manded of Jesus a sign from heaven, meaning, it should seem, that he should appear at once in the clouds, according to Daniel's prophecy, and establish the universal monarchy of the Messiah. He answered, that the demand shewed them to be a wicked and adulterous race, who had degenerated from the faith of their father Abraham, and that no sign would be given to them, except that of Jonah, (authenticating thereby a history that has been often disbelieved and ridiculed,) and declares it to be typical of the period that he was to remain in the grave. He affirms, that past generations, who availed themselves of less favourable opportunities, would rise up to condemn them who were unaffected by a preacher of repentance more impressive than Jonah, and uninstructed by a teacher wiser than Solomon; and concludes with a parable, pointing out their national danger, and indicating that the temporary conviction wrought by the Baptist's preaching having died away, their evil passions would revive with fresh strength, and they would become seven times more callous and presumptuous than before. This sign, his resurrection, was the great evidence of his mission, and the commencement of his reign, but it did not come, as they expected, with observation. The parable is a prophecy of the rejection of the Jews, and of their awful state of enmity to the Gospel, which still continues. It is also applicable to individuals, to such as in the language of the Epistle to the Hebrews, (x. 26.) “sin wilfully after they have received the knowledge of the truth, d It has been maintained by the great body of commentators, that Jonah was deposited in the stomach of a large fish, and as the throat of a whale is too narrow to admit the passage of a man, they have assumed it to be a shark; but in avoiding one difficulty they only make another, for a man could not pass through the formidable ranges of teeth of the latter, nor indeed exist in the stomach of any fish, without a series of miracles. But a safe asylum is afforded in another cavity, naλía, of the whale, in which Jonas might be preserved; not indeed without miracle, but with that economy of miracle so frequently exemplified in Scripture. "At the bottom of the throat is an intestine so large and wide, that a man might pass into it; it is an air vessel, in which are two vents, which serve for inspiration and expiration, and enable the animal to rise or sink at pleasure. And this testimony of a naturalist is of the more weight, as he had not the case of Jonas in view. Bomare Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle. For these remarks I am indebted to Bishop Jebb's interesting volume. دو for whom there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.” 44, 45. Jesus declares who are blessed. Matt. xii. Luke xi. THE assiduity of Jesus in teaching the people, notwithstanding the opposition of the Pharisees, gave disquietude to his near relations, who wished him to desist, supposing that he exceeded the bounds of reason, and they seem to have engaged his mother to concur in the design. But he, aware of their intention, answered by enquiring who were his mother and his brethren; intimating that they had no authority over him in respect to his ministry; and that his spiritual regard for his disciples exceeded his natural affection to his family. We Protestants, who know how sadly the reverence for his virgin mother has degenerated into idolatry, cannot fail to be struck with the way in which she is mentioned in the Gospel, where the few incidents recorded of her have an indirect tendency to diminish our respect. Our Lord here declares, that she is his mother, that is, equal in his estimation, who performs his Father's will; and a little before, a woman in admiration having exclaimed out of the crowd, Happy she that bare him! he replied, Rather should they be called happy, who hear the word of God, and keep it. 46. Jesus, being at dinner in a Pharisee's house, denounces woes against the hypocritical Pharisees, Scribes, and Lawyers. Luke xi. BEING at dinner with a Pharisee, who had assembled many of his brethren, probably with the view of ensnaring him in conversation, his host expressed surprise that Jesus had not washed when he came in, according to their tradition; and this gave him an opportunity of boldly and sharply reproving their superstition and hypocrisy. He observed, that they affected to honour the dead prophets, and blamed their forefathers for putting them to death; yet, as in their behaviour to him they imitated their conduct, the monuments they erected seemed raised less out of respect to the prophets than to their murderers; he concludes with declaring, that the Divine wisdom, that is, he himself, (as appears from the parallel passage, Matt. xxiii. 34.) will send them prophets and apostles, whom they will in like manner persecute and destroy, so that the punishment of their own sins, and those of their forefathers, would fall upon them. The dreadful vengeance inflicted by the Romans upon the nation was not more than their own wickedness, in crucifying the Lord of life, had deserved; yet it was so signal and complete, that, humanly speaking, it would seem an adequate punishment for all the murders of the righteous, from that of Abel, the first who was slain, till the extinction of their state". 47. He teaches the people. Luke xii. His reproof exasperated the company, who endeavoured to provoke him to say something that might afford them matter of accusation. He then left the house, and in the presence of the people assembled, as it were, in tens of thousands, warned his disciples against the fear of men and hypocrisy, the leaven which corrupted the religion of the Pharisees. An application to him out of the crowd, by a man who asked him to desire his brother to divide the inheritance with him, led him to caution them against covetousness; and he shows its absurdity by the parable of a rich man suddenly called into eternity, while immersed in worldly enjoyment, rightly called thoughtless, for he is foolishly laying up goods for many years, when he has not a day to live. He charges them not to resemble him, but to make a wise use of worldly goods by giving alms, and so securing a treasure in heaven that faileth not. He then foretells, that his religion will not introduce upon earth the peace they expect, but division; and he charges the people to judge for themselves what is right, • It is remarkable, that Josephus, speaking of his countrymen, declares, in the strongest terms, that there never was so wicked a race; War, v. 13. and that if the Romans had delayed coming, God would have interfered to destroy them, since they were worse than the people of Sodom. for whom there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.” 44, 45. Jesus declares who are blessed. Matt. xii. Luke xi. THE assiduity of Jesus in teaching the people, notwithstanding the opposition of the Pharisees, gave disquietude to his near relations, who wished him to desist, supposing that he exceeded the bounds of reason, and they seem to have engaged his mother to concur in the design. But he, aware of their intention, answered by enquiring who were his mother and his brethren; intimating that they had no authority over him in respect to his ministry; and that his spiritual regard for his disciples exceeded his natural affection to his family. We Protestants, who know how sadly the reverence for his virgin mother has degenerated into idolatry, cannot fail to be struck with the way in which she is mentioned in the Gospel, where the few incidents recorded of her have an indirect tendency to diminish our respect. Our Lord here declares, that she is his mother, that is, equal in his estimation, who performs his Father's will; and a little before, a woman in admiration having exclaimed out of the crowd, Happy she that bare him! he replied, Rather should they be called happy, who hear the word of God, and keep it. 46. Jesus, being at dinner in a Pharisee's house, denounces woes against the hypocritical Pharisees, Scribes, and Lawyers. Luke xi. BEING at dinner with a Pharisee, who had assembled many of his brethren, probably with the view of ensnaring him in conversation, his host expressed surprise that Jesus had not washed when he came in, according to their tradition; and this gave him an opportunity of boldly and sharply reproving their superstition and hypocrisy. He observed, that they affected to honour the dead prophets, and blamed their forefathers for putting them to death; yet, as their bel to him they imitated their conduct, |