7 But when he saw innny of the Pharisees and Sadducees

to the people.

pers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come 1 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9 And think not to say within yourselves, d We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

A Ch. 12. 34. & 21.3. Luke 3. 7, 8, 9.- Rom. 5.3. 1 Thess. 1. 10.-e Or, answerabie to amen fhment of life. -d Jonu 3. 33, 39. Acts 13 25. Rom. 4. 1, 1, 16.

halgan, holy persons who stand apart, or by themselves: but, in process of time, like all religious sects and parties, they degenerated; they lost the spirit of their institution, they ceased to recur to first principles, and had only the form of godliness, when Jesus Christ preached in Judea; for he bore witness that they did make the outside of the cup and platter clean-they observed the rules of their institution, but the spirit was gone.

Sadducees.] A sect who denied the existence of angels and spirits, consequently all divine influence and inspiration, and also the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees of that time were the Materialists and Deists of the Jewish nation. When the sect of the Pharisees arose cannot be distinctly ascertained; but it is supposed to have been some time after the Babylonish captivity. The sect of the Sadducees were the followers of one Sadok, a disciple of Antigonus Sochæus, who flourished about three centuries before Christ. There was a third sect among the Jews, called the Essenes or Essenians, of whom I shall have occasion to speak on chap. xix. 12.

Come to his baptism.] The Ethiopic version adds the word privately here, the translator probably having read λαθρα in his copy, which gives a very remarkable turn to the passage. The multitudes who had no worldly interest to support, no character to maintain by living in their usual way, caine publicly, and openly acknowledged that they were SINNERS; and stood in need of mercy. The others, who endeavoured to secure their worldly interests by making a fair show in the flesh, are supposed to have come privately, that they might not be exposed to reproach; and that they might not lose their reputation for wisdom and sanctity, which their consciences, under the preaching of the Baptist, told them, they had no right to. See below.

O generation of ripers.] Γεννηματα εχιδνων. A terribly expressive speech. A serpentine brood from a serpentine stock. As their fathers were, so were they, children of the wicked one. This is God's estimate of a SINNER, whether he wade in wealth, or soar in fame. The Jews were the seed of the serpent, who should bruise the heel of the woman's seed, and whose head should be bruised by him.

Who hath warned you.) Or, privately shown you. Τις υπε· δειξεν-from υπο, under, and δεικνύναι, to show. Does not this seem to allude to the reading of the Ethiopic, noticed above? They came privately: and John may be supposed to address them thus: "Did any person give you a private warning? No, you received your convictions under the public ministry of the word. The multitudes of the poor and wretched, who have been convinced of sin, have publicly acknowledged their crimes, and sought mercy-God will unmask you you have deceived the people-you have deceived yourselves-you must appear just what you are; and, if you expect mercy from God, act like the penitent multitude, and bring forth FRUIT worthy of repentance. Do not begin to trifle with your convictions, by thinking, that because you are descendants of Abraham, therefore you are entitled to God's favour; God can, out of these stones, (pointing probably to those scattered abont in the desert, which he appears to have considered as an emblem of the Gentiles,) raise up a faithful seed, who, though not natural descendants of your excellent patriarch, yet shall be his worthy children, as being partakers of his faith, and friends of his God." It should be added that the Greek word also signifies plain or ample information. See on Luke vi. 47.

The wrath to come?] The desolation which was about to fall on the Jewish nation for their wickedness, and threatened in the last words of their own Scriptures. See Mal. iv. 6. Lest I come and smite the earth )את הארץ et haarets, this very land) with a curse. This wrath or curse was coming: they did not prevent it by turning to God, and receiving the Messiah, and therefore the wrath of God came upon them to the uttermost. Let him that readeth understand.

10. And now also the are is laid.] Or, Even now the are lieth. As if he had said, There is not a moment to spare-God is about to cut off every impenitent soul-you must therefore either turn to God immediately, or be utterly and finally ruined. It was customary with the prophets to represent the kingdoms, nations, and individuals, whose ruin they predicted, under the notion of forests and trees, doomed to be cut down. Sce Jer. xlvi. 22, 23. Ezek. xxxi. 3, 11, 12. The Baptist follows the same metaphor: the Jewish nation is the tree, and the Romans, the are, which, by the just judginent of God, was @peedily to cut it down. It has been well observed, that there is an allusion here to a woodman, who, having marked a tree for excision, lays his axe at its root, and strips off his outer garment, that he may wield his blows more powerfully; and that his work may be quickly performed. For about sixty years before the coming of Christ, this axe had been lying at the root of the Jewish tree; Judea having been made a province to the Roman empire, from the time that Pompey took the city of Jerusalem, during the contentions of the two bro

hewn down, and cast into the fire.

