Matthew 4 commentary

Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special tokens of Divine favour, will not secure any from being tempted. But if the Holy Spirit witness to our being adopted as children of God, that will answer all the suggestions of the evil spirit. Christ was directed to the combat. If we presume upon our own strength, and tempt the devil to tempt us, we provoke God to leave us to ourselves. Others are tempted, when drawn aside of their own lust, and enticed, Jas 1:14; but our Lord Jesus had no corrupt nature, therefore he was tempted only by the devil. In the temptation of Christ it appears that our enemy is subtle, spiteful, and very daring; but he can be resisted. It is a comfort to us that Christ suffered, being tempted; for thus it appears that our temptations, if not yielded to, are not sins, they are afflictions only. Satan aimed in all his temptations, to bring Christ to sin against God. 1. He tempted him to despair of his Father's goodness, and to distrust his Father's care concerning him. It is one of the wiles of Satan to take advantage of our outward condition; and those who are brought into straits have need to double their guard. Christ answered all the temptations of Satan with “It is written;” to set us an example, he appealed to what was written in the Scriptures. This method we must take, when at any time we are tempted to sin. Let us learn not to take any wrong courses for our supply, when our wants are ever so pressing: in some way or other the Lord will provide. 2. Satan tempted Christ to presume upon his Father's power and protection, in a point of safety. Nor are any extremes more dangerous than despair and presumption, especially in the affairs of our souls. Satan has no objection to holy places as the scene of his assaults. Let us not, in any place, be off our watch. The holy city is the place, where he does, with the greatest advantage, tempt men to pride and presumption. All high places are slippery places; advancements in the world makes a man a mark for Satan to shoot his fiery darts at. Is Satan so well versed in Scripture as to be able to quote it readily? He is so. It is possible for a man to have his head full of Scripture notions, and his mouth full of Scripture expressions, while his heart is full of bitter enmity to God and to all goodness. Satan misquoted the words. If we go out of our way, out of the way of our duty, we forfeit the promise, and put ourselves out of God's protection. This passage, De 8:3, made against the tempter, therefore he left out part. This promise is firm and stands good. But shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? No. 3. Satan tempted Christ to idolatry with the offer of the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. The glory of the world is the most charming temptation to the unthinking and unwary; by that men are most easily imposed upon. Christ was tempted to worship Satan. He rejected the proposal with abhorrence. “Get thee hence, Satan!” Some temptations are openly wicked; and they are not merely to be opposed, but rejected at once. It is good to be quick and firm in resisting temptation. If we resist the devil he will flee from us. But the soul that deliberates is almost overcome. We find but few who can decidedly reject such baits as Satan offers; yet what is a man profited if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Christ was succoured after the temptation, for his encouragement to go on in his undertaking, and for our encouragement to trust in him; for as he knew, by experience, what it was to suffer, being tempted, so he knew what it was to be succoured, being tempted; therefore we may expect, not only that he will feel for his tempted people, but that he will come to them with seasonable relief.

It is just with God to take the gospel and the means of grace, from those that slight them and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he is not welcome. Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it comes to any place, when it comes to any soul, it makes day there. Light discovers and directs; so does the gospel. The doctrine of repentance is right gospel doctrine. Not only the austere John Baptist, but the gracious Jesus, preached repentance. There is still the same reason to do so. The kingdom of heaven was not reckoned to be fully come, till the pouring out of the Holy Spirit after Christ's ascension.

When Christ began to preach, he began to gather disciples, who should be hearers, and afterwards preachers of his doctrine, who should be witnesses of his miracles, and afterwards testify concerning them. He went not to Herod's court, not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but to the sea of Galilee, among the fishermen. The same power which called Peter and Andrew, could have wrought upon Annas and Caiaphas, for with God nothing is impossible. But Christ chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. Diligence in an honest calling is pleasing to Christ, and it is no hinderance to a holy life. Idle people are more open to the temptations of Satan than to the calls of God. It is a happy and hopeful thing to see children careful of their parents, and dutiful. When Christ comes, it is good to be found doing. Am I in Christ? is a very needful question to ask ourselves; and, next to that, Am I in my calling? They had followed Christ before, as common disciples, Joh 1:37; now they must leave their calling. Those who would follow Christ aright, must, at his command, leave all things to follow him, must be ready to part with them. This instance of the power of the Lord Jesus encourages us to depend upon his grace. He speaks, and it is done.

Wherever Christ went, he confirmed his Divine mission by miracles, which were emblems of the healing power of his doctrine, and the influences of the Spirit which accompanied it. We do not now find the Saviour's miraculous healing power in our bodies; but if we are cured by medicine, the praise is equally his. Three general words are here used. He healed every sickness or disease; none was too bad; none too hard, for Christ to heal with a word. Three diseases are named; the palsy, which is the greatest weakness of the body; lunacy, which is the greatest malady of the mind; and possession of the devil, which is the greatest misery and calamity of both; yet Christ healed all, and by thus curing bodily diseases, showed that his great errand into the world was to cure spiritual maladies. Sin is the sickness, disease, and torment of the soul: Christ came to take away sin, and so to heal the soul.

Matthew 4:1. Then Jesus was led. There were two reasons why Christ withdrew into the wilderness. The first was, that, after a fast of forty days, he might come forth as a new man, or rather a heavenly man, to the discharge of his office. The next was, that he might be tried by temptation and undergo an apprenticeship, before he undertook an office so arduous, and so elevated. Let us therefore learn that, by the guidance of the Spirit, Christ withdrew from the crowd of men, in order that he might come forth as the highest teacher of the church, as the ambassador of God, — rather as sent from heaven, than as taken from some town, and from among the common people.

In the same way Moses, when God was about to employ him as his agent in publishing his law, was carried into Mount Sinai, withdrawn from the view of the people, and admitted, as it were, into a heavenly sanctuary, (Exodus 24:12.) It was proper that Christ should be surrounded by marks of divine grace and power — at least equally illustrious with those which were bestowed on Moses, that the majesty of the Gospel might not be inferior to that of the Law. If God bestowed singular honor on a doctrine which was “the ministration of death,” (2 Corinthians 3:7,) how much more honor is due to the doctrine of life? And if a shadowy portrait of God had so much brightness, ought not his face, which appears in the Gospel, to shine with full splendor?

Such also was the design of the fasting: for Christ abstained from eating and drinking, not to give an example of temperance, but to acquire greater authority, by being separated from the ordinary condition of men, and coming forth, as an angel from heaven, not as a man from the earth. For what, pray, would have been that virtue of abstinence, in not tasting food, for which he had no more appetite than if he had not been clothed with flesh? “Car, je vous prie, quelle virtu d' abstinence y-eust-il eue a, ne taster point de viande, veu qu'il n'avoit nulle faim qui le pressast? Car il est certain, et les Evangelistes le donnent a entendre assez clairement, qu'il s'est passe de manger tout ainsi que s'il n'eust point este revestu de notre chair.” — “For what virtue of abstinence, pray, was there in not tasting food, since he had no hunger that pressed him? For it is certain, and the Evangelists give us plainly enough to understand, that he had left off eating as completely as if he had not been clothed with our flesh.” It is mere folly, therefore, to appoint a forty days’ fast, (as it is called,) in imitation of Christ. There is no more reason why we should follow the example of Christ in this matter, than there formerly was for the holy Prophets, and other Fathers under the law, to imitate the fast of Moses. But we are aware, that none of them thought of doing so; with the single exception of Elijah, who was employed by God in restoring the law, and who, for nearly the same reason with Moses, was kept in the mount fasting.

Those who fast daily, during all the forty days, pretend that they are imitators of Christ. But how? They stuff their belly so completely at dinner, that, when the hour of supper arrives, they have no difficulty in abstaining from food. What resemblance do they bear to the Son of God? The ancients practiced greater moderation: but even they had nothing that approached to Christ’s fasting, any more, in fact, than the abstinence of men approaches to the condition of angels, who do not eat at all. Besides, neither Christ nor Moses observed a solemn fast every year; but both of them observed it only once during their whole life. I wish we could say that they had only amused themselves, like apes, by such fooleries. It was a wicked and abominable mockery of Christ, to attempt, by this contrivance of fasting, to conform themselves to him as their model. “En ce qu'ils se sont essayez par leur jeusne, forge a leur fantasie, de se mettre du rang de Christ, et se mesurer a luy.” — “In having attempted, by their fast, forged according to their fancy, to place themselves in the same rank with Christ, and to vie with him.” To believe that such fasting is a meritorious work, and that it is a part of godliness and of the worship of God, is a very base superstition.

But above all, it is an intolerable outrage on God, whose extraordinary miracle they throw into the shade; secondly, on Christ, whose distinctive badge they steal from him, that they may clothe themselves with his spoils; thirdly, on the Gospel, which loses not a little of its authority, if this fasting of Christ is not acknowledged to be his seal. God exhibited a singular miracle, when he relieved his Son from the necessity of eating and when they attempt the same thing by their own power, what is it but a mad and daring ambition to be equal with God? Christ’s fasting was a distinctive badge of the divine glory: and is it not to defraud him of his glory, and to reduce him to the ordinary rank of men, when mortals freely mix themselves with him as his companions? God appointed Christ’s fasting to seal the Gospel: and do those who apply it to a different purpose abate nothing from the dignity of the Gospel? Away, then, with that ridiculous imitation, “χαχοζηλία.” — “Ceste singerie et imitation contrefaite;” — “that apishness and counterfeit imitation.” which overturns the purpose of God, and the whole order of his works. Let it be observed, that I do not speak of fastings in general, the practice of which I could wish were more general among us, provided it were pure.

But I must explain what was the object of Christ’s fasting. Satan availed himself of our Lord’s hunger as an occasion for tempting him, as will shortly be more fully stated. For the present, we must inquire generally, why was it the will of God that his Son should be tempted? That he was brought into this contest by a fixed purpose of God, is evident from the words of Matthew and Mark, who say, that for this reason he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. God intended, I have no doubt, to exhibit in the person of his Son, as in a very bright mirror, how obstinately and perseveringly Satan opposes the salvation of men. For how comes it, that he attacks Christ more furiously, and directs all his power and forces against him, at the particular time mentioned by the Evangelists, but because he sees him preparing, at the command of the Father, to undertake the redemption of men? Our salvation, therefore, was attacked in the person of Christ, just as the ministers, whom Christ has authorized to proclaim his redemption, are the objects of Satan’s daily warfare.

It ought to be observed, at the same time, that the Son of God voluntarily endured the temptations, which we are now considering, and fought, as it were, in single combat with the devil, that, by his victory, he might obtain a triumph for us. Whenever we are called to encounter Satan, let us remember, that his attacks can, in no other way, be sustained and repelled, than by holding out this shield: for the Son of God undoubtedly allowed himself to be tempted, that he may be constantly before our minds, when Satan excites within us any contest of temptations. When he was leading a private life at home, we do not read that he was tempted; but when he was about to discharge the office of Redeemer, he then entered the field in the name of his whole church. But if Christ was tempted as the public representative of all believers, let us learn, that the temptations which befall us are not accidental, or regulated by the will of Satan, without God’s permission; but that the Spirit of God presides over our contests as an exercise of our faith. This will aid us in cherishing the assured hope, that God, who is the supreme judge and disposer of the combat, “Agonotheta.” This word, slightly altered from the Greek word ἀγωνοθέτης, signifiesthe judge who presided at the public games.” The Epistles of Paul contain many allusions to the Olympic games, — sometimes so rapid and indirect, that they are apt to be lost in a translation, and at other times swelling into an extended picture, which arrests and captivates every reader. Those who are familiar with his writings, and who have occasion to treat of the same class of subjects, will naturally employ the same kind of illustrations, in conveying to the minds of others those conceptions, for which they have been indebted to this great master. While they describe the contests of the people of God with outward foes, or their more violent struggles with the old man within, they will frequently, and sometimes unconsciously, fall into similar allusions. — Ed. will not be unmindful of us, but will fortify us against those distresses, which he sees that we are unable to meet.

There is a slight apparent difference in the words of Luke, that Jesus, full of the Holy Ghost, withdrew from Jordan They imply, that he was then more abundantly endued with the grace and power of the Spirit, in order that he might be more fortified for the battles which he had to fight: for it was not without a good reason that the Holy Spirit descended upon him in a visible shape. It has been already stated, that the grace of God shone in him the more brightly, as the necessity arising out of our salvation became greater. Here the French copy gives an additional illustration, of which no trace is found in the Latin original. “Le mesme S. Luc avec S. Marc enseigne que le commencement des tentations estoit de plus loin. Car Satan avoit assailli Christ quarante jours au paravant qu'il eust faim: mais les principaux et plus excellens combats sont icy recitez, afin que nous sachions que Satan veincu en plusieurs assaux, s'est finalement rue furieusement, et de toute sa force, pour voir s'il pourroit d'aventure veincre finalement celuy duquel il n'avoit peu venir a bout. Car d'autant plus qu'on est exere aux combats spirituels, Dieu permet aussi qu'on soit plus rudement assailli. Parquoy apprenons a ne nous lasser jamais, jusqu'a ce qu' ayans paracheve tout le cours de notre guerre, nous soyons parvenus au but.” — “The same St Luke, as well as St Mark, informs us, that the commencement of the temptations was more distant. For Satan had attacked Christ forty days before he was hungry: but the most important and valuable combats are here related, in order that we may know that Satan, vanquished in many assaults, had fallen upon him furiously, and with all his might, to see if perhaps he might finally vanquish him, with whom he had not been able to succeed. For the more that we are exercised in spiritual combats, God allows us to be the more violently attacked. Wherefore let us learn, never to become weary, till, having finished the whole course of our war, we have reached the end.” But, at first sight, it appears strange, that Christ was liable to the temptations of the devil: for, when temptation falls on men, it must always be owing to sin and weakness. I reply: First, Christ took upon him our infirmity, but without sin, (Hebrews 4:15.) Secondly, it detracts no more from his glory, that he was exposed to temptations, than that he was clothed with our flesh: for he was made man on the condition that, along with our flesh, he should take upon him our feelings. But the whole difficulty lies in the first point. How was Christ surrounded by our weakness, so as to be capable of being tempted by Satan, and yet to be pure and free from all sin? The solution will not be difficult, if we recollect, that the nature of Adam, while it was still innocent, and reflected the brightness of the divine image, — was liable to temptations. All the bodily affections, that exist in man, are so many opportunities which Satan seizes to tempt him.

It is justly reckoned a weakness of human nature, that our senses are affected by external objects. But this weakness would not be sinful, were it not for the presence of corruption; in consequence of which Satan never attacks us, without doing some injury, or, at least, without inflicting a slight wound. Christ was separated from us, in this respect, by the perfection of his nature; though we must not imagine him to have existed in that intermediate condition, which belonged to Adam, to whom it was only granted, that it was possible for him not to sin. We know, that Christ was fortified by the Spirit with such power, that the darts of Satan could not pierce him. “Car nous savons que Christ a este muni d'une telle vertu de l'Esprit, que les dards de Satan ne le pouvoyent navrer ne blesser: c'est a dire, qcu'il estoit impossible que peche tombast en luy.” — “For we know that Christ was fortified by such a power of the Spirit, that the darts of Satan could not pierce or wound him: that is, that it was impossible for sin to fall upon him.”

Matthew 4:3. And when he, who tempteth, had approached to him. This name, ὁ πειράζων, the tempter, is given to Satan by the Spirit for the express purpose, that believers may be more carefully on their guard against him. Hence, too, we conclude, that temptations, which solicit us to what is evil, come from him alone: for, when God is sometimes said to tempt or prove, (Genesis 22:1; Deuteronomy 13:3,) it is for a different purpose, namely, to try their faith, or to inflict punishment on unbelievers, or to discover the hypocrisy of those who do not sincerely obey the truth.

That these stones may become loaves. Here the ancients amused themselves with ingenious trifles. The first temptation, they said, was to gluttony; the second, to ambition; and the third, to covetousness. But it is absurd to suppose that it arises from the intemperance of gluttony, “Friandise ou gourmandise;” — “epicurism or gormandizing.” when a hungry person desires food to satisfy nature. What luxury will they fancy themselves to have discovered in the use of bread, that one who satisfies himself, as we say, with dry bread, must be reckoned an epicure? But not to waste more words on that point, Christ’s answer alone is sufficient to show, that the design of Satan was altogether different. The Son of God was not such an unskillful or inexperienced antagonist, as not to know how he might ward off the strokes of his adversary, or idly to present his shield on the left hand when he was attacked on the right. If Satan had endeavored to allure him by the enticements of gluttony, “A friandise, ou a quelque excez de la bouche.” — “To epicurism, or any excess of the palate.” he had at hand passages of Scripture fitted to repel him. But he proposes nothing of this sort.

4. Man shall not live by bread alone. He quotes the statement, that men do not live by bread alone, but by the secret blessing of God. Hence we conclude, that Satan made a direct attack on the faith of Christ, in the hope that, after destroying his faith, he would drive Christ to unlawful and wicked methods of procuring food. And certainly he presses us very hard, when he attempts to make us distrust God, and consult our own advantage in a way not authorized by his word. The meaning of the words, therefore, is: “When you see that you are forsaken by God, you are driven by necessity to attend to yourself. Provide then for yourself the food, with which God does not supply you.” Now, though “Combien que pour couvrir sa malice;” — “though, to cover his malice.” he holds out the divine power of Christ to turn the stones into loaves, yet the single object which he has in view, is to persuade Christ to depart from the word of God, and to follow the dictates of infidelity.

Christ’s reply, therefore, is appropriate: “Man shall not live by bread alone. You advise me to contrive some remedy, for obtaining relief in a different manner from what God permits. This would be to distrust God; and I have no reason to expect that he will support me in a different manner from what he has promised in his word. You, Satan, represent his favor as confined to bread: but Himself declares, that, though every kind of food were wanting, his blessing alone is sufficient for our nourishment.” Such was the kind of temptation which Satan employed, the same kind with which he assails us daily. The Son of God did not choose to undertake any contest of an unusual description, but to sustain assaults in common with us, that we might be furnished with the same armor, and might entertain no doubt as to achieving the victory.

It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone. The first thing to be observed here is, that Christ uses Scripture as his shield: for this is the true way of fighting, if we wish to make ourselves sure of the victory. With good reason does Paul say, that, the sword of the Spirit is the word of God,” and enjoin us to “take the shield of faiths” (Ephesians 6:16,17.) Hence also we conclude, that Papists, as if they had made a bargain with Satan, cruelly give up souls to be destroyed by him at his pleasure, when they wickedly withhold the Scripture from the people of God, and thus deprive them of their arms, by which alone their safety could be preserved. Those who voluntarily throw away that armor, and do not laboriously exercise themselves in the school of God, deserve to be strangled, at every instant, by Satan, into whose hands they give themselves up unarmed. No other reason can be assigned, why the fury of Satan meets with so little resistance, and why so many are everywhere carried away by him, but that God punishes their carelessness, and their contempt of his word.

We must now examine more closely the passage, which is quoted by Christ from Moses: that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live, (Deuteronomy 8:3.) There are some who torture it to a false meaning, as referring to spiritual life; as if our Lord had said, that souls are not nourished by visible bread, but by the word of God. The statement itself is, no doubt, true: but Moses had quite a different meaning. He reminds them that, when no bread could be obtained, God provided them with an extraordinary kind of nourishment in “manna, which they knew not, neither did their fathers know,” (Deuteronomy 8:3;) and that this was intended as an evident proof, in all time coming, that the life of man is not confined to bread, but depends on the will and good-pleasure of God. The word does not mean doctrine, but the purpose which God has made known, with regard to preserving the order of nature and the lives of his creatures. Having created men, he does not cease to care for them: but, as “he breathed into their nostrils the breath of life,” (Genesis 2:7,) so he constantly preserves the life which he has bestowed. In like manner, the Apostle says, that he “upholdeth all things by his powerful word,” (Hebrews 1:3;) that is, the whole world is preserved, and every part of it keeps its place, by the will and decree of Him, whose power, above and below, is everywhere diffused. Though we live on bread, we must not ascribe the support of life to the power of bread, but to the secret kindness, by which God imparts to bread the quality of nourishing our bodies.

Hence, also, follows another statement: by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God shall men live. God, who now employs bread for our support, will enable us, whenever he pleases, to live by other means. This declaration of Moses condemns the stupidity of those, who reckon life to consist in luxury and abundance; while it reproves the distrust and inordinate anxiety which drives us to seek unlawful means. The precise object of Christ’s reply is this: We ought to trust in God for food, and for the other necessaries of the present life, in such a manner, that none of us may overleap the boundaries which he has prescribed. But if Christ did not consider himself to be at liberty to change stones into bread, without the command of God, much less is it lawful for us to procure food by fraud, or robbery, or violence, or murder.

MATTHEW 4:5-11; MARK 1:13; LUKE 4:5-13

Matthew 4:5-11

Mark 1:13

Luke 4:5-13

5. Then the devil taketh “Le transporte;” — “conveys him.” him into the holy city, and placeth him on the pinnacle “Le pinnacle.” of the temple, 6. And saith to him, If thou art the Son of God, throw thyself down: for it is written, He will command his angels concerning thee, and they will carry thee in their hands, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7. Jesus said to him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8. Again, the devil taketh him to a very high mountain, and pointeth out to him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9. And saith to him, All these things I will give thee, if, falling down, thou shalt adore me. 10. Then Jesus saith to him, Depart, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and him alone thou shalt worship. 11. Then the devil leaveth him, and lo, angels approached, and waited on him.

13. And angels waited on him.

5. And the devil conducted him to a high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment. 6. And the devil saith to him, I will give thee this universal power, and the glory of them: for they have been delivered to me, and to whomsoever I will, I give it. 7. If, therefore, bowing down before me, thou shalt worship, all things shall be thine. 8. And Jesus answering said to him, Go behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and him alone thou shalt worship. 9. And he led him to Jerusalem, and placed him on a parapet of the temple, and said to him, If thou art the Son of God, throw thyself down hence: 10. For it is written, that he will command his angels concerning thee, that they may preserve thee: 11. And that they will support thee with their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12. And he answering said to him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13. And all the temptation having been finished, the devil departed from him for a time.

Matthew 4:5. Then the devil taketh him. It is not of great importance, that Luke’s narrative makes that temptation to be the second, which Matthew places as the third: for it was not the intention of the Evangelists to arrange the history in such a manner, as to preserve on all occasions, the exact order of time, but to draw up an abridged narrative of the events, so as to present, as in a mirror or picture, those things which are most necessary to be known concerning Christ. Let it suffice for us to know that Christ was tempted in three ways. The question, which of these contests was the second, and which was the third, need not give us much trouble or uneasiness. In the exposition, I shall follow the text of Matthew.

Christ is said to have been placed on the pinnacle of the temple. It is asked, was he actually carried to this elevated spot, or was it done in vision? There are many, who obstinately assert, that the body was really and actually conveyed: for they consider it to be unworthy of Christ, that he should be supposed to be liable to the delusions of Satan. But it is easy to dispose of that objection. There is no absurdity in supposing, that this took place by the permission of God and the voluntary subjection of Christ; provided we hold that within, — that is, in his mind and souls, — he suffered no delusion. What is next added, that all the kingdoms of the world were placed in the view of Christ, — as well as what Luke relates, that he was carried to a great distance in one moment, — agrees better with the idea of a vision, than with any other supposition. In a matter that is doubtful, and where ignorance brings no risk, I choose rather to suspend my judgment, than to furnish contentious people with an occasion of debate. It is also possible, that the second temptation did not follow the first, nor the third the second, in immediate succession, but that some interval of time elapsed. This is even more probable, though the words of Luke might lead to the conclusion, that there was no long interval: for he says, that Christ obtained repose for a time.

But the main question for our consideration is, what was Satan’s object in this kind of temptation? That will be best determined, as I have lately hinted, by our Lord’s reply to Satan. To meet the stratagem of the enemy, and to repel his attack, Christ interposes, as a shield, these words: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Hence it is evident, that the stratagems of the enemy were intended to induce Christ to exalt himself unduly, and to rise, in a daring manner, against God. Satan had formerly attempted to drive Christ to despair, because he was destitute of food, and of the ordinary means of life. Now, he exhorts him to indulge a foolish and vain confidences, — to neglect the means which are in his powers, — to throw himself, without necessity, into manifest danger, — and, as we might say, to overleap all bounds. As it is not proper for us to be discouraged, when we are pressed by “the want of all things,” (Deuteronomy 28:57,) but to rely with confidence on God, neither are we at liberty to raise our crests, or ascend higher than God permits us. The design of Satan, we have now ascertained, was to induce Christ to make trial of his divinity, and to rise up, in foolish and wicked rashness, against God.

6. He will charge his angels concerning thee. We must observe this malice of Satan, in misapplying a quotation of Scripture, for the purpose of rendering life deadly to Christ, and of converting bread into poison. The same kind of stratagem he continues daily to employ; and the Son of God, who is the universal model of all the godly, chose to undergo this contest in his own person, that all may be industriously on their guard against being led, by a false application of Scripture, into the snares of Satan. And undoubtedly the Lord grants such a permission to our adversary, that we may not remain in indolent ease, but may be more careful to keep watch. Nor ought we to imitate the madness of those who throw away Scripture, as if it admitted of every kind of interpretation, because the devil misapplies it. For the same reason, we ought to abstain from food, to avoid the risk of being poisoned. Satan profanes the Word of God, and endeavors to torture it for our destruction. But it has been ordained by God for our salvation; and shall the purpose of God be frustrated, unless our indolence deprive his word of its saving effect?

We need not dispute long on these matters. Let us only inquire, what Christ enjoins on us by his example, which we ought to follow as a rule. When Satan wickedly tortures Scripture, does Christ give way to him? Does he allow him to seize and carry off the Scripture, with which he formerly armed himself? On the contrary, he quotes Scripture in his turn, and boldly refutes Satan’s wicked slander. Whenever Satan shall cover his deception by Scripture, and ungodly men shall labor to subvert our faith by the same means, let us borrow our armor exclusively from Scripture for the protection of our faith.

Though the promise, he will charge his angels concerning thee, (Psalm 91:11,) relates to all believers, yet it belongs peculiarly to Christ, who is the Head of the whole Church, possesses authority over angels, and commits to them the charge of us. Satan is not wrong in proving from this passage, that angels have been given to Christ, to wait on him, to guard him, and to bear him on their hands. But the fallacy lies in this, that he assigns a wandering and uncertain course to that guardianship of angels, which is only promised to the children of God, when they keep themselves within their bounds, and walk in their ways. If there is any force in that expression, in all thy ways, (Psalm 91:11,) the prophet’s meaning is wickedly corrupted and mutilated by Satan, when he applies it, in a violent and wild and confused manner, to extravagant and mistaken courses. God commands us to walk in our ways, and then declares that angels will be our guardians: Satan brings forward the guardianship of angels, for the purpose of advising Christ to put himself unnecessarily in danger, as if he would say: “If you expose yourself to death, contrary to the will of God, angels will protect your life.”

7. It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. The reply of Christ is most appropriate. There is no other way, in which we have a right to expect the assistance promised in that passage, than when believers humbly submit themselves to his guidance: for we cannot rely on his promises, without obeying his commandments. God is tempted in many ways: but in this passage, the word tempt denotes the neglect of those means which he puts into our hands. Those who leave the means which God recommends, and resolve to make trial of his power and might, act as absurdly as if one were to cut off a man’s arms and hands, and then order him to work. In short, whoever desires to make an experiment of the divine power, when there is no necessity for it, tempts God by subjecting his promises to an unfair trial.

8. The devil taketh him to a very high mountain. We must keep in mind, what I have already stated, that it was not owing to any weakness of Christ’s nature, but to a voluntary dispensation and permission, that Satan produced this effect upon his eyes. Again, while his senses were moved and powerfully affected by the glory of the kingdoms which was presented to them, no inward desire arose in his mind; whereas the lusts of the flesh, like wild beasts, are drawn, and hurry us along, to the objects which please us: for Christ had the same feelings with ourselves, but he had no irregular appetites. The kind of temptation here described was, that Christ should seek, in another manner than from God, the inheritance which he has promised to his children. And here the daring insolence of the devil is manifested, in robbing God of the government of the world, and claiming it for himself. All these things, says he, are mine, and it is only through me that they are obtained.

We have to contend every day with the same imposture: for every believer feels it in himself and it is still more clearly seen in the whole life of the ungodly. Though we are convinced, that all our support, and aid, and comfort, depend on the blessing of God, yet our senses allure and draw us away, to seek assistance from Satan, as if God alone were not enough. A considerable portion of mankind disbelieve the power and authority of God over the world, and imagine that every thing good is bestowed by Satan. For how comes it, that almost all resort to wicked contrivances, to robbery and to fraud, but because they ascribe to Satan what belongs to God, the power of enriching whom he pleases by his blessing? True, indeed, with the mouth they ask that God will give them daily bread, (Matthew 6:11) but it is only with the mouth; for they make Satan the distributor of all the riches in the world.

10. Depart, Satan. Instead of this, Luke has, Depart behind me, Satan. There is no use for speculating about the phrase, behind me, which Christ addressed to Peter, Go behind me, (Matthew 16:23,) as if the same words had not been addressed to Satan. Christ simply bids him go away; “Il vent seulement le rejetter avec son conseil;” — “he wishes only to reject him with his advice.” and now proceeds with the same kind of defense as before, employing Scripture as a shield, not of reeds, but of brass. He quotes a passage from the law, that God alone is to be adored and worshipped, (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20.) From the application of that passage, and from the circumstances in which it is introduced, it is easy to conclude what is the design of adoration of God, and in what it consists.

Papists deny that God only ought to be adored; and evade this and similar passages by sophistical arguments. Latria, (λατρεία,) they admit, is adoration, which ought to be given to God alone: but Dulia, (δουλεία,) is an inferior kind of adoration, which they bestow on dead men, and on their bones and statues. But Christ rejects this frivolous distinction, and claims for God alone προσκύνησις, worship; by which he warns us to attend more to the matter than to expressions, when we have to do with the worship of God.

Scripture enjoins us to worship God alone: we must inquire, for what end? If a man takes any thing from his glory, and ascribes it to creatures, this is a heinous profanation of divine worship. But it is very evident that this is done, when we go to creatures, to receive from them those good things, of which God desired to be acknowledged as the only Author. Now, as religion is strictly spiritual, and the outward acknowledgment of it relates to the body, so not only the inward worship, but also the outward manifestation of it, is due to God alone. “Christ attribue aussi a Dieu seul l'adoration externe, que les Grecs appellent προσχύνησις: car il use de ce terme qui signifient proprement s'agenouiller ET prosterner par forme de service divin.” — “Christ ascribes also to God alone the external adoration, which the Greeks call προσχύνησις: for he employs this term, which signifies literally to kneel and bow down, in a form of divine service.”

11. Then the devil leaveth him. Luke expresses more: when all the temptation had been finished. This means, that no truce or relaxation was granted to Christ, till he had been fully tried by every species of contest. He adds, that Christ was left for a season only. This is intended to inform us, that the rest of his life was not entirely free from temptations, but that God restrained the power of Satan, so that Christ was not unseasonably disturbed by him. In like manner, God usually acts towards all his people: for, after permitting them to be sharply tried, he abates, in some measure, the violence of the strife, that they may take breath for a little, and gather courage. What immediately follows, the angels waited on him, I understand as referring to comfort, that Christ might feel, that God the Father took care of him, and fortified him, by his powerful assistance, against Satan. For the very solitude might aggravate the dreariness of his condition, when he was deprived of the kind offices of men, and was with the wild beasts, — a circumstance which is expressly mentioned by Mark. And yet we must not suppose, that Christ was ever forsaken by the angels: but, in order to allow an opportunity for temptation, the grace of God, though it was present, was sometimes hidden from him, so far as respects the feeling of the flesh.

MATTHEW 4:12, 17; MARK 1:14-15;

LUKE 3:19-20; 4:14

Matthew 4:12, 17

Mark 1:14-15

Luke 3:19-20

12. And when Jesus heard that Jesus had been delivered up, “Que Jean estoit prisonnier;” — “that John was prisoner.” he withdrew into Galilee. 17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

14. Now after that John had been imprisoned, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God: 15. And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel.

19. Now Herod the tetrarch, when he was reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the wicked actions which Herod did, 20. Added also this above all, and shut up John in prison.

Luke 4:14-15

14. And Jesus returned by the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report went out through the whole country concerning him. 15. And he taught in their synagogues, and was glorified by all.

Matthew 4:12. When Jesus had heard. These words appear to be at variance with the narrative of the Evangelist John, who declares, that John and Christ discharged the office of public teachers at the same time. But we have to observe, that our three Evangelists pass over in silence that short space of time, because John’s course was not yet completed, and because that course was intended to be a preparation for receiving the Gospel of Christ. And, in point of fact, though Christ discharged the office of teacher within that period, he did not, strictly speaking, begin to preach the Gospel, till he succeeded to John. Most properly, therefore, do the three Evangelists admit and declare, that the period, during which John prepared disciples for Christ, belonged to his ministry: for it amounts to this, that, when the dawn was passed, the sun arose. It is proper to observe the mode of expression employed by Luke, that Jesus came in the power, or, by the power, of the Spirit into Galilee: for it is of great consequence, that we do not imagine Christ to have any thing about him that is earthly or human, but that our minds be always occupied, and our feelings affected by his heavenly and divine power.

13. And having left Nazareth I have thought it proper to introduce this passage of Matthew, immediately after Luke’s narrative, which we have just examined; because we may gather from the context that, as Christ had hitherto been wont to frequent the town of Nazareth, so, in order to avoid danger, he now bade a final adieu to it, and dwelt in Capernaum and the neighboring towns. There would be no difficulty in this history, were it not that there is some appearance, as if Matthew had put a wrong meaning on the quotation from the prophet. But if we attend to the true meaning of the prophet, it will appear to be properly and naturally accommodated to the present occasion. Isaiah, after having described a very heavy calamity of the nation, soothes their grief by a promise that, when the nation shall be reduced to extremity, a deliverance will immediately follow, which shall dispel the darkness, and restore the light of life.

The words are:

“Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness shall see a great light” (Isaiah 9:1,2.)

The Israelites had been twice visited by a heavy calamity: first, when four tribes, or thereby, were carried away into banishment, by Tiglath-Pileser, (2 Kings 15:29;) and, secondly, when Shalmaneser completed the destruction of the kingdom of Israel, (2 Kings 18:9.) There remained a third desolation, which — the prophet had foretold towards the close of the eighth chapter — would be the most dreadful of all. And now follows, in the words which we have quoted, what is calculated to soothe their grief. God will stretch out his hand to his people, and, therefore, death will be more tolerable than the previous diseases were. “Though the whole nation,” says he, “shall be destroyed, yet so brilliant shall be the light of grace, that there will be less dimness in this last destruction than in the two former instances, when the ten tribes were ruined.”

The promise ought to be extended, I have no doubt, to the whole body of the people, which might seem to be, to all appearance, lost and destroyed. It is very absurd in the Jews to confine it to the deliverance of the city of Jerusalem. as if the light of life had been restored to it, when the siege was raised by the flight of King Sennacherib, “Lors que le Roy Sennacherib fut contreint de lever le siege de de-rant, et s'enfuir honteusement.” — “When King Sennacherib was compelled to raise the siege, and to fly disgracefully.” (2 Kings 19: 36.) Certainly, it is evident from the context, that the prophet looks much farther; and, as he promises a universal restoration of the whole church, it follows that the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and Galilee of the Gentiles, are included in the number of those, to whom the darkness of death would be changed into the light of life. The commencement of this light, and, as we might say, the dawn, was the return of the people from Babylon. At length, Christ, “the Sun of Righteousness,” (Malachi 4:2,) arose in full splendor, and, by his coming, utterly “abolished” (2 Timothy 1:10) the darkness of death.

In the same manner, Paul reminds us, that it was a fulfillment of what occurs in many passages of the prophets, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,” (Ephesians 5:14.) Now, we know that the kingdom of Christ is spiritual, and, therefore, the light of salvation which it brings, and all the assistance which we derive from it, must correspond to its nature. Hence it follows, that our souls are plunged in the darkness of everlasting death, till he enlightens them by his grace. The prophet’s discourse relates, no doubt, to the destruction of the nation, but presents to us, as in a mirror, what is the condition of mankind, until they are delivered by the grace of Christ. When those, who lay in darkness, are said to have seen a great light, a change so sudden and remarkable is intended to enlarge our views of the greatness of the divine salvation. Lower Galilee is called Galilee of the Gentiles, not only on account of its vicinity to Tyre and Sidon, but because its inhabitants were a mixture of Jews and Gentiles, particularly after that David had granted some cities to King Hiram. This appears to refer to a gift, not of David, but of Solomon: for we are told, (1 Kings 9:11,) that” King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.” — Ed.

MATTHEW 4:18-25; MARK 1:16-20; LUKE 5:1-11

Matthew 4:18-25

Mark 1:16-20

Luke 5:1-11

18. And Jesus, walking near the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon surnamed Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. 19. And he saith to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20. And they, having left their nets, immediately followed him. 21. And advancing thence, he saw other two brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them. 22. And they immediately, having left the ship and their father, followed him. 23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease, and every illness among the people. 24. And the report of him spread into the whole of Syria: and they brought to him all who were ill and afflicted with various diseases and torments, and demoniancs, and lunatics, and those that had palsy, and he healed them. 25. And great multitudes followed him from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from the country beyond Jordan.

16. Now, as he was walking near the sea of Galilee, he seeth Simon and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 17. And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18. And immediately having left their nets, they followed him. 19. And advancing thence a little, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who themselves also were mending their nets in the ship. 20. And immediately he called them: and they, having left their father Zebedee in the ship with the workmen, “Avec les ouvriers.” followed him.

1. And it happened, while the crowd was pressing upon him, that they might hear the word of God, and he stood near the lake of Gennesaret, 2. And he saw two ships standing “Stantes;” — “et voyant deux nasselles qui estoyent pres du lac;” — “and seeing two ships which were near the lake.” at the lake: and the fishers had gone down out of them, and were washing their nets. 3. And entering into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, he asked him to draw it a little from the land: and sitting down, he taught the multitudes out of the ship. 4. And when he ceased to speak, he said to Simon, Pull out to the deep, and loose your nets for catching. 5. And Simon answering said to him, Master, laboring through the whole night, we have taken nothing: yet at thy word I will loose the net. 6. And when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net was broken. 7. And they made signs to their companions, who were in the other ship, that they might come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were sinking. 8. Which when Simon Peter had seen, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man. “Homo peccator;” — “homme pecheur;” — “a man a sinner.” 9. For astonishment had overpowered him, and all were with him, on account of the draught of fishes which they had taken: 10. And in like manner James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were companions of Simon. And Jesus saith to Simon, Fear not: for henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11. And having brought the ships to land, and having left all, they followed him.

Matthew 4:18. And Jesus walking. As this history is placed by Luke after the two miracles, which we shall afterwards see, an opinion has commonly prevailed, that the miracle, which is here related by him, was performed some time after that they had been called by Christ. “Quelque temps apresque Jesus Christ ent appelle a soy Pierre, Andre, Jean, et Jaques.” — “Some time after that Jesus Christ had called to himself Peter, Andrew, John, and James.” But the reason, which they allege, carries little weight: for no fixed and distinct order of dates was observed by the Evangelists in composing their narratives. The consequence is, that they disregard the order of time, and satisfy themselves with presenting, in a summary manner, the leading transactions in the life of Christ. They attended, no doubt, to the years, so as to make it plain to their readers, in what manner Christ was employed, during the course of three years, from the commencement of his preaching till his death. But miracles, which took place nearly about the same time, are freely intermixed: which will afterwards appear more clearly from many examples. “Ils ne s'amusent pas, esplucher de pres lequel est le premier, ou le second.” — “They do not give themselves the trouble of investigating closely which is first or second.”

That it is the same history, which is given by the three Evangelists, is proved by many arguments: but we may mention one, which will be sufficient to satisfy any reader, who is not contentious. All the three agree in stating, that Peter and Andrew, James and John, were made apostles. If they had been previously called, it would follow that they were apostates, who had forsaken their Master, despised their calling, and returned to their former occupation. There is only this difference between Luke and the other two, that he alone relates the miracle, which the others omit. But it is not uncommon with the Evangelists, to touch slightly one part of a transaction, and to leave out many of the circumstances. There is, therefore, no absurdity in saying, that a miracle, which is related by one, has been passed over by the other two. And we must bear in mind what John says, that, out of the innumerable miracles “which Jesus did,” (John 21:25,) a part only has been selected, which was sufficient to prove his divine power, and to confirm our faith in him. There is therefore no reason to wonder, if the calling of the four apostles is slightly touched by Matthew and Mark, while the occasion of it is more fully explained by Luke.

Matthew 4:22. And they immediately left the ship. The first thing that strikes us here is the power of Christ’s voice. Not that his voice alone makes so powerful an impression on the hearts of men: but those whom the Lord is pleased to lead and draw to himself, are inwardly addressed by his Spirit, that they may obey his voice. The second is, the commendation bestowed on the docility and ready obedience of his disciples, who prefer the call of Christ to all worldly affairs. The ministers of the Word ought, in a particular manner, to be directed by this example, to lay aside all other occupations, and to devote themselves unreservedly to the Church, to which they are appointed.

Matthew 4:23. And Jesus went about all Galilee. The same statement is again made by Matthew in another place, (9:35.) But though Christ was constantly employed in performing almost innumerable miracles, we ought not to think it strange, that they are again mentioned, twice or thrice, in a general manner. In the words of Matthew we ought, first, to observe, that Christ never remained in one place, but scattered every where the seed of the Gospel. Again, Matthew calls it the Gospel of the kingdom, by which the kingdom of God is established among men for their salvation. True and eternal happiness is thus distinguished from the prosperity and joys of the present life.

When Matthew says, that Christ healed every disease, the meaning is, that he healed every kind of disease. We know, that all who were diseased were not cured; but there was no class of diseases, that was ever presented to him, which he did not heal. An enumeration is given of particular kinds of diseases, in which Christ displayed his power. Demoniacs (διαμονιζομένοι) is a name given in Scripture, not to all indiscriminately who are tormented by the devil, but to those who, by a secret vengeance of God, are given up to Satan, so that he holds possession of their minds and of their bodily senses. Lunatics (σεληνιαζομένοι) Σεληνιάζομαι, like the adjective σεληνιαχὸς, is derived from σελήνη, the moon. Among, the Greeks and Romans, as well as among the Jews, certain violent diseases, the variations of which could not be easily explained, were supposed to be affected by the phases of the moon. Till lately, mental derangement was universally believed among ourselves to be influenced by similar causes; if indeed there be not some who still defend that opinion by plausible arguments. Scripture was not. intended to determine questions of physical science, in which inductive reasoning is a sufficient guide, but to declare those truths, which could never have been known without an express revelation. The term σεληνιαζομένοι, in this and similar passages, does not imply, that the sacred writers supported the common opinion, any more than the English word lunatic, used with equal freedom by philosophers and by the unlearned, countenances an exploded theory, — any more, in short, than the popular use of the phrases, the rising and setting of the sun, expresses a belief that it is the motion of the sun, and not of the earth, that produces the succession of day and night. — Ed. is the name given to those, in whom the strength of the disease increases or diminishes, according to the waxing or waning of the moon, such as those who are afflicted with epilepsy, “Comitiali morbo.” The Romans gave the name of comitialis morbus to this disease, in consequence of the singular fact, that their comitia, or public assemblies, were instantly broken up, when any one present was seized with a fit of epilepsy. — Ed. or similar diseases. As we know, that diseases of this sort cannot be healed by natural means, it follows that, when Christ miraculously healed them, he proved his divinity.

MARK 1:21-28; LUKE 4:31-36

Mark 1:21-28

Luke 4:31-36

21. And they entered into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbaths, entering into the synagogue, he taught. 22. And they were astonished at his doctrine; for he was teaching them, as one invested with authority, and not as the Scribes. 23. And there was in their synagogue a man liable to an unclean spirit, who cried out, 24. Saying, Ah! what have I to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 25. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold they peace, and go out of him. 26. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and had cried with a loud voice, he went out from him. 27. And all were astonished, so that they inquired among themselves, saying, What is this? What new doctrine is this? for with authority he commandeth even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. 28. And immediately his fame went out into every part of Galilee.

31. And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and there he taught them on the Sabbath-day: 32. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was accompanied with power. 33. And there was in the synagogue a man having a spirit of an unclean devil: and he cried out with a loud voice, 34. Saying, Ah! what have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 35. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Holy thy peace, and go out of him. And when the devil had thrown him down in the midst, he went out of him, and hurt him nothing. 36. And trembling came upon all, and they talked among themselves, saying, What speech is this? for with authority and power he commandeth the uclean spirits, and they go out.

CHAPTER 4

Mt 4:1-11. Temptation of Christ. ( = Mr 1:12, 13; Lu 4:1-13).

1. Then--an indefinite note of sequence. But Mark's word (Mr 1:12) fixes what we should have presumed was meant, that it was "immediately" after His baptism; and with this agrees the statement of Luke (Lu 4:1).

was Jesus led up--that is, from the low Jordan valley to some more elevated spot.

of the Spirit--that blessed Spirit immediately before spoken of as descending upon Him at His baptism, and abiding upon Him. Luke, connecting these two scenes, as if the one were but the sequel of the other, says, "Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led," &c. Mark's expression has a startling sharpness about it--"Immediately the Spirit driveth Him" (Mr 1:12), "putteth," or "hurrieth Him forth," or "impelleth Him." (See the same word in Mr 1:43; 5:40; Mt 9:25; 13:52; Joh 10:4). The thought thus strongly expressed is the mighty constraining impulse of the Spirit under which He went; while Matthew's more gentle expression, "was led up," intimates how purely voluntary on His own part this action was.

into the wilderness--probably the wild Judean desert. The particular spot which tradition has fixed upon has hence got the name of Quarantana or Quarantaria, from the forty days--"an almost perpendicular wall of rock twelve or fifteen hundred feet above the plain" [Robinson, Palestine]. The supposition of those who incline to place the temptation amongst the mountains of Moab is, we think, very improbable.

to be tempted--The Greek word (peirazein) means simply to try or make proof of; and when ascribed to God in His dealings with men, it means, and can mean no more than this. Thus, Ge 22:1, "It came to pass that God did tempt Abraham," or put his faith to a severe proof. (See De 8:2). But for the most part in Scripture the word is used in a bad sense, and means to entice, solicit, or provoke to sin. Hence the name here given to the wicked one--"the tempter" (Mt 4:3). Accordingly "to be tempted" here is to be understood both ways. The Spirit conducted Him into the wilderness simply to have His faith tried; but as the agent in this trial was to be the wicked one, whose whole object would be to seduce Him from His allegiance to God, it was a temptation in the bad sense of the term. The unworthy inference which some would draw from this is energetically repelled by an apostle (Jas 1:13-17).

of the devil--The word signifies a slanderer--one who casts imputations upon another. Hence that other name given him (Re 12:10), "The accuser of the brethren, who accuseth them before our God day and night." Mark (Mr 1:13) says, "He was forty days tempted of Satan," a word signifying an adversary, one who lies in wait for, or sets himself in opposition to another. These and other names of the same fallen spirit point to different features in his character or operations. What was the high design of this? First, as we judge, to give our Lord a taste of what lay before Him in the work He had undertaken; next, to make trial of the glorious equipment for it which He had just received; further, to give Him encouragement, by the victory now to be won, to go forward spoiling principalities and powers, until at length He should make a show of them openly, triumphing over them in His cross: that the tempter, too, might get a taste, at the very outset, of the new kind of material in man which he would find he had here to deal with; finally, that He might acquire experimental ability "to succor them that are tempted" (He 2:18). The temptation evidently embraced two stages: the one continuing throughout the forty days' fast; the other, at the conclusion of that period.

First Stage:

2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights--Luke says "When they were quite ended" (Lu 4:2).

he was afterward an hungered--evidently implying that the sensation of hunger was unfelt during all the forty days; coming on only at their close. So it was apparently with Moses (Ex 34:28) and Elijah (1Ki 19:8) for the same period. A supernatural power of endurance was of course imparted to the body, but this probably operated through a natural law--the absorption of the Redeemer's Spirit in the dread conflict with the tempter. (See on Ac 9:9). Had we only this Gospel, we should suppose the temptation did not begin till after this. But it is clear, from Mark's statement, that "He was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan" (Mr 1:13), and Luke's, "being forty days tempted of the devil" (Lu 4:2), that there was a forty days' temptation before the three specific temptations afterwards recorded. And this is what we have called the First Stage. What the precise nature and object of the forty days' temptation were is not recorded. But two things seem plain enough. First, the tempter had utterly failed of his object, else it had not been renewed; and the terms in which he opens his second attack imply as much. But further, the tempter's whole object during the forty days evidently was to get Him to distrust the heavenly testimony borne to Him at His baptism as THE Son of God--to persuade Him to regard it as but a splendid illusion--and, generally, to dislodge from His breast the consciousness of His Sonship. With what plausibility the events of His previous history from the beginning would be urged upon Him in support of this temptation it is easy to imagine. And it makes much in support of this view of the forty days' temptation that the particulars of it are not recorded; for how the details of such a purely internal struggle could be recorded it is hard to see. If this be correct, how naturally does the Second Stage of the temptation open! In Mark's brief notice of the temptation there is one expressive particular not given either by Matthew or by Luke--that "He was with the wild beasts" (Mr 1:12), no doubt to add terror to solitude, and aggravate the horrors of the whole scene.

3. And when the tempter came to him--Evidently we have here a new scene.

he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread--rather, "loaves," answering to "stones" in the plural; whereas Luke, having said, "Command this stone," in the singular, adds, "that it be made bread," in the singular (Lu 4:3). The sensation of hunger, unfelt during all the forty days, seems now to have come on in all its keenness--no doubt to open a door to the tempter, of which he is not slow to avail himself; "Thou still clingest to that vainglorious confidence that Thou art the Son of God, carried away by those illusory scenes at the Jordan. Thou wast born in a stable; but Thou art the Son of God! hurried off to Egypt for fear of Herod's wrath; but Thou art the Son of God! a carpenter's roof supplied Thee with a home, and in the obscurity of a despicable town of Galilee Thou hast spent thirty years, yet still Thou art the Son of God! and a voice from heaven, it seems, proclaimed it in Thine ears at the Jordan! Be it so; but after that, surely Thy days of obscurity and trial should have an end. Why linger for weeks in this desert, wandering among the wild beasts and craggy rocks, unhonored, unattended, unpitied, ready to starve for want of the necessaries of life? Is this befitting "the Son of God?" At the bidding of "the Son of God" surely those stones shall all be turned into loaves, and in a moment present an abundant repast."

4. But he answered and said, It is written--(De 8:3).

Man shall not live by bread alone--more emphatically, as in the Greek, "Not by bread alone shall man live."

but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God--Of all passages in Old Testament Scripture, none could have been pitched upon more apposite, perhaps not one so apposite, to our Lord's purpose. "The Lord ... led thee (said Moses to Israel, at the close of their journeyings) these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no. And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only," &c., "Now, if Israel spent, not forty days, but forty years in a waste, howling wilderness, where there were no means of human subsistence, not starving, but divinely provided for, on purpose to prove to every age that human support depends not upon bread, but upon God's unfailing word of promise and pledge of all needful providential care, am I, distrusting this word of God, and despairing of relief, to take the law into My own hand? True, the Son of God is able enough to turn stones into bread: but what the Son of God is able to do is not the present question, but what is man's duty under want of the necessaries of life. And as Israel's condition in the wilderness did not justify their unbelieving murmurings and frequent desperation, so neither would Mine warrant the exercise of the power of the Son of God in snatching despairingly at unwarranted relief. As man, therefore, I will await divine supply, nothing doubting that at the fitting time it will arrive." The second temptation in this Gospel is in Luke's the third. That Matthew's order is the right one will appear, we think, quite clearly in the sequel.

5. Then the devil taketh him up--rather, "conducteth Him."

into the holy city--so called (as in Is 48:2; Ne 11:1) from its being "the city of the Great King," the seat of the temple, the metropolis of all Jewish worship.

and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple--rather, "the pinnacle"--a certain well-known projection. Whether this refers to the highest summit of the temple, which bristled with golden spikes [Josephus, Antiquities, 5.5,6]; or whether it refers to another peak, on Herod's royal portico, overhanging the ravine of Kedron, at the valley of Hinnom--an immense tower built on the very edge of this precipice, from the top of which dizzy height Josephus says one could not look to the bottom [Antiquities, 15.11,5]--is not certain; but the latter is probably meant.

6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God--As this temptation starts with the same point as the first--our Lord's determination not to be disputed out of His Sonship--it seems to us clear that the one came directly after the other; and as the remaining temptation shows that the hope of carrying that point was abandoned, and all was staked upon a desperate venture, we think that remaining temptation is thus shown to be the last; as will appear still more when we come to it.

cast thyself down--"from hence" (Lu 4:9).

for it is written--(Psa 91:11, 12). "But what is this I see?" exclaims stately Bishop Hall. "Satan himself with a Bible under his arm and a text in his mouth!" Doubtless the tempter, having felt the power of God's Word in the former temptation, was eager to try the effect of it from his own mouth (2Co 11:14).

He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands--rather, "on their hands."

they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone--The quotation is, precisely as it stands in the Hebrew and the Septuagint, save that after the first clause the words, "to keep thee in all thy ways," are here omitted. Not a few good expositors have thought that this omission was intentional, to conceal the fact that this would not have been one of "His ways," that is, of duty. But as our Lord's reply makes no allusion to this, but seizes on the great principle involved in the promise quoted, so when we look at the promise itself, it is plain that the sense of it is precisely the same whether the clause in question be inserted or not.

7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again--(De 6:16), as if he should say, "True, it is so written, and on that promise I implicitly rely; but in using it there is another Scripture which must not be forgotten."

Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God--"Preservation in danger is divinely pledged: shall I then create danger, either to put the promised security skeptically to the proof, or wantonly to demand a display of it? That were 'to tempt the Lord my God,' which, being expressly forbidden, would forfeit the right to expect preservation."

8. Again, the devil taketh him up--"conducteth him," as before.

into--or "unto"

an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them--Luke (Lu 4:5) adds the important clause, "in a moment of time"; a clause which seems to furnish a key to the true meaning. That a scene was presented to our Lord's natural eye seems plainly expressed. But to limit this to the most extensive scene which the natural eye could take in, is to give a sense to the expression, "all the kingdoms of the world," quite violent. It remains, then, to gather from the expression, "in a moment of time"--which manifestly is intended to intimate some supernatural operation--that it was permitted to the tempter to extend preternaturally for a moment our Lord's range of vision, and throw a "glory" or glitter over the scene of vision: a thing not inconsistent with the analogy of other scriptural statements regarding the permitted operations of the wicked one. In this case, the "exceeding height" of the "mountain" from which this sight was beheld would favor the effect to be produced.

9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee--"and the glory of them," adds Luke (Lu 4:6). But Matthew having already said that this was "showed Him," did not need to repeat it here. Luke (Lu 4:6) adds these other very important clauses, here omitted--"for that is," or "has been," "delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it." Was this wholly false? That were not like Satan's unusual policy, which is to insinuate his lies under cover of some truth. What truth, then, is there here? We answer, Is not Satan thrice called by our Lord Himself, "the prince of this world" (Joh 12:31; 14:30; 16:11)? Does not the apostle call him "the god of this world" (2Co 4:4)? And still further, is it not said that Christ came to destroy by His death "him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil" (He 2:14)? No doubt these passages only express men's voluntary subjection to the rule of the wicked one while they live, and his power to surround death to them, when it comes, with all the terrors of the wages of sin. But as this is a real and terrible sway, so all Scripture represents men as righteously sold under it. In this sense he speaks what is not devoid of truth, when he says, "All this is delivered unto me." But how does he deliver this "to whomsoever he will?" As employing whomsoever he pleases of his willing subjects in keeping men under his power. In this case his offer to our Lord was that of a deputed supremacy commensurate with his own, though as his gift and for his ends.

if thou wilt fall down and worship me--This was the sole but monstrous condition. No Scripture, it will be observed, is quoted now, because none could be found to support so blasphemous a claim. In fact, he has ceased now to present his temptations under the mask of piety, and he stands out unblushingly as the rival of God Himself in his claims on the homage of men. Despairing of success as an angel of light, he throws off all disguise, and with a splendid bribe solicits divine honor. This again shows that we are now at the last of the temptations, and that Matthew's order is the true one.

10. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan--Since the tempter has now thrown off the mask, and stands forth in his true character, our Lord no longer deals with him as a pretended friend and pious counsellor, but calls him by his right name--His knowledge of which from the outset He had carefully concealed till now--and orders him off. This is the final and conclusive evidence, as we think, that Matthew's must be the right order of the temptations. For who can well conceive of the tempter's returning to the assault after this, in the pious character again, and hoping still to dislodge the consciousness of His Sonship, while our Lord must in that case be supposed to quote Scripture to one He had called the devil to his face--thus throwing His pearls before worse than swine?

for it is written--(De 6:13). Thus does our Lord part with Satan on the rock of Scripture.

Thou shalt worship--In the Hebrew and the Septuagint it is, "Thou shalt fear"; but as the sense is the same, so "worship" is here used to show emphatically that what the tempter claimed was precisely what God had forbidden.

the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve--The word "serve" in the second clause, is one never used by the Septuagint of any but religious service; and in this sense exclusively is it used in the New Testament, as we find it here. Once more the word "only," in the second clause--not expressed in the Hebrew and the Septuagint--is here added to bring out emphatically the negative and prohibitory feature of the command. (See Ga 3:10 for a similar supplement of the word "all" in a quotation from De 27:26).

11. Then the devil leaveth him--Luke says, "And when the devil had exhausted"--or "quite ended," as in Lu 4:2--"every (mode of) temptation, he departed from him till a season." The definite "season" here indicated is expressly referred to by our Lord in Joh 14:30 and Lu 22:52, 53.

and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him--or supplied Him with food, as the same expression means in Mr 1:31 and Lu 8:3. Thus did angels to Elijah (1Ki 19:5-8). Excellent critics think that they ministered, not food only, but supernatural support and cheer also. But this would be the natural effect rather than the direct object of the visit, which was plainly what we have expressed. And after having refused to claim the illegitimate ministration of angels in His behalf, oh, with what deep joy would He accept their services when sent, unasked, at the close of all this temptation, direct from Him whom He had so gloriously honored! What "angels' food" would this repast be to Him! and as He partook of it, might not a Voice from heaven be heard again, by any who could read the Father's mind, "Said I not well, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased?"

Mt 4:12-25. Christ Begins His Galilean Ministry--Calling of Peter and Andrew, James and John--His First Galilean Circuit. ( = Mr 1:14-20, 35-39; Lu 4:14, 15).

There is here a notable gap in the history, which but for the fourth Gospel we should never have discovered. From the former Gospels we should have been apt to draw three inferences, which from the fourth one we know to be erroneous: First, that our Lord awaited the close of John's ministry, by his arrest and imprisonment, before beginning His own; next, that there was but a brief interval between the baptism of our Lord and the imprisonment of John; and further, that our Lord not only opened His work in Galilee, but never ministered out of it, and never visited Jerusalem at all nor kept a passover till He went thither to become "our Passover, sacrificed for us." The fourth Gospel alone gives the true succession of events; not only recording those important openings of our Lord's public work which preceded the Baptist's imprisonment--extending to the end of the third chapter--but so specifying the passover which occurred during our Lord's ministry as to enable us to line off, with a large measure of certainty, the events of the first three Gospels according to the successive passovers which they embraced. Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, who, early in the fourth century, gave much attention to this subject, in noticing these features of the Evangelical Records, says [Ecclesiastical History, 3.24] that John wrote his Gospel at the entreaty of those who knew the important materials he possessed, and filled up what is wanting in the first three Gospels. Why it was reserved for the fourth Gospel, published at so late a period, to supply such important particulars in the life of Christ, it is not easy to conjecture with any probability. It may be, that though not unacquainted with the general facts, they were not furnished with reliable details. But one thing may be affirmed with tolerable certainty, that as our Lord's teaching at Jerusalem was of a depth and grandeur scarcely so well adapted to the prevailing character of the first three Gospels, but altogether congenial to the fourth; and as the bare mention of the successive passovers, without any account of the transactions and discourses they gave rise to, would have served little purpose in the first three Gospels, there may have been no way of preserving the unity and consistency of each Gospel, so as to furnish by means of them all the precious information we get from them, save by the plan on which they are actually constructed.

Entry into Galilee (Mt 4:12-17).

12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison--more simply, "was delivered up," as recorded in Mt 14:3-5; Mr 6:17-20; Lu 3:19, 20.

he departed--rather, "withdrew."

into Galilee--as recorded, in its proper place, in Joh 4:1-3.

13. And leaving Nazareth--The prevalent opinion is that this refers to a first visit to Nazareth after His baptism, whose details are given by Luke (Lu 4:16, &c.); a second visit being that detailed by our Evangelist (Mt 13:54-58), and by Mark (Mr 6:1-6). But to us there seem all but insuperable difficulties in the supposition of two visits to Nazareth after His baptism; and on the grounds stated in Lu 4:16, &c., we think that the one only visit to Nazareth is that recorded by Matthew (Mt 13:53-58), Mark (Mr 6:1-6), and Luke (Lu 4:14-30). But how, in that case, are we to take the word "leaving Nazareth" here? We answer, just as the same word is used in Ac 21:3, "Now when we had sighted Cyprus, and left it on the left, we sailed into Syria,"--that is, without entering Cyprus at all, but merely "sighting" it, as the nautical phrase is, they steered southeast of it, leaving it on the northwest. So here, what we understand the Evangelist to say is, that Jesus, on His return to Galilee, did not, as might have been expected, make Nazareth the place of His stated residence, but, "leaving [or passing by] Nazareth,"

he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the seacoast--maritime Capernaum, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee; but the precise spot is unknown. (See on Mt 11:23). Our Lord seems to have chosen it for several reasons. Four or five of the Twelve lived there; it had a considerable and mixed population, securing some freedom from that intense bigotry which even to this day characterizes all places where Jews in large numbers dwell nearly alone; it was centrical, so that not only on the approach of the annual festivals did large numbers pass through it or near it, but on any occasion multitudes could easily be collected about it; and for crossing and recrossing the lake, which our Lord had so often occasion to do, no place could be more convenient. But one other high reason for the choice of Capernaum remains to be mentioned, the only one specified by our Evangelist.

in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim--the one lying to the west of the Sea of Galilee, the other to the north of it; but the precise boundaries cannot now be traced out.

14. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet--(Is 9:1, 2 or, as in Hebrew, Isaiah 8:23, and 9:1).

saying--as follows:

15. The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea--the coast skirting the Sea of Galilee westward--beyond Jordan--a phrase commonly meaning eastward of Jordan; but here and in several places it means westward of the Jordan. The word seems to have got the general meaning of "the other side"; the nature of the case determining which side that was.

Galilee of the Gentiles--so called from its position, which made it the frontier between the Holy Land and the external world. While Ephraim and Judah, as Stanley says, were separated from the world by the Jordan valley on one side and the hostile Philistines on another, the northern tribes were in the direct highway of all the invaders from the north, in unbroken communication with the promiscuous races who have always occupied the heights of Lebanon, and in close and peaceful alliance with the most commercial nation of the ancient world, the Phoenicians. Twenty of the cities of Galilee were actually annexed by Solomon to the adjacent kingdom of Tyre, and formed, with their territory, the "boundary" or "offscouring" (Gebul or Cabul) of the two dominions--at a later time still known by the general name of "the boundaries (coasts or borders) of Tyre and Sidon." In the first great transportation of the Jewish population, Naphtali and Galilee suffered the same fate as the trans-jordanic tribes before Ephraim or Judah had been molested (2Ki 15:29). In the time of the Christian era this original disadvantage of their position was still felt; the speech of the Galileans "bewrayed them" by its uncouth pronunciation (Mt 26:73); and their distance from the seats of government and civilization at Jerusalem and Cæsarea gave them their character for turbulence or independence, according as it was viewed by their friends or their enemies.

16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up--The prophetic strain to which these words belong commences with the seventh chapter of Isaiah, to which the sixth chapter is introductory, and goes down to the end of the twelfth chapter, which hymns the spirit of that whole strain of prophecy. It belongs to the reign of Ahaz and turns upon the combined efforts of the two neighboring kingdoms of Syria and Israel to crush Judah. In these critical circumstances Judah and her king were, by their ungodliness, provoking the Lord to sell them into the hands of their enemies. What, then, is the burden of this prophetic strain, on to the passage here quoted? First, Judah shall not, cannot perish, because Immanuel, the Virgin's Son, is to come forth from his loins. Next, one of the invaders shall soon perish, and the kingdoms of neither be enlarged. Further, while the Lord will be the Sanctuary of such as confide in these promises and await their fulfilment, He will drive to confusion, darkness, and despair the vast multitude of the nation who despised His oracles, and, in their anxiety and distress, betook themselves to the lying oracles of the heathen. This carries us down to the end of the eighth chapter. At the opening of the ninth chapter a sudden light is seen breaking in upon one particular part of the country, the part which was to suffer most in these wars and devastations--"the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee and the Gentiles." The rest of the prophecy stretches over both the Assyrian and the Chaldean captivities and terminates in the glorious Messianic prophecy of the eleventh chapter and the choral hymn of the twelfth chapter. Well, this is the point seized on by our Evangelist. By Messiah's taking up His abode in those very regions of Galilee, and shedding His glorious light upon them, this prediction, He says, of the Evangelical prophet was now fulfilled; and if it was not thus fulfilled, we may confidently affirm it was not fulfilled in any age of the Jewish ceremony, and has received no fulfilment at all. Even the most rationalistic critics have difficulty in explaining it in any other way.

17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand--Thus did our Lord not only take up the strain, but give forth the identical summons of His honored forerunner. Our Lord sometimes speaks of the new kingdom as already come--in His own Person and ministry; but the economy of it was only "at hand" until the blood of the cross was shed, and the Spirit on the day of Pentecost opened the fountain for sin and for uncleanness to the world at large.

Calling of Peter and Andrew James and John (Mt 4:18-22).

18. And Jesus, walking--The word "Jesus" here appears not to belong to the text, but to have been introduced from those portions of it which were transcribed to be used as church lessons; where it was naturally introduced as a connecting word at the commencement of a lesson.

by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers--"called Peter" for the reason mentioned in Mt 16:18.

19. And he saith unto them, Follow me--rather, as the same expression is rendered in Mark, "Come ye after Me" (Mr 1:17).

and I will make you fishers of men--raising them from a lower to a higher fishing, as David was from a lower to a higher feeding (Psa 78:70-72).

20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

21. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship--rather, "in the ship," their fishing boat.

with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them.

22. And they immediately left the ship and their father--Mark adds an important clause: "They left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants" (Mr 1:20); showing that the family were in easy circumstances.

and followed him--Two harmonistic questions here arise: First, Was this the same calling as that recorded in Joh 1:35-42? Clearly not. For, (1) That call was given while Jesus was yet in Judea: this, after His return to Galilee. (2) Here, Christ calls Andrew: there, Andrew solicits an interview with Christ. (3) Here, Andrew and Peter are called together: there, Andrew having been called, with an unnamed disciple, who was clearly the beloved disciple (see on Joh 1:40), goes and fetches Peter his brother to Christ, who then calls him. (4) Here, John is called along with James his brother: there, John is called along with Andrew, after having at their own request had an interview with Jesus; no mention being made of James, whose call, if it then took place, would not likely have been passed over by his own brother. Thus far nearly all are agreed. But on the next question opinion is divided: Was this the same calling as that recorded in Lu 5:1-11? Many able critics think so. But the following considerations are to us decisive against it. First here, the four are called separately, in pairs: in Luke, all together. Next, in Luke, after a glorious miracle: here, the one pair are casting their net, the other are mending theirs. Further, here, our Lord had made no public appearance in Galilee, and so had gathered none around Him; He is walking solitary by the shores of the lake when He accosts the two pairs of fishermen: in Luke, the multitude are pressing upon Him, and hearing the word of God, as He stands by the Lake of Gennesaret--a state of things implying a somewhat advanced stage of His early ministry, and some popular enthusiasm. Regarding these successive callings, see on Lu 5:1.

First Galilean Circuit (Mt 4:23-25).

23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues--These were houses of local worship. It cannot be proved that they existed before the Babylonish captivity; but as they began to be erected soon after it, probably the idea was suggested by the religious inconveniences to which the captives had been subjected. In our Lord's time, the rule was to have one wherever ten learned men or professed students of the law resided; and they extended to Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, and most places of the dispersion. The larger towns had several, and in Jerusalem the number approached five hundred. In point of officers and mode of worship, the Christian congregations are modelled after the synagogue.

and preaching the gospel of the kingdom--proclaiming the glad tidings of the kingdom,

and healing all manner of sickness--every disease.

and all manner of disease among the people--every complaint. The word means any incipient malady causing "softness."

24. And his fame went throughout all Syria--reaching first to the part of it adjacent to Galilee, called Syro-Phoenicia (Mr 7:26), and thence extending far and wide.

and they brought unto him all sick people--all that were ailing or unwell. Those

that were taken--for this is a distinct class, not an explanation of the "unwell" class, as our translators understood it.

with divers diseases and torments--that is, acute disorders.

and those which were possessed with devils--that were demonized or possessed with demons.

and those which were lunatic--moon-struck.

and those that had the palsy--paralytics, a word not naturalized when our version was made.

and he healed them--These healings were at once His credentials and illustrations of "the glad tidings" which He proclaimed. After reading this account of our Lord's first preaching tour, can we wonder at what follows?

25. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis--a region lying to the east of the Jordan, so called as containing ten cities, founded and chiefly inhabited by Greek settlers.

and from Jerusalem, and from beyond Jordan--meaning from Perea. Thus not only was all Palestine upheaved, but all the adjacent regions. But the more immediate object for which this is here mentioned is, to give the reader some idea both of the vast concourse and of the varied complexion of eager attendants upon the great Preacher, to whom the astonishing discourse of the next three chapters was addressed. On the importance which our Lord Himself attached to this first preaching circuit, and the preparation which He made for it, see on Mr 1:35-39. CHAPTERS 5-8

Sermon on the Mount.

