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and corruption, and sloth and negligence; and partly that the chief priests might consider what further was proper to be done.

Now it would not do to bring the guards to trial for letting Jesus escape, for they would have defended themselves by telling the truth, and only have spread the account of the resurrection more abroad. So it was settled that a story should be made up, that the disciples came by night and stole the body away while the guards slept; and the elders gave the soldiers a large reward to keep the resurrection secret. But this story, after all, was a very poor one; for it was not very likely that the timid disciples, who all forsook Christ and fled, would have stolen his body from the Roman soldiers; nor that all the guards would have been asleep; and even if they had, it was more than probable that some would have roused up, and the disciples would then have endured their vengeance. And then it was very strange that the Roman soldiers should have been saved from punishment, after they had slept upon their watch, which by their laws, was deemed a heavy crime: but it was settled that the Jewish elders should explain the matter to the Roman governor if the affair came under his notice, and that so the soldiers should not be injured. The bungling nature of the story shows that the soldiers told a lie, and that they could not prevent the resurrection of our blessed Saviour, though they were even set to watch his tomb. Their story, reported by the Jews even to this day, is a delightful encouragement to our belief that Jesus Christ arose from the dead on the third day, but not the only proof we possess; for the eleven disciples went into Galilee, and there he met them after his resurrection, and he commanded them to go and preach the gospel to every creature; to tell men the glad tidings, or good news, that he had died to save sinners, and that whosoever believed in him should never perish; and that he had risen again, and was therefore an ever-living Saviour, to whom all sinners might look for salvation, to the end of time. When any professed sincerely to believe their message, they were to baptize them with water, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," one God; and this was to show, that in like manner, the Holy Spirit would purify their hearts who truly believed in him, and was to be a bold avowal before the world, that they were the followers of him who was crucified. As a further proof that those baptized were his followers, they were to do all his holy commands, and then all of them might expect his blessing and favour, "even unto the end of the world. Amen."

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ARK is shorter than Matthew. It is a repetition of the same history by another hand, with here and there some few facts not mentioned by Matthew. Some of these are all that need, therefore, be added in this place.

In the fourth chapter we have the Parable of the Seed, which appears to have been delivered at the same time that the Parable of the Sower was, as we have read in Matthew, but was not mentioned by him with that parable. Thus, that nothing important might be lost, one evangelist has supplied what another has omitted, as well as confirmed the truth of all that the other has said.

The parable given by Mark is contained in the verses between the twentyfifth and the thirtieth, of the fourth chapter.

In the seventh chapter, Mark gives us the particulars of Christ's curing a deaf man. "And he put his fingers in his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Be opened," and his deafness was cured, and "he spake plain." Most likely he might have once had his hearing, and had learned to speak a little, but having lost his hearing early in life, he could learn no more; but now with his hearing he learns also to speak. This kind action of Christ made the people look upon him with admiration, and they said, "He hath done all things well; he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak."

In the eighth chapter is related the cure of a blind man at Bethsaida, on whose eyes he spit, and he put his hand upon them. And the man directly saw men as trees walking: he could not exactly make out their shape from a tree. He put his hands on his eyes a second time, and then he saw clearly teaching us, perhaps, to persevere in the use of proper means. But both in this case and in that of the deaf man, the means were only

signs; they could never have cured the man if administered by a common physician: these were miracles-things not of a common kind, and showed that he who performed them could only be the Son of God.

In the last chapter we have some further particulars about Christ's resurrection, and his encouragement to his disciples to preach his gospel and work miracles in his name, which would prove that their message was divine, and establish the truth of it at its beginning, before all the world. They were to cast out devils, who then possessed the bodies of men, just as Jesus had cast them out; they had to speak new languages which they had never learnt, so as to be able to tell men of every country about the way of salvation through Jesus Christ; they were to take up serpents without being bitten or endangered by them; if any attempt should be made to poison them, the deadly potion, which would kill other persons, should do them no harm; and if sick persons were brought to them to be cured, they should only lay their hands upon them, and they would recover. You must, however, remember that there was this great distinction between the miracles performed by Jesus and those performed by his disciples, that Jesus did all his by his own power, and without using any other name; but the power which the disciples had was not their own, but only what he gave them, and they were to work miracles only in his name; and thus, when the apostle Peter cured a lame man, as we shall soon read in the Acts, he said, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." These miracles are not now needed, because we have so many proofs left us that they were done by the first ministers, and the religion of Jesus is everywhere spread and spreading without them.

Mark further informs us more than Matthew, as he not only mentions Christ's command to his disciples, but the effect of their obeying it, and preaching the gospel to every creature; for "they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following." Amen.

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