fected.

On the contrary, in his human nature he felt like a man; he felt the weight of his own forrows, and dropt the tear of fympathy for those of others. To those, therefore, who are oppressed and bowed down (as the best of men sometimes are) with a load of grief, who find, as the Pfalmift expresses it," their flesh and their heart failing," and their spirits finking within them, it must be a most reviving confideration to reflect that in this ftate even of extreme depreffion, their it is no guilt; that is no mark of God's difpleafure; that even his beloved Son was no ftranger to it; that he was a man of forrows, and well acquainted with grief; that therefore he is not a hard, unfeeling obdurate mafter, who cannot be touched with our infirmities, but one who was in all things tried and afflicted as we are, yet without fin." He knows what forrow is; he knows how hard it fometimes preffes even on the firmeft minds; and he will not fail to extend that relief to others, for which even he himself applied with fo much fervency to the Father of all.

grace,

From his example too, on this occafion, we learn what. conduct we ought to obferve when distress and mifery overtake us. We are not only allowed but encouraged by what he did, to put up our petitions to the Throne of for help in time of need. We are permitted to pray for the removal of our calamities with earneftness and with fervour; we may implore the Almighty that the bitter cup of affliction may pafs away from us; but the conclufion must always be (what his was) "not my will, O my Father, but thine be done." And one thing we may be affured of, that if the evils which overwhelm us are not removed, yet our fupplications fhall not be in vain: we shall at the leaft be enabled to bear them. And though we must not expect to have an angel fent from heaven to fupport us, as was done to Jefus; yet we may expect, and expect with confidence, that a more than angelic comforter, even the Spirit of God, will fhed his healing influence over our fouls, and preferve us from finking even under the fevereft trials.

And there is ftill one further leffon of no fmall importance, which this part of our Saviour's history may teach

Extreme affliction, as we all but too well know, has a natural tendency, not only to deprefs our fpirits, but to four our tempers, and to render us fretful and irritable, and fevere towards the failings of others. But how did it operate on our bleffed Lord? Instead of injuring, it seemed rather to improve the heavenly mildnefs of his difpofition, and to make him more indulgent to the failings of his followers. For when in the very midft of all his anguifh, they could fo far forget his forrows, and their own profeffions of attachment to him, as to fink into sleep, how gentle was his reproof to them for this want of fenfibility and attention to him? "Could you not watch with me one hour?" And even this affectionate rebuke he immediately tempers with a kind excufe for them: the fpirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

I now proceed in the melancholy narrative. "And while he yet spake, lo! Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a fign, faying, Whomfoever I fhall kifs, that fame is he: hold him faft. And forth

with he came to Jefus, and faid, Hail, Mafter; and kiffed him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they and laid hands on Jefus, and took him."

"And behold one of them which were with Jefus (St. Peter) ftretched out his hand, and drew his fword, and ftruck a fervant of the high priest, (whofe name was Malchus) and smote off his ear." Here again we fee the warmth and vehemence of Peter's temper, which prompted him to a well-meant, though injudicious display of his zeal in his Mafter's caufe. "Then faid Jefus unto him, Put up again thy fword into its place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the fword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he fhall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then fhall the fcripture be fulfilled, that thus it must be ?"

From this reproof to Peter, we are not to infer that the ufe the fword in felf-defence is unlawful; but that the

ufe of it against the magiftrates and the minifters of justice (which was the cafe in the prefent inftance) is unlawful. It was meant also to check that propensity, which is but too ftrong and too apparent in a large part of manking, to have recourfe to the fword on all occafions; and more particularly to restrain private persons from avenging private injuries, which they fhould rather leave to the magiftrate or to God; "for vengeance is mine, I will repay, faith the Lord*.” In all fuch cafes, they who take the fword unjustly and rafhly will probably, as our Saviour here forewarns them, perish with the fword; with the fword of their adverfary, or of the magiftrate. That denunciation might also allude to the Jews, who now feized on Jefus ; and might be meant to intimate to his difciples, that it was perfectly needlefs for them to draw their fwords on these mifcreants, fince they would all perifh at the fiege or capture of Jerufalem by the fword of the Romans.