That this is the same Discourse as that in Lu 6:17-49--only reported more fully by Matthew, and less fully, as well as with considerable variation, by Luke--is the opinion of many very able critics (of the Greek commentators; of Calvin, Grotius, Maldonatus--Who stands almost alone among Romish commentators; and of most moderns, as Tholuck, Meyer, De Wette, Tischendorf, Stier, Wieseler, Robinson). The prevailing opinion of these critics is that Luke's is the original form of the discourse, to which Matthew has added a number of sayings, uttered on other occasions, in order to give at one view the great outlines of our Lord's ethical teaching. But that they are two distinct discourses--the one delivered about the close of His first missionary tour, and the other after a second such tour and the solemn choice of the Twelve--is the judgment of others who have given much attention to such matters (of most Romish commentators, including Erasmus; and among the moderns, of Lange, Greswell, Birks, Webster and Wilkinson. The question is left undecided by Alford). Augustine's opinion--that they were both delivered on one occasion, Matthew's on the mountain, and to the disciples; Luke's in the plain, and to the promiscuous multitude--is so clumsy and artificial as hardly to deserve notice. To us the weight of argument appears to lie with those who think them two separate discourses. It seems hard to conceive that Matthew should have put this discourse before his own calling, if it was not uttered till long after, and was spoken in his own hearing as one of the newly chosen Twelve. Add to this, that Matthew introduces his discourse amidst very definite markings of time, which fix it to our Lord's first preaching tour; while that of Luke, which is expressly said to have been delivered immediately after the choice of the Twelve, could not have been spoken till long after the time noted by Matthew. It is hard, too, to see how either discourse can well be regarded as the expansion or contraction of the other. And as it is beyond dispute that our Lord repeated some of His weightier sayings in different forms, and with varied applications, it ought not to surprise us that, after the lapse of perhaps a year--when, having spent a whole night on the hill in prayer to God, and set the Twelve apart, He found Himself surrounded by crowds of people, few of whom probably had heard the Sermon on the Mount, and fewer still remembered much of it--He should go over its principal points again, with just as much sameness as to show their enduring gravity, but at the same time with that difference which shows His exhaustless fertility as the great Prophet of the Church.

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit - This transaction appears to have taken place immediately after Christ's baptism; and this bringing up of Christ was through the influence of the Spirit of God; that Spirit which had rested upon him in his baptism.

To be tempted - The first act of the ministry of Jesus Christ was a combat with Satan. Does not this receive light from Gen 3:17. I will put enmity between the woman's seed and thy seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

And when he had fasted forty days - It is remarkable that Moses, the great lawgiver of the Jews, previously to his receiving the law from God, fasted forty days in the mount; that Elijah, the chief of the prophets, fasted also forty days; and that Christ, the giver of the New Covenant, should act in the same way. Was not all this intended to show, that God's kingdom on earth was to be spiritual and Divine? - that it should not consist in meat and drink, but in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost? Rom 14:17. Relative to the forty days' fast of Moses, there is a beautiful saying in the Talmudists. "Is it possible that any man can fast forty days and forty nights? To which Rabbi Meir answered, When thou takest up thy abode in any particular city, thou must live according to its customs. Moses ascended to heaven, where they neither eat nor drink therefore he became assimilated to them. We are accustomed to eat and drink; and, when angels descend to us, they eat and drink also."

Moses, Elijah, and our blessed Lord could fast forty days and forty nights, because they were in communion with God, and living a heavenly life.

And when the tempter - This onset of Satan was made (speaking after the manner of men) judiciously: he came when Jesus, after having fasted forty days and forty nights, was hungry: now, as hunger naturally diminishes the strength of the body, the mind gets enfeebled, and becomes easily irritated; and if much watching and prayer be not employed, the uneasiness which is occasioned by a lack of food may soon produce impatience, and in this state of mind the tempter has great advantages. The following advice of an Arabian philosopher to his son is worthy of attention. "My son, never go out of the house in the morning, till thou hast eaten something: by so doing, thy mind will be more firm; and, shouldest thou be insulted by any person, thou wilt find thyself more disposed to suffer patiently: for hunger dries up and disorders the brain." Bibliot. Orient. Suppl. p. 449. The state of our bodily health and worldly circumstances may afford our adversary many opportunities of doing us immense mischief. In such cases, the sin to which we are tempted may be justly termed, as in Heb 12:1, την ευπεριστατον αμαρτιαν, the well circumstanced sin, because all the circumstances of time, place, and state of body and mind, are favorable to it.

If thou be the Son of God - Or, a son of God, υιος του Θεου. υιος is here, and in Luk 4:3, written without the article; and therefore should not be translated The Son, as if it were ὁ υιος, which is a phrase that is applicable to Christ as the Messiah: but it is certain, whatever Satan might suspect, he did not fully know that the person he tempted was the true Messiah. Perhaps one grand object of his temptation was to find this out.

Command that these stones - The meaning of this temptation is: "Distrust the Divine providence and support, and make use of illicit means to supply thy necessities."

But by (or, upon, επι) every word - Ρημα, in Greek, answers to דבר dabar in Hebrew, which means not only a word spoken, but also thing, purpose, appointment, etc. Our Lord's meaning seems to be this: God purposes the welfare of his creatures - all his appointments are calculated to promote this end. Some of them may appear to man to have a contrary tendency; but even fasting itself, when used in consequence of a Divine injunction, becomes a mean of supporting that life which it seems naturally calculated to impair or destroy.

Pinnacle of the temple - It is very likely that this was what was called the στοα βασιλικη, the king's gallery; which, as Josephus says, "deserves to be mentioned among the most magnificent things under the sun: for upon a stupendous depth of a valley, scarcely to be fathomed by the eye of him that stands above, Herod erected a gallery of a vast height, from the top of which if any looked down, he would grow dizzy, his eyes not being able to reach so vast a depth." - Ant. l. xv. c. 14. See Dr. Lightfoot on this place.

Cast thyself down - Our Lord had repelled the first temptation by an act of confidence in the power and goodness of God; and now Satan solicits him to make trial of it. Through the unparalleled subtlety of Satan, the very means we make use of to repel one temptation may he used by him as the groundwork of another. This method he often uses, in order to confound us in our confidence.

He shall give his angels charge, etc. - This is a mutilated quotation of Psa 91:11. The clause, to keep thee in all thy ways, Satan chose to leave out, as quite unsuitable to his design. That God has promised to protect and support his servants, admits of no dispute; but, as the path of duty is the way of safety, they are entitled to no good when they walk out of it.

In their hands they shall bear thee up - This quotation from Psa 91:11, is a metaphor taken from a nurse's management of her child: in teaching it to walk, she guides it along plain ground; but, when stones or other obstacles occur, she lifts up the child, and carries it over them, and then sets it down to walk again. Thus she keeps it in all its ways, watching over, and guarding every step it takes. To this St. Paul seems also to allude, 1Thes 2:7. We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. Thus the most merciful God deals with the children of men, ever guarding them by his eye, and defending them by his power.

Thou shalt not tempt - To expose myself to any danger naturally destructive, with the vain presumption that God will protect and defend me from the ruinous consequences of my imprudent conduct, is to tempt God.

An exceeding high mountain, and showeth him - If the words, all the kingdoms of the world, be taken in a literal sense, then this must have been a visionary representation, as the highest mountain on the face of the globe could not suffice to make evident even one hemisphere of the earth, and the other must of necessity be in darkness.

But if we take the world to mean only the land of Judea, and some of the surrounding nations, as it appears sometimes to signify, (see on Luk 2:1 (note)), then the mountain described by the Abbe Mariti (Travels through Cyprus, etc). could have afforded the prospect in question. Speaking of it, he says, "Here we enjoyed the most beautiful prospect imaginable. This part of the mountain overlooks the mountains of Arabia, the country of Gilead, the country of the Amorites, the plains of Moab, the plains of Jericho, the river Jordan, and the whole extent of the Dead Sea. It was here that the devil said to the Son of God, All these kingdoms will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Probably St. Matthew, in the Hebrew original, wrote הארץ haarets, which signifies the world, the earth, and often the land of Judea only. What renders this more probable is, that at this time Judea was divided into several kingdoms, or governments under the three sons of Herod the Great, viz. Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip; which are not only called ethnarchs and tetrarchs in the Gospels, but also βασιλεις, kings, and are said βασιλευειν, to reign, as Rosenmuller has properly remarked. See Mat 2:22; Mat 14:9.

If thou wilt fall down and worship me - As if he had said, "The whole of this land is now under my government; do me homage for it, and I will deliver it into thy hand."

Get thee hence - Or, behind me, οπισω μου. This is added by a multitude of the best MSS., Versions, and Fathers. This temptation savoring of nothing but diabolical impudence, Jesus did not treat it as the others; but, with Divine authority, commanded the tempter to return to his own place.

In the course of this trial, it appears that our blessed Lord was tempted, 1st. To Distrust. Command these stones to become bread. 2dly. To Presumption. Cast thyself down. 3dly. To worldly Ambition. All these will I give. 4thly. To Idolatry. Fall down and worship me, or do me homage. There is probably not a temptation of Satan, but is reducible to one or other of these four articles.

From the whole we may learn:

First. No man, howsoever holy, is exempted from temptation: for God manifested to the flesh was tempted by the devil.

Secondly. That the best way to foil the adversary, is by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Eph 6:17.

Thirdly. That to be tempted even to the greatest abominations (while a person resists) is not sin: for Christ was tempted to worship the Devil.

Fourthly. That there is no temptation which is from its own nature, or favoring circumstances, irresistible. God has promised to bruise even Satan under our feet.

As I wish to speak what I think most necessary on every subject, when I first meet it, and once for all, I would observe -

First, That the fear of being tempted may become a most dangerous snare.

Secondly, That when God permits a temptation or trial to come he will give grace to bear or overcome it.

Thirdly, That our spiritual interests shall be always advanced, in proportion to our trials and faithful resistance.

Fourthly, That a more than ordinary measure of Divine consolation shall be the consequence of every victory.

Behold, angels came and ministered unto him - That is, brought that food which was necessary to support nature.

The name given to Satan in the third verse is very emphatic, ο πειραζων, the tempter, or trier, from πειρω, to pierce through. To this import of the name there seems to be an allusion, Eph 6:16 : The fiery Darts of the wicked one. This is the precise idea of the word in Deu 8:2. To humble thee, and to prove thee, To Know What Was In Thy Heart: לנסתך linesteca, πειραση σε, Lxx. that he might bore thee through.

The quality and goodness of many things are proved by piercing or boring through; for this shows what is in the heart. Perhaps nothing tends so much to discover what we are, as trials either from men or devils.

Shalt thou serve, or pay religious veneration, λατρευσεις. This is Mr. Wakefield's translation, and I think cannot be mended. Λατρεια comes from λα, very much, and τρεω, I tremble. When a sinner approaches the presence of God, conscious of His infinite holiness and justice, and of his own vileness, he will then fully comprehend what this word means. See this religious reverence exemplified in the case of Moses, when in the presence of God; I exceedingly fear, said he, and tremble, Heb 12:21. And yet this fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. See the observations at the end of the chapter.

And leaving Nazareth - Or, entirely leaving Nazareth, και καταλιπων την Ναζαρετ, from κατα, intensive, and Δειπω, I leave. It seems that, from this time, our blessed Lord made Capernaum his ordinary place of residence; and utterly forsook Nazareth, because they had wholly rejected his word, and even attempted to take away his life. See Luk 4:29.

Galilee was bounded by mount Lebanon on the north, by the river Jordan and the sea of Galilee on the east, by Chison on the south, and by the Mediterranean on the west.

Nazareth, a little city in the tribe of Zebulon, in lower Galilee, with Tabor on the east, and Ptolemais on the west. It is supposed that this city was the usual residence of our Lord for the first thirty years of his life. It was here he became incarnate, lived in subjection to Joseph and Mary, and from which he took the name of a Nazorean.

Capernaum, a city famous in the New Testament, but never mentioned in the Old. Probably it was one of those cities which the Jews built after their return from Babylon. It stood on the sea-coast of Galilee, on the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim, as mentioned in the text. This was called his own city, Mat 9:1, etc., and here, as a citizen, he paid the half shekel, Mat 17:24. Among the Jews, if a man became a resident in any city for twelve months, he thereby became a citizen, and paid his proportion of dues and taxes. See Lightfoot. Capernaum is well known to have been the principal scene of our Lord's miracles during the three years of his public ministry.

Zabulon, the country of this tribe, in which Nazareth and Capernaum were situated, bordered on the lake of Gennesareth, stretching to the frontiers of Sidon, Gen 49:13. Nephthalim was contiguous to it, and both were on the east side of Jordan, Jos 19:34.

Galilee of the Gentiles - Or of the nations. So called, because it was inhabited by Egyptians, Arabians, and Phoenicians, according to the testimony of Strabo and others. The Hebrew גוים goyim, and the Greek εθνων, signify nations; and, in the Old and New Testaments, mean those people who were not descendants of any of the twelve tribes. The word Gentiles, from gens, a nation, signifies the same. It is worthy of remark, that it was a regular tradition among the ancient Jews, that the Messiah should begin his ministry in Galilee. See the proofs in Schoetgen.

The people which sat in darkness - This is quoted from Isa 9:2, where, instead of sitting, the prophet used the word walked. The evangelist might on purpose change the term, to point out the increased misery of the state of these persons. Sitting in darkness expresses a greater degree of intellectual blindness, than walking in darkness does. In the time of Christ's appearing, the people were in a much worse state than in the time of the prophet, which was nearly 700 years before; as, during all this period, they were growing more ignorant and sinful.

The region and shadow of death - These words are amazingly descriptive. A region of death - Death's country, where, in a peculiar manner, Death lived, reigned, and triumphed, subjecting all the people to his sway.

Shadow of death - Σκια θανατου, used only here and in Luk 1:79, but often in the Old Covenant, where the Hebrew is צל מות tsal maveth, It is not easy to enter fully into the ideal meaning of this term. As in the former clause, death is personified, so here. A shadow is that darkness cast upon a place by a body raised between it and the light or sun. Death is here represented as standing between the land above mentioned, and the light of life, or Sun of righteousness; in consequence of which, all the inhabitants were, involved in a continual cloud of intellectual darkness, misery, and sin. The heavenly sun was continually eclipsed to them, till this glorious time, when Jesus Christ, the true light, shone forth in the beauty of holiness and truth. Christ began his ministry in Galilee, and frequented this uncultivated place more than he did Jerusalem and other parts of Judea: here his preaching was peculiarly needful; and by this was the prophecy fulfilled.

Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent - See on Mat 3:1, Mat 3:2 (note). Every preacher commissioned by God to proclaim salvation to a lost world, begins his work with preaching the doctrine of repentance. This was the case with all the prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, all the apostles, and all their genuine successors in the Christian ministry. The reasons are evident in the notes already referred to; and for the explanation of the word κηρυσσειν, preaching or proclaiming as a herald, see at the end of chap. 3 (note).

Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother - Why did not Jesus Christ call some of the eminent Scribes or Pharisees to publish his Gospel, and not poor unlearned fishermen, without credit or authority? Because it was the kingdom of heaven they were to preach, and their teaching must come from above: besides, the conversion of sinners, though it be effected instrumentally by the preaching of the Gospel, yet the grand agent in it is the Spirit of God. As the instruments were comparatively mean, and, the work which was accomplished by them was grand and glorious, the excellency of the power at once appeared to be of God, and not of man; and thus the glory, due alone to his name, was secured, and the great Operator of all good had the deserved praise. Seminaries of learning, in the order of God's providence and grace, have great and important uses; and, in reference to such uses, they should be treated with great respect: but to make preachers of the Gospel is a matter to which they are utterly inadequate; it is a, prerogative that God never did, and never will, delegate to man.

Where the seed of the kingdom of God is sowed, and a dispensation of the Gospel is committed to a man, a good education may be of great and general use: but it no more follows, because a man has had a good education, that therefore he is qualified to preach the Gospel, than it does, that because he has not had that, therefore he is unqualified; for there may be much ignorance of Divine things where there is much human learning; and a man may be well taught in the things of God, and be able to teach others, who has not had the advantages of a liberal education.

Men-made ministers have almost ruined the heritage of God. To prevent this, our Church requires that a man be inwardly moved to take upon himself this ministry, before he can be ordained to it. And he who cannot say, that he trusts (has rational and Scriptural conviction) that he is moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon himself this office, is an intruder into the heritage of God, and his ordination, ipso facto, vitiated and of none effect. See the truly apostolic Ordination Service of the Church of England.

Fishers - Persons employed in a lawful and profitable avocation, and faithfully discharging their duty in it. It was a tradition of the elders, that one of Joshua's ten precepts was, that all men should have an equal right to spread their nets and fish in the sea of Tiberias, or Galilee. The persons mentioned here were doubtless men of pure morals; for the minister of God should have a good report from them that are without.

Follow me - Come after me, δευτε οπισω μου. Receive my doctrines, imitate me in my conduct - in every respect be my disciples. We may observe that most of the calls of God to man are expressed in a few solemn words, which alarm, the conscience, and deeply impress the heart.

I will make you fishers of men - Eze 47:8-10, casts much light on this place; and to this prophet our Lord probably alludes. To follow Christ, and be admitted into a partnership of his ministry, is a great honor; but those only who are by himself fitted for it, God calls. Miserable are those who do not wait fur this call - who presume to take the name of fishers of men, and know not how to cast the net of the Divine word, because not brought to an acquaintance with the saving power of the God who bought them. Such persons, having only their secular interest in view, study not to catch men, but to catch money: and though, for charity's sake, it may be said of a pastor of this spirit, he does not enter the sheepfold as a thief, yet he certainly lives as a hireling. See Quesnel.

Some teach to work, but have no hands to row;

Some will be eyes, but have no light to see;

Some will be guides, but have no feet to go;

Some deaf, yet ears, some dumb, yet tongues will be;

Dumb, deaf, lame, blind, and maimed, yet fishers all!

Fit for no use but store an hospital.

Fletcher's Piscatory Eclogues. Ec iv. 5, 18.

Following a person, in the Jewish phrase, signifies being his disciple or scholar. See a similar mode of speech, 2Kgs 6:19.

They straightway left their nets - A change, as far as it respected secular things, every way to their disadvantage. The proud and the profane may exult and say, "Such preachers as these cannot be much injured by their sacrifices of secular property - they have nothing but nets, etc., to leave." Let such carpers at the institution of Christ know, that he who has nothing but a net, and leaves that for the sake of doing good to the souls of men, leaves his All: besides, he lived comfortably by his net before; but, in becoming the servant of all for Christ's sake, he often exposes himself to the want of even a morsel of bread. See on Mat 19:27 (note).

Left the ship and their father - By the ship, το πλοιον, we are to understand the mere fishing-boat, used for extending their nets in the water and bringing the hawser or rope of the farther end to shore, by which the net was pulled to land. But why should these be called to leave their employment and their father, probably now aged? To this I answer, that to be obedient to, provide for, and comfort our parents, is the highest duty we owe or can discharge, except that to God. But, when God calls to the work of the ministry, father and mother and all must be left. Were we necessary to their comfort and support before? Then God, if he call us into another work or state, will take care to supply to them our lack of service some other way; and, if this be not done, it is a proof we have mistaken our call. Again, were our parents necessary to us, and in leaving them for the sake of the Gospel, or in obedience to a Divine command, do we deprive ourselves of the comforts of life? No matter: we should prefer the honor of serving the Most High, even in poverty and humility, to all the comforts of a father's house. But what an honor was the vocation of James and John, to old Zebedee their father! His sons are called to be heralds of the God of heaven! Allowing him to have been a pious man, this must have given him unutterable delight.

Teaching in their synagogues - Synagogue, συναγωγη, from συν, together, and αγω, I bring, a public assembly of persons, or the place where such persons publicly assembled. Synagogues, among the Jews, were not probably older than the return from the Babylonish captivity. They were erected not only in cities and towns, but in the country, and especially by rivers, that they might have water for the convenience of their frequent washings.

Not less than ten persons of respectability composed a synagogue; as the rabbins supposed that this number of persons, of independent property, and well skilled in the law, were necessary to conduct the affairs of the place, and keep up the Divine worship. See Lightfoot. Therefore, where this number could not be found, no synagogue was built; but there might be many synagogues in one city or town, provided it were populous. Jerusalem is said to have contained 480. This need not be wondered at, when it is considered that every Jew was obliged to worship God in public, either in a synagogue or in the temple.

The chief things belonging to a synagogue were: 1st. The ark or chest, made after the mode of the ark of the covenant, containing the Pentateuch. 2dly. The pulpit and desk, in the middle of the synagogue, on which he stood who read or expounded the law. 3dly. The seats or pews for the men below, and the galleries for the women above. 4thly. The lamps to give light in the evening service, and at the feast of the dedication. 5thly. Apartments for the utensils and alms-chests.

The synagogue was governed by a council or assembly, over whom was a president, called in the Gospels, the ruler of the synagogue. These are sometimes called chiefs of the Jews, the rulers, the priests or elders, the governors, the overseers, the fathers of the synagogue. Service was performed in them three times a day - morning, afternoon, and night. Synagogue, among the Jews, had often the same meaning as congregation among us, or place of judicature, see Jam 2:2.

Preaching the Gospel of the kingdom - Or, proclaiming the glad tidings of the kingdom. See the preceding notes. Behold here the perfect pattern of an evangelical preacher:

1. He goes about seeking sinners on every side, that he may show them the way to heaven.

2. He proclaims the glad tidings of the kingdom, with a freedom worthy of the King whom he serves.

3. He makes his reputation and the confidence of the people subservient not to his own interest, but to the salvation of souls.

4. To his preaching he joins, as far as he has ability, all works of mercy, and temporal assistance to the bodies of men.

5. He takes care to inform men that diseases, and all kinds of temporal evils, are the effects of sin, and that their hatred to iniquity should increase in proportion to the evils they endure through it.

6. And that nothing but the power of God can save them from sin and its consequences.

For glad tidings, or Gospel, see chap. 1. title (note). Proclaiming, see Mat 3:1 (note), and end (note); and for the meaning of kingdom, see Mat 3:2 (note).

All manner of sickness, and all manner of disease - There is a difference between νοσος, translated here sickness, and μαλακια, translated disease. The first is thus defined: νοσος, την χρονιαν κακοπαθειαν, a disease of some standing, a chronic disorder.

Infirmity, μαλακια, την προσκαιρον ανωμαλιαν· τοι σωματος, a temporary disorder of the body. Theophylact. This is a proper distinction, and is necessary to be observed.

Sick people - Τους, κακως εχοντας, those who felt ill - were afflicted with any species of malady.

And torments - βασανοις, from βασανιζω, to examine by torture, such as cholics, gouts, and rheumatisms, which racked every joint.

Possessed with devils - Daemoniacs. Persons possessed by evil spirits. This is certainly the plain obvious meaning of daemoniac in the Gospels.

Many eminent men think that the sacred writers accommodated themselves to the unfounded prejudices of the common people, in attributing certain diseases to the influence of evil spirits, which were merely the effects of natural causes: but that this explanation can never comport with the accounts given of these persons shall be proved as the places occur.

Our common version, which renders the word, those possessed by devils, is not strictly correct; as the word devil, διαβολος, is not found in the plural in any part of the Sacred Writings, when speaking of evil spirits: for though there are multitudes of daemons, Mar 5:9, yet it appears there is but one Devil, who seems to be supreme, or head, over all the rest. Διαβολος signifies an accuser or slanderer, 1Tim 3:11; 2Tim 3:3; Tit 2:3. Perhaps Satan was called so, 1st. because he accused or slandered God in paradise, as averse from the increase of man's knowledge and happiness, Gen 3:5; Joh 8:44; and 2dly. because he is the accuser of men, Rev 12:9, Rev 12:10. See also Job 1:2.

The word comes from δια, through, and βαλλειν, to cast, or shoot, because of the influence of his evil suggestions; compared, Eph 6:16, to fiery darts; and thus it is nearly of the same meaning with ο πειραζων, he who pierces through. See on Mat 4:3 (note).

Lunatic - Persons afflicted with epileptic or other disorders, which are always known to have a singular increase at the change and full of the moon. This undoubtedly proceeds from the superadded attractive influence of the sun and moon upon the earth's atmosphere, as, in the periods mentioned above, these two luminaries are both in conjunction; and their united attractive power being exerted on the earth at the same time, not only causes the flux and reflux of the ocean, but occasions a variety of important changes in the bodies of infirm persons, of animals in general, but more particularly in those who are more sensible of these variations. And is this any wonder, when it is well known, that a very slight alteration in the atmosphere causes the most uncomfortable sensations to a number of invalids! But sometimes even these diseases were caused by demons. See on Mat 8:16, Mat 8:34 (note), and Mat 17:15 (note).

Palsy - Palsy is defined, a sudden loss of tone and vital power in a certain part of the human body. This may affect a limb, the whole side, the tongue, or the whole body. This disorder is in general incurable, except by the miraculous power of God, unless in its slighter stages.

He healed them - Either with a word or a touch; and thus proved that all nature was under his control.

This verse is immediately connected with the fifth chapter, and should not be separated from it.

Great multitudes - This, even according to the Jews, was one proof of the days of the Messiah: for they acknowledged that in his time there should be a great famine of the word of God; and thus they understood Amos, Amo 8:11. Behold, the days come - that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread - but of hearing the words of the Lord. And as the Messiah was to dispense this word, the bread of life, hence they believed that vast multitudes from all parts should be gathered together to him. See Schoettgenius on this place.

Decapolis - A small country, situated between Syria and Galilee of the nations. It was called Decapolis, Δεκαπολις, from δεκα, ten, and πολις, a city, because it contained only ten cities; the metropolis, and most ancient of which, was Damascus.

From beyond Jordan - Or, from the side of Jordan. Probably this was the country which was occupied anciently by the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; for the country of Decapolis lay on both sides of the river Jordan. See Num 32:5, Num 32:33.

The account of our Lord's temptation, as given by the evangelist, is acknowledged on all hands to be extremely difficult. Two modes of interpretation have been generally resorted to, in order to make the whole plain and intelligible: viz. the literal and allegorical. In all cases, where it can possibly apply, I prefer the first: the latter should never be used, unless obviously indicated in the text itself; or so imperiously necessary that no other mode of interpretation can possibly apply. In the preceding observations, I have taken up the subject in a literal point of view; and it is hoped that most of the difficulties in the relation have been removed, or obviated, by this plan. An ingenious correspondent has favored me with some observations on the subject, which have much more than the merit of novelty to recommend them. I shall give an abstract of some of the most striking; and leave the whole to the reader's farther consideration.

The thoughts in this communication proceed on this ground: "These temptations were addressed to Christ as a public person, and respected his conduct in the execution of his ministry; and are reported to his Church as a forcible and practical instruction, concerning the proper method of promoting the kingdom of God upon earth. They are warnings against those Satanic illusions, by which the servants of Christ are liable to be hindered in their great work, and even stopped in the prosecution of it.

1. "As our Lord had, at his baptism, been declared to be the Son of God, i.e. the promised Messiah, this was probably well known to Satan, who did not mean to insinuate any thing to the contrary, when he endeavored to engage him to put forth an act of that power which he possessed as the Messiah. The mysterious union of the Divine with the human nature, in our Lord's state of humiliation, Satan might think possible to be broken; and therefore endeavored, in the first temptation, Command these stones to be made bread, to induce our Lord to put forth a separate, independent act of power; which our Lord repelled, by showing his intimate union with the Divine will, which he was come to fulfill - Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Thus showing, as he did on another occasion, that it was his meat and drink to do the will of his Father. "2. The ground of the temptation was then changed; and the fulfillment of the Divine will, in the completion of a prophetic promise, was made the ostensible object of the next attack. Cast thyself down - for it is Written, He will give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, etc. This our Lord repelled with - Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God - as Satan had designed to induce him to seek this public miraculous confirmation of God's peculiar care over him, as the promised Messiah, of his being which, according to the hypothesis above, Satan had no doubt. Moses, being appointed to a great and important work, needed miraculous signs to strengthen his faith; but the sacred humanity of our blessed Lord needed them not; nor did his wisdom judge that such a sign from heaven was essential to the instruction of the people. "3. The last temptation was the most subtle and the most powerful - All these will I give unto thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. To inherit all nations, had been repeatedly declared to be the birthright of the Messiah. His right to universal empire could not be controverted; nor could Satan presume to make the investiture. What, then, was his purpose? Satan had hitherto opposed, and that with considerable success, the kingdom of God upon earth; and what he appears to propose here, were terms of peace, and an honorable retreat. The worship which he exacted was an act of homage, in return for his cession of that ascendancy which, through the sin of man, he had obtained in the world. Having long established his rule among men, it was not at first to be expected that he would resign it without a combat: but the purpose of this last temptation appears to be an offer to decline any farther contest; and, yet more, if his terms were accepted, apparently to engage his influence to promote the kingdom of the Messiah. And as the condition of this proposed alliance, he required, not Divine worship, but such an act of homage as implied amity and obligation; and if this construction be allowed, he may be supposed to have enforced the necessity of the measure, by every suggestion of the consequences of a refusal. The sufferings which would inevitably result from a provoked opposition, which would render the victory, though certain to Christ himself, dearly bought; added to which, the conflict he was prepared to carry on through succeeding ages, in which all his subtlety and powers should be employed to hinder the progress of Christ's cause in the earth, and that with a considerable degree of anticipated success. Here the devil seems to propose to make over to Christ the power and influence he possessed in this world, on condition that he would enter into terms of peace with him; and the inducement offered was, that thereby our Lord should escape those sufferings, both in his own person, and in that of his adherents, which a provoked contest would ensure. And we may suppose that a similar temptation lies hid in the desires excited even in some of the servants of Christ, who may feel themselves often induced to employ worldly influence and power for the promotion of his kingdom, even though, in so doing, an apparent communion of Christ and Belial is the result: for it will be found that neither worldly riches, nor power, can be employed in the service of Christ, till, like the spoils taken in war, Deu 31:21-23, they have passed through the fire and water, as, without a Divine purification, they are not fit to be employed in the service of God and his Church. "Hence we may conclude, that the first temptation had for its professed object, 1st, our Lord's personal relief and comfort, through the inducement of performing a separate and independent act of power. - The second temptation professed to have in view his public acknowledgment by the people, as the Messiah: for, should they see him work such a miracle as throwing himself down from the pinnacle of the temple without receiving any hurt, they would be led instantly to acknowledge his Divine mission; and the evil of this temptation may be explained, as seeking to secure the success of his mission by other means than those which, as the Messiah, he had received from the Father. Compare Joh 14:31. The third temptation was a subtle attempt to induce Christ to acknowledge Satan as an ally, in the establishment of his kingdom." E. M. B.

The above is the substance of the ingenious theory of my correspondent, which may be considered as a third mode of interpretation, partaking equally of the allegoric and literal. I still, however, think, that the nearer we keep to the letter in all such difficult cases, the more tenable is our ground, especially where the subject itself does not obviously require the allegorical mode of interpretation. Among many things worthy of remark in the preceding theory the following deserves most attention: That Satan is ever ready to tempt the governors and ministers of the Christian Church to suppose that worldly means, human policy, secular interest and influence, are all essentially necessary for the support and extension of that kingdom which is not of this world! Such persons can never long preserve hallowed hands: they bring the world into the Church; endeavor to sanctify the bad means they use, by the good end they aim at; and often, in the prosecution of their object, by means which are not of God's devising, are driven into straits and difficulties, and to extricate themselves, tell lies for God's sake. This human policy is from beneath - God will neither sanction nor bless it. It has been the bane of true religion in all ages of the world; and, in every country where the cause of Christianity has been established, such schemers and plotters in the Church of God are as dangerous to its interests as a plague is to the health of society. The governors and ministers of the Christian Church should keep themselves pure, and ever do God's work in his own way. If the slothful servant should be cast out of the vineyard, he that corrupts the good seed of the Divine field, or sows tares among the wheat, should be considered as an enemy to righteousness, and be expelled from the sacred pale as one who closes in with the temptation - "All these things (the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them) will I give unto Thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship Me." However necessary the Church may be to the state, and the state to the Church, as some people argue, yet the latter is never in so much danger as when the former smiles upon it.

Then - After this glorious evidence of his Father's love, he was completely armed for the combat. Thus after the clearest light and the strongest consolation, let us expect the sharpest temptations. By the Spirit - Probably through a strong inward impulse. Mark 1:12; Luke 4:1.

Having fasted - Whereby doubtless he received more abundant spiritual strength from God. Forty days and forty nights - As did Moses, the giver of the law, and Elijah, the great restorer of it. He was afterward hungry - And so prepared for the first temptation.

Coming to him - In a visible form; probably in a human shape, as one that desired to inquire farther into the evidences of his being the Messiah.

It is written - Thus Christ answered, and thus we may answer all the suggestions of the devil. By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God - That is, by whatever God commands to sustain him. Therefore it is not needful I should work a miracle to procure bread, without any intimation of my Father's will. Deut 8:3.

The holy city - So Jerusalem was commonly called, being the place God had peculiarly chosen for himself. On the battlement of the temple - Probably over the king's gallery, which was of such a prodigious height, that no one could look down from the top of it without making himself giddy.

In their hands - That is, with great care. Psalm 91:11,12.

Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God - By requiring farther evidence of what he hath already made sufficiently plain. Deut 6:16.

Showeth him all the kingdoms of the world - In a kind of visionary representation.

If thou wilt fall down and worship me - Here Satan clearly shows who he was. Accordingly Christ answering this suggestion, calls him by his own name, which he had not done before.

Get thee hence, Satan - Not, get thee behind me, that is, into thy proper place; as he said on a quite different occasion to Peter, speaking what was not expedient. Deut 6:13.

Angels came and waited upon him - Both to supply him with food, and to congratulate his victory.

He retired into Galilee - This journey was not immediately after his temptation. He first went from Judea into Galilee, John 1:43; 2:1. Then into Judea again, and celebrated the passover at Jerusalem, John 2:13. He baptized in Judea while John was baptizing at Enon, John 3:22,23. All this time John was at liberty, John 3:24. But the Pharisees being offended, John 4:1; and John put in prison, he then took this journey into Galilee. Mark 1:14.

Leaving Nazareth - Namely, when they had wholly rejected his word, and even attempted to kill him, Luke 4:29.

Galilee of the Gentiles - That part of Galilee which lay beyond Jordan was so called, because it was in a great measure inhabited by Gentiles, that is, heathens. Isaiah 9:1,2.

Here is a beautiful gradation, first, they walked, then they sat in darkness, and lastly, in the region of the shadow of death.

From that time Jesus began to preach - He had preached before, both to Jews and Samaritans, John 4:41,45. But from this time begin his solemn stated preaching. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand - Although it is the peculiar business of Christ to establish the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of men, yet it is observable, he begins his preaching in the same words with John the Baptist: because the repentance which John taught still was, and ever will be, the necessary preparation for that inward kingdom. But that phrase is not only used with regard to individuals in whom it is to be established, but also with regard to the Christian Church, the whole body of believers. In the former sense it is opposed to repentance; in the latter the Mosaic dispensation.

Mark 1:16; Luke 5:1.

The Gospel of the kingdom - The Gospel, that is, the joyous message, is the proper name of our religion: as will be amply verified in all who earnestly and perseveringly embrace it.

Through all Syria - The whole province, of which the Jewish country was only a small part. And demoniacs - Men possessed with devils: and lunatics, and paralytics - Men ill of the palsy, whose cases were of all others most deplorable and most helpless.

Decapolis - A tract of land on the east side of the sea of Galilee, in which were ten cities near each other.

1. THen was Jesus led up of the Spirit, into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil.

This is mentioned by two of the other Evangelists Mar. 1.12. and Luk. 4.1. Luke saith that being full of the Holy Ghost, he returned from Iordan, and was led by the Spirit, &c. Mark saith immediately the Spirit drove him, Great manifestations of Divine Love, are commonly followed with great Temptations. Others observe, That Temptations usually follow Baptism, the beginnings of spiritual Life, and Covenants made with God. He was led up: Some think he was taken up, Mark useth the word [non-Latin text not transcribed], the Spirit thrust him out, we must not understand an Act of Compulsion, doubtless he went voluntarily of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, that lighted upon him as a Dove into the Wilderness. Mark's saying, Mar. 1.13. That he was there with wild Beasts, lets us know that it was not such a Wilderness as Iohn began to Preach in, ch. 3.1. But an howling Wilderness full of wild Beasts. The end is expressed in the last words [to be Tempted of the Devil] thus his Temptations are distinguished from Divine Temptations, such as Abraham had, Gen. 22.1. and by Tempted here is meant sollicited, or moved to sin, in which Sense God tempteth no Man, Iames 1.13. The general Notion of Tempting, is making a Tryal, God makes a Tryal of his People for the Proof, and Manifestation of their Gracious Habit. Satan by moving to sin, makes a Tryal of Corruption, which was the reason, that altho Christ was Tempted: That he might be able to succour those that are Tempted. Heb. 2.18. and that he might taste all those Evils to which we are exposed, and might overcome the Devil, yet when the Prince of this World came, he could effect nothing against him, because he found nothing in him, to comply with his Motions.

2 And when he had fasted forty days, and forty nights, he was afterwards an hungred.

He was in the Wilderness, a place of Solitude, and so fitter for Satans purpose, and he was an Hungred, which was another advantage Satan had. But he was not an Hungred, till he had fasted forty Days, and forty Nights. Here was the Divine Power miraculously seen, in upholding the Humane Nature of Christ, without any thing to eat: This was a Miracle, the like did Moses before the Law, Elijah under the Law. Christ doth the same in the beginning of the Gospel, nor did he fast as the Iews were wont, of whom we sometimes read, that they kept Fasts several days, they only fasted in the Day-time, but ate their Food at Night, or sometimes only forbare pleasant Bread, as Daniel did, Dan. 10.2.3. for three full Weeks. But Christ fasted from all Food, and that not only forty Days, but forty Nights also, from whence may easily be gathered, how idly if not impiously, the Papists found their fasting forty Days, in Lent. Here all Christs Acts (most certainly his Miraculous works) are not recorded for our Imitation: Some of them are only for our Adoration, all his miraculous Acts are so. There can be nothing more sottish, then for us to think, that because Christ (supported by the Divine Nature) fasted forty Days, therefore we are obliged to do it, and because we cannot fast forty Days, and forty Nights, without eating something, therefore we may eat Fish, tho no Flesh (when all know that to some Pallats, there is no more delicate Food, then Fish) or we are obliged to fast in the Day-time, tho not at Night. And because Christ once in his Life-time fasted forty Days, and forty Nights, therefore we must do so every year, or that the Church hath any Power to injoyn any such thing. If Papists think, Christs fast of forty Days, and forty Nights, obligeth them to imitation, let them keep them as he did (with such a Fasting I mean) and try whether they be able to do it, or whether four Days or Nights, instead of forty will not Convince them of their Folly. Christ fasted forty Days, and forty Nights, and thereby shewed he was God-Man, the Divine Nature supported the Humane, afterward he was Hungry, to shew that he was truly Man touched with the feeling of our Infirmities, in all Points Tempted as we are, yet without sin, Heb 4.15.

3 And when the Tempter came unto him he said, If thou be the Son of God command that these stones be made Bread.

And when the Tempter. [Satan, the Devil as he is called viz.] came unto him, Probably in some visible shape. He forming an audible Voice of the Air said, If thou be the Son of God, not that he doubted it, which shewed his horrible Impudence. Command that these stones, this stone saith Luk. ch. 4.3. be made Bread. The Temptation plainly was to the use of means which God did not allow him, to relieve him in his Distress of Hunger, to distrust the Providence of God, in supporting of him. A Temptation common to those who are the Members of Christ, and enough to instruct us, that we ought to look upon all Thoughts, and Motions, to the use of means not allowed by God, in order to a Lawful end, as are Temptations vel a Carne, vel Hoste, either from our own Flesh, for Iames 1.14. every man is Tempted, when he is drawn away by his own Lust, and enticed; or from our Grand Adversary the Devil. It is not much material for us to know from which, they being both what we ought to resist, tho those from Satan are usually more violent, and impetuous.

4 But he answered, and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

So also Luk. 4.4. There is no better answering the Tempter, then by opposing the Precepts of Holy-writ, to his Motions to sin. The word is called, The Sword of the Spirit, Eph. 6.17. The Papists therefore denying People the use of the word, disarm them as to the Spiritual Combate. It is written Deut. 8.3. Tho man ordinarily liveth by common Bread, such Food as men usually eat, yet God's Power is not restrained, he can uphold the Life of Man when that is wanting, as he supported the Israelites by Manna (to which that Text relates) nor is God obliged to create any extraordinary mean, for his Power which is seen in creating such means, can produce the same Effect without such a mean if it pleaseth him: His Power must be seen in creating the mean, and in upholding the Proper Power and Faculty of the mean, in order to its end, why cannot he by the same Power produce the Effect without any such mean?

5 Then the Devil taketh him up into the holy City, and setteth him on a Pinacle of the Temple.

By the Holy City, is meant Ierusalem, once an Holy City, Dan. 9.24. now tho a most impure, and filthy City, upon many Accounts, yet upon other Accounts still an Holy City; being the only City in the World, which had then in it the true Worship of the true God, and in which God, doubtless, who in Ahab's time had seven thousand in Israel, had many Holy People, how the Devil took Christ into the Holy City, is variously argued, and judged, the word used in the Greek, are such as would incline us to think, he was not carried by Force, but followed the Tempter willingly, and set upon a place on the top of the Temple, higher then the other parts of it: The end of his being set there, the next Verse tells us.

6 And saith unto him, if thou be the Son of God, cast thy self down, for it is written, He shall give his Angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Before the Devil had Tempted our Lord, to diffidence or distrust in Gods Providence, and the use of means not allowed by God to supply himself: Here he Tempts him to an unwarrantable Presumption, and Confidence of, and concerning the Divine Protection. In the former Temptation, the Devil used no Scripture, but having been repelled in that Assault, by the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Eph. 6.17. He here takes up the same Weapon: The thing to which the Tempter solliciteth our Saviour, was the throwing himself down from a Precip[illegible: 1 letter]ce, a Temptation in Effect, to destroy himself (which is one of those Fiery Darts, which he commonly throweth at the People of God, in their hours of Melancholly, or under great Pressures of affliction) but the usual Argument, which he useth to them, is Deliverance from their Terrors, the preventing of want▪ or avoiding Shame. The Argument he useth to our Lord is [illegible: 2 letters]ite of another Nature, the special Protection of God, promised to Gods People, Psal. 91. v. 11, 12. herein he transformeth himself into an Angel of Light, according to 2 Cor. 11.14. and lets us know that Truth may be abused to the Patronage of lyes, and that there is [illegible: 1 letter]o hook more dangerous to the Members of Christ, than that which is baited with Scripture mis-interpreted, and mis-applyed: Which Holy-writ always is, when it is so interpreted, or so applyed as to be made an Argument to sin. This Portion of Holy-writ is both. 1. Falsely cued, and, 2 As ill app[illegible: 1 letter]yed. In the Quotation the Te[illegible: 1 letter]pter leaves out those words [in all thy ways] This was none of our Saviours ways, he had no call, no Warrant from God to decline the Stairs by which he might have gone down, and to throw himself down. God had never promised, nor ever given any the Protection of Angels, in sinful, and forbidden ways▪ 2 He mis-applyeth this Text, using it not to instruct, but to deceive, dividing betwixt, Mans Duty, and Gods Providence, making this word a Promise to be fulfilled, upon Christs neglect of his Duty, extending the Promise of special Providence, as to Dangers, into which men voluntarily throw themselves. Putting God upon working Miracles to declare Christ to be his Son, where there was no need, and of which there was no use, mocking our Saviours true use o[illegible: 1 letter] Scripture, with Scripture abused, and many other ways, but he had to do with one not [illegible: 1 letter]gnorant of his devices.

7 Jesus saith unto him: It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

This is written, Deut. 6.16. To make an undue, and unwarrantable Tryal of God, is to tempt God, whether the Trya[illegible: 1 letter] respecteth his Power, or his Goodness, thus the word used, Num 14.22. Psal. 78.18. Isa. 7.12. Chap. 16.1. By this Answer Chri[illegible: 2 letters] lets the Devil know that he abused Scripture in his Quotation of it, such a casting of himself down, when he had a plain way to go down by the Stairs, would not have been an Act of Faith, but Presumption, not a trusting God upon his word, but a Tempting of God expressly contrary to his Command. Deut. 6.16.

9 And saith unto him, all these things will▪ give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

This is the third Temptation, by which the Tempter solli[illegible: 1 letter]citeth our Saviour to sin, and of all other the most Impudent. For what can be more Impudent, than for the Creature to expect an Homage to him from him who was his Creator What Mountain this was, and how our Saviour was taken up into it, are things not revealed, and of very little concern for us to know. The Text tells us it was exceeding high, yet not high enough, from whence one Kingdom could be seen, in the extent of it. It is therefore most probable that Dr. Lightfoot judgeth most truly. That the Devil, being the Prince of the Power of the Air, formed an Airy Horizon before the Eyes of Christ, carrying such Pompous, and Glorious appearance of Kingdoms, States, and Royalties in the Face of it, as if he had seen those very Kingdoms, and States indeed Such things the Devil can do, and doth do, by condensating the Air first, then shaping, and Figuring, and lastly so Colouring it, that it may represent what he intendeth. All these things he promised to give our Saviour, if he would fall down and Worship him. The same eminent Person well observes, that what Luke calls Worshipping before the Devil, Matthew calls Worshipping the Devil, and concludes solidly. That if to Worship before the Devil, be to Worship the Devil Worshipping before an Image (as the Papists do) must be Worshipping the Image. The Devil, here arrogates to himself, what was Gods alone to give, and such ordinarily are the Devils Promises, of things, as to which he hath no Power to fulfil what he Promiseth.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

As this was of all the three the most impudent Temptation, so our Lord receiveth it with the highest Detestation, saying▪ Get thee hence Satan! By which words, he doth not only shew his Detestation of this Temptation, but also chides him off from any further Tempting him. The Sense is, Satan I know better things. viz. That a Religious Adoration▪ is not to be given unto any, but unto God alone, thou art a Creature, no Worship is due unto thee: To Worship before thee (so Luke Phraseth it, Luk. 4.7.) is to Worship thee. This is expressly contrary to the Command of God. Deut. 6.13. and 10.20. It is also observable, that our Saviour opposeth this to the Devils words, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. If thou falling down will Worship me, and that Christ answers, [non-Latin text not transcribed] which shews the Idleness of the Papists distinction of Doulia, and Latre[illegible: 1 letter]a ▪ the first of which they say may be given to the Creature: The second only unto God, by which they justi[illegible: 2 letters]e their Veneration of Images? The using a posture of Adoration, before the Creature in an Act of Worship; Christ here interpreteth a Worshipping the Creature, if the Creature e[illegible: 1 letter]ther exacts it of us▪ or we purposely set it before us▪ or chuse it as an object exciting, or moving us to such an Act of Adoration, which the Papists do not, that all Prostration before the Creature is an Act of Divine Adoration, there is a Civil, as well as a Divine Worship, and in Divine Worship, the Position of the Creature before us, may be meerly for Conveniency, or Accidental: But all Prostration in an Act of Divine Worship, is a Posture of Adoration, and where a Creature is chosen, and set before us in that Act or Posture, to excite or move us, it partaketh of the Homage. There is some little difference betwixt the words, Deut. 6.13. and 10.20. and those of St. Matthew, but that is said to be written, which is written as to the Substance and Sense, tho not in those Terms. Moses saith, Thou shalt fear, as Matthew quotes it, it is, Thou shalt Worship. The Term Fear applied unto God, signifieth any Act of Religion, whether External or Internal, and tho the last words in Deuteron. [thou sha[illegible: 1 letter]t swear by his Name] be not mentioned in Matthew, yet enough are quoted for our Saviours purpose. Falling down and Worshipping, belongeth only to God (saith our Saviour) not to thee, let me therefore hear of thee no more.

Marginal references: 1 Sam. 7.3.

11 Then the Devil leaveth him, and behold Angels came and ministred unto him.

Resist the Devil saith Iames ch. 4.7. and he shall flee from you, thus he did from the Head, thus he shall do from the Members, but as he did not [illegible: 1 letter]ee from Christ, till Commanded away, so neither till Commanded o[illegible: 2 letters] by God, doth he leave the People of God, but upon our resistance, God will Command him off, that we may not be Tempted above our strength. The Evil Angels leaving him, the Good Angels came and ministred unto him, whether by bringing him Food, or bringing him off the Mount, or otherwise Executing his Commands, is not expressed, and it is too much Curiosity to inquire. God by this teacheth us, that our Lives are to have their Vici[illegible: 1 letter]situdes of Temptations, and Consolations, and that our Temptations shall have an happy [illegible: 1 word], and that when ordinary means fail, we may expect extraordinary Influences, and Assistances. Luke saith, he departed from him for a Season: To let us know, that tho here was an end of his more eminent Temptations, yet he was not afterward without Satans Assaults.

12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into Prison, he departed into Galilee.

Iohn was some time after this cast into Prison, for his free reproving Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee, for taking Herodias his Brother Phillips Wife, and other Evils, Chap. 14.3.4. Mar. 6.17. Luk. 3.19, 20. Iesus heard of this accident, and departed into Galilee. There were many things happened betwixt Christ's Temptations, and this his Motion into Gali[illegible: 1 letter]ee, which are omitted by all the Evangelists except Iohn ▪ and by him recorded in his four first Chapters. Neither by Galilee, we must understand the nether Galilee, which was within the Iurisdiction of Herod, but the upper Galilee called Galilee of the Gentiles, v. 15. in the Borders of Zebulon, and Nepthali, which was in the Iurisdiction of Phillip, a man of a less bloody Disposition. Others make it under Herods Iurisdiction, but where the Pharises had less to do than in Iudea. Our Saviour doth not out of Cowardiss avoid Danger, but he knew his time was not yet come. But some judicious Interpreters think that our Saviour first went into the lower Galilee, and from thence soon after into the upper Galilee, that which makes this more probable is the next words: And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, so as it should seem he first went to Nazareth, which was in the lower Galilee.

Marginal references: Mar. 1.14. Luk. 3.20.; Luk. 4.14.31. Joh. 4.43.; delivered up.

13 And leaving Nazareth he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the Sea-coast, in the Borders of Zebulon and Nepthalim.

By this (as was said before) it should seem that our Lord first went into the Nether Galilee, where Nazareth was, which after a time he left, and went to Capernaum, which Capernaum was a City near the Sea, in the Borders of Zebulon and Nepthali, whose Lots in the Land of Canaan, were contiguous, and by the Sea-side, as appeareth by Iosua 19.

16 The People which sate in darkness, saw great light, and to them which sate in the Region, and shadow of death, light is sprang up.

The Text in Isaiah, 9.1.2. where the words are, Nevertheless the Dimness shall not be such as was in her Vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the Land of Zebulon, and the Land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the Sea beyond Iordan, in Galilee of the Nations. The People that walked in Darkness, have seen a great Light, they that dwell in the Land of the shadow of Death, upon them hath a Light shined. The Iews make a great many Objections against the Application of this Text unto Christ (as indeed they do against the Application of all Texts cited out of the Old Testament by the Evangelists) Christians believing that the Evangelists being Holy Men, who wrote not from a private Spirit, private Interpretations, have not any reason to regard what their Interest leadeth them to Object: But even Christian Interpreters are divided in their Sentiments whether these words are said to be fulfilled, in this Motion of Christ unto Galilee, in a Literal, or Typical, or a more improper and Analogical Sense, nor is it any great matter with which of them we agree, for my own part, I see no reason, why, v. 2. should not be Litterally understood of, and applyed unto Christ. There is nothing more ordinary in the Prophets, than after a threatning of Judgment, and Captivity unto the People to Comfort such as feared God amongst them with Promises of the Messiah, and the spiritual Salvation which was to be brought in; The Land of Zebulon, and Naphtali, suffered much by Benhadad, 1 Kin. 15.20. and more by Tiglath-Pilezer, 2 Kin. 15.29. before the General Captivity of the ten Tribes, 2 Kin. 17.6. The Lord by the Prophet, ch. 8. had been threatning this general Captivity, possibly the Prophet might say, the Affliction of those parts, should not be so great as the second mentioned, 2 Kin. 15.20. because by the story it seems they were generally carried into Captivity, before the more general Destruction of the other Tribes there, saith he. This Darkness shall be abundantly hereafter compensated, by the coming of the Messiah, and Preaching amongst this People; who living at a great distance from Ierusalem; never had such a Light as some other parts of Iudea, and first drank of the Cup of Gods wrath in their Captivity. It was called Galilee of the Gentiles, because it was near to the Men of Tyre, who were Gentiles, and had doubtless, in it a greater mixture o[illegible: 1 letter] Gentiles, than any other part of Canaan, ever since Solomon gave Hiram twenty Cities in this Galilee, 1 Kin. 9.11.

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the Kingdom of heaven is at ha[illegible: 1 letter]d.

From the time of Christs Baptism, or from the time that he heard that Iohn was committed to Prison, he, who before had Preached and taught privately, and more rarely, began to Preach more ordinarily, and publikely, and the sum of his Doctrine, was the same with that of Iohn the Baptist, confirming his Doctrine, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. See the Sense of those words, ch. 3. v. 2. Mark hath the same, Mar. 1.14.

Marginal references: Chap. 10.7.

18 And Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his Brother, casting a net into the Sea for they were Fishers

Whether by the Sea, he here meant the Lake of Gennesaret or the Ocean, is not worth the arguing, for the Iews called all great Collections of waters the Seas according to Gen. 1.10. he saw two Brethren Simon called Peter, and Andrew his Brother, whether natural Brethren, or called so because of their joynt Imployment, casting a Net into the Sea, either, for the catching of Fish, or for the washing of their Nets, see Luk. 5.2. for they were Fisher-men, Sea-men (as the word seems to [illegible: 1 letter]ignifie) used to fish in the Sea; Simon had a Ship of his own, Luk. 5.3. The Evangelists differing Relation of the call of Simon and Andrew, hath made a great deal of work for Interpreters. The greatest difference seemeth to be betwixt Matthew in this Text, and Iohn, ch. 1.35, 36, 37, 38. But certainly Iohn speaketh of one Call in those Verses: The other Evangelists of another. According to Iohn, they were called to the knowledge of, and first Acquaintance with Christ, this was while Iohn was in the publike Exercise of his Ministry, for they were his Disciples, Ioh. 1.35, 36. and v. 39. they are said at that time, to have abode with him that day: Probably they again returned to their old Imployment, and when Iohn was imprisoned, Christ walking by the Sea, saw them, and then called them to the Apostle-ship. There are other differences in their Call observed, betwixt Matthew, Mark ▪ and Luke, but such as may be easily answered, by those who observe that there is nothing more ordinary, than for the Evangelists in reporting the same History, one of them to supply more largely what the other had recorded more summarily.

Marginal references: Mar. 1.16. Joh. 1.42.

19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you Fishers of men.

Here was their Call to the Office of Apostles. It is observable that Gods Calls of men to places of Dignity, and Honour, and his appearances of Favour to them, have ordinarily been when they have been busied in the honest Imployments of their Callings. Saul was seeking his Fathers Asses, David keeping his Fathers Sheep, when the Lord called them to the Kingdom: The Shepheards were feeding their Flocks, when they had the Revel[illegible: 1 letter]tion of Chri[illegible: 2 letters], he calleth four Apostles from their Fishery. Amos from amongst the Herdmen of Tekoah, Matthew from the rece[illegible: 1 letter]t of Custom, Moses when keeping Iethroe's Flock, Exod. 3.2. Gideon from the Threshing floor, Iud. 6.11. God never incourageth Idleness, but despiseth not Persons in meanest Imployments. Follow me, that is, to return no more to your Imployment. [I will make you Fishers of Men] Here is the work of Mini[illegible: 2 letters]ers set out, to gain Souls to God, they are not to Fish meerly for a Livelihood, much less for Honour and applause to themselves, but to win Souls to God, and are to bait their Hooks, and order the[illegible: 1 letter]r Nets to this end▪ which they will never serve, if eitheir by general Discourses, they make the Maskes so wide, that all will dart through them, or if by their Wit, and Learning, they make their Discourses so fine, and curious, that few or none of their Hearers can understand them. Nor will all our Art make us Fishers of Men: I will make you (saith Christ) Paul may plant, and Appollos may water, God must give the increase: But yet we must order our Nets rationally, and probably in order to our end, and without that, cannot expect Gods blessings. Nor were the Apostles presently to enter upon the work of the Ministry, but first to follow him. And indeed such should all Gospel Ministers be, in the choice of Matthias, Peter limited the People in their Election, to those that had accompanied with them all the time, the Lord Iesus went in and out amongst them, Acts 1.21. other Ministers commonly prove Fishers for something else not for the Souls of men.

20 And they straightway left their Nets, and followed him.

When Christ calls, Men shall obey, when he calls, he draweth. It is not of indespensable necessity, that men who exercise the Ministry should have nothing else to do, Pauls hands ministred to his Necessities. But nothing but a providing for our selves, and Housholds, can excuse Ministers, in intangling themselves with the things of this Life. Churches that are able ought better to provide for their Ministers, and Ministers so provided for, sin if they do not wholly give up themselves to their work, 1 Tim. 4.15.

22 And they immediately left the ship, and their Father, and followed him.

There was another Iames, Math. 10.3. the Son of Alpheus, called Iames the less. Brother of Ioses and Salome, Mar. 15.40. this was Iames the Son of Zebedee [and Iohn] who is thought to be the Evange[illegible: 2 letters]st. Christ calleth them, not with his Voice only, but by his Spirit, affecting their Hearts. So as they immediately left their Ship, and their Father, elsewhere the D[illegible: 1 letter]sc[illegible: 1 letter]ples say, Master we have left all and followed thee, probably their Imployment with their Ship was their All. They left their Father also, but it was upon Christ's Call, in which Case it is every Mans Duty (and followed him) to learn of him before they went out to Preach him, and to be Witnesses of his Miracles, &c.

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their Synagogues, and Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the People.

Iesus Christ having now called four Disciples, did not judge it sufficient to send them about, but himself went about all the places of that dark Country of Galilee [teaching in their Synagogues] the word signifieth both the Congregation convened, and the Place. Here it signifieth both: Synagogues were of old time, Acts 15.21. How ancient we know not. Some think that they were no older than the return out of the Captivity of Babylon: But I am posed then in determining, where the Body of the Iews ordinarily worshipped God on the Sabbath-days, for it is certain they did not all go up to the Temple at Ierusalem. In the Old Testament we read of them only, Psal. 74.8. as at that time burnt up: As to the order of them we only read. That they had some Rulers, Acts 13.15. who directed those who were to speak words of Exhortation. The Scriptures were read in them, Acts 15.21. the Law and the Prophets, Acts 13.15. They prayed in them, Mat. 6.5. they expounded Scripture in them, Luk. 4.16, 17, 18, 19. Christ [Preached in the Synagogues] not only there, we shall find him Preaching on the Mount in the next Chap. and in private Houses, but he did not decline the Synagogues: Either, as to Preaching, or Hearing, not wholly separating from a Church corrupt enough through Traditions, but not Idolatrous, but what did he Preach? The Gospel of the Kingdom, the glad Tidings for lost Sinners, that was come into the World, by the Revelation of him, who was the true Messias, and the true and only way, by which Men might come to the Kingdomof God, and be eternally saved: This is what all his Ministers should publish, not their own Conceits, or Dictates of Men, or things impertinent to the Salvation of Souls, but the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner of Sicknesses, and all manner of Diseases amongst the People. The Greek is all Diseases, and Sicknesses, yet surely some dyed in Galilee, in that time. This is another Text, to prove that the term All in Scripture doth not always signifie every individual, but some individuals of every Species. Christ confirmed his Doctrine, and Divine Mi[illegible: 1 letter]s[illegible: 1 letter]on, by the[illegible: 1 letter]e miraculous Operations.

24 And his fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought unto▪ him all sick people, that were taken with divers diseases, and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which [illegible: 1 word] lunatick, and those which had the palsie and he healed them.

Syria, is said to be bounded on the North by Cilicia by Egypt, on the South, on the West with the Sea, and on the East, with Euphrates, and to comprehend within it all Iudea, Bethany, Galilee, Decapol[illegible: 1 letter]s, Samaria, Idumea, Palestina, Syrophoenicia, Syria; of Damascus, and Syria of Antioch. Christs fame spread very far doubtless, because of the good he did, and the Miracles he wrought [and they brought out to him, all such People, that were taken with divers Diseases] All here again can signifie no more than very many that were indisposed, and ill affected as to their bodily Health, those that were Sick of, or detained in their Beds, or Houses by divers Diseases: Tho Christ shewed his Power in curing some Diseases, which Physicians judge incurarable, yet he shewed his kindness also in relieving others, not so fatally Sick [and Torments] such as were troubled with great Pains, as if they were upon Racks, or in the hands of Tormentors, that set themselves to Torture them [and those which were possessed with Devils] Of these sorts of Persons▪ we shall read often in the Gospel: This is the fir[illegible: 1 letter]t time, we meet with the term. It is observed that in the Old Te[illegible: 1 letter]tament we read little of any such Persons (we read only of Saul's being vexed with an evil Spirit) we read much of them in the New Testament, and in Ecclesiastical History, for some years after Christ, they called them Energumeni. Some think God in those first times of the Gospel permitted, the Devil to this degree, that the Power of our Saviour might be the more seen casting them out, and in giving Authority to his Disciples to cast them out, which was a great Demon[illegible: 1 letter]tration of his Divinity: Others think, that God did it for a Demonstration of the Error of the Sadduces, who held there was no Spirits. The Gospel seemeth to hint two sorts of these Persons. Some upon whom the Devil had Power, no further than to Wrack and Torture them. Mar. 5.3, 4, 5. Luk. 9.39. others, in whom he dwelled Bodily, and Divined, and Prophecied in them, Acts 16.16. [and those which were Lunatick) affected with such Diseases, as use to increase, in some times of the Moon, or at such times to seize Persons of this Nature, we know divers more particularly, the Falling Sickness, and Dropsie [and those which had the Palsie] a Disease caused by the Resolution of the Nerves. Those Diseases are mentioned, which Men account hardest to be cured, if capable of Cure by Men, Christ to shew his Divine Power healed them. Christ did not only cure these Bodily Di[illegible: 2 letters]empers, but he also Preached the Gospel of the Kingdom to heal their Soul Distempers: We read of many came to him for Bodily Cure, but of none that said to him: What shall we do to be saved? How sensible are Men and Women of their Bodily Pains, and Diseases more than of their Souls wants?

25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.

They followed for the Loaves, for the benefit of the Bodily Cures, or out of Curiosity, tho some (probably) followed him out of Love, and to learn of him, Decapolis hath its name from ten Cities, comprehended in it. Here was a mixture both of Iews and Gentiles following Christ, who came to be a Saviour of them both, and to pull down the Partitionwall betwixt both, to make them both one Gospel-Church, Eph. 2.14.

The Temptation of Christ.

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

We have here the story of a famous duel, fought hand to hand, between Michael and the dragon, the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, nay, the serpent himself; in which the seed of the woman suffers, being tempted, and so has his heel bruised; but the serpent is quite baffled in his temptations, and so has his head broken; and our Lord Jesus comes off a Conqueror, and so secures not only comfort, but conquest at last, to all his faithful followers. Concerning Christ's temptation, observe,

I. The time when it happened: Then; there is an emphasis laid upon that. Immediately after the heavens were opened to him, and the Spirit descended on him, and he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, the next news we hear of him is, he is tempted; for then he is best able to grapple with the temptation. Note, 1. Great privileges, and special tokens of divine favour, will not secure us from being tempted. Nay, 2. After great honours put upon us, we must expect something that is humbling; as Paul has a messenger of Satan sent to buffer him, after he had been in the third heavens. 3. God usually prepares his people for temptation before he calls them to it; he gives strength according to the day, and, before a sharp trial, gives more than ordinary comfort. 4. The assurance of our sonship is the best preparative for temptation. If the good Spirit witness to our adoption, that will furnish us with an answer to all the suggestions of the evil spirit, designed either to debauch or disquiet us.

Then, when he was newly come from a solemn ordinance, when he was baptized, then he was tempted. Note, After we have been admitted into the communion of God, we must expect to be set upon by Satan. The enriched soul must double its guard. When thou has eaten and art full, then beware. Then, when he began to show himself publicly to Israel, then he was tempted, so as he never had been while he lived in privacy. Note, The Devil has a particular spite at useful persons, who are not only good, but given to do good, especially at their first setting out. It is the advice of the Son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus ii. 1), My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thyself for temptation. Let young ministers know what to expect, and arm accordingly.

II. The place where it was; in the wilderness; probably in the great wilderness of Sinai, where Moses and Elijah fasted forty days, for no part of the wilderness of Judea was so abandoned to wild beasts as this is said to have been, Mark i. 13. When Christ was baptized, he did not go to Jerusalem, there to publish the glories that had been put upon him, but retired into a wilderness. After communion with God, it is good to be private awhile, lest we lose what we have received, in the crowd and hurry of worldly business. Christ withdrew into the wilderness, 1. To gain advantage to himself. Retirement gives an opportunity for meditation an communion with God; even they who are called to the most active life must yet have their contemplative hours, and must first find time to be alone with God. Those are not fit to speak of the things of God in public to others, who have not first conversed with those things in secret by themselves. When Christ would appear as a Teacher come from God, it shall not be said of him, "He is newly come from travelling, he has been abroad, and has seen the world;" but, "He is newly come out of the desert, he has been alone conversing with God and his own heart." 2. To give advantage to the tempter, that he might have a readier access to him than he could have had in company. Note, Though solitude is a friend to a good heart, yet Satan knows how to improve it against us. Woe to him that is alone. Those who, under pretence of sanctity and devotion, retire into dens and deserts, find that they are not out of reach of their spiritual enemies, and that there they want the benefit of the communion with saints. Christ retired, (1.) To make his victory the more illustrious, he gave the enemy sun and wind on his side, and yet baffled him. He might give the Devil advantage, for the prince of this world had nothing in him; but he has in us, and therefore we must pray not to be led into temptation, and must keep out of harm's way. (2.) That he might have an opportunity to do his best himself, that he might be exalted in his own strength; for so it was written, I have trod the wine-press alone, and of the people there was none with me. Christ entered the lists without a second.

III. The preparatives for it, which were two.

1. He was directed to the combat; he did not wilfully thrust himself upon it, but he was led up of the Spirit to be tempted of the Devil. The Spirit that descended upon him like a dove made him meek, and yet made him bold. Note, Our care must be, not to enter into temptation; but if God, by his providence, order us into circumstances of temptation for our trial, we must not think it strange, but double our guard. Be strong in the Lord, resist stedfast in the faith, and all shall be well. If we presume upon our own strength, and tempt the devil to tempt us, we provoke God to leave us to ourselves; but, whithersoever God leads us, we may hope he will go along with us, and bring us off more than conquerors.

Christ was led to be tempted of the Devil, and of him only. Others are tempted, when they are drawn aside of their own lust and enticed (Jam. i. 14); the Devil takes hold of that handle, and ploughs with that heifer; but our Lord Jesus had no corrupt nature, and therefore he was led securely, without any fear or trembling, as a champion into the field, to be tempted purely by the Devil.

Now Christ's temptation is, (1.) An instance of his own condescension and humiliation. Temptations are fiery darts, thorns in the flesh, buffetings, siftings, wrestlings, combats, all which denote hardship and suffering; therefore Christ submitted to them, because he would humble himself, in all things to be made like unto his brethren; thus he gave his back to the smiters. (2.) An occasion of Satan's confusion. There is no conquest without a combat. Christ was tempted, that he might overcome the tempter. Satan tempted the first Adam, and triumphed over him; but he shall not always triumph, the second Adam shall overcome him and lead captivity captive. (3.) Matter of comfort to all the saints. In the temptation of Christ it appears, that our enemy is subtle, spiteful, and very daring in his temptations; but it appears withal, that he is not invincible. Though he is a strong man armed, yet the Captain of our salvation is stronger than he. It is some comfort to us to think that Christ suffered, being tempted; for thus it appears that temptations, if not yielded to, are not sins, they are afflictions only, and such as may be pleased. And we have a High Priest who knows, by experience, what it is to be tempted, and who therefore is the more tenderly touch with the feelings of our infirmities in an hour of temptation, Heb. ii. 18; iv. 15. But it is much more a comfort to think that Christ conquered, being tempted, and conquered for us; not only that the enemy we grapple with is a conquered, baffled, disarmed enemy, but that we are interested in Christ's victory over him, and through him are more than conquerors.

2. He was dieted for the combat, as wrestlers, who are temperate in all things (1 Cor. ix. 25); but Christ beyond any other, for he fasted forty days and forty nights, in compliance with the type and example of Moses the great lawgiver, and of Elias, the great reformer, of the Old Testament. John Baptist came as Elias, in those things that were moral, but not in such things as were miraculous (John x. 41); that honour was reserved for Christ. Christ needed not to fast for mortification (he had no corrupt desires to be subdued); yet he fasted, (1.) That herein he might humble himself, and might seem as one abandoned, whom no man seeketh after. (2.) That he might give Satan both occasion and advantage against him; and so make his victory over him the more illustrious. (3.) That he might sanctify and recommend fasting to us, when God in his providence calls to it, or when we are reduced to straits, and are destitute of daily food, or when it is requisite for the keeping under of the body, or the quickening of prayer, those excellent preparatives for temptation. If good people are brought low, if they want friends and succours, this may comfort them, that their Master himself was in like manner exercised. A man may want bread, and yet be a favourite of heaven, and under the conduct of the Spirit. The reference which the Papists make of their lent-fast to this fasting of Christ forty days, is a piece of foppery and superstition which the law of our land witnesses against, Stat. 5 Eliz. chap. 5 sect. 39, 40. When he fasted forty days he was never hungry; converse with heaven was instead of meat and drink to him, but he was afterwards an hungred, to show that he was really and truly Man; and he took upon him our natural infirmities, that he might atone for us. Man fell by eating, and that way we often sin, and therefore Christ was an hungred.

IV. The temptations themselves. That which Satan aimed at, in all his temptations, was, to bring him to sin against God, and so to render him for ever incapable of being a Sacrifice for the sins of others. Now, whatever the colours were, that which he aimed at was, to bring him, 1. To despair of his Father's goodness. 2. To presume upon his Father's power. 3. To alienate his Father's honour, by giving it to Satan. In the two former, that which he tempted him to, seemed innocent, and there in appeared the subtlety of the tempter; in the last, that which he tempted him with, seemed desirable. The two former are artful temptations, which there was need of great wisdom to discern; the last was a strong temptation, which there was need of great resolution to resist; yet he was baffled in them all.

1. He tempted him to despair of his Father's goodness, and to distrust his Father's care concerning him.

(1.) See how the temptation was managed (v. 3); The tempter came to him. Note, The Devil is the tempter, and therefore he is Satan—an adversary; for those are our worst enemies, that entice us to sin, and are Satan's agents, are doing his work, and carrying on his designs. He is called emphatically the tempter, because he was so to our first parents, and still is so, and all other tempters are set on work by him. The tempter came to Christ in a visible appearance, not terrible and affrighting, as afterward in his agony in the garden; no, if ever the Devil transformed himself into an angel of light, he did so now, and pretended to be a good genius, a guardian angel.

Observe the subtlety of the tempter, in joining this first temptation with what went before to make it the stronger. [1.] Christ began to be hungry, and therefore the motion seemed very proper, to turn stones into bread for his necessary support. Note, It is one of the wiles of Satan to take advantage of our outward condition, in that to plant the battery of his temptations. He is an adversary no less watchful than spiteful; and the more ingenious he is to take advantage against us, the more industrious we must be to give him none. When he began to be hungry, and that in a wilderness, where there was nothing to be had, then the Devil assaulted him. Note, Want and poverty are a great temptation to discontent and unbelief, and the use of unlawful means for our relief, under pretence that necessity has no law; and it is excused with this that hunger will break through stone walls, which yet is no excuse, for the law of God ought to be stronger to us than stone walls. Agur prays against poverty, not because it is an affliction and reproach, but because it is a temptation; lest I be poor, and steal. Those therefore who are reduced to straits, have need to double their guard; it is better to starve to death, than live and thrive by sin. [2.] Christ was lately declared to be the Son of God, and here the Devil tempts him to doubt of that; If thou be the Son of God. Had not the Devil known that the Son of God was to come into the world, he would not have said this; and had he not suspected that this was he, he would not have said it to him, nor durst he have said it if Christ had not now drawn a veil over his glory, and if the Devil had not now put on an impudent face.

