time was not yet come when Chriſt would have this publiſhed ; and while he gave them a Power to belicve it, 7. e. to have a Zull perſuation of it, all theſe Moral Arguments were not ſufficient t work in their Hearts a-full perſuaſion. Chriſtians of that time, ſeemcth to have had theſe three Gradati- ons. 3. They belizued him a great Prophet, that had received oreat Vower from God. 5 the Son of David; and now and then they would drop ſome Expreftions, arguing ſome perſuaſions that he was the Son of God.
\. Laſt of all, they came to a firm perſwaſion that he was truly God,
12 val as Man ;, after that he was riſen from the Dead, and de-
clared with Power to be ſuch as the Apoſtle faith ; yet what means imaginable could they have had more than, 1. A Voice 2. The Spirits deſcending in a viti-
from Hexven declaring it. 2 hie Shape. 3» The great Miracles he had wrought by Sea and Land, commanded the Winds and the Waves, healing incurable Dias. and a!l others in an inſtant, without uſe of Rational Means, raifing the Dead, &c. 4. His telling their Thoughts, fore- telling ſuture Contingencies, Cc. yet all theſe produced in the Generality of the People no more than Amazement, and Aſtoniſh- ment in the Apoſtles themſelves; rather a Diſpoſition to ſuch 2 Faith, or an Opinion or Suſpicion of ſuch a thing, than a firm and fixed Perſuaſion concerning 1t.
7 * And they brought the colt to Jeſus, and caſt | He found nothing but Leaves, for there were mo Figs z as if it hu their garments on him, and he ſate upon him.
$8 And many ſpread their garments in the way, and others cut down branches off the trees, and ſtrawed then 1n the way-
9 And they that went before, and they that follow- ed, cried, ſaying, Hoſanna, bleſſed # he that cometh in the Name of the Lord. |
10 Bleſſed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the Name of the Lord, Hoſanna in the
higheſt.
We met with all this in Matth. 21. ver. 8, 9. See the Notes there. It appeaceth by our Saviour's fending for the Coz, that this little Rural Triumph, and the Acclamations attending it, were defigned by him,. both to ſhew the People, 1. That he was the King whom God had promiſed to ſet upon his holy Hill of Zim; And 2. That his Kingdom was not of this World : For (as he elſewhere faith) if his Kingdom had been of this World, his Servants would
But cir Saviour probably made choice of
The Faith of the
2, they owned him as the Meſſiah,
14 And Jeſus anſwered, and ſaid unto jt, N; eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. heard ze.
15 * And they come to Jeruſalem, and Tefi; i unto the temple, and began to caſt out them tha; lg 4 and boaght in the temple, and overthiew the r2a11.. © of the money-changers, and the ſeats of them "In ſold doves. Wy
16 And would not ſuffer that any man ſhov]d ca... any veſlel through the temple. iN 17 And he taught, ſaying unto them)[s it not w;;-
7 9 man And his Gſttplos
p]
of prayer ? but * ye have made it a den of thieves,
him, becauſe all the people were aſtoniſhed at dottrine. 19 And when even was come, he went out of the CitY. Sec the Notes on Matth. 21. 12. Where having ſo largely ſpg : - Y 1P0- ken to this part ofthe Hiſtory, conſidering alſo what Marb and Luke hath to compleat the Hiſtory, few Words will be need; about ithere. Though Mark ſeems to relate it fo, as if the 5:4 day Chriſt came into the Zemple, lookt about it, and Gia «.; more t1i!] he came back from Bethany (whither he went that Nioh the next Day, yet the other Evangeliſts Relation of it wu! make one think otherwiſe ; beſides, that Interpreters thin i: not probable, that our Saviour the firſt Night ſhould only los abour, and patiently ſee and ſuffer thoſe abuſes : Moſt do thr. fore think, that our Saviour the firſt Day di4 caſt out thoſe (417 fold and bought in the Temple. In the Notes upon Mitthy 16 have given an account of the Market in the Court of the Gomil; which was the ontward Court of the Templz, where, throus) the Covetouſneſs of the Prieſts,ſome ſay there were conſtant Shops, In the Temple there were, the moſt Holy place (into which ti; Prieſts, only entred) and the Holy place into which entice 1 the Circumciſed, whether Native Jews or Proſelytes: Theſe tn, places they accounted Holy. But there was alſo a Court which they called the Court of the Gentiles, of which they had no ſuch cſtcen, but allowed the keeping of Shops and Markets in it, eſpccially before the Paſſover. Concerning our Saviour's driving out thſe Buyers and Sellers, ſee the Notes on Matth. 21. 12, 13. Inthvſ Notes alſo T have fully opened the Hiſtory concerning our $:- viour's Curfing the Barren Fig-tree, and given what account |n- terpreters do give of the difficulty arifing from ver, 13. As to which, I have nothing to add here, ſave this only, offering it to Learned Perſons to confider, Whether the Senſe of theſe Wards, 30 1V xaze3s guvyov, be any more than, For there were n ki;
been, £ wncay ovXa SOS yaugds there ſhould neither fipnihe ; the common Time when Figs ute to be ripe, nor yet fignihe the Seaſonableneſs of the Year for Figs, but partictlarly relate tothut Tree, which at that time had no Figs. But cnough hat! vec! before ſaid as to that Text,
20 And in the morning,as they paſled by, theyfar,,, the fig-trce dried up from the roots. bs
21 AndPeter calling to remembrance, faith unto him, Maſter behold, the fig-tree which thou curicdl; is withered away.
22 And Jeſns anſwering, faith unto them, Hd
a. vj *+4 8
faith || in God. *w
28 For verily I ſay unto you, that whoſoever ſha! fay unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and 6: thou caſt into the ſea, and ſhall not doubt in his heart, but ſhall believe that thoſe things which i