d astonishment; and was one circumstance which extorted a confession from the officers sent to apprehend him, that "never man spake like him." h I have already mentioned some of the magnificent expressions which our Lord used of himself to awaken and instruct the Jews. The authority which accompanied his instructions may be further illustrated by the following passages: "Many prophets & and kings and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. Go ye and learn what that meaneth; I will have mercy, and not sacrifice. This do, and thou shalt live. Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. Ye 1call me Master and Lord; and ye say well, for so I am. Imam the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I speak that which I have seen with my Father. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. If I be lifted earth, I will draw all men unto me. up from the r - When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall S ye know that I am he. I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 'The Son restoreth to life whom he will. The Father hath given him to have life in himself, and to execute judgment. All "that are in the graves you. shall hear his voice, and shall come forth. "All things that the Father hath are mine. Nox man ascendeth up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven; even the Son of man who was in heaven. In my Father's house are many mansions : if it were not so, I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for This is the will of him that sent me; that every one who sceth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life. a Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father who is in heaven: but whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven. The stone, which the builders rejected, is become the head of the corner. The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then shall he reward every man according to his works. Id give unto my sheep eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then shall he say also to those on his left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." с These are a specimen, not a full enumeration, of passages uttered by our Lord with great dignity and majesty; and some of them shew the justness of W John xvi. 15. Matt. x. 32, 3. * John x. 28. X John iii. 13. y ib. xir. 2. 7 ib. vi. 40. Matt. xvi. 27. Fenelon's remark, "Jesus Christ, master of his doctrine, distributes it with tranquillity. He says what he chooses, and he says it without any effort. He speaks of the kingdom and glory of heaven, as of his Father's house. All the grandeur, which astonishes us, is natural to him: he was born there, and he mentions nothing but what he had seen, as he himself assures us." SECTION II. THAT RESTRICTIONS OF HIS PRECEPTS ARE SOMETIMES INTRODUCED BY HIM. b THE limitations of Christ's precepts are for the most part left to reason and nature. We may observe, however, that he sometimes limits them. He commands us to give alms and to fast, but secretly; to pray, but without ostentation, or vain repetitions: he condemns anger without a cause, enjoins forgiveness in case of repentance, and teaches us that the love due to our enemies consists in blessing them, doing good to them, and praying for them. d Dialogues sur l'eloquence. Amst. 1788. p. 94. 3, 4, 17, 18. bib. 6, 7. Matt. vi. ib. v. 22. There is not suffi cient authority to omit the word six, though it is somewhat doubtful. Luke xvii. 3, 4. ⚫ Matt. v. 44. AS A DIVINE INSTRUCTOR. SECTION m. THAT THE REASONS OF HIS PRECEPTS ARE SOMETIMES GIVEN. THOUGH in general the reasons of Christ's commands are not assigned, yet some are occasionally suggested. "Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King: neither shalt thou swear by thy head; for thou canst not make one hair white or black." "Love" your enemies; that ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them who love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" "When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathens do for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." "a Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where rust and moth doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal : but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your "All treasure is, there will your heart be also." things whatsoever ye would that men should do to 20, 21. bib. 45, 6. e cib. vi. 7, 8. Matt. v. 34, 5, 6. dib. 19, • In allusion to the various garments, and pieces of furniture, which the easterns treasured up. See Job xxvii. 16. Isai, iii. 7. i ib. vii. 12. g you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." "Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hidden, that shall not be known." h Take heed and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” SECTION IV. INSTANCES OF HIS ADDRESSING HIMSELF TO THE REASON OF HIS HEARERS. OUR Lord was the authoritative instructor of rational creatures. We find him refuting the errors of the Scribes and Pharisees by unanswerable reasons. "a Wo unto you ye blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Yeb fools and blind for whether is greater; the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whosoever therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon." 8 So our version Luke xii. 1. In the common editions we find di, but jag occurs in Beza's ms. and codd. Lat. translate by the causal particle. Luke xii. 15. Matt. xxiii. 16-22. See part ii. Sect. 6. |