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The following Note, by Dr. Prieftley, on Matth. viii. 22. gives a very fatisfactory interpretation of the text:

Let the dead bury their dead.] i. e. Let worldly-minded men mind worldly things. Death is often used in this moral and figurative fenfe, as, dead in trespasses and fins, &c. It is probable that this man thought, that by waiting till the death of his father, the uncomfortable life that our Lord now led would be over, and he would be entering upon his kingdom.'

Luke ix. 62. is thus judiciously paraphrased:

'As no man is fit to manage a plough who looks behind him, and is not intent upon his work: fo no man is fit for the kingdom of heaven, who does not give his whole attention to it, and who, in the prefent circumstances of things, is not even ready to abandon all for it.'

Dr. Priestley thus explains Luke x. 18.:

I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven;] i. e. falling as rapidly as lightning feems to fall from heaven. By Satan is here meant the fuppofed caufe of poffeffion, and may be extended to evils of all kinds, moral as well as natural.'

The following remark on the Parable of the good Samaritan is equally juft and ufeful:

An excellent parable, to fhew that we are not to enquire into the relation that an object of distress bears to us. It is enough that the afflicted are men, and therefore feel as we should do in the fame circumftances.'

We lay the following Notes before our Readers, as containing much curious and useful matter. They will remember that thofe which have a capital T at the end are Mr. Turner's, thofe that are marked J, Dr. Jebb's, and thofe without a mark, Dr. Prieftley's.

Matth. viii. 28. As it was the current opinion among the Jews, that madness was owing to a poffeffion with an evil fpirit, the madmen themselves, who once had their fenfes, muft, of course, have had the fame notion. Thefe madmen, as is not uncommon, knew themfelves to be fo, and therefore thought themselves to be poffeffed, and spoke in that character. For reafons, of which we may not be competent judges, our Lord thought proper to transfer the madness from these men to the fwine. Perhaps to punish them for keeping those animals, which by the Law of Mofes they were not allowed to eat, and which by a law of Hyrcanus they were forbidden to keep.'

It is generally imagined, that the people of this country befought Jefus to depart out of their coafts, through diflike to him and his doctrine; but their request might be dictated by the fame apprehenfion that led Peter to fay, after the miraculous draught of filhes, Depart from me, for I am a finful man. They were convinced that Jefus was a Prophet, and might be afraid that he was come to punish them for their fins. It is obfervable, that Jefus ordered thefe madmen to publish the miracle of their cure. Perhaps, as he was leaving their country, and did not intend to spend much time there, he was not apprehenfive of any inconvenience from it. It could not be ewing to the incredulity of the people; for, if they had not been

convinced

convinced of his miraculous power, they would not have contented themselves with befeeching him to leave their coafts, but, irritated at the lofs of their swine, would, probably, have infulted and abused him.'

Mark vi. 33. Many knew it *.] It is much more probable that the place whither they were going fhould be fpoken of as known to the people, who might have been informed of it by the Apostles. That many of them should know Jefus himself, could hardly be worth noticing. It would have been rather extraordinary, if, after all that had paffed, they fhould not have known him. Perhaps πολλο STEYσa may here mean, that many obferved, or watched him, to find whither he was going. J.'

V. 40. It should rather have been rendered by a hundred and by. fifty; i. e. one hundred in front and fifty deep, which makes the whole number five thousand, v. 44. This gives a clear idea of the arrangement. T.'

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John vi. 32. Probably aλndwe ought to be understood as agree-. ing with the former as well as the latter αρτον. Mofes gave you not the true bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. T.'

'V. 70. One of you is a traytor, or the devil.] This may be rendered, one of you is a falfe accufer. And † as the fame term is generally used for the fource or principle of evil, and there is no allufion to any particular act of treachery on this occafion, our Lord might only mean to fay that he was a bad man, notwithstanding the many advantages he had had for religious inftruction. Thus our Lord called Peter Satan, when what he suggested was of an evil nature and tendency.'

Matth. xvii. 13. It is fomething remarkable, that both Mofes and Elijah had, like Jefus, fafted forty days, the one when he gave the Law to the Ifraelites, and the other when he attempted to recover them to a due regard to their Law after a time of great degeneracy. It is obfervable alfo, that Elijah had been tranflated to heaven without dying; and if it be faid of Mofes that he died in the mount, to which God called him, yet he went up in perfect health and vigour, nobody was permitted to accompany him, and his place of burial could never be found. It is therefore not improbable that he never properly died, but was tranflated alfo. Since, however, he was with Jefus on the Mount of Transfiguration, in company with Elijah, we may prefume that they were then in the fame ftate, and confequently, that Mofes, as well as Enoch and Elijah, are now living with Christ. Whether these be all his attendants of the human race we cannot tell, and it concerns us not to know. All his faithful disciples and followers will receive the joyful fummons to attend him at a proper time.'

