I BESEECH YOU THEREFORE, BRETHREN, BY THE MERCIES OF GOD, THAT YE PRESENT YOUR BODIES Jesus heals a demoniac, which his disciples had not been able to do.-In the plain. 14 6And when-they-were- MARK ix. 14-27. 14 "And when-he-came to his 17 And one of the SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS. LUKE ix. 38-42. away their sins,' Rom. xi. 26, .7- The vail is upon tist was not the very individual who had been taken their heart. 16, Nevertheless when it shall turn to up to heaven; but he was Elias in spirit,' which the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 17, Now the it had been predicted should come, and is to come. Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,' 2 Cor. iii. 15-.7. Thus it is Mk. ix. 14. came to his disciples-He had taken the not a mere individual under the name of Elias three, Peter, and James, and John, apart' from the which was for to come,' but the spirit and power of multitude, when he went up into the mountain on other disciples, by themselves,' as well as from the Elias,' as in John the Baptist; the spirit of intercession, God answering by mighty signs, as in the case which he was transfigured-see ver. 2, p. 52. of Elijah; and that for the restoring Israel to the 15. greatly amazed, &c.-' it came to pass, when evangelical worship of the one true God, a work be- Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two gun by Elijah in his cutting them off from being the tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came Lord's people as under the law: this was necessary down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the as preparatory to their being espoused to the Lord skin of his face shone while he talked with him. according to the gospel, Ho. ii. 19, 20, And I will And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and were afraid to come nigh him,' Ex. xxxiv. 29, 30-the in lovingkindness, and in mercies. 20, I will even result was different in the case of Jesus, All the betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt people... running to him saluted him '-comp. 2 Co. know the LORD'-the preparation of the bride is the iii. Î2-8. sign of the Bridegroom's coming, Rev. xix. 7-9. Mt. xvii. 14. kneeling down to him- God... hath Mt. xvii. 12. Elias is come already-John the Bap-highly exalted him, and given him a name which is NOTES. Mt. xvii. 12. Knew him not, or, ove èπbyvwear avrov, they have not acknowledged him. That is, the Jewish rulers have not acknowledged him as the forerunner of the Messiah. But it appears that many of the people acknowledged John to be the precursor of our Lord; indeed some, from the power and demonstration of his preaching, were inclined to think that he was more, even the Messiah himself.-See Lu. iii. 15, § 7, p. 54. Have done... whatsoever they listed. The word list is an old English word, signifying to choose, to desire. to be inclined-see Jno. iii. 8, § 12, p. 84. The wind bloweth where it listeth.' It means here, that they had done to John as they pleased; i. e., they had put him to death, Mt. xiv. 10, § 40, p. 308. Mk. ix. 14. The scribes-See ADDENDA, § 25, p. 199. [Mt. xvii. 14. Kneeling down to him. yoVUTETETY. The advolutio ad genua, an attitude of supplication, PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS. [Mt. xvii. 10-.3. Like to the Elias, which has come, may we expect the Elias which is to come, a man or men like John the Baptist, preparing the people for the coming of the Lord, and through whose instrumentality, all Israel, who through the ministry of Elias were divorced from the old covenant, shall be restored according to the new.] 58] Those who are in the sight of God the most honourably engaged in his work, may expect the greatest neglect; or even, like their Lord, the greatest dishonour from men. We may not expect the coming of the Lord in glory, before the promised restoration of Israel. REJOICE, YE GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE.-Rom. xv. 10. A LIVING SACRIFICE, HOLY, ACCEPTABLE UNTO GOD, WHICH IS YOUR REASONABLE SERVICE.Rom. xii. 1. [VOL. 11. WHATSOEVER IS BORN OF GOD OVERCOMETH THE WORLD: AND THIS IS SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS. above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,' Ph. ii. 9, 10-'Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,' Heb. iv. 16. Lu. ix. 38. only child-an only son is recognised in scripture as an object peculiarly dear; thus, bitter mourning is described as the mourning of an only son,' Am. viii. 10; Zec. xii. 10-Jesus in compassion to a sorrowing widow, had raised her only son to life, Lu. vii. 12-5, § 29, p. 221. 