Matthew 23:37-38

Verse 37. O Jerusalem, etc. Lk 19:41,42.

Would have gathered. Would have protected and saved.

Thy children. Thy people.

(x) "gathered thy children" De 32:11.12, Ps 91:4
Verse 38. Your house. The temple. The house of worship of the Jews. The chief ornament of Jerusalem.

Desolate. About to be desolate, or destroyed. To be forsaken as a place of worship, and delivered into the hands of the Romans, and destroyed. Mt 24:1 and following.

(y) "desolate" Zech 6:6

Luke 13:34-35

Verses 34,35. Mt 23:37, also see Mt 23:38-39.

Verse 34. From the message which Jesus sent to Herod we may learn--

1st. That our lives are safe in the hands of God, and that wicked men can do no more to injure us than he shall permit, Compare Jn 19:11.

2nd. That we should go on fearlessly in doing our duty, and especially if we are doing good. We should not regard the threats of men. God is to be obeyed; and even if obedience should involve us in difficulty and trials, still we should not hesitate to commit our cause to God and go forward.

3rd. We should be on our guard against crafty and unprincipled men. They often profess to seek our good when they are only plotting our ruin. Even those professedly coming from our enemies to caution us are often also our enemies, and are secretly plotting our ruin or endeavouring to prevent our doing good.

4th. We see here the nature of religion. It shrinks at nothing which is duty. It goes forward trusting in God. It comes out boldly and faces the world. And,

5th. How beautiful and consistent is the example of Christ! How wise was he to detect the arts of his foes! how fearless in going forward, in spite of all their machinations, to do what God had appointed for him to do!

(g) "O Jerusalem" Mt 23:37
Verses 34,35. Mt 23:37, also see Mt 23:38-39.

Verse 35.

(h) "your house is left" Lev 26:31,32, Ps 69:25, Isa 1:7, 5:5,6, Dan 9:27 Mic 3:12

(i) "Blessed is he that" Lk 19:38, Jn 12:13

Luke 19:42

Verse 42.

(b) "this, thy day" Ps 85:7,8, He 3:7,13,15
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