XX. 25. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

But Jesus called them aside and rebuked them, saying, Ye do utterly mistake the matter: ye think, belike, that it is and shall be in the governing of the Spiritual Kingdom of my Church, as it is in the temporal regiments and courts of earthly princes: ye dream of secular sovereignty and rule, each over other; but the case is quite otherwise here: here is no dominion to be exercised by any of you over the rest; as if ye were great sovereigns, and your brethren base subjects: thus it is indeed in the government of earthly princes.

XX. 26. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.

But it shall not be so among you, my apostles and disciples : there must needs indeed be distinct orders in my Church; neither is it possible, that there should be a mere parity without confusion: but this necessary inequality must be without a proud overliness, and insolent domineering over your brethren: all the ambition that I do allow amongst you, is, who shall be most serviceable to my Church, and most obsequious to the rest of his fellows.

XXI. 5. Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and the colt the foal of an ass. See Zech. ix. verse 9.

XXI. 7. And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

And they brought both the ass and her colt, and put their clothes upon them, and they set him upon the ass's colt thus clad, which had never been used to the yoke or carriage; and he rode thereon, in great humility and homely state, from Bethphage to Jerusalem.

XXI. 9. Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

O Lord, do thou save, and maintain, and prosper the kingdom of this true Son of David: blessed is this true and only Messiah, which cometh unto us, in the power and authority of the God of Heaven. O God, do thou, in the highest heaven, bless and save him, and give happy success to his rule over us. XXI. 10. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

And when he was come into Jerusalem with this joyful acclamation of the people, all the city was full of noise and stirring; and, as he passed the street with this attendance, the multitude, seeing the train, asked, Who is this, that is followed with such confluence of people, and such loud gratulations?

XXI. 12. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast

out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold dores.

And Jesus went up, in this equipage, to the Temple of God; and did now, the second time, cast out all them that bought and sold cattle and doves, and other things useful for their sacrifices, from the courts of the holy Temple; and overthrew the tables of those moneychangers which were employed in these bargains, and the seats of them that sold turtles and pigeons for their oblations.

XXI. 13. And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieres.

And said unto them, It is written by the prophet Isaiah, My house is consecrated to holy devotion, to the use of prayer, and all other the sacred services of God; but now, well may the complaint of Jeremy be taken up: ye have made it a den of thieves, in misemploying it to your fraudulent bargains and griping transactions.

XXI. 19. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. presently the fig tree withered away.

And

And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came purposely to seek that fruit, which he knew he should not find ripe and seasonable; that he might hence take occasion to work that exemplary miracle upon it, which ensued: for, when he found only store of leaves upon it, and no fruit, that he might in this tree shew how much he hates and will punish a formal profession, such as the Jews made, of religion, without an answerable fruitfulness, he cursed the fig tree, and said; Let that, which is thy fault, be thy punishment: thou bearest no fruit at all; whereas the nature of thy kind is ever to have one fruit under another, always some, though not ever in a full maturity: since therefore thou bearest no fruit at all, never mayest thou more bear any fruit: and, presently, the fig tree, as blasted with that word of judgment, withered.

XXI. 21. Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Verily I say unto you, That, which ye have seen me to do, by my Divine Power, the same shall ye do by the power of your miraculous faith: if ye can stedfastly believe, without wavering and doubts, ye shall not only be able, by your command, to remove the sap from a tree; but ye shall be able to remove the greatest mountain, by your word, out of the place wherein it is, and to cast it into the sea.

ΧΧΙ. 24, 25. And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

The question you ask me can proceed out of nothing but a wilful cavillation: ye well see such divine power shining forth in my miracles, as may well convince you of the certainty of my mission and authority from God himself. But, since ye will needs move this doubt, I shall give you a full resolution, out of your own answer: if ye shall but tell me whence John, my forerunner, had his warrant and authority, both for his preaching and baptism; herein may ye give yourselves full satisfaction: for, if he were a holy Prophet, as ye all account of him, and served only to make way for me as his Lord and Saviour, and pointed to me as that Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world; how can ye make any scruple of receiving me, as sent from God, for the work of man's redemption?

