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wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths 4 straight." And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was

of John was to act as a voice for the coming Word, a herald of the great Teacher. The succeeding imagery is drawn from oriental customs, a knowledge of which is often required to understand the Scriptures. When monarchs journeyed, or marched on military expeditions, they despatched pioneers forward to level eminences, fill up valleys, and make a straight road. The Jews were called upon to prepare for the Messiah's advent, clearing their hearts of those prejudices and sins, which would impede his progress and success as a moral conqueror. As the greatest blessings were expected under the Redeemer's reign, John bids the Jews make ready for his coming by repenting of and forsaking those sins, which would prove the worst stumblingblocks in his way, the most serious impediments to the cordial reception of a pure religion.—The Lord, i. e. Jehovah. No argument in support of Jesus being identical with Jehovah can be drawn from this passage. For the original application of the prophet's words was only to an exhibition of God's power in the restoration of the Jews, not to an actual personal appearance of the Deity. So in like manner, according to the Evangelist's application, Jehovah came to his chosen people in Jesus Christ, not personally and literally, but in the spirit and gifts which he bestowed upon his beloved Son.

4. Raiment of camel's hair, &c. This description is thrown in, perhaps, to show the similarity between John and Elijah, or to remind the Jews that the herald of Christ did not come in that rich dress and equipage, which they would sup

pose appropriate to one who came to announce so splendid a king; but, on the contrary, dressed in the garments, and subsisting on the food, of the poorest class of his countrymen. He was not 66 a man clothed in soft raiment," but apparelled like one of the old prophets. 2 Kings i. 8; Zech. xiii. 4. Raiment is an ancient word for clothing. Camels are not only very valuable for carrying burdens over the vast deserts of the east, but their milk and flesh are eaten, and garments are made of the hair, which, though coarse and shaggy, is manufactured into a rough, cheap cloth, for the common people. The hair is shed annually.

A leathern girdle. This was a very important part of the oriental dress, as it confined the flowing cloak or robe, which would otherwise be inconvenient, if suffered to hang loosely about the body. The girdle was also used as a purse. The modern dervises, or Turkish priests, are clothed like the ancient prophets. His meat, &c. Meat, in old English, stands for food in general, whether animal or vegetable. Locusts were allowed as an article of food by the law of Moses. Lev. xi. 22. They have been in use for this purpose, both in ancient and modern times, in the east. saw, says Niebuhr, in his Travels, an Arab who had gathered a sack full in order to dry them, and keep them for his winter provisions."

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Wild honey. The honey which was found in the cavities of trees and the clefts of rocks may have been so denominated. Ps. lxxxi. 16. Palestine was described as a land flowing with milk and honey." Or it may have been not the honey. made by the bee, but honey-dew, a

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locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, 5 and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan; and 6 were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But 7

sweet substance exuding from the leaves of palm, date, and olive trees. 1 Sam. xiv. 25, 26. Oriental travellers speak of the abundance of honey in Arabia and Palestine. The dress and diet of the Baptist indicated no uncommon rigor and severity, but rather simplicity and poverty. His mode of life affords no countenance or approbation to the recluse and hermit.

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5. The Jews, galled by the Roman yoke, looked with impatience for the Messiah, from whom they expected deliverance and universal rule over the rest of the world. Curiosity, impatience, and ambition, together with the striking air and bold address of John, probably drew thousands to the Jordan. Jerusalem. The inhabitants of the city. This was the Jewish metropolis, situated about forty miles east of the Mediterranean, in a region of high hills. The wonderful events of which it has been the scene, both in ancient and modern times, render it the most remarkable city on the globe. All Judea. Not literally every one, but vast crowds; the country went as one man. It is an important rule in the interpretation of Scripture, as well as other writings, that universal propositions should be qualified and limited by the circumstances in which they occur. The Bible is written in the free, figurative, diversified language of common life, and by no means in a literal, technical, philosophical dialect. Judea lay between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. -All the region round about Jordan. Should be, the country along the Jordan on both sides of the river. This stream rises in the Antilibanus mountains, and flowing southerly through Lake

Merom and the Sea of Galilee, after a course of one hundred and twenty or thirty miles, empties into the Dead Sea. It forms the eastern boundary of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. Its average width is from sixty to eighty feet, and its depth about ten or twelve, though it varies according to the season of the year. John had two stations, at least, on the Jordan; Bethabara, or Bethany, and Enon, and perhaps more.

