from God. This you may read more at large, John v. 1-47.

The next place where we find him preaching, was on the mount, Matt. v. and Luke vi. This is by much. the longest sermon we have of his, anywhere; and, in all likelihood, to the greatest auditory: for it appears to have been to the people gathered to him from Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem, and from beyond Jordan, and that came out of Idumea, and from Tyre and Sidon, mentioned Mark iii. 7, 8, and Luke vi. 17. But in this whole sermon of his, we do not find one word of believing, and therefore no mention of the Messiah, or any intimation to the people who himself was. The reason whereof we may gather from Matt. xii. 16, where "Christ forbids them to make him known;" which supposes them to know already who he was. For that this 12th chapter of St. Matthew ought to precede the sermon in the mount, is plain, by comparing it with Mark ii. beginning at ver. 13, to Mark iii. 8, and comparing those chapters of St. Mark with Luke vi. And I desire my reader, once for all, here to take notice, that I have all along observed the order of time in our Saviour's preaching, and have not, as I think, passed by any of his discourses. In this sermon, our Saviour only teaches them what were the laws of his kingdom, and what they must do who were admitted into it, of which I shall have occasion to speak more at large in another place, being at present only inquiring what our Saviour proposed as matter of faith, to be believed.

After this, John the Baptist sends to him this message, Luke vii. 19, asking, "Art thou he that should come, or do we expect another?" That is, in short, art thou the Messiah? And if thou art, why dost thou let me, thy forerunner, languish in prison? Must I expect deliverance from any other? To which Jesus returns this answer, ver. 22, 23, " Tell John what ye have seen and heard; the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached; and blessed is he who is not offended in me." What it is to be "offended,

or scandalized in him," we may see by comparing Matt. xiii. 28, and Mark iv. 17, with Luke viii. 13. For what the two first call" scandalized," the last call "standing off from, or forsaking," i. e. not receiving him as the Messiah, (vid. Mark vi. 1-6) or revolting from him. Here Jesus refers John, as he did the Jews before, to the testimony of his miracles, to know who he was; and this was generally his preaching, whereby he declared himself to be the Messiah; who was the only prophet to come, whom the Jews had any expectation of; nor did they look for any other person to be sent to them with the power of miracles, but only the Messiah. His miracles, we see by his answer to John the Baptist, he thought a sufficient declaration amongst them, that he was the Messiah. And therefore, upon his curing the possessed of the devil, the dumb, and blind, Matt. xii. the people, who saw the miracles, said, ver. 23,"Is not this the son of David?" As much as to say, Is not this the Messiah? Whereat the Pharisees being offended, said, "He cast out devils by Beelzebub." Jesus, showing the falsehood and vanity of their blasphemy, justifies the conclusion the people made from this miracle, saying, ver. 28, That his casting out devils by the Spirit of God, was an evidence that the kingdom of the Messiah was come.

One thing more there was in the miracles done by his disciples, which showed him to be the Messiah; that they were done in his name. "In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk," says St. Peter to the lame man, whom he cured in the temple, Acts iii. 6. And how far the power of that name reached, they themselves seem to wonder, Luke x. 17, " And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us in thy name.'

From this message from John the Baptist, he takes occasion to tell the people that John was the forerunner of the Messiah; that from the time of John the Baptist the kingdom of the Messiah began; to which time all the prophets and the law pointed, Luke vii. and Matt. xi. Luke viii. 1," Afterwards he went through every city and village, preaching and showing the good tidings

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of the kingdom of God." Here we see as every where, what his preaching was, and consequently what was to be believed.

