this second feeding, but not elsewhere: and there is only one other passage in N. T. where the word oupis occurs; namely, Acts ix. 25, where the future Apostle of the Gentiles was let down from the wall of Damascus ἐν σπυρίδι. Secondly, the events which followed after the feeding of the five thousand, are a symbol of the subsequent history of the disciples of Jesus. Thus, vs. 22, 3, Jesus bade his disciples take ship, and set out on their voyage across the lake: himself went up into the mountain to pray. That is, Jesus took leave of his disciples, and sent them away upon their missionary voyage: Mat. xxviii. 19. Mar. xvi. 15. He then ascended into heaven, and interceded for us. Mar. xvi. 19. Luke xxiv. 51. Acts i. 9. Here it must be observed, that the Sun was still above the horizon: the second evening had not come on. This exactly agrees with history: Learning continued for some centuries after the death of Jesus Christ. But after Jesus had gone up into the mountain, ovía éyéveTo v. 23. This was the second evening the Sun had now set. And the ship was now μérov τῆς θαλάσσης, ν. 24: καὶ σκοτία ἤδη ἐγεγόνει, Joh. vi. 17. The words pérov and σkoría clearly point to the darkness of the Middle Ages. And now we see that the time of the voyage across the lake represents the interval of time between the Ascension of Jesus Christ and his second coming ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος Mat. xiii. 40, 49. However the ship which carried the disciples was now pursuing its weary voyage in the dark; struggling with the wind of controversy, and the waves of troublous times: v. 24. The darkness of the Middle Ages had now set in: the Bible was locked up in a learned language which few understood: and the circumstances of the times were adverse to the acquisition of a knowledge of God. But in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus advanced towards them, v. 25. This exactly agrees with history. After three fourths of the long night of ignorance had passed away, when the Art of Printing had been discovered, and Learning was beginning to revive, then the knowledge of the WORD OF GOD began to dawn upon the minds of thinking men. Then came the Reformation. But it is said that Jesus came to his disciples, walking on the water, v. 25, which was now violently agitated, Joh. vi. 18. So it was afterwards. The Reformation took place in troublous times, and met with violent opposition. But Jesus had come down from the mountain of v. 23, This identifies him with the Angel of the Reformation, Apoc. x. 1, who is there said to come down from heaven: and who is there clearly shewn to be JEHOVAH, by the accompaniments of the Cloud, and the Rainbow, Gen. ix. 13: a passage of which we may see an obscure tradition in the words of Homer, ἴρισσι ἐοικότες, ἅς τε Κρονίων ἐν νέφεϊ στήριξε, τέρας μερόπων ἀνθρώπων. Α. 27. K Like to the Rainbow aloft, which man's great Maker aforetime Planted amid th' high Clouds, for a sign unto Earth's generations. And as Jesus came περιπατῶν ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν, so the Angel of Apoc. x. 2, put his right foot éπì rýv dádaooav. Then we read, v. 26, that when the disciples saw him walking on the water, they suspected some optical illusion, and cried out for fear. This agrees with history. The Reformation was regarded by many with alarm and incredulity. Can this, so different from what the Holy Catholic Church has taught, can this indeed be the Word of God? But Jesus assured them by his voice, v. 27. This seems to be the same voice with that of the Apocalyptic Angel, x. 3, who also held in his right hand a Little Book, open, x. 2: an obvious allusion to the discovery of the art of Printing, and the translation of the Scriptures into the languages of modern Europe. Thus the disciples were assured by the voice of Jesus. They read the Little Book that was now opened to them, Apoc. x. 10, and recognised the WORD OF GOD. The sheep of Jesus knew his voice: Joh. x. 4. But Peter insisted upon walking over the waves to meet Jesus. And he was invited to do so. Accordingly, he stepped down from the ship, and began to walk upon the waves; vs. 28, 9: i.e. he left a position of comparative ease and security, in order to do what was difficult and dangerous; to walk upon water. This is a difficult symbol: but it seems to be explained by the subsequent history of the Reformers. They began boldly, and exposed monstrous corruptions of the Holy Catholic Church: but they did not go on to complete what they had begun they had thrown themselves into a sea of troubles, and they encountered many trials and persecutions; but as time wore on, they lost heart: they saw the wind of controversy strong against them, v. 30, and they sank into a state of inaction. