ing them on this meffage to Jefus himself, and giving them, by that means, an opportunity of being eye and car witneffes of his works and of his doctrine, which, he knew, would effectually convince them.

Thus much concerning the enquiry: We are now to confider,

II. Secondly, The Reply, which our Saviour made to it. In which Reply there are two things obfervable; the Manner and the Matter of it.

As to the Manner of it, we fee, it is not direct and pofitive; but fo ordered only, as to give them an occafion of anfwering that question themselves, which they had propofed to our bleffed Saviour. This method, as it was agreeable to his conduct in other cafes, and requifite to fecure him from the accufations of thofe who watched his words, whenever he taught in publick, fo had it this furs ther ufe in it; that it imprinted a conviction on the enquirers, after the most gentle, reafonable, and winning way without commanding and extorting their affent by an authoritative declaration of the truth, which he thus invited them to receive. The proper motives and evidences only were laid before them; and they afterwards were left to frame the conclufion from thence; that fo their faith, which was to entitle them to fuch glorious privileges, might be a free and voluntary act, and the teft of an ingenuous and well-difpofed mindi

As to the matter of our Saviour's anfver, three things there are which deferve to be weighed by us:-The remarkable gradation and rife there is in the particulars there mentioned: The appofite

VOL. III.

D

nefs

nefs of it in relation to the enquirers: And the general force and evidence of the argument contained in it.

1. To begin with the first of these: "Go and "fhew John again," fays our Saviour, "those "things which ye do hear and fee ;" and then he particularly mentions the bodily cures he wrought on the deaf and blind. the lame and the lepers. He adds beyond this a yet plainer instance of a miraculous and divine power,-" the dead ་ are raised up ;" and he feems to advance ftill fomewhat further, when he says, that even "the

poor have the gofpel preached unto them." An inftance of goodnefs and condefcenfion, with which the Jews had before been but little acquainted! The prophets of that nation had been fent always to great and mighty persons, to reclaim their princes and rulers, and to reprove exemplary wickedness in high places; and, to manifeft the authority of their commiffion to them, were sometimes armed with the power of miracles. But nothing could be more wonderful, than to fee a prophet in Jewry preaching to the poor and meek; addreffing himself to the lowest and meaneft of men; exhorting them to virtue, removing their prejudices, and rectifying their errors! Such applications amidst that people were fo unufual, and exceeding rare, that our Saviour thought fit to conclude the enumeration of the feveral proofs of his miffion with these two particulars, "The dead are raifed up," fays he, and the poor have the gospel preached unto "them."

2. The appofitenefs of our Saviour's answer,

in

in relation to the perfons who made the enquiry, is what we are next to confider. And here

First, we may observe, what a natural occafion he takes of refolving their doubts, from what he was even then saying and doing in their prefence, "Go, and fhew John again, thofe things which � ye do hear and fee:" That is, you come to learn of me, whether I am the Meffiah: Your mafter hath often told you, that I am; but ye will not believe him. To him you should have given ear, who is my profeffed harbinger and herald; to me it belongs not fo properly to proclaim my own titles, and affert my own authority. For "if I bear witness of myfelf, my witness is * not true John v. 31. It is liable to fufpicion, and likely to be of little weight and authority with you. If ye fufpect your master's teftimony of me, much more will ye fufpect that which I give of myself. Behold therefore the teftimony of God! for "the works which I do" (which ye now fee done before your eyes, they) "bear witness of 66 me, that the Father hath fent me," John v. 36. If ye ftill doubt who I am, why afk ye me? ask the works, which you cannot doubt whether I do or not; and they fhall tell you.

Secondly, Nothing could be better contrvied to fatisfy thefe enquirers, of our Saviours pre-eminence over the Baptift, than these wonders which they faw him perform, and heard him now appeal to; fince they knew very well, that their mafter had not the gift of miracles, nor pretended to the power of doing them; and could not therefore but fee, that his miniftry was inferior to that of Christ, and fubordinate to it; efpecial

ly fince from the Baptif's own mouth they had learnt, that the doing of miracles fhould be one illuftrious and difcriminating mark of the Meffiah; for fo much I think, that paffage in the gospel of St. John fufficiently implies, Many who reforted unto Jefus, faid, John did no miracles; but all things which John fpake of this man, were true;" John x. 41. that is, though he did none himself, yet he prophefied that Jefus fhould do them; and when his difciples therefore faw that prediction fulfilled, they were able themfelves to anfwer their own question.-" Art thou he that thould come? or do we look for another?" Further,

Thirdly, The particular facts, which our Saviour here mentions, in order to infinuate his preeminence over the Baptift, are extremely well fuited to that purpofe. They are all acts of benefi¬ cence and kindnefs, wrought for the service and benefit of men, either for the inftruction of their minds, or the healing of their bodies. And this, be tacitly fuggefts to them, was a far nobler employment, and carried in it a much greater degree of perfection and use, than the folitary life and rigid aufterities of the Ba tift, for which his difciples held him in fuch high veneration. He hints to them the reafons, for which he lived and converfed thus publickly and familiarly, and applied himself to men in the most humane, eafy, and affable manner, without diftinguifhing himfif from others by any rough and frightening appearances, any thing extraordir ary and fingular enher in his look, attire or behaviour (for which the Baptift was remarkable); and he leaves them

(even in this refpect) to confider, whether his character was not fuperior to that of their master, and his administration ordained to more excellent purposes; and therefore he concludes his reply with words, which have an eye to thofe préjudices they had entertained against him on this account; "Bleffed are they, who are not offended in me!"

Beyond all this, it is, in the

Fourth place, extremely remarkable, that the anfwer of our Lord to thefe enquiring difciples is expreffed in words taken from a prophecy of fiah concerning the Meffiah. And Ifaiah was, of all the prophets, he, in whose writings the Baptift's followers were the most converfant, and for whom they had the greatest esteem and reverence; inafmuch as ther mafter was there more particularly pointed out, the perfon and office of this cryer in the wilderness was there more exactly defcribed, than in any other part of the facred vo'lume. And therefore what this prophet teftified concerning the meffiah, was best suited to work those into a reception of him, who had been led by his teftimony to difcern even their mafter himself, and to become his followers.

Now the place here referred to in Ifaiah, are thefe, chap lxi. 1. The fpirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath appointed me to preach good tididngs to the meek." Ewayfarαs.

Επαγελίσασθαι

sxs, as it is in the tranflation of the Septuagint; and the very fame phrase is employed here in the text, al 201 Evay Tenisovlar, "The poor have the gospel preached unto them." The rest of the particulars may be almoft entirely supplied from

another