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THAT MAN OBTAINS HIS WILL OF GOD, WHO SUBJECTS HIS WILL TO GOD.

22 people from their sins. Now all this was-done, that it-might-be-fulfilled which-was23 spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin πaptevos shall-be withchild, and shall-bring-forth a-son, and they-shall-call his name Emmanuel, which 24 being-interpreted is, God ó eeos with us. Then Joseph being-raised from sleep did as 25 the angel of-the-Lord had-bidden him, and took-unto him his wife: and knew her not till she-had-brought-forth her first-born son. [Matt. ii. 1, 2 v., p. 31.]

Lu. i. 56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her-own house.
MARGINAL READINGS:- The virgin. The son of her, the first-born.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

23. Emmanuel-prediction, Is. vii. 14-the virgin's son, Immanuel, must be distinguished from the prophet's son, Shear-jashub, which means the remnant shall return,' referred to ver. 3, 15, .6-the remnant, the Jews, did return from Babylon: but when the fulness of the time came they did not believe in

the sign Emmanuel, which was then given: in consequence, they were not established, ver. 9-the consumption determined upon the whole land has come, as predicted, ver. 17-25-confirmation, Jno. i. 14, $7; viii. 24, § 55; Ro. ix. 5; 2 Co. v. 19; Col. ii. 9the fulness of the promise yet to be realized, Re. xxi. 3. NOTES.

21. His people. Those whom the Father hath given him. The children of Israel were called the people of God, because he had chosen them to himself, and regarded them as his peculiar and beloved people. Christians are called the people of Christ, because it was the purpose of the Father to give them to him. [Is. liii. Il, He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.' Jno. vi. 37, § 13. And because in due time he came to redeem them to himself. Tit. ii. 14, Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people. zealous of good works.' 1 Pe. i. 2, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."]

From their sins. 1st. By dying to make an atone

ment, Tit. ii. 14; and, 2nd. By renewing the heart, and purifying the soul, and preparing his people for his kingdom of glory.

22. That it might be fulfilled, &c. The prophecy here quoted is recorded in Is. vii. 14. It was delivered about 740 B.C., in the reign of Ahaz king of Judah. shall be called, or be, for the fulfilment of the pro23. They shall call his name, i. e. His name phecy depends not upon Christ's literally having borne the name Emmanuel, but upon his being such; which he clearly was as GOD-MAN. Thus the Evanshew that the prophecy was fulfilled not in the names, gelist has interpreted both Emmanuel and Jesus, to but in their signification or application.

Emmanuel. This is a Hebrew word, and means li

terally, God with us. Matthew doubtless understands this word as denoting that the Messiah was really 'God with us,' or that the Divine nature was united to the human.-See Ph. ii. 6-8.

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

23. Christ, as born of a virgin, is the great sign that all the promises of God shall be fulfilled. Christ is the alone foundation, Is. vii. 9-14, upon which we can be established.

24. Where we find we have unjustly condemned any, we should be eager to make reparation. And,

in all cases, make haste to do God's holy will, when it is clearly made known to us.

24, .5. Jesus submitted to be thought the son of Joseph, although he was in truth the only-begotten Son of God. Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be,' 1 Juo. iii. 2. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. GALILEE.-See Historical Sketch of the Land of Promise, p. ix.

NAZARETH.-In Arabic, En Nasirah. Is a small city in Galilee, about 70 miles north of Jerusalem, and about six miles west from mount Tabor. The town lies upon the lower slope of the western side of an oblong basin extending about a mile from S.S. W. to N.N.E., and about half a mile in breadth. The valley has sometimes been compared to a cup: and the hills have all a whitish appearance, from the limestone of which they are composed. The houses are substantially built of white stone, and have only flat terraced roofs, without the domes so common in Jerusalem and the south of the land. There are but few ruins. The largest building is the Latin convent, which monkish legends say is built over the house where Mary, the mother of our Lord, lived. Under the church is shewn the grotto in which it is pretended Mary received the salutation of the angel Gabriel- Hail! thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee,' &c. The buildings of the convent are massy; and there is a mosque in the town adorned with cypress trees. Fig trees and olives abound in the gardens, hedged in with prickly pear. The pretended dwelling of Joseph, cut out of the rock, is shewn, and the pillar curiously (the inhabitants say miraculously) suspended from the roof. In another part of the town is also shewn the stone table, off which, according to a lying tradition of the monks, Christ dined with his disciples, both before and after his resurrection: a visit to which procures seven years' indulgence to the deluded pilgrims of the church of Rome. They have also a curious ancient picture, which they say is a portrait of our blessed Lord, and the very one sent by him to the king of Edessa, on which is inscribed,