11 f1 indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost,

and with fire:

e Ch. 7. 13. Luke 13.7,9, John 15.6.- Mark 1. 8. Luke 3. 16. John 1. 15, 25, Acta L. & 11.16.0.4.-ginal. 1.4. & H. 3. Mal. & Acts 2.34.109.121.

thers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, which was about sixty-three years before the coming of Christ. See Joseph. Antiq. 1. xiv. c. 1-5. But as the country might be still considered as in the hands of the Jews, though subject to the Romans, and God had waited on them now, nearly ninety years from the above time, expecting them to bring forth fruit, and none was yet produced; but he kept the Romans, as an axe lying at the root of this tree, who were ready to cut it down the moment God gave them the commission.

11. But he that cometh after me.] Or, Is coming after me who is now on his way, and will shortly make his appearance. Jesus Christ began his ministry when he was thirty years of age, Luke iii. 23. which was the age appointed by the Law, Nuinb. iv. 3. John the Baptist was born about six months before Christ, and as he began his public ministry when thirty years of age, then this coming after refers to six months after the commencement of John's public preaching, at which time Christ entered upon his.

Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.] This saying is expressive of the most profound humility and reverence. To put on, take off, and carry the shoes of their masters, was not only among the Jews, but also among the Greeks and Romans, the work of the vilest slaves. This is amply proved by Kypke, from Arrian, Plutarch, and the Babylonian Talmud.

With the Holy Ghost, and with fire.] That the influences of the Spirit of God, are here designed, needs but little proof. Christ's religion was to be a spiritual religion, and was to have its seat in the heart. Outward precepts, however well they might describe, could not produce inward spirituality. This was the province of the Spirit of God, and of it alone; there. fore he is represented here under the similitude of fire, because he was to illuminate and invigorate the soul, penetrate every part, and assimilate the whole to the image of the God of glory. See on John iii. 5.

With fire:-Και πυρι. This is wanting in E. S. (two MSS. one of the ninth, the other of the tenth century,) eight others, and many evangelistaria, and in some versions and printed editions; but it is found in the parallel place, Luke iii. 16, and in the most authentic MSS. and versions. It was probably the different interpretations given of it by the Fathers, that caused some transcribers to leave it out of their copies.

The baptism of fire has been differently understood among the primitive Fathers. Some say, it means the tribulations, crosses, and afflictions, which believers in Christ are called to pass through. Hence the author of the Opus Imperfecium, on Matthew, says, that there are three sorts of baptism, 1 That of water; 2. That of the Holy Ghost; and, 3. That of tribulations and afflictions, represented under the notion of fire. He observes further, that our blessed Lord went through these three baptisms; 1. That of water, he received from the hands of John. 2. That of the Holy Spirit, he received from the Father. And, 3. That of fire he had in his contest with Satan in the desert. St. Chrysostom says, it means the superabundant graces of the Spirit. Basil and Theophilus explain it of the fire of hell. Cyril, Jerome, and others, understand by it the descent of the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost.

Hilary says, it means a fire that the righteous must pass through in the day of judgment, to purify them from such defilements as necessarily cleaved to them here, and with which they could not be admitted into glory.

Ambrose says, this baptism shall be administered at the gate of Paradise, by John Baptist; and he thinks, that this is what is meant by the flaming sword, Gen. iii. 24.

Origen and Lactantius conceive it to be a river of fire, at the gate of heaven, something similar to the Phlegethon of the heathens: but they observe, that when the righteous come to pass over, the liquid flames shall divide, and give them a free passage: that Christ shall stand on the brink of it, and receive through the flames all those and none but those, who have received in this world the baptism of water in his name: and that this baptism is for those who, having received the faith of Christ, have not, in every respect, lived conformably to it; for though they laid the good foundation, yet they built hay, straw, and stubble upon it, and this work of theirs must be tried, and destroyed by this fire. This, they think, is St. Paul's meaning, 1 Cor. iii. 13-15. If any man build on this foundation, (viz. Jesus Christ,) gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest:-and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work be burnt, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so, as BY FIRE. From this fire. understood in this way, the Fathers of the following ages, and the schoolmen, formed the famous and lucrative doctrine of PURGATORY. Some in the primitive church thought that fire should be, in some way or other, joined to the water in baptism; and it is supposed, that they administered it by causing the persons to pass between two fires, or to leap through the flame; or, by having a torch or lighted candie present. Thus have those

ready speech, and copious eloquence, were always chosen for heralds, they were represented as endued with wisdom and eloquence from above. They tulled men to sleep, i. e. by their persuasive powers of speech, they calmed the turbulent dis positions of an inflamed populace, when proceeding to acts of rebellion and anarchy: or they roused the dormant zeal of the community, who through long oppression despairing of succour or relief, seemed careless about their best interests; being stupidly resolved to sink under their burdens, and expect release only in death.

