell, that he miglit go to his own place ; f
that place of misery, which is appointed for impenitent
sinners,) and so betake himself to the discharge of it."
The lots being drawn, Matthias X was chosen, and was

Judas hanged himself; and if so, this would render its name. " the Field
of Blood," more striking and emphatieal.
* Psalmist. Psalm Ixix. 25, and cix. 8.
f His own place. Some read part of the sentence, Acts i. 25, in a paren
thesis thus, " That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship,
[from which Judas by transgression fell] that he may go to his place," or
office; that is, that the person chosen may occupy the place or office of
Judas; but this is a very unnatural and forced interpretation of the passage.
lSiot roiroi signifies a place proper and suitable for such a wretch, and there
fore by the righteous judgment of God appointed for him. See Matt. xxvi.
24, John vi. 70, 71, and. xvii. 12. See also Benson and Whitby on the
place. X Matthias. Some have thought that as the names 'Nathaniel and Mat
thias have the same signification in the Hebrew, that the new apostle was

Of the Holy Bible. 285
accordingly received to make up the number of the
twelve apostles.
The vacancy in the holy college being filled up with
this new apostle, they Avere all met together on the day
of Pentecost at the service of God in their accustomed
place : where, whilst they were devoutly employed, sud
denly they heard a great noise come down from heaven
like that of a rushing, violent wind, which shook the very,
place, and came with such a mighty force that it filled the
house where they were assembled : so great was the effi-
. cacy of the Spirit of God now descending! and there ap
peared to them at the same time a number of divided
tongues, made as it were of fire; that is, bright flames
in a pyramidical form, which were so parted as to ter
minate in several points, and thereby afford a proper
emblem of the marvellous effect attending this appear
ance, by Avhich they Avere endoAved with a miraculous
diversity of languages. And as soon as these lambent
flames appeared to touch them, they were filled with the
Holy Spirit, and began to speak in languages which they
never understood before.
At the feast of Pentecost, there Avere at Jerusalem
many Jews and Proselytes Avhich came from several na
tions of all quarters of the world to worship the true God
at Jerusalem. When these, therefore, heard the report of
this miracle, they were very much astonished, because,
they being of several nations, every one of them heard
the apostles and other disciples * speaking the language
of his nation.' Their curiosity invites them to an inquiry
after the reason of this transaction, saying, " How have
these men, who are natives of Galilee, and have lived all

the same person so distinguished by our Lord as " an Israelite indeed ;" but
there is not sufficient evidence of this.
* Disciples. It is probable that each of the hundred and twenty was fa
voured with this miraculous donation, and not the apostles only : and this
best illustrates the prediction of pouring out the Spirit not on God's servants
only, but on his handmaids, Acts i. 18.

286 A Complete History
their life-time there, acquired this knowledge ? For in
our own respective languages Ave hear them preaching
the doctrine of Christ, and the wonderful things God
hath wrought by him. This certainly must imply some
thing of great moment." But others were of a different
opinion, and, in a scoffing manner ridiculing the mi-,
racle, said, " This is only the effect of drinking new
wine ; it is that infuses this faculty in them."
Hereupon the apostles rising from their seats, Peter,
as eldest, in the name of the rest makes this defence :
" Ye men of Judea, and all that at this time see and-
hear what the Lord hath done, be assured these things
are not the effect of wine : ye know in your consciences
it, cannot be so, since it is but nine in the morning.* But
this is a completion of a famous prophecy f of Joel, who
saith, " In the last days I will pour out my Spirit upon all
flesh ; your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your
young men shall see visions, and your old men shall
dream dreams. All ranks and qualities of men shall re
ceive the effusion of the Spirit of God, and enable those
who were never brought up in the schools of the pro
phets, to go and preach the gospel of Christ in every
city. And after that, there shall be fearful and stupen
dous sights and prodigies; and many great slaughters in-
Judea, as forerunners and prognostics of the great de
struction which shall befal this people for their crucifying
Christ, and from which the only way to rescue yourselves
is to repent and acknowledge him, which is the design of
this miraculous descent of the Holy Ghost. Observe and
attend, ye men of Israel, for you are chiefly concerned
in this great affair : this Jesus of Nazareth being demon
strated to be sent from God by the mighty works which
he did among you, all which you know to be true, be
ing eye-witnesses of them ; him, I say, being permitted

* Nine qf the Clock. This was the time of morning prayers, to which the
Jews generally came fasting.
t Prophecy. See Joel ii. 28.

Of the Holy Bible. 287
by God to fall into your hands, you apprehended and
barbarously crucified ; him, whom God by his deter
minate council had given to retrieve your lost condition,
ye with profane hands have slain. This same Je§us, whom
ye thus treated, hath God raised again, delivering him
from the power of death ; and, besides many other
things, the prophecies concerning him necessarily re
quired that he should not lie under death : for of him
David * saith, I Avaited, and looked with assurance on
God, for he is my defender, and will not let me miscarry.
Aud for this my tongue shall praise him, and my flesh
shall rest confident in him. Nay, though I die, yet
shalt thou not leave me in the grave, nor suffer thy
Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast cheered me,
_and abundantly refreshed me with thy favour."
" Give me leave, brethren, to speak freely concerning
David, who prophecied thus : He died like other men,
had a solemn interment, and we have his monument to
this day among us, from whence he never rose. And
therefore he spake not of himself, but, by way of pre
diction, of the Messiah, knowing that he should infal
libly spring from his loins, and that he was to be prince
and ruler of his church. And these words ofhis were pro
phetic, and literally verified in the resurrection of Jesus,
whose soul did not continue so long in a state of sepa
ration, as that his body should be corrupted, f And ac
cordingly God hath raised him up within three days, and
all we his apostles are eye-witnesses of it. He being there
fore assumed to his regal state and office in heaven, and
God having performed to him this promise of giving him
power to send the Holy Ghost, he hath now punctually

* David. See Psalm, xvi. 8, &c.
t Corrupted. Beza renders the passage, " Thou wilt not leave my corpse
in the grave, neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption." This
frees the passage from all difficulty, and prevents an apparent countenance
to the popish doctrine of Christ's visit td hell. The application of the ori
ginal words,, Nephcsh and Sheol, in various places, will justify Bez'a's
version.

288 A Complete History
fulfilled his promise to us in sending it on us, in this as
tonishing manner as you see and hear -, one great effect
of which you yourselves can testify, for you hear us
speaking languages which a short time before we under
stood not. This great and important truth therefore I
now proclaim to you, that God the Father hath raised
up that Christ, Avhom ye Jews have crucified, and by
assuming him to his right-hand, hath instated him in
the true kingly office ofthe Messiah."
This speech of Peter's, being accompanied by the
mighty energy ofthe Holy Spirit, so deeply affected the
numerous audience, that theyAvere filled with compunc
tion : and as men who Avere willing to do any thing to
rescue themselves from the guilt of so horrible a sin as
the murder of the Messiah, they cried out most passi
onately to Peter and the rest of the apostles, intreating
their direction and advice what to do in this case. To
this earnest request the apostle Peter immediately ac
ceded, assuring them that through the infinite goodness
of God, their case was not desperate. He directs them
to repent of their aggravated crime, and in token of their
desire to be washed from the guilt of that blood which
they had so rashly imprecated upon themselves and their
children, to be each of them baptized in the name of the
Lord Jesus, in order to the forgiveness of that and of all
their sins, which he assured them they should certainly
obtain, and also receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,
whereby tbey should be qualified to serve and honour
that glorious Lord Avhom they had crucified.
To confirm them in the belief of this, he referred them
to the promise of God, (Joel ii. 17, 18,) "which,'-' added
he, "is to you, and to your children, whom God is willing
to admit to the same privileges with you, and also to
extend it to the remotest nations, even to all whom God
shall invite by the preaching ofthe gospel."
Many other discourses were, no doubt, uttered by St.
Peter and the rest of the apostles,* urging them with the
* Apostles. It is highly probable that, as a variety of tongues were
given, all the apostles, and perhaps some of the other disciples, addressed

Of the Holy Bible. • 289
most affectionate importunity to renounce that obsti
nate unbelief in which they had united with those who
crucified Christ, and then avoid the ruin Avhich Avould
quickly come upon that depraved and perverse gene
ration. Such was the wonderful effect of these addresses upon
those who received the word with readiness, that there
were added to the number of the disciples, that very day,
three thousand souls. Nor was this a transport of sudden
passion, but it was evidently tbe Avork of God on their
hearts, whereby a thorough change was effected ; for,
notwithstanding all the efforts of their adversaries, and
all the danger to Avhich these converts exposed them
selves, they continued stedfast in their attendance on tbe
word which the apostles preached, and resolutely ad
hered to their doctrine: and though many came from
•distant parts of the world, they continued for a time in
Jerusalem, to be more perfectly instructed in the Chris-
tian faith ; they all lived in the most endearing fellow
ship and intimate friendship with each other, and parti
cularly expressed their mutual affection in breaking of
bread together, and joining in the exercise of social
prayer. And so surprising was this spectacle, that many
who were not converted, when they took notice of this
wonderful effect of the apostles preaching, were mightily
impressed with the thought of it -, so that a reverential
dread fell upon every soul, AAdtich was farther increased
by many miracles which Avere Anyought in the name of
Jesus. Such also was the strong affection that prevailed
among them, that they hod all things common, and
the wealthy, in order to supply the Wants of the
poor, sold their possessions and effects, and divided
• their produce among the necessitous. And then with
unanimity of heart they, frequented the temple daily at
the hours of prayer, and as frequently as they could,
made entertainment for their brethren, especially for the

themselves to different auditories, for the concourse of people was too great to
meet in one place, or hear the voice of one man.
VOL. III. ? P P

•2Q0 . A Complete History
strangers, and partook of their ordinary refreshment
with the greatest joy and simplicity of heart, filled with
gratitude to God^ for the riches of his grace towards
them, and being, in general, much respected among the
people, on account of their amiable and benevolent con
duct : And the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom they had
devoted themselves, added daily to the church consider
ably numbers of those happy souls who were saved from
the approaching destruction, and from the future pu
nishment to which they would otherwise have been ex
posed by it.
Shortly after the miraculous conversion of the three
thousand, Peter and John went up together to the tem
ple, at three in the afternoon, which was one of the
times of day generally set apart for prayer. And as
they entered in at the gate of the temple toward the
east, in Solomon's porch, which was called the Beautiful
Gate,* there lay an impotent man, that had been lame
from his birth, and who used to beg the alms of those
that daily came to pray there. The cripple seeing Peter
and John going into the temple, begs their charity : the
apostles stop at the importunity of the man ; and look
ing earnestly on him, Peter bids the cripple look on
them. The poor man, expecting pecuniary relief, ear
nestly fixed his eyes on the apostles, who, under the divine
impulse, intending a far more valuable favour, said to
him, " The alms thou reqwirest I have not to give, but
that which exceeds the worth of silver and gold, and will
eminently supply thy wants I freely bestow on thee : In
the name of Jesus of Nazareth f rise up and walk." And
taking him by the hand he helped him up, and imme-

* Beautiful Gate. This was erected by Herod the Great; it is said to have
been about' forty-five feet high, and twenty--two feet broad, made' of Corii)-
thinian brass, and exceedingly splendid.
t Nazareth. We shall have frequent occasion in the course of this history
to observe, that this name qf reproach by which dur Saviour was distinguished,
was adopted both by himself and his apostles ; for Jesus was not born in Na
zareth, as tRe Je"ws pretended, but at Bethlehem.

Of the Holy Bible. 294
diately he was cured of his lameness, being ableto stand
and walk. ' Upon this miraculous cure, the poor man,
now no longer a cripple, entered with the, apostles into
the temple, to demonstrate the miracle, and to praise God
for the instruments of his cure. Having many years sat
an object of Charity there, he must of course be well
known of all pious people who used to go that way, who
seeing him walking and praisin^God, Avere amazed at the
greatness of tbe cure. The rumour of this soon spread
abroad, and as the poor man thus healed kept close to
Peter and John, being unwilling to part with those from
whom he had received so great a benefit, the people in
great numbers crowded about the apostles, to whom
Peter thus addressed himself:
" Men of Israel, why do you look upon this cure as a
thing strange ? (The miracles of Jesus were far greater
than this.) Or why do ye attribute any thing to us in
this matter, as if there were any excellency in us to
which this cure Avere to be imputed?- The God of our
Fathers hath given this poAver of working miracles to
Jesus, whom you delivered to Pilate to be crucified, re
leasing a knoAvn murderer and thief, and putting to
death him, Avho came to bring life to the world ; whom
God hath pleased to raise from the dead, and make tis
witnesses thereof. And noAv it is by faith in him that this
man hath recovered from his lameness. The man you
know, having for many years seen him a begging crip
ple. And this faith \vorking by his power on whom we
believe, hath wrought this remarkable cure, at which
you all so much wonder. Now this, I suppose, brethren,
that you ofthe multitude, which did thus reject Christ,
did not know him to be the Messiah, and the same I sup
pose of your rulers. But by these means, the many pro
phecies of Scripture, that the Messiah should be put to
death, have been fulfilled. Repent, therefore, of your
iniquities, and turn to God, that you may be delivered
from the heavy burden of your guilt, that seasons of re
freshment and delight may come upon you, and that so,
at length, he may send unto you Jesus Christ, whom the
heavens, to which he has ascended, must retain-, till the
p p 2

292 A Complete History
happy times of the restitution of all things at the great
day shall arrive ; when the seeming irregularities of the
present dispensation shall all be rectified, according to
the predictions of these events by all the holy prophets.
For Moses, one of the first, and chief of all the prophets,
plainly described the Messiah of Avhom I speak, and all
his successors have foretold these eventful days. Ye are
the peculiar persons of whom the prophets foretold, and
to whom the covenant belongs, which was made to Abra
ham, in Avhich was promised that the posterity of him
should be so blessed^tshat all the families and people of
the Avorld, that would "bless themselves or others, should
use this form, " God bless them, as he blessed Abraham's
Seed." This Avas upon the account of having Christ given
them, besides many other special prerogatives bestOAved
on them. This accordingly is performed and accom
plished. For God having raised this Christ again, hath,
by our preaching his resurrection, first to you, sent him
again in a most glorious manner to bless his enemies, to
do to them all the good offices imaginable, by tenderness
and charity to Avork upon his most obdurate crucifiers,
and to turn every one of you from your infidelity and
impenitence." Whilst Peter was instructing the people, the captain
of the guard that sat at the porches of the temple, to keep
the peace, at the instigation of the Sadducees, came
with an armed force, and seized the two apostles, and
led them to prison ; notwithstanding which, so great
was the power and efficacy of Peter's preaching, that
five thousand more converts were added to the church
and faith of Christ.*
The two apostles being confined all night, the next
morning they of whom the Sanhedrim consisted, and
particularly Annas and Caiaphas assembling in council,
caused Peter and John to be brought before them, whom

* Christ. It may be doubted whether five thousand beside the three
thousand before mentioned were now converted, or whether the latter made
five thousand together, with the former. \

Of the Holy Bible. 293
they examined upon these interrogatories : How they
were enabled to perforin tbe miracle on the lame man ?
Whose name they invoked, and From Avhom they pre
tended to have commission thus to preach to the peo
ple? In answer to these questions, Peter being by the
Spirit of God endued with an extraordinary presence of
mind, and elocution, spake thus: "Ye rulers of the
people and elders of Israel, we are this day examined
before you concerning an action, which is so far from
being criminal, that it is an act of special mercy. Be
assured, that this miraculous cure performed on the lame
man, was wrought by no other means than by invoking
the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, and
God most miraculously raised again. This is he that was
prophesied of under the title of a stone refused, rejected
by you, the chief of the Jews, and treated with con
tempt, but is now by his resurrection enthroned in power
(an effect of Avhich is this miracle wrought in his name)
and is indeed become the ruler and king of the church,
the prime foundation-stone ofthe whole fabric. In him
alone must salvation now be hoped for by all ; for there
is no other name under heaven, given out by God
among the children of men, Avhether of patriarch or
prophet, or priest, or king, in which we can be saved
or recovered."
When the court saw with what courage and freedom
of speech the apostles behaved themselves, and consider
ing that their education had not thus elevated them above
the capacity of other men, being neither skilled in the
learning of the Jews, nor as men of distinction among
them, instructed in their laws^ they were amazed at it;
but considering they were some of those that attended
on Jesus in his life-time, and observing the man on
whom tbey had wrought the miraculous cure, stand with
them and ready to attest it ; though they were as mali
ciously affected towards them, as envy could make them,
yet having nothing to. object against the fact, either as
it respected tbe man that was cured, or the apostles that
performed the cure, they thought fit in this difficulty to

294 A Complete History
consult by themselves what expedient to make use of;
and therefore commanding .the apostles to withdraw,
they entered upon this debate, demanding of one another
how they should proceed in this case. " As to the men
Ave have nothing to accuse- them of: For, that they have
performed a great miracle is apparent to all men, and we
cannot deny it ; and the man that was healedis a living
Avitness : since therefore they are guilty of no breach of
our laws, to prevent their further seducing the people,
who are too apt to be led away by them, we will call
them in, and forbid them upon severe penalties to preach
Christ and his gospel any more." Thus they decreed ;
and accordingly sending for them, commanded them not
to speak privately, or teach publicly, any thing concern
ing the faith of Christ. But the christian heroes, whose
commission Avas from a higher power than any on earth,
slighting' this interdict, and all their threats, declared,
that they were commanded by God to do their duty, and
that in all reason God must be obeyed 'before any tem
poral magistrate ; in which they appealed to the Sanhe
drim, plainly telling them, that they should not desist
from doing their duty, but openly testify those" important
truths of Christ, so peculiarly made known to them, that
they might proclaim them to others, and which none
could more fairly attest than themselves, who had been
eye and ear-witnesses of them. The court not knowing
what else to say to them, being unable to deny their Tar-
guments, they added more threatenings, if possible, to
terrify them, and so dismissed them, having nothing to
lay to their charge, but the curing the lame man in the
name of Jesus ; and fer this all the people looked on
them Avith reverence and esteem, and counted it an act
of God's immediate and infinite mercy; for which they,
that were the instruments of it, ought to be blessed, not
punished by fhem, and therefore they durst not punish
or censure them for it.
The two appStles being dismissed, returned with joy to
their companions, Avho with infinite satisfaction heard the
report of all that had passed, and unanimously glorified

Of the Holy Bible. 295
God, who by his holy prophet David * had foretold Avhat
was now come to 'pass,, that the JeAvs should oppose
Christ, say false things of him, deny and crucify him
first, and, when God had raised him from the dead, op
pose the preaching -of him ; that the princes and gover
nors, Herod and Pontius Pilate, should combine against
him, and the rulers should in council consult against
him, the Messiah that God hath sent ; for it is a certain
truth, that Herod and Pontius Pilate gathered themselves
together with the Gentiles and people of Israel against
his holy Son Jesus, whom he had anointed to do what
soever his power and wrisdom determined to be done, -f-
And now, O Lord, behold their threatenings, and enable
us thy servants poAverfully to preach thy gospel, and to
work miraculous cures on all those, on whom we shall
invoke the name of thy holy Son Jesus,"
Upon this prayer of the faithful congregation, there
• came the like wind, as before mentioned, and shook the
place where they were assembled ; and special gifts of
God's Spirit fell upon those that were there present ; and
this was such a confirmation to them all, that Avithout
scruple or fear," they published the gospel of Christ ; in
a happy concord and union agreeing in the same chris
tian designs, no one of the company laying any parti
cular Waim to those necessaries Avhich they had, but by a
common right enjoyed them, without difference or dis
tinction. And the apostles continued their ministerial

* David. See Psalm ii. 1.
,f. Done. Our author adopts the transposition of the original words, as
proposed by Limborch ; but Dr. Doddridge well observes, that this transpo
sition is arbitrary; he prefers the following sense of the words in his para
phrase. " But it is our unspeakable comfort, to think, that by their utmost
rage' they cannot break in upon thy schemes, or prevent the efficacy of thy
-purposes ; for they have only been able to do whtit thine hand had pointed
out before, and what thy unerring' counsel, to, which all future events are
obvious, had before determined, that, for wise reasons thou wouldest -permit
-.0 be done." »
See^Doddridge on Acts iv. 38,

296 A Complete History
office with vigilance and care, confirming with many
miracles their preaching of Christ's resurrection.
Noav that there might be no Avant of competent provi
sion, those believers, who had estates -or goods, brought
in plentiful contributions, selling their possessions of
lands or houses, gave the price of them to the apostles,
who received it of them for the public use, and distri
buted to every one as necessity required. Among these
kind and faithful contributors none was more sincere and
readv than Joses the Cypriot, surnamed by the apostles
Barnabas; (a true son of consolation) who having a
piece of land of his oavh, (not any part of the Levite's
portion, though himself was a Levite) made sale of it,
and brought the full price of it, and put it wholly in the
power of the apostles, to dispose of, and distribute it as
they thought most convenient.
But the great enemy of mankind, seeing the mighty
improvement and increase ofthe church of Christ, ahd
that from a slender semination of the gospel, there was
likely to be avast harvest, scattered the tares of craft and
hypocrisy in this blessed field. Among the rest that re
sorted to the»e assemblies of the faithful, and contributed
tb their mutual support, an unhappy pair, Ananias and
Sapphira, with joint consent devoted all they had to the
use of the church, and to that purpose sold their estate :
but they had combined together to keep some part ofthe
money for themselvesv . Ananias coming first into the
presence ofthe apostles, with great assurance and appa
rent cheerfulness, produced the money, and laid it at the
apostles' feet. But Peter, who by divine inspiration knew
the cheat, in a holy indignation and abhorrence of so
vile an act of sacrilege, thus reprehended him. " How,
O Ananias, hath Satan persuaded thee thus to attempt to
deceive the Holy Ghost, in purloining part of that which
thou hadst consecrated to God's service and the use of
his church? Before it was sold, , was it not wholly thine ?
and when it was sold, didst thou not receive the full price
for which it was sold? Was it not then in thy power
fully to perform thy vow? Upon what motive then hast
thou done this? This falsity in concealing the full price

Of the Holy Bible. 297
is not only an injury to the church, but to God, Avho
kneAv thy private vow, that it Avas consecrating the
whole, and not this part only which thou hast brought to
us/' These piercing words of Peter so affected Ananias
with despair and the horror of his guilt, that he fell
down dead immediately on the spot, to the great astonish
ment and terror of all those who were present.
His body being removed in order to be interred, about
three hours after this judgment fell on Ananias, his wife
Sapphira came into the assembly with the same assurance,
not in the least suspecting what had happened to her
sacrilegious husband. Peter examining her, whether the
sum which they brought Avas the full sum for which the
field was sold ? She answered, It Avasl Whereupon Peter,
with the same spirit of holy indignation, thus pronounces
sentence against her. " How durst you both combine
to provoke God, to try whether he will punish this your
impious fraud, or not? That thou mayest see how highly
God resents your sacrilegious intentions, behold the men
are coining in, Avhich have buried thy husband, and they
shall forthwith carry thee out also, and lay thee in the
same grave." She no sooner hears her doom pronounced,
but it is executed ; for she immediately fell down dead
at his feet ; and the same officers that buried her hus
band, carry her out from the assembly, and lay her by
him. This judgment upon these sacrilegious wretches,
not only affected the believers with fear and reverence,
but all others to whom it was related.*
Many other stupendous signs and wonders were wrought
among the people in the most public manner, by the
hands of the apostles, who continued in the strictest fel-

* Related. This miracle served to vindicate the honor of the Blessed
Spirit, so notoriously affronted by this attempt to impose on the persons who
had received his miraculous gifts, and tended effectually to deter dishonest
persons from joining the christians for the sake of filthy lucre; it afforded
also a strong confirmation of the truth of that religion which the apostles
were now establishing, just as the death of Nadab and Abihu, confirmed the
Mosaic institution. (Levit. x. 1.)
VOL. III. Q. ii

298 A Complete History
lowship Avith the whole company of believers, and fre
quently met together in Solomon's Porch ; and none of
those who Avere not sincerely converted to Christianity,
presumed to join himself to thein ; but all the people
entertained a high veneration for the apostles as persons
owned of God in the most signal manner. And though
the death of these unhappy offenders prevented hypo
critical persons from joining them, yet the success of the
gospel was promoted, for vast numbers of both sexes be
lieved their testimony, and were united to the church.
And they Avere further animated to boldness in their pro
fession, by the numerous miracles of mercy, which suc
ceeded this Avork of terror, insomuch that as they passed
the public streets, the people brought out the sick and
laid them at their doors on beds and couches, that, at
least, the shadow of Peter as he was going by, might
overshadow some or other of them, and this extraor
dinary faith was rewarded by the healing of many in such
circumstances. Nor were these miraculous transactions
confined to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but the neigh
bouring cities shared in the benefit, the people from all
the. parts adjacent bringing their diseased and possessed
patients to these heavenly physicians, Avho answeredtheir
expectations in affording present relief.
The fame of these " wonderful performances of the
apostles again reaching the ears of the Sanhedrim (most
of tl^em being of the sect of the Sadducees) they were
highly incensed, and resolved at once to suppress these
strange doings. In order to which they apprehended the
apostles, and imprisoned them in the common gaol. But
the malice of their enemies could not long detain them
in anyplace of confinement; for in the night a heavenly
messenger brought them a discharge, telling them, it was
the will of the Almighty defender, that they should.
not fear to do their duty, but go into the temple, and
there preach the doctrine of their Lord and Master. In
obedience to the Divine message and direction, early in
the morning they repaired to the temple, and there ex
pounded the Scriptures, and taught the doctrine of
Christ as the Saviour of mankind.

Of the Holy Bible. 299
Tn the mean time the members of the Sanhedrim
thinking the' apostles had been in safe custody, Avent to
the court, and sent their officers to bring them before
* them. But when the officers came- to the prison, and
found no person in it, they returned with great surprize,
telling those that sent them.; " That they found the
prison-doors shut, and theguard carefully watching with
out, but that the prisoners Avere not there."
When the Sanhedrim of the Jews, and the captain that
set the guard, heard this, they were strangely perplexed,
and wondered how it could be, that the prison being
shut, and the guard at the doors, the prisoners should
escape ; suspecting this mustpresage some strange thing.
But Avhile they laboured under this perplexity, a mes
senger came into court, and assured them, " That the
men, whom they last night committed to prison, were
standing in the temple, and instructing the people."
Hereupon, the captain of the, guard, taking officers
Avith him, went immediately to the temple, and per
suaded the .apostles to go with him to the council, not
daring to offer any violence, for fear the people should
stone them. Being set before the council, the High-
Priest charged them with contumacy, saying, " Did we
not strictly command you not to publish this doctrine of
Christ, nor teach in his name ? And yet in contempt ofc
our authority, ye have published it in the temple to all
the city, and endeavoured as much as in you lies, by lay
ing his blood to -our charge, to raise a mutiny against us,
as his murderers." To this charge tbe apostles made the
same defence as before, " To us, who were commanded
by God himself to publish the gospel, your interdict is of
no force. When God releases us from prison, where
you confined us, and commanded us to go into the tem
ple, and preach the faith of Christ, we are obliged to
render obedience to him, and not to your decrees. The
God of Israel, acknowledged by us all, hath sent the
Messiah into the world withhis special commission, whom
when ye had crucified as a malefactor, God raised from
death, took him into heaven, and invested him with re
gal power, from thence to send the Spirit of his Father,
- aa2

300 A Complete History
(which was not to descend till he was ascended) and by
that means to give you Jews place for repentance, that
if ye will yet come in, and believe on him, ye may re- -
ceive the pardon of your sins. The truth of this we
now testify, and so doth the Holy Ghost, that came
down upon us, and tbe rest that have consorted with us,
and is communicated by us to all that believe and pay
obedience to him."
This answer of the apostles being a just reproach upon
the Sanhedrim, stung them to the heart, insomuch that
by a speedy sentence they resolved to silence them ; and
therefore they entered into a consultation howtoput them
to death. But Gamaliel,* a learned doctor of the law,
and of great reputation among the people,, seeing the
desperate inclination of the Sanhedrim, endeavoured to
divert them from this dangerous expedient, and ordering
the apostles to withdraw, addressed himself thus to the
council. " I advise you to be cautious, O men of Israel,
in what you do to these men. For we have examples of
persons, who have gathered followers, and raised sedi
tions among the people, but have come to nothing. As
for instance, Theudas, that undertook ta be a general,
boasting that he was sent by God to that purpose, and so
got four hundred men to follow him, soon miscarried,
#or himself Avas killed, and all his adherents put to flight.
After him rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the tax
ing, who drew a mighty concourse of people after him, but
he soon perished, aiur all his followers were dispersed. I
advise you therefore not to be hasty in your proceedings
against these men, but rather dismiss them ; for the doc
trine which they preach is either from God, or not. If
it be not from God, it will without our opposition come
to nothing ; the certain fate of false prophets : but if it

* Gamaliel. This was a man so highly esteemed by the Jews, that, it
was said, "the honor of the law failed with him." He was the tutor ofthe
apostle Paul (Acts xxii. 3,) who could not But have learned this event
from his: master, and) which* rendered* his persecution of the christians- the>
moie aggravated..

