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HAST THOU NOT KNOWN? HAST THOU NOT HEARD, THAT THE EVERLASTING GOD, THE LORD, THE CREATOR OF THE ENDS

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and there was a calm He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven,' Ps. cvii. 29, 30, p. (79).

25. Where is your faith?-Those who have Jesus for their guide need not fear; they may sing, 'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with

LUKE viii. 25.

and they-ceased

επαυσαντο,

and there-was a-calm. And he said unto-them, 25

Where is your faith?

And they-being-afraid
wondered,

saying one-to-another, What manner of man is this! for he-commandeth erraσσEL even the winds and water, and they-obey him.

the swelling thereof,' &c., Ps. xlvi. 1-3, p. (8) - Fear thou not; for I am with thee,' &c., Is. xli. 10-.4, p. (41).

Mk. iv. 41. they feared exceedingly- God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee?... Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them,' Ps. lxxxix. 7-9, p. (50)-'even the winds and the sea obey him!' Mt. viii. 27.

NOTES.

command of our Lord. Standing amidst the howling tempest, on the heaving sea, and in the darkness of the night, by his own power he stills the waves, and bids the storm subside. What a power was this! What irresistible proof that he was Divine! There is not, anywhere, a more sublime description of a display of power.

And there was a great calm. The instantaneousness of the perfect calm is a proof of the reality of the miracle; for after a storm, the sea is never perfectly smooth, until some time has elapsed.

27. What manner of man is this. The men might well regard our Lord as super-human; since to still the raging of the sea,' was always reckoned among the operations of God, insomuch that in Ps. lxxxix. 7-see Scrip. Illus.' supra-it forms as it were a designation of the Deity.

[The darkness, the dashing waves, the howling winds, the heaving and tossing ship, and the fears and

cries of the seamen, all by a single word hushed into calm repose-... present an image of power and divinity irresistibly grand and awful. So the tempest rolls and thickens over the head of the awakened sinner. So he trembles over immediate and awful destruction. So while the storm of wrath howls, and hell threatens to engulf him, he comes trembling to the Saviour. The Savicur hears, he rebukes the storm, and the sinner is safe-an indescribable peace takes possession of the soul-see Is. lvii. 20, .1,a p. (87); Rom. v. 1;b Ph. iv. 7.c]

a... the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.' b...... being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.'

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.'

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

will prove faithful in upholding us in that which is commanded: Jesus' having said, Let us go over to the other side,' should have been deemed a sufficient guarantee that the passage, however dangerous, would be accomplished

Mk. iv. 39, 40. Let us look to see the greatness of the danger, with which we may be threatened, result in the greater manifestation of both the will and the power of Jesus to deliver: he had only to rebuke the winds and the raging deep, with 'Peace, be still:' 'the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.' [Let us cry unto Jesus, that soon he may put forth

his mighty power, in stilling the stormy waves-the tumults of the people; and in bringing to the desired haven his tempest-tossed disciples: but in the meantime, let them rest assured, that, whatever the seeming jeopardy,

In safety and comfort their warfare He'll end."] Mt. viii. 27. Let us rejoice in this, that the dangers to which we may be exposed in following Jesus, God is able to turn to us for a testimony; those that are with us being forced to contemplate the power and the grace of Him, whom even the winds and the, &c.

GEOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.

THE SEA OF GALILEE.-See Sect. xxxii. p. 250.

EVERY NATURAL MAN IS BESIDE HIMSELF.

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OF THE EARTH, FAINTETH NOT, NEITHER IS WEARY? THERE IS NO SEARCHING OF HIS UNDERSTANDING.-Isaiah xl. 28.

ADDENDA.

ON THE INCIDENTS IN THE WAY, AND ON THE TIME OF CROSSING THE LAKE TO GERGESA. See Greswell, Vol. I. Diss. iii. pp. 191-203.]

The next event is the passage of the lake of Galilee, which we may divide into the incidents on the way to the lake-the incidents upon the lake-the incidents on the other side-and the return all so connected together as to form one entire narrative, from Mt. viii. 18-ix. 1, the parts of which will be consequently regular, whatever the whole may be.

The incidents on the way to the lake, as here related, are peculiar to St. Matthew, but the same incidents, or something very like them, are found also at Luke ix. 57, (§ 59,) to the end-at a very different time, and on a very different occasion. These incidents, in St. Matthew, are the request of a certain scribe to follow our Saviour; and the petition of one, who was a disciple, for leave to go and bury his father: to which St. Luke adds a third, of a nature akin to the last. The occasions to which these distinct accounts would belong are palpably the most different imaginable; our Lord, in St. Matthew, being about to cross the lake, and in St. Luke, on a journey through Samaria. With regard to St. Luke, such a trajection would be a singular circumstance, and altogether at variance with his extreme accuracy, and his scrupulous regard to historical precision.....

