31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 341d Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and seme of them ye shall kill and crucify; and f some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed up

a Acts 7:51, 2 1 Them. 2. 15-b Gen. 15, 16 34-4 Ch 21 34, 35. Luke 11 49- Acts 5. 40. & Cor. 11. 21, 20 g Røv, 12. 2.

1 Thess 2. 16 -e Ch. 3 7. & 12. 7. 56, 59. & 22, 19-7 Ch. 19. 17.

sink him deeper into the lake which burns with unquenchable fire. Reader! see that thy heart be right with God.

29. Ye build the tombs of the prophets] It appears, that through respect to their memory, they often repaired, and sometimes beautified the tombs of the prophets. M. De la Vallé, in his journey to the Holy Land, says, that when he visited the cave of Machpelah, he saw some Jews honouring a sepulchre, for which they have a great veneration, with lighting at it wax candles, and burning perfumes. See Har mer, vo' ili. p. 416. And in ditto, p. 424. we are informed that building tombs over those reputed saints, or beautifying those already built, is a frequent custom among the Mohammedans. 30. We would not have been partakers] They imagined themselves much better than their ancestors; but our Lord. who knew what they would do, uncovers their hearts, and shows them that they are about to be more abundantly vile than all who had ever preceded them.

31. Ye he witnesses] e acknowledge that ye are the chil. dren of those murderers, and ye are about to give full proof that ye are not degenerated.

There are many who think, that had they lived in the time of our Lord, they would not have acted towards him as the Jews did. But we can scarcely believe, that they who reject his Gospel, trample under foot his precepts, do desp te to the Spirit of his grace, love sin, and hate his followers, would have acted otherwise to him than the murdering Jews, had they lived in the same times.

32. Fill ye up then] Notwithstanding the profession you nake, ye will fill up the measure of your fathers--will continue to walk in their way, accomplish the fulness of every evil purpose, by murdering me; and then, when the measure of your iniquity is full, vengeance shall come upon you to the uttermost, as it did on your rebellious ancestors. The 31st verse should be read in a parenthesis, and then the 32d will appear to be what it is, an inference from the 30th.

Ye will fill up, or fill ye up-rλnpwcare but it is manifest that the imperative is put here for the future, a thing quite consistent with the Hebrew idiom, and frequent in the Scrip tures. So John ii. 19. Destroy this temple, &c i. e. Ye will destroy or pull down this temple, and I will rebuild it in three days-ye will crucify me, and I will rise again the third day. Two good MSS. have the word in the future tense and my old MS. Bible has it in the present-Gee (ye) fulfillen the mesure of goure (your) fabris.

33. Ye serpents, ye generation of ripers] What a terrible stroke-Ye are serpents, and the offspring of serpents. This refers to ver. 31.; they confessed that they were the children of those who murdered the prophets: and they are now going to murder Christ and his followers, to show that they have not degenerated-an accursed seed, of an accursed breed. My old MS. translates this place oddly-Gec serpentis, fruptis of burrownongis of eddris that sleen her modris. There seems to be here an allusion to a common opinion, that the young of the adder or viper which are brought forth alive, eat their way through the womb of their mothers. Hence that ancient enigma attributed to LACTANTIUS:

Non possum nasci, si non occidero matrem. Occidi matrem: sed me manet exitus idem. Id mea mors faciet, quod jum mea fecit origo. Cal. Firm. Symposium, N. xv. I never can be born, nor see the day, Till through my parent's womb 1 eat my way. Her I have slain; like her must yield my breath, For that which gave me life, shall cause my death. Every person must see, with what propriety this was ap plied to the Jews, who were about to murder the very person who gave them their being and all their blessings.

34. Therefore] To show how my prediction, Ye will fill up the measure of your fathers, shall be verified, Behold, I send (am just going to commission them) prophets, &c. and some ye will kill, with (legal process) and some ye will crucify, pretend to try and find guilty, and deliver them into the hands of the Romans, who shall, through you, thus put them to death. See on Lake xi. 49. By prophets, wise men, and scribes, our Lord intends the evangelists, apostles, deacons, &c. who should be employed in proclaiming his Gospel: men who should equal the ancient prophets, their wise men, and scribes, in all the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit.

