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Mark ill. 12.

Matt.xii. 17.

Matt.xii. 18.

Matt. xii. 19.

Matt. xii. 20.

Matt.xii. 21.

And he straightway charged them that they In a progress. should not make him known.

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Esaias the prophet, saying,

Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen; my o Isa. xlii, l.
beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will
put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judg-
ment to the Gentiles.

He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.

A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.

And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

MATT. xii. 16.

16 And he charged them that they should not make him known.

MARK iii. part of ver. 7.

7 But Jesus withdrew himself-and a great multitude

SECTION XVIII.

Preparation for the Sermon on the Mount, Election of the Twelve

Luke vi. 12.

Luke vi. 13.

Apostles.

MARK iii. 13-19. LUKE vi. 12-20.

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God 41

And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples,

41 It is to be remarked here, that our Saviour never undertook any important work without dedicating himself to God in prayer. After imploring the divine blessing, he authoritatively separates the chosen witnesses of the truth of his Gospel, and confirms his power by the performance of numberless miracles When the twelve apostles were appointed, and his divine mission fully demonstrated, he declares the doctrines he came to establish in what is generally called his Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew (v. 1.) observes, Jesus sate down after he had ascended the mountain: Luke tells us that he stood on the plain. There is no inconsistency, however, between these narratives. Our Saviour might have stood up to heal the sick, and to avoid the pressure of the multitude, who sought to touch him (Luke vi. 19.) he probably retired again to the mountain, and addressed the assembled crowd, seated.

The various cures and miracles wrought by our Lord, we may well suppose, would have much increased the number of his followers.

Galilec.

whom he would, and they came unto him:
and of them he chose twelve,

And he ordained twelve,
(whom also he named apostles,)

Mark iii. 13.

Luke vi. 13.

Mark iii. 14.

Luke vi. 13.

that they should be with him, and that he might Mark iii, 14send them forth to preach,

And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to Mark iii. 15. cast out devils:

Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and An- Luke vi. 14. drew, his brother,

And James the son of Zebedee, and John the Markiii. 17. brother of James: and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Mark ill. 18. Thomas, and James, the son of Alphæus,

And Judas

Thaddeus,

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and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him.

Luke vi. 16.

Mark iii. 18.

Luke vi. 16.

Mark iii. 18.

Luke vi. 15.

Mark iii. 19.

And he came down with them, and stood in Luke vi. 17 the plain; and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people, out of all Judæa and Jerusalem, and from the sea-coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.

Luke vi. 18.

And the whole multitude sought to touch him: Luke vi. 19, for there went virtue out of him, and healed them

all.

MARK iii. part of ver. 13. ver. 16. and part of ver. 18.

13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him--
16 And Simon he surnamed Peter.

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SECTION XIX.

The Sermon on the Mount 42.

MATT. V. vi. vii. viii. 1. Luke vi. 20, to the end.

Matt. v. L.

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

:

42 A brief statement of the reasons which induce me to follow the opinion of Archbishop Newcome, Lightfoot, Pilkington, Michaelis, Bishop Richardson, and others, contrary to the authority of Doddridge and Bedford, may be found in Archbishop Newcome's notes to the Harmony. Michaelis (a) observes, "that the Sermon on the Mount recorded by St. Luke, is no other than that recorded by St. Matthew, appears from the events which immediately follow it. Both evangelists relate that Jesus after the sermon went into Capernaum, and healed the servant of a centurion; a cure attended with such remarkable circumstances, that I can hardly suppose it happened twice, and that too in the same city."

It is objected by Bedford and others, that the discourse in Matthew is different from that in St. Luke, as the former is delivered by our Lord while sitting on a mountain, but the latter standing on a plain, Matt. v. 1. compare with Luke vi. 17. But Dr. Clarke, on this latter place, has suggested "that Jesus might retire from them again to the top of the hill." And Dr. Priestley observes, "Matthew's saying that Jesus sate down after he had gone up the mountain, and Luke's saying that he stood on the plain when he healed the sick before the discourse, are no inconsistencies (b)."

St. Luke principally relates those parts of this discourse which were more peculiarly addressed to the disciples. It is remarkable that he has mentioned only two of the beatitudes. Markland (c) supposes that the discourses were the same, and delivered at the same time; but one evangelist chose to mention one part, and one, the other, as is done in various other places. These two beatitudes mentioned by St. Luke, were delivered to the disciples as such; in which view, though we cannot certainly tell how the parts were connected by our Saviour when he spoke it, yet may be supposed to have been something like this. Happy are ye, though ye be very poor, (Luke,) especially those who are poor in spirit, (Matthew.)-Happy are ye, though ye be hungry now, (Luke,) especially those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, (Matthew.).

The general interpretation of the word poor in St. Luke, is usually considered to be given by St. Matthew. It seems more probable that our Lord used the words οι πτῶχοι, and οι πεινῶντες, καὶ διψῶντες, and that St. Matthew wrote the expressions in their metaphorical, and St. Luke in their literal sense. Markland, however, supposes that our Lord used the words mentioned by St. Matthew, τῶ πνέυματι, and καὶ δικαιοσύνην, and I have united on his suggestion the words of both Evangelists.

As the High Priest, passing through the holy place when he went up to

(a) Marsh's Michaelis, vol. iii. part i. p. 85. come's Notes to Harmony, fol. edit. p. 19.

jectures, p. 204.

(b) Harm. p. 83. New(c) Ap Bowyer's Critical Con

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples,

Luke vi. 20.

the holy of holies to consult the oracle, heard the voice as of a man speaking from the mercy-seat, so in contemplating this portion of the New Testament, we seem to have passed on to the most spiritual communication of God to man. Freed from the types and shadows of the Mosaic law, and rescued from the cloudy traditions and perversions of the Pharisees, the light of the sun of truth breaks forth in all its splendour. We hear, from an infallible oracle, the utter overthrow and refutation of all the false glosses and rabbinical corruptions, which had so long perverted the spirit of the divine law. To enter into a long and laboured examination of the various precepts contained in this address, would be merely to transcribe the commentaries of Whitby, Lightfoot, Grotius, and others. The plan of this work precludes me from entering at length into the interpretations of a more general nature. It may, however, be useful to remark a circumstance which has not been much discussed by these commentators; and that is the thorough contrast between the Messiah and the worldly teachers of the Jewish people. The Rabbis were accustomed to prefer as their pupils and disciples, the talented, the learned, the refined, and the wealthy: Christ selected the rude and unlearned, the unpolished and the poor. The Rabbis scorned to associate with the despised and hated publican; Christ enrolled the neglected and hated publican among his chosen disciples. The wickedness of the nation increased, in spite of the learning of their teachers, because those teachers were corrupt, and proud, and worldly; the Church of Christ was established in holiness, because its first teachers, though ignorant and rude, were disinterested, humble, and spiritual. Rites and ceremonies had usurped the place of the prayer of the heart, and the homage of a holy life; Christ enforced the meaning of the law, and exalted devotion and virtue above vows and sacrifices, and all the observances of superstition. The priests were endeavouring to make the law worldly, the Messiah made it spiritual. They would have changed the law of God into an encouragement of the propensities of the animal or inferior nature of man; Christ taught them that the entire conquest of this nature was required by their Father in heaven. The priests encouraged, under the appearance of strict obedience to the law, ingratitude to parents, revenge, facility of divorce, and other evils; Christ commanded them to honour their parents, though they had vowed the dedication of their substance to God, Matt. xv. 5. he commanded love to their enemies, and self dominion over the most powerful passions. He offended at the same time no prejudices-he taught them to pray in a selection from their own liturgical services: he exhorts them to the fulfilment, even to the very letter, of their ritual law. He taught in plain and simple language, such as his hearers instantly understood, and the most ignorant and unlearned in this age (with but little exception, arising from the passages particularly referring to the Jewish customs,) can still thoroughly comprehend. Our Lord has here given a code of laws to the world, obedience to which will for ever annihilate all superstitious dependence upon every other mode of aspiring to the favour of the Almighty, than by aiming at spirituality of motive, and holiness of life. Not even the blood of the atonement will save that man from the effects of evil, who professes to believe and hope, without repentance, and anxious exertion.

Matt. v. 2.

And he opened his mouth, and taught them, Declaration saying,

Luke vi. 20. Blessed be ye poor:

Matt. v. 3.

Matt. v. 4

Matt. v. 5.

Luke vi. 21.

Matt. v. 6,

Luke vi. 21.

Matt. v. 7.

Matt. v. 8.

Matt. v. 9.

Matt. v. 10.

Matt. v. 11.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

ed.

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P Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit p Psa. xxxvii. the earth.

Blessed are ye that hunger now:

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: 9 for they shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain

mercy.

q Isa, lxv 13.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall r Psa. xxiv. 4. see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers 43: for they shall

be called the children of God.

$ Blessed are they which are persecuted for $1 Pet. lii. 14. righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men

Luke vi. 22 shall hate you, and when they separate you from their company, and shall reproach you,

Matt. v. 11. and revile you, and persecute you, and shall say

t

all manner of evil against you* falsely, for my 1 Pet. iv. 14. sake.

Luke vi. 22. and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

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Rejoice, and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven:

Luke vi. 23. and leap for joy for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

Matt. v. 12.

so persecuted they the prophets which were before

you.

43 The meaning of the word lipnvoπoloi in this passage, is thought by some to be-preachers of the new covenant, who reconciled the two dispensations; who were not to enter upon the obscure and useless discussions of points of the ceremonial law, but to preach the sublimer doctrines of the Gospel. In Ephes. vi. 15. and ii. 14. an allusion seems to be made to this idea. Vide Schoetgen, vol. i. p. 18.

* Gr. lying.

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