ground and plea that no prophet was to arise out of Galilee, in which Nazareth was. This appears to be the plain meaning of the verse. The last clause therefore, if it is to be looked upon as a prophecy, is an original prophecy given by St. Matthew in this passage, for the first time. It is strange how it should ever have been looked upon as a quotation, as it is not introduced in the usual manner in which he brings forward passages from the Old Testament. His general mode is to preface them by the word "saying," as in chapters i. 22; ii. 15; viii. 17; xii. 17; xiii. 35; xxi. 4; or to introduce them without any particle or adverb whatsoever, as in chapter xxvii. 35.

CHAPTER III.

The Ministry of John the Baptist. 1. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

2. And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

There was an interval of about thirty years between the events which are recorded in the second chapter, and the public appearance of John. During this time Christ dwelt at Nazareth, as we learn from the last verse of the last chapter, and from Luke ii. 51, and iv. 16. The only circumstance connected with his history during this period, which is related by inspired authority, is that which is recorded by St. Luke in the latter part of his second chapter- his hearing and questioning the doctors in the temple. Accounts have been composed by uninspired men of the infancy and younger days of our blessed Saviour, which are self-evidently fabulous and unworthy of the slightest attention, except so far as they show, by contrast, the purity and genuineness of the four gospels, which have always been received by the church as containing an inspired record of his earthly history. It has, however, been revealed, that during this interval he worked diligently as a carpenter, assisting, perhaps, his reputed father at his trade, and after the death of Joseph, supporting his widowed

mother by the labour of his hands. This appears from the question which was asked by the people of Nazareth, when they were astonished at his wisdom and his mighty works-"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?" Mark vi. 3. Thus did Christ not only endure the curse in becoming a man of sorrows, and in submitting to death for our sakes, but likewise in sustaining labour and toil, according to the denunciation which was pronounced against man, after he had sinned "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," Gen. iii. 19. The period that elapsed between the time when Christ assumed our nature, until he entered on the public discharge of his office, was typical of the long interval that was to elapse between his ascension into heaven, and his coming again in glory at the last day; and as his first public manifestation was preceded by the ministry of John the Baptist, so his second appearance without sin unto salvation shall be preceded by the coming of Elijah the prophet, of whom John the Baptist was the type, Mal. iv. 5, 6.

By the expression, "in those days," we are to understand " during the time that Jesus was still dwelling in Nazareth," which (according to Luke iii. 1, 2) was "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene; Annas and Caiaphas being the High Priests."

John, who was sent to announce the arrival of "the King of the Jews," is here called "the Baptist," not only to distinguish him from others of the same name, but also because baptism was the ceremony by which his office and ministry were characterized. He was the son of Zacharias a priest, and Elisabeth, who was cousin of the Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord. He was born about six months before Christ, and dwelt in the wilderness of Judea until his entering upon his public office, Luke i. 80. He had no personal acquaintance whatever with Jesus, previous to his coming to be baptized of him, for he expressly said, "I knew him not," John i. 33; or, as it should be rendered" I had not known him,"

thereby lessened and deteriorated, and he will be sure to find, that in complying with what he may have considered trivial and innocent customs, he has conceded a principle which the world will stretch far beyond what he had any idea of, and dexterously employ in justification of their greater enormities, in a manner which he will find it difficult to answer.

ney.

John was to go before Christ in the spirit and power of Elias, Luke i. 17; and here it is stated that he appeared in the very garb of Elias, who is described in 2 Kings i. 8, as having worn a leathern girdle about his loins. His raiment was not made of the fine hair of the camel, but of the very coarsest part of it, of which a cheap kind of cloth was made for the use of the poor. His food was locusts and wild honey. Some persons have argued that the Greek word, dxgides, here rendered "locusts," denotes the tops of herbs or plants; but this word is frequently used in the Septuagint as the translation of the Hebrew word for the animal locusts, which were allowed by the Jewish laws to be eaten, Lev. xi. 22, and to this day are used for food in Asia. The wild honey which he ate, was probably found in the rocks. From the severity of his life, we learn that those who preach self-denial and mortification to others, ought to practise it themselves. John wrought no miracles, but preached a doctrine that was humiliating, and required conformity to a ceremony that was inconvenient: to what then did he owe, under God, his great success in leading such numbers to submit to his baptism? No doubt, many were attracted by the novelty and strangeness of his appearance, but those whose attention was fixed by his ministry were influenced to attend, by observing that he practised what he preached. And we may here remark, that a minister of the Gospel is greatly in error, who imagines that he can conciliate men of the world to his views, by conformity on his part to their fashions and customs. They will eagerly receive such conformity as a testimony and countenance in favour of their pursuits;

