trary to their nature, in subserviency to his ends; yet his wisdom is not ufually at the expence of miracles, (if I may fo fay) but only in cafes that require them, for the evidencing of fome revelation or miffion to bę from him. He does conftantly (unlefs where the confirmation of fome truth requires it otherwife) bring about his purposes by means operating according to their natures. If it were not so, the course and evidence of things would be confounded, miracles would lose their name and force; and there could be no diftinction between natural and fupernatural.

1

There had been no room left to fee and admire the wisdom, as well as innocence of our Saviour, if he had rafhly every-where exposed himself to the fury of the jews, and had always been preferved by a miraculous fufpenfion of their malice, or a miraculous refcuing him out of their hands. It was enough for him once to escape from the men of Nazareth, who were going to throw him down a precipice, for him never to preach to them again. Our Saviour had multitudes that followed him for the loaves; who barely feeing the miracles that he did, would have made him king. If to the miracles he did, he had openly added, in exprefs words, that he was the Meffiah, and the king they expected to deliver them, he would have had more followers, and warmer in the cause, and readier to fet him up at the head of a tumult. These indeed God, by a miraculous influence, might have hindered from any fuch attempt: but then pofterity could not have believed, that the nation of the jews did, at that time, expect the Meffiah, their king and deliverer; or that Jefus, who declared himself to be that king and deliverer, fhowed any miracles amongst them, to convince them of it; or did any thing worthy to make him be credited or received: If he had gone about preaching to the multitude, which he drew after him, that he was the "Meffiah, the king of Ifrael," and this had been evidenced to Pilate; God could indeed, by a supernatural influence upon his mind, have made Pilate pronounce him innocent, and not condemn him as a malefactor, who had openly, for three years together, preached fedition

G 3

fedition to the people, and endeavoured to perfuade them, that he was "the Meffiah, their king," of the royal blood of David, come to deliver them. But then I afk, Whether pofterity would not either have fufpected the ftory, or that fome art had been used to gain that teftimony from Pilate? Because he could not (for nothing) have been fo favourable to Jefus, as to be willing to releafe fo turbulent and feditious a man; to declare him innocent, and to caft the blame and guilt of his death, as unjust, upon the envy of the jews.

But now, the malice of the chief priests, scribes and pharifees; the headiness of the mob, animated with hopes, and raised with miracles; Judas's treachery, and Pilate's care of his government, and of the peace of his province, all working naturally as they fhould; Jefus, by the admirable warinefs of his carriage, and an extraordinary wisdom, vifible in his whole conduct; weathers all these difficulties, does the work he comes for, uninterruptedly goes about preaching his full appointed time, fufficiently manifefts himself to be the Meffiah, in all the particulars the fcriptures had foretold of him; and when his hour is come, fuffers death: but is acknowledged, both by Judas that betrayed, and Pilate that condemned him, to die innocent. For, to use his own words, Luke xxiv. 45, “Thus it is written, and "thus it behoved the Meffiah to fuffer." And of his whole conduct we have a reafon and clear refolution in those words to St. Peter, Matt. xxvi. 53, "Thinkeft "thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he "fhall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the fcripture be fulfilled, "that thus it must be?".

Having this clew to guide us, let us now observe, how our Saviour's preaching and conduct comported with it in the last scene of his life. How cautious he had been in the former part of his miniftry, we have already obferved. We never find him to use the name of the Meffiah but once, until he now came to Jerufalem, this last paffover. Before this, his preaching and miracles were lefs at Jerufalem, (where he used to make but very short ftays) than any where elfe. But now he comes fix days

before

before the feast, and is every day in the temple teaching; and there publicly heals the blind and the lame, in the prefence of the fcribes, pharifees, and chief priests. The time of his miniftry drawing to an end, and his hour coming, he cared not how much the chief priests, elders, rulers, and the fanhedrim, were provoked against him by his doctrine and miracles: he was as open and bold in his preaching, and doing the works of the Meffiah now at Jerufalem, and in the fight of the rulers, and of all the people; as he had been before cautious and reserved there, and careful to be little taken notice of in that place, and not to come in their way more than needs. All that he now took care of was, not what they should think of him, or design against him, (for he knew they would feize him) but to fay or do nothing that might be a juft matter of accufation against him, or render him criminal to the governor. But, as for the grandees of the jewish nation, he spares them not, but fharply now reprehends their miscarriages publicly in the temple; where he calls them, more than once, "hypocrites;" as is to be feen, Matt. xxiii. And concludes all with no fofter a compellation than " ferpents," and "a generation of vipers."

