16. Then Herod having seen, that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and having sent forth, he slew all the young children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts of it, from two years old and under, according to the time, which he diligently enquired of the wise men.

17. Then it was fulfilled, that that was spoken by Jeremy the prophet's declaring,

18. a voice, in Rama, was heard, weeping and great mourning, Rachel lamenting her children, and was not desiring to have been comforted, because they exist not.

child.

5. Then there was going out to him, Jerusalem and all the Judea and all the region of the Jordan,

6. and were being baptized in the river Jordan, by him, confessing their sins.

7. But having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who warned you to have fled from wrath that is about to come.

527

8. Verily bring forth fruit worthy of the repentance you profess,

528

9. for ye should not have imagined to say for yourselves, we have a progenitor the Abraham. For

ness ?

might be fulfilled. Is this the Theology of light or of dark527. The repentance. Observe, the Article is expressed. 528. We have &c. Literally, We actually descend from him;

whereas &c., We are authorized to claim him as our parent; hence &c., 321.

528,1. He will baptize you. Literally, He will actively enforce reception; whereas &c. Passive, He will enable you to obtain it; hence &c., 321. See Luke 536.

529. I have need. Literally, I feel a want; whereas &c., It is more suitable for me to be baptized by thee; hence &c., 321.

530. And was led into the wilderness under the spirit. The Article before the word Spirit is employed when there can be no doubt that the reference is To the spirit of a living man, see John xi. 33. The Preposition that is here used marks that the relation between the parts of the sentence is A natural relation; and as we learn from Luke iv. 1, That Jesus was not Actually but only Metaphorically led into the wilderness, and that this, by the Preposition there used, was not an effect produced by A relation that is natural, the relation indicated being that of Inferiority or subordination, He was led subject to, that is, In imagination; which Sense, as is also the use of the Preposition employed, is, I believe, incompatible with the expression of the Sense of the Authorized Version. In St. Matthew however the Arrangement of the words "And was led," should be Regular, as the Natural Relation of that which follows is either By the Spirit, See Luke ii. 27, or, In the spirit i e the Imagination.

I leave it to those, who maintain the correctness of the Sense of the Authorized Version, to explain the manner in which what is there asserted can be correct, and also the declaration, God tempteth

no man.

531. That &c. I think what is here stated is intended to be understood, as that which presented itself to our Blessed Lord's imagination, as described in the preceding verse, expressing in strong language a requirement of nourishment.

532. That the Jesus having answered &c. It is worthy.here of particular notice, that Affirmative declarations in Holy Scripture, that things did so happen, or that things were so spoken &c., are not designed to express that no more than what is recorded did transpire, but only that that which is recorded had an actual and literal existence. Thus St. Luke iv. 4 represents our Blessed Lord here answering only this, That not by bread alone the man shall live, but by every word of God. This verily our Blessed Lord did say, but we find from the record here that he not only said this, but also more than this, his full words being, Not by bread alone the man shall live, but by every word proceeding out of the mouth of God. In like manner, we are not required to believe that Jethro in parting with his son-in-law Moses spoke to him no other words than, Go in peace. Also compare Matt. xxiv. 20 with Mark xiii.

18. Also Matt. xx. 29-34. Matt. xxvii. 44. Mark x. 46-52 with Luke xviii. 35-43. See Note 850.

532,1. Observe it is, And he sits him, not, On a pinnacle, but, On the pinnacle of the temple.

533. He will give &c. Literally, Specifically command the angels; whereas &c., God will take care of him; hence &c.,

321.

534. I will give unto thee. Literally, Thou shalt personally possess them; whereas &c., Thou shalt possess the control and power over them; hence &c., 321. In like manner, Luke iv. 6. It hath been delivered unto me, that is, I am permitted to exercise it.

535. Thou shalt worship Jehovah thy God. Literally, Thou Satan shalt do so; whereas &c., This is the injunction God has given us, Thou who art my children shalt worship &c.; hence &c.,

321.

537 And behold angels came. It is not for me to determine in what manner this passage is to be understood different to what it Literally expresses; it is clear that some other than the Literal Sense is intended to be conveyed; it may be, that the Angels or

20. And the men straightway having forsaken the nets, they followed him,

21 and having gone on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the of the Zebedee, and John his brother, in the ship, with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.

22. And the men immediately having left the ship and their father, they followed him,

23. then he was going about through all the 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,

333

333

Messengers of God that at that time came and ministered to our Blessed Lord, were mental perceptions vouchsafed to Jesus of the power, presence, protection and comfort of his Heavenly Father. See Rule 322,1.

538. A great light saw. Literally, It was such to them; whereas &c., Such it would result to man; hence &c., 322,1.

539. Fishers of men I will make you. Literally, I will compel you to be; whereas &c., I will enable you to be; hence &c., 321. 541. The spirit. Had the Sense here been, That those who are poor in spirit are blessed, the Article would not have been expressed before the word spirit. The Holy Spirit cannot here be referred

542

spiritual state are, in that the kingdom of the hea

543

vens exists for i e open to them,

to, as the word Holy is not expressed; hence my Paraphrase. I consider Poor here is not confined to the absence of Wealth, but includes those that have lost Reputation, authority, power &c. &c.

