READER. The Pharisees went out, &c.-Having been defeated in argument, they resolved to proceed, if possible, to acts of unjust violence. Thus evil men sometimes wax worse and worse; they proceed from one degree of wickedness to another. He withdrew himself from them.— His hour was not yet come, and he retired from threatened persecution; see ch. x. 23.-Here we behold our Lord withdrawing from the presence of impenitent and obstinate sinners, and even from their neighbourhood. Their malicious and determined opposition, in the face of even the most convincing evidence by miracle, was sin against the Holy Ghost.-Cases occur, in which the ministers and friends of religion must cease to plead with ungodly men. For instance, they must retire rather than provoke malice and enmity. Great multitudes followed him.Blessed are they who follow Christ even when the world reviles him!Here again we see that when one place lost the benefit of Christ's presence, another was blessed by entertaining it. So it is with the Gospel in the world. While some reject it, to their ruin, others accept it, to their eternal welfare. ready wilfully blind, the light of farther evidence. Behold my servant.-Most worthy object of devout and attentive contemplation!-The Son of God took upon him our nature in order that he might perfectly fulfil the reasonable service of a creature, and thus become qualified to atone for our transgressions, and to act as Mediator between God and man. Through him man renders complete obedience to God; through him God gives grace, and every needful blessing, to man. See Phil. ii. 5-11; Heb. v. 8. I will put my Spirit upon him.— See ch. iii. 16, 17; John iii. 34; Heb. i. 9. He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles, i, e., he shall reveal or publish true doctrine concerning the will and ways of God,-in other words, the Gospel,-to all people ;-he shall teach all nations the way of salvation, righteousness, and peace.-As Prophet or Teacher of his church, Christ proclaims and expounds the work which he wrought as our High Priest, and the duties and privileges which ensue which ensue as a consequence of his great undertaking on our behalf. He shall not strive, nor cry.-Consider the meekness and gentleness of Christ.-Herein we find at once a subject of thankfulness,-a ground of confidence, and a pattern for imitation. A bruised reed shall he not break.— How tender and compassionate is the blessed Jesus towards even the weakest and most ignorant of his sincere and humble followers! How ready to encourage even the faintest and most imperfect of their good desires! How willing to assist even the most feeble and faltering steps in the way that leadeth unto life! He "deals very tenderly with those who have true grace, though they be weak in it; Isa. xl. 11; Heb. iv. 15. And, in general, the design of his Gospel is to establish such a method of salvation as encourages sincerity, though there be much infirmity; it does not insist upon a sinless obedience, but accepts an upright, willing mind.” Until he send forth judgment, i. e. his doctrine, the Gospel, unto victory, i. e. with full effect, triumphing over all opposition.-May the conversion of the world to the faith and obedience of Christ soon give fulfilment to this glorious prophecy! Or we may understand the whole of this verse and the foregoing, as meaning "He shall not subdue men by tumults, violence, or wars; but as the Prince of peace and grace, he shall deal gently with the weak, and cherish the least degree of goodness, and pardon the faults of the penitent, and not use severity of justice, until he have gathered his church out of the world, and overcome and judged his final enemies." And in his name shall the Gentiles trust, or, as in our version of the prophet, The isles shall wait for his law. We must wait for Christ's law, and be willing to be ruled by it, if we would rightly trust or hope in him. We must consent to be governed by his word, as well as saved by his work. "To trust and hope in his name Jesus, is to expect salva tion and all things necessary from him,-to despise comparatively all earthly promises,—to esteem, love, and desire heavenly things only,and to bear with patience and tranquillity all the losses and evils of this life, in prospect of that felicity which he has purchased for us," and which he provides. HYMN. (From Isa. xlii.) Sing to the Lord in joyful strains, O city of the Lord, begin The universal song; The cheerful notes prolong. Lift up its lonely voice; Till midst the streams of distant lands § XLII. CHAP. XII. 22—37. Christ healeth the man possessed that was blind and dumb. Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall never be forgiven. 22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils but by +Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25 And Jesus 'knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand : 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then "the kingdom of God is come unto❘ 29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31 Wherefore I say unto you," All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: *but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32 And whosoever "speaketh a word against the Son of man, 'it shall be forgiven him but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. r See ch. ix. 32. Mark iii. 22. Mark iii. 11. Luke xi. 14.-s ch. ix. 34. Luke xi. 15. † Gr. Beelzebul; and so ver. 27.-t ch. ix. 4. John ii. 25. Rev. ii. 23.-u Dan. ii. 44; & vii. 14. Luke i. 33; & xi. 20; & xvii. 20, 21. - Is. xlix. 24. Luke xi. 21, 22. 23.--y Mark iii. 28. Luke xii. 10. Heb. vi. 4, &c.; & x. 26, 29. 