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Of the strait gate, false prophets,

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A. M. 4031. is the gate, and broad is the way, that 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. An. Olymp leadeth to destruction, and many there' Do men gather grapes of thorns, or be which go in thereat. figs of thistles?

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14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

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advantage of another, and to enrich himself at his expence, rather than to walk according to the rule laid down before, by our blessed Lord, and that acting contrary to it, is the way to everlasting misery. With those who say it means repentance, and forsaking sin, I can have no controversy. That is certainly a gate and a strait one too, through which every sinner must turn to God, in order to find salvation. But the doing to every one as we would they should do unto us, is a gate extremely strait, and very difficult, to every unregenerate mind. Verse 14. Because strait is the gate] Instead of or because, I should prefer Thow, which reading is supported by a great majority of the best MSS. versions, and fathers. How strait is that gate! This mode of expression more forcibly points out the difficulty of the way to the kingdom. How strange is it that men should be unwilling to give up their worldly interests to secure their everlasting salvation! and yet no interest need be abandoned, but that which is produced by injustice and unkindness. Reason, as well as God, says, such people should be excluded from a place of blessedness. He who shews no mercy (and much more he who shews no justice) shall have judgment without mercy.

Jam. ii. 13.

Few there be that find it.] The strait gate, arin man, signifies literally what we call a wicket, i. e. a little door in a large gate. Gate, among the Jews, signifies, metaphorically, the entrance, introduction, or means of acquiring any thing. So they talk of the gate of repentance, the gate of prayers, and the gate of tears. When God, say they, shut the gate of paradise against Adam, He opened to him the gate of repentance. The way to the kingdom of God is made sufficiently manifest--the completest assistance is promised in the way, and the greatest encouragement to persevere to the end, is held out in the everlasting gospel. But men are so wedded to their own passions, and so determined to follow the imaginations of their own hearts, that still it may be said: There are few who find the way to heaven; fewer yet who abide any time in it; fewer still who walk in it; and fewest of all who persevere unto the end. Nothing renders this way either narrow or difficult to any person, but Sin. Let

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all the world leave their sins, and all the world may walk abreast in this good way.

Verse 15. Beware of false prophets] By false prophets, we are to understand teachers of erroneous doctrines, who come professing a commission from God, but whose aim is not to bring the heavenly treasure to the people, but rather to rob them of their earthly good. Teachers who preach for hire, having no motive to enter into the ministry but to get a living as it is ominously called by some, however they may bear the garb and appearance of the innocent useful sheep, the true pastors commissioned by the Lord Jesus; or to whatever name, class, or party they may belong, are, in the sight of the heart-searching God, no other than ravenous wolves, whose design is to feed themselves with the fat, and clothe themselves with the fleece, and thus ruin, instead of save, the flock. Verse 16. Ye shall know them by their fruits.] Fruits, in the Scripture and Jewish phraseology, are taken for works of any kind. "A man's works," says one, " are the tongue of his heart, and tell honestly whether he is inwardly corrupt or pure." By these works you may distinguish (TbYYWOECDE) these ravenous wolves from true pastors. The judgment formed of a man by his general conduct is a safe one: if the judgment be_not_favourable to the person, that is his fault, as you have your opinion of him from his works, i. e. the confession of his own heart.

Verse 17. So every good tree] As the thorn can only produce thorns, not grupes; and the thistle, not figs, but prickles; so an unregenerate heart will produce fruits of degeneracy. As we perfectly know that a good tree will not produce bad fruit, and the bad tree will not, cannot produce good fruit; so we know, that the profession of godliness, while the life is ungodly, is imposture, hypocrisy, and deceit. A man cannot be a saint and a sinner at the same time. Let us remember, that as the good tree means a good heart, and the good fruit, a holy life, and that every heart is naturally vicious; so there is none but God who can pluck up the vicious tree, create a good heart, plant, cultivate, water, and make it continually fruitful in righteousness and true holiness.

