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ten, thou shalt fall down before the LORD thy GOD, and Him only shalt thou serve.

9. And he led Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence:

10. For it is written, that He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee, to keep Thee;

11. And in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time thou dash Thy foot against a stone.

12. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the LORD thy GOD.

13. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a

season.

14. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit, into Galilee; and there went out a fame of Him through all the region round about.

15. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

16. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and according to His custom, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

17. And there was delivered to him the Book of the prophet Esaias, and having opened the book He found the place were it was written,

Also the love of self. (Verses 9-13.)

That these temptation-combats were continued to the latest period of the LORD's life in the world. (Verse 13.)

That when the LORD'S Human principle, through temptation-combats, was brought to a fuller union with the Divine, it became the medium of communicating truth to the Church in greater abundance. (Verses 14, 15.)

As had been predicted. (Verses 16-20.)

18. The Spirit of the Lord In agreement with which

is upon Me, wherefore He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the bruised in heart, to preach deliverance to the captives, and to the blind recovery of sight, to send away with deliverance them that are wounded; 19. To preach the accept able year of the Lord.

20. And having closed the book, He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on Him.

21. And He began to say to them, To-day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

22. And all bare Him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, Is not this the son of Joseph?

23. And He said unto them, Ye will surely say unto Me this parable, Physician heal Thyself; whatsoever things we have heard brought to pass in Capernaum, do also here in Thy country.

24. And He said, Verily I say unto you, that no prophet is accepted in his own country.

25. But in truth I say unto you, many widows were in the days of Elias in Israel, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six

prediction, the poor in spirit were to receive from the LORD the knowledge of the Eternal Truth; they who were made sensible of their natural defilements were to be purified; they who were under the dominion of false persuasions were to be liberated; they who were in ignorance were to be instructed; they who had transgressed, were to receive remission; and all were to hear the glad tidings of the LORD'S Advent. (Verses 18, 19.)

That the accomplishment of this prediction is at first received with joy. (Verses 20 -23.)

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months, so that great famine was in all the land.

26. And to none of them was Elias sent except to Sarepta of Sidon, to a woman, a widow.

27. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.

28. And all in the synagogue, hearing these things, were filled with wrath.

29. And rising up, they cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the mountain on which their city was built, to throw Him down headlong.

30. But He passing through the midst of them, departed.

31. And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sab

baths.

32. And they were astonished at His doctrine; for His word was with authority.

33. And in the synagogue was a man having the spirit of an unclean devil; and he cried with a great voice,

34. Saying, Ah! what have we to do with Thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee, who Thou art, the holy one of God.

35. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, and come out of him. And the devil having thrown him down in the midst, came out of him, and hurt him not.

On which occasion, violent opposition is excited in the thoughtless and impenitent, attended with a total rejection of all truth and an attempt to destroy it. (Verses 28, 29.)

Insomuch that the truth was entirely hid from them. (Verse 30.)

Nevertheless its Divine power was felt by others, and confessed even by the infernals, who yet are not allowed to declare it, but compelled to retire to their own kingdom. (Verses 31-36.)

36. And dread came upon all, and they spake one to another, saying, What word is this! for with authority and power He commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

37. And the fame of Him went forth into every place of the country round about.

38. And He arose out of the synagogue, and went into the house of Simon; but Simon's mother-in-law was seized with a great fever, and they besought Him for her.

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39. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she stood and ministered unto them. 40. But when the sun was setting, all who had any sick of divers diseases, brought them to Him; and He, laying hands on each of them, healed them. 41. And devils also came out from many, crying and saying, Thou art the Christ the Son of God: and rebuking them He suffered them not to speak; for they knew Him to be the Christ.

42. But when it was day, going forth, He departed into a desert place, and the multitudes sought Him, and came to Him, and withheld Him that He should not depart from them.

43. And He said to them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent.

44. And He preached in the synagogues of Galilee.

Since this was one great end of the revelation of truth in the person of JESUS CHRIST, to remove the powers of darkness from mankind. (Verses 36, 37.)

And to deliver from the love of evil all those who are in the affection of truth. (Verses 38, 39.)

Also to liberate, and render receptive of good and truth, those who are infested with falses. (v. 40, 41.) With which view the truth at times hides itself, that so a stronger affection may be excited towards it, and that it may be manifested in every direction. (Verse 40, to the end.)

EXPOSITION.

CHAPTER IV.

VERSES 1, 2. But Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, &c.-See Exposition, chap. i. 15, 35, 80; ii. 25-27; iii. 22.

Was led by the Spirit into the wilderness; being forty days tempted of the devil.-The journeyings of the people of Israel, in the wilderness, all signify the states of the church combating, and its temptations, in which man falls, but the Lord conquers for him, consequently they signify the temptations and victories of the Lord. The Lord fulfilled all things of the law, and endured temptations, and conquered therein, and thus procured salvation for those who are principled in the faith of charity, also for those who are suffering in temptations, in which the Lord, from His Divine Human principle, conquers; wherefore also when the Lord was tempted, He was in the wilderness. Matt. iv. 1; Mark i. 12, 13; Luke iv. 1. A. C. 2714.

By the wilderness is signified a place uninhabited and uncultivated, and in the spiritual sense, where there is no good and truth, also where truth is not yet conjoined with good; thus by the wilderness is signified the state of those with whom conjunction is to be effected; and whereas conjunction is not effected except by temptations, therefore these also are signified, but this is so when the number forty is added, whether forty years, or forty months, or forty days; for forty signifies temptations and their duration whatsoever it be; on this account also, when the Lord was tempted, He went into the wilderness and was there forty days. A. C. 8098.

By wilderness, in the Word, is signified, I. The church devastated, or in which all the truths of the Word are falsified, such as it was amongst the Jews at the time of the Lord's advent. II. The church in which there are not any truths, because they are not in possession of the Word, such as the church was among the well-disposed Gentiles when the Lord came into the world. III. A state of temptation, in which man is, as it were, without truths. That by wilderness is signified a state of temptation in which man is, as it were, without truths, because he is surrounded with evil spirits, who induce temptation, and then, as it were, deprive him of truths,

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