lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." Thus, by a partial and mutilated quotation from the Psalms, the great adversary of mankind attempted to draw aside and overcome their only Saviour; the words to keep thee in all thy ways," were not to the artful tempter's purpose, and therefore were craftily omitted. The tendency of this temptation seems to be the exciting our Lord to presume too much upon the divine protection, in his present state of humility and submission; and as he depended on the word of God, when he was in danger of being famished in the wilderness, the tempter quoted the same word to assure him, that God would send his angels to perserve him though he should leap from that stupendous height. And, perhaps, the malicious fiend might secretly hope, that, if the Lord could be prevailed upon to make the experiment, he would be dashed to pieces with the fall, and all the apprehensions of the infernal powers, on his account, would then have been at an end. But the blessed Jesus was not thus to be overcome: he stood fixed on the immoveable basis of his humility and meekness, and replied to the insinuating tempter, in the words of Moses, It is written again" said he, "thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." By which we are to learn, that it is not lawful to try the goodness of God, or the reality of his paternal care in our preservation, by putting ourselves into unnecessary danger, or making wild and extravagant experiments of his protection.

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The grand adversary of mankind, though twice repulsed with shame, yet scorned to give up the contest; but rallying all his powers of deception, stood prepared to make one more bold effort. The evangelist informs us, that from the pinnacle of the temple, the devil took our Lord" to the top of an exceeding high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them." The crafty deceiver here thought to work upon our Saviour's ambition; and, doubtless, by the powers of bold enchantment, he filled the wide streched landscape with vast palaces, cities, temples, towers, fleets, and armies, chariots, warriors, foaming steeds, and all the mighty powers of sovereign greatness: which pointing in order to our Redeemer's view, "all these things," said he "will I give thee, if thou will fall down and worship me." To this boldness and blasphemy, the holy Jesus gave a sharper rebuke than he had done to the other temptations, and plainly manifested his divinity, while he assumed a commanding authority, worthy the Son of God, "Get thee hence Satan," he cried, "for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou .serve."

The frightened fiend now could stand no longer; he had received such a defeat, as convinced him that all further attempts were vain: his eyes were dazzled with the divine glory which shone around the Son of God; and it may be supposed that he fled murmuring to his subject fiends, complaining of his sad defeat, and giving them instructions, to use all their infernal arts, to influence the minds of men, fill them with rage against their only Saviour, and prevent their believing in him, and receiving his glorious gospel.

The grand deceiver, thus defeated and, fled, a squadron of bright cher ubs descended from the heavenly world, congratulating the exalted Saviour of mankind on his victory, and administering to his necessities, such supplies from the celestial regions, as enabled him to pursue the great work which he was now to enter upon.

CHAPTER IX.

CHRIST begins his Public Ministry. His first Miracle at Cana. He goes to Jerusalem at the Passover; performs several Miracles; clears the temple of the Traders; and holds a Conference with Nicodemus.

IT was during the retreat of our great Redeemer into the desart, and bis abode there, that the Jewish Sanhedrim sent the deputation of priests and Levites to John the Baptist, as before related; and he having openly and honestly informed them, that he was not the Messiah, they returned to Jerusalem.

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The next day after their departure, the Son of God, having defeated the cunning, and disappointed the wiles of the great enemy of mankind, returned from the wilderness, after an abode there of forty days, and came to Bethabara, where John was baptising. The holy Baptist, knowing that the great design of his coming into the world was to prepare the way for, and lead the people to the Messiah; no sooner saw the exalted Saviour of mankind, than he pointed him out to the people as the object of their highest regard and reverence: "Behold," he cried, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!" And that it might not be sup. posed, that he declared him to be such a dignified person, without sufficient grounds, he proceeded to inform the attentive multitude, that he had received a full assurance of this truth at the time when he baptised him, by the appearance of the Holy Spirit, in the shape of a dove, visibly resting on his head," John bare record, saying, 1 saw the Spirit descending like a dove, and it abode upon him, and I knew him not; but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he that baptiseth with the Holy Ghost; and I saw and bare record, that this is the Son of God." After this public declaration of his great forerunner, JESUS departed; but returning the next day to the banks of Jordan, the Baptist being there with two of his disciples, he no sooner beheld the holy JESUS, than he repeated and confirmed his former declaration, which was made to the multitude, " Behold the Lamb of God." It is probable these disciples were absent when JEsUs was baptised,and the Spirit descended on him, while a voice from heaven declared him the Son of God. This plain and positive declaration of their master, excited their curiosity, and filled them with a strong desire to be further informed. To this end they followed JESUS, no doubt desiring to be acquainted with this extraordinary person. Our great Redeemer, knowing their intentions, turned towards them, and with that condescending kindness and complacency so natural to him, took them with him to his house. We are informed, by the evangelist John, that one of these disciples was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter; the name of the other is not mentioned, some suppose it was the evangelist himself. They, by this invitation, gained an opportunity of conversing with the Saviour of mankind, and that conversation, joined with the declaration of their master the Baptist, fully convinced them of the truth of his mission, and they esteemed and reverenced him as the great Messiah, the long expected Redeemer of Israel.

