have me to reign over them, bring them hither, and slay them in my presence. Thus, as if our Lord had said, shall I at length appear, not as a temporal sovereign, but the eternal judge and ruler over all, when, having received power and dominion from my Father, I shall bring 28 all to their final account.-And when he had spoken these things, he went on his way before his disciples, ascending to Jerusalem. REFLECTIONS. Let us also hear and fear. Our Lord is gone, and has received his kingdom. He has delivered to us our stock, to be improved in his service let us be animated to diligence in it; for proportionable to that diligence will be our reward. Let us remember we labour for ourselves while we labour for him; as all the progress we make in wisdom and in goodness renders our own souls so much the happier, and will render them so to all eternity. Blessed servants that have the applause of such a Master, and share a reward as liberal as that conferred on a faithful steward, who should be made governor of a province containing ten cities! Let us beware of a slothful neglect of our stock : let us beware of those hard thoughts of God which would discourage us from pursuing his service. Above all, let us take heed, that we do not proudly and insolently reject the government of his anointed Son, and either say with our tongues, or declare by our actions, We will not have this man to reign over us for if we do, we speak a word against our own lives. He will be glorified by us, or upon us. And oh, what shall we do, if in that dreadful day he should bring us forth as the helpless prisoners of his justice, and command us to be slain in his presence! How can we withstand his power! or to the horns of what altar shall we flee for sanctuary ? O Lord, our flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and we are afraid of thy judgments. May we never be the miserable objects of them; but having faithfully served thee here, may that be to us a day of honour, reward, and triumph, which shall be to every presumptuous rebel a day of shame and terror, of dreadful execution and eternal destruction! SECTION CXLV. Christ is entertained at Bethany, and his feet anointed by Mary. The Jewish rulers contrive to kill Lazarus. MATT. xxvi. 6-13. MARK xiv. 3-9. JOHN xii. 1-11. TH HEN Jesus came, six days before the passover, to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, and whom he had lately raised from the dead. Now when Jesus was in Bethany*, in *Few passages in the Harmony have perplexed me more than this. But on mature consideration, it appears to me more probable that Matthew and Mark should have introduced this story a little out of its place, than that theirs should be a different one from that of John: [the difficulties of which supposition the author states, but with much diffidence.] the house of Simon, called the leper, they made a supper for him there ; and Martha waited, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at table with him. Then Mary took an alabaster pot, containing a pound of unadulterated ointment of spikenard, which was exceedingly valuable; and, having broke open the vessel, she poured it on his head as he sat at meat, and anointed the feet of Jesus†, and wiped his feet with the tresses of her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.—But when his disciples observed it, there were some that were moved with inward displeasure, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? And they secretly murmured against her. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, who was about to betray him, said aloud, Why was not this ointment sold for more than three hundred pence, and given to the poor ? Now this he said not because he regarded the poor, but because he was a thief and kept the bag which contained their little stock, and car. ried what was put into it. But Jesus knowing the design of Judas and the censoriousness of the rest, said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? Let her alone, for she has performed a good work towards me. For the poor you have always with you, and whenever you please you may do them good : but me you have not always. She has done what she could; for in that she has poured this ointment on my body, she has in a manner come before the time to anoint and embalm my body for the burial. I assuredly say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel is preached, over the whole world, this also which this woman has performed, shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. Now a great multitude of the Jews (who had doubted whether Jesus would come up to the passover) knew that he was there, in Bethany, and they came thither, not only on account of Jesus, but also that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests, who had resolved on the death of Jesus, consulted how they might kill Lazarus also. For many of the Jews went away on his account, and believed on Jesus. REFLECTIONS. We see how happily Mary improved by sitting at the feet of Jesus, and what evidence she gave of her having chosen the better part. Like her, let us with humble thankfulness bestow our very best on him, who has given us that and every thing else. She gladly poured out her choicest ointment on him, whose name is to every true believer far more fragrant than ointment poured forth. How does her generous love shame those who grudge every expense in the cause of Christ! When we are relieving the pious poor, we are, as it were, anointing the feet of Jesus: we are indeed performing a service far more aç † See on Luke vii. 38. § 60. MATTHEW," for a great deal." || Some render it "carried off."-This would have been a fine booty for him; as the sum mentioned was about 107. JOHN." She has reserved this for the day of my burial." The following passage explains this, and renders the insertion of it superfluous. En. ceptable than any thing of this kind could in itself be. Let us remember that we have the poor always with us; and that they are permitted to continue among us that we may do them good whenever we please. Far be it from us to imagine that what we so spend is waste. Let all who would not share in the guilt and punishment of Judas abhor the vile hypocrisy of making a pretended concern for the poor, a cloak for an opportunity of enriching themselves with their spoils; than which nothing can be more infamous, or can have a directer tendency to mingle the consuming curse of a righteous and almighty God with all that a man possesses. The Pharisees conspired to kill Lazarus. What a mixture was this of cruelty and folly! What was his crime? or what could their hope be? From what death could not Christ have delivered him? or from what tomb could he not again have recalled him? Yet something like this is the madness of all who hate and persecute others for being the trophies of the Redeemer's victory and grace. But let not his servants fear: their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is his name. His work is perfect; and the day and hour is approaching in which his triumph over all his enemies shall be so complete, that his friends shall be for ever secure, not only from being destroyed, but from being alarmed by them. SECTION CXLVI. Christ rides in triumph to Jerusalem on an ass's colt. MATT. xxi. l—9. MARK XI. 1-10. LUKE xix. 29-40. JOHN xii. 12-19. A ND it camé pass, on the next day (which was the first day of the week) that Jesus proceeded on his journey with his disciples; and when they drew nigh to Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage and Bethany*, at the foot of the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, Go your way into the village overagainst you; and immediately as soon as you enter into it, you shall find a she-ass tied, and a foal tied with her, on which no man ever yet sat: untie him, and bring him hither to me. And if any man say to you, Why do you untie him? you shall say thus to him, Because the Lord has need of him; and he will immediately send him hither.