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THE GOSPEL

ACCORDING TO

ST. MATTHEW.

§ I.

CHAP. I. 1.

THE book of the "generation of Jesus Christ, 'the son of David, the son of Abraham.

a Luke iii. 23. b Ps. cxxxii. 11. Isa. xi. 1. Jer. xxiii. 5; ch. xxii. 42. John vii. 42. Acts ii. 30, & xiii. 23. Rom. i. 3. e Gen. xii. 3, & xxii. 18. Gal. iii. 16.

Reader. We are now about to begin our family reading of the New Testament, on a systematic plan; and I wish, at the outset, to describe to you the method which I have devised, with a view to derive and impart instruction from our study of this portion of the sacred volume. May our Divine Teacher be always present in the midst of us, to assist our feeble endeavours, to remove our ignorance, to give us a right understanding of his sacred word, and, above all, to endue us

with a teachable temper, a serious, humble, holy frame of mind!

Whenever we meet together for this purpose, I will begin by reading to you a portion of the sacred text, of such length as I may deem expedient. I will then make some remarks in explanation of the passage read, giving the interpretation of any difficult or obscure verses, and pointing out the connection and bearing of the whole, whenever such elucidation may seem necessary. But I do not intend to say all that may occur to my mind on the several subjects which will be brought before our notice; since I wish to leave room for your own inquiries, and to encourage a serious and lively conversation concerning the meaning and force of the successive portions of the sacred volume. I shall also occasionally take an opportunity of

proposing questions, in order at once to ascertain your proficiency in biblical learning, and to direct your attention to points which may other wise pass unobserved. I trust that this method will be at once agreeable and profitable to all parties. Perhaps some of you, for various reasons, will derive more benefit from listening to our dialogue, than from sharing in it; and, indeed, I think it best at once to name only two of you as parties, with myself, in the conversation which may thus arise. Let thus arise. Let them be the eldest and the youngest of those now present;-Theophilus, whose name bears allusion to the love of God and divine things; and Mary, whose name may remind us of her who sat at her divine Master's feet, and listened to his words. If any other member of the family should wish to receive information concerning any particular passage or text about to be read, let the question be entrusted beforehand to one of those whose names I have mentioned, and by this means it will be regularly brought forward in due time.

At the close of each reading and conversation, I hope to be able to recite to you a Psalm or Hymn adapted to the subject in hand.

Let us now turn our attention to the passage which has just been read.

In the first verse, the great subject of the Gospel is brought before our view. When I read this introduction of the New Testament, I seem to hear the whole volume saying to me, in the language of St. Paul, "I determined not to know

anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him Christ and him crucified." crucified."

Yes; Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, in his person, his work, his character, and his offices, forms the sum and substance of all that Evangelists or Apostles have left upon record for our learning. Let us lift up our hearts in gratitude, and say, "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!"

The book of the generation, that is, as we should now say, the pedigree or genealogy, of Jesus Christ; the account of his ancestry, according to his human nature. I am aware that some commentators suppose that this verse is designed as a title to the whole Gospel, and not merely to the genealogical table which follows; understanding "the book of the generation" as denoting, according to a Hebrew idiom, "the history of the life and actions" of Jesus Christ. But I prefer the former interpreta

tion.

The latter part of the first verse points out the design or use of the genealogy or pedigree which is here recorded. The object of the inspired writer was to prove, for the satisfaction of the Jews, and of all persons acquainted with ancient prophecy, that Jesus of Nazareth, who was proclaimed as the Messiah, was the son, i. e. descendant, of David, the son, i. e. descendant, of Abraham. "The design," says Matthew Henry, whose expositions and remarks I shall sometimes quote, "is to prove that our Lord Jesus Christ is the son of David, and the son of Abraham, and, therefore, of that nation and family out of which the Messiah

was to arise. Abraham and David were, in their day, the great trustees of the promise relating to the Messiah. The promise of the blessing was made to Abraham and his seed; of the dominion, to David and his seed; and they who would have an interest in Christ, as the son of Abraham, in whom all the families of the earth are to be blessed, must be faithful, loyal subjects to him as the son of David, by whom all the families of the earth are to be ruled. It was promised to Abraham that Christ should descend from him (Gen. xii. 3; xxii. 13), and to David, that he should descend from him (2 Sam. vii. 12; Ps. lxxxix. 3, &c.; cxxxii. 11); and, therefore, unless it can be proved that Jesus is a son of David, and a son of Abraham, we cannot admit him to be the Messiah."

