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THERE IS NO FAITHFULNESS IN THEIR MOUTH; THEIR INWARD PART IS VERY WICKEDNESS;

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36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming-to him, and offering him vinegar, 37, 38 saying, If thou be the king of-the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in-letters of-Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

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40

ωνειδίζον. 6
(Ver. 45, p. 466.)

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The penitent thief.-Luke xxiii. 40-.3.

But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost-not thou fear God, seeing thou

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

Mk. xv. 32. that we may see, &c. - Mt. xvi 1-4, § 47, pp. 28-30, A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.'-And when this sign was given in his rising from the dead on the third day, the words were fulfilled, Lu. xvi. 31, § 69, p. 202, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.'-See Mt. xxviii. 12, .3, § 93, p. 487. Mt. xxvii. 43. He trusted, &c.-Ps. xxii. 8, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.'-- See also iii. 2, Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.'-xlii. 10, 'As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?'

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|--lxxi. 11, Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute
and take him; for there is none to deliver him.'
for he said, &c.-He commonly called himself the
Son of man, ch. xvi. 27, § 50, p. 43; but he was in
truth the Son of God, iii. 17, § 8. p. 59,
Lu. xxiii. 38. superscription-see on Jno. xix. 19–
21, and Mk. xv. 26, pp. 460, ..2, supra.

This is, &c.-Rev. i. 8, Which is, and which was, and which is to come,'-18, He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore,'

40. rebuked-Even in the last extremity the penitent malefactor had thus an opportunity of obeying the royal law, which called upon him not to 'suffer sin' upon his neighbour, Lev. xix. 17.

NOTES.

Mt. xxvii. 42. We will believe him. Instead of aury, him, many excellent MSS. have er avre, IN him: this is a reading which Griesbach and other eminent critics have adopted.'-A. C.

Lu. xxiii. 36. Offering him vinegar. It was about the time of the midday meal of the soldiers; and they in mockery offered him their posca, or sour wine, to drink with them. This was the second time. wine was offered to him-the first, Mt. xxvii. 34, p. 459; and so it was again the third time, ver. 48, p. 467. 38. A superscription... over him. On the projecting, upright beam of the cross. In letters of Greek, &c. See on Jno. xix. 20, p. 460. 39-43. Peculiar to Luke. Matthew and Mark have merely a general report of the same incident. All

were now mocking-the soldiers, the rulers, the mob; and the evil-minded thief, perhaps out of bravado before the crowd, puts in his scoff also.

40. The other.... rebuked him, &c. The silence of the penitent is broken by the uas of the other compromising him in the scoff.

The other.... rebuked him. What a surprising degree was here of repentance, faith, and other graces! And what abundance of good works, in his public confession of his sin, reproof of his fellowcriminal, his honourable testimony to Christ, and profession of faith in him, while he was in so disgraceful circumstances, as were stumbling even to his disciples! This shews the power of Divine grace. But it encourages none to put off their repentance to PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

[Mt. xxvii. 43. It is not always by what happens to individuals on this side the grave that we can see how worthy our God is to be trusted in. Let us not be too hasty in drawing the conclusion that men are forsaken of God when we see them subjected to suffering and shame-there is another season of reckoning for which may we ever stand prepared.]

Lu. xxiii 36-.8. Let us beware of mocking our

King by presenting what is unworthy his acceptance; but let us yield him the homage of our hearts, and therewith that with which we are intrusted for the relief of the distressed members of his body.

39 ver. People, priests, rulers, soldiers, and thieves, all made a jest of the Saviour-and all because that rather than save himself he would bear that which was necessary to the salvation of his people.

by St. Matthew, there is an unintentional coincidence with Ps. xxii. 8-partly by the soldiers who were keeping watch over him, coming to him, according to St. Luke, and offering him their posca to drink (a circumstance which seems to imply the arrival of their usual dinner hour, the fifth hour of the day) with an allusion to the inscription on the cross-and partly by one of the malefactors, crucified along with him; which last circumstance St. Matthew and St. Mark express in general terms; but St. Luke, with a stricter [VOL. II.

464]

HE THAT HATETH ME, HATETH MY FATHER ALSO.-Jno. xv. 23.

THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN SEPULCHRE; THEY FLATTER WITH THEIR TONGUE.--Psa, v. 9.