First, "Thou has now an occasion to question whether thou be the Son of God or no; for can it be, that the Son of God, who is Heir of all things, should be reduced to such straits? If God were thy Father, he would not see thee starve, for all the beasts of the forest are his, Ps. l. 10, 12. It is true there was a voice from heaven, This is my beloved Son, but surely it was delusion, and thou was imposed upon by it; for either God is not thy Father, or he is a very unkind one." Note, 1. The great thing Satan aims at, in tempting good people, is to overthrow their relation to God as a Father, and so to cut off their dependence on him, their duty to him, and their communion with him. The good Spirit, as the Comforter of the brethren, witnesses that they are the children of God; the evil spirit, as the accuser of the brethren, does all he can to shake that testimony. 2. Outward afflictions, wants and burdens, are the great arguments Satan uses to make the people of God question their sonship; as if afflictions could not consist with, when really they proceed from, God's fatherly love. They know how to answer this temptation, who can say with holy Job, Though he slay me, though he starve me, yet I will trust in him, and love him as a Friend, even when he seems to come forth against me as an Enemy. 3. The Devil aims to shake our faith in the word of God, and bring us to question the truth of that. Thus he began with our first parents; Yea, has God said so and so? Surely he has not. So here, Has God said that thou art his beloved Son? Surely he did not say so; or if he did it is not true. We then give place to the Devil, when we question the truth of any word that God has spoken; for his business, as the father of lies, is to oppose the true sayings of God. 4. The Devil carries on his designs very much by possessing people with hard thoughts of God, as if he were unkind, or unfaithful, and had forsaken or forgotten those who had ventured their all with him. He endeavored to beget in our first parents a notion that God forbade them the tree of knowledge, because he grudged them the benefit of it; and so here he insinuates to our Saviour, that his Father had cast him off, and left him to shift for himself. But see how unreasonable this suggestion was, and how easily answered. If Christ seemed to be a mere Man now, because he was hungry, why was he not confessed to be more than a Man, even the Son of God, when for forty days he fasted, and was not hungry?

Secondly, "Thou hast now an opportunity to show that thou art the son of God. If thou art the Son of God, prove it by this, command these stones" (a heap of which, probably, lay now before him) "be made bread, v. 3. John Baptist said but the other day, that God can out of stone raise up children to Abraham, a divine power therefore can, no doubt, out of stones, make bread for those children; if there thou has that power, exert it now in a time of need for thyself." He does not say, Pray to thy Father that he would turn them into bread; but command it to be done; thy Father hath forsaken thee, set up for thyself, and be not beholden to him. The Devil is for nothing that is humbling, but ever thing that is assuming; and gains his point, if he can but bring men off from their dependence upon God, and possess them with an opinion of their self-sufficiency.

(2.) See how this temptation was resisted and overcome.

[1.] Christ refused to comply with it. He would not command these stones to be made bread; not because he could not; his power, which soon after this turned stones into bread; but he would not. And why would he not? At first view, the thing appears justifiable enough, and the truth is, the more plausible a temptation is, and the greater appearance there is of good in it, the more dangerous it is. This matter would bear a dispute, but Christ was soon aware of the snake in the grass, and would not do any thing, First, That looked like questioning the truth of the voice he heard from heaven, or putting that upon a new trial which was already settled. Secondly, That looked like distrusting his Father's care of him, or limiting him to one particular way of providing for him. Thirdly, That looked like setting up for himself, and being his own carver; or, Fourthly, That looked like gratifying Satan, by doing a thing at his motion. Some would have said, To give the Devil his due, this was good counsel; but for those who wait upon God, to consult him, is more than his due; it is like enquiring of the god Ekron, when there is a God in Israel.

[2.] He was ready to reply to it (v. 4); He answered and said, It is written. This is observable, that Christ answered and baffled all the temptations of Satan with, It is written. He is himself the eternal Word, and could have produced the mind of God without having recourse to the writings of Moses; but he put honour upon the scripture, and, to set us an example, he appealed to what was written in the law; and he says this to Satan, taking it for granted that he knew well enough what was written. It is possible that those who are the Devil's children may yet know very well what is written in God's book; The devils believe and tremble. This method we must take when at any time we are tempted to sin; resist and repel the temptation with, It is written. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, the only offensive weapon in all the Christian armoury (Eph. vi. 17); and we may say of it as David of Goliath's sword, None is like that in our spiritual conflicts.

This answer, as all the rest, is taken out of the book of Deuteronomy, which signifies the second law, and in which there is very little ceremonial; the Levitical sacrifices and purifications could not drive away Satan, though of divine institution, much less holy water and the sign of the cross, which are of human invention; but moral precepts and evangelical promises, mixed with faith, these are mighty, through God, for the vanquishing of Satan. This is here quoted from Deut. viii. 3, where the reason given why God fed the Israelites with manna is, because he would teach them that man shall not live by bread alone. This Christ applies to his own case. Israel was God's son, whom he called out of Egypt (Hos. xi. 1), so was Christ (ch. ii. 15); Israel was then in a wilderness, Christ was so now, perhaps the same wilderness. Now, First, The Devil would have him question his sonship, because he was in straits; no, says he, Israel was God's son, and a son he was very tender of and whose manners he bore (Acts xiii. 18); and yet he brought them into straits; and it follows there (Deut. viii. 5), As a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Christ, being a Son, thus learns obedience. Secondly, The Devil would have him distrust his Father's love and care. "No," says he, "that would be to do as Israel did, who, when they were in want, said, Is the Lord among us? and, Can he furnish a table in the wilderness? Can he give bread?" Thirdly, The Devil would have him, as soon as he began to be hungry, immediately looking out for supply; whereas God, for wise and holy ends, suffered Israel to hunger before he fed them; to humble them, and prove them. God will have his children, when they want, not only to wait on him, but to wait for him. Fourthly, The Devil would have him to supply himself with bread. "No," says Christ, "what need is there of that? It is a point long since settled, and incontestably proved, that man may live without bread, as Israel in the wilderness lived forty years upon manna." It is true, God in his providence ordinarily maintains men by bread out of the earth (Job xxviii. 5); but he can, if he please, make use of other means to keep men alive; any word proceeding out of the mouth of God, any thing that God shall order and appoint for that end, will be a good a livelihood for man as bread, and will maintain him as well. As we may have bread, and yet not be nourished, if God deny his blessing (Hag. i. 6, 9; Mic. vi. 14; for though bread is the staff of life, it is God's blessing that is the staff of bread), so we may want bread, and yet be nourished some other way. God sustains Moses and Elias without bread, and Christ himself just now for forty days; he sustained Israel with bread from heaven, angels' food; Elijah with bread sent miraculously by ravens, and another time with the widow's meal miraculously multiplied; therefore Christ need not turn stones into bread, but trust God to keep him alive some other way now that he is hungry, as he had done forty days before he hungred. Note, As in our great abundance we must not think to live without God, so in our greatest straits we must learn to live upon God; and when the fig-tree does not blossom, and the field yields no meat, when all ordinary means of succour and support are cut off, yet then we must rejoice in the Lord; then we must not think to command what we will, though contrary to his command, but must humbly pray for what he thinks fit to give us, and be thankful for the bread of our allowance, though it be a short allowance. Let us learn of Christ here to be at God's finding, rather than at our own; and not to take any irregular courses for our supply, when our wants are ever so pressing (Ps. xxxvii. 3). Jehovah-jireh; some way or other the Lord will provide. It is better to live poorly upon the fruits of God's goodness, than live plentifully upon the products of our own sin.

2. He tempted him to presume upon his Father's power and protection. See what a restless unwearied adversary the Devil is! If he fail in one assault, he tries another.

Now in this second attempt we may observe,

(1.) What the temptation was, and how it was managed. In general, finding Christ so confident of his Father's care of him, in point of nourishment, he endeavors to draw him to presume upon that care in point of safety. Note, We are in danger of missing our way, both on the right hand and on the left, and therefore must take heed, lest, when we avoid one extreme, we be brought by the artifices of Satan, to run into another; lest, by overcoming our prodigality, we fall into covetousness. Nor are any extremes more dangerous than those of despair and presumption, especially in the affairs of our souls. Some who have obtained a persuasion that Christ is able and willing to save them from their sins, are then tempted to presume that he will save them in their sins. Thus when people begin to be zealous in religion, Satan hurries them into bigotry and intemperate heats.

Now in this temptation we may observe,

[1.] How he made way for it. He took Christ, not by force against his will, but moved him to go, and went along with him, to Jerusalem. Whether Christ went upon the ground, and so went up the stairs to the top of the temple, or whether he went in the air, is uncertain; but so it was, that he was set upon a pinnacle, or spire; upon the fane (so some), upon the battlements (so others), upon the wing (so the word is), of the temple. Now observe, First, How submissive Christ was, in suffering himself to be hurried thus, that he might let Satan do his worst and yet conquer him. The patience of Christ here, as afterward in his sufferings and death, is more wonderful than the power of Satan or his instruments; for neither he nor they could have any power against Christ but what was given them from above. How comfortable is it, that Christ, who let loose this power of Satan against himself, does not in like manner let it loose against us, but restrains it, for he knows our frame! Secondly, How subtle the Devil was, in the choice of the place for his temptations. Intending to solicit Christ to an ostentation of his own power, and a vain-glorious presumption upon God's providence, he fixes him on a public place in Jerusalem, a populous city, and the joy of the whole earth; in the temple, one of the wonders of the world, continually gazed upon with admiration by some one or other. There he might make himself remarkable, and be taken notice of by everybody, and prove himself the Son of God; not, as he was urged in the former temptation, in the obscurities of a wilderness, but before multitudes, upon the most eminent stage of action.

Observe, 1. That Jerusalem is here called the holy city; for so it was in name and profession, and there was in it a holy seed, that was the substance thereof. Note, There is no city on earth so holy as to exempt and secure us from the Devil and his temptations. The first Adam was tempted in the holy garden, the second in the holy city. Let us not, therefore, in any place, be off our watch. Nay, the holy city is the place where he does, with great advantage and success, tempt men to pride and presumption; but, blessed be God, into the Jerusalem above, that holy city, no unclean thing shall enter; there we shall be for ever out of temptation. 2. That he set him upon a pinnacle of the temple, which (as Josephus describes it, Antiq. 15. 412) was so very high, that it would make a man's head giddy to look down to the bottom. Note, Pinnacles of the temple are places of temptation; I mean, (1.) High places are so; they are slippery places; advancement in the world makes a man a fair mark for Satan to shoot his fiery darts at. God casts down, that he may raise up; the Devil raises up, that he may cast down: therefore they who would take heed of falling, must take heed of climbing. (2.) High places in the church are, in a special manner, dangerous. They who excel in gifts, who are in eminent stations, and have gained great reputation, have need to keep humble; for Satan will be sure to aim at them, to puff them up with pride, that they may fall into the condemnation of the Devil. Those that stand high are concerned to stand fast.

[2.] How he moved it; "If thou be the Son of God, now show thyself to the world, and prove thyself to be so; cast thyself down, and then," First, "Thou wilt be admired, as under the special protection of heaven. When they see thee receive no hurt by a fall from such a precipice, they will say" (as the barbarous people did of Paul) "that thou art a God." Tradition says, that Simon Magnus by this very thing attempted to prove himself a god, but that his pretensions were disproved, for he fell down, and was miserably bruised. "Nay," Secondly, "Thou wilt be received, as coming with a special commission from heaven. All Jerusalem will see and acknowledge, not only that thou art more than a man, but that thou art that Messenger, that Angel of the covenant, that should suddenly come to the temple (Mal. iii. 1), and from thence descend into the streets of the holy city; and thus the work of convincing the Jews will be cut short, and soon done."

Observe, The Devil said, Cast thyself down. The Devil could not cast him down, though a little thing would have done it, from the top of a spire. Note, The power of Satan is a limited power; hitherto he shall come, and no further. Yet, if the Devil had cast him down, he had not gained his point; that had been his suffering only, not his sin. Note, Whatever real mischief is done us, it is of our own doing; the Devil can but persuade, he cannot compel; he can but say, Cast thyself down; he cannot cast us down. Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and not forced, but enticed. Therefore let us not hurt ourselves, and then, blessed be God, no one else can hurt us, Prov. ix. 12.

[3.] How he backed this motion with a scripture; For it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee. But is Saul also among the prophets? Is Satan so well versed in scripture, as to be able to quote it so readily? It seems, he is. Note, It is possible for a man to have his head full of scripture-notions, and his mouth full of scripture-expressions, while his heart is full of reigning enmity to God and all goodness. The knowledge which the devils have of the scripture, increases both their mischievousness and their torment. Never did the devil speak with more vexation to himself, than when he said to Christ, I know thee who thou art. The devil would persuade Christ to throw himself down, hoping that he would be his own murderer, and that there would be an end of him and his undertaking, which he looked upon with a jealous eye; to encourage him to do it, he tells them, that there was no danger, that the good angels would protect him, for so was the promise (Ps. xci. 11), He shall give his angels charge over thee. In this quotation,

First, There was something right. It is true, there is such a promise of the ministration of the angels, for the protection of the saints. The devil knows it by experience; for he finds his attempts against them fruitless, and he frets and rages at it, as he did at the hedge about Job, which he speaks of so sensibly, Job i. 10. He was also right in applying it to Christ, for to him all the promises of the protection of the saints primarily and eminently belong, and to them, in and through him. That promise, that not a bone of theirs shall be broken (Ps. xxxiv. 20), was fulfilled in Christ, John xix. 36. The angels guard the saints for Christ's sake, Rev. vii. 5, 11.

Secondly, There was a great deal wrong in it; and perhaps the devil had a particular spite against this promise, and perverted it, because it often stood in his way, and baffled his mischievous designs against the saints. See here, 1. How he misquoted it; and that was bad. The promise is, They shall keep thee; but how? In all thy ways; not otherwise; if we go out of our way, out of the way of our duty, we forfeit the promise, and put ourselves out of God's protection. Now this word made against the tempter, and therefore he industriously left it out. If Christ had cast himself down, he had been out of his way, for he had no call so to expose himself. It is good for us upon all occasions to consult the scriptures themselves, and not to take things upon trust, that we may not be imposed upon by those that maim and mangle the word of God; we must do as the noble Bereans, who searched the scriptures daily. 2. How he misapplied it; and that was worse. Scripture is abused when it is pressed to patronize sin; and when men thus wrest it to their own temptation, they do it to their own destruction 2 Pet. iii. 16. This promise is firm, and stands good; but the devil made an ill use of it, when he used it as an encouragement to presume upon the divine care. Note, It is no new thing for the grace of God to be turned into wantonness; and for men to take encouragement in sin from the discoveries of God's good will to sinners. But shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? throw ourselves down, that the angels may bear us up? God forbid.

(2.) How Christ overcame this temptation; he resisted and overcame it, as he did the former, with, It is written. The devil's abusing of scripture did not prevent Christ from using it, but he presently urges, Deut. vi. 16, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. The meaning of this is not, Therefore thou must not tempt me; but, Therefore I must not tempt my Father. In the place whence it is quoted, it is in the plural number, You shall not tempt; here it is singular, Thou shalt not. Note, We are then likely to get good by the word of God, when we hear and receive general promises as speaking to us in particular. Satan said, It is written; Christ says, It is written; not that one scripture contradicts another. God is one, and his word one, and he is one mind, but that is a promise, this is a precept, and therefore that is to be explained and applied by this; for scripture is the best interpreter of scripture; and they who prophesy, who expound scripture, must do it according to the proportion of faith (Rom. xii. 6), consistently with practical godliness.

If Christ should cast himself down, it would be the tempting of God, [1.] As it would be requiring a further confirmation of that which was so well confirmed. Christ was abundantly satisfied that God was already his Father, and took care of him, and gave his angels a charge concerning him; and therefore to put it upon a new experiment, would be to tempt him, as the Pharisees tempted Christ; when they had so many signs on earth, they demanded a sign from heaven. This is limiting the Holy One of Israel. [2.] As it would be requiring a special preservation of him, in doing that which he had no call to. If we expect that because God has promised not to forsake us, therefore he should follow us out of the way of our duty; that because he has promised to supply our wants, therefore he should humour us, and please our fancies; that because he has promised to keep us, we may wilfully thrust ourselves into danger, and may expect the desired end, without using the appointed means; this is presumption, this is tempting God. And it is an aggravation of the sin, that he is the Lord our God; it is an abuse of the privilege we enjoy, in having him for our God; he has thereby encouraged us to trust him, but we are very ungrateful, if therefore we tempt him; it is contrary to our duty to him as our God. This is to affront him whom we ought to honour. Note, We must never promise ourselves any more than God has promised us.

3. He tempted him to the most black and horrid idolatry, with the proffer of the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And here we may observe,

(1.) How the devil made this push at our Saviour, v. 8, 9. The worst temptation was reserved for the last. Note, Sometimes the saint's last encounter is with the sons of Anak, and the parting blow is the sorest; therefore, whatever temptation we have been assaulted by, still we must prepare for worse; must be armed for all attacks, with the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.

In this temptation, we may observe,

[1.] What he showed him—all the kingdoms of the world. In order to do this, he took him to an exceeding high mountain; in hopes of prevailing, as Balak with Balaam, he changed his ground. The pinnacle of the temple is not high enough; the prince of the power of the air must have him further up into his territories. Some think this high mountain was on the other side of Jordan, because there we find Christ next after the temptation, John i. 28, 29. Perhaps it was mount Pisgah, whence Moses, in communion with God, had all the kingdoms of Canaan shown him. Hither the blessed Jesus was carried for the advantage of a prospect; as if the devil could show him more of the world than he knew already, who made and governed it. Thence he might discover some of the kingdoms situate about Judea, though not the glory of them; but there was doubtless a juggle and a delusion of Satan's in it; it is probable that that which he showed him, was but a landscape, an airy representation in a cloud, such as that great deceiver could easily frame and put together; setting forth, in proper and lively colours, the glories and the splendid appearances of princes; their robes and crowns, their retinue, equipage, and lifeguards; the pomp of thrones, and courts, and stately palaces, the sumptuous buildings in cities, the gardens and fields about the country-seats, with the various instances of their wealth, pleasure, and gaiety; so as might be most likely to strike the fancy, and excite the admiration and affection. Such was this show, and his taking him up into a high mountain, was but to humour the thing, and to colour the delusion; in which yet the blessed Jesus did not suffer himself to be imposed upon, but saw through the cheat, only he permitted Satan to take his own way, that his victory over him might be the more illustrious. Hence observe, concerning Satan's temptations, that, First, They often come in at the eye, which is blinded to the things it should see, and dazzled with the vanities it should be turned from. The first sin began in the eye, Gen. iii. 6. We have therefore need to make a covenant with our eyes, and to pray that God would turn them away from beholding vanity. Secondly, That temptations commonly take rise from the world, and the things in it. The lust of the flesh, and of the eye, with the pride of life, are the topics from which the devil fetches most of his arguments. Thirdly, That it is a great cheat which the devil puts upon poor souls, in his temptations. He deceives, and so destroys; he imposes upon men with shadows and fast colours; shows the world and the glory of it, and hides from men's eyes the sin and sorrow and death which stain the pride of all this glory, the cares and calamities which attend great possessions, and the thorns which crowns themselves are lined with. Fourthly, That the glory of the world is the most charming temptation to the unthinking and unwary, and that by which men are most imposed upon. Laban's sons grudge Jacob all this glory; the pride of life is the most dangerous snare.

(2.) What he said to him (v. 9); All these things I will give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. See,

First, How vain the promise was. All these things I will give thee. He seems to take it for granted, that in the former temptations he had in part gained his point, and proved that Christ was not the Son of God, because he had not given him those evidences of it which he demanded; so that here he looks upon him as a mere man. "Come," says he, "it seems that God whose Son thou thinkest thyself to be deserts thee, and starves thee—a sign that he is not thy Father; but if thou wilt be ruled by me, I will provide better for thee than so; own me for thy father, and ask my blessing, and all this will I give thee." Note, Satan makes an easy prey of men, when he can persuade them to think themselves abandoned of God. The fallacy of this promise lies in that, All this will I give thee. And what was all that? It was but a map, a picture, a mere phantasm, that had nothing in it real or solid, and this he would give him; a goodly prize! Yet such are Satan's proffers. Note, Multitudes lose the sight of that which is, by setting their eyes on that which is not. The devil's baits are all a sham; they are shows and shadows with which he deceives them, or rather they deceive themselves. The nations of the earth had been, long before, promised to the Messiah; if he be the Son of God, they belong to him; Satan pretends now to be a good angel, probably one of those that were set over kingdoms, and to have received a commission to deliver possession to him according to promise. Note, We must take heed of receiving even that which God hath promised, out of the devil's hand; we do so when we precipitate the performance, by catching at it in a sinful way.

Secondly, How vile the condition was; If thou will fall down, and worship me. All the worship which the heathen performed to their gods, was directed to the devil (Deut. xxxii. 17), who is therefore called the god of this world, 2 Cor. iv. 4; 1 Cor. x. 20. And fain would he draw Christ into his interests, and persuade him, now that he set up for a Teacher, to preach up the Gentile idolatry, and to introduce it again among the Jews, and then the nations of the earth would soon flock in to him. What temptation could be more hideous, more black? Note, The best of saints may be tempted to the worst of sins, especially when they are under the power of melancholy; as, for instance, to atheism, blasphemy, murder, self-murder, and what not. This is their affliction, but while there is no consent to it, nor approbation of it, it is not their sin; Christ was tempted to worship Satan.

(2.) See how Christ warded off the thrust, baffled the assault, and came off a conqueror. He rejected the proposal,

[1.] With abhorrence and detestation; Get thee hence, Satan. The two former temptations had something of colour, which would admit a consideration, but this was so gross as not to bear a parley; it appears abominable at the first sight, and therefore is immediately rejected. If the best friend we have in the world suggests such a thing as this to us, Go, serve other gods, he must not be heard with patience, Deut. xiii. 6, 8. Some temptations have their wickedness written in their forehead, they are open before-hand; they are not to be disputed with, but rejected; "Get thee hence, Satan. Away with it, I cannot bear the thought of it!" While Satan tempted Christ to do himself a mischief, by casting himself down, though he yielded not, yet he heard it; but now that the temptation flies in the face of God, he cannot bear it; Get thee hence, Satan. Note, It is a just indignation, which rises at the proposal of any thing that reflects on the honour of God, and strikes at his crown. Nay, whatever is an abominable thing, which we are sure the Lord hates, we must thus abominate it; far be it from us that we should have any thing to do with it. Note, It is good to be peremptory in resisting temptation, and to stop our ears to Satan's charms.

[2.] With an argument fetched from scripture. Note, In order to the strengthening of our resolutions against sin, it is good to see what a great deal of reason there is for those resolutions. The argument is very suitable, and exactly to the purpose, taken from Deut. vi. 13, and x. 20. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Christ does not dispute whether he were an angel of light, as he pretended, or not; but though he were, yet he must not be worshipped, because that is an honour due to God only. Note, It is good to make our answers to temptation as full and as brief as may be, so as not to leave room for objections. Our Saviour has recourse to the fundamental law in this case, which is indispensable, and universally obligatory. Note, Religious worship is due to God only, and must not be given to any creature; it is a flower of the crown which cannot be alienated, a branch of God's glory which he will not give to another, and which he would not give to his own Son, by obliging all men to honour the Son, even as they honour the Father, if he had not been God, equal to him, and one with him. Christ quotes this law concerning religious worship, and quotes it with application to himself; First, To show that in his estate of humiliation he was himself made under this law: though, as God, he was worshipped, yet, as Man, he did worship God, both publicly and privately. He obliges us to no more than what he was first pleased to oblige himself to. Thus it became him to fulfil all righteousness. Secondly, To show that the law of religious worship is of eternal obligation: though he abrogated and altered many institutions of worship, yet this fundamental law of nature—That God only is to be worshipped, he came to ratify, and confirm, and enforce upon us.

V. We have here the end and issue of this combat, v. 11. Though the children of God may be exercised with many and great temptations, yet God will not suffer them to be tempted above the strength which either they have, or he will put into them, 1 Cor. x. 13. It is but for a season that they are in heaviness, through manifold temptations.

Now the issue was glorious, and much to Christ's honour: for,

1. The devil was baffled, and quitted the field; Then the devil leaveth him, forced to do so by the power that went along with that word of command, Get thee hence, Satan. He made a shameful and inglorious retreat, and came off with disgrace; and the more daring his attempts had been, the more mortifying was the foil that was given him. Magnis tamen excidit ausis—The attempt, however, in which he failed, was daring. Then, when he had done his worst, had tempted him with all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and found that he was not influenced by that bait, that he could not prevail with that temptation with which he had overthrown so many thousands of the children of men, then he leaves him; then he gives him over as more than a man. Since this did not move him, he despairs of moving him, and begins to conclude, that he is the Son of God, and that it is in vain to tempt him any further. Note, If we resist the devil, he will flee from us; he will yield, if we keep our ground; as when Naomi saw that Ruth was steadfastly resolved, she left off speaking to her. When the devil left our Saviour, he owned himself fairly beaten; his head was broken by the attempt he made to bruise Christ's heel. He left him because he had nothing in him, nothing to take hold of; he saw it was to no purpose, and so gave over. Note, The devil, though he is an enemy to all saints, is a conquered enemy. The Captain of our salvation has defeated and disarmed him; we have nothing to do but to pursue the victory.

2. The holy angels came and attended upon our victorious Redeemer; Behold, angels came and ministered unto him. They came in a visible appearance, as the devil had done in the temptation. While the devil was making his assaults upon our Saviour, the angels stood at a distance, and their immediate attendance and administration were suspended, that it might appear that he vanquished Satan in his own strength, and that his victory might be the more illustrious; and that afterward, when Michael makes use of his angels in fighting with the dragon and his angels, it might appear, that it is not because he needs them, or could not do his work without them, but because he is pleased to honour them so far as to employ them. One angel might have served to bring him food, but here are many attending him, to testify their respect to him, and their readiness to receive his commands. Behold this! It is worth taking notice of; (1.) That as there is a world of wicked, malicious spirits that fight against Christ and his church, and all particular believers, so there is a world of holy, blessed spirits engaged and employed for them. In reference to our war with devils, we may take abundance of comfort from our communion with angels. (2.) That Christ's victories are the angels' triumphs. The angels came to congratulate Christ on his success, to rejoice with him, and to give him the glory due to his name; for that was sung with a loud voice in heaven, when the great dragon was cast out (Rev. xii. 9, 10), Now is come salvation and strength. (3.) That the angels ministered to the Lord Jesus, not only food, but whatever else he wanted after this great fatigue. See how the instances of Christ's condescension and humiliation were balanced with tokens of his glory. As when he was crucified in weakness, yet he lived by the power of God; so when in weakness he was tempted, was hungry and weary, yet by his divine power he commanded the ministration of angels. Thus the Son of man did eat angels' food, and, like Elias, is fed by an angel in the wilderness, 1 Kings xix. 4, 7. Note, Though God may suffer his people to be brought into wants and straits, yet he will take effectual care for their supply, and will rather send angels to feed them, than see them perish. Trust in the Lord, and verily thou shalt be fed, Ps. xxxvii. 3.

Christ was thus succoured after the temptation, [1.] For his encouragement to go on in his undertaking, that he might see the powers of heaven siding with him, when he saw the powers of hell set against him. [2.] For our encouragement to trust in him; for as he knew, by experience, what it was to suffer, being tempted, and how hard that was, so he knew what it was to be succoured, being tempted, and how comfortable that was; and therefore we may expect, not only that he will sympathize with his tempted people, but that he will come in with seasonable relief to them; as our great Melchizedec, who met Abraham when he returned from the battle, and as the angels here ministered to him.

Opening of Christ's Ministry.

12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

We have here an account of Christ's preaching in the synagogues of Galilee, for he came into the world to be a Preacher; the great salvation which he wrought out, he himself began to publish (Heb. ii. 3) to show how much his heart was upon it, and ours should be.

Several passages in the other gospels, especially in that of St. John, are supposed, in the order of the story of Christ's life, to intervene between his temptation and his preaching in Galilee. His first appearance after his temptation, was when John Baptist pointed to him, saying, Behold the Lamb of God, John i. 29. After that, he went up to Jerusalem, to the passover (John ii.), discoursed with Nicodemus (John iii.), with the woman of Samaria (John iv.), and then returned into Galilee, and preached there. But Matthew, having had his residence in Galilee, begins his story of Christ's public ministry with his preaching there, which here we have an account of. Observe,

I. The time; When Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, then he went into Galilee, v. 12. Note, The cry of the saints' sufferings comes up into the ears of the Lord Jesus. If John be cast into prison, Jesus hears it, takes cognizance of it, and steers his course accordingly: he remembers the bonds and afflictions that abide his people. Observe, 1. Christ did not go into the country, till he heard of John's imprisonment; for he must have time given him to prepare the way of the Lord, before the Lord himself appear. Providence wisely ordered it, that John should be eclipsed before Christ shone forth; otherwise the minds of people would have been distracted between the two; one would have said, I am of John, and another, I am of Jesus. John must be Christ's harbinger, but not his rival. The moon and stars are lost when the sun rises. John had done his work by the baptism of repentance, and then he was laid aside. The witnesses were slain when they had finished their testimony, and not before, Rev. xi. 7. 2. He did go into the country as soon as he heard of John's imprisonment; not only to provide for his own safety, knowing that the Pharisees in Judea were as much enemies to him as Herod was to John, but to supply the want of John Baptist, and to build upon the good foundation he had laid. Note, God will not leave himself without witness, nor his church without guides; when he removes one useful instrument, he can raise up another, for he has the residue of the Spirit, and he will do it, if he has work to do. Moses my servant is dead, John is cast into prison; now, therefore, Joshua, arise; Jesus, arise.

II. The place where he preached; in Galilee, a remote part of the country, that lay furthest from Jerusalem, as was there looked upon with contempt, as rude and boorish. The inhabitants of that country were reckoned stout men, fit for soldiers, but not polite men, or fit for scholars. Thither Christ went, there he set up the standard of his gospel; and in this, as in other things, he humbled himself. Observe,

1. The particular city he chose for his residence; not Nazareth, where he had been bred up; no, he left Nazareth; particular notice is taken of that, v. 13. And with good reason did he leave Nazareth; for the men of that city thrust him out from among them, Luke iv. 29. He made them his first, and a very fair, offer of his service, but they rejected him and his doctrine, and were filled with indignation at him and it; and therefore he left Nazareth, and shook off the dust of his feet for a testimony against those there, who would not have him to teach them. Nazareth was the first place that refused Christ, and was therefore refused by him. Note, It is just with God, to take the gospel and the means of grace from those that slight them, and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he is not welcome. Unhappy Nazareth! If thou hadst known in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace, how well had it been for thee! But now they are hid from thine eyes.

But he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which was a city of Galilee, but many miles distant from Nazareth, a great city and of much resort. It is said here to be on the sea coast, not the great sea, but the sea of Tiberias, an inland water, called also the lake of Gennesaret. Close by the falling of Jordan into the sea stood Capernaum, in the tribe of Naphtali, but bordering upon Zebulun; hither Christ came, and here he dwelt. Some think that his father Joseph had a habitation here, others that he took a house or lodgings at least; and some think it more than probable, that he dwelt in the house of Simon Peter; however, here he fixed not constantly, for he went about doing good; but this was for some time his head quarters: what little rest he had, was here; here he had a place, though not a place of his own, to lay his head on. And at Capernaum, it should seem, he was welcome, and met with better entertainment than he had at Nazareth. Note, If some reject Christ, yet others will receive him, and bid him welcome. Capernaum is glad of Nazareth's leavings. If Christ's own countrymen be not gathered, yet he will be glorious. "And thou, Capernaum, has now a day of it; thou art now lifted up to heaven; be wise for thyself, and know the time of thy visitation."

2. The prophecy that was fulfilled is this, v. 14-16. It is quoted from Isa. ix. 1, 2, but with some variation. The prophet in that place is foretelling a greater darkness of affliction to befal the contemners of Immanuel, than befel the countries there mentioned, either in their first captivity under Benhadad, which was but light (1 Kings xv. 20), or in their second captivity under the Assyrian, which was much heavier, 2 Kings xv. 29. The punishment of the Jewish nation for rejecting the gospel should be sorer than either (see Isa. viii. 21, 22); for those captivated places had some reviving in their bondage, and saw a great light again, ch. ix. 2. This is Isaiah's sense; but the Scripture has many fulfillings; and the evangelist here takes only the latter clause, which speaks of the return of the light of liberty and prosperity to those countries that had been in the darkness of captivity, and applies it to the appearing of the gospel among them.

The places are spoken of, v. 15. The land of Zebulun is rightly said to be by the sea coast, for Zebulun was a haven of ships, and rejoiced in her going out, Gen. xlix. 13; Deut. xxxiii. 18. Of Naphtali, it had been said, that he should give goodly words (Gen. xlix. 21), and should be satisfied with favour (Deut. xxxiii. 23), for from him began the gospel; goodly words indeed, and such as bring to a soul God's satisfying favour. The country beyond Jordan is mentioned likewise, for there we sometimes find Christ preaching, and Galilee of the Gentiles, the upper Galilee to which the Gentiles resorted for traffic, and where they were mingled with the Jews; which intimates a kindness in reserve for the poor Gentiles. When Christ came to Capernaum, the gospel came to all those places round about; such diffusive influences did the Sun of righteousness cast.

Now, concerning the inhabitants of these places, observe, (1.) The posture they were in before the gospel came among them (v. 16); they were in darkness. Note, Those that are without Christ, are in the dark, nay, they are darkness itself; as the darkness that was upon the face of the deep. Nay, they were in the region and shadow of death; which denotes not only great darkness, as the grave is a land of darkness, but great danger. A man that is desperately sick, and not likely to recover, is in the valley of the shadow of death, though not quite dead; so the poor people were on the borders of damnation, though not yet damned-dead in law. And, which is worst of all, they were sitting in this condition. Sitting in a continuing posture; where we sit, we mean to stay; they were in the dark, and likely to be so, despairing to find the way out. And it is a contented posture; they were in the dark, and they loved darkness, they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. Their condition was sad; it is still the condition of many great and mighty nations, which are to be thought of, and prayed for, with pity. But their condition is more sad, who sit in darkness in the midst of gospel-light. He that is in the dark because it is night, may be sure that the sun will shortly arise; but he that is in the dark because he is blind, will not so soon have his eyes opened. We have the light, but what will that avail us, if we be not the light in the Lord? (2.) The privilege they enjoyed, when Christ and his gospel came among them; it was as great a reviving as ever light was to a benighted traveller. Note, When the gospel comes, light comes; when it comes to any place, when it comes to any soul, it makes day there, John iii. 19; Luke i. 78, 79. Light is discovering, it is directing; so is the gospel.

It is a great light; denoting the clearness and evidence of gospel-revelations; not like the light of a candle, but the light of the sun when he goes forth in his strength. Great in comparison with the light of the law, the shadows of which were now done away. It is a great light, for it discovers great things and of vast consequence; it will last long, and spread far. And it is a growing light, intimated in that word, It is sprung up. It was but spring of day with them; now the day dawned, which afterward shone more and more. The gospel-kingdom, like a grain of mustard-seed or the morning light, was small in its beginnings, gradual in its growth, but great in its perfection.

Observe, the light sprang up to them; they did not go to seek it, but were prevented with the blessings of this goodness. It came upon them ere they were aware, at the time appointed, by the disposal of him who commandeth the morning, and causes the day-spring to know its place, that it may take hold of the ends of the earth, Job xxxviii. 12, 13.

III. The text he preached upon (v. 17): From that time, that is, from the time of his coming into Galilee, into the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, from that time, he began to preach. He had been preaching, before this, in Judea, and had made and baptized many disciples (John iv. 1); but his preaching was no so public and constant as now it began to be. The work of the ministry is so great and awful, that it is fit to be entered upon by steps and gradual advances.

The subject which Christ dwelt upon now in his preaching (and it was indeed the sum and substance of all his preaching), was the very same John has preached upon (ch. iii. 2); Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; for the gospel is the same for substance under various dispensations; the commands the same, and the reasons to enforce them the same; an angel from heaven dares not preach any other gospel (Gal. i. 8), and will preach this, for it is the everlasting gospel. Fear God, and, by repentance, give honour to him, Rev. xiv. 6, 7. Christ put a great respect upon John's ministry, when he preached to the same purport that John had preached before him. By this he showed that John was his messenger and ambassador; for when he brought the errand himself, it was the same that he had sent by him. Thus did God confirm the word of his messenger, Isa. xliv. 26. The Son came on the same errand that the servants came on (ch. xxi. 37), to seek fruit, fruits meet for repentance. Christ had lain in the bosom of the Father, and could have preached sublime notions of divine and heavenly things, that should have alarmed and amused the learned world, but he pitches upon this old, plain text, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [1.] This he preached first upon; he began with this. Ministers must not be ambitious of broaching new opinions, framing new schemes, or coining new expressions, but must content themselves with plain, practical things, with the word that is nigh us, even in our mouth, and in our heart. We need not go up to heaven, nor down to the deep, for matter or language in our preaching. As John prepared Christ's way, so Christ prepared his own, and made way for the further discoveries he designed, with the doctrine of repentance. If any man will do this part of his will, he shall know more of his doctrine, John vii. 17. [2.] This is preached often upon; wherever he went, this was his subject, and neither he nor his followers ever reckoned it worn threadbare, as those would have done, that have itching ears, and are fond of novelty and variety more than that which is truly edifying. Note, That which has been preached and heard before, may yet very profitably be preached and heard again; but then it should be preached and heard better, and with new affections; what Paul had said before, he said again, weeping, Phil. iii. 1, 18. [3.] This he preached as gospel; "Repent, review your ways, and return to yourselves." Note, The doctrine of repentance is right gospel-doctrine. Not only the austere Baptist, who was looked upon as a melancholy, morose man, but the sweet and gracious Jesus, whose lips dropped as a honey-comb, preached repentance; for it is an unspeakable privilege that room is left for repentance. [4.] The reason is still the same; The kingdom of heaven is at hand; for it was not reckoned to be fully come, till that pouring out of the Spirit after Christ's ascension. John had preached the kingdom of heaven at hand above a year before this; but now it was so much the stronger; now is the salvation nearer, Rom. xiii. 11. We should be so much the more quickened to our duty, as we see the day approaching, Heb. x. 25.

Christ Calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John.

18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

When Christ began to preach, he began to gather disciples, who should now be the hearers, and hereafter the preachers, of his doctrine, who should now be witnesses of his miracles, and hereafter concerning them. Now, in these verses, we have an account of the first disciples that he called into fellowship with himself.

And this was an instance, 1. Of effectual calling to Christ. In all his preaching he gave a common call to all the country, but in this he gave a special and particular call to those that were given him by the Father. Let us see and admire the power of Christ's grace, own his word to be the rod of his strength, and wait upon him for those powerful influences which are necessary to the efficacy of the gospel call—those distinguishing influences. All the country was called, but these were called out, were redeemed from among them. Christ was so manifested to them, as he was not manifested unto the world. 2. It was an instance of ordination, and appointment to the work of the ministry. When Christ, as a Teacher, set up his great school, one of his first works was to appoint ushers, or under masters, to be employed in the work of instruction. Now he began to give gifts unto men, to put the treasure into earthen vessels. It was an early instance of his care for the church.

Now we may observe here,

I. Where they were called—by the sea of Galilee, where Jesus was walking, Capernaum being situated near that sea. Concerning this sea of Tiberias, the Jews have a saying, That of all the seven seas that God made, he made choice of none but the sea of Gennesaret; which is very applicable to Christ's choice of it, to honour it, as he often did, with his presence and his miracles. Here, on the banks of the sea, Christ was walking for contemplation, as Isaac in the field; hither he went to call his disciples; not to Herod's court (for few mighty or noble are called), not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but to the sea of Galilee; surely Christ sees not as man sees. Not but that the same power which effectually called Peter and Andrew would have wrought upon Annas and Caiaphas, for with God nothing is impossible; but, as in other things, so in his converse and attendance, he would humble himself, and show that God ha chosen the poor of this world. Galilee was a remote part of the nation, the inhabitants were less cultivated and refined, their very language was broad and uncouth to the curious, their speech betrayed them. They who were picked up at the sea of Galilee, had not the advantages and improvements, no, not of the more polished Galileans; yet thither Christ went, to call his apostles that were to be the prime ministers of state in his kingdom, for he chooses the foolish things of this world, to confound the wise.

II. Who they were. We have an account of the call of two pair of brothers in these verses—Peter and Andrew, James and John; the two former, and, probably, the two latter also, had had acquaintance with Christ before (John i. 40, 41), but were not till now called into a close and constant attendance upon him. Note, Christ brings poor souls by degrees into fellowship with himself. They had been disciples of John, and so were the better disposed to follow Christ. Note, Those who have submitted to the discipline of repentance, shall be welcome to the joys of faith. We may observe concerning them,

1. That they were brothers. Note, It is a blessed thing, when they who are kinsmen according to the flesh (as the apostle speaks, Rom. ix. 3), are brought together into a spiritual alliance to Jesus Christ. It is the honour and comfort of a house, when those that are of the same family, are of God's family.

2. That they were fishers. Being fishers, (1.) They were poor men: if they had had estates, or any considerable stock in trade, they would not have made fishing their trade, however, they might have made it their recreation. Note, Christ does not despise the poor, and therefore we must not; the poor are evangelized, and the Fountain of honour sometimes gives more abundant honour to that part which most lacked. (2.) The were unlearned men, not bred up to books or literature as Moses was, who was conversant with all the learning of the Egyptians. Note, Christ sometimes chooses to endow those with the gifts of grace who have least to show of the gifts of nature. Yet this will not justify the bold intrusion of ignorant and unqualified men into the work of the ministry: extraordinary gifts of knowledge and utterance are not now to be expected, but requisite abilities must be obtained in an ordinary way, and without a competent measure of these, none are to be admitted to that service. (3.) They were men of business, who had been bred up to labour. Note, Diligence in an honest calling is pleasing to Christ, and no hindrance to a holy life. Moses was called from keeping sheep, and David from following the ewes, to eminent employments. Idle people lie more open to the temptations of Satan than to the calls of God. (4.) They were men that were accustomed to hardships and hazards; the fisher's trade, more than any other, is laborious and perilous; fishermen must be often wet and cold; they must watch, and wait, and toil, and be often in perils by waters. Note, Those who have learned to bear hardships, and run hazards, are best prepared for the fellowship and discipleship of Jesus Christ. Good soldiers of Christ must endure hardness.

III. What they were doing. Peter and Andrew were then using their nets, they were fishing; and James and John were mending their nets, which was an instance of their industry and good husbandry. They did not go to their father for money to buy new nets, but took pains to mend their old ones. It is commendable to make what we have go as far, and last as long, as may be. James and John were with their father Zebedee, ready to assist him, and make his business easy to him. Note, It is a happy and hopeful presage, to see children careful of their parents, and dutiful to them. Observe, 1. They were all employed, all very busy, and none idle. Note, When Christ comes, it is good to be found doing. "Am I in Christ?" is a very needful question for us to ask ourselves; and, next to that, "Am I in my calling?" 2. They were differently employed; two of them were fishing, and two of them mending their nets. Note, Ministers should be always employed, either in teaching or studying; they may always find themselves something to do, if it be not their own fault; and mending their nets, is, in its season, as necessary work as fishing.

IV. What the call was (v. 19); Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. They had followed Christ before, as ordinary disciples (John i. 37), but so they might follow Christ, and follow their calling too; therefore they were called to a more close and constant attendance, and must leave their calling. Note, Even they who had been called to follow Christ, have need to be called to follow on, and to follow nearer, especially when they are designed for the work of the ministry. Observe,

1. What Christ intended them for; I will make you fishers of men; this alludes to their former calling. Let them be not proud of the new honour designed them, they are still but fishers; let them not be afraid of the new work cut out for them, for they have been used to fishing, and fishers they are still. It was usual with Christ to speak of spiritual and heavenly things under such allusions, and in such expressions, as took rise from common things that offered themselves to his view. David was called from feeding sheep to feed God's Israel; and when he is a king, is a shepherd. Note, (1.) Ministers are fishers of men, not to destroy them, but to save them, by bringing them into another element. They must fish, not for wrath, wealth, honour, and preferment, to gain them to themselves, but for souls, to gain them to Christ. They watch for your souls (Heb. xiii. 17), and seek not yours, but you, 2 Cor. xii. 14, 16. (2.) It is Jesus Christ that makes them so; I will make you fishers of men. It is he that qualifies men for this work, calls them to it, authorizes them in it, gives them commission to fish for souls, and wisdom to win them. Those ministers are likely to have comfort in their work, who are thus made by Jesus Christ.

2. What they must do in order to this; Follow me. They must separate themselves to a diligent attendance on him, and set themselves to a humble imitation of him; must follow him as their Leader. Note, (1.) Those whom Christ employs in any service for him, must first be fitted and qualified for it. (2.) Those who would preach Christ, must first learn Christ, and learn of him. How can we expect to bring others to the knowledge of Christ, if we do not know him well ourselves? (3.) Those who would get an acquaintance with Christ, must be diligent and constant in their attendance on him. The apostles were prepared for their work, by accompanying Christ all the time that he went in and out among them, Acts i. 21. There is no learning comparable to that which is got by following Christ. Joshua, by ministering to Moses, is fitted to be his successor. (4.) Those who are to fish for men, must therein follow Christ, and do it as he did, with diligence, faithfulness, and tenderness. Christ is the great pattern for preachers, and they ought to be workers together with him.

V. What was the success of this call. Peter and Andrew straightway left their nets (v. 20); and James and John immediately left the ship and their father (v. 22); and they all followed him. Note, Those who would follow Christ aright, must leave all to follow him. Every Christian must leave all in affection, set loose to all, must hate father and mother (Luke xiv. 26), must love them less than Christ, must be ready to part with his interest in them rather than with his interest in Jesus Christ; but those who are devoted to the work of the ministry are, in a special manner, concerned to disentangle themselves from all the affairs of this life, that they may give themselves wholly to that work which requires the whole man. Now,

1. This instance of the power of the Lord Jesus gives us good encouragement to depend upon the sufficiency of his grace. How strong and effectual is his word! He speaks, and it is done. The same power goes along with this word of Christ, Follow me, that went along with that word, Lazarus, come forth; a power to make willing, Ps. cx. 3.

2. This instance of the pliableness of the disciples, gives us a good example of obedience to the command of Christ. Note, It is the good property of all Christ's faithful servants to come when they are called, and to follow their Master wherever he leads them. They objected not their present employments, their engagements to their families, the difficulties of the service they were called to, or their own unfitness for it; but, being called, they obeyed, and, like Abraham, went out not knowing whither they went, but knowing very well whom they followed. James and John left their father: it is not said what became of him; their mother Salome was a constant follower of Christ; no doubt, their father Zebedee was a believer, but the call to follow Christ fastened on the young ones. Youth is the learning age, and the labouring age. The priests ministered in the prime of their life.

Christ Preaches in Galilee; Miracles of Christ in Galilee.

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.

See here, I. What an industrious preacher Christ was; He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Observe, 1. What Christ preached—the gospel of the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven, that is, of grace and glory, is emphatically the kingdom, the kingdom that was now to come; that kingdom which shall survive, as it doth surpass, all the kingdoms of the earth. The gospel is the charter of that kingdom, containing the King's coronation oath, by which he has graciously obliged himself to pardon, protect, and save the subjects of that kingdom; it contains also their oath of allegiance, by which they oblige themselves to observe his statutes and seek his honour; this is the gospel of the kingdom; this Christ was himself the Preacher of, that our faith in it might be confirmed. 2. Where he preached—in the synagogues; not there only, but there chiefly, because those were the places of concourse, where wisdom was to lift up her voice (Prov. i. 21); because they were places of concourse for religious worship, and there, it was to be hoped, the minds of the people would be prepared to receive the gospel; and there the scriptures of the Old Testament were read, the exposition of which would easily introduce the gospel of the kingdom. 3. What pains he took in preaching; He went about all Galilee, teaching. He might have issued out a proclamation to summon all to come to him; but, to show his humility, and the condescensions of his grace, he goes to them; for he waits to be gracious, and comes to seek and save. Josephus says, There were above two hundred cities and towns in Galilee, and all, or most of them, Christ visited. He went about doing good. Never was there such an itinerant preacher, such an indefatigable one, as Christ was; he went from town to town, to beseech poor sinners to be reconciled to God. This is an example to ministers, to lay themselves out to do good, and to be instant, and constant, in season, and out of season, to preach the word.

II. What a powerful physician Christ was; he went about not only teaching, but healing, and both with his word, that he might magnify that above all his name. He sent his word, and healed them. Now observe,

1. What diseases he cured—all without exception. He healed all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease. There are diseases which are called the reproach of physicians, being obstinate to all the methods they can prescribe; but even those were the glory of this Physician, for he healed them all, however inveterate. His word was the true panpharmacon—all-heal.

Three general words are here used to intimate this; he healed every sickness, noson, as blindness, lameness, fever, dropsy; every disease, or languishing, malakian, as fluxes and consumptions; and all torments, basanous, as gout, stone, convulsions, and such like torturing distempers; whether the disease was acute or chronical; whether it was a racking or a wasting disease; none was too bad, none too hard, for Christ to heal with a word's speaking.

Three particular diseases are specified; the palsy, which is the greatest weakness of the body; lunacy, which is the greatest malady of the mind, and possession of the Devil, which is the greatest misery and calamity of both, yet Christ healed all: for he is the sovereign Physician both of soul and body, and has command of all diseases.

2. What patients he had. A physician who was so easy of access, so sure of success, who cured immediately, without either a painful suspense and expectation, or such painful remedies as are worse than the disease; who cured gratis, and took no fees, could not but have abundance of patients. See here, what flocking there was to him from all parts; great multitudes of people came, not only from Galilee and the country about, but even from Jerusalem and from Judea, which lay a great way off; for his fame went throughout all Syria, not only among all the people of the Jews, but among the neighbouring nations, which, by the report that now spread far and near concerning him, would be prepared to receive his gospel, when afterwards it should be brought them. This is given as the reason why such multitudes came to him, because his fame had spread so widely. Note, What we hear of Christ from others, should invite us to him. The queen of Sheba was induced, by the fame of Solomon, to pay him a visit. The voice of fame is "Come, and see." Christ both taught and healed. They who came for cures, met with instruction concerning the things that belonged to their peace. It is well if any thing will bring people to Christ; and they who come to him will find more in him than they expected. These Syrians, like Naaman the Syrian, coming to be healed of their diseases, many of them being converts, 2 Kings v. 15, 17. They sought health for the body, and obtained the salvation of the soul; like Saul, who sought the asses, and found the kingdom. Yet it appeared, by the issue, that many of those who rejoiced in Christ as a Healer, forgot him as a Teacher.

Now concerning the cures which Christ wrought, let us, once for all, observe the miracle, the mercy, and the mystery, of them.

(1.) The miracle of them. They were wrought in such a manner, as plainly spake them to be the immediate products of a divine and supernatural power, and they were God's seal to his commission. Nature could not do these things, it was the God of nature; the cures were many, of diseases incurable by the art of the physician, of persons that were strangers, of all ages and conditions; the cures were wrought openly, before many witnesses, in mixed companies of persons that would have denied the matter of fact, if they could have had any colour for so doing; no cure ever failed, or was afterwards called in question; they were wrought speedily, and not (as cures by natural causes) gradually; they were perfect cures, and wrought with a word's speaking; all which proves him a Teacher come from God, for, otherwise, none could have done the works that he did, John iii. 2. He appeals to these as credentials, ch. xi. 4, 5; John v. 36. It was expected that the Messiah should work miracles (John vii. 31); miracles of this nature (Isa. xxxv. 5, 6); and we have this indisputable proof of his being the Messiah; never was there any man that did thus; and therefore his healing and his preaching generally went together, for the former confirmed the latter; thus here he began to do and to teach, Acts i. 1.

(2.) The mercy of them. The miracles that Moses wrought, to prove his mission, were most of them plagues and judgments, to intimate the terror of that dispensation, though from God; but the miracles that Christ wrought, were most of them cures, and all of them (except the cursing of the barren fig tree) blessings and favours; for the gospel dispensation is founded, and built up in love, and grace, and sweetness; and the management is such as tends not to affright but to allure us to obedience. Christ designed by his cures to win upon people, and to ingratiate himself and his doctrine into their minds, and so to draw them with the bands of love, Hos. xi. 4. The miracle of them proved his doctrine a faithful saying, and convinced men's judgments; the mercy of them proved it worthy of all acceptation, and wrought upon their affections. They were not only great works, but good works, that he showed them from his Father (John x. 32); and this goodness was intended to lead men to repentance (Rom. ii. 4), as also to show that kindness, and beneficence, and doing good to all, to the utmost of our power and opportunity, are essential branches of that holy religion which Christ came into the world to establish.

(3.) The mystery of them. Christ, by curing bodily diseases, intended to show, that his great errand into the world was to cure spiritual maladies. He is the Sun of righteousness, that arises with this healing under his wings. As the Converter of sinners, he is the Physician of souls, and has taught us to call him so, ch. ix. 12, 13. Sin is the sickness, disease, and torment of the soul; Christ came to take away sin, and so to heal these. And the particular stories of the cures Christ wrought, may not only be applied spiritually, by way of allusion and illustration, but, I believe, are very much intended to reveal to us spiritual things, and to set before us the way and method of Christ's dealing with souls, in their conversion and sanctification; and those cures are recorded, that were most significant and instructive this way; and they are therefore so to be explained and improved, to the honour and praise of that glorious Redeemer, who forgiveth all our iniquities, and so healeth all our diseases.

CHAP. IIII.

Verse 1. Then was [illegible: 1 word] led up] LEst haply the people, hearing that testimony from Heaven should come and take him by force to make him a King, as Ioh. 6. 15. to try their loves also to him, who was thus overclouded, as the Sun in his first rising. Led up of the Spirit] The better to fit him thereby for the ministry. [illegible: 1 word] in [illegible: 5 words] est, valetudine [illegible: 2 words], & [illegible: 1 word] non [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word]: [illegible: 2 words] accidere semper, cum [illegible: 1 word] quippiam [illegible: 1 word] dixit. Melchior Alam de Ger. Theol. pag. 154. Act. and Mon. fol. [illegible: 1 word]. Luther observed of himself, that when God was about to set him upon any speciall service, he either laid some fit of sicknesse [illegible: 1 word] him before-hand, or turned Satan loose upon him; who so [illegible: 1 word] him (eft-soones) by his temptations, ut [illegible: 2 words], [illegible: 2 words], nec sensus, nec vox superesset, that neither heat, nor blood, [illegible: 1 word] sense, nor voice remained: The very venome of the temptations drank up his spirit, and his body seemed dead, as [illegible: 1 word] Ionas, that was by, and saw it, reported [illegible: 1 word] him in his Epistle to Melanchton. Hence also it was that in his Sermons, God gave him such a grace (saith M. Fox) that when he [illegible: 1 word], they that heard him thought, [illegible: 1 word] one, his own temptations to be severally touched and noted. Whereof when signification was given unto him by his friends, and he demanded how that could be? Mine own manifold temptation (saith he) and [illegible: 1 word] are the cause [illegible: 1 word]: For from his tender years he was much [illegible: 1 word] and exercised with spirituall conflicts, as Melanchton in his life testifieth. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] Wellerus, scholar to the said, M. Luther recordeth, that [illegible: 1 word] oftentimes heard Luther his Master report of himself, that he had been assaulted and vexed with all kinde of temptations ([illegible: 1 word] onlyIt appeareth by S. [illegible: 1 word], that no men [illegible: 1 word] in this [illegible: 1 word], but [illegible: 2 words]. with that of covetousnesse,) and was thereby fitted for the work of the Lord, Whence also he was wont to say, that [illegible: 1 word] things make a Preacher, [illegible: 1 word], Prayer and Temptation. Into the wildernesse] Likely the wildernesse of [illegible: 1 word], where Moses and Elias had [illegible: 1 word] before. These three great fasters, met afterwards in mount [illegible: 1 word]: God [illegible: 1 word] to turn his peoplesMar. 1. 13. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] into feasting, Zech. 8. 19. The devil took advantage of [illegible: 1 word] Mat. 17. 2. [illegible: 1 word] here, to [illegible: 1 word] our Saviour in the desert, but was beaten on [illegible: 1 word] own dunghill; that we might overcome through him that [illegible: 1 word] us, Rom. 8. the [illegible: 1 word]-being already foiled by Christ. To be tempted of the devil] No sooner was Christ out of [illegible: 1 word] water of Baptisme, then in the fire of Temptation. So David, [illegible: 1 word] his anointing, was hunted as a partridge upon the mountains. [illegible: 1 word] is no sooner out of Egypt, then Pharaoh pursues them: [illegible: 1 word] no sooner had kept that solemn [illegible: 1 word], then Sennacherib comes up against him. St Paul is assaulted with [illegible: 1 word] temptations after the [illegible: 1 word] of his revelations: And Christ teacheth us, after forgivenesse2 Cor. 12. of sins obtained, to look for temptations, and to pray againstMat. 6. 13. them. Whiles Iacob would be Labans drudge and packhorse, all was well; but when once he began to flee, he makes after him with all his might. All was jolly quiet at Ephesus beforeActs 19. 23. S. Paul came [illegible: 1 word], but then, there arose no small stir about [illegible: 2 words]. All the while our Saviour lay in his fathers shop, and medled only with Carpenters chipps, the devil troubled him not. But now, that he is to enter more publikely upon his office of Mediatourship, [non-Latin text not transcribed] of [non-Latin text not transcribed], [illegible: 1 word] pierce thorow. the tempter pierceth his tender soul with many sorrows, by [illegible: 1 word] to sin. And dealt he so with the green tree, what will [illegible: 1 word] do with the dry? Temptations (besides those that come from God, which are only probationis, not perditionis, as the other) are [illegible: 1 word] two sorts: for either they are of seducement, Iam. 1. 15. or of [illegible: 1 word], vel [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] and grievance, 2 Cor. 12. 7. either of allurement or affrightment. In the former we are pressed with some darling corruption, whereto our appetites by nature or most propense: In the later, we are dogged with foulest lusts of [illegible: 1 word], Idolatry, [illegible: 1 word], murther, &c. that Nature startles at: In these the [illegible: 1 word] tempts alone, and that so grossely, that the very flesh is ashamed [illegible: 1 word] it. But in the former, that came more immediatly from the flesh, the devil only interposeth himself, and speaks his good word for them: whence they are called [illegible: 1 word] of Satan, 2 Cor. 12. and Eph. 4. 26. we are said in anger to give place to the devil: and in resisting of lusts, we resist the devil, Jam. 4. 7.

Verse 2. And when [illegible: 1 word] had fasted [illegible: 2 words], &c.] All [illegible: 1 word] actions are for our instruction; not all for our imitation. We may not imitate the works miraculous of Christ, and proper to him as [illegible: 1 word]. The ignorance of this caused some to counterfeit [illegible: 1 word] Christs: as one Moor in K. Edward the [illegible: 2 words], and one Hacket in Q. Elizabeths time, David George and sundry others, according to Mat. 24 24. Neither need we seek to imitate him in his infirmities, which (though they were not [illegible: 1 word], but only naturall, and therefore unblameable) yet import a weaknesse (as that he was hungry, weary, sleepy, &c.) and so, though they be in us, yet we need not strive the attainment of them. But we must [illegible: 1 word] the Lord Christ in all his imitable graces and actions: shewing forth the praises or vertues of him that [illegible: 1 word] called us out of darknesse [non-Latin text not transcribed]. into his marvellous light. The word signifies to preach them [illegible: 1 line]. abroad: for we should practise those [illegible: 1 word] so [illegible: 1 word], that our [non-Latin text not transcribed]. lives may be as so many Sermons upon the life of Christ. It is a dishonour to a dear friend, to hang his picture in a dark hole, and not in a conspicuous place, that it may appear we rejoice in it, as an ornament to us: Thinke the same of Christs image and graces, shew them forth we must, and expresse them to the world; walking in Christ, Col. 2. [illegible: 1 word] yea, as Christ, 1 Joh. 2. 6. who therefore left us a [non-Latin text not transcribed]. copy that we might write after it, a sampler that we might worke [illegible: 2 words] o [illegible: 3 words]. by it, a patern that we should follow his steps, 1 Pet. 2. 21. And although we cannot follow him passibus aequis, yet we must shew [non-Latin text not transcribed]. our good-wills, stretching and [illegible: 1 word] our utmost, as St Paul did: [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. 13. striving what we can to resemble him, not as a picture doth a man in outward lineaments only, but as a son doth his father (for he is the father of eternity, Esa. 9. 6,) in nature and disposition: and as servants, labouring to do as our Lord, Ioh. 13. 15. Who therefore washed his Disciples [illegible: 1 word], to give us an example of humility; as he did likewise of meeknesse, Mat. 11. 29. patience, 1 Pet. 2. 21. obedience, Heb. 12. 2. diligence and fidelity in his function, Heb. 3. 1, 2. fewnesse of words, yet boldnesse of speech, going about and doing all possible good, beneficence [illegible: 1 word] the poor Saints, [illegible: 1 word] Cor. 8. 9. constancy in profession, 1 Tim. 6. 13. forgivenesse [illegible: 1 word] others, and love to the brethren, Eph. 5. 2. [illegible: 2 words] therefore followers herein of Christ as dear children, not [illegible: 1 word] your selves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, [illegible: 3 words], which hath called [illegible: 1 word], is holy, so be ye [illegible: 1 word] in all [illegible: 1 word] of [illegible: 1 word]. 1 [illegible: 1 word]. 1. 14, 15. He was [illegible: 1 word] a [illegible: 1 word].] Our Saviour was tempted allLuk. 4. 2. that fourty dayes space, saith St Luke: but these three worst assaults were reserved to the last. So deals the devil with the Church (which is Christ [illegible: 1 word]:) He never [illegible: 1 word] tempting, though1 Cor. [illegible: 2 words]. never so [illegible: 2 words]; and [illegible: 2 words] called [illegible: 1 word] as [illegible: 1 word] will have it, the Lord of flyes, because the fly is noted for an impudent [non-Latin text not transcribed]. [illegible: 1 word] apud Homerum pro valde impudente: quia [illegible: 1 word] pervicaces sunt, &c. creature, that will soon return to the [illegible: 1 word], though beaten away but erewhile. Hence those many bickerings and buffetings we meet with all our life long: and hence those sharpest [illegible: 1 word] and terrible conflicts many times at the hour of death. The Israelites met with many tryals and troubles in the wildernesse: Amalec and the Amorites, sore thirst, and fiery serpents, &c. Coel. lib. 9 [illegible: 1 word]. 52. but were never so put too't, as when they came to take possession of the promised land, for then all the Kings of [illegible: 1 word] combined to keep them out. So the devil, furious enough at all times, most of all bestirrs him at last cast, because he knows his time is but [non-Latin text not transcribed]. short, Apoc. 12. 12. For death sets a Saint out of his gun-shot. Satan may compasse the earth, but not enter the lists of heaven. He tempted Adam in the earthly Paradise, he cannot tempt in the heavenly. Hence his malice whiles he may. Morientium nempè [illegible: 1 word] violentiores sunt morsus, ([illegible: 1 word] ille olim de [illegible: 1 word] Carthagine:) Beasts that have their deaths-wound bite cruelly, sprunt exceedingly.

Verse 3. Then came unto him the Tempter] So called, because [non-Latin text not transcribed]. he politikely feels our pulses which way they beat, and accordingly [illegible: 1 word] us a peny-worth. He setts a wedge of gold before covetous Achan, a courtezan Cozbi before a voluptuous Zimri, a fair preferment before an ambitious Absolom: and findes well that a fit [illegible: 1 word] is half a victory. So dealt his agents with those ancient [illegible: 1 word], [non-Latin text not transcribed], they were sawn asunder, they were Heb. 11. 37. tempted, saith the Apostle; to wit, with the proffers of preferment, would they but have renounced their religion, and done [illegible: 1 word] to an Idol. So the Pope tempted Luther with wealth and honour. But all in vain: he turned him to God, Et valde [illegible: 1 word] sum, saith he, me nolle sic satiari abeo, he said flat, that God should not put him off with these low things. Here was a man fullMelch. [illegible: 1 word]. of the Spirit [illegible: 1 word] Christ. The tempter came to Christ, but found [illegible: 1 word] in him; that matter was not malleable. In vain shall the [illegible: 1 word] strike fire, if we finde not [illegible: 1 word]: In [illegible: 2 words] he knock at the door, if we look not out to him at the window. Let us but divorce the flesh from the world, and the devil can do us no [illegible: 1 word]. Ita cave [illegible: 1 word], ut cave as [illegible: 1 word]. From that naughty man my self, good Lord deliver me, said one. If thou [illegible: 1 word] the Son of God.] As the [illegible: 1 word] quarrel'd and [illegible: 1 word] the Law given in Paradise, as nought, [illegible: 2 words]: so [illegible: 1 word] he here the voice from heaven, as a meer imposture. And this he did out of deep and desperate malice; for he could not be ignorant nor doubtfull. Neither is his dealing otherwise with us (many times) who are too ready (at his instigation) to doubt of our spirituall sonne-ship. We need not help the tempter, by holding it a duty to doubt: this is to light a candle before the devil, as we use to speak. Rather let [illegible: 1 word] settle and secure this, that we are indeed the sons of God, and heirs of heaven, by passing thorow the narrow womb of repentance, that we may be born again, and by getting an effectuall faith; the property whereof is to adopt as well as to justifie, viz. [illegible: 1 word] objecti, by means of Christ the object upon whom faith laieth hold, and into whom it engraffs the believer, after an unspeakable manner. Now ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, Gal. 3. 26. Ioh. 1. 12. who hath both laid down the price of this greatest priviledge, Heb. 9. 15. Gal. 4. 5. and [illegible: 1 word] it up to us by his Spirit, crying Abba Father in our hearts, what ever Satan or our own misgiving hearts objects to the contrary, Gal. 4. 6. Rom. 8. 15. Ephes. 1, 13. Command that these [illegible: 1 word] be made bread.] And so distrust the providence of God for [illegible: 1 word] thy body in this hunger; help thy self by working a preposterous miracle. In this point [illegible: 1 word] Gods providence for this present life. Satan troubled David and Jeremy, and so he doth many good souls at this day; who can sooner trust God with their souls then with their bodies, and for a crown then for [illegible: 1 word] crust, as those Disciples, Matth. 16. 8.

