passover, or the cup of Hallel, or blessing. Drink ye all. Rather, all ye; as meaning the disciples, not the cup. It is a singular fact, that, notwithstanding this injunction was given as if prophetic of future abuses, the cup is not tendered to all at the catholic communion, but it is restricted to the clergy. Luke and Paul add, after both the bread and the cup, these words of Jesus: "This do in remembrance of me."

28. For this is my blood of the new testament, i. e. this represents my blood of the new covenant, for so should the last words be rendered, signifying the new dispensation of religion, in contradistinction to the Mosaic one. As the first covenant had been sealed with blood sprinkled by Moses upon the people, so would the second likewise be ratified, as it were, by the death of its Founder.-Which is shed for many, i. e. for all, not only for Jews, but for Gentiles.—For the remission of sins. "The Gentiles being in an uncovenanted state were regarded by the Jews as unholy, and were called sinners. See Gal. ii. 15. When, by faith in Christ, they entered into the Christian covenant, they became holy, and their sins are said to be forgiven. Thus the blood of Christ is said to have been shed 'for the remission of sins.' These words, in the institution of the eucharist, are only to be found in Matthew, who wrote for the Jewish believers, and would be understood by them." The blood of Christ contributes to the remission and for

giveness of sins, because it puts the seal of truth on his Gospel, and reveals the love of God for the sinner, and melts his heart to penitence by the touching appeal of a crucified Redeemer. There is remission of sins under Christianity, because the most persuasive motives are addressed to men to induce them to repent and reform, and thus fulfil the conditions on which alone God, under any dispensation, forgives the transgres

sor.

29. Until that day when I drink it new, &c. i. e. in a new manner, or of a new kind; meaning, either that he should not again participate in a social repast, until after his death and resurrection, when his Father's kingdom would be more fully established; or that he should not again unite with them in such an entertainment on earth, but share with them the honors and happiness of a better world, figuratively expressed by drinking wine with them. The counsels and consolations, with the prayer, John xiv.-xvii., are supposed by Carpenter to intervene between this and the following verse.

30-35. See Mark xiv. 2631, Luke xxii. 39, and John xviii, 1.

30. Sung an hymn. Or, psalm. It was customary to sing or chant psalms during the paschal supper, and at its close. The ones used were from cxiii. to cxviii. inclusive, and sometimes others also, as those from cxxvi. to cxxxvii. Jesus and his disciples chanted a

Hallel, or song of praise, a fitting conclusion to the new and beautiful rite they had observed. What is translated, sung an hymn, is one word in the original, which means, literally, having hymned. From the account above given of the Lord's supper, we infer, 1st, That it was instituted in remembrance of our Lord. 2d, That it is therefore a means of spiritual improvement. 3d, And also an end, inasmuch as it is kept for Christ's sake, to glorify him amongst men. 4th, That it is in accordance with human nature, which has ever delighted to commemorate the lives and deaths of the great and good. 5th, And that consequently all those, of whatever age, who feel their obligations to Jesus as their spiritual benefactor, cherish a living faith in him as the Son of God, resolve to keep his commandments, and profess his name, are entitled to a place at his table, wherever it is spread. 6th, And that the representation of the supper as an awful mystery, fencing it up in an enclosure of creeds and arbitrary rules, and observing it with an exclusive, sectarian spirit are melancholy deviations from the affectionate simplicity of its origin. Let this feast of love be kept with the pure aim for which it was instituted, in remembrance of him who died to give us life.

31. All ye shall be offended because of me. Carpenter renders it, "All ye will fall away from me," i. e. they would stumble, or lose their faith in

him, on account of the events soon to happen, so as to desert him. Like a wise and kind friend, he warns them of the impending difficulties.-For it is written. Zech. xiii. 7. The words of the old prophet were about to be verified. When the leader was seized, his followers would disperse.

32. But he would encourage their hearts by the promise of his resurrection and a future meeting with them in Galilee.-Go before you. The pastoral image of the preceding verse is continued in this expression. John x. 4.

33. The individuality of Peter's character is beautifully preserved in every part of the New Testament. This resolution was a magnanimous one, but he little knew his own strength to carry it into execution, though he had been schooled by failures before. The eventual tempering and harmonizing of so impetuous a spirit was a noble trophy of the power of the Gospel.

34. The strong emphasis and climax of Jesus' reply have not escaped the critics. He told him that verily he would not only be offended, or desert his Master, but that he would deny him, not only once, but thrice, and on that very night, and even before the cock-crowing. As cocks were not allowed in Jerusalem, it has been asserted that Peter could not have heard one. The difficulty has been removed in various ways: that the law was evaded, and that

36

these fowls were sometimes kept in the city, as is proved by a story in the Talmud, and would therefore be heard, which is the most probable view; that one might be heard, in the silent night at the house of Caiaphas near the city wall, from some neighboring village; that the phrase, before the cock crow, means before cock-crowing, as descriptive of a certain hour; or, that reference is made to the sounding of the trumpet at the changing of the Roman watch, which, as it took place at the times of the cock-crowing, was called by that name. There is no discrepancy between Matthew and the other Evangelists in the expression once and twice; for Mat thew speaks only of the last crowing, but Mark and Luke of the first and last.

35. But the rash disciple is not convinced of his liability to fall, and only breaks forth into new protestations of fidelity. Cowper's lesson from this scene is sensible and instructive :

Beware of Peter's word,
Nor confidently say,

'I never will deny thee, Lord;' But, 'Grant I never may." " 36-46. Mark xiv. 32-42. Luke xxii. 40-46.

36. Gethsemane. Literally, place of oil-presses, referring to the olive oil there manufactured. It was situated across the brook Kedron from Jerusalem, under the Mount of Olives, John calls it "a garden,"

and we are told that Jesus "ofttimes resorted thither." According to modern travellers, very aged olive trees are still standing on the ground.

