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They abuse the Servants that their Mafter fent.

and built a Tower, and let it out to Husbandmen, and went into a far Country [LUK. for a long Time.] MARK XII.-I. LUKE XX.-9.]

34 And [at the Seafon] when the Time of the Fruit drew near, he sent his Servants to the Husbandmen, that they might receive [from the Hufbandmen of the Fruit of the Vineyard.] [MARK XII. 2. LUKE XX. 10.-]

35 And the Husbandmen [caught] his Servants, and beat one, [and fent him away empty,] and killed another, and stoned another. [MARK XII. 3. LUKE XX.—10.]

36 [And] again, he fent [unto them] other Servants, more than the first; and they

329

the Grapes (a); and he also built a Tower in it, Sect. 152. for the Accommodation and Defence of the La

Mat. XXI.

bourers.; and then he let it out to Husbandmen, 33.

who were to pay him a certain Acknowledgment
out of the Produce of it; and he himself departed
thence, and took a Journey for a long Time into
a diftant Country.

And at the proper Seafon, when the Time of 34
gathering in the Fruit approached, he fent his Ser-
vants to the Hufbandmen who had farmed it, that
he might receive from the Husbandmen that Pro-
portion of the Fruit of the Vineyard which was
due to him for the Rent. And the Hufband- 35
men wickedly confpiring to keep the Vineyard to
themselves, instead of receiving them with due
Refpect, and returning the appointed Payment,
feized his Servants, and beat one of the Chief of
thofe who arrived firft, and fent him empty away;
and as the Demand grew more preffing, they
took up the Weapons, with which their Lord him-
felf had furnished them for very different Pur-
pofes, and flew another, and toned another till
they had driven him away.

And when their Lord heard the Report of 36
this their Injustice, he did not immediately arm
himself against them, but fent again other Ser-
did unto them likewife: [and
at him who was the Chief vants to treat with them, more in Number, and
they caft Stones, and wound-higher in Office than the firft: But still perfifting
ed him in the Head, and fent in their Wickedness, they did the fame unto them;
him away fhamefully han-
dled,] [ĽUK. and empty.] and particularly at him [who was the Chief] Per-
[MARK XII. 4. LUKE fon employed to account with them, they threw
Stones, and wounded him dangerously in the Head,
and fent him away not only empty, but very dif-
honourably and fhamefully treated.

XX. 11.]

MARK XII. 5. And a

gain he fent another [the third Time ;] and him they [wounded also, and caft him out, and] killed and many

And again the third [Time] he fent another of Mark XII.5. his principal Servants; and him alfo they wounded, as they had done the former, and caft him out of the Vineyard, [and] killed him: And in like others, Manner they affaulted many others, who came

with,

(a) A Fat for the Wine.] Matthew ufes the Word anvov, and Mark uroλnov. The former fignifies the Wine-prefs, the other the Cavity under it, in which the Veffel was fixed, which received the Liquor preffed from the Grapes. The one of thefe naturally implies the other; but our Lord might without any Impropriety mention' both.

VOL. II.

Tt

(b) I will

330
And when at last he fent his Son, they killed him.
Sect. 152. with, or after him, on the fame Errand, beating
Some of them, and killing others outright.

Luke XX. 13.

Then the Lord of the Vineyard, being still unwilling to proceed to the laft Extremity with them, tho' they had been fo very wicked and ungrateful in their Treatment of his Servants, faid to them that were about him, What shall 1 do farther to reclaim them? I will fend my own Son to them (b). Having yet therefore One Son, who was his well-beloved, and the Heir of the Family, be fent him alfo laft of all to them, as the only gentle Expedient that remained, faying, Perhaps they will reverence my Son, when they fee him (c); for furely they must needs have some Refpect for him, and will not prefume to offer him any InMat. XXI. jury. But when the Hufbandmen faw the Son come into the Vineyard, instead of paying any due Regard to him, they grew yet more outra gious in their Wickedness, and reafoned among themselves, faying, This is the only Heir of the whole Eftate; come, let us kill him, and feize on bis Inheritance (d), that [it] may be ours from Generation to Generation, and no Defcendants of our Master may remain to give any Disturbance to 39 us or our Children in the Poffeffion of it.

38.

And

with malignant Hearts and cruel Hands they fell
upon their Master's Son, and feized him; and
fearing neither GOD nor Man, they caft him out
of the Vineyard, and flew him (e), expofing his

dead

others, beating fome, and killing fome. [LUKE XX, 12.]

LUKE XX. 13. Then faid the Lord of the Vineyard, What shall I do? I will fend my-Son. [MAR. Having yet therefore One Son, his well-beloved, he fent him alfo laft [of all] unto them, faying,] It may be they will reverence [my Son] when they fee him. [MAT. XXI. 37. MARK XII. 6.]