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civilly received, in a dirty cell set apart for pilgrims. Two rude beds were allotted to us, and a suitable place to stow away our baggage. I was unwell, and ill at ease. Nazareth, of all places, seemed to me the most outrageously clamorous. Every hour of the day and night was broken by incessant yelling; scores of children were all crying and screaming at once, and at the top of their voices; donkeys were braying, cocks crowing, and camels grunting.

'Notwithstanding all that is wearisome at Nazareth, one delightful train of thought is kept up: that there the human nature of our adorable Redeemer expanded to its full maturity; and that there, in humble obsenrity, he trained his soul for those achievements which have shed light and lustre and hope upon a blighted world. It is delightful to gaze upon every rocky height, and upon every silent valley around, and to be assured that there He walked and meditated and prayed, and yearned over the degraded posterity of the fallen Adam.'-See A Pastor's Visit,' &c.

professedly Christian: but it is the deformed and lifeThe greater part of the population of Nazareth is less Christianity of the Roman and Greek churches. Only a few attend vespers on the Lord's day.

The extreme seclusion of the town, and the resort of bad and doubtful characters of Galilee, gave rise to the ancient proverb," Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" It is not much better now,if any judgment may be formed from the physiognomy of the idle and wretched looking population. A great many bony featured Bedouins, with the rope of camel's hair round their head, loiter in the streets.'-See Sect. vi.

HILL COUNTRY OF JUDEA.-By the hill country' we may understand, generally, the whole hilly district of Judæa, from the region around Hebron northward to the plain of Sharon.

Elisabeth, was most probably the district south of That part of it into which Mary went on a visit to Hebron, where Juttah is situated; which city is sup posed by some to have been the birth-place of John NOT GOOD.-Prov. xvii. 26.

THE WAY OF THE JUST IS UPRIGHTNESS.-Isaiah xxvi. 7.

[Continued from page 13.] said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.' 21, But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year."

the Shunammite:-2 KI. iv. 16, .7; Lu. i. 31, p. 9. SAVE HIS PEOPLE, &c.

redeem Israel from all his iniquities:-Ps. cxxx. 7, 8. 7, Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8, And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.'

all the ends of the earth to look unto Jesus :-Is. xlv. 22, .3-see p. (22).

confirmation:-Jno. xii. 32, § 82-see Jesus,' Lu. i. 31.

EMMANUEL.

prediction, &c.:-see Scripture Illustrations,' p. opp.

ISAIAH VII. And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail 2 against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the 3 trees of the wood are moved with the wind. Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the 4 fuller's field; and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger 5 of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have 6 taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even 7 the son of Tabeal: thus saith the Lord GoD, It shall 8 not stand, neither shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascns is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall 9 Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established."

10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in 12 the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I 13 will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God 14 also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, 15 and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and 16 choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. 17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even 18 the king of Assyria. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that 19 is in the land of Assyria. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all 20 bushes. In the same day shall the LORD shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the 21 feet and it shall also consume the beard. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall 22 nourish a young cow, and two sheep; and it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter for butter and honey 23 shall every one eat that is left in the land. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. 24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. 25 And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle. confirmation:-Jno. i. 14, § 7, p. 48, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.'-viii. 24, § 55, I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.'-Rom. ix. 5, • Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever.

Amen.'-2 Co. v. 19, To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.'-Col. ii. 9, For in him dwelleth And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.'-Rev. xxi. 3, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God him. self shall be with them, and be their God.'

