heart, and the less honourable parts of the human frame. The upper girdle was sometimes made of leather, the material of which the girdle of John the Baptist was made; but it was more commonly fabricated of worsted, often very artfully woven into a variety of figures, and made to fold several times about the body; one end of which being doubled back, and sewn along the edges, serves them for a purse, agreeably to the acceptation of (wn in the scriptures, which is translated purse in several places of the New Testament.-PAXTON.

The dress of John greatly resembled that of the interior nations of South Africa, only substituting a skin cloak for one of camel's hair; and his food that of the wild Bushmen during the locust season. Locusts resemble gigantic grasshoppers furnished with wings. When they come, like innumerable armies, they certainly destroy all vegetation; but their carcasses are sufficient for the support of human life. The wild Bushmen kill millions of them, which they gather together, dry them in the sun, and then grind them into powder, which they mix up with wild honey, or what the bees deposite upon rocks, trees, and bushes, and on this compound live à part of the year; so that the locusts, which are the greatest scourge of more civilized people, are considered as welcome visiters by the wild Bushmen, who hail their approach. Indeed, the crocus and locust seasons are called their harvests; thus showing that what is a judgment to one nation is a mercy to another.-CAMPBELL.

Ver. 11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.

The custom of loosing the sandals from off the feet of an eastern worshipper was ancient and indispensable. It is also commonly observed in visits to great men. The sandals or slippers are pulled off at the door, and either left there, or given to a servant to bear. The person to bear them means an inferior domestic, or attendant upon a man of high rank, to take care of, and return them to him again. This was the work of servants among the Jews: and it was reckoned so servile, that it was thought too mean for a scholar or a disciple to do. The Jews say, "all services which a servant does for his master a disciple does for his master, except unloosing his shoes." John thought it was too great an honour for him to do that for Christ, which was thought too mean for a disciple to do for a wise man. -GILL.

A respectable man never goes out without his servant or attendant; thus, he has always some one to talk with, and to do any thing he may require. When the ground is smooth, or where there is soft grass to walk on, the sandals are taken off, and the servant carries them in his hand. The devoted, the humble John, did not consider himself worthy to bear the sandals of his divine Master.-Roberts. Ver. 12. Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

There is, in what the Baptist here declares, an evident allusion to the custom of burning the chaff after winnowing, that it might not be blown back again, and so be mingled with the wheat. There was danger, lest, after they had been separated, the chaff should be blown again among the wheat by the changing of the wind. To prevent this they put fire to it at the windward side, which crept on and never gave over till it had consumed all the chaff. In this sense it was an unquenchable fire. See also Psalm lxxxiii. 13, 14. Isaiah v. 24.-BURDER.

After the grain is trodden out, they winnow it by throwng it up against the wind with a shovel-the ro ro of the gospels according to Matthew and Luke, there rendered a fan, which is too cumbersome a machine to be intended oy the evangelist. The text should rather run, whose shovel or fork, the onyavov odovriky, (which is a portable instrument,) is in his hand, agreeably to the practice recorded by Isaiah, who mentions both the shovel and the fan: "The

oxen likewise, and the young asses that ear the ground, shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan."

After the grain is winnowed, they lodge it in subterraneous magazines, as was formerly the custom of other nations; two or three hundred of these receptacles are sometimes to be found together, the smallest holding four hundred bushels. These grottoes are dug in the form of an oven, gradually enlarging towards the bottom, with one round opening at top; and this being close shut when the magazine is full, is covered over with earth, so as to remain perfectly concealed from an enemy. These magazines are sometimes discovered in the midst of a ploughed field; sometimes on the verge, and even in the middle of the highway. The same kind of granaries are used in Palestine as in Syria. Le Bruyn speaks of a number of deep pits at Rama, which he was told were designed for corn: and Rauwolf, of three very large vaults at Joppa, where the inhabitants laid up their corn, when he was in that country. The treasures in the field, consisting of wheat and of barley, of oil and of honey, which were offered to Ishmael, as a ransom for the lives of his captives, were undoubtedly laid up in the same kind of repositories. In dangerous and unsettled times like those of Jeremiah, it is quite common, even at present, for the Arabs to secure their corn and other effects, which they cannot carry along with them, in deep pits or subterraneous grottoes. Sir John Chardin, in a note upon this very passage of the prophet, says, "The eastern people in many places hide their corn in these concealments." To these various customs the Baptist alludes in his solemn warning to the multitudes concerning Christ: "Whose fan (rather whose shovel) is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge chaff will he burn with unquenchable fire." And our Lord his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but the himself, in his parable of the good seed: "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."-PAXTON.