35. Upon the earth) Erras yns, upon this land, meaning probably the land of Juden; for thus the word is often to be understood. The national punishment of all the innocent blood which had been shed in the land, shall speedily come

destruction of Jerusalem.

on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel, unto i the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

and stonest thein which are sent unto thee, how often would 37 k O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets,

I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate, 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, • Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord

h Gen. 4. 8. 1 John 3. 12-12 Chron 240, 21.-k Loke 13 344 2 Chem. 2 21- Deu. 32. 11, 12 2 Esdras 1. 30.- Psalms 17. 8. 91. 4.- Psalia 118 25. Chapter 21. 9.

upon you; from the blood of Abel the just, first prophet and preacher of righteousness, Heb. xi. 4. 2 Pet. ii. 5. to the blood of Zachariah, the son of Barachiah. It is likely that our Lord refers to the murder of Zachariah, mentioned 2 Chron xxiv. 20. who said to the people, Why transgress ye the commundments of God, so that ye cannot prosper? Because you hare jorsaken the Lord, he hath forsaken you. And they conspired against him and stoned him—at the commandment of the king, in the court of the house of the Lord. And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon and require it: ver. 21, 2 But it is objected, that this Zachariah was called the son of Jehoiada, and our Lord calls this one the son of Barachinh. Let it be observed, 1. That double names were frequent among the Jews, and sometimes the person was called by one, sometimes by the other. Compare 1 Sam. ix. 1. with Í Chron. vii. 33, where it appears that the father of Kish had two names, Abiel and Ner. So Matthew is called Leri, compare Matt. ix. 9. with Mark ii. 14. No Peter was also called Simon, and Lehbeus was called Thaddeus, Matt. x. 2, 3. 2. That Jerome says, that in the Gospel of the Nazarenes it was Jenorada, instead of Barachiah. 3. That Jehoiada and Barachiah, have the very same meaning, the praise or blessing of Jeho vah. 4. That as the Lord required the blood of Zachariah so fully, that in a year all the princes of Judah and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Syrians, and Joash, who commanded the murder, slain by his own servants, 2 Chron xxiv. 23–25. and their state grew worse and worse, till at last the temple was burned, and the people carried into captivity by Nebuzara dan:-so it should be with the present race. The Lord would, after the crucifixion of Christ, visit upon them the murder of all those righteous men, that their state should grow worse and worse, till at last the temple should be destroyed, and they finally ruined by the Romans. See this prediction in the next chapter; and see Dr. Whitby concerning Zachariah, the son of Barachinh.

Some think that our Lord refers, in the spirit of prophecy, to the murder of Zacharias, son of Baruch, a rich Jew, who was judged, condemned, and massacred in the temple by the Idumean zealots, because he was rich, a lover of liberty, and a hater of wickedness. They gave him a mock trial, and when no evidence could be brought against him, of his being guilty of the crime they laid to his charge, viz. a design to be tray the city to the Rouars, and his judges had pronounced him innocent, two of the stoutest of the zealots fell upon him and slew him in the middle of the temple. See Josephus, WAR, b. iv. chap. v. 8.5. See Crevier, vol. vi. p. 172. History of the Roman Emperors Others imagine, that Zachariah, one of the minor prophets, is meant, who might have been massacred by the Jews: for though the account is not come down to us, our Lord might have it from a well-known tradition in those times. But the former opinion is every way the most probable.

Between the temple and the altar] That is, between the sanctuary and the altar of burnt-offerings.

36. Shall come upon this generation.] En TηY YEVƐAV TAUTRI, upon this race of men, viz. the Jews. This phrase often occurs in this sense in the evangelists.

37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem] 1. It is evident that our blessed Lord seriously and earnestly wished the salvation of the Jews 2. That he did every thing that could be done consistently with his own perfections, and the liberty of his creatures, to effect this. 3. That his tears over the city, Luke xix. 41. sufficiently evince his sincerity. 4. That these persons nevertheless perished. And, 5. That the reason was, they would not be gathered together under his protection: therefore wrath, i. e. punishment, came upon them to the uttermost. From this it is evident, that there have been persons whom Christ wished to save, and bled to save, who notwithstanding perished, be cause they would not come unto him, John v. 40. The mete phor which our Lord uses here is a very beautiful one. When the hen sees a bird of prey coming, she makes a noise to assemble her chickens, that she may cover them with her wings from the danger. The Roman eagle is about to fall upon the Jewish state-nothing can prevent this but their conversion to God through Christ-Jesus cries throughout the land, publishing the Gospel of reconciliation-they would ne assemble, and the Roman eagle came and destroyed them. The hen's affection to her brood is so very strong as to b cone proverbial. The following beautiful Greek epigram taken from t e Anthologia, affords a very fine ill stration of this text.

