Thus the whole bodily frame of man, so fearfully and wonderfully made, obeys the Will of the Highest; it is palsied in an instant, or receives back its energies: "And his hand was restored whole as the other."

What further proof of His Divine power could these selfrighteous interpreters of the law have desired? It was from their pride of unbelief and hardness of heart, not from want of evidence, that they refused to believe in Him. Instead of praising God, Who had done such great things, "they were filled with madness, and went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians, how they might destroy Him." These Herodians, forming a separate party or sect among the Jews, and being friendly to the Romans, were probably first so called, as being courtiers and officers of Herod the Great,1 who had always rendered faithful allegiance to the Emperor of Rome. Though born and bred a Jew, Herod often complied with the idolatrous customs of the heathens, on the plea of expedience. Though he had rebuilt the Temple of Jerusalem, he did so rather as a monument of his own magnificence, than from any religious motive: for he also raised a splendid temple at Rhodes to the heathen god Apollo, and set up idols in another temple at Cæsarea, which he dedicated to the honour of Augustus. 3 This pernicious example of infidelity was the ground of the Saviour's warning to His disciples,— "Beware of the leaven of Herod." Antipas, the son of Herod, inheriting his father's ambition and cunning, as well as his cruelty, encouraged these adherents of his government, as their name denoted them to be. But they were few in number, and without influence among the people. They held many opinions opposed to the Pharisees, and especially that it was lawful to pay the Roman tribute, which their patron Antipas rigidly exacted of the Jews. They were

sione declarans manum esse sanatam; nisi enim ab ariditate liberata esset, extendi non posset." Ibid., p. 390.

Lightfoot, ii. p. 229.

2 Josephus, Antiq. Jud., lib. xvi. 5. 3. 3 Josephus says, Herod also built a temple at Samaria, Antiq. Jud., lib. xv. 8.5. And another at Pancas [afterwards called Cæsarea Philippi], ibid. lib. xv. 10. 3.

Greswell's Dissertations, vol. ii. pp. 321, 322, and note. Lewis's Orig. Heb., vol. i. pp. 303-305. See Calmet's full account of the Herodians, in his Dissertations de l'Ecriture Sainte, tom. i. p. 763.

unbelievers, and denied a future state: in every sense their false tenets were a pernicious leaven. All these subtle disputers in the schools, Scribes, Pharisees, and Herodians, who now took counsel together, disagreed among themselves on points of doctrine; but all united in a common cause to compass the death of the Messiah.

He knew their designs; and retired to some other place, where he continued to preach as before. And now His fame spread to every corner of the land: "great multitudes followed Him; and He healed them ALL; and charged them that they should not make Him known." Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, "He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear His voice in the street." 1 He knew that all this excitement of the admiring people was worldly: He had no desire to be proclaimed with loud and tumultuous praise, as if He were some popular leader, or a great prince or king; but rather to be regarded as their spiritual Teacher, that they might receive His doctrines, and turn to repentance. St. Mark also thus describes the state of the public mind, and how Christ avoided such popularity. "A great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judæa, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumæa, and from beyond Jordan: and they about Tyre and Sidon a great multitude, when they had heard what great things He did, came unto Him. And He spake to His disciples that a small ship should wait on Him because of the multitude, lest they should throng Him. For He had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon Him for to touch Him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, 'Thou art the Son of God.' And He straitly charged them, that they should not make Him known." He rejected their offensive testimony and commanded them to silence, as on a former occasion.

Isai. xlii. 1-3.

2 Lucas Brugensis, Matt. xii. 17.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST OUR LORD PRAYS ON A MOUNTAIN— APPOINTS THE TWELVE APOSTLES-THE SERMON ON THE PLAIN.

Mark iii. 13-19. Luke vi. 12-49.