'Such declarations of the willingness of individuals to become disciples might often be made, especially at the outset of our Saviour's ministry; and, if they were the effect of a forward or mistaken zeal, they might as often be by him repressed. Besides, St. Matthew calls his applicant a scribe, and makes him style our Lord, Master-St. Luke calls his merely a certain person, who addresses Jesus by the common title of respect, Kupie. Now the rank or profession of scribe among the Jews was much more considerable than we are apt to imagine; and the readiness of one of that order to have become a disciple of Jesus was a still more remarkable event; and St. Luke, I am persuaded, had the nature of the case required it, especially in the last year of our Lord's ministry, when the scribes and Pharisees almost universally had determined on his rejection-would not have failed to designate him accordingly. Capernaum was not so contiguous to the lake, but that such an incident as

this might have transpired by the way; and, if our Saviour was proceeding thither,... expecting to pass the night upon the water, his answer, as now returned, would be just as pertinent, and as pathetic as the same answer, when returned some time after.

The second incident in St. Matthew concerns one, who was a disciple already-but the similar incident in St. Luke, one, who was then called for the first time: and there is also this further difference between them, that, in the one, our Lord is made to reply merely, 'Axoλobbes Moi kai apes Tous Vexpoùs lávaι Tous Saurav vexpoús, (Mt. viii. 22)-but not Eù de drλv dayyedde The Bavideíav rov esov, (Lu. ix. 60, § 59.)... 'St. Mark and St. Luke have each given (Mk. iv. 35, v. 1-20; Lu. viii. 22-39) an history of a passage of the lake, attended with similar incidents; the latter of which is clearly ascertained to be the same with the former: and this is fixed by the account itself to the evening of the day when our Lord began to teach in parables. Now this he did, posterior to a second circuit of Galilee; and that, a circuit undertaken after the cure of the centurion's servant. The beginning to teach in parables St. Matthew records, xiii. 1, (§ 32, p. 242;) the cure of the centurion's servant he recorded, viii. 5, (§ 28, p. 218.) The passage of the lake, then, between the two, may be regular as to what goes before, but it is irregular as to what follows after. Nor is there any means of evading this conclusion, except by denying the authority of St. Mark, whose note of time, iv. 35, fixes the passage to the evening in question; or, by contending that his passage, or St. Luke's, was a different event from St. Matthew's. But that this cannot be the case, may be inferred from certain particulars common to the accounts of all, and of so critical a nature as necessarily to characterize only the same event. These are

First, the motive which induced our Lord to cross the lake; viz., the presence of the multitude, Mt. viii. 18, p. 264. 'Secondly, the storm upon the lake. 'Thirdly, the miracle at the other side.'

THE SLEEP OF A LABOURING MAN IS SWEET, WHETHER HE EAT LITTLE OR MUCH :

BUT THE ABUNDANCE OF THE RICH WILL NOT SUFFER HIM TO SLEEP.-Eccles. v. 12.

SECTION 35.-(G. 20.)-JESUS LANDS IN THE COUNTRY OF THE

GADARENES,

THE

AND CASTS DEVILS OUT OF TWO MEN WHO LIVED AMONG THE TOMBS. PEOPLE OF THE CITY AND NEIGHBOURHOOD REQUEST JESUS TO DEPART OUT OF THEIR COASTS. JESUS RETURNS TO CAPERNAUM.* Matt. viii. 28-34; ix. 1. Mark v. 1-21. Luke viii. 26-40.-EAST OF THE SEA OF GALILEE, AND WEST OF THE SAME.

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-viii. 29.

tremble.'

v. 6, 7. -viii. 28. They cry out, confessing him to be the Saviour, and the Son of the most high God.' The devils believe, and v. 8-10. viii. 29-31. Jesus having commanded the legion to depart, the devils beseech him not to send them into the abyss. viii. 30.2. -- v. 11-.3. - viii. 32, .3. Jesus grants them their request-they enter into the herd of swine, which immediately rush into the sea, and are drowned. Those

viii. 33.

v. 14.

viii. 34.

that have had the care of the swine flee into the city, and spread also in the country the news of Jesus' arrival, and of what had occurred to the swine.