ISAIAH VIII. Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's 2 pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, 3 and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Ma4 her-shalal-hash-baz. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

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The LORD spake also unto me again, saying, 6, Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's 7 son; now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all 8 his banks: and he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

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Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way 12 of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; 13 neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, 14 and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and 15 for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And 16 broken, and be suared, and be taken. many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be 17 testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I Bind up the 18 house of Jacob, and I will look for him. will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the Behold, I

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and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry and it shall come to pass, that when they their king and their God, and look upward. shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

ISAIAH IX. 1-7. 1, Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee 2 of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light 3 shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they 4 divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of 5 his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning 6 and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, 7 The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

58. REJOICED WITH HER.

foretold: Lu. i. 14, § 1, p. 4, And thou shalt have,' &c. compare the birth of Isaac:-Ge. xxi. 6, And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me."

rejoicing at the birth of Zion's children:-Is. lxvi. 8-13. ISAIAH LXVI. Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the 2 place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my 3 word. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their 4 soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. 5 Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, 6 and they shall be ashamed. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD 7 that rendereth recompence to his enemies. Before

she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain 8 came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion 9 travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut 10 the womb? saith thy God. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice 11 for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted 12 with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, 13 and be dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye 14 shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation 15 toward his enemies. For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with 16 flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD 17 shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the 18 LORD. For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. 19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall 20 declare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean 21 vessel into the house of the LORD. And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the 22 LORD. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. comp. with Rev. vii. 9, 10-see ch. vii. p. (28), After,' &c. 59. EIGHTH DAY.

commanded Abraham :-Ge. xvii. 12, And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.'

children of Israel :-Le. xii. 3, And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.'

Jews' strictness in observing the letter of the law :-Jno. vii. 22, .3, § 55. 22, Moses therefore gave unto you,' &c. neglected the spirit:-Ac. vii. 51, Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.'

done away in Christ :--Ga. vi. 12-7.

ISAIAH XXV. O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness 2 and truth. For thou hast made of a city an heap; ! of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be 3 no city; it shall never be built. Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible na4 tions shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the 5 wall. Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

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And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on 7 the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, 8 and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

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And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad 10 and rejoice in his salvation. For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down [or, threshed] under him, even as straw 11 is trodden down for the dunghill. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the 12 spoils of their hands. And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

ZECHARIAH XII. The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, 2 and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

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And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of 4 the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will 5 smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inbabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

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In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, 7 even in Jerusalem. The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem 8 do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.

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And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Je10 rusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness 11 for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad12 rimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives 13 apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and 14 their wives apart; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

THE LORD REIGNETH; LET THE EARTH REJOICE; LET THE MULTITUDE OF ISLES BE GLAD.-Psalm xcvii. 1.

Baptist. It is now called Yutta; and from a little | appear around the former.'-ROBINSON'S Researches distance has the appearance of a large Muhammedan vol. ii. pp. 327,311. town, on a low eminence, with trees around. It was a city of the priests; and has been lost sight of since the days of Jerome.

Dr. Robinson says, The distance between Hebron and Jerusalem is definitely given by Eusebius and Jerome at twenty-two Roman miles, equivalent to about seventeen and a half geographical miles. Our time between the two cities was eight and a quarter hours with camels; affording a good coincidence.'

[In the division of the land, among other cities, (see Jos. xxi. 4, 11, 6,) The children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot, out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities... And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it. .. And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs.' Indeed this whole region of Hebron is what is expressly called in the book of Joshua the hill country. Of the district south of Wady-el-Musurr, Dr. Robinson observes, the precipitous western wall of the higher mountainous tract towards Hebron lies further back, nearly in a line with the spot on which we stood, viz. a high point, west of Wady Bittir, about one hour and a half from Jerusalem going to Gaza; while a broad region of lower hills and open valleys is spread out between it and the western plain. This higher tract of mountains rises to the height of nearly 2,800 feet; the region of hills reaches apparently about one-third of the same elevation above the sea and plain.' Of this hilly region the same writer elsewhere observes, This may be called the "hill country," in distinction from the higher mountains on the east. It is the middle region between the mountains and the plain, stretching, as we have seen, far to the north and south. . . . This region is for the most part a beautiful open country, consisting of low hills, usually rocky, separated by broad arable valleys mostly sown with grain, as are also many of the swelling hills. The whole tract is full of villages and deserted sites and ruins; and many olive-groves

