were quoted from orthodox Commentators; the next will contain many more. On those passages therefore which contain parables, I have contented myself with a few selections, leaving it for Mr. W. to complete the body of this testimony.

SECTION IV.

'Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.'-MATT. III. 12.

The parallel place is Luke iii. 17. In these words, the Baptist represents the same temporal judgment of which he had before spoken, changing the figure merely-with this addition, he had before spoken only of judgment and desolation; but he here speaks also of mercy and preservation. The meaning is, that when the son of man should come to judge the Jewish nation for their sins, those who believed in him, and gave diligent heed to his commandments, should be preserved from harm, while vengeance to the uttermost would come on the unbelieving persecuting Jews. The event proved the truth of the prediction; for while the faithful escaped, the obdurate Jews, almost to a man, were either destroyed by death, at the overthrow of their chief city by the Romans, or carried into captivity. As they suffered such a total destruction, from which as a nation they have not at this day recovered, (and God only knoweth when the period of their dispersion shall be accomplished,) the fire might well be said to be unquenchable; or, which is the same thing, the vengeance was effectual. The following extracts will show in what light others have viewed this parable:

1. PEARCE. In this whole verse, the destruction of

the Jewish state is expressed in the terms of husbandmen; and by the wheat's being gathered into the garner, seems meant, that the believers in Jesus should not be involved in the calamity.' Com. in loc.

2. HAMMOND. After illustrating the manner, in which the eastern nations winnowed grain, and noticing some other things to which this passage alludes, Dr. Hammond closes his note thus ;- According to this notion of winnowing, and burning the chaff, this verse accords with the general matter of John Baptist's preaching, viz. Christ's rich promises of all merciful reception, and preservation to those that shall repent and receive the gospel; and threatening of all judgments upon the impenitent Jews, formerly expressed by the kingdom of God approaching, and again by the axe laid to the root of the tree, ready to hew it down, and that attended with casting into the fire, as here the chaff is with burning with fire unquenchable. And so it was fulfilled on the Jews even in this life, (as it was oft foretold,) the godly true penitents that received Christ, through these tribulations, were preserved, when the rest that could not bear, or hold out the trial, all that the wind of temptation, false doctrines, &c. carried away, were generally destroyed; the corn laid up in a garner, and the chaff devoured with the fire.' Annot. in loc.

3. LIGHTFOOT. This Theological giant applies this passage to the circumstances of the Jews, not precisely like the authors before cited, but arrives at very nearly the same conclusion-with this exception,-he understands gathering the wheat into the garner, to mean the receiving of the righteous into a state of happiness after death. But it is to be observed that he was not led to this conclusion by any thing existing in the text or even the context. But he imagined the parable of the wheat and tares implied the happiness and misery of different characters after death; and supposing this parable of the fan to be somewhat similar, he judged such might be the spiritual meaning of this also. He does not, however, say that misery after death, is here indicated, but only the future reward of the righteous. Were it not for the circumstance already named, he says, 'Seeing that the

main intent of the verse is to show forth the destruction of Jerusalem, as is proved before, by these words might well be understood the care and charge that God took of his faithful ones in that ruin, when by the warning voice in the temple, that said, Migremus hinc, let us flit hence, he removed them to Pella, far enough distant from the danger.' Harm. Evan. Sec. ix.

Thus it would seem that, taking the passage in its own immediate connexion, Dr. Lightfoot thought it plainly referred to the temporal destruction of the unbelieving Jews, and the preservation of the believers: and he was induced to think it might have a different application only by fancying that another parable, which he supposed to be of similar import, had allusion to the future life.

The unquenchable fire, Dr. Lightfoot does not here explain but the following remark, on another passage, indicates with sufficient plainness, what were his views. On the text, The day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire, he says,―

'Two things shall discover every man's work, the day and the fire. Both which you may not understand amiss of the word of God manifesting and proving all things. For the light of the gospel is very frequently called the day, and the law of God called fire. Deut. xxxiii. 2.