IF YE ABIDE IN ME, AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, YE SHALL ASK WHAT YE WILL, AND IT SHALL BE DONE UNTO YOU.-John xv. 7.

LUKE Xxiii. 41-.3.

41 art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we-receive the-due-reward 42 of our deeds: but this man hath-done nothing amiss. And he-said unto-Jesus, Lord, 43 remember me when thou-comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto-him, Verily I-say unto-thee, To-day shalt-thou-be with me in paradise. [Ver. 44, p. 466.]

Jesus commends his mother to the care of John.-John xix. 25—.7.* [Ver. 24, p. 461.] Now there-stood by the cross of-Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the 26 wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When-Jesus therefore saw his mother and

25

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

Lu, xxiii. 41. nothing amiss. The innocence of Jesus was acknowledged both by Judas, who betrayed him, Mt. xxvii. 4, § 89, p. 435, and by the judge that condemned him, Lu. xxiii. 14, .5, § 90, p. 449.

42. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, &c.-Rom. x. 10, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.'

remember me-see the prayer of Job as looking down into the grave and forward to the resurrection, ch. xiv. 13, O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!'-And of the psalmist, Ps. XXV. 6, 7-see also the prayer of the publican, Lu. xviii. 13, § 73, p. 217.

when thou comest-ch. xii. 8, § 63, p. 164, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: '-see also Jno. vi. 39, 40, § 43, p. 329; 1 Th. iv. 16-8; 2 Ti. i. 12 The coming of this kingdom had been contemplated in Ps. xxii., the first part of which was so strikingly fulfilled in the sufferings of Christ upon the cross, ver. 1-21: in the latter part, which regards the glory that should follow, ver. 22-31, after speaking of the kingdom, ver. 27-.9, it is said, ver.

30, .1,A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.'

43. Jesus said-Mi. vii. 18, Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.'--The Son of man came to save the lost, Lu. xix. 10, § 80, p. 247-1 Ti. i. 15, A faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners;'-He. vii. 25, Able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him,'

with me-see on Jno. xiv. 3, § 87, p. 381; xvii. 24, § ib., p. 404-2 Co. v. 8, To be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.'-Ph. i. 23, Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:'

in paradise-2 Co. xii. 4, Caught up into paradise,' -Rev. ii. 7, The tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.'

Jno. xix. 25. mother-It had been said to her by Simeon, Lu. ii. 35, § 4, p. 26, Yea, a sword,' &c.

NOTES.

the last hour, since, as far as appears, this was the first time this criminal had an opportunity of knowing anything of Christ. And his conversion was designed to put a peculiar glory on our Saviour, in his lowest estate, while his enemies derided him, and his own disciples either denied or forsook him.' -Wesley.

['oude alludes to the multitude-Dost thou too not fear God? r. (as thou oughtest to do), seeing that, &c.'...-Alford.]

wards.

....

Jerusalem'-Priest, interceding for forgivenessKing, acknowledged by the penitent thief, and answering his prayer. [Verily. To-day, &c. The Lord surpasses his prayer in his answer; the aμn λéyw σo, ohuepov, is the reply to the uncertain ὅταν of the thief-σήμερον, "This day;" before the close of this natural day. The attempt to join it with Xéy oo, considering that it not only violates common sense, but destroys the force of the Lord's promise, is surely something worse than silly.-See below. Mer' uoù on, can bear no other meaning than "thou shalt be with Me" in the ordinary sense of the words, "I shall be in paradise, and thou with Me." Ev T Tapadeίow. On these words rest the whole exegesis of the saying. What is this paradise? The word is used of the garden of Eden by the LXX., Ge. ii. 8, &c., and subsequently became, in the Jewish theology, the name of that part of Hades, the abode of the dead, where the souls of the righteous await the resurrection. But it was also the name for a supernal or heavenly abode.- See 2 Co. xii. 4; Rev. ii. 7. The former of these is, I believe, here primarily to be understood; but only as introductory, and that immediately to the latter." Alford.]-See § 69, ADDENDA, p. 203, 'Hades,' 3rd par. PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

Lu. xxiii. 41. And we. He classes himself with the other in condemnation, but not in his prayer after42. Into thy kingdom. The original is, 'When thou comest in thy kingdom.'-See the same, Mt. xvi. 28, § 50, p. 44.