Verse 4. But [illegible: 1 word] answered and said, It is written] With this [illegible: 1 word] sore, and great and strong sword of the Spirit, doth the Lord here punish Leviathan that crooked [illegible: 1 word] serpent, Isa. 27. 1. With these [illegible: 1 word] out of Gods quiver, with these pibbles chosen out of the silver streams of the Scriptures, doth he prostrate the [illegible: 1 word] of hell. The Word of God hath a [illegible: 1 word] in it to quail and to quash Satans temptations, farre better [illegible: 1 word] that woodden dagger, that leaden sword of the Papists, their holy water, crossings, grains, dirty reliques, &c. It is not [illegible: 2 words] of the crosse, but the word of the crosse that overthrows Satan. He can no more abide by it, then an owl by the shining of the [illegible: 1 word]. Set therefore the Word against the temptation, and the sinne is laid. Say. I must not [illegible: 1 word] it, I may not, I dare not: for it is forbidden in such a place, [illegible: 1 page] [illegible: 1 page] [illegible: 1 page] [illegible: 1 page] again in such a place. And be sure to have places of Scripture ready [illegible: 1 word] hand (as Saul had his spear and pitcher ready at his head, even while he slept) that ye [illegible: 1 word] resist the devil, stedfast in the faith, grounded on the Word. Joseph [illegible: 1 word] him by remembring the seventh Commandment: And David, by hiding this Word in [illegible: 1 word] heart, Psal. 1 19. 11. Wicked therefore was that advice of Motive 4 8 D. Bristow to his Agents, to labour still to get here: ikes out of their weak and false Castle of holy Scriptures, into the plain fields of [illegible: 1 word] and Fathers. The Scriptures are our armoury (sarre beyond that of Solomon) whether we must resort and furnish [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word] 4. [illegible: 1 word]. One [illegible: 1 word] sentence thereof shall doe us more service, then all the pretty, witty sayings and sentences of Fathers and [illegible: 1 word], or constitutions of Councels. [illegible: 1 word] liveth not by bread alone] Though ordinarily, as having [illegible: 2 words] property inherent in it, for such a purpose: yet so, [illegible: 1 word] that the operation and successe is guided by Gods power and goodnesse; whereon (as on a staff) this staff of life leaneth. A [illegible: 3 words]. wise woman builds her house, Prov. [illegible: 1 word]. 1. As the Carpenter laies [illegible: 2 words] of the house in his head first, and contrives it: so doth she [illegible: 1 word]-cast, and further the well-doing of her fam ly: and [illegible: 1 word], except the Lord also build the house, they labour in vain that build it, Psalm. 127. 1. So, the diligent hand, and the blessing of God (meeting) make [illegible: 1 word], Prov. 104. and 22. But by every word &c.] That is, by any thing else besides bread, [illegible: 1 word] soever God [illegible: 1 word] think good, whatsoever he shall appoint and give power unto, to be nourishment. Therefore if bread [illegible: 1 word], feed on faith, Psal. 37. 3. So Junius reads that text. Jehosaphat [illegible: 2 words] found it soveraign, when all other help failed him. And the1 Chron. 10. 6. captive Jews lived by faith, when they had little else to live upon, and [illegible: 1 word] a good living of it, Habak. 2. 4. To this Text the Jews seem to allude in that fiction of theirs, that Habakkuk was carried by the hair of rhe head, by an Angel into Babylon, to carry a dinner [illegible: 1 word] of [illegible: 1 word] and the [illegible: 1 word], Jer. 33. Eliz [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] and [illegible: 1 word] 1 King. 19. 8. [illegible: 1 word]-Chro nicle. to Daniel in the den. It was by faith that he stopped the mouths of Lions, and obtained promises, Heb. 11. 33. And by faith that she answered the pers cutours, If you take away my meat, I trust God [illegible: 2 words] away my stomack. [illegible: 1 word] made the ravens feed Elias that were more likely (in that famine) to have fed upon his dead car case: and, another time caused him to go fourty daies in the strength of one meal. Merlyn was nourished a fortnight together with one egg a day, laid by a hen that came constantly toCharissima [illegible: 1 word] per [illegible: 1 word] saut author quae preciosa [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 2 words] non, [illegible: 1 word]. that hay-mow, where he lay hid, during the massacre of Paris. And who hath not read or heard, how by a miracle of his mercy, God relieved Rochel in a strait siege, by an innumerable company of fishes cast in upon them? Faith fears no famine: and although it be but small in substance and in shew (as the Manna was) yet is it great in vertue and operation. The Rabbins say, that Manna had all manner of good tastes in it: So hath faith. It drinke to a man in a cup of Nepenthes, and bids him be of good chear, God will provide for him. The Bishop of Norwich kept Robert Samuel, Martyr, without meat and drink; whereby he was unmercifully vext, saving that he had every day allowed him two or three morsels of bread, and three spoonfuls of water, to the end he might be reserved to further torment. How oft would he have drunk his own water? But his body was so dried up with long [illegible: 1 word], that he was not able to make [illegible: 1 word] drop of water. After he had been famished with hunger two or three [illegible: 1 word] together, he [illegible: 1 word] into a sleep, as it were one half in a [illegible: 1 word]. At which time one cloathed in white, seemed to stand before him, which ministred comfort unto him by these words, Samuel, Samuel, be of good chear, and take a good heart unto thee: [illegible: 1 word] after Acts and Monsol 15 17. this day, thou shalt never be either hungry or thirsty: For speedily [illegible: 1 word] this, he was burned: and from that time, till he should suffer, he felt neither hunger nor thirst. And this declared he, to the end, as he said, that all men might behold the wonderfull work of God. He likes not to be tied to the second ordinary causes, nor that (in defect of the means) we should doubt of his providence. It's true, he commonly worketh by them, when he could doe without: that we may not neglect the means, as being ordained of him. (David shall have victory, but by an ambush, 2 Sam. 5. 19 - 24. Men shall be nourished, but by their labour, Psal. 128. 2,) But yet so, as that he doth all in all by [illegible: 1 word] means (he made grasse, corn and trees, before he made the Sunne, Moon and starres, by the influence whereof they are and grow.) Yea to shew himself chief, he can and doth work (other whiles) without means, 2 Chron. 14. 11. and against means, suspending the power and operation of the naturall causes; as when the fire burnt not, the water drowned not, the Sunne went back ten degrees, the rock gave water, the iron swam, &c. And then when he works by means, he can make them produce an effect diverse from their nature and disposition, or can hinder, change or mitigate [illegible: 1 word] 5. 17. 18. their proper effect; as when at the prayer of Elias it rained not for three years and a half: And he praied again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruits. A man would have thought that after so long drought, the roots of trees and herbs should have been utterly dried up, and the land past recovery, [illegible: 1 word] 2. 21. But God heard the heavens (petitioning to him, that they might exercise their influence for the fructifying of the earth) and the Heavens heard the earth, and the earth heard the corn, the wine and the oil, and they heard Jezreel. Let all this keep us, as it did our Saviour here, from diffidence in Gods providence; and make us possesse our souls in patience, Luk. 21. Hang upon the promise, and account it as good as present pay, though we see not how it can be effected. God loves to goe away by himself, He knows how to deliver his, saith S. Peter, 2 Epist. 2. 9. and he might speak it by experience, Act. 12. 9. if ever any man might. The King shall rejoyce in God, saith David of himself, when he was a poor [illegible: 1 word] in the wildernesse of Judah, Psal. 63. 11. But he had Gods word for the Kingdome, and therefore he was confident, seemed the thing never so improbable or impossible. We trust a skilfull work-man to go his own way to work: shall we not God? In [illegible: 1 word] 6. year of the reign of Darius Nothus was the temple fully finished. That sacred work which the husband and sonne of an Esther [illegible: 1 word], shall be happily accomplished by a bastard. The [illegible: 1 word] thought that Moses should presently have delivered them, and he himself thought as much, and therefore began [illegible: 1 word] his time, to doe [illegible: 1 word] upon the AEgyptian, whom he slew and hid in the sand. But we see, God went another way to work: He sent Moses into a farre countrey, and the bondage was for [illegible: 1 word] years [illegible: 1 word] exceedingly encreased upon them; yet all [illegible: 1 word]. 8. 2. this to humble and try them, and to doe them good in their later end. He crosseth many times our likeliest projects, and gives a blessing [illegible: 1 word] those times and means, whereof we despair. He breaks in pieces the ship that we think should bring us to shore, but casts us upon such boards as we did not expect. [illegible: 1 word] we then any particular means (saith one) it is but the scattering of a [illegible: 1 word], the breaking of a bucket, when the Sunne and the fountain is the [illegible: 1 word]. But we [illegible: 1 word] the most part [illegible: 1 word] as Hagar did: when the bottle was spent, she fals a crying, she was undone, she and her childe should die: till the Lord opened her eyes to see the fountain. It was neer her, but she saw it not: when she saw it, sheD Preston was well enough. If thou hadst been here (said Martha) my brother Lazarus had not died. As if Christ could not have kept him alive, unlesse he had been present. So if Christ will come and lay his hands on Iairus his daughter, and Elisha stroke his hand overMar. 5 [illegible: 1 word]. Naamans leprosie, they shall be cured. So the Disciples believed [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word] 11. that Christ could feed so many thousands in the wildernesse, but [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. 37. then he must have two hundred peny worth of bread. But our Saviour gave them, soon [illegible: 1 word], an ocular demonstration of this truth, That man liveth not by bread alone, &c. Dan. 11. 34 They shall be holpen with a little help. Why a little? that through weaker means we may see Gods greater strength.

[illegible: 1 word] 5. Then the devil taketh him.] Not in vision only, or imagination, but really and indeed: as he was afterwards apprehended, bound and crucified by that cursed crue. Spirituall assaults may be beaten back by the shield of faith: Bodily admit of no such repulse. A [illegible: 2 words] Abraham Luk. [illegible: 1 word]. 16. may be bound by Satan, A Mary Magdalen possest, a Job [illegible: 1 word], a Paul boxed, &c. As for the souls of the Saints, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. they are set safe out of Satans scrape. Shake his chain at [illegible: 1 word] Cor. [illegible: 1 word]. 7. them he may, muster his forces, Revel. 12. 7. which may band themselves, and bend their strength against [illegible: 1 word] Psal. 61. 1. and [illegible: 1 word] Angels, Christ and his members: but they are boundedPsal 31. 6. by God, who hath set his on a rock that is higher then they: So that the flouds of temptation (that the serpent casts out of his mouth after them) cannot come so much as to their feet. Or, if it touch their heel, yet it can come noGen [illegible: 1 word]. 15. higher. There is no [illegible: 1 word] against Jacob, because God was a Numb. [illegible: 1 word] 22, 23. Vnicorn, to take away the venom (saith Balaam the sorcerer) as waters, when the Unicorns horn hath been in them, are no longer poisonable, but healthfull. Into the holy City.] Things are called holy, either by nature, as God, who is truly, alway, and only of himself holy: or by separation, or being set apart to a holy use or end: which Origen calleth, sancta sanctificata, by accession of externall holinesse [non-Latin text not transcribed]. from without: So Jerusalem is here called, holy, because the City Ho [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. of God, where he was daily worshipped. And for the same cause was the ground, whereon Moses and Ioshua trod, called [illegible: 1 word] ground, and Tabor, the holy Mount. And when we stand in our2 [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. Churches, saith Chrysostome, we stand in a place of Angels and [illegible: 1 word] angels, in the Kingdom of God, and heaven it self; which [non-Latin text not transcribed]. they that profane, may justly fear to be whipt, like dogs, out of [illegible: 2 words] ad [illegible: 2 words] 14. [illegible: 1 word] haavenly temple, and City too. And surely it were to be wished, that such profane Esaus now-adaies, as dare prate or sleep, or laugh and play the parts of jesters, or doe any thing else, unbeseeming the service of God, would keep themselves from Gods sanctuary: or that we had such Porters to keepe them [illegible: 1 word], as they had under the Law, 2 Chronicles 23. 19. And setteth him upon a pinacle of the Temple] Height of place giveth opportunity of temptation. The longest robe contracts the greatest soil: neither are any in so great danger, as those that walk on the tops of pinacles. Even heigth it self makes mens brains to swim: As in Diocletian, who not content to be Emperour, [illegible: 1 word]. would needs be adored as a god: and Caligula, of whom it was said, That there was never any better servant then he, nor [illegible: 1 word] Chron. worse Lord. Vespasian is reported to have been the only man,Vesp [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 5 words]. that ever became better by the Empire conferred upon him. It is both hard and happy, not to be made worse by advancement. [illegible: 1 word] signifies both honour and [illegible: 1 word]; Chabadh, [illegible: 1 word]: and honour; Honoro and onero shew, that honour goeth not without a [illegible: 1 word]. Fructus [illegible: 1 word] oneris, fructus honoris, onus. Pope Pius [illegible: 1 word]. a lapide in [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. Quintus said thus of himself: Cumessem religiosus, sperabam bene ae salute animae meae: Cardinalis factus extimui: Pontifex creatus, [illegible: 2 words]. When I was first in orders, without any further ecclesiasticall dignity, I had some good hopes of my salvation: When I became a Cardinall, I had [illegible: 1 word]; since I was made Pope, least of all: The same thoughts of himself had Clement the 8th his immediate successour, saith the same Authour. Non insulsè Autor [illegible: 1 word]. moral. cap. 12. Praepositioni quot accidunt? Unum. Quid? Casus tantùm. Quot casus? Duo. Qui? Accusativus, & abiativus. Haec enim Praelatum oportet timere, accusari a crimine, & aufirri [illegible: 2 words] in [illegible: 1 word]. ad [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] historiae [illegible: 1 word], de [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 2 words], a [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] so [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word], & sic ignominiosè cadere.

Verse 6. And he saith unto him.] The devil usually tempteth by speech, inward or outward. Senarclaeus telleth of a plain Countrey-man at Friburg in Germany, that lying on his deathbed, the devil came to him in the shape of a tall, terrible man, and [illegible: 1 word] his soul, [illegible: 1 word], Thou hast been a notorious sinner, and I am come to set down all thy sins: And therewith he drew out [illegible: 1 word] and [illegible: 1 word], and sate down at a Table that stood by, and began to write. The sick man answered, My soul is Gods, and all my sins are nailed to the crosse of Christ. But if thou desire to set down my sins, write thus, All our righteousnesses are as a filthy rag, &c. The devil set down that, and bad him say on: He did: But thou, Lord, hast promised, for thine own sake to blot out our iniquities, and to make our searlet sins white as snow. The devil passed by those words, and was earnest with him to goe on in his former argument. The sick man said with great [illegible: 1 word], The sonne of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil. With that the devil vanished, and the sick man departed. If thou be the Son of God, cast thy self, &c.] This is the devils Logick,Mica. 7. 3. to argue from [illegible: 1 word] to liberty, to doe wickedly with both hands earnestly. Wheras the Heathen could say; In maxima libertate Salvian. minima licentia. And the Father, Ideò deteriores sumus, quia meliores esse debemus: Therefore are we worse, because we ought to be better. Remember but this, that [illegible: 1 word] art sonne to a King (said one to Antigonus) and that will [illegible: 1 word] thee from base courses. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Take thou those spoils to thy self (said Themistocles to his friendPlat. that followed him) [non-Latin text not transcribed], for thou art not Themistocles, as I am: they are poor things, farre below me. Shall [illegible: 1 word] 6 11. such a man as I flee? Shall I doe any thing to the dishonour of myRom. 6. 1. heavenly father? and therefore sin, because grace hath abounded? That is not the guise of any of Gods children. They walk honestly, [non-Latin text not transcribed] &c. bravely, gallantly, worthy of God, who hath done so great things for them. The more [illegible: 1 word], the more engagements. Scipio, when a harlot was offered unto him, said, Vellem, si non essem Imperator. It was an aggravation of [illegible: 1 word] fall of Solomon, that1 King. 11. 9. God had appeared unto him twice; and of Saul, That he fell, as if he 2 Sam. 1. 21. had not been anointed: So it is of any of Gods Saints, to sin, as if they had not been adopted. Cast thy self down.] Here our Saviour is tempted to self-murder, by an old man-slater. And when Moses, Elias, Jonas, and others of the best sort of Saints were in a fit of discontent, and grew weary of their lives, wishing for death, Divines doubt not but Satan gave a push at them with his ten horns, to dispatch, and ease [illegible: 1 word] of the present trouble, by cutting off their own daies. A dangerous and hideous temptation; yet such as may be all the best, and few scape it that live out their time. But in all the book of God, we read not of any of the generation of the just, that ever did it. That God who kept them, will (if we look up to him) doe as muchPsal 73. for us. Only we must set against this bloudy temptation with Gods [illegible: 1 word] me, and with Gods armour. The word and prayer are the [illegible: 1 word] and power of God, and (by his might) doe [illegible: 1 word] all the fiery darts of the devil. Oppose the commination to the temptation. Herein Eve faultred (in her, lest ye die, though she held the precept) and so fell. For it is written.] A vile abuse of sacred Scripture, to [illegible: 1 word] thereby to [illegible: 1 word], or [illegible: 1 word] for it: yet what more ordinary2 Tim. [illegible: 1 word]. 8. with men of corrupt mindes and reprobate concerning the [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word] my [illegible: 1 word] of the divinity of the [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word], The true [illegible: 2 words] saith, Quicaedem [illegible: 1 word] saciunt ad materiam suam, as Tertullian speaketh: who [illegible: 1 word] the Scriptures to serve their own purposes? But of this more elsewhere. He shall give his Angels charge over thee.] Hitherto the old liar speaketh truth. But, Satan etsi semel videatur verax, millies est mendax, & semper fallax, saith one. Satan [illegible: 1 word] though he may sometimes seem a true-speaker, yet he is a thousand times for it a liar, and alwaies a deceiver. Because our Saviour had alledged Scripture, he also would doe the like, in a perverse, apish imitation, but marres the masculine In [illegible: 2 words], non in [illegible: 2 words] [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word], by clipping off that clause, They shall keep thee in all thy [illegible: 1 word]; that is, in those courses that are appointed thee by God. But as the Israelites in the wildernesse, when they went out of Gods precincts, were out of his protection: So are all others. As a bird that wandereth from the nest; so Prov. 27. 8. is a man that wandereth from his own place, saith Solomon. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. 6. God made a Law that none should molest a bird upon her nest. Doth God take eare of birds? A King undertaketh the safety of his Subjects, [illegible: 1 word] they travell within due hours, and keep the Kings high-way, else not: so doth God. He hath given his Angels charge over us, whiles we hold his way, which is like Jacobs ladder, where the Angels were ascending and descending. Oh the dignity and safety of a Saint, in a guard so full of state and strength! Well might David (after he had said, The angel of the Lord pitcheth his tent Psal. [illegible: 1 word], 8. [illegible: 1 word] about them that fear him) presently subjoyn. Taste and see how gracious the Lord is, in allowing his children so glorious an [illegible: 1 word]. And with their hands they shall lift thee up, lest, &c.] As Parents [non-Latin text not transcribed], In [illegible: 1 word]: duct a ab iu, significationis origine, qui [illegible: 1 word] aliquod [illegible: 2 words] in humeros. [illegible: 1 word]. use to lift their little ones over rough and foul waies: Or, as [illegible: 1 word] in an house love to get up into their arms their young master. In Christ and for Christ, they count it their greatest glory, to doe us any good office for soul or body: they save us from the foul fiends, that else would worry us. These walk about as Lions to [illegible: 2 words] us, whiles alive, and to hinder our passage to heaven, when we die: the other, as guardians, to keep us here, and to convey and conduct us thorow the devils territories (who is Prince of the air) when we goe hence to heaven,Luk. 16. 22. in despite of the [illegible: 2 words] that would intercept us, Dan. 10. 21. Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone] Oh the tender care of our heavenly [illegible: 1 word]! He is so kinde, and (in the best sense) fond over his little ones, that he cannot abide the cold winde should How upon them (as we [illegible: 1 word]) and hath therefore commanded, That the Sun shall not smite them by day, nor the Moon by night, yea,Psal. 121 6. which way soever the winde sit, it must blow good to his. Arise, [illegible: 1 word]. 4. 16. O North, and blow, O South, upon my Beloved, that her spices may flow forth. What so contrary as North and South-winde, cold and hot, moist and dry, &c? Yet both must blow good to Gods beloved. Well might God [illegible: 1 word] his love above that of naturall Parents, which yet is wonderous great, saith the Psalmist, Psal. 103. [illegible: 1 word].

Verse 7. Jesus answered and said, It is written again] Christ rejects not the holy Scriptures ([illegible: 2 words] alledged and [illegible: 1 word] by Satan) but openeth them, by laying one place to another. So did those holy Levites in Nehemiah, and [illegible: 1 word]. Paul in the Acts. Parallel texts (like gl [illegible: 1 word]) [illegible: 1 word] one against another cast [illegible: 1 word]. 8. 7. Vide [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] a mutuall light. [illegible: 1 word] as the [illegible: 1 word] brightneth his hard diamond with the dust snaved from it self: So must we clear [non-Latin text not transcribed]. hard Scriptures, by others that are [illegible: 1 word] plaine and perspicuous. [illegible: 2 words] de [illegible: 1 word]. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.] Trust him we [illegible: 1 word], tempt him we may [illegible: 1 word]. Now God [illegible: 2 words], either when men are too much addicted to the means, as [illegible: 1 word]: Or, when they reject them, as Ahaz; who refused a sign, and ran to unlawfull means, hiding all under this, I will not tempt God. Heathens [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. could say, Admotâ manu [illegible: 1 word] est Minerva; and they noted him for a foolish [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 2 words] his Cart [illegible: 1 word] fast, cried to his god, and moved his lips, but not his hands to help himself. If thou callest for knowledge (saith Solomon) and criest for understanding: There's praier to God. If thou seekest her as [illegible: 1 word], and searchest for her as for hid treasures: There's mans [illegible: 1 word] in the diligent use of the means. Then shalt thou understand [illegible: 5 words] the [illegible: 1 word] of the Lord, and finde the knowledge of God: Ther's the happy [illegible: 1 word]. Ora & labora was an Emperours [illegible: 1 word]. S. [illegible: 1 word] sets it down as a vanity of [illegible: 1 word] youth, that he pray'd God to help him against some speciall sins, whereunto he was strongly [illegible: 1 word], but should have been full sorry, that God should have heard him, [illegible: 1 word] he was loth to part with them. How much better was that praier of [illegible: 1 word] Thomas Moor, Domine Deus, fac [illegible: 1 word] in [illegible: 1 word] consequendis operam collocare, pro quibus obtinendis soleo ad [illegible: 2 words] are: Lord God, make me to bestow pains in getting those [illegible: 5 words] things, for obtaining whereof I use to pray unto thee.

Verse 8. Again the devil taketh him.] This Master-fly [illegible: 1 word], though beaten away once and again, yet returns to the same place. [illegible: 1 word] how [illegible: 1 word] he is in renuing his temptations after a flat repulse. He sollicits and sets upon our Saviour again (as [illegible: 1 word] wife did upon Joseph, for all his many [illegible: 1 word]) and is not [illegible: 5 words] only importunate, but impudent. Stand we therefore still upon [illegible: 1 word]. l [illegible: 2 words] victus [illegible: 3 words]. Ita [illegible: 2 words]. our guard, and look for no ease here. The Roman Captains, when they had once triumphed, took their ease ever after. So did not Cato, and is therefore highly commended. So may not we, if ever we will be approved, as good souldiers of Jesus Christ. [non-Latin text not transcribed] [illegible: 2 words] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Our whole life is a continuall warfare, and we must look for the continuall hail-shot, hel-shot of Satanicall assaults and suggestions. When Xerxes fought against theGreeks, The sea was full of ships (saith the Oratour) the earth of souldiers, the air of arrows. So fares it with the Saints under Satans batteries: no truce, but continuall [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. conflict. Ever since those two strong men fought, there is no [illegible: 1 word] he [illegible: 2 words] of his [illegible: 1 word] to [illegible: 1 word] who [illegible: 3 words], [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] 7, 8 Christ [illegible: 1 word] est [non-Latin text not transcribed], [illegible: 1 word] & [illegible: 3 words] & [illegible: 2 words] nostras. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] Genes. 32. more peace. S. Paul sounds the alarm, Arm, Arm, take the whole armour of God, and be ever in your harnesse. And S. Peter gives the reason, Because your adversary the devil, as a [illegible: 1 word] lion, walketh, and watcheth, night and day, seeking whom [illegible: 1 word] may devour. For our encouragement, as the devil is, Leo [non-Latin text not transcribed], a roaring lion; so is Christ, Leo de tribu [illegible: 1 word], [non-Latin text not transcribed], the lion of the Tribe of Iudah, that delivereth us, and maketh us more then Conquerours; holding the crown of glory over our heads (as we are sighting) with this inscription, Vincenti [illegible: 1 word], To [illegible: 1 word] that [illegible: 1 word], will I give, &c. Fight therefore and faint not: your [illegible: 1 word] is [illegible: 1 word], your armour is of proof. Get on both those [illegible: 1 word] of [illegible: 1 word] (as the girdle of truth, brest-plate of [illegible: 1 word], shoes of peace and patience, shield of faith, helmet of [illegible: 1 word]) and those [illegible: 1 word] of offence; as the sword of the Spirit, and [illegible: 1 word] of [illegible: 1 word]. And then resolve, with that aged Citizen of Exeter in [illegible: 1 word] Edward the 6. time; who when the Town was besieged, [illegible: 2 words] K Ed. 6 [illegible: 1 word] S. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. p. 62. [illegible: 1 word], That he would feed on the one arm, and fight with the other, before he would consent to yeeld the City to the seditious. It is said of [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] the siege of Byrrachium, that he so long resisted Pompeys Der [illegible: 3 words] ylvam. Lucan. [illegible: 1 word], that he had 220. darts sticking in his shield, and lost one of his eyes, and yet gave not over, till Caesar came to his rescue: And of Sr Thomas Challoner (who died, anno 1566.) that he [illegible: 1 word] in his younger time under Charles the 5. in the expedition [illegible: 2 words]. of Algier; where being ship wreckt, after he had swum till his [illegible: 1 word] and his arms failed him, at the length catching hold of a [illegible: 1 word] with his teeth, he escaped, not without the losse of some of his teeth. The like (and somewhat more) is reported of Cynegiras Trogus. Herod. the Athenian in the Persian warres. These did thus for a corruptible crown, or temporary honour; what should not weRevel. 3. doe for an eternall? 1 Cor. 9. 25. Hold out, and hold fast that thou hast, that no man take thy crown from thee. Be of Queen Camdens Eliz. [illegible: 1 word]. 164. Elizabeths disposition, who provided for warre, even when she had most perfect peace with all men. Gods Spirit sets up a standard in the Saints, Isa. 59. 19. And stronger is he that is in you, then he that is in the world. That old serpent hath his head so bruised and crusht by Christ, that he cannot now so easily thrust in his mortall sting, though he [illegible: 1 word] it never so often, unlesse we dally with him and lay our selves open, unles we tempt Satan to tempt us, by inconsideration, security, or venturing on the occasion. Vitanda est glacies. si nolis cadere. He that tastes of the broth, will have a mindeNumb. 6. 3. to the meat. The Nazarites might not only not drink wine, but forbear to eat of the grape, whether moist or dried. [illegible: 1 word] an exceeding high mountain.] Whether mountains werePsal. 90 2. made at first, or cast up by the flood, there are that dispute. I thinke, made at first. Yet is the earth round (as an apple is, notwithstanding some knots and bunches in it.) And, that, being [illegible: 1 word], and so, naturally apt for motion (as the heavens are) it stands firm and unmoveable, Eccles. 1. 3. this is admirable. God hath hang'd it upon nothing, saith Iob, in the midst of the heaven; [illegible: 1 word] 26. 7. [illegible: 2 words] Archimedes his [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word] poized with it's own [illegible: 1 word]. But why took he [illegible: 1 word] Saviour into so high a mountain? That he might thence have the sairer prospect: And perhaps in [illegible: 1 word] of God, taking up Mosos into the Mount. The [illegible: 3 words] be Gods ape, that he may, by counterfeiting the like to God, [illegible: 1 word] his holy Ordinances into disgrace. Thus the [illegible: 2 words] their sacrisices, washings, tithes, oracles, &c. [illegible: 1 word] and others tell us, that the Temple of Diana at Ephesus, and her [illegible: 1 word] therein, were made of Cedar. So for Christ bruising the [illegible: 1 word] head, Satan hath set up Hercules, killing the [illegible: 2 words]. Which [illegible: 1 word] who seeth not plainly to have been hatcht in [illegible: 1 word], and [illegible: 1 word] to the Poets, in an [illegible: 1 word] imitation of God, [illegible: 1 word] to [illegible: 1 word] his oracle? The like may be said of the fable of [illegible: 1 word] his wife, [illegible: 1 word] snatcht from him, for looking back [illegible: 2 words] which was made out of the story of Lots wife: So their [illegible: 1 word] with his ten labours, was the Scripture [illegible: 1 word]. And [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] King of AEgypt, and Priest of [illegible: 1 word] (who was helped from heaven by his God against Senacherib King of [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. that invaded him) who could it be else, but Hezekiah King of [illegible: 1 word]? [illegible: 2 words] (operum Dei Momus) per AEgyptios hoc [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word], ut [illegible: 2 words] in [illegible: 1 word] editum vilesceret, [illegible: 1 word] & [illegible: 2 words], & tanti operis gloria ad [illegible: 2 words] rediret. Thus the devil attempted by his AEgyptians to transfer the glory of a [illegible: 1 word] miracle upon himself. And [illegible: 1 word] him all the Kingdoms of the earth] In their [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 line] and bravery. A bewitching sight, doubtlesse, and would have moved much with a [illegible: 1 word] heart. But here the devils fire [illegible: 1 word] upon wet tinder, and therefore took not. Gain and glory? rule and riches? Quis nisi mentis inops, &c. Set but a wedge of gold [illegible: 2 words], and [illegible: 1 word] (that could stay the course of the Sun) [illegible: 1 word] stay [illegible: 1 word] from lusting and laying hold on it. [illegible: 1 word] Asse [illegible: 2 words] fast enough [illegible: 1 word] preferment. And Zimri will have his [illegible: 1 word] though he die for it. These three Enchantresses, The [illegible: 1 word] of the [illegible: 1 word], the lust of the eye, and the pride of life; Pleasure, [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 line] and [illegible: 1 word] (the worldly mans Trinity) whom have they [illegible: 2 words], befooled, bebeasted? S. Iohn sheweth that a man may be [illegible: 1 word] mortified, a father, and yet wondrous subject to [illegible: 2 words] world. Of the which, neverthelesse, we may say (as [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] the people) 'tis wholly set upon wickednesse: Or, as [illegible: 1 word] sometimes [illegible: 1 word] of an Historian, Both the words and shews of it are full of fraud. It promiseth (as the devil here) great [illegible: 1 word], but [illegible: 1 word], pro the sauro carbones, in stead of mines, cole-pits. [illegible: 1 word] Forbisher, in his voiage to discover the Straits, being [illegible: 1 word] up and down with foul weather, snows and unconstant [illegible: 1 word], returned home, having gathered a great quantity of stones, which he thought to be minerals. From which, when [illegible: 1 word] could be drawn neither gold nor silver, nor any other metall, [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word]. 89. [illegible: 2 words] seen them cast forth (saith M. Camden) to mend the [illegible: 1 word]-waies. How oft do the devil and the world give men [illegible: 1 word] and serpents in stead of fish and bread, even the bread of [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] 17. that proves gravell in the teeth? How oft are they disappointed that hunt after lying vanities, and so for sake their own mercies, [illegible: 1 word]. 2. 8. as Ionas freely acknowledged, for it had like to have cost [illegible: 1 word] a [illegible: 1 word]? What got Balaam by running after his wagesNumb. 31. 8. of [illegible: 1 word], but a sword in his ribs? Achan by his wedge, but [illegible: 2 words] about his ears? Iudas by his thirty pieces, but the halter about his neck? Cranmer by his subscription, but such aAdeo ut [illegible: 1 word] spem [illegible: 1 word], nec locum [illegible: 1 word] fortunae reliquerit. Ut jam nec [illegible: 1 word] mori, nec vivere inhonestè liceret. Melch. Adam. wretched condition, as that there was left him neither hope of better, [illegible: 1 word] place of worse, as Cole could say in a Sermon, at his recantation? Many of the Romish runnagates, that run thither for preferment, what little respect have they often times, and as little content in their change? Roffensis had a Cardinals hat sent him, but his head was [illegible: 1 word] off, before it came. Allin had a Cardinals hat, but with [illegible: 1 word] thin lining (means, I mean, to support his state) that he was [illegible: 1 word] called the starvelling Cardinall. Stapleton was made Professour of a petty University, scarce so good as one of our freeschools in England. Saunders was starved. William Rainolds was [illegible: 1 word] to a poor vicarage under value. On Harding his [illegible: 1 word] D Featleys. bestowed a Prebend of Gaunt, or to speak more properly, a [illegible: 1 word]. exploded. [illegible: 1 word] Prebend. Many others get not any thing, so that they wish themselves at home again; and sometimes return in the same [illegible: 1 word] in which they went. And the glory thereof] wherewith he hoped to dazle our [illegible: 1 word] eyes (those windows of the soul) and so to imprison his affections. But he mistook himself. This heavenly Eagle had [illegible: 1 word] irretertum, nothing moved with these tempting objects. But [illegible: 1 word] many are there (alas) that have died of the wound of the [illegible: 1 word]? that have fallen by the hand of this vile strumpet, the world? who by laying forth her two fair brests of profit and pleasure, hath cast down many wounded, as Solomons harlot, Prov. 7. 26. And by the glistering of her pomp and [illegible: 1 word], hath [illegible: 2 words]; as the going fire leads men into hedges and ditches: [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word], as [illegible: 2 words] [illegible: 1 word], which when she cannot over take the [illegible: 2 words], doth with her [illegible: 3 words] and [illegible: 2 words], so that they have no power to [illegible: 1 word] away till she have [illegible: 1 word] them to death.

Verse 9. And he saith unto him, All these things will I give thee.] A great catch sure: even just nothing: for he shewed out Saviour only shews and shadows, apparitions and resemblances [illegible: 1 word]. of things. The word also used in the former verse for (glory) [illegible: 2 words] [non-Latin text not transcribed] [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word] an opinion or imagination. So St Luke stiles all Agrippa's [illegible: 1 word], but a fantasie. David tels us, that man walketh in a vain shadow. Now a shadow is something in appearance, nothing in [illegible: 1 word]: So the Apostle calleth all these things, that the devil [illegible: 1 word] our Saviour, [non-Latin text not transcribed], an accidentall mathematicall figure,1 [illegible: 1 word] 7. 31. without solidity or substance. And further tels us, that this figure [illegible: 1 word] away, is ever in transitu, like the streams of a river, [illegible: 1 word]. that [illegible: 1 word] by the sides of a City, no man can stop: or if we could retain the things of this life, yet not the world only passeth away (saith the Apostle) but the lusts thereof. So that a man [illegible: 2 words] 17. [illegible: 1 word] make his heart delight in the same thing still. [illegible: 3 words] fastidio sunt. We loath after a while what we lusted [illegible: 1 word] [non-Latin text not transcribed] (as Amnon did Tamar) and quickly finde a satiety, yea an unsatisfy ingnesse in the creature. For he that loveth silver shall not [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. 10. be satisfied with silver, nor though he could heap up his hoards to the stars, and ingrosse a monopoly of all the wealth in the world. Non [illegible: 1 word] satiatur cor [illegible: 1 word], quàm corpus aurâ. You may assoon [illegible: 1 word] a bag with wisdome, a chest with [illegible: 1 word], or a circle with a triangle, as the heart of man with any thing here below. All that earth can afford, is, fumus [illegible: 1 word] (saith one) [illegible: 1 word] & [non-Latin text not transcribed], [illegible: 1 word]. saith another: Vanity and vexation, saith Solomon the [illegible: 1 word]. wise: To whose impartiall verdict (grounded upon so good [illegible: 1 word]) [illegible: 1 word]. 1. 2. we shall doe well to subscribe, without believing the [illegible: 1 word] crakes, or trying any further conclusions. The Centurists [illegible: 1 word], All these things will I give thee, thus; I will make thee Pope. And indeed many Popes were advanced to that Sea [illegible: 1 word] by the devil, as Histories relate. Who, had they but [illegible: 1 word] what is usually done at their inthronization, would D [illegible: 2 words] [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 2 words] [illegible: 1 word]. never have been so hasty. For before the Pope is set in his Chair, and puts on his tripple Crown, a peece of row, or wad of straw is set on fire [illegible: 1 word] him, and one appointed to say, Sic transit [illegible: 1 word], The glory of this world is but a [illegible: 1 word]. This is only [illegible: 1 word] of form and Ceremony: As is also that, that one day in the year the [illegible: 1 word] Almoner rideth before him, casting abroad to the [illegible: 1 word] certain peeces of brasse and lead, saying, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have I give you, Whereas that [illegible: 2 words] holds a golden cup in her hand, and her merchants that trade with her, are the Grandees of the earth, Revel. 18. and are [illegible: 1 word] in Apo. 18. [illegible: 1 word] rich by her, vers. 15. The Cardinall of Toledo hath a hundred thousand pound a year comming in; The Arch-bishops of Germany are [illegible: 1 word]-[illegible: 1 word] (many of them) and have revenues accordingly. Petrarch reporteth, that in the treasury of Pope [illegible: 1 word]. John the 22. were found after his death 250. tuns of gold. AndSphinx. Philos. p. [illegible: 1 word]. of Boniface the eighth it is storied, that when he was taken by Philip the fair, King of France, and his palace rifled, there was more treasure found, then all the Kings of the earth were able to [illegible: 1 word]. shew again. Otto, one of the Popes Mice-catchers (as the storyIt was [illegible: 1 word] and trimly [illegible: 1 word] by [illegible: 1 word] Innocent [illegible: 1 word]. Verè [illegible: 1 word] deliciarum Papis suit tun Anglia & [illegible: 1 word] inexhausius. [illegible: 1 word] them) sent hither by Gregory 9. after three years raking [illegible: 1 word] of money by most [illegible: 1 word] arts, at last departing [illegible: 1 word], he left not so much money in the whole Kingdom, as he either [illegible: 1 word] with him, or sent before him. Judge by this, what they did thorowout all Christendom. The Pope, saith one, could never want money so long as he could hold a pen in his hand. Thus it was then; but how now? Bellarmine complains, that since by us the Pope was cried down for Antichrist, his Kingdom [illegible: 1 word] not Non [illegible: 1 word], non crevit [illegible: 2 words], sed [illegible: 1 word] magis ac [illegible: 2 words] evit, [illegible: 1 word]. de Pap. [illegible: 1 word] c. 21. only not encreased, but every day more and more decreased. And Cotton the [illegible: 2 words], That the authority of the Pope of Rome is incomparably lesse then it was: And that now the Christian Church is but a diminutive. Hereupon also the Cardinals (who [illegible: 1 word] wont to meet oftener) meet but once a week, because the [illegible: 1 word] of the Court of Rome grow [illegible: 1 word]. And albeit the [illegible: 1 word] Concla. ex Synta [illegible: 1 word] l. 15. c 4. [non-Latin text not transcribed] [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] good, and [illegible: 1 word] bloud, his honours and manners rose together; yet abates he as little of his former pomp and pride, as the [illegible: 1 word] doth since his fall, in taking upon him here to dispose of all the Kingdoms of the earth, as his: and requiring our Saviour (the Os [illegible: 1 word] & [illegible: 2 words], in eodem sunt [illegible: 1 word] to. Sphinx Phil. 601. true Lord of all) to [illegible: 1 word] down and worship him. The Cardinals he still createth with these words, Estote fratres nostri & principes mundi. And, as another [illegible: 1 word] (who was the first that [illegible: 1 word] that honour) he holdeth forth his feet to be kissed, having the sign of the [illegible: 1 word] shining with pearls and [illegible: 1 word] stones [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 2 words], [illegible: 2 words] crucem Christi derideat, saith mine [illegible: 2 words]. In [illegible: 1 word] word, with his pomp and primacy, gain and [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word] and riches, fat Bishopricks and Cardinalships, as he [illegible: 3 words] Luther, and gain him to his side: so he gets and [illegible: 2 words] a [illegible: 2 words] to that rotten religion. Pauper Lutherus [illegible: 3 words], said Erasmus; it being then the ready way to [illegible: 1 word] to write and rail against Luther, as Eccius, [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word] others found it. But Christ will one day whip such [illegible: 2 words], and their customers out of his house, as he did [illegible: 2 words] the Gospel; chase them out of his presence, as Nehemiah did [illegible: 1 word] son in Law; Curse them with a curse, that runne [illegible: 1 word] after the errour of [illegible: 1 word] for [illegible: 1 word]. Let the Romish [illegible: 1 line] [illegible: 1 word] offer as large as the devil doth here, every one that hath any thing of Christ in him, will answer with that noble Italian [illegible: 1 word] (Galeacius Caracciolus Marquesse of Vico in [illegible: 1 word] ) who being tempted by a Jesuite to revolt for money, [illegible: 1 word] out, Let their money perish with them, who esteem all the gold in the world worth one daies society with [illegible: 1 word] Christ, and his holy Spirit. And cursed be that Religion for ever, &c. If thou wilt fall down and worship me.] Luke saith, Worship before me. So that to worship before an Idol is to worship the Idol, whatever the Romanist pretend and plead to the contrary. And not only so, but to fall down, as the devil would have had our Saviour here (though it be not come to worshipping) is a grievous [illegible: 1 word]. 2. 8. sinne. St John had not yet worshipped the Angel, but only fallen down, as desirous to worship, and is taken up by the Angel, for that idolatrous gesture. Woe then to those Rimmonites, that plead for an upright soul in a protrate body; and alleadge for their warrant, that of Apocryphall Baruc, Chap. 6. Wherefore when ye see the multitude of people worshipping them behinde and before, say ye in your hearts, O Lord, it is thou that [illegible: 1 word] test only to be worshipped. Serve we God with our bodies also; and say with David and Christ, Lord, a body hast thou [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] 8. Loe, I come to doe thy will therewith. But what a [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. and detestable boldnesse was it in the devil, to move speech [illegible: 2 words] a sin as this, to our Saviour Christ? It was extreme sawcinesse in Satan to adjure our Saviour (whom he there cals, The Sonne of the most high God) not to torment him, it was horribleMark 5. 6, 7. impudency. But nothing comparable to this in the Text, to worship the devil in person: then which, what can be imagined more odious? We see then to what execrable sins the best may be tempted. Capell of Ten. A man is to expect (saith one) if he live out his daies, to be urged to all sinnes, to the breach of every branch of the ten Commandments: and to be put to it in respect of every Article of our Creed. Have you not been tempted (saith another) in [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. this or that kinde? It is because God in mercy would not lead you into temptation. Yea this is, in some sort, more to be acknowledged [illegible: 1 word] victory, when ye were tempted. For not to be tempted is more immediately from God, and [illegible: 1 word] in mans power, then to prevail against temptation. For nothing doth overcome us without our will: but without our will doth God lead us into triall: for he knoweth we would taste little of these, if we might [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word]. be our own carvers. Simon, Simon (saith our Saviour) Satan [non-Latin text not transcribed] [illegible: 1 word]. hath desired to have you to winnow you (that is, [illegible: 1 word] trouble and hurt you, saith a Father) as a challenger desireth to have one of the other side to combat with: as Goliah called for a man to match him. Now either God denies him, or delivers us, so that that evil one toucheth us not, viz. Tactu qualitativo, with1 [illegible: 1 word]. 5. 18. a mortall touch, as Cajetan glosseth that Text, I have praid for thee, saith our Saviour, that thy faith fail not. He praid for all, but especially for Peter, because more violently tempted. As, [illegible: 1 word]. 4. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. 10 7. because more shamefully foiled, therefore, Go tell my Disciples and Peter, that I am risen; and that thereby he is justified. I have praid; so that the remedy was ready made before the disease, the salve before the sore, or else it might have come too late: As those that are stung by a scorpion, if they be not presently anointed with oil of scorpions, die for it: and as those that have drunk poison, if they take not an antidote immediately, ere it get to the vitals, perish infallibly. God in Christ hath all plaisters and pardons ready made and sealed. Else, we might die in our sins, whiles the pardon is providing.

Verse 10. Get thee hence, Satan.] Avaunt, avoid, be packing. This was an indignity not to be endured, as great every way, as if the [illegible: 1 word] scoundrell upon earth should assault the chastity of the greatest Empresse. Our Saviour therefore will endure him no longer, but commands him out of his presence, with utmost indignation. And surely madnesse, in case [illegible: 1 word] Gods dishonour, is farre better then meeknesse. Here, if [illegible: 2 words] besides our selves, it is to God, as Paul said to the Corinthians; and as he did, when2 Cor. 5. 13. [illegible: 1 word] dealt with Elymas that first-born of the devil, when he saw [illegible: 1 line]. him [illegible: 1 word] the deputy, He set his eyes upon him, saith the Text, as if he would have run thorow him. After which lightning follows that terrible thunder-crack, Full of all [illegible: 1 word] and of [illegible: 2 words], &c. So the Angel of Ephesus could not abide those [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word], Revel. 2. 2. Nor could David brook the workers of iniquity: he casteth down the gauntler of defiance against them, as his utter enemies, He hateth them with a perfect hatred. Hezekiah [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 2 words], [illegible: 1 word]. pulled down the brazen Serpent (when the people idolized it) and called it a peece of brasse. And Josiah would not let stand the horses of the Sunne, and other monuments of Idolatry, upon any intreaty. King Edward the 6th, being laboured by some of his best friends, to permit the Lady Mary his sister, to have Masse in her house, answered, He would rather spend his life, and all he had, then to agree and grant to that he knew certainly to be against Act and [illegible: 1 word] fol. [illegible: 1 word]. the truth. And another time, in his message to the Rebels of [illegible: 1 word]: Assure you, most surely, said he, that we, of no earthly thing under heaven, make such reputation as of this one, to have our law obeyed, and this cause of God which we have taken in hand, to be thorowly maintained. From the which we will never remove an hairs bredth, or give place to any creature living, much lesse to any Subject; wherein we will spend our own royall Person, our Crown, Treasure, Realm, and all our State, whereof we assure you of our high honour. Now Gods blessing be [illegible: 1 word] 1189 on that blessed heart, that [illegible: 1 word] such a stomack against Gods dishonour; and [illegible: 1 word] entertain all wicked attempts and assaults with this Apage of our Saviour. And woe to them that cry Euge to such. Whether we may say to the Tempter, as our Saviour did, Get thee hence; and not rather as the Angel, The Lord rebuke [illegible: 1 word] 9. thee, is questioned by some; because it is his only, to command the devil. But that we may, and must say to him, no man doubts, as our Saviour did to the Pharisees, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Mat [illegible: 1 word] 18. as Naboth did to Ahab, God forbid me any such wickednesse: As Solomon to his mother, Ask the Kingdom also: As the1 King 2. 22. witch of Endor to Saul, Why seekest thou to take me in a snare, to 1 Sam. 28. 9. cause me to die? Thus, Resist, saith Peter: Stand fast, saith1 [illegible: 2 words] 9 Paul: Resist, and Satan will flee, he is but a coward. Stand, [illegible: 2 words] 14. and then Satan will fall. Not to yeeld, is to conquer: if he cast [non-Latin text not transcribed]. us not down, we are then accepted, as if we did cast him down. We doe ever-overcome, saith that great Apostle, because in ourRom. 8 37. head Christ we overcome before we fight, and are sure of victory,Solomon G. snerus apud Melch. [illegible: 1 word]. Revel. 12. 1. Quare apage sis, Diabole, & tela tua in hoc semen mulier is converte: hunc si viceris, me quo que viceris, said one, Devil, doe thy worst to Christ: conquer him and take all. For it is written] This two-edged sword our Saviour hadIsa, 6 [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] is called [non-Latin text not transcribed] found to be metall of proof, and therefore holds him to it. Only the Scriptures scare the devil, as only faithfull praier can charm him. Athanasius writeth that evil spirits may be put to flight bya Charm. that 68. Psalm, Let the Lord arise, and his enemies be [illegible: 1 word]. But this is true of the whole word of God, which is armour of proof against the devil. Thous shalt worship the Lord thy God.] Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, saith Moses. So Matth. 15. 9. with Isa. 29. 13. See Psal. 2. 11. Josh. 24 11. Heb. 12. 27. Solemon sets the [illegible: 1 word] Prov. 1. 7. of God as the basis and beginning of Gods work and worship, in [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] 5. the beginning of his works. And again, in the end of them, makesDeum [illegible: 1 word] parùm [illegible: 1 word], valdè [illegible: 1 word]; [illegible: 1 word] qui non [illegible: 2 words], auget [illegible: 1 word]. Ful [illegible: 1 word]. it the end and upshot of all. For they that fear the Lord will keep his Covenant, Psal. 103. 13—18. Yea, they will work hard at it, as afraid to be taken with their tasks undone, Act. 10. 35. They will give him both the shell of outward adoration, and the kernell of inward devotion; truly, without halting, and totally without halfing; truly, both for matter and manner; totally, both for subject and object; as David who did all the wils of God, and [non-Latin text not transcribed]. with all his heart, all the daies of his life. The Gentiles couldAct. 13. say, that God must be worshipped [non-Latin text not transcribed], either to our utmost, or not at all. And Plutarch compares our duty to a certain fish, which eaten sparingly, hurteth; but being eaten up all, is medicinable. And him only shalt thou serve.] With inward worship, asStuchius de sacrific [illegible: 2 words] 8. in [illegible: 1 word] expedition against Naples, came into the field like thunder and lightning, but went out like a snuff: more then a man at first, lesse then a woman at last. Guicciard. before with outward. And so, God only is to be served; for it supposeth omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence, which are in none else but God. Sunt qui colendi verbum, [non-Latin text not transcribed], dictum volunt, eò quòd plerun que Dei hominum que cultus cum adulatione & hypocrisi est conjunctus. Sic à [non-Latin text not transcribed], Gallicum & nostrate flatter. Sic adorare quidam dictum volunt ab ore, tamet si mente magis, quam ore vera fiat adoratio. Quinetiam adorare antiquis idem fuit quod agere.

Verse 11. Then the devil left him.] If Christ command him away, there's no abiding for him. Here he was foiled and quelled, and, as it were, cast down and killed by Christ our Champion. He came into the field like another Goliah, cracking and [illegible: 1 word]. l. 1 e [illegible: 1 word] Nulla maj r tentatio [illegible: 3 words] ne [illegible: 1 word]. calling craven, but ere he went thence, was made to hop headlesse, as he. First a terrour, afterward a scorn, as it was anciently said of those Chariots, armed with sithes and hooks. Henceforth therefore, though we are ever to expect temptations, till such time, as we have gotten that great gulf between the devil [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. us, Luk. 16. 26. Yet fear none of those things that ye shall suffer. Behold, the devil shall (by his imps and instruments) cast [illegible: 1 word] of you (not all) into prison (not into hell) that ye may be tried (not destroied) and ye shall have tribulation ten daies (so [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word]. 2. 10. and no longer.) Be thou faithfull unto the death, and I will [illegible: 1 word] thee a crown of life. Satan can look for no Crown, he is in perdition already. His aim and endeavour is, to draw us into the same condemnation. This we escape, if we resist, stedfast in the faith: for then he perceives Christ, the chief Captain of our salvation to be there; and therefore flees his presence, ever since he felt his prowesse. Chrysostom saith, That by the Sacrament of the Lords Supper we are so armed against Satans temptations, that he [illegible: 1 word] from us no otherwise, then if we were so many leones ignem expuentes, lions that spet fire. It is not silly peoples defying the devil, and spetting at his name, that avails any thing: for [illegible: 1 word] spet not low enough; they spet him not out of their hearts: yea, they admit him thereinto by yeelding to his suggestions; and are miserably foolish, as if men should startle at the name of fire, and yet not fear to be scorched with the flame thereof. Our [illegible: 1 word] way is to run to Ithiel and Ucal, as Agur did, to Christ, the Authour [illegible: 1 word]. 30. 1, 2. and finisher of our faith; who here gave the devil such [illegible: 1 word] 12. 2. an inglorious [illegible: 1 word], trampled him in the mire, triumphed over him, and hath promised to tread him under our feet shortly, Rom. 16. 20. And loe, the Angels came and ministred unto him.] Perhaps [illegible: 1 word] King. [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word]. 9. & 10 [illegible: 1 word] Luk 1. [illegible: 1 word]. Act. 0 4. & 27 [illegible: 1 word]. food to [illegible: 1 word] body, as once to Elias; but certainly comfort to [illegible: 1 word] soul, as to Jacob, Hagar, Daniel, Zecharias, Joseph, Cornel us, Paul, &c. Socrates and Theodoret tell us of one Theadorus, a [illegible: 1 word], put to extream torments by Julian the [illegible: 1 word], and [illegible: 2 words] by him, when he saw him unconquerable [illegible: 1 word] tels us, that he met with this Martyr, a long time after this triall, and asked him, Whether the pain he felt were not [illegible: 1 word]? He [illegible: 1 word], That at first it was somewhat [illegible: 3 words] after a while, there seemed to stand by him a young man in [illegible: 1 word], who with a soft and comfortable handkerchief, wiped off the sweat of his body (which through extream pain and anguish was little [illegible: 1 word] then bloud) and bad him, Be of good chear. Insomuch as that it was rather a punishment then a pleasure to him to be taken off the rack, sith, when the tormentours had done, the Angel was gone. And how many unspeakable comforts ministred the good Angels to the modern Martyrs in their prisons, at the stake, and in the fire? Christ indeed was not comforted by them, till the temptation was over; but to us they minister, many times, in the hour of temptation. They have power over the devils, to restrain them: and (though invisibly and insensibly) are as ready to help and comfort us, as the evil Angels to tempt and trouble us: else were not our protection equall to our danger, and we could neither stand nor rise. An Angel stood at Zecharies right hand, Luk. 1. 11. (as the devil did at Jehoshuahs (Zech. 3. 1.) to shew how ready and handy they are to defend and support the Saints. It was as he was burning incense. The Angels are busiest about us, when we are in Gods work: which to set forth, the hangings of the Tabernacle of old were full of [illegible: 1 word] within and without. He said unto him, Fear not, Zechary. The blessed spirits (though they doe not often vocally expresse it, doe pity our humane frailties, and secretly suggest comfort to us, when we perceive it not. Alway they stand looking on the face of God to receive commandments, for the accomplishment of all designs for our good; which they have no sooner received, then they readily dispatch, even with wearinesse of flight, as Dan. 9. [illegible: 1 word]. with so much swiftnesse, as if they had wearied themselves with fleeing. I read of a Frier that undertook to shew to the people a feather of the wing of the Angel Gabriel. A plume of whose feathers it might better have become the Pope to send to [illegible: 1 word] the Irish Rebell, then that plume of Phoenix-feathers he sent to honourB. [illegible: 1 word]: [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. of Gods [illegible: 1 word], p 174. and encourage him; had his holinesse such command over Angels, as they say he hath, or did he not rather collude in one thing, as that Frier did in another.

Verse 12. Now when Iesus heard that Iohn was cast into prison] For Herodias his sake, though under pretexts of fear of sedition, because of the great multitudes that followed and admired him, as Iosephus hath it. This hath ever been an ordinary [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. l. [illegible: 2 words]. 7. cast upon the most [illegible: 1 word], to be [illegible: 1 word] of sedition, and [illegible: 1 word] of the State. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] held and called a Traitour, Elijah a troubler of Israel, Paul a pest, Luther, tuba rebellionis, [non-Latin text not transcribed] the Trumpet of rebellion, &c. Iuvenies apud Tacitum quentatas accusationes Majestatis: unicum crimen eorum qui Act. 14 5. crimine vacabant, saith Lipsius. There was some colour of right, yea of piety laid upon the French massacre, and by edicts, a fair cloak sought, to cover the impious fraud, as if there had been some wicked conspiracy plotted by the Protestants against the King, the Queen-mother, the Kings brethren, the King of Navarre, Camd Elizab. fol. 163. and the Princes of the bloud. For there was coyn stamped in memory of the matter, in the fore-part whereof, (together with the Kings picture) was this inscription, Virtus in rebelle[illegible: 1 letter]. And on the other side, Pietas excitavit justitiam. Not many years before this, Francis King of France, when he would excuse to the Princes of Germany (whose friendship he then sought after) that cruelty he had exercised against the Protestants, he gave out that he punished Anabaptists only, that bragged of Enthusiasmes, and cried down Magistracy, stirring up the people to sedition, as they had done, not long before in Germany. This foul [illegible: 1 word]. Annal. vol 2 [illegible: 1 letter] 454. aspersion cast upon true Religion, gave occasion to Calvin (then a young man of 25. years of age) to set forth that incomparable work, called his institutions of Christian Religion. Concerning which, Paulus Melissus long since sang, Praeter Apostolicas post Christi tempora chartas, Huic peperere libro saecula nulla parem. Since Christs and the Apostles time no such book hath been written. He departed into Galilee] Succenturiatus prodit Ioanni, saith a learned Interpreter. He therefore went into Galilee (which was under Herods government) to be, as it were, a supply and successour to Iohn, whom Herod had imprisoned. How well might the tyrant say of the Church, as those Persians did of the Athenians, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. We overturn [illegible: 6 words], [illegible: 2 words] them, and yet they fall not; we wound them, and yet they fear not. St Basil bad the persecuted Christians tell the tyrants with a bold and brave spirit, [non-Latin text not transcribed] If ye prevail again, yet surely ye shall be overcome again. For there is neither power nor policy against the Lord. Charles the [illegible: 2 words] in [illegible: 1 word] 8.[illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 3 words] in [illegible: 4 words] fifth (then whom all Christendome had not a more prudent Prince, nor the Church of Christ (almost) a sorer enemy) when he had in his hand Luther dead, and Melancthon and Pomera[illegible: 1 letter], and certain other Preachers of the Gospel alive, he not only determined not any thing extreamly against them, or violated their graves, but also entreating them gently, sent them away, not so much as once forbidding them to publish openly the doctrine that Act. and Mon. 1785. they professed. For it is the nature of Christs Church, the more that persecutours spurn against it, the more it flourisheth and encreaseth, as the Palme-tree spreadeth and springeth the more it Durū ut ilex tonsa bipennibus, per damna, per caedes ab ipso Ducit opes animum que ferro, Horat. is oppressed: as the bottle or bladder, that may be dipt, not drowned; as the Oak that taketh heart to grace from the maims and wounds given it, and sprouts the thicker; as Fenugreek, which the worse it is handled (saith Pliny) the better it proves. This made Arrius Antoninus (a cruell persecutour in Asia) cry out to the Christians, who came by troops to his tribunall, and proclaimed themselves Christians (so offering themselves to death) O miseri, si libet perire, num vobis rupes aut restes desunt? Tertul. ad Sca [illegible: 1 letter]ulam. O Wretched men, of ye be so desirous to die, have you neither [non-Latin text not transcribed] rocks nor halters, wherewith to dispatch your selves? Diocletian after he had in vain done his utmost to blot out Christs Name from under heaven, and could not effect it (such was the constancy of the Primitive Christians, that no sufferings could affright or discourage them, but that they grew upon him daily, doe what he could to the contrary) laid down the Empire in great discontent, and betook himself (as Charles the fifth also did) toBucholcer. a private course of life. As Lambs breed in winter, and QuailsChronol. Numb. 11. 31. came with the winde: So good Preachers and people spring most in hard times. No fowl is more prey'd upon by hawks, kites, &c. then the Pigeon, yet are there more doves then hawks or kites for all that, saith Optatus. So the sheep; and so the sheep of [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Christ, A little little flock, he calleth it, but such as all the Wolves on earth, and devils in hell cannot possibly devour. TheLuk. 12. 32. Christians of Calabria suffered great persecution, Anno 1560. for being all thrust up in one house together, as in a sheep-fold, the Executioner cometh in, and amongst them taketh one, and blindfoldeth him with a muffler about his eyes, and so leadeth him forth into a larger place, where he commandeth him to kneel down: Which being done, he cutteth his throat, and so leaving him half dead, and taking his butchers knife and muffler all of gore bloud, cometh again to the rest, and so leading them one after another, he dispatcheth them all, to the number of 88. All the elder went to death more cheerfully, the younger were more timorous. I tremble and shake (saith a Roman-Catholike, out of Act. and Mon. fol. 859. whose letter to his Lord this is transcribed) even to remember how the executioner held his bloudy knife between his teeth, with the bloudy muffler in his hand, and his arms all in gore-bloud, up to the elbows, going to the fold, and taking every of them one after another by the hand, and so dispatching them all, no otherwise then doth a butcher kill his calves and sheep. Notwithstanding all which barbarous cruelty the Waldenses or Protestants were so spread, not in France only their chief [illegible: 1 word], but in Germany also, many years before this, that they could travell from Collen to [illegible: 1 word] of the Church, p. [illegible: 1 word]. Millain in Italy, and every night lodge with hosts of their own profession. It is not yet a dozen years since Pope Urban the eighth (that now sitteth) upon the surrender of Rochel into the French Kings hands, sent his Breve to the King, exasperating him againstReliquias [illegible: 2 words] in Gallica [illegible: 5 words]. the Protestants in France, and eagerly urging, yea, enforcing the destruction of all the heretikes, stabling in the French vineyard, as his Inurbanity is pleased to expresse it. But what shall be given unto thee? Or what shall be done unto thee, thou foul tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty with coals of Juniper (Psal.B. Halls answ. to Pope Urban his Inurbanity, &c. 120. 4, 5.) which burn vehemently, and smell sweetly. God shall shortly put into the hearts of the Kings of the earth (and this King among the rest of the ten) to hate the whore, to eat her flesh, and to burn her with fire, Revel. 17. 16. There are notBabylon altera adbuc stat, citò itidem casura, si essetis [illegible: 1 word]. many ages past, since one of his predecessours broke open the gates of Rome, [illegible: 1 word] the wals, dispersed the Citizens, and condemned the Pope to a dark dungeon, lading him with bitter scoffsPetras. de rem. [illegible: 1 word]. fort. dial. 118. and curses. There are not many years past, since the Realm of France was ready, upon the Popes refusall, to reblesse K. Henry 4. upon conversion to them, to with-draw utterly from the obedience Philip. le Beau. of his Sea, and to erect a new Patriarch over all the French Sands his relation [illegible: 2 words]. Relig. Church. The then Arch-bishop of Burges was ready to accept it: and but that the Pope (in fear thereof) did hasten his benediction, it had been effected, to his utter [illegible: 1 word] and decay. Before [illegible: 1 word] of Toler. by Gabriel [illegible: 1 word], p. [illegible: 1 word]. he would doe it, he lashed the King in the person of his Embassadour, after the singing of every verse of miserere, untill the whole Psalm was sung out. Sed [illegible: 1 word] Evangelij jubare, sagaciores, D. Prideaux contra [illegible: 2 words]. ut spero, principes, adnutum hujus Orbilij non solvent subligacula, saith a great Divine of ours. King Henry the eighth and the French King (some half a year before their deaths) were at a point to have changed the Masse in both their Realms into a Communion: Also to have utterly extirped the Bishop of Rome, &c. Act. and [illegible: 1 word]. Ex [illegible: 1 word] Cranmeri, fol. 1135. Yea, they were so thorowly resolved in that behalf, that they meant also to exhort the Emperour to doe the like, or to break off from him. The same Emperour to be revenged upon Pope Clement his enemy, abolished the Popes authority thorowout all Anno 1526. Scult. Annal. Decad. 2. p. 2. Spain, his native Kingdome, declaring thereby (the Spaniards themselves for example) that ecclesiasticall discipline may be conserved without the Papall authority. The Eastern Churches [illegible: 2 words] illius [illegible: 1 word]. have long since separated; the other four Patriarchs dividingBasil. apud Baron. Annal. [illegible: 1 word]. 4. themselves from the Bishop of Rome, and at their parting using these or the like words; Thy greatnesse we know, thy covetousnes we cannot satisfie, thy encroaching we can no longer abide, live to Cade of the Church, ex D. Field, Gerson, & Carleton. thy self. Neither are the Western much behinde, especially since all was changed in that Church, manners, doctrine, and the very rule of faith in the Trent-[illegible: 1 word]. Then (according to someRevel. [illegible: 1 word]. 3. Brightman. [illegible: 1 word], &c. Expositours) did the second Angel pour out his vial upon the sea (upon that conflux of all sorts at Trent) and it became as the [illegible: 1 word] of a dead man (those deadly decrees are written with the bloud of heretikes) and every living soul died in that sea, as once the fish of AEgypt. For none that worship the beast have their names written in the book of life of the lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, Revel. 13. 8. Slain, I say, as in his fathers decree and promise, as in the Sacrifices of the Law, and faith of his people; so in his members and Martyrs, beheaded as John Baptist, or [illegible: 2 words], semen Ecclesiae. Tert. otherwise butchered for the witnesse of Jesus, and for the Word of God. But the bloud of the Martyrs was the seeding of the Church. God was never left without witnesses, as is seen in our Testes [illegible: 1 word] per [illegible: 1 word]. Catalogues; but although John was cast in prison, yea beheaded in the prison, as if God had known nothing of him (quoth thatD. Featleys Catalogue, Protestants Calendar. Martyr) yet there never wanted a Jesus to goe into Galilee: And that guilty Edomite Herod was sensible of it, Matth. 14. 2. when he said to his servants, This is John Baptist, he is risen from the Revel. 11. 10, 11. dead. In like sort the Romish Edomite, after he had done to death Christs two ancienter witnesses, that (Baptist-like) came [illegible: 1 word] in Apo. 14. 6. in the spirit and power of Elias, to confute and confound their [illegible: 1 word] in that language signifieth a goose, [illegible: 1 word] a swan, and Iohn [illegible: 1 word] at his death prophesied it. Baal-worships, yet to his great grief and regret, he hath seen them revive and stand upon their [illegible: 1 word] again, in that heroicall Wicliff, who is said to have written more then 200. volumes against him, in that Goose of [illegible: 1 word], that Swan of Saxony (those three [illegible: 1 word] Angels, That flew in the midst of heaven, [illegible: 1 word] the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell on the [illegible: 1 word]. 1 [illegible: 1 word] 6. [illegible: 2 words] pap. earth,) together with those other noble Reformers in all Christian Churches. By whom, ever since the Pope was declared to Rom cap. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. pag. [illegible: 1 word]. be [illegible: 1 word], his authority (saith Bellarmine) hath not only not [illegible: 1 word], but daily more and more decreased. The fourth [illegible: 1 word] hath lost a head, as Cusanus the Cardinall had prophesied, Anno Domini 1464. and after him Trithemius the Abbot, Anno [illegible: 5 words]. 1508. A sect of Religion, saith he, shall arise once within this [illegible: 1 word] years, to the great destruction of the old Religions. It is to [illegible: 2 words] that the fourth beast will lose one of her heads. This he [illegible: 1 word] in his book concerning Angels and Spirits. What kinde of spirit it was (black or white) that dictated unto him this prophecy, which fell out accordingly, and was fulfilled [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] Luther, I cannot tell. But the godly learned [illegible: 1 word] Bucholc. Chron. it was from that evil spirit, who is said to have sung before, [illegible: 1 word], tibi subitò motibus ibit amor. As the Emperour Frederick is reported also to have fore-told in this distich: Roma [illegible: 1 word] titubans, variis erroribus acta, [illegible: 1 word] boc [illegible: 2 words]. 2. [illegible: 2 words] p [illegible: 1 word] Philos. Corruet; & [illegible: 2 words] esse [illegible: 1 word].

Verse 13. And leaving [illegible: 1 word] ] Where he had had his conception and education; and did [illegible: 1 word] in a speciall manner affect them, and [illegible: 1 word] their good, but they would not. For when [illegible: 2 words] have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim broke our, as the leprosie in their fore-heads, Hos 7. 1. they refused to be reformed, they hated to be healed. Some few sick folk he healed there, and that was all he could doe for them, more then marvell at their unbelief. He could doe there no mighty work, saith St Mark; and therefore left them, saith St Matthew; then the [illegible: 1 word]. 6. 5, 6. which he could hardly have done them a greater [illegible: 1 word]; For, woe be unto you, if I depart from you, Hos. 9. 12. In the 9, 10, [illegible: 1 word] 11. [illegible: 1 word] of [illegible: 1 word], God makes divers removes: And [illegible: 1 word] as he goes out, some judgement [illegible: 1 word] in, till at length he was [illegible: 1 word] gone out of the City, Chap. 11. 23. And then followed [illegible: 2 words] calamity in the ruine [illegible: 1 word]. O pray that the Sunne of that dismall day may [illegible: 1 word] arise, wherein it shall be said, That our [illegible: 1 word] stick is removed, that our Sunne is eclipsed, that theRevel. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] is [illegible: 1 word] from our English Israel, that Christ hath turned his back upon this our Nazareth, [illegible: 1 word] preces & lacrymas, cordis logatos, saith Cyprian. Currat poenitentia ne praecurrat sententia, saith Chrysologus. Wish we for our Church, as [illegible: 1 word] did for the Romish Synagogue, that we had some Moses to take away the evils and abuses therein. Nam non unum [illegible: 1 word] vitulum, sed multos habemus. And then sing as another did, Ah, ne diem illum posteri Vivant mei, qiso pristinum Vertantur in lutum aurea Quae nos beârunt saecula! He came and [illegible: 1 word] in Capernaum] Happy town in so sweet and precious an Inhabitant! and is therefore said to be lifted up to Heaven, Matth. 11. 23. as Revel. 7. among those that were sealed of the severall Tribes Judah is first reckon'd of all Leahs children, because our Lord sprang out of Judah: and Nepthali (of all those of Rachels side) because at Capernaum, in that Tribe, heMedes in Apocalyps. dwelt, Ut utrobi que superemineat Christi praerogativa, saith an Interpreter, That Christ may be all, and in all. Here he dwelt Sie [illegible: 1 word] par. [illegible: 2 words] 40. art 3. in an house, either let or lent him: for of his own he had not where to rest his head, Matth. 8. Here he paid tribute as an inhabitant: juxta Hieron. in Mat. 8. and hither he resorted and retired himself, when he was tired at any time with preaching and journeying, and was willing to take rest; which yet hardly he could doe, thorow the continuall concourse, but was glad to get into a ship or desert to pray, eat or sleep. Which is upon the sea-coast.] That is, hard by the lake of Genesaret in Galilee of the Gentiles. Josephus cals it a Town, [non-Latin text not transcribed],Joseph. in vita sua. [illegible: 1 word] it was without wals (belike.) For Strabo writeth that Pompey had commanded the wals of all [illegible: 1 word] Cities in those [illegible: 1 word] l. 16. parts, to be pulled down. St Hierom also saith it was a Town,Hieron in nom [illegible: 1 word]. and that it so continued till his times. But St Matthew, and St Luke name it a City, wherein there was a Synagogue of the Jews, and a Garison of Herods souldiers, because it bordered upon Arabia. It had fifteen thousand inhabitants at least, there being no Town in Galilee that had fewer, saith Josophus. The inhabitantsDe bello Iudaico. l. 3. c. [illegible: 1 word]. might be of the same minde with those of the Hage in Holland, who will not wall their Town, though it hath 2000. housholds in it, as desiring to have it counted rather the principall village of Europe, then a lesser City. In the borders of Zebulon and Nepthali.] In the former whereof is Galilee, in the later this Galilee of the [illegible: 1 word], where stands the Town of Capernaum, and near unto it is a well of the same name, and of apt signification. For Capernaum (saith [illegible: 1 word] in nom. [illegible: 1 word]. St Hierom) is by interpretation, the Town of consolation. [illegible: 1 word] was situate on this side Jordan, over against [illegible: 1 word] saida (otherwise called Julias) not farre from Tiberias, and Tarichaea, [illegible: 1 word] places, lying like wise upon the lake.

Verse 14. That it might be fulfilled, &c.] The two Testaments may be fitly resembled to the double doors of the Temple, one whereof infolded another: The Old is the new enfolded; the new is the old explicated. For there are above 260. places of the old Testament cited in the new: so that almost in every needfull point the harmony is exprest. By the Prophet Isaias] That Evangelicall Prophet, that speaketh of Christs nativity, preaching persecution, apprehension, death,Bul [illegible: 1 word] in [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. resurrection, ascension and second coming to judgement so lively as no Evangelist goes beyond him.

Verse 15. The land of Zebulon, and the land of Nepthali, &c.] In [illegible: 1 word] were Nazareth, Beth saida, Tiberias, Cana (where our Saviour [illegible: 1 word] water into wine) and Naim, where he raised the widows son; so that she was twice a mother, yet had but one childe. In Nephthali were the City of Abel (where they asked [illegible: 2 words]. 10. 17. counsell of old, and so they ended the matter) Harosheth the City of Sisera, Riblah, Cesarea, Philippi and Capernaum. This burrough was the seat of the Evangelicall Kingdome; and it was [illegible: 1 word] chosen for such a purpose, as that which by reason of the wonderfull wholsomnesse of the air, fertility of the soil, [illegible: 1 word] to the river Jordan, and lake of Genne sareth, neighbour-hood of many great Towns and famous Cities, promised a plentifull encrease and income of the Evangelicall harvest. Here the corn was white unto the harvest (as at Samaria) and sollicited labourers. It is a Ministers wisdome to seat himself, as near [illegible: 1 word] may be, where most need is, and greatest likely-hood of doing good, as St Paul did often. No Church was founded at Athens, Come over into [illegible: 1 word], and help us. [illegible: 1 word]. 16, 9. no good to be done there among those wits of Greece. The [illegible: 2 words] at Ephesus, whiles a door was opened, and then departed to other places. If thou perceive thy self unfit to doe moreThou hast well done that [illegible: 1 word] art come, Act. 10. 33. good in any place, though it be not any fault of thine (saith [illegible: 1 word] grave Authour) away to another. If the commodity of the place prevail more with thee, there to abide, then the promoting of Christs Kingdome, to use thy talent elsewhere, it is to be feared, thou wilt either lose thy gifts, or fall into errours and herefies,Rolloc. com in Joh. 4. 44. refies, or, at least, become a frigid and dry Doctour among such a people as have once conceived an incurable prejudice against thee. Galilee of the Gentiles] So called, either because it bordered upon the Gentiles, or, because it was given away by David to Hiram King of Tyre, or, because it was inhabited by the Assyrians, who carried the people captive, and dwelt in their room.