Χειμερινές νιφάδεσσι παλυνόμενα τιθας όρνες

How God résente

Τέκνοις ευναίας αμφέχει πτερυγας. Μεσφα μεν ουράνιον κρυος ώλεσεν ή γαρ εμεινεν Αιθερος ουρανίων αντίπαλος νεφεων. Προκνή και Μεδεια, κατ' αΐδος αιδέσθητε, Μητέρες, ορνιθών έργα διδασκόμεναι,

Anthol. lib. i. Tit.'Ixxxvii. edit. Bosch. p. 344. Beneath her fostering wing the HEN defends Her darling offspring while the snow descends; Throughout the winter's day anmov'd defies The chilling fleeces and inclement skies.

T. Green.

Till vanquish'd by the cold and piercing blast, True to her charge, she perishes at last! O Fame! to hell this fowl's affection bear; Tell it to Progne and Medea there:To mothers such as those, the tale unfold, And let them blush to hear the story told! This epigram contains a happy illustration not only of our Lord's simile, but also of his own conduct. How long had these thankless and unholy people been the objects of his tenderest cares! For more than two thousand years, they engrossed the most peculiar regards of the most beneficent Providence; and during the three years of our Lord's public ministry, his preaching and miracles had but one object and aim, the instruction and salvation of this thoughtless and disobedient people. For their sakes he who was rich became poor, that they through his poverty might be rich-for their sakes, he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross! He died, that THEY might not perish, but have everlasting life. Thus, to save their life, he freely abandoned his own.

38. Behold your house] O oikos, the temple:-this is certainly what is meant. It was once the LORD's temple, God's ows house-but now he says, YOUR temple or house-to intimate that God had abandoned it. See the note on ver. 21. See also on Luke xiii. 35.

39. Ye shall not see me] I will remove my Gospel from you, and withdraw my protection.

Till, ye shall say, blessed] Till after the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in, when the word of life shall again be sent unto you, then will ye rejoice, and bless, and praise him that cometh in the name of the Lord, with full and final salvation for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. See Rom. xi. 26, 27. Our Lord plainly foresaw, that in process of time, a spiritual domination would arise in his church; and to prevent its evil influence, he leaves the strong warnings against it which are contained in the former part of this chapter. As the religion of Christ is completely spiritual, and the influence by which it is produced and maintained, must come from heaven; there fore, there could be no master or head but himself; for as the church (the assemblage of true believers) is his body, all Its intelligence, light, and life, must proceed from him alone. Our forefathers noted this well; and this was one of the grand arguments by which they overturned the papal pretensions to supremacy in this country. In a note on verse 9. in a Bible published by Edmund Becke in 1549, the 4th of Edward VI. we And the following words: Call no man your father upon the earth. Were is the Bishoppe of Rome declared a plaine Antichriste, in that be woulde be called the most bolpe father; and that all Christen men shoulde acknowledge bym for no lesse then their spprituall

cruelty, &c. in man, father notwithstandinge these plapne wordes of Christe. It is true, nothing can be plainer; and yet, in the face of these commands, the pope has claimed the honour; and millions of men have been so stupid as to concede it. May those days of darkness, tyranny, and disgrace, never return.

From the 13th to the 39th verse, our Lord pronounces eight woes, or rather pathetic declarations, against the scribes and Pharisees. 1. For their unwillingness to let the common people enjoy the pure word of God, or its right explanation: Ye shut up the kingdom, &c. ver. 13. 2. For their rapacity and pretended sanctity in order to secure their secular ends: Ye devour widow's houses, &c. ver. 14. 3. For their pretended zeal to spread the kingdom of God, by making proselytes, when they had no other end in view than forming in struments for the purposes of their oppression and cruelty: Ye compass sea and land, &c. ver. 15. 4. For their bad doctrine, and false interpretations of the Scriptures, and their dispensing with the most solemn oaths and vows at pleasure. Ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing, &c. ver. 16-22. 5. For their supersti tion in scrupulously attending to little things, and things not commanded, and omitting matters of great importance, the practice of which God had especially enjoined: Ye pay tithe of mint and cummin, &c. ver. 23, 24. 6. For their hypocri sy, pretending saintship, and endeavouring to maintain de cency in their outward conduct, while they had no other ob ject in view than to deceive the people, and make them acquiesce in their oppressive measures: Ye make clean the outside of the cup, ver. 25, 26. 7. For the depth of their inward depravity and abomination, having nothing good, fair, or supportable, but the mere outside.-Most hypocrites and wicked men have some good: but these were radically and totally evil: Ye are like unto whited sepulchres-within full-of all uncleanness, ver. 27, 28. 8. For their pretended concern for the holiness of the people, which proceeded no further than to keep them free from such pollutions as they might acci dentally and innocently contract by casually stepping on the place where a person had been buried: and for their affected regret that their fathers had killed the prophets, while themselves possessed and cultivated the same murderous inclina tions: Ye-garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, if ye had been, &c. ver. 29, 30.

