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17 And when Jefus knew it, he faith unto them, Why reafon ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardned?

18 Having eyes, fee ye not ? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?

19 When I brake the five loaves among five thoufand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They him,

fay unto Twelve.

20 And when the

feven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said,

Seven.

21 And he faid unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

22 And he cometh to Bethfaida, and they bring a blind man unto him, and befought him to touch him.

23 And he took the blind man by the

17 18. Which when Jefus perceived, wondring that they should fo grofly mifunderstand his Words, he expoftulated with them, faying: Why are your Minds fo full of follicitous Thoughts upon your having forgotten to bring Bread with you? Will you never be taught by the great and repeated Miracles which I have worked before your Eyes, to understand my Power, and to rely upon me? or do you never regard or remember what you fee?

19. Did I not lately with only Five Loaves feed Five thoufand Men? and they had enough and to fpare, fo that when they had all done, ye took up twelve Baskets full of Fragments ? They faid, Yes.

20. Again, Did I not at another. time with only Seven Loaves feed Four Thoufand Men, and ye took up moreover Seven Baskets full of Fragments? They faid, We remember it well.

21. Why then, faid Jefus, are ye fo dull and inconfiderate, to be ftill difturbed, at the want of a little Bread, as if I were not able to fupply you upon a Neceflity? and why do you fancy, that I fpeak about Bread, when I warned you against the Leaven of the Pharifees evil Doctrine?

22. When Jefus had faid this, they came afhore at Bethfaida; and the People brought to him a blind Man, defiring that he would lay his Hands upon him, and restore him his Sight.

23. Jefus, always ready to work hand, and led him any beneficial Miracle, took the blind

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Man,

21.

Man, and led him to a private Place
out of the Town; where laying his
Hands upon him, and having touched
his Eyes with a little Spittle upon his
Finger, he asked him whether he yet
faw any thing.

but

24. The blind Man looking up, and
beginning to recover his Sight in fome
Meafure, faid; I difcern Men,
very imperfectly, fo that I can hardly
diftinguish them from Trees.

25. Then Jefus, putting his Hands
again upon his Eyes, bad him look up
the fecond time; and then he found
his Sight perfectly reftored, fo that he
could fee every thing plainly and di-
ftinctly.

26. Which being done, Jefus, * Matt.xi. knowing the Impenitence and Unworthiness of the People of Bethfaida, bad the Man go home privately to his own House, and not to return to

Bethfaida, nor tell Any that belonged
to that Town, what God had done for
him.

27. After this, Jefus travelled with
his Difciples through the Towns of Ca-
farea Philippi. And as they were up-
on the Road, Jefus asked his Difciples,
what Opinion People had of him, and
Whom Men thought him to be.

28. The Difciples faid; Some think you to be John the Baptist rifen from the Dead; others think you to be Elias, the Fore-runner of the Meffiah; and others, that you are one of the old Prophets appearing again, or one like to them in Dignity and Power.

29. Jefus faid: Well, and what do you your felves think, who have all along been with me, and heard

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of Cefarea

Philippi: and by the way he asked his difciples, faying unto them, Whom do men fay that I am?

28 And they anfwered, John Baptift: but fome thers, One of the fay, Elias; and oprophets.

29 And he faith unto them, But whom fay ye that

I am? And Peter answereth and faith unto him, Thou art the Chrift.

30 And he charged them that they fhould tell no man of him.

31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man muft fuffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and the the elders, and the chief priests and scribes, and be kil led, and after three days rife again. 32 And he fpake that faying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.

33 But when he had turned about, and looked on his difciples, he rebuked Peter, faying, Get thee behind me, Satan for thou fa

my Doctrine, and feen all my Works? Whom do you think me to be? Peter anfwered; We believe you to be the Christ, the long expected Meffiah.

30. Then Jefus commanded them, not to publifh it abroad yet, in plain and exprefs Terms, that he was indeed. the Meffiah; but to keep this Secret to themselves till after his Refurrection.

31. For, faith he, though I am, as you fay truly, the Meffiah; yet before I fhall gloriously manifeft my felf to be fo, I muft fuffer many things from my Enemies, and muft die by the Hands of unjuft and cruel Men, and rife again the Third Day from the Dead.

