see a sign from thee.

39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign | be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

h

40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 'The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: 'because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

42 "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

43 "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

45 Then goeth he, and tak

spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

46 While he yet talked to the people, 'behold, his mother and 'his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?

49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

50 For 'whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

ƒ ch. xvi. 1. Mark viii. 11. Luke xi. 16, 29. John ii. 18. 1 Cor. i. 22.—g Is. lvii. 3. ch. xvi. 4. Mark viii. 38. John iv. 48.-h Jonah i. 17.-i Luke xi. 32. k See Jer. iii. 11. Ezek. xvi. 51, 52. Rom. ii. 27. Jonah iii. 5.-m 1 Kin. x. 1. 2 Chr. ix. 1. Luke xi. 31.n Luke xi. 24. o Job i. 7. 1 Pet. v. 8.-p Heb. vi. 4; & x. 26. 2 Pet. ii. 20, 21, 22.—g Mark iii. 31. Luke viii. 19, 20, 21. r ch. xiii. 55. Mark vi. 3. John ii. 12; & vii. 3, 5. Acts i. 14. 1 Cor. ix. 5. Gal. i. 19.-s See John xv. 14. Gal. v. 6; & vi. 15. Col. iii. 11. Heb. ii. 11.

READER.- · Master! So said the Scribes and Pharisees to our blessed Lord. And do not many thus call him Master, who yet re

fuse to serve him?-See Matt. vii. 21, 22.

We would see a sign from Thee.They had already seen many signs. But unbelief, pride, and vain curiosity, are never satisfied.

An evil and adulterous generation, i, e. a race of people who, by unbelief and disobedience, had violated their covenant with God. Such are all careless and wicked Christians.

There shall no sign be given it, &c. -"Though Christ is always ready to hear and answer holy desires and prayers, yet he will not gratify corrupt lusts and humours. Those who 'ask amiss,' 'ask and have not.' Signs were granted to those who desired them for the confirmation of their faith, as to Abraham and Gideon; but were denied to those who demanded them for the excuse of their unbelief."

The sign of the prophet Jonas.-As Jonah, thrown out of the ship as a ransom for lives ready to be lost in a storm, lay three days and nights (according to the Jewish method of computing time) in the belly of the fish, as though cast out of God's sight, and then was restored to the earth to preach repentance to Nineveh ;-so Christ lay in the grave during the same period of time, after having been put to death as a ransom for the sins of many, and afterwards rose from the dead, to send abroad his Gospel, and to carry on the work of redemption.

Three days and three nights. Compare Esther iv. 16 with v. 1.

Shall rise up in the judgment, and shall condemn.-A solemn admoni

tion concerning a plain and important truth, that those who make some right use of inferior means and opportunities of good, will hereafter witness against those who neglect or abuse far greater privileges.

Greater than Jonas ;-in his person, in his teaching, in the working of miracles, and in his resurrection. -Greater than Solomon.-Solomon was a king, Christ the King of kings;-Solomon had received wisdom, Christ is wisdom itself, and in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; - Solomon could only declare or utter wisdom, Christ can give it. And yet the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon, as it would seem, without invitation, whereas we are earnestly and affectionately invited to come to Christ; -she went to Jerusalem without certainty of success and reward, whereas we are assured of a good welcome and an abundant recompence;-she travelled from a great distance, whereas Christ stands at our door, and knocks; and the word is nigh us, even in our mouth and in our hearts.

Then he saith, I will return into my house, &c.-"Strange! a fallen, corrupt spirit can have no rest but in the polluted human heart!" How solemn a warning against yielding to the power of temptation or the love of sin.