It is amazing with what power and authority our blessed Lord reproves this bad people. This was the last discourse they ever heard from him: and it is surprising, considering their wickedness, that they waited even for a mock trial, and did not rise up at once and destroy him. But the time was not yet come, in which he was to lay down his life, for no man could take it from him.

While he appears in this last discourse with all the autho rity of a lawgiver and judge, he at the same time shows the tenderness and compassion of a friend and a father; he be holds their awful state-his eye affects his heart, and he weeps over them! Were not the present hardness and final perdition of these ungodly men entirely of themselves 1 Could Jesus, as the Supreme God, have fixed their reproba tion from all eternity by any necessitating decree; and yet weep over the unavoidable consequences of his own sovereign determinations? How absurd as well as shocking is the thought! This is Jewish exclusion: Credat Judæus Apella -non ego.

The

2 And Jesus said unto them, b See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

There shall not be left here one stone] These seem to have been the last words he spoke as he left the temple, into which he never afterward entered and when he got to the mount of Olives he renewed the discourse. From this mount, on which our Lord and his disciples now sat, the whole of the city, and particularly the temple, were clearly seen. - This

Persecutions of the

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's

13 But be that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be sared

14 And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all

Ch 10 17. Mark 13 9. Luke 21. 12. Joba 15, 20. & 16. 2. Acta 4. 2, 3 & 7.59. Fet 4. 16 Dev 10, 13-b Ch 11. 6. & 13. 57. 2 Tim. 1. 15. & 4. 11. 16 - С. 7. 1 Acts 2019 Pet. 2. 1.

for several years together, going about the walls and crying with a loud voice; "Wo, wo to the city, and to the people, and to the temple" and as he added "wo, wo, to myself!" a stone from sone sling or engine struck him dead on the spot! It is worthy of remark, that Josephus appeals to the testimony of ethers, who saw and heard these fearful things. Tacitus, a Roman historian, gives very nearly the same account with that of Josephus. Hist. lib. v.

9. All these are the beginning of sorrows.] dwwv, trarailing pains. The whole land of Judea is represented under the notion of a woman in grievous travail; but our Lord in timates that all that had already been mentioned, were only the first pangs and throes, and nothing in comparison of that hard and death-bringing labour, which should afterward take place.

From the calamities of the nation in general, our Lord passes to those of the Christians; and indeed the sufferings of his followers were often occasioned by the judgments sent upon the land, as the poor Christians were charged with being the cause of these national calamities; and were cruelly persecated on that account.

9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted] Rather, Then they will deliver you up to affliction, is v. By a bold figure of speech, affliction is hiere personified. They are to be delivered into affliction's own band, to be harrassed by all the modes of inventive torture.

Ye shall be hated of all nations] Both Jew and Gentile will unite in persecuting and tormenting you. Perhaps Tavrov Tey means all the Gentiles, as in the parallel places in Mark xiii. 9-11. and in Lake xxi. 12-15. the Jewish persecution is mentioned distinctly. Ye shall be delivered up to COUNCILS, and be benten in SYNAGOGUES, and ye shall stand before governors and kings for my name's sake-be not anxiously careful beforehand what ye shall speak-for ye are not the speakers, but the Holy Spirit will speak by you--I will give you utterance and wisdoin, which all your adversaries shall not be able to contradict or resist We need go no fur, ther than the Acts of the Apostles for the completion of these particulars. Some were delivered to councils, as Peter and John, Acts iv. 5. Some were brought before rulers and kings, Es Paul before Gallio, chap. xviii. 12. before Felix, xxiv. be. fore Festus and Agrippa, xxv. Some had utterance and wis dom which their adversaries were not able to resist; so Ste. phen, chap. vi. 10. and Paul, who made even Felix himself tremble, chap. xxiv. 25. Some were imprisoned, as Peter and John, chap. iv. 3. Some were heuten, as Paul and Silas, chap. xvi. 23. Some were put to death, as Stephen, chap. vii. 59. and James the brother of John, chap. xii. 2. But if we look beyond the book of the Acts of the Apostles, to the bloody persecutions under Nero, we shall find these predictions still more amply fulfilled; in these, numberless Christians fell, besides those two champions of the faith, Peter and Paul. And it was, as says Tertullian, nominis prælium, a war against the very name of Christ; for he who was called Christian, had committed crime enough in hearing the name, to be pot to death. So true were our Saviour's words that they should be hated of all men for his NAME's sake.