As we approached the hills,' (writes Mr. Paxton, when travelling towards them from Ramieh,) the face of the plain became more uneven; the points of the ridges ran out irregularly, and more rocks began to appear on the surface. The line of hills is, however, more regular than is usual, and the transition from the plain to the hills is more gradual than is usually found on the borders of large plains. The hills are not continuous ridges, but knobs, not very high, nor very steep; the top rounded over. Many of them are separated from each other, almost to the base; but a greater number join at one or more sides, at various heights from their bases. Taking the hollows, and the passages between the hills, (and, in some places, there are little level spots,) as the level of the country, I should say that the general level, as we pass east, rises; and the height of the hills above this general level continues about the same for a great part of the way from the commencement of the hills, to near Jerusalem. This district is well called the "Hill country of Judea;" nothing could better express it. They are usually, in books, called mountains, but their size-that is, their height above the general level of the country-hardly entitles them to that appellation; they are rather hills than mountains. As we rode among the hills, we began to see a few small shrubs and bushes of oak. Most of them, however, were small: few as high as a man on horseback. . . . As we passed farther in among the hills, the vegetation increased, both as to size and quantity; it, however, never amounted to much. As we approached the higher part of the hilly district, we saw some hills that were, to some extent, covered with the olives. A ride of between two and three hours, from the time we entered the hill country, brought us to the higher part of the district. Our road still lay along what may be called a hollow, and on each side of us the hills rose to a considerable size. We passed on this high district one or two villages. In one of them were some pretty good houses. ... The country around was in a better state of cultivation.']

SECTION 3.-THE BIRTH AND CIRCUMCISION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, AND HIS PRIVATE HISTORY. Luke i. 57-80.

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(G. 7.) The Birth of John, &c. Luke i. 57-79. In the Hill Country of Judæa. Now Elisabeth's full-time-came that-she should-be-delivered; and she-brought-forth 58 a-son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the-Lord had-shewed-great mercy eμeyaλuve Tо €λeos upon her; and they-rejoiced with-her. And it-came-to-pass, that on the eighth day they-came to-circumcise the child; and

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SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

58. rejoiced with her-foretold, Lu. i. 14, § 1, p. 4compare birth of Isaac, Ge. xxi. 6-rejoicing at the birth of Zion's children, Is. lxvi. 8-13- compare with Re. vii. 9, 10.

59. eighth day-commanded Abraham, Ge. xvii. 12 -children of Israel, Le. xii. 3-Jews' strictness in observing the letter of the law, Jno. vii. 22, .3, § 55neglected the spirit of it, Ac. vii. 51-done away in Christ, Ga. vi. 12-.7.

NOTES.

[59. Circumcise. To distinguish Abraham's family from others; to seal the new covenant to them, and their obligation to keep the laws thereof; and to represent the removal of their natural corruption, by the blood and Spirit of Jesus Christ, in virtue of his resurrection, on the eighth day, God appointed that all the males in Abraham's family should be circumcised, and that his posterity should afterwards be circumcised on the eighth day of their life.-See Ge. xvii. 10-27; xxi. 4.

The uncircumcised child was to be cut off from his people; but that threatening seems not to have af fected the child, till he was grown up, and wilfully neglected that ordinance of God for himself, Ge. xvii. 14. For the last 38 years of their abode in the desert, the Hebrew children were not circumcised. Just after the Hebrews passed the Jordan, their males were all circumcised: this is called a circumcision of them the second time, as, on this occasion,

the institution was again revived, after it had long gone into disuse: and it was a rolling away of the reproach of Egypt; God hereby declared they were his free people, and heirs of the promised land, and removed from them what they reckoned the shame of the Egyptians, Jos. v. 1-10. No man is a whit more readily accepted of God, or saved by him, that he is either a Jew or a Gentile, 1 Co. vii. 19; Ga. v. 6; vi. 15.

Beside the outward circumcision of the flesh, we find an inward one mentioned, which is what was signified by the other. It consists in God's changing of our state and nature, through the application of the blood and Spirit of his Son. By this we are made God's peculiar people, have our corruptions mortified, and our souls disposed to his service; and, for this reason, the saints are called the circumcision, while the Jews, with their outward circumcision, are, in contempt, called the concision, Ph. iii. 2, 3.]

