LET US HATE SIN, WHICH BROUGHT UPON HIM WHO LOVED US SUCH OVERWHELMING ANGUISH. Mt. xxvi. 39. fell on his face, &c.-The posture of humble and earnest supplication, Nu. xvi. 22; Ne. viii. 6 Believers are exhorted, 1 Pe. v. 6, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:' Mk. xiv. 36. all things... possible, &c.-see Lu. i. 37, § 2, p. 10; xviii. 27, § 75, p. 227. this cup, &c.-see Mt. xx. 22, § 77, p. 237. Lu. xxii. 42. not my will, &c.-so are we directed to pray, Mt. vi. 10, § 19, p. 132, Thy will be done,' &c. see on Jno. xx. 18, § 93, p. 492-v. 30, § 23, p. 178, I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.' derness, Mt. iv. 11, § 9, p. 66, 43. an angel-so after his temptations in the wilAngels came and ministered unto him.'-He. i. 14, Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?' 44. being in an agony, &c.-He. v. 7, Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him,' &c.—see on Jno. xviii. 6, infra, p. 418. NOTES. Mt. xxvi. 39. Fell on his face. See the NOTE on Lu. xxii. 44, next col. This was the ordinary posture of the supplicant when the favour asked was great, and deep humiliation required. The head was put between the knees, and the forehead brought to touch the earth; this was not only a humiliating, but a very painful posture also.-See SCRIP. ILLUS. Prayed, &c. Jesus prayed that he might not sink under his sufferings previous to his being offered up upon the cross. He poured out strong crying and tears to Him who was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared. The former part of our Lord's petition, "If it be possible,' &c., is the voice of human nature, yielding to those feelings which God, who planted them in man, cannot disapprove when duly regulated. The latter part is the voice of the same human nature according to that principle of reason and duty which sets bounds to our desires, checks and controls our passions and inclinations, and represents it as a becoming and necessary act of obedience, to resign ourselves entirely to the merciful providence of God.] Lu. xxii. 43. There appeared an angel....from heaven. It was necessary that the fullest evidence Let this cup, &c. There may be an allusion in this should be given, not only of our Lord's divinity, but passage to a very ancient method of punishing crimi- also of his humanity: his miracles sufficiently atnals. A cup of poison was put into their hands, tested the former; his hunger, weariness, and agony which they were obliged to drink. Socrates was put in the garden, as well as his death and burial, were to death in this manner.-See He. ii. 9, which is pro-proofs of the latter. As man, he needs the assistance bably an allusion to this kind of death. of an angel to support his body, worn down by fatigue and suffering.-See at the end of ver. 44. 44. Prayed more earnestly. With greater emphasis and earnestness than usual, with strong crying and tears,' He. v. 7; the reason given for which is, that he was in an agony.-See the NOTE on Mt. xxvi. 38. Drops of blood. Some have thought that the PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS. [Not as I will, &c. Here x in the Hebrew idiom, which has no potential or optative mood, is put for Osho, vellem quidem; but be it, not as I might wish, but as Thou wilt. Thus, contrary to the natural love of life, his will became the same as the Divine, Ac. xxi. 13; Rev. xii. 11. Mt. xxvi. 39. He, who was innocence itself, prayed to be delivered from afflictions, shame, and bodily sufferings; and we, without any reflection on our virtue, may do the same. But we must always remember to do so, with that limitation and reserve, of which our blessed Lord has left us so admirable a pattern. example, not only of meek resignation in suffering, 44 ver. See margin. How wonderful that the Son 'Lu. xxii. 43. The Son of God hath given us 414] BE STRONG, FEAR NOT:-Isa. xxxv. 4. [VOL. II. LET US LOVE THE SAVIOUR, WHO WAS WILLING TO SUFFER ALL THAT WAS NEEDFUL FOR OUR REDEMPTION. FORASMUCH THEN AS CHRIST HATH SUFFERED FOR US IN THE FLESH, ARM YOURSELVES LIKEWISE Jesus cometh to his disciples. 40 41 MATT. XXVI. 40, .1. "And he-cometh unto the disciples, and saith unto Peter, "What, could-ye not watch with me one hour? MARK xiv. 37, .8. And he-cometh, and findeth them sleeping, Jesus goeth away, and prayeth a second time. 42 "He-went-away again the-second-time, and-prayed, saying, O-my Father, if this cup may not MARK xiv. 39. band-spake the same words." SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS. Mt. xxvi. 40. asleep-so at the transfiguration, Lu. ix. 32, § 51, p. 54, Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: ' Mk. xiv. 37. Simon, sleepest thou?