EARLY in this Second Circuit the Lord appointed Twelve disciples, whom He named Apostles, who were to be constantly with Him for the present, and afterwards the ambassadors of His Gospel to all nations. This is a very remarkable point in the history of His earthly Mission. It was now at or about the time of the Feast of Pentecost.1 The Messiah purposed to raise up to Himself a universal Church, as it were, a Royal City, to be built on the everlasting Rock of Truth, the Word from the beginning. He Himself was the Rock, the Builder, and the Foundation, and the Chief Corner Stone, the Truth and the Life, and the Light thereof: He was the Lawgiver, the Great High Priest, the Prophet, and the King: He was all in all, "the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." It was to be that "Great City," spoken of in the Book of Revelation, "the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God, having the Glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." "And the wall of the City had twelve foundations; and in them the names of the TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE LAMB."2 The Church of Christ may be said to contain the Ark of the New Covenant of grace, which was perfected by His own Death on the Cross. In that Church also was to be a fountain of living water, the Laver of Baptism; and His Altar, on which the Memorial Sacrifice

1 Greswell's Dissertations, vol. i. p. 324.

2 Rev. xxi. 10-14.

of His Passion, and the oblations of the faithful, should be offered, with daily incense of prayer, and praise, and hymns of thanksgiving, to the HOLY TRINITY, and to none other.

It seemed fitting that the Anointed King of the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN should have His attendants to minister unto Him whilst He was on Earth; and that the Great Teacher of righteousness should appoint disciples, to be trained up in the mysteries of His Gospel, which they were to proclaim to the World when He should have ascended to His Glory. They would be afterwards endowed with extraordinary powers, and with authority to consecrate an Apostolic Ministry, which was never to cease, until the earthly Kingdom should be absorbed into the Heavenly. Their names were already written in Heaven,1 though they knew it not. Of His free favour He elected them to their sacred office, as He afterwards said to them, "I know whom I have chosen;" "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you;"3 for all things are determined by His Will. Thus all the instruments of His Divine purposes, from the time of righteous Abel, through four thousand years, had become such by His election. "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord:" Abraham, "the friend of God," was chosen to be the father of many people: Moses, ere he was laid in the cradle of bulrushes, had been elected to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt to the promised land. Samuel, Elijah, and all the prophets; Saul, David, and others of the Kings of Judah, and of Israel; and lastly John the Baptist, were ordained to their offices by the free favour of God. The same may be said of the great nations and kingdoms of the ancient world, even when they were made His instruments of wrath, and not of grace; for example the Assyrian, Babylonian, and others, which were chosen to execute His righteous judgments. Preparatory to this ordination of the Twelve, the Lord "went up into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." How deep the mystery of this Divine communion! Judging from His prayer at the Last Supper, we may believe that on the mountain He offered up intercessions for the World, which He was come to redeem; setting an 3 Ibid., xv. 16.

1 Luke, x. 20.

2 John, xiii. 18.

example to all churches and people, that they also should make supplications for others. And this the great Apostle St. Paul constantly did; "We do not cease [he says to the Colossians] to pray for you, that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His Will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." So also in his Epistle to Timothy; "I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men."2

1

Having continued all night in prayer, “When it was day, He called unto Him His disciples, whom He would, and they came unto Him." A clear distinction is to be made between those who were faithful and attached disciples, and those who followed Him only for a while, being attracted by His wisdom and miracles, and calling themselves disciples; but who fell away from time to time, being offended at His sayings, or afraid of the Rulers. On the eventful morning, which now dawned hopefully on the world, the people came out to Him in great numbers, as they did before, when He had retired into a solitary place to pray. He read the secrets of every heart; He knew whom He would adopt into a higher rank of dignity and grace. He was about to raise a few unlearned Galileans into His own immediate fellowship;—that, loving them here, and being loved of them, He might give them the reward of faithful servants. They were full of human infirmities: but His grace would supply their deficiencies; for having made them "His own, He loved them unto the end." They were never able, whilst He was on earth, to penetrate the mystery of an Incarnate God: but believing that He was sent from God, and that He was the Son of God, and forsaking all things for His Name's sake, they were hereafter to sit on thrones, as He had appointed to them in His Kingdom.

And when His disciples were come unto Him, He chose Twelve, "whom also He named Apostles." Now the names

of the Twelve Apostles were these: 3

1 Col. i. 9.

21 Tim. ii. 1.

3 For several accounts of the Twelve Apostles, see Barradius, Concord. Evang., vol. ii. lib. vi. cap. 13, pp. 446-453. Chemnitius, Harm. Evang., vol. i. pp. 405 to 411. Lardner's Works. Cave's Lives of the Apostles. Lightfoot, vol. i. 660; ii. 640. Calmet. Greswell's Dissertations. Alford's Greek Test., Matt. x. 1. Hippolyti Opera, Combefisii Notæ.