Keep this in view, and you will feel convinced that the catalogue of names contained in this chapter is an important and valuable document, and not any vain or useless genealogy. Turn to your Bibles; and, in the passages which I will name, you will perceive with what reason the Jews expected that the Messiah would be the descendant of David and Abraham; and you will remark that they were accustomed to designate him by that appropriate appellation," the Son of David."Let Theophilus begin by reading Gen. xii. 3.

Theophilus." In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

Reader. Those words were addressed to Abraham; and they are

| repeated in Gen. xxii. 18.; xxvi. 4; xxviii. 14.-Read Gal. iii. 16.

Theophilus. "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."

Reader. How important then to show that, according to his human nature, Jesus, the Messiah, was a descendant of Abraham!-Read Psalm lxxxix. 3, 4.

Theophilus. "I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant. Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations."

Reader. And Psalm cxxxii. 11. Theophilus. "The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne."

Reader. Look now at the writings of prophets who lived after the time of David.-Read Isa. xi. 1.

Theophilus. "There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots."

Reader. Why is it said, out of the stem and roots of Jesse?

Theophilus. Because Jesse was the father of David.

Reader. Right.-Read Jer. xxiii. 5, 6.

Theophilus. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 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."

Reader. And you will find nearly the same words in Jer. xxxiii. 15. It is remarkable that Ezekiel prophesies of Christ under the very name of David.-Read chap. xxxiv. 23, 24.

Theophilus. "And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it."

Reader. And to the same effect is

Ezek. xxxvii. 24, 25. With all these verses compare now Acts xiii. 23.

Theophilus. "Of this man's seed hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus."

Reader. How faithful to his word is God! How beautiful the harmony of Scripture! Let me prove to you, in the next place, that the title "Son of David " was commonly applied, by the Jews and others, to the Messiah, either expected or acknowledged.--Read Matt. xv. 22.

Theophilus. "Behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David."

Reader. And Matt. xx. 30. Theophilus. "Behold, two blind men, sitting by the way-side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David."

Reader. And the ninth verse of the next chapter.

Theophilus. "The multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosannah to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosannah in the highest."

Reader. All these people intended to express their belief that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah, by the very title with which they saluted him. May we always lift up our hearts in sincerity and faith whenever we utter that fervent petition, "O Son of David, have mercy upon us!"-Mary, do you remember any occasion on which our blessed Saviour referred to this title, in his conversation with the Jews?

Mary. Yes. Our Lord once referred to it, with a view to silence the captious questions of the Jews; and to direct attention to the union of the divine nature with the human in his own glorious person. I read the history as it stands in St. Luke's Gospel. "He said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son? And David himself saith in the Book of Psalms, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?"

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fairly surmount.-But how would you answer our Saviour's question, Theophilus ?

Theophilus. Jesus Christ was the son of David, according to his human nature; but he was the Lord of David, even when David wrote, inasmuch as he was the eternal Son of God, the Word who "was in the beginning with God," and who "was God."

Reader. True. Well may we be reminded of that expression of St. Paul (Rom. ix. 5), "Whose are the fathers,"--such as Abraham and David,—“ and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." "Whose goings forth," to use the noble language of the inspired Micah (v. 2), "have been from of old, from everlasting."

It should be borne in mind also, that when the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken of as the son of David, he is presented to our notice chiefly in his exalted character of the king or head of his people. When the heavenly messenger proclaimed to the Virgin Mary the honour which she was about to receive in giving birth to the expected Messiah, he finished his salutation by applying to our blessed Lord a portion of an illustrious prophecy which had been delivered by Isaiah (ch. ix.), wherein the Redeemer is described as being at once the Son of the Highest, and the Son of David, and as being established in the possession of an endless dominion." He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him

the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of David for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke i. 32, 33.

We must content ourselves, at present, with the reading and examination of the single verse which has thus occupied our thoughts. But we shall derive no small degree of profit from the consideration of these few words, if we have been hereby assisted in forming any correct idea of the greatness and glory of our Saviour's person, and the honours of his mediatorial kingdom. Let me exhort you to direct your minds, especially, to the contemplation of the wonderful constitution of our Saviour's person, who is at once the Lord and the son of David, or, as it is elsewhere expressed, "the root and the offspring of David." Rev. xxii. 16. Think of him as "God manifest in the flesh," so constituted that in him "two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very man." Think of him as that glorious Being to whom the Lord has said, "Sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool." And, before we part, let me remind you that this subject, the glory of Christ, in his person and in his office, is one of the most important and most salutary which you will find in the whole compass of the word of revelation. Let it be one leading desire of your hearts, while we are engaged in our

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