the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt for the tree is known by his fruit.

34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. good fruits, that ye may appear to be good, or else confess yourselves to be evil, as indeed you are; be what you seem, or seem what you are."-Assembly's Annot. The verse may admit of either of these interpretations; but, in my judgment, the second or third is preferable to the first.

34. Generation of vipers. See note on Matt. iii. 7. An emblem of their malicious and venomous opposition to Jesus and his gospel. How can ye, being evil, speak good things? &c. That is, while you are thus wicked, and full of evil, it is natural that you should speak evil; it is impossible that it should be otherwise; for when the heart is full, the language will disclose the character of its feelings and affections. The expression used by our Lord was strong; but the conduct of the Pharisees fully justified it. So envenomed was their malice against him, that they spake evil of his good; they watched him, that they might be able to accuse him even for the performance of deeds of mercy and kindness; when they witnessed his healing power exerted for the relief of human misery, even that they attributed to the prince of evil; and they persisted in their evil thoughts and designs, until they procured the object of their hatred to be crucified between two thieves. See also Matt. ch. xxiii. Most justly, then, were they described, as a generation of vipers. And as thorns will not produce grapes, nor a vine figs, neither could good works or good words be expected of them. Their hearts were abundantly full of evil; and from that abundance they uttered falsehood and blasphemy with their mouths.

35. A good man, &c. In this verse, the sentiment contained in the former, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, is amplified and further illustrated. A good man, whose heart abounds in goodness, speaketh good things; words and thoughts are uttered, consistent with a spirit of righteousness. An evil man, whose

35 A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things: and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things.

36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall heart abounds with wickedness, speaketh evil things; words and thoughts are uttered, corresponding with the state of his heart. This was a most severe rebuke to those Pharisees, who so highly esteemed themselves that they would not associate with publicans and sinners, and condemned our Lord because he did. He told them they had blasphemed against the holy spirit; and that such blasphemy plainly indicated the impurity of their hearts; and manifested them as a generation of vipers.

36. But I say unto you. Think not that because you obey the ceremonial law, in every jot and tittle, you may therefore speak all manner of evil, and even revile the holy spirit of God, with impunity. I say unto you, there are other things for which men shall be brought into judgment, besides matters of ceremony, or even deeds of whatever nature. Words indicate the condition of the heart, and of them also an account must be rendered. Idle word. The word idle seems here to be used not in its ordinary sense, but in the sense of wicked, calumnious, or blasphemous; for such words had been uttered by the Pharisees, which gave occasion for the foregoing solemn admonition. It signifies" that which does not work, and is here used for that which worketh wickedly; and something of this sort is frequently found in sacred and profane writers. So in Rom. iv., he who is said, in ver. 19, to be not weak in the faith, is, in ver. 20, said to be strong in the faith. So in Prov. xviii. 5, and xxiv. 23, where we read it is not good, the meaning is, that it is very bad."-Pearce. the day of judgment. Rather a day of judgment; the article is not found in the original. The meaning is, that wicked words, being the fruit of a wicked heart, are justly punishable; that as every man shall be rewarded according to his deeds, so also according to his words. Both words and deeds are proper subjects to be con

TIn

speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

38 Then certain of the scribes sidered, as both take their character from the condition of the heart, and afford evidence of that condition. Indeed, words are sometimes productive of extensive mischief and misery, and are punishable by human laws. But it is not probable that our Lord referred to this fact in the text. He seems rather to have confined his attention to the case then in hand, and to have endeavored to convince the Jews that they had committed a grievous sin, by blasphemous words, for which a day of reckoning was approaching. Lightfoot views the matter somewhat differently. He says, the "idle word, for every one of which our Saviour saith men shall give an account, (he doth not say shall be condemned or punished,) may perhaps be of the same importance with that which the Talmudists and Rabbins call' the talk of those who are idle,' at leisure, have little to do; such as is used among people in ordinary conversation, when they meet together; as, what news? how doth such a person? or the like. Even this may be well or ill done, prudently or foolishly; and therefore even of this an account will be required."

and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

39 But he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and teacher. We would see a sign from thee. Luke says, " a sign from heaven." Luke xi. 16. They had already, even during this interview, seen Jesus restore a withered hand to soundness, and heal a disease which they supposed to be occasioned by demons. Yet they continued to ask for a sign. Probably they demanded a sign from heaven, such as the ancient prophets exhibited; as when, at the word of Moses, hail and fire were rained upon Egypt, destroying both herb and tree Exo. ix. 22-25; or, at the word of Joshua, the sun "stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day;" Josh. x. 12-14; or, at the word of Elijah, fire descended from heaven and consumed not only the burnt-sacrifice, but the wood, and stones of the altar, and the water in the trench around 1 Kings xviii. 36-38. Some similar sign was demanded on this occasion, as a condition of belief. Perhaps they claimed this as a fulfilment of the prediction, Dan. vii. 13, that the Son of man should come in the clouds of heaven. This he did, at a later period, when he came to execute judgment upon that wicked nation. Matt. xxiv. 30; xxvi. 64. But his time had not yet come, to exhibit this sign. The expectation of such a marvellous sign in testimony of the Messiah's authority is alluded to in Matt. iv. 5-7. See the notes there.

