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Chrift's baptifm, might be laid to have seen (dos) the fimilitude of God. And as for hearing the voice of God, it was no impoffible thing, the whole nation having heard God speak at Sinai. However, it was not this which our Lord had now in his eye, but the voice of God uttered at his baptifm, which many of the Jews to whom he fpake may have heard, and which the rest may have been informed of by witneffes, whofe teftimony they could not difbelieve. John v. 38. Και τον λόγον αυτό εκ εχετε μένοντα εν υμιν, Yet ye have not his word remaining in you; fo the tranflation fhould run, the fenfe being this, Though God fpake to you from heaven concerning me at my baptifm, and in order to imprefs you the deeper with what he said, fhewed you his face, yet you are not duly affected with what he said, neither do you entertain it in your minds as you ought to do. VUCKS & TIGEUITE, For you do not believe on him whom he bath fent. In this paffage, therefore, there is a plain allufion to the descent of the Spirit on our Lord at his baptifm, and to the voice from heaven, which with a thundering noife founding through the fky, declared him with great majesty, to be God's beloved Son, in whom he was well pleafed. But because the Jews were exceedingly averse to acknowledge Jefus for their Meffiah, notwithstanding the evidences of his miffion were fo unexceptionable, he defired them, for farther proof, to search their own Scriptures, and particularly the writings of the prophets, which, faid he, is certainly your duty, because these writings, as you justly fuppofe, contain the knowledge of eternal life, and therefore the knowledge of Meffiah. And I can with confidence refer you to them, knowing that they confirm my pretenfions in the most ample manner, the characters of the Meffiah pointed out by them, being all fulfilled in my perfon. 39. Search the Scrip tures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me 40. And (xas, but) ye will not come to me that ye might have life. Moreover, he infinuated that the proofs of his miffion were as full and clear as poffible, being fupported by the actions of his life, which in all points agreed with his doctrine. For in no inftance whatever did he feek the applause of men, or affe&t fecular power; but was always innocent and humble, though he knew these qualities rendered him little in

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* Ver. 39. Search the Scriptures.] Le Clerc, L'Enfant, Vitringa, Raphelius, &c. contend, that sesuvare is in the prefent tenfe. Te fearch the Scriptures, because in them ye think ye have eternal life, the directions of heaven for obtaining it; now are they which teffify of me. 40. Yet ye will not come to me that ye might have life. The common translation however is fully as agreeable to the scope of the paffage; for having told them that they would find abundant proofs of his million in the Scriptures, he observed that their want of faith was not owing to any deficiency in the proofs of his miffion, but to the wickedness and obftinacy of their own difpofi

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the eyes of perfons void of the love of God, who expected to fee their Meffiah adorned with great fecular glory. 41. I receive not bonour from men. 42. But I know that ye have not the love of God in you. This humility of fpirit, and conformity of life with his doctrine, as well as the other evidences of his mif fion, our Lord justly termed a coming to the Jews in his Father's same, or agreeably to his will, fignified anciently in the Scriptures of the prophets. Nevertheless, becaufe fuch a Meffiah was by no means the object of their expectation, they would not receive him. Whereas, if any other perfon came to them in bis own name, that is, without a commiffion from God, they would joyfully embrace him, provided he affumed the majesty of a king, and promifed temporal bounties to his followers. Of this infa tuation the Jews gave many proofs during their wars with the Romans, and a little before the deftruction of Jerufalem. For then many impoftors arofe, pretending to be Meffiah, and promifing them deliverance, by which they drew away great multitudes, as their own hiftorian Jofephus informs us. 43. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not. If another fball come in his own name, him ye will receive. This their infi delity was owing in a great measure to their pride. They who had all along preached glorious things concerning the empire and grandeur of the Meffiah, would not afcribe that august character to a mere teacher, who was deftitute even of the ordinary advantages of birth, fortune, and erudition; because it would have been fuch a confeffion of ignorance and unskilfulness in the Scrip tures, as must have exposed them to the contempt of those whom they had mifled, (fee John vii. 49. 52.) 44. How can ye believe which receive honour one of another, and feek not the honour that cometh from God only? How can fuch perfons as you believe in me, whose character and station are entirely different from what you have all along told the people the Scriptures teach concerning Meffiah? This confeffion of your own ignorance is not to be expected from you, who in all your actions feek the praise of men, Matt. xxiii. 5 and not the praise of God, which is the only true praife, and is to be obtained by a steady regard to truth and virtue, in oppofition to all earthly paffions whatever. To conclude, he told them they were not to imagine that in rejecting him they finned against no perfon but him, and that he alone would accufe them to the Father for their infidelity. Mofes, through whofe law they trufted to have falvation, was likewife dishonoured by it, in as much as he wrote of him under the names of the Seed of Abraham, Sbilob, and a Prophet like to bimfelf, whom God would raise up unto them from among their brethren, and whom he commanded them to hear. Wherefore, feeing they refused to believe on him, Mofes would accuse them as guilty of disbelieving his writings. 45. Do not think that I