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel: but he still clave to the sins of Jeroboam: 2 Kings x. 28. And now we seem to have reached a point beyond which history does not carry us: for the next thing that we read, is, that as soon as they came on board the ship, the wind (of controversy) fell, v. 32: an event that has not yet happened. XV. 1. γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι] These are often found together in N. T. e.g. Mat. xxiii. 2, 13, &c. The ypappareis were the teachers of the people, and may be called the Clergy of the Jews: the Pharisees were a sort of High Church party, who attached immense importance to the traditions of man, and to ritual observances: so that γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι answer to the modern description of Clergy and High Churchmen. The discourse which follows, is an apt illustration of the value of their opinions. 2. διατί οἱ μαθηταί σου παραβαίνουσι τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυ Tépwv] i. e. How dare your disciples to disregard an ordinance of the Church? It is plain from the way in which they put this question, that they thought it unanswerable: just as if a man were bound to do a thing merely because the Church says he ought to do it. They do not attempt to enforce their argument by citing a word of Scripture: therein exactly resembling the modern Churchman, who looks upon his Church as if she were endowed with infallible wisdom, and who refers to the Prayer Book, as a work of incontrovertible authority. Nothing can be more absurd. The Church is merely a congregation of men and Scripture has in the strongest manner cautioned us against relying upon the authority of the Church. Jerem. xvii. 5. Čursed is the man who trusteth in man, who maketh flesh his arm, whose heart departeth from JEHOVAH. 3. διατί καὶ ὑμεῖς παραβαίνετε τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ] Here it may be observed that Jesus addresses another question to the Pharisees but he gives no answer to their question: he treats it with the silence of contempt. It was wholly unnecessary to give a reason why the disciples disregarded an ordinance of the Church: they were under no obligation to regard it. 4. ó yàp Deòs eine] This is the reading of B and D, and is adopted by Tischendorf: the common reading, instead of elev, has ἐνετείλατο λέγων. 5. he shall be free] These words are wanting in the original Greek, but are a necessary addition in the translation, in order to complete the sentence which Jesus puts in the mouth of the Pharisees. What follows, are his own words. Wordsworth's note here is an excellent illustration of this passage, which is not free from difficulty, and which is miserably rendered in E. V. 6. ἠκυρώσατε τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ] τὸν λόγον is the reading of B and D, but is rejected by Tischendorf, who reads Tòv vóμov the common reading is Tv evrov. The meaning here is, that the plain commandment of God for the son to honour his father and mother, was evaded by the Pharisaical precept to give to the Church. 9. διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων] This is the leaven of the Holy Catholic Church. Mat. xiii. 33, and xvi. 6. To invent a lie, to believe it, to publish it, and then to require all mankind to believe it, has always been the practice of a corrupt Church: adding ridiculous fables to the pure Word of God. The English Churchman can point to the Church of Rome as an illustration of this practice: but we must remember, that in order to see clearly the faults of another Institution, we must first cast the beam out of our own eye: Mat. vii. 5. It is mere hypocrisy for one to talk about the corruptions of the Church of Rome, who approves of some of the worst of them which are retained by the Church of England. Such are to be seen in our Baptismal Service, which supposes that an infant child baptized with water, is simultaneously regenerated by the operation of God's Holy Spirit; and in our Ordination Service, where the Bishop laying his hand upon the Priest's head, professes to confer upon him the Holy Spirit of God. These are Ecclesiastical fictions, for which there is not the slightest foundation in Scripture: but these are things which the Dignitaries of the Church of England are not unwilling to retain. The Laity know better. The Church of Rome is a mere Tорvov, already in a state of helpless decrepitude, and whose end is probably not far off. But she has her friends among English Churchmen. 11. οὐ τὸ εἰσερχόμενον εἰς τὸ στόμα] These words refer immediately to the Pharisaical washing of hands before eating. The Pharisees held, that unwashed hands would defile the food; which, taken into the mouth, would then defile the man. Jesus therefore tells the people that a man is not defiled by what goes into his mouth. But it is worthy of observation, that the Pharisaical usage which is the subject of this illustration, was not only innocent in itself, but positively beneficial: cleanliness is a virtue in all, and few like to eat with dirty hands. The error of the Pharisees lay in attaching undue importance to an ordinance of the Church. 12. οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἐσκανδαλίσθησαν] The High Churchmen did not like being brought to book. It is so at the present day. The Churchman will speak from the Pulpit, where he has all the talk to himself: but if any reader of Scripture will call his attention to the written word of God, and point out some of the monstrous falsehoods in the Prayer-book, the Churchman will immediately endeavour to slink out of the discussion. 15. φράσον ἡμῖν τὴν παραβολήν] Peter had not at all understood the foregoing illustration, and supposed it to be symbolical of something else: whereas Jesus had spoken no Parable at all, but intended his words to be literally understood. 26. οὔκ ἐστι καλὸν λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων] The Jews were to be fed first: then the Gentiles, Rom. i. 16. Acts xiii. 46. The interposition of this incident in Matthew's narrative between the feeding of the five thousand, and that of the four thousand, seems to have been intended to throw light upon the symbolical nature of those two miracles. See on c. xiv. 30, vous] This word does not exclusively mean those who are crippled in the hand: which however is most falsely asserted by Jerome, and eagerly gulped down by Alford, who has here gone out of his way to shew his learning. On the contrary, the earliest usage of the word kuλλòs is found in Homer, who applies it to the leg, and to that limb only: e.g. χάλκεον ὅν ῥ ̓ αὐτὸς ποιήσατο Κυλλοποδίων. Σ. 371. And ̓́Ορσεο Κυλλοπόδιον. Φ. 331. And as κυλλός is not confined to the hand or arm, so neither is xwλòs confined to the leg. Thus Schol. Aristoph. in Eq. 1085, says: kuλλovs de 'ATTIKOL καλοῦσιν ἐπὶ ποδῶν καὶ χειρῶν ὁμοίως· καὶ χωλοὺς τοὺς χεῖρα πεπηρωμένους. Εὔπολις· ὅτι χωλὸς εἶ σὺ τὴν χειρα σφόδρα. Idem in Av. 1379. τὸ μὲν κυλλὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ ποδὸς ἔτασσον· Ορσεο Κυλλοπόδιον. Τὸ δὲ χωλὸν ἐπὶ τῆς χειρὸς, ὡς Εὔπολις ὅτι χωλός ἐστι τὴν ἑτέραν χεῖρ ̓, οὐ λέγεις. 31. κυλλοὺς ὑγιεῖς, χωλοὺς περιπατοῦντας] Here is a remarkable instance of the precision of the language of N. T. The cure explains what was the malady. The χωλοί now περιεπάτουν· the Kuλλoi, i.e. cripples in all or any limbs, were now made sound of limb. This last cure was omitted in the Latin translation used by Jerome, as appears from his words cited by Alford, but which Alford did not understand. Jerome accordingly omitted it in his Vulgate; which perhaps was the best thing that he could do, for he never understood the Greek. XVI. 3. σημεία τῶν καιρῶν] In the figurative language of Prophecy, the visible heaven or sky, ovpavos, is frequently used as a symbol of the Political Atmosphere in which we live and the words of Jesus here are an evident recognition of that symbol. In effect, he tells the Jews, that the heaven above them was full of signs to those who would read them, but which they would not read. 5. ἐπελάθοντο ἄρτους λαβεῖν] This incident appears to have a symbolical and important meaning. For it stands in a manner isolated from the rest of the narrative. It is obviously unconnected with what precedes: and Jesus himself tells us that it is not to be connected with his discourse which follows. Why then was it mentioned? For no consequences are said to have followed from this want of bread. The incident must therefore explain itself. Nor are the symbols difficult. The ship with the disciples on board, represents the Christian ekkλnola the voyage across the lake, represents their progress through time: the bread which they forgot to take, means the Bread of Life; which is the WORD OF GOD: John vi. 35. Thus the narrative is in fact a Prophecy that the disciples of Jesus Christ would, after a time, lose all knowledge of the Word of God: a prophecy which exactly agrees with Amos viii. 11, 12, and which has been fulfilled to the letter in the subsequent history of Christianity. Cf. Apoc. xi. 7. 6. προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης] These words are explained by Jesus himself: they were spoken without reference to the bread which the disciples had forgotten to take with them, and were understood to be a general direction to beware of the teaching of Churchmen. But although Jesus expressly declares that his words have no reference to the natural bread which the disciples had forgotten to bring with them, the context shews that he did in fact refer to the symbolical meaning of that incident. Here may be seen a striking proof of the inscrutable wisdom of |