6. Baptized of him, i. e. by him. Baptism was well known among the Jews before John's day, as is evident from Matthew's familiar way of introducing the mention of it. It was employed to initiate heathen proselytes into the Jewish religion, according to the testimony of the Jewish books called Talmuds, which consisted of the writings and traditions of the Rabbins. How administered is nowhere said; whether by immersion or sprinkling is of little consequence, so it was done with water and the heart was right. It was a new thing, however, to baptize Jews. John by that means intimated to them, that, though they were the covenant people of God, they had so far become like heathen, that, before they could be prepared for the Messiah's kingdom, they must pass through the same ceremony as proselytes. In Jordan. In the Jordan. The definite article should be uniformly placed before this word. - Confessing their sins. One that truly repents of his sins will be ready to confess them to God, and, so far as is proper, to men. John required of his converts a confession of their sins, either in general or particular, as an indication of true contrition and a fitness to be baptized. Jam. v. 16; 1 John i. 9.

when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them: O generation of vipers, who hath

7. The Pharisees and Sadducees. These were the two leading philosophical and religious sects among the Jews. The Essenes were a third one, resembling monks in their mode of life, but no mention is made of them in the New Testament. From Josephus and the Talmuds, as well as from scattered notices in the New Testament, we gather information respecting the other two.

The Pharisees. The Separatists. They were so called from a Hebrew word, meaning to separate, or to set apart, because they professed to set themselves apart from the rest of the people, and live purer lives. They plumed themselves upon their scrupulous adherence to all religious ceremonies and observances, washings, fastings, tithes, and long, ostentatious devotions, but in their lives were notorious for their ambition, corruption, hypocrisy, and haughtiness. Such was the prevailing character of the sect, though there were doubtless among them, as in every body of men, some true and noble spirits. Acts v. 34. They received all the Old Testament as of divine authority, and adhered closely to the letter of the Mosaic law. But in addition to these writings, they had the traditions of the elders or early teachers of the nation, to which they gave equal credence as to the Pentateuch itself. Some of their doctrines were the government of the world by Fate, or a fixed decree of God; the existence of spirits and angels; the resurrection from the dead; the immortality of the soul; and the future state of rewards and punish

ments.

The Sadducees derived their name from Sadoc, the founder of their sect. They were less numerous and had less influence among the

people than the Pharisees, but were more wealthy. They rejected the traditions, and, as is supposed, received only the law of Moses, or the Pentateuch, as of divine authority. They believed not in the existence of spirits, in immortality, or a future retribution. In fact, they were the skeptics of their day and nation. They however joined in the worship of the temple, and assisted at all religious assemblies. Several of them held the office of high priest.

Caiaphas, who condemned our Saviour, was a Sadducee. No account is given in the Gospels of a single conversion to Christianity from this sect.

Both Pharisees and Sadducees, in common with the rest of the nation, expected a Messiah. They came to the baptism of John, incited by this expectation; and supposing John to be either the Messiah or his Forerunner, they were desirous of early securing his favor, and gaining posts of profit and honor in his kingdom. John saw through their motives, and uttered a powerful, though deserved, rebuke. O generation of vipers. Offspring of vipers, or broods of vipers. This phrase is descriptive of the two aforementioned classes. He did not spare the rich and lordly, but launched at them his burning remonstrances in the bold tone of one of the ancient prophets. Vipers are a kind of snakes, whose bite is immediately fatal. This reptile has been used from the remotest antiquity as an emblem of what is destructive. Applied to the Pharisees and Sadducees, it signifies that they were subtile, malignant, deadly. The poison of vipers rankled in their hearts, under the fair seeming and smooth disguise of Who hath religious professions.

warned you to flee from the wrath to come Bring forth 8 therefore fruits meet for repentance, and think not to say with- 9

yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children

warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? Rather a strong exclamation of surprise than an interrogation. John expresses wonder, that men so hardened and hypocritical should be induced to come to a baptism of repentance. "The wrath to come" was the impending destruction soon to fall on the Jewish nation, unless they repented and reformed, and which did descend forty years after, overthrowing the Temple, destroying millions of men, and annihilating the_national_ existence of the Jews. Those who embraced Christianity escaped these judgments of heaven, because they believed in the prophecies foretelling their approach, and fled from the country. The same sins, also, which brought down these temporal calamities upon the heads of men, would meet with a becoming punishment in the future world.

8. Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. Or, consistent with amendment of life. Fruits stand for good works, righteous, holy deeds. Here is an allusion to their noted hypocrisy. Show by your lives that your repentance is sincere. Manifest a character and conduct appropriate, belonging to, genuine penitence. Show forth, if you really repent, not merely the leaves and flowers of profession, but the fruits of performance. Matt. vii. 20. The proof of goodness is in the life. Let not repentance be a dead form with us, but a living act. Let it produce corresponding works.

9. They deemed their salvation insured because they were the descendants of so righteous and faithful a man as Abraham. John viii.

33, 39, 53. John understands their state of mind, and therefore addresses himself, as every teacher ought, to that which, unless corrected, would nullify all_his_instructions and warnings. Thus he taught with adaptedness. The same characteristic, in a greater degree, appears in the teachings of the Saviour. It has been a weak point in all nations, to put their salvation in their ancestors, not in their posterity; to look back to the good old days, not to look forward to better ones; to locate the Golden Age in the Past, not in an improved Future. The couplet of the poet has been forgotten:

"They, that on glorious ancestors enlarge, Produce their debt instead of their discharge.”

God is able, &c. Think not of saying to yourselves, We are Abraham's children, and are therefore fully assured of the favor of God, and the benefits of the Messiah's kingdom. With God all things are possible. He is not dependent on the Jews, or any other nation, for the success of his purposes; he can find other servants and instruments. Yea, out of the very stones of the Jordan he can through his omnipotence raise up worthy children of Abraham; an allusion, perhaps, to God's power in giving a child to Abraham. Gal. iii. 29. Perhaps in the expression these stones,' "there is also an allusion to the Gentiles, towards whom the Jews entertained the greatest contempt. Some deem it a proverbial phrase. It is to be feared, that, as some of old trusted in the merits of Abraham, so now many rely upon Christ, a much greater than Abraham, as a substitute for their

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10 unto Abraham.

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good 11 fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water, unto repentance; but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear;

own goodness, instead of forming
him within them, reproducing his
spirit in their hearts. But it will
not do.
Personal piety is the inex-
tinguishable need of every child of
God.

10. The axe is laid unto the root of the trees, &c. i. e. the axe is lying, ready to be used, at the very root of the trees. The approaching calamities are no trivial evils, but rather like cutting up the tree by the roots. This was a Jewish proverb. A searching, powerful influence is going abroad. A new standard is to be erected, by which the hearts of men, and the institutions of society, are to be tried. Principles and conduct are to be tested. Nothing will stand the trial but genuine repentance, true goodness. The excuses and subterfuges and lies of men will be swept away. Antiquated ceremonies and systems will be superseded. The realities of the spiritual life will stand forth in their just prominence, when the rubbish and the corruptions and the commandments of men have been consumed. Is hewn down. Will be, is to be, hewn or cut down. The present tense, according to Winer, is not unfrequently used in the sense of the future. See Luke iii. 10, 14.

that is at hand. - Mightier than I. Of higher dignity and authority. Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. Not the article we call shoes, but the sandals of the east; which were soles for the bottoms of the feet, bound about the feet and ankles with leathern thongs or straps. These sandals were put off when a person entered a house, and put on when he left it. As stockings were then unknown, the feet soon became soiled, being only protected on the bottom, and not at the sides, and hence they had to be frequently washed. To put on and off the sandals, upon these various occasions, was the office of the lowest servants. The strong expression of John is, therefore, that he was unworthy to perform the most menial service for the glorious Being who was soon to appear in the character and with the credentials of the long desired Redeemer. What a touching humility in one, who was himself the subject of prophecy, at whose birth miracles had been wrought, whose heart was fired with a spirit more than mortal, and whose privilege it was, after the long lapse of four hundred years, to renew the old prophetic office, and introduce the mighty Deliverer of the world to his minis11. Unto repentance. As a sign try! What a beautiful resignation, of repentance and reformation. too, adorned his character! He Baptism was a sign that the obliga- grasped at no honors; living till tion to repent was felt and the orb of the sun of righteousness knowledged, and that the peniten- was above the horizon, he yet did tial sentiments would be cherished. not witness the perfect day. He -He that cometh after me. A cir- could say, "This my joy, therefore, cumlocution for Jesus, the Messiah, is fulfilled; He must increase, but the head of the kingdom of heaven, I must decrease." Great as he

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