Soon after, he preaches from a boat to the people on the shore. His sermon at large we may read Matt. xiii. Mark iv. and Luke viii. But this is very observable, that this second sermon of his, here, is quite different from his former in the mount: for that was all so plain and intelligible, that nothing could be more so; whereas this is all so involved in parables, that even the apostles themselves did not understand it. If we inquire into the reason of this, we shall possibly have some light, from the different subjects of these two sermons. There he preached to the people only morality; clearing the precepts of the law from the false glosses which were received in those days, and setting forth the duties of a good life, in their full obligation and extent, beyond what the judiciary laws of the Israelites did, or the civil laws of any country could prescribe, or take notice of. But here, in this sermon by the sea-side, he speaks of nothing but the kingdom of the Messiah, which he does all in parables. One reason whereof St. Matthew gives us, chap. xiii. 35, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things that have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." Another reason our Saviour himself gives of it, ver. 11, 12," Because to you is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly; but whosoever hath not," i. e. improves not the talents that he hath, "from him shall be taken away even that he hath."

One thing it may not be amiss to observe, that our Saviour here, in the explication of the first of these parables to his apostles, calls the preaching of the kingdom of the Messiah simply, "The word; and Luke viii. 21, "The word of God:" from whence St. Luke, in the Acts, often mentions it under the name of the

word," and "the word of God," as we have elsewhere observed. To which I shall here add that of Acts

viii. 4. "Therefore they that were scattered abroad, went every where preaching the word;" which word, as we have found by examining what they preached all through their history, was nothing but this, that "Jesus was the Messiah: " I mean, this was all the doctrine they proposed to be believed: for what they taught, as well as our Saviour, contained a great deal more; but that concerned practice, and not belief. And therefore our Saviour says, in the place before quoted, Luke viii. 21, "they are my mother and my brethren, who hear the word of God, and do it: " obeying the law of the Messiah their king being no less required, than their believing that Jesus was the Messiah, the king and deliverer that was promised them.

Matt. ix. 13, we have an account again of this preaching; what it was, and how: " And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." He acquainted them, that the kingdom of the Messiah was come, and left it to his miracles to instruct and convince them, that he was the Messiah.

Matt. x. when he sent his apostles abroad, their commission to preach we have, ver. 7, 8, in these words: "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand: heal the sick," &c. All that they had to preach was, that the kingdom of the Messiah was come.

Whosoever should not receive them, the messengers of these good tidings, nor hearken to their message, incurred a heavier doom than Sodom and Gomorrah, at the day of judgment, ver. 14, 15. But, ver. 32, "Whosoever shall confess me before men, I will confess him before my Father who is in heaven." What this confessing of Christ is, we may see by comparing John xii. 42, with ix. 22. 66 Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue." chap. ix. 22, "These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was THE MES

And

SIAH, he should be put out of the synagogue." By which places it is evident, that to confess him was to confess that he was the Messiah. From which, give me leave to observe also, (what I have cleared from other places, but cannot be too often remarked, because of the different sense has been put upon that phrase) viz. “that believing on, or in him," (for eis aurov is rendered αὐτὸν either way by the English translation) signifies believing that he was the Messiah. For many of the rulers (the text says)" believed on him: " but they durst not confess what they believed, "for fear they should be put out of the synagogue." Now the offence for which it was agreed that any one should be put out of the synagogue was, if he "did confess, that Jesus was the Messiah.' Hence we may have a clear understanding of that passage of St. Paul to the Romans, where he tells them positively, what is the faith he preaches, Rom. x. 8, 9, "That is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; and that also of 1 John iv. 14, 15, "We have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world: whosoever shall confess, that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” Where confessing Jesus to be the Son of God is the same with confessing him to be the Messiah; those two expressions being understood amongst the Jews to signify the same thing, as we have shown already.

How calling him the Son of God came to signify that he was the Messiah, would not be hard to show. But it is enough, that it appears plainly, that it was so used, and had that import among the Jews at that time: which if any one desires to have further evidenced to him, he may add Matt. xxvi. 63. John vi. 69, and xi. 27, and xx. 31, to those places before occasionally taken notice of.

As was the apostles' commission, such was their performance; as we read, Luke xi. 6, "They departed and went through the towns, preaching the Gospel, -and healing every where." Jesus bid them preach,