wind blow, ye fay there will be heat; and it cometh to pass. 56 Ye hypocrites, ye can difcern the face of the fky, and of the earth: but how is it, that ye do not discern this time? 57 Yea, and why even of your felves judge ye not what is right? 58 When thou goeft with thine adverfary to the magiftrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayeft be delivered from him left he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer caft thee into prifon. 59 I tell thee, thou fhalt not depart thence, till thou haft paid the very laft mite. VOL. II. appearance and colour of the Sky, from the motion of the clouds, and from the blowing of the Wind, what Weather is like to be the next Morning or Evening. 56. Why then, ye Hypocrites, if ye were not blinded with Obftinacy and wilful Prejudices, can ye not in Matobferve the Periods and Revolutions of ters of far greater moment learn to Things, the various Methods and wife Difpenfations of Providence towards Mankind? Why can you not ftudy, from the Predictions of the antient Prophets, and from the prefent Circumstances of Things, compared together, to know the Times and the Perfon of the Meffiah? CHAP. XIII. The Punishment of fome, a Warning to others; and that Temporal Afflictions afford no Judgment of the Measure of God's Anger, ver. 1. God will not always bear with Sinners, ver. 6. Jefus cures a crooked Woman, ver. 10. The Parable of the Mustard-feed, ver. 19. Of the Leaven, ver. 21. Repentance must not be deferred, ver. 25. Obedience the indifpenfable Condition of Salvation, ver. 26. Jefus defpifes Herod, ver. 31. and laments over Jerufalem, ver. 34. 2. Whereupon Jefus faid to them that mentioned the Story; Do you think that those few Galileans, who thus perished, were greater and more notorious Sinners than all the reft of the Nation; because God fuffered them to fall by fo fevere and unexpected a Calamity? 3. I tell you, No: But the Wisdom of Providence permitted these Men fo to perish, only for an Example to others altogether as great Sinners as they, to bring them to Repentance. And affuredly, unless you do Repent, ye fhall all, even your whole Nation, be deftroyed by as fore a Calamity, and by 1 THERE were at that feafon, fome that told him of the Galileans, had mingled with whofe blood Pilate their facrifices. 2 And Jefus anfwering, faid unto them, Suppofe ye that thefe Galileans, were finners above all the Galileans, because they fuffered fuch things? 3 I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye fhall all likewife perish. 4 Or 4 Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and flew them, think ye that they were finners above all men that dwelt in Jerufalem? 5 I tell you, Nay but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 6 He fpake also this parable: A certain man had a figtree planted in his vineyard, and he came and fought fruit thereon, and found none. 7 Then faid he unto the dreffer of his vineyard, Behold, these three years Í come feeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none: cut it down, why cumbreth it the ground? as dreadful a Slaughter, as thefe very Men were. 4. In like manner, thefe Eighteen Men, who were killed by the fall of the Tower of Siloam; do you think that they were greater Sinners than all the reft of the Inhabitants of Jerufalem? 5. I tell you, No: But God made them an Example, to bring you to Repentance. And verily, if ye do not Repent, ye fhall all perish in as dreadful and exemplary aDefolation of the whole City, as these Men did in the Ruins of that one Turret. : 6. Which severe Warning, that it might make the deeper Impreffion upon the People, Jefus added the following Comparison to confirm and enforce it. A certain Man, faid he, had a Figtree planted in his Vineyard; which when he expected it should have been full of Fruit, it brought forth none. Thus God chofe the Nation of the Jews to be his peculiar People, expecting that they should ferve and obey him with Fidelity and Conftancy; but they revolted from Him, and degenerated into a wicked and impenitent People: And thus likewife every particular wicked Man, when God expects of him the Fruits of Virtue and Righteousness, brings forth on the contrary Sin and Folly. 7. Then the Man faid to his Vinedreffer; I have come with great Patience Year after Year, looking for Fruit on this Fig-tree, and yet find none, Cut it down, and let it cumber my Ground no longer. Thus God, feeing the Obftinacy and Impenitency of the Jews; after much Long-fuffering, refolved with himself at last to destroy them utterly: And the like alfo He determines K 3 termines concerning every particular impenitent Perfon. 8&9. But the Vine-dreffer replied; Sir, have Patience one Year longer, and I will take fome Pains with it and dig about it and dung it, and try if I can by I can by this method make it bear Fruit; and if it does not, I will then cut it down. Thus God, by fending Chrift and his Apoitles to preach the Gofpel to the Jews, made them one Offer of Mercy more; and gave them one farther fpace of Repentance; after which, if they rejected it, he irreverfibly determined to deftroy them without Mercy: And thus likewife to every obftinate Sinner, God offers means and fpace of Repentance; but at last, if he continues impenitent, cuts him off, and destroys him irrecoverably. 10 & 11. Now as Jefus was teaching one Sabbath-Day in the Synagogue, according to his Cuftom; there was prefent a Woman who had been Eighteen Years afflicted with an incurable Difeafe, which kept her continually ftooping and bowed together in fuch a manner, that she was not able to look up, or lift her felf up at all. 12 & 13. And when Jefus faw her, he called her to him, and laid his Hands upon her, and commanded the Disease to depart from her; and immediately the lifted up her Head and ftood upright, and gave thanks to God for this extraordinary Deliverance. 14. But the Ruler of the Synagogue, being one of a truly Pharifaical Temper, who placed Religion much more in the ftrict and formal Obfervance of external and pofitive Ceremonies, than in Works of Righteoufnefs, Mercy, and Charity; was highly incenfed at Jefus's her: 13 And he laid bis hands on and immediately fhe was made ftraight, and glorified God. of the fynagogue 14 And the ruler anfwered with in |