Verse 18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit] Love

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Who shall enter into

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A. D. 27.

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A. D. 27.

19 Every tree that bringeth not || Lord, have we not prophesied in thy A.M.4051. An. Olymp. forth good fruit is hewn down, and name? and in thy name have cast out An. Olymp. cast into the fire. devils? and in thy name done many

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20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know wonderful works? them.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, ¶ Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

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23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,and doeth them, I will liken him unto

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, a wise man, which built his house upon a rock :

Ch. 3. 10. Luke 3. 9.

Luke 6. 46. & 13. 25.

John 15. 2, 6.
Acts 19. 13.

Hos. 8. 2. ch. 25. 11, 12.
Rom. 2. 13. James 1. 22.

Numb. 24. 4. John 11. 51. 1 Cor. 13. 2. ch. 25. 12. Luke 13. 25, 27. 2 Tim. 2. 19.- Ps. 5. 5. & 6. 8. ch. 25. 41.—f Luke 6. 47, &c.

to God and man is the root of the good tree; and from this principle all its fruit is found. To teach, as some have done, that a state of salvation may be consistent with the greatest || crimes, (such as murder and adultery in David) or that the righteous necessarily sin in all their best works; is really to make the good tree bring forth bad fruit, and to give the lie to the Author of Eternal Truth.

Verse 19. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit]|| What a terrible sentence is this against Christless pastors, and Christless hearers! Every tree that produceth not good fruit, || EXXOTTET, is to be now cut down, the act of excision is now taking place: the curse of the Lord is even now on the head and the heart of every false teacher, and impenitent hearer.

Verse 20. Wherefore by their fruits, &c.] This truth is often repeated, because our eternal interests depend so much upon it. Not to have good fruit, is to have evil: there can be no innocent sterility in the invisible tree of the heart. He that brings forth no fruit, and he that brings forth bad fruit, are both only fit for the fire.

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Verse 21. Not every one] Ov nas, a Hebraism, say some, for no person. It is a Græcism and a Latinism too : avtwy Dewv, not ALL of the gods, i. e. not ANY of the gods. Hoм. Odyss. Z. 240. So TERENCE: Sine omni periclo, without ALL danger, i. e. without ANY danger. And JUVENAL: Sine omni labe, without ALL imperfection, i. e. without ANY. See more in Mr. Wakefield. The sense of this verse seems to be this; No person, by merely acknowledging my authority, believing in the divinity of my nature, professing faith in the perfection of my righteousness, and infinite merit of my atonement, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven-shall have any part with God in glory; but he who doeth the will of my Father-he who gets the bad tree rooted up, the good tree planted, and continues to bring forth fruit to the glory and praise of God. There is a good saying among the Rabbins on this subject. « A man should be as rigorous as a panther, as swift as an eagle, as fleet as a stag, and as strong as a lion, to do the will of his Creator."

Verse 22. Many will say to me in that day] Exarn an nuspx, ¿u that very day, viz. the day of judgment-have we not pro▾ phesied, taught, publicly preached, in thy name; acknowledging thee to be the only Saviour, and proclaiming thee as such to others; cast out damons, impure spirits, who had taken possession of the bodies of men ; done many miracles, being assisted by supernatural agency to invert even the course of nature, and thus prove the truth of the doctrine we preached? Verse 23. Will I profess] Opoñoynow, I will fully and plainly tell them, I never knew you-I never approved of you; for so the word is used in many places, both in the Old and New Testaments. You held the truth in unrighteousness, while you preached my pure and holy doctrine; and for the sake of my own truth, and through my love to the souls of men, I blessed your preaching; but yourselves I could never esteem, because ye were destitute of the spirit of my Gospel, unholy in your hearts, and unrighteous in your conduct. Alas! alas! how many preachers are there who appear prophets in their pulpits; how many writers, and other evan gelical workmen, the miracks of whose labour, learning, and doctrine, we admire, who are nothing, and worse than nothing, before God; because they perform not his will, but their own? What an awful consideration, that a man of eminent gifts, whose talents are a source of public utility, should be only as a way-mark or finger-post in the way to eternal bliss, pointing out the road to others, without walking in it himself!

