the more common sort of fig-trees in those parts brings two crops in a year; (see Hosea ix. 10;) and that the first ripe fruits of the first crop might be expected then; and that Jesephus says, that at the time of the passover some Jewish robbers made an excursion from the castle of Mastada, and carried off the ripe fruits belonging to the town of Engaddi; and that he, describing the fruitfulness of the country of Gennesareth, says, "It affords figs and grapes for ten months without intermission;" and that Pliny says, these two crops of figs kept pace with the harvest and vintage; and that, if so, the first crop will be ripe at about the time of the passover; and that the end of the winter and beginning of spring in Judea was, at latest, about the middle of February, and then the fig-tree began to put forth green figs, agreeably to Cant. ii. 13; and therefore, that in the words, "the time of fruit is not yet," is signified, that the barrenness of the tree, and not merely that the fact that the proper time wherein figs used to be ripe was not yet come, was the reason why Christ did not find eatable figs on the tree, since, in the latter case, it never would have been expressed, as it is here, that he found nothing but leaves, but rather that he found nothing but green figs; for, undoubtedly, by what has been observed, there must be green figs on all figtrees that were not barren long before this time.

[32] Mark xii. 7. "But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours." This was really the case with the Pharisees; they were the teachers of this people, and they saw, if Christ was followed, they should be neglected; this greatly startled them; they feared losing their credit, so that they should be unable to rule that nation any longer; but if they could any way prevail to kill him, they doubted not but they should have quiet possession still.

[33] Mark xii. 29. "And Jesus answering, said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scripture, neither the power of God; for when they shall rise from the dead they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels which are in heaven." We may conclude, therefore, that these doctrines of a future state and the resurrection are taught, and may be heard in the Old Testament, yea, and in general the manner of it may be known by it.

[34] Mark xiii. 22. "For false christs, and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect." Let us explain election, which

way we will, and one of these two doctrines is established. If the election spoken of precedes their calling, the doctrine of predestination is established; if it follows, and they are chosen for their Christianity, then the doctrine of perseverance is established; for it is impossible to seduce such as is implied. Mark xvi. See No. 220, Matth. xxviii.

[314] Luke i. 35. "And the angel answered, and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, also, that holy thing that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God."

The Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ, was a type of two things she was a type of the church, that is often in scripture represented as Christ's mother that travails in pain with him, and brings him forth; she brings him forth in the hearts of believers, and especially those that are ministers in the church, who (as the apostle said he did) do travail in birth with souls; and he, being brought forth, appears and lives in their lives. The church is also represented as a chaste, pure virgin, and she is often called his undefiled in the Canticles. She nourishes Christ, or grace, in the hearts of the saints by the ordinances of religion, and those means of grace that are maintained in the church. She affords the sincere milk of the word, by which believers, as new-born babes, are nourished, and do grow. And the blessed Virgin, in conceiving and bringing forth Christ, is an eminent type of every believing soul, who is Christ's brother, and sister, and mother. As Christ was formed in her, so is he in every true convert; he was formed in her by the Holy Ghost's coming upon, and the power of the highest overshadowing her; which is a lively representation of the manner in which the new creature is formed in the saints. The mother of Christ was a pure Virgin; so are believers represented in scripture; they are presented as chaste virgins to Christ, they are those that are not defiled with women, for they are virgins, as is said in Revelations. The blessed Virgin brought forth Christ with pain; so is Christ commonly brought forth in the hearts of believers with that contrition, and repentance and sorrow for sin, that self-denial and mortification, that may fitly be compared to the pains of a woman in travail. As the blessed Virgin nourished her babe, with nourishment from her breast, so Christ in the heart is refreshed with the exercises of graces in the saints and their good works, which are often represented in scripture as food to Christ in the heart, or the principle of grace there, which is as a new-born child, and causes it to grow; and the exercises and fruits of grace that come from the hearts of the saints, do as it were nourish Christ's interest in the world, and cause

Christ's mystical body, which is small as in infancy, to be strengthened and increased. The mother of Christ, was very careful of Christ when he was an infant, tended him with great care, watched over him lest he should be hurt, and was careful to feed and nourish him, when he was wounded to heal him, to please and gratify him, and by all means to promote his health and growth, as tender mothers are wont to do their little children. So should the believer do with respect to Christ in the heart. The care that a tender mother has of her infant, is a very lively image of the love that a Christian ought to have of grace in the heart. It is a very constant care; the child must be continually looked after; it must be taken care of both day and night. When the mo ther wakes up in the night she has her child to look after and nourish at her breast, and it sleeps in her bosom, and it must be continually in the mother's bosom, or arms, there to be upheld and cherished; it needs its food and nourishment much oftener than adult persons; it must be fed both day and night; it must in every thing be gratified and pleased; the mother must bear the burden of it as she goes to and fro. This is also a lively image of the care that the church, especially the ministers of the gospel, should have of the interests of Christ, committed to their care; 1 Thes. ii. 6, 7, 8, 9. "We might have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ; but we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail; for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God." That when the church is spoken of under the character of a mother, the ministers are especially meant, see Note on Cantic. ii. 11, at the latter end.