And the last state of that man is worse than the first.-See 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16. This fearful intimation may be profitably studied, not only by individuals who have received divine grace, but by all Christian churches which, through the goodness of God,

have shared in the blessings of the Reformation. Sad indeed will be their case, if they relapse into superstition, idolatry, and false religion! -It is easy to understand how the state of those men who fall from grace is worse than that of others. The soul that has been made the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit, when it grows idle and remiss in God's service, loses divine life and power, and so is left vacant (empty), amuses itself, and seeks to supply its grievous deficiency with vanity and folly (swept and garnished). But the faculties of such a soul,—even its natural powers, have been refined, exalted, and improved by the process through which it has already passed, and it has been hereby rendered capable of a worse influence than ever, and is in danger of falling under the power of such influence through its own carelessness, and in the way of righteous punishment.Let us diligently cherish the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, by faith, and watchfulness, and prayer. May the Lord preserve us from apostasy, spiritual blindness, and spiritual death!

Thy mother and thy brethren.These were either the children of Joseph and Mary, born after our Saviour's incarnation; or some more distant relatives (Mark iii. 21), perhaps the cousins of Jesus, children of Cleopas and Mary.

Who is my mother and my brethren?

How far was our blessed Lord from directing our attention to his mother as an object of religious veneration! How utterly at variance

| with scriptural faith, and sound religion, are the follies of tradition and the dictates of a corrupt church, concerning this humble and holy woman! All nations shall call her blessed; but God himself has called idolatry accursed.

Behold my mother and my brethren!

Merciful and most encouraging declaration in favour of all obedient believers. The people of Christ, his friends and his brethren, are they who are united to him by spiritual ties, who have been renewed by the Holy Spirit, and who do the will of God from the heart. For them he has a peculiar affection, a special regard. See Heb. ii. 11; Gal. vi. 15, 16.

of the house, "and sat by the sea side.

2 'And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, "Behold, a sower went forth to SOW;

4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured

them up:

5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them :

8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

9 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given

unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, 'By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

k

15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

16 But 'blessed are your eyes, for they see and your ears, for they hear.

17 For verily I say unto you, "That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while : for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by 'he is offended.

22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

23 But he that received seed into the ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

a Mark iv. 1.-b Luke viii. 4. c Luke v. 3.-d Luke viii. 5.- Gen. xxvi. 12.-ƒ ch. xi. 15. Mark iv. 9.

g ch. xi. 25; & xvi. 17. Mark iv. 11. 1 Cor. ii. 10. 1 John ii. 27.-h ch. xxv. 29. Mark iv. 25. Luke viii. 18; & xix. 26.-i Is. vi. 9. Ezek. xii. 2. Mark iv. 12. Luke viii. 10. John xii. 40. Acts xxviii. 26, 27. Rom. xi. 8. 2 Cor. iii. 14, 15.-k Heb. v. 11.- ch. xvi. 17. Luke x. 23, 24. John xx. 29.-m Heb. xi. 13. 1 Pet. i. 10, 11.- Mark iv. 14. Luke viii. 11.-o ch. iv. 23.p Is. lviii 2. Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32. John v. 35.—q ch. xi. 6. 2 Tim. i. 15.-r ch. xix. 23. Mark x. 23. Luke xviii. 24. 1 Tim vi. 9. 2 Tim. iv. 10.

s Jer. iv. 3.

Reader. This chapter consists almost entirely of parables; that is to say, certain similitudes or allegories by which our Saviour was pleased to declare divine or spiritual truths under the image of natural objects, or common and well-known events. A parable is to the truth which it contains what the body is to the soul, or the shell to the kernel.

The parable of the Sower sets forth the causes of the failure and success of the Gospel in the hearts of men.-The Tares and the Wheat describe the mixture of good and bad men, sincere and false Christians, in the church, or visible body of professed believers.-The Mustard Seed

and Leaven point out the gradual advance of the Gospel, and the converting or transforming power of divine truth and grace, in the world. and in the heart of man.-The Treasure and the Pearl signify that Gospel blessings are above all price, and that nothing ought to be suffered to stand in competition with them.— And the parable of the Good Householder is intended to remind preachdiligently study the whole compass ers of the Gospel that they should of divine truth, in order to apply it seasonably and skilfully for the benefit of their hearers.