But they were not only to be hated by the Gentiles, but they were to be betrayed by apostates:

10. Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another] To illustrate this point, one sentence out of Tacitus (Annal. 1. xv.) will be sufficient, who speaking of the persecu tion under Nero, says, At first several were seized, cho con freed, and then, by THEIR DISCOVERY, a great multitude of others were convicted and executed.

11. False prophets] Also were to be raised up; such as Simon Magus and his followers; and the false apostles complained of by St. Paul, 2 Cor. xi. 13. who were deceitful work ers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. Such also were Hymeneus and Philetus. 2 Tim. ii. 17, 18. 12 The love of many shall waz cold] By reason of these trists and persecutions from without, and those apostacies and false prophets from within, the love of many to Christ and his doctrine, and to one another, shall grow cold. Some openly deserting the faith, as ver. 10. others corrupting it, as ver 11. and others growing indifferent about it, as ver. 12. Even at this early period there seems to have been a very considerable defection in several Christian churches; see Gal. iii. 42 Thess. iii. 1, &c. 2 Tim. i. 15.

15h When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, ( whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the honse-top not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And wo unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath-day.

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since d 1 Tim. 4. 1. Ver, 5, 24.- Ch. 10 2. Mark 13. 13. Heb, 3. 6, 14. Rev. 2. 10-f Ch. 4. 23. & 9. - Rom. 19 18. Col. 1.6, 3.-h Mark 13. 14. Luke 21. 20iDan. 9. 27. & 12. 11.-k Dan. 9. 23, 95-1 Lk. 23. 29-m Dan.9. 26.& 19.1. Joel 2. 2.

13. But he that shall endure] The persecutions that shall come-unto the end; to the destruction of the Jewish polity; without growing cold or apostatizing-shall be saved, shall be delivered in all imminent dangers, and have his soul at last brought to an eternal glory. It is very remarkable that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, though there were many there when Cestius Gallus invested the city; and had he persevered in the siege, he would soon have rendered himself master of it; but when he unexpect edly and unaccountably raised the siege, the Christians took that opportunity to escape. See Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. c. 5. and Mr. Reading's note there; and see the note here on ver. 20.

14. And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world] But notwithstanding these persecutions, there should be an universal publication of the glad tidings of the kingdom, for a testimony to all nations. God would have the iniquity of the Jews published every where, before the heavy strokes of his judgments should fall upon them; that all mankind, as it were, might be brought as witnesses against their cruelty and obstinacy in crucifying and rejecting the Lord Jesus.

In all the world, εν όλη τη εικουμένη. Perhaps no more is meant here than the Roman empire; for it is beyond controversy that racav Tev otrovucyny, Luke ii. 1. means uo more than the whole Roman empire; as a decree for taxation or enrolment from Augustus Cesar, could have no influence but in the Roman dominions; but see on Luke ii. 1. Tacitus informs us, Annal. I. xv. that as early as the reign of Nero, the Chris. tians were grown so numerous at Rome, as to excite the jealousy of the government; and in other parts they were in proportion. However, we are under no necessity to restrain the phrase to the Roman empire, as previously to the destruetion of Jerusalem, the Gospel was not only preached in the lesser Asia, and Greece, and Italy, the greatest theatres of ac tion then in the world; but was likewise propagated as far north as SCYTHIA; as far south as ETHIOPIA; as far east as PARTHIA and INDIA; and as far west as SPAIN and BRITAIN. On this point Bishop Newton goes on to say, That there is some probability that the Gospel was preached in the British nations by St. Simon the apostle; that there is much greater probability that it was preached here by St. Paul; and that there is an absolute certainty that it was planted here in the times of the apostles, before the destruction of Jerusalem. See his Proofs, Dissert. vol. ii. p. 235, 236. edit. 1758. St. Paul himself speaks, Col. i. 6, 23. of the Gospel's being come into ALL THE WORLD, and preached TO EVERY CREATURE under hearen. And in his Epistle to the Romans, chap. x. 18. very ele. gantly applies to the lights of the church, what the Psalmist said of the lights of heaven, Their sound went into ALL THE EARTH, and their words unto the END of the WORLD. What but the wisdom of God could foretell this? and what but the power of God could accomplish it?