If it had been the intention of Providence to protect Jefus and his religion by force, there is no doubt but a hoft of angels would have been sent to defend him, as one was actually fent to comfort him. But this would have defeated the very purpose for which he came into world, which was, that he should " make his foul an offering for fint." The prophets foretold (more particularly Ifaiah and Daniel) that he fhould do fo. And befides this, nothing could be more abhorrent, from the spirit of his religion, than force, violence, and bloodfhed. These inftruments of deftruction he left to fanatics and impoftors. The only weapons he made ufe of were of a different nature; the fword of the fpirit, the shield of faith, and the armour of righteoufnefs.

"In that fame hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with fwords and ftaves, for to take me; I fat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. But all this was done that the fcriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled; which, as I have already obferved, predicted his fufferings and + Ifaiah, liii. 10,

* Rom. xii. 19.

bis death. Then all his difciples forfook him and fled." Here we have the exact completion of that prophecy, which he had just before delivered, that all his disciples fhould be offended becaufe of him; that is, fhould defert him that very night. And that this prediction was fo accomplished, is clear beyond all controverfy; because it was an event which the difciples would for their own credit gladly have fuppreffed, if they durft. By recording this event, they recorded their own weakness, their own pufillanimity. And we may be perfectly fure that they would not invent a falfehood on purpose to perpetuate their own difgrace. We have therefore, in this incident, a demonftrative proof, both that our Lord's prophecy was actually fulfilled, and that the evangelifts were men of the ftricteft veracity and integrity, who were determined to facrifice every thing, even their own reputation, to the facred caufe of truth.

Jefus being now in the poffeffion of his enemies, they that had laid hold on him led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the fcribes and the elders were affembled. But Peter, though he had fled with the rest, yet alhamed of his cowardice, and ftill really attached to his Mafter, fummoned up for the moment refolution enough to turn back and follow the croud (but with cautious and trembling fteps) to the palace of the high priest, "and went in, and fate with the fervants in the hall of the palace, to fee the end. Now the chief priests and elders, and all the council, fought falfe witnefs againft Jefus to put him to death, but found none; yea, though many false wit neffes came, yet found they none." Their object was to put Jefus to death; and for this purpose they faught out for falfe witneffes, to charge him with a capital crime. To condemn any one to death their own law required two witneffes; and it was alfo neceffary for them to produce evidence fufficient to induce the Roman governor to ratify their fentence, without which it was of no avail. There was no difficulty in finding out and fuborning false witnesses in abundance, who were perfectly well difpofed to conform to their wifhes; but for a long time they found none whofe evidence came up to the point they aimed at; none who could prove against Jesus a capital offence. But at

length "came two false witneffes, and faid, This fellow faid, I am able to deftroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days." Now to fpeak difrespectfully, or to prophecy against the temple, was confidered by the Jews as blafphemy, and of courfe a capital offence. But the truth was that Jefus faid no fuch thing. The expreffions alluded to by the witneffes were thofe he spoke, when, after cafting the buyers and fellers out of the temple, the Jews asked him what fign he could give them of his authority to do these things? His anfwer was, not as the witneffes ftated it, "I am able to destroy this temple;" but it was, "deftroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." So St. John expressly tells us* ; and alfo, that by this temple he meant his own body, to which he probably pointed at the time. The high priest, fenfible, perhaps, that even this evidence would not completely anfwer his purpose, proceeds to interrogate our Saviour, hoping that he might be drawn by artful quef-. tions to condemn himself. He arose therefore, and said unto Jefus, "Answerest thou nothing? What is it that thefe witness against thee?" Is it true, or is it false? and what have you to fay in your own defence? But Jefus held his peace. He difdained to make any answer to fuch unfounded and contemptible accufations. He faw that his judges were predetermined; that every thing he could fay would be of no avail; and that the only proper part for him to take, was to obferve a dignified filence. The high priest perceiving this, had recourse to a meafure which he knew must compel our Lord to speak; adjure thee, fays he, by the living God, that thou tell us, whether thou be the Chrift the Son of God." This calling upon a man to fwear by the living God was called the oath of adjuration, and was the Jewish mode of adminiftering an oath either to a witness or a criminal; and when fo adjured, they were obliged to anfwer. Jefus now therefore conceived himself bound in confcience to break his filence, and said to the high priest, "Thou hast said ;” that is, thou haft faid what is true, I am the Meffiah, the Christ, the Son of God; for all thefe were fynonomus terms among the Jews. But as our Lord's actual appear

* Chap. ii. 19.

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