departed, and even the state of death itself) is the very same with that which is here translated hell. In Psal. 6, 5. & 94, 17. the word rendered grave, or silence, is the same in the Greek version with that whose signification we are now considering. So in I Cor. 15. "O, grave, where is thy victory?" In Is. 38, 9. 10, 18. "I shall go to the gates of the grave," - the expression can only mean the grave, or death itself. And yet in the Greek version, the words are the same with those here translated hell. So Sapient. 16, 13. σὺ γὰρ ζωῆς καὶ θανάτου ἐξουσίαν ἔχεις, καὶ κατάγεις εἰς πύλας ᾅδου καὶ ἀνάγεις where the English translation renders the gates of hell. So Act. Tat. 3 Macc. (ap. Wets.) There are other passages of the Old Testament where a different phrase occurs, but apparently of the same signification; where for SIN and dons some word is substituted, more unequivocally denoting death, as D and Oávaros. Job. 38,17. Ps. 9, 13. Ps. 107, 18. In the passage of Matthew it must be noticed that πύλαι άδου are for "Αδης personified, as in the striking apostrophe and personification of St. Paul. (1 Cor.)

So we find Dis, and sometimes Orcus, in the Classical writers. Petron. Sat. 62. Arce autem miles fortis, tanquam Orcus. Sometimes Mors; as Apul. 7. Ipsaque Morte, quam formidant alii fortiorem. This prince of the shades below was sometimes, by the Jews, represented as a Janitor. So Aloth. 24. and Chagiga 15, 1. Etiam janitor Gehennæ resistere tibi non potuit, cum eò venires ad educandum Acharem. So also Hom. Od. a. 276. ἡ δ ̓ ἔβη εἰς ἀΐδας πυλάρταο κρατέροιο. Kрaτépolo. See more passages ap. Wetstein. Vide Windet de vit. funct. statu. 8. 4.

18. οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς. The αὐτης may refer to either of two antecedents, ἐκκλησίαν οι Πέτρος, and it has been a subject of much discussion to which it ought to be referred. Almost all the Commentators maintain that the former is to be understood (i. e. Èkkλ.) Some Critics, however, of great name, adopt the latter; as Le Clerc, and Wets. who

thus remarks: "Prædicit Petro, eum in discrimen vitæ venturum, mei tamen eò absterritum iri, quo minus constanter in doctrinâ magistri perseveraret, mortemque adeo ipsam hostium terribilissimam vinceret atque triumpharet." Dr. Maltby too has very recently supported the same opinion, with his accustomed acuteness and erudition. (Serm. 23. vol. 2.) If, says he, by the gates of death is to be understood the fear of death, such fear can operate only upon a person. Peter is the person described by the rock; and, if our acceptation of the phrase gates of death be correct, the latter part of the sentence should seem also to refer to him. The meaning then would be, that his courage and resolution in founding the Church of Christ would be so great, that not even this fear of death would discourage him from the effectual discharge of his duty. Now this, we know, was fulfilled; for, after a temporary falling off, occasioned by too much presumption, St. Peter became conspicuous for his zeal and constancy in preaching the Gospel, and finally suffered martyrdom.

The passage, Dr. M. adds, may be thus paraphrased: Thy name is rock, and thy character for firmness and constancy well befits the name. Upon ́such a rock as thee, by thy patience, suffering, zeal, and courage, I shall establish my religion; and not all the fierce opposition of the world, not even the fear of death itself, shall deter thee, faithfully and boldly, from teaching to others the truths which I have taught unto thee.

With deference to so high an authority, I must express my dissent. The reasoning seems to me not conclusive, and the interpretation somewhat harsh and far-fetched. I entirely assent to the great majority of the Commentators, who refer the autîs to ekkλnoías, both because it is the nearest antecedent, and also since it thus yields the more important sense of the two interpretations of which it is susceptible. For KK. may be taken collectively, (thus the greater part of the Commentators,) and

the following sense will arise; namely, that the Church shall not die, or become extinct, in this world. So Wolf. Campb. Clarke, &c. But here it is not without reason objected by Le Clerc and Maltby, that such an assurance might seem superfluous, since the constant tenor of prophecy, and the very nature of the dispensation itself, warrant us in expecting that it will continue unimpaired and unshaken to the end of the world. It seems, therefore, safer, with Euthymius, Grotius, Camer. Hammond, and some others, to understand by KKλ. the individual members of which composed the body of the faithful; a sense which it may very well bear, and which occurs elsewhere in the N. T. I cannot, however, assent to the interpretation of Grotius and Whitby: "They shall enjoy here in prospect, and hereafter in certain accomplishment, a happy resurrection." Under the collective term ekkλ. is comprehended Peter; who, indeed, is particularly meant. On this interpretation, the passage admits of the following satisfactory paraphrase: "Neither persecution, nor even death itself, shall prevent thee, and thy faithful followers, who build on thy example, and who will constitute my Church, from persevering unto the end in the profession of my Religion."