Then shall the end come.] When this general publication of the Gospel shall have taken place, then a period shall be put to the whole Jewish economy, by the utter destruction of their city and temple.

15. The abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel] This abomination of desolation, St. Luke (chap. xxi. 20, 21.) refers to the Roman army; and this abomination standing in the holy place, is the Roman army besieging Jerusalem; this, our Lord says, is what was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, in the ninth and eleventh chapters of his prophecy; and so let every one who reads these prophecies understand them and in reference to this very event, they are understood by the rabbins. The Roman army is called an abomination for its ensigns and images, which were so to the Jews. Josephus says (War, b. vi. c. 6.) the Romans brought their ensigns into the temple, and placed them over against the eastern gate, and sacrificed to them there. The Roman army is therefore fitly called the abomination, and the abomination which maketh desolate, as it was to desolate and lay waste Jerusalem; and this army besieging Jerusalem, is called by St. Mark, chap. xiii. 14. standing where it ought not, that is, as in the text here, the holy place; as not only the city, but a considerable compass of ground about it was deemed holy, and consequent. ly no profane persons should stand on it.

16. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains] This counsel was remembered, and wisely followed by the

the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and a Isaiah 65, 8, 9. Zech. 14. 2, 3.-b Mark 13 21 Luke 17. 23. & 21. 8.- Deut. 13. 1. Ver. 5. 11. 2 Thess. 2. 9, 10, 11. Rev. 13. 13.

Christians afterward. Eusebius and Epiphanius say, that at this juncture, after Cestius Gallus had raised the siege, and Vespasian was approaching with his army, all who believed in Christ left Jerusalem and fled to Pella, and other places beyond the river Jordan; and so they all marvellously escaped the general shipwreck of their country; not one of them perished. See on ver. 13. 17. Let him which is on the house-top] The houses of the Jews, as well as those of the ancient Greeks and Romans, were flat-roofed, and had stairs on the outside, by which persons might ascend and descend without coming into the house. In the eastern walled cities, these flat-roofed houses usually formed continued terraces from one end of the city to the other; which terraces terminated at the gates. He therefore who is walking on the house-top, let him not come down to take any thing out of his house: but let him instantly pursue his course along the tops of the houses, and escape out at the city gate as fast as he can.

Any thing] Instead of ri, any thing, we should read ra, the things; which reading is supported by all the best MSS., Versions, and Fathers.

18. Neither let him which is in the field return back] Because when once the army of the Romans sits down before the city, there shall be no more any possibility of escape, as they shall never remove till Jerusalem be destroyed.

19. And wo unto them (alas! for them) that are with child, &c.] For such persons are not in a condition to make their escape; neither can they bear the miseries of the siege. Josephus says the houses were full of women and children that perished by the famine; and that the mothers snatched the food even out of their own children's mouths. See WAR, b. v. c. 10. But he relates a more horrid story than this, of one Mary, the daughter of Eliezar, illustrious for her family and riches, who being stripped and plundered of all her goods and provisions by the soldiers, in hunger, rage, and despair, killed and boiled her own sucking child, and had eaten onehalf of him before it was discovered. This shocking story is told, WAR, book vi. c. 3. with several circumstances of aggravation.

20. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter] For the hardness of the season, the badness of the roads, the shortness of the days, and the length of the nights, will all be great impediments to your flight. Rabbi Tanchum observes, that the favour of God was particularly manifested in the destruction of the first temple, in not obliging the Jews to go out in the winter, but in the summer." See the place in Lightfoot.

Neither on the sabbath-day] That you may not raise the indignation of the Jews by travelling on that day, and so suffer that death out of the city, which you had endeavoured to escape from within. Besides, on the sabbath-days, the Jews not only kept within doors, but the gates of all the cities and towns in every place were kept shut and barred, so that if their flight should be on a sabbath, they could not expect admission into any place of security in the land.

the destruction of Jerusalem.

shall show great signs and wonders: insomuch that d if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before.

