And Jesus grew in stature of body and faculties of mind, (his divine Spirit assisting and strengthening his natural faculties,) and was induced with great wisdom through the grace and power of God's Spirit upon him. q had continued there all the feast days, and then came home, as they— r after they were come a day's journey they missed him, and made strict inquiry after him amongst their— Gen. xxii. 16. ' give us power, ability, grace, that we being secured and rescued from danger of enemies might obey and attend him in a sincere performance of all duties toward God and man, and cheerfully and constantly persevere therein. And this John shall be a prophet of God, (foretelling judgments on the nations if they repent not speedily,) or rather of an higher rank, pointing out Christ (see note [d] on Matt. xi.), and as his forerunner, by the preaching of repentance and change, to fit men for Christ. To teach men that in Christ there is a possibility of obtaining salvation for sinners, to wit, by pardon of their sins upon repentance and new life. Which is a special act of compassion in God, through which it is that this rising sun, i. e. the Messias or Christ, so called by the prophets, is come from heaven to visit and abide among us. To shine forth to blind, ignorant, obdurate worldlings living in a state of death, and to put us into that way that will bring us to salvation. [t] shadow of death] What is the meaning of this figurative speech, the shadow of death, will be best conjectured by comparing it with psalm xxiii. 4, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, &c. There making God his shepherd, ver. 1, he compares himself to a sheep, which feeds sometimes upon a hill, sometimes in a valley; and again may be supposed to be in danger of wolves, or else free from that danger. The hills being the highest, have all the light and warmth of the sun upon them, and the valleys contrariwise, that are shaded by the hills, have much less of that warmth or light, and being also more subject to incursion of wolves than the hills were, (where their coming would be more discernible); this is there the meaning of the valley of the shadow of death, a gloomy vale of danger of the utmost evil. Proportionably here, (in a spiritual sense,) the shadow of death is a state of sin and ignorance, want of light or knowledge, and want of warmth or grace, the description of the state under the law, which afforded neither of these in any proportion to what is now done by Christ, and so left men in a dangerous condition, till Christ was thus pleased to shine upon them, and thereby to rescue them out of it.