39. crieth out-he shrieked, or made a loud distressing sound, this is possible for one to do who cannot articulate sounds rationally. The case of this youth; who was both lunatick,' Mt. xvii. 15, and dumb,' Mk. ix. 17, appears to have been particularly afflictive in other respects. Mk. ix. 18. they could not-Jesus had, before going up into the mountain, spoken so as to sift the faith of his disciples, ch. viii. 31-.8, § 50, p. 40; it was on account of the weakness of their faith that they could not cast out the unclean spirit, Mt. xvii. 20, p. 61hereafter they rejoiced in the devils being subject to them, Lu. x. 17, § 60, p. 143. And, lo, a-spirit taketh 39 him, and he- suddenlycrieth-out;5 and it teareth σπαράσσει him that he-foameth-again, A and bruising συντριβον him hardly departeth from him. And I-besought thy disciples to and they-could not. 40 And Jesus answering 41 said, O faithless and perverse διεστραμμένη Mt. xvii. 17. O faithless, &c.-from Mk. ix. 19, it appears that this was particularly spoken to the father of the child; and there seems to be allusion to the same want of faith in ver. 23, where it is intimated that the recovery of the child was somehow contingent upon the parent's faith; at the same time it appears, from Mt. xvii. 20, p. 61, that faith was wanting on the part of the disciples also-see NOTE. perverse-this is not in Mk. ix. 19, where the parent is particularly addressed; it may have been addressed to the scribes, who it is likely had seized upon the opportunity, when Jesus was absent, and when his disciples were weak, to tease, and if possible p. 58. There must have been either something rebaffle them, before the multitude--see Mk. ix. 14-8, from the mount, and whereby they were confounded; markable in Jesus' appearance upon coming down or they must have been very self-condemned; for although Jesus had asked them, What question ye with them?' ver. 16, they were silent; their voice was no more heard. The perversity of the scribes, however, still remained. Jesus knew the heart, and acted here in fulfilment of the prophecy, that he should not reprove after the hearing of his ears,' Is. xi. 3 NOTES. frequent in Homer, &c. The prostration before the Lu. ix. 39. Bruising him, ovvrpißov abrov. Literally, knees was different from, in genua procumbens, kneel-breaking down, crushing his strength.'-Bloomf. ing. The ancients consecrated the ear to memory; Mt. xvii. 17. O faithless and perverse generation, the forehead to genius; the right hand to faith, and &c. This reproof seems directed to all according as the knees to mercy. Hence those who entreated fa- they had deserved it. Yet Dr. Whitby refers these vour, fell at, and touched the knees of the person words to the Scribes, who at that time were disputing they supplicated. The action was that of the deepest with the disciples. Perhaps &Toros is to be referred reverence, and suitable to the humblest supplication.] to the disciples, and probably to the father; and [Mt. xvii. 15. He is lunatick. σεληνιάζεται, he is διεστραμμένη το the Scribes; the former ὑμῶν to the moon-struck.' Meaning not insane, but epileptic; disciples, and the latter to the Scribes. (See ch. x. which disease was thought to be greatly influenced 1, § 39, p. 294,) from which it may be concluded that by the moon, as well as madness. The symptoms their want of faith in Christ had rendered the dismentioned at Lu. ix. 39, seem to shew that this disease ciples incapable of doing this miracle.-See Scrip. was an epilepsy, caused by the power of an evil spirit.] Illus.,' supra. VOL. II.] ASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU.-Matt. vii. 7. [59 THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOMETH THE WORLD, EVEN OUR FAITH.-1 John v. 4. AND THIS IS THE CONFIDENCE THAT WE HAVE IN HIM, THAT, IF WE ASK ANY THING ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, HE HEARETH US-1 Jno. v. 14. MATT. xvii. 17, .8. generation, how long shall I-be with you? how long shall-Isuffer ανεξομαι you? bring him hither to-me. MARK ix. 19-25. and he-fell on the ground, LUKE ix. 42. generation, how long shallI-be with you, and suffer ανεξομαι του ? "Bring thy son hither." And as he -was-yet- 42 a-coming, the devil threw-him-down, and tare him. 21 And he-asked his father, How long-is-it ago since this came unto-him? And he 22 said, Of-a-child. And oft-times it-hath cast him into the-fire, and into the-waters, thou-canst e duvara believe, all things 25 18 And Jesus rebuked Mt. xvii. 17. how long... suffer you?-it had been predicted, If ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword,' Is. i. 20-they had refused to hear the great Prophet-see on Jno. vi. 25-71, § 43, p. 325-Christ had now been set as King upon his holy hill of Sion, Ps. ii. 6, 7 (7), and see on the Transfiguration, ver. 1, p. 52-if they rebelled against their King, it only remained for them to be devoured with the sword, which, as again predicted, Mt. xxiii. 