[137] Luke viii. 28. 30. The legion of devils besought Christ that he would not torment them, and that he would command them to go out into the deep. This shows that the devils had a very trembling expectation of having their punishment completed, and of being dreadfully destroyed some time or other by the

Messiah.

[28] Luke xi. 44. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites," &c. The Jewish church was now in its apostatized state, being become an hypocritical, superstitious, corrupt, haughty, persecuting church, very much as the apostatized Christian church under Antichrist, only in a far less degree, but their crimes were exactly of the same nature. It is called a generation

of vipers; like as the church of Rome is called the dragon, the beast. Here it was that our Lord was crucified; and the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world, was required of this generation, verse 50. So the church of Rome is said to be the city where our Lord was crucified, Rev. xi. 8. "And that in her was found the blood of prophets, of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth;" and in innumerable things did this apostatized church agree with the church of Rome. Now the Scribes and Pharisees were the teachers of the nation, and as their clergy, and were the haughtiest, most hypocritical, most covetous, deceitful, and malicious, persecuting sort of men in the whole nation; their enormities that are mentioned here and elsewhere, exactly to a wonder corresponding with those of the Romish clergy, and the high church; their temper and behaviour was just as this is.

[295] Luke x. 38, to the end. Concerning Mary's and Martha's different ways of showing their respect to Christ. Martha and Mary seem to be types of different churches, or rather different parts of the Christian church: the one showing their respect to Christ by much external service and ceremony, as Martha was cumbered about much serving; the other that part of the church that is more pure and spiritual in their worship, as Mary sat at his feet, and heard his word. Particularly Martha represents the Jewish Christian church in the apostles' days, made up of Jews and Judaizing Christians, who were fond of the ceremonies of the Jewish worship. Mary represents the Gentile church; they were more spiritual in their worship. What is signified in this type is also exemplified in the church of England, that is cumbered about much serving. Their worship consisting much in external form and ceremony, and the church of Scotland, and the dissenters in England are like Mary, who worship Christ according to his own institutions, without the pomp and cumbrance of outward forms. Martha was the elder sister, so the Jewish church was the elder sister with respect to the Gentiles; so the church of England is the elder sister, and has the ascendant over the other, and has the chief government of the house, as the house that Christ was in is called Martha's house, ver. 38. Martha complains of Mary that she did not join with her in her external service, and would have Christ oblige her to help her; so those churches that are ceremonious in their worship, are commonly impatient of others, who dissent from them, and are of an imposing spirit, and are desirous of having others being obliged to conformity. So was it with the Jewish-Christian church in the primitive times with respect to the Gentile

church, and so it is with the church of England. Christ declares that Mary's way of showing respect to him was far the most necessary, and most acceptable; so is that worship that is pure and spiritual.

[3] Luke xiv. 22, 23. In this parable is represented, 1st, The rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, 22d verse. But in the 23d there is manifestly another general calling of the Gentiles spoken of; the first is that which is called the calling of the Gentiles; the next, that which is called in scripture, the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles. It is manifest, therefore, by this text, that there remains yet another calling of the Gentiles than hath yet been.

[40] Luke xv. 21, 22. "And the father said to the servant, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf," &c. As Christ's eating with the publicans and sinners, was figurative of the calling of the Gentiles, so are the parables of the lost sheep, the lost piece of money, and the prodigal son, especially the last, agreeing in all circumstances.

[41] Luke xvii. 20. "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered and said, The kingdom of God cometh with observation." This clears up any difficulties that might be raised from any speeches of Christ, or the apostles, that seem to speak of a bodily descent of Christ from heaven to receive his kingdom in a very short time.

[42] Luke xvii. 30, to the end. "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed," and the following verses, especially the last, may convince us that the coming or revealing of Christ, so often spoken of by Christ and his apostles that was to be so suddenly, was at the destruction of Jerusalem.

[233] Luke xviii. 35. "And it came to pass that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging." Here this is said to be as he came nigh unto the city, n the original it is said, ev Tw eyew, in his approaching to the city. And we have an account afterwards in the first verse of the next chapter, of Jesus' entering and passing through Jericho. And yet it is said in Matthew xx. 29, that it was as they departed from Jericho, or as it is in the original, ExTOREVOμEVWV AUTWV, they going out of Jericho; and in Mark, the same is said, and there we have an account before of his coming to Jericho, Mark x. 46, "and they came to Jericho,"-" And as he went out of