Of the Holy Bible. 301
be from God, you may be sure you will not be able to
prevail against it, for all your obstinate opposition and
enterprizes will be flying in God's face, and striving
against the eternal decrees of his providence."
The council, unable to elude the force of what Ga
maliel had said, yielded for the present, admitting that
his advice was safe and wise. Then calling for the apos
tles into court again, they ordered them to be scourged
(a very reproachful punishment) and charging them not
to preach the faith of Christ any more, they released
them. But this punishment was matter of Joy and com
fort to the apostles, that they were advanced to such a
degree of honour and blessedness, as to be scourged for
preaching Christ. After this they were constantly in
the temple or in some house, instructing those that had
already received the faith, or preaching it to those that
had not.
, And now the number of Christians daily increasing,
the Jews that understood Greek,*and used the Greek scrip
tures in their congregation, complained of unequal and
partial dealing ; that there was little care taken of their
widoAvs, in proportion to the Hebrews in the daily distri
bution or provision that was made for the poor. Then
the twelve apostles, calling the church together, said
thus ; " It is not reasonable that we should neglect the
preaching of the gospel, and undertake the care of look
ing after the poor. Therefore^ brethren, do you nomi
nate to us seven men, who have approved themselves to

* Greek. The title of Greek does not only signify those who are Greeks
by birth, or who speak Greek, but also in general all idolaters, in opposition
to the Jews, who only worshipped the true God. For which reason, to avoid
^ambiguity, the true signification of it should be determined according to the
persons arid circumstances, where it is employed. As when St. Mark calls
the woman, whose daughter bad an unclean spirit, a Greek, Mar. vii. 96, for
she cpuld not be a Greek by nation, since it is expressly observed, that she
was a Syrian, and since Syria was at a great distance from Greece, the same
amendment must be made, Rom. i. 16, Gal. iii. 28, and here Acts vi. 1, and
ix. 29, where mention is made of the Greeks, we must translate, " The Jews
shat spoke Greek."*

302 A Complete History
be faithful and trusty persons, among you eminent forwis-
dom and other good gifts, that we may appoint them
to the office of deacons in the church, and entrust with
the care of distributing to the necessitous, out of the
public stock ; and by these means Ave shall be less in
terrupted in our daily employment of praying and
preaching the gospel." This proposal pleased the whole
assembly, and they immediately put it in execution, no
minating seven, the first of Avhom Avas Stephen, a very
worthy person, richly instructed in the doctrine of
Christ, and full of the Holy Ghost ; the other six Were
Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parinenasy and Ni
colas. These seven, the disciples presented to the
twelve apostles, who by prayer and imposition of hands
ordained them to the office of deacons. Then the faith
of Christ was propagated, and a very gre^at number of
men in Jerusalem associated with the apostles, every day
more and more, and many of the Jewish priests received
the Gospel thus preached by the apostles.
Ofthe seven deacons thus ordained, Stephen was the
first and most eminent in the exercise of his holy func
tion, and was raised by .Divine Providence to the supe
rior honors of an Evangelist and a Martyr, and was en
abled in a very extraordinary manner, tp confirm fhe doc
trine he taught by many miraculous operations. And
as he was preaching the faith of Christ, some men of
that synagogue which was called by the name ,of Liber
tines,* and of those that dAvelt in Cyrene, Alexandria,
Cilicia and Asia, opposed and contradicted Stephen. But
he expressed himself with so much knowledge and
strength of argument,' that they were totally unable to
cope with him or defend themselves against his irresistible
arguments. They were therefore so much irritated that
they had recourse to a most mean and dishonest fraud,

* Libertines. These were the sons of tbem, who being Jews had been made
free denisens by the Romans, or were born of Jewish parents in cities which
had those privileges under the Romans, such as Tarsus, where Paul was born,
who was very active in this business. See Acts vii. 28.

Of the Holy Bible. 303
for they suborned false witnesses to SAvearagainst him and
accuse him to the Sanhedrim, that they had heard him
speak dishonourably of the Jewish religion. Having thus
incensed the Avhole city against Stephen, they caused
him to be apprehended and carried before the San
hedrim ; and their witnesses being produced, they
charged him with foretelling destruction to the temple,
and threatening the change of all the Mosaical rites and
ceremonies. Whilst the charge was read against him, the
judges and all that were present in the Sanhedrim, as they
looked on him, saw a great splendor about him, like the
countenance of an angel.* The chief priest having
heard the accusation, asked him Avhether he was guilty
of thus predicting the destruction of the temple, -and
change ofthe JeAvish religion ? In answer to whom he
makes this defence :
" Men, brethren and fathers, I beseech you observe.
The eternal God of heaven and earth appeared to our
father Abraham, whilst he Avas in Mesopotamia, the place
of his birth, commanding him to remove from thence,
by reason of the idolatries and other A'ices which had
.crept in among the people. In obedience to the divine
command he forsook his father !s house and his kindred,"
and taking his father with him, he travelled into Canaan,
there he pitched his tent, and built an altar; where he
gaA'e him no settlement for tbe, present, (he being soon
after obliged to remove into Egypt> and sojourn, there)
but there he received God's promise, that his posterity
should inherit and possess the whole land, though at the
time of this promise he had no child, nor any seeming
prospect of issue or inheritance. However, God con
firmed this promise to him Avith these concurring circum
stances ; that his posterity should first live in Canaan,
and after that go down into Egypt, where they should

* Angel. This is, no doubt, a proverbial expression, signifying a peculiar
degree of majesty and dignity, arising from a transport of inward joy, in the
consciousness of his innocence, the excellence of his cause, and his prospect
of glory.

304 A Complete History
be oppressed and afflicted, till the end of four hundred
years* from the time of Isaac's birth, until the time that
the iniquity of the seven nations (all concluded under
the,general name of Amorites, Avhich inhabited this pro
mised land) should be filled up, and they ready for God's
justice to destroy, and their land given away from them.
And then in the fourth generation from Jacob, when the
time of their deliverance from the Egyptian slavery was
at hand, God said, I will judge the Egyptians, lay heavy
punishments upon them, and make them release thy pos
terity, who shall come and possess this land, and serve
me in it. And in confirmation of this promise, God
made a covenant with Abraham, and appointed circum
cision as a seal of it, and accordingly Abraham, when
Isaac Avas born, circumcised him the eighth day ; and
Isaac begat the Patriarch Jacob, and Jacob his twelve
sons, the heads of the twelve tribes, of which this people
consisted. And these sons of Jacob were much displeased
with Joseph one of their brethren, and sold him into
Egypt, but God protected miraculously, and preserved
him, delivering him from prison, and at the same time
brought him into great favour with Pharaoh the king of
Egypt, who had so great an opinion of his wisdom and
justice, that he trusted him with the Avhole management
of his kingdom. Whilst Joseph flourished thus in the fa
vour of this prince, a terrible famine raged in Egypt and
Canaan for seven years, and our father Jacob, and his
children were in danger of perishing for want of food.
But Jacob understanding that there was a magazine of
corn reserved in Egypt, sent his sons thither twice to buy
corn ; and though at first Joseph treated them roughly,
yet the second time he discovered himself to be their

* Four Hundred Years. Many good critics suppose that this is mentioned
here (as in Gen. xv. IS,) as a round sum, without taking notice of the broken
numbers, the exact time being four hundred and thirty years, Exod. xii.
40, Gal. iii. 17. Those who wish to consider this minutely may consult
Bishop Patrick on Gen. xv. 13, and Drs. Doddridge and Whitby, on Acts
vii, 6.

Of the Holy Bible. 305
brother, and introduced them to Pharaoh, by whose or
der' Joseph ,sent for his. father and brethren, and their
children, where, with their families, they lived comfort
ably : at length Jacob and his twelve sons died there. Jo
seph and some ofhis brethren, being first buried in Egypt,
were, at the time of the deliverance of the Israelites from
bondage removed to Sichem, and buried in tbe field
bought by Jacob of the children of Hamor ; and Jacob
was not buried in Egypt, but by his sons carried and bu
ried in the field of Machpelah, bought by Abraham of
Ephron, the son of Zohar. But Avhen the four hundred
years were nearly expired, after which the performance
of the promise made to Abraham's seed was to com
mence, -the people becoming numerous, and another
king, that knew not the merits of Joseph, sitting on the
throne, our fathers suffered great hardships, the king,
to suppress their increase, commanding all their male
children to be put to death."
" In this juncture of time was Moses born, who being
a beautiful child * was first kept close in his father's house
three months. But when they could no longer conceal
him there, he was put into a cradle of rushes, and laid
by the river's brink ; but thus left and exposed, the pro
vidence of God preserved him : for it was so ordered,
that Pharaoh's daughter found him there, and put him to
nurse to his oAvn mother, and afterwards educated and
brought him up as her adopted son. By these means he
was instructed in all the learning of the Egyptians, and
became a considerable man among them. And when he
was forty years old, God having revealed to him his pur
pose of delivering the Israelites from their slavery by his
hands, and make him their leader, he resolved to visit
them: and seeing an Egyptian task-master Offering an
injury to an Israelite, by which his life was endangered,

* Beautiful Child. In the original it is Fair to God, or, as we should
express it in modern language, divinely fair ; it is a kind of Hebraism,
which is no more than an emphatieal expression, denoting his extraordinary
beauty. y
VOL. III. - R R

30S A Complete History
he interfered in his defence, and mortally wounded the
oppressor. This he did as an act of that office to which
God had appointed him; and apprehending that the Is
raelites knew that he was designated to be their deli
verer, he killed the Egyptian, as a first essay, Or exer
cise of that office : but in this he was mistaken, for they
did not as yet discern that God for this purpose had sent
him." " The next day he interposed as a pacifier of controver
sies among them, to try if they would accept him as a
judge, which was another part of the office for which he
was designed : but the aggressor in the controversy re
fused his arbitration, saying, Wilt thou murder me as
thou didst the Egyptian yesterday? Moses being thus re
pulsed, and fearing by what he had already done, that
he might be brought into trouble, if it should come to
the king's ear, fled from thence to Midian,* and tarried
with Jethro, the priest or prince-Of the country, whose
daughter he married, and by her had two children."
" At the end ofhis second forty years, which was also
the period of the predicted four hundred years, as Moses
Avas tending his sheep about Horeb, or Sinai, a mount fa
mous afterward for God's delivering the law from its sum
mit, he saw a flame of fire in a bush, but the bush was not
consumed by it ; and Avhilst Moses drew near to see the
meaningof this phenomenon, the voice of God by his an
gel spake to him, saying, I am the God of thy Fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob. This voice of God was so terrible to him, and
the flame that appeared in the bush so glorious and dazz
ling, that he could not look upon it. Then the same

* Midiam As Moses had acquired every branch of Egyptian literature,
and had also the prospect of the highest preferment, it must have been a pe
culiar act of self-denial in him to lea-ve the polite court of Egypt, and live as,
a retired shepherd in. Arabia. But St. Paul (Heb. xi.) ascribes this to his
faith, and as faith:has always a, reference to a promise, it cannot' be doubted,
that he had respect to the deliverance he, was to effect, as well as to the'
ultimate " recompense of reward."

Of the Holy Bible. 307
voice commanded him, in reverence to the place, Avhich
was in the presence of God, to put off his shoes; adding,
I know the oppression of my people, and Avill certainly
relieve them; and therefore commission thee to be their
deliverer. So that this Moses, whom they refused to be
their judge, to compose their differences, did God make
their captain, to bring them out of Egypt, shewing
many astonishing miracles before they Avere delivered
from their slavery, and afterwards rescuing them from
the hands of Pharaoh at the Red Sea ; and after forty
years spent in the wilderness to punish their murmuring,
and to sheAv more of God's power and miraculous pre
senting and sustaining them there, they were at last by
Joshua brought into Canaan."
"Now Moses was all this while but aprophet,foretelling
the purpose of God to send another and a greater prophet
to you in these days, the Messiah, and warning you to
receive and believe on him. This Moses afterwards, when
the people were encamped in the wilderness, Was Called
up to mount Sinai, where the law Avas delivered to him
and the Israelites ; and after all the miracles wrought by
God. to give him authority with them, the Israelites mur
mured and rebelled against him still, and inclined to
return to Egypt again, rather than submit to his autho
rity ; they also fell into idolatrous practices ; for under
the pretence that Moses had forsaken them, when he went
only' up to the mount to receiA^e God's commands for
them, they made themselves gods, after the manner ofthe
Egyptians. This provoked Jehovah to forsake them, to
leaA'e them to themselves, to permit them to follow their
oavb inclinations, Avhich led them to worship the stars of
heaven instead of God ; who therefore expostulates Avith
them: Were the sacrifices, which you offered up in the
wilderness all those forty years, offered to me, O house
of Israel ? Nay, as the grossest idolatry, ye set up a shrine
Avith the image of one of the Egyptian kings under the
title of Mars, and the picture of Saturn (another planet)
denoting another Egyptian god; and these images of
false gods ye have Avorshipped, Avhich idolatry will pro
duce to you a heavy captivity. These fathers of ours,
R R 2

308 A Complete History
continued Stephen, had the ark of the testimony Avith
them, wliich Avas made exactly according to the pattern
shewed by God to Moses. This their successors, under
the conduct of Joshua, brought with them into Canaan,
and so continued till David's time; who, having received
special favour from God, earnestly desired to build a
temple for his service ; but God would not permit him
the honiTur of building it, because he had been a man of
war, and had shed much blood ; and therefore reserved
it for his son Solomon, who built it in a most sumptuous
manner." And now Stephen, haying by this historical relation
brought his discourse to the point in hanfl, he closes it
Avith an application to the present occasion. " But
surely, continues he, God doth not so dwell in this tem
ple, (who hath the whole world for his palace) as that
he should preserve this for ever from being destroyed,
since you, by crucifying his Son, have provoked him to
take yengeance on you, for continuing in the rebellions
of your fathers : for if David's blood-guiltiness made him
incapable of building it, yours Avill render you unwor
thy of having it continued to you. For as your fa
thers persecuted and slew the prophets of old, who fore
told the coming of the Messiah, so ye', now he is actu
ally come, have betrayed and murdered him. A sin
heightened with the greatest aggravations imaginable,
whether we consider the person thus treated by you, or
you that used him thus : He the holiest person in the
world, that came to be your Saviour ; and you the peo
ple of God, the very men, for whose sake the law was
delivered from God- by tbe ministry of angels, and by
them to you ; and yet you have not obeyed it, nor em
braced him which came to perfect that law, but abso
lutely rebelled against it all."
This whole discourse of Stephen's, but especially the
close of it, foretelling their destruction for their unbelief,
Ayounded them deeply ; but instead of producing contri
tion, it exasperated them the more, and incensed them
against him to such a degree, that they resolved
upon his death, with all the expressions of rage-and ma-

Of the Holy Bible. 309
lice. But he, inspired with an holy courage, and far above
all fear of their fury, looking up to heaven, saAv the ap
pearance of angels before God, and Jesus standing, as in
a posture of readiness to assist and help, close by him.
This vision so animated him, that he could not forbear
proclaiming it to his persecutors, saying, " Behold I see
the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the
right hand of God."* This so inflamed their cruel zeal,
that they immediately accused him of blasphemy, and
dragged him out of the city to stone him ; and they that
were the eA'idences against him, and were according to
the law to be his executioners, put off their upper • gar
ments to fit themselves for their work, and a young man,
named Saul, took the charge of them during this furious
assault, he continued invoking his great Lord, and say
ing, " Lord Jesus receive my Spirit ;" and at last con
cluded in this charitable expression for his enemies and
murderers, " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."
And so saying, he expired.
Saul, who was afterwards so renowned an apostle, was
one of those who approved of the stoning of Stephen,
and concurred, in it. Nor did the storm, which burst out
so violently cn the protomartyr, cease with his life ; the
flaming zeal of the Jews, exerting itself with the greatest
fury against the professors of the christian faith at Jeru
salem ; all of whom, except the apostles, dispersed them-
seh'es in Judea and Samaria, and preached to the Jews ;
but the apostles continued in Jerusalem. Stephen being
thus crowned with martyrdom, some proselytes that were
in the city made a solemn funeral for him, and sincerely
lamented his death; As for Saul, he continued a violent
persecutor of the faithful, annoying them wherever he

* God. Some suppose that the heavens were really divided, or rendered '
transparent, so that the glory of Christ became visible to his bodily eyes;
but it is more rational to suppose, that it was a visionary representation,
miraculously impressed on his imagination. So (Dr. Doddridge oibserves)
Ezekiel saw, while he sat in his house at Babylon, tlie city ol Jerusalem.
Ezek. viii. 1, 4.

310 A Complete History
found them, and without distinction of age or sex com
mitted them to prison. Wherefore thos^ that had dis
persed themselves to avoid persecution, and Saul's zea
lous rage, retired to a distance ; but wherever they Avan-
dered, theyvpublished the glad tidings of the gospel.
In the number of those scattered disciples, Philip, the
deacon, Avas pre-eminent} who going from Judea to Sa
maria, preached the gospel at Sebaste, one of its cities ;
and all people being convinced by the miracles that Philip
wrought, were persuaded to receive the faith of Christ ';
for from many who were possessed, he cast out devils,
Avhich, on that occasion, loudly proclaimed the irre-
sistibleness of the power by which they were expelled.
But previous to the preaching. and miracles of Philip,
there had beeh in this city one Simon, a magician, who
had puzzled ahd amused the people with his necromantic
tricks and performances; and having for a long time im
posed on their weakness by these arts, he had acquired
the name of Divine.* But when Philip, by preaching
the christian faith, and by the performance of real mi
racles, had converted many to Christianity, they became
proselytes to the;gospel, and received baptism of him;
and even Simon himself, when he professed to give cre
dit to the doctrines he heard, expressed his astonishment
at the miracles he beheld, and was actually baptized.
ThCse wonderful proceedings and happy successes of
Philip, Avere soon related to the apostles at Jerusalem ;
who being desirous that these new converts might be
further confirmed in their christian profession, by those
extraordinary gifts which inferior officers in the church
could not bestow, sent Peter and John unto them, who,
though once strongly prejudiced against the Samaritans,

* Divine. He pretended to be some extraordinary person. Irenaeus says,
that Simon boasted, he had appeared to the Samaritans as the Father,
to the Jews as the Son, and to the Gentiles as the Holy Spirit; and
Justin Martyr, says he asserted that all the names of God were- to be
ascribed to him, and that he was " God above all principality, power, and
virtue."

Of the Holy Bible. 311
cheerfully undertook the journey; and being Avith them,
implored the miraculous powers ofthe Spirit, which were
immediately granted, upon the imposition of the
apostles' hands.
Simon, the magician, seeing those miraculous effects
folloAv the imposition of hands, offered to give the
apostles money, if they would convey this powerful gift
to him. But Peter, in a holy indignation, resenting this
affront offered to the sacred function, refusing his money,
told him, " Thy money perish with thee, and thy pro
fane offer of it Avill call for mischief on thee, for thinking
so meanly of this extraordinary privilege, bestOAved on us
by Christ, which is not to be purchased like earthly com
modities Avith the price of money: thou shalt neATer have
any part of this divine privilege, nor right of dispensing
these holy things ; for thy design, in desiring these gifts,
is to advance thy oAvn credit and esteem among men, and
not to enlarge the kingdom of Christ. Repent therefore,
and humble thyself before God for this wicked and im
pious proposal, and humbly beseech him to pardon thee;
{for it is not impossible that it may yet be obtained)
for I perceive that thou art in a condition dangerous to
thyself, and hateful to God." Simon being convinced
of his wicked error, and affected Avith the horror of his
guilt, implored the prayers of the apostles to God for
him, to pardon this wickedness, and to aArert those pu-"
nishments and judgments which they seemed to foretel
Avould fall upon him.
The apostles having confirmed those in the faith, Avho
were baptized by Philip, returned to Jerusalem, and as
they proceeded on their journey, preached the gospel in
many other towns and villages of Samaria with much
success. But Philip received particular orders from
heaven by an angel of God, who commanded him to tra
vel to the south. Philip obeyed the heavenly vision, and
being on the way, at a little distance observed a chariot
with a splendid retinue, which belonged to and attended
on the treasurer of Candace, queen of Ethiopia, whobeing
a proselyte* to the Jewish religion, had been at Jerusa-
* Proselyte. A proselyte is one, that being a Gentile by birth and religion,
comes over to the Jewish religion in whole, or in part.

312 A Complete History
lem to worship the God of Israel. Whilst Philip was
looking on, the Spirit of God directed him to go near
to the chariot, and speak to him that rode in it. Philip
obeyed, and approaching the chariot, heard him reading
the prophecy of Isaiah ; and asking him whether he un
derstood what he read, the treasurer told him he Avas at
a loss, and desired his instruction : Avhereupon Philip
ascended the chariot. The place of scripture that perplexed
tbe Ethiopian was this: " He Avas led as a sheep to the
slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before her shearers he
opened not his mouth ; in his humiliation his judgment
Avas taken away, and who shall declare his generation ?
for his life was taken from the earth." This text he de
sired Philip to explain, demanding, whether the prophet
spake this of himself, or of some other person ? Then
Philip began at this text, and from thence preached Jesus
to him. Upon Avhich the Ethiopian was converted,
and desired to be baptized ; and opportunely seeing a
pool of water near the road, he instantly pressed Philip
to perform that office ; who told him he was ready to
do it, provided he was sincere : upon which the other
replied, " I stedfastly believe these prophecies of the
Messias to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and that he is the
Son of God." Then both alighted from the chariot and
went down to the water, where Philip baptized him ; and
as soon as they were come up from the water, the Spirit of
God took Philip out of sight, andthe Ethiopian was left
alone ; who returning to his chariot, went with joy to his
own country ; but the angel conveyed Philip to Azotus,
who all the way he went preached the gospel till he came
to Caesarea.
Notwithstanding this dispersion of the disciples, per
secution still raged against the faithful, wherever they
lay in their enemies Avay. But none so eminent for zeal
and cruelty as Saul, whose sanguinary mind, not satiated
with Stephen's death, pushed him on to the utmost seve
rities against theChristians,whom he threatened with no
thing less than prisons and death. And to qualify him
self the more for the execution of this bloody purpose, he
requested the High-priest to enlarge his commission.

Of the Holy Bible. 313
The Sanhedrim, overjoyed at the forwardness of this fu
rious instrument, immediately dispatch him away with
power to seize all Christians, and send them bound to
Jemsalem to be tried ; Jerusalem being the metropolis of
Syria a6 well as Judea. This commission was highly
pleasing to Saul's cruel spirit, who immediatelyhastens to
Damascus to put in execution ; but while he Avas on the
road entertaining himself with the bloody prospect, God,
in mercy to him, and those whom he went to persecute,
takes him off from his wicked purposes : a bright shining
cloud encompassed him, Avhich struck him with great ter
ror, as at the presence of God, who he knew was wont thus
to exhibit himself. This threw, him prostrate on the
ground, where, as he lay, a sudden clap of thunder in
vaded bis ears, and a voice out of it saying to him, " Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" This increased his
amazement, and being desirous to know the meaning of
this vision, he asks, " Who art thou, Lord ?" The voice
replied, " I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom thou perse^-
cutest ; all thy fury can only hurt thyself, but cannot do
me any real injury." Saul, perceiving that he whom he
had so virulently opposed was indeed a glorious and
powerful person, and yet, instead of destroying him,
had condescended to expostulate with him, cried out, in
the amazement and consternation of his soul, " Lord,
what Avilt thou have me to do ?" For he was constrained
at once to decline his opposition to Christ, and to resign
himself entirely to his disposal. The Lord immediately
replied, " Go to Damascus, and there thou shalt know
my will." The attendants were struck dumb with fear
and amazement, wondering that they should hear a voice,
but see no man speaking. Therefore, taking up SanL
they led him to the city, where, in a sort of trance or
ecstasy, he continued blind three days, without receiving
any sustenance.
At the time of this wonderful transaction, there was at
Damascus a certain- disciple named Ananias, to whom
the Lord, in a vision, gave this charge : " Go into the
straight street, and inquire at the house of one Judas for
San} of Tarsus, for I have revealed to him in a vision,
vol. in. s s

314 A Complete History
that he shall recover his sight by imposition of thy
hands." But Ananias, well knowing Saul's furious
temper, the fame of which had been toosensibly known
in those parts, expostulated with the Lord', for putting
him on so dangerous an attempt. But the Lord said,
" Obey, for I have chosen him a special instrument for
the service of my church, to preach my gospel, not only
to the Jews,, but to the Gentiles : and as fierce as he hath
been against the Christian faith, he shall suffer very
heavy trials for my sake, labour most abundantly in the
propagation of it, and at last lay down his life for it."
Ananias obeyed, and coming to the house where Saul
was, he saluted him with this congratulatory speech.
" Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, that appeared to thee on
thy Avay to Damascus, hath commissioned me not only to
Restore thy sight, but to endow thee with the gifts and
graces ofthe Holy Ghost, to qualify thee for the service
of his church, to which thou art uoav consecrated." Im
mediately upon this, Saul recovered his sight ; and was,
by baptism, received into the number of the faithful ; and
haying taken food after a long abstinence, he was quickly
strengthened, and recovered his former health and vigour,
which it was his immediate care to employ in the service
of, his new master. He now associated with the disciples
whom he came to persecute ; and, in a very short time,
began to preach Christ in the synagogues, proving, by
incontestible arguments, that he is the true Messiah,
the Son of God.
This sudden change of Saul greatly surprised the peo
ple of Damascus, who remembering that he had so lately
been concerned in the death of Stephen, a violent per
secutor of the Christians, and but just before was sent
from the Sanhedrim with a special commission rb that
purpose, could scarcely believe him sincere. But Saul
every day increased in spiritual strength, and was soon
able to repel all the arguments of the Jews, enforcing
his own with such evidence, that they were not able to
deny the proofs he gave of Jesus being the Messiah.
This Christian courage, and spiritual freedom of Saul,
which baffled the Jews in all their disputes, so exasperated