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John viii. 58. I am.] Chrift had used thefe words twice before in this discourse, in both which places our tranflators have added the word he; why they have not done the fame here, it is difficult to affign a good reafon. V. 24.-If ye believe not that (iyw tips) I am be, ye shall die in your fins. V. 28. When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then hall ye know that (iyw eiμı) I am he. In both these paffages I prefume that we are to understand he that was promised; or in Our verfion has, Many knew him.

M 4

+ Lege, Or.

the

So here:

the words of the Baptift, Matth. xi. 3. he that should come. before Abraham was, I am he that should come, or I am he that was promifed before Abraham was.

T.'

orf

John x. 26, 27. Read the paffage thus, 26. But ye believe not, for ye are not of my sheep. 27. As I said unto you; (v. 4. 14.) my Sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

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T.

Matth. xx. 28. Give his life a ransom for many;] i, e. fhall deliver, or rescue many, viz. from fin and mifery, by means of his Gofpel, which was fignally confirmed by his death and refurrection. Thus God is faid to redeem, or ransom, the Ifraelites from Egypt, by an exertion of his power, not by giving a price for them.'

Mark xiii, 32. Neither the Son.] It is very extraordinary that any person can read this paffage, and imagine Chrift to be the omnifcient God. Pearce obferves, that thefe words are not in the old manufcripts of St. Ambrofe's days, and therefore thinks them an interpolation. But this makes no difference; because, whether the Son be mentioned or not, the knowledge of the day of judgment is exprefsly confined to the Father only. That Chrift fhould know this as God, but be ignorant of it as man, which Pearce fuppofes, is too trifling to be replied to. On this principle there could be no union of the two natures, and confequently Jefus would be no more God than he is upon the scheme of Socinus.'

Luke xxii. 68. And if I also ask you.] If I fhould argue the matter with you, putting questions to you, according to the cuftom of difputations in ancient times, as we fee in Socrates.'

Ib. You would not answer me.] i. e. You would not difcufs the matter fairly.'

The two following Notes of Dr. Priestley evidently refer to the fentiments he has advanced in his other writings refpecting the conftitution of human nature. We leave them to the judgment of our Readers.

Matth. x. 28. Not able to kill the foul, but rather fear him who is able to deftroy both foul and body in hell.] In this our Lord might exprefs himself according to the philofophical principles that perhaps began about that time to spread among the Jews, as well as he did 'concerning poffeffion by dæmons. Or by ox, which we render foul, he might mean no more than life, but the future and better life, in oppofition to the prefent; God being able to put an end even to this, in the utter annihilation of the wicked. It is obfervable, even here, that the only punishment of the foul that our Lord fpeaks of, is in company with the body. Nothing is faid of its exifting in a state feparate from the body. And it might very well be conceived, that the faculty of thinking belonged to fomething in man different from the rest of his body; and this might even be fubdivided in idea, as into foul and Spirit, as by Paul, and yet the whole be thought to be corporeal, infeparable, and confequently not capable of fubfifting but in conjunction,'

Luke xvi. 19. 'It is evident that this parable does not reprefent the foul as a fubftance diftin&t from the body, but is formed upon the idea of the whole man being removed into a future ftate before the ufual time. For when the beggar dies, it is not faid that his foul, but that he himself, was carried into Abraham's bofom. It is alfo the

rich man, and not his foul only, that lifted up his eyes in hell; and the pains he complains of are fuch as could affect his body only. Alfo when Abraham fpeaks of Lazarus returning to the world, he evidently refers to a real refurrection: neither will they be perfuaded though one rofe from the dead. The general refurrection is never mentioned

in any other terms.'

