140 lines
9.3 KiB
XML
140 lines
9.3 KiB
XML
<div2 id="Matt.i" n="i" next="Matt.ii" prev="Matt" progress="0.52%" title="Introduction">
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<h2 id="Matt.i-p0.1">Matthew</h2>
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<hr/>
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<pb id="Matt.i-Page_1" n="1"/>
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<div class="Center" id="Matt.i-p0.3">
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<p id="Matt.i-p1"><b>AN</b></p>
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<h3 id="Matt.i-p1.1">EXPOSITION,</h3>
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<h4 id="Matt.i-p1.2">W I T H P R A C T I C A L O B S E
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R V A T I O N S,</h4>
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<h5 id="Matt.i-p1.3">OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO</h5>
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<h2 id="Matt.i-p1.4">S T. M A T T H E W.</h2>
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<hr style="width:2in"/>
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</div>
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<p class="indent" id="Matt.i-p2"><span class="smallcaps" id="Matt.i-p2.1">We</span> have now
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before us, I. <i>The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus
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Christ;</i> so this second part of the holy Bible is entitled: The
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<i>new covenant;</i> so it might as well be rendered; the word
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signifies both. But, when it is (as here) spoken of as Christ's act
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and deed, it is most properly rendered a <i>testament,</i> for he
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is the testator, and it becomes of force <i>by his death</i>
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(<scripRef id="Matt.i-p2.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.9.16-Heb.9.17" parsed="|Heb|9|16|9|17" passage="Heb 9:16,17">Heb. ix. 16, 17</scripRef>); nor
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is there, as in covenants, a previous treaty between the parties,
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but what is granted, though an estate upon condition, is owing to
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the will, the free-will, the good-will, of the Testator. All the
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grace contained in this book is owing to Jesus Christ as our Lord
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and Saviour; and, unless we consent to him as our Lord, we cannot
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expect any benefit by him as our Saviour. This is called a
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<i>new</i> testament, to distinguish it from that which was given
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by Moses, and was not antiquated; and to signify that it should be
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always new, and should never wax old, and grow out of date. These
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books contain, not only a full discovery of that grace <i>which has
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appeared to all men, bringing salvation,</i> but a legal instrument
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by which it is conveyed to, and settled upon, all believers. How
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carefully do we preserve, and with what attention and pleasure do
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we read, the last will and testament of a friend, who has therein
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left us a fair estate, and, with it, high expressions of his love
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to us! How precious then should this testament of our blessed
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Saviour be to us, which secures to us all his unsearchable riches!
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It is <i>his</i> testament; for though, as is usual, it was written
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by others (we have nothing upon record that was of Christ's own
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writing), yet he dictated it; and the night before he died, in the
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institution of his supper, he signed, sealed, and published it, in
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the presence of twelve witnesses. For, though these books were not
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written for some years after, for the benefit of posterity, <i>in
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perpetuam rei memoriam—as a perpetual memorial,</i> yet the New
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Testament of our Lord Jesus was settled, confirmed, and declared,
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from the time of his death, as a nuncupative will, with which these
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records exactly agree. The things which St. Luke wrote were
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<i>things which were most surely believed,</i> and therefore well
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known, before he wrote them; but, when they were written, the oral
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tradition was superseded and set aside, and these writings were the
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repository of that New Testament. This is intimated by the title
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which is prefixed to many Greek Copies, <b><i>Tes kaines Diathekes
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Hapanta</i></b>—<i>The whole of the New Testament,</i> or <i>all
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the things of it.</i> In it is declared <i>the whole counsel of
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God</i> concerning our salvation, <scripRef id="Matt.i-p2.3" osisRef="Bible:Acts.20.27" parsed="|Acts|20|27|0|0" passage="Ac 20:27">Acts
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xx. 27</scripRef>. As <i>the law of the Lord is perfect,</i> so is
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the gospel of Christ, and nothing is to be added to it. We have it
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all, and are to look for no more.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Matt.i-p3">II. We have before us <i>The Four Gospels.