Ver. 16. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him.

Many have supposed, that the third person of the trinity, on this occasion, assumed the real figure of a dove; but the sacred writer seems to refer, not to the shape, but to the manner in which the dove descends from the sky. Had it related to the shape or form, it would not have been w TEPIGEрav, as a dove; but won TEOGEOUS, as of a dove. In this manner, the likeness of fire is expressed by the same evangelist, in the Acts of the Apostles." There appeared cloven tongues (we Tupas) as of fire." The meaning of the clause therefore is, that as a dove hovers on the wing, and overshadows the place upon which she intends to perch, so did the Holy Spirit, in the form of a luminous cloud, like the Shechinah which rested on the tabernacle, gradually de

scend, hovering, and overshadowing the Saviour as he came up from the water. This exposition refutes another opinion, which was entertained by many of the ancients, that it was a real dove which alighted upon the head of our Lord; for if the sacred writer describes only the manner of descending, neither the form nor the real presence of a dove can be admitted. But although the evangelist alludes only to the manner in which that bird descends from the wing, he clearly recognises her as the chosen emblem of the Holy Spirit, the messenger of peace and joy to sinful and miserable men.-PAXTON.

CHAPTER IV.

Ver. 1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

In sacred language, a mountainous, or less fruitful tract, where the towns and villages are thinly scattered, and sin. gle habitations few and far between, is distinguished by the name of the wilderness. The forerunner of our Lord resided in the wilderness of Jndah till he commenced his public ministry. We are informed, in the book of Genesis, that Ishmael settled in the wilderness of Paran; and in the first book of Sammel, that David took refuge from the per

secution of Saul in the same desert, where it appears the numerous flocks of Nabal the Carmelite were pastured. Such places, therefore, were not absolute deserts, but thinly peopled, or less fertile districts. But this remark will scarcely apply to the wilderness where our Lord was tempted of the devil. It is a most miserable, dry, and barren solitude, "consisting of high rocky mountains, so torn and disordered, as if the earth had here suffered some great convulsion, in which its very bowels had been turned outward." A more dismal and solitary place can scarcely be found in the whole carth. About one hour's journey from the foot of the mountains which environ this wilderness, rises the lofty Quarantania, which Maundrell was told is the mountain into which the devil carried our blessed Savicur, that he might show him all the kingdoms and glory of the world. It is, as the evangelist styles it, "an exceeding high mountain," and in its ascent both difficult and dangerous. It has a small chapel at the top, and another about half way up, founded on a prominent part of the rock. Near the latter are several caves and holes in the sides of the mountain, occupied formerly by hermits, and even in present times the resort of religious devotees, who repair to these lonely cells to keep their lent, in imitation of our Lord's fasting in the wilderness forty days.-PAXTON.

Ver. 23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease among the people.

The scribes ordinarily taught in the synagogues: but it was not confined to them, as it appears that Christ did the same. It has been questioned by what right Christ and his apostles, who had no public character among the Jews, taught in their synagogues. In answer to this Dr. Lightfoot observes, that though this liberty was not allowed to any illiterate person or mechanic, but to the learned only, they granted it to prophets and workers of miracles, and such as set up for heads and leaders of new sects, in order that they might inform themselves of their dogmata, and not condemn them unheard and unknown. Under these characters Christ and his apostles were admitted to this priviJege.-JENNINGS.

Ver. 24. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and he healed them. 25. And there followed him great multitudes of people, from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.

The news that a foreign hakeem or doctor, was passing through the country, very soon was spread abroad; and at every halt our camp was thronged with the sick, not only of the village near to which we were encamped, but of all the surrounding villages. Many came several days' journey to consult our doctor, and were brought to him in spite of every difficulty and inconvenience; some came on asses, bolstered up with cushions, and supported by their relations; others on camels, whose rough pace must have been torture to any one in sickness. It may be conceived what a misfortune sickness must be in a country where there is no medical relief, or even a wheeled conveyance to seek relief when it is at hand. The greatest credit is due to the medical gentlemen, who were attached, not only to our embassy, but to all preceding embassies, for the charity and humanity with which they relieved the wants of these poor people: they not only distributed their medicines gratis, but they as gratuitously bestowed their skill, their time, and their zeal, for which, it is grievous to say, in very few instapees did they meet with corresponding gratitude."— Monica

CHAPTER V.