Soon after this, Andrew found his brother Peter, and with the utmost joy and elevation of heart, brought him to JESUS. The Lord immediately called him by his name, and informed him, that he should hereafter be called Cephas, which is, by interpretation, a stone, or rock. The day following, Philip, an inhabitant of the town of Bethsaida, was so happy as to come in company with the great Redeemer; JESUS commanded him to follow him, which that disciple immediately obeyed: perhaps he might not be unacquainted with the character of the Son of God; or if he was, the call of the great Saviour of sinners was accompanied with such manifestations of divine power, that he gladly obeyed.

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Soon after this, Philip came in company with Nathaniel, an inhabitant of the town of Cana in Galilee: Nathaniel is thought by some to be the same person who was afterwards called Bartholomew. Philip told him, that they had found the Messiah, that great person foretold by Moses and the prophets; and that his name was "Jesus of Nazareth the Son of Joseph." Nathaniel well knew that, according to the ancient prophecies, the Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem: and that he was to belong to the family of David; and as Nazareth was a very low and vulgar place, he could not believe that so exalted a person should dwell in such a contempt. ible city, & expressed his surprise, by inquiring, "can any good thing come out of Nazareth!" In answer to this, Philip referred him to the person he had mentioned, and desired him to go with him, and see whether what he had reported was not evident from the plain marks of superior greatness and divinity which appeared in this extraordinary man. Nathaniel, how ever mean and despicable his opinion of Nazareth might be, would not give way to his prejudice so much, as to be prevented from embracing so happy an opportunity, and therefore accompanied by Philip, went to visit the Saviour of Israel. His ingenuous and candid disposition, would not premit him to reject the pretensions of Jesus without examination and trial; and, being introduced by his friend, and presented to the Lord, the stranger immediately heard his heavenly lips pronounce this honorable character, applied by our great Redeemer to Nathaniel; Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." The good man was very much surprised to hear a person he had never seen before, address him in this man. ner, and for his satisfaction in this misterious point, inquired of our Redeem er, how he came to know him so well, as to be able to give such a description of his character? JESUS, with a condescending smile replied, that, be fore Philip called him, he saw him under the fig tree. It is reasonable to suppose, that Nathaniel had been under the fig tree at his private devotions; and doubtless, had expressed such sentiments, in the effusions of his pious heart, as entitled him to the noble character which our Redeemer had given him; and it is plain that he perceived, from CHRIST's answer to his inquiry, that he knew what was done where he was not present, and was fully acquainted with the thoughts of the heart; therefore, with the fullest conviction of mind, and the utmost surprise and joy, he cried out, " Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel." Our Redeemer, approving his faith, proceeded to inform him, that he should hereafter see fuller and clearer proofs of his divinity; “Because I said, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? Thou shall see greater things than these. I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

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Our Lord having thus given manifest proofs of his divinity, and called five disciples, was the third day after, with his mother and them, invited to a marriage feast at Cana, a small town, not far distant from Nazareth. His mother, it may reasonably be supposed, was either a relation or intimate friend of the married pair; and it happened, at the supper, that they were scarce of wine: she had often, no doubt, been witness of the supernatural power that attended her son, and as she would willingly have every thing so conducted, that there might be no reproach fall on her new married friends, she applied to him, perhaps, expecting he would work a miracle for their supply. Jesus, upon receiving the information from his mother, replied, with a kind of gentle rebuke, "Woman, what bave I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come:" intimating by this, that the time for his working miracles in Galilee was not yet approached, but his business lay in other parts of the Kingdom. His mother does not seem by this reply, to have given up her hopes of his doing something for her friends in this necessity; and, therefore, she ordered the servants puncually to perform whatever he commanded; nor was she mistaken in her

supposition; for our Lord kindly condescended, by his miraculous power to relieve his friends, and to convince his new disciples of the divinity of their master. He ordered the servants to fill six water-pots,each containing about twenty gallons, with water; the servants obeyed, and filled them up to the brim. The whole, in a moment, was changed into the most excellent wine; "Bear," said our exalted Redeemer, "to the governor of the feast" the governor ignorant of the miracle, and highly pleased with the dilicious flavour and richness of the wine, which was much superior to what they had drank before, applied to the bridegroom, and, in the hearing of the company, informed him, that he had acted contrary to the common custom of feasts. Every man at the beginning," said he, “doth set forth good wine; and, when men have well drank, then that which is worse, but thou hast kept the good wine until now." The bridegroom, doubtless, was much surprised at this account, and upon inquiry, found that this excel lent wine was produced by Jesus, in a miraculous manner. This miracle was the first which our blessed Saviour performed; by it he honoured the institution of marriage, convinced his disciples that he, in reality, was the Son of God, and the Saviour of Israel, and spread his fame over all the country around