After this fevere reproof of the fcribes and pharifees, being retired with his difciples into the "Mount of Olives" over-against the temple, and there foretelling the deftruction of it; his difciples aík him, Matt. xxiv. 3, &c. "When it fhould be, and what fhould be the fign of his coming?" He fays, to them," Take heed "that no man deceive you: for many fhall come in my name," (i. c. taking on them the name and dignity of the Meffiah, which is only mine) saying, "I am the Meffiah, and fhall deceive many,' But be not you by them mifled, nor by perfecution driven away from this fundamental truth, that I am the Meffiah; "for many "fhall be fcandalized," and apoftatize; "but he that "endures to the end, the fame fhall be faved: and this "gofpel of the kingdom fhall be preached in all the "world" i. e. the good news of me, the Meffiah, and my kingdom, shall be spread through the world. This was the great and only point of belief they were warned to stick to; and this is inculcated again, ver. 23,-26,

and Mark xiii. 21, 23, with this emphatical applica tion to them, in both these evangelifts, "Behold, I have "told you beforehand; remember, you are fore→ warned."

This was in anfwer to the apoftles inquiry, concerning his "coming, and the end of the world," ver. 3. For fo we tranfate τῆς συνελείας τὸ αἰῶνος. We muft understand the disciples here to put their question, according to the notion and way of speaking of the Jews. For they had two worlds, as we tranflate it, & vu aiwu, xì ô μέλλων αἰών ; "the present world," and the "world to

come.' The kingdom of God, as they called it, or the time of the Meffiah, they called & pénzwv aiùr, "the world to come," which they believed was to put an end to "this world ;" and that then the juft fhould be raisedfrom the dead, to enjoy in that "new world" a happy eternity, with thofe of the jewish nation, who fhould be then living.

Thefe two things, viz. the vifible and powerful appearance of his kingdom, and the end of the world, being confounded in the apoftles queftion, our Saviour does not separate them, nor diftinctly reply to them apart; but, leaving the inquirers in the common opinion, answers at once concerning his coming to take vengeance on the jewish nation, and put an end to their church worship and commonwealth; which was their suv aiv, "present world," which they counted should laft till the Messiah came; and fo it did, and then had an end put to it. And to this he joins his laft coming to judgment, in the glory of his Father, to put a final end to this world, and all the difpenfation belonging to the pofterity of Adam upon earth. This joining them together, made his anfwer obfcure, and hard to be understood by them then; nor was it fafe for him to fpeak plainer of his kingdom, and the deftruction of Jerufalem; unless he had a mind to be accufed for hav-. ing defigns against the government. For Judas was amongst them and whether no other but his apostles were comprehended under the name of "his difciples," who were with him at this time, one cannot determine. Our Saviour, therefore, fpeaks of his kingdom in no other ftyle, but that which he had all along hitherto

ufed,

used, viz. "the kingdom of God," Luke xxi. 31. "When you fee these things come to pass, know ye "that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." And continuing on his difcourfe with them, he has the fame expreffion, Matt. xxv. I. "Then the kingdom of "heaven fhall be like unto ten virgins." At the end of the following parable of the talents, he adds, ver. 31, "When the Son of man fhall come in his glory, and "all the holy angels with him, then fhall he fit upon "the throne of his glory. And before him fhall be gathered all the nations. And he shall set the sheep "on his right hand, and the goats on his left. Then "fhall the KING fay, &c." Here he defcribes to his difciples the appearance of his kingdom, wherein he will show himself a king in glory upon his throne; but this in fuch a way, and fo remote, and fo unintelligible to an heathen magiftrate; that, if it had been alleged against him, it would have feemed rather the dream of a crazy brain, than the contrivance of an ambitious or dangerous man, defigning against the government: the way of expreffing what he meant, being in the prophetic ftyle, which is feldom fo plain as to be underftood, till accomplished. It is plain, that his disciples themselves comprehended not what kingdom he here fpoke of, from their queftion to him after his refurrection, "Wilt thou at this time reftore again the king"dom unto Ifrael?"

Having finished thefe difcourfes, he takes order for the paffover, and eats it with his difciples; and at fupper tells them, that one of them should betray him; and adds, John xiii. 19, "I tell it you now, before it "come, that when it is come to pafs, you may know

And

that I am." He does not fay out," the Meffiah;" Judas fhould not have that to fay against him, if he would; though that be the fenfe in which he uses this expreffion, y sir, "I am," more than once. εἰμι, that this is the meaning of it, is clear from Mark xii. 6. Luke xxi. 8. In both which evangelists the words are, "For many fhall come in my name, faying, yw eiμs, I "am:" the meaning whereof we fhall find explained in the parallel place of St. Matthew, chap. xxiv. 5,

"For