36, § 85, p. 320, came (by the Romans) upon that generation-On account of the perversity of Israel, under Moses, the Lord said, Nu. xiv. 11, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?' And 'how long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me?' &c., ver. 27-the Lord did bear with Israel in the wilderness forty years.... Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways,' Ps. xcv. 10. Forty years, represented by the forty days during which the Prophet was to bear the iniquity of the house of Judah, Eze. iv. 6, was actually the time the Jews were suffered to continue in the land after publicly rejecting the King of Israel, Jno. xviii. 39, 40, xix. 15, § 90. Lu. ix. 41. Bring thy son hither-for the vindication of the truth, and for confirming the faith of his wavering disciples, it was useful that this cure should be effected publicly and personally by Jesus. In the two instances particularly described in the immediately preceding narrative:- .... of the deaf, And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, Mk. vii. 32-7, § 46, p. 24, and of the blind, viii. 22-6, § 49, p. 34, Jesus had chosen to do good in private. Mk. ix. 20. tare him, &c.-the case was here shewn to be exactly as the father had represented, ver. 18, p. 59. 21. How long is it ago, &c. our Lord did not require this information for himself, but for the same purpose as he required the child to be brought him-see on Mt. xvii. 17, supra. to 23. If thou canst believe, &c.-alluding probably to the saying of the father, if thou canst do anything,' ver. 22-To the two blind men who came unto him for healing, Jesus said, 'Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you, Mt. ix. 28, .9. § 36, p. 285-so to Jairus, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole,' Lu. viii. 50, § ib. p. 282-to Martha at the grave of Lazarus, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?' Jno. xi. 40, § 58, p. 131-see farther on Mt. xvii. 20, p. 61-in his own country he did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief,' xiii. 58, § 37, p. 288. 24. Lord, I believe; help thou mine, &c.- Let us.. come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need, 25. foul spirit-called 'the devil,' Mt. xvii. 18-the unclean spirit,' Lu. ix. 42. He. iv. 16. 60] only son; and hear our Lord declaring If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."' FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR.-Heb. xi. 1. [VOL. II. AND IF WE KNOW THAT HE HEAR US, WHATSOEVER WE ASK, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE PETITIONS THAT WE DESIRED OF HIM.-1 Jno. v. 15. THIS IS HIS COMMANDMENT, THAT WE SHOULD BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF HIS SON Mt. xvii. 19. apart-privately,' Mk. ix. 28. 20. Because of your unbelief-so Israel, under the law, could not enter in because of unbelief,' He. iii. 19 Jesus had before reproved the disciples for their unbelief, Mk. iv. 40, § 34, p. 267-and again, after his resurrection, he upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart,' xvi. 14, § 95,.....and upon giving full proof to Thomas that he was Jesus risen from the dead, he said, Be not faithless, but believing,' Jno. xx. 27, § ib. faith as a grain, &c.- If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you,' Lu. xvii. 6, § 70, p. 207-ulso Mt. xiii. 31, .2, § 32, p. 248. this mountain-they had just before come down from the mountain on which the transfiguration had taken place, ver. 9, p. 57. Remove hence to yonder place-Of another mountain (that of Corruption) he said, Verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith,' Mk. xi. 23, § 84, p. 282 It is however to be remembered, that though I have 29 all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing,' 1 Co. xiii. 2. nothing shall be impossible unto you-so he had said to the father of the child, All things are possible to him that believeth,' Mk. ix. 23, p. 60-Paul said, 'I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,' Ph. iv. 13. 21. prayer and fasting-not every kind of prayer and fasting, Is. lviii. 1-5, 6-10, Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7, Is.it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8, Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 9, Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 10, and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day,' p. (97). NOTES. [Mk. ix. 24. Help thou mine unbelief. i. e., my deficient, or wavering faith. The sense is, I have a faith, but it is infirm; supply its deficiency, regard it as complete, and heal my son accordingly.' Let not the defect of my faith be in the way of this blessing.] Mt. xvii. 20. As a grain of mustard seed. A degree, however small, of active, growing faith. A grain of mustard seed was used proverbially by the Jews to express the least thing. 