Verse 16. The people which sate in darknesse, saw a great light] Luk. 1. 78. For the day-spring from on high visited them, the bright Sunne of [illegible: 1 word]. 4. [illegible: 1 word]. righteousnesse (which had all Palestine for his Zodiack, the twelve [illegible: 1 word] for his signs) staied longest in [illegible: 1 word] and [illegible: 1 word]: and (S. [illegible: 1 word] observeth) as these two Tribes were first carried into captivity, and seemed furthest from heaven, as bordering on the Gentiles, and in many things symbolizing with [illegible: 1 word], having learned their manners; so redemption was first preached in these Countries. Physicians are of most use where diseases abound. The Prophets in Elisha's daies planted at Bethel. There was at once the golden calf of Ieroboam, and the school of God. [illegible: 1 word] in darknesse, and in the region and shadow of death.] NoteJoh. 3. here, that a state of darknesse is a state of death. This is condemnation, this is hell-above-ground, and afore-hand, that light is come into the world, and men love darknesse better then light, [illegible: 1 word]. Ut liberiùs peccent libentèr ignorant. Now surely they shall [illegible: 1 word] 14 14. one day have enough of their so much desired darknesse. TheyJob 24. 16. know not the light, saith Iob: They hate it, saith our Saviour: [illegible: 1 word] 3. 0. They [illegible: 1 word] and [illegible: 1 word] at it, saith Solomon; therefore shall they be [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 2 words]. filled with their own waies, whiles they are cast into utter darknesse: [non-Latin text not transcribed]. a darknesse beyond a. d [illegible: 1 word], as it were a [illegible: 1 word] beyond a prison, where they shall never [illegible: 1 word] light again, till they be [illegible: 1 word] Th [illegible: 1 word]. 1. 8. enlightned with that universall fire of the last day, to their everlasting amazement. Light [illegible: 1 word] sprung up.] He [illegible: 1 word] them out of darknesse into his 1 [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. Act. 8. marvellous light. So he did the [illegible: 1 word] by Phil ps [illegible: 1 word] and miracles, whereupon there was great [illegible: 1 word] in that [illegible: 1 word]. So by the ministery of Farell, Viret, Calvin, and others, he [illegible: 1 word] the Genevians out of the dark midnight of [illegible: 2 words]. In a thankfull remembrance whereof, they coyned new money, with this inscription on the one side, Post tenebras lux, After darknesse light (Their posie till then had been, Post tenebras [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word], taken out of Job.) And on the other side, Deus noster pugnat pronobis. Our God fighteth for us.

Verse 17 From that time Jesus began to preach.] So he had done before John was imprisoned, John 2. and 3. but now more freely and [illegible: 1 word], more manifestly, and all abroad, as when the day-starre hath done his devoir, the Sun [illegible: 1 word] out to the Prov. 4. perfict day. And to say, Repent] Both for sinne by contrition, and from [non-Latin text not transcribed] sinne by conversion. Change your mindes and [illegible: 1 word], your constitution and conversation, from worse to better: Recover [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word] & [illegible: 1 word] post. your lost wits with the Prodigall (who repenting is said to come to himself) and become [illegible: 1 word] after your folly. Pull down the very frame of the old man, unmake your selves, as St [illegible: 1 word] hathLuk [illegible: 1 word] 17. it, 1 Pet. 2. 24. Undoe what you had done before, and be ye [illegible: 1 word] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Rom. [illegible: 1 word]. 2. and metamorphosed by the renewing of your [illegible: 1 word] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. For, Except a man be born again, not [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word], but [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word]. 3. 3. from above, but a [illegible: 1 word] time (as Nicodemus understood our Saviour) except he goe over all again that is past, rejecting it as unprofitable, and begin anew, he cannot see the Kingdom of God; where old things are past, all things are become new, 2 Cor. 5. 17. a whole new creation. For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.] See what is said to this whole verse, Chap. 3 2. For this was the summe and substance of the Baptists, our Saviours, and his Apostles Sermons; and had need to be daily pressed and preached, sith it is our pensum diurnum, the first and continuall work of Gods Spirit in the faithfull, who because they cannot wash their hands in innocency, wash them in tears: and by renewing their repentance, work and wear out all brackish and sinfull dispositions, as sweet water will doe the salt sea, coming into it: as wine or honey casteth out the [illegible: 1 word], as fast as it ariseth. Christ biddeth us as oft to pray, Forgive us our trespasses, as we pray, Give us this day our daily 2 Pet. 3. 9. bread. He not only waits for repentance from the wicked, but would also have his dearest children daily meet him, condemning themselves, Luk. 13. 5. If ye repent not also more and more, when ye see the examples of Gods wrath upon others, ye shall likewise perish. Besides, some sins are past in time that are not past in deed, if we dwell not in the undoing and reversing of them, Ezra 10. 11, 12. and 9. 15. They were to begin anew their repentance, because they had not considered their marrying of strange wives.

Verse 18. [illegible: 1 word] Iesus walking by the sea of Galilee] Not for recreation sake, or to deceive the time (for he had a great multitude attending upon him to [illegible: 1 word] the Word of God, as St Luke noteth) [illegible: 1 word] as laying hold on the opportunity of calling Peter and Andrew; and, after that, [illegible: 1 word] and [illegible: 1 word] to the Apostleship. Our Saviour knew that a well chosen season is the greatest advantage of any action: which, as it is seldom found in haste, so is it too often lost in delay. The men of Issachar were in great account with1 Chron. 12. 32 David, because they had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to doe, and when to doe it. So are they in great account with the sonne of David, who regard and improve (as he did here) the season of well-doing; which they that lose are the greatest losers, and the wastfullest prodigals: For of [illegible: 1 word] other [illegible: 1 word] two may be had together: but two moments of time (how much lesse two opportunities of time?) cannot be [illegible: 1 word] together. Some are semper victuri (as Seneca saith) ever about to doe better: they stand futuring and whiling out the time so long, till they have trifled and fooled away their own salvation. Let us sit ready in the door of our hearts (as Abraham did in the door of his [illegible: 1 word]) to apprehend occasions of doingProv. 25. 11. good, as he to entertain passengers; to set a word or work upon Ecclel. 3. 11. it's wheels, that it may be as apples of gold, and pictures of silver, Job 6 [illegible: 1 word]. pleasant and profitable; for every thing is beautifull in it's season, and how forcible are right words? As the Bee (so soon as ever the Sunne breaks forth) flies abroad to gather honey and wax: So be thou ready to every good work, waiting the occasions [illegible: 1 word] 116. 16, 17 2 Cor. 6. 2. thereof, Tit. 3. 1. Now, now, saith David, and after him Paul; because (for ought we know) it is Now or Never, to day, or not at all. Opportunities are headlong, and, once past, irrecoverable,August. Ex hoc momento pendet aeternitas. God hath hanged the heaviest weights upon the weakest wires. Be quick therefore,Prov. 27. 1. and abrupt in thine obedience, Thou knowest not what a greatbellied [illegible: 1 word] quid [illegible: 1 word] vesper [illegible: 1 word]. day may bring forth: Yea, thou maist the very next hour be cut off from all further time of repentance, acceptation, and grace for ever. He saw two brethren.] He knew them and admitted them into his friendship well nigh a year before, [illegible: 1 word]. 1 39. but now calleth them from being fishers, to be fishers of [illegible: 1 word]. Peter is famous for his first draught, Act. 2. whereby he caught and brought to the Church three thousand souls. Casting their net into the sea.] God calleth men when theyVeteres Romani Agenoriam. are busie; Satan, when they are idle. For idlenesse is the hour of [illegible: 1 word] & Strenam [illegible: 2 words] pro [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word], and an idle person the devils Tennis-ball, which he tosseth at pleasure, and sets awork as he liketh and listeth. God hath ordained that in the sweat of his brow man should eat his bread. The Hebrew hath it, In the sweat of his nose; for he must [illegible: 1 word] verò [illegible: 1 word] urbem [illegible: 1 word]. labour till the sweat runne down his nose. Which, if [illegible: 1 word] doe, God hath promised, that manus molitans, the diligent, nimble handedSpec. [illegible: 2 words]. man shall not stay long in a low place. He shall stand [illegible: 1 word] Princes, as these painfull fisher-men were to stand before theGen. 3. 19. Prince of Peace, and to be of his constant retinue. As till then,Prov. 10. 4. their busie attendance on their calling was no lesse pleasing toProv. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. Christ, then an [illegible: 1 word] diate devotion. Happy is that [illegible: 1 word], whom his Lord when he comes [illegible: 2 words] serving [illegible: 1 word] and man with his fat and [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 4 words] and [illegible: 1 word] in Iothams Iudg. 9. 9. Parable. For they were fishers.] [illegible: 3 words] us, & [illegible: 1 word] ([illegible: 1 word] Beddingf. one) sed [illegible: 1 word] in [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word] dona dedit & ministeria. Christ sends forth none to preach, but whom he gifteth: where the comfort is, that a small [illegible: 1 word] may threed a needle, and a little [illegible: 1 word] doe better in a small river, then a great [illegible: 1 word].

Verse 19. He saith unto them, Follow me.] And together [illegible: 1 word]. 5. 17. with his Word [illegible: 1 word] went forth a power inclining them to follow: whereby it appears, that they were not only of the many that are called, but of those few that are chosen. The Lord knoweth who are his, saith St Paul. But this knowing of his is carried secret, as a river under ground, till by [illegible: 1 word] calling he [illegible: 1 word] them from the rest; [illegible: 1 word] they can call upon the Name of the 2 Tim. 2. 19. Lord, and depart from evil. This, when they are once [illegible: 1 word] of Christ, they must be acting; when he hath tuned and touched us, we must make musick; and [illegible: 1 word] the [illegible: 1 word] embreaths us, we must turn about as the Mill: and [illegible: 1 word]. 14 4. follow the Lambe wheresoever he [illegible: 1 word], as these [illegible: 1 word] did. [illegible: 1 word]. 5 [illegible: 1 word] And I will make you fishers of men,] Of live men, as [illegible: 1 word] [non-Latin text not transcribed] desire to catch fish alive, because they are more vendible. An apt metaphor, wherein, 1. The world is compared to the sea, for it's unsetlednesse, [illegible: 1 word], the oppression that is in it (the lesser fish being devoured of the greater) the sway that Leviathan the devil bears there, Psal. 104. 26. 2. The Church is compared to a boat, because it is continually tossed with the waves of [illegible: 1 word], as Noah, Ionah, the Disciples, Paul and those [illegible: 1 word] Ion. 1. 4. men, Psal. 107. 27. That stagger like a drunken man, and all [illegible: 1 word]. 8 24. their cunning is gone. 3. The fish to be caught out of this sea, and to be brought into this ship, are men. Nature hath (as it were) spawned us forth into this worldly sea; where we drink iniquity like water, wandering confusedly up and down; till caught and cast into the fish-pool, for the masters use and service. Unwittingly we are caught, and unwillingly we are kept, as [illegible: 1 word] labour to get out of the net, and would fain leap back out of the boat into the water. 4. Ministers are fishers. A [illegible: 1 word] profession, a toilsome calling; no idle mans occupation, as the vulgar conceits it, nor needlesse trade, taken up alate, to pick a living Hirons [illegible: 1 word] fishing. out of. Let Gods fisher men busie themselves as they must, sometimes in preparing, sometimes in mending, sometimes in casting abroad, sometimes in drawing in the net, That they may separate [illegible: 1 word]. 15 19. the precious from the vile, &c. And no man shall have just causeMat. 13. 48. to twit them with idlenesse, or to say they have an easie life, and that it is neither sin nor pity to defraud them.

Verse 20. And they straight way left their [illegible: 1 word].] As the woman of Samaria did her [illegible: 1 word], Matthew his [illegible: 1 word], and blinde Bartimeus his cloak, when Christ called for him. Look we likewise to this Authour and [illegible: 1 word] of our faith; and forHeb. 12. [illegible: 1 word]. love of him, cast away every clog, and the sinne that doth so easily [non-Latin text not transcribed] beset or surround us. Divorce the [illegible: 1 word] from the world, and thereHeb. 12. 1. is no great danger. Admire not over-much, rest not in, dote not on, cleave not to the things of this life (those nets and snares of Satan, whereby he entangleth and encumbreth us) that we may attend upon the Lord (or [illegible: 1 word] close to him) without being haled away, [non-Latin text not transcribed] or distracted by these lusts of life. The deeplier any man is drowned in the world, the more desperately is he divorced from God, deadned to holy things, and disobedient to the heavenly call,1 Cor. 7. 35. as the recusant guests in the Gospel. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 2 words]. God loveth currist [illegible: 1 word], not quarist [illegible: 1 word], saith [illegible: 1 word]. And followed him.] Immediately, and without sciscitation. When Christ cals, we must not reason, but runne, as Paul, Gal. 1. 16. not dispute, but dispatch, with David, Psal. 119. 60. Goe we know not whither, with Abraham; doe we know not what,Isa. 21. 12. with Gideon. If ye will enquire, enquire, saith Isaiah, return, come. A quick passage, and full of quickning. Like that of [illegible: 1 word] Oratour, Si dormis, expergiscere; si stas, ingredere; si ingrederis, Cicer. [illegible: 1 word] ad [illegible: 2 words] 2. ep. [illegible: 1 word] curre; si curris, advola. Courts have their citò, citò, quick, quick: and [illegible: 1 word] use to observe and improve their [illegible: 2 words] tempora: So must Christians. God is but a while with men in the opportunities of grace. He comes leaping on the mountains,Cant 2. [illegible: 1 word]. and skipping on the hils: and, being come, he stands at the [illegible: 1 word] and knocks, by the sound of his Word, and motions of his spirit.Revel. 3. 20. He sits not, but stands: while a man is standing, we say, he is going. And woe be unto us, if he depart from us. God hath his season, [illegible: 1 word]. 9. 12. his harvest for judgement, Matth. 13. 30. And is now more quick and peremptory in [illegible: 1 word] men, then of old: For [illegible: 1 word] Heb 2. 3. shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation, as is now preached? [illegible: 1 word] 8. Our Saviour would not suffer [illegible: 1 word] man that said he would follow him, to let so much time, as to bury his father. Excuses he takes for refusals, [illegible: 1 word] for denials. As Saul lest his Kingdom: so doth many a man his soul, by not [illegible: 1 word] his time: And troops of them that forget God, goe down to hell, Psal. 9. 17. Quare [illegible: 1 word] mores & moras nostras. Let us up and be doing, [illegible: 1 word] the Lord may be with us.

Verse 21. He saw other two brethren, Iames, &c.] Three pair of brethren, at least, our Saviour called to the Apostleship; to shew what brotherly love should be found amongst Ministers; what agreement in judgement and affection. There the Lord commands the blessing, and life for ever more. As where envying [illegible: 1 word]. 133. ult. and strife is, there is confusion, and every evil work, Jam. 3. 16. Hence the devil laboureth (all he can) to set Ministers at variance, and to [illegible: 1 word] dissension amongst them (as betwixt Paul and [illegible: 1 word] ) that the work may be hindered. Divide & impera, Make division, and so get dominion, was a maxime of Machiavil, which he learnt of the devil. What woefull tragedies hath he [illegible: 1 word] alate betwixt the Lutherans and Zuinglians? What [illegible: 1 word] have the Papists composed out of the Churches tragedies? To foster the faction, they joyned themselves to the Lutherans in [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word], in [illegible: 2 words], [illegible: 1 word] tantum [illegible: 3 words], &c, [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. 255. that sacramentary quarrell: they commended them, made much of them, and almost pardoned them all that losse they had sustained by them. This, that holy man of God Oecolampadius bitterly bewaileth, in a letter to the Lutherans of Suevia. The [illegible: 1 word] saith he, may be pardoned through faith in Christ, but the discord we cannot expiate with the dearest and warmest bloud in our Error condonari potest, [illegible: 1 word] fides adsit in christum: discordiam, [illegible: 1 word] si sanguinem [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. hearts. They on the other side (in their syngrame or answer) handled that most innocent man so coursely, Ut non objurgatione, sed execratione dignum sit, saith Zuinglius, that they deserved not to be confuted, but to be abhorred of all men. This was as good sport to the Papists, as the [illegible: 1 word] betwixt Abraham and Lot were to the Amorites. But that one consideration (that we are [illegible: 1 word] ) should conjure down all disagreements (as betwixt them) and make us unite against a common advesary. The [illegible: 2 words] the English (Anno 1587.) stamped money with two earthern pots, swimming in the sea (according to the Camd Elis. 356 old fable) and wittily inscribed, Si collidimur, frangimur, If we clash, we are broken. The Thracians, had they been all of [illegible: 4 words] conventus. It a dum singuli [illegible: 1 word], universi vincuntur. one minde, they had been invincible, saith [illegible: 1 word]. And Cornelius Tacitus (who had been here in [illegible: 1 word] with his father-in-law Agricola) reporteth of our fore-fathers, that they fell into the hands of the Romans, by nothing so much as by their dissensions amongst themselves. Pliny telleth of the stone Thyrroeus, that though never so big while it is whole, it floteth upon the waters:Tac. but being broken, it sinketh. And who hath not read of Silurus his bundle of arrows? To break unity, is to cut asunder the very veins and sinews of [illegible: 1 word] mysticall body of Christ, as the Apostle intimateth, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. 1 Cor. 1. 10. to hinder all true growth in godlinesse, Eph. 4. 16. [illegible: 2 words], & [illegible: 1 word] contentione, [illegible: 1 word] non apparuit. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 2 words]. and inward [illegible: 1 word], Phil. 2. 1. to drive away God, who appeared not to Abraham till the difference was made up, Gen. 13. 14, &c. and to undoe our selves. As the dragon sucketh out the bloud of the [illegible: 1 word]: and the weight of the falling elephant [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] l. 8. c. 12. the dragon, and so both perish together. To prevent all which, and to compose all quarrels in this AEgypt of the world, let it be remembred, as Moses told the two striving Israelites, that we are [illegible: 1 word]. And oh how good, and how pleasant it is for brethrenPsal. 133. [illegible: 1 word]. (in the Ministery especially) to [illegible: 1 word] together in unity.

Verse 22. And [illegible: 1 word] immediately left the ship and their [illegible: 1 word].] These were [illegible: 1 word] merchants, that [illegible: 1 word] with all to [illegible: 1 word] the pearl of price. So did many Martyrs, and knew they made a savers bargain. Nicolas Shetterden [illegible: 2 words] in a [illegible: 1 word] to his mother; What state soever your fathers be in, leave that to God, and let us follow the counsell of his Word. Dear mother, [illegible: 2 words]. sel. [illegible: 1 word]. embrace it with hearty affection: read it with [illegible: 1 word]; [illegible: 1 word] it be your pastime, &c. So shall we meet in joy at the last day: or else I bid you farewell for evermore. So Nicolas of Jenvile ([illegible: 1 word] young man newly come from Geneva) was condemned to die, and set in the Cart. His father comming with a [illegible: 1 word], would have beaten him. But the officers, not suffering it, would have struck the old man. The sonne, crying to the officers, desired them to let his father alone, saying, he had power over him, to do in that [illegible: 1 word] 837. kinde what he would: but Christ was dearer to him then the dearest friend on earth, &c. That of St Hierom is well known to most, and often alledged; If my father stood weeping on his knees before me, my mother hanging on my neck behinde me, and all my brethren, sisters, children, kinsfolk, howling on every side, to retain me in sinfull life with them, I would fling my mother to the ground, despise all my kinred, run over my father, and tread him under my feet, thereby to runne to Christ when he calleth me. Reberies and Danvile, two French Martyrs, having been sorely racked, at night rejoyced together. After that, Reberies cried twice or thrice, Away from me, Satan. His fellow being in bed with him, asked, why he cried, and whether Satan would stop him of his course? Reberies said, that Satanset before Ibid. 842. him his parents, but by the grace of God, said he, he shall do nothing against me.

Verse 23. And Jesus went about all [illegible: 1 word] ] Not (as the Circumcelliones of old) to make shew of their holinesse; nor as the Jesuites (into whom the Pharisees have fled and hid themselves) to gain proselytes and passengers, That goe right on their waies, Prov. 9. 15. but he went about doing good, saith S. Peter. Act. 10. 38. The chiefest goods are most active: the best good a meer act. And the more good we doe, the more God-like we be, and the more we draw nigh to the heavenly patern. Religion is not a name, goodnesse a word: but as the life of things stands in goodnesse: So the life of goodnesse, in action. So much we live, as we [illegible: 1 word].Isa. 38. 16. O Lord, by these things men live, saith [illegible: 1 word], and in all these things is the life of my spirit. And he that keepeth my Commandments shall live in them, as the lamp lives in the oil, the flower in the earth, the creature by food. Nos non eloquimur magna, sed vivimus, said the ancient Christians. And holy Bradford [illegible: 1 word] that hour lost, wherein he had not done some good, with tongue, pen or hand. God hath set us our time, and our task, Job 14. 5, 6, David is said to serve out his time; and John Baptist, to finish his course, Act. 13. Up therefore and be doing, that ye beDies brevis est, & opus [illegible: 1 word], & operarij pauci, & pater-samilias urget. not taken with your task undone. Fruitlesse trees shall be cut down: short shooting loseth many a game. The master is an austeer man, and looketh for his own with usury. It is an easie thing when the candle is out, and all still without din, to fall a napping: which will prove to your cost, when God shall send forthRab. [illegible: 1 word]. summons for sleepers. Teaching in their Synagogues,] Houses dedicated to the worship of God, wherein it was lawfull (and usuall) to pray, preach, and dispute, but not to sacrifice, Act. 15. 21. The Temple at Ierusalem was the Cathedrall Church: The Synagogues, as petty Parish-Churches, belonging thereunto. There were 480. of them in Ierusalem, as Manahen the Jew Apud Genebr. in [illegible: 1 word]. reporteth. And preaching] Which is a further matter then teaching, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. and is therefore set after it here, as an addition. It signifieth to publish, and (as a Herald) to deliver a matter in the hearing [non-Latin text not transcribed]. of a multitude with greatest majesty, constancy, fidelity,2 Cor. 2. 17. and liberty of speech: not budging or balking any part ofCorrupting, as men doe by their false wares, or mixt wines. the truth: not huckstering the Word of God, or handling it deceitfully; but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speaking in Christ. And healing all manner of sicknesse and disease,] Both acute [non-Latin text not transcribed] [illegible: 1 word] significat [illegible: 2 words]. and chronicall. None came amisse to this Iehovah Rophe, the Lord that healeth, as he stileth himself; This Sun of righteousnesse, that hath healing under his wings. To an Almighty Physician [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 2 words] & [illegible: 1 word]. (saith Isidore) no disease can seem incurable. He healed with a wet finger (as we say) such patients as all the Physicians in the Countrey cast their caps at, and could not tell what toExod [illegible: 1 word]. 26. [illegible: 1 word] to.Mal. 4. 2.

Verse 24. And his fame went thorow all Syria.] Fame followeth [illegible: 1 word] medico [illegible: 2 words] occurrit [illegible: 1 word]. desert, as a sweet sent the rose. This gave occasion to the Poets to feign, That Achilles his tomb was ever garnished with green amaranth. A good name is better then great riches, saithProv. 22. 1. Solomon, And if I can keep my credit I am rich enough, said the [illegible: 1 word] si [illegible: 3 words], [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. Plaut. Heathen. Blessing and good report are exprest by one and the same word in the old Testament, Prov. 27. 21. to shew what a ablessing of God it is. And it could not but be a great comfort to David, that whatsoever he did pleased the people. Cicero saith,2 Sam 3. 36. that perfect glory consisteth in these three things; If the multitude [illegible: 1 word]. 2. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] love a man, if they will trust him, and if they hold him worthy [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] Iesu [illegible: 2 words] & [illegible: 1 word] cap. [illegible: 1 word]. of admiration, praise and honour. Now none of these were wanting to our Saviour, as appeareth in this holy History, and as others have fully set forth. Do worthily in Ephrata, and so be [illegible: 1 word] in Bethlehem, Ruth 4. 11. [non-Latin text not transcribed] And they brought unto him all sick people] All that were in ill case and taking: For, Si vales, benè est, saith one. And, Vita [illegible: 1 word].! [illegible: 1 word]. non est vivere, sed valere, saith another. The Latines call a sick [illegible: 1 word]. man AEger, which some derive of [non-Latin text not transcribed], the voice of complaint and [illegible: 1 word]. And the Stoikes when they affirmed, that to live agreeably to nature, is to live vertuously and valiantly, although the body be never so out of order, they perceived when their own turn came to be sick (saith one) Se magnificentiùs locutos esse [illegible: 1 word]. Wolf. in [illegible: 2 words]. quam veriùs, that they had spoken more trimly then truly. That were taken with divers diseases and torments] That [illegible: 1 word]. were besieged and hemmed in on every side, as by an enemy straitned [non-Latin text not transcribed]. and [illegible: 1 word], so that they knew not whither to look, only their eies were toward Christ. Diseases and torments] As of those that are put upon the [illegible: 1 word]: Pharaoh was so when God extorted from him that confession, I have sinned: which (being gotten off) he soon bit in again. The word here used in the Originall, properly signifieth the [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Test or Touch-stone, where with gold is tried: and, by a borrowed kinde of speech, is applied to all kinde of examination, and (peculiarly) to inquisition by torture, so to any pain or painfull diseases, as of the palsey, lunacy, &c. in this text, and Chap. 8. 6. As also to the torments of hell, Luk. 16. 23. whereof sicknesses are but a beginning, a fore-taste, a very typicall hell to those that have not the fruits of their sicknesse. And this is all the fruits, [illegible: 1 word] Morbos [illegible: 3 words] [illegible: 1 word]. the taking away of their sinne, Isa. 27. I blush not to confesse (saith a great Divine of Scotland) that I have gained more sound knowledge of God and of my self, in this sicknesse, then ever Non [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word], &c. I had before. Happy [illegible: 1 word], that draws the sick matter out of the soul. Physicians hold, that in every two years, there is such [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. store of ill humours and [illegible: 1 word] ingendred in the body, that a vessel of one hundred ounces will scarce contain them. Certain it [illegible: 3 words], p. 23. is, ther's a world of wickednesse and superfluity of naughtinesse (that bed of spirituall diseases) daily gathered and got together in the sinne-sick-soul: which therefore we must labour to purge outDan. 11. 35. & 12. 10. by the practice of mortification; [illegible: 1 word] God purge and whiten us to our sorrow, by some sharp sicknes: as he did Gehezi, whose white fore-head had made him a white soul, his disease cured him, as some are of opinion. Possessed with devils.] Such as whose mindes and senses the devil perverted. Those that were lunatike.] Or such as had the falling-sicknesse, [illegible: 1 word] exerc. as appeareth by those symptomes of this disease, set down Evan [illegible: 1 word] 2 c [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. de orig. ling. [illegible: 1 word]. by [illegible: 1 word] Matthew, Chap. 17. 17. This is otherwise called Morbus sacer. For the Priests of old (that they might thereby enrich themselves) feigned, that the gods tormented men with this, among other sudden and fearfull diseases.

Verse 25. And there followed him great multitudes.] A goodPsal. 65. [illegible: 1 word]. house-keeper shall not (likely) want company. O thou that hearest praiers (and so sollicitest suters) to thee shall all flesh come. Christs miracles drew multitudes after him, then; and should still affect us with admiration and strong affection to the Gospel, as the Authour to the Hebrews sheweth, Heb. 2. 3, 4.

The wilderness. Mt 3:1.

The Spirit. Luke says, (Lk 4:1,) that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. It was by his influence, therefore, that Christ went into the desert.

To be tempted. The word to tempt, in the original, means to try, to endeavour, to attempt to do a thing; then, to try the nature of a thing, as metals by fire; then, to test moral qualities by trying them, to see how they will endure; then, to endeavour to draw men away from virtue by suggesting motives to evil. This is the meaning here, and this is now the established meaning of the word in the English language.

The devil. This word originally means an adversary, or an accuser; thence any one opposed; thence an enemy of any kind. It is given in the Scriptures, by way of eminence, to the leader of evil angels--a being characterized as full of subtlety, envy, art, and hatred of mankind. He is known, also, by the name of Satan, Job 1:6-12, Mt 12:26; Beelzebub, Mt 12:24; the old Serpent, Rev 12:9; and the prince of the power of the air, Eph 2:2. The name is sometimes given to men and women. 2Ti 3:3 Truce-breakers, slanderers--in the original, devils. 1Timm 3:2: So must their wives be grave, not slanderers--in the original, devils.

(a) "led up of the Spirit" 1Kgs 18:12, Eze 11:1,24, Acts 8:39 (b) "to be tempted" Mk 1:12, Lk 4:1

Had fasted. Abstained from food.

Forty days and forty nights. It has been questioned by some whether Christ abstained wholly from food, or only from bread and the food to which he was accustomed. Luke says, (Lk 4:2,) that he ate nothing. This settles the question. Mark says, Mk 1:13, that angels came and ministered unto him. At first view, this would seem to imply that he did eat during that time. But Mark does not mention the time when the angels performed the office of kindness; and we are at liberty to suppose that he meant to say that it was done at the close of the forty days; and the rather as Matthew, after giving an account of the temptation, says the same thing, Mk 4:2. There are other instances of persons fasting forty days, recorded in the Scriptures. Thus Moses fasted forty days, Ex 34:28. Elijah also fasted the same length of time, 1Kgs 19:8. In these cases, they were no doubt miraculously supported.

The tempter. The devil, or Satan. See Mt 4:1.

If thou be the Son of God. If thou art the Messiah--if God's own Son--then thou hast power to work a miracle; and here is a fit opportunity to try thy power, and show that thou art truly his Son.

Command that these stones, etc. The stones that were lying around him in the wilderness, No temptation could have been more plausible, or more likely to succeed, than this. He had just been declared to be the Son of God, (Mt 3:17) and here was an opportunity to show that he was really so. The circumstances were such as to make it appear plausible and proper to work this miracle. "Here you are," was the language of Satan, "hungry, cast out, alone, needy, poor, and yet the Son of God! If you have this power, how easy could you satisfy your wants! How foolish is it, then, for the Son of God, having all power, to be starving in this manner, when by a word he could show his power, and relieve his wants, and when in the thing itself there could be nothing wrong!"

But he answered and said, etc. In reply to this artful temptation, Christ answered by a quotation from the Old Testament. The place is found in De 8:3. In that place the discourse is respecting manna. Moses says that the Lord humbled the people, and fed them with manna, an unusual kind of food, that they might learn that man did not live by bread only, but that there were other things to support life, and that every thing which God had commanded was proper for this. The term "word," used in this place, means very often, in Hebrew, thing, and clearly in this place has that meaning. Neither Moses nor our Saviour had any reference to spiritual food, or to the doctrines necessary to support the faith of believers; but they simply meant that God could support life by other things than bread; that man was to live, not by that only, but by every other thing which proceeded out of his mouth; that is, which he chose to command men to eat. The substance of his answer, then, is:--"It is not so imperiously necessary that I should have bread, as to make a miracle proper to procure it. Life depends on the will of God. He can support it in other ways, as well as by bread. He has created other things to be eaten, and man may live by everything that his Maker has commanded." And from this temptation we may learn,

(1.) that Satan often takes advantage of our circumstances and wants to tempt us. The poor, and hungry, and naked, he often tempts to repine and complain, and to be dishonest in order to supply their necessities.

(2.) Satan's temptations are often the strongest immediately after we have been remarkably favoured. Jesus had just been called the Son of God, and Satan took this opportunity to try him. He often attempts to fill us with pride and vain self-conceit, when we have been favoured with any peace of or any new view of God, and endeavours to urge us to do something which may bring us low, and lead us to sin.

(3.) His temptations are plausible. They often seem to be only urging us to do what is good and proper. They seem even to urge us to promote the glory of God, and to honour him. We are not to think, therefore, that because a thing may seem to be good in itself, that therefore it is to be done. Some of his most powerful temptations are when he seems to be urging us to do what shall be for the glory of God.

(4.) We are to meet the temptations of Satan, as the Saviour did, with the plain and positive declarations of Scripture. We are to inquire whether the thing is commanded, and whether, therefore, it is right to do it, and not trust to our own feelings, or even our wishes, in tho matter.

(c) "Man shall not live by bread" De 8:3.

Taketh him up. This does not mean that he bore him through the air, or that he compelled him to go against his will, or that he wrought a miracle, in any way, to place him there. There is no evidence that Satan had power to do any of these things; and the word translated taketh him up does not imply any such thing. It means, to conduct one; to lead one; to attend or accompany one; or to induce one to go. It is used in the following places in the same sense. Numb. xxiii. 14: "And he (Balak) brought him (Balaam) into the field of Zophim," etc.; that is, he led him, or induced him to go there. Mt 17:1: "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James," etc.; i.e. led, or conducted them--not by any means implying that he bore them by force. Mt 20:17: "Jesus, going to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart," etc. See also Mt 26:37, 27:27, Mk 5:40. From these passages, and many more, it appears that all that is meant here is, that Satan conducted Jesus, or accompanied him; but not that this was done against the will of Jesus.

The holy city. Jerusalem--called holy because the temple was there, and it was the place of religious solemnities.

Setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple. It is not perfectly certain to what part of the temple the sacred writer here refers. It has been supposed by some that he means the roof. But Josephus says that the roof was covered by spikes of gold, to prevent its being polluted by birds; and such a place would have been very inconvenient to stand upon. Others suppose that it was the top of the porch or entrance to the temple. But it is more than probable that the porch leading to the temple was not as high as the main building. It is more probable that he refers to a part of the sacred edifice sometimes called Solomon's porch. The temple was built on the top of Mount Moriah. The temple itself, together with the courts and porches, occupied a large space of ground. Mt 21:12. To secure a level spot sufficiently large, it was necessary to put up a high wall on the east. The temple was surrounded with porches or piazzas fifty-five feet broad, and seventy-five high. The porch on the south side was, however, sixty-seven feet broad, and one hundred and fifty high. From the top of this to the bottom of the valley below was more than seven hundred feet; and Josephus says that one could scarcely look down without dizziness. The word pinnacle does not quite express the force of the original. It is a word given usually to birds, and denotes wings, or anything in the form of wings, and was given to the roof of this porch because it resembled a bird dropping its wings. It was on this place, doubtless, that Christ was placed.

Satan proposed that he should cast himself down thence; and, if he was the Son of God, he said it could do no harm. There was a promise that he should be protected. This promise was taken from Ps 91:11,12.

To this passage of Scripture Christ replied With another, which forbade the act. This is taken from De 6:16, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." That is, thou shalt not try him; or, thou shalt not, by throwing thyself into voluntary and uncommanded dangers, appeal to God for protection, or trifle with the promises made to those who are thrown into danger by his providence. It is true, indeed, that God aids those of his people who are placed by him in trial or danger; but it is not true that the promise was meant to extend to those who wantonly provoke him, and trifle with the promised help. Thus Satan, artfully using and perverting Scripture, was met and repelled by Scripture rightly applied.

(d) "up into the holy city" Neh 11:1, Mt 27:53

An exceeding high mountain. It is not known what mountain this was. It was probably some elevated place in the vicinity of Jerusalem, on the top of which could be seen no small part of the land of Palestine. The Abbe Mariti speaks of a mountain on which he was, which answers to the description here. "This part of the mountain," says he, "overlooks the mountains of Arabia, the country of Gilead, the country of the Arnorites, the plains of Moab, the plains of Jericho, the river Jordan, and the whole extent of the Dead Sea." So Moses, before he died, went up into Mount Nebo, and from it God showed him "all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar," De 34:1-3. This shows that there were mountains from which no small part of the land of Canaan could be seen; and we must not suppose that there was any miracle when they were shown to the Saviour.

All the kingdoms of the world. It is not probable that anything more here is intended than the kingdoms of Palestine, or the land of Canaan, and those in the immediate vicinity. Judea was divided into three parts, and those parts were called kingdoms; and the sons of Herod, who presided over them, were called kings. The term world is often used in this limited scale to denote a part, or a large part of the world, particularly the land of Canaan. See Rom 4:13, where it means the land of Judah; also Lk 2:1, Lk 2:1.

The glory of them. The riches, splendour, towns, cities, mountains, etc., of this beautiful land.

All these things, etc. All these kingdoms. All these dominions Satan claimed a right to bestow on whom he pleased, and with considerable justice. They were excessively wicked; and with no small degree of plausibility, therefore, he asserted his claim to give them away. This temptation had much plausibility. Satan regarded Jesus as the King of the Jews. As the Messiah, he supposed he had come to take possession of all that country. He was poor, and unarmed, and without followers or armies. Satan proposed to put him in possession of it at once, without any difficulty, if he would acknowledge him as the proper lord and disposer of that country; if he would trust to him, rather than to God.

Worship me. Mt 2:2. The word here seems to mean, to acknowledge Satan as having a right to give these kingdoms to him; to acknowledge his dependence on him rather than God; that is, really to render religious homage. We may be surprised at his boldness. But he had been twice foiled. He supposed it was an object dear to the heart of the Messiah and he seemed not to be asking too much, if he gave them to Jesus, that Jesus should be willing to acknowledge the gift, and express gratitude for it. So plausible are Satan's temptations, even when blasphemous; and so artfully does he present his allurements to the mind.

Get thee hence. These temptations, and this one especially, our Saviour met with a decided rebuke. This was a bolder attack than any which had been offered. Others had been but an address to his necessities, and an offer of the protection of God in great danger; in both cases plausible, and in neither a direct violation of the law of God. Here was a higher attempt, a more decided and deadly thrust at the piety of the Saviour. It was a proposition that the Son of God should worship the devil, instead of honouring and adoring Him who made heaven and earth; that he should bow down before the prince of wickedness, and give him homage.

It is written. In De 6:13. Satan asked him to worship him. This was expressly forbidden. And Jesus therefore drove him from his presence.

(g) "Thou shalt worship" De 6:13, 1Sam 7:3

The devil leaveth him. The devil left him for a time, Lk 4:13. He intended to return again to the temptation, and if possible to seduce him yet from God.

And, behold, angels came and ministered. See Mt 1:20. They came and supplied his wants, and comforted him. From the whole of this we may learn,

(1.) That no one is so holy as to be free from temptation; for the pure Son of God was sorely tempted by the devil.

(2.) That when God permits a temptation or trial to come upon us, he will, if we look to him, give us grace to resist and overcome it, 1Cor 10:3.

(3.) We see the art of the tempter. His temptations are adapted to times and circumstances. They are plausible. What could have been, more plausible than his suggestions to Christ? They were applicable to his circumstances. They had the appearance of much piety. They were backed by passages of Scripture--misapplied, but still most artfully presented. He never comes boldly and tempts men to sin, telling them that they are committing sin. Such a mode would defeat his design. It would put people on their guard. He commences, therefore, artfully, plausibly, and the real purpose does not appear till he has prepared the mind for it. This is the way with all temptation. No wicked man would at once tempt another to be profane, to be drunk, to be an infidel, or to commit adultery.. The principles are first corrupted; the confidence is secured; the affections are won; and then the allurement is by little and little presented, till the victim fails. How should every one be on his guard at the very first appearance of evil, at the first suggestion that may possibly lead to evil.

(4.) One of the best ways of meeting temptation is by applying Scripture. So our Saviour did, and they will always best succeed who best wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Eph 6:17.

(h) "angels came and ministered" Heb 1:6,14

John was cast into prison. For an account of the imprisonment of John, see Mt 14:1-12.

He departed into Galilee. See Mt 2:22. The reasons why Jesus went then into Galilee were, probably, not that he might avoid danger-- for he went directly into the dominions of Herod, and Jesus had nothing in particular to fear from Herod, as he had given him no cause of offence --but,

(1,) because the attention of the people had been much excited by John's preaching, and it was more favourable for his own ministry.

(2.) It seemed desirable to have some one to second John in the work of reformation.

(3.) It was less dangerous for him to commence his labours there than near Jerusalem. Judea was under the dominion of the scribes, and Pharisees, and priests. They would naturally look with envy on any one who set up for a public teacher, and who should attract much attention there. It was important, therefore, that the work of Jesus should begin in Galilee, and become somewhat established and known before he went to Jerusalem.

(1) "Cast into prison" or, "delivered up"

Leaving Nazareth. Because his townsmen cast him out, and rejected him. See Lk 4:14-30.

Came and dwelt in Capernaum. This was a city on the north-west corner of the sea of Tiberias. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but is repeatedly in the Gospels. Though it was once a city of renown, and the metropolis of all Galilee, the site it occupied is now uncertain. When Mr. Fisk, an American missionary, travelled in Syria in 1823, he found twenty or thirty uninhabited Arab huts, occupying what are supposed to be the ruins of the once exalted city of Capernaum.

In this place, and its neighbourhood, Jesus spent no small part of the three years of his public ministry. It is hence called his own city, Mt 9:1. Here he healed the nobleman's son, (Jn 4:47) Peter's wife's mother, (Mt 8:14) the centurion's servant, (Mt 8:5) and the ruler's daughter, (Mt 9:28-25.)

Upon the sea coast. The sea of Tiberius.

In the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim. These were two tribes of the children of Israel which were located in this part of the land of Canaan, and constituted, in the time of Christ, a part of Galilee. Comp. Gen 49:13, Josh 19:10,32. The word borders here means boundaries. Jesus came and dwelt in the boundaries or regions of Zebulun and Naphtali.

That it might be fulfilled, etc. This place is recorded in Isa 9:1,2. Matthew has given the sense, but not the very words of the prophet.

By the way of the sea. Which is near to the sea, or in the vicinity of the sea.

Beyond Jordan. This does not mean to the east of Jordan, as the phrase sometimes denotes, but rather in the vicinity of the Jordan, or perhaps in the vicinity of the sources of the Jordan. See De 1:1, 4:49.

Galilee of the Gentiles. Galilee was divided into upper and lower Galilee. Upper Galilee was called Galilee of the Gentiles, because it was occupied chiefly by Gentiles. It was in the neighbourhood of Tyre, Sidon, etc. The word Gentiles includes, in the Scriptures, all who are not Jews. It means the same as nations, or, as we should say, the heathen nations.

(i) "Esaias the prophet, saying" Is 9:1,2

The people which sat in darkness. This is an expression denoting great ignorance. As in darkness or night we can see nothing, and know not where to go, so those who are ignorant of God, and their duty, are said to be in darkness. The instruction which removes this ignorance is called light. See Jn 3:19, 1Pet 2:9, 1Jn 1:6; 1Jn 2:8. As ignorance is often connected with crime and vice, so darkness is sometimes used to denote sin, 1Thes 5:5, Eph 5:11, Lk 22:53.

The region and shadow of death. This is a forcible and beautiful image, designed also to denote ignorance and sin. It is often used in the Bible, and is very expressive. A shadow is caused by an object coming between us and the sun. So the Hebrews imaged death as standing between us and the sun, and casting a long, dark, and baleful shadow abroad on the face of the nations, denoting their great ignorance, sin, and woe. It denotes a dismal, gloomy, and dreadful shade, where death and sin reign, like the chill damps, and horrors of the dwelling-place of the dead. See Job 10:21, 16:16; 34:22, Ps 23:4, Jer 2:6. These expressions denote that the country of Galilee was peculiarly ignorant and blind. We know that the people were proverbially so. They were distinguished for a coarse, outlandish manner of speech, (Mk 14:70) and are represented as having been distinguished by a general profligacy of morals and manners. It shows the great compassion of the Saviour, that he went to preach to such poor and despised sinners.

Instead of seeking the rich and the learned, he chose to minister to the needy, the ignorant, and the contemned. His office is to enlighten the ignorant; his delight to guide the wandering, and to raise up those that are in the shadow of death. In doing this, Jesus set an example for all his followers. It is their duty to seek out those who are sitting in the shadow of death, and to send the gospel to them. No small part of the world is still lying in wickedness, as wicked and wretched as was the land of Zebulun and Naphtali in the time of Jesus. The Lord Jesus is able to enlighten them also. And every Christian should conceive it a privilege, as well as a duty, to imitate his Saviour in this, and to be permitted to send to them the light of life. See Mt 28:19.

(k) "saw great light" Isa 42:6,7, Lk 2:32

See Mt 3:2

(m) "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" Mt 3:2, 10:7

Sea of Galilee. This was also caned the sea of Tiberias, and the lake of Gennesareth, and also the sea of Chinnereth, Nu 34:11, De 3:17, Josh 12:3. It is about fifteen miles in length, and from six to nine in width. There is no part of Palestine, it is said, which can be compared in beauty with the environs of this lake. Many populous cities once stood on its shores, such as Tiberias, Bethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin, Hippo, etc. The shores are described by Josephus as a perfect paradise, producing every luxury under heaven, at all seasons of the year. The river Jordan flows directly through the lake, it is said, without mingling with its waters, so that the course of the Jordan can be distinctly seen. The waters of the lake are sweet and pleasant to the taste, and clear. The lake still abounds with fish, and gives employment, as it did in the time of our Saviour, to those who live on its shores. It is, however, stormy, owing probably to the high hills by which it is surrounded.

Simon called Peter. The name Peter means a rock; and is the same as Cephas. Mt 16:18; also Jn 1:42; 1Cor 15:5.

(n) "called Peter" Jn 1:42

Fishers of men. Ministers or preachers of the gospel, whose business it shall be to win souls to Christ.

(o) "fishers of men" Lk 5:10, 1Cor 9:20-22, 2Cor 12:16

Straightway. Immediately--as all should do when the Lord Jesus calls them.

Left their nets. Their nets were the means of their living, perhaps all their property. By leaving them immediately, and following him, they gave every evidence of sincerity. They showed, what we should, that they were willing to forsake all fro the sake of Jesus, and to follow him wherever he should lead them. They went forth to persecution and death, for the sake of Jesus; but also to the honour of saving souls from death, and establishing a church that shall continue to the end of time. Little did they know what awaited them, when they left their unmended nets to rot on the beach, and followed the unknown and unhonoured Jesus of Nazareth. So we know not what awaits us, when we become his followers but we should cheerfully go, when our Saviour calls, willing to commit all into his hand--come honour or dishonour, sickness or health, riches or poverty, life or death. Be it ours to do our duty at once, and to commit the result to the great Redeemer who has call us. Comp. Mt 6:33, 8:21,22 Jn 21:21,22.

Followed him. This is an expression denoting that they became his disciples, 2Kgs 6:19.

(p) "their nets" Mk 10:28-31.

Left their father. This showed how willing they were to follow Jesus. They left their father. They showed us what we ought to do. If necessary, we should leave father, and mother, and every friend, Lk 14:26. If they will go with us, and be Christians, it is well; if not, yet they should not hinder us. We should be the followers of Jesus. And while, in doing it, we should treat our friends tenderly and kindly, yet we ought at all hazards to obey God, and do our duty to him. We may add, that many, very many children, since Sabbath schools have commenced, have been the means of their parents' conversion. Many children have spoken to their parents, or read the Bible to them, or other books, and prayed for them, and God has blessed them and converted them. Every child in a Sunday school ought to be a Christian; and then should strive and pray that God would convert his parents, and make them Christians too.

We see here, too, what humble instruments God makes use of to convert men. He chose fishermen to convert the world. He chooses the foolish to confound the wise. And it shows that religion is true, and is the power of God, when he makes use of such instruments to change the hearts of men, and save their souls. 1Cor 1:26 and following.

All Galilee. See Mt 2:22.

Synagogues. Places of worship, or places where the people assembled together to worship God. The origin of synagogues is involved in much obscurity. The sacrifices of the Jews were appointed to be held in one place, at Jerusalem. But there was nothing to forbid the other services of religion to be performed at any place. Accordingly, the praises of God were sung in the schools of the prophets; and those who chose were assembled by the seers on the Sabbath, and the new-moons, for religious worship, 2Kgs 4:23, 1Sam 10:5-11. The people would soon see the necessity of providing convenient places for their services, to shelter them from storms and heat; and this was probably the origin of synagogues. At what tinge they were commenced is unknown. They are mentioned by Josephus a considerable time before the coming of Christ; and in his time they were multiplied, not only in Judea, but wherever there were Jews. There were no less than 480 in Jerusalem alone, before it was taken by the Romans.

The synagogues were built in elevated places--in any place where ten men were found who were willing to associate for the purpose; and were the regular customary places of worship. In them the law, i.e., the Old Testament, divided into suitable portions, was read, prayers were offered, and the Scriptures were expounded. The law was so divided, that the five books of Moses, and portions of the prophets, could be read through each year. The Scriptures, after being read, were expounded. This was done, either by the officers of the synagogues, or by any person who might be invited to it by the officiating minister. Our Saviour and the apostles were in the habit of attending at those places constantly, and of speaking to the people, Lk 4:15-27, Acts 13:14, 15.

The synagogues were built in imitation of the temple, with a centre building, supported by pillars, and a court surrounding it. Mt 21:12. In the centre building, or chapel, was a place prepared for the reading of the law. The law was kept in a chest, or ark, near to the pulpit. The uppermost seats, (Mt 23:6) were those nearest to the pulpit. The people sat round, facing the pulpit. When the law was read, the officiating person rose; when it was expounded, he was seated. Our Saviour imitated their example, and was commonly seated in addressing the people, Mt 5:1, 13:1.

Teaching. Instructing the people, or explaining the gospel.

The Gospel of the kingdom. The good news respecting the kingdom which he was about to set up; or the good news respecting the coming of the Messiah and the nature of his kingdom.

Preaching. See Mt 3:1.

All manner of sickness. All kinds of sickness.

(r) "teaching" Mt 9:35, Lk 4:15,44 (s) "Gospel of the Kingdom" Mt 24:14, Mk 1:14 (t) "manner of disease" Ps 103:3, Mt 8:16,17

And his fame went throughout all Syria. It is not easy to fix the exact bounds of Syria in the time of our Saviour. It was, perhaps, the general name for the country lying between the Euphrates on the east, and the Mediterranean on the west; and between Mount Taurus on the north, and Arabia on the south. Through all this region his celebrity was spread by his power of working miracles; and, as might be expected, the sick from every quarter were brought to him, in the hope that he would give relief.

Those possessed with devils. Much difficulty exists, and much has been written, respecting those in the New Testament said to be possessed with the devil. It has been maintained by many, that the sacred writers meant only by this expression to denote those who were melancholy or epileptic, or afflicted with some other grievous disease. This opinion has been supported by arguments too long to be repeated here. On the other hand, it has been supposed that the persons so described were under the influence of evil spirits, who had complete possession of the faculties, and who produced many symptoms of disease not unlike melancholy, and madness, and epilepsy. That such was the fact, will appear from the following considerations:

1st. That Christ and the apostles spoke to them, and of them as such; that they addressed them, and managed them, precisely as if they were so possessed, leaving their hearers to infer beyond a doubt that such was their real opinion.

2nd. They spake, conversed, asked questions, gave answers, and expressed their knowledge of Christ, and their fear of him--things that certainly could not be said of diseases, Mt 8:29, Lk 8:28.

3rd. They are represented as going out of the persons possessed, and entering the bodies of others, Mt 8:32.

4th. Jesus spoke to them, and asked their name, and they answered him. He threatened them, commanded them to be silent, to depart, and not to return, Mk 1:25, 5:8, 9:26.

5th. Those possessed are said to know Christ; to be acquainted with the Son of God, Lk 4:34, Mk 1:24. This could not be said of diseases.

6th. The early fathers of the church interpreted these passages in the same way. They derived their opinions probably from the apostles themselves, and their opinions are a fair interpretation of the apostles' sentiments.

7th. If it may be denied that Christ believed in such possessions, it does not appear why any other clear sentiment of his may not in the same way be disputed. There is, perhaps, no subject on which he expressed himself more clearly, or acted more uniformly, or which he left more clearly impressed on the minds of his disciples.

Nor is there any absurdity in the opinion that those persons were really under the influence of devils. For--

1st. It is no more absurd to suppose that an angel, or many angels, should have fallen and become wicked, than that so many men should.

2nd. It is no more absurd that Satan should have possession of the human faculties, or inflict diseases, than that men should do it--a thing which is done every day. What more frequent than for a wicked man to corrupt the morals of others, or by inducing them to become intemperate, to produce a state of body and mind quite as bad as to be possessed with the devil?

3rd. We still see a multitude of cases that no man can prove not to be produced by the presence of an evil spirit. Who would attempt to say that some evil being may not have much to do in the case of madmen?

4th. It afforded an opportunity for Christ to show his power over the enemies of himself and of man, and thus to evince himself qualified to meet every enemy of the race, and triumphantly to redeem his people. lie came to destroy the power of Satan, Acts 26:18, Rom 16:20.

Those which were lunatick. This name is given to the disease from the Latin name of the moon, (Luna.) It has the same origin in the Greek. It was given because it was formerly imagined that it was affected by the increase or the decrease of the moon. The name is still retained, although it is not certain that the moon has any effect on the disease. On this point physicians are not determined, but no harm arises from the use of the name. It is mentioned only in this place, and in Mt 17:15. It was probably the falling sickness, or the epilepsy, the same as the disease mentioned Mk 9:18-20; Lk 9:39,40.

And those that had the palsy. Many infirmities were included under the general name of palsy, in the New Testament.

1st. The paralytic shock, affecting the whole body.

2nd. The hemiplegy, affecting only one side of the body--the most frequent form of the disease.

3rd. The paraplegy, affecting all the system below the neck.

4th. The catalepsy. This is caused by a contraction of the muscles in the whole or a part of the body, and is very dangerous. The effects are very violent and fatal. For instance, if, when a person is struck, he happens to have his hand extended, he is unable to draw it back; if not extended, he is unable to stretch it out. It appears diminished in size, and dried up in appearance. Hence it was called the withered hand, Mt 12:10-13.

5th. The cramp. This, in eastern countries, is a fearful malady, and by no means unfrequent. It originates from chills in the night. The limbs, when seized with it, remain unmovable, and the person afflicted with it resembles one undergoing a torture. This was probably the disease of the servant of the centurion, Mt 8:6, Lk 7:2. Death follows from this disease in a few days.

And he healed them. This was done evidently by a miraculous power. A miracle is an effect produced by Divine power above, or opposed to, what are regular effects of the laws of nature. It is not a violation of the laws of nature, but is a suspension of their usual operation, for some important purpose, for instance, the regular effect of death is, that the body returns to corruption. This effect is produced by the appointed laws of nature; or, in other words, God usually produces this effect when he suspends that regular effect, and gives life to a dead body for some important purpose, it is a miracle. Such an effect is clearly the result of Divine power. No other being but God can do it. When, therefore, Christ and the apostles exerted this power, it was clear evidence that God approved of their doctrines; that he had commissioned them; and that they were authorized to declare his will. He would not give this attestation to a false doctrine. Most or all of these diseases were incurable. When Christ cured them by a word, it was the clearest of all proofs that he was sent from heaven. This is one of the strong arguments for Christianity.

From Decapolis. Decapolis was the name of a region of country in the bounds of the half tribe of Manasseh, mainly on the east of Jordan. It was so called because it included ten cities--the meaning of the word Decapolis in Greek. Geographers generally agree that Scythopolis was the chief of these cities and was the only one of them west of the Jordan; that Hippo, (Hippos,) Gedara, Dion, (or Dios,) Pelea, (or Pella,) Gerasa, (or Gergesa,) Philadelphia and Raphana, (or Raphanae,) were seven of the remaining nine, and the other two were either Kanatha and Capitolias, or Damascus and Otopos. These cities were inhabited chiefly by foreigners (Greeks) in the days of our Saviour, and not by Jews. Hence the keeping of swine by the Gergesenes, (Mt 8:30-33,) which was forbidden by the Jewish law.

(u) "great multitudes" Lk 6:17,19

[He was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, &c.] The war, proclaimed of old in Eden between the serpent, and the seed of the serpent, and the seed of the woman, Genesis 3:15, now takes place; when that promised seed of the woman comes forth into the field (being initiated by baptism, and anointed by the Holy Ghost, unto the public office of his ministry) to fight with that old serpent, and at last to bruise his head. And, since the devil was always a most impudent spirit, now he takes upon him a more hardened boldness than ever, even of waging war with him whom he knew to be the Son of God, because from that ancient proclamation of this war he knew well enough that he should bruise his heel.

The first scene or field of the combat was the 'desert of Judea,' which Luke intimates, when he saith, that "Jesus returned from Jordan, and that he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness"; that is, from the same coast or region of Jordan in which he had been baptized.

The time of his temptations was from the middle of the month Tisri to the end of forty days; that is, from the beginning of our month of October to the middle of November, or thereabouts: so that he conflicted with cold, as well as want and Satan.

The manner of his temptations was twofold. First, invisibly, as the devil is wont to tempt sinners; and this for forty days: while the tempter endeavoured with all his industry to throw in his suggestions, if possible, into the mind of Christ, as he does to mortal men. Which when he could not compass, because he found 'nothing in him' in which such a temptation might fix itself, John 14:30, he attempted another way, namely, by appearing to him in a visible shape, and conversing with him, and that in the form of an angel of light. Let the evangelists be compared. Mark saith, "he was tempted forty days": so also doth Luke: but Matthew, that "the tempter came to him after forty days"; that is, in a visible form.

The matter of his temptations was very like the temptations of Eve. She fell by the "lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life": which are the heads of all sins, 1 John 2:16.

By "the lust of the eyes": for "she saw the fruit, that it was pleasant to the sight."

By "the lust of the flesh": she lusted for it, because "it was desirable to be eaten."

By "the pride of life"; not contented with the state of perfection wherein she was created, she affected a higher; and she "took of the fruit, and did eat," that she might become wiser by it.

The same tempter set upon our Saviour with the same stratagems.

I. As Eve was deceived by mistaking his person, supposing a good angel discoursed with her when it was a bad, so the devil in like manner puts on the good angel here, clothed with light and feigned glory.

II. He endeavours to ensnare Christ by "the lust of the flesh"; "Command that these stones be made bread": by "the lust of the eye"; "All these things will I give thee, and the glory of them": by "the pride of life"; "'Throw thyself down,' and fly in the air, and be held up by angels."

[Upon the pinnacle of the Temple.] Whether he placed him upon the Temple itself, or upon some building within the holy circuit, it is in vain to seek, because it cannot be found. If it were upon the Temple itself, I should reflect upon the top of the porch of the Temple: if upon some other building, I should reflect upon the royal gallery. The priests were wont sometimes to go up to the top of the Temple, stairs being made for this purpose, and described in the Talmudic book entitled Middoth; and they are said to have ascended hither, "When fire was first put to the Temple, and to have thrown up the keys of the chambers of the Temple towards heaven, with these words; 'O thou eternal Lord, because we are not worthy to keep these keys, to thee they are delivered.' And there came, as it were, the form of a hand out of heaven, and took them from them: and they leaped down, and fell into the fire."

Above all other parts of the Temple the porch of the Temple, yea, the whole space before it, may not unfitly be called the wing of the Temple, because, like wings, it extended itself in breadth on each side, far beyond the breadth of the Temple: which we take notice of elsewhere.

If, therefore, the devil had placed Christ in the very precipice of this part of the Temple, he may well be said to have placed him upon the wing of the Temple, both because this part was like a wing to the Temple itself, and that that precipice was the wing of this part.

But if you suppose him placed upon the royal gallery, look upon it thus painted out by Josephus: "On the south part [of the court of the Gentiles] was the king's gallery, that deserves to be mentioned among the most magnificent things under the sun: for upon a huge depth of a valley, scarcely to be fathomed by the eye of him that stands above, Herod erected a gallery of a vast height; from the top of which if any looked down, he would grow dizzy, his eyes not being able to reach to so vast a depth."

[Showed him all the kingdoms of the world, &c.] That is, Rome with her empire and state. For, 1. That empire is called all the world, (which word Luke useth in this story), both in sacred and profane writers. 2. At this time all cities were of little account in comparison of Rome, nor did any part of the earth bear any vogue without that empire. 3. Rome was 'the seat of Satan,' Revelation 13:2; and he granted to the beast of that city both it and the dominion. 4. This therefore seems to be that whereby he attempts to ensnare our Saviour in this object, namely, that he promiseth to give him the pomp and power of Caesar, and to deliver into his hand the highest empire of the world, that is, the Roman. This, antichrist afterward obtained.

[And, leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt at Capernaum.] Why he left Nazareth after he had passed six or seven-and-twenty years there, the reason appears, Luke 4:28, &c. We do not read that he returned thither again; and so, unhappy Nazareth, thou perishest by thine own folly and perverseness. Whether his father Joseph had any inheritance at Capernaum, which he possessed as his heir, or rather dwelt there in some hired house, we dispute not. This is certainly called his city, Matthew 9:1, &c.; and here, as a citizen, he paid the half-shekel, Matthew 17:24. Where it is worthy marking what is said by the Jews: How long does a man dwell in some city before he be as one of the citizens? Twelve months. The same is recited again elsewhere. The Jerusalem Gemara thus explains it; "If he tarry in the city thirty days, he becomes as one of the citizens in respect of the alms-chest; if six months, he becomes a citizen in respect of clothing; if twelve months, in respect of tributes and taxes." The Babylonian adds, "if nine months, in respect of burial." That is, if any abide in a city thirty days, they require of him alms for the poor; if six months, he is bound, with the other citizens, to clothe the poor; if nine months, to bury the dead poor; if twelve months, he is bound to undergo all other taxes with the rest of the citizens.

[The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthali.] It is needful that the words of Isaiah be considered, whence these words are taken. He had been discoursing, in the eighth chapter towards the end, concerning the straits and miseries that compassed the transgressors of the law and the testimony. "To the law and to the testimony," &c., verse 20. "But if a man transgress against it [that is, the law and the testimony], it will redound to his hardship, and he shall suffer hunger," &c., verse 21. "And he shall look to the earth, and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish, and he shall be driven to darkness," verse 22. And then it follows, chapter 9:1, "For the dimness shall not be like to that wherein it was ill with him, at what time the former [afflicter] lightly touched the land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthali, and the latter grievously afflicted," &c. "That people who sat in darkness, saw a great light," &c.

That which the prophet means here is this: 1. That the contemners of Emanuel and his testimony, that is, the gospel, should undergo far greater calamities than those places had undergone, either under their first conqueror Ben-hadad, or under the second, the king of Assyria. For those places saw light at last restored to them, when the Messias preached the gospel there: but the contemners of the gospel are driven into eternal darkness. 2. He foretells the morning of liberty, and of evangelical light, to arise there, where the first darkness and the calamities of their captivity had arisen. St. Matthew citing these words, that he might show the prophecy to be fulfilled, of that light that should arise there, omits those words which speak of their former misery, that is, the first clause of the verse; and produceth those words only, and that very fitly too, which make to his purpose, and which aim directly thither by the prophet's intention. The prophet Hosea affords us an instance of curtailing a sentence after that manner, chapter 1:11, 2:1; when he proclaims Israel and Judah miserable, he calls them 'Lo-Ammi,' and 'Lo-Ruchamah'; when happy, 'Ammi,' and 'Ruchamah.'

[Beyond Jordan.] Not by Jordan, but beyond Jordan. For the latter afflicter, the king of Assyria, had carried away that country also into banishment and bonds, 1 Chronicles 5:26. Here is an ellipsis of the conjunction and.

[Casting a net into the sea.] Fishing in the sea of Tiberias, in Talmudic speech. There the fathers of the traditions dream that Joshua the son of Nun gave ten laws to the Israelites concerning having some things in common, as lawful, and to be allowed of: Our Rabbins have a tradition that Joshua ordained ten conditions: That cattle graze in common in woody places. And that a man gather wood in common in his neighbour's field, &c. Among others, And that any, in common, spread his nets for fishing in the sea of Tiberias. But yet under this caution, That none set up a wall, which may be any stop to ships. The Gloss is, "It is the manner of fishermen to fasten stakes in the water, and to make fences of canes or reeds, in which the fish may be taken: but this is not permitted, because it is an impediment to the ships." However therefore the sea of Tiberias belonged to the tribe of Nephthali, yet it was free for any Israelite to fish in it, so it were under the condition mentioned.

[Fishers of men.] This phrase is something agreeable with that of Maimonides upon the Talmud, A fisher of the law.

[James the son of Zebedee.] We meet with a certain Rabbin of this very same name, R. Jacob the son of Zabdi.

[Teaching in their synagogues.] Since we meet with very frequent mention of synagogues every where in the books of the Gospel, it may be needful to know something more clearly what the customs and institutions of the synagogues were, for the better understanding very many things which have some reference thereunto in the New Testament; let us here despatch the history of them as briefly as we may, now when the mention of synagogues first occurs.

Of the Synagogues.

I. A synagogue was not formed anywhere but where there were ten learned men professedly students of the law. 1. Let that of the Talmud be observed. "What is a great city? That in which were ten men of leisure. If there be less than this number, behold, it is a village." 2. Observe that of Maimonides; "Wheresoever there be ten of Israel, there a house must needs be built, to which they may resort to prayers in the time of prayer, and this house is called a synagogue." Not that any ten of Israel made a synagogue; but wheresoever were ten learned men, and studious of the law, these were called Batlanin, men of leisure; "who were not to be esteemed for lazy and idle persons, but such who," not being encumbered with worldly things, "were at leisure only to take care of the affairs of the synagogues, and to give themselves to the study of the law."

The reason of the number of ten, though lean and empty enough, is given in the Talmud: and it is this; A congregation consists of ten: which they prove hence, because it is said, "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, &c. (Num 14:27). Take away Joshua and Caleb, and there remain only ten"; namely, of the spies of the land.

II. Of these ten men:

1. Three bear the magistracy, and were called The bench of three: whose office it was to decide the differences arising between the members of the synagogue, and to take care about other matters of the synagogue. These judged concerning money-matters, thefts, losses, restitutions, ravishing a virgin, of a man enticing a virgin, of the admission of proselytes, laying on of hands, and divers other things, of which see the tract Sanhedrim. These were properly, and with good reason, called rulers of the synagogue, because on them laid the chief care of things, and the chief power.

2. Besides these there was 'the public minister of the synagogue,' who prayed publicly, and took care about the reading of the law, and sometimes preached, if there were not some other to discharge this office. This person was called the angel of the church, and the Chazan or bishop of the congregation. The Aruch gives the reason of the name: "The Chazan (saith he) is the angel of the church (or the public minister), and the Targum renders...[it as] one that oversees; for it is incumbent on him to oversee how the reader reads, and whom he may call out to read in the law." The public minister of the synagogue himself read not the law publicly; but, every sabbath, he called out seven of the synagogue (on other days, fewer) whom he judged fit to read. He stood by him that read, with great care observing that he read nothing either falsely or improperly; and calling him back and correcting him if he had failed in any thing...Certainly the signification of the word bishop, and angel of the church, had been determined with less noise, if recourse had been made to the proper fountains, and men had not vainly disputed about the signification of words, taken I know not whence. The service and worship of the Temple being abolished, as being ceremonial, God transplanted the worship and public adoration of God used in the synagogues, which was moral, into the Christian church; to wit, the public ministry, public prayers, reading God's word, and preaching, &c. Hence the names of the ministers of the Gospel were the very same, the angel of the church, and the bishop; which belonged to the ministers in the synagogues.

3. There were also three deacons, or almoners, on whom was the care of the poor; and these were called Parnasin, or Pastors. And these seven perhaps were reputed the seven good men of the city; of whom there is frequent remembrance in the Talmudists.

Of these Parnasin we shall only produce these things. There were two, who demanded alms of the townsmen; and they were called, the two collectors of alms. To whom was added a third to distribute it.

"R. Chelbo in the name of R. Ba Bar Zabda saith, They do not make fewer than three Parnasin. For I see the judgments about many matters to be managed by three: therefore much more these which concern life. R. Josi in the name of R. Jochanan saith, They do not make two brethren Parnasin. R. Josi went to Cephar, intending there to set Parnasin over them, but they received him not. He went away, after he had said these words before them, Ben Bebai was only set over the threaded [linen of the lamps], and yet he was reckoned worthy to be numbered with the eminent men of that age. Ye who are set over the lives of men, how much more are ye so! R. Chaggai, when he appointed the Parnasin, argued to them out of the law, all dominion that is given is given from the law. By me kings reign. R. Chaiia Bar Ba set rulers, over them, that is, he appointed Parnasin. R. Lazar was a Parnas."

This perhaps holds out a light to those words of the apostle, 1 Timothy 3:13, "They that have performed the office of a deacon well have obtained to themselves a good degree": that is, being faithful in their care and provision for the poor, as to their corporal life, they may well be probationers for the care of souls. For when those Parnasin, as also all the ten, were learned and studious, they might with good reason be preferred from the care of bodies to that of souls. The apostles' deacons are to be reckoned also of the same learned and studious rank. And now let us turn our eyes a little from the synagogues to Christian churches, in the history of the New Testament. When the Romans permitted the Jewish synagogues to use their own laws and proper government, why, I pray, should there not be the same toleration allowed to the apostolical churches? The Roman censure had as yet made no difference between the Judaizing synagogues of the Jews, and the Christian synagogues or churches of Jews; nor did it permit them to live after their own laws, and forbid these. I am not, therefore, afraid to assert, that the churches of that first age were wanting to themselves, if they took not up the same liberty of government as the Romans allowed the Jewish synagogues to use. And I do not think that was said by the apostle, 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3, &c. without this foundation. Therefore, this power of their own government being allowed them, if so be they were minded to enjoy what they might, how easily may those words of the apostle be understood, which have so racked learned men (shall I say?), or which have been so racked by them, 1 Timothy 5:17: "Let the elders that rule well," &c.

4. We may reckon the eighth man of these ten to be the interpreter in the synagogue; who, being skilled in the tongues, and standing by him that read in the law, rendered in the mother-tongue, verse by verse, those things that were read out of the Hebrew text. The duty of this interpreter, and the rules of his duty, you may read at large in the Talmud.

The use of such an interpreter, they think, was drawn down to them from the times of Ezra, and not without good reason. "And they read in the book of the law: that was the text. Explaining: that was the Targum. And added the meaning: they are the accents: and they understood the text: that was the Masoreth." See Nehemiah 8:8; see also Buxtorf's Tiberias, chapter 8.

5. We do not readily known whom to name for the ninth and tenth of this last three. Let us suppose them to be the master of the divinity-school, and his interpreter: of whom we shall have a fuller occasion of inquiry. And thus much concerning the head of the synagogue, that learned Decemvirate, which was also the representative body of the synagogue.

III. The days wherein they met together in the synagogue were the sabbath, and the second day and the fifth of every week. Of the sabbath there is no question. They refer the appointment of the second and fifth days to Ezra. "Ezra (say they) decreed ten decrees. He appointed the public reading of the law in the second and fifth days of the week. Also on the sabbath at the time of the sacrifice. He appointed washing to those that had the gonorrhea. He appointed the session of the judges in cities on the second and fifth days of the week," &c. Hence, perhaps, it will appear in what sense that is to be understood, Acts 13:42. "The Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath, or the sabbath between"; that is, on the days of that intervening week, wherein they met together in the synagogue.

IV. Synagogues were anciently builded in fields. "To the evening recital of the phylacteries are to be added two prayers going before, and two following after." Where the Gloss thus; "The Rabbins instituted that prayer that they might retain their colleagues in the synagogue. And this certainly respected their synagogues at that time; because they were situated in the fields, where they might be in danger." And so Rabbenu Asher upon the same tract; "Anciently their synagogues were in fields: therefore they were afraid to tarry there, until the evening prayers were ended. It was therefore appointed that they should recite some verses, in which a short sum of all the eighteen prayers had been compacted"...

But the following times brought back their synagogues for the most part into the cities; and provision was made by sharp canons, that a synagogue should be built in the highest place of the city, and that no house should be built higher than it.

V. The like provision was made, that every one at the stated times of prayer should frequent the synagogue. "God does not refuse the prayers, although sinners are mingled there. Therefore it is necessary that a man associate himself with the congregation, and that he pray not alone when an opportunity is given of praying with the congregation. Let every one therefore come morning and evening to the synagogue." And "It is forbidden to pass by the synagogue in the time of prayer, unless a man carry some burden upon his back: or unless there be more synagogues in the same city; for then it may be judged that he goes to another; or unless there be two doors in the synagogue; for it may be judged that he passed by one to go in at another. But if he carry his phylacteries upon his head, then it is allowed him to pass by, because they bear him witness that he is not unmindful of the law." These things are taken out of the Babylonian Talmud: where these are also added: "The holy blessed one saith, Whosoever employeth himself in the study of the law, and in the returning of mercy, and whosoever prays with the synagogue, I account concerning him, as if he redeemed me and my sons from the nations of the world. And whosoever prays not with the synagogue is called an 'ill neighbour,' as it is said, 'Thus saith the Lord of all my evil neighbours,'" &c. Jeremiah 12:14.