Depart from me] What a terrible word! What a dreadful separation! Depart from ME! from the very Jesus whom you have proclaimed, in union with whom alone eternal life is to be found. For, united to Christ, all is heaven; separated from him, all is hell.

Verse 24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine] That is, the excellent doctrines laid down before in this and the two preceding chapters. There are several pa, rables or similitudes like to this in the Rabbins. I shall quote but the two following:

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Rabbi Eleasar said, "The man whose knowledge exceeds his works, to whom is he like? He is like a tree which had many branches, and only a few roots; and when the stormy Winds came, it was plucked up and eradicated. But he whose good works are greater than his knowledge, to what is he like? He is like a tree which had few branches, and many roots; so that all the winds of heaven could not move it from its place." Pirke Aboth.

them. There are three general kinds of trials to which the
followers of God are exposed; and to which, some think, our
Lord alludes here: first, Those of temporal afflictions, com-
ing in the course of divine providence: these may be likened
to the torrents of ruin. Secondly, those which come from
the passions of men, and which may be likened to the im-
petuous rivers. Thirdly, those which come from Satan and
his angels, and which, like tempestuous whirlwinds, threaten
to carry every thing before them. He alone, whose soul is
built on the Rock of Ages, stands all these shocks; and not

Elisha, the son of Abuja, said, " The man who studies
much in the law, and maintains good works, is like to a man
who built a house, laying stones at the foundation, and build-only stands in, but profits by them.
ing brick upon them; and though many waters come against
it, they cannot move it from its place. But the man who
studies much in the law, and does not maintain good works,
is like to a man who, in building his house, put brick at the
foundation, and laid stones upon them, so that even gentle
waters shall overthrow that house." Aboth Rab. Nath.
Probably our Lord had this or some parable in his eye:
but how amazingly improved in passing through his hands!
In our Lord's parable there is dignity, majesty, and point,
which we seek for in vain in the Jewish archetype.

I will liken him unto a wise man] To a prudent man—arde Conus, to a prudent man, man of sense and understanding, who, foreseeing the evil, hideth himself, who proposes to himself the best end, and makes use of the proper means to accomplish it. True wisdom consists in getting the building of our salvation completed: to this end, we must build on the Rock, CHRIST JESUS, and make the building firm, by keeping close to the maxims of his Gospel, and having our tempers and lives conformed to its word and spirit; and when, in order to this, we lean on nothing but the grace of Christ, we then build upon a solid Rock.

Verse 25. And the rain descended-floods came-winds blew] In Judea, and in all countries in the neighbourhood of the tropics, the rain sometimes falls in great torrents, producing rivers, which sweep away the soil from the rocky hills; and the houses, which are builded of brick only dried in the sun, of which there are whole villages in the East, literally melt away before those rains, and the land-floods occasioned by

Verse 26. And every one that heareth-and doeth them not] Was there ever a stricter system of morality delivered by God to man, than in this sermon ? He who reads or hears it, and does not look to God to conform his soul and life to it, and notwithstanding is hoping to enter into the kingdom of heaven, is like the fool who built his house on the sand.When the rain, the rivers and the winds come, his building must fall, and his soul be crushed into the nethermost pit by its ruins. Talking about Christ, his righteousness, merits and atonement, while the person is not conformed to his word and spirit, is no other than solemn self-deception.

Let it be observed, that it is not the man who hears or believes these sayings of Christ, whose building shall stand when the earth and its works are burnt up; but the man who DOES them.

Many suppose that the law of Moses is abolished, merely because it is too strict, and impossible to be observed; and that the gospel was brought in to liberate us from its obligations; but let all such know, that in the whole of the old covenant nothing can be found so exceedingly strict and holy' as this sermon, which Christ lays down as the rule by which we are to walk. Then, the fulfilling of these precepts is the purchase of glory." No, it is the way only to that glory which has already been purchased by the blood of the Lamb. To him that believes, all things are possible.