Mt. viii. 34. Mk. v. 14, .5. Lu. viii. 35. The peo ple go out to see the truth of the matter, and coming to Jesus, find the man who had been possessed clothed, and in his right mind.' They are afraid. v. 16, .7. -viii. 36,.7. Having been told all, the Gadarenes beseech Jesus to depart out of their coasts.'

viii. 34.

v. 18, .9. viii. 38, .9. He that had been possessed by 'Legion' requests permission to accompany Jesus, who bids him first return, and at home among his friends prove the reality of the change which had happened to him, and to speak of the cause thereof-the compassion of the Lord. v. 20. -viii. 39. The man departs, and publishes throughout Decapolis what Jesus had done for him. ix. 1. vili. 40. Jesus returns by ship to Capernaum, where many are gathered together waiting for him, and they gladly receive

him.

v. 21.

*See p. 275, ADDENDA, On healing the demoniacs at Gergesa'—and Greswell, Vol. II. pp. 335—..8, On Jesus passing the night on the lake."

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HE LIVES LONG, WHO LIVES WELL.

HE CAN NEVER TRULY RELISH THE SWEETNESS OF GCD'S MERCY, WHO NEVER TASTED THE BITTERNESS OF HIS OWN MISERY.

(G. 20,) No. 35. Jesus lands in the country of the Gadarenes, and casts devils out of two men who lived among the tombs.-East of the sea of Galilee.

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3. had his dwelling among the tombs-Luke speaks of the man as 'out of the city,' but also clearly declares that he abode not in any house, but in the tombs, ver. 27.

Mk. v. 1. Gadarenes-Gadara was the principal | Matthew is remarkable for presenting the double city of the district. Josephus, in his Wars of the throughout his whole history-see Mt. xx. 30, § 79, Jews,' b. iv. c. vii. s. 3, calls Gadara' the metropolistwo blind men,' and parallels-It may be noticed, of Perea: by this name, well known to the Gentiles, that Matthew often mentions together the two Jewish Mark and Luke denominate the country' over against sects, the Pharisees and Sadducees,' and often also Galilee'-comp. Mk. v. 1, and Lu. viii. 26, with Mt. 'the scribes and Pharisees.' viii. 28-in the latter passage we read country of the Gergesenes,' Gergesa being probably the nearer country town, and well enough known to the Jews, for whom, more immediately, Matthew wrote-see GEOG. NOTICE, p. 274; and ADDENDA, p. 275, Greswell. 2. when he was come out of the ship-Matthew had said, When he was come to the other side,' ver. 28Luke says, When he went forth to land,' ver. 27 -the repulse was 'immediately' upon attempting to enter the country, Mk. v. 2-comp. with what our Lord had said, Mt. viii. 20, § 34, p. 265.

out of the tombs-which, it would appear, were very near to the city-comp. with Lu. viii. 27, supra. a man with an unclean spirit-Matthew intimates that there met him two possessed with devils,' ver. 28-probably the 'certain man, which had devils long time,' may have taken the lead, Lu. ver. 27

4. because that he had been often bound, &c.-this appears to have been the case of that one of the two, who is particularly noticed by Mark and Luke-the certain man, which had devils long time'-' he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands,' &c., Lu. viii. 27-.9-they were both 'exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way,' Mt. viii. 28.

5. he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, &c.and was driven of the devil into the wilderness,' Lu. viii. 29, p. 271-a like infatuation besets those which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments,' Is. lxv. 4.

NOTES.

Mt. viii. 28. The country of the Gergesenes - See Mazar iviore, Kal Tous répous indarplBar, we find that 'Scrip. Illus.' supra, and GEOG. NOTICE, p. 274. they were sometimes used as places of abode-see Mk. v. 3. His dwelling among the tombs. Is. Ixv. 4, Scrip. Illus.' supra. The tombs in ques..... ،The tombs of the ancients, especially in the tion were doubtless hypogea, caverns cut out of the east, were tolerably roomy vaults, and would be no mountains, similar to those at Telmessus and Petra; indifferent shelter for the houseless, or such poor and which, as we learn from travellers, still remain, wretches as demoniacs or lepers, driven from human and form at the present day habitations for the livhabitations. Indeed, from Diog. Laert. ix. 38, pn- ing.'-Bloomfield.