-And the disciples that were sent, went their way, and found, just as he had said unto them, the colt tied abroad at the door of a house, in a place where two roads met; and as Jesus commanded them, they began to untie him. But as they were thus untying the colt, some of them that stood by, [among whom were] the owners of it, said unto them, o Why do you untie the colt? And they said to them, even as Jesus had ordered, The Lord has need of him. And being thoroughly satisfied they let him go. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and the ass its dam, which went with it; and they threw their mantles upon them, and they set Jesus thereont. * Some have supposed that there were two places of this name; but the limits of the village from whence Christ came might extend to Bethphage. That is, on the mantle thrown upon the foal, which Christ chose to ride. John says, "Jesus when he had found a young ass sat thereon," which is superseded by the accounts of the other evangelists. Ando a very great multitude, as he sat on the foal r, and went on to the city, spread their mantles in the way; and others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the road. An usual expression of joy on the arrival of any illustrious prince.—Now all this was done that it might be accomplished which was spoken by the prophet, saying (as it is written Zech. ix. 9.) "Say ye to the daughter of Sion, Fear not; behold thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and having salvation, sitting upon an ass, yea a colt, the foal of an asst". Now his disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written concerning him, and that they had done these things unto him. And when he was come nigh to the city, and was now at the descent of the mount of Olives, a great multitude of people who were come to the feast of the passover, having heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, resolved to go and usher him in with the highest respect. Accordingly they took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried Hosannah! blessed be the king of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord.-Now the people who were with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, testified to the strangers from the country. And for this cause the people also met him in the manner described, because they heard that he had done this miracle. And the whole multitude of the disciples that went before them, and they that followed, began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice, for all the mighty works which they had seen. And they joined together and cried, saying, Hosannah to the Son of David! blessed be he, even the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. Blessed be the kingdom of our father David which comes in the name of the Lord! Hosannah in the highest. And some of the Pharisees among the multitude, offended at the honours paid to Jesus, said to him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said to them, I tell you that, if these should be silent, one might almost expect the very stones would r immediately cry out. The Pharisees then said to each other, Perceive ye not that you gain no advantage? Behold the world is gone after him. REFLECTIONS. Let us behold this meek triumph of the great Redeemer with pleasure! He entered the capital of his kingdom riding upon an ass ; a circumstance in which he made, though by no means a ridiculous, yet, to be sure, a very humble figure: yea, he appeared exactly as the prophet described him, upon a colt, the foal of an ass; not yet grown up to its best form, nor adorned with any sumptuous or elegant furniture, but only covered with the mantles of his poor attendants, and perhaps with nothing better for a bridle than a cord, which might have tied the †The ridicule which has fallen on this passage must be retorted on those that have cast it, for the Eastern asses are much larger and more beautiful than ours, and the patriarchs and judges thought it no disgrace to ride upon them. See Jud. v. 10. and many other places. The use of horses was forbidden to the Jews. [See the author's valuable note]. foal at the door.-Let us imagine that we saw the Son of God, and the King of Israel, thus proceeding towards Jerusalem, and the people meeting him, and surrounding him with their acclamations: Hosannah! Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Do not our hearts spring at the sound? Do we not, as it were in spirit, go forth with them, and join in their sublime, though simple, song? Thus let us welcome him into our hearts! Let us echo it back! Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord, with divine authority, and divine blessings in his hands! And blessed be the kingdom he hath erected! May perpetual prosperity attend it! May the north give up a swarm of subjects to it; and may not the south keep back her swarthy sons! May nations be born at once, and thousands together made willing in the day of his power! Surely if these are not our affectionate wishes, the warm and zealous sentiments of our very hearts, it most be expected that the very stones should cry out, to accuse and condemn our ungrateful stupidity. may al Unhappy Pharisees, who looked on these triumphs with envy and rage, and grieved that the world was gone after him! Yet less unhappy, had they not renewed their attempts against him; those fatal attempts which ended in their ruin! But who, that had seen the procession, and heard the shouts of the transported multitude, could have imagined or believed, that before the end of the week they should have turned their voices against him, and instead of Hosannah, should have cried out, Crucify him? yet so it was, and Christ knew it would be so. Such is the uncertainty of popular applause! Who would then purchase it at the expense of his concience, or even of his ease? -These transports were raised by the hopes of a temporal kingdom; and when those hopes were disappointed, these transports were turned into rage. Oh that there may be none, under all the engagements of a Christian, and even of a ministerial profession, who proclaim Christ with great appearances of zeal, only that they may exalt themselves; and wish prosperity to his kingdom, only as it may promote their own interest in a world from which it was the great design of his death to redeem his servants. SECTION CXLVII. Christ weeps over Jerusalem, and vindicates the temple a second time from the profanation of the traders. MATT. xxi. 10-16. MARK xi. 11. LUKE xix. 41, &e. THE HUS our Lord went on in his triumphant progress towards Jerusasalem; and when he came near it, beholding the city, he wept over it, saying, Oh that thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee when thine enemies shall draw a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and press thee on every side and they shall level thee with the ground, and crush thy children within thee; and shall not leave one stone upon : |