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Verse 28. The people were astonished] O oxha, them ultitudes; for vast crowds attended the ministry of this most popular and faithful of all preachers. They were astonished

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at his doctrine. They heard the law defined in such a manner as they had never thought of before; and this sacred system of morality urged home on their consciences with such clearness and authority, as they had never felt under the teaching of their Scribes and Pharisees. Here is the grand difference between the teaching of Scribes and Pharisees, the self-created or Men-made ministers, and those whom Gop sends. The first may preach what is called very good and very sound doctrine; but it comes with no authority from God to the souls of the people: therefore, the unholy is unholy still: because preaching can only be effectual to the conversion of men, when the unction of the Holy Spirit is in it; and as . these are not sent by the Lord, therefore they shall not profit the people at all. Jer. xxiii. 32.

Verse 29. Having authority] They felt a commanding power and authority in his word, his doctrine. His statements were perspicuous; his exhortations persuasive, his

to be healed.

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Several excellent MSS. and almost all the ancient versions read, x21 01 Pagioaio, and the Pharisees. He taught them as one having authority, like the most eminent and distinguished teacher, and not as the Scribes-and Pharisees, who had no part of that unction, which he in its plenitude possessed. Thus ends a serinon, the most strict, pure, holy, profound and subline, ever delivered to man; and yet so amazingly simple is the whole, that almost a child may apprehend it! Lord! write all these thy sayings upon our hearts, we beseech thee! Amen.

CHAPTER VIII.

Great multitudes follow Christ, 1. He heals a leper, 2—4. Heals the Centurion's servant, 5-13. Heals Peter's wife's mother, 14, 15. and several other diseased persons, 16, 17. Departs from that place, 18. Two persons offer to be his disciples, 19-22. He and his disciples are overtaken with a tempest, which he miraculously stills, 23-27. He cures Damoniacs, and the Damons which were cast out enter into a herd of swine, which, rushing into the sea, perish, 28-32. The swine-herds announce the miracle to the Gergesenes, who request Christ to depart from their country, 33, 34.

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Verse 1. From the mountain] That mountain on which he xiv. where also may be read the legal ordinances concerning had delivered the preceding imitable sermon.

Great multitudes followed him.] Having been deeply impressed with the glorious doctrines which they had just heard. Verse 2. And, behold, there came a leper] The leprosy Aɛnga, from 217765 a scale, was an inveterate cutaneous disease, appearing in dry, thin, white scurfy scales or scabs, either on the whole body, or on some part of it, usually attended with violent itching, and often with great pain. The eastern leprosy was a distemper of the most lothsome kind, highly contagious, so as to infect garments, (Lev. xiii. 47, &c.) and houses, (Lev. xiv. 34, &c.) and was deemed incurable by any human means. Among the Jews, GoD alone was applied to for its removal; and the cure was ever attributed to his sovereign power.

it; which, as on the one hand, they set forth how odious sin is to God, so on the other, they represent the cleansing of our pollutions by the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, by the sprinkling and application of his blood, and by the sanctifying and healing influences of the Holy Spirit.

The Greek name ça, seems to have been given to this distemper, on account of the thin, white SCALES (Tides), with which the bodies of the leprous were sometimes so covered, as to give them the appearance of snow, Exod. iv. 6. Num. xii. 10. 2 Kings v. 27.