Ver. 1. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him.

We left our route to visit the elevated mount, where it is believed that Christ preached to his disciples that meinorable sermon, concentrating the sum and substance of every Christian virtue. Having attained the highest point of it, a view was presented which, for its grandeur, independently of the interest excited by the different objects contained in it, has no parallel in the Holy Land.

From this situation we perceived that the plain, over which we had been so long riding, was itself very elevated. Far beneath appeared other plains, one lower than the other, in that regular gradation, concerning which observations were recently made, and extending to the surface of the Sea of Tiberias, or Sea of Galilee. This immense lake, almost equal in the grandeur of its appearance to that of Geneva, spreads its waters over all the lower territory, extending from the northeast towards the southwest, and then bearing east of us. Its eastern shore presents a sublime scene of mountains, extending towards the north and south, and seeming to close in at either extremity, both towards Chorazin, where the Jordan enters, and the Aulon or Campus Magnus, through which it flows to the Dead Sea. The cultivated plains reaching to its borders, which we beheld at an amazing depth below our view, resembled, by the various hues their different produce exhibited, the motley pattern of a vast carpet. To the north appeared snowy summits, towering beyond a series of intervening mountains, with unspeakable greatness. We considered them as the summits of Libanus; but the Arabs belonging to our caravan called the principal eminence Jebel el Sieb, saying it was near Damascus: probably, therefore, a pari of the chain of Libanus. This summit was so lofty, that the snow entirely covered the upper part of it; not lying in patches, as I have seen it during summer, upon the tops of very elevated mountains, (for instance, that of Ben Nevis, in Scotland,) but investing all the higher part with that perfect white and smooth velvet-like appearance which snow only exhibits when it is very deep; a striking spectacle in such a climate, where the beholder, seeking protection from a burning sun, almost considers the firmament to be on fire. The elevated plains upon the mountainous territory, beyond the northern extremity of the lake, are called by a name, in Arabic, which signifies The Wilderness. To the southwest, at the distance of only twelve miles, we beheld Mount Tabor, having a conical form, and standing quite insular, upon the northern side of the plain of Esdraelon. The mountain whence this superb view was presented, consists entirely of limestone; the prevailing constituent of all the mountains in Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Phenicia, and Palestine.

As we rode towards the Sea of Tiberias, the guides pointed to a sloping spot from the heights upon our right, whence we had descended, as the place where the miracle was accomplished by which our Saviour fed the multitude: it is therefore called The Multiplication of Bread; as the mount above, where the sermon was preached to the disciples, is called The Mountain of Beatitudes, from the expres sions used in the beginning of that discourse. This part of the Holy Land is very full of wild animals. Antelopes are in great number. We had the pleasure of seeing these beautiful quadrupeds in their natural state, feeding among the thistles and tall herbage of these plains, and bounding before us occasionally as we disturbed them. The lake now continued in view upon our left. The wind rendered its surface rough, and called to mind the situation of our Saviour's disciples, when, in one of the small vessela which traverse these waters, they were tossed in a storm, and saw Jesus, in the fourth watch of the night, walking te them upon the waves, Matt. xiv. 24. Often as this subject has been painted, combining a number of circumstances adapted for the representation of sublimity, no artist has been aware of the uncommon grandeur of the scenery, memorable on account of the transaction. The lake of Gennesareth is surrounded by objects well calculated to heighten the solemn impression made by such a picture: and, independent of the local feelings likely to be excited in its contemplation, affords one of the most striking pros

pects in the Holy Land. It is by comparison alone that any due conception of the appearance it presents can be conveyed to the minds of those who have not seen it: and, speaking of it comparatively, it may be described as longer and finer than any of our Cumberland and Westmoreland lakes, although, perhaps, it yields in majesty to the stupendous features of Loch Lomond, in Scotland. It does not possess the vastness of the lake of Geneva, although it much resembles it in particular points of view. The lake of Locarno, in Italy, comes nearest to it in point of picturesque beauty, although it is destitute of any thing similar to the islands by which that majestic piece of water is adorned. It is inferior in magnitude, and, perhaps, in the height of its surrounding mountains, to the lake Asphaltites; but its broad and extended surface, covering the bottom of a profound valley, environed by lofty and precipitous eminences, added to the impression of a certain reverential awe under which every Christian pilgrim approaches it, give it a character of dignity unparalleled by any similar scenery. -CLARKE.