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

[La. viii. 26, .7. Jesus was willing to minister, not only west of the sea of Galilee, where there were people to hear him gladly, but in the inhospitable country towards the east, where no welcome awaited him, but where immediately a legion of devils came to oppose him.]

represent the present condition of the inhabitants of that region! they are destitute of proper covering, and literally dwelling in tombs; and also exceeding fierce, so that the great thoroughfares between the west and the east have been for a long time deserted.] [Mk. v. 3-6. It is also true, that no human means [Mt. viii. 28. How aptly the men here spoken of have been effectual to bind them, and Greek and

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IF SINNERS CAST NOT AWAY THEIR SINS FOR GOD'S SAKE; GOD WILL CAST THEM AWAY FOR THEIR SINS' SAKE.

THE CHRISTIAN BELIEVES HEAVEN TO BE GOD'S DWELLING PLACE; YET BELIEVES THAT THE HEAVEN OF HEAVENS CANNOT CONTAIN HIM.

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Mk. v.5. cutting himself with stones-the like madness characterised the worshippers of Baal-They cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them,' I Ki. xviii. 28-nor have the monks, who lodge in the monuments, been free from such things, which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh,' Col. ii. 23.

6. ran and worshipped him- fell down before him,' La. viii. 28-here was a true representation of the infatuation described, Is. xxix. 13, p. (81), and referred to by our Lord, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me,' &c., Mt. xv. 8, 9, § 44. 7. of the most high God- Son of God,' Mt. viii. 29'Son of God most high,' Lu. viii. 28-see NOTE.

I adjure thee by God-the like form of expression, the high priest made use of, when adjuring Jesus to declare whether he were the Son of God, which the very devils here confessed-see Mt. xxvi. 63, § 89, 1 adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.'

torment me not- Art thou come hither to torment us before the time ? Mt. viii. 29-For those who look to their own wilful offerings for sin, after having received the knowledge of the one true sacrifice, 'there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries, He. x. 26, .7-comp. with ver. 9-14.

8. Come out of the man-see Lu. viii. 29-see also Mk. i. 25, § 17, p. 111; ix. 25, § 51.

NOTES.

[Mk. v. 5. Cutting himself with stones. This is not do with peace?' 2 Ki. ix. 18, .9. David said, 'What well rendered cutting. The Kara is highly intensive; have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? 2 Sa. xvi. 10. See also Ezr. iv. 3; and Jno. ii. 4, § 11, p. 77. Kатакьπтш answering to the Latin concidere, and meaning to cut up, to hack and hew. In which sense [Mk. v. 7. The most high God. esou тou výíorov. The the word occurs, both in the Septuagint and the epithet &oros, as applied to God, occurs nowhere else classical writers. This circumstance of cutting him- in the Gospels, and only once elsewhere in the New self with sharp stones, instead of a knife, (which, of Testament, i. e., He. vii. 1, "For this Melchisedec, course, would not be granted him,) is quite in the king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met manner of maniacs: who often tear their flesh, and Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, cut it with whatever they can lay their hands upon.' and blessed him;" taken from Gen. xiv. 18-22. It -Bloomfield.] corresponds to the Hebrew by. The appellations seem to have been at first given with reference to the exalted abode of God, i. e., in heaven-see Is. lxvi. 1, P. (15). They may also refer to the supreme majesty of the Deity. Hence in the Old Testament by is almost always used to distinguish the true God from those who were called gods.'- Bloomfield.] [I adjure thee by God. This formula usually denotes to put any one on his oath-see Note on Mt. xxvi. 63, § 89. But here (as Grotius, Rosenm., and Kuinoel have shewn) it has the force of oro, obtestor te per Deum, and thus is equivalent to the diopaí cov of Lu. viii. 28.'-Ibid.]

Mt. viii. 29. What have we to do with thee. ri hui Kai co. An idiom frequent both in Hellenistic and Classical Greek.... The sense of the phrase varies with the context; but it usually implies troublesome or unauthorised interference. Here it seems to be, "What hast thou to do with us, what authority hast thou over us?""-Ibid.

The phrase often occurs in the Old Testament, as signifying an abrupt refusal of some request, or a wish not to be troubled with the company or importunity of others. Jehu said to the messengers who were sent by Joram to meet him, "What hast thou to

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

Roman civilization were in vain made use of to tame
them. Their fetters have been broken in pieces, and
busy have they been in the work of self-destruction,
as well as in seeking to injure those who might seek
to pass by that way.]
6,7 ver. How miserable the condition of those who
seek to have peace in rejection of Jesus!
Let us not merely, like the man with an unclean
spirit, bow to the power of the Son of the most high
God, but rejoice to meet our most gracious Deliverer.

