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Andrew his brother cafting a net into the sea, for they were fishers; and Jefus faid unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Luke xi. 27. "And it came to pafs as he fpake these things, a certain woman of the company lift up her voice and faid unto him, Bleffed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou haft fucked; but he said, Yea, rather bleed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it."

Luke xiii. 1-5.

"There were present at that season fome that told him of the Galileans, whofe blood Pilate had mingled with their facrifices; and Jefus anfwering, faid unto them, Suppofe ye that thefe Galileans were finners above all the Galileans, becaufe they fuffered fuch things? I tell you nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewife perish."

Luke xiv. 15. "And when one of them, that fat at meat with him, heard these things, he said unto him, Bleffed is he that shall eat

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bread in the kingdom of God. Then faid he unto him, A certain man made a great fupper, and bade many," &c. The parable is rather too long for infertion, but affords a ftriking inftance of Chrift's manner of raising a difcourfe from the occafion. Obferve also in the fame chapter two other examples of advice, drawn from the circumstances of the entertainment and the behaviour of the guests.

We will now fee, how this manner difcovers itself in St. John's hiftory of Christ.

John vi. 26. "And when they had found him on the other fide of the sea, they faid unto him, Rabbi, when cameft thou hither? Jefus answered them, and faid, Verily I fay unto you, ye feek me not becaufe ye faw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life; which the Son of man shall give unto you.”

John

John iv. 12. "Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jefus answered and said unto her (the woman of Samaria), Whosoever drinketh of this water fhall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, fhall never thirst; but the water that I fhall give him, fhall be in him a well of wa ter, Springing up into everlasting life."

John iv. 31. "In the mean while, his disciples prayed him, faying, Master, eat; but he faid unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat? Jefus faith unto them, My meat is, to do the will of him that fent me, and to finish his work."

John ix. 1-5. "And as Jefus paffed by, he faw a man which was blind from his

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birth and his difciples afked him, saying, Who did fin, this man or his parents, that

he was born blind? Jefus answered, Neither VOL. II.

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hath this man finned, nor his parents, but that the works of God fhould be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him. that fent me, while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

John ix. 35-40. "Jefus heard that they had caft him (the blind man above mentioned) out; and when he had found him, he faid unto him, Doft thou believe on the Son of God? And he answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jefus faid unto him, Thou haft both feen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he faid, Lord, I believe; and he worshipped him. And Jefus faid, For judgement I am come into this world, that they which fee not might fee, and that they which fee might be made blind."

All that the reader has now to do, is to compare the series of examples taken from St. John, with the series of examples taken from the other evangelifts, and to judge whether

whether there be not a visible agreement of manner between them. In the above quoted paffages, the occafion is ftated, as well as the reflection. They seem therefore the most proper for the purpose of our argument. Á large, however, and curious collection has been made by different writers*, of instances, in which it is extremely probable that Christ spoke in allufion to fome object, or fome occafion then before him, though the mention of the occafion, or of the object, be omitted in the hiftory. I only obferve that these inftances are common to St. John's gospel with the other three.

I conclude this article by remarking, that nothing of this manner is perceptible in the fpeeches recorded in the Acts, or in any other but those which are attributed to Christ, and that, in truth, it was a very unlikely manner for a forger or fabulift to at tempt; and a manner very difficult for any

• Newton on Daniel, p. 148, note a. P. 213. Bishop Law's Life of Christ.

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Jortin, Dif.

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