conceived a son in her old age. Luke i. 7. 18. 36. (Abraham) who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations. And being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform. Rom. iv. 18. 21. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child, when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised; therefore sprang there, even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. (By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac,) accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. Heb. xi. 11, 12. 19.

12 Laughed within herself.] See verse 13. and com. chap. xvii. 17. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? For I have born him a son in his old age. Gen. xxi. 6, 7. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. Ps. cxxvi. 2. Whereby shall I know this (said Zacharias), for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And behold (said the angel), thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, also, that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the "Son of God." Luke i. 18. 20. 34, 35. and verse 11. and com.

My lord being old also.] Let every one of you, in particular, so love his wife even as himself, and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Ephes. v. 33. In the old time the holy women also adorned themselves, being in subjection to their husbands, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him " Lord." 1 Pet. iii. 6.

13 Wherefore did Sarah laugh? &c.] And (Jesus) needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. John ii. 25. 14 Is any thing too hard, &c.] And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord's hand waxed short? Thou shalt see now whether

my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. Numb. xi. 23. Thou shalt not be affrighted of" them" ("the Canaanites"), but shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt. Deut. vii. 18. And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come and let us go over unto the garrison of those uncircumcised (Philistines). It may be that the Lord will work for us; for there is no restraint to the Lord, to save by many or by few. 1 Sam. xiv. 6. Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord, Thus saith the Lord, To-morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven might this thing be? And he said, Behold thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. 2 Kings vii. 1, 2. Behold God is mighty, and despiseth not any; he is mighty in strength and wisdom. Job xxxvi. 5. I know that thou canst do every thing (said Job to the Lord), and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Job xlii. 2. The Lord reigneth; he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength wherewith he hath girded himself; the world also is established, that it cannot be moved. Ps. xciii. 1. For the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods. Ps. xcv. 3. Ah, Lord God, behold thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched-out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. Jer. xxxii. 19. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. Micah vii. 18. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? Zech. viii. 6. And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Matt. iii. 9. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him (Peter), and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Matt. xiv. 31. But Jesus beheld “them” (“his disciples") and said unto them, with men this (the salvation of the rich) is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Matt. xix. 26. And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. Mark x. 27. Fear not,

Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John; for with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke i. 13. 37. But when Jesus heard it, (that the ruler's daughter was dead), he answered him, saying, Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole. Luke viii. 50. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end, Amen. Eph. iii. 20, 21. (Christ) who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. Phil. iii. 21. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. Phil. iv. 13. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure. Heb. xi. 19.

I will return unto thee, &c.] See verse 10. and chap. xvii. 21. Then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. Deut. xxx. 3. About this season, according to the time of life, thou (said Elisha to the woman of Shunem) shalt embrace a son. 2 Kings iv. 16. Return, O Lord, how long? And let it repent thee concerning thy servants. Ps. xc. 13. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? Micah vii. 18. Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. Luke i. 13. 18.

15 Denied, &c.] And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not. Gen. iv. 9. Say I pray thee (said Abram to Sarah) thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul shall live because of thee. Gen. xii. 13. But he (Job) said unto her (his wife), Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh; what! shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. Job ii, 10. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Prov. xxviii. 13.

Then saith the damsel that kept the door, unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I am not. And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself: they said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it and said, I am not. Peter then denied again, and immediately the cock crew. John xviii. 17. 25. 27. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Ephes. iv. 23. Lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. Col. iii. 9. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John i. 8.

Nay; but thou didst laugh.] Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Ps. xliv. 21. The lip of truth shall be established for ever; but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Prov. xii. 19. And immediately when Jesus perceived in his Spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye those things in your hearts? Mark ii. 8. And (Jesus) needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. John ii. 25. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Rom. iii. 19.

16 Bring them, &c.] And (Paul and Barnabas) being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles. Acts xv. 3. They all (the elders of Ephesus) wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he (Paul) spake, that they should see his face And they accompanied him unto the ship. Acts xx. 38. And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way. And they all brought us on our

no more.

way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city and we kneeled down on the shore and prayed. Acts xxi. 5. Whensoever I take my journey into Spain I will come to you; for I trust to see you on my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you; if first I be somewhat filled with your company. Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers, which have borne witness of thy charity before the church; whom if "thou" ("Gaius") bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well. 3 John 5, 6.

17 Shall I hide, &c.] And when she (the Shunammite) came to the man of God (Elisha)

to the hill, she caught him by the feet; but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. 2 Kings iv. 27. Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? 2 Chron. xx. 7. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will shew them his covenant. Ps. xxv. 14. Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secrets unto his servants the prophets. Amos iii. 7. Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what the lord doeth; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. John xv. 15. Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. James ii. 23.

18 Become a great, &c.] See com. on chap. xii. 2, 3.

19 I know him, &c.] And what can David say more unto thee, for thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant. 2 Sam. vii. 20. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Ps. i. 6. The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men. Ps. xi. 4. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. Ps. xxxiv. 15. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. John x. 14. And "he" ("Peter") said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. John xxi. 17. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal : the Lord knoweth them that are his. 2 Tim. ii. 19.

