The works of the Reverend and learned John Lightfoot D. D., late Master of Katherine Hall in Cambridge such as were, and such as never before were printed : in two volumes : with the authors life and large and useful tables to each volume : also three maps : one of the temple drawn by the author himself, the others of Jervsalem and the Holy Land drawn according to the author's chorography, with a description collected out of his writings.

§ If thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Here is impudency come to its height, and the Devil shewing himself in his own colours indeed. Neither of the former temptations, had so visibly and desperately invited Christ to impiety, as this doth with open face: for in the first perswasion, to turn stones into bread, there was some colour of Christs own benefit, for he was now hungry, and bread might have been a thing of welcomness to him: and in the second, to have flown in the air, there might be some colour of his honour and repute, in shewing himself so mira∣culous before the people; as we read that some vain men have sought esteem by such a vain course, as Icarus mentioned by Suetonius in the life of Nero, chap. 12. And Simon Magus, so reported of by all Ecclesiastical Historians, and both these not very many years after this time. And Bladud mentioned in our own stories, if he lived at any time at all. But to be invited in plain anddown right terms, to fall down and worship the Devil, hath no colour at all upon it but naked impiety. What, did not the Devil know Christ who he was? that we have proved before that he did: or, did he think that Christ knew not who he was? that he could not think, if he knew Christ as he did. What shall we say then to this damned overture of having Christ to adore him? why? here he joyneth all his power of temptation together; and would 1. bring Christ into a more low fall than he had done Adam; and 2. makes a stroke desperately at him to have bruised his head, whereas it was told him only he should bruise his heel; and all this, because being of an intolerable impudency, he would obtrude any thing, even beyond all sense, reason, and modesty, to compass his own design; and seeing Christ had condescended so far as to be hurryed by him in the air, he would leave no way unattempted of tempting, if so it might have been possible to have corrupted innocency now, as he did once in Adam; and to have power over his mind, as he saw he had so far over his body. And thus hath he done his worst, and shewed his Devilship to the utmost, to have brought the second A∣dam to have been a sinner like the first, but here the seed of the Woman that was promi∣sed Adam, bruised the head of the Serpent, who would have bruised his.

Ver. 10. Get thee hence Satan.

Lukes expressing of this hath bred some scruple, for he hath phrased it 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, rendred by our English, Get thee behind me Satan; being the very same words that our Sa∣viour useth to Peter, Mark 8. 33. when he would have perswaded him not to have been Christ, as the Devil would here have perswaded him to be Antichrist: Hence hath a doubting been bred with some, whether Christ commanded the Devil clean away, any more than he did Peter, or only commanded him either to get behind his back, or not to offer to advise or direct him in any thing further, as he had impudently done hitherto. The Syriack hath omitted that passage in Luke wholly, and so hath the Vulgar Latine; and Beza men∣tioneth four ancient Greek copies that wanted it also: But, saith he, in the other, and in Theophylact these words are found; and so are they in the Arabick, and most authentick copies, expositions and translations. Now the meaning of Christ in these words, is to pack Satan clean away from him indeed, as is apparent by the expression of Matthew, who saith only 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, be gone; and by the sequel it self, for Matthew telleth, that upon these words, the Devil departed; But Luke hath added the words 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Behind me, because he hath mentioned another temptation after this: and it would have seemed that Christ had not had command over the Devil, if he had bidden, Be gone Satan, and he had not de∣parted. Therefore though it were true indeed, that the Devil did depart upon these words, and tempt Christ no more, yet since it seemeth not so in Lukes method, therefore he used such an expression as was suitable and agreeing to his own method and order; and which might both serve the same sense that Matthew intended in his expression, and yet withall save the sense of Luke himself in regard of the ranking of these temptations. By the phrase

therefore, Get thee behind me, he meaneth not, that Satan should only leave advising and instructing Christ what to do, and come behind him, as a disciple doth behind his Master, yet following, and not departing from him: but by it he commandeth the Devil never to offer to tempt and assault him in the like kind again; and curbeth his hideous impudency and sawciness that durst thus assail him, &c. And to the same tenor may the same words of our Saviour to Peter, be readily and facily understood, the intention of the temptation only differing.

Luke 4. ver. 13. The Devil departed from him for a season.