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[Sect. 46, (only) will accufe you to the Father; there is one that accufes you, even Mofes, in whom ye truft. 46. For bad ye believed Mofes ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me: had you believed the writings of Mofes, which are daily read in your fynagogues, you would have believed me; for these writings describe me, not by types and figures only, but by particular and direct prophecies. See Gen xii. 3. xxii. 18. xlix. 10. Deut. xviii. 15. 47. But if ye believe not his writings, how fhall ye believe my words? Since you do not believe the testimony of your own lawgiver, I have no reason to be furprised that you do not credit me upon my own teftimony. Thus Jefus afferted his own perfonal dignity, as the Son of God, and Judge of the world; at the fame time he propofed the evidences of his mission from God, with fuch strength of reafon, perfpicuity and brevity, as nothing can equal.

§ XLVI. After the fecond Paffover the difciples pluck the ears of corn on the Sabbath, in fome field nigh to Jerufalem. Mat. xii. 1,-8. Mark ii. 23,-28. Luke vi. 1,—5.

UPON the first fecond-day Sabbath, that is, the ordinary Sabbath happening in the pallover week, probably the very Sabbath that was honoured with the cure of the paralytic who lay in Bethesda, Jefus and his difciples paffed through the corn fields near Jerufalem, actended by fome of the Pharifees, whofe curiofity prompted them to mix with the crowd on this occation, in expectation of feeing more miracles. Thefe no doubt they propofed to examine with the greatest accuracy, as well as to watch Jefus while he performed them, that they might detect whatever, as they vainly imagined, was falfe in them. Or if no miracle was performed, they hoped to find him behaving on the Sabbath, in a manner inconfiftent with the holy character which he affumed. Accordingly, they first found fault with his difciples; for on seeing them pluck the ears of corn, and eat as they walked, they reproved them, and complained of them to their Mafter; not for having taken what they had no right to, the law authorising them to do this, Deut. xxiii. 25. but for having broken the Sabbath by fervile work, fuch as they fuppofed plucking and rubbing the ears to be. Luke vi. 1. And it came to pafs on the fecond Sabbath after the first, that he went through

Ver. 1. The fecond fabbath after the firft.] Commentators are greatly at a lofs to undertand what Luke means by the fecond fabbath after the firft, σxboxTW DEUTEgoTgwrw. Some think the proper tranflation of his words are, the fuft fecond day fabbath, understanding thereby the ordinary fabbath which happened in the paffover week, and affigning the following reafon of its name. The law enjoined, that on the fecond day of the paftover week, they should offer the fheaf of the firft fruits, Lev. xxiii. 10, 11. But in cafe of a backward feafon, they placed an intercalary month between the

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through the corn fields: (Matt. At that time Jefus went on the Sabbath day through the corn. Mark, And it came to pass that be went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day.) and his dif ciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their bands. 2. And certain of the Pharifees faid unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days? The Pha

