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Simon Peter, and the other disciples whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the se. pulchre, and we know not where they have laid him ;" then Peter and John came running to the sepulchre; and Mary rePeturns with them or comes after them as fast as she could. ter and John went into the sepulchre, and see the linen clothes lying, but found not the body of Christ, and not knowing what to make of things, went away again. Mr. Prince supposed that Luke speaks of this coming of Peter to the sepulchre in the xxiv. chapter of his Gospel, 12th verse, and supposes the word should have been rendered thus, "Now Peter also had risen, and ran to the sepulchre, and stooping down, saw the linen clothes lying by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at what was done;" but when they were gone, Mary staid behind, and would not go away. She probably staid waiting for the company of women that she expected would presently come with spices to anoint the body, but as she stood there weeping, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and saw two angels in white, sitting one at the head, and the other at the foot where the body of Jesus had lain; they speak to her, and ask her why she wept; she answers, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him; and when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus." (Probably because the twilight was yet dim.) Jesus asked her why she wept. She, supposing him to be the gardener, says to him, "Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith to her, Mary ;" and she then knew him, and worships him. Christ bids her go and inform his disciples, &c. On which Mary went away in haste to tell his disciples, and did not wait till the women came with the spices as she intended; Mark xvi. 9, 10, 11; John xx. 1–19.

The other women, that were concerned in the design of anointing the body of Jesus, went together in order to go to the sepulchre about break of day, and came to the sepulchre about sunrise. After Mary Magdalene was gone, whom they had not seen, nor she them, and they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? and when they came, they found that the stone was rolled away. Mark. xvi. 2, 3, 4, and Luke xxiv. 1, 2, " And they entered in, (the angel now not appearing on the stone) and found not the body of Jesus there, and while they were much perplexed thereabout, behold two men stood by them in shining garments," and one of them of a distinguished brightness and glorious appearance, being the same, the glory and majesty of whose appearance had so terrified the keepers. He sat on the right side,

clothed in a long white garment. Matth. xxviii. 4, 5; Luke xxiv. 3, 4; Mark xvi. 5. This angel on the right side is he that speaks to them, saying, "Fear ye not; I know that ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified; Why seek ye the living among the dead? he is not here, for he is risen as he said; come see the place where the Lord lay; and remember how he spake unto you while he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. But go your way quickly; tell his disciples, and Peter, that he goeth before you into Galilee, there shall ye see him as he said unto you. Lo, I have told you." Matth. xxviii. 5, 6, 7; Mark xvi. 6, 7; Luke xxiv. 5, 6, 7, "And they remembered his words, and they came out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre, for they trembled and were amazed, nor said they any thing to any one, for they were affrighted, they came out with fear and great joy, as they ran to bring his disciples word. Matth. xxviii. 8; Mark xvi. 8; Luke xxiv. 8. And as they went to bring his disciples word, lo, Jesus met them, saying, All hail; and they came to him, and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid; go tell my brethren, that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. Matth. xxvii. 9, 10. And they returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest."

[76] Mark i. 24. "Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God." The devils were exceedingly jealous of Christ; they understood of old that the Son of God was to come into the world to destroy them, and they dreaded that destruction. It is probable that Christ came in a manner very unexpected to them, as well as to the Jews; but yet they were sensible who he was, they seemed to think that Christ appeared in so low and obscure a manner, out of some secret design against them; that he came in disguise that they might not know of it, that he might some way or other be under better advantage to overthrow them; they therefore are willing to let him know that they knew who he

was.

[23] Mark iv. 5. "And immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth." The weakest minds, and persons of the least solidity soonest receive a thing that is new and externally plausible, and at first receive it with most lively emotions of their spirits, being guided by fancy only; but the more solid and substantial mind is more slow and deliberate, and weighs

matters in an even balance, and comes to it by degrees; but when once it is fixed, it is lasting and immovable, and grows stronger and stronger, and brings forth substantial fruit.

[24] Mark iv. 25. "For he that hath, to him shall be given; and he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath." Spiritual and heavenly gifts are not given merely in proportion to a person's improvement of what he has, in such a manner that he that has but little, if he improves it as well in proportion to what he has, shall receive as great a reward as he that has a great deal; for then the additional talent should with equal reason be given to him who at first received the two talents, as to him who received five; Matth. xxv. 28; but it was not; and the reason is given in the 29th verse, "For to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which he hath.” It is so with respect to advantages and privileges: he that improves great advantages well shall receive a greater reward than he that improves small ones; otherwise they could be no advantages, therefore glory, honour, and peace is given to every man that worketh good, but "to the Jew first." Rom. ii. 10.

