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angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God."

(24.) The miraculous preservation of Jonah in the fish's belly, &c. Some writers, from the supposed difficulties of this Book, have considered it as a parabolic history, or allegory; others have thought that the account of his being swallowed by a great fish, praying in its belly, and being cast on dry land, was a dream which he had when fast asleep in the ship; and others, with equal propriety, have contended that by 27, dag, we should understand, not a fish, but a fishing cove, or fishing-boat! Such absurd opinions are scarcely worthy of notice; they are plainly contrary to the letter of the text, and the obvious meaning of language; and are completely overthrown by the appeal of our Lord to the main facts of this history, and especially by the use which He makes of it. (Mat. 12. 40. Lu. 11. 39.) This testimony puts an end to all mythological, allegorical, and hypothetical interpretations of these great facts; and the whole must be admitted to be a miracle from beginning to end, effected by the almighty power of God. God, who commissioned Jonah, raised the storm; He prepared the great fish to swallow the disobedient prophet; He maintained his life for three days and three nights in the bowels of this marine monster; He led it to the shore, and caused it to eject the prophet on dry land at the appointed time; He miraculously produced the sheltering gourd, that came to perfection in a night; He prepared the worm which caused it to wither in a night. And how easy was all this to the almighty power of the Author and Sustainer of life, who has a sovereign, omnipresent, and energetic sway in the heavens and in the earth! The miraculous preservation and deliverance of Jonah was surely not more remarkable or descriptive of almighty power, than the multiplied wonders in the wilderness, the protection of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the fiery furnace, of Daniel in the lions' den, or the resurrection of the widow's son;-all were deviations from the general laws of nature, and the ordinary course of human events, and evident demonstrations of supernatural and miraculous interference. But foolish man will affect to be wise, though born as a wild ass's colt; and some, because they cannot work a miracle themselves, can hardly be persuaded that God can do it !*

(25.) The star which guided the Magi to Bethlehem, Mat. ii. 9. "When they had heard the king, they departed, and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was." It seems evident, that this was neither a star, planet, or comet; but a luminous meteor, of a star-like form, in our atmosphere, formed by God for the express purpose of

guiding the magians, not only to Bethlehem, but to the very house where the child lay:*

(26.) The dumbness of Zacharias, in accordance with the prediction of the angel, Luke i. 20. “And, behold, thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season." Compare, ver. 22, 62-64. The word rendered dumb, owπwv, is properly silent; for in this case there was no natural imperfection or debility of the organs of speech, as in dumbness; and the following words, un dvvaμevos Xaλŋoaι, thou shalt not be able to speak, may be regarded as merely explicative. This was at once a proof of the severity and mercy of God: of severity, in condemning him to nine months' silence for his unbelief; of mercy, in rendering his punishment temporary, and the means of making others rejoice in the events predicted.*

(27.) The raising of Jairus's daughter from the dead, Mark v. 41-43. "And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked ; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat." This was to shew that she had not only returned to life, but was also restored to perfect health; and to intimate, that though raised to life by extraordinary power, she must be continued in existence, as before, by the use of ordinary means. The advice of a heathen on another subject is quite applicable: Nec Deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus Inciderit. (Horace.) When the miraculous power of God is necessary, let it be resorted to; when not necessary, let the ordinary means be used.'-To act otherwise would be to tempt God.*

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(28.) The healing of a woman who had had an issue of blood twelve years, &c. Mark informs us, that she "had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse." (ch. 5. 26.) No person will wonder at this account, when he considers the therapeutics of the Jewish Physicians, in reference to diseases of this kind, (for an account of which, see Drs. Lightfoot and Clarke) from some of their nostrums, she could not have been bettered; from others, she must have been made worse; from all she must have suffered many things; and from the persons employed, the expense of the medicaments, and the number of years she was afflicted, it is perfectly credible that she had spent all that she had. She was therefore, a fit patient for the Great Physician.* Having heard of Jesus," she came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me?" &c. (Luke 8. 44, 45.) Not that he was ignorant who touched him,' says Epiphanius, (Ancorat. § 38. cited by Bulkley,) but that he might not be himself the

* Comprehensive Bible, Note in loco.

divulger of the miracle, and that the woman, hearing the question, and drawing near, might testify the singular benefit she had received, and that, in consequence of her declaration, she might presently hear from His lips, that her faith had saved her; and that, by this means, others might be excited to come and be healed of their disorders.'*

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(29.) The cursing of the barren fig-tree, Mark xi. 13, 14, 20. “And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots." The declaration, "for the time of figs was not yet," as Dr. Campbell observes, cannot be the reason why there was nothing but leaves on the tree; for the fig is of that class of vegetables wherein the fruit appears before the leaf. But if the words be read as a parenthesis, the aforesaid declaration will be the reason of what immediately preceded, that is, of our Lord's looking for fruit on the tree. The leaves shewed that the figs should not only be formed but well advanced; and the season of reaping being not yet come, removed all suspicion that they had been gathered." St. Matthew informs us that this tree grew by the way-side; and was therefore not private, but public property; so that the destruction of it really injured no one.- Our Lord was pleased to make use of this miracle to prefigure the speedy ruin of the Jewish nation on account of its unfruitfulness under greater advantages than any other people enjoyed at that day; and, like all the rest of his miracles, it was done with a gracious intention-to alarm his countrymen, and induce them to repent.*