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Gospel</i> signifies <i>good news,</i> or <i>glad tidings;</i> and
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this history of Christ's coming <i>into the world to save
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sinners</i> is, without doubt, the best news that ever came from
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heaven to earth; the angel gave it this title (<scripRef id="Matt.i-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.2.10" parsed="|Luke|2|10|0|0" passage="Lu 2:10">Luke ii. 10</scripRef>), <b><i>Euangelizomai
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hymin</i></b>—<i>I bring you good tidings; I bring the gospel to
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you.</i> And the prophet foretold it, <scripRef id="Matt.i-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.52.7 Bible:Isa.61.1" parsed="|Isa|52|7|0|0;|Isa|61|1|0|0" passage="Isa 52:7,61:1">Isa. lii. 7; lxi. 1</scripRef>. It is there
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foretold that in the days of the messiah <i>good tidings</i> should
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be preached. <i>Gospel</i> is an old Saxon word; it is <i>God's
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spell</i> or <i>word;</i> and God is so called because he is good,
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<i>Deus optimus—God most excellent,</i> and therefore it may be a
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good spell, or word. If we take <i>spell</i> in its more proper
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signification for a <i>charm (carmen</i>), and take that in a good
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sense, for what is moving and affecting, which is apt <i>lenire
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dolorem—to calm the spirits,</i> or to raise them in admiration or
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love, as that which is very amiable we call charming, it is
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applicable to the gospel; for in it the charmer <i>charmeth
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wisely,</i> though to <i>deaf adders,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.i-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.58.4-Ps.58.5" parsed="|Ps|58|4|58|5" passage="Ps 58:4,5">Ps. lviii. 4, 5</scripRef>. Nor (one would think) can
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any charms be so powerful as those of the beauty and love of our
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Redeemer. The whole New Testament is the gospel. St. Paul calls it
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<i>his</i> gospel, because he was one of the preachers of it. Oh
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that we may each of us make it ours by our cordial acceptance of it
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and subjection to it! But the four books which contain the history
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of the Redeemer we commonly call <i>the four gospels,</i> and the
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inspired penmen of them <i>evangelists,</i> or
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<i>gospel-writers;</i> not, however, very properly, because that
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title belongs to a particular order of ministers, that were
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assistants to the apostles (<scripRef id="Matt.i-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Eph.4.11" parsed="|Eph|4|11|0|0" passage="Eph 4:11">Eph. iv.
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11</scripRef>): <i>He gave some apostles, and some evangelists.</i>
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It was requisite that the doctrine of Christ should be interwoven
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with, and founded upon, the narrative of his birth, life, miracles,
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death, and resurrection; for then it appears in its clearest and
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strongest light. As in nature, so in grace, the most happy
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discoveries are those which take rise from the certain
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representations of matters of fact. Natural history is the best
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philosophy; and so is the sacred history, both of the Old and New
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Testament, the most proper and grateful vehicle of sacred truth.
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These four gospels were early and constantly received by the
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primitive church, and read in Christian assemblies, as appears by
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the writings of Justin Martyr and Irenæus, who lived little more
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than a hundred years after the ascension of Christ; they declared
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that neither more nor fewer than four were received by the church.
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A Harmony of these four evangelists was compiled by Tatian about
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that time, which he called, <b><i>To dia tessaron</i></b>—<i>The
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Gospel out of the four.</i> In the third and fourth centuries there
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were gospels forged by divers sects, and published, one under the
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name of St. Peter, another of St. Thomas, another of St. Philip,
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&c. But they were never owned by the church, nor was any credit
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given to them, as the learned Dr. Whitby shows. And he gives this
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good reason why we should adhere to these written records, because,
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whatever the pretences of tradition may be, it is not sufficient to
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preserve things with any certainty, as appears by experience. For,
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whereas Christ said and did many memorable things, which <i>were
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not written</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.i-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:John.20.30 Bible:John.21.25" parsed="|John|20|30|0|0;|John|21|25|0|0" passage="Joh 20:30,21:25">John xx. 30;
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xxi. 25</scripRef>), tradition has not preserved any one of them to
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us, but all is lost except what was written; that therefore is what
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we must abide by; and blessed by God that we have it to abide by;
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it is the sure word of history.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Matt.i-p4">III. We have before us <i>the Gospel
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according to St. Matthew.</i> The penman was by birth a Jew, by
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calling a publican, till Christ commanded his attendance, and then
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he left <i>the receipt of custom,</i> to follow him, and was one of
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those that accompanied him <i>all the time that the Lord Jesus went
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in and out, beginning from the baptism of John unto the day that he
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was taken up,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.i-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Acts.1.21-Acts.1.22" parsed="|Acts|1|21|1|22" passage="Ac 1:21,22">Acts i. 21,
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22</scripRef>. He was therefore a competent witness of what he has
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here recorded. He is said to have written this history about eight
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years after Christ's ascension. Many of the ancients say that he
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wrote it in the Hebrew or Syriac language; but the tradition is
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sufficiently disproved by Dr. Whitby. Doubtless, it was written in
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Greek, as the other parts of the New Testament were; not in that
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language which was peculiar to the Jews, whose church and state
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were near a period, but in that which was common to the world, and
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in which the knowledge of Christ would be most effectually
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transmitted to the nations of the earth; yet it is probable that
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there might be an edition of it in Hebrew, published by St. Matthew
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himself, at the same time that he wrote it in Greek; the former for
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the Jews, the latter for the Gentiles, when he left Judea, to
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preach among the Gentiles. Let us bless God that we have it, and
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have it in a language we understand.</p>
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</div2> |