But I had rather in this place understand by the day, the day of the Lord, that was shortly coming, and by fire the fire of divine indignation to be poured out upon the Jewish nation. And I am the more inclined to this interpretation because there is so frequent remembrance of that day and fire in the Holy Scriptures.' Heb. et Talm. Excerc. in 1 Cor. iii. 13.

4. CAPPE. Thus, to the prediction of the appearing, and the manifestation of the Messiah, this part of the Baptist's testimony adds also the prediction of a discrimination to be made among the people of the Jews: to those who should receive him, a promise of the Holy Spirit, with security amidst the calamities, which were impending over Judea; to those who should reject him, the denunciation of a fatal share in the general desola

tion of that coming of the Son of man.' Crit. Rem. vol. ii. p. 142.

5. CLARKE. Whose fan is in his hand: The Romans are here termed God's fan, as in ver. 10, they were termed his axe; and in chap. xxii.7, theyare termed his troops or armies. His floor.-Does not this mean the land of Judea, which has been long, as it were, the threshing floor of the Lord? God says he will now, by the winnowing fan, [viz. the Romans,] thoroughly cleanse this floor;-the wheat those who believe in the Lord Jesus, he will gather into his garner, either take to heaven from the evil to come, or put in a place of safety, as he did the christians, by sending them to Pella, in Colosyria, previously to the destruction of Jerusalem. But he will burn up the chaff-the disobedient and rebellious Jews, who would not come unto Christ that they might have life. Unquenchable fire :—that cannot be extinguished by man.' Com. in loc.

6. KENRICK. In this whole verse, the destruction of Jerusalem is expressed in the terms of husbandmen. The worthless part of the nation, disliking that excellent system of religion which he (Jesus) introduced, would reject him but the virtuous part of the people would believe in him. The former are to be visited with the most terrible judgments, which are expressed in prophetic language by inextinguishable fire; (see Isa. xli. 16.) which prophecy was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans: but the Christians were preserved in safety; having, in conformity with the warning and directions of Christ, retired from the city when it was besieged.' Expos. in loc.

SECTION V:

'From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.-MATT. IV. 12.

THIS passage is almost precisely the same as Matt. iii. 2, and therefore the notes on that, are equally applicable

to this. See particularly Hammond's note, in which he refers to this passage. The Continuators of Poole's Annotations and divers other commentators, allow this text to be of the same import as the other. The translators of the New Testament which was published in 1729, (Greek and English) show what they understood by the kingdom of heaven, in this case, by translating thus :'Repent, for the kingdom of the Messiah draws nigh.'

I have before said, that in order to make a phrase of this kind imply, or appear to imply endless misery, it has been assumed that the kingdom of heaven signifies the kingdom of glory after the resurrection, (see remarks on Mat. iii. 2.) In addition to the authority there quoted, on the import of this phrase, I offer the following; in which, it will be perceived, although three distinct significations are named, that which is often assumed is not of the number.

LIGHTFOOT. 'Nor doth this manner of arguing, 'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,' suit only with the Jews' own maxim and opinion, and so might convince and win them the sooner but it also agrees, most properly, with the nature of the kingdom of heaven' itself. For 1. If, by the term, be understood the coming and appearing of the Messiah, (as that, indeed, is the first sense of it,) what fitter entertainment of his appearing than repentance? For men, when he came to save them from their sins, Matt. i. 21, to repent of their sins,—and when he came as the true light, to forsake their dark ways,and when the Lord, by the appearance of Christ for man's redemption, did show, as it were, that he repented of evil against man;—how fit was it for man to meet this great mercy, by repenting of his own evil! And 2. If the term 'kingdom of heaven' be taken for the state of the church and religion, under the appearance of Christ and the gospel, in comparison of what it was under the ceremonious administrations in the law, there could be no fitter entertainment of it than by repentance; namely, by washing, purifying or sacrificing, the heart, when there was no other washing, purifying or sacrificing, in religion to