Command his children, &c.] See chap. xvii. 23. 27. Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life; but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me (Moses), Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. Deut. iv. 9, 10. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in

thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Deut. vi. 6, 7. And ye shall teach them" ("the words of God," through Moses) your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way; when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. Deut. xi. 19. 21. And he (Moses) said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe, to do all the words of this law. Deut. xxxii. 46. As for me and my house (said Joshua), we will serve the Lord. Josh. xxiv. 15. And thou, Solomon, my son (said David), know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. 1 Chron. xxviii.

9.

Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts: (therefore) he rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings, according to the number of them all. Job i. 5. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known unto their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation. The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. Ps. lxxviii. 2-9. My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. Prov. vi. 20, 21, 22. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Prov. xxii. 6. The living,

the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. Isa. xxxviii. 19. And ye, fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Eph. vi. 4. (A bishop must be) one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection, with all gravity: (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children, and their own houses well. 1 Tim. iii. 4, 5. 12. (I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day) when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy (Timothy's) grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. 2 Tim. i. 5. And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Tim. iii. 15.

That the Lord may bring upon Abraham, &c.] Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever. But now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 1 Sam. ii. 30, 31. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Cæsar; and, lo! God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Paul said to the centurion, Except these (the shipmen) abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Acts xxvii. 23, 24. 31.

20 The cry of Sodom, &c.] The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. Gen. iv. 10. We will destroy this "place" ("Sodom"), because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. Gen. xix. 13. The shew of their countenance doth witness against them, and they (of Judah) declare their sin as Sodom: they hide it not. Isa. iii. 9. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant. And he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. Isa. v. 7. O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake; for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against

thee. Jer. xiv. 7. Behold ("wicked rich men") the hire of the labourers which have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth, and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. James v. 4.

Their sin is very grievous, &c.] See com. on chap. xiii. 13.

21 I will go down, &c.] And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men builded. Go to,

For

let us go down, and there confound their language. Gen. xi. 5. 7. and com. And I am come down to deliver "them" ("the Israelites") out of the hand of the Egyptians. Exod. iii. 8. I will come up into the midst of "thee" ("Israel") in a moment, and consume thee. Exod. xxxiii. 5. For behold the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. Micah i. 3. For I came down from heaven (said Jesus) not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. John vi. 38. the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 1 Thess. iv. 16. And see whether, &c.] There is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. Job xxxiv. 22. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. Ps. xc. 8. The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with a point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars. I, the Lord, search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Jer. xvii. 1. 10. And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil. Zeph. i. 12. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Heb. iv. 13.

I will know, &c.] Therefore now put off thy ornaments (0 Israel) from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. Exod. xxxiii. 5. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no. Deut. viii. 2. The Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye

And the men

love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deut. xiii. 3. The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the Lord, that we have built us an altar to turn from following the Lord. Josh. xxii. 22. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me: thou knowest my down-sitting, and mine uprising; search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts. Ps. cxxxix. 1, 2. 23. God knoweth your hearts (Pharisees), for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. Luke xvi. 15. As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia. Wherefore? Because I love you not? God knoweth. 2 Cor. xi. 10, 11.

22 The men turned their faces, &c.] And there came two angels to Sodom at even. Gen. xix. 1.

Stood yet before the Lord.] See verse 1. and com. Therefore he (the Lord) said that he would destroy them, had not Moses, his chosen, stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath (at the golden calf), lest he should destroy “them” (“the Israelites"). Ps. cvi. 23. Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them (the Jews) out of my sight, and let them go forth. Jer. xv. 1. Shall evil be recompensed for good? for "they" ("who devised Jeremiah's death") have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee (O Lord) to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. Jer. xviii. 20. And I sought for a man among them (of Jerusalem) who should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me, for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Ezek. xxii. 30. But he (Stephen) being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Acts vii. 55. I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. 1 Tim. ii. 1.

23 Drew near, &c.] But it is good for me to draw near to God. Ps. lxxiii. 28. Their nobles (of Israel) shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me. For who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord. Jer. xxx. 21. Let us draw

near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Heb. x. 22. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. James v. 17.

Wilt thou also destroy, &c.] That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked. Gen. xviii. 25. But Abimelech had not come near her (Sarah), and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Gen. xx. 4. And "they" ("Moses and Aaron") fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man (Korah) sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation! Numb. xvi. 22. And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people (of Jerusalem), and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house. 2 Sam. xxiv 17. Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice? Job viii. 3. Wilt thou condemn him that is most just? Job xxxiv. 17. The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men. For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright. Ps. xi. 4.7. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? is God unrighteous, who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man.) God forbid for then how shall God judge the world? Rom. iii. 5, 6.

24 There be fifty righteous, &c.] And he (God) said, I will not destroy “it” (“ Sodom”) for ten's sake. Gen. xviii. 32. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Isa. i. 9. Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh truth, and I will par don it. Jer. v. 1. Enter ye in at the strai. gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be who find it. Matt. vii. 13, 14.