(30.) The healing the dumb dæmoniac, Matt. ix. 32, 33. "As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel." It seems evident that this man was dumb, not from any natural defect, but from the power of an evil spirit; for when the evil spirit was expelled, he was immediately capable of speaking. The spectators were justly surprised at these multiplied and astonishing miracles; for in one afternoon our Lord had raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, healed a woman with an issue of blood, restored two blind men to sight, and cured this dumb dæmoniac; and all this in Capernaum.*

(31.) The healing of great multitudes of maimed, &c. Matt. xvi. 30, 31. "And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them: insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel." The word maimed, кvλovç, properly denotes those who had lost a hand,

arm, foot, &c. It is reasonable to suppose, that among the many maimed, who were brought on these occasions, there were some whose limbs had been cut off; and I think, hardly any of the miracles of our Lord were more illustrious and amazing than the recovery of such.' Dr. Doddridge.* (32.) The healing of a lunatic, Matt. xvii. 14—18. “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him and the child was cured from that very hour." The word lunatic, σεληνιάζεται, from σεληνη, the moon, denotes one who was affected with his disorder at the change and full of the moon. This is the case in some kinds of madness and epilepsy. This youth was no doubt epileptic; but it was evidently either produced, or taken advantage of, by a dæmon, or evil spirit; for though these symptoms accord very much with those of epileptic persons, and some have ventured to assert that it was no real possession, yet the Evangelist expressly affirms, that he had a dumb spirit,' which tare him, and that our Lord charged him to come out of him, &c. If this had been only a natural disease, as some have contended, could our Lord with any propriety have thus addressed it? If the dæmoniacal possession had been false, or merely a vulgar error, would our Lord, the Revealer of truth, have thus established falsehood, sanctioned error, or encouraged deception, by teaching men to ascribe effects to the malice and power of evil spirits, which they had no agency in producing? Impossible! Such conduct is utterly unworthy the sacred character of the Redeemer.t

(33.) The healing of two men possessed of a legion of devils. Mark v. 1-16. That these wretched men were not merely mad, as some suppose, but really possessed of evil spirits, appears clearly, from the language employed, as well as from the narrative itself. St. Matthew expressly affirms, that they were 'possessed with devils,' or demoniacs, daiμovičoμevol; St. Mark says, he had an unclean spirit,' i. e. a fallen spirit; and St. Luke asserts that he had devils (or dæmons) a long time,' and was called Legion, because many devils were entered into him.' With supernatural strength the dæmons burst asunder the chains and fetters with which he was bound; they address Christ as the Son of the most high God;' they beseech him to suffer them to enter into the swine; and when he had given them leave, they went out and entered into the swine,' &c.* These swine were in all probability Jewish property, and kept and used in express violation of the law of God; and, therefore, their destruction was no

* Comprehensive Bible, Note in loco.

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+ Ide n,. Note on Mark 9. 18.

1 Idem, Note on Mark 9. 25.

more than a proper manifestation of the justice of God. By this was fully evinced the sovereign power of our Lord, and the reality of diabolical agency; for, says Dr. Doddridge, 'it was self evident that a herd of swine could not be confederates in any fraud: their death, therefore, in this instructive circumstance, was ten thousand times a greater blessing to mankind, than if they had been slain for food, as was intended.'+ Had there been no reality in dæmoniacal possessions, as some have supposed, our Lord would scarcely have appealed to a case of this kind in Matt. xii. 43, &c. to point out the real state of the Jewish people, and their approaching desolation. Had this only been a vulgar error, of the nonsense of which the learned scribes and wise Pharisees must have been convinced, the case not being in point, because not true, must have been treated with contempt by the very people for whose conviction it was designed. Add to which, that in Luke vii. 21.—“ And in the same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits," evil spirits, VEVμara πоvпра, are clearly distinguished from bodily disorders.*

(34.) The healing of a deaf and dumb man, Mark vii. 32—45. “And they bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain." This was clearly a symbolical action; for these remedies evidently could not, by their natural efficacy, avail to produce so wonderful an effect. As the ears of the deaf appear closed, he applies his fingers to intimate that he would open them; and as the tongue of the dumb seems to be tied, or to cleave to the palate, he touches it, to intimate he would give loose and free motion to it. He accommodated himself to the weakness of those who might not indeed doubt his power, but fancy some external sign was requisite to healing. It was also thus made manifest, that this salutiferous power came from Himself, and that He who by one word, ɛppala, had healed the man, must be Divine.*

(35.) The feeding of four thousand with seven loaves, and a few small fishes, Mark viii. 6-9. “And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. So they did eat, and were filled : and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away." This was another incontestable miracle-four thousand men, besides women and children (Matt. 15. 28,) fed with seven loaves, (or rather cakes,)

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