-This conduct was peculiarly unbecoming in Peter, considering the terms in which he had boasted, and the manner in which he had been forewarned, Lu. xxii. 31-4, § 87, p. 376-Peter remembered the lesson afterwards, 1 Pe. iv. 7, Watch unto prayer.'-7. 8, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:' Mt. xxvi. 41. the spirit, &c.-Ga. v. 17, The flesh 37 38 39 lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the 42. if this cup. . . . thy will be done-Jesus had come to do the will of God, for the redemption of man, Ps. xl. 7, 8-He. x. 10, By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once,' &c. NOTES. meaning of the words is, that the sweat was so profuse, that every drop was as large as a drop of blood, not that the sweat was blood itself: but this does not appear likely. There have been cases in which persons in a debilitated state of body, or through horror of soul, have had their sweat tinged with blood. Dr. Mead from Galen observes, "Cases sometimes happen in which, through mental pressure, the pores may be so dilated that the blood may issue from them; so that there may be a bloody sweat." And Bishop Pearce gives an instance from Thuanus (De Thou) of an Italian gentleman being so distressed with the fear of death, that his body was covered with a bloody sweat.-A. C. Mt. xxvi. 40. Findeth them asleep. Dr. Rush says, There is another symptom of grief which is not often noticed, and that is profound sleep. I have often witnessed it even in mothers, immediately after the death of a child. Criminals, we are told by Mr. Akerman, the keeper of Newgate in London, often sleep soundly the night before their execution. The son of General Custine slept nine hours the night before he was led to the guillotine in Paris.'-Diseases of the Mind, p. 319. 41. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. In the christian warfare, the two great defensives against temptation are watching and prayer. A celebrated preacher says-I. That watching im- The spirit indeed is willing, &c. This was a gentle rebuke and kind apology; especially at a time when our Lord's own mind was so weighed down with sorrow. It also pointed out the need of their seeking help from above. PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS. Mt. xxvi. 40, .1. Let us endeavour to watch with prayer, lest we enter into temptation; and let us pray with watching, seeing that through the flesh we are so weak and ready to be overcome. [Mk. xiv. 39. Vain repetitions in prayer are to be avoided, as Mt. vi. 7, § 19, but not the repeated expression from the heart, of submission to the will of our heavenly Father.] relation to this, he records certain particulars distinctly from them, which shew that he had it in view to supply their omissions here as well as elsewhere; viz., the appearance of the angel who strengthened Christ; and that most expressive token of the intensity of the agony, the bloody sweat. Independently of these additions, his account, compared with theirs, is studiedly concise. On the second and the third repetition of the prayer in question, the violence of our Lord's emotion previously was sensibly diminished, and his mind was recovering its wonted composure. These, therefore, he omits altogether. And as to the rest, it seems to me that he proposed to supply a further deficiency in St. Matthew and St. Mark; viz., the account of what passed personally between Jesus and the EIGHT disciples, in contradistinction to what passed between Jesus and the THREE, before and after the agony, respectively. They had sufficiently, or rather exclusively, specified the latter, but had said nothing of the former.'-See Lu. xxii. 45, .6, p. 416.-Greswell, Vol. III. Diss. xlii. p. 195. VOL. II.] LABOUR FERVENTLY IN PRAYER. [415 WITH THE SAME MIND: FOR HE THAT HATH SUFFERED IN THE FLESH HATH CEASED FROM SIN;-1 Pet. iv. 1. 'THE HEALTH AND VIGOUR OF THE TRUE GOSPEL PRINCIPLE, THOUGH PLANTED IN FAITH, AND ROOTED IN LOVE, and saith unto-them, Sleep-on now To λonov, and take-your-rest: dbehold, the hour is-at-hand, and the Son of man is-betrayed into the-hands of-sinners. Rise, let-us-be-going: behold, 46 he is-at-hand that-doth-betray me. MARK xiv. 41, .2. "And he-cometh the third-time, and saith unto-them, Sleep-on now To λOTOν, and take-your-rest: it-is-enough arexel, d the hour is-come; behold, the Son 41 of man is-betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise-up, let-us-go; lo, he that-betrayeth me is-at-hand. Jesus goeth to the eight.-Luke xxii. 45, .6.-[Ver. 44, p. 414.]