Of the Holy Bible. 315
them, that they entered into a conspiracy against him,
resolving to destroy him; but having timely notice, he
Srevented their malice by an honest stratagem : for the
isciples, understanding that the JeAvs kept a constant
guard at the gates ofthe city, and that it was impossible
to conA'ey him from thence by day-light, took the op
portunity of the darkness ofthe night, and let him down
the wall in a basket, by which means he escaped to Jeru
salem ; where, when he offered himself to the conversa
tion of the faithful, they Avere afraid to associate with
him on account of his former character ; but Barnabas
introducing him to the apostles, vouched for his
sincerity, declaring the manner of his miraculous con
version, and that in confirmation of his mission, which
he in a special manner had received from the Lord, he
had openly preached at Damascus the gospel of Christ.
Upon this assurance he was received by the apostles, and
employed in the work of his sacred calling, to which, by
his Christian courage and great abilities, he was a bright
ornament. But here likevvise, as before at Damascus,
signalizing himself in all disputes with the Jews that un
derstood Greek, they were so enraged at his pious zeal,
that they attempted his life ; which the brethren under
standing, they conveyed him from Jerusalem to Csesarea,
and thence to Tarsus, the place ofhis birth.
Now all the Christian assemblies through Judea, Ga
lilee, and Samaria, were indulged with the quiet use of
their religion, daily improving and increasing in the faith,
and building on that foundation the pure and pious prac
tice of all Christian virtues . And as Peter, at this favourable
juncture, Avas making his progress through all the neigh
bouring country, to instruct and confirm the new converts
in the faith of the gospel, he paid a visit to the disciples at
Lydda, where he wrought a miraculous cure upon iEneas,
who had been afflicted eight years with'the palsy, and
was not able to help himself. Upon which miracle, the
inhabitants of Lydda and Saron generally received the ,
faith. At this time there was at Joppa, a woman who had
received the gospel, Avhose name was Tabitha, or Dorcas,
Avho, by extraordinary industry and labour in her'pro-
S S 2

3 1 6 A Complete History
fession and way of employment, was ready to do all
good offices of charity and liberality to the necessitous :
and thus full of good works, she Was taken sick, and died.
Having therefore by way of preparation for her inter
ment washed her body, according to their custom of
burying, they laid her in an upper room. Now Lydda
being near" Joppa, the disciples sent messengers to Pe
ter, intreating his presence among them ; and when he
came to Joppa, they shewed him into the room where
Tabitha was laid out, and the poor widows who had been
clothed by her christian bounty came weeping to Peter,
and shewed him the garments Avhich she either made her
self, or caused to bejnade, as monuments of her charity.
Then Peter, ordering the company to withdraw, kneeled
down and prayed; and,. turning to the body, said, "Ta
bitha, arise !" Upon which, opening her eyes, she sat
up ; and Peter giving her his hand helped her up, and
presented her alive to her friends that lamented her loss.
The fame of this miracle soon spread through the place,
and multitudes were thereupon converted to the faith,
being no longer able to resist such evidences of the truth
of the gospel. To finish this great work therefore, Peter
continued some time at Joppa, taking up his residence
in the house of one Simon, a tanner.
Upon the borders of Palestine, about seventy miles
from Jerusalem stood the stately city of Csesarea, where
the Romans kept a garrison to awe the conquered Jews,
part of which was called the Italian-Cohort, or band of
soldiers, commanded by Cornelius, who was a man of
distinguished piety, and worshipped the true God, and
his family, led by his pious example, did the same ; he
was also remarkably generous to the poor, and.abounded
in acts of devotion. And as he Avas one day, at three
in the afternoon, engaged in prayer, he saAv an angel,
who called "him by his name. But when he discerned
it to be a message from God, in great fear and astonish
ment, he said, " Lord, what is thy pleasure ?" To which
the angel gave this comfortable reply, " Thy prayers
and the alms with which they have been attended, are
come lip into the Divine presence, as a grateful memo-

Of the Holy Bible. 317
rial, more pleasing than the most fragrant incense ; and
he is nbw about to afford thee a singular token of his fa
vor. Send a message therefore to Joppa, and at the
house of one Simon, a tanner, near the sea-side, inquire
for Simon, whose sirname is Peter, who shall instruct
thee in the knowledge of the mercy designed thee, and
give thee directions for thy whole future life." The an
gel being gone, Cornelius called two of his menial ser
vants, and a pious soldier, one of his domestics, whom,
when he had acquainted with the Avhole matter of the
vision, he sent off to Joppa.
The next day, whilst these men were on the road, and
not far from Joppa, about noon Peter went up to the flat
roof of the house (a place commodious for devotion)
to pray ; and being hungry, Avould have eaten ; but he
fell into an ecstasy or a trance,* and in a vision seemed
to see heaven opened, and a great sheet or wrapper, tied
at the four corners, which containing all sorts of crea
tures, clean and unclean, denoting the JeAvs and Gentiles
together, was let down to the earth ; and there came a
voice to Peter, saying, " Rise, kill and eat!" But Peter
refused, thinking himself bound to eat nothing that was
forbidden by the law, concerning things clean and un
clean. But the voice spoke to him a second time, telling
him God had taken away those interdicts concerning
meats ; and therefore when God makes no distinction,
he ought not to make any. After three admonitions, the
sheet was taken up into heaven, and Peter was left in
great perplexity seriously considering what could be the
meaning of this visionary representation. While he
laboured under this doubtful anxiety, the men who were
sent from Cornelius were just come to Simon's house,"
and stood at the gate, inquiring for Peter; at which in
stant of time it was revealed to Peter by an inward sug
gestion, that three men inquired for him, and that he -

* Trance. The word exsowis signifies, " the rapture of the mind," when
the external senses being suspended, God reveals himself in a peculiar manner
to his servants, the prophets or apostles, Acts. x. 10, xl. 17.

318 A Complete History
must go along with them, making- no question upon
those Jewish scruples ofthe unlawfulness of conversing
with the Gentiles.
Peter immediately obeyed the heavenly admonition,
and went down to the men, demanding the cause of their
coming; who tell him, that Cornelius, a pious centu
rion, and generally Avell ' esteemed by the Jews, had
seen a vision, and therein was commanded by an angel
of God to send for him to come to him, that he might
hear something of great moment from him. Then in
viting them into the house, he entertained them that
night; and the next morning Peter went from Joppa at
tended with several of the brethren to Csesarea, where
they the next day arrived ; and Cornelius, to sheAv the
greater respect to his venerable guest, had invited his
kindred and friends to join with him in the reception.
Peter and his company being arrived at Csesarea, Corne
lius met him at his door, and considering him as an an
gel sent immediately from heaven, he behaved himself
with the greatest humility, falling down at his feet
to pay him homage ; but Peter would not permit this,
telling him, as he raised him from the ground, that him
self was no more than a man, though God had employed
him on this errand. Then addressing himself to the com
pany, he thus begun': " Ye ail know that the laws of
the JeAvish rehgion permit not a Jew to converse with
any Gentile ; but God hath by vision revealed to me, that
I should not make any difference between Jews, and Gen
tiles. Therefore I came to you without scruple, as soon
as I was sent for : I desire therefore to know the cause
of your sending for me ?"
Cornelius, with the greatest frankness and seriousness,
. answered for the company : four days since I was fasting
until this time of the day, and at three of the clock re
tiring to prayer, an angel appeared to me in human
form, ' in bright apparel, and said, " Cornelius, thy
prayer is heard, and thy alms recorded in the book of
heaven ; send therefore to Joppa, and inquire at Simon
the tanner's, for Peter, who, when he cometh, shall in
struct thee what to do." In obedience to the divine de-

Of the. Holy Bible. 319
cree I sent to thee, and thus far all things in the vision
are fulfilled. It noAV only remains that thou instruct us
farther in the will of God ; for we are here assembled in
his presence, and disposed to hear with becoming re
verence and attention all those things which God hath
given thee in charge."
Then Peter, laying aside all personal distinctions and
prerogatives, makes the following improvement of the
¦ former vision : " I now plainly perceive, and am fully
satisfied, whatever my former prejudices were as to the
difference oetween the Jews and the Gentiles, that God,
the great Father ofthe whole human race, is no respecter
of persons, and accepts no man merely because he is of
such a nation, nor does he mean to confine his favours
to the seed of Abraham : the middle wall of partition is
broken down, so that proselytes, and pious men of eyery
nation, are equally acceptable to him, and may be freely
admitted to partake of the blessings of the gospel. The
doctrine which hath been preached through all Judea, and
took its rise from Galilee, just in your neighbourhood,
after John's preaching and baptizing, concerning Jesus
of Nazareth, is no strange thing to you ; how by the
testimony, of the Holy Ghost descending on him, and by
the power of working miracles, God authorized him ;
and accordingly he hath executed his office, in calling
to repentance, curing diseases, and casting out devils, by
the power of God, which was present with him. Of all
which wonderful things performed by him we are wit
nesses, and likewise of his crucifixion and resurrection,
that grand triumph over death. But this manifestation
was not immediately made to all the Jews, but only to
his disciples, Avhom God hadi inclined to leave all and
follow Christ ; and as he had chosen them to be witnesses
of all that Christ did when he was living, so he ordained
them witnesses of his resurrection, giving them the ho
nour of eating and drinking Avith him after he rose from
the dead. And this God hath appointed us to publish," «
and to proclaim to all the world, that this crucified Christ
is raised to God's right hand, to be judge of all men.
This is he, of whom all the prophets foretold, that who-

320 A Complete History
soever believeth in him shall receive the forgiveness of
their sins by his name, though their crimes be ever so
heinous." Whilst Peter was thus speaking, the Holy Ghost came
down upon the whole audience, and inspired them with
his gifts and graces ; which Avas a wonderful confirmation
of the preceding visions, and that part of Peter's dis
course concerning the removal of the distinction between
the Jews and Gentiles. And this more particularly af
fected the Jews who had received the gospel, who seeing
the Holy Ghost equally inspiring this assembly, Avere
convinced, and praised God for this impartial distribution
of his mercies. Then Peter, by way of application of
what he had before preached, says, " There is no scruple
to be made of receiving these to the privileges of the
gospel, although they be Gentiles, since God, by the im
mediate descent of the Holy Ghost, hath granted them."
Upon which they were all baptized in the name of the
Blessed Trinity ; Peter, at their earnest request, tarrying
some time with them.
Before Peter's return from Csesarea, the apostles and
disciples at Jerusalem had heard that the people of other
countries, who were not JeAVs, had embraced the doctrine
of Christ. And at Peter's coming to Jerusalem, the
Jewish Christians, who still adhered strictly to the ob
servation of the M6saical law of circumcision, of ab
staining from unclean things, and conversing with men
of other nations, accused Peter of too much freedom in
conversing with those that were not circumcised, and
eating with them, which, according to the law of the
Jews, wa6 forbidden. But Peter made his apology by
giving them an exact account of the whole proceeding,
with the occasion of it: and at last draws this conclusion
from it ; " Since God hath been pleased to allow these
Gentiles the same privileges*with us who have been his
constant disciples, and since the gift ofthe Holy Ghost
hath been likewise imparted to them, it must in me have
bee?n direct disobedience to God, if I had declined re
ceiving them into the church, or refused to preach to
and converse Avith them." With this account of the mat-

Of the Holy Bible. 321
ter they Avere perfectly satisfied, and blessed God, who
had communicated the same mercy to the Gentiles as to
the Jews. But still the disciples, Avho were dispersed
jjpon the persecution and death of Stephen, preached
the gospel to the Jews only.
After this, the apostles being informed of the further
progress of the gospel at Antioch, and desirous of con
firming them' in the faith, sent thither Barnabas, a pious
man endued with many excellent gifts, who, being
highly delighted Avith the pleasing effects of the Avord
among them, exhorted them all to adhere to the Lord
with full determination of heart. The exhortations of
this Avorthyman Avere attended with a peculiar blessing;
for those who had embraced the gospel were confirmed
in the faith, and a considerable number believed, and
were received into the church.
Barnabas having effected his design at Antioch, and
wishing for an assistant in his labours, left that place for
Tarsus in search of Saul, and finding him there, returned
with him to Antioch, where, for a Avhole year, they reT
sorted to the place of public assemblies, instructing and
confirming all that came. And those that had received
the faith of Christ being before called Nazarites or Ga
lileans, were first of all in Antioch styled Christians.*
About this time, some of the chief men, who possessed
the gift of prophecy, came by the appointment of the
church at Jerusalem to Antioch ; and one of them named
Agabus, by revelation from the Spirit of God, foretold
that there should shortly be a very great famine through
all the adjacent countries ; which accordingly came to
pass in the reign ofthe Emperor Claudius ; upon Avhich
the Christians in all places, according to their ability,
resolved to send relief to the Christians in Judea in this
time of dearth ; and this accordingly they did, forward-

* Christians. So denominated, a? many think, by an intimation from
hesiven, the name, however, is eminently significative, and should remind
911 who bear it of the propriety of resembling that holy person from whom
/they derive it.
VOL. III. T T

322 A Complete History
ing their bounty to the care of the elders of the church
at Jerusalem, by the faithful hands of Barnabas and Saul.
About this time, being the forty-third year of Christ,
Herod Agrippa, grandson to Herod the Great, having
obtained great part of his dominions, and so calling
himself by his name, resolved to persecute the Christians,
especially the apostles at Jerusalem, merely to gratify
the Jews. And in this persecution, James the apostle,
the son of Zebedee, was beheaded by Herod's command.*
Perceiving that this cruel action was very acceptable to
the Jews, whose favour he was fond of -conciliating, he
was determined to proceed, and therefore apprehended
Peter also about the time of the Passover: and having
imprisoned him, he set a guard of sixteen soldiers over
him, intending after the Passover to bring him forth to
the Jews, and, if they approved of it, to put him to
death. During Peter's confinement, the church , ceased
not to offer up their constant prayers for his preserva
tion. And ,the night before Herod intended to bring
him to the assembly, to have their suffrage to condemn
him, whilst Peter was sleeping, more securely under the
protection of heaven than his double chains and guard,
an angel descended in a bright cloud, Avhich illuminated
the prison, and touching his side, bid him arise. Upon
which, awaking, he found his fettered limbs at liberty.
Then the angel commands him to dress himself, and fol
low him. Peter, in some disorder obeyed, not know
ing what was really done, but thought he had been in a
dream or" trance. The prison being in the suburbs, they
passed the first and second Avards, where Avatch was kept
every night Avithout the gates ; and at last they came to
the iron-gate that led to the city, which opening to them
of its own accord, they passed ; and Avhen they had gone
through it into the street, the heaAenly guide having

* Thus was our Lord's prediction concerning him fulfilled, JIatt. xx. 23 ;
and thus would the heroic courage of the rest of ms ministers be displayed
in proceeding with their work, as it would plainly shew that their miraculous
powers did not secure thein from dying by the sword of tlieir enemies.

Of the Holy Bible. 323 V
carried his sacred charge out of danger of the guards,
disappeared, leaving Peter alone. By this time Peter
was perfectly awake, and considering Avhat had happened,
he said to himself, " Noav I am satisfied,that God hath
sent, his angel to deliver me from the hands of Herod,
.and from the expectation of the Jews." And as he Avas
ruminating on his miraculous escape, he came to the
house of Mary, a place where many Christians were
spending the night in earnest prayer for his deliverance;
and God had graciously answered them, for he had dis
charged the prisoner for whom they Avere so much con
cerned. J?eter knocking at the door, a damsel, named
Rhoda, cameto know who it was, and hearing Peter an
swer, she, overjoyed to hear his voice, ran into the house,
and acquainted the company that Peter was at the door.
They told her she was mad : but she persisted in her first
report. Then they being moved with her constant af
firming of it, thereupon concluded, that though Peter
himself could not be there, yet there Was some messen
ger * sent from him, Avho might mention his name. But
whilst they were thus debating among themselves, Peter
continued knocking; and when they had let him in, they
were exceedingly surprised to see him in person. But
lest their joy might discover his escape to the neighbour
hood, he beckoned to then! with his hand to be silent,
whilst he related how wonderfully God had delivered him
out of the hands of his enemies. He also bid them go
and immediately acquaint James AA'ith this good neAvs,
that it might be communicated to the rest of the bre
thren ; he then, very prudently, separated from them,

* Messenger. The word angel, which, by way of excellence, is put to
denote tlie immortal spirits' attending on God, doth primarily, aud in the
common use, signify a messenger, and from thence only denote those spirits,
because they are messengers of God, employed by him : and consequently, it
may signify here no more than a messenger from ^ St. Peter; so it doth
Matthew xi. 10, Mark i. 2, Luke vii. 27, &c. And so the angels of the
churches were not those .immortal spirits, Rev. i. 19, but ministers, the mes
sengers of God to the people.
TT 2

324 A Complete History, "
and went to a place of greater security, to avoid the
search which he knew would of course be made among
his friends and acquaintance; and therefore he departed
to Csesarea, Avhere he staid till the noise of his escape
was over.'
The next morning, as soon as it was day, the soldiers
missing their prisoner, were in the utmost confusion,
none being able to imagine by what means he could es
cape ; which Herod hearing of, he sent for the guard,
and strictly examined them ; but they being unable to
give any satisfactory account of the matter, and thinking
it unsafe to admit any idea of a miraculous interposition
in favour of a man whom they had deA^oted to destruc
tion, ordered them to be immediately led away to exe
cution for their negligence.
At this time there was some misunderstanding be
tween Herod and the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon,
against whom he was about to declare war. But they,
dreading his power, made interest with Blastus, Herod's
chamberlain, to intercede for them, and make up the
matter; for they could not subsist without his favour.
Upon this occasion Herod appointed a day to hear and
determine the business ; and being dressed in his royal
robes, and seated on his throne, he made a speech to
them. The fawning crowd thinking to ingratiate them
selves, and please the tyrant's pride with flattering ap
plause, rent the sky with their noisy shouts, crying out,
" It is the voice of a God, and not of a man." Herod,
with secret pride and vanity assumed that praise to him
self which belonged only to God ; and this blasphemy,
added to his bloody persecutions and other sins, ren
dered him ripe for divine vengeance, which immediately
seizing him with inexpressible torment in his bowels,^
terminated in a speedy mortification, and deprived him
of* life: a just reward for affecting the titles due to
God, from the clamorous and undiscerning populace.
* This was the end of Herod Agrippa, grandson of that inhuman tyrant
Herod the Great, the destroyer of the infants of Bethlehem : his father
Alexander, born of Mariamne, was nut to death with his brother Aristobulus

Of the Holy Bible. 325
This tyrant thus removed, the gospel flourished and
increased, neAv converts being daily added to the faith.
Barnabas and Saul, having discharged tlieir trust, in car
rying the necessary provision appointed for the relief of
the poor Christians ; at Jerusalem, and other parts of
Judea, returned from thence to Antioch,- and took along
with them John, whose sirnaine was Mark. *
s In the church at Antioch there were several- prophets
and teachers of eminence; and as they were ministering
to the Lord in public, and joined prayer to fasting, the
Holy Spirit, by immediate revelation, directed them to
appoint Barnabas and Saul to the extraordinary work of
preaching the gospel among the Gentiles, for which God
had already designed them. In order to this, they ap
pointed a solemn day of fasting and prayer, and by im
position of hands ordained them to the work for which
God had appointed them. Having thus received their
commission from God himself, they set out for Seleucia,
and from thence sailed to Cyprus, where, in the city of
Salamis, they publicly preached the gospel in the syna
gogues of the Jews, having Mark with them as their at
tendant. From Salamis they travelled through the island
to Paphos; another city of Cyprus, where the temple of
Venus was. Here they met. with Barjesus, a magician f
and false prophet, who being intimate with Sergius Pau-

many years before, by Herod, whose whole posterity was finally exterminated-
and Herod Agrippa, who killed James, the Lord's brother, and first bishop of
the church of Jerusalem, fell in the manner here related, by the just vengeance
of heaven .
* Mark. This appears to have been a different person from Mark the
Evangelist, who was the convert and companion of Peter. This John Mark
was the nephew of Barnabas, who had a great affection for him, and took him
with him in several of his journies.
* f Magician, The word elymas, in the Arabian language, signifies
hnoxoing and skilful, and is applied to those that know things divine and
human. So the word magos, with the Greeks, is the title of their wise men
skilled in the secret learning, and whom we originally call Magicians.
Others derive this name from the Arabic word alaim, which signifies one
acquainted withjiidden secrets.

326 A Complete History
lis, the proconsul, a prudent and virtuous man, who was
inclinable to receive the faith, did all he could to divert'
him from the conversation of these two apostles. But
Paul, * being in an extraordinary manner under the in
fluence of the Holy Spirit, in a holy rage, fixing his eyes
on Barjesus, he thus expressed bis abhorrence, " O vile ,
sorcerer ! Like the devil, by whom thou workest, thou
art an enemy to all goodness ; wilt thou persist in de
fiance of the faith of Christ, which comes armed with a
much greater poAver of miracles than those to which thou
falsly pretendest ? Thou shalt soon feel the vengeance of
heaven upon thyself ; for -thou that perversely opposest
the light ofthe gospel shalt lose thy sight, which by the
immediate power ot God shall be taken from thee for a
time." And immediately he was struck blind, imploring,
the aid of some kind hand to lead him. This miraculous
act upon the sorcerer convinced the proconsul, and he
was converted to thefaith.
Having performed great things, and converted many,
he with his .company, except John, who returned to Je
rusalem, went by sea from Paphos to Perga in Pamphylia,
and from thence to Antioch in Pisidia, -{- where, on*a
sabbath-day, going into a 'synagogue, they sat down ;
and after the lessons, one out of the law, the other out
ofthe prophets, it being the custom for the Jewish doc
tors to expound some part of the scripture for the in
struction of the people, the chief persons of the assembly
which Avere present sent to Paul and his companions, to
know whether they were disposed to speak to the con-

* Paul. There are several accounts of Saul's two names. But the most
probable of tbem is that of Origen, in the Preface of the Epistle to the
Romans ; where he saith, that Saul being a Jew born in a city of the Romans,
had at his circumcision two names, Saul a. Jewish, and Paul a Roman name.
And this is agreeable to th& form of speech in Acts xiii. 9, " But Saul, who is
also Paul," noting him to have had two names at once, and not to have
changed one for the other.
t This is called Antioch in Pisidia, to distinguish it from Antioch in Syria,
so frequently mentioned in this history.

Of the Holy Bible. 327
gregation. Whereupon Paul gladly embracing this op
portunity, and beckoning vvith hand for silence, thus
addressed himself to the congregation: "Attend ye men
of Israel, and all you that fear God. It was your God,
the God of Israel, that chose Abraham, and promised to
bless and multiply his seed, and accordingly performed
it, increasing them to a great number, even when they
were slaves in a strange land, from which he miracu
lously delivered them : and for forty, years, though they
murmured and rebelled against him, he treated them w7ith
paternal care, destroying seven. nations in the land of
Canaan to make room for them. After that, for the
space of four hundred years, he gave them a series of
judges, by whose heroiG interposition, he delivered them
from those repeated oppressions and miseries which their
frequent revolts to idolatry had brought, upon them ;
this sort of government lasted till Samuel's time, Avho
being a prophet, ruled them in God's name and stead, for
a time ; of whose peaceful government being weary,
they desired a king ; upon which God gave them Saul
the son of Kish, who governed them two andforty years :
and when God in his displeasure had removed him, he
gaAre them David to be their king, who, God promised,
should rule his people after his own will. From this
man's posterity, as he promised, did Jesus descend, ap
pointed by God to be the Saviour of Israel. This is the
illustrious person Avhom God so often promised to send
into the world ; and John the Baptist having been sent
before as his herald, and having preached, to introduce
his appearance, the baptism' of repentance, declared that
he was not the Messiah, but his forerunner, and not
worthy to be even his menial servant.
"And noAv, brethren, this gospel, which Christ
brought into the world, is sent to be proclaimed and
made known to you. For the Sanhedrim and people of
Jerusalem, notwithstanding the prophecies which fore
told his coming, the many miracles he wrought, and the
good he did among them, adjudged him to death, and
so have fulfilled tlie prophecies concerning him. And
though he Avas perfectly innocent, no just accusation

328 A Complete History
being brought: against him, yet by clamours and threat-
nings they never ceased importuning Pilate till they cru
cified him. And when they had fulfilled the scripture
concerning him, by exerting their malice against him,
they took him from the Cross^ and burying him in a se
pulchre, they set a watch, to guard it, and prevent his re
surrection. But after all their vigilance, God raised him
from the dead. Forty days after this he continued upon
earth, and was seen several times to converse with his
disciples, and others, who from the beginning had at
tended on him, and who do noAv testify the truth of all
these things to the JeAvs. And the subject of this gospel,
which' we preach to you, is the promise made, to our fa
thers, which God hath noAv fulfilled in raising Jesus from
the dead. Of which also that in the second Psalm was u
prophecy, when it was said, " Thou art my son, this day
have I begotten thee." To the same purpose also, that
God should not only raise him from the dead, but also
secure him never any more to die, are those two other
prophecies ; one of Isaiah 1 v. 3. " I will give you the
sure mercies of David:" the expression of an everlast
ing covenant, spoken literally to the people of Israel,
that God would perpetuate to them the mercy promised
to David, thaf of giving one of his seed to sit on his
throne ; but-here accommodated to Christ, that though
he were crucified, yet he should rise again, and never
die more. And to this most clearly belongs that other
prophecy of David, Psalm xvi. 11. " Thou shalt not
suffer thine holy one to see corruption." Which words
cannot be applied personally to David, because he hav
ing lived his term of naturallife, died, and never rose
again, but his body putrified in the earth. But he in
whom that prophecy was completely fulfilled, being
sent by God into the world, and crucified^ and by the
power of God raised from the dead, never perished at all,
but ascended into heaven. This therefore, brethren, is
the message Avhich Ave bring, the gospel that by him, even
by this glorious and exalted person, the remission of
sins is published unto you, even the full and assured
pordon of all your offences, be they ever so great and

Of the Holy Bible. 329
aggravated. And by him, every one who believeth in
him, is freely and fully acquitted before God, not only
from the guilt of smaller miscarriages, but even from the
guilt of all those things Avhich arein the highest degree
criminal, and for the pardon of wliich no provision was
made in the Mosaic law. See to it, therefore, I earnestly
beseech you, that what is spoken in the prophets as the
fatal consequence of rejecting the gospel, come not upon
you — particularly what Isaiah says, " Behold! ye de-
spisers, and wonder, and perish ! for I perform a most
amazing work in your days, even a work which ye
shall not believe if any one tell it to you."
Such was the substance of St. Paul's plain and faith
ful address to the Jews at Antioch, to which, for the
present, they made no reply : but Avhile they were going
out of the synagogue, the Gentiles, Avho happened to
be present, desired that the apostle Avould repeat on the
next sabbath what he had then deliA^ered, promising to
attend themselves, and bring their friends with them.
The assembly being broken up, several of the Jews,
that believed, andproselytes, followed Paul and Barnabas,'
who preached to them, and by way of exhortation con
firmed them in the faith of the gospel. The next sab
bath the people came in great croAvds to hear the apOs-
tles. With this expectation then, all that could, came to
the synagogue, which having a tumultuous appearance
in the eyes of the JeAvs, they soon discovered their
malice, and not only contradicted Paul's preaching, but
treated him with ill manners and abusive language.
But these contumelies and reproaches neither affected
nor discouraged the christian heroes, ivho openly de
clared, that they had noAv performed their charge by
preaching the gospel first to the JeAvs, before they ap
plied themselves to the Gentile world. " But," added they,
" since ye Jews behave yourselves so obstinately and per
versely, that you haA'e become utterly unworthy and inca
pable of any benefit by the gospel, we are now by ap
pointment to leave you, and preach to the Gentiles. For
this was the direction of God, that Christ being preached
to the Jews first, and being rejected by them, should be
Vol. hi. u u

330 A Complete History
preached to all other people of the world ; and this is
the sum qf that ancient prophecy of Isaiah xlix. 6.
" Thou shalt be for salvation to the ends of the earth."
When the Gentiles heard, that this pardon of sin and
salvation by Christ was allowed to them, they rejoiced,
and blessed the name of God for this glorious mercy of
his, revealed in the gospel ; and as many of those who
Avere present, as were, according to the gracious purpose
of God, and by the influence of his grace, prepared for
eternal life, openly embraced the gospel : and as these
new converts heartily joined with Paul and Barnabas
to propagate the truth, the Avord of the Lord was car
ried on, as Avith a mighty torrent, throughout all that
region. But the Jews exasperated at this success,
stirred up some Avomen of considerable rank, who
applied to the magistrates of the city, exciting them to
persecute the preachers of the gospel ; in consequence of
which they were driven away with \dolence and in-
j ustice. But the apostles seeing their obstinacy, used that
fatal ceremony* appointed by Christ in this case, thereby
foretelling the destruction which would soon OArertake
them, and leaving them in this desperate state, with
curses hanging over their heads, they went to Iconium.
But all the christians were filled with spiritual joy, and
proceeded zealously in the ways of God.
Whilst these two courageous champions ofthe church
preached the gospel at Iconium, in such a powerful and
convincing manner, that a great multitude both of the
Jews and ofthe Greeks received the faith, the base unbe
lieving Jews, incensed the unconverted Gentiles against
the apostles and their converts: yet they tarried some
time there, preaching the gospel in their public assem
blies, and God added his testimony to what they said, by
enabling them to work miracles. But notwithstanding
the mighty influence they had over the. minds of those
that were piously inclined, the JeAvs had made a great
party against them, insomuch, that the multitude Avere

Ceremony. Shaking off the dust of their feet, Matt. x. 14.