He acknowledges him a king, and such a king, as after he is dead can profit the dead. The apostles themselves had not then so clear conceptions of the kingdom of Christ. 43. And Jesus said, &c. It is remarkable_how, in three following sayings, the Lord appears as Prophet, Priest, and King:-as Prophet to the 'daughters of

are shewn what that baptism is which the Lord
requireth, not the putting away of the filth of the
flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,'
Pe. iii. 21. The penitent had the reality without
the figure, and entered into peace, whereas those
who had the figure without the reality were left in
condemnation.]
Let the penitent look alone to the Saviour, who
can give him instant and entire salvation, although it
may be, as in the case of the thief upon the cross, at
the eleventh hour.

[Lu. xxiii. 40-.2. Faith in Christ should be accompanied by correspondent fruit-it was so even in the thief upon the cross. He performed his duty to his neighbour by reproving him for his sin, and calling him to repentance towards God. He confessed the Saviour to be the Righteous One, the Messiah, who ought to be acknowledged by every true fearer of God; and, finally, with regard to himself, he performed his duty, in commending himself in death to the care of his Redeemer.] [In the case of the penitent thief upon the cross, we attention to historical precision, distinctly attributes to the right person; specifying the rebuke which he received from his comrade, as well as what subsequently passed between this penitent and believing thief The sixth hour, or noon, was now at hand; that is, the preceding transactions had extended through almost the space of three hours.'-Greswell, Vol. III. Diss. xliii. p. 248. Now the affecting incident, related solely by St. John, and regarding our Lord's commendation of his mother to his care, (both having hitherto been present, whether they both continued to be so still or VOL. II.]

and our Lord himself.

MINE EYES ARE EVER TOWARD THE LORD;-Psa. xxv. 15.

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I WILL BE GLAD AND REJOICE IN THEE: I WILL SING PRAISE TO THY NAME, O THOU MOST HIGH.-Psa. ix. 2.

I WILL BLESS THE LORD, WHO HATH GIVEN ME COUNSEL: MY REINS ALSO INSTRUCT ME IN THE NIGHT SEASONS.--Psa. xvi. 7.

JOHN xix. 27.

27 son!

45

the disciple standing-by, whom he-loved, he-saith unto-his mother, Woman, behold thy Then saith-he to-the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his-own home. [Ver. 28, p. 467.]

MATT. XXVii. 45-.7.

(Ver. 44, p. 464.)

Now from
the-sixth hour
there-was darkness

over all the land
unto the-ninth hour.

Darkness from the sixth to the ninth hour.

46 And about the ninth hour

Jesus cried with-a-loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?

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34 And at-the ninth hour Jesus cried with-a-loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS. Jno. xix. 26. thy son-referring to the beloved disciple, whom Mary was now to regard as her son, in place of him of whom it is written, 2 Co. v. 16, Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.'

27. thy mother-It was to the beloved disciple Jesus committed the care of his mother, that he

might fulfil to her the commandment, Ex. xx. 12-see ADDENDA, p. 469, Of Mary,' &c.

Lu. xxiii. 45. the sun was darkened-Is. 1. 3, 'I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.'-Am. viii. 9, And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:'

NOTES.

Jno. xix. 26. Woman. Thus, as at the marriage in Cana, when his official independence of her was to be testified, so now, He addresses her as Woman!

[27. Behold thy mother! The Romanist idea that the Lord commended all his disciples, as represented by the beloved, to the patronage of his mother (!), is simply absurd. The converse is true. -Comp. Acts i. 14.-Alford.]

Lu. xxiii. 44. Darkness over all the earth. The darkness began at the sixth hour, about our twelve o'clock at noon, and lasted till the ninth hour, which answered to our three o'clock in the afternoon.' A. C.-So Lonsdale and Hale.-See Greswell, infra. Mt. xxvii. 45. There was darkness. This obscuration of the sun must have been preternatural, not only from the opposition of the moon to the sun, but also from its extent and duration, since it is known, that no natural eclipse of the sun ever occasions a total darkness above twelve or fifteen minutes. Wherefore it must have been produced by the Divine power in a manner which cannot be explained.