21. By prayer and fasting. That is, in order to work miracles, to cast out devils, faith of the highest kind is necessary. That faith is produced and kept vigorous by much prayer, and by such abstinence from food as fits the mind for the highest exercises of religion, and leaves it free to hold communion with God. PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS. Mk. ix. 24-7. Let us confess our unbelief, and truly desire to have faith in the promises of God, and act accordingly; and, however hard the struggle may be, the dumb and deaf spirit will be rebuked, the ears of the deaf will be unstopped, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing. VOL. II.] Mt. xvii. 20. When the disciples of Jesus truly have faith-when they really expect what he hath promised, and that in the way he hath appointed, then that system of corruption, which hathi so long stood as a mountain of difficulty to the progress of the truth, will be removed, And nothing shall be impossible,' &c. COVET EARNESTLY THE BEST GIFTS.-1 Cor. xii. 31. G [61 JESUS CHRIST, AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER, AS HE GAVE US COMMANDMENT.-1 John iii. 23. THE LORD IS MY LIGHT AND MY SALVATION; WHOM SHALL I FEAR? GEOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.-MOUNT TABOR. Traditionally the scene of our Lord's transfiguration.-See Note on Matt. xvii. 1, p. 52, ‘An high mountain.' 'Monday, June 18th, 1838. Two principal roads lead from Nazareth to Tiberias. The more usual one passes out N.E. over the hills to Er-Reineh, a small village more than half an hour distant, and so to Kefr Kenna; leaving the village el-Meshhad on a high hill at the left, just before reaching the latter place; thence it goes by Lubieh to the lake. The second leaves Nazareth over the lower eastern hills, and leading by the village 'Ain Mahil, and the Khan et-Tujjar, turns more N. E. by Kefr Sabt to Tiberias. We followed a third route, lying still further to the right, in order to ascend MOUNT TABOR and spend the afternoon and night upon its suminit. In doing this we anticipated much gratification, and were not disappointed. As a guide, we took with us a young man of Nazareth, a Christian, recommended by Abu Nasir. 'Setting off from Nazareth, or rather from the fountain of the Virgin, at 7h. 35m., we came in ten minutes to the top of the low hills on the east of the valley, and kept along on high ground, directing our course towards TABOR. After half an hour we descended into and crossed a broad Wady, running out to the great plain on the right. Hitherto the hills had exhibited only grass and herbs; here they began to be covered with bushes and many oak-trees with caducous leaves, the first of the kind we had yet remarked. Along the gradual ascent beyond this valley, there was a large orchard of these oaks; and they extend more or less thickly, quite to the foot of TABOR. At 8h. 45m. we reached the brow of the descent towards that mountain; and could look down upon the low ridge which alone connects it on the N. W. with the hills we had just crossed. Deburieh was visible below us on the S. W. slope of this ridge. Descending, we came in twenty-five minutes to the bottom, in a Wady, and at 9h. 15m. to another Wady; the two unite, and run out southwards into the plain just by Deburieh. The branch of the Damascus road passes up this latter Wady, and so over the low ridge to Khan et-Tujjar. We came to the proper base of the mountain at 9h. 20m., leaving Deburieh about ten minutes distant on our right. The village of Deburieh is small and unimportant, lying on the side of a ledge of rocks just at the base of TABOR. It is said to have once had a christian church, the ruins of which are still visible. This would seem not improbably to be the Daberath of the Old Testament, belonging to Issachar, but assigned to the Levites; the same apparently with the Dabira of Eusebius and Jerome by MOUNT TABOR in the region of Diocæsarea; and probably too the Dabaritta of Josephus in the great plain. The mountain, as we approached it on this side, presented the form of a truncated cone; we began to ascend it at 9h. 25m. from the W.N.W. Our muleteers at first made some difficulty, on account of the loaded animals; their purpose had been to stop below and let us ascend on foot, which by no means tallied with our plans. But we found the path good, except in two or three spots, and even these were far less difficult than the passes of 'Ain Jidy and esSufah; so that I rode with facility quite to the summit. The path winds considerably, and is obviously ancient; in several places steps are hewn out in the rock. The soil is good all the way up; and the grass tall and abundant, though now dried up. The sides of the mountain are mostly covered with bushes and orchards of oak trees (Ilex and Ægilops), with also occasionally the Butm, like the glades of a forest, presenting a beautiful appearance and fine shade. We were an hour in reaching the top, and encamped at 10h. 30m. for the day and night on the southwestern brow, overlooking the wide extent of plains below. The path by which we ascended from the W.N.W. is the most feasible; the acclivity on that side being perhaps less steep; yet there is no part of the mountain where a person on foot would find any difficulty whatever in the ascent. 