19. καὶ δώσω σοι τὰς κλεῖς τ. β. τ. οὐ. The signification of these words will, as Dr. Maltby observes (ubi supra), depend on the sense of the formula, Barineía Twv oúpavov. Now this, from the connection in which it stands with the preceding words, and agreeably to the concurring opinions of the most learned and judicious Commentators, denotes (as frequently elsewhere) the Gospel dispensation. Of this important phrase, the origin and nature is admirably illustrated by Dr. Maltby, who refers it to the Jewish notion of Theocracy. As Christ (says he) was to reign in righteousness, the exercise of spiritual authority was expressed in phrases which properly denote temporal power. The head of this spiritual body would be described as a king sitting upon the

throne of his glory. The Apostles would hereafter sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. If then (continues he) we understand that the spiritual dominion of Christ is represented under the notion of worldly power, we shall perceive that the Kingdom of Heaven is, in Scripture language, the establishment of the doctrines of the Gospel on earth.

Having gained a clear idea of the nature and design of this kingdom, we shall easily ascertain what is meant by giving to any one the keys of it. The key was a badge of high office and distinction in the regal governments of antiquity, of which vestiges remain even in our own times. Thus the Lord Chamberlain of the British Court is installed into his office by delivering to him a silver key. This key (sometimes worn suspended from the shoulder) was also among the Greeks an ensign of sacerdotal dignity. (See Callim. Lav. Cer. 45. and the note of Dr. Blomfield. Valck. on Theocr. Ædon. 335. Wolf, (on the authority of Ursini, Antiq. Hebr. and Pincinelli's Lumina reflexa,) tells us that it was a custom with the Jews to accompany and denote promotion by the delivery of a key. And from other authorities we learn that the Doctorate of Laws was conferred by putting into the hand of the aspirant a key of the closet where the sacred books were kept. To confer the key is therefore a phrase equivalent to bestowing a situation of great distinction and trust. Thus in Isaiah 22, 22. “And the key of the house, of the house of David, will I lay upon his shoulders, so that he shall open and none shall shut, and he shall shut and none shall open." Where see Bishop Lowth. Thus to confer the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven on any one is to invest him with authority therein, for the promotion of its establishment and preservation. Now in this situation (continues Dr. M.) Peter was placed. By the strenuous efforts he made, and the conspicuous part he acted after Christ's ascension, and the effusion of the Holy Spi

rit, (through whom also the Gentiles were first admitted to a participation in the privileges of the Gospel,) he emphatically unlocked the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are now prepared to understand the yet remaining, and more intricate, clause of this very difficult passage.

19. ὃ ἐάν δήσῃς οὐρανοῖς. It is well observed by Dr. Maltby that dev and aúew, with their compounds, which properly signify to tie and untie, are used figuratively in the judicial sense of condemning and absolving, and yet more extensively denoted the various acts of plenary power, legislative and executive. Here they must be interpreted according to the nature of the administration confided. Now, (adds the same learned Theologian,) the exercise of government has reference to three points: 1. making and repealing laws; 2. imposing or remitting contributions; 3. dispensing rewards and punishments.

Dr. M. then attempts to shew, that all those took place in the case of the Apostles, and are all to be included in the terms δεῖν καὶ λύειν. The hypothesis is not a new one, having been before propounded by Bengel. in Gnom. in these words: " Ligandi et solvendi verbis comprehenduntur omnia ea, quæ Petrus in virtute nominis Jesu Christi, et per fidem in illud nomen, apostolicâ potestate gessit; docendo, convincendo, hortando, prohibendo, permittendo, consolando, remittendo, sanando, resuscitando, puniendo." Elsner, too, combined the first and third of the above points.

Of those three points Dr. M. has most satisfactorily established the first; but in the second he has, I think, quite failed, since it would be harsh to interpret dée and xúc, of imposing or remitting taxes or contributions; nor is it probable that our Lord would advert to such a circumstance on such an occasion. Dr. M. indeed, cites a solitary example of déeiv kal Aúew in this sense, and that not from a writer of Hellenistic, but Classical Greek, and the verb is not aów, but avanów. As to the third point (i. e. the power of