PRACTICAL

[Jno. xix. 25-7. Let the bereaved mother, in place of indulging unavailing sorrow, turn her motherly regard upon the beloved disciple, and let the beloved disciple take under his especial care those who are widows indeed.]

[Mt. xxvii. 46. How stumbling must it have been to the faltering faith of the disciples to hear their Master in the agonies of death complain of being forsaken by God! yet even in the utterance of this exclamation he was giving further evidence of being

Iãoav The Anv, all the land, may mean only the land of Judæa; but many passages in history of good credit determine it to mean all the parts of the world where the sun was not below the horizon.

46. About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice. Our Lord's great agony probably continued these three whole hours, at the conclusion of which he thus cried out, while he suffered from God himself what was unutterable. My God, my, God, why hast thou forsaken me?-Our Lord hereby at once expressed his trust in God, and a most distressing sense of his letting loose the powers of darkness upon him, withdrawing the comfortable discoveries of his presence, and filling his soul with a terrible sense of the wrath due to the sins which he was bear. ing.'-Wesley.

[Eli, Eli, &c. Quoted from Ps. xxii. 1. These are not the precise Hebrew words, but in the SyroChaldaic dialect, which accounts for their being misunderstood by some of the by-standers, ver. 47, who probably canie from a distance, and did not well understand the dialect spoken at Jerusalem.] REFLECTIONS. that very Christ who had been spoken of in the Psalms, and by the prophets.]

tree.

It becomes us to attend to this inquiry of our dying Redeemer. Searching in the light of New Testament scripture for God's reply to the words of Jesus, Why hast thou forsaken me?' we may be well assured that it was because our sins were laid upon him, that Jesus was abandoned to such suffering, and so much cruel mocking upon the accursed not,) may most fitly be considered to have taken place. (It is probable that St. John immediately conducted the mother of our Lord home, as soon as she had been commended to him; and that this is the reason why her name is not specified among those of the other women who were present at our Lord's expira tion, and when he was taken down from the cross, and committed to the grave: though it appears that she was actually present at the crucifixion, as well as they.) The next fact, recorded in his gospel, was one which a comparison with the rest proves to have followed the ninth hour, though but by a little; and the preternatural darkness, interposed between the sixth hour and the ninth, may justly be regarded as incompatible with the occurrence of such a transaction after the former but before the latter; or while that darkness was still in being. The darkness in question is resolvable into no physical cause of known operation; for the moon was not yet at the full, though considerably past the change; which began, according to St. Luke, a little before or a little after the sixth hour, at the time when, on the passover day, the evening sacrifice would begin to be got ready in the temple: and the effect of which was to obscure the sun, which before must have been shining brightly, and to cover the face of the land until the ninth hour, when all the three evangelists make it to cease.-Ibid., p. 249. With the time of the arrival of the ninth hour, and the dispersion of the darkness, when the offering of the paschal sacrifices was ready to begin, Jesus uttered the first verse of the twenty-second Psalm, as recorded by St. Matthew and St. Mark..... After this, and with no sensible delay, he exclaimed, "I thirst."

466]

HEAR THE RIGHT, O LORD,-Psa. xvii. 1.

[VOL. II.

BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, I SHALL NOT BE MOVED.

Psa. xvi. 8.

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O YE SONS OF MEN, HOW LONG WILL YE TURN MY GLORY INTO SHAME? HOW LONG WILL YE LOVE VANITY, AND SEEK AFTER LEASING ?-Psa. iv. 2.

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28

calleth-for Elias.

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Jesus said, 'I thirst.'*-John xix. 28. (Ver. 27, p. 466).

After this, Jesus knowing that all-things were-now-accomplished TеTEλeσTα, that the scripture might-be-fulfilled, saith, I-thirst.

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Mk. xv. 34. My God, my God, &c.-The first words of the psalm which so remarkably expresses the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow, Ps. xxii. 1, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?'-See on Lu. xxiii. 42, p. 465, supra.

forsaken me-In the Hebrew, God is said to leave

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or forsake any person when he suffers him to be under great miseries-so Isaiah, of Zion, xlix. 14; and the psalmist, Ps. x. 11; xliii. 2: which he explains, xxii. 2, 3, 4, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not;'

35. Elias-predicted to come, Mal. iv. 5, Before the ....great and dreadful day of the LORD:'-see Mt. xvii. 10-.2, § 51, p. 57.

