| a al MATTHEW XI. 27—33 Le} to be proclaimed openly, that they might not be more powerfully seized by anger and wrath, and might not completely bring destruction upon themselves. This, By whom do your children cast them out? He calls His disciples their children because some of them were of the race; and shewing that it was not possible that a devil should cast himself out, he says, How can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind him, etc. Here He calls Satan a strong man, and [He calls] man his goods and poss ssion; He says that just as no man can enter into the house of one who is strong, unless he first bind the strong man; thus also no man can drive away devils from men, those who on account of their wickedness are subjected to their power, except our Lord, who contended with him, and bound him, so that he cannot again contend for his possession. This then would never have happened of the devils, that they should have bound themselves, and liberated men from their power ; and shewing what a difference there is between Himself and the devils, He says, He that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad, How, he says, can this be? that we should agree with one another, I and the devils? since I openly work against them, and they study to work the contrary. BOOK IX. Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him ; but he that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, etc. This He says, not as if blasphemy against Him were to be completely forgiven, nor as if to those who blaspheme against the Holy Ghost the door were shut in face of their repentance; but He speaks this to lessen the blasphemy against Himself, when it is compared with the blasphemy against the Spirit ; because they had been thinking of Him as of a simple Man; others say, that He here calls the Ghost, not merely, the Holy Spirit, but all the nature of the Godhead, that which is acknowledged in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Spirit, according as He said somewhere, verily God is a Spirit. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or make the tree bad, and his fruit bad. The good Tree is the Holy Ghost, and His good fruits are p Ss f31b John 4. 24