VI. When they were met together in the synagogue on the sabbath-day (for this being observed, there is no need to speak any thing of the other days), the service being begun, the minister of the church calls out seven, whomsoever he pleases to call out, to read the law in their order. First, a priest, then a Levite, if they were present; and after these five Israelites. Hence it is, O young student in Hebrew learning, that in some editions of the Hebrew Bible you see marked in the margin of the Pentateuch, 1. The priest. 2. The Levite. 3. The third. 4. The fourth. 5. The fifth. 6. The sixth. 7. The seventh:--denoting by these words the order of the readers, and measuring out hereby the portion read by each one. Thus, I suppose, Christ was called out by the angel of the church of Nazareth, Luke 4:16, and reading according to the custom as a member of that synagogue.

There is no need to mention that prayers were made publicly by the angel of the church for the whole congregation, and that the congregation answered Amen to every prayer: and it would be too much particularly to enumerate what those prayers were, and to recite them. It is known enough to all that prayers, and reading of the law and the prophets, was the chief business in the synagogue, and that both were under the care of the angel of the synagogue.

I. There seemed to have been catechizing of boys in the synagogue. Consider what that means, "What is the privilege of women? This, that their sons read in the synagogue. That their husbands recite in the school of the doctors." Where the Gloss thus, "The boys that were scholars were wont to be instructed [or to learn] before their master in the synagogue."

II. The Targumist, or Interpreter, who stood by him that read in the law, and rendered what was read out of the Hebrew original into the mother-tongue,--sometimes used a liberty of enlarging himself in paraphrase. Examples of this we meet with in the Talmud, and also in the Chaldee paraphrast himself.

III. Observe that of the Glosser, Women and the common people were wont to meet together to hear the exposition or the sermon. But of what place is this better to be understood than of the synagogue? That especially being well weighed which immediately followeth, And they had need of expounders [or preachers] to affect their hearts: which is not much unlike that which is said Acts 13:13, If ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.

IV. Service being done in the synagogue, they went to dinner. And after dinner to the school, or the church, or a lecture of divinity; call it by what name you will. It is called also not seldom by the Talmudists The synagogue. In this sense, it may be, is upper synagogue to be taken, mentioned in the Talmud; if it be not to be taken of the Sanhedrim. In this place a doctor read to his auditors some traditional matter, and expounded it. In the Beth Midrash they taught traditions, and their exposition.

There are three things to be taken notice of concerning the rites used in this place.

1. He that read to the auditors spake not out with an audible voice, but muttered it with a small whisper in somebody's ear; and he pronounced it aloud to all the people. So that here the doctor had his interpreter in this sense, as well as the reader of the law his in the synagogue. "Rabh went to the place of R. Shilla, and there was no interpreter to stand by R. Shilla; Rabh therefore stood by him." Where the Gloss hath these words, "He had no speaker, that is, he had no interpreter present, who stood before the doctor when he was reading the lecture. And the doctor whispered him in the ear in Hebrew, and he rendered it in the mother-tongue to the people." Hither that of our Saviour hath respect, Matthew 10:27; "What ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the house-tops." Consult the same place.

2. It was customary in this place, and in these exercises, to propound questions. In that remarkable story of removing Rabban Gamaliel of Jafne from his presidentship, which we meet with in divers places of both Talmuds: when they met together in the Beth Midrash, "The questioner stood forth and asked, The evening prayer, is it observed by way of duty, or of free will?" And after a few lines, the mention of an interpreter occurs: "The whole multitude murmured against it, and said to Hotspith the interpreter, 'Hold your peace'; and he held his peace," &c.

3. While the interpreter preached from the mouth of the doctor, the people sat upon the earth. "Let not a judge go upon the heads of the holy people." The Gloss is, "While the interpreter preached the synagogue [or the whole congregation] sat on the ground: and whosoever walked through the middle of them to take his place, seemed as if he walked upon their heads."

One may safely be of opinion that the word synagogue, was used sometimes in the New Testament in this sense; and that Christ sometimes preached in these divinity-schools, as well as in the synagogues.

But by what right was Christ permitted by the rulers of the synagogue to preach, being the son of a carpenter, and of no learned education? Was it allowed any illiterate person, or mechanic, to preach in the synagogues, if he had the confidence himself to it? By no means. For it was permitted to none to teach there but those that were learned. But there were two things especially that gave Christ admission to preach in every synagogue; namely, the fame of his miracles, and that he gave out himself the head of a religious sect. For however the religion of Christ and his disciples was both scorned and hated by the scribes and Pharisees, yet they accounted them among the religious in the same sense as they did the Sadducees; that is, distinguished from the common people, or the seculars, who took little care of religion. When, therefore, Christ was reckoned among the religious, and grew so famous by the rumour of his miracles, and the shining rays of his doctrine, no wonder if he raised among the people an earnest desire of hearing him, and obtained among the governors of the synagogues a liberty of preaching.

For more info on synagogues, see "Sketches of Jewish Social Life," chapters 16. Synagogues: their Origin, Structure, and Outward Arrangements and 17. The Worship of the Synagogue by Alfred Edersheim.

Observe, 1. The great humiliation of the Son of God, how exceedingly was he humbled by the horrid temptations wherewith he was assaulted, than which nothing could be more grievous to his holy heart. What could be more burdensome to him that was brought up from eternity with God the Father, than to be shut up in a wilderness with the devil, there to be baited by him so many days, having his ears files, though not defiled, with horrid blasphemies spit upon the holy and reverend name of God! Oh deep abasement and wonderful humiliation of the Son of God!

Observe, 2. The time when Christ entered the lists with Satan, implied in the word then! that is first, immediately after his baptism; he is no sooner out of the water of baptism, but he is in the fire of temptation:

secondly, immediately after the Spirit descended upon, and the Father had by a voice from heaven, manifested his complacency and satisfaction in him: This is my beloved Son, &c.

Note thence, That great manifestations of love from God, are usually followed with great temptations from Satan.

Observe, 3. The place where this combat was fought, and that is, in the wilderness.

Learn thence, That no place can privilege us from temptation, or be a sanctuary from Satan's assualts: the solitary wilderness has a tempter in it, yea Satan sometimes makes use of men's solitariness, to further his temptations: a cell, a nunnery, or a cloister, are as open to Satan as the open fields, and the persons that live in the have a tempter without, and an inticer within as well as other men.

Observe, 4. The efficient cause of Christ's going into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan: He was led up of the Spirit, says St. Matthew: The Spirit drove him, says St. Mark: that is, the Holy Spirit of God, not Satan the unclean spirit, for the devil is seldom if ever called the spirit, but usually some brand of reproach is annexed, as the evil spirit, or the unclean spirit.

Christ was led by the Spirit; that is, he was carried by a strong impulse of the Spirit of God into the wilderness, to be tempted by Satan.

Learn hence, 1. That none of the children of God are assaulted, are ordered by divine and special dispensation. Satan could not assault our Saviour till he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for that end; and he shall not assault any of his members, but by divine permission.

Observe here, How the divine power upheld the human nature of Christ without food. What Moses did at the giving of the law, Christ doth at the beginning of the gospel namely, fast forty days and forty nights.

Christ hereby intended our admiration, not our imitation: or, if our imitation, of the action only, not of the time. Christ teaches us, by fasting and prayer to prepare ourselves for a conflict with our spiritual enemies; as he prepared himself by fasting to grapple with the tempter, so shall we.

Observe here, 1. The occasion of the temptation.

2. The temptation itself.

The occasion was our Savior's hunger and want of bread.

Learn thence, That when God suffers any of his dear children to fall into want, and to be straitened for outward things, Satan takes a mighty advantage thereupon, to tempt and assualt them.

But what doth he tempt our Savior to?

To the sin of distrust, to question his sonship; If thou be the Son of God; and next to distrust his Father's providence and care. Command that these stones be made bread. As Satan had said, "How unlikely is it, that thou shouldst be highly favoured, and yet deserted? What! the Son of God; and yet ready to starve! Certainly if thou canst not supply thy necessities, thou art nothing akin to God.'

Learn hence, 1. That Satan's grand design is, first to tempt the children of God to doubt of their adoption; and next, to distrust God's fatherly care over them and provision for them; and last of all, to use unwarrantable means to help themselves.

Thus Satan dealt with Christ, and thus he deals with Christians: for for to work a miracle at Satan's direction was not a lawful means of providing food for himself.

Observe here, The weapon which our Savior made use of to repel the temptation, and to vanquish the tempter and that is the word of God, It is written.

Learn, That the scripture, or the written word of God, is the only sure weapon wherewith to vanquish Satan, and to beat back all his fiery temptation.

Satan himself has not the impudence to oppose scripture: What monsters of impiety then are they who ridicule and deride it! They not only run counter to the practice of Christ, but outdo the devil himself in impudence.

That is, Satan, by God's permission, took up his body and carried it in the air, and set it upon one of the battlements of the temple.

Learn hence, 1. What a mighty power evil spirits have over our bodies, if God permits them to excute and exercise their power upon them.

2. That it is owing to the gracious care, and watchful providence of God over us, that we are not hurried away bodily by Satan.

Thanks be to God, though the devil's malice be infinite, yet his power is limited and bounded: and as he cannot do all the mischief he would to the bodies and souls of men, so he shall not do all he can. Question But why is the holy city and holy temple chosen by Satan to be the scene of this temptation?

Answer I cannot tell, unless he apprehended (as he might) that the holiness of the place would aggravate the sin. No place so sacred, no duty so holy, as to protect us from Satan's assaults. This enemy pursues us even to the horns of the altar.

Lord! How ought we at all times and in all places, to be upon our watch and guard, especially in thy presence, because then and there Satan is most active and busy, and most desirous to draw us into sin.

Here we have observable, first, the sin which Satan tempts Christ unto; and next, the argument which he tempts him from.

The sin tempted to, is the sin of self-murder; Cast thyself down.

Whence we learn, That self-murder is a sin which Christ himself was, and the best of saints may, by Satan, be tempted to the commission of.

But forasmuch as Satan tempted Christ to murder himself, but had not the power to do it himself,(do thou cast thyself down,) we learn, That though Satan may tempt, yet he cannot compel; he may entice, but cannot enforce any to sin, without their own consent.

Observe, 2. The argument which Satan uses; it is a scripture; argument; he quotes the promise of God. He shall give his angels charge over thee.

What a marvel is here, to find Satan with a Bible under his arm, and a text of scripture in his mouth! Christ had alleged scripture before to Satan; here Satan retorts scripture back again to Christ: It is written, says Christ; It is written, says Satan.

Learn thence, That it is no wonder to hear heretics and hypocrites quote scripture, when Satan himself durst recite it: he that had profanely touched the sacred body of Christ with his hand, sticks not presumptuously to handle the holy scripture of God with his tongue.

Yet observe, How wretchedly the devil wrests, perverts, and misapplies, the scripture. When God promises his angels shall keep us, it is in viis, non in praecipitiis; 'tis in all God's ways, not in any of our own crooked paths.

Note here, That although the children of God have the promise of the guardianship of holy angels, yet then only may they expect their protection, when they are walking in the way of their duty, and using the means for their own preservation.

Observe here, Though the devil had wrested and abused scripture, yet still Christ alleges scripture. The abuse of the holy scriptures by heretics and seducers is no argument against the use of them. We must not throw away our Bibles because the devil quotes scripture: but as Christ here compares scripture with scripture, so should we, in order to find out the true sense and meaning of it; for scripture is the best interpreter of itself; scripture is nost clearly expounded by scripture. This Satan knew full well, and therefore dares not make any further reply.

The next sin, which Satan tempts our Saviour to, is the sin of idolatry, even to worship the devil himself. O thou impudent and foul spirit! To desire thy Creator to adore thee, an apostate creature! Surely there can be no sin so black and foul, so gross and monstrous, but that the christian may be tempted to it, when Christ himself was tempted to worship the tempter.

St. Matthew reads the words, If thou wilt fall down and worship me: St. Luke, If thou wilt worship before me.

Whence we may gather, says Dr. Lightfoot, That if to worship before the devil be to worship the devil, then to worship before an image is to worship the image.

Observe, 2. The bait which Satan makes use of to allure our Saviour to the sin of idolatry; and that was, in representing to his eye and view all the glories of the world in the most inviting manner, and that in a moment of time; to the intent it might affect him the more and prevail the sooner.

Learn thence, That the pomp and greatness, the glory and grandeur, of this world, is made use of by Satan, as a dangerous snare to draw men to a compliance with him, in his temptations unto sin. When Satan sets thee upon a pinnacle, look to thyself.

Observe here, 1. With what zeal and indignation of spirit our blessed Saviour repels and beats back this temptation of Satan: Get thee hence.

Note thence, That the greater the sins are which the devil tempts us to, the greater our zeal and indignation ought to be in opposing and resisting the temptation to them. A great temptation must be withstood with great resolution.

Observe, 2. The weapon with which he repels and beats back the fiery dart of Satan's temptation, and that is, with the shield of scripture: It is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God.

Learn thence, That God is the sole object of religious worship: it is so peculiarly the Creator's due, that to give it to any creature is gross idolatry, and repugnant to the scriptures. No creature is to pay divine adoration to any but his Creator; hence it appears that Christ is not a creature, divine worship being given to him.

Observe here, 1. The issue of this combat; Satan is conquered, and quits the field! Then the devil leaveth him: teaching us, That nothing like a vigorous resistance of temptation causes the tempter to flee from us; Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Observe, 2. Our Lord's triumph over his enemy: Behold, Angels came and ministered unto him; food to his hungry body, and comfort to his tempted soul. They came no sooner, lest it should be thought he needed their assistance; they came now, because he was now pleased to make use of their assistance.

Learn hence, That those who in the hour of temptation do hold out in resisting Satan shall find the power and faithfulness of God will not be wanting to them, to send in succour and relief in the end.

Observe here, 1. Our Savior, hearing of John's imprisonment, provides for his own safety, by departing into Galilee. As our holy Lord avoided persecution, so may we.

Observe, 2. The place in Galilee he comes to, Capernaum. Christ had three cities which he called his own; Nazareth, where he was bred; Bethlehem, where he was born; and Capernaum, where he dwelt: this was a sea-coast town in the bordes of Zabulon and Nephthali.

Observe, 3. The special providence of God in this change of our Saviour's habitation; for by that means the prophecy, Isa 9:1 was fulfilled, which declares, that in that dark part of the country, the Messiah, the true light, should shine forth.

Learn hence, 1. That a people destitute of the saving knowledge of the gospel are in great darkness, how great soever the light of their outward comforts may be. This people had natural light enough, and civil light enough; they had an abundance of wealth and riches, peace and plenty; but they wanted the light of Christ and his gospel,and therefore are said to sit in darkness.

2. That wherever the gospel is preached amongst a people, it is a light springing up and shining forth among them; quickening and enlivening, reviving and cheering, the souls of those who entertain it, how great soever their outward darkness and distress may be. The people that sat in darkness saw great light, and to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up, &c.

Here our Savior begins to enter upon his prophetic office, and by preaching to make known the will of God to mankind; and observe, the doctrine which he preached is the same that John the Baptist did preach, namely, the doctrine of repentance, Repent ye: and the argument is the same also, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand: that is, now is the so much expected time of the appearing of the promised Messiah.

Learn hence, That the doctrine of Christ and his ambassadors is alike, and the same in substance: they both teach the doctrine of repentance to a lost world, as most suitable to the time and dispensation of the gospel.

Our blessed Saviour, as he was the great prophet of his church, had power and authority to appoint teachers under him; and accordingly here he begins to call his apostles to that great work; and in his call we have several particulars very observable: as, 1. The meanness of the persons whom he calls, illiterate fishermen; not a Paul, that had long studied at the feet of Gamaliel, is first called; but Peter, who was a stranger to eloquence and human learning.

Hereby our Savior took effectual care that his gospel should be known to be the power of God, and not the wisdom and device of man; and that the instrument should not carry away the glory of the work.

Observe, 2. How our Savior calls his apostles by couples, two and two, Peter and Andrew, James and John; to let us understand, that the work of the ministry requries the concurrence of all hands that are called to it; all the ministers of God should put their hands, join their hearts, and set their shoulders, as one man, to this great work; and all little enough to carry it on with advantage and success.

Observe, 3. The work which they were called to, from being fishermen to being fishers of men. They catched fish before with the labor of their hands; they shall catch men now with the labour of their tongues.

Observe, 4. Our Savior's command: first to follow him, before they are sent out by him: Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. We must be Christ's disciples before we are his ministers; his followers before his ambassadors. We must learn Christ before we preach him; otherwise we may fish for a livelihood, for honour and applause, but not for souls; if we be not first inclosed ourselves in the net of the gospel, we can have but small hopes of bringing in others.

Observe, 5. The promise which Christ gives the apostles for their encouragement:

1. To qualify them, I will make you fishers.

2. To succeed them, I will make you fishers of men.

Faithfulness and care, diligence and endeavour, is our part: but the blessing and success is Christ's. "Our labour is only in the cast, Christ's power is wholly in the draught. Some fish cleave to the rocks, others play upon the sands, and more wallow in the mud; and we shall labour all our days and catch nothing, if Christ doth not bring our fish to the net, and inclose them in it, as well as assist us in the throwing of it."--Bp Hall.

Observe, 6. The apostles' ready compliance with our Savior's call, Straightway they followed him. Whom Christ calls, he calls persuasively and effectually; whom he calls, he draws, and works them to a willing compliance with their duty.

Lastly observe, Upon their call to the ministry they leave off their trade, they forsake their ship and their nets, and lie close to their ministerial employment.

Teaching us, that the ministers of the gospel should wholly give themselves to their work, and not encumber themselves with secular affairs: nothing but an indispensable necessity in providing for a family can excuse a minister's entangling himself with worldly business.

Our Savior having called Peter, James, Andrew, and John, to be disciples in order to their being apostles to preach the gospel, in the foregoing verses; this verse acquaints us how he went himself along them forth as his curates to labour, and lie at home himself upon his couch at ease. What shall we say to those lazy fishermen who can set others to the drag, and care only to feed themselves with the fish, not willing to wet their hands with the net?

Our blessed Savior, when he sent forth his apostles, went along with them, and laboured himself as much as any of them.

Observe here, 1. That although our Savior's doctrine needed no confirmation beyond his own authority, yet he was graciously pleased to exert the power of his godhead in working miracles for the establishment of our faith.

Observe, 2. That the miracles which Christ wrought were not judicial, but beneficial to mankind, Moses' miracles were as great judgments as wonders; but Christ's miracles were salubrious and healing, full of goodness and compassion, and very advantageous to the world: he dispossesed devils, healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame.

O blessed Savior! thy life in all instances was a life of universal serviceableness and beneficialness to all mankind.

Observe here, How affecting our Saviour's ministry was at first: multitudes throng after him; they come from all parts to attend upon his ministry, when he first began to preach among them. His ministers find it thus also; at their first coming amongst a people, their labours are most acceptable, and they do most good: our people's affections are then warmest, and our own zeal perhaps is then greatest. Happy is that minister that improves all opportunities and advantages for the good of souls: "for he that winneth souls is wise."

The first event in our Lord’s ministry which St. Matthew records after his baptism is his temptation. This is a deep and mysterious subject. There is much in the history of it which we cannot explain; but there lie on the face of the history plain practical lessons, to which we should do well to take heed.

Let us learn in the first place, what a real and mighty enemy we have in the devil. He is not afraid to assault even the Lord Jesus himself. Three times over he attacks God’s own Son: our Saviour was “tempted of the devil.”

It was the devil who brought sin into the world at the beginning. This is he who vexed Job, deceived David, and gave Peter a heavy fall: this is he whom the Bible calls a “murderer,” a “liar,” and a “roaring lion” (John 8:44; 1 Peter 5:8); this is he whose enmity to our souls never slumbers and never sleeps; this is he who for nearly 6,000 years has been working at one work, to ruin men and women and to draw them to hell; this is he whose cunning and subtlety pass man’s understanding, and who often “appears an angel of light.” (1 Corinthians 11:14)

Let us watch and pray daily against his devices. There is no enemy worse than an enemy who is never seen and never dies, who is near us wherever we live, and goes with us wherever we go. Not least, let us beware of that habit of foolish talking and jesting about the devil which so unhappily common. Let us remember that if we would be saved we must not only crucify the flesh and overcome the world, but also “resist the devil.”

Let us learn in the next place that we must not count temptation a strange thing. “The disciple is not greater than his master, nor the servant than his Lord.” If Satan came to Christ, he will also come to Christians.

It would be well for believers if they would remember this. They are too apt to forget it. They often find evil thoughts arising within their minds, which they can truly say they hate. Doubts, questions, and sinful imaginings are suggested to them, against which their whole inward man revolts; but let not these things destroy their peace and rob them of their comfort. Let them remember there is a devil, and not be surprised to find him near them. To be tempted is in itself no sin: it is the yielding to temptation, and the giving it a place in our hearts, which we must fear.

Let us learn in the next place that the chief weapon we ought to use in resisting Satan is the Bible. Three times the great enemy offered temptations to our Lord. Three times his offer was refused with a text of Scripture as the reason: “It is written.”

Here is one among many reasons why we ought to be diligent readers of our Bibles: the Word is the “sword of the Spirit;” we shall never fight a good fight if we do not use it as our principal weapon. The Word is the “lamp” for our feet. We shall never keep the King’s highway to heaven if we do not journey by its light. (Ephesians 6:17; Psalms 119:105) It may well be feared that there is not enough Bible-reading amongst us. It is not sufficient to have the book; we must actually read it, and pray over it ourselves. It will do us no good if it only lies still in our houses. We must be actually familiar with its contents, and have its texts stored in our memories and minds. Knowledge of the Bible never comes by intuition; it can only be got by hard, regular, daily, attentive, wakeful reading. Do we grudge the time and trouble this will cost us? If we do we are not yet fit for the kingdom of God.

Let us learn in the last place, what a sympathizing Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ is. “In that He himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18)

The sympathy of Jesus is a truth which ought to be peculiarly dear to believers. They will find in it a mine of strong consolation. They should never forget that they have a mighty Friend in heaven, who feels for them in all their temptations and can enter into all their spiritual anxieties. Are they ever tempted by Satan to distrust God’s care and goodness? So was Jesus. Are they ever tempted to presume on God’s mercy, and to run into danger without warrant? So also was Jesus. Are they ever tempted to commit some one private sin for the sake of some great seeming advantage? So also was Jesus. Are they ever tempted to listen to some misapplication of Scripture, as an excuse for doing wrong? So also was Jesus. He is just the Saviour that a tempted people require. Let them flee to him for help, and spread before him all their troubles. They will find his ear ever ready to hear, and his heart ever ready to feel. He can understand their sorrows.

May we all know the value of a sympathizing Saviour by experience! There is nothing to be compared to it in this cold and deceitful world. Those who seek their happiness in this life only, and despise the religion of the Bible, have no idea what true comfort they are missing.

We have in these verses the beginning of our Lord’s ministry among men. He enters on his labours among a dark and ignorant people; he chooses men to be his companions and disciples. He confirms his ministry by miracles which rouse the attention of “all Syria”, and draw multitudes to hear him.

Let us notice the way in which our Lord commenced his mighty work. He “began to preach.”

There is no office so honourable as that of the preacher. There is no work so important to the souls of men. It is an office which the Son of God was not ashamed to take up. It is an office to which he appointed his twelve apostles. It is an office to which St. Paul in his old age specially directs Timothy’s attention—he charges him with almost his last breath to “preach the Word.” (2 Timothy 4:2) It is the principal means which God has always been pleased to use for the conversion and edification of souls. The brightest days of the church have been those when preaching has been honoured; the darkest days of the church have been those when it has been lightly esteemed. Let us honour the sacraments and public prayers of the church, and reverently use them; but let us beware that we do not place them above preaching.

Let us notice the first doctrine which the Lord Jesus proclaimed to the world. He “began to say, Repent.”

The necessity of repentance is one of the great foundation stones which lie at the very bottom of Christianity. It is a truth which needs to be pressed on all mankind without exception. High or low, rich or poor, all have sinned, and are guilty before God; and all must repent and be converted if they would be saved. It is a truth which does not receive the attention it deserves. True repentance is no light matter: it is a thorough change of heart about sin, a change showing itself in godly sorrow for sin—in heart-felt confession of sin—in a complete breaking off from sinful habits, and an abiding hatred of all sin. Such repentance is the inseparable companion of saving faith in Christ. Let us prize the doctrine highly. No Christian teaching can be called sound which does not constantly bring forward “repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21)

Let us notice the class of men whom the Lord Jesus chose to be his disciples. They were of the poorest and humblest rank in life. Peter and Andrew, and James and John were all “fishermen.”

The religion of our Lord Jesus Christ was not intended for the rich and learned alone. It was intended for all the world, and the majority of all the world will always be the poor. Poverty and ignorance of books excluded thousands from the notice of the boastful philosophers of the heathen world; they exclude no one from the highest place in the service of Christ. Is a man humble? Does he feel his sins? Is he willing to hear Christ’s voice and follow him? If this be so, he may be the poorest of the poor, but he shall be found as high as any in the kingdom of heaven. Intellect and money and rank are worth nothing without grace.

The religion of Christ must have been from heaven, or it never could have prospered and overspread the earth as it has done. It is vain for infidels to attempt to answer this argument; it cannot be answered. A religion which did not flatter the rich, the great, and the learned—a religion which offered no license to the carnal inclinations of man’s heart—a religion whose first teachers were poor fishermen, without wealth, rank or power—such a religion could never have turned the world upside down, if it had not been of God. Look at the Roman emperors and the heathen priests with their splendid temples on the one side! Look at a few unlearned working men with the Gospel on the other! Were there ever two parties so unequally matched? Yet the weak proved strong, and the strong proved weak. Heathenism fell, and Christianity took its place. Christianity must have been of God.

Let us notice in the last place, the general character of the miracles by which our Lord confirmed his mission. Here we are told of them in the mass; hereafter we shall find many of them described particularly: and what is their character? They were miracles of mercy and kindness. Our Lord “went about doing good.”

These miracles are meant to teach us our Lord’s power. He that could heal sick people with a touch, and cast out devils with a word, is “able to save all them to the uttermost that come unto God by him.” He is almighty.

These miracles are meant to be types and emblems of our Lord’s skill as a spiritual physician. He, before whom no bodily disease proved incurable, is might to cure every ailment of our souls. There is no broken heart that he cannot heal; there is no wound of conscience that he cannot cure. Fallen, crushed, bruised, plague-stricken as we all are by sin, Jesus by his blood and Spirit can make us whole. Only let us apply to him.

These miracles, not least, are intended to show us Christ’s heart. He is a most compassionate Saviour: He rejected no one who came to him; he refused no one, however loathsome and diseased: He had an ear to hear all, and a hand to help all, and a heart to feel for all. There is no kindness like his. His compassions fail not.

May we all remember that the Lord Jesus is “the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) High in heaven at God’s right hand, he is not in the least altered. He is just as able to save, just as willing to receive, just as ready to help, as he was 1800 years ago. Should we have spread out our wants before him then? Let us do the same now. He can “heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”

THE COMBATE BETWEENE CHRIST and the DIVELL expounded.

THE eleuen first verses of this chapter do conteine a briefe description of Christes tēptations, wherof I haue chosen to intreat, hauing formerly handled the doctrine of Conscience, because all that endeuour either to get or keepe a good conscience, are most of all subiect to temptations: Now here we haue the speciall temptations of the Diuell wherewith he assaulted our Sauiour Christ, and in Christs example the best way to auoid the same. This description consisteth of three distinct parts: First, A Preface or preparation to a Combate betweene Christ and the Diuell, vers. 1. 2. Secondly, The combate or conflict it selfe, vers. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Thirdly, The issue or euent of this combate, vers. 11.

I. Part. The Preparation to the combate hath two parts: First, Christs going foorth to that place where the combate was to be fought, vers. 1. Secondly, his abode & conuersing in that place, vers. 2. 1. Christs going forth to the place is set out by sundry circumstances of the Euangelists: as, The time when he went; The authour of his going; The maner how he went furnished; the place whither he went; And the end wherefore.

I. Circumstance. The time when Christ went foorth to be tempted is noted in this word Then: what time this was, we shall see in the end of the former chapter, where is set downe the baptisme of our Sauiour Christ by Iohn in the riuer Iordan; as also the great honour and maiesty wherewith he was there renowmed: for it pleased Christ for speciall end and purpose to be baptized, not as we are, to put off sinne, for he had none; but to be ordained a Mediatour for vs, that putting on our sin he might beare the burden thereof in our steed. Againe in his baptisme he was distinctly proclaimed, The doctour of his Church: for immediately thereupon, The Holy ghost descended vpon him like a doue, and a voice came from heauen, saying, This is my welbeloued sonne in whom I am well pleased. Now so soone as Christ was thus solemnly inaugurated into his office, and proclaimed from heauen to be the sole Doctor and Prophet of Gods Church, euen then immediately without any delay was he driuen forth, as Marke saith, chapt. 1. 12.

The vse. Euery Christian must looke to be tempted. In that Christ is no sooner baptized, but he is presently tempted, we learne; that all those who are truely baptized into Christ must make account to be tempted, and prepare for a combat with the Diuell, euen through the whole course of their liues: for if Satan durst be so bolde as to encounter with Christ Iesus the head of the Church after his baptisme, then doubtlesse he will not spare any of his members who are but weake & sinfull men. Again, in baptisme a man giues vp his name vnto God, promising therein for euer to renounce all seruice to the Diuell, the flesh and the world; and contrariwise to beleeue in God, and to serue him; and this vow being thus made, it is the will of God he should be tempted, that in the schoole of temptation he might learn to practise his baptisme. But here most men wil say, they neuer felt by experience in themselues the trueth of this doctrine; for they haue not perceiued any such combate in themselues, though they haue bene baptized many yeres agone. Answ. Such men,The state of those that were neuer tempted. whatsoeuer they be, haue indeed the outward baptisme of water, but they neuer yet receiued the inward baptisme of the spirit; they weare Christs liuery, but as yet they do seruice vnto Satan; And though they haue been made partakers of the seales of the couenant, yet still they abide within the kingdome of darkenesse; for Christ heere teacheth by his owne example, that all those who haue receiued the inward baptism of the spirit, whereby they haue effectually put off sinne, and put on the Lord Iesus, are as sure to be tempted by Satan as himselfe was: therefore let such persons as neuer yet felt in themselues this spiritual conflict, now begin to reform their liues, and to performe their vow of baptisme, and they shal vndoubtedly find in themselues the truth of this doctrine, That all that are baptized into Christ, shalbe tempted of the Diuell. So long as the children of Israel continued vnder Pharaos bondage, they were not pursued by his army; but when they set their faces toward the land of Canaan, then presently he makes after them, with all his might and malice; euen so, while men liue in sinne and submit themselues to Satans spirituall bondage, he will suffer all things to be in peace with them; but if once they set their hearts on the heauenly Canaan, and giue themselues syncerely to Gods seruice, then will he with all his force pursue them, & meet them with armies of temptations to turne them backe into their olde way of sinne againe. The silly bird that is in the snare or vnder the net, so long as she lieth still feeles no harme; but when she stirs & offers to get away, then begins her paine, and the more she striues, the more she finds her selfe ensnared: So fareth it with silly men, while they liue in sinne securely, they are not troubled with Satans temptations; but when they beginne to leaue their badde courses, and settle themselues to serue the Lord, then presently the Diuel seeks to spread his net to intangle them in his snare. The consideration whereof must teach vs, to watch and pray that we enter not into temptation; and (as Paul saith) to put on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the assaults of the Diuell, Ephes. 6. 11.

Secondly, in that our Sauiour Christ after his solemne inauguration into his mediatorship, was immediatly to go to be tempted; we learn,Men set apart for some speciall calling must looke for temptation. that all those that are set apart by God to any speciall calling, euen at their verie entrance thereinto must looke for temptations. This befell the head, and therefore all the members must reckon for it. When Moses was first called to be the guide and conducter of Gods people out of Egypt,Exod. 2. 15. hauing slaine an Egyptian in defence of one of his brethren, vpon knowledge of the fact he was fain to flie from Pharaos court into the land of Madian, and there to liue a shephers life for many yeres with his father in law Iethro. And Dauid was no sooner appointed by God to be king ouer his people Israel, but1. Sam. 18. 9. 11. Saul began to persecute him, and so continued all his dayes. And our Sauiour Christ, hauing called his Apostles to their office of preaching his kingdome,Mat. 8. 23. 24. tooke them soone after to the sea, and there falling asleepe suffered their ship to be so tossed with waues in a great tempest, that they looked for nothing but present drowning, so as they cried out, Master saue vs, we perish. And this the Lord doth in great wisedome for the good of his children:1 Reason why. first to teach them, that no man is able of himselfe, to carry himselfe in any acceptable course of his calling without Gods speciall assistance and grace. Secondly, to stir vp in them those good gifts and graces which he hath formerly bestowed on them; as the feare of his name, the loue of his maiesty, the gifts of prayer, faith, patience, and many other which he would haue tried in the entrance of their callings, and exercised in the continuance therein vnto the end.

Thirdly, seeing Christ begins his propheticall office of treaching his church, with temptations; This should admonish all Ministers of the word,Ministers specially must looke for temptations. that howsoeuer all Gods people must prepare themselues against Satans temptations, yet they must doe it aboue the rest; for looke as in a pitched field, the enemy aimeth principally at the standerd-bearer; euen so Satan and his instruments, do among all Gods people, bend their greatest forces against the ministers of Christ which holde vp his scepter, and display his banner in the preaching of the Gospel. When Iehoshuah the high priest stood before the Lord, Satan stood at his right hand to resist him, Zak. 3. 1. And when Ahab went to fight against the king of Syriah, Satan became a lying spirit in the mouth of 400. prophets & mo, 1. King. 22. 22. This is that great red dragon, that with his taile drew downe the third part of the starres of heauen, that is, of the ministers and preachers of the word, and cast them to the earth, Reuel. 12. 13. 4. This is he that desired to winnow the Disciples as wheat, Luk. 22. 31. And as the king of Aram said of Ahab, fight not against small nor great, but against the king of Israel only, 1. King. 22. 31. So Satan fighteth not against any so much as the Prophets of Israel, the ministers of the Church.

Fourthly,It is good for Ministers to be tempted. in that Christ is tempted before he go to preach, we learne that it is good and profitable for Gods ministers to be exercised with temptations euen of satan himselfe, & that for sundry causes; first, that they may know2. Cor. 2. 11. what temptations meane; Secondly that they may2. Cor. 1. 4. be the more able to minister helpe and comfort to those that are tempted; Thirdly to make them vnderstand the word of God aright; for many places of Scripture can not so well be vnderstood by bare study onely, as by temptations Act. 4. 24. 25. therewithall; and it is true which one sayth well, Reading, meditation, prayer, and temptation, make a diuine.

II. Circumstance The author or efficient cause of Christes going foorth; to wit, the Holy ghost, noted in these words, was led by the spirit: The word led, in the [non-Latin text not transcribed] originall signifieth thus much, that Iesus was carried apart by the spirit; which must not bee vnderstood of any locall transportation of his bodie from the riuer to the wildernesse, as2. King. 2. 11. Elias was caried from earth to heauen; or asAct. 8. 39. 40. Philip was taken away from the Eunuch, and carried to Azotus; but it was a motion of the Holy ghost, wherewith Christ was filled aboue measure and made willing to encounter with Satan in that combat; for so are the words by S. Luke,Luk. 4. 1. being full of the Holy ghost hee returned from Iordan, and was led by the spirit into the wildernesse, that is, by the inward motion and instinct of Gods spirit; Againe, S. Marke saying,Mark. 1. 12. the Spirit droue him into the wildernesse, giueth vs further to vnderstand, that this motion in Christ from the spirit, was a peculiar motion, not forced or constrained, but voluntary, and yet very strong and effectuall.

Again, by the spirit here, is not meant the Diuell or an euill spirit, but the Holy spirit of God: he it was that moued Christ to goe into the wildernesse; so that the meaning is this; After Christ was baptized in Iordan by Iohn, hee willingly tooke his iourney into the wildernesse, being moued thereunto by a speciall and strong instinct of Gods holy spirit, wherwith he was filled aboue measure. If any aske, how Christ could be led by the spirit, seeing hee sends the spirit: Answ. These two may well stand together: for Christ must be considered two wayes; first as man in the forme of a seruant; secondly, as God, euen the sonne of God, yea God himselfe: Now as Christ was man, he was subiect to Gods prouidēce, and so was led and guided by the Holy ghost: but as he is God, he is not subiect to prouidēce, but is the author therof, and is not himselfe led or sent, but together with the father sendeth the spirit.

The vse. The holines of Christs manhood. In this circumstance we may obserue; first the exceeding holinesse of Christs manhood, in that he moued not from one place to another, without the speciall instinct and direction of the spirit of God. By which example we are taught to suffer our selues to be ordered and guided by the spirit of God in euery thing we take in hand, yea in all our thoughts, words and deeds; for this is the true note of euery child of God to be led by the spirit, Rom. 8. 14. where the Apostle vseth the same word that S. Luke doth speaking of this leading of our Sauiour to be tempted: we must therefore labour to be of Dauids disposition, to haue our harts pliable to all Gods testimonies; when God said, Seek ye my face, Dauids hart answered, I seeke thy face O Lord, Psal. 27. 8. and thus doing we shall suffer our selues to be directed and guided by the Holy ghost, for he teacheth and guideth men by the word.

Secondly,Temptations come not by chance. from this that Christ was led vnto temptatiō by the spirit of God; we learne, That temptations come not by chance, nor yet by the will and pleasure of the Diuel only: for he could not touch Iob, or ought he had till God Iob. 1. 12. gaue him leaue; nor enter into the heard of swine, till Christ said,Mat. 8. 32, go; but temptations come by Gods most iust permission, and not without his speciall prouidence & appointment. This combat of Christ with Satan was decreed of God by his speciall appointment in his eternall counsell. And therefore was Christ led by the spirit to encounter with the Diuell, that he might performe this one worke of a mediator, namely in temptation ouercome him, who by temptation ouercame all mankind. And as God appointed this combate of our Sauiour, so hath he also ordained the temptations of euery Christian and the circumstances thereof: The theater or place of this combat is this present euill world; the actors are Satan and euery Christian; the beholders are men and Angels, 1. Cor. 4. 9. The vmpire and iudge is God himselfe, who ouerruleth Satan, so as the issue cannot but be happie and blessed to those that fight manfully; for hee casteth away none that be mighty & valiant of courage, Iob. 36. 1. he will giue an issue with the temptations, 1. Cor. 10. 13. from whence we learne sundry good instructions.

First, when we are tossed and tried by manifolde temptations, we must not thinke it strange, but rather count it exceeding great ioy, Iam, 1. 2. because it is Gods blessed will and ordinance that Satan and euery Christian should enter combat and conflict, for the triall of his graces in them.

Secondly, we are hereby taught to labour with patience to beare all trials and afflictions, not vsing vnlawfull means to winde our selues out of them, because they come by the speciall prouidence of the Almighty.

Thirdly, Christ went not to be tempted till he was led by the spirit; therfore no man must wittingly put himselfe into danger without a calling from God, left therein hee tempt God: indeed a man may be moued extraordinarily, to offer himselfe into places of danger; thus Act. 20. 22. Paul went bound in the spirit to Hierusalem, that is, he willingly followed the motion of the Holy ghost, which inwardly enforced him to go thither. And the same may be said of many holy Martyrs, who though they might haue escaped by flight, yet did willingly offer themselues into the hands of their persecutours, and endured the violence of their torments, which wee must thinke they did by a special motion of the Holy ghost; otherwise, for a man to offer himselfe into danger without all warrant from God, is to swarue from the practise of Christ in this place.

Fourthly, Christ being ledde by the spirit, did not seeke to shrowd himselfe from this combate; so likewise if a man follow his calling according to Gods will, and thereupon fall into troubles and temptations, he may not seeke to escape them by neglecting his duty, but with courage and patience must inure himselfe to beare them, wayting on the Lord by wel-doing for his deliuerance. Heere it may well be asked, whether a man can lawfully and with good conscience abide in those places which are certainly knowen Quest. Of abode in places haunted by euil spirits. to be haunted with euill spirits? Answ. Some indeed are so venturous & bold that they feare nothing: yet the trueth is, no man ought on his own head abide or lodge in such places, vnlesse it be within the compasse of his calling, or els haue a true extraordinary motion of Gods spirit so to doe; we are therefore rather to auoid them, than wittingly and willingly thrust our selues into the danger of such places; for if God haue giuen liberty vnto Satan to possesse such places as haue been consecrated to Idolatry, or defiled by oppression and bloud, or such like abhominations, why should wee without warrant from God, put our selues into his hands? This also may serue to reprooue those men who presume so much vpō their strong faith, that they neuer sticke to thrust themselues into most lewd company: but let such persons beware, for places of bad company are places of danger by reason of that power and liberty which Satan hath among them, for there he hath a throne, Reuel. 2. 13. How then can it be, that they should cleane escape the infection of sinne, who do vsually conuerse with those that commit it without controlement? Pro. 13. 20. He that walketh with the wise (sayth Salomon) shall be wise; but a companion of fooles shall be made woorse: so the words signifie: and therefore his counsell is,Pro. 1. 10. not to consent when sinners entise vs: nor to Pro. 22. 24. make friendship with the angry person, nor to go with the furious, lest we learne their wayes and receiue destruction to our soules:

Fiftly, in this leading of Christ by the spirit, we learne a further thing: so long as Christ was a priuat man he liued with Ioseph and Mary a priuate life; but being baptized, and thereby installed in his office of Mediatour, he returnes not to Bethlem or Nazaret where he was borne and brought vp, but gets him presently into the wildernesse, thereto encounter with Satan, and that by the motion of the spirit; wherein we may see, that all that are appointed and set apart by God for any speciall calling, are in some sort changed by his spirit, and as it were made other men. When Saul was anointed to be king, the text sayth, God gaue him another heart. 1. Sam. 10. 9. And when DauidPsal. 78. 71. 72. was made of a shepheard a king, he was furnished for that place, as his behauiour shewed, which was such as did beseeme a king. Thus the Apostles of our Sauiour Christ, of poore fisher-men, altogetherActs 4. 13. vnlettered, by the gift of Christs calling,2. Cor. 3. 6. were made able ministers of the New testament, and so became indeed fishers of men, Mark. 1. 17.Vse. Which serues to confute such men as plead extraordinary callings, as many haue done; some saying they were Elias, some Iohn Baptist, &c. For if these were such men, and had receiued such extraordinary callings, then should they withall haue beene endued with extraordinary gifts fit for those callings; but no such thing befalleth them, nay it is plaine, they remaine the same men they were before, without any change at all in respect of gifts fit for such persons as they pretend themselues to be. And to apply this to our selues; we are all by nature the children of wrath, and enemies vnto God; but by grace we are made Kings, Priests, and Prophets; Kings to rule ouer the world and the Diuell, in respect of their prouocations vnto sinne, as also to subdue in our selues our owne euill lusts and affections; Priests to offer vp spirituall sacrifices vnto God, as prayers and praises for his daily blessings; and Prophets to instruct our selues and others in the wayes of God, according to our gifts and calling. Now then it behoueth vs all to become new men, and to leade new liues fitting and sutable to our holy calling, giuing our selues wholly to the honour and seruice of God, shewing hereby, that we are hereunto called by his spirit of grace and holinesse, so shall weColos. 1. 10. walke woorthy of the Lord, and shew foorth the vertues of him that hath called vs, 1. Pet. 2. 9.

III. Circumstance. How Christ went furnished into this place of combate: which though our Euangelist Matthew hath omitted, yet hath S. Luke plainly noted, saying, He was filled with the Holy ghost. Luk. 4. 1. If any shall say, this seemes to import that Christ wanted the the fulnesse of the spirit all the former part of his life, if now only after his baptisme he were filled therewith. I answer, This fulnesse of the spirit is ascribed vnto Christ after his baptisme, not as though he formerly susteined any want of the spirit, but because at his baptisme he receiued a greater measure of the spirit than he had before: for this we must know, that Christ was alwayes filled with the spirit; being an infant he had a full measure of gifts fit for his infancie, and still as his growth in yeres required moe graces of the spirit, he increased therein, hauing in his youth & in his riper yeres full measure of gifts fit for his estate in those times. And at his baptisme being inaugurated into his Mediatourship, he receiued such fulnesse of the spirit as was behoouefull for so high an office, which because it was farre greater than before he needed, therefore is he now sayd to be filled with the Holy ghost: so that though Christ were alwayes full of grace, yet he increased therein as his estate and calling did require.

The vse. This serues to confute the Papists, who teach that Christ had all fulnesse of spirit in his infancie, euen from his conception and birth; and did not grow in grace at all, saue only experimentally, as he had occasion to manifest the same more and more in practise. But. S. Luke sayth plainly, that Iesus increased in wisdome, and stature, and in fauour with God and men, Luk. 2. 52. Againe, Christ was like vnto man in all things, sinne only excepted, and therefore did increase in grace as man doth in gifts from time to time.

Further, Christ goeth thus furnished to this combate that he might be able to encounter with Satan hand to hand, and at the end giue him the finall ouerthrow. Thus he furnished Moses Exo. 4. 11. 12 for his ambassage vnto Pharaoh; and1. Sam. 17. 45. Dauid for his combate with Goliah; Aholiab andExod. 35. 30. 31. Bezaliel for the worke of the Tabernacle; and euery one whom God imployeth about any speciall worke, is furnished and fitted thereto of God with speciall gifts: whereby in euery age we may see whom God placeth in any calling, for they are well qualified for the duties thereof; and therefore those that want gifts meet for their callings, doe thrust in themselues thereto, and are not placed therein of God.

IV. Circumstance. Whither was Christ led to be tempted? namely, into the wildernesse, that is the place chosen of God for this combate. There be diuers opinions touching this place; some thinke it was a little wildernes betweene Ierusalem and Iericho; some the desert of Palestina; others, the great desert of Arabia, where Elias fasted forty dayes and forty nights; and where the Israelites wandered forty yeeres. But seeing the Holy-ghost doth not define what wildernes this was, we are not curiously to inquire after it,Why Christ chose a desert for this combate. but only know it was a desert and solitary place. Let vs rather search into the reasons wherefore he chose a desert place for this combat; and they are diuers: First, because he was to worke our redemption in great humility, euen in the base and low estate of a seruant, for the satisfying of Gods iustice in that nature which had sinned, therefore he would not goe to Ierusalem there to shew his glory and Godhead, as a little before he was proclaimed in his baptisme; but he gets himselfe to a desert place void of all pompe and glory, where he meant to begin this great worke for vs by encountring with our chiefest aduersary. Secondly, hee chose this place for the more easie encountering with our aduersarie Satan, whom he was to ouercome for vs: for if Christ after his baptisme should haue shewed the glory of his Godhead, Satan durst not haue medled with him; therefore as the fisher hides the hooke and shewes the bait to entise the fish, so our Sauiour CHRIST with the vaile of his flesh in this base estate and solitary place did couer the glory of his Godhead, that Satan seeing him only in this low degree, might be the more eager and bolde to set vpon him. Thirdly, Christ was willing to giue vnto his aduersarie the aduantage of the place, that therewithall he might giue him the greater ouerthrow; for the Diuell delightsMark. 5. 5. in desert and forlorne places, and there he would chuse to practise his temptations, because in such places men want those helps and comforts which in society they may finde: hence Salomon sayth,Eccles. 4. 10. Woe be to him that is alone: yea, God himselfe sayd of man in the state of his innocency,Gen. 2. 18. It is not good for man to be himselfe alone. And that Satan takes aduantage of such solitarinesse, appeares by his tempting of Eue, when she was apart from her husband, Ge. 3. 1. Fourthly, the praise and honour of this victory ouer Satan, was peculiar to Christ, and not communicable to any creature: and therefore Christ chose a desert place for this combate apart from all humane society, that no man might challenge any part of this glory to himselfe, but that it might be wholly Christs, as of right it was. Fiftly, he went into a desert place for a time, that afterward he might thence returne with more credit, reuerence and authority to exercise his propheticall office: for we see by experience that when a man hath beene abroad for some time, he is receiued with more reuerence at his returne.

The vse. From hence the church of Rome would fetch a ground & warrant for their monasticall life; saying, that as Christ went apart into this desert, so may men sequester themselues from ordinary societies, and liue as Monks and Heremites in cloisters, woods and deserts. But this collection is absurd, as may appeare by these reasons: first, Christ went not thus apart on his owne head, but by the instinct and motion of the spirit of God: but the Papists admit and vndertake the state of Eremiticall and Monasticall life without any warrant in Gods word. Secondly, Christ did thus sequester himselfe but once for a certeine time: but with them, an Heremiticall estate is ordinary and perpetuall for their whole life. Thirdly, our Sauiour Christ fasted truly all the while he abode in the wildernesse: but Papists in their Cloisters and Hermitages doe plentifully inioy the wealth of the world in great ease and liberty. And therefore howsoeuer solitarinesse for a time may be commendable in some cases, as to meditate on the works or word of God, as Isaac did, Gen. 24. 63. or for the exercise ofLuk. 5. 16. prayer and fasting in more earnest maner; yet the Eremites life being a perpetuall forsaking of humane societies, is neither warrantable by Gods word, nor commendable in Gods child.

V. Circumstance. The end why Christ went into the desert; namely, to be tempted of the Diuel: wherein obserue three points; How hee was tempted; wherefore, and by whom. For the first; To Tempt, in Scripture is ascribed to God, to man, and to the Diuell: God tempteth man, when he prooueth him; that is, when he maketh manifest what is in his heart for sinne or grace, which before were hid to the world: thus God tempted Abraham in the offering vp of his sonne, Gen. 22. 1. and Christ, the ruler, Luk. 18. 22. Man tempteth God, when he prooueth by vnlawfull meanes whether God be so powerfull, iust and mercifull as the Scriptures doe affirme him to be: and thus the Israelites tempted God, when they required meat for their lust, and sayd, can God prepare a table in the wildernesse? Psal. 78. 18. 19. The Diuell tempteth when he allureth vnto sinne, by inward suggestions or outward obiects; and hereof must we vnderstand Christs tempting in this place; to wit, that he was led into the wildernesse for this end that Satan might assault him, and vse what meanes he could to bring him vnto sinne. If any shall thinke it was too much derogatory to the dignitie of Christ to be thus tempted. I answer▪ If it had so pleased him, Christ could haue confounded the Diuell with the least word of his mouth: for as he is Creator of heauen and earth, so Satan had no power to tempt him, for God can not be tempted with euill, Iam. 1. 13. But here Christ stood in our roome and sted (as he did vpon the Crosse) encountring with Satan for vs, as if we in our owne persons had been tempted. This therefore must be vnderstood as a part of Christes humiliation in his manhood, whereto he subiected himselfe for our sakes, otherwise the Diuell could not haue tempted him. Obiect. This stands not with the holinesse of Christ as he is man to be tempted of Satan? Answ. Yes, he might be tempted of Satan without sinne, as our first parents were before their fall: this will plainly appeare by comparing Christ with other men in their temptations.

The Diuell in tempting a man to sin, first conuayes into his minde, either by inward suggestion, or by outward obiect, the motion or cogitation of that sinne which he would haue him to commit. Thus he tempted Iudas, byIoh. 13. 27. casting into him this euill thought, Iudas betray thy Master. And so dealeth hee with Christ in this temptation, he conueyed to his mind or apprehension, the vnrighteous cogitations of vnbeleefe, idolatry, and couetousnesse; yet so as Christ receiued them not, but with all power of grace repelled them. Secondly, as Satan conuayes euill suggestions into mens minds, so the same are full of trouble, sorrow, & vexation, at least to the godly: for when Satan presseth vpon man his temptations, the whole man is disquieted, his thoughts and affections are troubled, and his heart is vexed. And this also was in Christ, he felt sorrow & molestation in himselfe through these temptations, as appeareth by his Auant Satan vpon his last assault. And thus farre was Christ tempted like vnto men. Thirdly, in temptations vsually be corrupt motions; for though a man do not approue, neither enterteine with delight, the Diuels temptations, yet shall he hardly keepe himselfe from the staine and taint of sin, because the imaginations of his owne heart are naturally euill. Now herein Christ differeth from all men in temptation; for being perfectly holy in his humane nature, he did not in the least measure receiue any corruption into his minde, but by the power of grace did repel them more strongly than they were offered.Similitude. Put a burning match to tinder or gunpowder, and it will kindle presently; but put it into water, and that will quench it straight: so it fareth in temptations; our corrupt hearts like tinder do easily suffer corruption to kindle in vs; but Christes most holy heart did presently like water quench the euill of Satans motions. And thus we see how Christ was tempted, and yet without sinne.

The vse. Hence we may obserue a good direction for their comfort that are troubled with blasphemous thoughts. Among other temptations that befall men in Gods church, the Diuell doth mightily assault some men by casting into their minds most fearefull motions of blasphemie against God the Father, the Sonne and the Holy-ghost, whereby he doth greatly astonish them and bring them to despaire. Now the ground of their stay and comfort hence is this: There be incident to the minde of man two kinds of euill thoughts: First, such as arise from the flesh, that is, from our corrupt nature; and the very first motions of these are sinnes, forbidden in the tenth commandement. Secondly, there be others that rise not inwardly from the flesh, but are from without conuayed into the minde by the diuell, as these most horrible blasphemies against God, which would make a godly heart to tremble and quake once to thinke vpon. Now these are our heauy crosses indeed, when we be assaulted with them, but the diuels sinnes wholly, and become not ours, till we receiue them by some degree of delight or assent, as may hence appeare: for Christ was tempted to infidelity, couetousnesse and idolatry, yet his holy heart receiued them not, and so they neuer became his sinnes.

The second point to be considered in this circumstance is, wherefore Christ was tempted: for it may seeme strange that Iesus Christ the sonne of God, yea very God, equal with the Father, should be tempted.Reasons why Christ was tempted. The reasons therefore that mooued him to be tempted are these: First, that he might foile the Diuell at his owne weapon; for the Diuell ouercame the first Adam in temptation, therfore Christ the second Adam would in temptation ouercome him. Secondly, that in his example he might giue vs direction whereby to know the speciall temptations wherewith the Diuell assaults the Church, as also how to withstand and repell the same: for this cause no doubt hath the spirit of God so distinctly set downe Christs preparation to this combate, Satans seuerall assaults, and Christes victory ouer them all: which plainly confuteth the common opinion of ignorant people, who thinke those that are tempted by the Diuell to be most vile and wicked men, such as haue forsaken God, and therefore God hath forsaken them; but beholde Christ Iesus the most holy person that euer was, euen the holy one of God, was tempted of Satan, and that exceeding sore, hauing the same troubles and vexations thereby arising in his minde that wee haue, insomuch as the Angels came to minister cōfort vnto him, vers. 11. Gods dearest children therefore may and must be tempted, for that is no token of a childe of wrath, vnlesse we will say, that Christ Iesus was the childe of wrath, which once to thinke were most blasphemous. Thirdly Christ was tempted, that he might be a mercifull high priest, vnto them that are tempted, Heb. 2. 17. 18. for himselfe knowing the trouble and anguish of temptation, must needes in a more compassionate fellow-feeling of their miseries bee readie to helpe and comfort his members when they are tempted.

The third point is, the author of Christs temptations, to wit, the diuell: the name Diuell signifieth a cauiller, a slanderer and an accuser: He is an accuser three waies; he accuseth God to man; man to God; and man to man. First God to man; as when he told Eue, they must not die though they did eate of the forbidden fruit, Genes. 3. 4. which was as much as if he had said, God doth but deceiue you with that threatning, yee shall not die at all. Secondly he accuseth men to God, and therefore is called the accuser Apoc. 12 9. of the brethren: and our 1. Pet. 5. 8. [non-Latin text not transcribed] aduersarie who goeth about like aroaring lyon: which word aduersarie signifies one that enters plea or suite against vs: thus he dealt against godly Iob, by the Lordes owne confession Iob. 2. 3. Thirdly, he accuseth man to man, by ingendring vngodly and vncharitable surmises and suspicions in one man against another, and in causing one man to slander and iniurie another; and for this cause is he said to worke in the children of disobedience, Ephes. 2. 2. and their wisdome is said to be diuellish, who haue bitter enuying and strife in their heart, Iam. 3. 14. 15.

The vse. From this very name we are to be admonished of two things: First to beware of false accusing, tale-bearing and slandering; for in these practises we put on the diuels name, and shew foorth the infection of his nature: Paul telling Timothie,1. Tim. 3. 6. that a minister must not be a nouice, lest he be puffed vp and fall into the condemnation of the diuell, vseth such a word for the diuels name as signifieth a false accuser or slanderer, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. to shew vnto vs that such a one is a diuell incarnate: And yet this is the common sinne of this age, to speake euill and to backbite, when they speake one of another. Secondly, hereby we are taught to beware, how at any time or any way we disswade any one from embracing or obeying true religion: for heerein we shew our selues to be the children of the diuell. When Elymas the sorcerer would haue turned away Sergius Paulus from the faith, PaulAct. 13. 10. cals him, full of all subtilty and mischiefe, the childe of the diuell. And this I doe the rather obserue, because it is a vsuall thing to draw others backe from the power of godlinesse; though not in plaine termes, yet partly in reproches and partly by bad example of life. Now all such had need to looke to their estate, for the children of the diuell are like to haue their portion with the diuell and his angels. And thus much for the author of Christs temptations; as also for the first part of Christs preparation to this combat.

VERSE 2. And when he had fasted fortie daies and fortie nights, he was afterward hungrie.

HEe[illegible: 2 letters] is the second part of Christs preparation to this combate, namely his abode in the wildernesse, which is set out vnto vs by foure arguments: I. by his fasting forty daies and fortie nights, noted in the words of this verse. II. by his abode with wilde beasts, noted by S. Mark. chap. 1. 12. III. by his enduring of temptations within the space of these fortie daies and fortie nights, Luk. 4. 2. though in particular those be not set downe by any Euangelist. IV. by his hunger after fortie daies fasting, in the end of this verse. Of these in order.

I. Circumstance. Christs fasting fortie daies and forty nights: Three kinds of fasts. There be three kindes of fasts, if we take the word in a generall sense: first the daily fast of temperance and sobrietie, whereby wee vse Gods creatures for our sustenance with that moderation and abstinence, that we rather giue lesse to natures appetite, then that which it desireth: This Christ inioineth to euery Christian,Luk. 21. 34. take heed lest at any time your hearts be oppressed with surfeting and drunkennesse. The second kinde of fast is, the religious abstinence of Gods church from all meates and drinks for a time, for the furtherance of their praiers, when they humble thē selues vnto God for the preuenting or remoouing of some heauie iudgement: thus the Iewes fasted,Iudg. 20 26. 1. Sam. 7. 6. sometime for one day, sometime for three daies and three nights, Hester 4. 16. yea sometime for1. Sam. 31. 13. 1. Chro. 10. 12. seuen daies together; but then it is like they receiued some sustenance in the euening: for so Daniel fasted for three weekes of daies, eating no pleasant things, Daniel 10. 2. 3. but of neither of these must Christs fasts heere be vnderstood. The third kinde of fast is miraculous, done by the power of God restraining the appetite for many daies togither without meate or drinke, beyond the power of nature: ThusExod. 34. 28. Moses fasted fortie daies and fortie nights in mount Sina, where he enioied the presence of God so long. And so did Elias1. King. 19. 8. fast in mount Horeb; and our Sauiour Christ in this wildernesse. We reade indeed that Paul in his conuersion fasted three daies and three nights eating nothing, Act. 9. 9. So did the Iewes with Hester and her maides, Hest. 4. 16. And experience teacheth that a sicke man may liue seuen or nine daies together without meate or drinke, yea (as some learned Physitians write) foureteene daies: And Pauls companions in his iourney to Rome, are very little or nothing at all, for foureteene daies▪ for the words are plaine,Act. 27. 33. eating nothing: And it may be so, sith the like hath beene found true by experience in our age. And this is the longest that a man can fast and liue, to wit foureteene, or fifteene, or seuenteene daies; for so much is recorded of some, that after so long abstinence haue liued, though with some weaknesse of nature: but for a man ordinarily, being of good constitution of body to fast fortie daies and fortie nights togither, is impossible. Indeed it hath beene auouched Iubart. Parad. 2. decad. 1.that a man might fast monethes, yea a whole yeare togither without meat or drinke and yet liue; but we may perswade our selues it is not true. Now our Sauiour Christ (which is yet more) during this fast felt no faintnesse nor weaking of his body, as we ordinarily do with a little abstinence, so that his fast was not ordinary but miraculous altogither.

The reasons why Christ fasted thus long in the wildernesse may be these;Reasons why Christ fasted fortie daies. First that he might performe his ministery, which now he was to begin, with more reuerence and authority: for this cause would God haue Moses to fast forty daies and forty nights before he deliuered the law written in two tables of stone vnto the people; and so must Elias do, before he did restore religion in his daies: Secondly, that it might appeare he was no whit inferiour to Moses and Elias: and Thirdly, that he might shew his full consent with them. Quest. Seeing Christ did farre excell Moses and Elias, why did he not exceed them in the length of his fast, for threescore daies or a whole yeare? Answ. Hee did it not through want of power to haue fasted longer, but because he would not giue occasion thereupon that any should call into question the truth of his manhood, which might easily haue happened, if he had fasted a whole yeere together.

The vse. Heereon the Church of Rome would build their Lent fast; but very fondly; for first Christ did not thus fast to giue vs example to follow him heerein, but to prepare himselfe to the great worke of his ministery; secondly, there is great difference between Christs fast and theirs; Christ fasted thus but once, and that by the instinct of the Holy Ghost; they keepe their fast yearely, and that on their owne heads: Christs was a true fast, without all meat or drink; but theirs is a mocke-fast, for they eat the finest fishes and other dainties, and drinke wines, wherein is as much nourishment to the body, and as good as in flesh; neither can they iustly build it on the practise of the primitiue Church, for they vsed to fast (at least in some places) but two or three daies before Easter: and their Lent fast was not ordainedAntepaschale Ieiunium. nor imposed til many yeares after Christ;Zanch, deredempt. l. 1. cap. 19. in the side quadrag. Iéiunio. so as euery one might choose whether he would fast, or not.

II. Circumstance. S. Marke doth further set out Christs abode in the wildernesse by his being and conuersing with wild beasts, Mark. 1. 13. which some thinke Christ did for this end, that wild beasts might come to him and doe him homage due to their Creator & Gouernour: but this is a deuice of man without likelihood of truth; for howsoeuer Christ in himselfe deserued all homage and reuerence of all his creatures; yet because he abode among wild beasts to be abased and humbled in the low estate of a seruant, therefore it is not like he went to receiue homage from them. The true cause rather is this: we find in Scripture that among the Iewes were two sorts of deserts; one, in part peopled and inhabited, hauing heere and there cities and villages; in such a desert was Iohn Baptist borne, and did baptize and preach; that the prophesie ofIsay 40. 3. Isay might be fulfilled, The voice of a crier in the wildernes, make straight the way of the Lord. The other, not inhabited at all by men, being a place of abode only for wild beasts, as Lions, Beares, Tigers, Woolues, &c. which liued therein continually: Now into such a desert as this, was our sauiour Christ led by the spirit, and made his abode among such wild beasts; which circumstance is therefore noted to giue vs to vnderstand that in this combate, our Sauiour Christ had no aid, protection, succour, helpe, or comfort from any man or other creature whatsoeuer; for by nature his companions were so farre from being an helpe and comfort vnto him, that they would rather seeke to deuoure him. Whereby we plainly see that the praise of victory in this combate, is proper to Christ alone, and not communicable to any creature whatsoeuer.

The vse. In this estate of Christ in this wildernesse, we may behold the condition of Christs militant church; to wit, that it is in this world as in a wildernesse and desert of wild beasts; for during their abode on earth, Gods children liue with men, who in disposition and affection are like Woolues, Beares, Tigers, Lions and Cockatrices, vntill such time as the Holy Ghost by grace shall turne their hearts, as we may plainly see, Isay 11. 6. 7. 8. in regard whereof they must arme themselues with patience against manifold assaults and vexations, comforting their hearts with this consideration, that Christ their head hath vndergone this estate before them.

III. Circumstance. S. LukeLuk. 4. 2. 3. obserueth, that while Christ abode in the wildernesse, within the space of those forty daies and forty nights, he was tempted of the Diuell, before the three great temptations: the words are plaine: And was there fortie daies tempted of the diuell: And when they were ended, then the diuell said, &c. what these temptations were, either for matter or forme, the holy Ghost hath not set downe; and yet we may probably thinke they were more milde and gentle temptations then those three which are set downe; the diuell making them as it were an entrance to his strongest and most dangerous temptations; for his maner is, when it makes for his aduantage, not to shewe his violence and extremitie at the first, but to proceed by degrees, and by little & little to insinuate himselfe till he haue gotten his best aduantage, and then wil he shew the strength of his malice. Thus he dealt with Cain, first he prouokes him to anger and malice against his brother, because his brothers sacrifice was accepted, and his reiected; then hauing setled hatred in his heart, he neuer leaues till he had caused him in his rage to slay his brother; and yet he staies not there, but after bring him to despaire of Gods mercy, in so much as he cried out,Gen. 4. 13. my sinne is greater then I can beare. Thus also he dealt with Iudas; first he cast this euill thought into his heart, Iudas betraie thy master, and when he had gotten entertainment for that (for doubtlesse Iudas would not yeeld to so vile a thought at the first motion) then he caused him to put it in execution, whereupon in fearefull despaire he brought him to hang himselfe. This is the subtiltie of the old serpent; first he conuaies one claw or talant into a mans heart, and then another; after that he gets in his head, and so at length windes in all his bodie: Thus he assaied to doe with Christ, and so will he continue towards all Gods children. Which should teach vs to labour to be strong in the Lord, and wise in his word, that so we may stand against all his assaults: Yea, this must mooue vs to a speciall watch through the whole course of our liues against the occasions of sinnes, that we may cut off temptations in the beginning, because it is Satans craft, not to spit his venom at the first, but to sugar his temptations at the beginning that no danger may appeare till he haue conueled into vs the bane and poison of our soules.

IV. Circumstance. Christs abode in the wildernesse is further set out by his hunger, in the end of this verse; He was afterward hungry: that is, after he had fasted fortie daies and fortie nights by the power of his Godhead, then he began to wax hungrie. But some will say, this stands not with the glory and maiestie of the sonne of God to be hungrie, for his flesh is meate indeed, Ioh. 6. 53. and his blood is drinke indeed. Answer. Christ was content to lay aside his glory and maiestie, and to take vpon him our base and fraile nature, becomming like vnto vs in all things saue sinne; now in this his abasement and humilitie he had not onely a true soule and body, but the true faculties thereof, as vnderstanding, will, memorie, &c. and though his body was free from personall infirmities, as palsie, gout, dropsie, or such like, yet he was subiect to such infirmities as agree to the nature of man, as hunger, thirst, wearinesse, &c. Yea this was one part of his humiliation to become not onely man, but man with infirmities: and therefore though he could by the power of his Godhead haue preserued himself fortie yeares without meate or drinke as well as fortie daies; yet that he might abase himselfe to the lowest degree of a seruant, he was content to sustaine the infirmite of his humane nature in being an hungred: And that for these causes.

First,Reasons why Christ was an hungred. to confirme vnto vs the truth of his manhood; for some man might say, it was an easie thing for him to fast fortie daies and fortie nights, seeing he had not a true body, but onely the shew and shadow of a body: therefore to shew that he was true man, and had a true naturall body as we haue, he was content to sustaine hunger, as we doe, and that truely. Secondly, that hereby he might cast an obiect before the diuell, to cause him to be the more eager and violent in his temptations, and to shew his malice in full measure against him; for by vertue of his office whereto he was now called, Christ was to encounter with Satan our common enemie, and therefore giues him not onely the aduantage of the place, but also the opportunity of estate, that Satan perceiuing his infirmitie of bodily hunger, might thereby be emboldened to giue the more violent assault vpon him. And thus much of the second part of Christs preparation to his combat.

VERSE 3. Then came to him the Tempter, and said, If thou be the Sonne of God, command that these stones may be made bread.

HEere beginnes this strange combat betweene our Sauiour Christ and the diuell, consisting of three great conflicts: The first whereof is conteined in this verse and the next, being indeed the greatest of them al, as after shal appeare. In this temptation obserue these three things: first satans preparation to this conflict: secondly the temptation it selfe: thirdly, Christs answer and repulse made thereunto.

I. Point: Satans preparation. The diuels preparation is in these wordes: Then came to him the Tempter, and said: heerein obserue foure things; first, the title giuen to Satan the author of this temptation, the Tempter; so Paul calleth him, 1. Thess. 3. 5. I sent to know of your faith, left the Tempter had tempted you in any sort: And satan is called the Tempter, because his continuall studie and practise hath beene and is, by all meanes to tempt all men; he omits no times, neither spares any paines day or night, but by all meanes seekes to draw men from God, and to bring them to destruction: the consideration wherof should mooue vs to the practise of these duties.

First,Vse 1. to be watchfull in all maner of prayers and supplication against Satan, for the gratious protection of God against his assaults: If any of vs had our dwelling among Lions, Beares, or Tigers, which were hungerbit, and therefore would seeke greedily for their pray, we would be sure neuer to go out of our dwelling houses, without preparation for rescue & defence, whereby we might auoid their danger. Well, though we haue no such wilde beasts to endanger our bodies; yet our soules are dayly assaulted by a more deadly enemie, euen the diuell, whose continuall studie and practise is by temptation to deuour vs, 1. Pet. 5. 8. and therefore we must alwaies be watchfull against temptations, putting vpon vs the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against his assaults.

Secondly, as it is the Diuels practise alwaies to tempt, and to seeke to draw men from God, so because we must be vnlike him in all things, we must draw neere to God in the practise of all good duties, Iames 4. 7. 8. Resist the diuell and he will flie; draw neere to God, and he will draw neere to you: the coniunction of these two duties shewes, that the neerer we come to God, the more we oppose our selues to Satan: now he that commeth vnto God must beleeue, Heb. 11. 6. and therefore by faith must we1. Tim. 4. 7. exercise our selues vnto godlinesse, as Paul exhorteth Timothie; and vnlesse we thus striue to be vnlike him, we shall neuer be able to withstand his temptations.

Thirdly, we must hence learne to beware of the practise of seducers, in seeking to draw backe others from the loue or practise of religion, or in hindring the good meanes whereby religion is begun and furthered in men; for if either by endeuour in action, or by bad example we shall thus doe, doubtlesse we become tempters, and the children of the diuell: for to tempt and draw to sinne is the propertie of Satan, and he that in tempting fulfils the lusts of Satan, must needs be his childe, Ioh. 8. 44. hence it was, that our Sauiour Christ cals Peter Satan, when he went about to disswade him from that worke for which his Father had sanctified him and sent him into this world, saying, Get behinde me Satan, Matt. 16. 23. And when Elymas sought to turne away the Deputie from the faith, Paul cals him enemy to all righteousnesse, full of all subtiltie, and childe of the diuell, Act. 13. 10.