NOTES.

In the words, My God,' there speaks the same union with the Divine will, and abiding in the everlasting covenant purpose, as in those, Not my will, but thine.'

[A person suffering thus, might address God as if he was forsaken-given up to extreme anguish. He himself had also said that this was the power of darkness,' Lu. xxii. 53, § 88, p. 421. When he was tempted, iv. 12, it was said, ver. 13, that the tempter departed from him for a season. There is no improbability in supposing that he might be permitted to return at the time of his death, and increase the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. In what way this might be done, can be only conjectured. He died in our place, on our account, that he might bring us near to God. It was this doubtless that caused his intense sufferings. It was the manifestation of God's hatred of sin to his soul, in some way which he has not explained, that he experienced in this dread hour. It was suffering endured by him, that was due to us; and suffering by which, and by which alone, we can be saved from eternal death.]

offered to Jesus on the cross.

mighty prince, was, throughout the East, generally supposed to be at hand.-See SCRIP. ILLUS., supra. 48. And straightway, &c. This was on account of the words I thirst.'-See Jno. xix. 28. Mark's account is somewhat different; there the same person gives the vinegar and utters the scoff which follows. This is quite intelligible; contempt mingled with pity, would doubtless find a type among the bystanders. This is the third instance of vinegar being His bodily state had greatly changed since the time indicated at Lu. xxiii. 36, p. 464; and what was then offered in mockery might well be now asked for in the agony of death, and received when presented, as in the text. Jno. xix. 29. Put it upon hyssop. There are several species of the hyssop; one of which (and no doubt the one here meant) has a woody, reedlike stalk, of two feet or more in length, and which is mentioned by the Rabbinical writers as bound up in bundles for firing. "Hyssop," then, is here put for "a reed of hyssop," (hence called by Matthew and Mark a reed, as being rough and reedy;) and this, if of the length above mentioned, might easily enable a person to reach the mouth of Jesus on the cross, which was so low, that the feet of the crucified person were not more than a yard from the ground.'-Bloomf. PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

Mt. xxvii. 47. This man calleth for Elias. Elijah was daily expected to appear as the forerunner of the Messiah, whose arrival, under the character of a Jno. xix. 28. Jesus thirsted upon the cross that he might be to us the fountain of joy; yea, that from us might flow rivers of living water.

Mt. xxvii. 48, .9. Let us learn to bear with patience what is perhaps the most difficult to bear-unjust reproaches and cruel mockings: even the dying groans of the Saviour were turned into a jest.

* In consequence of this exclamation, the spunge filled with vinegar, that is, with the posca of the soldiers present, was placed upon a wand or stick of hyssop wood.... and so offered to him. This fact by which the twenty-first verse of the sixty-ninth Psalm was fulfilled, related succinctly by St. Matthew and by St. Mark, is given in detail by St. John.'-Ibid., p. 250. 'When this was over, which would be a little after the ninth hour, Jesus, knowing that whatever had been THOU DIDST HIDE THY FACE, ETC.-Psa. xxx. 7.

VOL. II.]

[467

BUT KNOW THAT THE LORD HATH SET APART HIM THAT IS GODLY FOR HIMSELF: THE LORD WILL HEAR WHEN I CALL UNTO HIM.-Psa. iv. 3.

INTO THINE HAND I COMMIT MY SPIRIT: THOU HAST REDEEMED ME, O LORD GOD OF TRUTH.-Psa. xxxi. 5.

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(Ver. 47, p. 471.)

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

Jno. xix. 30. It is finished-see on ch. iv. 34, § 13, p. 95; xvii. 4, § 87, p. 399-Ps. xxii. 31, That he hath done'-Da. ix. 24, To finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness,'-Rom. x. 4, For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.'-See He. ix. 11-28; x. 1-14; xii. 2; Je. xxx. 24-With regard to those who refuse to flee to Jesus from the wrath to come, it shall yet be said, Eze. xxxix. 8, 'Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.'-Rev. x. 7, In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.'-xi. 18, The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come,'-xvi. 17, And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.'-xxi. 6, And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega,' &c.