542. Are. In my opinion, the Auxiliary Verb is never unintentionally omitted. I am of opinion that generally, if not always, it determines that the Sense intended to be conveyed is other than the full Sense of the sentence with which it is connected; thus here, The poor are not blessed, but they are assured that they may obtain a blessing, That the kingdom of heaven has been opened to them; hence in my opinion the omission of the Auxiliary Verb.

543. The kingdom of the heavens &c. Literally, The Kingdom of their heaven exists; hence &c., 321.

544. Pure in the heart. Pure in heart means, That the heart has never been defiled, the Sense here intended to be conveyed is, Pure in the heart referred to, that is, pure in their present state of heart, hence the expression of the Article.

545. Stop. Mat. v. 11, is not, Blessed ye are when men shall revile you, but, it is, Ye are blessed. When men shall revile you rejoice; hence the Major Stop. See Rule 170.

546. But if the Salt should have been rendered insipit. Literally,

322,2

549

*550.....

one jot or one tittle should not have passed from the law, until if possible, every thing should have been fulfilled.

19. Therefore whosoever should have broken one of these commandments that are least, or should have taught thus the men they teach to do, least he shall be called in the kingdom of the heavens. But whosoever should have done and taught, this man great shall be called in the kingdom of the heavens. 20. I say do and teach. For I say unto you, that

Actively compelled to become so; whereas &c. Passive, Should have undergone such a change; hence &c., 322,1.

548. Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. It is a sad mistake to understand these words of our Blessed Lord, to be a declaration, that he came not to terminate, or put an end to, the obligation of man to yield obedience to the Law or the Prophets; since his words do not import any such Sense. The true Sense of what he declares, consists in the difference that exists between, Destroying and Fulfilling; each of them implies in this passage, a termination of that to which they refer. Destruction implies, an abrupt termination of that which is destroyed, before the time of being complete; Fulfilling implies, a completion of everything connected with that which is terminated, previous to its termination; hence Christ came not to destroy, but to fulfil, both the Law and the Prophets.

549. One jot or one tittle should not have passed. Literally, This has reference to material substance; whereas &c. has reference, To mental obligation to obey; hence &c., 322,1.

550. Every thing should have been fulfilled. Literally, The entire Law must be fulfilled before any part of it is abrogated; whereas &c., Nothing in the whole law shall be abrogated until it has been fulfilled; hence &c., 322,1.

unless your righteousness should have increased more than the Scribes and Pharisees, ye should not have entered into the kingdom of the heavens,

21. ye heard, that it was said by the ancients, thou shalt not kill. And whosoever should have killed, in danger he shall exist by the judgment awarded to him.

22. But I say unto you, that each that is angry with his brother, in danger he shall exist by the judgment that shall be awarded to him. And whosoever should have said to his brother, Raca, in danger he shall exist by the council's edict. But whosoever should have said, O fool, in danger he shall exist as regards the place of the devouring flame.

23. Therefore if thou shouldst bring thy gift, to the altar, and there thou shouldst have remembered,

551. Thy brother hath something. Literally, This is confined to a just cause of offence; whereas &c., Intended to include offences of every description, whether just or unjust; hence &c., 322,1.

552. Thine eye that is right causes. Literally, The active cause; whereas &c., The passive instrument; hence &c., 322,1.

553. And not all thy body should have been cast into hell. If the body perishes in the grave, and the Soul is destroyed in hell, the Disarrangement here is quite necessary. See Rule 322,1.

554. And he that married any one having his wife having been put away. To express the Sense of the Authorized Version, the Masculine Participle should have been in the present tense, and the Article ought to have been expressed before the Feminine Participle, these Omissions in my opinion determine the Sense to be as in the Paraphrase. The cause of the Disarrangement is to show that what is specified is not to be understood without Limitation, 4 man having put away his wife does not necessarily commit adultery in marrying another woman, he does so only so long as his first wife liveth; hence the Disarrangement to mark Restriction. See Rule 321. See Note to Mark x. 11.

555. Saving for a cause of fornication. It is a Rule in Greek, that if a Limitation be expressed in the first Clause of a Sentence,

that Limitation extends over the second, although it be not expressed in the second Clause, hence Rom. iv. 3 &c., Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now

to him that worketh, not, to any extent, but, so as to count unto him for righteousness, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, not, not at all, but so as to count unto him for righteousness, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Hence my Paraphrase here, Saving for a cause of fornication, is absolutely necessary. See Note 589 to Corinthians. The passages of Holy Scripture that treat on this subject are as follows. Matt. v. 32 and xix. 9, Mark x. 11, Luke xvi. 18.

Both the passages in St. Matt. have reference to the entire cause of separation in this world of Man and Wife, whether by God immediately or by Man permissively. St. Mark and St. Luke have reference alone to the causes of their separation permitted to be exercised by man; and hence here the case of fornication is not mentioned, God having commanded that, in the Mosaic Law, to be punished with death.

555,1. Thou shalt not swear. Observe. This and all that follows has reference to the active act of speaking oaths, but there