The second thing in this preparation is, the time when Satan began to tempt our Sauiour Christ in a more strong and violent maner, noted in this word Then, that is, when Christ had now fasted fortie dayes and fortie nights, and was an hungred; when the diuell saw Christ not onely to be alone in the wildernesse, but also perceiued that hee was afflicted with hunger, and so the more weake being in the low estate of a miserable man, Then he prepares to assault Christ with a most violent temptation.

The vse. Satans policie in tempting. This discouereth vnto vs the deepe policie of Satan in making choise of the fittest time for his assaults: he will not tempt all men at all times, neither alwaies with the greatest temptations; but he forecasts for the time of mans greatest weaknesse, and thereto he reserueth his strongest assaults: Now vsually a man is most weake, when he is vnder some grieuous affliction; either in bodie, minde, or both; or when he lieth in the panges of death: these times doth Satan obserue; and keep his strongest temptations against they come, as doth notablie appeare by his dealing with Christ, not onely at this time when he was an hungred, but also and especially at his passion; for the Scripture saith, He Coloss. 2. 14. 15. spoiled principalities and powers vpon the crosse: wherby is apparent, that the Diuell with his greatest power did then assault him, thinking either then or neuer to giue him the foile, when as he did sustain the wrath of God due vnto the sinnes of man; and so will he handle all the members of Christ; in their greatest extremities they shall be sure to feele Satans deepest malice, vnlesse God restraine his power. Which must teach vs in the day of peace and strength, to prepare against the day of weakenesse by any affliction or by death it selfe, that so we may by Gods grace be able to stand against the rage of Satan; for then he will be sure most eagerly to seeke our ruine, and vnlesse we prepare before hand, we shall neuer be able to stand: Now our best preparation is to come to heare the words of Christ and to do the same, for then, though the winds blow, the raine fall, the waues beat, and Satan do his woorst, yet being built vpon the rocke Christ Iesus, we shall neuer fall, Matth. 7. 24. 25.

The third thing in this preparation, is the occasion of Satans onset at this time, namely, Christs bodily hunger, as the knitting of this verse to the former will plainly shew, for Christ being an hungred, Satan came vnto him and tempted him. He could not find in Christs most holy manhood any blemish of sinne, or inclination thereto whereon to build his temptation; yet such is his malice, that rather then Christ should escape his hands, he will take occasion from the infirmitie of his nature in bodily hunger to prouoke and allure him vnto sinne.

Heerein we learne a speciall point;Satan grounds his temptations on something in vs. namely, that the diuell will haue some ground in vs for those temptations wherewith he doth assault vs; for as we may see by his dealing here with Christ, he obserues not onely the inclination of mans heart and soule, but the state and constitution of the body, that if either body or minde will affoord him the least aduantage, thereon hee will be sure to take occasion to tempt. If we regard the seed and root of sinne, it is true that euery man hath all sinnes in him, but yet through the worke of God, restraining corruption in some, and renewing grace in others, it comes to passe, that each man is more inclined naturally to some sinnes then to others, which thing Satan doth obserue most diligently; and as an enemie that besiegeth a citie will goe about it and espie where the wall is weakest and most fit for his entrance, and there will be sure to giue his strongest onset; and as a man that would strike fire with a flint, will turne it about in his hand, to see what part is fittest; euen so the diuell, he goes about a man, and as it were turnes him to and fro, to spie out his weakenesse, and to what sinnes he is most inclined, and there he will, be sure to trie him often, and to assault him with greatest violence. Example: If a man be impatient of pouertie, he will seeke to carry him to picking and stealing: If a man be proue to couetousnesse, he will prouoke him to fraud and oppression: If he be enclined to ambition, Satan will puffe him vp with pride and vainglory: nay, which is farre more, Satan will take occasion from the verie constitution of a mans bodie to draw him vnto sinne; if choler be predominant in him, Satan will labour to stirre him vp to wrath, anger, and furie, and if he can, to bloodshed and murther: If a man be of a sanguine complexion, Satan will seeke to carrie him to immoderate mirth, and to excesse in pastimes, pleasures and delight, that if it be possible he may drowne him therein, whether they be good or bad: If a man be melancholike, Satan will sometime take occasion by that humour to strike him with exceeding sadnes, with terrors and feares; and otherwhile to intoxicate his braine with strange fantasies and delusions, causing a man to thinke himselfe to be Elias, Iohn Baptist, Christ, &c. So as it is true which an ancient Diuine saith of this humour, that it is the Diuels bait wherewith hee sports himselfe. See the experience heereof in theMat. 17. 15. lunatike person, whose disease was, to be exceedingly troubled certaine times of the moneth, by reason of melancholie oppressing the braine. Now Satan (as it there appeares) tooke aduantage of that humour to abuse him most fearefully, not onely in making him deafe and dumbe, but also causing him to cast himselfe into fire and water. So that looke how many sinnes and infirmities we haue in vs, so manie dares we carry about vs, wherewith Satan will seeke to wound vs. He taketh ground or occasion from vs, of all the aduantage he hath against vs; his temptations are like fire and bellowes, and our infirmities and corruptions are wood and fewell.

The vse. I. Hence then we may behold our miserable estate by reason of sinne; for thereby it comes to passe that we beare about vs those darts, wherewith the diuel doth wound vs. And sith Satans craft and malice is such to take aduantage from vs, for to worke our wo, we must labour the more diligently, to be throughly acquainted with our naturall dispositions and inclinations, yea with our bodilie infirmities, for the Diuell will search vs; and when wee haue truly found out our own estate, we must set a strong watch and guard about our owne hearts in respect of our infirmities, and so shall we be the better able to breake the necke of Satans temptations.

The fourth thing in this preparation is, Satans comming to Christ; The Tempter came vnto him: By which phrase it is probable, though not certaine, that the Diuell tooke vpon him the forme of some creature, and so appeared vnto Christ; thus he came to Eue in Paradise, abusing the serpent to further his assault against the first Adam: And it is like, that in his combat with the second Adam, he came in the shape of some creature, for otherwise he could not properly be said to come and speake. Some indeed thinke that these temptations were inward in minde onely, and by vision; others thinke they were altogether visible and done actually; but the safest way is to holde that they were in part actually done in bodily maner, and partly shewed in vision. And thus much for the preparation to the first conflict.

II. Point. The temptation it selfe: conteining matter of great importance, being indeed the maine temptation of all, in these words: If thou be the Sonne of God command that these stones be made bread. The Diuell being well prouided for time and place, and aduantaged also by Christs bodily hunger, doth heere assault our Sauiour Christ like a cunning Sophister, and frame his argument Syllogistically, thus:

If thou be the sonne of God,Satans Sophistrie. thou canst make these stones bread.

But thou canst not make these stones bread:

Therefore thou art not the sonne of God. The ground of this temptation is this: It is no reason that the Sonne of God should starue for want of food; but thou must starue vnlesse thou canst make these stones bread: and therefore vnlesse thou canst do so, thou maist perswade thy selfe it was but a false voice which thou heardest from heauen; This is my welbeloued Sonne, &c.

The scope and drift of Satan in this temptation standes in two things; First hee labours to ouerthrow the faith of Christ. Secondly, to bring him to a practise of vnbeleefe. For the first, By faith I meane, a gift or grace in Christ, wherby as he was man, he beleeued his Fathers words to be true, which said, This is my beloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased: whereby wee may see, what the Diuell aimes at principally in his temptations against Gods children; for these his assaults against our Sauiour Christ are set down for our instruction in this behalfe.Satan seeks the ruine of our faith. Satans maine drift then in temptation is to ouerthrow our faith, whereby wee beleeue euerie part and parcell of Gods word to be true: See this in his tempting of Eue; first he labours to weaken her faith in the trueth of Gods threatning, which done, he easily brought her to actuall disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit. The same course hee holdeth at this day; first he will seeke to nuzzell men in ignorance, that he may keepe them in vnbeliefe: if he faile that way, then will he endeuour to plunge their soules into some damnable errour and heresie; and by one of these meanes doth he destroy the faith of many; for while a man remaines in ignorance he can haue no saith; and if he misse of the trueth of God, he wants ground for his faith. Now the reason why the Diuell labours so much against our faith is, because we cannot truely relie vpon Gods mercie, nor depend vpon his prouidence, nor yeeld any acceptable obedience to his commandements, vnlesse we beleeue his word.

More particularly we are to obserue that special branch of Gods word which the Diuell would haue Christ not to beleeue; euen that voice of his Father, which a little before Christ heard from heauen at his baptisme; This is my welbeloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased: And this hath the holy Ghost recorded in great wisedome and mercie to Gods Church; for heereby doth appeare a main drift of Satan against Christs members in his temptations, namely to make them doubt of their adoption,Satan seekes to depriue vs of assurance of adoption. and to destroy this perswasion in them, that they are the sonnes and daughters of God; for if heerein he spared not the head, doubtlesse the members shall not escape his hands. This appeares by his vsual assault against them, specially when God shall lay vpon them any lingring crosse or affliction, either in mind, in body, or in goods; then the diuel will suggest this into their minds; If thou werst the childe of God, he would neuer lay his hand vpon thee so long a time and in so grieuous maner; neuer was any child of God in this case that thou art in: But God laies his hand thus heauie on thee; and therefore thou maiest perswade thy selfe that thou art not the child of God.

The vse. The consideration heereof must mooue vs aboue all things to labour for assurance of our adoption, euen to haue our consciences, assured out of Gods word, that we are the sonnes and daughters of God in Christ. The diuels drift is to ouerthrow this perswasion in vs, and therefore our endeuour must be, to confirme and settle our hearts heerein. This is the charge of the holy Ghost vpon euerie childe of God; 2. Pet. 1. 10. Giue all diligence to make your calling and election sure, that is, get the assurance thereof sealed vp in your hearts, by the comfortable fruition and practise of the sauing graces of Gods spirit, ioyning vertue with your faith, and with your vertue knowledge, with your knowledge temperance, and with temperance patience, and with patience godlinesse, and with godlinesse brotherly kindnesse, and with brotherly kindnesse loue, vers. 5. 6. 7. And indeed if we would haue true peace and comfort in euery estate whether aduersity or prosperitie, let vs labour for the knowledge of our adoption: This will be our ioy in want, in wealth, in bondage, in freedome, in sicknesse, in health, in life and in death. Heerein is that ioy of Christ which neuer can be taken from vs, Ioh. 16. 22. We cannot doe the Diuell a greater pleasure, then to neglect the getting of this assurance; for heereupon he will take occasion (specially in time of distresse) fearefully & dangerously to seeke to breake the necke of our soules; he cares not much otherwaies what men professe, and what knowledge and other common giftes of the spirit they haue, so that they want this blessed assurance; and therefore with the Apostle Paul, we must account all other things to be but drosse and dung in respect of this excellent knowledge of Christ, Phil. 3. 8. to be our Sauiour and Redeemer. True it is, that vnto many this exhortation will seeme needlesse; for ignorant persons that haue nothing in them but meere presumption, will bragge most of this perswasion; but they that haue felt the smart of temptation, doe know what it is that will stand vs in stead, euen that assurance only which is rightly founded vpon the word of God; and therefore forsaking the vaine conceits of our ignorance, let vs with all diligence vnfeinedly endeuour to get this resolution; if we cannot of our selues attaine vnto it, we must vse the direction and helpe of Gods faithfull Ministers; for howsoeuer it pleaseth some to thinke otherwise, yet this is the vndoubted truth of God, that a man in this life may ordinarilie be resolued and assured of his saluation.

The second thing which the Diuel aimed at in this temptation,Satan would bring Christ to a practise of vnbeliefe. was to bring Christ to a practise of vnbeleefe, namely in want of bread to turne stones into bread, for the present satisfying of his hunger; for the Diuell would needs perswade our Sauior. Christ that he must haue bread to saue his life, and therefore in the want of bread would haue brought him to this distrustfull course, to turne stones into bread.

And as the Diuell heere deales with Christ, so he assaies to doe with all his members; as he labors to worke vnbeliefe in their hearts, so he seeks to bring them to the practise of vnbeliefe in their liues. See the truth hereof in the course of the world; Is a man oppressed with outward want and pouertie? the Diuell will tell him, he must needs liue, and therefore will perswade him to robbe and steale and to filch for his liuing. If a man be sicke, and want present helpe in lawfull meanes, or els be afflicted somewhat extraordinarily, then will the Diuell mooue him to seeke to Wizards and Witches, suggesting this into him by one meanes or other, that they can do more good in such a case then all the Physicians in the world. This is a most vile practise of vnbeliefe, and yet too common in the world, wherein men for the remoouall of some outward euill, will not sticke to hazzard the losse of their soules. We therefore must labour to be acquainted with these wiles of Satan, and by the practise of faith in our liues, labour to expresse the power of faith in our hearts, as in all manner of godly conuersation, so especially in vsing only lawfull meanes for our reliefe in the time of miserie and distresse.

But to come more particularly to the words of this temptation; If thou be the Sonne of God command these stones, &c. It may be demaunded, why the Diuell should make choise of this question wherewith to tempt our Sauiour Christ, rather then any other? Answer. The reasons heereof may be these: First, he knew well, that if Christ were the true and proper sonne of God, then he must needs be the true Messias; and if he were that anointed of God, then also he it was that must accomplish that old and ancient promise made to our first Parents Gen. 3. 15. for the bruising of the serpents head: This was the thing that of all other, the Diuell was most afrayed of, and could not endure to heare; and therefore by mouing this question he intends to infringe, yea and (if he could) quite to ouerthrow our Sauiour Christ in the right of this title. Secondly, The Diuell since his fall, beares an vnspeakable deadly hatred against God himselfe, and according to his nature, as occasion serues, he cannot but shew the same. Now in this question hee doth notably bewray his malice and spite against God; for, wheras in Christs baptisme a little before, God had proclaimed him to be his beloued sonne in whom hee was well pleased, hereby the Diuell goes about to proue the cleane contrary, and so as much as in him lieth, seekes to make God a lier; which, because it fitted his nature so well, he makes choise of at this time.

The vse. I. In this practise of the diuel we may learne what to iudge of sundrie false teachers; for as well in the Primitiue Church as also since that time, there haue beene sundry men of great same for wisdome and learning, as Ebion, Cerinthus, Carpoorates, Samosatenus, and Arrius; who haue all laboured seuerally to prooue, that Iesus Christ the Sonne of Marie was not indeed the Sonne of God, verie God, but onely a woorthie Prophet. Now of them we may safely thinke with the church of God in former times, that they were false prophets, heretikes and seducers, yea the professed enemies of Christ, guided by the spirit of Satan, for heerein they doe directly tread in his steps.

II. In this his practise we may obserue the malicious and contradicting spirit of Satan against God himselfe, for heere he labours to conclude that Christ was not the Sonne of God, notwithstanding God himselfe had a little before auouched that he was. And this is his continued practise vnto this day; for where God in his church pronounceth grace, mercie and loue, there on the contrarie will the Diuell pronounce a curse, hatred, and damnation. Againe, where God denounceth his curse and iudgement, there will the diuell seeke to perswade a conceit of grace and fauour. If a man be the childe of God, and haue receiued the seale of grace for his assurance thereof; the Diuell will seeke to weaken this assurance, and perswade him if he can, that he is the childe of wrath. And if a man be voide of grace, and so indeed the childe of the Diuell, then will Satan suggest into his heart presumptuous thoughts, and make him thinke he is the childe of God; so that euerie way hee shewes himselfe contrarie to God.

Yet marke the diuels words a litle further;Satans policie in tempting. If thou be the sonne of God, command these stones, &c. that is, doe but say the word, and bid these stones to become bread, and it will be done. And here in the very propounding of this temptation we may obserue the deepe policie of Satan; for in these few words (the better to effect his purpose) he coucheth three most true and notable points in Diuinitie: First, that he that is the Son of God by nature, is also true and verie God; for heere he ascribeth vnto the Sonne of God the true prerogatiue of God himselfe; a point wherin the Pharisees withstood our Sauiour Christ, and which many heritikes since haue denied. Secondly, that the true God can without paine or labour, yea without all meanes at his verie becke doe whatsoeuer hee will; and by his word only make stones become bread. Thirdly, that to worke a miracle of himselfe, is a property and prerogatiue of him alone that is true God; as to turne stones into bread in this place. Now when the Diuell acknowledgeth all this, a man would not thinke that herein he should intend any hurt to Christ or to his church; but in very trueth his drift heerein is, to destroie the faith of Christ in that word of his father which spake from heauen, and to ouerthrow the foundation of the church, by proouing that Iesus Christ the Sonne of Marie, was not true God.

Heere then obserue a tricke of the Diuels cunning;Satan speakes some trueth to ouerthrow another trueth thereby. when he speaks a truth, he doth it not to confirme the same as louing it, but indeed his meaning is to ouerthrow the truth therby: which must admonish vs, that when Satan shall any way assault vs in temptation, wee neuer giue credit vnto him, no not then when he speaketh the trueth, because therein his purpose is to deceiue vs and to destroy the truth: hence it was that Christ forbad the vncleaneMark. 24. 25. spirits to testifie of him, though they acknowledged him to be the holy one of God: hence also Paul was grieued at the testimony of the foule spirit that was in the maid, though in it selfe a most worthy truth, to wit,Act. 16. 17. 18. that they were the seruants of the most high God which shewed vnto mē the way of saluation.

Further, in comparing our Euangelist Matthew with S. Luke, there may seeme some difference between them in propounding this temptation, for in Matthew the words are thus, command these stones &c. And in LukeLuk. 4. 3. thus, command this stone. But they are reconciled thus, Matthew sets downe this temptation as the Diuell first propounded it; and S. Luke shewes how the Diuell vrged it: for first the diuel comes to Christ and bids him, if he be the sonne of God, command all the stones which he saw round about him to be made bread, this S. Matthew sets downe: or if that seemed too much, command one stone to be made bread and it should suffice; and this S. Luke noteth.

The vse. By this comparing of the Euangelists we may obserue; that when the Diuell hath once begun to tempt a man, he will not easily leaue off, but will set an edge vpon it, and enforce and vrge it by all the meanes he can, that if it be possible it may preuaile. Which should teach vs on the other side, to be most earnest and resolute in resisting Satans temptations: he will take small aduantage before he leaue; we therefore must notEphes. 4. 27. giue place, nor yeeld one iot vnto him:Iam. 4. 7. Resist the Diuell and he will flie. This must euery member of the Church do; the Minister by sound and through applying of euery part of Gods truth to the heart, whereby it may be armed against the enemie; and the people by faithfull embracing and obeying of the same, as also by earnest praier vnto God for the assistance of his grace in all assaults.

VERSE 4. But he answering, said, It is written,Deutr. 8. 3. Man shall not liue by bread only, but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

THese words conteine Christs gratious answer, whereby he repelled the diuels temptation; and in it we may obserue three points; first, that Christ did Answer: Secondly, whence he borrowed his Answer: Thirdly, the very words of his Answer.

For the first, that Christ did answer, is noted by the holy Ghost in plaine words, And Iesus answering, said; Wherby he would giue vs to vnderstand, that Christ Iesus our Sauiour being in the wildernesse, was not onely willing and ready to encounter with Satan, but also able to withstand him, yea and to vanquish Satan without receiuing any foile at his hands. Which is a point of singular comfort to Gods Church and children; for was Christ Iesus able in this low and base estate of a seruant, being disaduantaged also by a desert place and bodily hunger, was he then (I say) able to encounter with Satan and to ouercome him in his most violent and subtile assaults? Then how much more is he now able euen in all his members to giue Satan the foile, hauing spoiled him in his death? seeing he is aduanced to the throne of maiestie and glorie, and set at the right hand of his father, hauing a name aboue all names giuen vnto him, at which euery knee should bow, both of things in heauen and in the earth and vnder the earth? We therfore may now say, with that lowd voice; Reu. 12. 10. Now is saluation in heauen, and strength, and power, and the kingdome of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of the brethren is cast downe.

The second point heere noted is, whence Christ borroweth his answer, namely, from the Scriptures; It is written: It had beene an easie thing for Christ being the sonne of God, to haue confoūded the Tempter with the breath of his mouth, or to haue commanded innumerable legions of holy Angels to haue driuen him away; but he betakes himselfe to the written word for his defence. And this he did especially for our instruction; namely, that we might know,The written word our best weapon against Satan. that the written word of God, rightly welded by the hand of faith, is the most sufficient weapon for the repelling of Satan and the vanquishing of him in all his temptations; hence Paul calleth itEphes. 6. 17. the sword of the spirit, because it serues not onely for our defence, but also to wound Satan, and to put him to flight.

The vse. I. This fact of Christ doth discouer and condemne the damnable practise of the Church of Rome, who locke vp the word of God from their people in an vnknowen tongue, and commend vnto them for their defence against spirituall enemies other deuices of their owne, as holy water, crossing, crosses, &c. which they highly commend as meanes of speciall strength and force to vanquish the Diuell; when as indeed the word of God is the onely true and trustie weapon, whereof while they depriue their people, they send them forth naked and vnarmed to encounter with Satan.

Secondly, heere also behold the miserable estate of all those that either through couetousnesse or any other profanenesse are drawen to neglect or contemne the written word of God: their case is most fearefull; for they cast away those weapons whereby they should defend themselues against the Diuell, and quench all his firie darts, and so betray their owne soules into his hands: And doubtlesse all contemners and neglecters of the word are guilty of their own damnation, because God hath giuen vs his word for our defence, and for the confounding of Satan, so as without guilt of wilfull murther not of our bodies, but of our soules, we cannot neglect this heauenly weapon.

Thirdly, heerby we may see the cause why sinne so much abounds in all estates euery where, namely, the want of loue vnto & knowledge in the word of God, whereupon the most are ignorant of it, or else know not how to handle this spirituall weapon, whereby Satan is resisted and foiled: Hosea 4. 2. The Lord complaineth of lying, swearing, killing, stealing, and whoring yea of bloud touching bloud; and the cause is laid downe in the first verse, There is no knowledge of God in the land: This Dauid knew well, and therefore said, He hid Gods saying in his heart, that he might not sinne against him, Psal. 119. 11.1. Sam. 26. 7. For as Sauls speare stood in readinesse at his head euen when he slept, so should Gods word, which is the sword of the spirit, be euer in our hearts, as it were ready drawen, that to what sinne soeuer the Diuell allures vs, we may be able to say for our defence, It is written: through want hereof it comes to passe that the Diuell at his pleasure leads men captiues into all impieties.

Lastly, this excellent vse of the word vnderstood, beleeued, and obeied must moue all ignorant persons to labour for knowledge heerein, and with all endeuor after growth in knowledge, by holy obedience, to shew foorth their faith: If we had an enemy that had sworne our death and vowed to see our bloud, how carefull would we be, for our naturall life, both to get vs weapons, and also some knowledge to vse the same, not only for our defence, but also for the annoyance of our deadly foe? Oh then how carefull should we be for the safetie of our soules to put vpon vs the whole armour of God, and to learne to vse aright this sword of the spirit, that when we meet with Satan our irreconciliable enemy, in the field of temptation, which is this miserable world, we may be able both to award his blowes, and to wound his head! It is lamentable to see how ignorant people will blesse themselues in their ignorance, and say they defie the Diuell, and spit at him in defiance, and yet they know not how they are intangled in his snares of their owne sinnes: he little regards such defiance so long as their soules lie naked and bare before his deadly darts: let two men meet that be at enmity, the one armed the other naked, what will it auaile for the naked man to defie his enemie with bigge words, while in the meane time his armed enemy takes away his life? Lo, Satan is this strong man armed, and ignorant persons are poore naked ca[illegible: 2 letters]ffes, they defie the Diuell and spit at him with their mouth, but in the meane time the diuel woūds their soules vnto death. They wil say they feele no such wounds, and therefore they feare him not: but they must know, that the lesse they feele, the more cause they haue to feare; for Satans wounds are most deadly when they are least felt.

The third point is, Christs Answer it selfe: Man shall not liue by bread onely, but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God: This answer is borrowed from Deuteron. 8. 3. And it is that lesson which Moses sought to teach the children of Israell after the Lord had fedde them with food from heauen in that barren wildernesse where they were afflicted with hunger. The words are something hard, and therefore I will shew the meaning of them. Man shall not liue; that is, shall not preserue his temporall life in this world; for of eternall life, neither Moses nor Christ did intend to speake. By bread only, that is, onely by such ordinary meanes as food and raiment, sleepe, physicke &c. which God hath appointed in his prouidence for the ordinary preseruation of natural life. But by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God: Word in scripture notes diuers things. This title word betokens diuers things in scripture: I. The substantiall word of God, the second person in Trinity, Ioh. 1. 1. In the beginning was the word, and the word was God. II. It is vsually taken for the written word conteined in the bookes of the olde and new Testament, 1. Pet. 1. 25. Thirdly, it is sometime taken for Gods will and decree, and it is called his good pleasure: so Heb. 1. 2. Christ sustaineth all things by the word of his power, that is, according to his will and decree, by his powerfull appointment: and by this word were all things made in the beginning and heerby haue they been preserued euer since: this is that word that melteth the Ice, Psal. 147. 18. And in this last sense must we vnderstand word in this place; meaning that man doth not preserue this naturall life by ordinarie meanes onely, but withall, by Gods good pleasure, will and decree sanctifying the meanes for his good. Note further that it is said by euery word, and therein lieth the substance of this sentence; for the vnderstanding whereof wee must know, that this powerfull & working word of God may be distinguished according to the matter whereabout it is occupied: Thus, sometime God will haue men to liue by bread the ordinary food of naturall life;Gods powerfull word distinguished. and this is his ordinary word. Sometime his will and appointment is that man shall liue by extraordinarie meanes; as the Israelites did in the wildernesse while they liued vpon Mannah; and this is his extraordinary word: Otherwhiles hee ordaines that man shall liue without all meanes, as Moses did in mount Sina, Elias in mount Horeb, and our Sauiour Christ in this wildernesse; for the space of fortie daies and fortie nights together; And lastly he ordains sometime, that man shall liue against meanes and contrary to the course of nature; Thus Daniell liued in the Lions denne, and the three children in the firy furnace; both which last may be called Gods miraculous word: So that wee see good reason of this clause euery: for heereby we learne, that man doth not preserue his life only by ordinary means ordained of God; but likewise by euerie word proceeding out of the mouth of God, that is, by euery appointment and decree of God, whether extraordinary, aboue the vsuall meanes, or miraculous without all means, or against the course of nature: this we must labour to know and be perswaded of. Nature teacheth that man liueth by Gods blessing and appointment in ordinary meanes: But nature knowes not this, that God preserueth mans life by his worde, aboue meanes, without meanes, yea & against meanes. The beleeuing hart will hardly yeeld to this, which Moses would teach the Israelites; and therefore wee must take the more paines to be resolued of it. If any shall thinke hereupon, that a man may liue by the written word without meat and drinke, he is deceiued; for Christ meaneth not that euery word that God hath spoken shall preserue naturall life, but that whatsoeuer way he hath appointed whereby man shal liue, whether by ordinary or extraordinary meanes, whether, without meanes or against meanes, the same shall be effectuall for mans preseruation: Thus much for the meaning.

The applying of this testimony to the Diuels temptation, is thus to be conceiued: the Diuels temptation was this. If thou be the sonne of God, then commaund these stones to be made bread: But thou canst not make these stones to become bread: Therefore thou art not the sonne of God. To this Christ answers, by denying the proposition or first part of this argument, the ground whereof was this, (which the Diuell tooke for granted) that when a man is hungry hee must needs haue bread or else he cannot liue: and this our Sauiour Christ doth flatly deny, saying; Man liueth not by bread only, but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God: And this application is most excellent, teaching vs that thing, for the learning whereof the Israelites were trained vp forty yeares in the wildernesse, and fedde with Mannah from heauen, and with water out of the rock; to wit, that God by his word can preserue the life of man without ordinarie meanes euen what way soeuer hee appointeth for that purpose; and if wee should spend our liues in learning heerof, no doubt the time were not mispent.

The vse. First, heereby we are taught to consider aright of all creatures whereby our life is preserued, as meat, drinke, apparell &c. and that is thus, besides the bodily sustenance of the creature, we must labour to see a further matter, euen the blessing of God in the creature proceeding from his word, decree and appointment, whereby it is made fit and able to yeeld sustenance and nourishment. The Scripture calleth this the Leuit. 26. 26. Staffe of bread, and so it is indeed, for as an aged and impotent man falleth to the ground if his staffe be plucked from him, so the best creature that serues for our vse, without Gods blessing becomes fruitlesse vnto vs. This, reason may teach vs, for how should that thing of it selfe preserue and further life, which in it selfe is void of life? And how should that giue heat and warmnesse to our bodies, which of it selfe is void of heate? let vs therefore confesse that it is not the substance of foode that doth refresh vs, nor the matter of our raiment that keeps vs warme, but the blessing of him that by his word hath ordained them for these ends, if he withdraw his blessing, the staffe and Isai 3. 1. stay is gone; men may eat (as Haggai Hag. 1. 6. saith) but they shal not haue enough; they may drinke, and yet not be filled; they may cloth themselues, and not be warme; It is Gods blessing that makes Gods creatures do vs good: how else should it come to passe, that the poore mans child which is barely clad, and homely fed, should be as healthfull, comely, and well liking as the child of a Prince, but that God blesseth aswell the homely food of the poore, as the dainty fare of the richest.

Secondly, heereby wee must learne Sobriety and Temperance, in the vse of all Gods creatures: when we vse our food and raiment it is Gods blessing alone that makes them do vs good, the Lord as it were stands by vs to put his blessing vpon euery morsell that we eat, and euery draught that we drinke, and vpon our raiment when we put it on; how then dare wee abuse them in surfetting and drunkennesse, in pride and wantonnesse? may we not feare in so doing that while the meate or drinke is in our mouthes, the wrath of God will fall vpon vs; as Psal. 78. 30. 31.

Thirdly, hence wee must learne to sanctifie Gods creatures as food and raiment which we vse for our comfort, by inuocation on the name of God: for we doe not liue by the creatures simply, but by the word and appointment of God blessing them vnto vs; and therefore we must not be like vnto brute beastes which receiue Gods blessings, but yet neuer looke vp to heauen from whence they come; or like to the swine that gathereth vp the mast, not looking vp to the tree from which it falleth.

Fourthly, heerby we see the common errour of the world, who place the staffe and stay of their life in the abundance of outward blessings, whereupon they labour to inrich themselues heerewith as much as possibly they can; these men do litle consider that mans life standeth not in abūdance, neither doth he liue by bread, but by the blessing of God, which is and may be as well vpon a little, as vpon the treasures of a kingdome. This was the practise of the rich foole, Luc. 12. 19. who spake peace to his soule for ease and pastime, because he had much goods laide vp for many yeares. But sith Christ teacheth vs that man liueth not by bread only, it must needs be a flat note of vnbeliefe, to carke and care immoderately for the things of this life.

Fiftly, heereby wee are also taught, not to entangle our selues ouermuch with the cares of this world, nor to suffer our harts to be oppressed with desire of food, raiment, lands or liuing: because our life and welfare consisteth not in these things, but in the blessing of God on whatsoeuer he sends be it more or lesse: the gripple mind after much is a deadly1. Tim. 6. 9. snare, wherewith many a soule is intangled to perdition and destruction; This choakes the heart in such sort as the seed of grace can take no root not bring foorth any sauing fruite: this made Paul to lay a charge vpon Timothy for rich men, that they should trust in the liuing God and not in vncertaine riches, 1. Tim. 6. 17. Let vs therefore be content with food and raiment, and rather seeke the kingdome of God and his righteousnesse, and then all those things whereof we stand in need shall be giuen vnto vs in the moderate vse of lawfull meanes. Indeed the worldlings excuse is, that food and raiment is his liuing, which he must needs looke vnto: but we must still remember, that our life standeth not in these things, for when death comes, these cannot saue vs from the graue: it is Gods blessing by which we liue, hee can preserue vs aboue meanes, nay without meanes, and against meanes, and therefore wee must neuer giue place to such thoughts and cares as shew distrust in God.

Sixthly, hence wee must learne contentation and patience in extreame pouerty and in all other miseries of this life; If God should deale with vs as hee did with his seruant Iob: if for our religion hee should bring vpon vs the losse of goods, of children, of health and all that we haue, with banishment also from our friends and country, yet then must we labour to shew the fruit of patience, and not suffer our harts to be swallowed vp of ouermuch griefe: because our life stands by Gods word, and not in any of these things: indeed, if in these outward miseries a man should be depriued of the comfort of Gods prouidence, then might he sorrow without measure: but seeing all such as feare God doe still enioy the blessing of God in their greatest calamities (for Gods blessing is not locked vp in bread, but aboue means, without meanes and against meanes can he manifest his power and goodnesse in their preseruation) therefore in the extremity of euil must wee comfort our selues in the Lord our God, as1. Sam. 30. 6. Dauid did in great sorrow, hauing lost his two wiues and being in danger to be stoned of his owne followers: and learne to say with Iob,Iob. 13. 15. Though the Lord kill me yet will I trust in him. What if the Lord should send a famine among vs, as he may iustly do for the sinnes of this land? should we then despaire or vse vnlawful meanes for our reliefe? nay, then we must learne Moses lesson, that man liueth not by bread only, and labour to depend on him that can increase1. King. 17. 14. the oile in the poore widowes cruise and the meale in the barrels, till plenty come.

Seuenthly, this must teach vs moderation of our affections in all estates that do befall vs; in health and plenty wee must not be puffed vp with pride; in weakenesse and in want wee must not be oppressed with sorrow; for mans life standeth not in these things, neither can we heereby know loue or hatred; he that is in want may haue as good a portion in Gods blessing as the wealthiest in the world, heereinLuk. 16. 19. 20. hungry Lazarus full of fores, went farre beyond the rich glutton in all his riot.

Lastly, seeing our life depends vpon Gods word, we must heereby learne to acknowledge Gods prouidence, and to rely thereupon in all estates. In the daies of peace, wherein (asIob. 29. 6. Iob speaketh of himselfe) men wash their paths in butter, and haue the rockes to powre them out riuers of oile, men will soone be brought to say so much; but we must labour to see and feele the blessing of his prouidence euen then when we tread (as it were) the winepresse of his wrath: as well in sicknesse as in health: in want as in plenty; in the depth of distresse as in the height of all prospetity: this is the counsell of the Holy ghost,Prou. 16. 3. rolle thy workes vpon the Lord. Cast all your care vpon him, for he careth for you, 1. Pet. 5. 7. It is a brutish property only to looke vpon the creatures whereon they feed, and therefore our eies and our hearts must be fixed on him who feedeth the yong rauens that crie vnto him; and beareth vp all things by his mighty word: wee must not content our selues with a bare speculation heereof in our heads, but labour to feele the comfort of it in our hearts, and to expresse the power of it in our liues. And thus much for the first conflict.

VERS. 5. Then the Diuell tooke him vp into the holy city, and set him on a pinnacle of the Temple. 6. And said vnto him, if thou be the son of God cast thy selfe down a for it isPs. 91. 11. 12. written, that he will giue his Angels charge ouer thee, and with their hands they shall lift thee vp, lest at any time thou shouldst dash thy foot against a stone. 7. Iesus said vnto him: it isDeut. 6. 16. written againe, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

THese words containe the second conflict of Satan with our Sauiour Christ: for howsoeuer by Saint Luke this is put in the third place, which Matthew heere placeth in the second, yet this breedeth no difference betweene the Euangelists, who tie not themselues to a strict obseruation of time, place, and order how euery thing was done which they relate; as in the story of this conflict, Saint Luke respects the substance of it onely, but S. Matthew obserues the order of it also. Now in this second conflict we are to obserue three points: I. Satans preparation thereto: II. The assault it selfe: III. Christs answer and repulse thereof.

I. Point: Satans preparation to this conflict is conteined in the 5. verse: wherein we are to note, both the time, and the parts thereof; The time in the first word Then: that is, so soone as the Diuell had receiued a foile of Christ in his first assault, presently hee addresseth himselfe vnto a second.

Heerein behold, the exceeding malice of Satan, in that the end of one temptation with him, is but the beginning of another; he ceaseth not with one assault, but as hee is a deadly foe to the Church of God, so he shewes himselfe by his continuall seeking whom he may deuour; he will neuer make truice with any child of God, vpon any condition lesse than the hazard of his soule; neither is he weary of his worke; but day and night is either plotting or performing some mischieuous attempt against the child of God. The consideration whereof must teach vs, vpon our victorie and conquest ouer one temptation, presently to prepare for a new. This was the state of the sonne of God our head, and we his members may not looke for better; our life in this vale of teares is a continuall warfare against the enemies of our soules; we must not therfore heere looke for rest and ease, but euer keepe watch and ward against their assaults. If this duty were well learned and put in practise, it would preuent much impatience & become the ground of much peace in our soules: mans nature cannot brooke the doubling and renuing of sorrowes; when one euill lights in the necke of another, oh then hee thinketh neuer any was in his case; but looke vnto Iesus the author and finisher of thy faith, he endured no lesse; and heerein he is an example that thou shouldest follow his steps. If therefore thou wilt be his disciple, prepare to take vp thy crosseLuk. 9. 23. euery day and follow him.

The parts of Satans preparation are two; First, he conuaies Christ from Ierusalem to the wildernesse; Secondly, hee placeth him on a pinnacle of the temple. For the first, in these words, The diuell tooke him vp into the holy city, that is, into Ierusalem, as Luke expoundeth it, chap. 4. 9. This the Diuell might doe three waies; In vision; or leading him vp the ordinary way; or carrying him through the aire. I. It might be in vision; for that was vsuall with the Prophets; soIer. 13. 4. Ieremie went to the riuen Perath; and Ezekiel was carried from Mesopotamia toEzek. 8. 3. Ierusalem: but Christ was not thus transported; for then Satans perswasion vnto Christ To cast himselfe downe, could haue beene no temptation. II. Christ might bee led of the Diuell the ordinary way from the wildernesse to Ierusalem, so much the words will beare: but (as I take it) he went not so; for if Christ were ledde by the Diuell, it was either willingly of his owne accord, or by the Diuels perswasion; but of his owne accord he would not goe; for hee came into the wildernesse to bee tempted, which as yet was not fully accomplished, and therefore would not willingly depart thence before that worke for which he came were ended, Againe, he would not depart thence vpon the Diuels perswasion; for Christ would neuer gratifie the Diuell so much, as to do ought himselfe, which the Diuell would haue him, as in all his temptations doth appeare;Rule. Do nothing Satan perswades thee to in temptation. for this is a rule to be obserued, we must not do any thing which the Diuell perswades vs to in his temptations, though in it selfe the thing be lawful and good. III. The Diuell might carry the body of our Sauiour Christ thorow the aire, by his power through Gods permission. This is the most likely way, & so thought to be of the best diuines: and the words following confirme it much, for it is said, the Diuell set him on a pinnacle of the temple: Now if hee had power to set him there, why might hee not also cary him thither, God ordaining this as well as his temptation?

The vse. By this we see, that men may be transported by the Diuell from place to place, as the records of all ages do report: this one thing yet obserued (wherin the common opinion faileth) that the Diuell cannot conuey a man aliue so far in a little time, as many men thinke; as a thousand or two thousand miles in an houre; for no man is able to endure such violent motion and yet liue, as experience teacheth; let a man fall from some high steeple, and his breath wilbe gone and hee dead before hee come at the ground, by reason of the violence of his motion. Indeed the Diuell can carrie a man very swiftly, but yet for the safetie of mans life he must prolong his time far more, than otherwise of himselfe hee needs to doe.

Secondly,Satans power [illegible: 1 letter] uer mens bod[illegible: 3 letters] if God permit. hence wee learne that by Gods permission, the Diuell may haue power ouer the bodies of Gods owne children which are true beleeuers, to transport them from place to place; for dealing thus with the head Christ Iesus, why may hee not doe so with any of his members? besides, we find (that God permitting him) hee hath done more than this to the Saints of God; hee may possesse their bodies, as he did the woman of Canaans daughter, Mat. 15. 22. He may torment them long, as hee did exceeding grieuously bow the body of a daughter of Abraham eighteen years, Luk. 13, 16. Yea he may kill the body, as he did to Iobs children, who no doubt were holy persons, Iob. 1. 19. And therefore much more may hee transport them from place to place.

Heere this question may fitly be answered: whether a true beleeuer may be bewitched. Answ. Hee may: there is none vpon earth so faithfull and holy, but if God permit, Satan can afflict their bodies grieuously, and therefore also they may be bewitched. It is but the fancy of presumptuous persons, when they say, their faith is so strong, that all the witches in the world cannot hurt them: for if God permit, Satan can grieuously afflict mans body, as he did the body of Iob. yea he can kil the body, as hath been shewed. Salomon, speaking of outward things saith truly,Eccles. 9. 2. All things come alike to all, and the same condition is to the iust and to the wicked: now the wicked man may be bewitched, as al will grant; why then may not the godly also, seeing it is but an outward euill? This therfore must abate their pride that stand so much on their strong faith: behold this fact of Satan to the holy body of Christ, and heereby learne for thy humiliation, that if God permit, Satan is able to bring vpon thy body great affliction.

Further, obserue the place whither Satan caries our Sauiour Christ, into the holy city, that is, Ierusalem. Quest. Why is it called holy, seeing now it was a polluted place full of sinful people? Answ. It is called holy for these causes. 1. because heere was the Lords temple the place of his solemne worship, wherein were the holy rites and ceremonies prescribed for Gods worship. Secondly, in Ierusalem, as also in all the synagogues of Iudea, was Moses chaire, the law and the Prophets were read & expounded. Thirdlie, Ierusalem was the mother City of all the world in respect of religion; heere God ordained that his church should first be planted, and from hence must religion bee deriued to other nations.

The vse. Hence we may obserue, that at this time Ierusalē was the true church of God: indeed it was very corrupt both for doctrine and maners, as Christs seuere reproofe of both doth plainely shew, Mat. 5. 21. &c. and Mat. 23. 13. 14. &c. and yet a true Church, else the holy ghost would not haue called it the holy city. Now if Ierusalem at this time were the true church of God then, then may wee well say, that in England God hath his true church: for, let the corruptions of our Church bee as they are; yet shall it match Ierusalem in the prerogatiues of Gods church. They had the law and the Prophets read and expounded; so haue wee, and the Gospel also which is the power of God to mans saluation. They had the Sacraments and ceremonies of the Law; answerable thereto wee haue the Sacraments of the Gospell, and also a true and holy forme of seruing God. Their Ierusalem was a mother city; and though wee cannot say so much in that behalfe, yet hath our Church beene a nurce to neighbour Churches in Germany, France and other places round about, for many yeares; in regard whereof, the Lord, no doubt, hath bestowed many blessings vpon vs. And therefore though our sinnes and abuses be many and grieuous, yet in regard of Church prerogatiues we may be called a holy nation, and a true member of the Church of God; so that as our Sauiour Christ and his Disciples ioined themselues to the congregations of the Iewes in their legal seruice, and forsooke them not till they became no Church; so ought it to be among vs, till we separate from Christ, none should seuer themselues from our church ministery & seruice of God. Those therefore that make a separation from our Church because of corruptions in it, are farre from the spirit of Christ and his Apostles. If any shal say, this makes wel for the church of Rome, if so corrupt a place as Ierusalem, in regard of Church prerogatiues were an holie city, for they haue as many prerogatiues for religion, as the Iewes then had, and therefore are the church of God, and so we do not well to separate from them. Answ. Some indeed that are no Papists, say the Church of Rome is the Church of God: but the truth is, the present Church of Rome is spirituall Babylon, Rome is Spirituall Babylon. the mother of abhominations, no spouse of Christ but a strumpet. But they plead their prerogatiues: as first, their succession from Peter: Secondly, true baptisme for substāce according to the first institution: Thirdly, the Apostles Creed which they hold and beleeue: Fourthly, the word of God, in the writings of the Prophets & Apostles: And Lastly, that theirs is the mother church. Answ. All this is nothing when the truth appeares; for first, succession in person without succession in doctrine is no note of a church: now let them shew succession in the Apostles doctrine, and we yeeld. Secondly, their baptisme alone, though for substance true baptisme, cannot prooue them a true Church: Circumcision was the Sacrament of Gods church, yet Samaria and Colchis were not the Church of God, though they vsed it: againe, the thiefe may shew the true mans purse, but that proueth him not to be true and honest; no more doth baptisme iustifie the church of Rome to bee a true church. Lastly, though they haue outward baptism, yet indeed they ouerthrow inward baptisme, the life of that sacrament, to wit, imputed righteousnesse and renued holinesse, which in Gods Church must goe together with the outward element, else it is nothing. Thirdly, for the Apostles Creed, they haue it in word, but they deny it in deede; For though they say, they beleeue in God the father, and in Iesus Christ, yet in effect they deny both God and Christ. For the God of the Papists is an idol God, and the Christ of the Papists a false Christ, as we haue shewed in handling of the Creed. Fourthly, for the scripture; wee must know the word of God stands not in bare words and letters, but in the true sense and meaning of the Holy ghost contained in the scriptures of the Prophets and Apostles. Now though they haue the bookes of Scripture, yet in sundry main grounds of religion, they ouerthrow the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles. Again, they keep the scripture as a lantern holds a candle, not for it selfe but for passengers: so is the scripture with them, not for their synagogue, but for Gods secret ones among them, for euen in the midst of Poperie hath God euer had some of his elect, who haue not embraced their cursed doctrine. Lastly, for their plea to be the mother Church; we must distinguish between the ancient Church of Rome, and the strumpet that now is; the ancient Church of Rome to whom Paul writ, was a true and famous church, and a mother Church; but she is now dead and buried; and the now Roman Church is no mother Church, no spouse of Christ, but the whore of Babel the mother of abhominations, from which we are commanded to depart, Reuelat. 18. 4.

Secondly,2. Vse. in that Christ is brought to Ierusalē, that holy City, there to be tempted, wee learne, that no holinesse of place on earth can debarre the Diuell from his temptations; he brings Christ from the wildernesse to tempt him, in the holy city euen vpon the holy temple hee will thrust himselfeZak. 3. 1. on Iehoshuahs right hand to resist him, though Iehoshuah stand before the Angell of the Lord to minister to the Lord. And therefore the follie of Papists is egregious, that thinke the signe of the crosse, holy water, reliques, and such Massing inchantments haue vertue in them to free their houses, or their bodies frō the assaults of Satan.

Lastly, heereby wee see that change of place is but a sillie cure for a troubled mind; indeed change of aire may much further bodily cures; but a troubled mind hath conflicts with the diuel, who will not leaue for change of place, Ierusalem will fit his turne as well as the wildernesse.

The second part of the Diuels preparation to this conflict is this, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple: The word translated pinnacle, signifieth properly a wing of the temple; whereby, some take to be meant, the sharpe brouches and spires on the top of the temple; whereof there were diuers; but these (as I take it) are not heere meant; for such a spire cannot wel be called a wing; others take it for some part of the battlement, made on the top of the Temple, which was flat, as the Iewes vsed to build, to keepe men from falling; others take it for any top corner of the Temples; and whether of these it was we cannot certainly define; but this we must holde, that it was some dangerous steepe downe place on some corner of the Temple, or on the battlements, from which a man might easily cast himselfe; whereby we see the Diuell will omit no aduantage that may further his temptations; which should make vs the more carefull of our standing against him.

VERSE 6. And said vnto him, If thou be the sonne of God cast thy selfe downe: for it is written, that he wil giue his Angels charge ouer thee, and with their hands they shall lift thee vp, lest at any time thou shouldst dash thy foot against a stone.

THese wordes containe the second maine point in this conflict, to wit, Satans assault vpon Christ: wherein we are to obserue, first his temptation: then the reason whereby he doth enforce it. His temptation heere is framed as the former was, in a kind of reasoning, thus:

If thou be the sonne of God, then shew the same by casting thy selfe downe from this pinnacle of the temple: But as I see thou art certainly perswaded, that thou art the sonne of God: Therefore cast thy selfe downe, and thereby declare it.

Seeing this is a distinct temptation from the former, I doubt not but it must be thus framed with this conclusion: for if it had the same conclusion with the former it should be the same temptation. Satans meaning then is this, as if he had said; I haue made triall to see expresly whether thou be the sonne of God or not, and it seemes thou doest vndoubtedly beleeue that voice of thy father to be true, which said, This is my welbeloued sonne in whom I am wel pleased: Now if this be so indeed, it is conuenient thou shouldest confirme the same by some miracle, and the fittest place thou canst doe it in, is this; therefore cast thy selfe downe headlong from this pinnacle, and yet preserue thy selfe in safety without all hurt in the fall.

The drift of Satan in this temptation was, to bring our Sauior Christ to a vaine confidence in his Fathers protection, and indeed to flat presumption vpon his extraordinarie prouidence in the neglect of lawfull ordinary means, as by Satans conclusion, & the answer of Christ will easily appeare.Satan seeks to cary men to presumption. And hereby we may obserue that one maine drift of Satan in his ordinarie temptations in Gods church, is to carry men to presumption, and vaine confidence in the loue, fauor, and mercy of God: this appeares by the strange reasonings for libertie in sinne which many frame to themselues, and some are not ashamed to vtter; as first, God is mercifull, and Christ shedde his bloud for their redemption, and therefore they will not be so strict and precise in hearing sermons, and reading & conferring about the word as many are, but they wil take the pleasures and seeke the profits of this life. Thus reasoned some in the Apostles daies:Rom. 6. 1. Let vs continue in sin that grace may abound: of such Iude complaineth, saying,Iude 4. They turne the grace of God into wantonnesse. Such there haue beene euer since, & at this day they doe euerie where abound. Secondly, some say, they are either ordained to saluation or damnation; now if to saluation, they are sure of it how euer they liue; and if to damnation, they cannot escape it, though they liue neuer so holily, for Gods decree is vnchangeable; and therfore they will take their pleasure and liue as they list. Thirdly others say they haue euer found Gods goodnesse towards them, and they are perswaded he will neuer see them want, and therefore they will not toile themselues with labor & care as others do, but take their ease and pleasure while they may haue it; and so neglect their charge and calling, and giue themselues wholly to their sports and pleasures, to company keeping or such like. Yea, by this temptation to presumption, Satan oft preuailes with the better sort; for if a man fauour the trueth, and giue himselfe to know religion in any sort, the Diuell will straight way go about to perswade him, that that which he doth is sufficient to his saluation, & thus wil keepe him from vsing further means to come by the certaine knowledge of his election, and full affiance in Christ Iesus, to become a perfect man in Christ, which is the end of Gods holy ministery, Ephes. 4. 13. whereunto we should giue all diligence, 2. Pet. 1. 10. See the truth heereof in the fine foolish virgins, who carriedM[illegible: 1 letter]tth. 25. 1. 2. &c. burning lamps, but tooke no oile with them, neuer minding that till it was too late; and so doe most men content themselues with the blazing lampe of an outward profession, neuer looking for the oile of grace, till the time of grace he past.

The vse. Heereby then wee are all taught, in speciall maner to beware of presumption; this is the common snare of the Diuel wherein he intangles many a soule. It is true indeed that he oft preuailes by bringing men to desperation, but a thousand perish through presumption, almost for one by desperation; for despaire is a painfull thing to flesh and bloud, and as the Diuell knowes well, doth sometimes turne to a mans more sound conuersion; but to presume is sweet and pleasant to the flesh, and most agreeable to mans corrupt nature: in regard whereof wee ought to keepe out heart with all watch & ward, as Dauid praieth, Keepe thy seruant from presumptuous sinnes, Ps. 19. 13.

Againe, obserue the order of Satans temptations by comparing this with the former. There he sought to ouerthrow Christs faith & to bring him to distrust the trueth of Gods word vttered from heauen; but finding hee could not that way preuaile, heere he takes the cleane contrary course, and seekes to bring him to presume.

This serues to discouer vnto vs, the deepe guile and subtilty of the Diuell,Satans cunning in tempting. that can so cunningly turn himselfe from one extreame vnto another. And looke as he dealeth here with Christ the head, so doth hee continue towards all his members, if he cannot bring them to one extreame, he will assay them hard in the other. If hee cannot bring a man to couetousnesse, and keepe his heart to the loue of money, then let him beware of riot and prodigality. Is a man giuen to pleasures and delight, and an length is depriued of them? then let him beware; the Diuell swallow him not vp with ouermuch griefe, as he sought to do with the2. Cor. 2. 7. 11. incestuous person of Corinth. Doth a man come to loue religion, that formerly was giuen to loosenesse of life? then if it be possible the Diuell will carrie him to schisme & heresie. The Diuel cannot abide that a man should keepe the meane according to Gods word, Isay 30. 21. He would haue our first parents to be Gods, or no body, Gene. 3. 5. And so still he laboureth to bring a man to some extreame. We therefore in all estates during life, must labour to keepe the golden meane, as Christ heere did, neither doubting on the one hand nor presuming on the other, but retaining still that blessed faith, whereby his blessed heart was firmly setled in these assaults. Thus much for Satans drift. Now come to the words of this temptation.

If thou be the sonne of God, then cast thy selfe downe: that is, shew by this miracle that thou art the sonne of God. Marke here, the Diuell perswades him not, to shew himselfe to be the sonne of God by doctrine in the execution of his ministerie; but Cast thy selfe downe, shew a miracle: wherein we may beholde the very liuely image of that naturall disposition which is in all impenitent persons; they affect Christes miracles, but they care not for his doctrine. Herod longed to see Christ, Luk, 23. 8. and was glad of his comming, when Pilate sent him; yet not to heare his doctrine, for that he could not endure; els he would not haue imprisoned Iohn, and also put him to death; but he hoped to see a miracle. The wicked Iewes desire a signe, that put Christ to death for his doctrine; yet if be will come downe from the crosse, and so miraculously saue himselfe, then they will beleeue, Mark. 15. 32. And this venom of the olde serpent hath poisoned the hearts of many students in the Scriptures, who care not at all to ground themselues in the fundamentall points of religion, as faith and repentance; and yet are woonderfull eager after quidditles and difficulties, wherein may appeare some outward shew of wit and learning; like the hypocriticall Pharisies, that would tithe mint and rue, and yet passe ouer iudgement and the loue of God, Luk. 11. 42. And the cause hereof is the want of sound grace, for naturall men indeed can not sauour the things of the spirit of God; the knowledge of Christ crucified seemes foolishnesse vnto them.

Secondly, the Diuell tooke occasion of his former temptation from Christs infirmitie of hunger: but perceiuing Christs sure faith in his fathers word by his gratious answer to that assault, heere he borrowes his temptation from that profession of his faith; as if he should say, thou seemest to be resolued of the trueth of thy fathers word that thou art the sonne of God; and if that be true indeed, then shew it by this miracle, Cast thy selfe downe.

Heere then behold another tricke of Satan; if he cannot preuaile by assaults drawen from our infirmities, then will he assay vs by temptations drawen from Gods good gifts and graces in vs; If he cannot keepe a man in ignorance that hath good gifts of wit & memory, then will hee seeke from his knowledge to puffe him vp with pride, and so mingling his poison with Gods good gifts, doth cause many a one to become a bane to Gods church, that otherwise might haue prooued an excellent instrument therein; as might easily be shewed in sundry particulars.

Thirdly,Satans malice restrained. heere marke how Satans malice is restrained, and his power limited: By Gods permission he is able to carrie Christ from the wildernes to Ierusalem, and there to set him in a most dangerous place on a wing of the temple; the thing hee now desireth is his destruction by casting downe head long, but that he can not doe, and therefore perswades Christ to cast himself down; wherein we see the speciall prouidence of God ouer Christ Iesus in all these temptations, restraining his enemy in the thing he most desired. And the same prouidence doth he still continue ouer his Church for the effectuall preseruation of Christs members in all their temptations. The Diuels vnwearied desire & drift is, to bring contentions, hurliburlies and ruines into all societies in Church and Commonwealth; therfore the peace and tranquillity of these is, and so must bee acknowledged, a notable fruit of Gods blessed prouidence restraining the spite and malice of Satan. Againe, hence it is euident, that in temptation Satan cannot go beyond the permission of God: he can tempt Christ, yea transport his body, and set him in a dangerous place, for thus far God permits him to goe; but to cast Christ downe from the pinnacle he cannot, therein comes Gods restraint. So it fareth with Gods children; for the triall of his graces in them, and to chastise them for some sinnes, he suffers Satan to buffet them; but yet one iotte of his malice beyond Gods permission he cannot shew,Iob. 1. 12. as in Iobs affliction by him may notably appeare. Which wee must carefully remember for our special comfort in our most grieuous assaults; Gods will permitting Satan so farre must make vs patient, and yet his power restraining Satan from doing worse, must giue vs comfort. Thus much for the temptation itselfe.

The reason whereby Satan enforceth his temptation is taken from a testimony of Scripture: For it is written he shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee, &c. Satan hearing Christ alledge scripture for his defence against the first assault, comes now vpon him with his owne weapon, that if it were possible he might foile him, after this sort: Thou shewest thy selfe to be the Doctor of the Church, by thine alleadging of Scripture, and that, it seemes, thou makest the rule of thine actions: well then thou maiest well and safely cast thy selfe downe hence if thou bee the Sonne of God, for it is written, he shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee, and with their hands they shall lift thee vp &c.

From this dealing of Satan, wee are taught, not to embrace an opinion in religion, because a shew of proofe by testimony of Scripture may bee giuen for it. But we must trie the spirits, that is, the doctrines of men, whether they be of God, or not, 1. Ioh. 4. 1. For the Diuell can alleadge Scripture to mooue Christ vnto presumption, and it is his vsuall practise, when he caries men into schisms, errors, and heresies. Reason with a man that minds to liue in sinne, and tell him of that dangerous state, by reason of the shortnesse and vncertainty of this life: will he not tell you straight, he will doe as he does, and repent when he is old? for it is written,Ezek. 18. 17. At what time soeuer a sinner doth repent him of his sinne, I will put all his wickednesse out of my remembrance, saith the Lord: And some thinke three or foure good words at a mans last end wil serue his turne: for the thiefe on the crosse said no more, but,Luk. 23. 42. Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdome. And all such as are trained vp in the schoole of Satan, can easilie alledge scripture to further them in euil.

But let vs come to the scripture which the Diuel doth notoriously abuse by his allegation: it is written in the 91. Ps. v. 11. In the alledging whereof he would seeme very carefull and precise, at the first not omitting so much as this particle [for] which might haue beene left out, and yet nothing haue been wanting to the force of his reason: But heerein is the deepenesse of his policy, to cause Christ not to suspect any falshood afterward; for towards the end, hee leaueth out that, on which the promise is grounded of being kept by the Angel: to wit, to keepe thee in all thy waies, that is, in all the good duties of thy lawfull calling wherein thou shalt glorifie God and doe good to others; to such as so walke in their waies doth that promise belong.

Heere then behold Satans notableSatans mincing of the word of God. fraud and craft, that can so cunninglie leaue out that which makes not for his purpose, and so peruert the true meaning of scripture; this is his vsuall practise, in enmity against the word to depraue the true meaning by cutting off some part, when hee cannot vtterly ouerthrow the whole. The like is the dealing of all heretickes, who by cutting off and leauing out, play legerdemaine with the scripture. The Arrian holds the Bible for the word of God; but such places as serue to proue the godhead of Christ, he doth notably abuse and peruert. The familie of Loue also, doth hold the bible for the word of God; but come to the true meaning of it, therein they faile, turning all into Allegories, euen most true histories, as the fall of our first Parents, and such like, which are maine grounds of religion in their naturall sense: and the Apostaticall Church of Rome, doth hold with vs the bookes of the old and new Testament; but yet they put in and take out at their pleasure, and take from it all sense and meaning which agrees not with the determination of their holy father the Pope; and thereby they ouerturne the word of God, and strongly maintaine their mystery of iniquity.

This dealing of Satan and his wicked miscreants with the scripture, must make all Gods children willing to spend their strength in searching out the Scripture; for that is the onely way to descrie their fraude in deprauing of it. This caused Christ to bidde the people in his time to search the Scriptures, to learne to know him to bee the true Messias, which the Iewish teachers did then deny. In regard whereof wee must say withNum. 11. 29. Moses, oh that all the Lords people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit vpon them! oh that all could reade and vnderstand the word of God! This is it, wherein all that either be, or intend to be ministers must labour especially, euen to get sound knowledge and iudgement in the text of Scripture. The Minister must not only be able to teach the truth, but also to discerne, to discouer, and to confure errors and heresies, which hee can neuer foundly doe without good vnderstanding in the text it selfe. The Diuell knowes the whole Scripture, and he will spare no text therein it hee can corrupt it; therfore to resoue Gods truth out of his hands who is the father of lies, the Minister must shew himselfe a good souldier of Iesus Christ, as Paul exhorteth Timothy, giuing such attendance to the word that all men may see his profitting therein; yea with Ieremie, the Minister must eat the bookes of God, and digest them in his vnderstanding, and rejoice therein, labouring to feele them the joy of his heart. The Diuell knowes that Scripture truely vnderstood and well applied, is the onely engine for the battery of his kingdome; and therefore, euen from the beginning, but specially since the comming of Christ hee hath laboured by all meanes to keepe men from the knowledge and true vnderstanding of them: hee it is that hath brought men from the reading of the Scriptures, to betake themselues to the writings of men, as schoolemen, fathers, and such; by this meanes hee hath for many yeares euen to this day in the Church of Rome, locked vp the Scripture in an vnknowen tongue: yea euen in Gods church the Diuel works mightily this way, by stealing away the affections of yong students from the Bible, and rauishing them with delight in the writings of men; for thus he keeps them from the fountaine of truth, that they either fal into error themselues, or be lesse able to discerne and confute it in others. And hence come dissentions and errors into the schooles of the Prophets, which cannot be auoided while men leaue the text of scripture & addict themselues so much to the writings of men, for thereby hee can more cunningly conuey strange conceits into mens minds: and therfore euery one that would maintain the truth in purity and syncerity must labour painfully in the text.

Secondly, Gods ministers must heereby be admonished, to be carefull in alleadging any text of Scripture, that the same be fit and pertinent: for to wrest the same from the proper meaning of the holy Ghost to serue their owne conceit, is the practise of Satan, which euery seruant of God must be farre from, and therefore must not do it hand ouer head. Which also may serue for a good aduertisement to those that vse to heape vp manifold allegations of Scriptures in the doctrine of a sermon, for asProu. 10. 19. in many words there cannot want iniquity, as Salomō saith; so in affected multiplicity of quotations can the abuse of Scripture bee hardly escaped. If we deliuer but a mans testimony, honesty will compell vs as neere as we can to keepe both his words and his meaning; much more should conscience moue vs in alledging the testimony of the Lord, to haue carefull respect to the euidence of truth: and therfore that sparing course is very commendable, whereby in quoting of Scripture men make sure to keepe themselues to the Lords true meaning, lest by deprauing his word they become followers of Satan: And thus much for the maner of Satans allegation.

The true and proper meaning of that text is now briefly to be discussed. The ninety-one Psalme, from whence it is alledged, is a most heauenly part of scripture, penned for the comfort of Gods people in the time of some grieuous plague or sickenesse; and it containes a notable preseruatiue against the plague, and by consequent against any iudgement of God, to wit, true affiance and confidence in the Lord, that is the ground of all comfortable safety; thereto, among many other, isVers. 11. this gratious promise made of the protection of Gods holy Angels, (which the Diuell doth heere alledge) who shall be as carefull for the safety of Gods children in common calamities of famine, plague, pestilence &c. as the nurce is ouer her tender child to hold it in her hands, and beare it vp in her armes, lest it should fall and hurt it selfe; alwaies prouided that the child of God keepe himselfe in his waies, that is, in obedience to Gods commandements and in the duties of his lawfull calling. It is true indeed, that iudgement begins at 1. Pet. 4. 17. the house of God, and the righteous are taken away from the euill to come, yea many times the same outward iudgement lights vpon the good, that doeth vpon the bad: yet this taketh not from Gods child the comfort of this protection in common calamities, for all promises of temporall blessings must be vnderstood with the exception of the crosse: as heere, Gods Angels shall guard his children in time of plague, famine and pestilence, vnlesse it please God heerewith to chasten them for some sinne past, or to preuent some sin, or greater euill to come, or to make triall of their faith and patience: in which cases also the child of God doth greatly differ from the wicked; for through the fruition of Gods loue in Christ the euill of the punishment is taken away, and the outward smart thereofSee Iob. 23. 10. Ps. 119. 71. sanctified to the greater good of his soule: but out of this case their protection is certaine: see Exod. 12. 23. Psal. 105. 16. 17. & Ezek. 9. 4. 6.

The vse. The consideration of this gratious protection of Gods Angels ouer such as keepe themselues in their waies, must moue euery one to labour to know and practise the duties of his calling both generall of Christianity, and particular for the state of his life, in all good conscience; so doing, let come what will, in all dangers hee shall haue safety; for Gods angels pitch their tents about him, they are as watchfull ouer him as a nurce ouer her child; but if wee forsake our waies wee lose the comfort of their protection, & expose our selues to all Gods iudgements.

VERSE 7. Iesus said vnto him, Againe it is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

HEere is the third generall point in this conflict: to wit, Christs answer and repulse made to Satans assault, taken, as the Diuels temptation was, from a text of scripture; for hee saith, Againe it is written; where yet hee meaneth not to oppose scripture to scripture, but to confute the abuse of scripture by scripture; after this sort, as if he had said to Satan, It is true indeed that God hath made many worthy promises of aid and protection to his children in his word, yet they shal not be performed to those that presume to tempt God, as thou wouldest haue me to do.

From this dealing of Christ with SatanScriptures are sufficient to expound themselues. we may obserue; that the scriptures of God are sufficient in themselues, truely to interpret and expound themselues. The Diuel alledging scripture did wrest it from the true sense; this our Sauiour Christ sheweth by alledging another text out ofDeut. 6. 16. Moses, which being applied to the place which the Diuel abused, doth shew the true meaning thereof. So Ezra, expoūding the law vnto the Iews, read distinctly in the law of God, and (as the words do signifie)Ezra. 8. 8. gaue the sense by scripture, and caused the people to vnderstand: much more then at this day may the scriptures be thought sufficient for the expounding of themselues, sith to the Canon there of since Ezra his time there is added the whole new Testament by the hand of God, wherein the deepe things of God are plainelie reuealed.

The Church of Rome cannot away with this, that Scripture should be sufficient to expound it selfe. And therefore against it they reason thus: That which must expound Scripture, must haue iudiciall power to determine of the sense thereof: but the scriptures haue no such ludiciall power; for they are but a dumb letter, and therfore no sufficient iudge to determine of their owne sense and meaning. Answ. The Scriptures haue iudiciall power to determine of their owne true sense and meaning, for they speake euidently, to all that are inlightned by Gods spirit, and therby made able to know what the Scripture saith: wee know a man may speake to his friend not only by word of mouth but also by letter, and thereby expresse his meaning sufficiently; euen so, though God speake not now vnto his Church by created voice, yet by his written word he speakes sufficiently for the cleare manifestation of his will and pleasure concerning them; and therefore it is a shamefull slander and blasphemy against the Scriptures to call them an inkie letter and dumbe iudge. And let them shew, if the Scripture be not, where is that speaking iudge who hath power iudiciall to expound the scripture. Indeed their answer is, that the Church is this Iudge, and that we must consult at her mouth for the true meaning of the Scripture. Answ. The church hath a ministery and dispensation committed vnto her, in the execution whereof she deliuereth the meaning of the Scripture vnto Gods people, but that is not from any iudiciall authority committed vnto her, to determine of the sense of Scripture of her selfe; but onely by comparing scripture with scripture, and expounding one place out of another; euen as the Lawyer giues the sense of the law, not from any iudicial power giuen vnto him aboue the law, but by obseruing the words with the scope and circumstances of the law. But heere I would know, if the Church must needs bee iudge, by what meanes must she determine? They answer, by the rule of faith; the consent of Councels and Fathers; and if these faile, then by the Pope; Answ. By their rule of faith, they vnderstand, vnwritten traditions, that is, such truth beside Scripture, as hath beene kept by tradition from hand to hand since the primitiue Church. But these are meere forgeries, and shame it were to subiect the truth of God to the deuice of man; if these bee made iudge of Scripture, then shall the faith of the church depend vpon the wisedome of man, and not vpon the power of God, a thing abhorred of the Apostle 1. Cor. 2. 5. The onely rule of faith is the Scripture, and true faith will admit no other iudge beside the Scripture to determine of that whereon it must depend. Secondly, for their consent of Fathers and Councels, that is no sufficient meanes to determine of the true sense of Scripture; for their seuerall errors and contradictions one to another, & many times to themselues, shew, that they wanted the immediate assistance of the Spirit. And the same is true of the Pope, as might easily be proued at large, by their grosse ignorance & errors. And therfore it remaines that the true iudge and expounder of Scripture, is Scripture it selfe, as Christ himselfe by his practise sheweth in this place.

The place alledged by Christ, is this commandement of God vnto his people,Deut. 6. 16. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. For the vnderstanding whereof we must search out three things, first what the tempting of God signifieth: secondly, the manner how God is tempted: and thirdly,To tempt God. the cause and root thereof. For the first, to tempt God signifieth, to make triall and experience of God, and to prooue whether hee be so true, iust, mercifull, prouident and powerfull as his word reporteth him to be. Thus did the Israelites often tempt God, as the Lord saith,Psalm. 95. 9. When your fathers tempted me, proued me, and saw my workes; which latter words shew what it is to tempt God, euen to seeke to haue proofe by his works whether he be such a one as his word saith he is. If any shall say we are commanded, to taste and see how gratious the Lord is, Ps. 34. 8. yea the Lord bids his people proue him, Malach. 3. 10. Answ. Those places do sufficiently expound themselues, for Dauids taste and sight is by the grace of true faith and affiance, for in the same verse he pronounceth such blessed; and in Malachie the Lord bids them prooue him, but yet in their way of obedience in prouiding for his Sanctuary according to his ordinances. Therefore we must know for the second point, that euery triall of God is not simply euill, but that which is needlesse, when without warrant from his word we presume vpon him beyond the meanes of his ordinary prouidence. Thirdly, the root of this sinne, is an vnbeleeuing heart, whereby a man doubts of the truth of Gods word, of his power, presence and prouidence. Ps. 78. 18. The Israelites tempted God in their hearts; there is this sinne: the maner how followeth, in requiring meat for their lusts &c. not contenting thēselues with Gods present prouidence; the root & ground whereof is set downe, vers. 22. because they beleeued not in God and trusted not in his helpe. When a man doubts of the fidelity of his seruant he wil lay something in his way, as a peece of siluer, his purse &c. to trie him withall; so when a man begins to doubt of Gods goodnesse and fidelity towards him, hee will easily be brought to make needlesse triall of him by some worke of God beside his ordinary prouidence. The meaning then is this, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, that is, thou shalt not make any needlesse triall of Gods goodnesse, mercy, power or prouidence, from a distrustfull heart in the truth of his word.

