thy Father's right hand in glory, thou seest every hand that is stretched forth to the relief of thy poor members here on earth. Ver. 2. But a certain poor widow cast in two mites. Several circumstances re lating both to the person and the action are here observable: as, 1. The person that offered was a widow: the married woman is under the careful provision of her husband; if she spends, he earns; but the widow has no hands but her own to work for her. 2. She was a poor widow; poverty added to the sorrow of her widowhood, she had no rich jointure to live upon; it is some alleviation of the sorrow that attends widowhood, when the hand is Jeft full, though the bed be left empty: this widow was needy and desolate, but yet gives; some in her circumstances would have looked upon themselves as having a right to receive what was given by others, rather than give any thing themselves. Observe, 3. Her bounty and munificence in giving her two mites are proclaimed by Christ to be more than all the rich men's talents: more in respect to the mind and affection of the giver more with respect to the proportion of the gift; a mite to her being more than pounds to others. Pounds were little to them; two mites were all to her, she leaves herself nothing; so that the poor woman gave not only more than any of them all, but more than they all. Christ's eye looked at once into the bottom of her purse, and into the bottom of her heart, and judged of the offering, rather by the mind of the giver than by the value of the gift. From this instance we learn, 1. That the poorer, yea the poorest sort of people, are not exempted from good works; but even they must and ought to exercise charity according to their ability. This poor widow, that had not a pound, nay, not a penny, presents God with a farthing. 2. That in all works of pious charity which we perform, God looks at the heart, the will, and the affection of the giver, more than at the largeness and liberality of the gift. It is not said, The Lord loveth a liberal giver, but a cheerful giver; He accepteth the gift according to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath not. O our God! the poorest of us thy servants have our two mites also, a soul and a body; persuade and enable us to offer them both unto thee: though they are thine already, yet thou wilt graciously accept them; and Ó how happy shall we be in thy acceptation! 5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, 6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. Our blessed Saviour being now ready to this entering into it, and his disciples showdepart from the temple, never more after ing him, with wonder and admiration, the magnificent structures and buildings thereof, apprehending that in regard of its invincible strength it could not be destroyed; and blow up the most magnificent and not considering, that sin will undermine famous structures; for sin brings cities and kingdoins, as well as particular persons, to their end. Not one stone, says Christ, shall be left upon another; which threatening was exactly fulfilled after Christ's death, when Titus the Roman emperor destroyed the city, burnt the temple, and Turnus Rufus, the general of his army, plowed up the very foundation on which the temple stood: thus was the threatening of God fulfilled, Jer. xxvi. 18. Zion shalt be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become an heap. Learn hence, 1. That sin has laid the foundation of ruin in the most flourishing cities and kingdoms; Jerusalem, the glory of the world, is here 2. That the threatenings of God are to be by sin threatened to be made a desolation. feared, and shall be fulfilled, whatever the contrary. appearing improbabilities there may be to "Tis neither the temple's strength nor beauty that can oppose or withstand God's power. 7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? A double question is here propounded to our Saviour: namely, when the destruction of Jerusalem should be? and what would be the signs of it? From whence learn, What an itching curiosity there is in the best of men, to know futurities, and to understand things that shall come to pass hereafter; and when that hereafter will come to pass. O how happy were it if we were as forward to obey the declaration of God's revealed will, as we are to pry into the hid den counsels of his secret will: Tell us, say the disciples, when shall these things be? 8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. 9 But when ye shall hear of wars and, commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. 10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. Observe here, Christ does not gratify his disciples' curiosity, but acquaints them with their present duty; namely, to watch against deceivers and seducers, who should have the impudence to affirm themselves to be Christs, saying, I am Christ: some Christs personal, or the Messias; others Christs doctrinal, affirming their erroneous opinions to be Christ's mind and doctrine: Take heed that ye be not deceived, for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ. Observe farther, The signs which our Saviour gives of Jerusalem's approaching destruction, namely, the many broils and commotions, the civil disorders and dissensions, that should be found among the Jews immediately before: Ye shall hear of wars and commotions, and see fearful sights, and great signs from heaven. Josephus declares, that there appeared in the air chariots and horsemen skirmishing, and that a blazing star in fashion of a sword hung over the city for a year together. Hence learn, That war, pestilence, and famine, are judgments and calamities inflicted by God upon a sinful people for their contempt of Christ and gospel grace. Ye shall hear of war, fanine, and pestilence. 