the least afraid of losing their reward. Mark viii. 39. * Whoso-" ever therefore shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, particu larly my precept of self-denial, in this † adulterous and sinful ge neration: whosoever is not heartily willing to sustain the scoffs of a wicked world, to which the profession and practice of my religion may expose him, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh (Luke, in his own glory, and) in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels: He shall be ashamed to acknowledge one for his disciple, who has acted so unlike to him, and so unworthy of his religion. And to encourage them. the more, he told them he would come to judge the world, not in his present low and contemned state, but most magnificently ar rayed, both in his own glory and in his Father's; would come, not attended by twelve weak disciples, but surrounded with num berless hosts of mighty angels. Matt. xvi. 27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works; reward him, not with the honours of a temporal kingdom, great offices, and large possessions, but with the joys of immortality. He shall come in his own glory, the glory peculiar to him as God-man; probably the majesty and splendour of his glorified body, a visible representation of which he exhibited in the transfiguration, about a week after this discourse was delivered. He shall come also in the glory of the Father, augustly arrayed with the inaccessible light wherein God dwells, (1 Tim. vi. 16. See Acts i. 11.) and which darting through, and enlightening all space with its ineffable brightness, shall make even the sun to disap-. pear. Withal, to render his advent to judge the world the more grand, he will come with the holy angels, attended by the whole host, (Matt. xxv. 31.) a vast train, ready to execute his commands. In this majesty, the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, (1 Thess. iv. 16.) making heaven, earth and hell to resound.

The

Ver 38. Whoever shall be ashamed] In this and other passages of scripture, the profession of the Christian religion is expressly required of all who believe it, because it is the great means of continuing it in the world, and of preserving its evidences. See on Matt. x. 33 $ 40.

+ Ibid. Adulterous generation.] This expression does not imply, that the generation of which Jesus spake, was more addicted to the sin of adultery properly so called, than any other generation. It is a phrase taken from the well known metaphor of a marriage contract, whereby God anciently represented the relation in which the Jewish people stood to him. For the manifold violations of his laws which at this time the Jews were guilty of, particularly their rejection of the Son of God, making void God's covenant with them as a people, were fitly represented under the idea of adultery, in allusion to the ancient descriptions given by the prophets of that covenant. The term therefore here, as in many other passages, signi fies any gross wickedness whatever, and among the rest their infidelity. See on Matt. xi. 39. § 48.

The dead of all countries, and times hear their tremendous call.. Hark! the living filled with joy, exult at the approach of God; or, seized with inexpressible terror, send up doleful cries, and are all changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Behold the dead press forth from their graves, following each other in close procession. The earth seems quick, and the sea gives up its dead. Mark the beauty, the boldness, and the gladness of some, springing up to honour, but the ghastly countenances, the trembling, and the despair of others, arising to shame, and everlasting contempt. See how amazed and terrified they look! with what vehemence they wish the extinction of their being! Fain would they fly, but cannot. Impelled by a force strong as necessity, they hasten to the place of judgment. As they advance, the sight of the tribunal from afar strikes new terror; they come. on in the deepest silence, and gather round the throne by thousands of thousands. In the mean time the angels, having brought up their bands from the uttermost parts of the earth, fly round the numberless multitude, singing melodiously with loud voices, for joy that the day of general retribution is come, when vice shall be thrown down from its high usurpation, virtue exalted from its debasement to its superior station, the intricacies of Providence unravelled, the perfections of God vindicated, the church of God purchased with his blood, cleared of them that do iniquity, and of every thing that offendeth, and established impeccable for ever. Psal. lxviii. 1. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. wax metteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad, let them rejoice before God, yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Rev. xviii. 8. For strong is the Lord Ged suho judgeth. And now the Son of man appears on the throne of his glory, and all nations, princes, warriors, nobles, the rich, the poor, all entirely stript of their train and attendance, and every external distinction, stand naked and equal before him, silently waiting to be sentenced to their unchangeable state. And every individual is filled with an awful consciousness, that he in particular is the object of the observation of almighty God, manifest in his sight, and actually under his eye, so that there is not one single person concealed in the immensity of the crowd. The Judge, who can be biassed by no bribes, softened by no subtle insinuations, imposed upon by no feigned excuses, having been himself privy to the most secret actions of each, needs no evidence, but distinguishes with an unerring cer tainty. He speaks! Come from among them, my people, that ye receive not of their plagues. They separate. They feel their judge within them, and hasten to their proper places: the righteous on the one hand of the throne, and the wicked on the other; not so much as one of the wicked daring to join himself VOL. II.