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[It is not every prayer which is acceptable to God, even where there is acknowledgment of the truth, that Jesus is the Son of the most high God.'-A man may by the devil be urged to pray for peace while in his sins, or the deferring of punishment account of them. Let us not confound the fear of torment, (which even the unclean spirit may produce,) with the fear of offending God, and the desire of holiness.]

CHRIST IS THE SURETY OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.

on

THE CHRISTIAN BELIEVES GOD SHEWS MERCY EVEN WHEN HE EXECUTES JUSTICE AND THAT HE EXECUTES JUSTICE WHEN HE SHEW'S MERCY.

WICKED MEN HAVE A RIGHT TO USE THE CREATURES; BUT ONLY GODLY MEN MAKE A RIGHT USE OF THEM.

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Mk. v. 9. Legion, &c.-'because many devils were entered into him,' Lu. viii. 30, supra-like the church in which has been the predicted falling away, 2 Th. ii. 3-12-Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird,' Rev. xviii. 2-which however is not to be cleansed, but destroyed-' And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues,' ver. 4.

10. out of the country-or, out into the deep,' Lu. viii. 31-into the abyss, or bottomless pit,' into which Satan is to be cast, and where he is to be shut up, that he may deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years. . . be fulfilled,' Rev. xx. 3.

11. nigh unto the mountains-or, top of the hill 'or, far up on the mountain,' Lu. viii. 32-'a good way off from them,' Mt. viii. 30.

a great herd-or, 'an herd of many,' &c., Mt. viii.

an-herd of-many swine feeding

on the mountain:
and they-
besought him

that he-would-
suffer them to-enter

into them.

And hesuffered them.

30; Lu. viii. 32-they were about two thousand,' Mk. v. 13, p. 272.

12. all the devils besought him-each of the three evangelists here clearly identifies these spiritual agenmatter, but as having an existence distinct from that cies, as not being mere qualities of either mind or of the creatures they inhabited-they had before entered the man, Lu. viii. 30-and afterward they went out of the man, and entered into the swine, ver. 33, p. 272.

13. Jesus gave them leave-here we see that the prayers even of devils may be granted-it was no sign that God approved of the Israelites when he gave them that which they lusted after, Ps. cvi. 14, .5Jesus in mercy may deny our requests-' Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may conbecause of him who prospereth in his way, because sume it upon your lusts,' Ja. iv. 3- Fret not thyself of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass,' Ps. xxxvii. 7.

NOTES.

Mt. viii. 29. Before the time. A time determined and fields. The Scythians, Arabs, and Egyptians, by the Divine Judge. had an aversion to swine. The Jewish law stated them to be unclean animals, Le. xi. 7-see also Is. Ixvi. 3, p. (15); and the Jews so abhorred swine that, it is said, they would not name them.

Mk. v. 9. Legion. A Roman legion consisted of many, though its number was not always alike. Some make it 6666, and others as much as 12,500. Being many, the Jews used it to signify that term. Mt. viii. 30. Many swine.-See on ver. 33, p. 272. Swine. Well-known animals of a ravenous kind: they feed on carrion, husks, and such like vile provision nay, some of them eat their own young, after they have brought them forth. They look towards, and dig in the earth, & wallow in mire; by exces sive wallowing, or dancing, or carrying of straw to their sty, they presage bad weather; they are very lazy and sleepy, and no less mischievous to gardens

Mk. v. 10. Not send them away out, &c. The demons entreat that if they must depart from the man, they may at least not be compelled to leave the country; which was but another form of preferring the first-mentioned request, that he would not send them away to the place of torment.

Lu. viii. 31. Into the deep. Bis Tv aßvσoor. That the sea is not meant here is evident; for to the sea the demons went of themselves, when permitted, at their own request, to enter into the swine.-See ADDENDA, p. 274, Into the deep.'

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

7,8 ver. Let us beware of being so led away of the devil, as to suppose that Jesus comes only to cause unhappiness. Let our lives be so, as that we can look forward to Christ's coming with joyful hope, and not with dread and despondency.

Lu. viii. 30. He who refuses obedience to the one true God, who alone can lead us aright, and truly bless us, makes himself the prey of a legion, whose delight is in making him an instrument of mischief to himself and others.

THE WAY OF THE WICKED SEDUCETH THEM.-Prov. xii. 26.

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WE RUN FROM GOD BY SIN TO DEATH, AND CAN ONLY RETURN TO GOD BY DYING TO SIN.

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