It is not so much material, to question, whether to render this for a season, [as our Eng∣lish, and some other Translators do] or, till a season, [as the Syrian, Arabick, and some others seem to do, and the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 will very well bear] as it is to inquire, when it was that the Devil returned to assault Christ again, as this expression of the Evangelist seemeth to inforce he did. But we shall take the consideration of all these together. The Evangelist saith first, That the Devil having finished all the temptation, departed. Now this ending or finishing all the temptation, is understood by some to mean, that when he had proposed these temptations, he had proposed all manner of temptations whatsoever; and so he had, for he had tempted him to lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and pride of life, which the Apostle John makes the heads or generals of all the things that are in the world, 1 John 2. 16. and he had tempted him visibly and invisibly, which are the two only ways of his temptations in his own person: But it may withal, and rather be un∣derstood, that the Devil having now done his worst to have tempted him to sin, and not seeing himself prevail in it, he departed, resolving to assail him afterwards in another way. It was told him in the garden, that he should bruise his heel; but here, if you ob∣serve him in all these his temptations, he striks at his very head, namely, to have brought Christ to have sinned, and so to have spoiled himself and redemption: but when he seeth that his endeavour in this hath been in vain, and that still he was far from bringing Christ to sin, but that Christ did foil him in every temptation, he will try no more at this time, nor to this purpose, nor in this way, but will reserve his further enterprise till another time, end, and way of tempting. And the first of these the Evangelist means, when he saith, He departed from him, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉: and indeed includeth the other two. The words 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, if we render them, till a season, [which is the most natural signification of them] may be taken in a double sense; either, till a season opportune, or, till a season fix∣ed. And I take the latter to be the most proper and very meaning of the words. For a more opportune season for his temptations than he had had already, Satan could not have wished; for he had had Christ alone, he had had him so, in the bitter inconveniences of hunger, cold, and watchfulness, and had had him so much in his power, as to carry him in the air from place to place, and yet with all these advantages on his side, he could not have his will over him: and therefore there was no expecting any better convenience, or season, to bring him to sin, as he would have had him: But there was a season fixed, when Satan must bruise his heel, for God had so told him in the garden, and when he must have some power over him in something else, though he could have none over him to bring him to sinning; and therefore he departs now unsped of what he came about, for he could not cause Christ to sin; but he will wait till that fixed time come, when he is sure he shall speed against him some other way; and that was when he caused his death. And to this very thing Christ himself seemeth to allude in those words, Joh. 14. 30. The Prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me; where almost every word in a manner faceth something in this story that we have in hand. The phrase, The Prince of this world, an∣swereth that offer that Satan had made him, of giving him all the Kingdoms of the World, For they, saith he, are mine to give. The word, cometh, answereth the words here, De∣parted till the season: And the words, He hath nothing in me, meaneth, his not being able to infuse any sin into Christ in any of these temptations, that he might thereby lay any claim to him. And this coming of this Prince of the world, was to work his death, as is apparent by the very verse it self, and as our Saviour himself doth further explain it, Luke 22. 53. This is the power of darkness.

Satans departure therefore from him at this time when he had ended all the temptation, was, 1. With intent to assault him again, at the fixed season; when he knew he should have power over him to do him some hurt, though he could not now. 2. Then to bruise his heel, and to cause his death, though he could not now break his head, and cause him sin. 3. To assault him then by his wicked instruments, whom he could not now damage by his wicked self; In one instrument [not properly his, but abused by him for such a purpose] he once tempted Christ to sin, before he assaulted him to bring him to suffer, and that was in the mouth of Peter, Mark 8. 32. who received the very same check for his pains, Get thee behind me Satan, that Satan himself did for his last temptation.

Matth. 4. ver. 11. And behold, Angels came and ministred unto him.

Mark hath told the story of the temptation very short, He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan, and was with the wild beasts, and the Angels ministred unto him: In which relation as he hath given us account of his temptation, which shewed him man, so hath he also of two other things which shewed him more: and those were, his safety among wild beasts, and his visible attendance by Angels: Now he mentioneth only his forty days temptation, which was by Satan invisibly, and speaketh not a word of the three temptations, when Satan assailed him in a bodily shape, and yet he saith that the Angels ministred unto him: which if you will strictly construe according to the very let∣ter of his relation, you must conclude, that this ministration of Angels was before Satan appeared visibly to him; and so it will follow that the Angels ministred to him visibly, and Satan tempted him invisibly at the same time. But since the briefness of one Evan∣gelist is to be cleared by the larger relation of the other, we are to understand Mark by the fuller story of Matthew, and so as Matthew doth shew you the full history of the temptation, and teacheth you how to construe Marks briefness upon it; so must he also explain the time of the Angels ministration, namely, after all the temptation was ended; which Mark hath left undetermined.

It were no very great Solecism in Divinity, to hold, that the Angels might be visibly attending of Christ all those forty days that the Devil was invisibly tempting him: but since it is most probable, that Christ exposed himself in the nakedst manner, I mean, in the greatest plainness and meanness that might be, to Satans tempting, that so his victory over him might be the more glorious; it is also very probable, that he called not for such attendance of Angels, but suspended it till his combate was done and the victory obtain∣ed. And then [howsoever they did before] The Angels came, saith Matthew, and mi∣nistred unto him.

When the Scripture speaketh of Spirits or Angels coming or going, it doth most gene∣rally mean it of a visible and apparent manner, as Gen. 19. 1. & 32. 1, 2. Jude 6. 11. and in very many other places, and so is it to be understood here: that after the evil Angel, or the Prince of the evil spirits was departed, who had assailed Christ in a visible shape; the good Angels in visible appearances also came and gave their attendance on him. Their ministring unto him, as to particulars, was in bringing to him necessaries and provisions in that his hunger, and in that place where it is likely provisions were not otherwise suddenly to be had: so the Son of man eateth Angels food, and like Elias is fed by the Angels of the Lord in a desert place.

And thus hath Christ been shewed the Son of God by the voice of the Father, and anointed for the great King, Priest, and Prophet visibly by the Holy Ghost: And thus hath he shewed his power and command over the evil Angels; and the good Angels have owned his Lordship and dominion over themselves; and thus every way attested, is he presently to appear amongst men as the Minister of the Gospel.