32. And this Thing Jefus told them now plainly and exprefsly; judging it a fit Occafion to acquaint them with his approaching Humiliation and Sufferings, when they had juft declared their Belief of his Greatnefs and Power, and were full of too great Expectations that he would fuddenly make fome glorious Manifeftation of it. When therefore Peter heard him talk of Suffering and Dying, he was much furprized, and began to fay; Far be it from thee.

33. But Jefus turning himself about with an angry Countenance, in the Prefence of his Difciples, faid to Peter; Nay, now you are become my Enemy, talking like a weak Man

*The probable Reasons of this Charge, fee at large in my Paraphrafe on Matt. xvi. 20.

Not, in the Hearing of the People, as Dr. Hammond, by a ftrange Miftake, interprets it, contrary to the exprefs Words of the Evangelifts; but aggnog, plainly and without Riddle, to the Difciples.

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that

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that looks only at worldly Profperity,
and not knowing the wife Defigns and
Methods of God.

34. Then calling to him the Peo-
ple, that they might hear alfo as well
as the Difciples, he said to them all
Whofoever will undertake to be my
Difciple, must be willing to part with
all the Pleafures of Profperity, and to
follow me in a poor and afflicted State;
and muft refolve to fuffer all things,
even Death it felf, for the fake of true
Religion and Vertue.

35. For if any Man, in hopes to fave his Life, in this prefent Time, for fakes his Religion or his Vertue; he fhall moft truly lofe it, by incurring eternal Death: But he that lofes bis Life in the prefent Time, for the Sake of Vertue and true Religion, fhall most properly fave it, by attaining eternal Happiness.

36 37. Let no Man therefore think it an intolerable or a hard Condition, if he be forced to part with all his worldly Enjoyments, and even Life it felf for my fake.

For what Comparison is there, between all the unfatisfactory and fhort Enjoyments that this present World can afford, and the faving or lofing a Man's own Soul eternally?

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38 Whosoever therefore fhall be a

afhamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and finful generation, of

38. Wherefore whoever thro' the Fear of Shame and Reproach, or upon any other Temporal Motive whatfoever, fhall forfake the Profeffion of my true Religion, or fall away from the Practice of its Precepts; fuch a one him alfo fhall the will I be ashamed to own for my Son of man be aDifciple, when I fhall appear in the fhamed, when he Glory of God, attended with an in- cometh in the glory numerable Company of Angels, to the holy angels. of his Father, with

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judge the World, and render to every Man according to his Works.

CHA P. IX.

Jefus's Tranfiguration, ver. 1. He shows that John the Baptift was the Elias prophefied of by Malachi, ver. 12. Cafts out a Devil, and reproves his Difciples for not being able to do it for l'ant of Faith, ver. 14. He acquaints his Difciples with his approaching Sufferings, ver. 30. And, upon Occafion of their difputing about Pre-eminence, exhorts them to Humility and Charity, ver. 33. He forbids them to hinder thofe that in any Manner promoted the Gospel, ver. 38. And teaches, that nothing must come in Competition with Religion, ver. 43. The Punishment of evil Minifters, ver. 49.

LAND he faid unto them, Verily I fay unto you, of them that ftand here, which fhall not taste of death, till they have feen the kingdom of God come with power.

that there be fome

2. And after fix days, Jefus taketh with him, Peter, and James,and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themfelves: and he was transfigured before them.

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* Be not

ESUS faid moreover; furprized that I speak of appearing hereafter in Glory: For affuredly I tell you, there are fome even now here prefent, who fhall live to fee the Kingdom of the Meffiah begin to be glorioufly eftablished, by the terrible Deftruction of his Enemies, and by the wonderful Succefs and Propagation of the Gofpel, with great and glorious Manifeftations of the Divine Power. 2. About + Six Days after this; Jefus, to give his Difciples fome faint Reprefentation of his future Glorification and Majefty which he had mentioned to them, went up with Peter, James, and John, upon a high Hill; and the Form of his Perfon was changed in their Sight.

*This Verfe plainly belongs to the foregoing Difcourse, and ought therefore to have been added to the End of the former Chapter.

+ Exclufively, which St. Luke inclufively calls Eight Days. Luke ix. 28.

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3. For

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