To the fpecimens that we have already given of The Paraphrafe, we shall fubjoin the following:

'Jɔhn vi. 44. Do not imagine that I am very anxious about gaining you to be my difciples. The fuccefs of my Gofpel, in this age, as well as in every future age, will be fuch as my father fhall judge to be most proper. But whoever shall become my difciple, not in name only, but in deed and in truth, I will raise him up to eternal life at the last day. 45. That the fuccefs of my preaching depends upon the good will and providence of God, is attefted by the Prophets, who fay that they shall be all taught of God. All, therefore, who come to me, must be those whofe hearts it fhall please God to be fo well difpofed as to hear and receive the truth. 45. Not that I speak of any miraculous influence of the Divine Being, fo that men fhall be impelled to become my difciples by a direct impulfe from him. This is true only of myfelf, who have the most intimate and peculiar communication with God. What I mean by hearing and learning of the Father is, hearing and learning things by those means which the Divine Being has provided in the courfe of his common Providence, and agreeable to the general laws which he has ekablished in nature.'

Luke xvi. 10-12. And not the rich only, but even the poorest may follow the fame maxim; for he whofe difpofition leads him to juftice and charity, will be juft and charitable, whether he has little or much. If, therefore, you have made a bad use of the things of this world, how can you expect that things of more confequence will be intrufted to you? If you have been unfaithful in a trust as stewards, how can you expect to be rewarded by your employer, with an estate of your own?'

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John xi. 50-52. Caiaphas faid, It is certainly better for us to destroy this one man at once, than run the risk of bringing the whole vengeance and power of the Romans upon us, in order to crush the feditions that will be excited by him, which might be the utter ruin of the whole nation. 51. Now Caiaphas being the High Priest that year, his words may be confidered as prophetical, and in a much more important fenfe than he had any idea of. For in fact, Jefus did die for the whole nation, and not for that nation only, but for the benefit of the whole world, who, by becoming Chriftians, are united under one head, and brought to join in the worship of the one living and true God.'

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Matth. xxvi. 26. This is my body.] This you are to confider as a representation and memorial of my body, which, like this bread, is fhortly to be broken for you. 28. This wine alfo, is a reprefentation and memorial of my blood, which is fhed in confirmation of that Gofpel, in which the doctrines of repentance and forgiveness of fin will be preached to all nations. 29. I fhall not henceforth partake

of

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of any more entertainments with you, till I join with you in a much more delightful one in the kingdom of heaven.'

John xvii. 4. Since, now, O father, I have promoted thy glory on earth, and have finished the work which thou gaveft me to do. 5. Exalt me, I intreat thee, to thy right hand, which is the ftate of glory that thou hadst appointed for me before the world was.'

V. 17. May their minds be thoroughly seasoned and fortified by a firm belief of the great truths which they are to teach to others, and be thus confecrated and fet apart for the office of the Apoftlefhip.'

V. 20. "Neither do I now pray for these my Apostles only, who are now present with me, but for all that fhall be converted to the Chriftian religion through their preaching, even all those who, to the end of the world, fhall become my difciples, 21. That they may all form one connected compact body, by an union as intimate as that which fubfifts between thee and me, that they all may be one with us, and that the whole world, feeing the good effects of this divine harmony, may be convinced of my divine miffion.'

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22. As they are one with me in affection and design, I am also defirous that they fhould fhare with me in the glory which thou gavest me; that in this refpect alfo they may be one with us, as thou and myself art one; 23. I being confidered as dwelling in them, and thou in me, that their union with us may be completed, and that all the world may be convinced that thou haft fent me, and that thou wilt love and honour them, even as thou haft loved and honoured me.'

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24. It is my final wifh, that all my faithful followers may enjoy my prefence hereafter, and may behold and fhare in the glory which thou giveft me, and which thou haft defigned for me from the foun. dation of the world.'

We could willingly tranfcribe much more of this judicious explanation of our Saviour's last prayer for his difciples; but our limits forbid. Our Readers will obferve, that Dr. Priestley has paraphrafed the whole of the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th chapters of St. John's Gospel.

In the Paraphrafe of John viii. by introducing the name of God, v. 18. the question of the Jews, v. 19. Where is thy Father? is rendered unnatural and abfurd. So likewife, v. 32. the meaning of our Lord is fo fully explained, as to leave no ground for the offence which they took at his expreffions.

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Dr. Priestley has thus judiciously paraphrased John x. 29, 30. My Father, who has given me this power,' (the power of giving eternal life to all his fincere followers) and to whofe Providence I afcribe all the fuccefs of my doctrine, is greater than all, and no one is able to frustrate his designs. 30. And in this refpe& I and my Father are to be confidered as one and the fame, fince what I do is by power communicated to me from him.'

To this we fhall add the paraphrafe on ver. 35, &c. for the fake of a remark:

* Lege, are.

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