As to the caduceus itself, it was ever the emblem of peace among the ancients; the rod was the emblem of power, the two serpents of wisdom and prudence, and the two wings of dili gence and dispatch. The first idea of this wonderful rod, secms to have been borrowed from the rod of Moses. See the note on Exod. iv. 17.

The word κηρυξ, keruz, or herald, here used, is evidently derived from κηρύσσειν, to proclaim, call aloud; and this from γηρυς, the voice because these persons were never employed in any business, but such only as could not be transacted but by the powers of speech, and the energy of ratiocination.

For the derivation of the word herald, we must look to the northern languages. Its meanings in Junius, Skinner, and Minshieu, are various, but not essentially different; they all seem to point out different parts of the herald's office. 1. In the Belgic, heer signifies army. Hence heer-all, a senior officer, or general, in the army. 2. Or heer held, the hero of the army; he who has distinguished himself most in his country's be half. 3. Or from the Gallo-teutonic herr-haut, the high lord, because their persons were so universally respected, as we have already seen. 4. Or from the simple Teutonic herr-hold, he who is faithful to his lord. And lastly, according to Min shieu, from the verb heir-holden, stop here; because, in proclaiming peace, they arrested bloodshed and death, and prevented the further progress of war.

These officers act an important part in all heroic history, and particularly in the Iliad and Odyssey, from which, as the subject is of so much importance, I shall make a few extracts.

1. Their character was sacred. Homer gives thein the epi thet of divine, θειοι.

Δολων, Ευμήδεος υιος,
Κήρυκος θειοιο. Iliad. x. 315.

"Dolon, son of Eumedes, the divine herald." They were also termed inviolable, ασυλοι; also, great, admirable, &c. In the first book of the Iliad, we have a proof of the respect paid to heralds, and the inviolability of their persons. Agamemnon commands the heralds, Talthybius and Eurybates, his faithful ministers, to go to the tent of Achilles, seize the young Briscis,

in the desert.

and bring her to him. They reluctantly obey; but when they come into the presence of Achilles, knowing the injustice of their master's cause, they are afraid to announce their mission, Achilles, guessing their errand, thus addresses them:-Xαιρετε κήρυκες, Διος αγγελοι, ηδε και ανδρων. κ. τ. λ. "Hail, O ye he ralds, messengers of God and of men! come forward. I cannot blame you-Agamemnon only is culpable, who has sent you for the beautiful Briseis. But come, O godlike Patroclus, bring forth the damsel, and deliver her to them, that they may lead her away," &c. Iliad. i. 334, &c. 2. Their functions were nuune roust they might enter without danger into besieged cities, or even into battles. 3. They convoked the assemblies of the leaders, according to the orders they received from the general or king. 4. They commanded silence, when kings were to address the assembly (Iliad. xviii. 503. Κηρυκες δ'αρα λαων ερητυον. See also Iliad. ii. 280.) and delivered the sceptre into their hands, before they began their harangue.

Ην δ'αρα κηρυξ

Χερσι σκηπτρον εθηκε σιωπήσαι τ' εκέλευσεν. Iliad. xxiii. 567. 5. They were the carriers and executors of the royal commands, (Iliad. i. 320.) and went in search of those who were summoned to appear, or whose presence was desired. 6. They were entrusted with the most important missions; and accompanied princes in the most difficult circumstances. Priam, when he went to Achilles, took no person besides a herald with him. (Iliad. xxiv. 674, 689.) When Ulysses sent two of his companions to treat with the Lestrygons, he sent a herald at the same time. (Odys. x. 102.) Agamemnon, when he wished to soften Achilles, joined Eurybates and Hodins, his heralds, to the deputation of the princes. (Iliad. ix. 170.) 7. Heralds were employed to proclaim and publish whatever was to be known by the people. (Odys. xx. 276.) 8. They declared war and proclaimed peace. (Odys. xviii. 334.) 9. They took part in all sacred ceremonies: they mingled the wine and water in the large bowls for the libations, which were made at the conclusion of treaties. They were the priests of the people in many cases; they led forth the victims, cut them in pieces, and divided thein among those engaged in the sacrifices. (Odys. i. 109, &c.) 10. In Odys. lib. xvii. a herald presents a piece of flesh to Telemachus, and pours out his wine. 11. They sometimes waited on princes at table, and rendered them many other personal services. (Iliad. ii. 280. Odys. i. 143, &c. 146, 153. ii. 6, 38.) In the Iliad. lib. x. 3. Eurybates carries the clothes to Ulysses. And a herald of Alcinous conducts Demodocus, the singer, into the festive hall. (Odys. viii. 470.) Many others of their functions, services, and privileges, the reader may see, by consulting DAMM's Homeric Lexicon, under Κρω.

