AN
EXPOSITION,
W I T H P R A C T I C A L O B S E R V A T I O N
S,
OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
S
T. M A T T H E W
WE
have now before us, I. The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ; so this second part of the holy Bible is entitled: The new
covenant; so it might as well be rendered; the word signifies both. But,
when it is (as here) spoken of as Christ's act and deed, it is most properly
rendered a testament, for he is the testator, and it becomes of force by
his death (Heb. ix. 16, 17); nor is there, as in covenants, a previous
treaty between the parties, but what is granted, though an estate upon
condition, is owing to the will, the free-will, the good-will, of the
Testator. All the grace contained in this book is owing to Jesus Christ as our
Lord and Saviour; and, unless we consent to him as our Lord, we cannot expect
any benefit by him as our Saviour. This is called a new testament, to
distinguish it from that which was given by Moses, and was not antiquated; and
to signify that it should be always new, and should never wax old, and grow
out of date. These books contain, not only a full discovery of that grace which
has appeared to all men, bringing salvation, but a legal instrument by
which it is conveyed to, and settled upon, all believers. How carefully do we
preserve, and with what attention and pleasure do we read, the last will and
testament of a friend, who has therein left us a fair estate, and, with it,
high expressions of his love to us! How precious then should this testament of
our blessed Saviour be to us, which secures to us all his unsearchable riches!
It is his testament; for though, as is usual, it was written by others
(we have nothing upon record that was of Christ's own writing), yet he
dictated it; and the night before he died, in the institution of his supper,
he signed, sealed, and published it, in the presence of twelve witnesses. For,
though these books were not written for some years after, for the benefit of
posterity, in perpetuam rei memoriam--as a perpetual memorial, yet the
New Testament of our Lord Jesus was settled, confirmed, and declared, from the
time of his death, as a nuncupative will, with which these records exactly
agree. The things which St. Luke wrote were things which were most surely
believed, and therefore well known, before he wrote them; but, when they
were written, the oral tradition was superseded and set aside, and these
writings were the repository of that New Testament. This is intimated by the
title which is prefixed to many Greek Copies, ThV
kainhV DiaqhkhV Apanta--The whole of the New
Testament, or all the things of it. In it is declared the whole
counsel of God concerning our salvation, Acts xx. 27. As the law of the
Lord is perfect, so is the gospel of Christ, and nothing is to be added to
it. We have it all, and are to look for no more.
II. We have before us The Four Gospels. Gospel signifies good news,
or glad tidings; and this history of Christ's coming into the world
to save sinners is, without doubt, the best news that ever came from
heaven to earth; the angel gave it this title (Luke ii. 10), Euangelizomai
umin--I bring you good tidings; I bring the
gospel to you. And the prophet foretold it, Isa. lii. 7; lxi. 1. It is
there foretold that in the days of the messiah good tidings should be
preached. Gospel is an old Saxon word; it is God's spell or word;
and God is so called because he is good, Deus optimus--God most excellent,
and therefore it may be a good spell, or word. If we take spell in its
more proper signification for a charm (carmen), and take that in a good
sense, for what is moving and affecting, which is apt lenire dolorem--to
calm the spirits, or to raise them in admiration or love, as that which is
very amiable we call charming, it is applicable to the gospel; for in it the
charmer charmeth wisely, though to deaf adders, Ps. lviii. 4, 5.
Nor (one would think) can any charms be so powerful as those of the beauty and
love of our Redeemer. The whole New Testament is the gospel. St. Paul calls it
his gospel, because he was one of the preachers of it. Oh that we may
each of us make it ours by our cordial acceptance of it and subjection to it!
But the four books which contain the history of the Redeemer we commonly call the
four gospels, and the inspired penmen of them evangelists, or gospel-writers;
not, however, very properly, because that title belongs to a particular order
of ministers, that were assistants to the apostles (Eph. iv. 11): He gave
some apostles, and some evangelists. It was requisite that the doctrine of
Christ should be interwoven with, and founded upon, the narrative of his
birth, life, miracles, death, and resurrection; for then it appears in its
clearest and strongest light. As in nature, so in grace, the most happy
discoveries are those which take rise from the certain representations of
matters of fact. Natural history is the best philosophy; and so is the sacred
history, both of the Old and New Testament, the most proper and grateful
vehicle of sacred truth. These four gospels were early and constantly received
by the primitive church, and read in Christian assemblies, as appears by the
writings of Justin Martyr and Irenæus, who lived little more than a hundred
years after the ascension of Christ; they declared that neither more nor fewer
than four were received by the church. A Harmony of these four evangelists was
compiled by Tatian about that time, which he called, To
dia tessarwn--The Gospel out of the four. In
the third and fourth centuries there were gospels forged by divers sects, and
published, one under the name of St. Peter, another of St. Thomas, another of
St. Philip, &c. But they were never owned by the church, nor was any
credit given to them, as the learned Dr. Whitby shows. And he gives this good
reason why we should adhere to these written records, because, whatever the
pretences of tradition may be, it is not sufficient to preserve things with
any certainty, as appears by experience. For, whereas Christ said and did many
memorable things, which were not written (John xx. 30; xxi. 25),
tradition has not preserved any one of them to us, but all is lost except what
was written; that therefore is what we must abide by; and blessed by God that
we have it to abide by; it is the sure word of history.
III. We have before us the Gospel according to St. Matthew. The penman
was by birth a Jew, by calling a publican, till Christ commanded his
attendance, and then he left the receipt of custom, to follow him, and
was one of those that accompanied him all the time that the Lord Jesus went
in and out, beginning from the baptism of John unto the day that he was taken
up, Acts i. 21, 22. He was therefore a competent witness of what he has
here recorded. He is said to have written this history about eight years after
Christ's ascension. Many of the ancients say that he wrote it in the Hebrew or
Syriac language; but the tradition is sufficiently disproved by Dr. Whitby.
Doubtless, it was written in Greek, as the other parts of the New Testament
were; not in that language which was peculiar to the Jews, whose church and
state were near a period, but in that which was common to the world, and in
which the knowledge of Christ would be most effectually transmitted to the
nations of the earth; yet it is probable that there might be an edition of it
in Hebrew, published by St. Matthew himself, at the same time that he wrote it
in Greek; the former for the Jews, the latter for the Gentiles, when he left
Judea, to preach among the Gentiles. Let us bless God that we have it, and
have it in a language we understand.
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