Of the Holy Bible. 331
divided, some holding with the Jews, and others
Avith the apostles. But they, to prevent the mischief
Avhich so great a concourse of people must necessarily
occasion, and to preserve themselves from the danger
that threatened them, prudently withdrew from Iconium,
and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and
to the conntry thereabout; Avhere they preached the
gospel. While they Avere at Lystra, a very extraordinary event
took place. A poor cripple, lame from his birth, being
one of the apostle's auditors, Avas particularly observed
by Paul, AA'ho looking earnestly upon him, and either by
his words, o\Terheard by Paul, or by his oavii discerning
spirit, perceiving that he believed they were able to cure
him, Paul speaking to him, loud enough to be heard by
the rest of the assembly, said, " Stand upright on thy
feet." The poor man, in a dependance on the power
of Christ, immediately attempted it, and Avas so mira
culously helped, that he sprung up with astonishing agi
lity, and Avalked about with the greatest ease. When the
people beheld this wonderful cure, they concluded that
it could not have been effected but by the immediate
presence of a Deity ; and therefore running about in
great confusion, they .exclaimed aloud, "The gods are
descended in the likeness of men." And Barnabas being
a person of more majestic appearance, they called Jupiter,
and Paul, Avho Avas a small active man, they named
Mercury, the god of eloquence. But as soon as this mi
racle came to the ears of the priest of Jupiter, who Avas
deemed the tutelar deity of that place, they came to the
place where. Paul and Barnabas Avere bringing oxen
crowned Avith garlands, intending to offer a sacrifice to
them. But the apostles, abhorring such blasphemy, rent
their garments in detestation of it, saying, " Sirs, Why
do ye these things ? We are but men ourselves, subject
to the passions of human nature like you, and are come
to convert you from these idolatries, and to persuade
you to the service of the living God, who made heaven
and earth, and all things therein, wrho in times past left
the Gentiles to their own blind worship, but sufficiently
u u 2

332 A Complete History
at the same time evidenced himself to them by the great
blessings of temporal things, in bestowing fruitful sea
sons, the particular acts of his power and bounty, to
dissuade them from their impieties.
These arguments, though urged by the apostles Avith
so much A'ehemence, could scarcely restrain them from
sacrificing. But while Paul and Barnabas Avere labouring
for the recovery of these poor idolaters, some unbelieving
Jews, who came from Antioch and Iconium, fearing the
people should be persuaded to the truth, instigated the
giddy multitude to join Avith them against the apostles,
and easily prevailing, they in a tumultuous manner threw
stones at them, and Paul falling, they believed they had
killed him : in which condition they dragged him out of
the city as dead. But as the christians there came to in
ter his body, he rose up, and went privately with them
into the city, and the next day Barnabas and he departed
to Derbe, Avhere having preached the gospel, and con
verted many to the faith, they returned to Lystra, Ico
nium and Antioch ; in which places they confirmed the
disciples in the faith, and exhorted them to perseverance,
telling them that they must suffer many tribulations be
fore they could arrive at heaven. And when they had
constituted presbyters for them in every church by fast
ing and prayer, they took their leave of them, recom
mending them to the good providence of Christ, who3e
faith they had received. And after they had passed
through Pisidia they came to Pamphylia, and having
preached the gospel in Perga, they went to Attalia, and
thence came by sea to Antioch, from whence they had,
by divine appointment, been solemnly recommended to
the grace of God for the Avork which they had so vigo
rously prosecuted, and so happily accomplished. And
when they had assembled the church, they gave an ac
count of their embassy, how it had pleased God, that by
their preaching to the Jews iii the Gentile cities, many
- Gentiles had received the faith. In which place they
abode with the disciples a long time.
And here some converted Jews, who came from Jeru
salem, though they believed in Christ, yet thought them-

Of the Holy Bible. 333
•elves bound to the observation of the whole Mosaical
laiv, insisted upon it both in public and private, that the
Gentile christians must submit to the whole law, and be
circumcised, or else they could not be saAed. This Paul
and Barnabas strenuously opposed, and no small debate
was excited. This question being of great importance,
the church determined to send Paul, Barnabas, and other
brethren to the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, to know
their sentiments on this grand subject. As they passed
through Phenice and Samaria, thev told them the occa
sion of their journey, and all the christians were glad
that this question was likelv to be determined. When
they arrived at Jerusalem they were kindly received by
the whole chnrch, and declaring the great success God
had given to tbeir preaching among the Gentiles, they
informed them of their message.
This gave occasion to some ofthe Pharisees who had
become christians to rise, and say, that though they hear
tily rejoiced in the conversion of the heathen, they
judged it absolutely necessary to circumcise them, and
charge them to observe the whole law of Moses. Others
being of a different opinion, a day was fixed for tbe so
lemn discussion of this matter in a full assembly. The
day appointed being come, the apostles and elders met
together to consult on the affair ; when, after much de-
hate, Peter arose and thus addressed himself to the
audience. " Men and brethren, it is well known to you all, that
some time since (rod made choice of me to preach the
gospel to tbe Gentiles, particularly to Cornelius and his
family : and God who knew the sincerity of their hearts,
testified that they were acceptable to him and fit to be
baptized, bestowing the gift of the Holy Ghost upon
them, as he had before upon us, making no distinction
between us and them, having purified their hearts as well
as ours by true faith. By this one act of God to them,
it is plainly and fully determined ; why then do ye press
this thing so contrary to the will of God, and impose
upon the Gentile converts the performance of the Mo
saical law, which belonged not to them, and which we

334 A Complete History
Jews Avere so far from being able to perform, that we
could not be justified by it ? For through the great mercy
of God, it is by the gospel Ave expect salvation and jus
tification, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and not by the observation of the Mosaical laAv. Whence
it is plain, that if the Gentiles believe, they have the
same way to salvation as Ave ourselves have."
Then Paul and Barnabas,in confirmation of what Peter
had said, declared what miracles God had done by them
in the conversion of the Gentiles, which was another
testimony from heaven, that no difference ought to be
made between the JeAVs and Gentiles. After they had
done speaking, the apostle James, requesting the serious
attention of the council, addressedthem to the following
effect : " Our beloved brother, Simon hath sufficiently
demonstrated, that it Avas the will of God (as in the case
of Cornelius) that the Gentiles should, without scruple,
have the gospel preached to them, and be baptized. And
this is agreeable to what hath been foretold by the pro
phets, for they are the words of God by Amos [ix. 11, 12.]
In the latter days I will return, and build up the taber
nacle of David, which is fallen down, and I Avijl build
again, the ruins thereof, and w;ill set it up ; that the re
sidue of men niight seek after the Lord, and all the Gen
tiles who call upon my name, saith the Lord, who doeth
all these things." Now this prediction is agreeable to
the wise plan of the divine government, for all his works
are from eternity known unto God. Therefore my con
clusion is, " That we should not compel them to be cir
cumcised, who from Gentiles become christians, but con
tent ourselves if they believe. For we that are Jews need
not fear that this will bring a contempt upon Moses or
the laws of the Jews, since the contrary appears by the
christian practice, for even where these Proselytes of the
Gentiles are, the books of Moses are continued among
.them, being read in the synagogue every sabbath-day,
to signify their respect to the law."
The business being thus determined by the consent of
the whole assembly, the next thing was to choose some
messengers from Judea, who were present at this coun-

Of the Holy Bible. 335
cii, to go along with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch, and
the.y fixed upon Judas sirnamed Barsabas, and Silas, men
of eminent account among the brethren. These, there
fore, they, dispatched to Antioch with letters to the fol
lowing purport : " The apostles, elders, and the whole
society of christians in Jerusalem, salute the brethren
which are of the Gentiles, in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.
We having received an account, that some which \vent
from hence, endeavoured to subvert you, and to lead
you to a groundless doctrine of the necessity for all
christians being circumcised, they having no instructions
from us so to do, We being assembled together, have
determined to send two chosen men of our own body,,
with our beloved Barnabas and Saul; persons, that have
in preaching the gospel, behaved themselves with all sin
cerity, and hazarded their lives for the service of Christ.
With these we have sent Judas and Silas, that they may
tell you in person and more at large Avhat we Avrite in
brief. For we having prayed to God to send his Holy
Spirit to abide among us, and lead us into all truth, have
determined that the Gentile christians shall not be obliged
to circumcision or other judaical observances, or to any
more than those few things that have among the Jews
been required of all Proselytes* ofthe gate; that ye ab
stain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and
from things strangled, and from fornication : which
things, if ye shall observe, there will be no more of the
Mosaical lavy required of you ; and so. we bid you hear
tily, farewel."
The council having dismissed them, they hastened to
Antioch ; where, calling the church together, they pre
sented the epistle to them in the presence of the Avhole
congregation : which when they had read, they rejoiced
at the approbation expressed by the apostles. And
these two brethren, Judas and Silas, being endued with
a prophetic spirit, able to expound and interpret the

* Proselytes. That is of all Gentiles that were in any sort permitted to
come into their temple to worship God.

336 A Complete History
Scriptures, exhorted and confirmed the believers in the
faith. And after some stay at Antioch they took their
leave, receiving the prayers and thanks of the brethren.
But Paul and Barnabas continued at Antioch, instruct
ing them that had received the faith, and declaring it to
them that had not.
Some time after this, Paul desired Barnabas to accom
pany him in visiting those cities where they had before
preached, to see hoAv they advanced in the knowledge of
Christ. To which Barnabas consented, but would have
John Mark go with them ; which Paul did not approve
of, because John Mark had left them, when he went from
Pamphylia, and had not accompanied them constantly in
preaching the gospel. Upon Avhich Paul and Barnabas
parted ; Barnabas taking Mark with him, took shipping
for Cyprus, and Paul chusing Silas, went to Syria and
Cilicia. And Avhile they sojourned at Derbe and Lystra,
they met with a certain disciple named Timothy, whose
father was a Greek, but his mother an Hebrew. He was
in great esteem among the Christians of Lystra and Ico
nium, and when J?aul had conversed with him, he found
him to be one that would be highly useful in propagating
the gospel. Paul, therefore, chose Timothy to accom
pany and assist him in preaching, and causing him to be
circumcised * for the satisfaction of the Jewish converts,
who knew his father to be a Greek, he took him along
with him. And as they travelled from place to place,
they delivered the decrees of the council of Jerusalem,

* Circmmcised. St. Paul wished Timothy to be circumcised to gratify
the Jewish Christians, who would not permit him to preach : the reason ef
which was, because the proselytes of the gate, or uncircumcised, were not
permitted to come into the same court of the temple with the Jews; and if
Timothy had gone into that court with them, the Jews would not hearken
to him, or benefit by his preaching, having a special aversion to such.
And therefore Paul had him circumcised. His father being a Greek, and
consequently his not being circumcised in his childhood was well known. It
may be added, that if Timothy had been known not to have been circum
cised, he would not have had permission to preach in any of the synagogues
on his travels.

Of the Holy Bible. 337
to be kept as a sacred record ; by which they established
the churches, and every day converted many to the faith
of Christ.
After they had gone through Phrygia and Galatia, they
were by revelation forbid to preach the gospel in Asia ;
and coming over against Mysia, intending to pass by Bi-
thynia, the Spirit again by revelation forbade them : and
therefore passing by Mysia, they came to Troas, where,
in the night, there appeared to Paul, in a vision, a man
of Macedonia, that stood and prayed, saying, " Come
over to Macedonia and help us." From Avhich, Paul
concluding it to be the immediate call of God to him, to
go and preach the go1 pel there, he parted from Troas,
and with his companion sailed directly to Samothracia;
the next day to Neapolis, and from thence to Philippi,
a metropolis of one part of Macedonia, and a Roman
colony. Here they staid some days ; and going out of
the city, by a river's side they found an oratory, to which
certain religious resorted to pray, and going into it, they
found many women assembled, to whom Paul preached
the gospel. Of the number of these was Lydia, an inha
bitant of Thyatira, and proselyte of the Jews, whose
heart the Lord, by the gentle influence of his grace,
opened and disposed so to attend upon and regard the
gospel message, that she Avas truly converted to God.
And when she was baptized, with her family, she impor
tuned Paul and Silas to take up their abode in her house,
to Avhich they consented. As they were going to prayer,
there met them a young maid, who had been for some
time under the influence of Avhat the Greeks call a py-
thonic spirit, or spirit of divination, which they supposed
to be from Apollo ; and though she was but a slave, she
obtained much gain for her owners, by ber pretended
prophesying. This girl followed Paul and Silas for se
veral days, crying out, " These are the servants of the
most high God, Avhich shew us the way of salvation."
The apostle being grieved lest the people should appre
hend that he acted in confederacy with an evil spirit,
turned and said to the spirit, " In the name of Jesus
Christ I command thee to come out of her." And the
VOL. ill. x x

338 A Complete History
same instant he left her. But when her masters saAv that
by this miracle all prospect of further gain by her divi
nation Avas gone, they, apprehended Paul and Silas, and
brought them before tbe magistrates, complaining, that
these Jews, occasioned a great disturbance in the city,
teaching a religion contrary to theirs, and prohibited by
the Roman laws, which allowed of no Avorship, but Avhat
nas approved by the Senate. Upon this a great tumult
arose, and the magistrates ordered them to be scourged,,*
first rending off their clothes ; which having done, they
committed them to prison, strictly charging the jailor to
keep them safely ; who immediately put. them in irons,
and secured them in the strongest apartment of the pri
son. But notwithstanding this cruel treatment and close
confinement, the^e blessed confessors, full of heavenly
tranquillity and inward peace, spent their midnight-
hours in prayers and praises to him that thought them
Avorthy of suffering these cruel indignities for. his name,
and the Avord of his testimony.
Whilst they thus enjoyed this holy serenity and cheer
fulness, there Avas suddenly a great earthquake, so that
the very foundation of the prison shook, the prison-
doors flew open, and the chains of all the prisoners were
miraculously loosened. The jailor, awaking Avith the
noise, and seeing the prison-doors open, concluded that
all the prisoners had escaped ; and thinking that this
would be imputed to his neglect, and be of fatal conse
quence to him, in despair drew his sword with design to
kill himself. But Paul, aware of the horrid act which
his rashness intended, and anxious to prevent it, cried
aloud, saying, " Stay thy desperate hand, and do thyself
no harm ; for we are all here, and none shall take the
opportunity of escaping. Then calling for lights, the

* Scourged, SfC In scourging, rending or tearing off the garments was
used. Both hands were tied to a pillar on each side, then th - lictor, or officer
of the synagogue, took hold of the garments, not caring whether he tore or
stripped them off, till the criminal's breast was quite uncovered. And this
was agreeable to the Roman custom.

Of the Holy Bible. 339
jailor sprang in, and being in a great tremor, fell pros
trate at the feet of Paul and Silas in silent consterna
tion. Recovering himself a little, and leading them in
the most respectful manner out of the inner prison, he
said, with the utmost earnestness '" O sirs what must I
do that I may be saved r" They, gladly seizing this op
portunity of preaching Christ to him, answered, " Be
lieve in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom we
preach as the only Saviour, and thou shalt be saved."
The word came Avith such power to hi- heart, that he was
melted with the gracious tidings, and his tenderness soon
manifested itself by his immediate care of them, in aa ash
ing their stripes, and treating them Avith all possible
kindness. And haA ing brought them into his dwelling-
house, he and all his family were immediately baptized.
He then spread his table for their refreshment, and be
lieving in God, with all his house, he Avas transported
with unutterable joy at the happy transition he had so
suddenly made, from the darkness and danger of a hea
then state, into the glorious privileges of the people of
God. The magistrates, having scourged, and committed Paul
and Silas in an unwarrantable manner, began afterwards
to consider what they had done ; and, to prevent being
called to an account for this rash proceeding, they sent
to the jailor to discharge the prisoners, thinking their joy
for their liberty might stifle their resentment. The con
verted jailor thought this would be welcome news to his
prisoners, and told them they were at liberty to go where
they pleased, and wished them well. But Paul Avould not
pass over the abuse thus, telling the jailor, " They have
shamefully, and in public abused us, who are Roman ci
tizens, without trial or shewing cause, and after this com
mitted us to prison ; and do they think this private dis
charge will satisfy us ? No, let them come themselves
and discharge us openly." The officers acquainted the
magistrates with Paul's resolution ; who hearing that they
were Romans, knew they could not answer it to the go
vernor, and therefore were glad to come in person to the
prison, where, giving them fair words, they desired them
xx 2

340 A Complete History
to depart, and leave the city. And from the prison they
went to Lydia's house, where having spent some time
with the brethren, and comforted them, they left Phi
lippi. After they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollo-
nia, they came to the celebrated city Thessalonica, where
there was a synagogue of the Jews ; into which Paul, ac
cording to his usual custom, entered, and during three
successive sabbaths, preached out ofthe scriptures, that
Jesus must of necessity be the Messiah promised to the
Jews. Upon which some of them received the faith, and
associated with Paul and Silas, besides several Greek pro
selytes and women of quality. But the infidel Jews op
posing them as much as possible, got together some offi
cers* belonging to the courts of judicature, and in a tu
multuous manner beset Jason's house, where, searching
for Paul and Silas, and not finding tbem, they resolved
to be revenged on somebody, and therefore seized Jason
and some of the brethren, and carried them before the
officers of justice ; complaining, that these men, who had
filled the world with disorder f and confusion, were en
tertained by Jason; and that they preached a doctrine quite"
contrary to Caesar's authority over them, declaring one
Jesus to be their Ring. The magistrates knew not well
what to do in this case, being tender of disobliging either
the Jews or Romans ; and therefore taking security of
Jason for himself and his companions, they dismissed

* Officers, Sfc. The agoraioi of the Greek can have no relation to the
English version, which calls them lewd fellows; nor much to the vulgate, ex
cept they mean by agoraioi, t\ie circumforaneous lawyers, not those of the
forum ; for they translating the Greek, de vulgo viros quosquam mulos, certain
wipked men of the common people, must mean the mob. But the word, with
out any periphrasis, plainly signifies belonging to a court of judicature; and
by it possibly, in this place, might be meant some of those that used to sum
mon the people to assemblies upon extraordinary occasions.
f Disorder, Sj-c. The Greek word anastattsantes is very oddly turned
in our translation, by rendering it, to turn it upside down. See Acts,
xvii. 6.

Of the Holy Bible. 341
them. But being concerned for Paul's safety; by night
they sent him and Silas to Beraea, where they "went strait-
way into the synagogue, and met with a sort of people
ingenuous and mild, vastly differing from the rude inha
bitants of Thessalonica, for they cheerfully embraced the
faith, and spent their time in reading the- scriptures, ob
serving whether what Paul taught was agreeable Avith
what the scriptures say of the Messiah. Many, therefore,
ofthe Jews received the faith, as likewise many Gentiles
of the better sort, both men and women. Now when the
Jews of Thessalonica heard that Paul preached thegospel
at Beraea, they pursued him thither, resolving he should
not rest within reach of them. To secure him, therefore,
from their malice, and to elude the persecutors, the
Christians there sent Paul toward the sea-side, as if he
meant to take ship, Avhereas he intended to go to Athens
on foot; but Silas and Timothy were left behind, and
were ordered to follow after.
While Paul waited for his company at Athens, he per
ceived, with great emotion of spirit,, that the city was
wholly* given to idolatry: for which reason he not only
preached in the synagogue to the Jews and proselytes,
but in other places of concourse, he took occasion to
make known the Christian doctrine to all the heathens he
met. Some learned men of Athens, both Epicureans f
and Stoics, seeing Paul so ready to engage in dispute
with every one, undertook to confute him ; but not un
derstanding him, some saidj he was a prating babbling
fellow ; others, that he came to discover some strange
God to them, because he frequently mentioned Jesus and
the resurrection.
After this, they conducted him to that celebrated hill

* Wholly. That Athens was so, appears from the number of idols there,
being more than in all Greece besides.
t Epicureans. There were two contrary sects of philosophers at Athens,
the Epicureans, who denied a providence, and the Stoics, who maintained
the doctrine of fate, but denied all freedom of will.

342 , A Complete History
near the citadel, which Avas called the Areopagus,* and
examined Avhat new religion it was he taught ; for all
that thev had hitherto heard, Avas new and strange, and
therefore they desired to haA-e a full account of it. Paul
being brought before the magistrates in the Areopagus,,
said, " I perceive, O Athenians, that ye are exceedingly
addicted to the worship of invisible poAArers ; for as I
passed along the streets of this magnificent citv, I found
an altar on which was this remarkable inscription, ' To
the unknown- God ;'f so desirous do you seem to be, that
no deity, whether known or unknown, may be passed
by Avithout some religious regard. Now I should think
myself remarkably happy, if I might direct you to the
knowledge of true religion. Him, therefore, whom you
acknowledge not to know, yet profess to Avorship, is he
that I preach, the invisible God of heaven and earth, who
cannot be contained in temples of man's making ; nor
can any image made by man be a proper instrument of
his worship, he being so far from wanting our help, that
it is he that gives to all their life, and all that they pos
sess. And from one man he hath made a Avhole world of
men, who, by his providential care; inhabit the whole
earth, he having, in his unerring council, allotted to
each the boundaries of their several habitations; all
things in the disposition of his providence centering in
this one great end, that they should seek after their

* Areopagus. In Athens, their Areopagus was their Senate or standing
Court of Judicature, by whose laws and orders any new gods were received
among them; and, therefore, as soon as they conceived Paul was a pro-
mulger of new and strange deities, they brought him to the Areopagus to
have him examined, what gods they were that he thus preached. Acts, ch.
xvii. v. 19.
f Unknown God. There are many stories about this inscription ; but it is-
most probable it proceeded from their hospitality towards tlie men that
occasioned it ; for they were as ready to receive any strange god to theiii
worship, as they were to entertain strangers. And this is plain from the
whole inscription, of which this is but part ; which runs thus, " To the
gods of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and to one strange God, which they knew
not.

Of the Holy Bible. 3\.i
Creator and worship him, who is indeed near every one
of us, even as the soul that animates us. For our life,
motion, and subsistence, is Avholly through him, ac
cording to that which one of your own poets hath said.
God therefore being our Creator, we cannot in reason
suppose, him to be the work of our hands, such as a
piece of gold or silver, how curiously soever wrought by
human art. This time of ignorance hath lasted long; but
noW God calls you all to repentance, for he hath ap
pointed a great and aAvful day, in which he will judge
the whole world in righteousness, and pass a final sen
tence of happiness or misery on each according to his
true character; which he will do by that illustrious Man,
whom he hath ordained, of which he hath given suffir
dent assurance to all men, by raising him from the
dead." When they heard him mention the resurrection,
some rudely mocked and made a jest of it, as a despicable
and incredible tale, particularly the Epicureans did this
who deny a future state : and others, of a more curious
turn, coolly said, " This is enough for the present, we
will hear thee again on this subject, when a com'enienl
opportunity offers." Now Paul, finding so little dis
position in this learned auditory, to hearken to the
truth, went out of the midst of them, leaving the far
greater part in the same deplorable state of ignorance
and superstition as he found them. Nevertheless, there
Avere some that believed and associated Avith him, parti
cularly Dionysius one of the senators or judges in the
Areopagus, and his Avife Dainaris Avith some others.
From Athens Paul departed to Corinth,* where he
found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus,

* Corinth. This was a city of so much consequence, that it was at one
time considered by the Romans as a rival, almost as dangerous as Carthage.
From the convenience of its situation, for commerce, it abounded in riches,
and was furnished with all the accommodations, elegancies, and superfluities
of life. This by too natural a consequence, led its inhabitants into luxury,
lewdness, and all manner of vice ; and they were accordingly infamous even
to a proverb.

344 A Complete History
lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because the
emperor Claudius, toward the latter end of his reign,
made an edict'to bani>h the Jews from Rome and Italy;
and finding that Aquila was brought up to the same trade*
in which he was Avhen young instructed, he took up his
quarters with hiro. and wrought with him in the trade of
tent-making. But eA-ei y sabbath he preached in the sy
nagogues of the Jews, labouring to convince both Jews
and Greeks.
By this time Silas and Timothy were come from Mace
donia ; and Paul being very much concerned at the ob
stinacy of the Jews, did bis utmost to convince them that
Jesus was the Messiah ; but when they not only opposed
him, but blasphemed the name ofthe Saviour, and treated .
him contumeliously, he not only used that ordinary ce
remony of shaking his shoes or his garments, intimating
thereby their umvorthiness of having the gospel further
preached to them, and the sad consequences that attend
obstinacy, but said, Having thus warned you, lam free
from the guilt of your destruction, Avhich will certainly
come upon you; I will stay no longer. among you, but
will without any further scruple preach to the Gentiles.
And going out of the synagogue, he went to the honse
of one Justus, a Gentile by birth, but a Jewish Prose-
lvte. Before Paul quitted the synagogue, though many

* Trade. It was a gre?t maxim and principle among the Jews, " That
he, who teaches not his son a tn>de, teaches him to be a thief." Tbey
thought it not only fit, but a necessary psrt of edncation, whereby, if re-
duce3 by necessity, though ever so great and learned, they might by a manual
labour maintain themselves. Hence nothing was more common, than for
their wisest and most learned Rabbins to take their denominations from their
callings. This custom was taken up by the christians, especially the monks
and ascetics of the early ages, who together with their strict profession, and
almost incredible exercises of devotion, took upon them a. particular trade,
whereby they maintained themselves. The business our apostle was put to,
was that of tent-making, whereat he wrought, for some particular reasons,
even after his calling to the apostleship. An honest but mean trade ; though
it was nsefnl and profitable, especially in tbose warlike countries where armies
had such frequent use of tents.

