No sign be given it, but, &c.] No sign shall be given unto it (this adulterous generation), but the sign of the prophet Jonas. Mat. xvi. 4. And there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet; for as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. Lu. xi. 29, 30.

40 For as Jonas.] Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three day and three nights. Jon. i. 17.

So shall the Son of man be.] From" that time" (of " Peter's confession of Christ") began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and chief priests, and Scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Mat. xvi. 21. And they shall kill him (Jesus declared of himself), and the third day he shall be raised again. Mat. xvii. 23. Thou that destroyest the temple (said the revilers of Jesus), and buildest it in three days, save thyself; if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Sir, we remember (said the chief priests and Pharisees unto Pilate) that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again: command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead; so the last error shall be worse than the first. Mat. xxvii. 40. 63, 64. Destroy this temple (said Jesus to the Jews), and in three days I will raise it up. John ii. 19. See chap. xxviii. 6.

In the heart of the earth.] Those that seek my soul to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. Ps. lxiii. 9. I cried (said Jonah) by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about; all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about

me for ever, yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God. Jon. ii. 2-6.

41 Men of Nineveh.] See Lu. xi. 32.

Rise in judgment.] See verse 42. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. Is. liv. 17. And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. Je. iii. 11. Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. Ez. xvi. 51, 52. Shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law. Ro. ii. 27. By faith Noe, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. He. xi. 7.

This generation.] See verses 39. 45. A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. Mat. xvi. 4. O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Mat. xvii. 17. Verily I say unto you (said Jesus), All these things shall come upon this generation (that upon them may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, &c.). Mat. xxiii. 36.

Because they repented, &c.] So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing; let them not feed nor drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God; yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can

He

Behold a greater.] See verses 6. 42. that cometh from above is above all he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. John iii. 31. Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle (said the woman of Samaria to Jesus)? John iv. 12. Art thou greater than our father Abraham which is dead (said the Jews to Jesus)? And the prophets are dead, whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself my honour is nothing. It is my Father that honoureth me, of whom ye say, That he is your God: yet ye have not known him; but I know him; and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. John viii. 53-58. Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after. But Christ as a Son over his own house, whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. He. iii. 5, 6.

42 Queen of the south.] When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions, and she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart; and Solomon told her all her questions, &c. 1 Ki. x. 1—3. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions, and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. 2 Ch. ix. 1, 2. &c. The queen of the south shall rise up in the

judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here, &c. Lu. xi. 31. And he (Philip the deacon) arose and went, and be hold a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethio pians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Ac. viii. 27, 28.

Hear the wisdom of Solomon.] Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart (said Solomon to the Lord) to judge thy people, that ! may discern between good and bad, for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? Behold, I have done according to thy words; lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart (said the Lord to Solomon), so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged (between two harlots); and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. 1 Kt. iii. 9. 12. 28. And God gave Solomon wisdom, and understanding exceeding much; and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom. 1 Ki. iv. 29. 34. And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him. I Ki. v. 12. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cup-bearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts, and of thy wisdom; howbeit, I believed not the words until I came, and mine eyes had seen it, and behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and pros perity exceedeth the fame which I heard. And all the earth sought to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 1 Ki. x. 4-7. 24.

Behold a greater than Solomon, &c.] Ser chap. iii. 17. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him (said the voice out of the cloud in the transfiguration). Mat. xvii. 5. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Is. vii. 14. Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government

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shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. Is. ix. 6, 7. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John i. 14. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John i. 18. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of

man.

Phi. ii. 5-7. God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds: unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever, a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. He. i, 2. 8.

43 The unclean spirit.] When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places seeking rest, and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. Lu. xi. 24. Then "Simon" ("the sorcerer") himself believed (upon the preach ing of Philip); and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, behold ing the miracles and signs which were done. Ac. viii. 13.

He walketh, &c.[ The Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Job i. 7. See chap. ii. 2. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Pe. v. 8.

Dry places.] O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee; my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land where no water is. Ps. lxiii. 1. Then (in the flourishing state of Christ's kingdom) shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert: and the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. In the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass, with reeds and rushes. Is. xxxv. 6, 7. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the val

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leys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. Is. xli. 18. These waters (said the Lord to Ezekiel, in the vision of holy waters) issue out toward the east country, and go down unto the desert, and go into the sea; which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed; and every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live. And there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither, for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river com eth. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim: they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed: they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed. It shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine. Ez. xlvii. 812. Behold the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east: they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. Am. viii. 11, 12, 13.

And

Seeking rest.] See chap. viii. 29. And he (Jesus) asked him (the man who had an unclean spirit), What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion; for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding; and all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand,) and were choked in the sea. Mar. v. 8-13. And Jesus asked him (which had devils a long time), saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion; because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain,

him? And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear let him hear. Re. xiii. 3, 4. 8, 9.

45 Seven other spirits.] See verse 24. What is thy name? (said Jesus to the man with the unclean spirit.) And he answered, saying, My name is Legion, for we are many. Marv. 9. Now when Jesus was risen early, the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. Mar. xvi. 9. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ep. vi. 12.

More wicked than himself.] Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him two-fold more the child of hell than yourselves. Mat. xxiii. 15.

And the last state of that man is worse, &c.] Then goeth he (the unclean spirit) and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there (the house whence he came out), and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Lu. xi. 26. See chap. xii. 31. For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people; it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. He. x. 30, 31. 39. (False teachers, seducers) Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable souls; an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, but was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass, speak ing with man's voice, forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water; clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, VOL. II.

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through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 2 Pe. ii. 14-21. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin not unto death. 1 John v. 16, 17. These (false teachers) speak evil of those things which they know not; but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and run greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core: these are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Jude 10-13. Even so shall it be also, &c.] And when the husbandmen (in the parable of the householder who had let out his vineyard unto them) saw the son (whom he had sent last of all to them, that he might receive the fruits of it), they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance; and they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the Lord therefore of the vineyard cometh; what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto "him" ("Jesus"), He will miserably destroy those wicked men; and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner? This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Mat. xxi. 38—44. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold I send you prophets, and wise men, and R