U

As

with

with the just. Here the righteous, most beautiful with the brightness of virtue, stand serene in their looks, and full of hope, at the bar of God, a glad company; whilst the wicked, cons founded at the remembrance of their lives, and terrified with the thought of what is come, hang down their heads, inwardly cursing the day of their birth, and wishing a thousand and a thousand times, that the rocks would fall on them, and the mountains cover them. But in vain. For there is no escaping, nor appealing from this tribunal. Behold, with mercy shining in his countenance, and mild majesty, the King invites the righteous to take possession of the kingdom prepared for them from the creation of the world. But with angry frowns he drives the wicked away into punishment that shall have no end, no refreshment, no alleviation. Everlasting punishment! O the rejoicing! O the lamenting! The triumphant shouting of ascending saints, caught up in the clouds to be ever with the Lord! The horror, the des pair, the hideous shriekings of the damned, when they see hell gaping, hear the devils roaring, and feel the unspeakable torment of an awakened conscience. Now they bitterly cry for death, but death flies from them. Now they envy the righteous, and gladly would be such, but all too late!-Lo, the Son of God bows his head, the signal for his servants, the heavens and the earth to depart, their work being at an end. See! with a terrible thundering noise the heavens pass away, the elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth, and all the works that be therein, are burnt up. The frame of nature dissolves! Earth, seas, skies, all vanish together, making way for the new heaven and the new earth. It appears! The happy land of promise, formed by the hand of God, large, beautiful, and pleasant, a fit habitation for his favourite people, and long expected by them as their country. Here all the righteous, great and small, are assembled, making one vast blessed society, even the kingdom and city of God. Here God manifests himself in a peculiar manner to his servants, and wipes away all tears from off their faces, and adorns them with the beauties of immortality, glorious to behold. Here they drink fulness of joys, from the chrystal river proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, and eat of the tree of life. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. But every one happy in himself, imparts the blessing to his fellows; for mutual love warms every breast, love like that which subsists between the Father and the Son, mutual conference on the sublimest subjects refreshes every spirit with the divine repasts of wisdom, and joys flowing from the tenderest friendships, fixed on the stable foundation of an immoveable virtue, gladden every heart. All the servants of God serve him in perfect holiness, see his face, feel transports of joy, and by the reflection of his glory, shine as the

sun

And there shall be no

sun in the firmament for ever and ever. night there, and they need no candle, neither the light of the. sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they reign for ever and ever. Happy day! happy place! and happy people! O blest hope of joining that glorious society! All the servants of God shall serve him, and see his face: Serve God, and see his face! What an immensity of felicity is here! Imagination faints with the fatigue of stretching itself, to comprehend the vast, the unmeasurable thought!

Jesus fitly inculcated the necessity of self-denial, from the consideration of a judgment to come, the most awful and important event in the whole compass of our duration, and which the word of God directs us to believe will be attended with such circumstances as those just now described. His intention was, that we should fortify ourselves by this reflection, that it is eligible to endure a little now, when that little will preserve us from enduring unspeakably more hereafter, and lead us to the possession of infinite and endless joys. Wherefore, if our great Master should ever honour any of us so far as to call us forth to suffer for him, let us do it bravely, and be true to God, to religion, and to our own souls; having our eye always steadily fixed on the bright crown, the white robes, the triumphant palms, by which the valiant and illustrious band of martyrs are distinguished from all the other inhabitants of the abodes above. But because the doctrine of Christ's being constituted universal Judge, might appear to the disciples incredible at that time, on account of his humiliation, he told them, that some of them should not taste of death, till they saw him coming in his kingdom, and by that had not only a proof of his being the Judge, but an example of the judgment he was to execute. Mark ix. 1. And he said unto them, Matt. xvi. 28. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom, (Luke, till they see the kingdom of God, Mark, come with power.) Do not doubt that there shall be a day of judgment, when I shall come clothed with divine Majesty, and attended by millions of angels, to render unto men according as their actions in this life have been good or bad. There are some here present that shall not die, till they see a faint repre