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(b) I will fend my Son.] The Question is not here, how prudent it would have been in a Human Father, to venture his Son in fuch a Cafe as this; for the Power which GOD had of raifing Chrift from the Dead, and making all his Sufferings redound to his Glory and Happiness, quite alters the Cafe. The Defign is, to fhew the Patience of GOD, and the Wickedness of the Jews, by this Emblem, than which nothing could be more expreffive.

(c) Perhaps they will reverence my Son, &c.] Numberlefs Predictions in the Old and New Teflament plainly fhew, that Gon forefaw Chrift's Death as a certain Event. This therefore, like many others, is merely an ornamental Circumftance, which cannot without Abfurdity be applied in the Interpretation of the Parable.

(d) Come, let us kill him, &c.] If fuch a Propofal would have been the Height of Folly, as well as Wickednefs, in thefe Hufbandmen, it was fo much the more proper, to reprefent the Part the Jewish Rulers acted in the Murther of Chrift, which they were now projecting, and which they accomplished within Three Days. The Admonition was most gracioufly given; but ferved only in an aftonishing Manner to illuftrate that Degree of Hardness, to which a finful Heart is capable of arriving.

(e) And caft him out of the Vineyard, and flew him.] So Matthew and Luke exprefs it ; but Mark has changed the Order of the Words, and fays, They killed him, and caft him out of the Vineyard; if we may not render that Claufe, They both few him, and caft him out,

to

He will therefore deftroy them, and let the Vineyard to others.

40 When the Lord therefore of the Vineyard cometh, what will he do unto thofe Hufbandmen? [MARK XII.9.— LUKE XX. —15.]

41 They fay unto him, He will miferably destroy let out his Vineyard unto other Husbandmen, which shall render him the Fruits

those wicked Men, and will

in their Seasons.

LUKE XX. 16.-[Jefus faid,] He fhall come and deftroy thefe Hufbandmen, and fhall give the Vineyard to others. [MARK XII.—9.]

331 dead Body in a moft contemptuous and infolent, Sect. 152. as well as inhumane Manner.

When therefore the Lord of the Vineyard him- Mat. XXI.
felf cometh, armed with a Power which they will 40.
be utterly unable to refift, what will be do, think
you, to thofe treacherous and cruel Hufbandmen,
when he has them entirely at his Disposal ?

And as the Jewish Rulers did not understand, 41
that they themselves were these unfaithful Huf-
bandmen, they fay unto him, There is no Doubt
but he will wretchedly deftroy those wicked and in-
corrigible Wretches, nor is the moft tormenting
Death too fevere for them to expect; and he will
then let out the Vineyard to other Hufbandmen, who
fball faithfully render him the Fruits of it in their
proper Seafons.

16.

Thus did they, before they were aware, con- Luke XX. demn themselves; and [Jefus added,] You have answered right: He fhall indeed quickly come, and deftroy thefe Hufbandmen of whom I fpeak, whoever they fhall appear to be, with terrible Severity, and will give the Vineyard to others. And all this was, as if he had faid, Confider your own Concern in what you have heard: GOD has planted a Church among you, and given you an excellent Revelation of his Will; abundant Provifion has been made, both for your Protection, and your Improvement too: But you have ungratefully refufed the Fruits of Obedience, which were fo juftly his Due; and when he has frequently fent his Servants the Prophets, with one Meffage and Demand after another, you the Rulers and Teachers of Ifrael, to whom the Cultivation of the Vineyard has been committed, have treated them in a moft ungrateful and barbarous Manner And now at laft he has fent his Son, and you are going to feize on him, and to add that Murther,

fo as not to determine which was done firft. One cannot fuppofe, Chrift uttered it both these Ways; fo that if there be no accidental Tranfpofition in Mark, he probably meant thereby to intimate what is hinted in the Paraphrafe, the expofing his dead Body in a moft daring Defiance of publick Juftice.Thofe that explain the cafting him out of the Vineyard, of Excommunication, which preceded or attended the Execution of a Capital Sentence, do not obferve the proper Import of the Vineyard. See below, Note (i).

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332 Sect. 152. Murther, which you are now contriving, to the Guilt of all your other Crimes. I leave it therefore to your own Confciences to judge what the And for this Reafon now

JESUS applies the Parable to the Jewish Rulers.

Mat. XXI. Event must be.

43.

Luke XX.

16.

17

I fay unto you plainly, that the Kingdom of GOD,
which you have thus vilely and ungratefully abused,
Shall be taken away from you, and given to a Na-
tion which fhall bring forth the Fruits thereof:
i. e. his Gospel fhall be taken from you, and be
carried to the Gentiles, who will improve it much
better than you have done.

And when they heard this fad Denunciation,
with which the Parable concluded, and found
that [it] was aimed at them, they faid, GOD
forbid, that this fhould be the Cafe with regard
to us, nor can we ever believe that it will.