'TABOR is a beautiful mountain, wholly of limestone; bearing among the Arabs, like so many other mountains, only the general name Jebel et-Tur. It stands out alone towards the S. E. from the high land around Nazareth; while the north-eastern arm base, and extends far to the north, forming a broad tract of table-land, bordering upon the deep Jordan valley, and the basin of the lake of Tiberias. The mountain as seen from the S. W. presents, as has been already remarked, the appearance of the seginclines more to the truncated cone. The top of the ment of a sphere; seen from the W.N.W. the form mountain, as a whole, is rounded off, and is perhaps in all twenty minutes in diameter; but the proper summit consists of a beautiful little oblong plain or basin, twelve or fifteen minutes in length from N.W. to S. E., by six or eight in breadth. This is skirted on the S. W. by a ledge of rocks of some altitude, covered with foundations and ruins; and on the N.E. by lower rocks; and this higher ground on both sides is thickly overgrown with bushes and small trees, while the basin itself lies in grass without trees or ruins. We pitched our tent at the S. E. extremity of this little plain, and were delighted with our temporary abode. No person besides our party was at this time on the mountain to interrupt us; and although there was a hot Sirocco wind, which in the afternoon brought up a hazy atmosphere, yet even this was more tolerable here than in the plains below. At 10 o'clock the thermometer stood here at 98° F. At 2 P.M. it had fallen to 95°. At sunset it stood only at 74°; and the next morning at sunrise, at 64° F. of the great plain of Esdraelon sweeps around its The comparisons, at not over one thousand feet above the We estimated the height of TABOR, after many plain; and if anything, less. Indeed, it appeared to us to be little more elevated above Esdraelon, than is mount Gerizim above the plain at its foot.* mountains towards the south, those of Duhy and Gilboa, are apparently at least as high, and shut out the prospect in that direction. The former we had first seen from the high ground south of Jenin and Kubatiyeh, where it was nearly in a line between us and TABOR, and entirely excluded all view of the latter mountain; so that not even a trace of its rounded summit was anywhere visible. From TABOR, in like manner, no point of the mountains of Samaria is visible over the little Hermon. All this shews, at least, that TABOR cannot rise much above the summit of the latter. As seen from TABOR, mount Gilboa higher. Nor are the highest of the hills west of Nalies to the left of the little Hermon, and is somewhat zareth much inferior in elevation to TABOR; they shut out the view, not only of the bay of 'Akka, but likewise of the whole horizon of the sea; which is not seen except over some of the lower ridges in that direction. All Immediately after our arrival, I took a walk round the whole brow of the mountain, in order to examine the ruins, mark the main features of the surrounding country, and enjoy the glorious prospect. This we repeated several times during the day; and also the next morning, when the air was again clear and pure, and everything could be seen with the utmost distinctness. The ruins upon the summit of TABOR belong to different ages. around the top may be traced the foundations of a thick wall built of large stones, some of which are bevelled, shewing that the wall was perhaps originally entirely of that character. In several parts are the remains of towers and bastions. Thus towards the N. E., almost beneath the brow, is a structure apparently of this kind, which must have been quite extensive. But the chief remains are upon the ledge So too Elliott estimates the height of TABOR as not exceeding 1,000 feet; Travels, ii. p. 363. It was with some surprise that I saw the result of Schubert's barometrical measurement of TABOR, viz., Elevation above the sea, 1,748 Paris feet; elevation of the plain at the base, 438 feet; leaving for the height above the plain, 1,310 Par. feet. This would make it 100 feet higher than his estimate of Carmel. Reise, iii. p. 175. I am well aware of the uncertainty of all mere estimates; but the barometrical observations which have as yet been made around the Dead Sea and the lake of Tiberias, viz., those of Schubert, Russegger, and Bertou, are in no degree less inconsistent and unsatisfactory.' 627 HEAR, O LORD, WHEN I CRY WITH MY VOICE.-Psalm xxvii. 7. [VOL. 11. THE LORD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY LIFE; OF WHOM SHALL I BE AFRAID?-Psalm xxvii. 1. |