Sitting was the proper posture of masters or teachers. The form in which the master and his disciples sat, is thus described by Maimonides: "The master sits at the head, or in the chief place, and the disciples before him in a circuit, like a crown; so that they all see the master, and hear his words. The master may not sit upon a seat, and the schclars upon the ground; but either all upon the earth, or upon seats. Indeed from the beginning, or formerly, the master used to sit, and the disciples to stand; but before the destruction of the second temple, all used to teach their disciples sitting."-Burder.

Ver. 29. And if thy right eye offend tnee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

This metaphor is in common use to this day; hence people say of any thing which is valuable, " It is like my valluthakan," i. e. right eye! "Yes, yes, that child is the right eye of his father." "I can never give up that lady; she is my right eye." "That fellow forsake his sins! never; they are his right eye." "True, true; I will pull out my right eye."

-ROBERTS.

Ver. 36. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

It was very common among the Orientals to swear by the head or the life of the king. Joseph, improperly yielding to the fashion of the country, swore by the life of Pharaoh; and this oath is still used in various regions of the East. According to Mr. Hanway, the most sacred oath among the Persians is by the head of the king; and Thevenol asserts, that to swear by the king's head is, in Persia, more authentic, and of greater credit, than if they swore by all that is most sacred in heaven and upon earth. In the time of our Lord, it seems to have been a common practice among the Jews to swear by this form; for, said he to the multitudes, "Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black."

men.

Our Lord's supposition of the salt losing its savour is illustrated by Mr. Maundrell, who tells us, that in the Valley of Salt near Gebul, and about four hours' journey from Aleppo, there is a small precipice, occasioned by the continual taking away of the salt.. "In this," says he, "you may see how the veins of it lie. I broke a piece of it, of which the part was exposed to the rain, sun, and air, though it had the sparks and particles of salt, yet had perfectly lost its savour. The innermost, which had been connected to the rock, retained its savour, as I found by proof."-BUR

DER.

Ver. 18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

It has been thought that this refers to one of those ducts, dashes, or corners of letters, which distinguish one letter from another, and nearly resemble each other. Other persons have apprehended that it refers to one of those little strokes in the tops of letters, which the Jews call crowns or spikes, in which they imagined great mysteries were contained. There were some persons among them who made it their business to search into the meaning of every letter, and of every one of these little horns or pricks that were upon the top of them. To this custom Christ is here sup Dosed to refer.-BURDER.

Ver. 40. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

The laws of Moses prohibited the taking or keeping in pledge certain indispensable articles, such as,

1." The upper garment of the poor, which served him also by night for a blanket," Exod. xxii. 25, 26. Deut. xxiv. 12, 13. If taken as a pledge, it was to be restored to him before sunset; "for," says Moses, or rather God by Moses, "it is his only covering, in which he inwraps his naked body. Under what, then, shall he sleep? If he cries for it unto me, I will hearken unto him; for I am merciful." The better to understand this law, we must know, that the upper garment of the Israelites (simla now) was a large square piece of cloth, which they threw loosely over them, and which by the poor was also used for a blanket or coverlet to their beds. Dr. Shaw, in his travels through Barba

ry, has given the best description of it, under its modern Arabic name, hyke. It might be laid aside in the daytime, and, in fact, in walking it was so troublesome, that labouring people preferred being clear of it, and were then, what the ancients so often call naked. When they had to walk, they tucked it together, and hung it over their shoulder. By night it was indispensable to the poor man for a covering: at least, it was at the risk of his health, and even his life, by exposure to the cold, if he wanted it: for in southern climates the nights, particularly in the summer, are extremely cold.

It appears, however, that the above-quoted law of Moses concerning the upper garment had, by a very strange misconstruction, in process of time, given a handle to the exercise of a claim in the highest degree absurd. It is merely of pledge that Moses speaks; and the natural meaning of the law is that no one would leave his under garment in pledge, and go naked from the presence of his creditor with what he had borrowed; while, on the other hand, there might be frequent cases where a man, to the great detriment of his health, having pledged his upper garment, must lie all night without a covering. He, therefore, enacted the law in favour of the latter, and did not think it necessary to say a word about the former. But when the Jews came to regulate their procedure solely by the letter of his law, as that made no mention of the under garment, so in the time of Christ, we find cruel creditors claiming the under garment of their debtors; but, at the same time, quite conscientiously leaving with them the upper one, which Moses had expressly privileged. This I infer from a pas