XXI. 31. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

Ye Priests and Elders of the people, and ye Scribes and Pharisees, are as the undertaking son, that promised well, but did nothing: Publicans and Sinners are as the refusing son, which denied to work, and yet performed it in their conversion: therefore even Publicans and Sinners shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, however now by you despised, when ye shall be excluded.

XXI. 33. There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it &c. See Isaiah v. 1.

XXI. 37. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

And, after that he had seen all the indignities that they had offered unto his servants the prophets, he resolved to send his Only Son Jesus unto them, whose divine miracles he well knew might justly convince them of their duty to him.

XXI. 38. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

But when these wicked Jews saw that the Son of God was come personally amongst them, they said, Come, let us kill him, and then there shall be none to challenge the inheritance and command of us: we may then live lawlessly, without any controul.

XXI. 42. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner ?

Ye think now, that ye are utterly free from the danger of this accusation, and presume of your own judgment; whereas, he, whom ye reject, shall be approved that true Messiah, on whom the Church of God is built, according to that of the Psalmist. See Psalm cxviii. 22.

XXI. 44. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Christ is as a Rock, every way; as in regard of the use of that spiritual building, so in respect of the danger of opposing him: whosoever will be dashing upon him, shall but split and break himself in pieces; and if he fall, in just revenge, upon any that makes head against him, he shall crush and grind him to powder.

XXII. 9. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

Since the Jews, my selected people, will not obey these gracious invitations, nor approve themselves worthy of this mercy, go ye to the despised Gentiles, and call them to this spiritual marriage feast.

XXII. 10. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good.

So those, my Apostles and Evangelists, went to call those that are without; the contemptible heathen, that lay by the highways and hedge-rows of the world, as unworthy of the house-room of my Church, and gathered them, &c.

XXII. 11, 12, 13. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into utter darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

But, though God vouchsafed to call even the Gentiles to the participation of the privileges of his Church, yet he will not abide that they should dishonour his holy vocation, by their known filthiness and pollution: the King of Glory, the God of his Church, takes notice of his guests, and marks how they come dressed and habited to his spiritual feast; and if he see a man, who, professing Christ, shall notwithstanding continue in the old rags and filth of his natural corruption, he cannot but be highly offended with this foul hypocrisy and presumption, and, after a sharp expostulation, shall adjudge that man to a just and heavy damnation.

XXII. 14. For many are called, but few are chosen. For, think not that all, who are outwardly called by the sweet invitations of the Gospel, are made partakers of grace and salvation. God calleth all sorts of men, and men of all sorts, and they do outwardly answer this voice of God; but his inward and effectual calling, and the election of grace, is but of few.

XXII. 16. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.

And they sent unto him their disciples, togiether with them which were of the faction and clientage of Herod; messengers divided both in opinion and affection; the one part standing for the liberty of the Jews, the other part for the impositions of Cæsar and Herod; saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and, without all respects to the persons of one side or other, teachest unpartially the way of God in sincerity and truth.

XXII. 17. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not?

Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou of this point? Thou knowest that God hath imposed upon us a sacred tribute to be paid unto himself: now, our Roman usurpers require us to pay this very tribute unto their coffers, who do justly challenge to be God's free people; now then, what sayest thou? Is it lawful for us thus to yield unto their exactions, and, abdicating our just privileges, to pay this tribute unto Cæsar or not?

XXII. 18, 19, 20, 21. But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Cæsar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

And Jesus, who knew the very secret thoughts of their hearts, perceiving their wicked conspiracy against him, said, Why do ye thus seek to entrap me, under a colour of respect and reverence to me, O ye hypocrites? Ye think ye now have me in a snare: for if I say it is not lawful, ye Herodians are ready to accuse me as seditious; if I affirm it lawful, ye disciples of the Pharisees are ready to load me with the envy of the people: but ye shall well see how easily I can avoid this net ye have laid for me. Shew me the tribute money. And they brought him a Roman penny (to the value of seven pence halfpenny of the present coin:) and he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription, which is stamped upon this metal? They say to him, Cæsar's. Then saith he