ble that Christ would omit so great an event in those predictions, which he is giving his disciples, of the great events that should come to pass in his church till his second coming, when he was about to leave the world after his first coming. Indeed all that Christ has respect to, in this prediction, of false prophets, and false christs is, either the great Antichrist and false prophet, or those lesser false prophets and antichrists that were his types and forerunners; compare 1 John iv. 1. Many false prophets are gone out into the world" with chap. ii. 18, "As ye have heard that Antichrist should come, even so now are there many antichrists."

Corol. 2. This leads us to interpret those things in the Old Testament that speak of the glory of the Christian church, of the state of the church in the Millennium; for that is the time of her glory on earth. The time preceding, excepting some intermissions by which God has graciously shortened those days, is the time, not of her prosperity, but of her great tribulation.

[55] Matth. xxiv. 22. "But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened.” Enquiry-What is meant here by being shortened? We in the scriptures read of God's hastening the deliverance of his people; avenging them speedily; helping his church right early, and the like; though God suffers them for many ages to be persecuted. By it is intended that he will manifest his wisdom in swiftly turning the wheel of his providence, and with wondrous expedition, bringing things about that were necessary to be done before they could be delivered.

[105] Matth. xxvii. 14. "And he answered him to never a word." The reason why he did not speak, or answer his accusers and those that sought his life from falsehood, malice, unreasonableness and cruelty, was his wonderful meekness in the midst of all the affronts and injuries, afilictions and vexations that he was surrounded with. He chose that there should not be the least appearance of a disquieted ruffled temper; and he did not speak as vindicating himself, because he knew it would signify nothing, and that there might be no appearance as if he flinched and gave back, and was not willing to suffer, or endeavoured to avoid that which was his errand into the world, or repented when it came to that, that he had undertaken so great a task for his people.

[21] Matth. xxvi. These things seem to be intended to be shadowed by what is related in this chapter: 1. That Christ is betrayed by pretended disciples. These are those that deliver him up to his open enemies. So it has been all along; Antichrist is another Judas, who pretending to be the follower of Christ, is

his worst enemy in the world, as Judas more incensed God's anger than his murderers. So hypocrites in all ages are the betrayers of Christ; who, by a seeming embracing of religion, expose Christ to shame and mockery, as Judas with a kiss. And 2. What should afterwards come to pass, that the clergy would be the chief persecutors of Christ, as the priests of the Jews were.

[339] Matth. xxvii. 45. "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour." This darkness seems to be a presage of the approaching destruction of that land, for that sin of crucifying Christ. This darkness begins at noon, whereby the sun, as it were, went down at noon. The prophet Amos, in the viii. chapter of his prophecy, foretelling the destruction of the land, when the end shall come upon the people of Israel, and God will not pass by them any more, and the songs of the temple shall be turned into howlings, and there shall be many dead bodies in every place, says in the 9th verse, "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.

This also seems to be a fulfilment of Jer. ii. 12, 13, “Be ye astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be ye horribly afraid; be ye very desolate, saith the Lord, for my people have committed two evils, they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters."

[340] Matth. xxvii, 51. And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom." This was the veil that hindered our access to the throne of grace, or the mercy seat in the Holy of holies.

That hiding of the mercy-seat, and hindering of our access to the mercy-seat, figured a two-fold hinderance of access to God.

1. The hinderance by which all men are kept off while they remain under the first covenant of works, they are hindered by their guilt, God's law and justice.

2. That hinderance of free access that was under the first testament while the church was in a legal state, and in its minority, and under carnal ordinances, so that access was rare and difficult, only allowed to the high priest, and that but once a year, so that the veil signifies two things, viz. 1. The sin of man, both guilt and corruption of heart; which both in diverse respects are a veil to hide the mercy-seat, and hinder our access. Both these were typified by the flesh of Christ. The sin of God's people, or elect church, was typified by Christ's flesh; for sin is called flesh in scripture, and the elect church is Christ mystical; so that Christ, in taking flesh upon him, took their sin upon him: he became sin for us, and when his flesh was crucified, when his human nature died, then this veil was removed, for that abolished the sin of the

elect church. So likewise Christ in the flesh, in his infirm, weak state, signified the Church, or Christ mystical, in its old Testament minority, when it was in its weak, infirm, and carnal state, under carnal ordinances; under the elements of the world; and those carnal ordinances, and carnal dispensations, that Christ mystical was under, was as it were the flesh of Christ. When Christ died, then there was an end to those types and shadows, because they were then all fulfilled.

Christ's human nature was a temple; it was the antitype of the temple; and his flesh, or the infirmity of his human nature, was the veil that hid the glory of God, or the divinity that dwells in him, and was in his person. So that the veil of the temple in the 3d place, typified the literal flesh of Christ, that had veiled his glory; which it ceased to do when his state of humiliation was at an end. Christ himself, our great High Priest, entered into the Holy of holies through the veil of his own flesh. That day that Christ died, was the Great day of atonement, typified by the day of atonement of old, when the high priest entered into the Holy of holies. Christ, as God man, could enter into heaven no other way than by rending this veil. Christ offered his sacrifice in the outward court, in this world, and then in the conclusion of it rent the veil, that his blood might be sprinkled within the veil.