It must be acknowledged, that the enemies of our religion, who dili. gently watch for every opportunity to cast contempt on the great author of it, have presumed to censure and ridicule this first miracle of our Lord. They represent the affair, as though the evangelist had reported our Saviour to have miraculously produced this wine, after the company had plentifully drank, and hence would insinuate, that he was a friend to drunk enness. They might, however, have spared their mirth if they had considered that the words of the governor of the feast, before quoted, do not imply that any of the company were intoxicated, but only that it was the custom at such feasts to bring the best wine first. Besides, our self-conceited and impudent cavillers, might have given themselves time to consider, that, though the Jewish marriage-feasts lasted seven days, our Lord did not order all this wine, which he miraculously produced, to be drank at that solemnity: nor is there one circumstance in the account of this feast, which gives the least intimation that any of the company were intoxicated; and it must be supposed that, when they had discovered the miracle, they would have so much reverence for the divinity of the person of our Lord, as would prevent them from making such bad use of his wine, especially in his presence. Nor can it be inferred from the quantity of wine which our Lord thus miraculously produced, that he would connive at intemperance, and furnish the means of excess: it rather ought to be concluded that, by this miracle, he intended to make a seasonable and valuable present to his friends, which might serve for their use, when the solemnity of the feast was over. And, it may further be observed, that by converting so large a quantity of water into wine, our Lord prevented all objections that might have been raised against the miracle being true; for a small quantity of wine might have been easily procured to carry on the deception, when so large a quantity could not: so that, if it be admitted that these water pots were ever so large, there can be no objection raised against the design of the miracle; nor can it be charged with giving indulgence to intemperance, any more than the plenty which the all-bountiful Creator showers upon the vineyard and the field: so that, notwithstanding the ob jections and cavils which may arise from false wisdom, this first miracle of our Lord appears to be, in every respect, worthy of God, and beneficial to

man.

The passover, an annual feast of the Jews, kept in commemoration of their preservation, when the Egyptian first-born were slain by a stroke from heaven, being at hand, and our Lord designing to be present at the feast, he departed from Cana, and taking Capernaum in his way, he

went to Jerusalem.

He no sooner arrived at the chief city of the Jews, but he went to the temple, and probably it being the eve of the feast, he found the sacred apartments full of traders, money-changers, and merchants, who sold such things as would be wanted at the ensuing festival. The holy Jesus was filled with indignation, to see the holy place thus profaned; and immediately applied himself to correct the abuse: accordingly,he made a small whip, or scourge, & assuming the air & fervency of the ancient prophets, he drove this mercenary train out of the temple; awed by his majestic all commanding appearance, they ran before him in a tumult: the oxen and sheep affrighted, fled, and the owners after them overthrowing the tables of money changers, and pouring out their money upon the ground, none daring to make resistance: the seller of doves he also urged to depart, commanding them all for the future, to take care how they made the temple of God an house of merchandize. The Jews perceiving a promiscuous throng of people and cattle driving out of the temple in the utmost astonishment and terror, and afterwards finding that JESUS had put them all into this hurry and confusion, by commanding them to depart from the, temple, & had drove them before him; they probably summoned a council, and demanded of him in form, by what authority he did this; at the same time requiring him to give them a sign, which should prove that he did it by a divine commission. Our Lord, on this occasion, only referred them to the miracle of his own resurrection, "Destroy" said he, "this body, and I will raise it up in three days." The rulers of the Jews, mistaking his meaning, concluded his words had reference to the noble and magnificent temple built by Hercd, and were very much surprised at the assertion; "Forty and six years," said they," was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days ?" But though this answer of our Lord confounded the great men amongst the Jews; the disciples of Jesus remembered a passage in the Psalms, which was clearly applicable to this part of our Redeemer's conduct," The zeal of thine house has eaten me up." And, as this prediction of our Lord was delivered in the style of the ancient prophets, whose prophecies were sometimes not understood till they were fulfilled; this saying of their master came fresh into their minds, after his resurrection, and confirmed them in their belief of the truth.

Though the blessed JESUS refused to work any miracle in the presence of the rulers of the Jews, and strove not to make himself known to the great and mighty in Jerusalem; yet at this time, he wrought several wonderful works amongst the common people, and, by exerting the mighty power invested in him, confirmed the truth of the doctrines he taught, and proved that he was a teacher sent from God, and that great person sa jong expected to be the Redeemer of Isreal.

Our Lord continued performing several wonders amongst the common people, during the time of the passover, and many of them believed on him; for they were fully convinced of his divine mission, by the miracles which they saw him perform. But JESUS knowing the secret of men's hearts, and not wanting any information concerning them, he was able to form a just conception of the nature of this belief; and knew how unlike ly it was to stand the day of trial, on account of the weakness and fickleness of mankind. In consequence of this knowledge, he did not think it proper to run the hazard of the inconstancy of the multitude, or trust himself too much in their hands: for this reason he avoided conversing too freely with them, or making more full and clear discoveries of his divinity and the end of his coming into the world; for he knew how likely it was, that great numbers should desert his cause, when he came to be publicly opposed by the great Sanhedrim, by the Scribes and Pharisees, the chief priests and elders, and all the great men of the nation.

But the wonder & astonishment exited by the miracles which Jesus had performed, were not confined to the common people; the wide spreading