Heere yet further for our instruction wee are to know that God is tempted fiue waies, as the word of God doth manifest:God is tempted fiue waies. first, when a man shall appoint vnto God, either the time when, the place where, or the maner how God shall helpe him, and performe his word vnto him; heerein he seeks experience of the truth and power of God. Thus the Israelites tempted God in the wildernesse when they wanted water; saying,Exod. 17. 7. Is God among vs or no? God had promised to bee with them in all their iourney to Canaan, but that they will not now beleeue vnlesse he wil shew his presence by giuing them water in that place. And so likewise they tempted him in the want of foood, Ps. 78. 19. Can God prepare a table in the wildernesse. The consideration whereof must teach vs in all our petitions which we make vnto God for the accomplishment of his promises vnto vs, to beware ofPsal. 78. 41. limiting God, as the Iewes did, by prescribing vnto him time, place & maner for the accomplishment thereof; but wait with patience his good leasure. For hee that beleeueth will not make haste, but wil commit his way to the Lord: Ps. 37. 5.

Secondly, God is tempted when men require a signe at his hands. Thus the Pharisies tempted Christ: Matt. 12. 38. Master we would see a signe of thee: meaning thereby to be certified whether hee were the Messias, and Luke saith, they tempted him, Luk. 11. 16. And thus doe all those tempt God, which refuse to embrace the doctrine of the Gospel, because they cannot see the ministers therof to confirme the same by miracles. Thus do many Papists plead against our religion, embracing rather the mysterie of iniquity, because: it is confirmed vnto them by lying wonders; not considering that the truth which wee professe was once sufficiently confirmed to bee the truth of God, by his owne testimony thereunto in signes & wonders through the hands of his Apostles. Quest. Is euery asking of a signe a tempting of God? for Gedion asked a signe when he was to be a Iudge and deliuerer of gods people, Iudg. 6. 17. And so did Hezekiah to bee assured of the lengthning of his daies, 2. King. 20. 8. And yet we reade not that God charged them with tempring him, but did condescend to their requests. Answ. There be two causes in which we may require a signe of God & not tempt him: first, when God commands a man to ask a signe at his hands: so might Azah haue asked a signe of God, for his assurance of victorie according to Gods promise, yea he isIsai. 7. 11. 12. 13. blamed for not asking it when the Lord commanded him. Secondly, a man may aske a signe of God, when it serueth for the necessary confirmation of an extraordinary calling, or of some special promise of God made to man: in this case did Gedion aske a signe of God for the further confirmation of his extraordinary calling to bee a Deliuerer vnto Gods people. And so did Hezekiah for his further assurance in the lengthning of his life, by an extraordinary promise, fifteene yeares. But out of these cases to aske a signe of God is to tempt him; as the Pharisies did, who would prescribe vnto God what kinde of miracle they would haue, euen a signe from heauen, not contenting themselues with those miracles which Christ did ordinarilie worke among them.

Thirdly, a man tempts God, when he goes on in any sinne against Gods commandements, for hereby he makes needlesse triall of Gods iustice, mercy, and patience. The Lord saith of his people, they Num. 14. 22. tempted him ten times, and haue not obeied his voice: Mal. 3. 15. The people murmuringly say, they that worke wickednesse are set vp, and they that tempt God are deliuered; where working wickednesse and tempting of God are al one. Which serues to admonish vs, that with al speed we break off the course of our sins by repentance, for while we continue in sinne we tempt God, and so lie open to all his iudgements, depriuing our selues of the guard and protection of Gods holy Angels, nay they will become our enemies, and insteed of protection, execute gods heauy vengeance vpon vs.

Fourthly, they tempt God, that impose vpon Gods people, there ligious obseruation of legall ceremonies abolished by Christ: Act. 15. 10. Why tempt ye God (saith Peter) to lay a yoake on the Disciples neckes, which neither our Fathers nor we were able to beare? This is to make triall of Gods power in the sauing of his people. Whereby we may see how wicked and damnable the Romish religion is, which wholly stands in the obseruation of ceremonies, partly heathenish, and partly Iudaical, whereto when men submit themselues, they do nothing else but tempt God.

Fiftly, they tempt God, that refuse or neglect the ordinarie and necessarie meanes of their preseruation, either for body or soule: as hee that being to goe ouer a water, will leaue the bridge which is the ordinarie way, and aduenture dangerously through the water: for heerein he seekes a needlesse experience of Gods power: so doe they also that neglect or contemne Gods holy ordinance for the sauing of mens soules in the ministery of the word. Now to this kinde of tempting God doth Christ apply this commandement in this place; as if he should say, when God hath affoorded vnto men an ordinarie meanes for their helpe and safety, they are not to refuse the same, and seeke for safety from God extraordinarily. I am now in a dangerous place I confesse, vpon this pinnacle, yet there is some ordinarie way to get down as staires or ladder; and therefore vnlesse I would tempt the Lord my God, I may not cast my selfe downe and thereby seeke for extraordinarie preseruaiton, as thou perswadest me. Thus also they sinne that goe into places of great danger without a calling: so Peter sinned in thrusting himselfe into Caiphas hal, a place of temptation, as by lamentable experience he found too true. Thus Dauids three Worthies sinned in aduenturing vpon their enemies host, for the fetching of a little water out of the well of Bethlehem; & therfore when it was brought vnto him, Dauid would not drinke thereof, but powred it out for a sacrifice vnto the Lord, 2. Sam. 23. 16.

Heere some may aske, whether they do not tempt God, that aduenture to clime on high places, to stand on spire steeples, to runne on the ridge of high houses, and to goe on ropes a great height from the ground. Answ. Men may doe such things in a twofold estate, either hauing a lawfull calling thereto, as Carpenters and Masons, who are to worke vpon high buildings; now they without tempting of God may clime and stand on high and dangerous places: or else hauing no lawfull calling thereto, as they who vse to doe such things to make knowen their actiuity, or only to affoord delight and admiration vnto others for their priuate gaine and aduantage; and such tempt God fearefully; for Christ was better able to haue cast himselfe downe from this pinnacle, and haue preserued himselfe without hurt, then these men are to saue themselues in their aduentures, and yet hee refused so to do, because hee would not tempt the Lord his God. Thus much for the meaning of this commandement.

The doctrine for instruction hence, is to be gathered from this command applied to the text which the Diuell alledgeth; and it is this: whosoeuer looketh for the accomplishment of Gods promises vnto him, must be carefull to walke before God in the waies of his commandements, and in the workes of his calling with all good conscience. God indeed hath made many gratious promises in his word, of blessings temporall and eternall, but they that tempt God shall not find the comfort of them; mens sinnes hinder these things from them; Gods goodnesse is to bee seene and tasted in the waies of faith and obedience. God hath promised the guard of his Angels to his children while they keep themselues in their waies: if therefore thou wouldest haue this protection thou must keep thy selfe in those waies that God would haue thee to walke in. Also in theri hesse of his loue God hath made a promise of euerlasting life with freedome from eternall perdition, to those that beleeue in Christ, Iohn 3. 16. Thou therefore that wouldest enioy the comfort of this promise to thine immortality and life, must get true faith into thy heart and thereby liue all the daies of thy life. The same may bee said of euery promise of God pertaining either to soule or body, the fruition of them doth depend vpon the practise of some part of obedience; which if thou doest neglect thou doest but presume in making title to the promise: Peter tels Symon Magus plainely, he had no part with them in the gifts of the spirit, while his heart retained a purpose to liue in sinne, Act. 8. 21. Breake off therefore the course of sinne, and inure thy selfe to the practise of obedience, so shall Gods promises be sweet vnto thine heart; and the more thou proceedest in obedience, the more comfort thou shalt find in Gods gratious promises: but if thou doe lay hold on sinne, the comfort of the word will depart from thee. And thus much for the second temptation.

VERSE 8. Againe the Diuell tooke him vp into an exceeding high mountaine, and shewed him all the kingdomes of the world, and the glory of them; 9. And said vnto him, all these will I giue thee, if thou wilt fall downe and worship me: 10. Then said Iesus vn so him, auoid Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him onely shalt thou serue.

THese words containe the third conflict betweene our Sauiour Christ and Satan; wherin consider three points; I. Satans preparation: v. 8. II. Satans assault vpon Christ: v. 9. III. Christs answer thereto: v. 10. For the first, before wee come to the handling of it in particular, wee are to consider that vnto euery assault the Diuell prepares himself afresh: which should teach vs to labour to furnish our hearts euery day afresh to be able to repulse his new assaults. Now particularly; this preparation hath two parts: first, Satan takes Christ into an exceeding high mountaine: secondly, he shews him all the kingdomes of the world and the glory of them all. For the first, it may bee demanded what way Satan tooke vp Christ into this high mountaine? Answ. He might do it two waies; either by vision, or by reall and locall transportation of his body from the temple to some high mountaine. Some thinke this was done by vision only in Christs mind, as Ezek. 40. 2. Ezekiel was caried by the Lord from Babylon to an exceeding high mountaine in the land of Israel. But I rather thinke that Christ was really and locally transported by the Diuell in body from the temple to some high mountaine; for Christs temptations were not imaginary, but true and reall. Againe, the words import a true and reall transportation without any mention of a vision.

The reasons why the Diuell carries Christ to an high mountaine may bee these: first, the Diuel hath a great desire to imitate God in his glorious workes, that so hee may disgrace the workes of God, yea and God himselfe as much as he can. Now we readDeut. 34. 1. 2. &c. that God tooke vp Moses into mount Nebo, from whence hee shewed him all the land of Canaan; so Satan, that he might seeme to go beyond God, takes vp Christ into an exceeding high mountaine to shew him all the kingdomes of the world and the glory of them. Secondly, he did it for the furtherance of this last assault wherewith hee tempted Christ, for hee meant to entice Christ with the glory of the world, and therefore brings him where hee might take the fairest view thereof.

Now in that Satan transports the body of our Sauiour Christ this second time,Satan may haue power ouer the bodies of Gods children. wee see that by Gods permission, Satan may haue power ouer the bodies of Gods children, to transport the same from place to place, or otherwise to vex them, and that not once onely, but sundrie times. This we must obserue, and remember carefully as a stay and prop against distrust & despaire, if God should suffer Satan to vex vs, by such transporting of our bodies from place to place, or by any outward calamity; & that not once or twise but diuers times; for that which befell the head Christ Iesus, may well befall any of his members.

The second part of the Diuels preparation is this: he shewes vnto Christ all the kingdoms of the world, & the glory of them. This he could not do actually, for there is no mountaine so high in all the world, whereon if a man were placed, he could see one halfe or one quarter of the kingdomes of the world, as they are seated and placed vpon the face of the earth; nay if a man were set in the sunne, and from thence could looke vnto the earth, yet hee could not see past the halfe therof. And therefore wee must know that the Diuel did this in a counterfet vision, for heerein hee can frame an imitation of God.

Now the Diuels visions bee of two sorts;Of Diabolicall visious. either in the outward senses, or in the mind and vnderstanding. His visions in the outward senses be delusions, whereby he makes men be leeue they see that, which indeed they do not see; this might easily be proued by manifold examples recorded in the histories of all times, but that one shall suffice, of his counterfait resemblance ofSam. 28. Samuels forme and attire to the witch of Endor for the deluding of Saul; when as indeed Samuels true body was in the graue, and his soule with the Lord.

Secondly the diue hath visions wherbv he deludes the vnderstanding. Zak. 13. 4. The Lord saith heereof, the Prophets shalbe ashamed euery one of his vision. These visions the Diuell shewes to men sometime sleeping, and sometime waking; euen as the Lord doth shew his visions to his owne seruants. The visions of Satan shewed to men sleeping are called dreames; Deut. 13. 1. the false Prophet hath his dreame. His visions shewed to men waking, are to such as haue crazed brame, whom he perswades strange things of themselues, as some, that they are kings or princes; others, that they are Christ, Iohn Baptist, & such like; examples heereof in all ages are many. Now touching this vision of Satan to Christ; some thinke it was inward in Christs minde; but I rather take it to haue beene in his outward senses only, as the words of the text do import; the Diuell by his art did cunningly set forth and represent vnto the eies of Christ a notable shew and representation of all the kingdomes of the earth, and the glory of them.

Heerein the Diuell sheweth great power and skill in that he can represent vnto the eie in his counterfet visions such strange and admirable sights. And it teacheth vs, that the practises of forcerers and magicians, vndertaking to represent vnto the eie, partly in the aire, and partly in glasses, either the persons of men that liued long since, or actions done in farre countries, or long before, are not meere fancies as some thinke, who deny altogether that such things can be shewed: for the Diuell can resemble things done long since and a far off; for if he could set such a sight before the eie of our Sauiour Christ in vision, as the view of the whole world, and the glory thereof, then much more can he represent vnto the eie of man strange and maruellous things.

The Diuels drift in this resemblance vnto Christ is this; heereby he intended most cunningly to insinuat himselfe into the heart of our Sauior Christ: for before he propounds this third assault, hee shews vnto Christ all the kingdomes of the world and the glorie of them, that Christ might take a liking of them, and so desire them, and at length accept of them vpon Satans offer. Thus he dealt with our first parents;Gen. 3. 6. vpon their first communication he shewes vnto Eue the outward beauty of the forbidden fruit, that it was faire to locke vpon, and tels her of the good estate they should attain vnto by eating of it, and so at length brings her to yeeld to his temptation.

Hence we must learne to haue speciallLooke well to seeing and hearing. care in the good ordering of all the outward senses of our bodies, specially the two senses of learning, seeing and hearing; for by them the Diuell can cunningly conuey his temptations into our hearts: the senses (specially these two) are the windowes of the heart and soule, and if we keepe them not well, Satan will be sure to conuay some euill into vs. We must therefore obey Salomons counsell, Prou. 4. 23. keepe thy heart aboue all watch and ward; this we cannot do, vnlesse we looke well to our outward senses, for they are the doores of the heart. This made Dauid to pray,Psa. 119. 37. Lord turne away mine eies from beholding vanity: and IobIob. 31. 1. to make a couenant with his eies. And so must wee make conscience of hearing and looking, lest thereby wee giue aduantage to the Tempter.

Further, in this sight obserue the deep policy of the Diuell; there are in the kingdomes of the world besides glory and dignity, many troubles, hurliburlies and vexations; now these the Diuell conceales from Christ, and shewes him only the glory, pompe, wealth and dignity of the world, that so hee might the more easily winde his temptation into the heart of our Sauiour Christ. And this same course he stil obserueth in tempting men to sinne; he hides from their eies all the miseries, plagues and punishments which are due to sin and that will follow vpon it; and shewes them onely all the profits and delights that they may reape thereby: thus hee sugars ouer the poison of his temptations, that men neuer feele the bitternesse of them till their soules be thereby deadly infected: but then he takes a cleane contrary course, and shewes to the wounded soule all the woes and terrours of Gods wrath, that if it be possible he may bring a man to despaire. And therefore we must be most watchfull of being insnated with the deceitfulnesse of sinne in the false shew of profit and pleasure.

Secondly, the diuels policy doth notably appeare in reseruing this temptation for the last place; for he knowes full well how forcible with man be the temptations of profits,Temptations from the right hand most dangerous. pleasures & honors. From whence we may also learne, that temptations fetched on the right hand from honour, pleasure and commodity, are the most dangerous and doe soonest creepe into the heart of man, preuailing far more then temptations on the left hand, which are taken from aduersity. The Diuell foiled2. Sam. 11. 2. Dauid worse in the time of peace & ease, then euer he could do during the time of Sauls grieuous persecution against him. And he preuailed more against the Church by errours and heresies vnder Constantine and other christian Emperours, then he could do by most bloudy persecution for the space of three hundred years before. Yea in these our daies wordly hopes haue drawn those from the syncerity of religion, whom outward violence could not moue: prosperity is a slippery path wherein a man doth soone catch a fall, and therefore we must learne to be most watchfull ouer our owne harts when we haue fairest weather with the world.

Lastly, S. LukeLuk 45. addeth this circumstance of time, that the Diuell shewed all these things vnto Christ in as short a time as might be, euen in a moment or point of time: whereby we may perceiue the Diuels great celerity & speed in doing any thing he takes in hand, herein he goes beyond all men in the world: for being a spirit hee is able to worke wonders, and though he cannot go beyond the strength and compasse of nature, because his power is finite, yet by reason of his agility and speed he can goe beyond the ordinary course of nature in the maner of working the things hee takes in hand. And this exceeding quicke speed the Diuell heere vseth, to stirre vp in Christ a more eager desire after those strange & goodly things wherof he had but as it were a glimple, that so by degrees he might worke in Christ a liking of them; for the nature of man doth more eagerly affect strange things when they be sudden, and the eie of man doth more wistly behold them. And this also, as the former, must make vs watchful against all Satans crafty wiles, that wee be not beguised by him. Thus much for Satans preparation.

The second point in this conflict, is the temptation it selfe, in these words; vers. 9. And said vnto him, Satan [illegible: 1 word] bring [illegible: 1 word] to idolatry. all these will I giue thee, if thou wilt fall downe and worship me. The drift of Satan in this assault (which we must carefully obserue) is to draw Christ to commit idolatry by the hope of wordly kingdomes and the glory of them: heerwith he proues him when he could neither weaken his faith by his first temptation, nor worke presumption in him by his second. And looke how he dealeth heere with Christ, so doth he commonly in the world; many a ones conscience and religion doth he quite ouerthrow by wordly hopes of riches, pleasures and preserments: heerby not only ordinary professours, but ministers and preachers of the Gospell haue beene drawen to absure and renounce that truth which formerlie they haue taught, and to betake themselues as the Popes vassals to professe and maintain his blasphemous idolatries: heerby also Protestant merchants, are drawen to become very seruiceable to the Popish Churches, by transporting among them wax and such like merchandize, which serue as necessary helps & furtherances to their idolatrous seruice. And what else is it that makes the people generally to change religion with the times and states, but because they would still enioy their wordly commodities? And the more men doe possesse in the world, ordinarily the lesse courage and resolution they haue for the religion of God, as experience in Queen Maries daies hath shewed; which in generall may admonish vs how dangerous an enemy the world is to the power of true religion.

This temptation hath two parts: A promise made to Christ; and the condition thereof. The promise in these words, All these will I giue thee: he saith not, I will procure God to giue them vnto thee, but I will giue thee them: where we may see, that Satans drift is to cause Christ to take him for his Lord, to depend and wait on him for his kingdom, and to acknowledge him to be the giuer thereof: which notably bewraies his egregious boldnesse, that dares thus challenge to himselfe the Lords owne right, euen in the presence of him who was true Lord & King of heauen and earth. Let no man therefore thinke, that Satan will lose ought for want of aduenture; but in regard thereof be better armed against him.

Now that which the Diuell aimed at in Christ doth hee commonly effect in the world, he makes men beleeue that he is the giuer of all things and so brings many a one to relie vpon him. Indeed with their lips men wil confesse that God giues them their daily bread, euen all things they haue; but their dealings and practises speake aloud that the diuel is gouerner and giuer of all; for how do many men get their liuings? Is it not by lying, fraud, and oppressio? Doe not most men heereby seeke to inrich themselues? Wel, the iust Lord neuer approueth such meanes: the diuel setteth such courses a flote, and him they serue, and on him they rely that walke therein.

Secondly,Satan enmity against Christs spirituall kingdome. note a further reach of Satan in this promise of these earthly kingdomes, euen to ouerthrow Christs spirituall kingdome. Satan knew well that if Christ were the true Messias he should be a King, and haue a kingdome, though not earthly, yet spirituall in the hearts and consciences of men, which should be the ruine of his kingdome; and therfore he labours with Christ to entertaine an earthly kingdome, that so his spiritual kingdome might not be looked after. And looke as hee seekes to deale with Christ the head, so he perseueres against the church which is his body; for Gods Church hath it ministery, which in it nature is a soueraigntie, to be exercised in the dispensation of the word: now the Diuell hath laboured by all meanes to bring this ministerie wherein the Churches spirituall soueraignty doth consist, to become an earthly lordship and dominion, that by this meanes he might ouerturne it, and make it fruitlesse in the building and vpholding of Christs spiritual kingdome: and how he hath preuailed this way the Church of Rome doth shew to all the world.

Thirdly, obserue the largenesse of the Diuels promise: he will giue to Christ, all the kingdomes of the world and the glorie of them: but this is more then he meant to our Sauiour Christ, at leastwise more then he could perform, for all these were not in his power. Now because in all things we must be as vnlike the Diuell as may be, hence we must learn to be wary and watchful to our promises, that therein we be not like vnto Satan, promising that which we neuer meane to performe, or neuer can performe though we meant it. In all our promises therefore we must looke to two things; First, whether the thing we promise be in our power; Secondly, whether it be lawfull and meet for vs to performe: And thus making promises we must endeuour alwayes to make good the same. This fidelitie in keeping promise is a fruit of the spirit, called by the Apostle, faith, Gal. 5. 25. and a propertie of him that must rest in Gods holy mountaine, Psal. 15. 4. not to change from a mans lawfull oath or promise, though the performance of it tend to his great hinderance.

Fourthly, in this promise of Satan we may obserue, that hee knowes all the kingdomes of the world, else he could not haue shewed them to him which heere he offers to giue: yea his offering of them, with the glory of them al, which hee could so speedily represent, doth shew vnto vs that hee is most expert in the policies and regiments of states and kingdomes; hee goes not to and fro for nought compassing the earth, Iob. 1. 7. And his promise of them to Christ, was made to inflame his heart with ambition after those kingdomes and glories, that he might enioy some of them at the least. Wherein we may note that one speciall practise of the Diuell is to ouerturne states and kingdomes, by putting ambition into mens hearts after earthly kingdomes, and glories: his study is to do mischiefe, and in the ruine of kingdoms he ouerthrowes many, and therefore heereunto hee endeuours himselfe with might and maine. Hence come insurrections & rebellions in kingdomes, which no time nor age could euer escape: looke as he stirred vp the Chaldeans and Sabeans to inrich themselues by the spoiling of Iob, so dealeth he by ambitious and couetous persons in all estates, as true records of times do fully testifie. We may see the truth heereof in our own land, in the manifold complots and treasons both at home and abroad that haue been conspired and attempted against ourQueen Elizabeth and it may fitly be applied to our present State. Prince and State, by profane men stirred vp by the diuell through ambition & discontent: howsoeuer by Gods mercy themselues haue beene taken in the snare that they laid for others. In regard whereof we are all bound to yeeld all praise and glory to God for his gratious preseruation and defence both of our prince & state; and to shew forth our thankfulnesse by all holy obedience vnto that God who hath brought to nought the diuelish conspiracies & treacheries of the ambitious instruments of Satan. Secondly, we must pray vnto God continually for the preseruation of our Prince & State; crying aloud vnto God as the people did at the coronation1. King. 1. 39. of Salomon, for the safety of our Prince: yea we must daily intreat the Lord to bring to nought the counsell of Achitophels, & of all that think euil against the Lords anointed among vs. Quest. But how comes it to passe that any Prince or State can stand, if the Diuell haue such malice against them? Answ. Through the good prouidence of God, who giues his good Angels charge to guard and defend, not only his children in particular, but also whole Kingdoms and States. And one part of their office is for the good of Gods Church to repell the rage of Satan and his instruments, yea to stand with Gods church in the execution of iudgements vpon the enemies thereof. In the siege of Iericho an heauenlyIosh. 5. 14. captaine of the Lord of hosts came to helpe Ioshuah: and when the king of Syria sent a mighty host to take the Prophet Elisha that was in Dothan, the Lord sent for his defence2. King. 6. 17. horses & chariots of fire which filled the mountaines. And in the dayes of Hezekia, for his comfort, and the ioy of Gods people, an Angel of the Lord slew in the host of Zenacherib, that came against Ierusalem,Isai. 37. 36. an hundred fourescore and fiue thousand in one night. And wee want not sure testimonie of this good prouidence of God, in the strange discoueries of many diuelish conspiracies.

Fiftly, Satan saith, all these will I giue thee. This is the voice of the great red Dragon: and the same is the voice of the Pope of Rome, both registred in their canons and daily attempted in practise, to dispose of all the kingdomes of the earth; whereby he shewes euidently, that he is thatReu. 13. 11. beast comming out of the earth hauing two hornes like the Lambe, but he spake like the Dragon. For the Lambs hornes he shewes in calling himselfe the seruant of sernants; and the voice of the Dragon, that is, of the Diuel, in taking vpon him to dispose of the soueraignties of these earthly kingdoms.

Lastly, Saint Luke recordeth a reason, which the Diuell addeth to his promise, to preuent all conceit of impossibility in him to performe the same; to wit, for thatLuk. 4. 6. the power and glory of all the kingdomes of the world is deliuered to him, and to whomsoeuer he will be giues it. Wherein obserue in Satan two notorious sinnes: first, a grosse lie; for Daniel saith,Dan. 4. 22. that it is Iehouah, the most high God, who beareth rule ouer all the kingdomes of men, and giueth them to whomsoeuer he wil. Secondly, arrogant and shamelesse boasting, to vaunt himselfe euen to the Lords owne face, as though he were soueraigne lord of that which belongs to God alone. The consideration whereof must moue vs, who in all godlie conuersation must be contrary to Satan, to renounce all lying, and to make conscience to speake the truth from our hearts. And also to abandon all vaine boasting of our selues what we are, or what we can do, yea rather to speake basely of our selues that so God in all good things we do may haue the glory. Lying and bragging are the properties of Satan, and therefore can not beseeme the tongue and heart of the children of God.

The second point in this temptation, is the hard condition which satan would haue Christ to yeeld vnto for this gift; If thou wilt fall down & worship me: euen to commit most abominable idolatrie in worshipping the Diuell himselfe. Heerein we may obserue sundrie things:

First, that it is a principall part of the Diuels endeuours against Gods church, to seeke the ouerthrow of true religion, and the pure worship of God, by sowing therein the seeds of heresies and idolatries; for if he dares be thus bold with Christ the head, as to seeke to draw him from the worship of his Father to such abominable idolatrie, what will he not attempt with silly and sinfull men? The Scriptures are plentifull in shewing his indeuours this way. Michaiah saw in vision 1. Kin. 22. 22. an euill spirit offering himselfe vnto God, to become a lying spirit in the mouth of all Ahabs prophets, euen foure hundred at one time. When Iehoshuah Zak. 3. 1.the high Priest stood before the Lord, Satan stood at his right hand to resist him, hee sought to hinder the building and worship of the materiall temple; much more therefore will he seeke to hinder the building of the spirituall temple, euen the worke of the ministery in conuersion of soules whereby they are pulled out of Satans kingdome, and made pillars in the temple of the liuing God. Satan is thatMatth. 13. 39. enuious man that soweth tares of errors and heresies in the church of God which is the field of the good husbandman. He hindred1. Thes. 2. 18. Paul from comming to the Thessalonians, whereby it appeares, that he did his endeuour to hinder the course of the Apostolicall ministery. In the church of Smyrna,Reu. 2. 10. he cast some into prison, stirring vp wicked men so to do, thereby to hinder the embracing of the Gospell.Reu. 16. 13. 14. Iohn saw three vncleane spirits like frogges come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false Prophet. These are spirits of Diuels, working miracles, and going to the kings of the earth: thither they go for the stoppage of the Gospell; for if kings oppose themselues they become greatest hinderers to the Gospell of all other. And these frogges, by the common consent of Catholike expositors, are the rabble of Popish Friers, Priests, and Iesuites, who seeke the infection of States thorow all the world. By all which, the Diuels enmitie against the Church is most apparent.

The vse. I. This shewes what care and diligence Gods Ministers should shew for the building of Gods Church and the furtherance of the Gospell: for they should seeke to the vttermost of their power to counteruaile the enuious practise of satan against the Church.

II. Euery Christian must hence learne, to pray not only for their owne good estate, but also for the welfare of Gods Church euery where, in the free passage of the Gospell, in the establishing of true doctrine, and in the continuance of constant obedience therunto. For Satans endeuour is to subuert and corrupt the truth, and to draw men from obedience; and vnto him Gods children must euer oppose themselues, the rather because their welfare stands in the good of Gods Church.

Secondlie, in this condition of Satans offer to Christ wee may obserue that his endeuour is to bring men to worship him: for if he durst attempt a demaund heerof at the hands of Christ, who shall thinke to escape this assault when oportunity serues him? And howsoeuer men thinke it impossible, that Satan should thus far preuaile with any, as to bring them to worship him; yet doubtlesse (though hee could not preuaile with Christ) heerein hee attaines his purpose in the world, and that with the greatest part thereof: for the three religions of the Iew, Turke, and Papist, doe at this day ouerspread the greatest part of the face of the earth; and in them all, such a worship of God is propounded vnto men,Two rules for triall of religions. wherein God is not worshipped but the Diuell. For the euidence whereof marke these two rules; First, that all doctrines denised by man in the matter of religion, which either directly or by iust consequence oppugne the word of God, are doctrines of Diuels: 1. Tim. 4. 1. 3. Doctrines repugnant to the word, touching mariage, and meares, are doctrines of Diuels; and so by proportion are all such like. Secondly, all deuised worship of God by man, against Gods word, is no worship of God, but of the Diuell: 1. Cor. 10. 20. The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice vnto Diuels and not vnto God. Doubtlesse, the Gentiles intended to worship God in their images, but because that worship was not according to Gods wil, the Apostle respects not their intent, as a thing that could nothing auaile in this case, but saith peremptorily, their worship was done vnto the Diuell. And in reason it must bee so, for why should wee thinke, that God should accept that for his worship which is not agreeable to his will, but denised by man according to the will of the Diuel?

From these two rules it will follow, that the best of the three forenamed religions, is no worship of God, but of the Diuell: for all of them haue such worship as is deuised by man, & not of God; The Iew worships God out of Christ; and so doth the Turke: yea and the Papists worship God, but yet out of the true Christ; for (as hath beene shewed elsewhere) the Christ of the Papists is a counterfet Christ. And in many other points of their religion, there is apparent repugnancy to the word of God: yea of their sacrifice of the Masse, wee may as truly say as the Apostle did of heathen idol worship, that they sacrifice not vnto God, but to the Diuell; for therein is as vile, accursed and abominable idolatrie, as euer was deuised by man. So that it is plaine the Diuel doth mightily preuaile in causing men to worship him. Yea hee preuaileth thus not onely in the world, but in Gods Church; for all such as (notwithstanding their outward profession) haue their hearts set vpon the world, more eagerly affecting the honours, profits and pleasures thereof then God and his word, do in deed and truth worship the Diuell; for hee is the 2. Cor. 4. 4. God of this world, ruling in the heart of the children of disobedience, by the baites of honour, profit and pleasure he steales mens hearts from God, and so heerein they doing the will of the Diuell, must needs worship him; for looke whereon a man seteth his heart, that hee maketh his God.

Thirdly, heere obserue that the Diuell would faine make a couenant with Christ; for worship at Christs hands, he wil giue Christ the glory & riches of the world; heereto is nothing wanting but Christs consent. Whereby we see that it may bee true which sundrie times wee heare of, and many histories do record, to witte, that some persons doe make a league with the Diuell,Some make a league with the Diuell. wherein the Diuell couenanteth to be seruiceable vnto them in procuring them honour, riches, pleasures, or great renowme for some strange actiuities, wherto he will enable them, vpon condition that they for their parts giue vnto him, their bodies, their soules, or their bloud. Some indeed are of mind, that such things are meere forgeries and delusions of the Diuell, and that no league can bee made betweene him and man; but they are deceiued, for hee attempted in effect such a thing with Christ, what will hee not therefore do with silly and sinfull men, especially when he finds them cast downe with discontents? And thus much for the Diuels assault.

The third point in this conflict is Christ answer. vers. 10. Then Iesus said vnto him, Auoid Satan; for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serue. This I will handle as the words do lie in order.

Before his answer hee propoundeth a speech of indignation and detestation both of the Diuell and his offer, auoid Satan, as if he should say, I haue heard thee Satan to speake imuriously against my fathers word, and against my selfe; and now againe, thou vtterest blasphemy against my father, wherein thou goest about to dishonour him greatly; but I abhorte thee Satan, and these thy temptations, therfore hence, auoid, and haue no more to do with me.

In this detestation of Christ towards Satan, for vttering blasphmie against his father,How to be have our selues towards blasphemers. in his chalenge to haue power to dispose of all the kingdomes of the world as being his own; we are taught, not onely to greeue at such blasphemies as we shall heare vttered against God, but to testifie our detestation and indignation towards them. The world is full of black mouthed Rabshekaes, who wil not spare to blaspheme the glorious name of our God, & to scoffe & deride his sacred word: now whē we meet with such, we must not be like Stoicks without affection, but in Christian wisdome from bleeding harts for the reproch of God, shew forth godly zeale and indignation for the rescue of his glorie. The Hypocriticall practise of wicked Iezabel1. King. 21. 9. 10. in proclaming a fast vpon the false accusation of Nabothes blasphemie against God and the king, may teach Gods Church to be zealous indeed aagainst all blasphemers. When Rabiheka railed on the God of Israel,2. King. 19. 1. good king Hezekiahrent his clothes, and humbled himselfe in great measure for that reproch against his God. Teares Ps. 42. 3. were Dauids meat day and night, while the heathen among whom he was constrained to liue, said vnto him where is thy God? And iust Lot 2. Pet. 2. 8. vexed his righteous soule from day to day with the vnlawfull deeds of the filthie Sodomites, liuing among them. The practise of these godly men must be a president for vs to follow, that we heare no blasphemie against God without detestation. And as all Gods children must practise this duty, so especially Masters of families: Dauid Ps. 101. 7.would not suffer a lier or a slanderer to come in his sight, or to abide in his house; much lesse would he haue endured a blasphemer of God, or a slanderer of his word. The law commanded that theLeuit. 24. 14. blasphemer should he stoned to death, who wittinglie and willingly spake a word against God; and no doubt this law is perpetuall. Let a man but speake a word of disgrace against an earthlie prince, and it costs him his life, and that iustlie: how much more then should he die the death though he had a thousand liues, that shall blaspheme the king of kings? Shal one that hath been baptized into the name of Christ, say there is no God, and that the Scriptures are but a deuice of man, and yet liue? God forbid, for this hellish sinne defiles a kingdome. And therefore the Magistrate with the sword of iustice must cry out against such wretches, Away from vs blasphemers.

Secondly, in this Auant of Christ giuen to Satan, wee learne how to behaue our selues against entisers from religion and the obedience of God; wee must hold them as limmes of the Diuell, and in that regard haue nothing to do with them, but with Christ bid them auoid from vs. TheDeutr. 13. 6. 9. Lord commanded that in this case, Parents should not spare their owne children; nor children spare their Parents, if they were enticers to idolatrie, but their owne hands must be first vpon them to put them to death: Our Sauiour Christ would not spare Peter when he gaue him bad counsell, to spare himselfe from suffering that which God hath ordained for him, but saith vnto him,Math. 16. 23. get behind me Satan. So that we are without excuse if we shal reiect this counsel of Salomō, Prou. 19. 27. Heare no more the instruction, that causeth to erre from the words of knowledge.

Thirdly, heer by we also learne how to behaue our selues towards satan when he is violent and importunate in his temptations, to wit, that howsoeuer we may reply to them out of Gods word when they are more milde, yet when Satan begins therein to shew his force and violence we must not reason with him; for Christ would not endure his blasphemy, though hee answered his temptations. In schooles of learning it is counted a simple part to hold alwaies to the conclusion; but in the schole of Christ when the conscience is to deale with Satan, the safest way is by both hands of faith to lay fast hold of the conclusion; cleause fast to Christ, let the Diuell say what he wil, be not drawen thence one iot.

After Christ hath shewed his detestation to Satans blasphemy he answers his temptation; saying, It is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, &c. And whereas he saith the third time, it is written, taking his answer from the Scripture; it teacheth vs that Scripture of it selfe is of power sufficient to vanquish the Diuell. This the Church of Rome wil not admit; for they make Scripture to bee of two kinds; inward and outward; By inward Scripture they meane, the vniuersall consent of all Catholikes in all ages. And by outward Scripture, they vnderstand the written word contained in the Bible. Now they say, inward Scripture is the more excellent; for the outward Scripture they call a dead letter, of little or no power; & they make general councels equall with them for substance of doctrine. If this were true, Christ would not haue alledged outward Scripture, as they call it; but hee knew the written word was the powerfull weapon, sufficient to vanquish the Diuell. And therefore heerein they doe shamefully blaspheme the truth of God, and so God himselfe.

Secondly, this allegation of Christ teacheth vs, how to behaue our selues against all enemies to the truth, that would allure vs to heresie, as to Popery, Anabaptisme or such like; namely to stick fast to the text of Scripture, and not to suffer our selues by any meanes to bee drawen from it. It may bee thou art vnlearned and thine enemie both learned and eloquent; yet heere is thy refuge, cleaue the faster to this written word, and if thou haue one text for thy truth, make more account thereof, then of all the restimonies of councels, fathers, or men whatsoeuer. This instruction is needfull, for it may bee God will suffer seducers to try his children, and then, vnlesse they keep sure this ground of faith, they shall surely be seduced.

The text which Christ alledgeth for his answer, is taken out of Deutr. 6. 13. where the words are thus read; Thou shalt feare the Lord thy God, and serue him. At the first, it may seem that Christ misalledgeth that text, and corrupteth it: for where Moses saith, Thou shalt feare the Lord thy God; Christ saith, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God: and to the latter part Christ addeth the word onely; saying, him onely shalt thou serue, for that which Moses saith, and serue him. But the truth is, heere is no corruption, but a most worthy allegation, as wee shall plainly see, if wee consider two things: first, that Christ and his Apostles in alledging the Scriptures of the old Testament, did not so much respect the words as the true and proper meaning of the place. Secondly, that they oft expound the places which they alledge, and therupon do sometimes vary in word, but stil retaine the true sense and meaning. So it is in this text alleaged: Moses saith, thou shalt feare the Lord thy God, vnderstanding by feare, religious awe and reneronce: And Christ saying, thou shalt worship or adore the Lord thy God, vnderstandeth by worship, outward adoration in bowing of the body, whereby we testifie the inward awe and reuerence of the heart, as when we humble our selues to call vpon God by praier. And this change of words by Christ, serues for excellent vse in this place, to wit, to let vs more clearly see what this feare of God is. To feare God in that place is from a reuerent awe of the heart towards God to humble a mans selfe in prostrating his body before the Lord, either to praise God for benefits receiued, or to pray vnto him for gifts and graces needfull. Againe, for the word which he addeth, therein is no fault at all, for the ful sense and true meaning of Moses text must needs include so much, as the prohibition annexed in the verse following doth plainly shew: for saying thou shalt feare the Lord thy God and serue him: and adding,Vers. 13. Thou shalt not walke after other Gods, vers. 14. is it not all one, as if hee had said, thou shalt serue him only? so that we haue inst cause to blesse God for the true and plaine explaning of the words, and not to surmise the least corruption in the alledging of them.

Now then for our further instruction in this text alledged, consider two points: first, what worship and seruice is: secondly, to whom it belongeth. First,Worship in generall. worship in generall betokeneth, the exhibiting and giuing of reuerence and honour to another. This worship is two-fold; Ciuill,Ciuill worship or Diuine; Ciuill worship is that outward reuerence and honour which one man giues to another, as by prostrating the body, bowing the knee &c. The end of Ciuill worship is, to testifie and acknowledge superiority and preheminence in another, either for authority and office, as the subiect worships his king and gouernour; or for gifts and graces, or for old age; as inferiours in gifts and yonger in age by due reuerence must acknowledge. In this Ciuill maner did Iacob bow himselfe euen times to his brother Esau, thereby acknowledging him for his superiour and better, Gen. 33. 3. Thus also did Abraham bow himselfe before the Hittites, Gen. 23. 7. And Lot vnto the Angels that came into Sodome, taking them to be but men, Gen. 19. 1. And in this ciuill maner it is lawfull to kneele before Kings and Princes, to testifie our subiection vnto them, and loyall acknowledgement of their preheminence ouer vs vnder God.

Diuine worship is the ascribing of Diuinity to the thing we honour,Diuine worship wherby we make it vnto vs some diuine thing aboue the order of any creature. A man may ascribe Diuinity vnto a thing foure waies: first, by attributing the Godhead vnto it, or giuing vnto it such honour whereby he acknowledgeth the same to be God. Secondly, by ascribing vnto it the attributes of God, as omnipresence, omnipotency, to bee most iust, to know all things &c. Thirdly, by accepting and acknowledging it to be the Creator and Gouernour of all things. Fourthly, by acknowledging it to bee the giuer of all good things, the defender and deliuerer from all euill. And to whatsoeuer thing in worship a man ascribes any of these, to the same doth he ascribe Diuinity. This diuine worship doth principally consist in religion and piety; for by religion, which indeed is Gods worship, and by piety, do men ascribe vnto a thing diuine and religious honour.

Diuine worship is two fold: Inward in the mind; or outward in the body. Inward diuine worship is, whē a man giues his heart & soule to any thing, deuoting thereto the affections of his heart, as loue, feare, ioy, hope, faith and confidence, and that because he conceiueth it to be God, hauing diuine properties, as omnipotency, infinite wisedome, iustice, mercy, &c. or being the Creator and Gouernour of all; or the giuer of all good things vnto him, and his preseruer from all euill. This deuoting of the heart and soule vnto God with the faculties & affections therof, is the ground and substance of all diuine worship, and indeed can be giuen to nothing but to that which is God, or conceiued of as God. Outward diuine worship is, when a man shall any way bow, prostrate, or cast downe his body to any thing, thereby to testifie, that his mind and heart are deuoted to it: as that hee holds it to be God, to be omnipotent, &c. Creator and gouernour, and his preseruer, and therfore hee doth repose his trust and affiance therein, set his loue, joy, and feare thereon aboue all other things.Difference betweene ciuill worship and diuine. And heere wee may obserue a difference betweene Ciuill worship and Diuine. By outward ciuill worship we only acknowledge preheminence and superiority in another, in regard of authority, of gifts, age or such like. But by outward diuine worship wee acknowledge diuinity to be in the thing wherto we bow or prostrate our selues. Againe, wee must heere also remember, that outward diuine worship serues onely to restifie the inward, euen to make knowen what thing it is which wee conceiue to be God, and whereto wee haue deuoted the affections of our hearts.

Thus we see what worship is, and the kinds thereof. And heere we must vnderstand our Sauiour Christ to meane, outward diuine worship, as if hee should say, Thou shalt religiously submit, bow or prostrate thy body vnto God in praier or thanksgiuing, thereby testifying that thou hast deuoted thy heart and soule vnto him, not onely conceiuing him to be the diuine essence, omnipotent, infinite &c. but also that thou doest rest and relie on him as on thy Creator, who doth blesse thee with all good things and preserue thee from all euill.

Besides this worship, Christ doth mention a seruing of God, which being distinguished from worship must needs import some other thing.Seruice. Seruice in generall, is nothing else but the giuing and performing of obedience to the commandement of another. This seruice is twofold;Absolute. absolute, or in part. Absolute seruice is, when a man obeies the commandement of another without any condition or exception, and that not only in body outwardly, but in soule and conscience, in thought, will & affection. And this absolute seruice is proper to God alone, for wee must neuer call his commandements into question, but looke what God commands and as hee commands it, so must we simply and absolutely yeeld obedience thereto, not only outwardly in body, but inwardly in soule and spirit with the powers and faculties thereof, and in all the affections of our heart.In part. Seruice in part, is that which is due to gouernours and superiors from their inferiours in the Lord: for God hath giuen power to magistrates heere on earth to make lawes for the good of ciuil estates, in yeelding obediēce wherunto, their inferiors must doe them seruice; yet not absolutely, but with restraint, to wit, in the Lord, so far foorth as their commands agree with the wil of God, and crosse not his command. Againe our obedience vnto them is in body and outward conuersation: indeed we must from the heart yeeld seruice and obedience vnto them: but yet the conscience properly cannot bee bound by mens lawes, they only concerne the outward man in speech, gesture and behauiour. Now of these two kinds of seruice, our Sauior Christ speaketh here, of simple and absolute seruice, whereby both soule and body with all the powers and parts thereof yeeld absolute obedience and subiection to the will and commandement of God.

Wee see what worship and seruice is heere required: Now wee must obserue the person to whom the same is to be giuen, in these words: The Lord thy God: Diuine worship whether inward or outward, and absolute seruice of the whole man, must be giuen to no creature, Angell or man, be they neuer so excellent, but to the true God alone. The scope and drift of the first and second commandements, is to bind euery man to giue so much to his God, and to beware of giuing the same to any other besides the Lord. And the practise of the good Angell that talked withReu. 19. 10. Iohn, doth shew the same thing, for when Iohn fell before his feet to worship him, the Angell said, see thou do it not:—worship God. Where we see the good angels do striue for the furtherance of Gods right in these duties, howsoeuer this wicked spirit tempting Christ, doth heerein seeke Gods great disgrace. And thus we may perceiue that Christs applying of this text against Satans temptation is most pregnant; for Satan requiring of Christ the prostrating of his body before the Diuell, in token that he did worship him as the giuer of those kingdomes which he offered vnto Christ, is iustly repulsed by this text, which bindeth euery man to giue outward diuine worship, whereby the inward worship of the heart is signified, to God alone and not to any creature.

Heere then we may learne,Vse. that it is not lawfull to giue to Saint or Angel,No creature must haue diuine worship. or any creature whatsoeuer, outward diuine worship or adoration, whereby the inward deuotion of the heart is testified. This text is plaine to the contrary, and the reason we haue heard, because diuine prostrating of the body to any thing, is a testification that we ascribe diuinity vnto it some way; which without the guilt of idolatrie cannot bee done to any creature: for let a man worship Saint or Angell by praier or thanksgiuing, and therein he doth ascribe vnto them some propriety of the diuine nature, as, to know the heart, to be able to heare, to helpe or such like. The Papists heere say, they doe not thinke the Saints to whom they pray, to be God, neither do they worship them as God. But this will helpe them little: for the Diuell mouing Christ to yeeld vnto him outward diuine worship, neuer meant, that Christ should adore him for God, but onely desired, that by this outward adoration of prostrating his body before him, Christ would acknowledge him to be the giuer of those kingdomes, (for he durst not be so bold as absolutely to desire to be worshipped for God) and yet Christ tels him, that outward diuine worship euen in respect of the acknowledgement of such a gift is proper to God alone. And yet the church of Rome do giue vnto Saints, that which the Diuell demands and Christ denies by appropriating it vnto God: for they make seuerall saints deliuerers and protectors from seuerall diseases and dangers: as the Virgin MaryBreuiat, in missa quotid. de B. Maria. from shipwracke; S. RochMissale & Breuiar. Sarisbut, in missa de Sancto Rocho. from the pestilence; Raphael Alan. Cop. dial. 3. 29.from sore aies;Kem. exam. concil. Trid. part. 3. cap. de inuo sanct. Apollonia from the tooth-ach; AndIac. de Vorag. [illegible: 1 letter]ur. leg. c. 167. Catharine for al maner of afflictions. Yea they make them patrons and protectours of whole countries and kingdomes, as Saint Iames for Spaine; Saint Denis for France; Saint Patricke for Ireland, &c. Now sith many a one may giue a kingdome that cannot defend it let all men iudge whether they doe not giue more vnto Saints, than Satan demanded to be acknowledged vnto him by our Sauiour Christ: yea they make them intercessours for the procuring of the sauour of God and life euerlasting: they call the Virgin Mary, the Queene of Heauen, and pray to her, that by the authority of a mother, she would command her sonne to heare their praiers; which is to make Christ a punie and vnderling vnto her; which are greater matters then the disposing of earthly kingdomes. Heere they say, that they may do that to the glorious saints in heauen, which is done to earthly Princes; for men adore them and in their absence fall downe before their chaire of estate. Answ. The adoration giuen to Princes, is but a ciuill acknowledgement of their preheminence: and kneeling before their chaire of estate, is only a ciuil testimony of loyaltie and subiection; it is not directed to the Princes person being absent, but only serueth to testifie his subiection to that authoritie and power which is set ouer him in the Lord; there is no diuine propriety ascribed by either of these vnto the person or authority of the Prince. But now in bowing down to pray to Saints, there is religious adoration giuen them, for therein be ascribed vnto them these diuine properties, that they can know the heart, heare and helpe afarre off, pray for them in particular, and such like; by all which God is robbed of his honour.

And though we condemne the Papists for giuing to Saints diuine worship, yet wee must beware of despising the Saints of God in Heauen: for there is due vnto them a threefold honour: first thanksgiuing to God for them, who inabled them by his gifts and graces, to be in their times, speciall instruments of good vnto Gods church. Secondly, we are to carrie a reuerent estimation of them being now in heauen, as of the friends of God and temples of his holy spirit. Thirdly, we are to follow the example of their godly conuersatiōs in the duties of godlinesse: But from giuing vnto them diuine worship we must carefully abstaine.

Againe,Worship of reliques vnlawfull. if the diuine worship of saints be heere condemned, then much more is the worshipping of their reliques: then also is their instituting and obseruing fasting daies and holy daies vnto their saints heere iustly reproued. Neither can our Church heerein be condemned with them, though wee retaine the names of such daies among vs, because it is for another end; out fasts are meerely ciuill on such daies; and our holy dayes turned from the adoration of saints to the seruice of God, whereon also our conscience knowes her libertie giuen of God for honest labour in a lawfull calling as neede requires.

Further, obserue how Christ heere ioines the worship of God and the seruice of God together: teaching vs not to content our selues with doing the duties of Gods worship, but withall wee must yeeld vnto him absolute seruice and obedience. Men commonly thinke they haue done enough, if on daies appointed they come to the Church and there performe outward worship vnto God in hearing the word, in praier, and receiuing the Sacraments; these, I confesse be worthy workes if they be well performed: but heerein is the common errour, that when they haue performed this outward worship they make no conscience of absolute seruice, the thing which Christ heere ioines to worship; they thinke that in their callings they may liue as they list, either idly or vniustly, by fraud and dissembling: but seuer not thou seruice from worship, which Christ hath ioyned together, lest God say vnto thee forthy worship as hee did once to the IewesIsay. 1. 14. 15. My soule hateth your new moones and your appointed feasts, they are a burden vnto me, &c. What, doth God hate that worship himselfe appointed? no, but he hares the seuering of it from seruice and obedience wherein they should shew foorth to their brethren, loue, iustice and mercy: he reiects all seruice at their hands, because their hands were full of blood, v. 15. Read Micha. 6. v. 6. 7. 8. The offering of sacrifice was a speciall part of worship vnder the Law, and yet though a man should bring for his sacrifice thousands of Rammes, or ten thousand riuers of oile, nay though he brought his first borne, the fruite of his body for the sinne of his soule, yet all is nothing without iustice, mercy, humbling himselfe and walking with his God, vers. 8. Let vs therefore serue God sincerely in our conuersations, as wee seeme to honour him in duties of religion; let vs shew the feare of God in our liues; for worship without seruice, is like the cutting off of a dogs head, or offering swines flesh &c. as I say 66. 3. which is abhomination to the Lord.

Thirdly, obserue that Christ addeth only to Moses words, for the better clearing of Moses meaning; which may serue for our iust defence against the Papists; they blame vs greatly for teaching that a man is iustified by faith only, saying the word only, is not in any place ascribed to iustification by faith. We answer, in all the old testament this word only is not ioyned to this command, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and serue him, and yet Christ saith, it is written, him only shalt thou serue, because the restraint and inhibition annexed, from giuing this worship and seruice to any other, doth in effect include only; euen so, though in letters and syllables we doe not find this word only, adioyned to this sentence, man is iustified by faith; yet because of the exclusion of workes vsually annexed to that phrase, as that, we are iustified by faith without the workes of the Law, Rom. 3. 28. and are iustified freely by his grace, v. 24. and that a man is not iustified by the workes of the Law, but by faith, Gal. 2. 16. hereupon I say we may hold and teach, and that truly, according to the true sense thereof, following Christs example in this place, that the scripture saith, a man is iustified by faith only.

Lastly, from this commandement we must learne our duty touching Gods seruice: in word we wil all acknowledge our selues to be his seruants, but if heerin we will approue our selues to be his seruants, we must resolue and labour to yeeld vnto him absolute obedience, as well in hart, mind, will and affection, as in outward conuersation. The end of the ministery of the word is not onely to reforme the outward man, but2. Cor. 10. 4. 5. to cast downe the inward holds of sinne in the Imagination; and to bring into captiuitie euery thought to the obedience of Christ. And this is done when after true repentance a man endeuoureth to yeeld vnto God totall obedience, and that from the whole man in soule and body and spirit, not for a time, but continually.

VERSE 11. Then the Diuell left him, and behold the Angels came and ministred vnto him.

THese words containe the third partChrists happy issue in these temptations. of this description of Christs temptation; to wit, the happie euent and issue thereof, in Christs glorious victory ouer the Tempter; which is the principall part, wherein consists the maine comfort of Gods church; for as in temptation Christ stood in our roome and stead, so is this victory not his a lone, but the victory of his Church. This issue conteines two parts. First, Satans departing from him. Secondly, the ministery of good Angels vnto him.

For the first, Then the Diuell left him: that is, after that by temptations he could nothing auaile, then he betakes himselfe to flight. In this appeares the vnspeakeable mercie of God vnto his Church, in mitigating, and in due time putting an end vnto the afflictions and temptations thereof; for the case of Christ the head in this conflict, is the case and condition of all his members. Now heere we see what a gratious issue, the Lord put to these great assaults of Satan; in due time his enimie flies: and so will the Lord deale in all the miseries of his Church, & children: God promiseth to Dauid concerning Salomon, 2. Sam. 7. 14.that if he sin, hee will chastise him with the roddes of men, and with the plagues of the children of men: that is, with such punishments as he shall be able to beare, but his mercy he will not take from him. The Prophet Habacucke in his complaint against the wrong & violence of the wicked done to the iust, is somewhat impatient towards God for his delay. Hab. 1. 2. 3. Therefore in the vision afterward shewed vnto him, he is bid to waite for deliuerance, for though it tary, yet it shall surely come and shall not stay, Cha. 2. 3. Thus Paul comforteth the Christian Corinthians, God is faithfull, and will not suffer you to be tempted aboue that which ye are able to beare, but will giue an issue with the temptation that ye may be able to beare it; 1. Cor. 10. 13.Reu. 11. 8. 9. 10. The bodies of the two Prophets who were slaine for the testimony of the Lord Iesus, are suffered to lie in the streetes vnburied, for three daies and an halfe, that is, for some short time; which being expired, the spirit of life comming from God shall enter into them and reuiue them; then feare shall take their enimies, but they shall ascend vp to heauen, and their enemies shall see it. All these doe plainly manifest Gods great mercie in giuing a gracious issue to the troubles of his childrē, yea by good experience we may see the truth heereof in the happy issue that the Lord hath put to the most fearefull temptations of sundry in our time, who haue beene exercised therein, some for a yeare or two, other for longer time euen many yeares together, and yet in the end haue sung the song of ioyful deliuerance: it may be some of Gods children beare the Crosse to their dying day, yet the Lord sustains them in it by his grace, and in the end shewes them mercy and peace.

Secondly, in this departure of Satan from Christ, we may obserue a notable difference between the first Adam, and the second. The first Adam was tempted and ouercome therein; Satan preuailed in that conflict, and brings him captiue into his kingdome, hauing spiritually taken possession of him. The second Adam is tempted also, but the Diuell can find no meanes whereby to preuaile with him: the prince of this world commeth, but hath nought in mee, saith Christ, Iohn 14. 30. But after his assault is faine to flie away.

Further, in this departure of Christ note two circumstances: when Satan departed, and for how long a time. First, when he departed is noted in this word then, that is after the third temptation; when Christ in indignation for his blasphemy against God had said, Auoid Satan; and withall had answered his temptation out of the written word, then he departs. Hence we learne:

First, that the best way to vanquish satain is to giue him no ground,Giue Satan no ground. but to withstand him manfully at the first: Iam. 4. 7. resist the Diuell and he will flie. Now Satan is resisted, when from our hearts we cast our soules on the promises of God conteined in his word, and in the whole course of our liues pray for strength of grace to stand against all his assaults: whereby wee may see the great error and deceit of those, who accompt of Satans temptations as of fits of melancholie, and thinke they may bee remooued by musicke, merrie company and such like; but these are no weapons to driue away the Diuell. Secondly, this also shewes their dangerous course who yeeld to Satans temptations for a time, taking their pleasure in their youth, purposing to resist him when they are olde and then to repent: too many take this course, but it is fearefull: for thus doing, they set open al the doores of their heart to the Diuel, and suffer him to take quiet possession, little considering that it is beyond their power to dispossesse him at their pleasure: For indeed heereby they become like to a man that is sick of the dropsie, who the more he drinks, the more he desires; so hee that willingly giues place to Satans temptation, the more he sinnes, the more he may; for the longer he is tempted, the more by yeelding is he weakened, & the greater is the danger of his endlesse confusion: therefore learne of Christ to resist betime.

Secondly, in this circumstance, note that when Christ rebuketh Satan and bids him auoid, hee departs and is presently gone. Was this any vertue in satan that hee doth thus readily depart at Christs command? no verily,Satans obedience is not commendable. though he obey, it is not praise worthy: for obedience is two fould, voluntary, and constrained; voluntary, when the creature doth Gods command without compulsion, thus Adam did before his fail, and all holy ones that are iustified and sanctified doe thus in part in this life: Constrained obedience is, when the creature is made to obey God, wil he nil he. This is like to the obedience of rebels, who being attached and arreigned for their treasons, in suffering are made to obey the Princes lawes. And such was this obedience of Satan, forced vpon him by the powerfull command of Christ, who is Prince and Lord of all creatures. And this is to be marked, that when Christ giues foorth his powerfull command, then Satan must obey whether he wil or not. This is euident by his manifold dispossessions of vncleane spirits, who came foorth at his command, though they accompted him as their tormenter. Now that which heere befals the Diuell, shall one day bee verified of all wicked men; if they will not now obey God willinglie, while in the ministerie of the word he bids them repent, and beleeue the Gospell; they shall one day bee compelled, euen at the dreadful day of Iudgement, wil they, nil they, to obey that wofull voice of Christ, Depart from mee yee cursed into euerlasting fire, Mat. 25. 41. In regard whereof, wee must euer be carefull, now in the daie of grace, to yeeld vnto Christ voluntary and cheerefull obedience, vnto all his commandements both of the Law and Gospell, lest one day wee be constrained to obey in going to our endlesse wo: Satan who is a thousand-fold stronger then man, could not resist his power; how then shall wee that are but dust and ashes stand before so great a God?

This circumstance of time is more fully noted by S. Luke, saying,Luc. 4. 13. and when the Diuell had ended all the temptation, he departed from him: whereby thus much is signified, that look what knowledge, craft, or power the Diuel had, that did he imploy to the vttermost in these temptations before he left our Sauior Christ. Whereby it appeareth that Christ was tempted in the highest degree and measure that Satan possibly could attain vnto: herein did the Diuell shew the extremity of his fraude and malice against Christ; which further appeares by this, that the Angels of heauen came and ministred vnto him for his comfort; so as though Satan could not taint the sacred heart of our Sauior Christ with the least spot of sin; yet in these temptations Christ was troubled with the same forrowes, griefes & vexations, which Gods children vsually feele in their temptations: The consideration whereof serues for speciall vse.

First, to keepe all Gods childrenA good ground against despaire from despaire in the greatest extremity of their temptations, euen when they shall feele their conscience (as it were) set on an Iron racke, and the slashings of hell fire alreadie kindled in their soule: for Christ Iesus the head of the Church was tempted by Satan in the highest degree, so as the Angels came to minister comfort vnto him, and yet he still remained the welbeloued sonne of God; and so may any of Gods children remaine Gods deere elect, euen then when the violence of Satan shall seem most to preuaile against them.

Secondly, this teacheth vs to suppresse all rash iudgment in our selues, of all such as shall bee exercised by Satan in extreame temptations: for oft it will fall out that the conscience of Gods child shall bee so exceedingly tormented in temptation, that hee shall cry out, he is forsaken of God, and shalbe damned; when as indeed he stil remains the deare child of God, as Christ our Sauiour did Gods welbeloued in the deepest assaults of Satan. And therefore the relation published of Francis Spira his desperation,Francis Spira doth inconsiderately taxe him for a cast-away; considering that nothing befel him in the time of his desperation but that which may befall the child of God: yea our owne land can afford many examples which match Francis Spira, whether we regard the matter of his temptation, or the deepnesse of his desperation, who yet through the mercy of God haue receiued comfort. And therefore in this case Christian charity must euer bind vs to thinke and speake the best.

Lastly, Satans departing vpon the ending of these three temptations, giues vs to vnderstand, that howsoeuer the Diuel abound with temptations of all sorts, yet these three are the ground of all, and the most principall temptations that Satan hath; for in this combate he did his worst, & shewed the violence of his rage and wrath. And therefore it wil needfull for vs to take special notice of them, as also of Christs repulses giuen vnto them, that so wee may be the better armed against them and the like. Thus much for the time when Satan departed.

The second circumstance touching his departure is, for how long the Diuel left him, noted by Saint Luke, not for euer,Luk. 4. 13. but for a season. Some may say, we doe not find that Satan tempted Christ euer after this, saue only vpon the crosse, where he spotled principalities and powers, Coloss. 2. 15. Answ. The Diuell tempts men two waies: sometime by himselfe, as he did our Sauior Christ in this place and vpon the crosse, and our first mother Eue in the garden, Gen. 3. 1. sometime by men whom hee vseth as his instruments; thus he tempted Adam by Eue; and Iob, by the Chaldeans and Sabeans that robbed him, and by his friends who sought to draw him from his integrity, Iob. 27. 5. now though Christ were not often after this tempted immediately by the Diuel, yet by Satans instruments he was many times sore assaulted to the greefe of his heart, as by the Iewes, the Scribes, and Pharisies, Herod, and Pontius Pilate, who required signes of him, mocked and persecuted him.

Heere we may see a notable patterneThe state of Gods Church on earth. of the state of Gods Church & children in this world, for looke as Christ their head is sore tempted, and then let alone, and yet but for a season, being tempted againe by Satans Instruments; so fareth it with them, one while they are exercised with outward temptations, and another while with inward assaults; then through Gods mercy they haue freedome for a season; but afterward Satan comes vpon them againe, either by himselfe or by his instruments: which must teach vs wisdome in regard of the state of our own Church in particular, town, that we must not dreame of a perpetuall freedome from trials and temptations, howsoeuer through Gods mercie wee haue inioyed admirable peace and tranquillity for many yeares together; for being a part of Christs mystical body we must looke for the same condition with our head Christ Iesus, who being sore tempted of Satan was left but for a season, and after tempted againe: and therfore wee must resolue our selues vndoubtedly that trials will come; what way, God only knoweth; but the winter of affliction will follow our haruest of ioy and peace: and the yearely visitations, by plagues & famine, are symptomes, that is, signes & foretunners of more heauy iudgments, vnlesse we prepare to meete our God in the practise of speedy and vnfained repentance. And as this is the state of our Church in generall, so is it the particular condition of euery Christian, whose life is a continuall intercourse of trouble and peace, and therefore euery child of God must be watchfull against security, and with the end of one assault, ioyne his preparation for a new: This was the state of Christ, and the seruant must not look to be aboue his master. And thus much for the Diuels departure.

The second part of the Issue of this conflict is the ministery of the angels vnto Christ; And behold the Angels come and ministred vnto him. In saying Behold, the Euangelist commends to our consideration the view of a great wonder, to wit, that that person whom the Diuel would haue had to haue worshipped him, is here worshipped and serued of the holy Angels of God. Let no man therefore iudge of himselfe, by that which Satan would perswade him to in temptation; Christs estate doth now appeare farre different from that which Satan would haue brought him to, & so shall all Gods children find it to bee with them after temptation, if therein they fight manfully after the example of Christ.

Touching the ministerie of these Angels, here obserue three points. First, the bond that causeth the good Angels to minister vnto Christ. Secondly, their number. And thirdly, the time of their ministery.

I. Point. The bond of their Ministery, is Christs soueraignety ouer the Angels, not onely as hee is God their Creator, but as hee is mediator God and man, euen the man Christ, (I say not the manhood of Christ) but Christ (as I may say) the man-God, is Lord of all Angels, and they doe him homage and seruice. And though the man-hood of Christ be not Lord of Angels, yet being receiued into the vnity of his God-head, it is thereby exalted aboue all Angels by many degrees. Wherin we may behold the endlesse goodnesse of God, in aduancing our nature, which by sinne was made more vile then al earthly creatures, far aboue the Angels in degree, by reason of this coniunction which it hath with the nature of God in the person of Christ.

Now as by this bond the Angels are made ministers vnto Christ, so by vertue of the same, they become ministers to all his true members. Iacobs ladder is thus expounded by our Sauiour Christ: verily, Ioh. 1. 51. verily, I say vnto you, heereafter shall ye see heauen open, and the Angels of God ascending and descending vpon the son of man. This sonne of man is Christ, who being God and man reacheth from heauen to earth, and from earth to heauen; to him the Angels minister, and by him they descend to minister to all the saints of God heere on earth.

The vse. 1. This teacheth vs to admire the endlesse goodnesse of God vnto his Church and children, not onely in bestowing heauen and earth vpon them, but euen giuing his glorious Angels to become ministring spirits for their protection, defence, & comfort. II. This their ministery, must admonish vs to carry our selues reuerently and holily in all maner of conuersation. If we were in the presence of an earthly Prince, oh how carefull would we be to our behauiour both for words & actions? Much more then should the presence and attendance of Gods glorious angels, who pitch their tents about vs if we be Gods children, make vs circumspect to all our waies; and the rather, because their ministery is for our comfort and protection, while wee keepe our selues in the straight waies of God.

II. point. Their number. It is not said one Angel, but angels came and ministred vnto him. Indeed when hee was in his Agonie in the garden a little before his passion,Luc. 22. 4[illegible: 1 letter]. one Angell came and ministred comfort vnto him: so that sometime one, sometime moe attended on him; euen as the euill spirits come to tempt, sometime one alone, as Satan did heere to Christ, and somtimes moe, as they did when he was vpon the Crosse. And as it befell Christ, so doth it to Gods children, they haue somtime one good Angell to attend vpon them, and sometime many: so likewise haue they sometime one euill spirit to assault them, and somtimes many, as the man in whom the legion was. And heereby falleth to the ground this common opinion, that euery man hath one good Angell and one bad attending vpon him, the one to protect him, the other to tempt him. But this opinion doth not wel stand with the tenour of the scripture, which thus sets out the state of men in regard of his attendance by Angels, that there are somtimes moe about him, and somtime fewer; whether we speake of good Angels, or of euill spirits.

III Point. The time when these good Angels came and ministred vnto Christ, is noted in this word Then; that is, when the Diuel had done all he could against our Sauiour Christ: they came not in the time of his assaults, but when Satan had ended his temptations and was gone. There is no doubt, but the good Angels were alwaies about our Sauior Christ attending on his blessed person, but at this time it is like they tooke vpon them some visible shape, that so their ministery might be the more comfortable vnto him; as it is like, the diuel appeared in some shape for Christs greater terrour in his temptations.

In this circumstance of time,God will sometime hide his mercy from his children. we may obserue a worke of Gods prouidence which he pleaseth to exercise in the time of temptation vpon his owne children; to wit, for a time to hide his mercy from them, withdrawing the sensible feeling of his fauour. Thus he dealt with his beloued some Christ Iesus, during the time of Satans violent temptations he concealed from him the sensible assistance of the ministerie of his Angels, they shew not themselues till Satan is departed. And so fareth it many times with Gods deere children vpon whom he bestowes the good graces of his spirit, as a nourcing-mother to try the affection of her childe, will sometime hid her selfe from it, leaue it alone, and suffer it to take a knocke or a fall; so wil the Lord leaue his children to themselues & conceale from them the signes of his fauour, suffering them to be buffered in temptation for a time, that they may find thereby what they are in themselues without Gods grace, and by feeling the bitternesse of that estate, the more to hunger and thirst after his grace and fauour, the more ioifully and thankfully to embrace it when it is renued, and the more carefully to keepe it all the daies of their life. What made Dauid to accompt so highly of the courts of Gods house, as that he esteemed the sillyPsal. 84. 1. 2. 3. birds happy that might build their nests by Gods altar, but his banishment thence, by the persecution of Saul wherin hee was constrained to remaine in Psal. 120. 5. Meshech, and to dwell in the tents of Kedar? And so when the people of God were in Babell, remembring Zion they wept; oh then,Ps. 137. 1. 5. 6. let my right hand forget to play, if I forget thee O serusalem; let my tongue cleaue to the roofe of my mouth if I prefer not Ierusalem to my chiefe ioy.

But vnto many this doctrine of temptations will seeme to small purpose, nay altogether needlesse, for that they neuer felt any such conflicts with the Diuell, they defie him from their harts, and they trust to God neuer to be troubled with him: this is the common estate of most men (those onlie excepted who haue felt how hard a thing it is truly to repent and beleeue) thus to blesse themselues in a carnall peace; but sillie soules, they know not their owne hearts nor the fearfull case in which they stand; for all the true members of Christ must be made conformable vnto their head; now he was consecrated the prince of their saluation through afflictions, Heb. 2. 10: his soule was heauie vnto the death, before he could finish the worke of our life: yea he is tempted by Satan before he is comforted by the Angels; those therefore that were neuer tempted haue yet no fellowship in his afflictions, they haue not begunne any conformitie with Christ, so as it is like they are still bondslaues vnto Satan, for if they had escaped out of his snare, they should feele his assaults to get them in againe: in regard heereof the childe of God is constrained to buckle hard with Satan in temptation, and to pray many a time to be deliuered from his buffeting. And indeed howsoeuer for the present this be not ioyous, yet they may count it exceeding great gladnesse, as theIam. 1. 2. Apostle saith, not onely for this triall of their faith which bringeth forth patience, but also because herein they become like vnto Christ in his humiliation, which may giue them assurance that they shall be like him in glorie:2. Tim. 2. 11. 12. for if we be dead with Christ we shall also liue with him, and if we suffer we shall also raigne with him. Adde further that these men that neuer felt the assault of Satan, are as yet vnder a most fearfull iudgment of God in hardnesse of heart. When Christ sedde fiue thousand men with fiue loaues and two fishes,Mark. 6. 41. he distributed it by the hands of his disciples; But after it is said, they perceiued not this matter of the loaues, and this reason is rendred, because their harts were hardned, vers. 52. And so it is with them that neuer feele the temptations of Satan, for he goeth about continually like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may deuoure, as they whose hearts are not hardned do well perceiue. To conclude therefore, let these men who yet neuer felt in themselues these assaults of Satan, vnfainedly endeuour to change the course of their liues by the practise of true repentance in eschewing euill and doing good; let them giue themselues sincerely to the exercise of praier for the remouall of their stony hearts, and the renuing vnto them hearts of flesh, let them heare the word and doe the same; and then they will shortly sing another song, to wit, that whosoeuer will liue godly in Christ Iesus must suffer temptations and be assaulted by the Diuell; and then will they finde that this doctrine is needfull, yea they wil blesse God for this worke of his spirit that caused these temptations of Christs to be so particularly recorded, with his happy issue and victory ouer them all, not only for himselfe but for all his members, that in their temptations they may looke vnto Iesus, lest they should faint in their minds, for in that he suffered and was tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted, Heb. 2. 18.