There was an important reason for the poverty of John's temporal circumstances. He came to bear testimony to Christ as the

that the Jews should not have it in their power to allege that he derived any worldly advantage in consequence of the favourable nature of his testimony. This principle will account for John having been left in prison, and having been at length beheaded by Herod. It was necessary that he should give force to his testimony by enduring poverty and affliction, and at length sealing it with his blood.

5. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan,

6. And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

By" Jerusalem," and "all Judea,” we are to understand people who lived in Jerusalem, and in Judea. A prophet was a novelty to the Jews, as there had not been one since the days of Malachi; and therefore, as soon as John appeared, a general curiosity was excited among the people. They imagined, also, that John was the Christ.

The ceremony of baptism which John administered was well known among the Jews. They were in the habit of baptizing proselytes from heathenism. They were therefore acquainted with the general import of the ceremony, as denoting a change in the opinions and practices of those who conformed to it. The word "baptism" implies washing by the application of water to the body. This ceremony was adopted by John in compliance with a divine command, John i. 33. There should be no question as to the mode in which he administered this rite. It is evident that those who were baptized went actually into the water for the pur

stance:

1. John did not baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; which was a formulary prescribed by Christ as an indispensable appendage of Christian baptism.

2. Those whom John baptized, only professed their faith in the Saviour who was yet to come, Acts xix. 4, 5. His baptism, therefore, did not introduce persons into the Christian Church; and thus many persons who were baptized by John may have been afterwards rebaptized.

3. The baptism of John was nothing more than an external ceremony indicating a certain state of mind in those who submitted to it. Christian baptism is a SACRAMENT― an outward and visible sign, not of a particular state of mind, but of an inward and spiritual grace, a means whereby we receive that grace, and a pledge to assure us thereof.

We have read that those who were baptized, confessed their sins at the same time. Thus our observance of the ordinances of God should always be accompanied with a penitential acknowledgment of our transgressions.

7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

The Pharisees and Sadducees constituted two remarkable sects that existed among the Jews at this time. There were three religious sects, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes; but the last are not mentioned in the New Testament, although John is supposed to have belonged to that

From their secluded habits of life, it is probable that they did not come under the direct observation of Christ or his apostles. They interfered very little in the ordinary engagements of life, fed upon the coarsest fare, had all their possessions in common, never married, but adopted the children of others, whom they educated in their own principles. Their religious opinions did not differ much from those of the Pharisees, but they did not approve of the sacrificing of animals, and therefore they never went up to the temple at the times when it was necessary for other Jews to appear there.

The Pharisees were the most numerous and influential sect among the Jews. Their name is probably derived from a Hebrew word which signifies to separate, because they affected a peculiar strictness of principle and conduct. The time of their first institution as a sect is not known, though probably it was not earlier than 150 years before the birth of Christ.

The Sadducees are supposed to have taken their name from Sadok, who lived about three centuries before Christ. They held that there is no resurrection, and that the soul perishes with the body. The Pharisees were the professors and formalists; the Sadducees were the deists and infidels of their time.

The language which John employed in addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees is terrifically emphatic:- "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" This is language, not of excitement or of capricious indignation, but accurately expressive of the character of those to whom it was directed. A proud and self-righteous people require a bold, a candid, and uncompromising ministry. There may be a reference here to the prophecy in Gen. iii. 15, as if the Holy Spirit, speaking through John, recognised these very persons as the seed of the great serpent, the devil, who was to bruise the heel of the woman's

seed, by effecting his crucifixion. Those who had wickedness enough to crucify the Saviour, were only manifesting the most revolting hypocrisy in professing to receive the message and submit to the baptism of his forerunner. The inquiry of John"who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" is just such a question as was naturally suggested by a consideration of the principles of these two sects: the Pha