38-42. The same circumstances are related in Luke xi. 16, 29-32.

38. Master. Teacher; an epithet here applied rather in derision than in honor; because they regarded him as an impostor, aided by Beelzebub, and not entitled to credit as a divine

sense, denoting infidelity to religious duties. In the Old Testament, the Jews are frequently represented as guilty of adultery, when they forsook the worship of God, and bowed themselves to idols. Exo. xxxiv. 15, 16; Jer. iii. 9; Ezek. xxiii. 37; Hosea iv. 12-19. Although the Jews were not in habits of idolatry, in its ordinary sense, yet they practised a species of it,

there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.

40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's

in our Saviour's day. They made the divine law void by their traditions; and, by an overweening fondness for trivial matters, were induced to neglect the important duties required of them. Matt. xv. 3; xxiii. 23. And when the Son came, exhibiting abundant testimonials of his divine mission, they rejected him, and made full proof of their infidelity. Being thus apostate to the truth, and unfaithful to their duty, they are styled adulterous, as were those who forsook God, disobeyed his commands, and worshipped stocks and stones, in ancient times. No sign be given to it. That is, no other sign than the miracles performed by divine power, with the exception which follows. If they would not regard these signs, they must abide the consequences. But the sign of the prophet Jonas. That is, Jonah. A sign should be given to the Jews, similar to that which was given to the Ninevites, and which was effectual to the production of repentance in them. Jonah was preserved for three days and nights, in the most imminent peril. His preservation was regarded as an evidence of his mission from God. And the Ninevites gave heed to his warnings, and averted the impending ruin by a speedy reformation of their evil habits. In like manner would Jesus be restored, after three days, from an apparently more desperate condition; and this should be considered a sufficient sign that he was truly the Son of God. If men would not believe, they would be more guilty than the people of Nineveh, and would be condemned by them in the judg

ment.

40. As Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly. See Jonah ch. i., ii. The preservation of Jonah, here referred to, has long been the jest of scoffers and unbelievers. Perhaps this fact may account for the various methods which interpreters have adopted, so to explain the matter as to render it as little objectionable as possible. In reply to the objection that the throat of a whale is not large enough to admit the passage of a man through it, it has been said that the

belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 The men of Nineveh shall

word translated whale means a large fish, without distinguishing the species; and therefore it may have been a shark. And, to obviate the objection in general, that the whole process of preservation is impossible, has been said, that the word simply indicates something hollow, and may as well mean a boat or a small vessel as a fish of any description. This is not the place for a full examination of this subject. A few remarks, however, may not be improper. The theory of Dr. Jebb is ingenious, and is worthy of consideration. "A safe and practicable asylum is afforded, not indeed in the stomach, but in another cavity, of the whale; the throat is large, and provided with a bag or intestine, so considerable in size, that whales frequently take into it two of their young when weak, and especially during a tempest. In this vessel there are two vents, which serve for inspiration and respiration; and here, in all probability, Jonah was preserved; not indeed without miracle, but with that economy of miracle, so frequently exemplified in Scripture. This receptacle may be accounted a sort of air-vessel, and sufficiently answers to the term koilia, (zola,) in St. Matthew, which I have rendered cavity. See, for the particulars here stated in abridged form, a very ingenious dissertation in the Memoires des Jesuites, publies par M. l'Abbe Grosier;' tome i., art. 9. Of the above opinion, a strong, undesigned, and independent, confirmation is afforded by an eminent naturalist: 'Nature has formed these organized masses in such a manner, that they can rise to the surface of the water, or sink into its depths, at pleasure. From the lower part of the mouth proceeds a large intestine, very thick, long, and so large that a man might pass into it whole. This intestine is a great airmagazine, which this cetacious animal carries along with it, and by means of which it can render itself lighter or heavier at will, according as it enlarges or compresses it, for the purpose of increasing or diminishing the bulk of air which it contains.' Dict. Nat. Hist., by