[25] Mark. iv. 26, 27, 28. "And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground, and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." So the kingdom of God comes without observation, without noise and tumult, but goes silently and calmly, but irresistibly, on. So it increased gradually from Christ's disciples, till, in about three hundred years, it filled the world, and yet grew nobody knew how, being promoted by an invisible hand, without war, noise, and clamour; by operating on men's understandings and wills. So the kingdom of God often in the same manner grows in men's hearts, being at first only as an invisible seed, but afterwards as the blade, then the ear, then the full corn.

[26] Mark vi. 44. "And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men ;" not that the multitude that was about him now was more numerous than very frequently at other times; whereby we know how publicly Christ's miracles were wrought.

[27] Mark vi. 52. "For they considered not the miracle of the loaves, for their hearts were hardened." By hardness of

heart here, and in other places, is intended so largely as to take in blindness of mind, and the depravation of the faculties of the mind in general, and the prevention of their exercises.

[29] Mark. ix. 29. "This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting." Wherefore fasting, that which is here so called, is acceptable to God, now, under the New Tes

tament.

us.

[30] Mark ix. 38, 39. “And John answered him, saying, Master we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followed not us, and we forbad him, because he followeth not But Jesus said, Forbid him not." Hereby is the justice of many in these days condemned, who will not suffer others to do good, and use their endeavours to save men's souls and dispossess Satan, because they follow not them.

[31] Mark ix. 42. "Whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believeth in me,' ," &c. Christians are but babes and infants in this world, especially were Christ's disciples, so at that time; and the primitive church was an infant, they are called by the apostle John little children. Christians must become as little children in humility, innocency, tender-heartedness, &c. By offend, in scripture, is intended to cause to of fend. We hereby learn how dangerous and dreadful a sin it is to endeavour to make weak Christians go against their consciences.

[148] Mark x. 29, 30. "There is no man that hath left house or brethren, &c.but he shall receive an hundred fold now in this time, houses and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, with persecutions, and in the world to come, eternal life." We may be helped to understand this place by Matthew's account of the same thing, Matth. xix. 27, &c. where we have an account that Christ told his disciples upon John's asking this question at the same time, that they should sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, i. e. they should be the means of the conversion of the world, the world should be given into their hands, should be brought to embrace their doctrine, and their word should be the standard of their faith and rule of their worship and practice, and thus they had houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, an hundred fold. They had the houses of all the Christians to receive them, and at their service, they had brethren and sisters, for all Christians were such in Christ, they had mothers, for so were the churches of Christ. We may

observe in the foregoing verse, their forsaking fathers is mentioned, the fathers are not put in here as being restored an hundred fold, but only mothers, but one Father, even their heavenly Father, they were to have children, for so were those they converted, and lands, for most regions of the earth were to be given to them. The meek shall then inherit the earth. This is especially fulfilled in the glorious times of the church, after the fall of Antichrist.

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[226] Mark xi. 13. “And seeing a fig-tree afar off, having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon; and when he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for the time of figs was not yet." By the time of figs here, seems to be meant the fig-harvest, or the time of the ingathering of figs; as the author of the Reply to Woolston with great probability supposes, agreeably to the manner of expression in Matth. xxi. 34. When the time of the fruit drew nigh," xaigos Twv xagwwv, and Ps. i. 4, "Yields its fruit in its season.' This is given as a reason why Christ came seeking and expecting figs on the tree. The time of ingathering of them was not yet come, and therefore he might well expect to find them hanging. The particle (for) has reference not separately to the last words, viz. and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, but it has reference to the whole sentence taken together, signifying that he came seeking and expecting fruit, and was disappointed. Those words, for the time of figs was not yet, contain a reason both why he came, and why it was a disappointment to him to find none, both which are understood and necessarily implied in the words preceding.

If we suppose the particle (for) here has no reference at all to the last words, viz. when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, but look on the words as a parenthesis, this is no difficulty; for we have an instance fully parallel in Luke xix. 24, 25, 26, “And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds: for I say unto yon, that unto every one that hath shall be given, and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.” Whence it is most evident that the consecutive particle for has no reference to the words immediately preceding, viz. "And they said unto him, Lord he hath ten pounds ;" but to those before. See also a parallel instance, Mark xvi. 3,

4.

And though the fig-harvest was not yet come, or the time of general ingathering of figs, yet it was a time of year, as the forementioned author observes, wherein Christ might expect to find some ripe figs fit for eating on the tree; for, as he observes,

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