[98] Matth. xxvii. 60. "And laid it in his own new tomb." Christ was laid in a disciple's grave; he suffered that death which belonged to us, and he was laid in our grave. He entered into the shade of death in our stead; he went down into that deep pit where we were to have gone. He had so sin of his own, so he had no death of his own: it was our sin, and our grave: it was a tomb hewed out of a rock. Our state of death and misery was such, that it would have been impossible for us to escape; for our prison that we are going to is strong as a solid rock.

[220] Matth. xxviii.' The accounts of the four evangelists, concerning the resurrection of Christ, reconciled.

In the first place, there was a great earthquake; an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow, and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. Matth. xxviii. 2, 3, 4. And presently, as soon as their extraordinary surprise would allow them, they ran away into the city; and then soon after they were gone, Mary Magdalene, from her extraordinary affection, comes to the sepulchre before the other woman, while it was yet dark, and seeing the stone taken away from the sepulchre, and finds not the body there, and then runneth, and cometh to

Simon Peter, and the other disciples whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him ;" then Peter and John came running to the sepulchre; and Mary returns with them or comes after them as fast as she could. Peter and John went into the sepulchre, and see the linen clothes lying, but found not the body of Christ, and not knowing what to make of things, went away again. Mr. Prince supposed that Luke speaks of this coming of Peter to the sepulchre in the xxiv. chapter of his Gospel, 12th verse, and supposes the word should have been rendered thus, "Now Peter also had risen, and ran to the sepulchre, and stooping down, saw the linen clothes lying by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at what was done ;" but when they were gone, Mary staid behind, and would not go away. She probably staid waiting for the company of women that she expected would presently come with spices to anoint the body, but as she stood there weeping, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and saw two angels in white, sitting one at the head, and the other at the foot where the body of Jesus had lain; they speak to her, and ask her why she wept; she answers, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him; and when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus." (Probably because the twilight was yet dim.) Jesus asked her why she wept. She, supposing him to be the gardener, says to him, "Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith to her, Mary ;" and she then knew him, and worships him. Christ bids her go and inform his disciples, &c. On which Mary went away in haste to tell his disciples, and did not wait till the women came with the spices as she intended; Mark xvi. 9, 10, 11; John xx. 1-19.

The other women, that were concerned in the design of anointing the body of Jesus, went together in order to go to the sepulchre about break of day, and came to the sepulchre about sunrise. After Mary Magdalene was gone, whom they had not seen, nor she them, and they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? and when they came, they found that the stone was rolled away. Mark. xvi. 2, 3, 4, and Luke xxiv. 1, 2, "And they entered in, (the angel now not appearing on the stone) and found not the body of Jesus there, and while they were much perplexed thereabout, behold two men stood by them in shining garments," and one of them of a distinguished brightness and glorious appearance, being the same, the glory and majesty of whose appearance had so terrified the keepers. He sat on the right side,

clothed in a long white garment. Matth. xxviii. 4, 5; Luke xxiv. 3, 4; Mark xvi. 5. This angel on the right side is he that speaks to them, saying, "Fear ye not; I know that ye seck Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified; Why seek ye the living among the dead? he is not here, for he is risen as he said; come see the place where the Lord lay; and remember how he spake unto you while he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful meu, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. But go your way quickly; tell his disciples, and Peter, that he goeth before you into Galilee, there shall ye see him as he said unto you. Lo, I have told you." Matth. xxviii. 5, 6, 7; Mark xvi. 6, 7; Luke xxiv. 5, 6, 7, "And they remembered his words, and they came out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre, for they trembled and were amazed, nor said they any thing to any one, for they were affrighted, they came out with fear and great joy, as they ran to bring his disciples word. Matth. xxviii. 8; Mark xvi. 8; Luke xxiv. 8. And as they went to bring his disciples word, lo, Jesus met them, saying, All hail; and they came to him, and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid; go tell my brethren, that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. Matth. xxviii. 9, 10. And they returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the cleven, and to all the rest."

[76] Mark i. 24. "Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God.” The devils were exceedingly jealous of Christ; they understood of old that the Son of God was to come into the world to destroy them, and they dreaded that destruction. It is probable that Christ came in a manner very unexpected to them, as well as to the Jews; but yet they were sensible who he was, they seemed to think that Christ appeared in so low and obscure a manner, out of some secret design against them; that he came in disguise that they might not know of it, that he might some way or other be under better advantage to overthrow them; they therefore are willing to let him know that they knew who he

was.

[23] Mark iv. 5. "And immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth." The weakest minds, and persons of the least solidity soonest receive a thing that is new and externally plausible, and at first receive it with most lively emotions of their spirits, being guided by fancy only; but the more solid and substantial mind is more slow and deliberate, and weighs