unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence :

10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee;

11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against

a stone.

12 And Jesus, answering, said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee :

14. In the power of the Spirit; strengthened for his public work by the Holy Spirit, and guided by a divine impulse.

15. Being glorified; honored, praised.

16. Nazareth. See on Matt. 2: 23. Synagogue. See on Matt. 4: 23. Stood up for to read. In the synagogues there was a presiding officer, by whose request, or permission, any person, thought to be qualified, might read the Scriptures in public, and speak on the portion which had been read. The reading of the Scriptures was performed in a standing posture. 17. Opened the book. Books, in the time of Christ, were of a different shape from ours. They were long pieces of parchment or paper, somewhat like our large maps, with a stick at each end, around which they could be rolled up. Hence a word corresponding to our word roll was sometimes used to express a book. These rolls were written on the inside. The opening of them was the unrolling of them; and shutting, or closing them, was the rolling of them up.

and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of

all.

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath-day, and stood up for to read.

17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath an

priests, kings, and prophets, were designated to their office. See Ex 28: 41. 40: 15. 1 Kings 19: 16. 1 Sam. 10: 1. Hence the term anoint might be used metaphorically to express the circumstance of having been divinely appointed, either to an office in general, or to a particular duty connected with that office. || To preach the gospel. The corresponding language in Isaiah is, "preach [proclaim] good tidings." Our Lord intended to convey the thought that the time, so long expected, had now arrived, the time for announcing that the Messiah had come. The poor; those who are in lowly and afflicted circumstances, and whose characters bear a resemblance to their outward state, in their being meek and submissive to the divine will. || Bruised; crushed, oppressed. The clause to set at liberty them that are bruised, appears to have been taken from Is. 58: 6-to let the oppressed go free. To the principal quotation there was thus added a clause of similar import fron another passage of the same writer.

24. Prophet; religious teacher. Is accepted; finds favor. The remark of Jesus was a common saying, founded on the fact that those with whom we have been familiar from early life are not viewed by us, in their official capacity, with so much reverence as a stranger would be who should sustain the same office. This remark Jesus introduced, as furnishing one reason for not complying with their demand. He knew that no good effect would result from gratifying the spirit which they had manifested.

25. But I tell you, &c. He proceeded still further to vindicate himself for not complying with their demand, by observing that his declining to show them special attention was in harmony with some instances of God's dealings, in ancient times, with their nation. The Jews of old, regarding the Lord's prophets as peculiarly theirs, and themselves as peculiarly his people, might have thought that, especially in seasons of distress, it would be they who would be particularly favored, rather than persons not belonging to the chosen people; and that those who lived beyond the boundaries of the sacred territory would not be preferred to themselves in the distribution of divine bounties. Yet, on two memorable occasions, related in their sacred books, it was Gentiles, not Jews, who were distinguished by the favor of God; it was Gentiles, not Jews, to whom miraculous power was manifested, and for whom the actions of a prophet were performed. Just so in

25 But I tell you of a truth, Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land: the case of the people of Nazareth. However they might think that, from the peculiar connection of Jesus with their town, they had a special claim, Jesus judged differently, and chose to go abroad, beyond their limits, in the exercise of his miraculous powers. Nor would they have any more right to complain of him, than the Jews, in the instances which Jesus was about to adduce, had to complain of God. God acted according to his own view of propriety, without consulting the unreasonable desires and prejudices of their nation. He reserved to himself the right of bestowing his favors, especially extraordinary favors, on whomsoever it should please him to bestow them, without explaining the reasons of his conduct. So Jesus would act according to his own judgment of what was suitable and right, without consulting the unreasonable prejudices of his townsmen, or the spirit of curiosity which they were cherishing. Nor did this result from unkindness, or from want of accommodation, on the part of the Saviour; it resulted from his intuitive knowledge of what the character of the people and his own claims required. It was proper that he should confer his favors on whomsoever it pleased him to confer them, without being guided by the selfish, personal views of any. The Saviour's language conveyed also an implication, that the inhabitants of Nazareth were badly disposed towards him, and that the exertion of his miraculous power among them would be of little avail. || Elias; Elijah. The incident here referred to is related in 1 Kings, 17th chapter. || Was shut up. A figurative way of expressing that rain was withheld. Compare Gen. 8:2. || Three years and six months. See also James 5: 17. In 1 Kings 18: 1, no mention is made of six months. Jesus here

27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

28 And all they in the synastated the length of time as it was commonly spoken of among the people. And the manner in which six months came to be mentioned in addition to the three years, is probably to be sought in the fact that in Palestine there was generally a suspension of rain for about six months, from April to October. When the rain, called the early rain, was expected in October, on the occasion referred to by our Lord, it was withholden, and the drought continued three years from that time. During the preceding six months, also, there had not been rain. Thus the whole time during which rain had not fallen, was three years and six months.

26. Unto none of them; that is, to none of the widows in Israel. The word them is here emphatic, as distinguishing the Israelitish widows from a widow who was not an Israelite. Save; but. That is, But he was sent. || Sarepta. The Greek method of spelling the Hebrew name Zarephath. See I Kings 17: 9. Zarephath may be seen on the map, in the vicinity of Sidon. || Sidon. See on Matt. 11: 21.

27. Lepers. See on Matt. 8: 2. || Eliseus. The Greek method of spelling the Hebrew name Elisha. For the account here referred to, see 2 Kings, 5th chapter. None of them. That is, none of those lepers in Israel. Saving; but. That is, But Naaman a Syrian (not an Israelite) was cleansed. As, then, in the cases referred to, Israelites were passed by in the bestowal of God's special favors, and Gentiles received those favors, so the inhabitants of Nazareth, who seemed

29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

30 But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way, to think that they had a special claim on Jesus, would be passed by, and people of other places would witness and enjoy the exercise of his miracu lous powers.

28. Were filled with wrath; because they thought themselves slighted, and were not disposed to acquiesce in the decisions of infinite wisdom.

REMARK. We must not make our expectations, or curiosity, or wisdom, the rule by which to judge of God's dispensations. It becomes us in humility to surrender ourselves to God, and to acquiesce in all his methods of administration. Our short-sightedness cannot comprehend the boundless plan of God."

29. That they might cast him down headlong. About two miles from the present town of Nazareth is shown a rocky height, the descent from which, in a perpendicular direction, is fifty feet, and down which it would be easy to cast a person who might unawares have been brought to the summit. A person thus precipitated would inevitably perish. It is probable that the ancient town of Ñazareth extended further towards this rocky eminence than the modern town; and an excited rabble might easily urge on a person to a consider. able distance in a short time, and, by crowding against him, might push him from the summit. The word hill, in this verse, is probably not to be understood of a single elevation, but of a hilly region, or a hilly range.

30. Passing through the midst of them, &c. Whether a miraculous in