Herodotus, lib. 1. mentions this disorder as existing, in his time, among the Persians. He calls it Auxy, the white scab; and says, that those who were affected with it, were prohibited from mingling with the other citizens; and so The various symptoms of this dreadful disorder, which dreadful was this malady esteemed among them, that they

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with the most lothsome disease, cleansed from it in a moment of time! Was it possible for any soul to resist the evidence of this fact? This action of Christ is a representation of that invisible hand, which makes itself felt by the most insensible heart of that internal word which makes itself heard by the most deaf; and of that supreme will which works every thing according to its own counsel.

considered it a punishment on the person, from their great, god the Sun, for some evil committed against him. Dr. Mead mentions a remarkable case of this kind which came under his own observation. "A country man whose whole body was so miserably seized with it that his skin was shining as covered with flakes of snow; and as the furfuraceous or bran like scales were daily rubbed off, the flesh appeared quick or raw underneath." See the Doctor's Medica Sucra,'¦ chap. ii. It was probably on account of its tendency to produce this disorder in that warm climate, that God forbad the use of swine's flesh to the Jews. The use of this bad aliment, in union with ardent spirits, is in all likelihood, the grand cause of the scurvy, which is so common in the Brit-government; and speaking after the manner of men, his ish nations, and which would probably assume the form and virulence of a leprosy, were our climate as hot as that of Judea. See the notes on Exod. iv. 6. and on Levit. xiii. and xiv.

Verse 4. Jesus saith-See thou teil no man] Had our Lord at this early period, fully manifested himself as the Messiah, the people in all likelihood, would have proclaimed him King; this, however refused by him, must have excited the hatred of the Jewish rulers, and the jealousy of the Roman

farther preachings and miracles must have been impeded. This alone scems to be the reason why he said to the leper;

see thou tell no man.

Shew thyself to the priest] This was, to conform to the law instituted in this case, Lev. xiv. 1, &c.

Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.] As this leper may be considered as a fit emblem of the corruption of man by sin; so may his cure, of the redemption of the soul by Christ. A sinner truly penitent, seeks God with a respectful faith; approaches him in the spirit of adoration, humibles himself under his mighty hand, acknowledging the great ness of his fall, and the vileness of his sin; his prayer like that of the leper, should be humble, plain, and full of confidence in that God who can do all things, and of depend-Lev. xiv. ance upon his will or mercy from which all good must be Now all this was to be done for a testimony to them; to derived. It is peculiar to God that he need only will what prove that this leper, who was doubtless well known in the he intends to perform. His power is his will. The ability land, had been throughly cleansed; and thus, in this private of God to do what is necessary to be done, and his willing-way, to give full proof to the priesthood, that Jesus was the ness to make his creatures happy, should be deeply considered by all those who approach him in prayer. The leper had no doubt of the former, but he was far from being equally satisfied in respect of the latter.

Offer the gift] This gift was two living, clean birds, some cedar wood, with scarlet, and hyssop, Lev. xiv. 4. which were to be brought for his cleansing; and when clean, two he lambs, one ewe lamb, three tenth deals of flour, and one log of oil, ver. 10. but if the person was poor, then he was to bring one lamb, one tenth deal of flour, one log of oil, and two turtle doves, or young pigeons, ver. 21, 22. See the notes on

Verse 3. Jesus put forth his hand—I will; be thou clean.] The most sovereign authority is assumed in this speech of our blessed Lord—I WILL, there is here no supplication of any power superior to his own: and the event proved to the fullest conviction, and by the clearest demonstration, that his authority was absolute, and his power unlimited. Be thou cleansed, xabat; a single word is enough.

And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.] What an astonishing sight! A man whose whole body was covered over

true Messiah. The Jewish Rabbins allowed, that curing the lepers should be a characteristic of the Messiah; (see Bishop Chandler's Vindication) therefore the obstinacy of the priests, &c. in rejecting Christ, was utterly inexcusable. Verse 5. Capernaum] See chap. iv. 13.

A centurion] Exatovragxos. A Roman military officer who had the command of one hundred men.

Verse 6. Lord] Rather Sir, for so the word zuge should always be translated when a Roman is the speaker.

Lieth at home] BBnTas, lieth all along; intimating that the disease had reduced him to a state of the utmost impotence, through the grievous torments with which it was accompanied,

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