Sit ye here, &c. He seeks retirement even from his disciples. He resorts to prayer as a relief and remedy for his overburdened spirit. All the circumstances of this scene possess a naturalness and reality, which leave upon every candid mind the liveliest conviction of the honesty and truthfulness of the history.

37. Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, i. e. James and John. These three were his most intimate friends, and often selected to be his confidants.-Began to be sorrowful and very heavy. This translation lacks the power of the original, which expresses an agony of anguish.

38. Exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. To explain this scene, very unreasonable suppositions have been made. 1. As that Jesus then contended with the great prince of darkness. But there is certainly no mention of it. 2. Or, that the spiritual aid from heaven, with which he had been sustained hitherto, was now withdrawn. This impeaches the goodness of God towards one whom he called beloved, in whom he was well pleased, and to whom the spirit was given not by measure or time. 3. Again, that Jesus at this crisis bore the wrath of God for the sins of

mankind. But as to the former part of this idea, there is no evidence that he was suffering under the anger of the Deity, for we are told, in John x. 17, that his Father loved him because he laid down his life; and an angel or spiritual influence from on high strengthened him in the dark hour. Luke xxii. 43. As to the notion that he was now suffering vicariously for man, or instead of man, like Atlas, under the weight of an incumbent world of sin, there is not a single word of it whispered in any of the narrations, and it is to be regarded as a far-fetched and groundless conjecture. The plain and scriptural view is, that the agony of Jesus was not supernatural, but that it was similar to what martyrs have endured, and greater only as his sensibility was more tender, his destitution of sympathy greater, and the cause for which he was about to suffer immeasurably more important. He was a man of sorrows, exposed to a combination of evils. The clearly-seen horrors of his approaching crucifixion, with all the aggravating circumstances of the treachery, desertion, and denial of his disciples, the wickedness of his enemies, and the deadness of the world, in which he stood solitary, and without sympathy as to his plan of spiritual salvation, were sufficient, for the time, to cloud and greatly distress his mind. His previous references to his dreadful death, Mat. xvi. 23, xx. 22, Luke xii. 49, 50, his pain at the baseness of Judas, verse 22, John xiii. 21, and his direct mention of the cup of suffering which he must soon drink to the dregs, verses 39, 42, reveal not

ambiguously the cause of his anguish. His distress was great in proportion to the refinement of his character, his exact foresight of his dreadful sufferings, his consciousness of being misunderstood and wronged by men, and his knowledge of the sea of woes that was rushing on his beloved country for their rejection of the true Messiah. The picture is heightened by Luke, xxii. 44; though it is not probably meant that he sweat blood, but sweat as freely as if bleeding.—Tarry ye here, and watch with me. Jesus in his distress and forebodings is strengthened, as the afflicted always are, by the presence of his dearest friends. Blind and unsympathizing as they were, he leaned on them, since the strong in their despairing hours find comfort even in the weak. It was night too, when loneliness is most felt, and fear puts on its most portentous shapes, and the rustling of a leaf terrifies the bold heart.

39. A little farther. Luke says, "a stone's cast," or throw. He would pour out his heart alone.-Fell on his face. What intensity of feeling and earnestness of supplication are here depicted! The Saviour prostrate on his face in prayer!-If it be possible, let this cup pass from me, &c.

Cup was often used to express one's lot, or calamities. Mark says, "the hour," xiv. 35. Jesus was no stoic or fakir. He prayed, with human feelings, to be delivered from the grim and hideous fate before him, if compatible with the purposes of God; but if not, that he might be totally resigned, and identify his will with his Father's. He would have preferred that it should

have been otherwise, if it could have been; but, as it was, he would resolve his preference into the Divine pleasure. Is not this the very essence of submission and obedience? not compliance, where there is no opposition, but a deliberate, unreserved yielding of one's own will to the better will of God? "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things he suffered."

40. Asleep. We are to remember that it was now the dead of night, that they were worn out with fatigue and excitement, and that even their grief and distress had a natural tendency to make them sleep, as is proved by many medical authorities. So Luke, who has been supposed to have been a physician, says, with wonderful reality, that they were "sleeping for sorrow."-Saith unto Peter. Because he had been the most vehement in his declarations of attachment. The question is imbued with a mournful sensibility.

41. Watch and pray. Good advice at all times, especially applicable when danger and temptation the most overwhelming were at hand. That ye enter not into temptation, i. e. so as to be overcome by it. The spirit indeed is willing, &c. This remark shows the kind construction Jesus put upon their conduct. Whilst he admonished them to be on their guard, he apologized for their indifference to

his sorrows, in words apparently suggested by his own conflict with trial and temptation.

42-44. It is evident from the history that it was the apprehension of something future, not a present evil, as popularly believed, not the burden of the world's sins, which weighed down his spirits. He was suffering prospectively. The anguish of his soul is affectingly laid open in this scene, where " he turned repeatedly from man to God, from heaven to earth, seeking some relief, some support, amidst the horrors that environed him, and for a while seeking it in vain."-The example of Jesus on this occasion is admirably suited to the wants of weak and sorrowing humanity. He encased himself in no stoical indifference. He treated the evils of life as evils. He showed that the highest excellence consists not in an insensibility to sorrow, but in adhering to duty in spite of it. "He sanctified the passion of fear, and hallowed natural sadnesses, that we might not think the infelicities of our nature and the calamities of our temporal condition to become criminal, so long as they make us not to omit a duty." To the tempted, despairing, and suffering, his conduct affords the happiest encouragements. See Heb. ii. 10, 18, iv. 15, v. 2, 8, in some of which passages his trials are represented as having a beneficial effect also upon his own character.