+ 42 45 And when-he-rose-up from prayer, and-was-come to his disciples, he-found them 46 sleeping for sorrow, and said unto-them, Why sleep-ye? rise and-pray, lest ye-enter into temptation. SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS. Mk. xiv. 40. neither wist they, &c.-so at the transfiguration, ch. ix. 6, § 51, p. 55, Peter wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.' Mt. xxvi. 45. Sleep on now, and take. . . . restcomp. with Mk. and Lu.; in the former, xiv. 41, the expression, it is enough,' implies that the time was gone by for taking rest; and in the latter, xxii. 46, the question is accordingly put, Why sleep ye?' the hour-His hour was near that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, Jno. xiii. 1, § 87, p. 365 He had several times adverted to his departure as being near, xiv. 19; xvi. 5, 16; xvii. 1, § ib., pp. 383, .93, .95, .98. to the Gentiles'- The term sinners is even by the apostle of the Gentiles applied to the Gentiles as opposed to the Jews-see Ga. ii. 15, We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,'-The Jews were not less guilty as transgressors of the law of God-but they were not like the Gentiles, living without any regard whatever to the law, the case of those who were emphatically denominated sinnersboth are involved in the judgment denounced, Is. i. 28-and to both the same salvation is presented, Rom. ii. 28, .9. he is at hand, &c.-The betrayal of their Lord by one of their own number was a third reason for wakefulness-The case of Judas was in fulfilment of their Lord's prediction, Mk. xiv. 20, §87, p. 371, and was full of warning to them all, Mt. xxvi. 31, § ib., p. 406. NOTES. into the hands of sinners-This he had before predicted, ch. xx. 19, § 77, p. 235, And shall deliver him Mk. xiv. 40. Wist they. Knew they. but rather let us meet them, giving thereby proof that I know their designs, and might have by flight, or otherMt. xxvi. 44. Saying the same words. Praying to wise, provided for my own safety; but I go willingly the same effect. to meet that death which their malice designs for me, 46. Rise, let us be going. Not to attempt an escape, and through death provide for the life of the world. PRACTICAL REFLECTION. Mt. xxvi. 45. Do we sleep on, and endeavour to in his cause or his people, 'is betrayed into the hands find rest in the world, when the Son of man, either | of sinners?' 'It is evident from the testimony of St. John, that as the agony took place in the garden, so before the agony our Lord, and his eleven disciples, all entered into the garden; and after the agony, that Jesus at the head of, or apart from, the same disciples, went out from the garden to meet the approaching band of Judas. Hence, if all the eleven, before and after the agony, were in the garden, though the three in particular might have been nearer spectators of the scene, yet the eight also must have been partially witnesses of it: and though, before the agony, Jesus withdrew himself with the three to some distance from the eight, yet, after the agony, and before the arrival of the band of Judas, he must have rejoined the eight. St. Luke's definition of the distance, oel Xíov Box, to which he withdrew himself from those whom he supposes him afterwards to address, accords better to the case of the eight, left by themselves at the entrance of the garden, than to the case of the three whom he took with him farther on into it: for, from these, according to St. Mark, he went but a little way off before he began to pray; whereas Aibov Box implies the distance of a stone's cast from a sling; which could not be properly called a little way off, and would be much greater than could have permitted that clear view, especially in the night time, of his mental and his bodily distress, with which these three in particular were favoured.-Ibid. The concluding sentence of our Lord's address to his disciples in St. Matthew and St. Mark, andere to λonov, Kai ȧvarabeos, which most commentators have so inexplicably mistaken for ironical (and what could irony have to do with so solemn and so serious an occasion as this, or with the frame of the speaker's inind at the time?), is to be interrogatively understood, like each of the preceding addresses: Sleep ye on still, and take ye your rest? Are ye sleeping, even for the little time which remains? It is enough; let it suffice you to have slept thus long; the hour is come, and the Son of man is delivered up into the hands of sinners. This sense of rò λorov is the most common imaginable.'-Ibid., p. 194. 'Jesus, after addressing his last admonition to these three, as recorded by St. Matthew and St. Mark, may be supposed to have gone on to the rest, left probably at the entrance of the garden: and if he found them asleep also, it would not be more surprising than that he should have found the three others, thrice succes416] THE POOR HATH HOPE,-Job v. 16. [VOL. II. MUST YET BE MAINTAINED, EVEN IN THE BEST DISPOSITIONS, BY THE FEEDING AND WATERING OF THE GRACE OF GOD.'