12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. 13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony. 14 . Settle it therefore in your hearts, ye not to meditate before what ther signs of Jerusalem's destruction. He Grace their own bowels. Observe lastly, Our Saviour's admonition: In your patience degrees of Christian patience: the first conpossess ye your souls. There are three sists in a silent submission to God's will; the second in a thankful acceptation of God's fatherly rod; the third in serious cheerfulness under sorrowful dispensations, rejoicing in tribulation, and counting it all joy when we fall into divers temptations: by this patience we possess our souls; as faith gives us the possession of Christ, so patience gives us the possession of ourselves: an impatient man is not in his own hand; for what title soever we have to our own souls, we have no possession of them without patience: In your patience possess ye your souls. 20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21 Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity the sea, and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. The sense is this: "As soon as ye shall see the Roman army appear before the city of Jerusalem, (called by St. Matthew and St. Mark, The abomination of desolation, that is, the army which is such an abomination to you, and the occasion of such desolation wherever it goes,) then let every one that values his own safety fly as far and as fast as he can, as Lot fled from the flames of Sodom: and be glad, if by flight he can save his life, though he lose all besides." Learn thence, That when Almighty God is pouring forth his fury upon a sinful people, it is both a lawful and necessary duty, by flight to endeavour to shelter ourselves from the approaching calamity and desolation: When ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, flee to the mountains. Observe farther, The dreadful relation that our Saviour here gives of those desolating calamities which were coming upon Jerusalem, partly from from the seditions and factions of the Zealthe Roman army without, and partly ots within, who committed such outrages and slaughters, that there were no less than eleven hundred thousand Jews slain, and ninety-seven thousand taken prisoners. They that bought our Saviour for thirty pence, were now themselves sold thirty for a penny. Now did the temple itself become a sacrifice, a whole burnt-offering, and was consumed to ashes. Observe lastly, What encouragement Christ gives to all his faithful disciples and followers: he bids them look up, and lift up their heads, when these calamities came upon others; look up with confidence and joy, for your redemption, salvation, and deliverance, then approacheth. God had a remnant, which he designed should survive that destruction, to be an holy seed; these are called upon to look up with cheerfulness and joy, when the hearts of others were failing them for fear. And thus shall it be at the general visitation was a type.) Lord! how will day of judgment, (of which Jerusalem's the glory and terror of that day dazzle the eyes, and terrify the hearts, of all the enemies of Christ; but delight the eyes and rejoice the hearts of all that love and fear him, that serve and obey him: then may the friends of Christ look up, and lift up their heads, for their full redemption draweth nigh. 29 And he spake to them a parable: Behold, the fig-tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your ownselves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. 33 Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. In these words our Saviour declares the certainty of his coming to visit Jerusalem for all her barbarous and bloody cruelty towards himself, his prophets, and apostles; he is pleased to set forth this by the similitude of the fig-tree, whose beginning to bud declares the summer at hand; thus our Saviour tells them, that when they should see the fore-mentioned signs, they might conclude the destruction of their city and temple to be near at hand; and accordingly some of that generation, then living, did see these predictions fulfilled. Learn, That God is no less punctual in the execution of his threatenings upon incorrigible sinners, than he is faithful in the performance of his promises towards his own people: the truth and veracity of God is as much concerned to execute his threatenings, as it is to fulfil his promises. 34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. Here our Lord cautions his disciples against such a distemper and indisposition of mind, as may render them unfit and unready for his coming and appearance; and to take heed of two dangerous sins, namely, voluptuousness and earthly-mindedness, which above any other sins will indispose us for the duty of watchfulness. There is a three-fold reason why our Saviour forewarns us of these sins, with reference to the day of judgment; 1. Because they are peccata præcurrentia, certain prognostics of the day of judgment approaching: As it was in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of man bc. 2. Because they are peccata accelerantia, they do not only foretell, but hasten the coming of Christ, To see the world drowned in voluptuousness and earthly-mindedness, in security and sensuality, is not only a sign to foretell, but a sin that hastens judgment, and pulls down vengeance upon a wicked world. 