. # That Gity was S:cherz, or S5char, but ir was within the Pro- vince of Samaria, from whence ir is that they had the name of $4- maritans, as well as Szchemites : Many of them upon the Teſtimony of the Woman, that he had rold her ſuch fecrer Paſſages of ker Life, as he could nor have told her, if he had not beeri able, if he had pleaſed, as well to have told her all things, believed on him : Thar 1s, they owned him as a Propher, and agreed to what the Wo- man faid in that particular, and were by it excited to come to lee, and further Diſcourſe with Chriſt. This juſtifieth whar our Saviour ſaid, That there was there a People prepared for the Lord, the Fields were white unto the Harve#t ; that they were thus far wrought upon by the Diſcourſe of a Woman, and ſhe one not of the higheſt Re- putation, and only telling them, Thar he had told har all things ſhe had done. Small means have great Effects, when Gods time of working is come. | 29% 49 So when the Samaricans were come unto him, they beſought him that he would tarry with them s: And he abode there two days w.
_ # The Sichemites being come to Chriſt, had ſome Diſcourſe with
him, as appeatcth from 0,41, 42+ Whar the ſubject matter of thei:
Diſcourſe was, weare not told ; we may know that it was Spiritu- al, and ſomerhing proper to excite Faith in them ; for believing was the effect of ir ; they deſire that he would abide with them, thus their Faith wrought by Love &. Our Saviour, that he might nor diſ- courage the beginning of their Faith, did ſtay with them two Days : For altho' when he ſent our his Diſciples, he commanded theaz nor to go into the way of the Samar#tans, yet himſelf was nor obli- ged by that Law, and did ſometimes by Preaching to Hearhens and Converting of them, give an Earneſt of the Calling of the Gen- zales, whoſe fuller Calling was reſerved to after-times, yes probably the reaſon why he would nor ſtay longer with them than rwo Days, was becauſe the time was nor yer come, for the fuller Calling of rhe Gentiles, and he was not willing by a longer abode with them ro give Offence to the Fews, berwixt whom and the Samaritans was a rooted Hatred upon the account of their differing Religion.
4r And many more believed, becauſe of his own word x,
x Believing ſeemeth here to be taken in a different fenſe from what it was taken in v. 39. from what followeth; v. 42. Thereir ſeemeth only to ſignific a lower degree of Aſſent, that he was a Pre- phet upon the Womans ſaying, Thar he had told her all ſhe had done, here ir Ggnifieth a giving Credit to him. asthe Chriſt, the Saviouo of the World, of which they were convinced by what they heard from himſelf. Thus that of the Apoſtle, Rom. 10.17. is juſtified, Thar Faith cometh by hearing; and the Influence of Chriſt npon the Souls of Believers is alſo juſtified. We read of no Miractes our Saviour wrought here, they believed nor becauſe of any Signs they ſaw, bur becauſe of his Word, wherein alſo they further ſhewed themſelyes che fir ft fruit of the Gentiles, the generality of which were afterward Converted to the Faith of rhe Goſpel, after that Miracles were ceaſed, by hearing the Goſpel Preached. ;
42 And ſaid unto the woman, Now we believe, not becauſe of thy ſayingy; for ® we have heard him our
viour of the world z. :
y Several things may be the occaſion of Faith, which are neither the principal efficient Cauſes, nor the proper inſtrumental Cauſe of it : The principal efficient Cauſe of the Faith of theſe Samaritans was undoubtedly the Finger of God upon their Souls, enlightening their Minds with the ſaving Knowledge of the Goſpel, and bowing their Wills ro the Obedience of it. The proper inſtrumental Cauſe was their hearing the words of Chriſt, bur the occaſion of this was what the Woman had told them ; fo as tho' they in a ſenſe believed becauſe of what ſhe bad ſaid, becauſe that occaſioned their coming out to fee, and hear Chriſt ; yer the proper inſtrumental Cauſe, was their hearing Chriſt, God upon their hearing him working in their Hearts, an ability, and a willingneſs to receive and to cloſe with Chrift. Thus the Church gives us the firſt occafion of receiving the Scriptures, and believing them to be the Word of God ; we baving them put into our Hands by the Church, read them, and find ſuch, impreſſes and ſtamps of Divinity in them, that we conclude from our Reaſon very probably, that they are more than Humane Wrt- tings, bur never firmly and fixedly receive themas ſuch, until per- ſwaded of it by the holy Spirit. ;zTheſe Samaritans do not only own Chriſt as a Propher, nor do they only ſuſpect thar ke mult be the Meſſiah, bur they profeſs tro know, that he was the Chriſt, the S«- viour of the World.
43 Now after two days, he departed thence, and
went into Galilee 8. ;
a Chriſt ( as we heard before, Ver. 3) was upon hisJourney in- to Galilee, only he _ rwo Days at S:chem, to gratitie the deſires of the Samaritans of that City, which two Days being now ſpent, he keepeth on his Journey. But here ariſeth a Queſtion,v:z. Whether he firſt went to Nazareth, or to Cana; for the Opinion of thoſe who think he firſt went to Nazareth, is quoted Mathew 4. 12. beſides iris ſaid, that Nazareth was im his Road to Cana, and Luks 4. 24. he is ſaid ro have uttered theſe words there. Chemnitins thinks he went firſt to Cana, according to whar Fohr: relateth in the following Verſes. And the next mentioned Miracle is v. 54+ faid to have been Chriſts ſecond Miracle, which it could not have been, had he firſt gone to Nazareth ; for Luke 4. 23. thoſe of Nazarerh men- tion ſome Miracles which he had wrought at Capernaums
44 For Jeſus himſelf teſtified, that a Prophet hath
no honour in his own Country 6.
b Chriſt ſpake thoſe words more than once, Mat. 13. 55. Mark 6.4. Luke 4. 24- Bur the Queſtion is, Whar force of Reaſon this hath 2 Why he went into Gabz/ee, when as Nazareth, which was in Galilee, was his own Country ; for tho' he was Born in Bethlehem, yet he was Educated at Nazareth ; upon which account Luke 4. 23.
© t9id me all that ever I did e. Vel. 14,
it is called bis own Country, The belt Reſolution of this Difficulty is that by Galilee here is to be underſtood, the Country part of Galilee, f Bbbb32}] | excluliye
Chap. TY.
ſelves, and know that this is indeed the Chriſt, the Sa. *Ch- 17. 8-
x us.
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