sentation

Ver. 28. Coming in his kingdom.] Raphelius would have the verse thus translated: Shall not taste of death, till they shall see the Son of man going intu bis kingdom: (exouevor sy in barirua aurs). For he understands it of the disciples, beholding Christ's ascension into heaven, where he took possession of his mediatorial kingdom, and which without doubt was a very proper proof of his coming again to judge the world. That the word g signifies to go, as well as to come, Raphelius proves from Acts xxviii. 14. Luke ii. 44. See on Matt. xvi. 5. 68. And the use of tv for us, he supports by John v. 4, Luke xxiii. 42. Nevertheless, the common translation is more natural and just, as appears from the parallel passages.

sentation of the glory in which I will come, and an eminent example of this my power exercised on the men of the present age. Accordingly, the disciples saw their Master coming in his kingdom, when they were witnesses of his transfiguration, resurrection, and ascension; had the miraculous gifts of the Spirit conferred upon them; and lived to see Jerusalem, with the Jewish state destroyed, and the gospel propagated through the greatest part of the then known world.

§ LXXII. Jesus is transfigured upon an high mountain in the country of Casarea Philippi, and foretells his own sufferings and resurrection a third time. See § 70, 73. Matt. xvii. 1,—13. Mark ix. 2,-13. Luke ix. 28,-36.

ABOUT six days, if we reckon exclusively, and about eight days, if we reckon inclusively, after our Lord had accepted the title of Messiah, happening to be with his disciples and the multitude in the country of Cæsarea Philippi, he left them in the plain, and went up into an exceeding high mountain, with Peter the most zealous, James the most active, (see § 37.) and John the most beloved disciple. In this solitude, while Jesus was praying with the three, he was transfigured. Luke ix. 28. * And it came to pass, about an eight days after these sayings, (Matth. Mark, after six days) he took Peter, and John, and James, and I went up into a mountain (Mark, an high mountain apart by themselves)

Luke 28. And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings.} What I uke calls eight days, is by Matthew and a ark termed six days. The like differences are to be met with in profane historians. For instance, Suetonius Galba, c. 17. tells us that Piso before he was murdered, had lived six days in the character of Cesar; and Piso himself in his speech to the -soldiers mentions the same space of time: Sextus dies agitur commilitones ex quo, &c.." It is now the sixth day since I was adopted Cesar." Tacit. Hist. lib. 1. cap. 29. Nevertheless, the same Tacitus in the 48th chapter of his first book, tells us that he was Cesar only four days. And chapter 19th of the same book, that there were only four days between his being created Cesar and his death. See on Matt. xii. 40. 48.

+ Ibid. Went up into a mountain.] Tradition has generally conferred the honour of the transfiguration on mount Tabor, famed in ancient history for the victory which Deborah and Barak gained over Sisera, general of Jabin, king of Canaan, Judges iv. 14. Reland, in his Palæst. Illustrat. fib. i. cap 5. observes, that this tradition took its rise from Mark ix. 2. where it is said that Jesus carried Peter, James, and John (115 ogos v‡ndar xar' idev poves) into an high mountain apart by themselves. It seems the words xaridian, were thought to describe the position of the mountain. And because Tabor is very high, and stands in the plain of Esdraelon, at a distance from other hills, they thought it could not be said of no other mountain so properly, that it is an high mountain by itself. Hence the tradition of our Lord's being transfigured on 1 abor might arise; especially as this mountain is not only bigh, but verdant also and woody, and of a beautiful regular form, according to the account given of it, by Adamnanus, a writer of the seventh century, De loc. sacris, lib. xi. Nevertheless, the erder