THEN NHEN 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 hungered.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

a Mark 1. 12, &c. Luke 4.1, &c.-b Sce 1 Kings 18. 12. Ezek. 3. 14. & 8. 3. & 1. 1. 24. & 40.2 & 43.5. Acts 8.39.

NOTES.-Verse 1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit.] This transaction appears to have taken place inmediately 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. fil. 17. I will put enmity between the woman's seed and thy seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 2. 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. xiv. 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 1 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.

3. 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 |

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 d into the holy city, and setteth him on the pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself e Deu. 8.3.-1 Neh. 11. 1, 18, lea. 48. 2. & 52. L. Ch. 27.53. Rev. 11. 2. Dan. 9. 16. Ch. 5. 35. & 37.53.

of the body, the mind gets enfeebled, and becomes easily irri tated: 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. xii. 1. την ευπεριστατον αμαρτίαν, the well circum stanced sin, because all the circumstances of time, place, and state of body and mind, are favourable to it.

If thou be the Son of God.] Or, a son of God, υιος του Θεου, Ytos is here, and in Luke iv. 3. written without the article; and therefore should not be translated THE Son, as if it were d vios, which is a phrase that is applicable to Christ as the Mos siah: but it is certain, whatever Satan might suspect, he did not fully know that the person he tempted was the true Mes siah. 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."

4. But by (or, upon, επι) every word.] Ρημα, in Greek, ar swers to dabar in Hebrew, which means not only a word spoken, but also thing, purpose, appointment, &c. Our Lord's meaning seems to be this: God purposes the welfare of his creatures-all his appointments are calculated to promote this

He calls Peter, Andrew, James,

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, d Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

18 And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon f called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

a Isa. 9. 1, 2-b Isa. 42. 7. 7. Luke 2.32.-c Mark 1. 14, 15.-d Ch. 3. 2. & 10. 7.• Mark 1. 16, 17, 18. Luke 5. 2.-f John 1. 42-g Luke 5. 10, 11.

Isa. ix. 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 amaz. ingly 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 Luke i. 79. but often in the Old Covenant, where the Hebrew is צלמות tsalmaveth. It is not easy to enter fully into the deal 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 abovementioned, 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.

17. Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent.] See on chap. iii. 1, 2. 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 κηρύσσειν, preaching, or proclaiming as a herald, see at the end of chap. iii.

18. 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. Se minaries 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 ad vantages 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 inen of pure morals; for the minister of God should have a good report from them that are without.

and John, to be his disciples.

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

20 h And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 i 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.

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and

h Mark 10. 28. Luke 18. 28.-i Mark L. 19. 20. Luke 5. 10.-k Ch. 9.35. Mark 1. 21, 39. Luke 4. 15, 44.-1 Ch. 21. 14. Mark 1. 14.-m Mark 1. 34.

19. Follow me.) Come after me, δευτε οπίσω μου. Receive my doctrine, imitate me in iny 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.] Ezek. ch. xlvii. 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 honour; but those only who are by himself fitted for it, God calls. Miscrable are those who do not wait for 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 have 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 Quesnell. Following a person, in the Jewish phrase, signifies being his disciple or scholar. See a similar mode of speech, 2 Kgs. vi. 19. 20. 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, &c. 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 chap. xix. 27.

22. Left the ship and their father.] By the ship, το πλοιου, we are to understand the mere fishing-boat, used for extending their nets in the water, and bringing the halser or rope of the further end to shore, by which the net was pulled to land. But why should these be called to leave their employ. ment 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 calls 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 honour of serving the Most High, even in poverty and humility, to all the comforts of a father's house. But what an honour 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.

23. Teaching in their synagogues. Synagogue, συναγωγη, from συν, together, aud 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 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. And 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