JOHN xix. 30.

and

bhe-bowed his head, and gave-up the ghost παρέδωκε το πνεύμα. (Ver. 31, p. 473.)

After

Lu. xxiii. 45. veil-Ex. xxvi. 31-He. ix. 3, the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;'-see also vi. 19; x. 20-Is. xxv. 7, He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.'-xl. 5, And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: "-so when that veil is destroyed, at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, it is said, Rev. xi. 19, And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: '-see before on 'finished.'

46. into thy hands, &c.-see Ps. xxxi. 5, margin-so Stephen, Ac. vii. 59-1 Pe. ii. 23, committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:"

gave up the ghost-1 Pe. iii. 18, 'Christ... hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"

NOTES.

Jno. xix. 30. It is finished. Teréλeoral expresses the fulfilling of that course of humiliation, obedience, and suffering, which our Lord had undertaken. From this time, the joy that was set before him' begins. Mt. xxvii. 50. When he had cried.... with a loud voice. To shew that his life was still whole in him. He dismissed his spirit. So the original expression may be literally translated: an expression admirably suited to our Lord's words, Jno. x. 18, No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.' He died by a voluntary act of his own, and in a way peculiar to himself. He alone of all men that ever were, could have continued alive, even in the greatest tortures, as long as he pleased, or have retired from the body whenever he thought fit.'- Wesley. Yielded up the ghost. 'Apne Tò πveμa, 'dismissed

his spirit.' This is the view of Doddridge, Clarke, and others. The notion that our Lord voluntarily hastened his death by an act of his Divine power, dying, not as exhausted by his sufferings, but by cutting them short, is incorrect. If it were so, if our Lord died not as the effect of his crucifixion, but of an exertion of his Divine power, he was not put to death by the Jews, and he did not, as St. Paul says, become "obedient unto the death....of the cross," although he died upon it; but the Jews "killed the Prince of life." The passage (Jno. x. 18) teaches us, that although possessing the power to prevent men from inflicting death on him, he would not exert it, but surrender himself to their will; for to lay down his life was surely to yield up himself to be put to death by his enemies.-R. Watson-So Bloomf.See Greswell, p. 469, infra.

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

[Jno. xix. 30. IT IS FINISHED:'-'He hath done in one view. Let us rejoice that life and immortality have been brought to light by the gospel, 2 Tim. i. 10. are the concluding words of Psalm xxii., the first words of which, as uttered by our Saviour upon the [46 ver. The first and last words of Christ upon cross, had been turned into ridicule. As truly as the cross are words of prayer-first for his murderers, Christ endured the sufferings expressed in that and lastly as committing his spirit into the hands of psalm, ver. 1-21, so truly will the glory described his Father. Let us learn from our Lord's example in ver. 22-31, be perfected. The promised salvation to begin and end all our works in God. And that we was infallibly secured by the doing and dying of our may truly do so, may a knowledge of why our Reblessed Redeemer. Let us be followers of him who, deemer so suffered be bestowed upon us that we when he hanged upon the cross, had that support to his soul which the world knew not of. He meditated may turn altogether from sin unto the love of God our Saviour, and so into humble and holy devotedupon the word; and for the joy that was set before ness to the will of our Father in heaven. May we be him endured the cross, despising the shame,' He. xii. 2.] conformed unto the image of Him who loved us and gave himself for us-who esteemed it his meat and Lu. xxiii. 45. The veil is indeed rent. The scene of sacrifice and the glorious high throne are beheld his drink to do the will of Him who sent Him.] predicted respecting his sufferings before his death had now been accomplished, exclaimed, according to St. John, Teréλora-and then, that the accomplishment of those things which had been predicted, as to happen after his death, might_next begin, uttering a loud voice, according to St. Matthew and St. Markand repeating the prayer also, Into thy hands I commend my spirit, Ps. xxxi. 5, according to St. Luke-and simply bowing the head, to denote the instant extinction of life, according to St. John-all which circumstances might have followed upon each other in this order-gave up the ghost-as all the accounts are agreed. 468] [VOL. II.

FORGIVE ALL MY SINS.-Psa. xxv. 18.

I WILL BOTH LAY ME DOWN IN PEACE, AND SLEEP: FOR THOU, LORD, ONLY MAKEST ME DWELL IN SAFETY.-Psa. iv. 8.

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