and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST, and his APOSTLES, f9c, igi This is confidered by St. Jerom as one of the greateft'of all our Saviour's miracles: and it muff be owned that the circumftances are very extraordinary, that one mars fhould undertake fo bold, and execute fo hazard- ous a talk ; one man, without a commiffion from Cafar, without any countenance from the Jewilh rulers, without any arms, either to terrify the multitude, or defendhimfelf; that he fhould calf out the whole tribe of mercenary traffickers, wreft from thofe worfhippers of wealth their darling idol, and trample under foot their great Diana; and all this without tumult or oppòfition not one of the facrilegious rabble daring to move thehand, or open the mouth. According to traditión, a certain bright and dazzling luftre flafhed from his eyes, which the people were unable to bear, as theyformerly could not behold the face of Mofes, for the glory that furrounded hits : but as the Scriptures take no notice of this tranfcendent luftre, we mull only adore the greatnefs of the faft, and, at the fame time, fo improve this miracle to ourr fpiritual ad- vantage, as to fecure, by accepting his grace, the power of this Mighty Reformer on our fides, that when he (hall come in glory,-we maybe fafe under the fhadow of his almighty wings, while he takes fearful vengeance on thofe who have defiled his holy temple, and made it a den of thieves ; and thofe who have robbed Omnipotence of his due, will then find their fouls de- prived of their everlafiing rewards in the happy manfions of a bleffed eternity. The temple being thus cleared by our bleffed Lord, of this avaricious tribe of dealers, the people brought unto him the blind, the lame, and the difeaféd, who were all healed by the Son of God ; fo that the very children proclaimed him to be the great Son of David, the long expected Meffiah, when they faw the many mira- culous cures he performed. The Pharifees were highly provoked at thefe tranfafions, but they feared the people, and therefore only afked him, if he heard what the children faid? infinua- a fing that he ought to rebuke them, and not fufler them thus to load him with the higheft praifes. But JEsus, "inftead of giving a direct anfwer to their gueftion, repeated a paffage out ofthe eighth Pfalm : Haveye never read, faid the bleffed JEsus, out of the mouths of babes and fucklings, thou haftpierfetted firaife? Giving them to underftand, that the meaneft of God's works are fo formed, as to declare the greatnefs ofhis proteftion ; and that if the Father does not refufe the praife which arifes from the leaft of his creatures, fo the Son did not difdain that offered himby children. In the prefent junaure, praife was peculiarly acceptable, as it implied, that his miracles were fo exceedinglyalit- rious, that they led the tender minds of children, illuminated only with the dawn- ings of reafon, to acknowledge him for the Meffiah fo earnefily defired, and fo long expered, by all the defcendants of Jacob. In the evening, our Lord with his dif- ciples, left the city and retired to Bethany, where his ,benevolent miracle, in raifing Lazarus from the dead, had procured him many friends, among whom he was always in fafety. The next morning, as they were returning to Jerufalem, the difciples were aftonifhed at beholding the fig-tree that had been but the morning before declared barren, dried up from the roots: they had, in all probability, forgotten what our Sa- viour had faid to this fig-tree, till it's dry and withered afpe& brought it again to their memory. Peter, on feeing this afl:o- nifhing phenomenon, faid unto Jesus, Majter, behold, the fig-tree which thou curfedit is withered away! To whichJesus anfwered, that whoever had faith in the Almighty, or thoroughly believed in his miracles, fhould be able to do muchgreater things than the withering of the fig-tree: And Jefus anfwering, faith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I fay unto you, that whofoever'hall fay unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou ca/t into the fea; and 'hall not doubt in his heart, but 'hall believe, that thofe things which he faith
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