-Greswell. 47 (G. 94.)-Particulars of the transactions between the time of the arrival of Judas, with the band, and the apprehension of Jesus.* Gethsemane. LUKE Xxii. 47-53. JOHN xviii. 2-11. [Ver. 1, p. 412.] MATT. xxvi. 47-56. And MARK xiv. 43-52. "And Judas also, which betrayed 2 him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having-received 3 a band of men and officers from the chief-priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons." THE UNKINDNESS OF A FRIEND IS MORE SENSIBLY FELT THAN THAT OF AN ENEMY. Jesus therefore, knowing all- 4 things that should-come upon him, went-forth, and-said unto SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS. Jno. xviii. 3. band-Prediction, Ps. iii. 1, 2; xxii. 12. weapons-those referred to were probably no other than clubs, staves, and instruments of that kind, as we may gather from Mt. xxvi. 55; Mk. xiv. 48; Lu. xxii. 52, p. 421. The swords mentioned by the other evangelists were probably those of the Roman soldiers; the clubs and staves belonged to the chief priest's officers. hour was come, ch. xiii. 1, § 87, p. 365-xix. 28, § 91, P: 467, Knowing that all things were now accomplished,' knowing all things that should come upon him. According to the original, All the things that were coming.'-Comp. ch. xiii. 1, 3, § 87, p. 365; and see $ 77, p. 235, Jesus' predictions of his sufferings, where we have proof, both that he had an exact foreknowledge of all which was about to happen to him, and that his submission to it was altogether voluntary. NOTES. 4. knowing all things, &c.-Jesus knew that his Jno. xviii. 2. Jesus ofttimes resorted thither. We are not told much of the private habits of Jesus, but we are permitted to know so much of him as to be assured that he was accustomed to seek for a place of retirement; and during the great feasts of the Jews, the mount of Olives was the place which he chose, Lu. xxi. 37, § 86, p. 357; Mt. xxi. 17, § 82, p. 269; Jno. viii. 1, § 55, p. 97. 3. A band. This band was probably those Roman soldiers given by the governor for the defence of the temple; and the officers were those who belonged to the sanhedrim.-See on Lu. xxii. 4, § 86, p. 356, and ver. 52, p. 421, infra. With lanterns and torches. With these they had intended to search the corners and caverns, provided Chief priests. See ch. ii. 4, § 5, p. 32. Jno. xviii. 2. It is good for those who follow the example of Jesus in his public ministry to be also frequent in private devotion. [Mt. xxvi. 47; Mk. xiv. 43; Lu. xxii. 47. It is remarkable that here three of the evangelists call Judas One of the twelve,' as if warning against treachery to Christ, even in those who are peculiarly his. It is not safe to follow unreservedly apostolical succession,' any more than it was to follow One of the twelve,' in delivering up Jesus into the hands of the priests.] sively, in the same situation before. Yet for their being found asleep St. Luke has assigned a reason, which might indeed have applied to the three, but is specified solely of the eight. They were asleep from grief and dejection of spirit; affections which the course of events hitherto, the many ominous declarations of their Master respecting himself and them, the ingratitude and perfidy of Judas, by this time perhaps only too reasonably suspected, the power and agency of evil spirits, now permitted to molest and disturb them in some manner more than usual; but above all, sympathy with their Master, in the spectacle of mental and of corporeal anguish, so recently exhibited, however imperfectly to their observation, were well calculated to have excited; to which we may add the natural effect of the lateness of the hour itself.'-Ibid., p. 196. We may conclude that the duration of the agony was probably a little more than one hour. The first, and by far the most intense of its paroxysms, seems to have occupied, proportionably, the greatest part of the time; and the duration of that, as we may infer from the words addressed to Peter on the first return, Simon, sleepest thou? hast thou not been able to wake one hour? was nearly an hour. Both the others, we may presume, would be transacted in half the same time; whence, if our Lord arrived in the garden a little before, or not later than midnight, the whole would be over soon after one in the morning, or the first hour of the third watch.'