Of the Holy Bible. 345
of the Jews opposed him, Crispus, the chief of the sy
nagogue, and several of the Corinthians believed and
were baptized. At this time, conscious ofthe disadvan
tages attending his person and address ; he was discou
raged in a view of the learning, politeness and grandeur
of many Gentile inhabitants of the city, and by the as
saults which had been made upon him in various places.
The Lord Jesus, therefore, interposed in a very gracious
manner, and said to him by night in a vision, " Fear not,
for I am with thee ; preach the gospel confidently in
this place ; for though souie oppose thee, yet thou shalt
not-be personally injured ; for I have much people ia
this city, to whom I design to make my word effectual."
Upon this Paul continued at Corinth eighteen months,
preaching' the gospel to them of Corinth and all Achaia,
and further instructing and confirming tbem that re
ceived it.
During Paul's stay at Corinth, Gallio being proconsul
of Achaia, the Jews mad* a general insurrection against
Panl, and brought hiim before the proconsul, demanding
justice against him, Complaining, that he had persuaded
the people to worship God contrary to die law of the
Jews. Paul being about to make his defence, Gallio
spake thus to the Jews, " Were the case before me mat
ter of injustice or scandal, I should readily take cogni
zance of it ; Imt since the question betwixt yom is only
a verbal controversy, whether Jesus ought to be acknow
ledged as Messiah; whether christians by thatname ought
to distinguish themselves from the incredulous Jews, and
concerning your laAV : of these things I am no competent
judge, nor does it belong to my cognizance, the senate
of Rome having asyetmade no laAV agamst the christians,
and therefore I shall not meddle with it," Some of the
natives of Corinth seeing the proconsul throw the in
dictment against Paul out of court, took Sosthenes one
of the rulers of the Jewish consistory, that appeared (foi>
word in this coaiplaiat againsthim, and beat him in open
court : tbe proconsul did not concern himself to inter
pose at all ki the affair, 'being perhaps not unwiiliilg that
vol, ni, V v

346 A Complete History
so troublesome a plaintiff as Sosthenes should feel the
consequence of his own bigotry and ill-nature.
After this Paul staid some time at Corinth; and when
he Avent from thence, took with him Priscilla and Aquila,
having made a vow* for a time not to shave-his head.
And when he came to Ephesus he left them there, telling
them he must be at Jerusalem before the passover ; but
afterwards, if God permitted, he would return to them.
Then going by sea from Ephesus, he landed at Csesarea,
and thence went up to Jerusalem, and visited the con-
gfegationof, christians there ; and having done so, and
kept the feast there, he went from thence to Antioch,
where having spent some time, he took his leave, and
travelled through Galatia and Phrygia, confirming the
churches and instructing all the new converts.
Some time after Paul had left Aquila and Priscilla at
Ephesus, a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexan
dria, came thither. He possessed great natural eloquence,
and had much skill in the writings of the Old Testament,
and was well instructed in the gospel, but not perfectly
in all things relating to it ; yet being very fervent in
spirit, and earnestly desirous to be useful, he began to
preach among them out of the prophets ; as yet, how
ever, he had but an imperfect notion of the truth, being
only acquainted with the baptism of John, insisting
upon the doctrine of repentance and faith in the ex-

* Vow. This vow was probably tbe vow of the Nazarites among the Jews,
Num. vi. 5, which was not always for life, but sometimes for a determinate
time; but when that time was past, one part of tbe tow was, to be shaved,
v. 18. and to offer' up the hair (called the hair qf separation) to pnt it in the
fire. But because this vow is here made at Cenchrea, and not at Jeru
salem, (where the accomplishment of tlte vow was to be performed, see
Numb. vi. 13,) it is most probable that this shaving here, was not on the
accomplishing bis vow, but upon some intervening illegal pollution, in
which case be was bound to offer for a cleansing, and ou the seventh day to
shave his head, and so begin tbe days asain, ib. c vi. v. 11, 12. This probably
might be done in any city, where a man happened to be so polluted ; but tbe
compleriou of tbe voir, when the days of his separation were fulfilled, was tt»
be at Jerusalem.

Of the Holy Bible. 347
J
pected Messiah. Aquila and Priscilla perceiving that he
discovered an excellent spirit, were desirous of promot
ing his further improvement in knowledge and useful
ness ; accordingly they took him to their own house,
and there explained to him the doctrines of the gospel
more completely. And when Apollos was disposed to
go into Achaia, the christians at Ephesus wrote to those
of the church of Corinth and all Achaia, commendatory
letters. And when he came thither he was very useful
among them, instructing and confirming thpse, who by
the preaching of the gospel, had been converted to the
faith, and .convinced the Jews out of the Scriptures,
that Jesus was the Messiah.
Whilst Apollos Avas at Corinth, Paul took his way
through the upper part of the country, to Ephesus, and
finding there some christian professors publishing the
gospel, he asked them whether they had received the ex
traordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost since they believed ?
They told him, they had not so much as heard any thing
of it. Upon which he said, " How can that be, since the
christian baptism is in the name of the Holy Ghost ?"
To which they answered, " That John's baptism was all
they had received." Then Paul knowing that by John's
baptism they had implicitly acknowledged Christ under
the title of " Him that' should come after him," he ex
plicitly taught them the Avhole doctrine of Christ and the
Holy Ghost ; and when they heard this they believed, and
were received into the chuich as christian Proselytes in
the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. After
which, Paul laid his hands upon them, and they received
the Holy Ghost, by whose power they immediately spake
Avith new tongues, and preached to the great edification
of the church. After this Paul went and preached the
gospel in the synagogues that were at Ephesus to the
Jews, for the space of three months, labouring to con
vince them ; but instead of being convinced, they not
only rejected the gospel, but spoke reproachfully of it
in public before the people ; whereupon he left them,
and took those that were converted by themselves, and
Y y 2

348 A Complete History
instructed them daily in a place where scholars* were
taught privately, and which belonged to one Tyrannus.
This he did for the space of two years ; in which time all
the inhabitants of the proconsular Asia, both Jews and
Greeks, had the gospel preached to them. Andto add
the greater efficacy and success to the doctrine he preach
ed, God wrought many extraordinary and uncommon
miracles by the hands of Paul, insomuch, that, besides
his curing those who Avere brought to him, handker
chiefs or aprons were earned from bis body to those that
were sick at a distance ; and presently on their touching
them, the diseases tbey Avere afflicted Avith were removed,
and the evil spirits themselves came out of them that were
possessed, which soon raised the reputation of the apos
tle to a very high degree, and added the divine attesta
tion to what he taught the Ephesians.
Some of the vagabond Jews, who were professed
exorcists, observing this, attempted to cast out devils
by using the name of Jesus ; among whom were the
seven sons of one Sceva a Jew, one of the chief of the
families of the priests, who conjuring the evil Spirit in
the name of Jesus, were thus answered from the pos
sessed, "Jesus I knoAv, and Paul I know; but you come
not Avith any authority from Jesus, who hath given it to
Paul." And the man Avho was possessed fell furiously
upon them, tearing off their clothes' and wounding them,
so that they fled from him. This being soon rumoured
among the Jews and natiAres of Ephesus, a great awe and
fear prevailed among the people, and the name of the
Lord Jesus was exceedingly magnified. Many also who
believed, came to Paul, confessing their former course
of life, to know Avhat they should do : and many that

* Scholars. There were two kinds of schools among the Jews, wherein the
law was taught, private or public. Private, wherein any doctor entertained
scholars, and such was this of Tyrannus here, under the title of " Houses of
learning," as one kind of their holy places; their schools as well as their sy
nagogues being accounted so. Theit public schools were those where tbeir
consistories sat to resolve doubts on the law.

Of the Holy Bible. 349
had studied and practised magical arts, brought forth
their books and'burnt them publicly, though they were
of great value. Of so great authority Avas the word of
God, as it Avas preached by Paul among the Ephesians
and those of Asia.
After this Paul determined, as he went through Ma
cedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, aud from thence
to Rome ; and sending into Macedonia, Timothy and
Erastus, two of his assistants, himself stayed some time
in Asia. About the same time there happened a great
commotion ; for one Demetrius, a silversmith, who ma
nufactured little shrines * of silver, with the image of
Diana in them, had many of the same profession that
wrought under him, Avho were all maintained by that
employment. All these therefore, whose livelihood
was concerned in it, he called together, and thus ha
rangued them, " Sirs, ye know, that by this employ
ment we maintain ourselves, which by this Paul's preach
ing, not only here in Ephesus, but throughout all Asia,
is in great danger of being ruined ; for he hath already
prevailed upon many people to forsake our manner of
worship, affirming that they are not true gods which are
made with hands, and still persists in so doing; whereby
not only are we likely to lose our business, but the wor
ship of the great goddess Diana, and the magnificence
of her temple will be despised."
The people upon hearing this, Avere filled with rage,
apprehending both their trade and their religion to be in
danger, they therefore ran about the city and cried out

* Shrines. In the idolatory of the heathens they used to carry tbe images
of their gods in procession from one city to another. This they did in a
chariot consecrated for that purpose. But besides this greater, there was a
less frame wherein it was placed, by the Romans called Ferculum, not much
unlike that which the Greeks- call Naos, a little chapel, representing tlie
form of a temple, with an image in it, which being set upon the altar, or
other solemn place, and the leaves of the door opened, the image appeared
sitting or standing in state, and so was represented to die spectators. Si
milar follies in the worship of saints and angels distinguishes the adherents to
tbe church of Rome.

350 A Complete History
with great violence, " Great is Diana of the Ephesians ! !'*
And the city was filled with confusion ; during which
they seized Gaius and Aristarchus, two of Paul's compa
nions, and hurried them aAvay to the theatre, where their
favourite games were celebrated to tbe honour of that
deity ; arid when Paul heard of the distress and danger
of his friends, and Avould have gone to the theatre to ad
dress the people, the disciples who were with him would
not permit him to expose his valuable person ; besides,
gome of the prefects of the games, perceiving the ungo
vernable rage of the populace, kindly sent him a caution
not to stir out. The tumult rather increasing than di
minishing, some of the officers brought out Alexander,
a Jewish proselyte to the faith, and examined him, in
hopes that he would excuse himself, and lay the fault
upon Paul. Then Alexander beckoned with his hand for
silence, thinking to make his defence ; but the Ephesians
knowing him to be a Jew, and supposing he was of
Paul's opinion, they would not suffer him to speak ; but
continued for two hours running up and down, and cry
ing, " Great is Diana of the Ephesians !"
The register of the games, seeing the tumult still in
crease, thought it high time to compose and quiet the
Eeople, to whom he made the following speech : " In-
abitants of Ephesus, what man is there in the world that
does not know thatEphesus, among the cities of Greece,
hath the honour to be chief in the worship of Diana, be
cause her temple incloses that image which fell down
from Jupiter. This being granted by all, what need is
there of all this noise ? For as to these men, whom ye
have brought hither, they have neither robbed your tem
ples, nor spoken any thing against your goddess Diana;
and as for Demetrius and the artificers that depend on
him, ,if they have suffered any damage, the law is open:
butif you have any other suit of controversy among you,
it shall be referred to such judicature as the law appoints :
for we are in danger of being called in question already
for this day's uproar, there being no cause or excuse
for it." Upon which the multitude, without any further

Of the Holy Bible. 351
Aiolence, separated, and returned to their own habita
tions. This commotion being appeased, Paul called all the
disciples together, and having left Timothy in charge of
the congregation, he took an affectionate leave of them,
and departed from Ephesus to go into Macedonia, and
to visit the churches planted there.
After the apostle had arrived at Macedonia, and spent
several months in his tour, through Philippi, Amphipo-
lis, Appollonia, Thessalonia, and Berea, exhorting and
comforting the Christians in all those parts, he went from
thence into Greece, that he might visit the churches at
Corinth, and in the neighbouring cities of Achaia. Here
he continued about three months, and as he'was going
from thence to Syria, in order to carry alms to Judea,
being informed that the Jews laid Avait for him, he al
tered his course, and passed through Macedonia a third
time ; after which Sopater accompanied him into Asia all
the way ; but Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timothy,
Tychicus, and Trophimus, went before into Asia, and
Avaited for Paul and his company at Troas.
After the passover Paul went thither, and tarried there
seven days'; and on the Lord's-day, the Christians being
met together to celebrate the euchaiist, Paul preached
to them at large, and intending to depart the next morn
ing, he continued his discourse till midnight. A certain
young man named Eutychus, sitting at a window for air,
and falling fast asleep, fell out ofthe window the depth
of three stories. This had proved fatal to him, hut for
the presence of Paul, who, laying his healing hands upon
him, restored him alive to his friends. The apostle then
returned to his work, and going up again into the cham
ber where the assembly met, and having broken bread
and eaten with the rest of the disciples, he continued
conversing with them even till the break of day. But
some of the company went before by sea to Assos, in
tending to take in Paul, who, meeting them there, went
with them to Mitylene. Passing by Chios, the next day
they arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium, and
the day after came to Miletus; for Paul, intending to

352 A Complete History
make no stay in any part of Asia, ordered them not to
stop at Ephesus, because he intended, if possible, to be at
Jerusalem at the feast of Pentecost : yet being desirous
to speak with the elders of Ephesus, he sent a message
requesting an interview with them at Miletus.
Where, when they were all met, Paul addressed to
them a most affectionate discourse, and said to them,
" My dear brethren, you well knoAv, from the first day
that I came into Asia, how I have behaved myself among
you, for the space of three years, preaching the gospel
with all humility and affection, and amidst-many trials
occasioned by the malice of the Jews, who conspired
against my lire. Ye likewise know, that I never con- {
cealed any thing that might be for your advantage, but
freely shewed and instructed yon in all things both pub
licly and privately ; preaching to the Jews and proselytes
in their synagogues, and to the Gentiles elsewhere, the
whole doctrine of the gospel, and urging, with the
greatest earnestness, the absolute necessity of repentance
towards God, aud of a living faith in Christ, in order to
salvation. "And now I am going to Jerusalem, willing to suffer
what shall befall me there, and foreseeing that there I
shall be seized and imprisoned, being appri«ed of it by
those that have the spirit of prophecy. However, I am
prepared for it, and value not my lire, if I may but be
serviceable in the ministry with which Christ has en
trusted me. And now this I know, that after this my
departure from you, ye will never see my face again.
And therefore I declare to yom all, that I am innocent of
that ruin, which 1 forsee will befall all those that d© not
adhere to Christ, having done my best to prevent it: for
I have fully communicated to you the whole Christian
doctrine, which may serve you as an antidote against
all those heresies, which are likely to break in among yon.
Wherefore look to yourselves, and to the whole flock,
over which the Holy Spirit hath constituted you. in
spectors : see that ye diligently feed, with wholesome
doctrine, the church of God, which he hath redeemed
with hie own precious blood : for it is certain, that when '

Of the Holy Bible. 353
I am gone, you will be solicited by false teachers, who,
like so many mischievous wolves, will enter in among
you, having no mercy on the flock. Yea, some among
yourselves will vent pernicious doctrine's, to make divi
sions among you, and to gain followers. Be-ye careful
therefore, remembering with how many tears I have
warned you night and day for these three years of these
thipgs. And now, brethren, I recommend you to God
and the gospel, and even to him that is able to edify you
in your most holy faith, and to give you, at length, an
inheritance in glory, among all them that are prepared
for it> by his grace. I appeal to yoursehTes, whether I
have endeavoured to make any secular advantage by my
labours among you. Ye can all bear me Avitness, that I
have, by my own hands, maintained myself, and those
that were with me. I have, by my actions, set an example
before you, and shewed you all things relating to your
duty, how that, thus labouring as I have done, you should
assist the needy and infirm, according to that saying of
Christ, " It is more blessed to give than to receive."
When Paul had ended this exhortation, he kneeled
doAvn and prayed with them all. And taking leave of
him in the most passionate expressions of affection and
grief, they embraced and kissed him; but his expression,
that they should see him no more, affected them deeply,
and accompanying him to the ship, they took their final
leave of him.
After this sad parting from the elders of Ephesus, Paul,
with his attendants, sailed with a fair gale to Coos ;
thence to Rhodes, and so to Patara, where finding a
ship bound for Phoenicia, they went on board, and put
to sea ; and coming within sight of Cyprus, they left it
on their left hand, and sailed to Syria, and landed at
Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its freight. And
meeting there with some that had received the gospel,
and were endued Avith gifts, particularly that of pro-
phecy, he continued Avith them seven days ; and they,
by revelation, told Paul, that he Avould ineur much dan
ger by going to Jerusalem, and therefore dissuaded him
From going thither. But thjs moved him not, for he
vol. in. z z

354 A Complete History
left that place, and all of them, men, women, and
children, attended him out of the city, and there, on
the sea-shore, he kneeled down and prayed at parting.
From Tyre they went to Ptolemais, where they tarried
one day with the disciples. The next day Paul and his
friends departed from Ptolemais, and travelling by land
came to Csesarea, and visited Philip the Evangelist, who
was one of the seven deacons, and who had been-sent by
the apostles to preach the gospel in Samaria and other
places, with whom they lodged some time. This Philip
had four virgin daughters, all of them endued with the
spirit of prophecy ; and while they were at Philip's
house, there came to them from Judea a certain prophet
named Agabus ; who, after the manner of the old pro
phets, Avhich often prophesied by symbols, took Paul's
girdle, and bound his OAvn hands and feet with it, and
said, " It hath been revealed to me, that after this man
ner shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind Paul, and deliver
him into the hands of the Gentiles." Whereupon the
whole company, with earnest entreaties and tears, begged
of Paul not to'go to Jerusalem. To whom Paul, sensi
bly affected with the concern which they expressed on
his account, and yet resolutely bent on following what
he thought the evident call of duty, replied,, " Why do
ye afflict me, and by your tender importunity dissuade
me from this journey? For I am willing to suffer bonds,
and even death itself, for the propagation of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus." And when they found that no en
treaties could prevail, they submitted to the will of God.
After spending these days at Csesarea, they all set out
for Jerusalem, taking with them several of the disciples
of Csesarea, particularly Mnason the Cypriot, who had
formerly received the faith, when Paul and Barnabas
were at Cyprus. Being arrived at Jerusalem, "they were
joyfully received by the faithful there, and the next day
they waited on James, who, with all the elders of Judea,
were assembled together. When he had saluted them,
he acquainted them with the success of his ministry
among the Gentiles. Upon which they blessed God, for
the wonderful works wrought upon the heathen idolaters

Of the Holy Bible. 355
by his preaching; and after that, began to tell him what
at present would be prudent for him to do, not so much
in respect of the unbelieving, as the converted JeAvs, of
whom there were many thousands in Judea, who, though
they had received the gospel, yet continued very zealous
for the observation of the Mosaical law. " These (said
they) have heard it affirmed of thee, that thou permittest
the Gentile-converts to remain uncircumcised, and also
that those Jews that are dispersed in Asia, and else
where, whom thou hast con verted,, leave off circumcision
andother ceremonies ofthe Mosaical law at thy persua
sion. This, therefore, will be the event in all proba
bility : all the Jewish Christians Avill hear of thy being
come hither, and will throng in crowds to see how thou
behavest thyself in this matter. Therefore take our ad
vice : there are four men here at this time, who have
taken a Nazarite's vow upon them, which being accom
plished, they are to perform the ceremonies prescribed.
These do thou perform with them, and by this they will
be persuaded that they heard false reports respecting
thee. Paul took their advice, that he might not exas
perate them, and went into the temple, and did all that
was requisite for a Nazarite's purification, and when that
was done gave solemn notice of it ; upon which they
Avere, according to the law of Moses, to, make an offer
ing for each person. And when the seven days, wherein
those sacrifices were to be performed, Avere near an end,
many unbelieving Jews of Asia, that had before opposed
him, being now at Jerusalem, seeing him in the temple,
set the multitude upon him, Avho seized him, crying out,
" This is he that hath taugbt whereArer he came, that the
Jews should be destroyed, the law abolished, and the
temple laid waste; he hath profaned the temple by
bringing Greeks into it ; and so has justly forfeited his
life to its injured honours." This last thing they spake
more confidently than truly ; for having seen Trophimus,
an Ephesian, with him in the city, they rashly con
cluded he had brought him into the temple.
This outcry so exasperated the rabble, that they
z z 2

356 A Complete History
dragged him violently out of the temple, that it might
not be defiled with his blood, and immediately the tem
ple gates were ordered to be closed, to prevent ariy fur
ther riot, or violation of the sacred place ; and when the
mob, who had noAv-got him into their cruel hands, were
about to murder him, Lysias, the tribune of the cohort,
being informed of his danger, immediately sent a detach
ment of his soldiers to secure him, and perceiving him to
be very obnoxious to tbe multitude, commanded him to
be bound with two chains. Not being able to find Out the
cause of this uproar by reason of the extreme confusion,
he committed Paul to the tower of Antonia; and as they
Avere going up the stairs to the tower, the throng ofthe
Jews was so pressing, that the soldiers were forced to
carry Paul in tbeir arms to secure him from them ; for
they pursued him, crying out to have him put to death.
When Paul was at the tower gate, he spoke in Greek
to the commander, and asked him if he would permit
him to speak to him ; who thinking he had been that
Egyptian false prophet, who had raised a sedition in
Judea not long before, and had procured four thousand
to folloAy with him, he seemed unwilling to suffer the
apostle to speak. But Paul, explaining himself, told
him he was a citizen of Tarsus; which enjoyed the Ro
man privileges ; and therefore he hoped he Would not
deny him the favour of vindicating himself. When the
captain of the guard heard this, he consented, and Paul
standing on tbe stairs, and beckoning with his hand for
silence, he addressed himself in this manner to them in
the Hebrew tongue :
" Give me leave, O ye people, to clear myself of the
accusation brought against me. I am a Jew, born in
Tarsus, yet brought up in this city, under the. tuition of
Gamaliel, and in the way of my education was as zealous
as any of you are this day ; for I persecuted the Chris
tians with the utmost severity, binding and imprisoning
all sorts, without distinction of age or sex. For the truth
of this I appea1 to the Sanhedrim, especially the high-
priest, from whom I received a commission to seize all
the Christians I could find in Syria, and bring them to

Of the Holy Bible. 357
Jerusalem to be punished. And as I was going to exe
cute this commission, being near Damascus, I was sur
prized with a light from heaven, and falling to the
ground, a voice thundered out of the clouds, saying,
' Saul, Saul, Avhy persecutest thou me?' And asking who
it was, I received this for answer, ' I am Jesus of Naza
reth, whom thou persecutest.' And they that were with" .
me, saw the light and Avere afraid, but no one heard the
voice save myself. But the same voice bid me go to
Damascus, ivhere I should receive instructions. Being
blind for a time, I was led to Damascus ; and Ananias, a
Christian, came and by the command of the Spirit, re
stored my sight ; assuring me, that God had chosen me
to preach the gospel, and publish to all men the things
which Christ had revealed to me ; in order to which I
was baptized, and admitted into the church. And at my
first coming to Jerusalem after this, as I was praying in
the temple, I fell into a trance, and saAV Jesus, and he
commanded me to hasten from this place, because my
former zeal against the gospel would hinder my preach
ing of it now. Against this I argued, that I thought it
would further it the more, instancing in my persecuting
the Christians, and assisting at the death of Stephen,
which I presumed might convince them of my being in
the right, and put them upon inquiring into the cause of
my change. But this did not prevail -, for Christ com
manded me to depart from Jerusalem, telling me he
would make me his apostle to the Gentiles."
Thus far the Jews had patience to suffer him to speak ;
but when he mentioned the Gentiles, and his commission
to them, they lifted up their voices in the most out
rageous outcry, saying, " Away Avith this blasphemous
fellow from the earth, for he is not worth to live a mo
ment longer on it." And while they were thus violent,
making as if they would stone him, and shewing very
extravagant signs of their fury, the captain commanded
him to be brought into the tower, where he should be
scourged till he should confess by what means he had
thus incensed the people. And as they were fastening
bim, in order to scourge him, Paul said to the captain,

358 A Complete History
" Do the Roman laws permit you to deal thus with a Ro
man citizen, before sentence is passed on him ?" Upon
this the captain Avent to the commander-in-chief, ad
vising him to be cautious in what he did to Paul, for he
was a Roman. The commander hearing that, came and
asked Paul, whether it was so ; for said he, I am a Ro-
rhan, but not by birth, having purchased that privilege.
" But," said Paul, " I Avas born a Roman." This put
them by their design of scourging him, and not a little
perplexed the commandant, who feared he had already
done more than he could answer in putting Paul in irons.
They therefore freed him from bis chains ; but yet be
ing desirous to know the bottom of the business, he con
vened the Sanhedrim, and brought out Paul to see what
they Avould object against him.
The Sanhedrim being assembled, Paul was called; who,
surveying them, with his usual presence of mind, thus
began his speech: "Men and brethren, though I am
now brought before you as a malefactor, I have the sa
tisfaction of being conscious that none can justly advance
any charge against me, for I have, even to this day, con
ducted myself, before God, in all good conscience."
Ananias, the high-priest, looking upon this introduc
tion as a very great insolence and presumption, and fear
ing the rest of his speech would be' of the same nature,
resolved effectually to stop him, and therefore com
manded the officers that stood near him to strike him
on the mouth.
Then Paul, animated on a sudden by a secret impulse
of a prophetic spirit, said, " God is about to smite thee,
O thou whited, wall ! for sittest thou on the tribunal of
justice, and yet, in violation of the law, commandest
thou me to be smitten ?" The standers by, hearing this,
reproved Paul for railing against the high-priest. To
Avhom Paul justified himself, saying, " I did not acknoAA7-
ledge * him to be the high-priest ; for it is written,

* Acknowledge. The versions make St. Paul guilty of speaking an un
truth, when they make him say} " I wist not, brethren, that he was the

Of the Holy Bible. 359
thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people." But
Paul, perceiving that the council was divided, part of
them being pharisees, who believed another life after
this, and part of them sadducees, that did not; he took

high-priest." Acts xxiii. 5. For it seems impossible that St. Paul should
not have known the greatest part of the members of the Sanhedrim, and
especially the high-priest, whose garments alone were enough to distinguish
him from others. Tis true, that for some years before, St. Paul had not
been at Jerusalem, and that Ananias was exalted to that dignity in his ab
sence; besides that, there was then such a confusion in the Jewish govern
ment, that sometimes three different high-priests were chosen iu one year.
But St. Paul having lived at Jerusalem many years before, having been
brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and having had a commission to per
secute the Christians at Damascus, it is not to be presumed, that he had
so lost the idea of those persons that made up the Sanhedrim, that he could
not distinguish them when he returned to the city. It is likewise observed
in the following verse, that St. Paul perceived one part of the council were
sadducees, and the other pharisees; wliich he could not have done, if he
had not known them. And how could he have taken the high-priest to
witness, Acts xxii. 5, " that he persecuted the Christians unto death," if
he had not known him? But suppose he did not know Ananias to T>e the
high-priest, yet he could not but know he was one of the council. Besides,
it can give no advantageous opinion of St. Paul, that he pronounced those
words against Ananias, " God shall smite thee," &c. without knowing him ;
and to think that he was so transported with anger, that he did not know
against whom he denounced this prediction. Is it not more natural to ac
knowledge, that he spoke wisely, and by the direction of the Holy Ghost,'
than to imagine him to have excused his pretended rashness by his want of
knowledge? However it be, if this Ananias was the high-priest of the same
name with him who was killed with the Son of Gamaliel at the destruction
of Jerusalem, the Apostle's prediction wanted neither apology nor re
traction. Tliese considerations have obliged expositors to have recourse to another
signification of the original word, which seems much better to express his
design. They observe, that it often signifies to acknowledge; so that St. Paul
is so far from excusing what he said, that he declares he does not acknow
ledge Ananias for the high-priest; riot only because that office had ceased at
the death of Christ, who afterwards was to be the only high-priest, as he de
clares, Heb. ix. but also because, in effect, Ananias was not the true high-
priest, having only usurped this office, which, by right, belonged to Gamaliel,
called Simeon, or to Ishmael, or to Josephus, and had made himself master
of it by bribery.

36o A Complete History
the advantage of their division, and said, " I was by my
education, and still am in judgment, a pharisee; as my
father was, and the chief thing for which I am called in
question is, my believing that there is another life after
this, and a resurrection from the dead, which is a pure
pharisaical doctrine, which all of that sect do hold as
well as I." This speech of Paul's increased the conten
tion, the doctors of the law, who were generally phari
sees, taking his part, and declaring him innocent; say
ing, " If God hath revealed this to him, let us not op
pose the will of God." But their dispute turning to a
direct tumult, the commandant of the guards fearing
Paul Avould be destroyed in this confusion, ordered the
soldiers to take him by force, and carry him to the tower.
Where the night following he saw a vision ; the Lord Je
sus appeared standing by him, and encouraging him,
said, " Fear not, Paul, for as thou hast avowed and de
fended the faith here at Jerusalem, so shalt thou' also
bear thy testimony to me at Rome."
This peculiar regard ofthe divine goodness in Paul's
piotection was immediately verified ; for early the next
morning above forty Jews entered into a conspiracy to
murder him, taking an oath not to eat or drink till they
had dispatched him. The ruffians going to the Sanhe
drim, acquainted them with their design, and put them
in a method of accomplishing it thus • " Do you signify
to the commandant, that you must examine Paul upon
some interrogatories, and order him to, bring him before
you, and by the way, before he can come to the coun
cil, we will lie in ambush, and kill him."* This they
agreed upon ; but God had otherwise determined. For
Paul's nephew, hearing of their intended ambuscade,
hastened to the castle, to give his uncle timely notice.
Which he no sooner received, than he called to the cap
tain of the guard, and desired him to conduct the young

* Such execrable vows as these were not unusual with the Jews, who pre
tended a right to punish, without legal process, those whom they considered
as blasphemers of the law.

