but which he had never before stated in those precise terms, nor afterwards did, until his last arraignment before the High Priest. On that occasion he replied in the affirmative to the solemn "adjuration by the most High God, that he should tell them whether he were the Christ, or not." If we ask the reason of his openness on this occasion, and of his reserve upon others, we answer, that at this time only, during his personal ministry, did he instruct the Samaritans, at all other times, he laboured amongst Jews. In Samaria "the fields were already white unto the harvest ;" and accordingly, when “the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of peace" was preached unto them by the companions of the Apostles, then also they "gladly received the word." Yet as our Lord never visited them again as a teacher, and also directed the twelve not to enter into any city of the Samaritans ; so neither does it appear that John had preached among them as our Lord's forerunner. He laboured among the Jews only; because among them it was necessary that "every valley should be filled, every mountain and hill be made low, the crooked made straight, and the rough places plain; before all flesh could see the salvation of God." They had so joined the notion of Messiah's office as a prophet and a priest, with his kingly prerogative, as to make the latter supersede, or at least neutralize, the former.

They were therefore dealt with in a manner, which these partial and carnal prejudices rendered necessary; in order that, whether or not they ultimately recognized the real office of the Messiah, and received Jesus as that Messiah, they might, at least, not frustrate the end, for which he was manifested. Had he in so many words declared to them that he was the Messiah, they were at that time prepared to understand the term as first and principally denoting not only a descendant of David, but the heir of his temporal kingdom. The mass of the Jewish people wanted only an avowal on his part that he was the Messiah, to induce them resolutely "to take him by force, and make him a king;" and to raise such a tumult as would effectually have prevented the designs of the "prince of peace," if it had been successful; and, if it had been otherwise, would have prematurely terminated his own ministry, and perhaps the existence of the Jews as a nation. Though he was indeed a king, yet was his kingdom "not of this world; and therefore, when his hour was come, his servants did not fight that he should not be delivered to the Jews. To this end he was born, and for this cause he came into the world, that he might bear witness to the truth". Conformable to this end was his teaching and

a John xviii. 37.

conduct, both among the Samaritans, and among the Jews; and among both, "every one, that was of the truth, heard his voice."

Among the Samaritans, as we have seen, he explicitly declared himself to be the Messiah. We cannot suppose it probable, that the opinion which the woman expressed respecting the Messiah, antecedently to the declaration of Jesus, was peculiar to herself, or derived from any other source than the common traditional notions of her fellow-countrymen. In fact she so states it, as to imply that it was the settled and prevalent opinion. "I know that Messiah is coming,-he will tell us all things." She conceived of Messiah as a divine teacher; and expected that the time of his appearance was not far distant. Her fellowcountrymen, who "believed in him not only because of her word, but because they heard him themselves," at the same time that they expressed their firm conviction that he was the Christ, explained their notion of his office as such, by the declaration, "we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." Bishop Horsley has shewn at large, that the five books of Moses, which alone they admitted as canonical Scripture, afforded sufficient ground for this their expectation. But from their use of the term Messiah, which they could not derive from the Pentateuch, we may suppose that they were not

unacquainted with the later prophecies; indeed it would be difficult to conceive otherwise, when we consider that the Samaritans lived in the very midst of the Jews, and that there was so great a similarity in the religious system of the two nations; although we allow that they did not receive the prophetic books as canonical Scripture. Be that, however, as it may, they had not abandoned the principle, which the Pentateuch ought to have taught to the Jews, as well as to them, that he that was to come would be "a prophet," and "a blessing to all nations." And received in such a character, Jesus declared to the woman that he was the Messiah; and other Samaritans, to whom she communicated the intelligence, heard him themselves. He doubtless enlarged, in their hearing, also upon the same truths which he had declared to her, respecting the living water, the worship of God, and the blessings about to be revealed; and probably contributed to the maturity and definiteness of their expectations respecting the salvation of the world, by some such declarations as he had lately made to Nicodemus; who like the Samaritans, had attained to a conviction, that he was "a teacher come from God."

Comparatively few of those, whom our Lord had to instruct unto the kingdom of heaven, had either the correct views, or the candid

dispositions, of the Samaritans and of Nicodemus. When, therefore, we follow Jesus into Galilee, where, until the next passover, "he taught in their synagogues, and proclaimed the glad tidings of the kingdom," we do not find that he was so explicit in his declarations. Yet it is obvious, that what he taught was the same in substance, and preparatory, "as they were able to bear it," to that final avowal of his Messiahship, without which he did not leave even the Jews, who were so ill-prepared to understand it aright. Each of the two first Evangelists has given us a summary of the topics, which for a time formed the subject of his discourses; and St. Luke has handed down to us a notice of some leading particulars in the remarkable discourse, which, after some time, he delivered in the synagogue of his own city Nazareth. We at least, after having been acquainted with his previous statements, cannot be at a loss with respect to his meaning and design in those annunciations and exhortations, which we shall now very briefly notice.

St. Mark relates, that Jesus coming into Galilee, "preached the Gospel of the kingdom of God, saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the Gospel." It will doubtless occur

a Mark i. 14, 15. See also Matt. iv. 17. Luke iv. 15. John iv. 45.