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

57 ver. Let us rest assured that, at the full time, our God is pleased to bestow upon others.

58 ver. We should rejoice at seeing the good which

the word of God will be truly accomplished.

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HE IS THE LORD OUR GOD: HIS JUDGMENTS ARE IN ALL THE EARTH.-Psalm cv. 7.[15

WHEN THE LORD SHALL BUILD UP ZION, HE SHALL APPEAR IN HIS GLORY.

Psalm cii. 16.

68. VISITED.

Israel in Egypt:-Ex. iii. 16, Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.'

God visiting man :-Ps. viii. 4, What is man, that,' &c. visited his flock, the house of Judah, but Jerusalem knew not the time of her visitation:-Lu. xix. 44, § 82, And shall lay thee even,' &c.

compare: Je. xiv. 8, O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?'

shall see him again, when prepared to receive him :— Zep. iii. 12-.7-see ver. 51, p. (12), SCATTERED THE PROUD,' under to be fulfilled in,' &c., first column.

REDEEMED.

sent redemption unto his people:-Ps. cxi. 9, 'He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name."

their redemption contemplated:-Is. lxiii. 1-13-see p. (56).

joy of the redeemed people :-Is. xxxv. 10, And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.-li. 11, Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.'

their Redeemer:-Is. liv. 5-8. 5. For thy Maker is thine husband,' &c.-see ch. liv. p. (89).

their redemption consummated in the resurrection :Ho. xiii. 14, I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.-1 Co. xv. 54, .5. 54, So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory ?'

69. HORN.

covenant with David:-Ps. lxxxix. 3, 4, 23, .4. 3, 'I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 4, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.' 23, And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. 24, But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.'

in Zion shall it be:-Ps. cxxxii. 17, 'There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.'

see for this salvation:-Zec. xii. 7-10. 7, The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. 8, In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. 9, And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10, And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.'-xiii. 1, 'In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.'

70. AS HE SPAKE.

Israel spake of the people who should enjoy the blessing of redemption:-Ge. xlviii. 14-22-see ch. xlviii. p. (43). of their Redeemer to come of Judah:-Ge. xlix. 8-10. 8, Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. 9, Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10, The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.'

Moses spake of the promised salvation :-De. xxxiii. 26-9. 26, There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. 27, The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall

thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. 28, Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. 29, Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.'

David spake :-2 Sa. xxiii. 2-5. 2, The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. 3, The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. 4, And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds: as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. 5, Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.'

words of the prophets confirmed by Christ:-Lu. xxiv. 26, .7, § 94

by Peter:-Ac. iii. 11-21-see APPENDIX-2 Pe. i. 21, ' For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.'

by the angel of Jesus:-Rev. xix. 10, And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'

71. SAVED FROM.

prediction:-Is. xiv. 12, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! -Je. xxiii. 6, In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.'-xxx. 8, For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers sha'l no more serve themselves of him.'-Eze. xxxiv. 25, And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.'

the salvation was to be by him who first came lowly, &c.: Zec. ix. 9-see ch. ix. p. (29).

72. REMEMBER.-See Sect. i. pp. 2, 7, Zacharias.' promise to remember his covenant to Jacob, &c. :—Le. xxvi. 42-.5. 42, Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 43, The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes. 44, And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. 45, But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.'

with Jerusalem:-Eze. xvi. 60.3. 60, Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. 61, Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. 62, And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: 63, that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.'

the Lord's remembrance of his covenant rejoiced in:Ps. xcviii. 3, He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.'-cv. 8-11-see ver. 48, p. (11), under the word to a thousand generations." confirmation:-Ac. iii. 25, .6; Ga. iii. 15.7.

73. THE OATH.-Ge. xxii. 16-8-see Notes." confirmation:-He. vi. 13.

74. WITHOUT FEAR.

nothing to hurt or destroy :-Is. lxv. 25-see ch. lxv. p. (34), The wolf and the,' &c.

not learn war any more:-Is. ii. 4-see p. (21), § 4, ver. 15, under LET US.-Mi. iv. 3.

confirmation:-Rom. viii. 19-21.

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