Of the Holy Bible. 36 1
man to the commandant, to whom he had something of
importance to . communicate. The captain very oblig
ingly did as Paul desired, and AvithdraAving, left them to
gether. ^ Then the commandant taking the youth aside
asked his business ; AvIio acquainted him Avith the Jews
design upon Paul's life, desiring his protection for his
uncle. The commandant hearing this, obliged the youth
to silence, and dismissed him: then calling for two cap
tains, he bid them get their companies in readiness for
an expedition, and convey Paul to Felix the governor,
to whom he wrote, a letter, giving him an account ofthe
whole affair, and referring the determination of Paul's
case to him. This Avas immediately put in execution,
and that night they attended Paul as far as Antipatris ;
where the foot left him, and the horse conducted him to
Csfcsarea, where the governor resided, to whom they de
livered Paul with the commandant qf Jerusalem's letter;
which when Felix had read, and understanding of Avhat
province Paul Avas a native, he dismissed the guard,
and told him he Avould hear him when his accusers came;
in the mean time securing him in the hall called Herod's
Hall. Paul having thus escaped the conspiracy ofthe JeAvs by
the prudence and care of Claudius Lysias, and being hoav
under the protection of Felix, the procurator of Judea,
the Sanhedrim and their ruffians were disappointed; yet
they resolved to pursue him as long as he Was within
reach of their malice. Five days after his arrival at Ca>
sareaj Ananias the High-Priest, with some others of the
Sanhedrim, and a certain laAVyer named Tertullus, came
thither, and brought their accusation against Paul. Ter
tullus being admitted to speak, began his plea Avith a flat
tering oration to Felix, telling him how happy the Jews
had been in all places under his administration, and how
thankful they were to him for it. Then begging his at
tention in what he had to say against Paul, he began
thus : " May it please your excellency, as we enjoy
great peace under your administration, arid many illus
trious deeds are happily effected by yoiir wise and pru
dent government, we accept it always, most noble Felix,
vol. in. 3 A

^362 A Complete History
Avith all thankfulness. I humbly beseech you, Avith your ,
Avonted candour, to listen to the charge we haA'e to bring
against this notorious offender; for wo have found this
man a most pestilent fellow, an d a mo ver of sedition against
the present government of the Romans. Besides, he is-
a ringleader of the detestable sect of the Nazarenes, than
which none ever sprung up among the Jews more disho
norable and impious. He has also had the audacity to
profane the sacred temple at Jerusalem, by introducing
strangers within the boundaries from which they are ex
cluded, even by your authority as well as by our law, on
pain of death. For these crimes we apprehended him a
few days ago, and would have proceeded against him ac
cording to law; but I am sorry to say that we have been
prevented by Lysias the tribune, who coming upon us
Avith an armed force, took him by violence out of our
hands, and so interrupted the course of justice. Nor
should we have troubled your excellency with these
complaints, had not that officer commanded us to ap
pear before thee, to whom Ave now confidently commit
the decision of this cause."
To this accusation the Jews assented, and confirmed
the truth of all that Tertullus had asserted, who having
thus delivered his charge, Paul by order of the gover
nor, made his defence.
" I am the more ready to ansAA'er for myself before
thee, O Felix, because thou hast been for many years '
the procurator of this nation. About tAvelve days ago, I
went up to Jerusalem to keep the feast ofpentecost,
where I behaved myself in the most orderly and quiet
manner, causing no disturbance, and raising no sedition
either in the city or synagogues. But as for that part of
the accusation, that I am a promoter of the sect of the
Nazarenes, as they call it, I frankly confess it; and that
there shall be a life after this, nor can my accusers pro
duce any evidence of the contrary. And in this religion
and practice I am careful to live blamelessly, and to do
my duty in all things towards God and man. As for
what they pretend, of my profaning the temple, thus it
was : many years after my conversion to Christianity, I

Of the Holy Bible. 363
was sent by the pious Jewsof other parts to Jiitiea and
Jerusalem, with their alms and free-will oblations.
And whilst I was doing this, some Jews of Asia saw me
in the temple, where I was so far from profaning it, that
I did nothing but what the laAV required. of me, without.
any tumult or disorder. Nay, I appeal to my enemies
here present, Avhether, when I was brought before the
council at Jerusalem, I was not dismissed without any
thing of moment carged and proved against me. There
is but one thing can be urged against me, and that none
but the Sadducees' will charge me with, which is, my ac-
knoAvledging the resurrection, and that is chargeable on
the Pharisees as Avell as me."
When Felix had thus heard the matter on both sides,
he put them off; saying, " When I know more exactly
the nature of the question concerning the christian reli
gion and your law, I will determine : and as to the tu
mult said to be excited by Paul, Avhen Lysias comes, his
evidence will decide it." And dismissing the assembly,
he remanded Paul to prison, permitting any friend to
visit and assist him.
A feAV days after this hearing, Drusilla, the wife of
Felix, a Jewess, coming to Csesarea, Felix was inclined
to gratify her curiosity as well as his own, in hearing him
discourse at large concerning the faith of Christ ; and
sending for him, he desired him to let them hear what he
could say in defence of this doctrine. Paul, knowing the
character of his hearers, took occasion to insist particu
larly on the great obligation of observing justice between
man and man, and concerning temperance, as he knew
that Felix and Drusilla had notoriously violated both ; and
to enforce his reasonings, faithfully admonished all who
heard him, of that awful and tremendous judgment to
come, Avhen the greatest personages must appear before
the righteous tribunal. And as he insisted on these three
branches of the christian doctrine, wherein Felix was so
much concerned, he trembled ; and being uneasy to hear
such doctrines as stung his conscience to the quickj he
abruptly stopped- the apostle, dismissing him for the
present, and promising to take a future opportunity to
3 A 2

364 A Complete History
see and hear him. Paul having continued in custody two
years, Felix Avas by Nero removed from his place, and
Portius Festus succeeded him : and though Felix had no
reason to treat Paul unkindly, yet being a man that had
practised much cruelty and injustice in his government,
and being a great Wer of money, whether gained by
bribery, extortion, or otherwise, yet either because Paul
did not offer him money to procure his liberty, or whe
ther it Avas merely to gratify the Jews at parting, he left
Paul in prison.
Festus had no sooner entered upon his government,
but he Avent from Csesarea to Jerusalem, when the High-
Priest and other members ofthe Sanhedrim accused Paul,
and very pressingly solicited the governor to send for
him to Jerusalem, intending to lay an ambuscade in the
Avay to kill him. But Festus, not over fond of granting
favours to the Jews, told them he had left Paul in prison
at Caesarea, Avhither he himself should shortly go, and
hear the cause between them, ordering those that Avere
concerned, to appear against him there. Festus, after
ten days stay at Jerusalem, returned to Csesarea; and the
court being seated, Paul Avas brought before him, the
Jews accusing him of many crimes, but proving nothing;
for he cleared himself of the accusation, making it plainly
appear, that he had not offended against the Mosaical law;
the sanctity of the temple, or the Roman government.
But notwithstanding Paul's innocence, Festus, Avilling to
oblige the Jews, thought his putting the question to Paul
to be tried at Jerusalem Avould have sufficiently induced
him to consent. But Paul, too sensible ofthe malice of
his enemies, and which he some time since escaped, was
unwilling to trust himself in their power, AArhich he found
he could no way avoid but by pleading his privilege as a
Roman citizen. " I am, says he, a Roman, and ought
not to be judged by the Jewish Sanhedrim or laws, which
I have not violated, but by the Roman ; and if I have
done any thing which by the Roman laws is Avorthy of
death, I desire no mercy: but if their accusations are in
valid, and I am free from the charge of having injured
them, I see no reason why I should be delivered up to

' Of the Holy Bible. . 365
mine enemies, and make them my judges. To prevent
AA'hich, I appeal to Csesar." Festus, finding Paul resolute
in maintaining his privilege, conferred Avith those of the
JeAvish Sanhedrim who came to the trial ; and not daring
to refuse Paul's appeal, he told him, " Since thou hast
appealed to Csesar, to Caesar thou shalt go."
Some time after this, Agrippa, who succeeded Herod
in the Tetrarchate of Galilee, with his sister Bernice, came
to Csesarea to pay a visit to Festus, Avho acquainted
Agrippa Avith Paul's case in the folloAving manner:
"There is a certain man left in custody by Felix, against
whom the JeAvs brought an information, and immediately
demanded judgment. But I told them, it Avas not the
custom of the Romans to pronounce sentence of death
against any man before he be confronted with his accu
sers, and have liberty to make his defence, and that
therefore they must of necessity come to me here; which
they did, and the man appeared innocent. Whereupon
I remanded him to prison till I could conveniently send
him to Caesar at Rome."
This account of Paul excited much curiosity in Agrippa
to see him, in Avhich Festus promised to gratify him the
next day, when Agrippa, Bernice, and Festus, appeared
Avith great pomp and splendor. The company being
seated, Festus sent for Paul, whom he thus introduced :
" This is the man, O king Agrippa! against whom the
Jews in general have made complaint, as against a most
notorious malefactor. But when I understood he had
committed no capital crime, and that he had appealed to
the emperor at Rome, thither I have determined to send
him. And being uncertain Avhat to Avrite concerning
him to the emperor, I have brought him forth before
this assembly, and especially before your Majesty, that
after due examination I might have something to write:
for it would appear preposterous to send a man a pri
soner without a specific charge against him." When
Festus had ended, Agrippa told Paul he had liberty to
speak for himself ; who desiring silence ofthe audience,
began his speech thus :

366 A Complete History
I cannot but think myself happy, O king Agrippa, in
that I am permitted to make my defence against the ac
cusation laid by the Jews before your majesty, whom I
know to be a perfect master of the Jewish laws and cus
toms; and for Avhich reason I beg your candid attention.
" My manner of life from my youth, which Avas among
the JeAvs at Jerusalem, they .all knoAv ; and that I Avas a
Pharisee, a sect the strictest of all others in the JeAyish
religion. And accordingly now I am accused for asserting
the resurrection of the dead, AA'hich, as it is a doctrine
acknoAvledged by the Pharisees, so is it a fundamental
promise made by God of old, generally depended on by
the Jews, and in hopes of Avhich they spend their time in
piety and obedience to God : and yet for believing and
expecting this I am accused by these Jews. Why should
it be an incredible thing Avith you, that God, who is o\x\-
nipotent; should raise the dead ? I confess I Avas once of
opinion that I was obliged to persecute this profession
and doctrine of Christ, which I did in Jerusalem ; and
many holy men and women I hurried to prison, the chief
priests authorising me ; and when any of them Avere put
to death, I was consenting and active in it. And in other
cities besides Jerusalem, I brought them into the courts of
judicature, and used most severe means to make them
deny Christ, and Avas so fierce against them, that I forced
them to flee to heathen cities, and then pursued them
thither. And this I was going to repeat, when from the
Sanhedrim I received authority to go to Damascus; but
at noon-day, O king ! I saw a light from heaven, far
exceeding the splendor of the sun, which, unable to supv
port, struck me, and those that accompanied me, to the
ground ; and instantly, I very distinctly heard a voice,
saying to me, in the Hebrew tongue, " Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me ?" And when I found, to my great
astonishment that it was Jesus of Nazareth who spoke to
me from heaven, I Avas directed by him to become a mi
nister of that doctrine which I had before persecuted, and
endeavoured to stifle, and received a commission to pub
lish the gospel to fhe Gentiles, to instruct them, in their

Of the Holy Bible. 367
duty, to turn them from their idolatrous worship to the
service of the true God, that by repentance they might
receive forgiveness of their sins, and believing iii Christ
enjoy an eternal portion of bliss among the saints of
God. And for this I was assaulted, and in danger of be
ing killed in the temple. But God rescued me, and by
his blessed assistance I continue my duty, preaching no
thing in effect but vrbat is perfectly agreeable to the
writings of Moses and the prophets, who foretold that
Christ should be put to death, and that by his rising
again, both Jews and Gentiles should be brought to be
lieve in him !"
Here, Festus inserrupting Paul, cried out, Avith a loud
voice, " Paul, thou art distracted, much study of these
ancient records, drives thee to madness, or thou AVouldest
neA^er relate such incredible things !"
But Paul, with the most perfect command of himself,
calmly and gravely replied, " I am in my perfect senses,
most noble Festus, and what I say is true, without ex
cess or extravagance. I appeal to king Agrippa, before
whom I use this freedom of speech, and am confident
he knows all this to be true. The life, death, and resur
rection of Christ, were things of public notoriety, and
cannot be a secret to him that Avas a Jew born. Be
lievest thou the prophets, Oking? I am satisfied thou
dost ; and knowest their predictions to be fulfilled."
Then Agrippa candidly said to Paul, '" Thou hast given
such an account of these matters, and in so natural and
earnest a manner, that instead of condemning thee for
being a christian, I am almost persuaded to become one
myself !" And Paul, powerfully struck with so remarkable
an acknoAvledgmenr, said, with great fervency of spirit,
and yet with perfect decorum, " O king, I would to
God," that not only Thou, but also all who hear me to
day, were both almost and altogether such as I am, ex
cept these bonds." Upon this the assembly broke up ;
and when Agrippa and Festus had consulted together
about Paul's case, they freely oAvned that the accusation
laid against him Avas not punishable by death or imprison
ment, the emperors having not as yet made any edict

368 A Complete History
against christians ; and that, if he had not appealed to
Rome, he ought to have been discharged.
And now an opportunity offering, Festus sent Paul to
Rome, under a guard commanded by one Julius, in a
ship belonging to Adramytium, a sea-port of Mysia;
and taking Aristarchus of Thessalonica with them, they
coasted along Asia till they arrived at Sidon, where Ju
lius, who treated Paul very respectfully, gave him leave
to go ashore, and refresh himself. Sailing from thence,
they came in sight of Cyprus, Avhere they were to lie by
a while; but the winds preventing, they passed the seas
of Cilicia and Pamphylia, and came to Myra, a maritime
city of Lycia. Here, Julius finding a ship belonging to
Alexandria bound for Italy, took his charge on board
her, and with much ado made Salome, a city of Crete,
from Avhence, after many days sIoav sailing, they arrived
at the Fair-Havens near Lasea ; where Paul persuaded
the Captain to wait for more seasonable weather, for
they had been long beating at sea Avith contrary winds
and very stormy weather : but notwithstanding Paul's
advice was prophetical, telling them that if tbey thus
obstinately pursued the voyage, they would not only
hazard the ship and goods, but also their lives ; yet Ju^
lius, preferring the judgment of the master of the ship,
they put to sea, intending to reach Phoenice, a harbour of
Crete, where there was safe riding, and there to winter ;
and the wind blowing gently at South, they questioned
not in the least gaining their point. But they wrere soon
mistaken ; for the wind suddenly veering about, blew so
very hard at north-east, that they Avere forced to drive be
fore it. And coining under a little island called Clauda,
they had like to have lost their boat, but with much diffi
culty recovering it, they hois ted it into the ship ; and being
unable to carry any sail, they lowered them upon deck,
and so drove at the mercy ofthe winds. But the storm
continuing, the next day they lightened the ship, and the
day following they were forced to cut their masts by
the. board, and throw all their tackle overboard. And
now the storm increasing, and neither sun nor stars
for many days appearing, they despaired of escaping..

Of the Holy Bible. 369
Which Paul, seeing, spoke thus to the companv: "Sirs,
had yon taken my advice in staying at Crete, ye had not
run this hazard : but take comfort, for we shall suffer no
loss but the ship. This I can assure you from the mouth
of God, whose angel this night appeared to me, saying,
1 Fear not, Paul, for thou must be brought before Csesar,
and God hath, for thy sake, granted life and safety to all
them that are with thee in the ship.' Wherefore be of
good cheer, for I am confident that this vision, seeing it
comes from God, will certainly be made good. But I
know. also, that the ship will assuredly be wrecked, and
we shall get safe to land on an island."
Driving thus for fourteen days at the mercy of the
wind and waves, about midnight, the sailors fancied they
were near land, and throwing the lead, they sounded,
and found it twenty fathoms ; then fifteen ; and it being
Awght, and apprehending they might strike upon some
shelves in the dark, they threw four anchors a-stern, and
waited for day. And noAv the seamen resolving to shift
for themselves, had hoisted the boat over-board, pre
tending to moor the ship forward, as they had done abaft.
But Paul said to Julius, " Though I told you that no orte
person in the ship should perish, yet it Avas upon condi
tion that you would believe and trust God for your pre
servation, and that the seamen tarry in the ship, and do
their duty, and riot attempt to escape by the boat;
which, if they do, you Avill be all in danger of your
lives." Upon this the soldiers, to prevent the seamen's
design, cut the ropes, and let the boat drop: and in the
Space between that and day-break, Paul advised them to
refresh themselves Avith food, telling them they had so
Solicitously attended the fate of this fourteenth day,
with such anxious care, that they had no leisure or
thought of eating, and so had fasted till that time of
night, eating nothing * all the day before. Therefore,

' * Nothing. He that is said to fast, is he that eateth nothing all day long;
and; so 'tis explained here, Acts xxvii. 33, "Having taken nothing." The
mdaning therefore of this place (without any miracle of subsisting' without
VOL. III. 3 B

370 A Complete History
saith he, " I advise you all now to eat, for you will es
cape the danger, and refreshing yourselves, you will be
the better able to bear the difficulties you are to expect."
And he set them an example, taking bread and blessing
God, they all eat, and were refreshed ; and the number
of all that were in the ship was two hundred and seventy-
six, including soldiers and passengers. After this re
freshment, they fell cheerfully to work, unloading the
vessel not only of goods, but ofthe provisions, and throw
ing them into the sea. with a vieAV to lighten her.
When it was day, they discovered a creek and a haven,
into Avhich they endeavoured to steer; and when they had
weighed the anchors, they made for the shore, and run
the ship aground. The soldiers, seeing land near, advised
the captain to kill the prisoners, lest they should escape ;
but he would not listen to them, having a great desire to
save Paul, to whom he continued his former respectful
carriage ; andtherefore commanded them that could swim
to throw themselves into the sea first, and the rest on
broken planks and pieces got safe to land. Where, wheri
they were all arrived safe, they knew the place to be ,the
island Melita, or Malta.* And here the islanders, seeing

any nourishment fourteen dnys together) is to be gathered from the former
part of the period, " Expecting this day, the fourteenth day," that is, wait
ing to see the success of this day; which it seems, in the opinion' of the
mariners, was the critical diy to thein, their danger was then at the
highest, and they were not likely to outlive it, and so there was no use of
eating: and if they escaped this ,day, they might then possibly hope; and
upon these considerations they eat nothing that clay; they hud no leisure-
to consider Imhger when their greater danger, and more urgent fear was of
drowning. * Melita, now aialta, a, celebrated island of the Mediterranean sea, si
tuated between Sicily and the coast of Africa, in a -most advantageous po
sition, is generally believed to be the scene of Paul's shipwreck. ' In ancient
history, it is considered as the Hyperia and Ogygia. of Homer, in which
Calypso received Ulysses; and at a subsequent period was possessed by tbe
Carthaginians, from whom it Was taken by the Romans. Its principal town
and harbour are remarkable for their great strength; and the island, which
is 120- miles in circumference, though naturally barren, has beei> made by,

Of the Holy Bible. 3?1
them in distress, treated them with great humanity, mak
ing fires to warm their wet and weary limbs, and shew
ing them all the offices of civility and charity.
Whilst they were drying and warming themselves, a
viper, driven from among the wood by the heat of the
fire, leaped out, and fastened upon Paul's hand, which.
when the natives saw, they immediately concluded him
guilty of murder, and that divine vengeance had pursued
him to that place, to die by the bite of this venomous
creature ; but he shook it off into the fire, and felt no
harm; Avhich they observing, soon altered their opinion,
and concluded he was a, god.
Near this place was tbe residence of Publius, the go
vernor of the island, who received and entertained this
shipwrecked company with great civility and hospitality
for three days; during which time, Paul hearing that

human industry capable of producing large quantities of corn, cotton, fruit,
and vegetables. The Arabs expelled the Romans from Malta in 828, and
held it till 1190; when the Normans, from Sicily, took possession, and
continued masters of it till the reign of the Emperor Charles V.; and by
him it was given to the Hnights of Rhodes, since better known under the
title of Knights of Malta. While jn their possession, it was considered as
the bulvynrk of Christendom against the Turks; and in 1564 it sustained a
memorable siege, und bade defiance to the whole power of the Turkish
empire. The fortifications are a stupendous monument of art and expence,
• and are many miles in extent, mostly bomb proof, and usually considered as
impregnable; yet it was delivered up to the French during the late war,
through the treachery or incapacity of the Grand Master of the Knights, after
a slum attack of a few hours. It was afterwards taken by the English,
owing to a severe blockade, and the total failure of provisions, and has ever
since contimu'd in their possession, which, with tlieir powerful fleets, gives
tbem, the supreme command of the Mediterranean sea. Mount Etna, at the
distance of 200 miles, is clearly discerned from Malta, which is considerably
affected by its convulsions; and it is remarkable, that no serpent, or other
venomous creature, will live on the island; a circumstance which, from what-'
ever cause it Ims arisen, is imputed by the superstitious Maltese to the apostle
Paul. All religions are tolerated, and the city of Valetta even contains a
TuikWi mosque. The Knights have entirely lost their authority; and the
population of the island, with that of Goza, depending upon and contiguous
to it, is about 150,000.
3 B 2

372 A Complete History
the governor's father lay dangerously ill of a fever and a
bloody-flux, he went to his apartment, and praying by
him, laid his hands upon and healed him. The ru-,
mour of this miraculous cure soon spread through the
island, and those that were afflicted with any disease
were brought to Paul, and he restored them to their health
and strength. This-increased Paul's fame, insomuch that
bis companions and fellow-sufferers were the better for it,
being for his sake highly caressed and entertained. And
when they left Malta, they received many marks of es
teem from the inhabitants, who presented them Avith
every necessary for their voyage.
Having.tarried at Malta three months, they took ship
ping in a vessel of Alexandria, that had wintered there,
called the Castor and Pollux. Sailing from thence to
Syracuse and Sicily, they tarried there three days, and
thence to Rhegium in Italy, and so in two days to Pu-
teoli, where they found some Christian professors, who
importuned them very much to stay a week with them ;
after which they advanced towards Rome; and being come
as far as Apii Forum and the Three Taverns,* the
Christians in Rome, hearing of Paul's approach, went
out to meet him ; and when they were come to Rome,
Julius delivered the other prisoners to the captain of the
guard, but permitted Paul to dAvell in a private house,
Avjth only a soldier to guard him.
After Paul had been three days at Rome, he desired to
speak Avith the rulers of the Consistory, which the Jews
had at Rome. To whom Paul addressed himself in this
manner : " Countrymen, though I have done nothing
contrary to the laws or customs of the Jews, yet was I by
the Jews apprehended, and accused before the Roman
procurator ; who, when he had examined me, would have

* Three Taverns. This is the proper name of a town or city, ahd not
to be rendered an inn or victualling-house, but (as all other proper names)
to continue without any alteration. Tabernae was the name of the
frontier towns, which were built against the inroads and insults of the Bar
barians.

Of the Holy Bible. 373
discharged me, finding no capital accusation brought
against me. But the JeAvs opposing it, I Avas obliged to
appeal to Csesar, to get out of their hands, and to clear
myself, not to lay any thing to the "charge of any of my
countrymen. And this is the cause of niv desiring to
speak with you ; for I am imprisoned, as vou see, for
asserting the resurrection of the dead, which is the result
of all the promises of God to the Jews, and that on which
eATery true Israelite depends." Then thev said to him,
"We have no letters fi-om Judea that mention thee, nei
ther have the Christian JeAvs made any complaint against
thee. But Ave desire to hear thy opinion more at large ;
for as concerning this profession and doctrine of Christi
anity, Ave knoAv it is generally opposed by our brethren
the Jews." Whereupon, a day avos appointed, and there
came many Jews to his lodging, to whom he preached
and -explained the doctrine ofthe gospel, demonstrating
from the law of Moses, and the prophecies that were of
force among the JeAvs, the agreeableness and truth of the
whole Christian religion. Upon the result of the matter,
some believed, and others did not ; and when by reason
of this difference some warm disputes arose between them,
as they departed, Paul told them, "That this unbelief of
theirs Avas a thing which the prophet Isaiah had positively
foretold, saying, ' This people will not receive the gos
pel ; for they have contracted a perverse habit of obsti
nacy and Avilful deafness, that they will not hearken to
any Avay of reformation that shall be proposed to them.'
Be assured then, that we are not obliged longer to con
tend with your obdurate temper, but we will preach the
gospel to the heathen, who will gladly accept this of
fered mercy." And upon this they parted, the Jews
continuing obstinate in their opinions as they took
leave. And Paul continued free fi-om close confinement,
living in his. hired house for two whole years, preaching
the gospel to all who came to him with all freedom and
openness, none offering any molestation or restraint.
THUS ENDS THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES,

AN ABSTRACT OP
THE TRAVELS AND LABOURS OF
ST.PAUL^
FROM HIS CONVERSION TO HIS DEATH
AT
ROME,
IN THE YEAR. OF OUR LOKD 70, AND IN THE J4TII OF, THE.-,.
KEIGN OF THE EMPEROtt
NERO.

.s." • ' ''is • 'Pi

Jl aim, the persecutor and blasphemer, Acts vii.
viii. ix. is converted on his way to Damascus- • 35 1 Tiberius 20
From Damascus he goes into Arabia, and preaches 36 SI 21
thegospel; from thence returning to Damascus,
he is persecuted, and escapes by means of the ' ¦
brethren in a basket over tlie city wall, Acts,
ch. ix. Galatians, ch. i.- •• •  ST 3 22
He comes to Jerusalem to visit Peter, Acts, ch. ix.
2 Cor. xii. Galat. i.  ,  38 4 . 23
The Jews endeavouring to put him to death, he 39 5 Caligul i 1
is escorted by the Romans to Cffisarea; from • t
thence goes to Syria and Tarsus, in Cilicia,
Acts, ch. vii. Galat. i.   40 G 2
He goes to Antioch with Barnabas, where the dis
ciples were first called Christians, Acts, ch xi.
v. 26. ••¦•'  '•• 42 3 i Claudius 2
The famine predicted by Agabus, Acts, ch. xi. ••• • 44 10 2
Saint James the Great, first Bishop of Jerusalem,
put to death by Herod, grandson of Herod the
Great, Acts, ch. xii.  45 11 3
Paulus Emilius, Proconsul of Cyprus, converted by
St. Paul, Acts, ch. xiii.  46 12 4
He preaches in Antioch and Pisidia, part of Ga
latia, A^s, ch. xiv.  4T 13 5
Comes to Iconium, and remains there some time,
Acts, ch! xiii. xiv. ¦¦  — ......... '.-w..i  ^.."48 14 6

Tlie Travels and Labours of St. Paul.

