John xix. 23, 24. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every sol- dier a part ; and also his coat : noiv the coat ivas ivithout seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, ivhose it shall be: that the Scripture might be fulfilled, tohich saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
ON reading the history of our blessed Lord, we cannot but be struck with the extreme simplicity with which the most important circumstances of it are related. The historians never go out of their way to impress things on our minds ; but leave truth to
speak for itself. Even when they come to the last scene of his life, where we might have expected them to dilate upon his sufferings in order to affect our hearts, they pass over the whole transaction without a comment, and content themselves with barely men- tioning the fact, that " he was crucified." But, while they seem almost unfeeling towards their Divine Mas- ter, they specify very minutely those occurrences which marked the accomplishment of prophecy : and, as if indifferent about the agonies which he was enduring, they descend to tell us, how the soldiers who had nailed him to the cross occupied themselves in the disposal of his garments. We should be ready to disregard this record as uninteresting and unin- structive : but no circumstance that took place at that time should be uninteresting to us ; nor will this, if duly considered, be uninstructive. On the contrary, this very record will give us an insight into some of the deepest points that can be offered to our consideration.
It will give us an insight into, I. The nature of prophecy —
[Prophecy springs not from man's conjectures, but from a Divine revelation a. The prophets, so far from being the source and authors of their own predictions, could not even understand them, any farther than they were illuminated by that very Spirit by whose immediate agency they were inspired b. In some cases they were not even conscious that they foretold any thing0. Perhaps this was the case much more frequently than is generally supposed. Through the greatest part of the psalm quoted in our text, David spake primarily respecting himself, though in some parts he was " moved by the Holy Ghost" to speak what had no reference at all but to the Messiah, whom he typified. That he did not understand his own expressions, we can have no doubt. He might perhaps be conscious that he was uttering that which should, in some way or other, have its accomplishment in the Messiah: but he had no clew in his own experience to lead him to the inter- pretation of his own words : he never had his " hands and feet pierced ;" much less had he ever his garments disposed of in the way he mentions*1.
a 2 Pet. i. 21. b 1 Pet. i. 10, 11.
c John xi. 49—52. d Ps. xxii. 16, 18.