" And he charged them, that they should tell no man " of him," Luke iv. 41. "And devils came out of "many, crying, Thou art the Meffiah, the Son of God: "and he, rebuking them, fuffered them not to speak, "that they knew him to be the Meffiah." Mark iii.

II,

12. "Unclean fpirits, when they faw him, fell "down before him, and cried, faying, Thou art the "Son of God: and he ftraitly charged them, that they "fhould not make him known." Here again we may obferve, from the comparing of the two texts, that

Thou art the Son of God," or, "Thou art the Mef"fiah," were indifferently used for the fame thing. But to return to the matter in hand.

This concealment of himself will feem ftrange, in one who was come to bring light into the world, and was to fuffer death for the teftimony of the truth. This reservedness will be thought to look, as if he had a mind to conceal himself, and not to be known to the world for the Meffiah, nor to be believed on as fuch. But we shall be of another mind, and conclude this proceeding of his according to divine wifdom, and fuited to a fuller manifestation and evidence of his being the Meffiah; when we confider that he was to fill out the time foretold of his ministry; and after a life illuftrious in miracles and good works, attended with humility, meekness, patience, and fufferings, and every way conformable to the prophefies of him; fhould be led as a fheep to the flaughter, and with all quiet and submission be brought to the crofs, though there were no guilt, nor fault found in him. This could not have been, if, as foon as he appeared in public, and began to preach, he had presently profeffed himself to have been the Meffiah; the king that owned that kingdom, he published to be at hand. For the fanhedrim would then have laid hold on it, to have got him into their power, and thereby have taken away his life; at least they would have disturbed his miniftry, and hindered the work he was about. That this made him cautious, and avoid, as much as he could, the occafions of provoking them, and falling into their hands, is plain from John "After these things Jefus walked in Galilee;"

vii. I.

out of the way of the chief priests and rulers; "for " he would not walk in Jewry, because the jews fought "to kill him." Thus, making good what he foretold them at Jerufalem, when, at the firft paffover after his beginning to preach the gospel, upon his curing the man at the pool of Bethesda, they fought to kill him, John v. 16, "Ye have not," fays he, ver. 38, "his "word abiding amongst you; for whom he hath fent, "him ye believe not." This was fpoken more particularly to the jews of Jerufalem, who were the forward men, zealous to take away his life: and it imports, that, because of their unbelief and oppofition to him, the word of God, i. e. the preaching of the kingdom of the Meffiah, which is often called, "the word of God," did not stay amongst them, he could not stay amongst them, preach and explain to them the kingdom of the Meffiah.

That the word of God, here, fignifics "the word of "God," that should make Jefus known to them to be the Meffiah, is evident from the context: and this meaning of this place is made good by the event. For, after this, we hear no more of Jefus at Jerufalem, 'till the pentecoft come twelve-month; though it is not to be doubted, but that he was there the next paffover, and other feafts between; but privately. And now at Jerufalem, at the feaft of pentecoft, near fifteen months after, he fays little of any thing, and not a word of the kingdom of heaven being come, or at hand; nor did he any miracle there. And returning to Jerufalem at the feast of tabernacles, it is plain, that from this time 'till then, which was a year and a half, he had not taught them at Jerufalem.

For, 1, it is faid, John vii. 2, 15, That, he teaching in the temple at the feaft of tabernacles, "the jews

marvelled, faying, How knoweth this man letters, "having never learned?" A fign they had not been ufed to his preaching: for, if they had, they would not now have marvelled.

2. Ver. 19, He fays thus to them: "Did not Mofes give you the law, and yet none of you keep the law? Why go ye about to kill me? One work," or mira

cle,

cle, "I did here amongst you, and ye all marvel. "Mofes therefore gave unto you circumcifion, and ye "on the fabbath-day circumcife a man: if a man on the "fabbath-day receive circumcifion, that the law of "Mofes fhould not be broken, are ye angry with me, "becaufe I have made a man every way whole on the "fabbath-day?" Which is a direct defence of what he did at Jerufalem, a year and a half before the work he here speaks of. We find he had not preached to them there, from that time to this; but had made good what he had told them, ver. 38, "Ye have not the word of "God remaining among you, because whom he hath "fent ye believe not." Whereby, I think, he fignifies his not staying, and being frequent amongst them at Jerufalem, preaching the gospel of the kingdom; because their great unbelief, oppofition, and malice to him, would not permit it.