-Ibid., p. 197. With regard to the subsequent events, the supplementary character of St. John's gospel enables us to arrange them as follows. First, upon the approach of the band, our Lord issued from the garden for the VOL. II.] IS OUR PROFESSION MADE IN TRUTH? [417 KEEP ME FROM EVIL, THAT IT MAY NOT GRIEVE ME!-- Chron. iv. 10. HE SAVETH THE POOR FROM THE SWORD, FROM THEIR MOUTH, AND FROM THE HAND OF THE MIGHTY.-Job v. 15. MATT. xxvi. 48, .9. MARK xiv. 44, .5. LUKE Xxii. 47. JOHN Xviii. 5-9. them, Whom seek-ye? They-answered 5 and drew-near 9. that the saying might be fulfilled, &c.-What he had expressed in the prayer for the disciples, ch. xvii. 11-.9, § 87, p. 401. SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS. Jno. xviii. 5. I am-see Ex. iii. 14; Jno. viii. 58, p. 108. 6. went backward, &c.-Prediction, Ps. xxvii. 2, 3 This was in proof of what he had stated in the commencement of his intercessory prayer, Jno. xvii. 2, § 87, p. 398-He. v. 7, he was heard in that he feared;' (marg. for his piety)-see his piety or submission to the Father's will, Mt. xxvi. 42, p. 415. 8. let these go their way-ch. xvii. 19, § 87, p. 402, For their sakes I sanctify [or, separate] myself,' Mt. xxvi. 48. Whomsoever I shall kiss-This shews how near, in outward form, the son of perdition' may go to the letter of the requirement, and yet fall short of true obedience to the command of the Father-Ps. ii. 12, Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way,' NOTES. Jno. xviii. 6. Went backward, and fell. Our Lord must have spoken with majesty, and exerted his power to produce such an effect; and by this he shewed that he could have escaped had it been his intention to do so. Thus by the blast of God they might have perished, and by the breath of his nostrils they might have been consumed, Job iv. 9. In persevering after this, they resisted the convictions of conscience, and hardened their hearts against the astonishing proof they had felt of the Divine power of the Saviour. Let these go. That is, the eleven apostles. These words are rather words of authority than entreaty. I will not exert my power in my own behalf, for I will lay down my life for the sheep; but I will not permit you to injure the least of these. Mt. xxvi. 48. Gave them a sign. Had before given them.'-Comp. Mk. xiv. 44. How coolly deliberate is this dire apostate! The man whom I shall kiss-how deeply hypocritical! That is he, seize him, hold him fast-how diabolically malicious! cipleship; let us, therefore, not be deceived by the plea of the man of sin,' the son of perdition, who says that he professes Christianity and cannot therefore be anti-Christ: to be like Judas, it is necessary that he should acknowledge Jesus in word, but deny him in deed; seeking to make merchandise of the Lord of Glory.] [Mt. xxvi. 48, .9. The forerunner of the anti-Christ, who is emphatically called a liar, betrayed his Master with a kiss, and an acknowledgment of dispurpose specified by that evangelist; and those particulars ensued, including the prostration of the band, which are recorded, Jno. xviii. 3-9. The provision of lamps and torches, which is mentioned by St. John alone, might be no excess of precaution even in a moonlight night, especially two days before the full, but due to various conceivable reasons, which it is not necessary to specify. Secondly, the supernatural impression produced, both upon the band and on their conductor, by the appearance and the address of Jesus, being now removed, the accounts of the other evangelists may come in to fill up a perceptible hiatus in St. John's. For it is clear that at this moment, though he does not mention the fact, our Lord must have been arrested, or some attempt made to arrest him, if Simon Peter now drew his sword (a fact which he does mention), and began to offer resistance. At this point of time, then, the preconcerted signal, by which Jesus was to be recognised, might take place in Judas' stepping up to and kissing him; and if our Lord's address to nim, in consequence of this act, is differently represented in St. Matthew and in St. Luke respectively, the difference may be accounted for by supposing it to have been made up of both: Ἰούδα, ἑταῖρε, ἐφ ̓ ᾧ πάρει ; φιλήματι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδίδως. The recognition of Jesus would be followed directly by the seizure of his person; and the seizure of his person by the attempted resistance of Peter, whose possession of a uaxaípa, or sword, is critically explained by Luke xxii. 8, and 38; the owner of the other sword being probably St. John.'-Ibid., p. 198. 418] FAITHFUL ARE THE WOUNDS OF A FRIEND;-Prov. xxvii. 6. VOL. II. HE SHALL DELIVER THER IN SIX TROUBLES: YEA, IN SEVEN THERE SHALL NO EVIL TOUCH THEE, -Job v. 19. |