1 John v. 16. z Acts vii. 51.-a ch. xi. 19; & xiii. 55. John vii. 12, 52. b 1 Tim. i. 13.-c ch. vii. 17. Luke vi. 43, 44. -d ch. iii. 7; & xxiii. 33. e Luke vi. 45. READER. One possessed with a devil, blind and dumb.-In like manner, "Satan blinds the eye of faith, and seals up the lips of prayer." But when the Pharisees heard it, they said. The more our Lord was admired by the people, the more virulent were the Pharisees in their attacks. The malice of the wicked is often irritated by the growing reputation of the godly and sincere. See ch. x. 25, and note. Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. How ruinous the effects of jealousy and dissension! How absurd, as well as impious, the blasphemy of the Pharisees, as it is made to appear by our Saviour's reply! How shall then his kingdom stand? -Satan is too crafty to oppose his own interests; but yet God is able to overrule and defeat his subtilty. By whom do your children cast them out?-Envious and malicious people are ready to condemn those very actions, done by persons whom they hate, which they are ready to applaud, if performed by their own friends. Such are the inconsistencies of ungodly men, who "do not the truth." Then the kingdom of God is come unto you.—May we have the comfort of being assured that the kingdom of God is set up within our own hearts, by knowing that the love of sin, and evil passions, and all the works of the devil, have been driven out, and made to stand aloof.-See Acts xxvi. 18. How can one enter into a strong man's house, &c. -"Men, through sin, become the very house and dwelling-place of Satan, having, of their own accord, surrendered themselves to this unjust possessor; for whoever gives up his soul to sin, gives it up to the devil. It is Jesus, and Jesus alone, who can deliver from the power of this bondage." He that is not with me is against me.-There is no neutral ground in the spiritual warfare. We are either Christ's friends, or his enemies. And the Lord Jesus clearly distinguishes between those who are his and those who are not. "Who is on the Lord's side, who?" "Choose ye this day whom will serve." "Let a man ye examine himself." The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. The impious speech which gave occasion to this solemn declaration of our Lord, was that in which the Pharisees attributed his miracles to the agency of evil spirits; which plainly appears from Mark iii. 30, and even from the connection in which the words occur. —A man who obstinately resists the highest and strongest evidence which can be given, opposes the best means for his conversion, and resolutely quenches the influence of the Holy Spirit within his soul. One who refuses to repent so long, and under such circumstances, as to provoke God to abandon him to his own evil heart and ways, incurs a punishment such as that to which our Saviour here refers.-Still it is a certain and unalterable truth that mercy is extended to every sinner who repents; and any man who feels the reproofs and checks of conscience, and who earnestly desires that he may not have thus grievously and fatally sinned, may take to himself the comfort of knowing that he has not yet fallen into the condemnation which he dreads. It has been well said that "they who fear they have committed this sin give a good sign that they have not." See 1 John ii. 1, 2; 1 Tim. i. 12-15. Either make the tree good, &c.—A | corrupt and sinful life is the necessary result of a depraved and evil heart. Man cannot do good works pleasing and acceptable to God, until his heart has been renewed, and made pure and holy, by the power of divine grace. This grace all may receive through faith in Christ.— See 1 Sam. xxiv. 13; Isa. xxxii. 6; Jer. vi. 7. The good-the evil—treasure (i. e. treasury).—The good treasury is a good heart, a heart purified by faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and brought under the dominion of love to God and man. The evil treasury is a corrupt and wicked heart, or a carnal mind, influenced by love of self, and by real (though probably disguised) enmity to God, and want of charity towards mankind. "As the heart of man by nature is the fountain from whence all sin springs, so the heart renewed by grace is the source and spring from whence all good actions do proceed and flow." Every idle word that men shall speak, &c.-Vain and unprofitable discourse is to be avoided, as involving sin and loss.-In this passage, our Lord appears to allude especially to deceitful, false, or lying speech; or to that of an injurious, slanderous, or malicious kind, such as had given rise to his remarks. By thy words thou shalt be justified condemned.-Just as a witness in a court of law is said to acquit or condemn a party accused.-Our words and works are taken as proofs of the state of our hearts, and of our relation towards God. And therefore our common discourse, as well as the whole course of our conduct, will witness for or against us at the day of judgment.-See Ps. xxxix. 1; cxxxix. 4; cxli. 3; Job xv. 3; Eph. v. 4. PSALM XXXII. O blessed souls are they Whose sins are cover'd o'er; Divinely blest, to whom their Lord Imputes their guilt no more. They mourn their follies past, And keep their hearts with care; Their lips and lives without deceit Shall prove their faith sincere. While I conceal'd my guilt I felt the fest'ring wound, Let saints keep near the throne; Our help, in times of deep distress, Is found in God alone. § XLIII. WATTS. CHAP. XII. 38-50. Christ rebuketh the unfaithful; and sheweth who are his. 38 Then certain of the ། scribes and of the Pharisees an |