26 Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

17. 24.

27° For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even d John 6. 37. & 10. 23, 29 Romans 8. 28, 29, 30. 2 Timothy 2. 19-e Luke nish us with a parallel to the calamities and miseries of the Jews: rapine, murder, famine, and pestilence within, fire and sword, and all the horrors of war without. Our Lord wept at the foresight of these calamities; and it is almost impossible for any humane person to read the relation of them in Josephus without weeping also. St. Luke, chap. xxi. 22. calls these the days of vengeance, that all things which were written might be fulfilled. 1. These were the days in which all the calamities, predicted by Moses, Joel, Daniel, and other prophets, as well as those predicted by our Saviour, met in one common centre, and were fulfilled in the most terrible manner on that generation. 2. These were the days of vengeance in another sense, as if God's judgments had certain pe riods and revolutions: for it is remarkable that the temple was burnt by the Romans on the same month, and on the same day of the month, on which it had been burned by the Babylonians. See Josephus, WAR, book vi. c. 4.

22. Except those days should be shortened] Josephus com putes the number of those who perished in the siege at eleven hundred thousand, besides those who were slain in other places, WAR, book vi. c. 9.; and if the Romans had gone on destroying in this manner, the whole nation of the Jews would in a short time have been entirely extirpated: but for the sake of the elect, the Jews, that they might not be utterly destroyed, and for the Christians particularly, the days were shortened. These, partly through the fury of the Zealots on one hand, and the hatred of the Romans on the other; and partly through the difficulty of subsisting in the mountains, without houses or provisions, would in all probability have been all destroyed, either by the sword or famine, if the days had not been shortened. The besieged themselves helped to shorten those days by their divisions and mutual slaughters; and by fatally deserting their strong holds, where they never could have been subdued but by famine alone. So well fortified was Je rusalem, and so well provided to stand a siege, that the enemy without could not have prevailed, had it not been for the fac tions and seditions within. When Titus was viewing the fortifications after the taking of the city, he could not help ascribing his success to God. "We have fought," said he, "with God on our side; and it is God who pulled the Jews out of these strong holds, for what could machines, or the hands of men, avail against such towers as these ?" WAR, book vi. c. 9.

23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ] Our Lord had cautioned his disciples against false Christs and prophets before, ver. 11.; but he seems here to intimate that there would be especial need to attend to this caution about the time of the siege. And in fact many such impostors did arise about that time, promising deliverance from God; and the lower the Jews were reduced, the more disposed they were to listen to such deceivers. Like a man drowning, they were willing to catch even at a straw, while there was any prospect of being saved. But as it was to little purpose for a man to take upon hin the character of the Christ, without miracles to avouch his divine mission, so it was the common artifice of these impostors to show signs and wonders, enpera Kai repara; the very words used by Christ in his prophecy, and by Josephus in his history: ANT. book xx. c. 7. Among these, Simon Magus, and Dositheus, mentioned before; and Barcocab, who, St. Jerom says, pretended to vomit flames. And it is certain these and some others were so dexterous in imitating miraculous works, that they deceived many, and such were their works, that if the elect, the chosen persons, the Christians, had not had the fullest evidence of the truth of Christ's inission and miracles, they must have been deceived too: but having had these proofs they could not possibly be deceived by these impostors. This is simply the meaning of this place; and it is truly astonishing that it should be brought as a proof for the doctrine (whether true or false is at present out of the question) of the necessary and eternal perseve rance of the saints! How abundant the Jews were in magic, divination, sorcery, incantation, &c. see proved by Dr. Lighton this place.

25. Behold, I have told you before] That is, I have forewarned you.

26. If they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert] Is it not worthy of remark, that our Lord not only foretold the appearance of these impostors, but also the manner and circumstances of their conduct? Some he mentions as ap pearing in the desert, Josephus says, ANT. b. xx. c. 7. and WAR, b. ii. c. 13.-That many impostors and cheats persua ded the people to follow them to the desert, promising to show them signs and wonders done by the providence of God. An Egyptian false prophet, mentioned by Josephus, ANT. b. xx. c. 7. and in the Acts, chap. xxi. 38. led out into the DESERT four thousand men, who were murderers, but these were all taken or destroyed by Felix. Another promised sal. vation to the people, if they would follow him to the DESERT,