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laft month Adar, and the firft mouth Abib, answering to our March, and called it Veadar, or the fecond Adar. From the second day of the passover week, on which the firft heaf was offered with prayers for a blessing on the beginning harveft, they counted feven'weeks to Pentecoft, (Lev. xxiii. 15, 16.) called for that reafon the fealt of weeks (Deut. xvi. 10.) and the feaft of harvest (Exod. xxiii. 16.) The day on which they offered the firft barley-fheaf, and from which they counted the feven weeks of harvest, to the feaft of Pentecoft, being the fecond day of the paffover week, it is fuppofed that the ordinary fabbaths happening in thefe weeks, carried in their name a memorial of the term from whence they were computed. Thus the first of them was called roarov davrigongwroy, the firft fecond day fabbath, or the firft fabbath after the fecond day of unleavened bread; the fecond, cxoro davrigodivrigov, the second second-day fabbath: the third, cabarov devregorgitov, the third fecond-day fubbath, and fo of the reft till the feventh. Had the abettors of this interpretation, viz. Jof. Scaliger, Ifaac Cafaubon, Lightfoot, Lamy, Whitby, Doddridge, &c. produced any other inftance of the words cabbarov divrigongwrov having the meaning they affix to it, an end would have been put to all difputes about the matter.But for want of this, Grotius, Wolzogenius, Brennius, Dodwel, &c. have acopted another explication equally unfupported; for they can produce no pallage of ancient writing, in which tov πρωτοπρωτον, δευτεροπρω TOY, TRITONEWTON, &c. fignify the firft, fecond, third, &c. prime, chief, or high fabbaths, fabbaths observed with uncommon folemnity, and of which they fuppofe there were three in the year; one at the Pallover, another at Pentecoft, and a third at the feaft of Tabernacles. According to Grotius, therefore, the first fecond-day fabbath (σxborov deurigongwτov) was that which happened at Pentecoft. But his opinion is plainly contuted by the circumftances of the hiftory. Pentecoft, being the feat of harvest, was folemnized after the harvest was wholly over, for which reason there could be no fields unreaped then, where the difciples could pluck the ears in paffing. Cleopenburgh, Sam. Petit, Le Moine, Reland, and others, are of opinion, that as the civil year of the Jews began with the month Tizri, its firft fabbath might be called not only the firit fabbath of the year, but the first chief fabbath, to diftinguish it from the fabbath preceding the uew moon of Nifan, which they think was called fabbatum fecundo primum, the fecond chief fabbath, because the ecclefiaftical year began with that month, Exod. xii. 2.-) -Epiphanius, Beza, Sir Ifaac Newton on Prophecy, pag. 154. have advanced another interpretation of the paffage. They fay that this σαββατον δευτεροπρωτον was the fecond holy convocation in the pafover week, that is to lay, the laft day of the feaft, the firft holy convocation being the day after the paflover folemnity itfelf. Luther, Sureuhufius, Wolf, &c. think it was the first holy convocation, cailed the great fabbath, (John xix. 31.) on account of the extraordinary folemnity with which it was obferved. Mr Doddridge fupports Scaliger's opinion, and confutes thofe of Epiphanius and Luther by the following argument. The law of the fanctification of the two holy convocations, with which the feast of unleavened bread began and ended, allowed fuch fervile work to be done

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rifees on seeing the difciples do what they fuppofed a profanation of the Sabbath, thought themselves warranted to rebuke them publicly. And because the offence was great, they reprefented it to their Master, that he likewife might reprove them for it : or if he did not, that he might appear to all as one who encouraged his disciples to break the Sabbath, or at least who had neglected to impress them with a due reverence for that holy day. Mark ii. 24. And the Pharifees faid unto him, Behold, why do they (Matt. thy difciples) on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful? This accufation, therefore, though it feemed to be levelled immediately against the difciples, was really intended against Jefus himself. But he easily repelled it, by putting the Pharifees in mind of David, who, though a prophet as well as a king, in a cafe of neceffity ate the facred fhew bread contrary to the law, Lev. xxiv. 9. and of the priests in the temple, who killed the facrifices on the Sabbath day; and by defiring them to confider a paffage in Hofea, where God declares that he has greater pleasure in mercy than in facrifice; and by explaining unto them the end of the Sabbath itself, which was inftituted for the benefit, and not for the detriment of mankind. He began with David's action in the matter of the fhew-bread, which the high-prieft himself was acceffary to, which the Scriptures record with no mark of disapprobation, and which it seems the doctors never had condemned, and for that reafon was a proper vindication of the difciples in the like circumftances. Mark ii. 25. And he said unto them, Have ye never read (Luke, fo much as this) what David did, when he had need and was an bungered, be, and they that were with him? 26. How he went into the boufe of God * in the days of Abiathar the high priest,

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on them as was neceffary for preparing victuals, Exod. xii. 16. Wherefore, had the disciples been blamed for plucking the ears on any of these days, the nature of their fanctification affording an eafy vindication of that action, Jefus would not have failed to urge it.-Upon the whole, though the opinion first mentioned feems moft agreeable to truth, it may be oblerved that according to all the interpretations of the paflage, this first second day fabbath, on which the disciples plucked the ears of corn, happened near fome paffover; for the most unfavourable fuppofition, namely that which Grotius has offered, makes it the fabbath of Pentecoft, which was but fifty days after the Paffover.

Ver. 26. In the days of Abiathar the high priest.] In the hiftory, the prieft from whom David received the thew-bread is called Ahimelech ; and it is generally agreed that he was the high priest, because Doeg accufed him of inquiring 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 confefled that he had often inquired of the Lord formerly without blame, ver. 15. Accordingly Jofephus calls him the high priest feveral times.

But to make this matter eafy, Hammond fuppofes that Abadagos, the phrafe in Mark, thould be tranflated, before the days of Abiatbar, as

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