,, him, as &.c. rity GO [27 this au Mark t Prieſts he. and overt kiw the) t People wa they came ple, there Elders, aid And wh , ClidPs 19. 4 Prieſts, at him: An ay attent every Nigt 1Nz, and People wet wan mim, | Miracles w] and the E/, he one Rea diving the tie Peop!'e; butary Peop whom, tho”! ligion, yer th fir them to þ of their oven any Tumulrs thity did of openiy atrer ome previal both by 2: agreed upon, ity he did th mentioned b: to 7im, c avour his Dog) D:in? to t] Evident that Only queſtion enough, tor i bably have ac; they knew he they came frc thoriry: Ou
| gives them, v Miraculous 0]
24. And alſo will a: [ In like-w theſe thing
25 The ICLVEN, Or ( elves. ſayi; Will fav ont
25 But |
" Pople; for
27 Andt tell, And þ What athor i. 22,28.29.5c 13/p 1
E77S -< J'S, (ls he [!
Uninp/ Sha act. \ os **1 THC Cnief
;
"0, Which m; IG 52 our Say
hat. d©.4þ 1
14tth. 17. 20 Mok hath the fame, cbap.12.23. Luke > 44,17. 6. It is an Exprelfſion which ought nor to be Net + jarcher chan co fignitie, Thar there is nothing conducive roy of God, and our own Good, bur believers may re- tf --»c Hand of God, if they can belicve withour doubting raps [har they would have ſhall come to paſz. I tee no reaſon £21. Eo gee”s of a Fiith of Miracles, as different trom other Mw mores" only thus differed , That rne Diſciples (the Apo- F mn '2an) had 4 Power given them, and a Promiſe made ay” : og ir chey ſhould be abie ro work Miraculous Operations, an Ps Ken given to orher Chriſtians, ſerving only the particular ge Rt of thar time, to give Credit to rhe Golpel, The Ge- 6! Propoſition is true, and ſhall be made good ro every Be- . Toit whatſoever G11d is made the matter of a Promiſe clach are all Good things) ſail be gruen to believing Souls, praying £ thom Bur there WETe ot Old ſpecial Promiſes, not made ro "4s People of God. in general, but to particular Perſons, tor par- "ilar Ends; We cannot expect ro do , or obrain ſuch things mw, Nothing is roo big for true Faith to obtain, bur that Fairh ft hive a Promiſe to lean upon , and it muſt be ſhewed *"by P;08 » 4s tor. 22. Mark adds, that ir muſt be allo arrended wh Corrity; 4 Charitable Hearr ready to turgive, and Afually £:jvinz our Brerhren their Treſpaſſes: But-it 15 no more than we mer wich in Matthew, chap. 6. ver.14,15. where we opened to Seate of thole Words, 111, 22 * And when he was come into the temple, the us chief prieſts and the elders of the people came unto - him, as he was teaching, and * ſaid, By what autho- &., rity Gocſt thou theſe things? and who gave thee 7.27 this authority ? | _ hach before this, chap. 11.18. And the Seribes and chief Priefts heard it « Thar is, his turning the Buyers and Sellers our, and overturning the Tables of rhe Money-changers , and ſought kw they might deſtroy him : For they feared him, becauſe all the Priple was aſtoniſhed at his Do&rine, Then wer. 27. he faith, And hey came again to Jeruſalem , and as he was walking in the Tem- ple, there came to him the chief Prieſts, and the Scribes, and the Elders, and ſay unto him, By what Authority doest thou theſe things ? And wh g.ve thee this Authority to do theſe things ? Luke faith, chap. 19. 47, 48 And he taught daily in the Temple, but the chief Prieſts, and the Scribes, and the Chief of the People ſought to deſtroy hin: And could not find what they might do, for all the People were wry attentive to hear him. Ir 1s plain that our Saviour went every Night to Bethany, and returned to Jeruſalem every Morn- inz, and daily Preached in the Temple. And Lube ſaich 5 the People were very Attentive fo hear him, In the Greek it is, Hung 1n him, hearing him. They were alſo much aftefted with the Miracles which they had ſeen him working : So as the Scribes, ad the Elders feared him, ( faith-Mark..) This poſſibly mighr he one Reaſon, why they made no Oppoſition to our S4viour, driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple, viz. For fear of the Peop'e; tor we muſt remember they were a conquered Tr1- burary People, and under the Juriſdiftion of the Romans, under whom, tho' they had a Liberty tor the Exerciſe of their own Re- lizion,yet they had not ſuch a Poiver as before : It was not Lawful fir th-1n to put any to Death, Joh.18. 31. And tor the preſerving of their own Liberty, they were obliged ro take heed of cauſing any Tumulcs for Matters concerning their Religion; fo as what they did of this Nature, they did by Craft rather than plainly and openly arrempring it, Mar. 14. 1. It is likely they might have ſome previous, ſecrer Councels, what Method to take, mentioned both by Mark and Tuke : The Merhod it ſeems which they agreed upon, was firſt ro fend to him, to know, By what Autho- rity ho did! thoſe things, and who gave him ſuch Authority * This 1s mentioned both by Matthew and Mark, they ſent ſuch a Meſſage to 71hn, chap. I. Ig, 20, 21. They had ofcen queſtioned him abour his Do@rine, and had gone by the worſt, he juſtifying his D:#rinz to their Faces. For the Truth or his Miracles, it was fo Evident thac they could not queſtion chat : They theretore now only queſtion his Authority ro Preach. The Queſtion was caprious enough, for if he hd ſaid by a Divine Authority, they would pro- bably have accuſed him of Blaſphemy: For an Humane Authority, they knew he had none , according to their Rulcs for Order, for they came from the Court thar ſhould have given rhem ſuch Au- thority: Our Saviour well enough underſtanding their Deſign, gives them, who would not underſtand his Divine Mifſion by his Miraculous Operarions, a wary Anſwer.
24 And Jeſus anſwered , and ſaid unto them, I alſo will ask you one thing , which if ye tell me, [ in like-wiſe will tell you by what authority I do theſe things.
25 The baptiſm of John, whence was it ? from heaven, or of men? And they reaſoned with them- | ſelves. laying, If we ſhall fay, From heaven, he will fav unto us, Why did ye not then believe him ?
25 But if we ſhall ſay, Of men, we fear the ;, D-ople; for all hold John as a prophet *.
27 And they anſwered Jeſus, and ſaid, We cannot tell, And he faid unto them, Neither tell I you by What authority I do theſe things.