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And Jefus looked upon them with great Serioufnefs and Solemnity in his Countenance, and faid unto them, What is this then that is written? (Pfal. cxviii. 22, 23.) Did you never read, or never reflect upon this remarkable Paffage in the Scrip"The Stone which the Builders refufed, the fame is become the Head-Stone of the Corner (f): "This is the Lord's Doing, and it is wonderful "in our Eyes?" Words, which tho' they might feem to be accomplished in the Exaltation of David to the Jewish Throne, are in their highest Senfe applicable to the Meffiah (g), who, tho' disdainfully rejected by you Scribes and Pharifees and Rulers of the People, whofe Office it is to build up the Church, is nevertheless chofen by GOD to be its great Support and Ornament. 18 And therefore let me plainly tell you, that whofo

ever

MAT. XXI. 43. Therefore fay I unto you, The

Kingdom of GOD fhall be taken from you, and given to a Nation bringing forth

the Fruits thereof.

LUKE XX.-16. And

when they heard it, they faid, GOD forbid.

17 And [ Jefus ] beheld them, and faid [unto them,] written? [Did ye never read [MAR. this] in the Scriptures,] The Stone which the become the Head of the CorBuilders rejected, the same is ner: [This is the Lord's Doing, and it is marvellous in

What is this then that is

our Eyes?] [MAT. XXI. 42. MARK. XII. 10, 11.]

18 [And] whofoever shall

fall

(f) The Head-Stone of the Corner.] This I take to be the Meaning of the Words xepa yavias, rather than the Chief Corner-Stone, as it does not appear exactly to answer to anpr yerialov, (Eph. ii. 20, and 1 Pet. ii. 6.) which, as the Connection in thofe Places fhews, (as well as the Ufe of it in other Authors,) fignifies that great Corner-Stone, which lay at the Bottom of the Building as its Support. What is mentioned afterwards of this Head-Stone falling on a Perfon, seems not to fuit with the Suppofition of its being laid on, or under the Ground. Compare Zech. iv. 7.

(g) Tho' they might feem to be accomplished in the Exaltation of David &c.] Mr. Jeffery has juftly obferved, (in his Review, pag. 119.) that on the Principles of Analogy this Paffage will be much to the prefent Purpose, tho' it fhould be confefled, that Pfal. cxviii. was immediately meant of David; as it would prove, that the great Builders of Ifrael might refufe one, whom GOD intended for the Head Stone of the Corner.

(b) On

They would have feized him, but are afraid of the People.

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Luke XX.

18.

333
ever shall fall upon this Stone, i. e. whosoever shall Sect. 152.
ftumble at me and my Doctrine, while I am
here on Earth in this humble Form, he shall be
broken and damaged by it; but on whomsoever it
fball fall, when raised up to fo glorious an Emi-
nence, it shall even grind him to Powder (b), like
a brittle Potfherd crushed by the Weight of fome
huge Stone falling upon it from on high: (Com-
pare Dan. ii. 44.) So whoever fhall oppofe me
after my Exaltation to Glory, and the pouring
out of my Spirit for the full Revelation of my
Gofpel and Proof of my Miffion, he will bring
upon himself aggravated Guilt, and dreadful un-
avoidable Deftruction.

And when the Chief Priefts and the Scribes and 19
Pharifees had heard his Parables, which he had
now delivered, they were fo provoked at what he
had faid, that even in that very Hour they fought
to lay their Hands on him, that they might pro-
fecute him even to Death; for they plainly per-
ceived, that he had spoken this Parable of the wick-
ed Husbandmen that should be destroyed, against
them (i), and had in effect fet them all at De-
fiance by the Application of fo fignal a Prophecy

MAT. XXI. 46. But to himself. they feared the Multitude, because they took him for a Prophet: [and they left him, and went their Way.] [MARK XII.-12. LUKE XX.-19.]

But they feared the People, who Mat. XXL were then prefent in the Temple, because they 46. efteemed him as a Prophet fent from GOD, and would not have borne that immediate Affault upon him, which the Rage of these Rulers would otherwise have engaged them to make. And therefore, not daring for the prefent to attempt to seize him with an open Violence, they left him, and went away to take Counfel in private against him,

(b) On whomfoever it hall fall, &c.] Dr. Whitby fuppofes, that here is an Allufion to the Two different Ways of Stoning among the Jews; the former, by throwing a Perfon down upon a great Stone; and the other, by letting a Stone fall upon him. But as I cannot fee, that the latter was at all more dreadful than the former, fince in fuch a Cafe a quick Dispatch might seem most desirable, it seems to me that the Force and Beauty of this: pathetic Paffage would be in a great measure loft by fuch an Interpretation.

(i) They perceived that he had spoken this Parable against them.] One would think, they could be at no Lofs for the Interpretation of it, confidering how nearly it refembles that in Ifa. v. 1,7. with which they were, no doubt, well acquainted. Only it is to be observed, that there Ifracl is the Vineyard, here the true Religion is reprefented under that Figure; accordingly there it is threatened, that the Vineyard fhould be destroyed, but here that it fhould be let out to other Hufbandmen; each Event fuiting its Connection..

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