This was manifeftly so in fact: for the firft miracle he did at Jerufalem, which was at the fecond paffover after his baptifm, brought him in danger of his life. Hereupon we find he forbore preaching again there, 'till the feaft of tabernacles, immediately preceding his laft paffover: fo that 'till the half a year before his paffion, he did but one miracle, and preached but once publicly at Jerufalem. Thefe trials he made there; put found their unbelief fuch, that if he had ftaid and perfifted to preach the good tidings of the kingdom, and to fhow himself by miracles among them, he could not have had time and freedom to do thofe works which his Father had given him to finish, as he says, ver. 36, of this fifth of St. John.

a

When, upon the curing of the withered hand on the fabbath-day, "The pharifees took council with the "herodians, how they might destroy him, Jesus with"drew himself, with his difciples, to the fea: and "great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judea, and from Jerufalem, and from Idumea, and "from beyond Jordan, and they about Tyre and Sidon, "a great multitude; when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him, and he healed them all, " and CHARGED THEM, THAT THEY SHOULD NOT MAKE ¢་ HIM

D 3

"HIM KNOWN: that it might be fulfilled which was "fpoken by the prophet Ifaiah, faying, Behold, my fervant, whom I have chofen; my beloved, in whom

my foul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon "him, and he fhall fhow judgment to the Gentiles. "He shall not ftrive, nor cry, neither fhall any man "hear his voice in the streets, Matt. xii. Mark iii.

And, John xi. 47, upon the news of our Saviour's raifing Lazarus from the dead, "The chief priests and "pharifees convened the fanhedrim, and faid, What "do we? For this man does many miracles." Ver. 53, "Then from that day forth they took counsel together "for to put him to death." Ver. 54, Jesus therefore "walked no more openly amongst the jews." His: miracles had now fo much declared him to be the Meffiah, that the jews could no longer bear him, nor he trust himself amongst them; "But went thence unto a country near to the wildernefs, into a city called Ephraim; and there continued with his difciples. This was but a little before his last paffover, as appears by the following words, ver. 55: And the jews paff"over was nigh at hand," and he could not, now hist miracles had made him fo well known, have been secure, the little time that remained, 'till his hour was fully come, if he had not, with his wonted and neceffary caution, withdrawn; "And walked no more openly amongst the jews," 'till his time (at the next paffover) was fully come; and then again he appeared amongst them openly.

Nor would the romans have suffered him, if he had gone about preaching, that he was the king whom the jews expected. Such an accufation would have been forwardly brought againft him by the jews, if they could have heard it out of his own mouth; and that had been his public doctrine to his followers; which was openly preached by the apoftles after his death, when he appeared no more. And of this they were accused, Acts xvii. 5-9. "But the jews, which believed not, "moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the bafer fort, and gathered a company, and fet all the city in an uproar, and affaulted the house,

"of

"of Jason, and fought to bring them out to the people. "And when they found them [Paul and Silas] not, they drew Jason, and certain brethren, unto the rulers of the city, crying, Thefe that have turned the world upfide down, are come hither alfo; whom Jafon hath received: and these all do contrary to the "decrees of Cæfar, faying, That there is another king, one Jefus. And they troubled the people, and the "rulers of the city, when they heard these things and "when they had taken security of Jason and the other, they let them go."

Though the magiftrates of the world had no great regard to the talk of a king who had fuffered death, and appeared no longer any where; yet, if our Saviour had openly declared this of himself in his life-time, with a train of disciples and followers every-where owning and crying him up for their king; The roman governors of Judea could not have forborn to have taken notice of it, and have made ufe of their force against him. This the jews were not mistaken in; and therefore made ufe of it as the strongest accufation, and likelieft to prevail with Pilate against him, for the taking away his life; it being treafon, and an unpardonable offence, which could not efcape death from a roman deputy, without the forfeiture of his own life. Thus then they accufe him to Pilate, Luke xxiii. 2. "We found this "fellow perverting the nation, forbidding to give tri"bute to Cæfar, faying, that he himself is a king;" or rather "the Meffiah, the King."

Our Saviour, indeed, now that his time was come, (and he in custody, and forsaken of all the world, and fo out of all danger of raising any fedition or difturbance) owns himself to Pilate to be a king; after first having told Pilate, John xviii. 36, "That his "kingdom was not of this world ;" and, for a kingdom in another world, Pilate knew that his master at Rome concerned not himfelf. But had there been any the least appearance of truth in the allegations of the jews, that he had perverted the nation, forbidding to pay tribute to Cæfar, or drawing the people after him, as their king; Pilate would not so readily have pronounced

D 4