He cures a lame man at Lystra, and is soon after
stoned, Acts xvi.  ... 49 15, Claudius 7
Haying ordained elders in all the churches, and
visited Pisidia and Pamphylia, he returns to
Antioch  .'  ."  50 16 8
At this time the apostles held a council at Jerusa
lem, wherein St. Paul assisted; and having re
turned to Antioch, he there resisted St. Peter to
the face, Acts xv. Galatians, ch. ii.  •' • 52 13 10
St. Paul goes with Silas into Syria and Cilicia, to
strengthen the churches; afterward to Derbe
and Lystra with Timothy, thence to Macedonia,
and established the church of Philippi, Acts,
ch. xv. xvi.  54 20 ,12
He preaches at Athens, and goes from thence to
Thessalonica,, Acts, ch. xvii.  55 21 13
He preaches at Corinth eighteen months, and
. from thence writes to the Romans, Acts,
ch. xviii.  56 22 .14
He goes to Ephesus; from thence to Csesarea,
afterward to Jerusalem, and thence to Antioch 57 23 Nero 1
He visit? the churches: in Asia and Phrygia, Acts,
ch. xviii.  •  58 24 , ' 2
St. Paul goes to Ephesus, where he remained two
' iye'ars', and. leaves Timothy first bishop of the
church of Ephesus, Acts, ch. xix. 1 Tim. ch. i. • • 59 25 3
He Writes his first epistle to the Corinthians from
Ephesus, 1 Cor. ch. xvi.  • 60 26 4
After the tumult made fit Ephesus was appeased,
he , goes to Troas, and from thence to Mace
donia, where being at Philippi, he writes his
, second epistle to the Corinthians by St. Luke
and 1 Titus, Acts,, oh. xx. and 2 Cor. ch. ii. and
xiii. In this city he was scourged and put into
the stocks. • • ¦ •  61 27 5
From philippi he goes into Greece, 1 Cor. ch. xvi.
and 2 Cor. ch. xii. And because of the snares
laid for him, returns by Macedonia to Troas,
and meets there Aristarchus and Timothy,
Acts, ch. xx.  62 28 6
At Troas St. Paul restores a dead person to life.
He goes to Assos and Mytelene, to Spmos, Tro-
gylliiim, and Miletus. At Ephesus he bids the
church a final adieu, and sails to Rhodes, Pa-
tara, Tyrus, Ptolemais, and thence to Csesarea,
from whence proceeding to Jerusalem, he is
there apprehended on a false charge of sedition,
Acts, ch. xxi. and xxii.  63 29 7
Brought as a prisoner to Csesarea he pleads before
Felix, remains two years in prison, and appeals
to esesar at Rome, Acts, ch. xxiii. and xxiv.- - • • 65 31 9

The Travels arid Labours ef St. Pant. J si
"a o e
*'D' 2^ gg
2. «
St. Paul is sent a prisoner to Rome, by sea, ac
companied by the holy evangelist Luke^ and is
shipwrecked on the island of Malta, Acts,
ch. xxvii.  66 32 Nero 11
While in chains at Rome he writes his. epistles to
the churches of Galatia, Ephesus, and Phi
lippi  67 S3 12
He writes'the epistle to the Colossians, and to Phi
lemon  £8 34 13
He writes his second Epistle to Timothy a little be
fore his death •• •  .'  69 35.
He is brought before the tyrant Nero the second-
time, and being a Roman citizen, is condemned
to lose his heaol for preaching the gospel  70 36 14
It is generally believed, that St. Paul obtained a deliverance from
his first imprisonment at Rome, and,; after a short time, to have been
carried there again. Particularly commissioned by his Divine Master
to preach the gospeL to the Gentile world, he became eminently useful,
and in labours more abundant than alii the other apostles. As an ora-
ft>r he shines to great advantage; and even Longiiius himself speaks of
him in terms of approbation. Though tlie mast humble,! as well as
most useful of mankind, none but his own inimitable pen liasdotfe' jus
tice to his truly great and exalted character, in the eleventh chapter ,of
his second epistle to the Corinthians.. Ill' the jcity of Tarsus, where7 lie
was born, he had every advantage which a polite and' learned educa
tion could bestow upon him,, and finished his studies at the feet of
Gamaliel, in Jerusalem. Ecclesiastical writers have said, that' dtfriiig
his second imprisonment, he converted Poppea. Sabina, the concubine
of Nero. Certain it is, that he was beheaded by order of that tyfant,
toward the close of his reign,, who soon afiter fell a just sacrifice to the
injured people of Rome.

APPENDIX.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH,
FROM THE CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK OF 'THE ACTS,' TO THE
C-i.f.SE OF THE FIRST CENTURY.
( Abridged from Mr. Milner's History of the Church, Vol I.) \
It seems plain, that the apostles in general did not leave Judea,
till after the first council held at Jerusalem. They seem never
to have been in haste to quit the land of their nativity. Proba
bly the threatening appearances of its desolation by' the Romans,
hastened their departure into distant regions. And before the
close of this century it appears, that the power of the gospel was
felt throughout the Roman empire.
It was about the year of our Lord 64, that the city of Rome
sustained a general conflagration. The Emperor Nero, lost as
he was to all sense of reputation, was yet studious to avert the
infamy of being reckoned the author of this calamity, which was
generally imputed to him. But no steps that he could take were
sufficient to clear him. There was, however, a particular set of
people, so singularly distinct from the rest of mankind, and so
much hated on account of the condemnation which their doc
trine and purity of life affixed to all except themselves, that they
might be calumniated with impunity. These were then known
at Rome by the name of Christians. Unless we transplant our
selves into those times, we can scarce conceive how odious and
contemptible the appellation then was. The judicious Tacitus
calls their religion " a detestable superstition*, which at first was
suppressed, and afterwards broke out afresh, and spread not
only through Judea the origin of the evil, but through the me
tropolis also, the common sewer in which %very thing filthy and
flagitious meets and spreads." If so grave and cautious a writer
as Tacilus, can thus asperse the Christians without proof and
without moderation, we need not wonder, that so impure a
wretch as Nero should not hesitate to charge them with the crime
of burning Rome.
Now it was that the Romans legally persecuted the church for
the first time. Their execution was aggravated with insult. They
were covered with skins of wild beasts, and torn by dogs; were
crucified, and set on fire, that they might serve for tights in the
night-time. Nero offered his gardens for this spectacle, and

* Tacitus, b. 15.
VOL. HI. 3 c

II APPENDIX.
exhibited the games of the circus. People could not, however,
avoid pitying them, because they suffered' not for the public good;
but to gratjfy the cruelty of a tyrant.
Three or four years were probably the utmost extent of this
tremendous persecution, as soon after the tyrant was him
self, by a dreadful exit, summoned before the Divine Tribunal.
He left tbe Roman world in a state of extreme confusion. Judea
partook of it in an eminent manner. About forty years after
our Lord's sufferings, wrath came on the body of the Jewish
nation to the uttermost, in a manner too well known to need the
least account in this history. What became of the Christian
Jews, alone concerns us. The congregation were commanded,
by an oracle revealed to the best approved among them, thaf
before the wars began, they should depart from the city^ and
inhabit a village beyond Jordan, called Pella. Thither they re
tired, and were saved from the destruction which soon after'
overwhelmed their countrymen, at once observing -the precept,
and fulfilling the well-known prophecy of their Saviour. The
death of Nero, and the destruction of Jerusalem, would natu
rally occasion some respite to them from their sufferings ; and
we hear no more of their persecuted state, till the reign of Do
mitian, the last of the Flavian family, who succeeded to the em
pire in the year 81.
In the year 96, Domitian was slain, and Nerva, the succeed
ing emperor, published a pardon for those who were condemned
for impiety, recalled those who were banished, and forbad the
accusing of any men on account of impiety,. or Judaism. Others
who were under accusation, or under sentence of condemnation,
now escaped by the lenity of Nerva.
The apostles and evangelists of this period, were their story
distinctly known, ^ would afford materials indeed of the rarest
pleasure to every Christian mind. But there never arose in the
church any historian's like Thucydides and Livy, to illustrate the
actions of saints. Heroes and statesmen have their reward here,
saints hereafter. Christ's kingdom must not appear to be of
this world, and while large volumes have been rilled with the
exploits of heroes, and the intrigues of statesmen, those men
who were the divine instruments of evangelizing souls, the New
Testament history excepted, are for the most part unknown.
What I can collect the reader shall see ; though he will find it is
but little.
The first of the twelve apostles who suffered martyrdom, we
have seen, was James the son of Zebedee, who fell a sacrifice to
Herod Agrippa's ambitious desire of popularity.
The other James was preserved in Judea to a much later pe
riod. His martyrdom took place about the year 62, and hi-'

APPENDIX. Ill
epistle was published a little before his death. As he always re
sided at Jerusalem, and was providentially preserved through
various persecutions, he had an opportunity of overcoming en
mity itself, and abating prejudice, in some measure. The name
of Just was generally given him on account of his singular inno
cence and integrity. And as he conformed to Jewish customs
with more than occasional regularity, he was by no means so
odious in the eyes of his countrymen, as the apostle of the Gen
tiles. But could he have fully overcome their enmity, he could
not have been faithful to Christ. Many Jews respected the man,
and admired the fruits ofthe gospel in him. The root and prin
ciple was still their abhorrence, and from the account of Euse
bius, the testimony of Hegesippus, an early Christian historian,
whom he quotes, and of Josephus, it is plain, that it was
thought a pitiable thing, that so good a man should .be a
Christian. Paul's escape from Jewish malice, by appealing to
'Caesar, had sharpened the spirits of this people, and they were
determined to wreak their vengeance on James, who was merely
a Jew, and could plead no Roman exemptions. Festus dying
president, of Judea, before his successor Albinus arrived, Ana
nias the high-priest, a sadducee, and a merciless persecutor,
held the supreme power in the interim, and called a council, be
fore which he brought James with some others, accusing them
of breaking the law of Moses. But it was not easy to procure
his condemnation. His holy life had long obtained the venera
tion of his countrymen.
The great men were uneasy on account of the vast increase of
Christian converts by his means, and endeavoured ,to entangle
him, by persuading him to mount a pinnacle of the temple, and
to speak to the people assembled at the time of the passover,
against Christianity. James being placed aloft, delivered a
frank confession of Jesus as then sitting at the right hand of
power, and who should come in the clouds, of heaven. Upon
this Ananias and the rulers were highly incensed. To disgrace
his character was their first intention. This had failed. To
murder his person was the next, and the attempt was of very
speedy execution. Crying out, that Justus himself was seduced,
they threw him down, and stoned him. The apostle had strength
to fall on his knees, and. to pray, "I beseech thee, Lord God
and Father, for them ; for they know not what they do." One
of the priests, moved with the scene, cried out, " Cease, what
do you mean ? this just man is praying' for you." A person
present, with a fuller's club, beat out his brains, and completed
his martyrdom.
Very remarkable is the acknowledgment of Josephus. "These
things" (meaning the miseries of the Jews from the Romans)
3c 2

IV APPENDIX.
happened to them by way of avenging the death of James the
Just, the brother of Jesus, whom they call Christ. For the Jews
slew him, though a very just man." And from the same writer
we learn, that Albinus severely reprimanded Ananias, and soon
after deprived him ofthe high-priesthood.
After the death of James, and the desolation of Jerusalem,
the apostles and disciples of our Lord, qf whom many were yet
alive, gathered themselves^ together with our Lord's kinsmen, to
appoint a pastor of the church of Jerus'alem in the room of
James. The election fell on Simeon, the son of that Cleophas
mentioned by St. Luke, as one of the two who went to Emmaus,
and who was the brother of Joseph, our Lord's reputed father.
We shall leave Simeon, tbe chief pastor of the Jewish church,
at the end of this century.
Paul the apostle seems to have laboured with unwearied ac
tivity, from about the year 36 to the year 63, that is, from his
conversion to the period in which St. Luke finishes his history.
Within this period he wrote fourteen epistles, which wiH be the
blessed means of feeding the souls of the faithful to the end of
time. The second epistle to Timothy has been commonly sup-,
posed to have been written just before his martyrdom. From
this epistle it is evident, that he had already been called before
Nero, agreeably to the prediction, " thou must be brought be
fore Csesar j" and that no Christian durst appear before him ; he
feelingly complains, " all men forsook me." Yet he knew how
to distinguish between malevolence and timidity ; and therefore,
though he could not excuse their neglect of him, he prays God
that it might not belaid to 1 heir charge. But the grace of the
Lord Jesus, which had hitherto been so eminently with the
apostle, forsook him not in his trying moments. The Lord
"stood with, and strengthened him. He was enabled to tes
tify for Christ and his gospel before Nero, with the same frank
ness, fortitude, and eloquence, that he had done before Felix,
Festus, and Agrippa. And for the first time, and probably the
last, the murderous tyrant Nero heard the glad tidings of salva
tion. It seems, by the expression, " that all the Gentiles
might hear," that Paul was heard in a very full and'solemn as
sembly, and had an opportunity of giving a clear account of
Christianity. And as some of Caesar's houshold are mentioned
as saints in the epistle to the Philippians, there is reason to ap
prehend, that the preaching was not in vain. He was, as he
owns, " delivered froni the mouth of thejioif." Paul seems to
have had this audience during the former part of his imprison
ment at Rome, and to have been remanded to his confinement -
for the present.
Here he wrote the epistles to the Philippians and Colossians

APPENDIX. V
before the end of the year 6?. From the former of these it ap
pears, that the whole court of Nero was made acquainted with
his case, and that the cause of the gospel was promoted by this
means. In the epistle to Philemon, he expresses a confidence
of being soon set at liberty, and promises, in that case, shortly
to pay them a visit.
Having obtained his liberty in the year 63, he most probably
would soon fulfil his promise to visit the Hebrews ; after which
he might see his Colossian friends. That he ever visited Spain
or Britain, is, to say no more, extremely doubtful. And if he
once more made an Asiatic tour, there seems not time enough
fov his accomplishing the western journey, as he suffered mar
tyrdom ori his return to Rome in 64 or 65. He could have had
no great pleasure at Jerusalem ; everv thing was there hastening
to ruin. No man was ever possessed of a more genuine patriotic
spirit than this apostle. The Jewish war, which commenced in
66, would have much afflicted him, had he lived to see it. But
returning to Rome about a year before, he fell in with the very
time when Rome was burnt, and Christians were accused as in
cendiaries. He now found no mercy in Nero, who would natu
rally be displeased at the effect, which he had observed his
preaching had produced in his-own family. A cup-bearer and a
concubine of his had been, through Paul's means, converted to
the faith, as Chrysostom assures us ; and this hastened his death.
He was slain w ith the sword by Nero's order *.
Of St. Peter we have by ho means so large an account as of
St. Paul. The last view we have of him in scripture presents him
to us at Antioch. This was probably about the year 50. After
this he was employed in spreading the gospel principally among
his own countrymen, but one cannot suppose exclusively of
Gentiles, in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
His two epistles were directed to the' Hebrew converts of these
countries. And if he was far less successful than Paul among
the Gentiles, he was much more so than he among the Jews.
He who wrought effectually in the one among the former, was
mighty in the other among the latter f. It should ever be re
membered, who alone did the work, and gave the increase.
Peter probably came to Rome about the year 63. Thence a
little before his martyrdom he wrote his two epistles.

* Order. >ome historians affirm, that he was beheaded on the same
day in which Perer was crucified, iu the beginning of the year 66, when
he wr,s upwards of 70 years of age, r,t Aqua Salera, three miles from Rome,
aud was buried in the Via Ostensis, on a spot whereon Constantine the
Great erected a magnificent church to his memory.
t Gal. ii. 8.

VI APPENDIX.
Of the labours of eight apostles, nothing in a manner is re
corded, James, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Mat
thew, Jude, Simon, and Matthias.
Of John the apostle a few valuable fragments may be col
lected. He was present at the council of Jerusalem, which was
held about the year 50, nor is it probable, that he left Judea
till that time. Asia Minor was the great theatre of his ministry,
particularly Ephestfs, the care of which church remained with
him after the decease of the rest of the apostles. The breaking
out of the war in Judea would probably oblige the apostle to
bid a total farewell to his native country. While he resided at
Ephesus, going oace to bathe there, and perceiving that Cerin
thus was in the bath, he came out again hastily. Let us flee,
says he, lest the bath should fall, while Cerinthus, an enemy of
truth, is within. Tertullian tells us, that by order of Domitian,
John was cast into a caldron of boiling oil, and came out again
without being hurt. The miracle softened not the heart of Do
mitian, who would probably suppose the apostle to have been
fortified by some magical incantations. He banished him into
the solitary isle of Patmos, where he was favoured with the vi
sions of the Apocalypse. After Domitian's death he returned
from Patmos, and governed the Asiatic churches. There he re
mained till the time of Trajan. At the request of the bishops,
he went to the neighbouring churches, partly to ordain pastors,
and partly to regulate the congregations. At one place in his
tour, observing a remarkably handsome young person, he warmly
recommended him to the care of a particular pastor. The young
man was baptized, and for a tirrie lived as a Christian. But being
gradually corrupted by bad company, he became idle, intempe
rate, and at length so dishonest, as to become captain of a band
of robbers. Some time after, John had occasion to inquire of
the pastor concerning the young man, who told him, that he was
now dead to God, and inhabited a mountain over against his
church. John, in the vehemence of his charity, went to the
place, and exposed himself to be taken by the robbers. " Bring
me," says he, " to your captain," who beheld him coming. As
soon as he knew the apostle, he was struck with shame and fled.
The aged apostle, following him, cried, " My son, why flyest
thou from thy father, unarmed and old ? Fear not, as yet there
remaineth hope of salvation. Believe me, Christ hath sent me."
Hearing this, the young man stood still, trembled, and wept
bitterly. John prayed, exhorted,' and brought him back to the
society of Christians, nor did he leave him, till he found him
fully restored by divine grace.
We have yet another story of St. John. Being now very old,
and unable to say much in Christian assemblies, " Children,

APPENDIX. ' vii
love one another," was his constantly-repeated sermon^ Being
asked why he told them only one thing, he answered, that no
thing else was needed.
John lived three or four years after his return to Asia, having
been preserved to the age of an hundred years for the benefit of
the church of Christ, a pattern of charity and goodness, greater
than 1 know how to describe.
Of the apostle Barnabas nothing is known, except what is re
corded in the Acts. There we have an honourable encomium
of his character, and a particular description1 of his joint labours
with St. Paul. J
Thus have we seen the most astonishing revolution in the
human mind, and in human manners, that was ever known in
any age, effected without any human power legal or illegal, and
even against the united opposition of all the powers then in the
world; and this too not in countries rude or uncivilized, but in
the most humanized, the most learned, and the most polished
part of the globe, within the Roman empire ; no part of which
was exempted from a sensible share in its effects. This empire,
within the first century at least, seems to have beeh the proper
limit of Christian conquests*.
The Christian reader will probably wish to know when, and
by what means, the gospel was introduced into Britain. Of this
various accounts have been given, but the fpllowing seems entitled
to the best regard of any we have seen :
" The most calamitous events are often, through the wise
direction of a superintending Providence, productive of the most
important and happy consequences. Caractacus, King of the
Britons, was, through the treachery of Cartismandua, Queen
of the Brigantes, betrayed into the hands of his enemies, and
carried captive to Rome. His father, Bran (or Branus), his
wife, children, and brothers,, shared in this calamity, and re
mained prisoners there for seven years, while the great apostle
of the Gentiles was successfully planting the standard of the
gospel in the capital of the world. An opportunity thus af
forded to those illustrious Britons, of attending the first preachers

* Indeed, that France had any share in the blessings of the gospel within
this century, can only be inferred from the knowledge we have, that it
was introduced into Spain. Whether our own country was evangelized at
all in this century, is very doubtful. Nor can we be certain that any mi
nisters had as. yet passed into Africa. The assertion, therefore, that the
gospel had spread through the Roman empire, must be understood with a
few exceptions, though I think scarce any more than those which have been
mentioned.

VIII APPENDIX.
of Christianity, Branus, and others of his family, were con
verted to the faith, and on their return introduced the gospel
into Wales. On this account, BVan (or Branus) is called, in the
venerable and uncorrupted chronicles of Wales, one of the three
blessed sovereigns of Britain. Cyllin, or St. Cyllin, son of
Caractacus, and Eigen bis daughter, were almost among the first
to establish Christianity among their unenlightened countrymen.
The latter is accounted the first female saint in Britain. On
their return from Rome, they brought with them, A.D. 70, Hid,
a Jewish Christian, and Cynday, another convert, to assist in
preaching the gospel.
Towards the close of the second century, Lleirwg, the son of
Coel ab Cyllin Sant, called Lleuver Mawr, and Lies, or Lucius,
prince of the Silures, formed the laudable design of diffusing the
knowledge of the Christian faith generally over his dominions.
Ip order to further the grand design, he sent over to Rome for
the assistance of some able teachers; whereupon Eleutherius
sent Dyvan, Fagan, Medwy, and Elvan for that purpose. The
first Christian church was built by Lleirwg, at Llanday, " under
national protection, right, and privilege." On this account,
Lleirwg was ranked wilh Bran and Cadwaledr, under the ap
pellation of the three blessed princes of the isle of Britain.
The place where Elvan taught was Yans y Vallon, or the
present Glastonbury. Fagan has a church dedicated to him in
Glamorganshire. The following wise saying of Fagan is still
preserved, " Lie taw Duw nid doeth yngan ;" " Where God is
silent, it is not wise to speak." Dyvan was great-grandson of
Manawydan, son of Bran. Of Medwy we have no further par
ticulars, but that he came over with the other three from
Rome*."

* This account is found in authentic documents still extant in the an
cient British 1 inguage, called, " Trioedd Ynys Piydain," ' the Welsh
Triads; and " Bouedd y .Sant," the (<eueulogy of the British Saints. It
adds to the 'authenticity of tliese ancient records, that they were composed
before the introduction of popery among the Welsh, See the above names
in the Cambrian Biography, by Mr. W. Owen, F. A.S. Evan. Mag. No
vember 1806, p. 506, 507. See also Tertullian contra Judaeos, Venerable
Bede, Gildas the Briton, and Fox in his Martyrology, who all agree, that
the gospel was planted in Britain at a very early period, and, most probably,
during the first century.
FINIS.

Printed by J, Dennett, Leather Lane, Holborn,

INDEX.

Aaron born, v. i. p. 158-^sent to
meet Moses, 171— makes the golden
calf, 208 — is consecrated to God, 223
— dies in Mount Hor, aged 123 years.
Abel killed by Cain, v. i. p. 11.
Abraham born, v. i. p. 27 — leaves his
country, 29— defeats the kings, 33 —
meets Melchizedeck, 34 — marries
Hagar, 37 — his name changed, 38 —
marries Keturah, 59— dies, «ged 175,
60.
Abimelech, king of Gerar, v. i. p. 46 —
his league with Abraham, 49.
Abimelech made king, v. i. p. 332 —
kills his seventy brethren, 334 — de
stroys Shechem, and sows it with salt,
335 — takes Thebez, and is there
killed, 3S6.
Abdon judges Israel eight years, v. i.
p. 344.
Abner, Saul's general, v. ii. 13, 29 —
goes over to David, p. 40.
Abiathar escapes from the slaughter of
the priests at Nob, p. 23.
Abigail, David's wife, v. ii. p. 28.
Absalom, his revenge, 55 — steals the
Israelites hearts, 57 — rebels against
his father, 59 — is slain, 63.
Abiam, king of Judah, 99.
Achan, his trespass, v. i. p. 280 — stoned
and burnt with his family, 282.
Achish, king of Gath, p. 21.
Achion, king of Judah,, p. 200.
Adam created, v. i. p. 4 — his fall, p. 7
— expelled Paradise, p. 9.
Adonijah, v. ii. 75.
Adonizedek and four kings defeated
and hanged, v. i. p. 288.
Adramelech and Anameleeh, account
of, p. 171.
Agag, king of Amalek, v. ii. p. 8.
Ahab, his wickedness, p- 104-— slain at
Ramoth Gilead, p. 144.
Ahaziah, king of Israel, 117.
Ahaziah, king of Judah, 138.
Ahaz, king of Judah, 161.
Ahasueras, his history, 232.
Ahitophel, v. ii. p. 59-
Ahinieleck slain by Saul, p. 23.
Ahimaaz, p. 64.
Ahijah, Rehoboam's son, p. 98.
Ahikam, king of Judah, 192.
Ai taken, v. 1. 284.
Alcimus, High Priest, 293.
Alexander the Great, 269.

Alexander, king of Syria, 299.
Alexander Jannasus, v. ii. 310.
Alexandra, his queen, 312.
Amalekites, account of, v. i. p. 203 —
they fight with Israel, v. i. p. 204 —
defeated by Gideon, p. 328.
Amaziah, king of Judab, 147.
Ammon, David's son, 53.
Ammonites, y. i: 338 — defeated by Jep-
thah, S39 — and David, v. ii. 49.
Anion, king of Judah, v. ii. 184.
Anna, the wife of Tobit, 167.
Ananias and Sapphira, v. iii. 297.
Andronicus; 275.
Antiochus Eupator, v. ii. 293.
.Antioch, capital of Syria, 301, and 321.
Antiochus Soter, 302.
Antigonus, king of Judea, 309 — is be
headed at Rome, 333.
Antiochus the Great, 272 — persecutes
the Jews — and defiles the temple,
275, 276".
Antiochus Epiphanes, 273.
Antipater, father of Herod, v. ii. 315.
Antipater, son of Herod, v. iii. 316.
Apelles, Antiochus' general, v. ii. 285.
Apollonius, 275.
Aphek, Saul defeated and killed there, ,
34.
Apostles, the twelve called, v. iii. 93.
Apostles apprehended, 298.
Arabians, V. ii. 110.
Araunah, v. ii. 73.
Aretas, king of Arabia, 277.
Arioch, 216.
Aristobulus takes the title of king, v. ij.
308.
Aristobulus II. 313.
Ark of the covenant, v. i. 217. — carried
before Israel, 228. — taken by the
Philistines, 358-L-brought to Jerusa?
lem, v. ii. 45.
Arsaces, king of Farthia, 307.'
Asahel killed by Joab, v. ii. 39.
Asa, king of Judah, v. ii. 100.
Ascension of Christ, v. iii. 267.
Ashima, v. ii. 171.
Ashdod, 264.
Astya'ges, 229.
Athalia, queen slain, v. ii. 142, 14S.
Augustus Caesar taxes the Roman em
pire, v. iii. 34.
Avites, v. ii. 171.
Azotus, city of the Philistines, r. i.
395.

B.
Baal and Ashtaroth, v. i. 2S8.
BaalBerith and his horrid-sacrifices, 335.
Baalzebub, god of flies, 118.
Balak, king of Moab, 251 — sends for
Balam, 252.
Barak delivers Israel, 317.
Balaam, his country, 251 — comes to
Balak, 252 — is rebuked by an angel,
253 — attempts to curse Israel, 255 —
but blesses them, 257 — circumvents
them by his counsels, 259 — is slain
262.
Baash, king of Israel, v. ii. 103.
Babylon, 188.
Bacchides, a general, 293.
Baharim, a city, 60.
Barzillai, David's friend, 62.
Bathsheba, her history, 1.
Baptism, the true nature of it, v. iii. 61.
Baruch, v. ii. 195.
Bagoas, the Eunuch, 202.
Bel and the dragon, v. ii. 229.
Beltshazzar, his short and'impious reign,
224 — sees a hand-writing on the wall,
225 — is slain by Darius, 226.
Benjamites cut off, v. i. 311.
Benhadad, 102 — invades Israel, 111.
Bethel, God's house, Jacob's dream
there, 70.
Bethel taken by Israel, 38.
Bethlehem, 320 — Christ born there,
v. iii. 36.
Bethshemesh, 360.
Bethsura, a city, 291.
Bethulia, Judith's city besieged, 199.
Beracha, valley of blessing, (see 84
psalm) 117.
Blasphemer stoned, 225.
Book first mentioned in history, 212.
Born again here possible, v. iii. 62.
Brazen serpent destroyed, 174.
Bricks, how made in the east, 173.
C.
Cain born, v. i. 10— kills Abel, 11.
Caleb, 298— takes Hebron, 299.
Camp of Israel, its form, 266.
Canaanites described, 233.
Cassius and Crassus, v. ii. 319.
Caesar Julius, 319.
Capernaum, a city of Galilee, v. iii. 59.
Carmel mount, v. ii. 108.
Carchemish, 188.
Capharsalum, a city, 294.
Cendebeus, a general, 306.
Circumcision instituted, v. i. 58.
Civil war in Israel, v. ii. 38.
Chariots first described, v. i. 195, 315. '
Chemosh, 90
Cherith, a brook, v. ii. 105.

Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, 310.
Cilicia, 302.
Coiban, or the curse among the Jews,
what it was, v. iii. 125.
Cozbi slain by Phineas, v. i. 260.
Cushan rishathaime, S02.
Cushi, v. ii. 64.
Crete, ijow Candia, 297.
Cyrus, king of Persia, 230.
D.
Dalilah, Samson's treacherous wife, v.
352. — sells her husband to his enemies,
353.
Dagon described, 352 — falls before the
ark, 359.
Damascus, city of, v. ii. 168.
Dan, its idolatry, v. i. 305.
Daniel, v. ii. 191 — his history, 214, 220,
223, 228, 230. t
Darkness, Egyptian, v. i. 188.
Darius Hystaspes, or Ahasuerus,- v. ii.
232.
Darius Coddmanus, 269.
Darius the Mede, 229.
Darius Nothus, 240.
David, king of Israel — his origin-
anointed by Samuel, v. ii. 9 — intro
duced to Saul, IO — slays Goliah, 13
— flies from Saul, 24 — spares him in
the cave, 26 — goes" to Gath, 30 — la
ments over Saul and Jonathan, 36 —
takes Jerusalem, 42 — defeats and
ruins the Philistines, 43 — defeats the
Syrians, 46 — takes Rabbah, 51 — is
guilty of murder and adultery, 50 —
makes Solomon king, and dies, 78 —
his character.
Deborah, the prophetess, v. i. S16 — her
song of triumph, 318.
Deluge, 18— abates, 20.
Demetrius, v. i. 293.
Devil tempts- Christ, v. iii. 51.
Dinah, her fall, v. i. 86.
Doeg slays the Lord's priests, v. ii. 23.
Dothan, a city, 130.
Doves dung, what is meant by it in
Scripture, 1S4. E.
Ebal mount, v. i. 284.
"Ebedmelech, the black, v. ii. 205.
Ebenezer, stone of help, v. i. 362.
Eclipse at our Saviour's death, v. iii. 841 .
Ecbatan, a city of Media, v. ii. 168.
Edomites, v. i. 122
Eglon, king of Moab, v. i. 914.
Ehud delivers Israel, 313.
Elah, valley of, v. ii. 11.
Elah, king of Israel, 103.
Elam, v. i. 168.
Eldad and Medad prophesy, 229.

Eleazar, son of Aaron.
Eleazar, brother of Judas, killed, v. ii.
292.
Eleazar, killed hy order of Antiochus,
277.
Eli judges Israel, S5S— his sons wicked
ness, 355.
Eliakim. 191.
Elijah, 105 — destroys Baal's priests, 108
— prays for rain, 109 — taken up to
heaven, 120.
Elisha succeeds Elijah, 109 — divides
the Jordan, 120 — curses the wicked
children, 121 — feeds a poor widow,
120 — raises up a dead child to life,
124 — oauses iron to swim, and dies,
146.
Eliashib, 257, 260.
Elon judges Israel, v. i. 343.
Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist,
v. iii. SO.
Elymas the sorcerer, v. iii. S26.
Esther, queen, her extraordinary his
tory, v. ii. 23S.
Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, v. ii. 177.
Esau born, v. i. 59 — sells his birthright,
60 — marries two Canaanitish wives,
64: — looses the blessing, 66.
Ephraimites, their quarrel with Jephtha,
342.
Ethbaal, father of Jezebel, king of Si
don, v. ii. 104.
Euphrates, river, 192.
Eve, her creation and fall, v. i. 5.
Essenes, account of, v. ii. S57.
Evilmerodach, king of Babylon, 224.
Ezra comes to Jerusalem, 245— dedi
cates the temple, 246.
F.
Fable of Jotham, the first in historv, v. i.
S34.
Fall of man, 7.
Famine in Egypt, 108.
Festivals, 220.
Fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar's, .. ii.
218.
"First born slain, v. i. 191.
Flies, plague of, 181.
Food, what allowed, 221.
Foxes, story of Samson's explained, 349.
G.
Gabinius, v. ii. 318.
Gabel, 166.
Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary,
v. iii. 29.
Gamaliel, Paul's master, v. iii. S00.
Gaza, its gates carried off by Samson,
v. i. 351.
Gedaliah, 211.
Gehazi, Eiisha's servant, 124.

Gesliem, the Jews enemy, 253.
Gibeonites, their fraud, v. i. 2H5 — made
slaves to Israel, 287 — slain by Saul,
v. ii. 20.
Gibeah,' its' horrid sin, v. i. 307, and
overthrow, 301.
Gideon defeats the, Midianites, S29.
Gilgal, the circumcision there, 267.
Gilboa,.Saul slain there, v. ii. 35.
Golden calf, account of, v. i. 208 — re
duced to powder by Moses, and how,
210.
Goliah slain by David, v. ii. 13.
Gogan in Media, 165. H.
Hagar given to Abraham, v. i. 3 1 — ex
pelled his family, S7 — again driven
out, 48 — comforted by au angel, 49.
Haggai, the prophet, v. ii. 241.
Haman, his history, 234 — and fall, 2S8.
Hamor and Shechem, their story and
massacre, v. i. 87.
Hananiah, a false prophet, 190.
Hanan, king of Ammon, 49.
Hanani and Hananiel, 259.
Harbonah, the eunuch, v. ii. 239.
Hazael, king of Syria, 109 — smothers
his master, 1S5.
Heber, the Kenite, v. i. S17.
Herod the Great, v. ii. 320 — marries
Mariamne, S24 — flies into Parthia,
325 — goes to Mark Antony, 328 —
besieges and takes Jerusalem, S29 —
puts Hircanus to death,J3S9: — and his
wife Mariamne, S42 — builds Ca;sarea
in honor of Augustus, S43 — sketch of
Herod's character, 344 — account of
his family and successors, S45 — fur
ther particulars of his reign, S65 —
and miserable end, 368.
Herod- Agrippa, smitten of God, v. iii.
324.
Hezekiah, his good reign, v. ii. 173.
High-Priest, his vestments, v. i. 218.
Hinnom, the valley of, v. ii. 161.
Hiram, king of Tyrus, 82.
Hircanus, v. ii. 307..
Holy Ghost, descent of, v. iii. 285.
Holofernes, v. ii. 200.
Hophra, king of Egypt, 204.
Hoshea* king of Israel, 161.
Huldah, the prophetess, 186.
Herod Antipas, the murderer of John
the Baptist, v. iii. 117.
Herodians, what they were, 90.
Herodias, some account of her, 116.
I.
Ibzan, judges Israel, v. i. 343.
Isaiah the prophet, v. ii. 175.
Israelites enslaved by the Egyptiaust.

v. i. 156 — their children ordered to
be drowned, 157 — saved by the mid-
wives, 158— quit Egypt on Tuesday
the 5 th of May. before Christ 1491
years, 193 — cross the Red Sea, 197
— their rebellion, 228 — again at Ka
desh, 230— -enslaved by Eglon, 313 —
and by Jabin, S15 — by Midian, and
are delivered by Gideon, 329 — and
by Jephthah, 339 — chuse a king, 363
—defeated at Apbek, v. ii. 34 — finally
led away captive and dispersed, 165.
Isaac born, v. ii. 47 — offered to God,
52 — marries Rebekah, 58 — travels to
Gerar, 61 — and to Beersheba, 63 —
blesses his two sons.
Ishmael born, 37.
Ishbosheth, Saul's son, king, v. ii. 41.
Iseal and Abiah Samuel, sons, 3.
J.
Jabin, king of Canaan, v. i. 315.
Jacob born, 59 — obtains the birth-right,
60 — deceives his father, 65 — flies to
Padan-aram, 69 — his dream at Be
thel, 70— marries Leah, 73 — and Ra
chael, 74 — his prosperity, 76 — de-
pendance on providence, 77 — leaves
Laban, 78 — wrestles with an angel,
84 — meets Esau, 35 — puts away his
family's idols, 89 — visits his father
Isaac, 90 — sends his sons to Egypt
for corn, 109 — goes to meet Joseph,
121 — blesses his sons and dies, aged
133 years, 126.
Jaddua, High-Priest, v. ii. 269.
Jair judges Israel, v. i. S36.
Jamnia, a city, v. ii. 290.
Jason, High-PrieBt, 273.
Jebus, f>ince called Jerusalem, v. i. 293.
Jehoiada, High Priest, 143.
Jehu, the prophet, 103.
Jehu, king of Israel, 109 — cuts off
Ahab's family, 139.
Jebosaphat, king of Judah, 110.
Jehoahaz, king of Judah, 137, 191.
Jehoram, king of Judah, slain by Jehu,
136, 139.
Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 192.
Jerusalem, its king slain, v. i. 293 —
taken by David, v. ii. 42.
Jeremiah the prophet, 189.
Jephthah, 337 — judges and delivers Is
rael, 339 — his rash vow, 340.
Jericho, city of Palm-trees taken, v. i.
279.
Jeroboam I. v. ii. 91 — rebels aga'nst
Rehoboam, 95 — sets up tbe golden
calves, 95.
Jeroboam, II. his reign in Israel,
121.

Jethro, prince of Midian, 162 — his visit
and advice to Moses, 205.
Jezebel, 104 — married to Ahab, 106 —
her miserable end, 140.
Judah, his marriage, v. ii. 97 — his folly
with Tamar, 98 — his generosity in
Egypt, 117.
Judah, tribe of, ordered against the Ca
naanites, v. i. 297.
Judas Maccabeus, his history, v. ii. 287.
Judith, her history, 199 — slays Holo-
fernes, 201.
Joab, David's general, his history, 39.
Joakim, 203.
Job, his supposed country, v. i. 139 —
time when he lived, 141-— his riches,
142 — and misfortunes, 143 — rebuked
by his friends, 151 — his restoration,
153 — reflections on his history, 154,
155.
Joseph of Arimathea, v.' iii. 246.
Joseph, his dreams, v. i. 93 — sold into
Egypt, 100, 102 — thrown into prison,
103 — interprets the butler and baker's
dream, 104 — called before Pharaoh,
106 — made lord over Egypt, 107 —
sees his brethren come for corn, 109
— makes himself known to them, 118
— sends for and meets his father, 121
— and dies in Egypt, aged 110 years.
Jonathan, Saul's son, v. ii. 3.
Jonah prophecies at Nineveh, 151 —
swallowed by a fish, 152 — his discon
tent, 156.
Jotham, king of Judah, 159.
Joppa, city of, now Jaffa, 300.
Jonathan, one of the Maccabees, 289,
296.
Josephus, 273.
Josiah, his pious reign, 184.
Joshua takes the command over Israel,
v. i. 270 — passes the Jordan, 275 —
takes Jericho, 279 — slays five kings,
288 — defeats the united Canaanites,
290— divides the promised land, 292
— and dies, aged 110 years, 295.
Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world,
born at Bethelem, v. iii. 35— circum
cised on the 8th day, 38 — escapes
Herod's cruelty, 40 — is carried into
Egypt, 41 — dwells at Nazareth, 42 —
disputes in tbe temple at twelve years
of age, 43 — lives with his supposed
parents till 30 years of age, 44 —
state of Judea at that time, 45, 46 —
begins his mission, 49 — is acknow
ledged by the Baptist as the Messiah,
50— led into the wilderness to be
tempted, 51 — turns water into wine,
58— drives the buyers and sellers out

INDEX.

of the temple, 60— foretels his own
resurrection, 61 — confers with Nico
demus on the nature of regeneration,
62 — is followed by many disciples, 63
—-.goes into Galilee, 66 — confers with
the woman of Samaria, 67 — leaves
Nazareth and goes to Capernaum, 68
— the miraculous draught of fishes, 70
— cures thediseased,71 — confessed by
the devils, 72 — appeases a great storm,
72 — cures two possessed with devils,
73 — cures a lame man on the Sab?
bath-day, 75 — calls Matthew the pub
lican, 76 — cures Jairus' daughter, 77
— restores sight to the blind, 79 — ex
plains the true nature of the Sabbath-
day, 87 — restores a poor man's right
hand, 89 — numbers his twelve apos
tles, 92 — instructs them in their du-
tiesj 93 — preaches his sermon on the
Mount, 94, 99 — heals the centurion's
servant, 101 — raises the widow's son
to life, 102 — dines with Simon the
pharisee, 105 — accused of dealing
with the devil, 108 — speaks many pa
rables, 109, 112 — is driven out of Na
zareth, 114 — feeds five thousand mi
raculously, 117 — explains what is the
bread of life, 121 — goes to Tyre and
Sidon, 127 — casts a devil out of a
child, 128 — Returns to Galilee^ and
cures one deaf arid dumb, 128 — again
feeds 4000 miraculously, 129 — pre
dicts his own death, 132 — is trans
figured on Mount Tabor, 134 — pays
the tribute at Capernaum, 139 — cures
ten lepers, 143 — comes to Jerusalem,
144 — and cures a blind man, 148 —
sends out 70 disciples, 151 — his pa
rable of the good Samaritan, 1.53 —
cures an infirm woman, 158 — heals a
man of the dropsy, 160 — goes up to
Jerusalem to the feast of dedication,
161 — the parable of Lazarus and the
rich glutton, 165 — explains the true
nature and causes of divorce, 165 — the
parable of the Phalrisee and publican,
167 — blesses the young children, 168
— Martha ' and Mary invite him to
Bethany, 172 — he raises Lazarus from
the dead, 17S — foretels his own cruci
fixion, 174 — restores Bartimaeus to
sight, 177 — Mary anoints him at Be
thany, 179— he enters Jerusalem in
triumph, 181— certain Greeks visit
him, 183 — he curses the barren fig-
tree, 184 — reproves the Pharisees, 185
— foretells the destruction ofthe Jews,
186 — his wise answers to them, 188
— confutes the Sadducees, 189 — cau

tions his disciples against hypocrisy,
190 — his parable of the ten virgins,
191 — Judas sells him to the Jewish
Sanhedrim, 194 — eats the paschal
lamb with his disciples, and institutes
the sacrament of the Lord's Supper,
195 — washes his disciples feet, 196 —
warns Judas to beware, 200 — his
dreadful agony in the garden, 208 —
he is betrayed by Judas, 211 — carried
before Annas and Caiaphas, 213 — is
condemned by the Sanhedrim, 218 —
denied' by Peter 219 — taken before
Pontius Pilate, 221 — sent by him to
Herod Antipas, 227 — is most unjustly
condemned by Pilate, 230 — ismocked,.
scourged, and crowned with thorns,
231 — foretells the destruction of Je
rusalem, 233 — is crucified on Mount
Calvary, 2S4 — earthquake and dark
ness at his death, 240, 241 — expires
about three in the afternoon, and
buried the same evening, 242— liis
resurrection, 249 — appears to Tho
mas, 260 — his ascension, 267 — his
parables, 274: — and discourses, 275.
John the Baptist flies from Herod to
the wilderness, 47 — his mode of
living and preaching there, 48 — bears
witness to Jesus, 64: — is imprisoned
by Herod, 65 — and beheaded by him,
116.
John St. the divine, v. iii. 23 — his writ
ings, sufferings, and death, 24, 25.
Judas betrays Christ, 194— repents and
hangs himself, 222.
. K'
Karaites, a sect among the Jews, v. ii.
349.
Keilah, a town of Judah, 23.
Kerharsarah taken, 123.
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, v. i. 236,
2S9. L.
Lacedemonians, v. ii. 305. ,
Lachish, a city of Judah — Joash killed
there, 148.
Lepers, four at Samaria, v. ii. 133.
Libnah, a city, 137.
Lion, account of, v. i. 180.
Lious among the Samaritans, v. ii.
170.
Locusts, account of, v. i. 186.
Lot leaves Chaldea, 28 — quits Abram,
31— flies from Sodom, 43 — fate ofhis
wife, 44— dwells in a cave, 45 — his
daughters wickedness, 46.
Lots, their supposed origin.
Luke, St. an account of him, v. iii.
20.

INDEX.

Lysias, a general to Antiochus, v. ii. 283.
Lydia of Thyatira, it. iii. 337.
M.
Maccabees, their name whence derived,
v. ii. 308.
Magicians of Egypt, v. i. 177.
Magi described, v. ii. 215.
Mahanaim, a city, 62.
Malachi, last of the prophets, 265 to
267.
Malchus, 302.
Malichus, 322.
Manoah visited by an angel, v. i. 345.
Manelaus, High-priest, v. ii. 274.
Manasseh, his impious reign, 181, 188
— his repentance and death, 184.
Manna, particular account of, v. i. 201.
Mannasses, High-priest, v. ii. 270.
March of Israel, its order, v. i. 287.
Marah, bitter waters at, 200.
Matrimony, laws of, 220.
Matthias, father ofthe Maccabees, v. ii.
¦ 284 — slays an idolatrous Jew, 285 —
re-establishes the law, 286.
Matthias chosen in the place of Judas,
v. iii. 284.
Mark Antony the triumvir, v. ii. 324.
Mathaniah, 197.
Media, cities of, 165.
Menahem, an usurper, 159 — takes
Tiphsah, 160.
Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, 47.
Meroz cursed by Deborah, v. i. 318.
Megiddo, valley of, v. ii. 189.
Merodach Baladan, king of Babylon,
179.
Micah establishes idolatry, v. i. 303 —
robbed of his gods, 306.
Micaiah, a prophet, v. ii. 115.
Michal, Saul's daughter, 16.
Midianites defeated, 24. ,
IVfcithvidates, the great king of Pontus,
314.
Miriam, instrumental in saving Moses,
v. i. 158 — her ingratitude and punish
ment, 231, — her death, 243.
Mispeh, the ark there, 361, 364.
Moab descended from Lot's daughter,
45, — enslaves Israel, v. ii. 99 — Israel,
313.
Mordecai, his history, v. ii. 234.
Moses born, v. i. 158 — -cast into the
river, 159 — slays an Egyptian, 160
— flies to Midian, 161 — marries Je
thro's daughter and keeps his flock,
162 — God appears to him at Horeb,
164: — is sent to deliver Israel, 169 —
rudely treated by Pharaoh, 1.72 —
smites Egypt with ten terrible plagues
178 to ,198 — his song of triumph after

passing through the Red Sea, 199 —
strikes the rock in Horeb, 203 — goes
up to Mouut Sinai, 205 — receives the
law from God, 214 — sends ambassa- ,
dors to Edom, 245 — defeats the Amo
rites, 250 — his charge to Israel, 265
— and death, 267.
Mount Zion, v. ii. 183.
Matthew, St. account of him, v. iii. 17
— and of his gospel, 18.
Mark, St. his preaching, writings, and
death, 19. N.
Naaman the Syrian, a leper, v. ii. 127.
Nabal, his history, 27. •
Naboth murdered by Ahab and Jeze
bel, 113. v
Nadab and Abihu bunit, v. i. 224.
Nahash, kjng ofthe Ammonites, v. ii. 48.
Nahum, the prophet, 190.
Nathan, the prophet, 45.
Nathaniel acknowledges Christ, v. iii. 36 .
Naomi, her history, v. i. 319.
Nazarite, what it was, 344.
Necho, king of Egypt, v. ii. 188 — kills
Josiah, 189.
Nebuchadnezzar, 198 — defeats Arphax
ad, king of Media, 200 — his fatal
dream, 219 — his madness, repentance
and death, 223.
Nebuzaradan, 207.
Nehemiah, governor of Judea, 248 —
repairs Jerusalem, 252 — purges the
temple, 263.
Nergai^ an Asyrian idol, 171.
Nicanor, Antiochus's general, 299.
Nicodemus comes to Christ by night,
v. iii. 61.
Nile river, account of it, v. i. 173.
Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, some
account of it, v. ii. 149 — Jonah pro
phecies there, 150 — its overthrow and
total ruin-, 157.
Noah born, v. i. 15 — enters the ark, 18
— blesses his sons, 23.
Nob, the city of the priests destroyed
by Saul, 20.
Numbering the people, v. ii. 71. . .
O.
Obed, the prophet, v. ii. 168.
Og, king of Bashan, v. i.
Omri, king of Israel, v. ii. 104.
Onias, High-priest, 272.
Oreb and Zeeb slain, v. i. 329.
Othniel takes Debir, 298 — marries Ca- -
leb's daughter, 299 — his administra
tion, 202. P.
Pacorus invades Judea, v. ii. 325 — and-
is slain, 327.

INDEX.

Passover instituted, v. i. 190.
Paul at the death of Stephen, v. iii. 309
— his circumcision, 313 — preaches at
Damascus, 315 — his discourse at An
tioch, 327 — heals a cripple at Lystra,
331 — parts from Barnabas, 336 — con
verts his jailer, 338 — preaches at
Athens, 341 — founds the church of
Corinth, 845-^and of Ephesus, 349
— raises a dead man at Troas, Sol —
goes to Jerusalem, 355 — is persecuted
by the Jews, 357 — delivered to' the
Romans, 360 — defends himself before
Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, 862 —
appeals to Csesar, 364— is sent to
Rome, 368 — shipwrecked at Malta,
870 — arrives at Rome, and is be
headed by order of Nero, 375 — his
labours and writings, abstract of, S7S.
Pekah, v. ii. 160.
Pekaiah, 161.
Pentateuch, its antiquity, 267.
Persepolis or Elymais, v. ii. 289.
Persecution of the Jews, 277.
Peter called by Jesus, v. iii. 53 — denies
Christ and repents, 219, 220.
Peter denies Christ, v. iii. 219 — sent to
Cornelius, 317 — delivered from pri
son, 323. '
Pharaoh, king of Egypt, v. i. 156 — his
cruelty, 173 — is drowned in i lie Red
Sea, 198.
Pharisees, particularaccount of, v. ii. 351 .
Philip, a Phrygian, 275.
Philip the apostle called, v. iii. 54.
Philip converts the Eunuch, 312.
•Philistines, 49, 337 — besiege Aphek, and
take the ark, 358 — defeated by Sa
muel, 362.
Phul, king of Assyria, v. ii. 160.
Plagues of Egypt, v. i.
Plague in Israel, 280.
Pompey takes Jerusalem, v. ii. 317.
Pontius Pilate, v. iii. 221 — Christ
brought before him, 221 — is admo
nished by his wife, 228 — coudemns
Jesus in opposition to his own senti
ments, 2S0.
Ptolemy Epiphanes, 272.
Ptolomy Philometes, v. iii. 32.
Ptolemais a city, v. ii. 301, 310.
Purim, a lot, v. ii. S39.Q.
Quails described, v. i. 230 — raised upon
the Israelites, 231. R.
Rabbah taken, v. ii. 51.
Rabshekeh, his blasphemy, 175.
Rahab entertains the spies, v. i. 870.
Ramah, Samuel's city, v, ii. 25.

Ramoth, a city, 114. "
Rages, a city of Media, 166.
Raguei, 162.
Raphael the angel, 167.
Red Sea, account of it, v. i. 127.
Rhehoboam, king, v. ii. 92— offends his
people, 93.
Resurrection of Jesus, v. iii. 249.
Rethaim, valley of, v. ii. 62.
Rezin king of Syria, 161.
Riblah a city of Syria, 191.
Rimmon, a Syrian God, 122.
Rizpah, Saul's concubine, 39.
Romans make an alliance with the
Jews, 295.
Ruth leaves her country with Naomi,
v. i. S00. S.
Sacrifices first mentioned, v. i. 21 —
beasts offered, 219.
Sabbath breaker stoned, 236. '
Sadducees, account of, y. ii. S47.
Samson, his birth, v. i. 345 — marries a
\ Philistine woman, 346— kills » lion,
347 — burns the Philistine corn, 342
— retires to the rock Etam, 349 —
slays a thousand ofhis enemies, 350 —
has his eyes put out, 252 — pulls down
the temple of Dagon, and dies, 253.
Samuel born, S54 — called by God, 256
— governs Israel twenty years, 261 —
anoints Saul king, 264 — dies at Ra
mah, v. ii. 27.
Samaria built, 105 — its dreadful siege
and famine, 120 — is providentially
delivered, 122. .
Salmanassar king of Assyria, 165.
Sanballat, 150.
Sarepta a city, 105.
Salome, daughter of Herodias
Sarah, her death, v. i. 52, v. iii. 116.
Saul, first king of Israel, v. ii. 1 — defeats
the Amonites, 2 — and the Philistines,
2 — visited by an evil spirit, 10 — is
jealous of David, 15 — gives him his
daughter, 16 — persecutes him, 24 —
consults the witch of Endor, 26, and
falls in battle with his sons, 26,
Seleucus, 272.
Sects among the Jews, 246.
Serpents fiery, v. i. 247.
Serpent, brazen, 242.
Sepulchres of the kings of Judah de
scribed, v. ii. 120.
Seth born, v. i. IS.
Sennacherib, v. ii. 166 — his army de
stroyed, 176 — assassinated by his
sons, 177.
Seven sons and their mother killed, v. ii.
276.

Shamgar delivers Israel, v. i. 215.
Shallum, a. usurper, v. ii. 159.
Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, 214.
Sheba, queen of, v. ii. 22.
Shebnah, 175.
Shechemites destroyed, v. i. 88.
Shekel of silver, its value, 303.
•  of gold, its value, 9.
Shimei curses David, v. ii. 60.
Shishak invades Judea, 120.
Sihon, king of the Amorites, v. i. 349.
Sisera slain by Jael, 37.
Simon, v. ii. 296.
,Sodom destroyed, v. i. 44.
Solomon born, v. iii. 53 — made king, 77.
— his great wisdom, 81 — his alliance
with Hiram, 82 — builds the temple at
Jerusalem, 85 — falls into idolatry, 88
— repents and dies, 91, 92.
Spies hid by Rahab, v. i, 232.
Stephen stoned, v„iii. 309.
Strange fire 6ffered, v. i. 224.
Straton, the tower of, v. ii. 310.
Sun and moon stand still, v. i. 288.
Susanna and the two elders, v. ii. 229.
Synagogues, 256. T.
Tabernacle described, v. i. 216.
Tables of stone, 213.
Talmud, account of it, v. ii. 349.
Tamar, David's daughter, 53.
Targums, account of, 354r— that of On
kelos, 357 — of Jonathan, 358 — their
use, 360.
Tartan, 175.
Tatnai, 241.
Temple, founded hy Solomon, 85 — de
stroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, 227 —
rebuilt by Zerubabel, 231 — stopped
by its enemies, 232.
Teraphim, what,, v. i. 303.
Thomas, his unbelief, v. iii. 259.
Tiglath, king of Assyria, v. ii. 169.
Timotheus, a general, 290.
Tigranes, king of Armenia, 314.

Tiphsah, a city, 160.
Tobiah, the Ammonite, 250.
Tobit and Tobias, 166,
Tola, u judge of Israel, v. i. 336.
Tower of Babel, 24.
Tyre and Sidon, v. ii. 197.
TJ.
Uriah slain, 51.
Uzzah killed for touching the ark, v. ii.
44.
Uzziah, king of Judah, 158 — totally
ruins the Philistines, 158 — is struck
with leprOsy, 159. V.
Vashti, queen of Persia, v. ii. 232.
Ventidius kills Pacorus, 329.
Virgin Mary saluted by the angel Ga
briel, v. iii. 20.
Visits Elizabeth, 21. W.
Whirlwind described, v. ii. 12.
Wise men come to Jerusalem, v. iii.
27. Z.
Zabad kills his master, v. ii. 145.
Zaccheus, account of him, v. iii. 16.
Zadok the priest, v. ii. 59.
Zeba and Zalmunna, v. i. 330.
Zechariah, king of Israel, v. ii. 159.
Zechariah, the prophet, 242.
Zechariah the priest slain, v. iii. 144.
Zedekiah, his impious reign and -cap
tivity, v. ii. 204. *
Zechariah, father of John the Baptist,
v. iii. 29— slain by Herod, 47.
Zelophehad, his daughters, v. i. 264.
Zephania, v. ii. 205.
Zerah, the Ethiopian, 100.
Ziba, Saul's servant, 59.
Zichri, 168.
Ziklag burnt, 24.
Zimri slain, v. iii. 260.
Zimri, king, v. ii 105.
Ziph and Ziphites, 35.
Zerubabel, 231.