3. Christ bids us beware of these sins with reference to the day of judgment, because these sins are derisoria judicia, they beget in men a profane spirit of scotfing and deriding at the notices of Christ's appearing to judgment, 2 Pet. iii. 3, 4. In the last days there shall come scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? Our Saviour having thus warned them of these sins, he next exhorts them to watchfulness; Watch ye, therefore, for as a snare that day will come upon you; that is, very suddenly, and very unexpectedly : a snare has a threefold property, to catch suddenly, to hold sure, to destroy certainly. Our Lord's coming to Jerusalem was very unexpected, and his coming to us by death and judgment will steal upon us if we are not watchful. Watch ye then, for our Lord will come; at what hour he will come cannot certainly be known; there is no time in which we can promise or assure ourselves, that our Lord will not come; the time of our whole life is little enough to prepare for his coming. Our preparation for, will be no acceleration or hastening of, our Lord's coming. And oh! how dreadful will his coming be, if we be found off our watch, and altogether unready for his appearance: Appear we must in judgment, but shall not be able to stand in the judgment; see Christ we shall as a judge, but not behold him as a redeemer. 37 And in the day-time he was teaching in the temple, and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. 38 And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him. Our Lord had exhorted his disciples in the foregoing verses to diligence and prayer; here he sets an example of both before them. Busying himself in God's service all the day, and at night spending much time in prayer; in the day-time he was in the temple preaching, in the evening he was on the mount of Olives praying. Lord! what an example of indefatigable zeal and diligence hast thou set before thy ministers and members! O that when our Master comes, we may be found working, our people watching, and both they and we waiting for the joyful coming of our Lord and Saviour! Amen. CHAP. XXII. NOW priests and scribes sought how they This chapter gives a sad and sorrowful relation of the chief priests' conspiracy against the life of our blessed Saviour, in which we have three particulars observable. 1. The persons making this conspiracy, the chief priests, scribes, and elders, that is, the whole Jewish Sanhedrim, or general council; they all lay their malicious heads together to contrive the destruction of the holy and innocent Jesus. Thence learn, That general councils have erred, and may err fundamentally, both in matters of doctrine and practice; so did this general council at Jerusalem, consisting of chief priests, doctors, and elders, with the high priest their president. They did not believe Jesus to be the Messias, after all the miracles wrought before their eyes, but ignominiously put him to death. Observe, 2. The manner of this conspiracy against the life of our blessed Saviour, it was clandestine, secret, and subtle: They consulted how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. Learn thence, That Satan makes use of the subtilty of crafty men, and abuseth their parts as well as their power for his own purposes and designs: the devil never sends a fool on his errand. Observe, 3. The circumstance of time, when this conspiracy was managed, At the feast of the passover. It was a custom among the Jews to execute malefactors at their solemn feasts, at which time all the Jews came up to Jerusalem to sacrifice, and then put the malefactors to death, that all Israel might see and fear, and not do so wickedly. Accordingly the feast of the passover was waited for by the Jews as a fit opportunity to put our Saviour to death. The only objection was, That it might occasion a tumult and uproar amongst the people, there being such a mighty concourse at that time in Jerusalem; but Judas making them a proffer, they readily comply with the motion, and resolve to take the first opportunity to put our Saviour to death. 3 Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve, 4 And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. 5 And they were glad, and covenanted 6 And he proto give him money. mised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. Observe here, 1. The person betraying our blessed Saviour, Judas; Judas a professor, Judas a preacher, Judas an apostle, and one of the twelve, whom Christ had chosen out of the world to be his dearest friend, one of his family and household: shall we wonder to find friends unfriendly or unfaithful to us, when our Saviour had a traitor in his own family? Observe, 2. The heinous nature of Judas' sin: he betrayed Jesus; Jesus his Maker, Jesus his Master. It is no strange or uncommon thing for the vilest of sins, and the most horrid impieties, to be acted by such persons as make the most eminent profession of holiness and religion. Observe, 3. What was the occasion that led Judas to the commission of this sin; it was his inordinate love of money. I do not find that Judas had any particular malice, spite, or ill-will against our Saviour; but a base and unworthy spirit of covetousness possessed him, and this made him sell his master. Covetousness is the root of sin; an eager and insatiable thirst after the world is the parent of the most monstrous and unnatural sins, for which reason our Saviour doubles his caution, Luke 12. 15. Take heed and beware of covetousness; it shows us both the great danger of the sin, and the great care that we ought to take to preserve ourselves from it. 7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. 8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. Where wilt thou that we prepare? 9 And they said unto him, 10 And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing |